According to Seamus Deane Essay

According to Seamus Deane, Translations is a play about â€Å"the tragedy of English Imperialism†. How far would you agree with this statement in relation to both Translations and Heart of Darkness? INTRO Although the location, language and structure of Brian Friel’s Translations differs unmistakably from that of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the topic of colonisation remains central to both. While the supposed sophistication of ‘civilised’ colonists is deconstructed in Conrad’s novella to reveal man’s common ‘darkness’, Friel’s play deals with the ways in which the consciousness of an entire culture is fractured by the transcription of one landscape (Gaelic, classical and traditional) for another (Anglo-Saxon, progressive and Imperialistic). 1 Friel uses the apparently passive plotting of an Ordnance Survey map to emphasise the loss of indigenous Irish tradition, social history and heritage felt by the natives of County Donegal in Ireland. The translation of the place-names automatically eliminates the secrets buried within the original name; it distorts rather than restores the ontological nature of the place-name. Friel uses Owen to expose the Imperialist outlook on ‘standardisation’ during his battle with Yolland over â€Å"Tobair Vree†: He begins a long discourse on how Tobair Vree came to acquire its name, identifying a well that once existed nearby and has long since dried up, with â€Å"Vree† an erosion of the Irish â€Å"Brian†. He then asks Yolland: â€Å"do we keep piety with a man long dead, long forgotten, his name eroded beyond recognition, whose trivial little story nobody in the parish remembers? † Even as he attempts to demonstrate the invalidity of ‘Tobair Vree’ as rightful place-name through its seemingly illogical associations, Owen contradicts his own argument. The reality that Owen himself remembers the tale behind the name reinstates the fact that as insignificant as this narrative may be to him, it remains the carrier of history and memories, both public and private. The name not only retells the anecdote which defined ‘Brian’s Well’, but also evokes Owen’s memories of his grandfather. The Irish place-names had developed into historical, cultural and social storehouses through their varied associations and values. The reduction of such ontological knowledge to an epistemological referent through colonial dispossession therefore reduces identity in â€Å"an eviction of sorts†. 2 The destructive force of English Imperialism is echoed in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and is revealed to us through Marlow’s portrayal of the Africans he encounters and the treatment they are subject to. Forced to work under the conditions of European mechanical labour, the natives acquired expressions of the â€Å"deathlike indifference of unhappy savages† as they became reduced to â€Å"nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation†. The â€Å"civilised† colonists place the â€Å"savages† in chain gangs, enslaving them; eliminating their identities and breaking their spirit as a people. Throughout the entire novel we, the reader do not learn a single of the Africans’ names. They are collectively labelled â€Å"niggers†, â€Å"creatures†, â€Å"rebels†, â€Å"savages†, â€Å"enemies†, â€Å"ants† and â€Å"criminals† by the colonisers. Even the individual natives Marlow speaks of remain unnamed, distant and alien. This is exposed through the portrayal of the helmsman; although Marlow shared with him â€Å"a kind of partnership†, he is nevertheless reduced and objectified as merely â€Å"an instrument†. Conrad discloses the dying identity of the Congo’s indigenous inhabitants through Marlow’s initial observation of the â€Å"blind, white flicker †¦ which died out slowly† in their â€Å"enormous and vacant† eyes. 3 Friel illustrates Imperialism’s effect on identity unequivocally in his play through the function of Sarah. â€Å"My name is Sarah†. Unable to speak her own name previously, Sarah’s identity finally emerges and begins to flower. Language is demonstrated to be the key to memory; identity is formulated through language. Through Sarah’s speech, a hidden landscape of consciousness has been unlocked by Manus, ready to be explored. Sarah’s name is crucial in her self-definition and identity, just as with the names of places; her name encapsulates not only an identity, but also an origin and a lineage. Sarah blurts out â€Å"Sarah Johnny Sally† to Owen when asked her name, thus providing not only her Christian name but in addition those of her parents. Owen does not hesitate to reply â€Å"Of course! From Bun na hAbhann! † and complete this marker of the clan. He responds furthermore with his own identity, parentage and place of origin: â€Å"I’m Owen – Owen Hugh Mor. From Baile Beag. † Irish names in Translations quickly become linked not only with identification of an entity, but also with the narrative history associated with that identity through lineage and society. While Friel insists that â€Å"the play is about language and only language†, the fact that Sarah is silenced again by the colonisers could represent the suppressive and inconsiderate treatment imposed on the Irish people by the English Imperialists, denying them their freedom of expression and thus their right to an identity. 4 Conrad mirrors Sarah’s silence and consequent absence of identity in Heart of Darkness through his creation of Kurtz’s mistress who although described as â€Å"superb, wild-eyed and magnificent† in â€Å"her deliberate progress†, reveals the suffering she has endured under colonial domination through her visibly â€Å"wild sorrow† and â€Å"fear of some struggling, half-shaped resolve†. Her â€Å"formidable silence† contrasts wholly with Kurtz’s â€Å"ability to talk†. As a musician, politician, poet and humanitarian his â€Å"inextinguishable gift of noble and lofty expression† is equated with political power, thus giving Kurtz â€Å"a sense of real presence† which is evidently lacking amongst the native Africans who have become disassociated from their past, their origins and their control over the future. Their only capability in expressing themselves is through their appearance of â€Å"dumb pain†. Exactly like Friel’s natives, the original inhabitants of the Congo are â€Å"imprisoned in a linguistic contour which no longer matches the landscape of†¦ fact†.

India and Future of Asia Essay

Introduction- As the world increasingly acknowledges India’s rising power status, India is adapting its foreign policy to meet the international challenges of the 21st century and to increase its global influence and status. For many years, India took pride in its role as leader of the Non-Aligned Movement and viewed itself as the primary defender of the rights of the less developed countries. In the past few years, New Delhi has expanded its strategic vision, most noticeably in Asia, and has broadened the definition of its security interests. While India has focused special attention on cultivating ties to the United States since 2000, the overall thrust of its foreign policy has been to seek geopolitical partnerships in multiple directions to serve its national interests. It has pursued special relationships with the U.S., Russia, China, and key European countries. In June 2006, Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee (the current foreign minister) described India’s foreign policy: â€Å"Premised on the twin policies of no extra-territorial ambition and no export of ideology, India seeks the peaceful resolution of all disputes.† He went on to say that â€Å"[s]imultaneous improvement in ties with the U.S., EU, and Russia and Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea, and China demonstrates that for the first time in its diplomatic history, India is forging significant strategic ties with both West and East Asia.† Broadening Indian engagement across the globe, especially in Asia, is in the U.S. interest and should be further encouraged. Washington’s and New Delhi’s strategic perceptions are increasingly converging, and there is tremendous opportunity to cooperate and coordinate in this dynamic region. Because India is a fellow democracy without hegemonic interests and with a propensity to seek peaceful resolution of conflicts, its increased economic and political involvement in Asia will help to further overall U.S. goals in the region. India’s involvement in Asia will help both to ensure that one country does not dominate the area and to encourage stability in a region that will take center st age in the 21st century. The period since India adopted the new economic paradigm and the LEP has witnessed substantial transformation of its global relations, including with the rest of Asia. This has primarily been due to the recognition of India’s increasing capacities to address its developmental challenges, and the potential of its soon to be USD 1000 billion economy to provide substantial commercial opportunities. India has grown at an annual rate of nearly 6 % per annum since 1980. Contrary to perceptions, India has been able to sustain high levels of growth without significantly increasing income inequality8. India has no parallel in managing relatively peaceful and democratic transfer of political and economic power among different social classes. It thus appears that India’s growth experience has been inclusive, though there is no room for complacency. Compared to East Asia, India’s growth strategy has relied relatively more on domestic markets, consumption rather than investments, decentralized entrepreneurial rather than state-led development9, and on financial and capital market intermediation in allocation of savings10 (Das, 2006; Huang, 2006, Morgan Stanley, 2006). India’s de-facto growth strategy is consistent with bottoms-up diagnostic approach to reforms advocated by Rodrik. However as India begins to pursue policies leading to higher savings and investments,11 and as the role of external sector increases12, differences in India’s growth characteristics on the one hand and those of East Asia may narrow13. India is also attempting to develop a robust diversified manufacturing base14 (Bradsher, 2006); and modernize its agricultural and plantation sectors. The emphasis is thus on creating a more balanced and resilient economy, and increasing India’s share in the world economy. India’s growth strategy and trajectory thus provide an avenue for global risk diversification for businesses and investors from around the world. India ranked 43rd on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) moving up two places from last year. India scored well in indicators relating to innovation and sophistication of firm operations as well as in adoption of technologies from abroad. However weaknesses remain in the large budget deficit, (about 9 per cent of GDP), inadequate infrastructure investments, low level of efficiency in delivery of governance services, and a need for wider access to and improvements in quality of health and educational services. India in the changing scenario- So many things is changing in India. The launching of the manufacturing industry, the new importance given agriculture, the good, even excellent, level of scientific training, openings in the financial sector†¦ all generate optimism and international interest in a country with the possibility of achieving the highest growth rate in the coming 50 years. India enjoys this potential despite problems like monumental bureaucracy and lack of infrastructure. Meanwhile, democracies and a smoother path of development than China’s appear to be holding possible social agitation at bay. The novelty is not so much the policy of the new government of the Congress party: in power for just a year, it has hardly had the time to implement any real changes. The rampant India which emerged from the rule of defeated Nationalist party, Janata, has certainly not disappeared; thanks to use of English, this India focused on the services sector, primarily computers and also international de-localization of computerization and call centers. However, such a model is no longer viewed as an end goal to reach in the future. Even in India, euphoria and riches even excesses generated by the so-called new economy for a few to enjoy, have given way to a realization that the â€Å"old† economy is still relevant after all. International trends especially the lack of energy and increase in prices of petroleum and other raw materials have in fact revealed how the famous â€Å"light† development, based primarily on factory chimneys, is limited in its incomes evanescence saving on, and at the end of the day, it is immaterial. This new awareness has led to an overall change of direction. This means a new emphasis on: manufacturing industries, like textile industries; primary sources, like energy; exportation of certain raw materials, like iron minerals. And certainly not least in importance, agriculture has today become once again the focus of attention, that old Cinderella of the Indian economy, neglected and portrayed as the legacy of an archaic society, although a large proportion of the population still depends on it. Today, it has been recast as a strong point of some export industries like the textile sector, which can make the most of local availability of cotton to successfully counter the near-monopoly China enjoys in this market. In this overall change in direction, the government, for its part, is seeking to regain lost ground in comparison with Asian giants, China and Japan at least one year in guaranteeing energy sources for the industrial sector. In these very weeks, a diplomatic offensive is under way to ensure resources of petrolium and other raw materials wherever possible, not only in traditional and logical choices of Indian territory, but also in places both geographically and culturally distant, like Latin America. Re-orientation towards the manufacturing industry is certainly a consequence of changing trends at international level, but it also falls within the strategy of the Congress Party currently in power, which still enjoys a strong working-class base. Anyhow, the traditional style of industry, typical of a socialist and working class party, holds several winning cards. The new stimulus in the manufacturing industry is a key factor in determining the future of all societal structures. On the one hand, it provides more interesting and better paid jobs, on the other it calls for more qualified human resources, for training, ongoing commitment and improved tuition in economics, maths and computers. All this requires secondary and tertiary education systems which ensure proper scientific and technological teaching. So there is more than low salaries behind the meteoric growth spurt of India and China. The secret probably lies in the swift upgrading of training and tough selection, based on merit, of students. This is confirmed by the preference shown by American enterprises and research institutes for graduates from the Indian Institute of Technology. Indian excellence in mathematics has always been well known the numbers of the decimal system used for calculation are of Indian origin and more recently, Indians have now been shining at physics too. In view of all this, few would imagine that the expansion of manufacturing in India would be limited to the textile and computer industries alone. Already today, India is promoting itself, with high hopes of success, as a base for the de-localization of strategic industries like aerospace. In this sector, India can count on the importance of avionics, that is, of electronic control systems. India could exploit its dominance in the computer sector, as well as the low cost of a workforce which is highly qualified in science and engineering. Development opportunities are considerable even in the telecommunications sector, in the automobile industry especially in the spare parts sector, after foreign participation of up to 100% of investment was liberalized in 2002 and in pharmaceutical che mistry, as well as food industry. Indian economic growth is not due to external factors, a consequence of general Asia-wide expansion. Rather it is a gradual process over a long period, even if not everyone is involved. Dalits, that is pariahs, are still marginalized. The growth rate of India before this global slowdown was nearly 8%. With such growth rates, in 2022, the overall size of the Indian economy will surpass that of the UK, its former colonial master. According to research undertaken by Deutsche Bank, in 2020 India and China would have left Japan behind at fourth place, while the US would still take first place as the largest economy. Compared to China, India’s economic growth rate, although considerable, has not flourished so much in recent years, and it is inferior by around 20%. However, India and Malaysia will surpass China in terms of economic expansion rates within the next 15 years, most of all thanks to demographic expansion, to the increased size of the population’s working-age bracket. While the China’s average growth rate will be around 5.2% per year, that of India will be 5 .5% and that of Malaysia, 5.4%. So China will soon have to pay in economic terms for its one-child policy. According to Goldman Sachs, India’s economic growth will beat China’s from 2015 onwards. Dominic Wilson of Goldman Sachs said: â€Å"India has the potential to produce the highest growth rate in the next 50 years with an average of 5% per year over that entire period. The growth of China is predicted to fall below 5% around 2020.† However, India is meeting obstacles along the road towards growth. First because large sectors of the population, not only dalits but also peasants, are cut out And in the long term, development along two tracks of very different speeds is not sustainable: the risk is that profound and endemic social exclusion from new-found wellbeing will take root in unmanageable massive cities, a situation which would have clearly explosive potential. Another tough obstacle in the way of development is the imposing fiscal deficit of the public sector, both central and local. According to the International Monetary Fund, this deficit, at around 10% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) puts economic development at risk both because of insufficient fiscal collection as well as increased public debt, a carryover from previous decades. This constitutes a real risk because the financial system, and especially banks, are naturally obliged to favor investment in public debt stocks, which are considered, rightly or wrongly, to be more secure. This even if lessons could have been learnt from Argentina, although there were differences between that case and India’s. The end result is that savings are not pumped into productive activities and the capital market then lacks liquid cash. The state of the Indian stock exchange has so far been determined by decisions of big foreign institutional investors, the funds of specialized stocks investment in emergent countries. Certainly the 26 October decision of the Central Bank to keep the discount rate at 6%, the lowes t since 1973, is a positive one for industrial development. Also positive was the recent government decision to allow, in the near future, investment in shares of up to 5% of the value of the patrimony of private pension funds. However, these measures are insufficient to maintain sustainable development in the long-term. Besides, the current debts of India’s pension system constitute a hidden risk, although, as in Europe, they are about to be shared, not accumulated, meaning that future generations will be called upon to square the bills of those who work today. But, as in Europe, if demographic growth is stalled, the commitments, or better the lies, of the past will eventually impact on all society. Faced with estimates which foresee that future pension commitments will be increased by around 40% of the GDP, measures which the Indian government apparently intends to propose are too timid. Yet another obstacle standing in the path of Indian economic development is an endemic lack of infrastructure: roads and highways, bridges, airports and ports require important investment, but they are not completely compatible with the current state of public finances. Other urgent and hefty investments regard energy production and distribution plants. In these infrastructures, as well as for oil refineries, it would be possible to resort to private and foreign investment. However, complications caused by electricity tariffs established for political reasons have not permitted such a solution so far. The unresolved problem is guarantees of remuneration of capital , Enron, which went bankrupt some years ago. Such incidents are proof of the intricate web of powers and the widespread rivalry between local authorities and central government, which has a paralytical impact on global finance which deals in such transactions. Not least in this list of woes are health and education problems in rural areas. Contradicting aspects are inherent in India’s health system. On the one hand, it offers pockets of excellence in some private sectors, which have served to draw patients from all over the region to Indian clinics. In such structures, it is possible to conduct operations comparable to those in western countries and at a vastly inferior price. On the other hand, however, the total cost of health spending does not exceed 0.9% of the GDP, much less, even half what other countries at a similar stage of development would spend. It is this aspect which best illustrates the contradiction between optimism engendered by economic market growth and a group of significant social indicators. The bottom line is that although India’s development process is certainly more smooth than China’s its income redistribution curve is evolving in a more uniform manner and the middle classes are increasing in size and also in income per capita much remains to be done so that the marginalized are not excluded from the country’s growth. Two factors certainly confirm the initial optimism about India’s future and they guide estimates on its economic growth. One initial reason for optimism comes from the existence of valid internal financial markets, more because of their structures and regulations based on British standards than for their size. According to Richard Batty of Standard Life Investments, the balance of economic global power will change radically in the next 50 years and the stock market could provide an average annual yield of 10% in this period. The second reason for optimism is to be found in Indian political institutions, which although far from perfect, are nonetheless able to allow for changes in power. This offers a precious guarantee of stability which China, for example, cannot offer. Despite their limitations, especially at local level, Indian political institutions appear better able than their Chinese counterparts to better reconcile various sectors of the population. Triangle of India, China and Pakistan- Indian policy-makers have been facing a great challenge today to construct a peace-oriented but pragmatic long-term policy framework in an atmosphere where its neighbour Pakistan is hell bent for MAD (mutual assured destruction) persuasions and China is modernizing itself fast with DF-31 and DF-41 missile programmes along with MIRV (multiple independent re-entry vehicle) potentials. The shadow of the ghost of cold war days are still moving around and the principles of real politik are significantly being included in inter-national agenda. Recently held International Defence Exhibition And Seminar (IDEAS 2000 Pakistan) between 14th to 17th November at Karachi with its theme â€Å"Arms For Peace† and China as a significant participant could be perceived as catalytic to the rise of arms race in the South Asian region. On 17th November, Sonmiani Tactical Firing Range in Pakistan witnessed an unprecedented show of arms and ammunitions in its f ull range. Air Officer Commanding of the Southern Air Command Air Marshal Parvez Iqbal Mirza, while boasting the might of Pakistan defence, said to the attending guests that â€Å"all Pakistan-made weapons and ammunitions, which was of NATO standard, could not be displayed at the demonstration and only selective weapons would be shown off†. Few remarkable demonstrations at the exhibition were – Super Mashshak Trainer (produced at Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Kaura), Karakoram-8 advanced jet trainer (co-produced by Pakistan and China), MirageIIIs, mobility display of Al-Khalid and Al-Zarrar main battle tank (a joint venture of Pakistan, China and Ukraine), T-59 IIM tanks, T-85-2APS, Anza MK-11 missiles, Ghauri and Shaheen missiles. Even the Pakistani sources confirm that never before Pakistan had put on display its full range of military might. And unlike any other initiative of Pakistan in the past, these military demonstrations were wedded to â€Å"show of strength† configured against India. Also, it was a psychological display of Pakistan’s claim for military self-confidence in the wake of mounting international pressure on Pakistan, especially from the U.S, to go slow on military hardware and to stop abetting the terrorist groups. In such upcoming adverse condition, Pakistan while on the one hand has been trying to reinforce its confidence amongst the Islamic states, on the other hand, apart from the clandestine supports from China, it has been pressing for new strategic and military partnerships. Ever since its coming into existence, the fundamental goal of Pakistan’s foreign and defence policies has been of â€Å"defiance† of international norms and values and to co-opt the tools that destabilise India’s territorial integrity and domestic tranquility. Defiance of international norms means violating the principles of non-interference in other country’s domestic affairs, or for that matter to launch attack on other’s territory. The nature of Pakistani involvement in Afghanistan during and after the cold war has always been a subject of international criticism and condemnation. Further, Pakistani statesmen and academia for the reasons only known to them are still justifying al l previous five misadventures of Pakistan against India. More so, Pakistan is being labeled as supporter to several terrorist outfits round the globe, and considered as a hot pursuant of weapons of mass destruction. Pakistan’s missile and nuclear development programmes are being increasingly encouraged by the Chinese politics towards the regional strategic triangle involving Pakistan, India and China. Subsequently, the regional adversaries not separately but jointly against India are raising the prospect of an arms race breaking out between India and China. Of course Pakistan has been acting and responding in a manner that definitely exceeds its strategic defence requirements. Hence, it is imperative to the Indian policy-makers to comprehensively understand, analyse and foresee the complexities and contours of Chinese international and regional behaviours. Evoking a sense of â€Å"mystery and fear† in international relations has long been a significant foreign policy characteristic of China. Historically, it is an aggressive and expansionist state. And in the post cold-war world, with regard to South Asian security environment China is likely to take moves on two basic premises – one related to the Sino-U.S relations, and the other directly linked to India. First, while advocating for multi-polar world order, China desires to become a potential alternative centre of power in any given international system. For this reason, despite glaring limitations in technological advancements in China, they inadvertently find the clash of interests with America at almost all the present and prospective conflict areas of the world. South Asia is definitely not any exception to it. The recent improvements in U.S-India ties and the increasing gulf between the U.S and Pakistan are being seen as direct threat to the Chinese predominance in this region. Subsequently the mutual distrust and misperceptions between China and the U.S.A, on the one hand, directly affect the Sino-U.S relations and, on the other hand, indirectly but substantially it would affect the South Asian regional security configurations. It may further provide scope for Pakistan to take more strides towards misadventures against India. Second, China desires to remain the sole â€Å"power† state in the Asian region. The rapid growth in Indian economy, especially its IT sector, together with the convincing progress in Indian defence advancements pose direct threat to the Chinese dominance in the region. Whether India is being referred directly or not in the Chinese world propositions, it is a fact today that India matters a lot to the Chinese strategic thinkers. Now, it is understandable by several means that Beijing could face considerable, if not devastating, reaction if anything done undesirable or against the vital interest of New Delhi. After all, future possibility of ‘engagement’ or ‘containment’ depends mainly in the development of India’s strategic build-ups. Chinese moves to contain the Indian strength are based on its policy of â€Å"encirclement of India†. Long back in 1983 U.S intelligence agencies had reported that China had transferred a complete nuclear weapon design of 25 KT nuclear bomb to Pakistan and had been helping to Pakistani centrifuge programme. Again in 1986, it was revealed that China sold Tritium (that is used to achieve fusion in a nuclear device) to Pakistan and Chinese scientists assisted Pakistan with the production of weapons-grade fissile material (Uranium) at A.Q.Khan laboratory, Kahuta. Further, in 1991, Wall Street Journal reported that Pakistan was buying nuclear-capable M-11 missiles from China. In addition, apart from the controversial Chinese sale of 5000 ring magnets, China has also been involved in transferring M-9 missiles to Pakistan. Thus, China has long been recklessly providing Pakistan with nuclear technology, conventional weaponry and missile systems to keep Pakistan’s ambitions high against Indian defence preparedness. Subsequently, by keeping the Pakistan-India hostility alive, China acts on the two-pronged foreign policy towards India. Further, towards its policy of â€Å"encirclement of India†, China has also established a radar base in Coco island (belonging to Myanmar) that is only a gunshot away from the Indian Andmand and Nicobar islands. More so, recently the Indian Coast Guards that raised apprehensions across the Indian line of defence interrupted a Chinese trawler fitted with modern electronic surveillance equipments off the Indian shores. In addition, it has been widely reported of Chinese move of deployment of nuclear forces in Tibet and other bordering provinces and the advancements towards Chinese DG-25 missiles are being specially planned as counter move to Indian development of Agni II and III missiles. It has also been reported that a further upgrade of Hong Niano-3 (HN-3) is now being developed with range increased to 2.500Km for ship, submarine and aircraft launch. India’s motivation towards its strategic defence build-up flies in the face of conventional wisdom with recently achieve d vigour of deterring the Chinese threat of â€Å"encirclement of India†. And the proclamation of the Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes just after the launch of Agni II that â€Å"with this launch, no one, from anywhere, will dare to threaten us from now†, wisely stages India at a considerable level across the spectrum of rivaling strengths in the South Asian region. Although Indian moves for weaponisation programmes are primarily driven by the combined hostile attitudes of its neighbours, this may further lead Pakistan to more destructive engagements against India. The present environment of this region is so complicated, that even after a decade since the end of cold war, the western and Indian scholars have been facing difficulty in coming out with any definitive future trend in the South Asian strategic arrangements. In such volatile circumstances, the Standing Committee on Defence in its Report projects the level of Indian defence readiness as â€Å"The Kargil conflict of 1999 has been referred as wake-up call†. It includes the long -term vision and planning for enhancing the defence capabilities. No doubt, the real and immediate need for India today is a solid back up of conventional hardware. Priorities are to be delimited for the speedy acquisition of defence equipment and technologies. Overestimation of indigenous potential in a given period of time may lead to further delays and might cost wastage of valuable resources. Areas of strengths and weaknesses are to be carefully drawn and closely monitored for effective conventional warfare in time of need. No doubt, it is proud to hold ‘minimum credible nuclear deterrence’, but at the same time ‘ignorance’ or ‘negligence’ on its ‘command and control’ mechanism part may prove fatal for the nation. Only an effective inter-linkage within C-3I (Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence) could really boost the inner strength in holding the â€Å"nuclear button†, and to maintain some level of ascertained minimum deterrence capability. As far as dealing with international environment is concerned, tough task ahead for India is to maintain and build better India-U.S relations and to re-strengthen the hands of cooperation with Russia. It is always preferable for India to go for constructive engagement with China along with other interested partners than to seek Pakistani engagement only due to domestic compulsions. Last but not least, at first, to have a healthy relationship with China, India needs to break the mental blockade of its past experience. After all, now onwards India is a declared nuclear weapon power state with an emerging strong economy.

Sales Force Compensation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sales Force Compensation - Assignment Example The company deals in beauty, fashion Jewelry and apparel. It has one of the largest salespeople in the world approximated at 6.5 million. The company has over 120 years in the industry with a strong financial background and resources to pull its operations. With a clear, well structured, multi-level compensation plan, the company has continued to attract and retain its salespeople making it a highly competitive firm. In order to motivate the sales force to produce the highest number of clients, describe six (6) features of an effective total rewards program. Rewards for many decades have been used primarily as a necessary evil in the attraction and retention of employees. However many studies suggest that there is no direct link between rewards and employee performance although research shows that the absence of it demotivates employees (Robillard, 2008: O'Halloran, 2012). This has thus led to the need to implement total rewards strategy that could be used to drive business success. Such a program could be used by the organization in addressing some of the challenging issues in the 21st century such as aging workforce, competition in the market place, influence of globalization on firms and the need to operate effectively in different business strategies such as in mergers and acquisitions (Armstrong, 2010). A total rewards program includes the overall value proposition that a firm provides to its employees. Such a package includes compensation which includes: basic pay, short term incentives and long term incentives; benefits which include health, retirement, work/life benefits; and careers which include such things as training and development, lateral moves, stretch assignments and career incentives (Manas & Graham, 2003). An effective total reward system has the following key features: first it has a mix of both monetary and non-monetary rewards (Asinof, 2006). The monetary rewards include compensation in the form of base pay, overtime pay, short term and lo ng term incentives, cash profit sharing, bonuses, commissions among others. The non-monetary rewards include such things as benefits which entail health and group benefits, retirement, paid off, work/ life programs, death benefits and prerequisites (Moynihan & Wells, 2011). Secondly, such a strategy must be aligned to the business strategy of the organization. Depending on the nature of the business strategy adopted by the organization, the strategy should be effective. A reward strategy has the power of minimizing on driving organizational performance and thus an effective total reward strategy must be able to support the overall business strategy to ensure performance. Third, such a strategy must match organizational resources and capabilities. It would be ineffective to design a total reward strategy which is overboard and which organizational resources cannot support. It would also be demeaning and inappropriate to have a strategy that is below what the organization can offer in terms of financial resources and capabilities. Fourth, an effective strategy is one that delivers rewards that drive specific behaviors necessary to achieve organizational objectives (Zingheim & Schuster, 2004). If for example, Avon Products, Inc. has a target of selling one million cosmetic products in one month, the reward strategy should be designed such that it motivates the salespeople to find clients. This could be through bonuses, incentives or a paid holiday trip! This communicates something to

Microeconomics Summary paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Microeconomics Summary - Term Paper Example Demand relationship is the association between the amount demanded and the price it is demanded at. Supply and demand are expressed in terms of the price (J. R. Adil, 2006). The force which distributes the resources is triggered by the correlation of supply and demand. The theories involved in market economy suggest that the supply and demand theory can distribute the resources in a highly efficient manner. To see how that happens we will study closely the laws of supply and demand. According to the â€Å"Law of Demand†, considering all the other factors to remain constant, the price of a good is inversely proportional to its demand. If the price of a good is increased than less people would want it and if the prices are decreased then more people will want to buy the good. With the increase in price of a good or service, there is an increase in the opportunity cost of the purchase of that particular good or service and that is why less people buy that good. This will result in people not buying goods which will cause them to abstain from using goods which are more valuable to them. As shown in the graph below, the curve is a downward slope. The curve of demand has three points on it which are A, B and C on it. On the curve, the relationship between price (P) and quantity (Q) is being directly represented at each point. So the quantity and price at point A will be Q1 and P1 respectively, and so on. The inverse relation between the price and quantity demanded is evident from the curve. At A the price is higher therefore the demand is lower whereas at C, the demand is higher and the price is lower (Economics Basics: Supply and Demand, 2003). The law of supply exhibits those quantities which are sold at fixed prices similar to that in the â€Å"Law of Demand†, but the slope in the law of supply is upward. This means that the price and the amount supplied are directly proportional to each other. Higher the price higher will be the supply.

History of Russia and Its Economy Research Paper

History of Russia and Its Economy - Research Paper Example This paper will thus talk about the country Russia by focusing on the relationship between the country and its economy since 1910 to today in a bid to identify some of the risks associated with opening an ICT related business in the country (Yergin and Stanislaw, 2002). Imperial Russia (1910-1922). During this time, Russia was regarded as the largest country by land mass and population in Europe and an additional prestige of the biggest army in the world. Being the largest source of agricultural products most of which it exported, in addition, to the overwhelming mineral resources, its trade was more of a give and take. Literary it stood to gain a lot from these exports thus making it a prime beneficiary of foreign investment (Yergin and Stanislaw, 2002). This was emphasized by the fact that markets were free in the making. It is during this time that Russia emerged as a capitalist economy. This resulted from the capability it had of feeding its population without any assistance from outside. However, this economic progress was only tied to the peasant agricultural production rather than the commercial sector. ... This was to be the beginning of inflation that would later be fuelled by the attempt of the government to print more money. The occurrence of the First World War and domestic revolutions came as a major setback in Russia’s economy that left a story people have lived to tell. The free markets that once existed were no longer available, for it saw a monopoly on prices that were subjugated by the government. USSR (1922-1952). It is at this stage that the future of the soviet economy is established. The government’s involvement in implementing strategies that could raise them above this crisis led to an immediate and theatrical step up in the economy. The government decided to introduce incentives to farmers to enable them farmland, in addition, to the opening up lands for privatisation. This functioned to limit small trade and increase industrial production. It is noticeable that the world was hit by the great depression during this time. However, due to these strategies, as the rest of the world dragged, the soviet was on the move trying to wipe of the dust and forge ahead (Yergin and Stanislaw, 2002). However, due to the collective nature of the Soviet agriculture, the economy did not improve as much. This followed stiffer regulations on production that saw the government prioritise industrial growth with steel, coal, power chemicals, and the military topping the list. It is at this time that the government resorts to acknowledge quantity over quality with efforts to maintain a high productivity. This indeed sailed the country through making it the largest employer in Europe by the fall of 1940. Even as, the Second World War started, the Soviet had established

Marketing email assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing email assignment - Essay Example The preliminary market research performed determined that espn.com, Gatorade.com and spalding.com are 3 potential website candidates in order to launch a more aggressive online marketing campaign with website that can customer with similar profiles are the clients the company is targeting. Each website chosen in the proposal has attributes that allows a diversified marketing strategy in which key variables are considered such as: youth market, high medial exposure, product quality attributes. All the websites selected have clients in the sporting market and neither represents a direct competitor for the company. The youth category is a primary target of the company since these segment of the market can provide lifetime customers if the company is able to achieve customer retention by advertising its product offering and creating a brand image that is seen where generation I and generation Y spend most of their time which are services related to the convergence age. The customer profile of the company is active outdoor types who enjoy doing exercise multiple times a week and who enjoy playing and watching sports regularly. The company targets both genders as well as the youth which is one of the main focuses of the internet exposure advertising strategy. This purpose of the online strategy is to increase the amount of direct sales of the company in order to improve its 1:10 direct sales ratio to at least a 2:10 ratio in order to increase profitability. The three website targeted by the company are described below.\ Espn is the most recognized and largest sports network in the world which provides sports news and other related services. The exposure and magnitude of the client base of this website implies that advertisers who purchase marketing packages from espn.go.com will likely have a high conversion of from traffic hits from

Is Now a Good Time to Acquire UK Marketing Media Agency Essay - 1

Is Now a Good Time to Acquire UK Marketing Media Agency - Essay Example United Kingdom fashion industry is one of the sectors in UK which have registered good performance in the current period. This industry for many years have grown tremendously becoming one of the notable industry in UK. The industry has resulted into significant impact on the social and economic impact in the country. Fashion industry in UK has become integrated to its citizens live hood. This has become turned fashion to be a possible trivial and enjoyable thus becoming more attractive to the potential and the prospective customers (Dransfield 2005). The overview on the external environmental analysis of this industry enables investors to gather several logistics before investing in this industry. PESTEL analysis entails critical analysis on the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors which have significant effects to the establishment and the success of every industry. This analysis is essential in the assessment of any market if it is worth to invest in it. This comprises the examination of the external macro-environment which is important aspect of a company before preparing a business plan. The external environment examination is important in the decision making process. It is also appropriate to carry out this analysis over sometime to ensure that all the uncertainties and the dynamic nature of the industry are addressed in the context of fashion industry market in United Kingdom (Dransfield 2005). Fashion industry in UK is considered one of the competitive markets the world. Big fashion companies such as Burberry, Marks & Spencer, TopShop, French Conection and Super group. The PESTEL analysis is considered one of the best tools in the assessment of the market; the facts from the analysis are used in establishing marketing strategies. This basically relates to the changes, market dynamism and influences attributed to the government. It is notable that there are a significant number of policies and regulations in UK that have affected the marketing consultancies and the media in regard to fashion industry (Britton 2009).  

Professional or academic experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Professional or academic experience - Essay Example The aim was to uncover the hidden talent in a child and nurture it. The task was daunting; we were four of us, we had few resources and were expected to make a success of a venture the size of which was intimidating enough without the added burden of our regular school curriculum and teaching assignments. The only factor in our favor was that we had a couple of months to plan it. However there were a thousand things that could go wrong and the biggest problem was raising the funds to conduct a contest of this size. The computer department of my school was special because at that time very few schools could boast of having even a few computers much less a computer section. I was the head of the department and had helped set it up. The school had organized many inter-school contests in such varied fields as dance, music, debates, quizzing etc. Naturally since we had such a hi-tech computer section we were expected to organize an inter school computer contest. As head of the department this was solely my responsibility and I had only a couple of months to plan it, and show results. I had to do some fast thinking about how I would go about this with the few resources available – both financial as well as in terms of man power. The first thing I did was call a meeting of my department. It was a brain storming session where every idea was put down on paper and discussed threadbare. We finally had a broad outline of the kind of contests we could organize for each of the various age groups that would take part; as well as a rough plan of dates that would not interfere with the school curriculum and exam timetable. We decided to invite an outside party to conduct the contest to make it absolutely fair and transparent. This would involve being able to convince a third party with the necessary credentials and expertise to help out. The name of the contest was very important and had to be decided early. After

Art, science, and imagination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Art, science, and imagination - Essay Example The writer succeeded in explaining art as a mortal discipline, which has changed in form from the past to now, but still holds the main ideas. Though the author has sidelined science to a larger extent in his book, I totally agree with the author in some instances. He claims that the impulse of painting neither comes from observation nor painting, but rather an encounter in life. An artist needs to create an impression on their mind in order to compose their work (Janson, H. and Janson, A. 23). That impression, once created, can be interpreted and put down on paper. What forms an artist is the ability to create something from nothing. On a creative twist of events, the author brings-up the idea of collaboration between the painter and their work. In essence, collaboration designates mutual understanding of artists on the nature of his work and the intended purpose (Janson, H. and Janson, A. 23). The essay, to summarize it all, is cleverly architected as I felt that the writers presented a sharp view on artistry and how to develop it. Even though, it exhibits a number of weaknesses the essay is comprehensive and expresses c lear opinions. The Bird and Poet: the Hunter and the Poet is a poem written by Edward. O. Wilson (Janson, H. and Janson, A. 34). Unlike Berger, Wilson has touched on both art and science comprehensive. His poem is extremely interesting, and from a critical point of view, I felt that the poem opposes crucial points read in John Berger’s writing. Edward strongly asserts that art and science must exist coherently. According to the Edward, science cannot exist without art, and art can exist without science. This was prevalent in his poem as he examined numerous analogies in art and science such as the aspect of creativity. Edward demystifies a claim by John Berger that art is all about being receptive. Being receptive means to appreciate nature and developing a distinctive likeness to

Nietzsche's ideas to modern society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nietzsche's ideas to modern society - Essay Example He is the slave. Actions of free will contribute to dynamism without destruction. The weak-surrender and free-will cannot exist together. Can light and darkness remain at one place? When the light is switched on, the darkness has to go. No option is given to it whether to go or not. Similarly an individual, who knows the proper connotation of free will and acts accordingly, can do no wrong, even when he is gets the moral counseling from any other sources. He knows for certain -- that which is not practical cannot be religious either. Morality is the powerful and paradoxical force that dominates contemporary life. Nietzsche fails to judge morality in the correct perspective when he asserts (Nietzsche, 1998, p.23) â€Å"All naturalism is morality, i. e. every healthy morality, is governed by a vital instant—one or other life’s decree is fulfilled through a specific†¦.† Nietzsche’s method of interpretation and reach about the merits of morality itself is wrong. Just because counterfeit $500 is available in the market (their legal value is zero), one cannot term the original $500 currency as fake. Preaching morals, and telling to do this and not to that, is a process. Morals are not dropped from the heaven. It can at best be termed as the collective wisdom from practical experience of the Realized Souls. Just as a doctor or an engineer attains the professional degree after studying hard for a number of years, similar is the moral/spiritual practice. It is a ladder of progress to be climbed step by step, carefully. Highest reach of perfection is an attainable reality. Human beings live every minute of the existence amidst various temptations of life. With force and suppression, one can build an artificial barrier against passion and negative...Nietzsche’s explanation of morality can be compared to the exercise of explaining a fruit, without tasting it. What is important is experiencing directly to get at the truth. When an arg ument begins with wrong premises, its further steps are bound to be wrong and the final conclusion absolutely wrong! That is the position of Nietzsche when he articulates about morality. No moralist will tell one to walk back. The wise saying goes, do not run away to an ashram (hermitage) on the hills; create an ashram where you are! A moral/spiritual individual views life in its totality and not in parts. He knows that reason cannot penetrate the truth all by itself. It is only used as a tool to a limited extent. When intellectuals discuss and comment upon the subject of morality/spirituality, all such confusions are bound to happen. Nietzsche is an intellectual--a philosopher. His problems of understanding are to be sympathized, rather than condemned. By knocking at the portals of the mind, Nietzsche will not be able to understand the true meaning of morality. He has to transcend the mind, to experience the profound realms beyond the mind.

World Wide Web and Business Community Essay Example for Free

World Wide Web and Business Community Essay The World Wide Web (abbreviated as WWW or W3, commonly known as the Web), is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. With a web browser, one can view web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia, and navigate between them via hyperlinks. Using concepts from his earlier hypertext systems like ENQUIRE, British engineer, computer scientist and at that time employee of CERN, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, now Director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), wrote a proposal in March 1989 for what would eventually become the World Wide Web. At CERN, a European research organisation near Geneva situated on Swiss and French soil, Berners-Lee and Belgian computer scientist Robert Cailliau proposed in 1990 to use hypertext to link and access information of various kinds as a web of nodes in which the user can browse at will, and they publicly introduced the project in December of the same year. The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used in everyday speech without much distinction. However, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not one and the same. The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks. In contrast, the Web is one of the services that run on the Internet. It is a collection of text documents and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and URLs, usually accessed by web browsers from web servers. In short, the Web can be thought of as an application running on the Internet. The internet not only is a perfect medium for communication between people across the globe but also is fast becoming a preferred medium of business transactions. E-commerce is thus the tool to which big business giants of the globe are resorting to conduct their business. This does not mean that the smaller businesses are at a disadvantage. They too make full utility of it. It does not difficult to imagine the potential of the web to identify the vast market potential available. The Internet and, more particularly, the WWW are attracting businesses in their thousands, with the following appearing to be the main application areas: Publicity, Marketing and Advertising The WWW appears to be an ideal medium for businesses attempting to promote themselves and their wares. Setting up a site on the WWW, and thus gaining instant access to millions of people all over the globe, can be achieved at  a small fraction of the cost using more conventional methods (Watson, 1994). Direct On-line Selling It is already possible to visit ‘virtual malls’ full of ‘virtual shops’, browse through catalogues and examine various products in vast detail, all courtesy of the Web. This has all been made possible by the multi-media capabilities that the Web provides (Minio, 1994). Research and Development Companies, especially those involved in research and development can use the Internet as an additional resource for collecting information. Tetzeli (1994) explains how it is possible to post a query on a bulletin board or join a discussion group and receive advice on how to solve the problem. Alternatively, there are millions of Web pages, some of which contain access to searchable databases of information relating to particular subjects. Communication The use of low-cost electronic mail (e-mail) is the Internet service used most extensively by businesses (Rosen, 1994). Kehoe (1994) illustrates the strength of e-mail with the example of ‘Digital Equipment’ which has over 31,000 computers linked up to the Internet and exchanges about 1.7 million e-mail messages each month with people external to the company. INTERNET The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite (often called TCP/IP, although not all applications use TCP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries an extensive range of information resources and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support email. Internet protocol suite (often called TCP/IP, although not all applications use TCP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government  networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries an extensive range of information resources and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support email. EXPLORING CYBERWORLD INTERNET WORKING CONCEPTS Computers, which are connected with internet, can communicate because of protocols. There are two protocols for working with the internet. These are: * Internet Protocol (IP) * Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) Each and every computer system has an internet address to connect with internet. The computers are linked with a centralized storage medium, which is called server. This server stores all software programs and data. The computers linked with this server are called clients. When a client sends data / message over the internet, this is broken into small pieces using the TCP protocol. These small pieces are called packets. Each packet contains the information (address) of the destination and sender, this address is called IP address. These various packets are sent to the destination by the fastest possible path using devices called routers. The destination TCP software assembles all the packets to form a complete message. Hardware/Software Requirement for Internet connection The following hardware and software requirements should be met with for an internet connection. * Pentium computer with 128 MB, 256 MB or 512 MB RAM. Higher the RAM, faster is the connectivity. * Modem with 56 KBP data transmission speed * Windows interface like windows98, windows2000, windows XP etc. * CD ROM drive. * High storage hard disk 80 GB or more. * Telephone connection * TCP/IP internet account from internet service provider * Antivirus program to scan the viruses, which may come into your computer while downloading software or data from internet. Baud Baud is the unit of measuring speed of data transmission. It is measured in bits per second the higher the baud rates the more data the device can transmit per second. The amount of data that can be transferred in a single pulse/symbol will depend on the type of data transmission system being used. Bandwidth Bandwidth is the information carrying capacity of a communication channel. The channel may be analog or digital. In electronic communication, bandwidth is the width of the range of frequencies that an electronic signal uses on a given transmission medium. In this usage, bandwidth is expressed in terms of the difference between the highest frequency signal component and the lowest frequency signal component. Since the frequency of a signal is measured in hertz, a given bandwidth is the difference in hertz between the highest frequencies the signal uses lowest frequency it uses. A typical voice signal has a bandwidth of approximately three kilohertz; an analog television broadcast video signal has a bandwidth of six megahertz – some 2,000 times as wide as the voice signal. Data Transfer Rate The data transfer rate is commonly used to measure how fast data is transferred from one location to another it is the amount of digital data that is moved from one place to another in a given time. The data transfer rate can be viewed as the speed of travel of a given amount of data from one place to another. In general, the greater the bandwidth of a given path, the higher the data transfer rate. In telecommunication, data transfers in bit are usually measured per second. Measuring data transfer rate Bits are typically used in data transfer rates and bytes are used to indicate storage space. A lowercase b is used to signify bits and uppercase B is used to represent bytes. Data transfer rates on computer networks are measured in bits per second or bytes per second, with a byte equalling 8 bits. Megabits per second is written as Mbps and gigabytes per second is denoted as GBps. An Ethernet local area network (LAN) can feature data transfer rates of 10 Mbps, while some internet server boast data transfer rates measuring in GBps. Bits and Bytes Bits and bytes are the units of measure for data transfer rate and storage capacity. We generally use bits for measuring the speed of data transfer. All standard devices show the speed in bits per second. Wireless Network Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is not connected by cables of any kind. It is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and enterprise (business) installations avoid the costly process of introducing cables into a building, or as a connection between various equipment locations. Wireless telecommunications networks are generally implemented and administered using radio communication. This implementation takes place at the physical level (layer) of the OSI model network structure. Wireless internet is the easy way to access internet without the need for a landline. It allows you to stay in touch whilst being on the move. Just plug your USB modem into your computer for an instant internet connection to take with you on the move. Mobile IP The Mobile IP protocol allows location-independent routing of IP datagram on the Internet. Each mobile node is identified by its home address disregarding its current location in the Internet. While away from its home network, a mobile node is associated with a care-of address which identifies its current location and its home address is associated with the local endpoint of a tunnel to its home agent. Mobile IP specifies how a mobile node registers with its home agent and how the home agent routes datagrams to the mobile node through the tunnel. Mobile TCP Mobile TCP is software for forwarding SMTP server connections to the correct server, made for people travelling with a laptop, connecting to different networks. This program features the ability to check either external IP number or internal and forwarding SMTP connections to the correct SMTP server. With this program it is easy to copy your current IP numbers to the clipboard and the status window shows witch networks you have been connected to and when you sent e-mail. GPRS General packet radio service (GPRS) is a packet oriented mobile data  service on the 2G and 3G cellular communication systems global system for mobile communications (GSM). GPRS was originally standardized by European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in response to the earlier CDPD and i-mode packet-switched cellular technologies. It is now maintained by the3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). GPRS usage is typically charged based on volume of data transferred, contrasting with circuit switched data, which is usually billed per minute of connection time. GPRS data may be sold either as part of a bundle (e.g., up to 5 GB per month for a fixed fee) or on a pay-as-you-use basis. Usage above the bundle cap is either charged per megabyte or disallowed. GPRS is a best-effort service, implying variable throughput and latency that depend on the number of other users sharing the service concurrently, as opposed to circuit switching, where a certain quality of service (QoS) is guaranteed during the connection. In 2G systems, GPRS provides data rates of 56–114 Kbit/second. 2G cellular technology combined with GPRS is sometimes described as 2.5G, that is, a technology between the second (2G) and third (3G) generations of mobile telephony. It provides moderate-speed data transfer, by using unused time division multiple access (TDMA) channels in, for example, the GSM system. Web Service A Web service is a method of communication between two electronic devices over the World Wide Web. A Web service is a software function provided at a network address over the web or the cloud, it is a service that is always on as in the concept of utility computing. The W3C defines a Web service as a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network. It has an interface described in a machine-process able format (specifically Web Services Description Language, known by the acronym WSDL). Other systems interact with the Web service in a manner prescribed by its description using SOAP messages, typically conveyed using HTTP with an XML serialization in conjunction with other Web-related standards. The W3C also states, We can identify two major classes of Web services, REST-compliant Web services, in which the primary purpose of the service is to manipulate XML representations of Web resources using a  uniform set of stateless operations; and arbitrary Web services, in which the service may expose an arbitrary set of operations. Search Engines A web search engine is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web. The search results are generally presented in a line of results often referred to as search engine results pages (SERPs). The information may be a specialist in web pages, images, information and other types of files. Some search engines also mine data available in databases or open directories. Unlike web directories, which are maintained only by human editors, search engines also maintain real-time information by running an algorithm on a web crawler. Examples on Search Engines 1. www.google.com 2. www.yahoo.com 3. www.altavista.com 4. www.excite.com 5. www.search.com 6. www.dogpile.com Keyword Searching A Keyword search looks for words anywhere in the record. Keyword searches are a good substitute for a subject search when you do not know the authorized subject heading form. Keyword may also be used as a substitute for a title or author search when you have incomplete title or author information. You may also use the Guided Keyword search option to combine search elements, group terms, or select indexes or fields to be searched. Concept based Searching Unlike keyword search systems, concept based search systems try to determine what you mean, not just what you say. In the best circumstances, a concept based search returns hits on documents that are â€Å"about† the subject you’re exploring, even if the words in the document don’t precisely match the word you enter into the query. Excite is currently the best known general purpose search engine site on the web that relies on concept based search. This is known as clustering which is essentially means that words are examined in  relation to other words found nearby. There are various methods of building clustering systems, some of which are highly complex, relaying on sophisticated linguistic and artificial intelligence theory that we won’t even attempt to go into here. Excite sticks to a numerical approach. Excites software determines meaning by calculating the frequency with which certain important words appear. When several words or phrases that are tagged to signal a particular concept appear close to each other in a text, the search engine concludes, by statistical analysis that the piece is â€Å"about† a certain subject. Refining Your Search Most sites offer two different types of searches – â€Å"basic† and â€Å"advanced†. In a â€Å"basic† search, you just enter a keyword without sifting through any pull down menus of additional options. Depending on the engine, though, â€Å"basic† searches can be quite complex. Advanced search refining options differ from one search engine to another, but some of the possibilities includes the ability to search on more than one word, to give more weight to one search term than you give to another and to exclude words that might be likely to muddy the results. You might also be able to search on proper names, on phrases and on words that are found within a certain proximity to other search terms. Many search engines now automatically recognize company names and can direct a searcher to a corporate website when such a name is entered as a query. Phrase recognition is also becoming more common; i.e. , you might expect to get relevant hits for the term cold war if you enter it without the quotation markets that typically denotes a phrases. Downloading These are tools that keep track of many web sites around the world and let you search for particular items whenever you want. The result of search is a custom list of links, pointing to whatever items the search engine found that met your criteria.

Infosys Case Study

Infosys Case Study Introduction Indian software industry: In the last few decades Indian software industry emerged as one of the best providers of software services and products globally, in the year 1999-2000 the software industry alone in India accounted for $5.7bn in revenues out of which $4bn come from software exports to other nations, which shows a positive signs and a 53% increase in software exports from previous year, 10% of the total exports of the country come from software only. In 1999 software industry shows some dramatic change in stock markets and it rose to $90bn from $4bn the same year on stock market, which further crash down due to NASDAQ crash, but till then 185 industries out of fortune 500 has already developed their offshore centres in India. (Palepu khanna, 2001). The rise in Indian software industry is due to cheap talent available in the country and gradually building reputations for reliability and high quality services and began to provide value added services as compared to the global industries. (Banerjee and Duflo, 2000). Infosys: Just with the mere amount of $300 Infosys consultants began its operations with visionary Mr. N.R. Narayanmurthy as its chairman, with a purpose of providing offshore and on site consulting on corporate programming by effectively utilising the inexpensive but well trained and talented software engineers of India. The first year successful operation resulted in revenues of Rs 1.16 mn which followed to Rs 100 mn down the lane in 10 years and success story is still going today. (Heitzman, 1999) To compete in the niche market Infosys developed some of the remarkable software products such as DMAP distribution management application package a suite of 600 programs used by Reebok in France. Eagle a ware house management package and BANCs 2000 a n automated banking package installed at over 60 banks branches in INDIA by 1195 ( Heitzman, 1999) In 1993 Infosys changed its name to Infosys technologies and listed the company on BSE with IPO and followed the corporate governance (Palepu Khanna,2001) Infosys terminated its arrangement with Kurt salmon and associates in 1996 and formed a new fully owned subsidiary called Yantra corporation based in Massachusetts for marketing and supporting its products in US Yantra purchased Eagle for US$ 10 mn. In 1996-97 Infosys invested some US$ 2 million in research and development so that it can focus on developing its new and innovative products only. Followed by huge success always Infosys revenues rose from US$2.64 million in 1991 to US$18.11 million in 1995 to US$39.59million in 1997( Heitzman, 1999) Company now adopted a structure bas on focusing on five strategic business units focusing on specific business domains plus 10 group focusing on specific product and management fields for e.g. education technology etc. Infosys has eight development centres in India, six sales offices in U .S. and two in Europe. (Heintzman, 1999). One of the major strengths of Infosys is its Human resources Infosys in March 1997 hired 1705 employees labelled them as Infoscions and intend to hire some 700 more which accounts for 36% of the total revenue of the Infosys. Infosys on an yearly average invest some 5% of its revenue on training and development of its staff. (Heintzman, 1999) Infosys corporate strategy: Corporate strategy: The overall strategy for a diversified multi service/ multi product organizations, tells the overall scope of the business in terms of product services and resource management. ( Thompson martin,2005) The emergence of strategic management discipline in 1960s resulted in four major corporate strategies SWOT in 1960s, Strategic planning matrix in 1970s, competitiveness in 1980s, and core competencies in 1990s (karki, 2004) . During that era corporate strategy is decided based on the assessment of frameworks and responsive to the imperatives of evolutionary and emerging contexts, but for the coming decade the imperatives for the India organisation are: From the evolutionary context Correcting the mindset of dependency on the government; going beyond rationalization of businesses; establishing tight linkages between corporate and business strategies with operations; venturing into new areas; and, building on success against multinational corporations. From the emerging context Large, growing, and internationalizing Indian economy; Globally integrated capital markets; information and communication technologies; Tenets of governance; and, management resource and capability (Karki,2004) Considering the above mentioned imperatives and comparing it with any other American business a new so called Root Branch corporate strategy is adopted for Infosys. Root Branch corporate strategy Root: Being Honest Being World Class Branch: India focused , India diversified and global focused( karki ,2004) Picture model of Root Branch Strategy Company specific factors Infosys A Infosys B Infosys C Branch Root 1. India Focused Being Honest 3. Global Focused Being world class 2. India diversified Industry specific factors Strategy of Infosys Root branch strategy is classified in three broad categories Root: the first level response of the organisation to the commonalities in the evolutionary and emerging contexts which are essential for the organisation. (karki,2004) Branch: the second level response are the strategic directions o the contextual imperatives which an organisation should adopt to meet the requirements in an appropriate manner.(karki,2004) Components based on organisations industry and company specific features. (Karki, 2004) Root has two components Being Honest in terms of customers by delivering fair products and services at the required time and in terms of employees by giving fair compensation rewarding achievements and contribution and meeting legitimate career aspirations which Infosys is pretty much following and known for its better employee satisfaction and in terms of investors Infosys should provide superior returns sharing all future plans and strategies with the stake holders better utilization of shareholders resources for better future profitability, and maintaining corporate governance effectively.( Karki, 2004) (Palepu and Khanna, 2001) Being World class: The strategy component results from existing and emerging competitive reality and do the business of a growing Indian economy and to match the cost responsiveness factors as a global company by reaching scale economies and facing vest competition in the domestic market to step further to global markets.(karki,2004) Branch has three aspects: India Focused: This strategic direction is high for Infosys as India is emerging as a global economy and there still many grounds to be covered by Infosys at Indian level, 185 of Fortune 500 companies have already settle their offshore software development centres in India. (Palepu Khanna, 2001) and still many more global organisations, Banks are willing to open their off shore centres in India seeking cheap Talent over there, Infosys should focus on Indian market and improve their market share in India as most of the Infosys revenues comes from software exports to U.S. India Diversified: Many remarkable examples in India organisations can be seen in Diversification Tatas, Reliance, Bharti group ,Aditya Birla group etc can be seen as success through diversification Infosys should focus on Diversify its business in India as India is highly populated market and a developing too, Infosys should go for software related diversify services such as Telecom operations etc. It can bring a larger market share as well as a bigger brand image for Infosys, diversification also provides ground for a company to compete in various markets and achieving scale economies and an ability to compete globally. Global Focused: As India software industry is now recognized as a very highly reliable and value added product services globally,(Palepu Khanna,2001) Infosys is known to be have some of the best software professionals globally seeking all these Infosys should come out with a strategy of a global brand by focusing on many other emerging economies such as Africa and Asia rather than keep focusing on U.S. as it may prove a mess later sometime if there is an economic crisis come in U.S same as in 1999 when NASDAQ falls. Infosys should also try to come out with its brand image as a truly India and a cheap talent company to boost up its revenue in global markets, for this Infosys should focus on appointing multi ethnic and multi cultural employees globally and some at very respective designations. To improve its brand image and globalisation Infosys should also focus on standardisation of its software products, which can be achieved by listing Infosys on various stock markets across the w orld and by penetrating new markets. (Karki,2004)(Palepu Khanna, 2001) Infosys BPO The current wave of globalisation give shapes to various new forms of international trade hence emerged with several new changes in which the talent can be mobilized combined across national boundaries. Business process outsourcing has become one of the vital part of this trend of globalisation. Infosys BPO is ranked as the 7th largest BPO industry in INDIA by NASSCOM [Bhargava,2007]. Some of the key consulting features which Infosys is providing in the form of BPO are mentioned as follows. Infosys in communications IPTV solutions Billing support operations Customer relationship management [CRM] tools Data centres consolidation Field optimization Tools Mobile applications. Revenue Assurance solutions. [Infosys] IPTV Solutions: Infosys Modular content accelerator (MCA) solution for IPTV established an IPTV product innovation centre that served as an interface between the stakeholders in consumer marketing and IT. [Infosys] Infosys MAC proved to be successful and accelerated the product development by 30%-40% Offered a platform capability to launch rich content services by leveraging technology from a global network of third party component drivers. Created a blue print for a rich set of product offerings to maximize customer revenue.[Infosys case study,2009] Billing support operations: Infosys BPO provides the client with a flexible platform, equipping them with an improved business process model. This has resulted in faster TURN AROUND TIME (TAT) and significant cost savings for the client/s. Key features : BPO with offline helpdesk. Better use of resources Focus on providing process improvements : achieved by process automation and process re-engineering tools and techniques provided by Infosys. Improve resource efficiency by eliminating repetitive manual tasks Reduce user applications, backlogs, increase transparency. Owing end to end process.[Infosys case study ] CRM Tools: Today CRM is the essential part of the communications industry. Infosys offers a wide range of services across major CRM products from structuring a road map to implementation and post product support .[Infosys] CRM challenges: Focus on new revenue markets Complex pricing models Increase channel efficiency Focus on customer retention and churn to reward loyal customers and increase stickiness. Product rationalization. Cost cutting. Infosys solutions: Oracle Telco lab solutions by Infosys offers a pre integrated suite of offerings to leverage oracles comprehensive offerings for the telecom industry A state of the art lab associated with the solution can incubate complex solutions concepts , model solutions to specific customer problems , showcase industry trends.[Infosys] Telecom order management solutions(TOMS) tool by Infosys helps CSPs in improving their efficiency in order management and increase revenues driven by changing customer needs.[Infosys] End to End Boss Framework by Infosys helps CSPs to enable rapid rollout of wholesale products, Intelligent order routing and order fallout management.[ Infosys] iBillcare business platform solutions: helps CSPs to focus on their core competencies with integrated applications , customer care and billing functions[Infosys] Data Centre consolidation Reduction in number of physical boxes by using virtualisation technology. (Infosys) Reduction in complexity of managing servers. Infosys solutions for data centre consolidation results in time management as well as the reduction in the costs to a much lower level. Which helps organisations to increase their efficiency and hence revenue.[Infosys] Field optimization Tools. Field optimization is the essential part in telecom organisations; Field optimization helps telcos to analyse the network problems and produce detailed reports on the basis of analysis, it helps telcos to improve the efficiency of their network, revenue and customer satisfaction.[Infosys] Mobile applications Various types of software applications are provided by Infosys to enhance features of mobiles and gain customer share in the market and increase revenue. [Infosys] Infosys in Banking, finance and Insurance Risk Management Anti Money laundering services Mobile banking Portfolio management Modernization by IT applications [Infosys] Risk management Infosys by its expert IT team made tools which helps in analysing markets for banking and financial organisations. The RMT helps in implementing and integrating process that analyse risk related data and predict liquidity. Anti Money laundering services Increasing crimes in banking and financial sector makes enormous demands for security of customer data. Infosys AML applications provides safeguard to many banking and financial organisations to safeguard their data and capital. [atul shukla] Mobile Banking Infosys Mobile banking applications helps banks to retain customer satisfaction as well as update the customer through SMS services about their banking details, Mobile banking provides flexibility ion the new age banking services. Portfolio Management Although Portfolio management is in practice by banking from decades but Infosys has give a solution inn PM by mixing it with IT. The IT portfolio management helps mangers to gain customers and analyze market data and provide best to the customers.(Infosys)

Inflation Rate and Economic Stability of Brazil

Inflation Rate and Economic Stability of Brazil Introduction This paper is concerned with the economic consideration of one of the South American countries and analyzes the impact of an economic concern on that particular South American country that has been chosen and identifies the trend of the economic concern with in specified region on the basis of data sets accumulate from the source. The south American countries has major impact on American economy and the economic concern of one of an important country raise our body of knowledge regarding the economic trend in that particular country and its impact on overall economy as well. South American Country The economy of South America consists of twelve nations with three territories and comprise of 6% of population in the world. I have choose Brazil among other South American countries as Brazil is the largest South American country and Brazil is one of the fastest growing economies of the world. It is ranked at fifth spot in the world regarding population and geographical region and fifth largest economy regarding GDP in the world. The economic concern of Brazil is effectively contributes to world economy and interesting trend of economy can be seen. (Abreu, 2005). Economic Concern Among four economic concern including GDP, quantities of specific Goods and services gross Domestic Product (GDP), and unemployment inflation I have selected inflation. Inflation is an important economic concern that will effect the economy in great extend and inflation rate of a country economy is an important indicator for a country growth prospective. Inflation means rise in the general price level of the country and loss the real value of money as fewer commodities will bought with each additional unit of currency. Inflation directly relate to the economic productivity and has positive and negative both effect on economy as it create economic uncertainty which may discourage saving and investment. High prices of general commodities and hoarding will be its largest disadvantage. In positive sense it may encourage non monetary investment. But the inflation rate needs to be control in order to sustain country economy. Inflation trend in Brazil The inflation rate in Brazil is fluctuating over the years. No consistent trend can be seen in the inflation rate ac past year data support this assumption. According to the data displayed by ( IPCA) in 2002 the inflation rate was 12.53% that is quite high rate. Then the decreasing trend of inflation rate can be seen in Brazil economy as 9.3% in 2003, 7.6% in 2004, 5.69% in 2005, and 3.14% in 2006 that is least in this decade. Then the slight increasing trend can be seen in rate of inflation. 4.46% can be seen in 2007 and 5.91 in 2008. The fluctuating trend can be seen in this range in coming years as well. (Inflation Statistical table) Statistical Table Inflation (IPCA) 2002 12.53% 2003 9.30% 2004 7.60% 2005 5.69% 2006 3.14% 2007 4.46% 2008 5.91% Past two years Inflation Trend Past two years monthly inflation rate trend can be seen from this graph that shows the monthly frequency of the inflation rate. The graph bars shows the trend of inflation from year 2011 that is 6.01%. The increasing slope can be seen from March, 2011 up to October, 2011. Inflation rate at the month of October is the highest that is 7.31%. Then the control implementation on inflation increasing trend can be seen from 7.31% to the deep low rate at 4.92% in July, 2012 that is complemented to Brazil economy. The upward Trent at semi annual bases can be seen in Brazil economy. The last recorded inflation rate of 6.15% that is quite high. Brazil government target inflation rate is 4.5% with the plus and minus tolerance margin of 2% in it. The high inflation trend is important consideration for the government as increasing inflation rate affect the economy in deep roots and make the investment and saving difficult. People purchasing power will be effected that will effect their standard of living and indulge the poverty level in the country as commodities will be difficult to purchase with even more money in hand because due to inflation country will lose its real money value. (De Paiva Abreu, 2005). According to IBGE report it is recorded from 1980 the Brazil inflation trend has gone through various fluctuations. Historical data shows average of 411.8 % Brazil inflation rate that reached at highest rate of inflation of 6821.3 % in April 1990 that was the highest rate for all time. The low inflation rate of 1.7 percent was found in December 1998. The measure used to calculate inflation is consumer price index. Brazil important contribution in consumer price index are tobacco, food and alcohol that covers 31% of total, 15 percent by transport sector and communication carries 5 %. . (Brazil Inflation Rate) Statistical Evidence comparing various countries inflation rate Inflation Rate of various countries is showing the Brazil high rate of inflation as compare to other countries except India that has the inflation Rate o f 6.62. An increasing trend is quite threatening for Brazilian government for economic growth and required close consideration to control the rate in future in order to stabilize the economy. Conclusion The Inflation rate and economic stability are closely related to one another and required close concern in order to stabilize the economy. Brazil increasing trend provide the threatening for its future concerns and shows that the government need to closely consider this regime in order to stabilize the economy and to achieve the economical growth in the world.

Effects of Influences Essay -- Sociology Risk Factors Protective Facto

Statement of Problem Coming from the inner-city I have been exposed to many risk factors that affect a juvenile's chances of becoming a delinquent or serious and violent offender. Intervention, however, can decrease the chances of a juvenile becoming delinquent. There are various protective factors that can "buffer" the impact of risk factors on a child's life. My mentor was the main source of protection from the risk factors of my childhood. Despite the fact that my family was not the positive influence I needed, I am grateful for my mentor because he really taught me a lot. For children raised in a single parent home, a mentor can do a world of good for both the child and himself. Both benefit from the knowledge each can provide regarding their different social worlds. The introduction to this paper is a story of how I arrived at where I am currently, compared to where I might have been had I never met my Mentor. The story of my father's life without a father, or any other positive influence, is included to explain my father's footsteps. My grandfather died in prison but with great pride about what he had done: breaking the law in order to buy a home for his family. The all too common product of premature unions are children raised in a broken home with one parent. Having two incomes is a lot better than one, if not having the mom at home to raise the children while she is financially supporting the family. Being a single parent is very difficult, with daycare being one of the only options for childcare while working. Some research indicates that daycare causes a child to be more aggressive as compared to children who have both parents while growing up, one being the caretaker and the other the provider. Family is... ...ng to others they often turned to drugs because they looked at it as being what the cool kids are doing. The participation in drug use will lead a person to only make friends with those who do drugs. The interviewees were also around drugs very often since their family members did it as well. When the parents do not look down upon the use of drugs they are only encouraging the use of drugs. Prevention programs should target the parents and family similar to some type of parent management training. This type of training would consist of social and academic skills, conflict resolution and mediation. Programs that consist of more than one predictor are more effective. Community and school-based strategies are also a part of being a protective factor. Crime has still increased between the mid 1990's and now, even though the number of chronic offenders is still unknown.

chinese religous and ethical systems :: essays research papers

Chinese Religious and Ethical Systems   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It has often been said that the Chinese are not deeply religious. It is true that they have shown a comparative indifference to metaphysical speculation; Chinese culture was perhaps the first to develop an intellectual skepticism concerning the gods.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Confucianism Confucius (Kong Zi) lived from 551 to 479 BC in the state of Lu (in modem Shandong province). He came from a family of officials and his concern was with the restoration of the Way (Dao) of the ancient sages. His teaching was therefore related mainly to society and its government. He advocated strict conformity, and thought that fostering correct behavior, within the context of the family, would produce an ordered society. He was not particularly interested in religion, except insofar as it related to social life. However, in 59 AD during the Han dynasty, it was decreed that sacrifice should be made to Confucius and this began a process that was to make Confucian philosophy into the foundation of the Chinese political order. Confucius himself had only accepted the legitimacy of sacrifice to one's own ancestors, but from now on an official Confucian cult emerged, with its own temples. It gradually became linked with the state cult of the Emperor. From the fifth century AD Confucian orthodoxy retreated before the popularity of Buddhism and Daoism. But a renaissance came during the Sung dynasty when Confucianism responded to the challenge and developed its own metaphysics. This new trend is known as Neo-Confucianism, and its main exponent was Zhu Xi (1130-1200). It subsequently became the main orthodoxy of the scholar officials until the demise of the imperial system in 1912. In contemporary China, the Confucian cult has disappeared, but the Confucian approach to government and society retains a powerful hold on many people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Daoism (Taoism) The origins of Daoism are obscure, but it is first seen as a rival to Confucianism. The teachings of early Taoism are ascribed to Lao Zi in the fifth century BC who is the reputed author of the most influential Taoist text, the Dao De Jing (The Way and its Power). Where the Confucian stressed ethical action, the Taoist spoke of the virtue of Wu Wei (non-action), going with the flow of things. Like the Confucians, Daoists looked back to a golden age. The good ruler, they thought, guided his people with humility, not seeking to interfere with the rhythms of social life conducted within the larger patterns of the natural world and the whole cosmos.

Influenza and its Effects :: Journalism Media Studies Health Influenza Essays

Influenza and its Effects The latest outbreak of "Spanish Influenza" continues to have a significant impact on life both in London and throughout Europe. The economic consequences are troubling as more and more workers from textile houses, mines and other areas where people are working in enclosed and confined spaces succumb suddenly to the disease. In some cases the onset can be as little as two hours. Industrial areas like London and the Midland areas of Nottingham, Leicester and Northampton have been especially hard pressed. While rarely fatal in the middle-aged, the symptoms of influenza are still dramatic and usually keep the patient out of work for a number of days. However after this period it disappears as swiftly as it came. Already burdened by the demands of wartime production industry has taken a heavy blow. Despite effective treatment with quinine Influenza is spreading faster than doctors can keep up, and indeed now there is scarcely an area of the country left unaffected by it. In some p laces the number of workers affected is as high as 70 percent. This would be far worse for the Allies were it not that the Germans were also severely affected by this outbreak, as reported by correspondents on the Western front. Berlin is said to have upwards of 160,000 cases of influenza, half of which are children. This coincides with another influenza outbreak in India, which is depleting their work force in a similar manner to that in England. The current climate is exceedingly dry and hot and it is felt that this may be contributing to the spread of the illness. Before May few if any cases of influenza were reported in or around London or elsewhere in Europe lending credence to this association. Other nations in Europe are also significantly impacted and it is believed that this current outbreak came to Europe from the south and worked its way northwards, hence its characterization as "Spanish Influenza". The fact that half of the cases in Berlin are children is similar to the situation in England. In Birmingham several schools recently had to be closed due to influenza outbreaks and in Egham, Surrey one school reported 50 to 60 cases and another over 130. Again this is thought due both to the climate and the fact that the students are together indoors for extended periods.

Change management Essay

Change management is an approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations to a desired future state. In this assignment I will be covering Rollin and Christine Glaser’s (1992) five elements to improve team effectiveness, IT management competencies, reasons for mergers and acquisitions in reference to South African businesses and roles leaders should play during the change process. In the aim to provide one with a better understanding of and insight of change management. Question 1 Rollin and Christine Glaser (1992) the five elements that contribute to the level of a team’s effectiveness over time. These are: †¢ Team mission, planning and goal setting; †¢ Team roles; †¢ Team operating processes; †¢ Team interpersonal relationships; and †¢ Inter team relations. Team mission planning and goal setting The most effective teams have a strong sense of their purpose, organize their work around that purpose, and plan and set goals in line with that purpose. Teams and individuals within teams must have a clear understanding of their objectives. Clarity of objectives together with a common understanding and agreement of these objectives are fundamental. Locke and Latham have identified that the very act of goal setting was a prime motivator for a team; the more your team sets clear goals the more likely it is to succeed. When implementing clear goal setting in a team it will increase the effectiveness ratio. Clear goals are even more substantial when teams are involved in change, partially because unless they know where they are going  they are unlikely to get there, and partly because a strong sense of purpose can mitigate some of the more harmful effects of change. Team roles The team should comprehend their own and other team members roles, and how these link to achieving the team objective. This becomes even more important with teams based remotely and some that are part-time working. The best way for a team to achieve its goals is for the team to be structured logically around those goals. Individual team members need to have clear roles and accountabilities. They need to have a clear understanding not only of what their individual role is, but also what the roles and accountabilities of other team members are. Clear roles have two useful functions. It contributes to a clear sense of purpose and it provides a supportive framework for task accomplishment. Team operating processes A team needs to have certain enabling processes in place for people to carry out their work together. These processes can be seen as ground rules for a team to adhere to. Certain things need to be placed that will allow the task to be achieved in a way that is as efficient and as effective as possible. Processes deals with the issues and decisions and how the team will respond to them in an efficient and effective way without disrupting the work process within the team. During the change process when team change typically puts pressures and priorities it can isolate people away from the team, the team operating processes can act like a lubricant, enabling a smooth healthy team to continually function. Areas that a team need actively label by discussing and agreeing include: †¢ Frequency, timing and agenda of meetings; †¢ Problem-solving and decision-making methodologies; †¢ Ground rules; †¢ Procedures for dealing with conflict when it occurs; †¢ Reward mechanisms for individuals contributing to team goals; †¢ Type and style of review process. Team interpersonal relationships To encourage team members to communicate with one another, share information, communicate openly, respect differences, which will increase relationships and understandings within the team. This all helps to build trust and a better working atmosphere. To achieve clear understanding of goals and roles, the team needs to work together to agree and clarify them. Operating processes must also be discussed and agreed. To achieve this level of communication, the interpersonal relationships within the team need to be in a relatively healthy state. Allowing for open communication that is assertive and task focused, as well as creating opportunities for giving and receiving feedback aimed at creating development. High levels of trust within a team are the foundation for coping with conflict. Inter-team relations Regular communication flows between teams are essential as they help to keep up with changing situations and ensure the right thing is being delivered. Teams cannot work in isolation with expecting in achieving their organizational objectives. The nature of organizations today are complex, sophisticated and with increasing loose and permeable boundaries. Teams need to connect more. It is also because the environment is changing faster and is more complex, so keeping in touch with information outside of your own team is a basic survival strategy. Question 2 IT MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES †¢ Business deployment: A systematical procedure of implementing an activity, processes, programs, or systems to all concerning areas of an organization to achieve a particular outcome. Communicate the value offered by emerging IT organisations. This needs to be coupled with the use of IT teams, with good knowledge of IT, to improve IT solutions. Examination of the potential business value of new, emerging IT Utilization of multidisciplinary teams throughout the organization Effective working relationships among line managers and IT staff Technology transfer, where appropriate, of successful IT applications Platforms and services Adequacy of IT-related knowledge of line managers throughout the organization Visualizing the value of IT investments throughout the organization Appropriateness of IT policies Appropriateness of IT sourcing decisions Effectiveness of IT measurement systems †¢ External networks: The network outside a team’s internal network environment which can’t be controlled by the team or the organization. These needs are to create close partnerships with external companies to create more organisational awareness. Existence of electronic links with the organization’s customers Existence of electronic links with the organization’s suppliers Collaborative alliances with external partners (vendors, systems integrators, Competitors) to develop IT-based products and processes. †¢ Line technology leadership: Line technology leadership is a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task within the IT management environment. It is having the ability in organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal. Users such as line managers and senior managers need to participate actively in leading IT  initiatives. Line managers’ ownership of IT projects within their domains of business responsibility Ability of employees throughout the organization to serve as Project Leaders. †¢ Process adaptiveness: The ability to change and adapt suitably and accordingly to suit the IT climate and are able to conform to the new conditions by means of modification. It is also about the companies track record in restructuring its processes, and the existence of an environment where employees can find and explore the functionality of IT systems. Ability of employees throughout the organization to learn about and subsequently explore the functionality of installed IT tools and Applications restructuring of business processes, where appropriate, throughout the organization Visualizing organizational activities throughout the organization. †¢ IT planning IT planning is the process of thinking about and organizing the activities required to achieve a desired goal within an information technology environment. It involves the creation and maintenance of a Strategic plan. The thought process is essential to the creation and refinement of an IT plan in relation to strategic planning, or integration of it with other plans. It combines with developments with the preparation of scenarios of how to react to them. Integration of business strategic planning and IT strategic planning Clarity of vision regarding how IT contributes to business value Effectiveness of IT planning throughout the organization Effectiveness of project management practices. †¢ IT infrastructure IT infrastructure is a combined set of hardware, software, networks, facilities, etc. In order to develop, test, deliver, monitor, control or support IT services. It controls the restructuring, design and architecture of data and networks etc. It is also about the appropriateness and flexibility of the underlying infrastructure which allows innovative IT practices to be emerged. restructuring of IT work processes, where appropriate Appropriateness of data architecture Appropriateness of network architecture Knowledge of and adequacy of the organization’s IT skill base Consistency of object (data, process, rules) definitions Effectiveness of software development practices. Question 3 Growth A lot of commercial mergers and acquisitions are about growing and expansion. Growth normally involves acquiring new customers. Merging or acquiring another company enables a faster way of growth, which detours around the unnecessary, long, tedious and uncertainty process of internally generated growth. It brings with it the risks and challenges of understanding the intended benefits of this activity. The appeal of immediate revenue growth must be weighed up against the negatives of asking management to run an even larger company. Massmart a South African firm has merged with American giants Wal-Mart in hopes to create more and new customers. It can also be about getting access to facilities, brands, trademarks, technology or even employees. This strategy was used to implement growth and expansion in this particular industry. Synergy It’s the cooperation of two or more organizations to produce a combined effect greater than when they were separate . If two organizations are  thought to have synergy, this indicates the potential ability of the two to be more successful when merged than they were apart. This usually translates into: Operating synergies are those synergies that allow firms to increase their operating income from existing assets ,increase growth or both. †¢ Growth in revenues through a newly created or strengthened product or service (hard to achieve) †¢ Cost reductions in core operating processes through economies of scale (easier to achieve) †¢ Financial synergies such as lowering the cost of capital (cost of borrowing, flotation costs) †¢ More competent, clearer governance (as in the merger of two hospitals). However, there may be other gains. Some acquisitions can be motivated by the belief that the acquiring company has better management skills, and can therefore man age the acquired company’s assets and employees more successfully in the long term and more profitably. Mergers and acquisitions can also be about strengthening quite specific areas, such as boosting research capability, or strengthening the distribution network. Diversification Diversification is about growing business outside the company’s traditional industry. This type of merger or acquisition was very popular during the third wave in the 1960s (see box). Although General Electric (GE) has flourished by following a strategy that embraced both diversification and divestiture, many companies following this course have been far less successful. Diversification may result from a company’s need to develop a portfolio through nervousness about the earning potential of its current markets, or through a desire to enter a more profitable line of business. The latter is a tough target, and economic theory suggests that a diversification strategy to gain entry into more profitable areas of business will not be successful in the long run (see Gaughan, 2002 for more explanation of this). A classic recent example of this going wrong is Marconi, which tried to diversify by buying US telecoms businesses. Unfortunately, this was just before the whole teleco ms market crashed, and Marconi suffered badly from this strategy. Integration to achieve economic gains or better services Another increasingly common motive for merger and acquisition activity is to achieve horizontal integration. A company may decide to merge with or acquire a competitor to gain market share and increase its marketing strength. Public sector organizations may merge purely to achieve cost savings (often a guiltily held motivation) or to enhance partnership working in the service of customers. Vertical integration is also an attraction. A company may decide to merge with or acquire a customer or a supplier to achieve at least one of the following: †¢ A dependable source of supply; †¢ The ability to demand specialized supply; †¢ Lower costs of supply; †¢ Improved competitive position. An example of this in South Africa is when Glaxo-Smith Kline (GSK) one of the largest pharmaceutical company worldwide decided to merge with Aspen Pharmaceuticals (Largest Pharmaceutical Company in South Africa) in order to get a better hold of its market position in Africa and by obtaining tenders and contracts by the government to supply local communities within South Africa generic medication and also anti-retrovirals. Defensive measures Some mergers are defensive and are a response to other mergers that threaten the commercial position of a company. Pressure to do a deal, any deal  There is often tremendous pressure on the CEO to reinvest cash and grow reported earnings (Selden and Colvin, 2003). He or she may be being advised to make the deal quickly before a competitor does, so much so that the CEO’s definition of success becomes completion of the deal rather than the longer-term programme of achieving intended benefits. This is dangerous because those merging or acquiring when in this frame of mind can easily overestimate potential revenue increases or costs savings. In short, they can get carried away. Feldmann and Spratt (1999) warn of the seductive nature of merger and acquisition activity. ‘Executives everywhere, but most particularly those in the world’s largest corporations and institutions, have a knack for falling prey to their own hype and promotion.  Implementation is simply a detail and shareholder value is just around the corner. This is quite simply delusional thinking.’ Question 4 There are various views about the role a leader should play in the change process †¢ The machine metaphor implies that the leader sits at the top of the organization, setting goals and driving them through to completion. †¢ The political system metaphor implies that the leader needs to become the figurehead of a powerful coalition which attracts followers by communicating a compelling and attractive vision, and through negotiation and bargaining. †¢ The organism metaphor says the leader’s primary role is that of coach, counsellor and consultant. †¢ The flux and transformation metaphor says the leader is a facilitator of emergent change. Different types of leaders have different types of role. Local line leaders These are the front-line managers who design the products and services and make the core processes work. Without the commitment of these people, no significant change will happen. These people are usually very focused on their own teams and customers. They rely on network leaders to link them with other parts of the organization, and on executive leaders to create the right infrastructure for good ideas to emerge and take root. Executive leaders These are management board members. Senge does not believe that all change starts here. Rather, he states that these leaders are responsible for three key things: designing the right innovation environment and the right infrastructure for assessment and reward, teaching and mentoring local line leaders, and serving as role models to demonstrate their commitment to values and purpose. Network leaders Senge makes the point that the really significant organizational challenges occur at the interfaces between project groups, functions and teams. Network leaders are people who work at these interfaces. They are guides, advisors, active helpers and accessors (helping groups of people to get resource from elsewhere), working in partnership with line leaders. They often have the insight to help local line leaders to move forward and make changes happen across the organization. The interconnections are hard to achieve in reality. We have observed the following obstacles to achieving smooth interconnection between the different roles: †¢ Executive leaders are busy, hard-to-get-hold-of people who can become quite disconnected from their local line leaders. †¢ Executive leaders and local line leaders rarely meet face to face and communicate by e-mail, if at all. †¢ Network leaders, such as internal consultants or process facilitators, are often diverted from their leadership roles by requests either to perform expert tasks or to implement HR-led initiatives. †¢ Network leaders may be busy and effective, but are usually undervalued as leaders of change. They often have to battle to get recognized as important players in the organization. Senge’s model recognizes the need for all three types of leader, and the need for connectivity between different parts of the organization if change is desired. Conclusion: It’s more appropriate in anticipating objections than to spend your time putting out fires,(prevention is better than cure) and understanding how to overcome resistance to change is a essential part of any change management plan. Expecting resistance to change and planning for it from the start of your change management course of action will allow you to effectively and effectively manage objections. Not dealing with change proactively is one of the larger downfalls. In the end all sources of resistance to change need to be acknowledged and employee’s emotions validated in order to move forward with the change. Index Page Glossary of terms Introduction Question 1- Rollin and Christine Glaser (1992) five elements to improve team effectiveness Question 2- Discussing five categories of IT management competences Question 3- Reasons for mergers and acquisitions in reference to South Africa Question 4- Roles leaders play in the change process Conclusion Bibliography and References Glossary of terms Restructuring: This type of corporate action is usually made when there are significant problems in a company, which are causing some form of financial harm and putting the overall business in jeopardy. The hope is that through restructuring, a company can eliminate financial harm and improve the business Acquisition: An act of purchase of one company by another. Merger: The combining of two or more companies, generally by offering the stockholders of one company securities in the acquiring company. Change: The act or instance of making or becoming different. Resistance: The refusal to accept or comply with something, the attempt to prevent something by action or argument. Cognitive: The mental process of knowing, including aspects such as awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgment. References and bibliographies Cameron ,E, Green ,M. â€Å"Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models Tools and Techniques of Organizational Change†. Kogan Page Publishers, (2012) Kotter, J. (July 12, 2011). â€Å"Change Management vs. Change Leadership -What’s the Difference?† Filicetti, John (August 20, 2007). â€Å"Project Management Dictionary†. Conner, Daryl (August 15, 2012). â€Å"The Real Story of the Burning Platform†. Anderson, D. & Anderson, L.A. (2001). Beyond Change Management: Advanced Strategies for Today’s Transformational Leaders.