Databases Essays - Database Management Systems, Data Management

Databases The Many Faces of Databases Large databases can contain hundreds of interrelated files. Fortunately a database management system can shield users from the complex inner workings of the system, providing them with only the information and commands they need to get their jobs done. In fact, a well-designed database puts on different faces for different classes of users. Downsizing and Decentralizing The earliest file management programs could only do batch processing, which required users to accumulate transactions and feed them into computers in large batches. These batch systems weren't able to provide the kind of immediate feedback we expect today. Today disk drives, inexpensive memory, and sophisticated software have allowed interactive processing to replace batch processing for most applications. Users can now interact with data through terminals, viewing and changing values in real time. Batch processing is still used for printing periodic bills, invoices, and reports and for making backup copies of data files. But for applications that demand immediacy, such as airline reservations, banking transactions, and the like, interactive, multiuser database systems have taken over. Until recently most databases were housed in mainframe computers. But for a growing number of organizations, the traditional centralized database on a mainframe system is no longer the norm. Some companies use a client/server approach: Database software in client desktop computers works with files stored in central server databases on mainframes, minicomputers, or desktop computers. Other companies use distributed databases that use data strewn out across networks on several different computers. From the user's point of view, the differences between these approaches may not be apparent. Tomorrow's Databases? Many computer scientists believe that the relational data model may be supplanted in the next decade by an object-oriented data model, and that most future databases will be object-oriented databases rather than relational databases. Instead of storing records in tables and hierarchies, object-oriented databases store software objects that contain procedures (or instructions) along with data. Object-oriented databases often are used in conjunction with object-oriented programming languages. Tomorrow's databases will be able to respond intelligently to commands and queries issued in natural human language. Rules of Thumb: Dealing with Databases A few common-sense rules when working with file managers or relational database management systems are: o Choose the right tool for the job. o Think about how you'll get the information out before you put it in. o Start with a plan, and be prepared to change it. o Make your data consistent. o Databases are only as good as their data. o Query with care. o If at first you don't succeed, try another approach. NO SECRETS: COMPUTERS AND PRIVACY The Privacy Problem Businesses and government agencies spend billions of dollars every year to collect and exchange information about you and me. For most of us this data is out of sight and out of mind. But every day lives are changed because of these databases. Big Brother and Big Business With modern networked computers it's easy to compile profiles by combining information from different database files. When files share a unique field, record matching is trivial and quick. Sometimes the results are clearly beneficial. But these benefits come with at least three problems: o Data errors are common. o Data can become nearly immortal. o Data isn't secure. Protection against invasion of privacy is not explicitly guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Legal scholars agree that the right to privacy-freedom from interference into the private sphere of a person's affairs-is implied by other constitutional guarantees, although debates rage about exactly what this means. Federal and state laws provide various forms of privacy protection, but most of those laws were written years ago. When it comes to privacy violation, technology is far ahead of the law. Rules of Thumb: Your Private Rights Here are a few tips for protecting your right to privacy: o Your Social Security number is yours; don't give it away. o Don't give away information about yourself. o Say no to direct mail and phone solicitations. o To maximize your privacy, minimize your profile. o If you think there's incorrect or damaging information about you in a file, find out. o Support organizations that fight for privacy rights.

Admission Essay Topics Attention-Grabbing Facts to Help You Craft a Top-Notch Paper

Admission Essay Topics Attention-Grabbing Facts to Help You Craft a Top-Notch Paper The process of successfully gaining admission into an academic institution is getting harder day-by-day as the number of candidates applying for a limited number of spaces is growing. So, now it is the right time to show some unique talent and improve your chances to get admission in a college or university. It always becomes interesting for a student to study if he gets admission in the institution of hi choice. How to become successful? How to prove that you are the one who deserves to get admission? You can show your talent by writing a stellar personal essay as part of your college application. One of the best ways to learn how to write a college application essay is through reading other successful admissions essays. An admission essay topic is merely of 500 words, but it changes the whole scenario of a college application and can play a decent role in creating the difference between acceptance and rejection. Your admission virtually depends on how you write your admission essay. A good admission essay shows the admissions committee how you are different from everybody else. Admission essays provide information about you that test scores, grades, and extracurricular activities cannot. Admission essay topics can be chosen freely and they are available in plenty. You can narrate your favorite activity, tell about your point of view on a particular subject, describe your future plans; memorable incidents form your personal life or even a story about your dog. An ideal admission essay must attract the reader. Good admission essay are always eye catching. Admission essay must be written in such a way that it captures the reader’s attention and shows that you are exceptional. Students often make mistakes while writing their essays. Writing a good admission essay is not a hard job but competition makes it stressful. On one hand, students have lack of information about the subject they are writing and on the other hand some students suffer due to carelessness and overconfidence. At that moment all that they need is a helping hand which must guide them through the way. At CustomWritings.com we have professional writers who can prove to be good guides for you. They are specialized in different fields. So, if you have trouble in writing your admission essay you can contact customwritings.com any time and we will gladly assist you.

Green Washing Labels in Hotels Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Green Washing Labels in Hotels - Research Paper Example With the disguise behind greenwashing on the rise, it remains difficult to tell which hotels are sincerely green. This is why governments have established bodies to play the role of designing certification programs to determine the green-worthiness of companies. Therefore, potential clients should not give in to empty green jargons but seek to see the accreditation offered to the hotel or company concerned. Beyond accreditation, knowledgeable customers can still reach judgments by making personal observations on the general operations of a hotel. Despite the greedy benefits achieved off greenwashing, a few hotels have been exemplary in their commitment to eco-friendliness. Behind it all, such eco-committed hotels are the ones that hold the upper hand in earning customer loyalty. Green Washing or green sheen is a green marketing or green PR strategy used deceptively to promote products, policies, or aims of the organization as environmentally-friendly (Pierre, 2012). Proofs of greenwashing in an organization or a company are in spending. Organizations and companies that use greenwashing use more time and money advertising their concern for the environment than time spent on environmentally sound practices (Tresidder & Hirst, 2012). There are different efforts aimed at greenwashing. A company or an organization can change the label; a name of a product to suggest natural environment on a product that is environmentally harmful (Middleton & Clarke, 2001). A product may have toxic chemical but as a company or an organization use multimillion-dollar advertising to give it an environmentally-friendly image (Mulvaney, 2011). This paper tries to argue that greenwashing is a tool used by hotels to attract more customers. It discusses the history of the green washing concept and gives the origin of the term greenwashing.  Ã‚  

Transgendered' honesty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Transgendered' honesty - Essay Example Therefore, the paper establishes a discussion that seeks to determine whether transpeople are oppressed in the society, and the nature of oppression. It will also offer recommendations on how the problem of oppression to the transpeople should be solved, and respond to philosophers such as Talia Bettecher, in relation to the existence of transphobia. On the other hand, the term transsexual is a term referring to the individual using hormonal and surgical expertise to change their body in a way interpreted as chances with sex assignment of birth, and may be readily understandable in conditions of the conventional convictions of sexed bodies. This term has been conventionally related to a psychiatric conviction like gender dysphoria, and it is associated by the nature of being "trapped in the wrong body" though it is redeployed in ways that are amenable to transgender. The term transsexual relates to a deep conviction that gender identifies a match of the appearance or anatomy, which t hey desire to present to the world in a different gender to the one assigned at during birth. This is a condition that is referred to as dysphoria, whereby people undergoes hormone therapy based on the birth gender and the gender they are willing to acquire, and others undergo surgery in order to conform to their gender identity. Transsexualism has been an ancient part of the human experience, and it is not considered a medical illness or a mental disorder since it is a desire to alter the expression of gender identity (Bettcher, 46). People have the rights of expressing their gender through changes in their physical appearance, which entail hormones and reconstructive surgery. Therefore, there is significant distress experienced by those, who are denied the rights to exercise control over their body in terms of expressing their gender, through accessibility of medical services. In fact, they suffer from reduction of the social economic and sexual function capacity; thus, they healt h care providers engaged in transsexual services should charge a reasonable fee for these services. Furthermore, there is a form of discrimination associated with provision of sex reassignment services, which are based on sexual orientation, marital status and physical appearance of patients. Transphobia is a term referring to the fear of transpeople, and the negative attitudes, which relates to hatred, loathing, rage, moral indignation that is harbored towards Transpeople because of gender enactment. Nevertheless, these attitudes are attributed to violence against Transpeople, and this is evident through fourteen murders of transpeople reported during 2003 in United States and thirty eights in other places of the world; thus, there is a consistency of high degree in relation to transphobic abuse against transpeople, whereby eighty percent of reported cases, thirty percent is physical assault. Transpeople have been subjected to a form of oppression about their privacy and dignity, i n a situation where they are involved as victims of crime in a prosecution. For instance, the reports made indicate that victims of physical transphobic hate crimes avoid exposing themselves as trans through the nature of the crime. Moreover, there is fear associated with living with neighbors, employers, community, when they have permanently gained their gender role, due to the chances of being discovered as trans. In this case, the fear of being

DQWeek 5 technology essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

DQWeek 5 technology - Essay Example In fact, it is expected that this technology will become more persistent in every business as well as personal lives. At the present, the implementation of biometric authentication technology can be seen all around our lives for example at homes where normally an active biometric authentication sensor is used. When children return home and make use of the biometric sensor after playing in the mud and dirt whole day. In this scenario, this sensor can detect the dirt in hidden areas of the body to suggest much better wash. In the future, the use of biometric authentication sensor can be expected for car system where a family hoping to go anywhere. In this scenario, children will not be able to ignite the car without parents’ authentication to start the car (Reid, 2003; Kaschte, 2005). There might be some disadvantages of this technology but its advantages are so important and people want to benefit from them that the disadvantages will be more and more reduced in the future. In short, it can be said that the applications of biometric authentication technology will increase to a greater extent in the future. In fact, this technology will be supported among a variety of equipment by the some enhancement of the technologies and the decrease in the prices for software and hardware. In the future, it is expected that the biometric authentication will be used in various other areas of life such as ATMs, PDAs, access to Personal Computers and mobile phones, access to cars and buildings, DRM systems and many more we cannot even imagine (Kaschte, 2005; Bhattacharyya et al., 2009). From the above discussion it has been clear that the future of biometric authentication technology is bright but a number of security attacks on biometric authentication technology would also be increased in the future. It is possible that in future new and more sophisticated techniques emerge for breaking in biometric authentication systems. It is expected that in the future there will e merge a number of techniques that can be used to evade this technology (Waqas, 2009; Riha & Matyas, 2000). Moreover, some researches show that biometric systems are not ideal for security and as a result sometimes serious issues and errors can occur. In fact, with this technology it is possible that an authorized individual can be rejected by the system or that a non-authorized individual can be able to get authentication into the system. In the future, a variety of vulnerability techniques can be generated for biometric authenticated systems that can include fraud by incorporating some fooling and fraudulent methods (Waqas, 2009; Riha & Matyas, 2000).. Furthermore, another major issue with biometric authentication system is lack of support for platforms and systems. In fact, this kind of support is extremely limited and current standards are not properly followed. In this scenario, there can emerge a number of security attacks. In addition, it can lead to a great deal drastic situa tion where an attacker can smash the overall security of the system (Waqas, 2009; Riha & Matyas, 2000). DQ2: Sec Products Find a commercial or shareware product related to this weeks topic, describe how it works, and discuss its security. This section presents an overview of the telecom system security. For telecom system security the protection of telecommunications applications and systems is a significant scenario for numerous causes.

Film Noir Elements In The Movie Memento Film Studies Essay

Film Noir Elements In The Movie Memento Film Studies Essay There is yet to be a definition to be created to accurately capture the genre of Noir in film. The concept was first coined by French film critics who noticed the trend of how dark, downbeat and black the looks and themes were of many American crime and detective films released in France to theatres following the war(Film Noir). The term noir is a French word which literally means black or dark. The connotation attached to the term later on came to be those films which depicted crime, strangeness, cruelty, brutality, violence and similar other attributes. The period for Noir films flourished in the 1940s up to the 1950s, which were aptly called the classic noir period in movies. Later on, from the 1960s up to the current times, other types of noir films were conceptualized like the neo-noir and the science fiction noir, all concepts of which were derived from or echoed the original classic noir genus. Memento is one movie which typifies the film noir genre in that it has numerous elements which categorically makes it as one. Primarily, the existence of a lonely, confused and troubled protagonist (Schoenherr) is there. Add to this the other elements like the black-and-white scenes, the struggle, the seemingly bleak situations, the crimes perpetrated, the underground investigations, the voice-overs of the lead character, evil, paranoia and deception among other things. An interesting feature of this film though is the story unfolding from its end going up to the supposed initial scenes which took place. It is not narrated exactly in a circular motion but rather they are presented in chunks of about 10 minutes each. Aside from this, there is the alternate presentation of the colored and black-and-white formats to add narration and further expound on the sequence of events. Film noir operates on specific social, cultural and historical contexts. In this particular film, the social context used is that of the protagonist becoming a different man after the rape and murder of his wife. Leonard or Lenny loses his memory after he shoots his wifes rapist and he is shoved and clubbed by the rapists companion. His head hits the bathroom mirror, and from then on, he becomes afflicted with Anterograde Amnesia or not being able to retain his short-term memory. Lennys memories before the accident are intact and his last memories are of his wife being murdered, hence, his ever- enduring quest to avenge her death. Most people now think of Lenny as a freak for not being able to remember thoughts, names, faces and events which are a regular part of the memory of normal people since he forgets his thoughts and the things he does after 15 minutes or so. However, Lenny struggles to keep his sanity by taking Polaroid pictures and immediately labeling them, writing down his ideas, and tattooing the more important thoughts on his body. Having no family to call his own, he lives in a motel room and is suspicious of everyone. His lifes direction is motivated by vengeance and a major part of the film is spent on this desire to kill. The cultural context of the film is the type of culture that was used in the movie. The setting is sometime during the 2000s in Nevada. It is not shown if the protagonist had a lot of friends before the incident which led to his condition, but it is presumed that it was probably a case of not wanting to be identified with someone with a stigma of mental illness. The only friend who was identified as someone who knew Lenny immediately after the accident was Teddy, who was the one who helped Lenny to find and kill the original murderer of his wife, and then again Jimmy G. who was also killed by Lenny. As such, it meant that the culture held a discriminating attitude towards this mental illness. Pertaining to historical context, the practice of tattooing as a body art was prevalent from the late 1990s up to the 2000s. This was a period when tattooing was no longer considered as objects of diversion done in prison cells but rather as an art form to express oneself. In the movie, the lead character made use of tattoos on his body to remind himself of essential facts/details which he always wanted to be reminded of. Although not used as an art form, the existence of tattoo parlors in the locality denoted an acceptance of the practice of self-expression, which worked quite well for Lenny. It was also a time when Polaroids were popularly used and Leonard fully exhausted the Polaroids capability to assist him in remembering people and places with his depressing mental condition. According to Filmsite.org, the primary moods of classic film noir were melancholy, alienation, bleakness, disillusionment, disenchantment, pessimism, ambiguity, moral corruption, evil, guilt, desperation and paranoia (Film Noir). These themes are evident in the seclusion, isolation and omnipresent monologues of the lead character who wanted to establish the links to find meaning in his life. A wide array of emotions ranging from suspicion, confusion, naivete, loneliness, alienation, hatred, and bewilderment among others were efficiently delivered by the lead actor to the viewers who empathized with him in his daily struggle to survive. Noir movies characteristically have a protagonist who is usually reclusive, generally disturbed and commonly pessimistic. The lead character in Memento is not the typical protagonist since he lives his life everyday like a clean new slate. Just like the first part of this movie where a Polaroid picture was being undeveloped, Lenny lived his life always careworn to find out what he had been doing and what he should be doing next. His ultimate aim was to find his wifes killer, a task which Teddy assists him with. Although he is somewhat of the withdrawn type, Lenny is still enthusiastic about life and is confident that his Polaroids, notes and tattoos are taking him somewhere. Different noir styles were also apparent throughout the film. One is that storylines were often elliptical, non-linear and twisting (Film Noir) which connotes the unique presentation customarily associated with noir. Regular films are often presented in a manner where the story unfolds conventionally from beginning to end. The story told backwards and in bits and pieces was a unique way of entrancing the audience into being an active participant in the life of Leonard, trying to come up with his/her own conclusions or links to previous scenes and events. Amnesia suffered by the protagonist was a common plot device (Film Noir) which was obviously the illness which the lead character was afflicted with. This sort of justified the way with which Lenny killed the possible murderers without remorse or guilt since his brain was devoid of any emotions relating to pity and mercy. Furthermore, it is said that the protagonists in film noir were normally driven by their past or by human weaknes s to repeat former mistakes(Film Noir) which is what happens to Lenny as the film unfolds. It is only later in the movie that it is revealed that Lenny had already killed his wifes murderer, and Teddy had even taken a Polaroid shot of him after the said killing. It was due to his mental condition that Lenny was not able to remember the incident which Teddy later used to his advantage in getting rid of Jimmy G. who was a drug dealer. The original story of Memento was an idea brought forward by the brother of the movies director, Jonathan Nolan in the late 1990s. The storyline was finished after several months and director Christopher Nolan came up with the idea that he wanted to tell the movie backwards, hence the screenplay was manipulated in a way where shot sequences were cut up into small bits. In between the colored takes were the non-colored shots to denote two timelines of what was the past and the present respectively. At some point towards the end of the movie, the black-and-white scene becomes colored specifically when Lenny takes the Polaroid picture of the dead Jimmy G, who was the second murder suspect endorsed by Teddy. This signified the beginning of a new chapter in the life of Leonard, and the true commencement of the story which somehow tragically ends with the death of its instigator, Teddy. The artistry presented in the film being of a different genre is as previously mentioned largely seen in the storys presentation to the viewer. The lead actor was also shown in black-and-white scenes and colored ones which showed contrasting characters one, the rugged, unshaven, unkempt, menacing and confused character who shoots the gun at Jimmy G. in black-and-white, and the other, the suit-clad formally dressed and more confident Lenny who drives a Jaguar in colored film. This implies that the main character had good and bad traits, although the bad traits were more emphasized but later exposed to be manipulations done by some of the other characters in the plot. One of these characters is Natalie who represents the femme fatale element in the movie, and who adds further intricacies to the plot and manipulates Lenny into a mental tug-of-war with Teddys statements. The cinematography of the film was excellent as emphasis was done where it was necessary, and accurate illumination was also appropriately achieved. Editing was also good especially in the cuts of the film that had to be fed in several lumps, and in two different formats of color and BW. Continuity in the film was smooth and flowed effortlessly. The film scoring was suitable and elicited empathy from the viewer in the scenes where dialogues were not really necessary. The closest thing to special effects in the film was the way that the first sequence was presented to the viewer where the Polaroid shot was being undeveloped instead of the other way around. It goes back up to the time Lenny shoots Teddy and the latter was screaming for his life. Acting in the film was superb. Guy Pearce as Leonard was able to deliver all the emotions expected from him and thus elicited the required compassion from the viewer. Teddy, Natalie, Sammy Jankins and all the other actors also did a good job in making the plot more focused on the plight of the main character, thereby allowing Lenny to stand out. The movie Memento has some allusions to significant theories and concepts. One of these is the concept of Cultural Materialism. The most active proponent of Cultural Materialism is Marvin Harris and the premise of this theory is that the social life of a human being is a direct response to problems arising from his earthly existence. Leonards actions can be rationalized as a practice of cultural materialism because he is merely responding to his problems instead of taking a proactive role in it. This is due in large part to his illness which he cannot control and which allows him to be manipulated by some shady characters in the film. Existentialism is another concept which is apparent in this movie. The plot evolves around the lead character, Leonard, who tries to find meaning in his existence as he grapples with his affliction rendering him confused and stressed at most times. He tries hard to think and look back but cannot, and this is what leads him to try to devise ways in which he could remember things, events, places and people who have somehow played an important role in his life, after the accident which claimed his short-term memory. Lastly, there is the hint of self-determination as seen in the main character as he tries his best to make decisions without the influence of others. Unfortunately, he was not aware of the subtle approach which was used by the movies disreputable characters who were always one step ahead of him in his plans. Still, it was revealed near the movies end that Lenny was also utilizing his selective memory to manipulate the situation in such a way as to be able to create and continually re-create his motives for vengeance. Since finding the possible suspects to his wifes murder was the only impetus which kept him alive, it was a need he had to satiate, and hence, an inspiration which kept him continually in pursuit of.

The Pros and Cons of NAFTA Essay -- The North American Free Trade Ag

Introduction The North American Free Trade Agreement, commonly known as the NAFTA, is a trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico launched to enable North America to become more competitive in the global marketplace (Amadeo, 2011). The NAFTA is regarded as â€Å"one of the most successful trade agreements in history† for its impact on increases in agricultural trade and investment among the three contracting nations (North American Free Trade Agreement, 2011). Supporters and opponents of the NAFTA have argued the effects of the agreement on participating nations since its inception; yet, close examination proves that NAFTA has had a relatively positive impact on the economies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Although the NAFTA is not without problems, the trade agreement has leveled the playing field for the three participating nations and increased cross-border trade, positively contributing to globalization. The success or failure of the NAFTA impacts level of employment, the economy, and the environment of the three contracting nations. With the implementation of trade agreements such as the NAFTA, the world has become more interconnected, and citizens must be aware of the affects such trade agreements have on their living standards and job security. Features of the NAFTA The NAFTA was implemented on January 1, 1994 to remove tariff trade barriers between the United States, Canada, and Mexico by providing duty-free trade in multiple classes of goods (Barufaldi, 2008). The NAFTA creates a free trade area where all barriers to trade between member countries are removed. Many of the tariffs affecting agricultural trade among the participating nations were eliminated at the inception of the agreeme... ...ttp://www.ustr.gov/sites/default/files/NAFTA-Myth-versus-Fact.pdf North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). (n.d.). USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). Retrieved September 15, 2011, from http://www.fas.usda.gov/itp/policy/nafta/nafta.asp North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). (n.d.). Public Citizen. Retrieved September 16, 2011, from http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=531 Teslik, L. H. (2009, July 7). NAFTA's Economic Impact. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved September 13, 2011, from www.cfr.org/economics/naftas-economic-impact/p15790 USTR- North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) | Office of the United States Trade Representative. (n.d.). (2011). Office of the United States Trade Representative. Retrieved September 16, 2011, from http://www.ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/north-american-free-trade-agreement-nafta

Citibank Credit Card in Asia Pacific

Launching the Credit Card in Asia Pacific Ankit Bhardwaj Apaar Malik Neha Sharma Shashwat Bhanti Sidharth Shah Introduction ? ? ? ? ? ? Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York. Citibank has retail banking operations in more than 100 countries and territories around the world. Founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, ownership and management of the bank was taken over by Moses Taylor, a protege of John Jacob Astor and one of the giants of the business world in the 19th century. In the 1960s the bank entered into the credit card business The card, known as â€Å"The Everything Card†, was promoted as a kind of East Coast version of the Bank Americard. ?Products: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? CitiOne Account Mortgage Power Citibank Auto Loan Citibank Ready Credit CitiGold Service Citi Phone Banking ATM Business Banking Citibank NRI Business International Personal Banking Citibank ·s presence Africa Europe Middle East Central America South America North America Asia Citibank ·s Net Income till 2008 Citibank ·s Assets/Liabilities ratio *The company is financially strong Case Introduction Credit Card Functioning Years in which Citibank entered countries. Population statistics Economic statistics Manager ¶s Opinion. ? Credit Card Functioning Card holder makes purchase at merchant Merchant submits transaction to merchant bank or acquiring company Cardholder ($100) Merchant ($100) Merchant Bank or Acquiring Company ($97) Credit issuer bills card holder for total of Transactions made in month ($100) Card holder makes full or partial payment to the card issuer (minimum to $100) Merchant bank or acquiring company reimburses merchant less merchant service charge Interchange network reimburses merchant Bank for amount of Transaction less interchange fee($98. 50) Merchant bank or acquiring company submits transactions to interchange network ($100) Credit Card Issuer $98. 50 ($100) Interchange Network ? Years of Citi Bank ¶s Entry in Asian Countries Hong Kong (1902) Taiwan (1964) Australia (1965) The Philippines (1902) Guam (1969) Singapore (1902) India (1902) Malaysia (1904) Indonesia (1918) Thailand (1967) Korea (1967) Population Statistics 797 300 800 300 250 200 167. 7 150 Population(In Millions) Urban Population(In Millions) 100 69 50 16. 514 0 5. 6 5 42 31 16. 9 6 2. 7 3 19. 8 14 11 61. 9 55 Countries Economy 12 11 9. 7 9. 8 8. 7 8 8 7. 6 7. 37. 4 6. 8 6 4. 8 4 4 3. 8 Growth Rate(In percentage) Inflation(In percentage) 8. 1 7. 3 10. 8 10 2 2 1. 5 1. 2 0 Manager ·s Opinions Bob Thornton(Country Manager- Indonesia) -> History of poor consumer payment on installment debt. -> High levels of fraud in the financial sector. > Legal infrastructure in inadequate. -> Small market for card product but a potentially large population of 180 mio. ? Dave Smith(Country Manager- Singapore) -> Small 2 mio population. -> Saturated card market with American Express. -> Late entry may result in losing money. ? Jaitirth Rao(Country Manager- India) -> Very large country with poor infrastructure. -> It ¶s a dog and delay it. ? ? Jeannine Fa rhi(Recently moved from USA to Asia) -> Poor implementation may lead to huge losses. -> Asian countries suffering from inefficient postal services. Launching the Card Market Entry Cost Card Business Operation Economics Customer Acquisition Success Probability Dollar Vs Local Currency Central Data Processing Focus on Existing Business Direct Mail Infrastructure Problem Market Entry Cost Green Field Market Development Direct Mail Take-Ones Direct Sales ¶ force Bind-Ins Market Acquisition Facilitates quick entry into market. Easily leverage existing Operations infrastructure and Human Resources in order to consolidate the market share. Choosing of right bank very critical. Very critical to manage the acquired organization ¶s workforce to match up Citi bank ¶s standards. Very difficult to divest in case of calamity. Cost implications in trainings. Card Business Operation Economics Setting a proper business Joining Fee. ? Setting a proper business Annual Fee. ? Right price to be set for Citi Bank ¶s credit card. ? Options to maintain a balance between Joining Fee and Annual Fee. ? Customer Acquisition Success Probability Prospects Reached 300000 2000000 30000 3000000 5330000 Response Number of Qualified Rate(%) RespondantsRespondants Respondants 2 1. 5 50 1 6000 30000 15000 30000 81000 4000 10000 10000 10000 34000 Card Holders 3200 8000 8000 8000 27200 Channels Direct Mail Unit Cost($) 1. 5 Take Ones 0. 25 Direct Sales 18000/Sales force person Bind Ins Total 0. 15 Only 0. 51% of success rate Dollar Vs Local Currency Advantages of Dollar as currency ? Disadvantages of Dollar Dollar would strengthen against the local currency due to its global usage. ? Extra charges for currency conversion. ? Fluctuation of exchange rate each day will hurt customers free expenditure. ? It is a global currency which is accepted everywhere. ? It is easily convertible at any bank. ? Paying in Dollars is treated by some people as a status symbol. Existing systems using Dollar as base currency and replication will not be difficult in other countries. Central data Processing Would slow down system response. ? System developers will be cut off from local markets. ? Local resources could be upgraded instead of spending on a new Centralized System. ? Focus on existing business Managers Advice in Asia pacific Focus on Existing Business Since lack of talent poo l available in the region Lack of Infrastructure to support such IT enabled product. Direct Mail Infrastructure Problem Postal Services is the backbone for Card delivery. Postal Services in Asia Pacific experience not satisfactory. ? Poor Logistics will only lead to dissatisfied customers. ? Business Problems ? Citibank wondered whether they could adopt a mass-market positioning to acquire enough credit card customers and still maintain its upmarket positioning with the current upscale branch banking customers Pricing the card too low would conflict with Citibank ¶s stated positioning however pricing it too high might mean low customer acceptance Citibank ¶s management were concerned that consumers ¶ attitudes and credit card usage patterns differed by country ? Country Profiles Australia Strengths ? Citibank considered as a Global Bank. ?Citibank making profits worldwide. ?Strong Financial backbone to launch a new product. Weakness ? Hold of Local Banks is very high. ?Austral ia is a saturated market Opportunity ? Western based developed economy ? AMEX and Diners club reputation is low ? High usage of credit card for travel and entertainment. Threat ? Hold of Local Banks is very high. ?Australia is a saturated market ? Lucrative offers already in market Hong Kong Strengths ? Citibank considered as a Global Bank. ?Citibank making profits worldwide. Strong Financial backbone to launch a new product. Weakness ? Hold of Local Banks is very high. ?Hong Kong is a saturated market Opportunity ? AMEX and Diners club reputation is low ? Rapid Industrialization. ?High annual average income. ?Active use of credit card Threat ? Hold of Local Banks is very high. ?Lucrative offers already in market. ?Hong Kong is a saturated market India Strengths ? Citibank considered as a Global Bank. ?Citibank making profits worldwide. ?Strong Financial backbone to launch a new product. Weakness ? 80% Population is in rural areas. ?Card acceptance is low. Political corruption is hi gh. ?Privatization not encouraged in 1980 ¶s. Opportunity ? Card considered as a prestigious owning. ?Higher income group will aspire. ?Credit Card penetration low. Threat ? Joining Fee and Annual fee low for local banks. ?Diners Club and AMEX already present with some market share. Indonesia Strengths ? Citibank considered as a Global Bank. ?Citibank making profits worldwide. ?Strong Financial backbone to launch a new product. Weakness ? Large National Debts. ?Political corruption. ?Banking Fraud already prevalent in country. ?Per Capita income is only $500. Opportunity ? Card considered as a prestigious owning. Threat ? 3 Banks already eating up the market chunk. Malaysia Strengths ? Citibank considered as a Global Bank. ?Citibank making profits worldwide. ?Strong Financial backbone to launch a new product. Weakness ? Politically unstable. ?Largely a rural country. ?Malaysian law very stringent towards credit card ownership. Opportunity ? Culturally acceptable to revolving credit. ?Large successful business population. ?Bank acquisition not very difficult. Threat ? AMEX with some handsome market share. ?AMEX already having a superior customer image. Foreign banks only were allowed 3 banks in Malaysia. Taiwan Strengths ? Citibank considered as a Global Bank. ?Citibank making profits worldwide. ?Strong Financial backbone to launch a new product. Weakness ? No infrastructure for new products. ?Culturally not acceptable to people to owe money. ?before 1989, laws restricted credit card business Opportunity ? Deregulation of credit allowed re cently. Threat ? 50% market share with AMEX. ?It was mostly cash oriented society. Singapore Strengths ? Citibank considered as a Global Bank. ?Citibank making profits worldwide. ?Strong Financial backbone to launch a new product. Weakness ? Minimum age requirements and income requirements. Opportunity ? Worlds largest centre for trading and services. ?High standard of living of people. ?Hold of Local banks very low. ?Card usage high in the country. Threat ? International banks having a good hold in the market. Philippines Strengths ? Citibank considered as a Global Bank. ?Citibank making profits worldwide. ?Strong Financial backbone to launch a new product. Weakness ? Political corruption. ?People awareness is very low. ?Only local currency and transactions to be adhered with. Opportunity ? Credit Card market is under development. Customer acceptance toward revolving credit. Threat ? AMEX having handsome market share. ?AMEX already having a superior customer image. ?Foreign banks only were allowed 3 banks in Philippines. Thailand Strengths ? Citibank considered as a Global Bank. ?Citibank making profits worldwide. ?Strong Financial backbone to launch a new product. Weakness ? No infrastructure for new product s. Opportunity ? High consumer affluence and spending. ?Not many Credit Card company working. Threat ? 50% market share with AMEX & Diners club. Korea Strengths ? Citibank considered as a Global Bank. ?Citibank making profits worldwide. Strong Financial backbone to launch a new product. Weakness ? No infrastructure for new products. ?Strict government regulations regarding Revolving credit. ?Only local currency card can be issued. Opportunity ? Growth in the existing Diners club market already existing in Korea. Threat ? Existing companies experiencing huge financial losses and labor problems. Positioning the Card Positioning the Citi Silver ? Positioning the Citi Gold Target market to be Upper Middle and High income population. ? Premium features with attractive offers on Air Travel and Shopping available with a high credit limit. A separate relationship manager to tackle customer issues. ? Target market to be Lower and Middle income population. ? Standard features of shopping and a lower credit limit. ? Customer care to take care of customer issues. Customer Acquisition Cost Infra, S/W Development, Cost/Card of mailing, Total Cost incurred correspondence, in acquiring 1 mio Advertising Cust Support, Merchant Cost/ Customers Costs/Country Liaison Total Cost customer direct cost customers 250000 250000 250000 250000 1600000 35000000 12000000 12000000 12000000 36600000 12000000 12000000 12000000 72600000 146. 48 48 48 72. 6 6000000 78600000 Income from Card Holders Citi Silver Card % customers 70% Citi Gold Card 30% 32 9600000 40 12000000 33000000 60100000 27100000 Joining fee 25 Total Joining fee 17500000 Annual fee 30 Total annual fee 21000000 Grand total Break Even No. of Years Total Cost —————-Total Income = No. of years for Break Even 78600000 —————-60100000 = 1. 3 years ? For reaching the break even it will take approx 1. 3 years for any country. Recommendations Countries to ENTER ? Singapore ? Malaysia ? Philippines ? Thailand ? Hong Kong ? Australia Countries NOT TO ENTER ? India ? Indonesia ? Taiwan ? Korea Recommendations Citibank should focus on Acquisition of a local Bank. ? There should be very minimal or low joining fee and a moderate Annual fee charged. ? The Bank should keep local currency as the currency of exchange. ? There should be a central as well as a local data processing system. ?

King Arthur Vs Zeus Essays - Mythology, Fiction, Religion

King Arthur Vs Zeus Essays - Mythology, Fiction, Religion King Arthur Vs Zeus Inside the compilation of mythical stories of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, retold by Roger Green, and Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of the Greek Myths, two major characters in each story that could be expressed in similar and contrasting ways are Arthur, the king and head of the knights of the Round Table, and Zeus, the supreme leader of all gods and mortals. Similar resemblances that can be found in both is their shadowy lineage, their major mortal flaws, and their nature to journey on epic quests. Even though they were very similar in some aspects, the two were also very different in other means. Arthur is much more kind to his people and cares about them, while Zeus does not view his subjects as worthy of him and treats them unjustly. An additional difference is Arthur is more mild and not taking harsh action all the time, though Zeus is known for being severe. There are many similarities as well as differences that are attributed to these two mythical characters. Arthur and Zeus can be noted for their mysterious childhood and ways they were treated at infancy. Both had prophesies of prosperity that led them into adulthood. When Arthur was born, Uther Pendragon, the leader of the Britons, killed a man and married his wife, Igrayne. Uther and Igrayne had one child, but not much longer after it was born, Merlin the enchanter took him away. Soon after, the boy was placed in the arms of Sir Ector, a noble knight. Later, the youth pulled the sword out of a stone that proclaimed that he was the king of all Britain. This young man would later on grow up to be King Arthur. Not unlike Arthur, Zeus also had a unnatural background. Before Zeus was born, there was a prophecy that stated that Cronos, the king of all gods, would be overthrown by one of his sons. When Zeus was born, he was concealed from his father. As time went by, Zeus waged a war against Cronos and defeated him. Though Zeus and Arthur came from entirely different locations and times, thei r childhoods were related on account of both of them being hazy. Even though some might not consider either of the two mortal, Arthur and Zeus had very notable human-like flaws. They both seemed to rush to judgements hastily, and were very passionate towards women. When Arthur hears about King Pellinore and how he is shamelessly killing knights, Arthur runs off to fight. Obviously, Arthur does not give himself time to think, and would have died if it was not for Merlin. Another example would be when Arthur runs off to the Castle of Tarn Wathelyne and pays no heed to Sir Gawains warnings. King Arthur ends up being tricked by Morgana Le Fay and would perish save a horrid woman who forced Sir Gawain to marry her for King Arthurs life. Many times King Arthur would have been killed if it werent for his friends such as Merlin and Sir Gawain. Zeus showed the same characteristic even though it played no part in death for himself. The mighty god jumped to his feet and killed when he found out that Ascelpsius was curing mortals headed to the underworld. Lat er, Zeus regretted his act of terror and brought Ascelpsius back to life. Passionate feelings for other women, and desire for romance were huge faults in Arthur and Zeus. Arthurs feelings for Guinevere led to the downfall of the Logres. At first, when Arthur saw Guinevere, he immediately fell in love with her. Through carelessness and desire for romance, Arthur neglected Merlins advice of not marrying the queen. When Guinevere and Lancelot had an affair, a war started, and the realm was destroyed. In Zeus case, the gods are not affected by romantic affairs, but the mortals they make love with are affected. Zeus approached many different gods or mortals, even though he is already married to Hera. Hera occasionally followed Zeus, and punished the ones with whom he had affairs. The mythical figures Arthur and Zeus both have major moral flaws: rashness and crave for passion. King Arthur and Zeus are best known for their

What Should You Do Poverty Issue

What Should You Do Poverty Issue Today, many people in the developing countries die of poverty related causes. However, at the same time, there are many and extravagant individuals who spent fortunes on luxuries. The momentous question arising from this is, Are we responsible for other people?Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on What Should You Do? Poverty Issue specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More What should we do when faced with such situations? In reaction to this question, I will address two opposing viewpoints on how to deal with poverty. First the metaphor used by Garret Hardin of the ‘lifeboat’ and second, investing in luxuries like Bob and his Bugati illustration by Peter Singer. As an environmentalist, Garret Hardin used the earth imagery as a space ship with different countries as lifeboats, with the lifeboats and poor countries swimming in the moral sea. When the space ship goes adrift, these lifeboats can save people. Ho wever, they have a limited capacity say for only fifty people (Hardin 126). When the boat has forty, it can take ten more. If people on the lifeboats pick up more drowning individuals, they risk their own future survival (Hardin 126). Besides, the criterion of choosing whom to save is tricky. If the people on the lifeboats decide to save the few or none, their survival is possible if they can protect the boat from other people trying to get aboard (Hardin 130). It is clear that Hardin does not believe in reforms of social problems like corruption, incompetent leaders. He supports the hard way to learn. Instead, Hardin believes, the richer or more developed nations should simply stop assisting the impoverished countries, as that problem will eventually manage itself. Famines and disease check the population (Hardin 130). If we constantly help, population will grow unchecked, hence the need for more help. This will cause strain on the resources. Singer highlights stories of Bob, who h as a Bugati from savings and considers it immensely valuable yet not insured. This is his joy and pride. One day while packed at near a railways siding, he notices a runaway train headed to hit a child further down (Singer 61).Advertising Looking for critical writing on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The only way to stop that would be to sacrifice his car, to stop the train by pushing it on the track but he does not. The train kills the child. This is comparative to the rich states, which have the ability and opportunity to help by contributing to humanitarian aid like UNICEF and Oxfam America (Singer 62). I sympathize and, therefore, support Singers argument, which I deem logical and morally sound that it is sensible to make decisions on things based on the outcomes likely to be drawn – a classic utilitarian theory. Singer’s claim is that suffering and death because of lack of food or access and affordability of medication is unacceptable (Singer 61). If it was in our abilities to prevent these things from happening by sacrificing something else of comparable moral significance, we should do it. The analogy used for instance, saving a boy’s life by sacrificing his Bugati, Bob would have done a morally correct thing. However, this needs some moral clarifications like why save a child he did not there in the first place. Hardin’s opposing view is that we do not have a moral duty to redistribute justice since it would cause more population growth beyond what the earth can sustain (Hardin 130). His argument is based on Neo-Malthusian thought where exponential growth of the population does not match. Comparably, states as lifeboat cannot take on more passengers since that may cause it to sink (Hardin 130). This view does not hold water to me. First, some models of development purports that increase in wealth cause a decrease in population. This could ex plain why developed states have comparably lower birth rates than poor states. It makes sense, therefore, to sacrifice and give aid to help improve population policies of poor states. Hardin also assumes there is scarcity of food, which is not true in the case of developed nations as this, disregards the extravagant spending on luxuries by richer states (Hardin 130).Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on What Should You Do? Poverty Issue specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Besides, his views seem to be terribly harsh, as they seem to support deliberate ‘culling’ of poor people to decrease population. It is killing when we stand by and watch someone die when we were in a position of saving the life. This is morally wrong to overlook conscious choice of saving sacred life (Singer 61). Hardin argues that most of the aid does not even reach the intended people because of corruption and inefficiency in dis tribution (Hardin 130). This does not override Singers moral impact. If you know only 50% of you, aid will get to the person who needs it, then its actual 50% more of assistance they would have totally missed. Systems and corrupt leaders can be reformed. It makes insensitive to watch a poor child die because other people around him are merely doing nothing inaction by the group does not justify individual inaction (Singer 63). Each one of us makes numerous ethical choices, large and small, on a daily basis. Questions like should we give money to the hungry child. Should we hide the truth to protect vulnerable persons from feeling hurt? Should we put our lives at risk in while chasing a purse-snatcher? All these decisions give us the opportunities to reflect on what determines our humanity conscience. I support Singers argument that we should respond to duty of beneficence and offer moral help. Hardin, Garrett. Lifeboat Ethics: The Case against Helping the Poor. Psychology Today 8.4 (1974): 126-130. Singer, Peter. The Singer Solution to World Poverty. The New York Times Magazine, 5 Sept. 1999.Advertising Looking for critical writing on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More

HR practices and policies with the organizations culture or business Assignment

HR practices and policies with the organizations culture or business objectives - Assignment Example 6). Another part of its culture is the radical drama that imbues every consumer wherein the aroma of the Starbucks coffee products would seem to hallucinate the consumer’s minds to be stimulated with its fragrance. The drama of the coffee is not a drama at all; it is for real that it makes the consumers taste the coffee as satisfying that could make the consumers gratified for it with the transparent service of Starbuck crews. This would go along to how Colquitt, LePine, and Wesson (2012) described the workers as the one who are responsible to actively answer and take the concerns of the customers with energy, enthusiasm, and zest. Starbucks place is well-soothing and environmental friendly as it seems that it dwells in every heart of consumers who find their service amazing (Batchelor & Krister, 2012). Michelli (2007) has been great in explaining that Starbucks has continued to become â€Å"extraordinary† in which the culture has been shaped with its own perspective an d principle that includes the unique concepts that the company engages, how every little thing matters to the company (the suggestions and opinions of others that could make the company more improved), how the customers would be enlightened, and how the company would switch on the attention of its flaws in order to minimize and diminish the factors that could hamper to its own success. In a specific manner, Starbucks induces the privilege of making their strategic business centralized unto the satisfaction of what the customers truly need. The objective of the Starbucks company is to make their company attractive to the perceptions of the people (Tu, Wang, & Chang, 2012). This could mean that Starbucks wanted to make their brand of names to be lucid enough that could build a lasting rapport to its customers. With this, one could merely say that the company truly upholds the juncture of aiming to be globally known specifically in some parts of Asia, such as

The nature of democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The nature of democracy - Essay Example Democracy as defined by Margaret Thatcher was through her policies known as Thatcherism. A simple definition of Thatcherism involves three main themes, which are; it was the peak suitable shorthand portrayal of what Conformist administrations practiced between 1979 and 1990. This ideology shows that every step these governments took had a heavy doctrinal base, and it infers that all the Conservative governments in this era were subject to their leader, Mrs. Thatcher. Gorbachev, on the other hand, was determined on restoring Soviet socialism through peaceful and democratic means. The hitch, of course, was that the Soviet economy was a deranged system that directed people and resources through state commands, threats, and the force of the Gulag (McFaul, 2002). Nonetheless, Gorbachev relentlessly strained to reform the organization, not through orders but using influence and pleas to truth and teamwork. Ronald Reagan, in support of United Kingdom, dared Gorbachev who at the time was the secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, a major participant in the cold war. Reagan believed that communist democratic system was going to split down as a symbol of Gorbachev desire to increase unrestrained freedom in the Eastern bloc of Germany restructuring and transparency processes. Thatcherism asserts to promote low inflation, the slight state and free markets through strong control of the money supply, privatization and constraints on the labor movement (Blundell, 2008). It is frequently associated with Reaganomics, which implemented policies founded on supply-side finances and encouraged a traditional liberal and laissez-faire viewpoint, in search of stimulating the economy with large, across-the-board tax cuts. Gorbachev also initiated capitalism through the laissez faire ideology. This was a major reason for the fall of communism in Russia. The inflexibilities and deceits of the Soviet economic and political organization demonstrated to be fundamentally resis tant to change, ending in the comprehensive fall of the Soviet government and economy in 1991. Capitalism backs democracy in that it takes very slight upkeep from the government for a capitalist economy to work. Capitalism undermines democracy since wealth in a capitalistic culture ultimately converts to be much lop-sided, and this culminates to a vast gap among the proletariat and the bourgeoisies. This result to the entire democratic developments being tainted by money added in the political course and the effect that money has on the politicians. Democracy and socials, on the other hand, have a curious relationship. Both of these traditions are rooted in the philosophical concept of equality (Duberstein, 2006). However, different characteristics of equality are emphasized. Democracy relates to political equality and socialism relates to material equality. From all these relationships, a deep analysis of Vaclav and Gorbachev depict the latter in their type of ideologies. Equity as a nature of democracy and capitalism was portrayed in Thatcher’s government, and she introduced various political as well as economic initiatives intended to reverse high unemployment rates and the Britain’s fights in the rise of winter of dissatisfaction and on-going downturn. Margret Thatcher’s political view and economic policies emphasized the deregulation specifically on the financial