Personal Statement On My Values - 1380 Words

My values have a larger impact on each and every aspect of my life as it influences my behavior, decisions actions. My values also help to prioritize my life.Before taking up any value you must decide on what importance that value has on your life and why it must be indulged and also how it is going to affect your future life. Then try your level best to live by them. Living your life by your values helps to accomplish your goals and then helps you influence others, and in this essay ill explain how my values are shaping me. One thing values you set for yourself can change is yourself, and what makes you different. What makes me different is most likely my heritage. My full name is Spencer Guy Wait Jordan Hemming. If translated it means i am heir to the throne, but i am far from it. I am from england in a town called kent. i moved to loveland when i was only 7. Losing all of my friends put me on a dark spot from which i had a hard time getting out of. As soon as i started going to school in america i gained new friends fast, it was overwhelming. Soon after i started playing video games which lead me to start working with computers, the very thing i spend most of my time with. Ether i am playing on it or working on it i am always having fun. Thats all the things that put me out there but i am sure there s even more. Even though I have my own plans my values have already set a course for me or what society has set in motion for me. All bases on myShow MoreRelatedMy Personal Statement On Personal Values1730 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction My personal values act as a basis for determining right and wrong in my daily life. My life, my parents, my husband and my children have all played valuable roles in the development of my core values. The following is an ever changing personal ethics creed, that I plan on using to help guide me in my endeavors. My Basic Beliefs I grew up after the age of eight in a divorced home. In the late eighties it was still an oddity to be a child of Divorce. This is where my strongest beliefsRead MorePersonal Statement : My Core Values2725 Words   |  11 Pagesstate my personal developmental plan that lists my strengths and weaknesses, recognizes patterns of behaviors that affect my leadership abilities, and creates a roadmap that will result in change to accomplish set, realistic goals. This paper will outline my core values, convey my vision statement, and outline methods I use for follow-up and evaluation of personal goal objectives. The first step in reaching my leadership potential is to identify and understand my personal core values. My core valuesRead MorePersonal Values Statement On My Inner Self764 Words   |  4 PagesPersonal Values Statement In understanding oneself it is often difficult to remain truthful and unbiased when analyzing our deficiencies and strengths. Nonetheless, on an opposing continuum one faces modesty and simplification in the analyses of the previously mentioned traits. The following self-observation aims to reach an equilibrium in learning about my inner-self. I have always considered myself a kind person. As an example; on a drive back home from Minnesota I stopped at a rest-stop whereRead MorePersonal Statement : My Core Values And My Pursuit Of A Master s Public Administration At Depaul University School868 Words   |  4 PagesThrough my personal and work experiences, I have had an opportunity to develop and strengthen my core values. These core values are duty, resourcefulness, change, and commitment. In this reflection paper, I will first identify my core values as I currently see them, and provide information as to their background, third define my current career goals, and lastly, explain how these core values and my pursuit of a Master s in Public Administration at DePaul University School of Service call on to my currentRead MorePersonal Statement : My Core Values And My Pursuit Of A Master s Public Administration At Depaul University School868 Words   |  4 PagesThrough my personal and work experiences, I have had an opportu nity to develop and strengthen my core values. These core values are duty, resourcefulness, change, and commitment. In this reflection paper, I will first identify my core values as I currently see them, and provide information as to their background, third define my current career goals, and lastly, explain how these core values and my pursuit of a Master s in Public Administration at DePaul University School of Service call on to my currentRead MorePersonal Strategic Plan For A Business Organization1282 Words   |  6 PagesThe purpose of this paper would be a personal strategic plan for myself in which visualizes me as a business organization, or as You, Inc. Therefore, to create a personal strategy one must examine a mission statement, vision statement, and understand the environmental scan to identify external opportunities and threats; in which, an individual or organization gathers information about the market, society, its competitors, and oneself. A mission statement defin es an individual purpose for achievingRead MoreMy Personal Statement : My Goals864 Words   |  4 PagesMy personal mission is to constantly strive to be the best overall person that I can be within my personal and professional life. My goals are to inspire and help others and myself around me to achieve greatness and balance that will to maximize our potential that will transcend the boundaries of our dreams. In addition to my mission statement, my core life values are the foundation of my mission statement, which allows me to uphold my promises and standards. These promises and standards will affordRead MoreValues Essay1026 Words   |  5 Pages Values Pamela Dyer Southern New Hampshire University Policy, Law, ethics NUR480 Professor S. Butler February 26, 2015 Values Our values define who we are. They are the fundamental beliefs that guide our actions and behavior. They influence the way we interact with others and our thought process. Every day, each one of us makes choices and decisions that directly affect the way we experience each other and the way others experience us. Values, in essence are what motivates us. The values thatRead MoreCareer Pl Professional Development Plan1638 Words   |  7 PagesPlan. Tasks Target Acceptable Unacceptable Statement of Philosophy (max 20 points) (16-20 points) Clear statement of philosophy of nursing (7 points) (9-15 points) Statement of philosophy of nursing (5 points) (0-8 points) One or more philosophy statements missing or poorly written (0-5 points) Clear statement of personal philosophy (6 points) Statement of personal philosophy (5 points) Both philosophies clearly reflected in values, vision, and personal interests (in first assessment tool) (7Read MorePersonal Statement And Social Responsibility Essay1122 Words   |  5 PagesSome of the important values identified in statements and artifacts of the organization are: respect, accountability, justice, integrity, altruism, compassion, social responsibility, honesty, courage, collaboration, competence, professional behavior, confidentiality, excellence, community building, rituals, and legacy. These values are expressed in agency’s statements and various artifacts. The Vision statement â€Å"All Children Deserve the Best† acknowledges social responsibility and excellence. The

Kinkos Free Essays

After the reorganization, management layers in the company’s hierarchy were reduced from twelve layers to six. The top management level was represented by the Chief Executive Officer. The company has a centralized approach of management. We will write a custom essay sample on Kinkos or any similar topic only for you Order Now Many of the decisions that had been made in the stores were made by top management. The concentration of decision-making authority at the upper levels of an organization is often justified based on the need to achieve better coordination and consistency in all the organization activities, operations and policies. Span of Control The Executive Vice President of operations has direct authority over the Vice President of marketing and two general managers for retail operations, operations support, and real estate. These general managers, on the other hand, have a direct control over 18 operations directors. These operations directors have control over the seventy-four district managers and the human resource and technology staff. Grouping Activities in FedEx Kinko’s Office and Print Services, Inc. The company was reorganized by geographical region- East, West, Central, and International. Partners who owned the largest group of stores headed up their regional divisions. The stores have been reorganized into a hub- and- spoke configuration. Does Kinko’s use an organic or mechanistic system to achieve integration? Kinko’s uses a mechanistic system to achieve integration. We can see that FedEx Kinko’s Office and Print Services, Inc. has exemplified the characteristics of highly formalized and â€Å"bureaucratic† organizations. Kinkos’s was relatively a large company; hence, a mechanistic system is very appropriate in order to manage and monitor all stores. In addition, we can notice that managers provide a considerable direction and control over the other.   The company is highly centralized, wherein all the decisions were made by top-level positions. All the operations of the company and the working behavior of the employees are governed by the instruction and decisions issued by superiors. The company has a hierarchic structure of control of authority. In line to this, there is a vertical direction of communication through the organization. All the interaction made is form top to bottom. The company is highly standardized. Qualifications for top executives have been standardized. Each person must be a strong team player, had previously been with successful organization and each held job with high accountability. The company also used formal specification of methods in the performance of a job. In fact, all stores were connected through the Internet so that jobs could be allocated, distributed, or shared, as the need arose. There is a precise definition of obligation for each position or role. For instance, each operation director has the responsibility on the profit and loss in a distinct geographical market. All of these characteristics exemplified by the company have resembled the characteristics of a mechanistic system. References Allen, Gemmy. (1998). Organizing Process. Retrieved April 1, 2008    How to cite Kinkos, Essay examples

Contract and Procurement Management

Question: Discuss about theContract and Procurement Management. Answer: Introduction Central Queensland University, hereinafter referred to as the Employer, invites sealed tenders from contractors for following contract to be funded entirely by the employer from internal sources for the construction of its new Science and Technology Department building situated in the universitys Brisbane Campus at 160 Ann St, Brisbane City QLD 400. Tenders are invited for contractors to undertake Designing and Construction of the new school building including procurement of material, deployment of labour and completing the construction within the stipulated time mentioned in the Tender Contract Document (TCD). Firms and joint venture companies which have already been pre-qualified by the employer are eligible to submit a tender for this proposed contract. Tendering for this contract is to be financed from the internal sources of the employer and the tendering process is open to individuals, firms and consortiums from any country. To be qualified for the award of this contract, all tenderers are required to satisfy the minimum criteria specified in Section of the Instructions to Tenderers (ITT). Tender documents can be obtained from the office of the Representative at the address given below upon paying a non-refundable fee of $50 or its equivalent if paid in a convertible currency. Upon confirmation of the appropriate evidence of the non-refundable fee amount, the undernoted Representative of the employer will dispatched the relevant Tender Contract Documents along with the Instructions to Tenderers (ITT) by courier, however, the employer does not take any liability for the loss or late delivery of the courier. If requested, the above mentioned documents can be arranged to be transferred electronically after the prospective tenderer submits valid proof of having paid the non-refundable fee. However, the tenderer is required to submit a hard copy of the completed TDC with the representative on or before the last date of submission. All tenders are required to be submitted along with a tender security amount of 5% of the value of the contract as stated in paragraph 19.1 of the Instructions to Tenderers (ITT). Tenders must be submitted by hand at the office of the representative at the address given below on or before 6:00 PM of 23 October 2016 at which time the same shall be opened in the presence of the tenderers or their representatives. A register of the tenderers who purchased the tender documents can be inspected at the address below. Prospective tenderers can obtain any further information, inspect and acquire the tender documents directly at the following office: Mr. Antonio Da Costa Cruz (The CQU Representative) Level 5, Building CQU, 160 Ann St, Brisbane City QLD 400. Email: tender@cqu.com.au Phone Number: 17 3032 5454 Date: 7 September 2016 Project Justification and Contract Process The Tender Document consist of three parts, Parts 1, 2, and 3. These include all of the Sections which are listed below and the tenderer should read them in conjunction with any Addenda issued as per ITT 8, say Baum Baum, (2015). Tendering Procedures Section I: Instruction to Tenderers (ITT) Section II: Tender Data Sheet (TDS) Section III: Evaluation and Qualification Criteria Section IV: Tender Forms Section V: Eligible Countries Requirements Section VI: Requirements Contract Section VII: General Conditions of Contract (GCC) Section VIII: Particular Conditions of Contract (PCC) Section IX: Contract Forms The Invitation for Tenders is issued separately by the Employer and does not form part of the Tender Document. Financing of the Project Any advance payments released to the successful tenderer shall be guaranteed by a reputed bank or financial institution and shall be furnished in the form annexed to the Particular Conditions or as specified by the Employer in another approved format, as per Baum Baum, (2015). The certified amount shown in each Interim Payment Certificate shall be ratified within 56 days after the successful tenderer receives the Statement. During the time when a loan from the Bank from which a part of the payment to the Contractor has been made has been suspended by the bank, the amounts so shown in any statement submitted by the Contractor containing any discrepancy shall be rectified within 14 days after submission of such a statement is made, in the next payment to be made to the Contractor, states Hinkel, (2010). Any undisputed amount certified in the Final Payment Certificate should be notified to the Employer within 56 days after the Payment Certificate is issued, assert Sexton Bogusz, (2013). Project Conditions, Team and Processes In accordance with Section III of ITT, the Evaluation and Qualification Criteria establishes the qualifications for the tenderer to perform the contract as per the information provided in Section IV of the Tender Forms. In case such an eventuality is required under the TDS, the tenderer shall also submit the Manufacturers Authorisation by using the form available in Section IV of the Tender Forms in cases where the tenderer is not the manufacturer or producer of the materials used in the project, confirms King, (2015). Further to this, it may also be required as per the TDS, that the tenderer shall submit authentic evidence that it shall be represented through an Agent in the country, who is fully equipped and capable of carrying out the maintenance, repair and provide adequate spare parts prescribed in the Conditions of Contract and Requirements, in case the tenderer does not conduct direct business in the Employers country. assert Kao, Sung Chen (ed), (2014). Project Labour, Plant, Materials and Sub-contractors All the prices as well as the discounts quoted by the tenderer in the Letter of Tender and the Price Schedules must conform to the requirements specified in ITT 14.2. Unless it is specifically provided in the TDS and the Contract by the tenderer, all the prices quoted shall be considered as fixed. Also, the prices quoted in the Letter of Tender, which are in accordance with ITT 12.1, shall be considered as the total prices of the Tender and shall exclude any discounts which the tenderer may offer later, as per McFarlane, Hopkins Nield, (2012). Requirements for Project Changes Unless there is no other way for such eventualities as a natural calamity, the Contractor will not be permitted an extension of time for circumstances for which the relevant delay has already been taken into account by the Employer, say Sexton Bogusz, (2013). In case, there arises the case of determination of a previous extension of time, then any such Cost will not be paid separately if that has already been taken into account while indexing the inputs to the specific task and its adjustment data in accordance with the cited provisions of Sub-Clause 13.8 (Adjustments for Changes in Cost) as explained by Megarry et al, (2012). Requirements for Quality Assurance and Quality Control If the Employer has determined, on the basis of reasonable evidence available, that the successful tenderer has indulged in any type of prohibited practices, during the time of competing for or while execution of the Contract, the Employer reserves the right, after giving a 14 day notice to the successful tenderer, of terminating the Contract and expel the entire team of the successful tenderer from the Site, as per the applicable provisions of Clause 15 read with Sub-Clause 15.2 of the TDS, as per Davis, (2007). Moreover, if any employee or subcontractor appointed by the successful tenderer is determined on the basis of reasonable evidence, in engaging into prohibited practice during the execution of the contract, then that employee or sub-contractor shall be immediately asked to be removed as per the Sub-Clause 6.9 (Contractors Personnel), says Davis, (2007). For the purpose of this Sub-Clause, the following terms are considered as prohibited practices: Coercive Practice, such as impairing or harming or threatening, directly or indirectly, any party or the property at the site. Collusive Practice, which may be an arrangement between two or more people at the site for achieving an improper purpose. Corrupt Practice means offering, receiving or soliciting, either directly or indirectly, anything of value for influencing the actions of the other party, as suggested by Ashworth Perera, (2015). Fraudulent Practice means acts of omission or commission and may include misrepresentation or attempts to mislead another party for obtaining a financial benefit, as per Ashworth Perera, (2015). Requirements for Document Management and Reporting The tenderer is required to prepare one original copy of the tender documents as described in ITT 11 and mark it ORIGINAL. The tenderer is also required to submit copies of the Tender, as per the number specified in the TDS and mark each of them as COPY. The original as well as the copies of the TDS can be typed or hand written using indelible ink and should be signed by a duly authorised person if signing on behalf of the tenderer. The authorisation should be provided in a written confirmation as specified in the TDS and should be attached to the TDS, suggests Megarry et al, (2012). Requirements for Disputes, Arbitration and Mediation The successful tenderer has to ensure that an appropriate grievance mechanism is made available to all the staff as well as the workers and sub-contractors and this should be used by all the affected persons without fear of intimidation or retaliation, as per Megarry et al, (2012). The successful tenderer must also ensure that all the concerned persons are notified about the grievance mechanism and that this forms an integral part of the training imparted to new employees. Information regarding the same should also be posted at important positions in the relevant areas inside the construction site, assert McFarlane, Hopkins Nield, (2012). It is the duty of the successful tenderer to ensure that the grievance mechanism also involves, at an appropriate level, the management of the company and promptly addresses the concerns of those affected, through the use of an understandable and transparent procedure which also provides feedback to the other concerned persons without any retributi on, as per Ashworth Perera, (2015). Requirements for Safety The successful tenderer is also required to provide the Employer a written Health and Safety Policy for all workers at the site. This should be corroborative with a project-specific Health and Safety Plan as provided by the relevant authority, say Baum Baum, (2015). The Plan should include details of the OHS management system, including plans for managing and monitoring the health and safety risks at the construction site. It is also the duty of the successful tenderer to plan, manage and monitor all the construction work carried out by workers under his control in such a way that it ensures, in a reasonable and practical way, the least risk to the health and safety of the workers, suggest Baum Baum, (2015). List of References Ashworth, A. and Perera, S. 2015, Cost Studies of Buildings, 6th ed. Routledge, Oxon. Baum, A. and Baum, Prof A. 2015, Real Estate Investment: A Strategic Approach, 3rd ed. Routledge, Oxon. Davis, T. 2007, The Real Estate Developer's Handbook: How to Set Up, Operate, and Manage a Financially Successful Real Estate Development. Atlantic Publishing Company, Ocala, FL. Hinkel, Daniel F. 2010, Practical Real Estate Law, 6th ed. Cengage Learning, Boca Raton, FL. Kao, J.C.M., Sung, W. and Chen, R. (ed.). 2014, Green Building, Materials and Civil Engineering. CRC Press, London. King, Sarah. 2015, Beginning Land Law. Routledge, Oxon. McFarlane, Ben, Hopkins, Nicholas and Nield, Sarah. 2012, Land Law: Text, Cases, and Materials. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Megarry, Robert, Wade, William, Harpum, Charles, Bridge, Stuart and Dixon, Martin J. 2012, The Law of Real Property, 8th ed. Sweet Maxwell, New York. Sexton, Roger and Bogusz, Barbara. 2013, Complete Land Law: Text, Cases, and Materials Oxford University Press, Oxford.

System Design for Riordan Manufacturing Human Resources Department Essay Example

System Design for Riordan Manufacturing Human Resources Department Essay Introduction In the previous section of this service request system solution proposal, we cited Riordan Manufacturing current position in the global plastics manufacturing market as an existing world leader, that has every intent to maintain that namesake by continuing to develop its technology both o the production line as well as behind the scenes where it supports those individuals that work hard every day to keep Riordan Manufacturing in the upper echelon, elite class of global business that are providing for the world’s needs in mass quantities on a daily basis. Riordan Manufacturing started out as a small, licensing Dr Riodan’s patents, but it has grown into a strong corporation that employs over 500 professionals in its offices located in Albany, Georgia, Pontiac Michigan, San Jose, California and it’s international office located in Hangzhou, China. The company’s growth over the last two decades and its resulting assets are considerable. For example, the companies assets are valued at over $1 billion. After receiving a service request from Hugh McCauley, the corporate operations officer for Riordan Manufacturing, who expressed a desire to enhance the level of technology used at Riordan Manufacturing, wanted our company to analyze Riordan Manufacturing’s current human resources technology in-place in that department and consolidate the array of applications they currently use into a single, integrated system that will serve their functional needs and introduce their employees to the latest technology. We will write a custom essay sample on System Design for Riordan Manufacturing Human Resources Department specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on System Design for Riordan Manufacturing Human Resources Department specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on System Design for Riordan Manufacturing Human Resources Department specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Our team understands Riordan Manufacturing’s need for new technology and their desire to expose their personnel to the latest, cutting-edge methods available to members of the human resources management environment, so that those same tools and methods may be exposed to their human resources personnel and exploited in every imaginable way to make Riordan Manufacturing more productive by giving their employees an enhanced sense of peace of mind by managing their employment-related issues more quickly, thoroughly and effectively through the implementation and subsequent application of cutting-edge technology. Riordan Manufacturing is quite aware that keeping pace with the changes of the global marketplace and the increasing demands created by a growing population can only be realistically met by investing heavily in technology, not just in the manufacturing plants and on the assembly lines, but also in the areas of logistical support, such as the human resources department. Application Architecture The current system being used in the human resources department of Riordan Manufacturing is marginally capable of handling the information management needs of the company. The first step in designing a completely new system is to upgrade the HRIS software they currently have installed. Recycling their current system will save considerable financial resources. As well, there will not be a need to purchase a completely new application, so training requirements will also be minimized. We must also keep in mind during the design of the new information system, that per the service request, SR-rm-004, Riordan Manufacturing explicitly expressed the desire to keep their current application but wants to integrate everything into a consolidated, unified system, â€Å" Analyze the HR system to integrate the existing variety of tools in use today into a single integrated application. †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Riordan, 2011). Nonetheless, there will still be a need for some measure of training. Since the current HRIS will be upgraded to the latest version its likely that there will be some issues with familiarity of the enhanced version of the HRIS application. Also, since there were various instances of data management being accomplished on separate computer systems using an assortment of different applications, such as Microsoft Excel, there is a fairly good chance that all of the capabilities of the HRIS application were not being utilized in the first place. Consequently, we expect a need for proficiency training for the current staff. That training should cover both the basic functionality of HRIS as well as the advanced concepts in order to maximize Riordan Manufacturings investment in the human resources application. The architecture of the final solution system will be a single HRIS application that will provide specialized interfaces for several groups of users. There will be one type of interface configured especially for the Riordan Manufacturing human resources administrative staff working directly in that department. There will be another interface designed for the Riordan Manufacturing employees that do not work in the human resources department. There will be an interface for the personnel working in Hangzhou and finally, there will be an interface for the off-site contractor handling the Workers’ Compensation claims and benefits. Despite the fact that all of the interfaces access the same database, the interface configuration for each group of users differs in terms of data accessibility and language support. The human resources administrative staff needs access to all of the records for each employee. Additionally, the human resources staff needs to be able to store, manipulate and generate reports from the collateral data indirectly related to employment records, such as job classifications, policies and procedures, Equal Employment Opportunity data, personal employee files, promotions, benefits tracking and accounting data, organizational relationships and hierarchies, employee handbook data, specific communications, tax data and other various data types and classifications of data that bear some direct or indirect relationship to employment condition. So, all employee-related information is kept in a single, consolidated database, which is accessible by the appropriate personnel or contractors. Furthermore, to describe the system architecture more specifically, read and write data access is dependent on the job title or business role of data requester. Security Controls There should exist two distinct security and control infrastructures. Norton AntiVirus 2011 will be installed on all systems company-wide. It has a proven track record of thorough, reliable virus protection, while minimizing the demand on system resources. It was also selected by professional reviewers over all other market competitors, â€Å" Reviewers say Norton Anti-Virus 2011 is the best antivirus software currently available. It gets top marks from experts, †¦ a Gold award from AV-Comparatives. org Norton earns excellent marks for removing malware and spyware is much less of a resource hog than it was in previous years. Installation is fast and easy, and the interface is easier to navigate. Experts note little impact on system performance and say the software runs unobtrusively in the background without disrupting programs or applications ConsumerSearch (2011) Process Design Instead of using seperate applications or paper forms (which can be damaged or lost), personal information will be entered directly into the database by the employees. the interfaces will be modified so that data types are monitored by the HRIS application to ensure that meaningless information is not entered in the database inadvertently. Also each use r will be required to login to the system so the application know which interface to display on the users’ computer display. The login identification control algorithm will interpret the classification of the user during login and the associated interface will control the language and the access rights of the user accordingly. So, for example, if an employee that normally works in China has temporarily been assigned to work in the Pontiac, Michigan office and needs to make an adjustment to his employee information because his wife gave birth while he was away, he could login to the HRIS system in Michigan and the interface would give him the appropriate data privileges and will display all of the information in Chinese. The HRIS database will now act as the central repository for all human resources-related information and will consolidate data from all personnel in all offices throughout the corporation, including the contractors’ office that manages the Workers’ Compensation benefits. References Riordan Manufacturing, Service Request SR-rm-004, (2011). ttps://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/cist/VOP/Service%20Requests/RiordanSR/riordanSR004. htm ConsumerSearch (2011) http://www. consumersearch. com/antivirus-software Apollo Group. (2003, 2004, 2006). Riordan Manufacturing. Retrieved from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Riordan/RioMfgHome002. htm

Free MCSD Practice Test 70-315

Free MCSD Practice Test 70-315 Instructions for the MCSD Practice Test: Begin The Test Read the question and then click on the checkbox that contains the correct answer(s). The small field to the immediate right of the question will either display Yes if you are correct or No if you have selected the wrong answer. Click on the Explanation button to find out more about the answer and click Next Question to continue the MCSD Practice test. Your answers are not graded, so keep track of the topics which with you had difficulty. There are additional MCSD resources on the final page of the MCSD Practice test so be sure to finish. Good luck! Begin The Test Read the Whizlabs Press Release and find out more about their exams. 16 Practice Questions for the 70-315 Exam Instructions for the MCSD Practice Test: Begin The Test Read the question and then click on the checkbox that contains the correct answer(s). The small field to the immediate right of the question will either display Yes if you are correct or No if you have selected the wrong answer. Click on the Explanation button to find out more about the answer and click Next Question to continue the MCSD Practice test. Your answers are not graded, so keep track of the topics which with you had difficulty. There are additional MCSD resources on the final page of the MCSD Practice test so be sure to finish. Good luck! Begin The Test Read the Whizlabs Press Release and find out more about their exams.

7 Myths About Freelance Writing Online

7 Myths About Freelance Writing Online 7 Myths About Freelance Writing Online 7 Myths About Freelance Writing Online By Ali Hale You want to earn a bit of extra money. Or youd love to be a published writer. Or youre looking for an exciting and rewarding career. Whatever your reason, youve started to think about freelance writing online. It sounds like a dream come true: you could work from home, at any time of the day (or night), and get good money for writing about topics that interest you. Except somethings stopping you. Youve started believing one – or more – of these harmful myths. Today, I want to show you that these myths just arent true. Theres no reason to let any of them hold you back. #1: Its too late to make money freelance writing online All the good jobs are already gone, right? And bloggings dead anyway Wrong. The fact that huge numbers people are making money online as freelance writers should encourage you. Theres plenty of work out there – and as more and more businesses realize the importance and the potential of the internet, new writing jobs are appearing every single day. In fact, now is a great time to start freelancing. Writing online is a growing area, particularly as more and more print magazines fold, and as the demand for online content grows. #2: Online writing gigs dont pay as well as print ones This is a gross generalization, without much truth in it. Some print publications dont pay anything – local newspapers and specialty magazines often rely on volunteers, because of printing and distribution costs. But online, even tiny operations can afford to pay writers, since their overheads are so low. Some online writing gigs pay very little – but there are others which pay a hundred dollars or more for a short article. Its up to you what jobs you take, so you never need to work for a low rate. In my experience, online writing gigs pay very well in terms of time spent. They may pay less per word – but they often dont require the same level of research and fact-checking that print publications want. #3: You need technical knowledge to freelance write online This myth puts off a lot of people. Theyre convinced that online freelance writing requires technical skills like knowing HTML code or being a whizz with different systems. The truth is, you almost certainly already have all the technical skills you need: Ability to use email (to send articles to an editor) Basic word-processing skills (e.g. using Microsoft Word or Open Office) Ability to use search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo) for research It really is that simple. Of course, there are some gigs where youll be at an advantage if youre comfortable with uploading content into your clients software – for instance, WordPress – but there are plenty of writing jobs which dont require anything techy beyond the ability to create a document and send it by email. #4: You need an English or Journalism major to be a freelance writer Maybe you majored in math or a science, or maybe you didnt go to college at all. It doesnt matter. All that editors care about is your ability to write – whether or not you have a degree makes no difference to them. If youve studied English, Journalism or a related subject, youll probably be a confident and fast writer – which will serve you well. However, you can easily develop your writing skills outside the college world – and academic writing bears very little resemblance to the sort of writing that online gigs will want! #5: Receiving payments is hard. Youll need an accountant and a merchant bank account This myth really frustrates me, because its so out of date! All you need to receive money online is a PayPal account – almost every single online gig Ive ever had has paid through PayPal. The one gig which didnt, with an online magazine, sent me a check which I just deposited straight into my bank account. Opening a PayPal account takes minutes, and allows you to receive money in many different currencies without having to pay the hefty fee that your bank would charge for a foreign transaction. #6: Only people living in the US can become successful freelance writers Im living proof that this is untrue – I live in the UK, and have worked with editors in the US, in Canada and in Australia. I know of many successful freelance writers around the world. Most online gigs will take writers from anywhere. All that matters is that you can write good English. If you live in a country with a low cost of living, then youre actually at an advantage – as youll be getting paid US rates for your work. #7: You need to be an expert in one field before you can find freelance jobs You already have certain areas where youre knowledgeable, just from your life experience. For instance, you might have children – and there are scores of jobs looking for people who can write about parenting. Many online gigs are open to any writers, and dont require any particular expertise. You might have to do extra research to begin with, but if you keep writing on similar topics, youll soon become a self-taught expert. So – seven myths busted! I hope youre feeling more optimistic about your own chances of freelancing online. Writing is a great way to make a living (or just make some extra cash on the side) and theres always going to be a demand for good writers and new content. Notice: Due to popular request we have finally released our Freelance Writing Course. Come check it out if you want to get started freelance writing online. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Creative Writing 10130 Baseball IdiomsOne "L" or Two?

Current Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Current Issues - Essay Example The need to enhance knowledge and skills has also been realized. These changes have been politically, socially, economically and technologically triggered. Decision-making processes concerning healthcare provision also continue to change due to the full action of legal measures and requirements. However much health and social care faces various challenges, the changing landscape has had positive implications (Parton, 2002). During the past few years, social change has transformed operations of the health and social care sector from an independent paradigm to an all inclusive approach. Changing social perceptions and belief systems have necessitated the inclusion and adoption of various reforms. Participation of different players in all spheres of health and social care development has been embraced to the extent of including a wide range of stakeholders. Most leaders around the world are now focused on one agenda which is to improve the implementation of health and social care programs. Different stakeholders from both the private and public sectors have taken an active role in ensuring the health and social care providers meet their expectations (Davis, Finlay & Bullman, 2005). Reforms in the National Health Service (NHS) are enough evidence of the changes that health and social care continue to experience. In the United Kingdom, major health reforms have been realized through the Care Act 2014. The act has presented care providers with necessary support and control that they require to deliver services. For the very first time, this Act was able to limit the cost of health care (Department of Health, 2014). The Act has also given caregivers the right to receive support for their services. Carers are also being granted the legal right in terms of receiving support. They receive this support after being assessed and deemed eligible. Initially, health and social caregivers did not enjoy such privileges. These are just but a few among

Patirnt's Privacy & Public trust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Patirnt's Privacy & Public trust - Essay Example Patient's Medical File’s Privacy Berle, I. (2011). Privacy and Confidentiality: What is the Difference. Journal Of Visual Communication In Medicine, 34(1), 43-44. doi:10.3109/17453054.2011.550845 Privacy and confidentiality are paramount in ensuring a good doctor-patient relationship. Berle notes the distinction between the two in the medical context that governs that relationship. He clarifies two misconceptions between privacy and confidentiality and their considerations, under the Human Rights Act. This article, however, misses more precise ideas. The article requires empowerment by providing related and serious issues of privacy and confidentiality. However, I found this citation as a good source for my research. The difference between privacy and confidentiality, according to Belle, is to raise awareness and restate the concepts of responsible rules to protect patients and providers to the right processing. Other than doctor’s nurses too are responsible for ensurin g patient confidentiality. Mcgowan, C. (2012). Patients' Confidentiality. Critical Care Nurse, 32(5), 61-65. doi:10.4037/ccn2012135 Nurses, under law, serve as key parties in ensuring that patient information remains confidential and only authorized personnel receive access to it. As a working nurse, Mcgowan bases the article on her practical experince in the hospital medical service at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Massachusetts. She points out the main rules and polices that nurses follow during their duties to protect the privacy of the patients. She notes the conflict that arises when family members and friends request for patient information from the nurses. The article however concludes by clearing the air and giving a list of health care providers and other parties authorized to share the patient's information. Nevertheless, confidentiality has limits; and certain circumstances necessitate the breach of this confidentiality. Sankar, P., Mora, S., Jones, N. L.,& Merz, J. F., (2 003), Patient Perspectives of Medical Perspectives, Journal of General Internal Medicine, 18(8), 659-669, Doi:10.1046/j.1525-1497.2003 Patient confidentiality is a vital aspect in medical healthcare. As a result, the perspective of patients in understanding this is necessary. This article explores the way patients view doctor-patient confidentiality. Findings show that many patients are unaware about the details concerning the nondisclosure laws of patient information by medical professionals. As a result, many patients overestimate or underestimate the ethical laws protecting them from unauthorized disclosure. There is a deep need for patients to learn about their ethical rights regarding confidentiality. In addition, the paper cites that public education ought to teach patients on the limitations of such laws and the circumstances under which this confidentiality agreement fails to hold. Reports on the paper also explain the effect of the patient’s perception on confidentia lity on seeking medical help. Several patients report that fear of disclosure of their medical records leads to their lack of seeking medical attention. Confidentiality and Its Limits (2011) Hastings Center Report, 41(6), 12 To guarantee the welfare of a patient, medical personnel at times breach the confidentiality of patient data. The article elaborates circumstances that necessitate the breaching of the non-disclosure contract, and the impact such actions hold on public trust on health systems.

Restaurant Management Essay Example for Free

Restaurant Management Essay Staff developing is vital for restaurants to run smoothly. A restaurant is composed of two sectors; a Front of House (FOH) and theirs a Back of House (BOH). The front of the house is what is visible to the customers? eye. Customers can not see the back of the house. Back of the house is where cooks prepare the food and where the dishwasher is located. Manager Brian Aycock explained that if a manager develops his staff, it makes the restaurant run smooth. The store will profit, the employees and the guest will be satisfied (Aycock). If the staff is not getting along, a lot of tension will grow inside the restaurant and co-workers will not work with one another as a team. In return the customers will not be happy and the profit will not be as desirable. When customers are not happy with the visit they had at the restaurant, they will then spread the word to all their friends. Each staff member of the restaurant should have nice and clean hygien

John Q. Adams :: essays research papers

John Quinsy Adams was born in Braintree Massachusetts. His other, Abigail Smith Adams and his father, John Adams (2nd president of the United States of America) trained John Quinsy very well. At ten years old John Q. traveled with his father on diplomat missions to Europe. He learned French fluently there in a private school at Paris. After Studying French in Paris Adams studied at the University of Leiden. In 1782 through 1783 he was a secretary and interpreter of the French in Germany. After being a secretary and interpreter in Germany, He traveled to Holland   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Q. Adams was very good and smart at languages, history and mathematics. By the end of his school he was a very good and trust worthy lawyer. Adams came particularly to George Washington’s attention because of the articles he published in the newspaper about defending the president’s policies. As a result of this â€Å"† defending for rights† Washington put Adams in the place for a Dutch ministering the Netherlands. After all this, President James Monroe called Adams to become Secretary of State in 1817.As secretary John Q. Adams was pleased with the schools he participated in, in the past years because they paid off.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Adams greatest achievements Secretary of State were the Transcontinental Treaty with Spain. Which was signed on February 22. By this treaty Spain acknowledged east Florida and west Florida to become part of the United States of America.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Quinsy Adams may have been the greatest United States Secretary of State. He was not one of the greatest presidents He was really a minority president chosen by the House of Representatives they get the most. Jackson had received the most of the popular votes both at poles and in the state but he lacked a constitutional majority, (which is a major in college) Clay one of the four can dates through all his support in 1824 to Adams in the house in February 1825.After secret conferences between the two electing Adams in the first ballot. Clay had put Adams into the White House in order to become his Secretary of State and successor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  President Adams believed that the American Revelation had already won liberty, at least for White House people, and that this liberty was guaranteed the constitution of the United Sates of America. His policy was to let there be more national power and to make freedom better for the people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On

IBM Research Topic Essay

Mission Statement-Suitability for IBM The mission statement of IBM is suitable for the organization, and that not only because it sufficiently refers to the features a mission statement must have, but also because it expresses a spirit of success, teamwork and customer consideration, a spirit that only big companies can generate. Mission Statement-Strengths and weaknesses Though much important a mission stetement is, it can develop some strengths and weaknesses regarding mostly the customers of a company, the workforce and its shareholders. These three groups of people constitute a larger framework of groups, which has a legitimate interest in the fortunes of a company, the stakeholders of a company. Customers-Strengths In the market of information technology, customers will expect the most advance information technology from a company in order to fulfill their needs. Customers will also demand a flexible range of products and services (after sales service) to suit their needs. By reading the mission statement of IBM it is more than visible that the company fulfills these demands and provides strengths to its customers (â€Å"we strive to lead in the creation and manufacture of the industry’s most advance information technologies†, â€Å"we translate these advance technologies into value for our customers through our professional solutions and services worldwide†). Generally the mission statement of IBM expresses a spirit of marketing orientation, and customer devotiation. Customers-Weaknesses It is extremeny difficult to pinpoint any weaknesses regarding customers generated from the mission statement of IBM, since the company’s mission statement expresses a spirit of marketing orientation and customer service (â€Å"we translate these advanced technologies into value for our customers through our professional solutions and services worldwide†). However one could say that extremely high technology and development might create such a specialisation that may lead to non-user friendly products, which would not sufficiently serve the needs of the customers. This could be encountered as a weakness. Workforce-Strengths The workforce of a company will expect to operate in a friendly and teamwork enviroement, in which opportunities for training and career development will be given. The mission statement of IBM complies with these expectations, and so provides strengths to the workforce. Since the product line of IBM is highly technologically advanced (â€Å"development and manufacture of the industry’s most advance information technologies) the workforce of IBM will have the opportunity of being trained and having developed their career in the future. Apart from this, the mission statement itself expresses the team spirit that exist in IBM and is being expected from the workforce (â€Å"At IBM, we strive to lead in creation†¦.†. Workforce-Weaknesses Apart from the strengths that are generated from the mission statement of IBM a few weaknesses can also arise. By reading the mission statement of IBM you can easily observe the tense the company has to invest in the development of the company (technology, services) in order to lead in creation, development and manufacture of the industry’s most advance information technologies and so to serve by a more fruitfull way the needs of its customers. This however can have a negative impact on some expectations of the workforce. Employees might expect some profits of the company to be given for the use of raising wages rather than investing for the development of the company. Employees might expect shorter working hours and more standardised products and services. The non-confrontation of these expectations can be considered as weaknesses.

Lets Love Sport

Let’s love sport As we know playing sport is a good habit that most of the people love it. What is the meaning of the sport? The answer is clear; sport means the regular movement of the limbs of the body in a proper manner. Every day we can encounter with people who play sport but how many percent of those people know the real effect of doing exercise in their body? Absolutely many of them seem not to know the effects. Actually many people don’t realize the benefits and importance of sport. Sport especially your favorite sport gives lots of benefits.The most important benefits of doing exercise on person are physical and psychological effect in a positive way. One of the most well-known positive effects of physical exercise on person is preventing disease. First of all, playing sport increases the immense system of a person. To illustrate, doing exercise helps body to improve white cells and it can defend various kind of microbes. According to scientists’ researc hes, during playing sport body produces Endorphin which actually it pushes out the toxic materials and keeps the heat of the body in balance.The other advantage of playing sport on individual physics is having better body shape. Throughout history, people can’t give-up their interest in their body and also now many people love to have an attractive body shape and they do sport to be more fit. Naturally, by doing sport body automatically decrease amount of internal fat. Due to this fact, doing sport keeps our body in a good shape. Moreover, playing sports may increase the agility of the body. As an example, imagine that there is a car that hasn’t worked for many years.If you try to run the motor engine, it probably not work anymore since it has been rusted consequently the car engine may be broken down. People are similar to engines and motors. If they don’t do sport, they will be forced to rust, in other words, the body’s shape will decompose and the pers ons will lose their agility afterward they may encounter many problems during walking or running. In addition, playing sports balance person body’s blood pressure and also help to control blood cholesterol level.According to many researches which have been done by scientists, we can prove the importance of sport for our health because 70% middle aged people who didn’t do sport in their youth are now faced with the serious problems such as hypertension and they may have difficulty in blood circulation furthermore they become tired easily in early ages due to the lack of doing exercise. The other benefit of doing sport is psychological effect on individual as it increases mental strength. First of all, playing sport increases motivation of individuals positively.To illustrate this, doing sport effects on feeling of persons in a good way and of course they may feel reborn after finishing their exercise. By doing sport person ‘stress will decrease and it may affect h er/his job or university life positively. Furthermore, playing sport increase confidence of the person during working. A clear example is about me, sport changed my life positively and I can see good sides of life more than other sides. I started playing sport (KONG FU) when I was 5 years old.I saw my motivation for doing my home works was higher than my classmates. I had more confidence during exam because I learnt via sport how I can control my mental power to decrees my stress during exams and how can I cope with problems easily. I could pay more effort to do my assignments more than other students and also my competitive spirit was stronger than others because of playing sport. As a result, that’s why I can’t give-up playing sport and I am still with sport. Secondly, doing sport is a good key factor in successful behavior change.It teaches individuals to respect younger and older people. For example, persons who play martial arts such as JUDO or KARATE they can con trol their behavior in terrible condition, they don’t get angry easily and most of time they are smiling and they never fight in a normal life except for essential condition because first step of the playing such sports is to learn to be patient. It shows that having good behavior can also be helpful to have good lifestyle and also can be effective to the behavior of the whole family members and close friends.All in all, there are several advantages and benefits of playing sport within those one of them is physical and other is psychological benefit on individuals. As a result, all kind of sports are good if a person do it in a correct way. Having a regular physical exercise can ensure a healthy body which will lead to have a healthy life for individuals. And most famous and great persons encourage people to do sport. For example, ATATURK (the president of Turkey in 1923-1938) said that â€Å"healthy mind is in healthy body â€Å". That means we need to do sport, we have to play sport . let’s do sport and love it.

The Positive Impact of the Italian Jesuits Movement in America

The Positive Impact of the Italian Jesuits Movement in America Introduction The Italian Jesuits Movement is religious movement that was started by St. Ignatius in the sixteenth century. At the time of its start, it had few members who later invited more people to join them as they prepared to extend their mission of spreading the gospel. The recruits knew nothing in regard to the principles of the Jesuits; they were referred as brothers though some were elderly. They were later to become priests after gaining some experience in spreading the gospel and all that pertained to this movement.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Positive Impact of the Italian Jesuits Movement in America specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Jesuit Movement According to McKevitt, the members of this group took vows of chastity, obedience and poverty. This was because they wanted to be Christ-like through imitating what Jesus Christ did in his time. In nineteenth century, there was a contradict ion on how far the Jesuit could enjoy life and materials. The Italian Jesuits were not for the idea of fully denying themselves some of the materials, however they listened to John Henry one of their superiors when he visited them and explained to them why they were to enjoy life less. This movement also considered choosing not to marry as a higher step of choosing to serve God more as they had wished and they valued this despite the alternative advice they were given by the Protestants and non-believers. The Jesuits’ Contribution to America Education The Italian Jesuits contributed a lot while traversing America; they preached to Native Americans who later joined them to work as missionaries and were placed in responsibility positions over the parishes that were opened as a result of the large numbers of converts that were gained. The Italian Jesuit assisted in modifying the American culture through creating awareness on arts and related areas that the Americans did not know or knew very little about. This brought about a dramatic change not only in America but also in other parts of the world in the 1960s. Through music, theater, creative writing and visual arts, the Jesuits were able to increase the awareness of the Americans on the significance of art in the society. More to this, their actions were gaining popularity hence paving a way for them as they embarked on evangelism (Udias 1). According to Malley, the Jesuits started some primary and secondary schools and colleges; these were crucial in civilization at this period of time. The studies in these learning institutions became influential to the people since they addressed pertinent issues in the then society; one of the issues was the place of females in the society. These schools enrolled those who were willing to join the mission work and also those who were willing to develop other careers.Advertising Looking for research paper on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your firs t paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Jesuits were determined to educate the Native Americans and they spent most of their time in classes to fully assist those who were willing to learn (Malley 1). According to McKevitt, through getting involved in teaching colleges such as Georgetown College, the Jesuits had invented a way to educate the natives on what they believed in. This was also reshaping the culture of East and West America due to the introduction of new ideas that were not present earlier. The Italian Jesuits had a great positive impact as teachers since they spent most of their life in classroom teaching Americans though they were also committed to priesthood duties. Their impact on education was felt during this time due to the fact that they had flown in from Italy to America in large numbers to deliver quality education to the Native Americans. Empowering the Women According to McKevitt, St Ignatius the founder of the Jesuit movement was devoted towards e mpowering women. The Jesuits too had to follow this; they therefore took every opportunity during their interaction with the people to advocate for women rights. They even integrated nuns and sisters in the teaching programmes and also in running of the learning institutions. This made even the Native Americans to change their perceptions and attitudes towards women since the Jesuits were highly respected and obeyed and thus their opinion in regard to women was equally respected. Industrial Development It has been noted that due to the Mexican war, the Italian Jesuits shifted to the west and while there they became investors through activities such as farming, mining and ranching. This contributed positively towards the upgrading of the industrial sector hence improvement of productivity in this region. Through this they became the role models for the natives who joined them in the investment activities. This also attracted many immigrants from different areas to this region. Accord ing to Ronda, these expatriates reshaped the boundary culture through establishment of churches, press, hospitals and colleges that integrated America with Europe and other neighboring countries. The Jesuits instructed the native converts on farming and also on irrigation skills and also coaching them on the catholic beliefs (Ronda 1). Civilization of the Society According to Ronda, the Jesuits used simple gifts to lure the natives and later talk with them about the word of God. The Jesuits also appointed converted natives into positions of captains and these captains helped the Jesuits in preaching to other natives. This approach was viable in ensuring easy interaction with the natives though it was later faced out after they had completed their mission of ensuring that the Native Americans knew about Christianity.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Positive Impact of the Italian Jesuits Movement in America specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Through the Jesuits enduring criticism and hostility, the society was learning from them the virtues that they were to have as Christians. According to Ronda, they were to observe high sense of brotherhood despite the challenges that they were encountering. This forced the Native Americans to embrace Christianity as well as holding their traditional religious practices that were of great value to them. Though the Jesuits had theological conflicts with the native religious leaders, they used intellectual confrontations until they prevailed. Such lessons were crucial to the society since they were to behave the same once they were converted to believe in the new ways of the Jesuits. Tranquility was to ensure that development was achieved in a short while. According to McKevitt, the Jesuits had extensively travelled before settling in the United States; they had encountered many cultures and different languages and this gave them a chance to interact faster with the natives. They were also able to accommodate the multicultural America and this helped them in teaching later as they established schools. On the other hand, the natives were also willing to learn from the Jesuits since they had integrated well. McKevitt highlights that church leaders were competing among themselves to acquire the immigrants’ services in the absence of the native ministers. This was to a greater extent beneficial to the Jesuits movement since these church leaders were to join them in disseminating their message. In the long run, the whole society was to benefit by hearing the gospel since they were most likely to listen to their own people more than they would have done to the Jesuits who were just but foreigners (McKevitt 1). According to Judd, Jesuits movement through their practices in America protected the Native Americans from being enslaved by the Portuguese and the Spanish. They were secure since Jesuits were condemning such acts and th erefore it became challenging for their mission of enslaving others to prevail. This was a positive impact towards the native society since they benefitted through the protection that Jesuits provided; they also accepted the teachings of the Jesuits since they were considering their message as liberating and of great value (Judd 1). O’Malley highlights that, as Jesuits were involved in teaching in the Native American schools, they came up with a dictionary since they had learnt many languages hence becoming easier for them to translate from one language to the other, for example, from Japanese to Portuguese. This was an advantage to the natives since they were also to be well educated without language barrier which would have hindered their learning (O’Malley 1).Advertising Looking for research paper on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Conclusion Today, the Jesuit movement is still carrying out their work especially in education; they still operate in high schools, colleges and universities in various parts of the world. They are still advocating for human rights and social justice for all in the whole world. The work that the movement did long time ago is still relevant and one can easily trace where some of the practices came from especially in Latin America. Judd, Peter. Four American Ancestries: White, Griggs, Cowles, Judd, Including Haring, Phelps, Denison, Clark, Foote, Coley, Haight, Ayers, and Related Families. New York, N.Y: P.H. Judd Press, 2008. Print. McKevitt, Gerald. Italian Jesuits in the American West, 1848-1919. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2007. Print. O’Malley, John. How the First Jesuits Became Involved in Education. Boston College, 2012. Web. https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/top/church21/pdf/HowtheFirstJesuitsBecameInvolvedinEducation.pdf. Ronda, James. â€Å"The Europ ean Indian: Jesuit Civilization Planning in New France.† Church History, 41.3 (1972): 385-395. Print. Udias, Augustin, and Stauder William. The Jesuit Contribution to Seismology. Sesmological Society of America, 1996. Web. https://www.seismosoc.org/inside/eastern-section/jesuit-contribution-seismology/.

Giant Short-Faced Bear Bread Profile

Giant Short-Faced Bear Bread Profile Name: Giant Short-Faced Bear; also known as Arctodus simus Habitat: Mountains and woodlands of North America Historical Period: Pleistocene-Modern (800,000-10,000 years ago) Size and Weight: Up to 13 feet long and one ton Diet: Mostly carnivorous; possibly supplemented its diet with plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; long legs; blunt face and snout About the Giant Short-Faced Bear (Arctodus simus) Although its often described as the largest bear that ever lived, the Giant Short-Faced Bear (Arctodus simus) didnt quite measure up to either the modern Polar Bear or to its southern counterpart, Arctotherium. But its hard to imagine the average megafauna mammal (or early human) worrying whether it was about to be eaten by a 2,000- or a 3,000-pound behemoth. Simply put, the Giant Short-Faced Bear was one of the scariest predators of the Pleistocene epoch, full-grown adults rearing up to heights of 11 to 13 feet and capable of running at top speeds of 30 to 40 miles per hour. The main thing that distinguished Arctodus simus from that other famous ursine of the Pleistocene epoch, the Cave Bear, is that the Giant Short-Faced Bear was slightly bigger, and subsisted mostly on meat (the Cave Bear, despite its fierce reputation, being a strict vegetarian). Because nearly as many fossil specimens dont represent the Giant Short-Faced Bear as the Cave Bear, theres still a lot we dont understand about its everyday life. In particular, paleontologists still debate this bears hunting style and its choice of prey: with its presumed speed, the Giant Short-Faced Bear may have been capable of running down the small prehistoric horses of North America, but it doesnt seem to have been robustly built enough to tackle larger prey. One theory is that Arctodus simus was essentially a loafer, popping up suddenly after another predator had already hunted and killed its prey, driving the smaller meat-eater away, and digging in for a tasty (and unearned) meal, much like a modern African hyena. Although it ranged across the expanse of North America, Arctodus simus was particularly plentiful in the western part of the continent, from Alaska and the Yukon Territory down to the Pacific coast as far as Mexico. (A second Arctodus species, the smaller A. pristinus, was restricted to the southern part of North America, the fossil specimens of this lesser-known bear being discovered as far afield as Texas, Mexico, and Florida.)Â  Contemporaneous with Arctodus simus, there was also a related genus of short-faced bear native to South America, Arctotherium, the males of which may have weighed as much as 3,000 poundsthus earning the South American Giant-Short Faced Bear the coveted title of Biggest Bear Ever.

A comparative analysis of the technological conception of making smart Essay

A comparative analysis of the technological conception of making smart cities using Information and Communications Technologies in two cities; Dubuque, Iowa and Songdo IBD, South Korea - Essay Example Y. McDonald firm in the manufacturing of equipment called Unmeasured Flow Reducer (UFR). This device supplements the ordinary water meter through measuring accurately, low flow usage. The new meter system helps residents in identifying water wastages and hence adopting corrective conservation measures. The smart water meter takes water measurements after every 15 minutes in each household, and then sends information to the IBM cloud; cloud computing involves internet computing where resources, software or information is given to computer devices on demand (Deakin, 2007). Cloud computing enables the most rapid decision making, in the water conservation measures; in the cloud the water data will be studied to check problems in the water system like leaks. Songdo IBD, South Korea is a modern environment which uses technology to continuously innovate so as to improve the lives of residents and visitors. There is a centralized waste management system which has capabilities of disposing wet and dry waste, hence completely eliminates waste collection vehicles and associated environmental hazards. The city also has the mechanisms of reclaiming treated grey water and storm water; for reuse in irrigation projects involving general and green roof farms. Vegetated green roofs minimize heat island effect that affects other coastal cities. Water efficiency is an important factor in Songdo’s development projects. Green spaces around the city employ indigenous plants which require no irrigation or minimal irrigation. Grey water from buildings must be collected, subjected to treatment process, and thereafter reused for activities like irrigation, cleaning and flushing. Low flow plumbing equipments are standard in the smart city. A water technology system will be installed to ensure that storm water is treated and reused, and black water is reprocessed and treated (Coe et al.,

Ubuntu Operating System Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ubuntu Operating System - Assignment Example Ubuntu also gives one the security and comfort in working and storing information online, since it has a password to unlock the administrative actions of one's documents. The password protects against superfluous persons from interfering with the documents. The constantly changing versions of Ubuntu make it a striking technology to apply. Ubuntu Operating System is the newest version of a computer operating system built to cater to the immense role computer plays on man’s daily activities. The system offers new features to its users and improves on their daily know-how in the computer world. Ubuntu is described as a computer structure based on the ‘Debian GNU/Linux distribution’. This unit analyses history, features installation, packages, variants, editions and quality of Ubuntu operating system in detail. Ubuntu was developed as a result of the need of having an efficient system. The earlier systems were not efficient to do the multitasking task, which involved a user performing similar tasks at once. The first version of Ubuntu to be released for public use was on 20th October 2004. Various versions of the Ubuntu system are launched after eighteen months to advance on the effectiveness of the structure. The new versions of the system help in maintaining safety, thus preventing unwanted viruses. The Ubuntu system is being sponsored by Canonical Ltd and a well-wisher named Mark Shuttleworth. The sponsor’s donations led to the formation of the Ubuntu foundation whose main function was to support the development of the latest Ubuntu versions. The features of Ubuntu are that; it is composed of different software packages like the free software. Ubuntu’s design allows it to focus on usability, safety, and dependability.

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Case Study Example (Troy 2007 pg 158-172). The purpose of conducting such a form of analysis is to assist meet the informational needs of the investors, creditors and management so that they are in the position of making appropriate decisions. The ratios analysis conducted herein is done with the objective of comparing the all the measurements of financial data to aid or facilitate wise investment decision, as well as credit decisions and managerial. A Cross-sectional Analysis will be conducted where- ratios are used and compared between two firms (Goofy’s & Pluto’s) of the same industry(the sporting goods business) in order to draw conclusions about an entitys profitability and financial performance hence the ability to invest in this sector. Inter-firm Analysis will be categorized under Cross-sectional, as the analysis is done by using some basic ratios of the Industry in which the firm under analysis belongs (and specifically, the average of all the firms of the industry) as benchmarks or the basis for our firms overall performance evaluation as compared to the whole industry (Troy 2007 pg 113-17). In the analysis, we will use the return ratios, financial leverage ratios, activity ratios, profitability ratios and liquidity ratios to make our decision on whether to invest in the sporting goods business. The decision to invest the $5,000 will be on the criteria of the company that shows good financial shape and hence able to provide the investor with a return on investment. My analysis and decision will be based on the ratios from the table above which can be grouped into return ratios (rates of return on assets and Rate of return on equity); financial leverage ratios (debt ratio, debt to equity ratio). In addition, Activity ratios (Inventory turnover, receivable turnover and asset turnover ratios); profitability ratios (Gross profit margin, net profit margin

The relationship between social and health problems

The relationship between social and health problems Abstract: The term Social Problems is a misnomer and is an admission of the fact that the actual nature and constitution of the situation has not been deliberated at depth. When senior people see that the rules and behavioural patterns they have held so dear are getting challenged they term it as creation of problems. Criticising the social order that is emerging is the easiest way to admit defeat. The brave and sensible way is to accept the challenges and find ways and means of retaining the value system – may be with certain modifications – that has been followed for generations. In this way the young generation can adjust to the social changes and yet remain healthy and flourish in life. Introduction: The present day health issues are very closely related to the current social set up and coming into existence of a new set of social norms and values. While most of the social norms and values are traceable to and intimately related to the economic factors yet there is a trend of getting carried away by foreign cultures and their different social bearings. The pressure on the present day youth for being economically successful is very high and this gives a peculiar dimension to these ‘youngsters’ way of life which is enormously different to the type of pressures felt by the previous generations. While on one hand parents expect their children to become successful – which is a decent way of saying that they earn pots and pots of money – on the other the boys and girls are expected to follow the same set of social rules which has been followed by the ‘elders’ for generations. Thus the social problems have many causes but one significant reason is the inability of the older generations to accept and adjust to the changes in the society which is inevitable. The main problem that surfaced is that previous generation weighed the social structure of today by the norms and values that were taught to them quite a few decades back. The ground reality has changed rapidly and the senior generations are still getting guided by the rules of the game of yesteryears. The world is changing faster than it ever did before and the changes are not only very wide and rapid but are also very deep penetrating. Thus the changes are in effect causing social ‘evils’ as seen by the previous outlook but in reality the developments of the world is going on for centuries and what is being called as social problems is a manifestation of the inability to change and adjust to the new life order. Discussion: As stated in the introduction above, it is evident that there is need to face the societal changes that are coming up every day. In order to examine the situation in depth, three generation of society were interviewed to get to the bottom of the problem. The first were the generation of grandparents – who learned their ways of life some fifty to sixty years back. The next set consisted of parents i.e. father and mother group of today’s youngsters and they learned what they believe to be correct social norms some twenty-five to thirty year back. The final subset consisted of growing boys and girls of today and consisted of college and university students. These are the people who are bearing the brunt of the social problems which in turn is having a serious effect on their health. The first set of people consisting of grandparents carried fixed and set ideas about what the societal norms and beliefs are supposed to be. They saw no reason for changing those norms and beliefs. The behavioral norms were very strictly defined and centered around simple living and high thinking with very little emphasis and importance – if any at all – being paid to the economic progress and well being. They had lived their life in a very definite way and firmly believed that what was good for them is also god for their grandchildren today. Above all, their firm belief that ‘one size fits all’ concept as far as social behavior is concerned was much too firm for accommodating any updating necessitated by the present day life style. This brought about the severe view of the present day social interactions and the resultant problems. They knew that they had lived their life and were in no mood to accommodate or even tolerate the changing pattern of social values and norms. The best thing is that – in fact it should be called the worst thing – is that his set of people failed to see the few very good aspects of the changing patterns of social behavior. They invariably were quick to point out the drawbacks without for a moment acknowledging the good and beneficial aspects of the emerging new social order. The second set of people who were interviewed represented the parents. This group had its own problems. They fully appreciated the beneficial aspects of the change but were hesitant to admit the same since it clashed with what they were taught as the ideal way of social behavior. They too saw the problems of the present social setups and behavioral patterns but at the same time knew that there is no stopping of the changes coming about. Further they saw the new order did bring new problems but at the same time it encouraged the democratic institutions so very necessary for the well being of the future generations. They wanted to break away from the traditional social order and get into the flow of development of the new order. However, they had reached an age where they were unable to be adventurous and were cautious about accepting the changes. This gave rise to a very unbalanced state since while in their heart of hearts they knew that what was seen as social problems were more of aberrations of their viewing the outcomes than causing difficulties for the new generations. Yes, they wanted their children to bag high-pay job offers but at the same time wanted their children to stick to the ‘five prayers a day’ schedule despite the demands of their job conditions. This kind of situation is prevalent not only in the Middle East but such situation also exists in most of the emerging economies like Brazil, India, China, Pakistan etc. This group, like the previous group of grandparents, also quickly saw the social problems – but with a difference. This group simultaneously tried to find a solution which would accommodate the social change and at the same time keep a balance with the past so that the health (both mental as well as physical) hazards were contained. This is a very healthy indicator of the changes in social order being slowly accepted and though it is a slow process but it is a sure process. The present social norms have taken centuries to develop; it is very likely that the new social order will take some time to settle down. The last group consisted of the people of the below twenty-five age group. The first priority for this group was a better and more comfortable way of life. They valued democracy in all walks of life. They carried no negative feelings for the age old systems and gave full credit to the social order which has seen their predecessors to reach the current state. Yet when any of the social behavioral patterns got into the way of their achieving the goal they so cherished they did not hesitate to set aside the existing social norms. They were ready to burn the midnight lamp if that meant getting higher grades which would translate into their landing better jobs. Yes this was a potential health hazard but it also promised attainment of their dream goals. These groups wanted to make it big and for achieving this they were ready to take on with a ‘no-holds-barred’ situation. Good health is basic pre- requisite of good life. Without having good heath one will lose the very capacity for any human pursuit – from the grossest to the subtlest. He will not be able to enjoy the fruits of his toil. Health does not mean absence of diseases but it implies the possession and cultivation of a physically fit, morally strong and mentally alert individual who is able to meet the physical demands of life pursuits with full vigour and enthusiasm. The present day society seeks comforts, conveniences and freedom from drudgeries and wants to avoid working on monotonous, back-breaking and tedious chores from dawn to dusk – except out of compulsion. They prefer freedom from all hindrances and choose democratic way of life. Democracy for them is not just a merely form of government but it is a foundational societal value and hence they prefer a democratic society. In such a preferred democratic society values of freedom, equality, respect for the individual, collective decision making and the right to dissent should be inbuilt into the social arrangements and transactions. The young people with a democratic bent of mind respected the rights and freedoms of other people. They treated people at the level of equality and were tolerant of the views and opinions which were different from their own. When they were invested with authority they would use it with care and that too for the common benefit of people. Instead of imposing their views on others they would look for a consensus solution for making any collective decision. While the first group (grandparents) stood out by their intolerant attitude, this group of young citizens were endowed with refined, liberal and humanistic values. Though the members of the first group found the young people as creators of all trouble and labelled them as ‘rebels’ the younger generation were accepting their new found status of that of a rebel with alarming ease and comfort. They knew that if they stuck to the ways of the senior citizens then the possibilities of their realising their dreams of making it big would never materialise. There is ample historical evidence which go to prove that change – be it social, economic, technological or even environment – are all here to stay. Either one makes himself capable to adjust to the change or the process of change will eliminate them for good. Now, SOCIETY is an organisation for cooperative working to ensure human development, through production and distribution of sharable social goods. Society is made up of various constituents like individuals, different classes and groups, social, economic institutions and many more. In UAE and other Middle East countries the individual goals and the collective goals are often in conflict with each other. Yet the main objective of any developing and healthy society is to ensure human development which is not restricted to social, political, economic issues but also the development of the members on a total basis which would include health, formality and above all the value system of life. As stated earlier, one of the major aim of any society is to ensure production and distribution of sharable social goods like roads, transportation, water, electricity, health care and a host of other facilities. Opportunities and means of gainful employment, jobs, career and other rightful and legitimate means of seeking personal economic betterment are also to be treated as part of sharable social goods. Thus, the social changes taking place in every country and in every society aim at providing better opportunities and means of gainful employment and suitable jobs to the members of the society. There is no harm if the young people of today seek better standards of living and are prepared to dissociate themselves from the social norms which prevent their advancement in life. Conclusion: To sum up the entire picture it is necessary to understand that the so called Social problems are the result of the failure to appreciate the wisdom behind each and every change that is taking place in the world around. Older people who have lived their lives may conveniently call such changes as resulting in problems causing health hazards but such changes are for ‘GREATER GOOD’ and hence should be accepted if not welcomed. The budding Engineer or Manager or Professor faces an uphill task and shying away from sharing the gains available today is certainly not wise. Though the severe challenges may prove to be a health hazard in the short run but over time people will learn to cope with it and emerge the winner. Thus finding faults with the social problems is the weak person’s way of handling the changes taking place in the milieu. A strong and healthy individual will take the bull by its horns and will certainly succeed in controlling the social changes to his advantage.

Diamonds Are My Best Friend Essay -- essays research papers

“It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in spring, when everything else begins again. And it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings. And then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone.'; A. Bartlett Giamatti, the former commissioner of Major League Baseball. From the lush, green grass to the smell of an old leather glove, baseball is truly an extraordinary game. Let us look beyond the enormous salaries and free agency and examine baseball for what it really is: an outstanding form of entertainment. Baseball is incredibly important to me, as not only have I learned an enormous amount from it, I have experienced a whole spectrum of emotions during my love affair with the game. I have been a baseball fan all my life. I remember watching my beloved St. Louis Cardinals play in their robin’s egg blue uniforms in the early 1980’s. We had a birdfeeder in our backyard, and every morning, the same cardinal would stop for his breakfast. I named him Tommy Herr, after the Cardinals second baseman at the time. Tommy has long since retired, but I will always remember the little bird flying in my backyard. It is difficult for one to approach this subject without a sense of heroism and romanticism of it’s rich history. One of my favorite parts of going to the ballpark is listening to the fascinating stories of old timers, the men who have loved the game since childhood. They remember Musial, Maris, and Mantle. They can tell you stories of hearing Hank Aaron hitting his record breaking home run on the radio, or watching Lou Gehrig as a young child. Many of the greatest baseball stories can be heard from these men, living encyclopedias if what the game once was, and it today. Someday I will be sitting in the box seats of a ballpark, and a young child will take the seat beside me. I can captive his imagination with anecdotes of Cal Ripken Jr.’s remarkable streak, Ozzie Smith’s amazing back flips, Pedro Martinez’s menacing fastball, and the magical summer of 1998 when Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire mystified the world with their long ball heroics. Only in recent years have I begun to truly appreciate the game for what it really is. While some go to the ballpark to see home runs, popular players, or fireworks, I find myself attracted to th... ... that next year, it will all begin again. A fresh new start. A brand new season. However, right now, it is fall. A pitcher grabs a coat to keep his throwing arm warm in this chilly rain, and soon the entire dugout is seen donning coats. The leaves start to change to brown. Kids go back to school. Football begins to creep onto the minds and lips of sports fans. The season comes to a close, and the spring looks terribly far away with an icy cold winter between now and the promises that lie ahead. Baseball has survived throughout the years. It has survived two World Wars. It has survived a depression. It will continue to survive throughout the next millennium. It has gone on strike and saw half it’s fans leave, then watched them come back to see truly great men exhibit even greater talent. Baseball is a sport for the ages. Eighty year old men who have watched this game for years come to the park and sit next to eight year old boys who have never seen a professional game in their lives. That’s what baseball is all about. It is extraordinary. Athletes rise above the compitition and achieve greatness while astonishing veteran fans and simultaneously earning new ones.

Cineplex Entertainment – Loyalty Programs

S w 9B08A008 CINEPLEX ENTERTAINMENT: THE LOYALTY PROGRAM Renee Zatzman wrote this case under the supervision of Professor Kenneth G. Hardy solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality. Ivey Management Services prohibits any form of reproduction, storage or transmittal without its written permission. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization.To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Management Services, c/o Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7; phone (519) 661-3208; fax (519) 661-3882; e-mail [email  protected] uwo. ca. Copyright  © 2008, Ivey Management Services Version: (A) 2009-05-15 INTROD UCTION Sarah Lewthwaite, marketing director for Cineplex Entertainment, was approached by chief executive officer (CEO) Ellis Jacob in August 2006 to resume the development of a loyalty program.The movie industry yielded inconsistent revenues each year, and Jacob wanted to increase and stabilize Cineplex’s revenues. As chair of the Loyalty Steering Committee (the committee), Lewthwaite was scheduled to present her recommendations to the committee the following week. She would need to make a persuasive argument that included recommendations on program development, the reward structure and the type of promotional campaign that would be most effective under the existing budget constraints. Finally, she needed to suggest whether the rogram should launch regionally or nationally. Her recommendations would be reviewed by senior Cineplex executives to ensure that the recommendations aligned with their criteria. CINEPLEX ENTERTAINMENT Cineplex Entertainment (Cineplex) was founded in 1979 as a small chain of movie theaters under the Cineplex Odeon name. In 2003, under the direction of Onex Corporation, a Canadian private equity firm that held a major ownership claim in the company, Cineplex merged with Galaxy Entertainment Inc. (Galaxy). The CEO of Galaxy, Ellis Jacob, took over the newly merged company.In late 2005, Cineplex Galaxy acquired its largest competitor, Famous Players, and became Cineplex Entertainment — Canada’s largest film exhibitor. With a box-office market share of 64 per cent, the chain enjoyed approximately 40 million visits per year under the Cineplex Odeon, Galaxy, Famous Players and Cinema City brands. 1 Cineplex’s corporate mission focused on offering movie-goers â€Å"an exceptional entertainment experience. † In addition to seeing a movie, customers could eat at various branded concession counters or play in the arcade.In 2005, Cineplex expanded its strategy to focus on developing new markets, using the theate rs’ 1 Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund 2005 Annual Report,http://dplus. cineplexgalaxy. com/content/objects/Annual%20Report% 202005. pdf, accessed January 3, 2008. Page 2 9B08A008 large screens to showcase live events, such as major hockey games, wrestling matches and the Metropolitan Opera. These events contributed greatly to Cineplex’s success, which was measured primarily on customer traffic and revenue per guest (RPG), which was in turn composed of box-office and concession revenues.In 2005, weak box-office attendance throughout the movie theater industry had affected Cineplex’s operating performance (see Exhibit 1 for Cineplex’s income statements for 2003, 2004 and 2005). Following the acquisition of Famous Players in 2005, Cineplex executives adjusted the pricing and products in the food and beverage concessions in 2006. With these moves, Cineplex was able to increase its average box-office RPG to $7. 73 and its average concession RPG to $3. 44 (see Exhi bit 2).A GROWTH OPPORTUNITY Like the entire industry, Cineplex faced variable attendance levels depending on the crop of new movies. Additionally, RPG fluctuated based on the film genre. Cineplex executives knew that audiences for actionthemed and children’s movies purchased a high volume of concession items, which typically resulted in a higher RPG than dramas. From these viewing patterns, Cineplex executives were able to distinguish the groups of customers that were particularly valuable.However, with no actual link to individual customers, they faced challenges targeting customers for specific movies and special events. Although market research was helpful on an aggregate level, Cineplex executives wanted to link box-office and concession purchases to a particular customer. Senior executives were supportive of Lewthwaite and the committee collecting this information through a customer relationship management program. FILM EXHIBITION The first Canadian film screening took p lace in 1896, in Montreal, Quebec, and the earliest cinema opened in 1906. Attending the cinemas, also known as theaters, became a popular social activity; by the 1930s, a variety of independent and studio-owned theaters competed for customer attention. In 1979, Canada’s first 18-theater multiplex opened in Toronto, Ontario, with several other multiplexes following in subsequent years. After a series of consolidations, by 2005, only three major theater companies existed in the Canadian movie and event exhibition market. To showcase films, theaters required licensing from distributors who purchased rights from the production studios.The licensing agreement stipulated the â€Å"box-office split,† also known as the percentage of proceeds that the theater received from a given film over a specified duration. Although both parties were mutually dependent, distributors held the balance of power and theaters relied heavily on concession revenues, of which they retained 100 pe r cent of the receipts. The margins on customers’ purchases of concession treats and beverages were 65 per cent on average. 3 Table 1 (below) shows one way of characterizing the motivations and frequency of movie-going behavior according to various age segments. Marcus Robinson, â€Å"A History of Film Exhibition in Canada,† Playback: Canada's Broadcast and Production Journal (2005), accessed December 30, 2007. 3 Janet Wasko, How Hollywood Works, Sage Publications, London, 2003. Page 3 9B08A008 Table 1 OBSERVATIONS ON THE MOTIVATIONS AND FREQUENCY OF MOVIE ATTENDANCE BY AGE Frequency, reasons for attendance* Age Segment Labels 13-15 â€Å"Teenagers† 16-19 â€Å"Young Adults† 20-24 â€Å"Young Working† Medium (Special Movies) High (Routine) 36-54 â€Å"Older Families† X Low (Special Events) 25-35 â€Å"Young Families† 55+ â€Å"Retirees† X X X X X These observations were drawn from an independent focus group study conducted in 2 003. â€Å"Teenagers† — Teenagers use the movie theatre and arcade for social gatherings because locations are accessible and movie-viewing is considered by parents to be an appropriate social activity. They are among the highest frequency of visitors. â€Å"Young Adults† — This segment has access to a variety of other social venues because they can drive. Some in this segment are still in high school and others are post-secondary students; this segment visits theatres with high frequency. Young Working† — This segment has disposable income and they combine movies with socializing at other venues such as bars and restaurants. This segment has a high frequency of movie visits. â€Å"Young Families† — This segment struggles to balance family and work-related obligations; they take their children to special movies occasionally. â€Å"Older Families† — With a busy work and family life and varying interests within the h ousehold, older families attend theatres only for special events, and seldom attend as a family unit. Retirees† — This segment has significant free time to attend movies. They attend movies at a medium frequency. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) Customer relationship management (CRM) is a marketing approach in which a company collects individual purchasing information to improve its ability to understand and respond to customer desires and buying patterns. The information is typically stored in a central database from which the company managers can analyse trends and the purchasing behavior of particular market segments.A better understanding of customers enables organizations to develop targeted campaigns to increase marketing effectiveness, such as restructuring its products and services. For Cineplex, a CRM program could also be Page 4 9B08A008 used to share valuable information with concession suppliers and movie distributors. Through the sharing of this infor mation, partners would be better able to develop products for Cineplex’s customer base. Although several mechanisms were available to collect customer information, the most frequently used systems were point-of-sale systems, which scanned barcodes on wallet-sized cards or key chains.A recent trend for CRM programs was to offer incentives such as discounts or points that could be collected and redeemed for merchandise in return for the customer’s permission for the company to collect data on the customer’s buying habits. Among the Canadian companies following this trend were Shoppers Drug Mart with the Optimum card program, Air Canada with the Aeroplan rewards program and Office Depot and Boston Pizza which both participated in the Flight Miles card campaign. CREATING LOYALTY Even with 65 per cent market share in Canada, Cineplex had to aggressively compete for customer attention.Ongoing film piracy, rental movies, concerts and sporting events, combined with inco nsistent box-office revenues encouraged Cineplex managers to explore ways to increase customer spending and frequency, particularly within the lucrative 16- to 24-year-old segment. Before merging with Cineplex Odeon, Galaxy Entertainment had established the Galaxy Elite card, which offered customers the opportunity to accumulate points toward free movie viewing. Although the program had no CRM capabilities, it had been successful in driving customer traffic.During the merger with Cineplex, the program had been disbanded and Galaxy’s customer traffic had promptly waned. In a survey of Cineplex customers in May and June 2005, 95 per cent of respondents stated they were interested in joining a movie rewards program (see Exhibit 3). In 2004, a steering committee composed of different department representatives was established to investigate CRM opportunities for Cineplex. After being put on hold during the acquisition of Famous Players, the committee was anxious to move forward i n investigating a joint loyalty/CRM program.Senior managers had several concerns, primarily regarding data control and ownership, which would be relevant if the program were disbanded. Another criterion concerned resource requirements; a program this size would be a costly investment and would likely require new employees to manage it. Lewthwaite would need to prove that it was a worthy financial investment. Finally, the committee needed to consider the length of time required to establish a new database because most committee members believed that conclusive information on customer behavior could be drawn only from a minimum of 500,000 members.Further, although they thought that an investment in such a program could be largely beneficial for Cineplex, if implemented poorly, the organization’s image and its ability to deliver customer value could suffer widespread harm. Lewthwaite knew that although the following partner options might not meet all the committee’s crite ria, she had to evaluate the most important considerations. LOYALTY PARTNER OPTIONS Internal Development Under this option, Cineplex managers would develop and operate the program; they would then know their brand best and would have complete control over the direction of the program and the data ownership.However, the organization would incur the entire cost estimated at $5. 5 million in the first year with diminishing costs in subsequent years. The company would also be fully exposed to the financial risk of unredeemed points and could face difficulty in divesting the program if it proved unsuccessful; a new Page 5 9B08A008 department would need to be created to manage the exit of the program. This option would also require a new database, which, depending on promotional effectiveness, could take several years to create.However, because of the unlimited data access and control, this option appealed to several members of the committee. Flight Miles Partnership With 72 per cent of C anadian households as active members, Flight Miles was the top Canadian loyalty program. 4 This program gave cardholders the opportunity to earn leisure and travel rewards by purchasing products at various retailers across the country. Flight Miles executives viewed Cineplex as an opportunity to increase its youth membership, and their executives approached Cineplex executives to propose a special joint program.In this program, traditional Flight Miles cards would be used to collect points. Supplementary key tags would be issued for movie customers who opted to receive additional member benefits and rewards. Although the key tags might confuse other existing Flight Miles members, the proposal seemed to offer numerous benefits to Cineplex, including immediate entrance into a database of seven million people. Cineplex would also have the opportunity to access data from other Flight Miles partners, which would be beneficial in targeting specific retail buyers for niche films.Lewthwaite estimated that access to the Flight Miles program would cost Cineplex yearly fees of approximately $5 million. Cineplex would also be required to pay $0. 09 for each point issued. Lewthwaite thought users of the program would expect each movie transaction to be worth a minimum of 10 Flight Miles points. Cineplex would also be required to pay each time it accessed the data, which Flight Miles would own. A commitment of three years would be required, and if Cineplex decided to leave the program, it would lose all access to accumulated data.Lewthwaite recognized that Cineplex would be required to adhere to the partnership’s decisions; no easy out was available if she did not like some aspect of the program after they signed the deal. To make the proposal more attractive, Flight Miles executives offered to contribute $250,000 to launch a Cineplex-designed and -initiated marketing campaign. Scotiabank Proposal Just as Lewthwaite and her committee sat down to examine the two optio ns in further detail, Scotiabank executives approached Cineplex as a potential loyalty partner. The bank had a relationship with Cineplex derived from earlier corporate sponsorships.As one of the Big Five banks in Canada, Scotiabank offered a diverse range of financial services, including domestic banking, wholesale banking and wealth management. Through 950 branches, Scotiabank served approximately 6. 8 million Canadians in 2005. 5 Because banks competed in an intensely competitive marketplace, many banks aligned their brands with sporting events, venues and other companies through corporate sponsorship. Scotiabank executives were interested in acquiring new youth accounts and increasing overall transactions, so they viewed a partnership with Cineplex as a means to achieve their objectives while sharing financial risk.Scotiabank, which had prior experience with data management companies through its gold credit card program, proposed 50-50 cost-sharing. In return for partnering on t he program, Scotiabank expected naming rights on three major theaters and an exclusivity agreement for Scotiabank bank machines in all Cineplex theaters. 4 5 â€Å"Air Miles Rewards Program,† http://www. loyalty. com/what/airmiles/index. html. accessed November 2, 2007. Scotiabank, 2005 Annual Report, http://cgi. scotiabank. com/annrep2005/en/rbl_ov. html, accessed February 10, 2008. Page 6 9B08A008Scotiabank proposed a three-card rewards strategy. The basic reward card would be Cineplex-branded and used at theaters; the Scotiabank debit and credit cards would act as reward accelerators that accumulated additional points based on customers’ purchasing habits. Any Scotiabank debit- or credit-card user enrolled in this program would be issued the Cineplex card, and holders of basic Cineplex theater cards would not be required to open an account at Scotiabank. Lewthwaite considered that the multiple card system might discourage some customers who disliked carrying additio nal cards.Secondly, because it would be a 50-50 partnership, Cineplex’s decision-making power would be constrained, and the direction of the program would be subject to mutual agreement. Also, owing to privacy laws, Cineplex executives would not be able to access individual-level banking information on the Scotiabank program users, data that might be helpful in targeting specific retail consumers. However, this program could be promoted in theaters and bank branches across the country. The costs to develop and maintain Cineplex’s portion of the partnership were estimated to be $3 million, $1. million and $1. 9 million in years 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Lewthwaite had to fully consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of each proposal and weigh them against Cineplex’s criteria before recommending which partner to select. She also acknowledged other options were available beyond those that were presented. She knew that this decision could not be made without an alysing the potential reward structure of the program because the committee would expect a detailed net benefit analysis to support her recommendation. STRUCTURING THE REWARD PROGRAMLewthwaite believed it was essential to create a program that would appeal to customers. However, creating a program with valuable and easy-to-gain rewards might be too costly to carry out for an extended period of time. If Cineplex went forward with the Flight Miles partnership, an offer of 10 Flight Miles points per transaction would be required to align with cardholder expectations and could be supplemented with Cineplex discounts. If Cineplex went forward with other loyalty partnerships, it would have full design control over the reward structure of the program.Points could be earned based on box-office transactions, concession transactions, or both. The points could then be used towards movies and concession items. Determining the number and value of points to be given per transaction and the requir ed price per transaction were aspects that Lewthwaite needed to determine. She also needed to decide on the number of points required for particular rewards and whether different reward levels should be created. Among the other options, Cineplex could reward cardholders with a permanent discount on theater tickets or concession items (or both) or possibly provide first access to special events.If Lewthwaite went forward with free or discounted movies and concession items, she would need to estimate the extent to which she would be rewarding customers who would have attended without being offered any rewards,6 the so-called cannibalization rate (see Exhibit 4). To determine the other potential revenues, Lewthwaite needed to perform a sensitivity analysis around any increases in the concession RPG, which she hoped might increase by five to 15 per cent for loyalty program members. She also had the option of charging a nominal one-time or annual membership fee of $2 to $5.Finally, as wi th any loyalty point program, Lewthwaite knew that only 40 per cent of earned points would be redeemed annually. She drafted a preliminary list of four unique reward structures she thought could be effective, but was unsure which, if any, would maximize customer appeal through retail value while minimizing costs (see Exhibit 5). 6 Cannibalization refers to the number of free visits redeemed that would have been paid visits in the absence of a loyalty program. Page 7 9B08A008 SELECTING THE DATABASE VENDORIf a recommendation were made to move forward with program development, the committee would need to select a database vendor to manage customer data and the e-communication site. This vendor would need strong website design capabilities and a technology platform that could collect a variety of data on Cineplex’s customers. Because Canada had only a few such vendors, Cineplex released a request for proposal (RFP) to three major companies: Alpha, Kappa, and Gamma. Each company r esponded with a unique proposal for the project (see Exhibit 6). THE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGNCineplex executives wanted to enroll 500,000 customers per year for the first three years in any loyalty program, After the first year, she believed the data bank would be large enough to derive meaningful customer information, and the organization could then focus on customer retention. To meet these targets, Cineplex would need to build substantial awareness of the program, particularly in markets where the Galaxy Elite card had previously existed. Launching the loyalty card would also require a marketing campaign to fit a variety of geographic markets, including Quebec, a province whose official language was French.Lewthwaite had a budget of $300,000, and she needed to make some creative decisions, including the name of the program, the marketing message to customers and the media to be used to deliver the message. In-Theater Advertising In 2005, Cineplex served 5. 3 million uniq ue visitors annually with an average of 7. 5 visits per guest. No costs were associated with in-theater advertising, and Lewthwaite knew it was an excellent way to reach the market but she was unsure which media would be most effective without overwhelming movie-goers.The program could be promoted on concession products, point-of-purchase displays, backlit posters or on the website. The program could also be advertised to a captive audience via the digital pre-show or during the presentation of upcoming attractions. Newspaper Advertising Lewthwaite wondered whether the target market would respond to regional newspaper advertisements. She knew that the committee was opposed to advertising in a national newspaper, such as the Globe and Mail, because it did not have strong reach in every market in which Cineplex operated.However, Cineplex was accustomed to promoting events through half-page ads in regional papers. Although this option would be more costly than advertising solely in a n ational paper, several more movie-going markets could be reached. The average weekly cost per half-page ad in the small to medium markets was $1,200, and $3,600 for larger markets, with a development cost of $850 for each advertisement. If this option were selected, Lewthwaite would need to determine in which papers to advertise, and the message and frequency of the insertions (see Exhibit 7).Radio Advertising Local radio advertisements could achieve significant coverage in key markets across Canada. The average weekly cost per 30-second commercial was $160 in small-and medium-sized markets and $225 in larger Page 8 9B08A008 markets. Development of local radio ads would cost approximately $1,100 per city. Because Cineplex had used this medium for other events, particularly in rural theater markets, Lewthwaite was confident Cineplex could also negotiate free advertisement space on many radio station’s websites. Online AdvertisingIn addition to advertising on the Cineplex websi te, the program could be promoted through various websites, such as Google, Muchmusic. ca, MTV. ca and canoe. qc. ca, a French-language news site. Costs varied according to advertisement format and site (see Exhibit 8). Grass Roots Initiatives Lewthwaite had also considered smaller initiatives with the goal of spreading word-of-mouth publicity. Event teams could promote on college and university campuses or at highly visited attractions, thereby raising awareness for the program. Cineplex could also engage in corporate sponsorships.She was unsure what costs would be associated with these options. LAUNCH Launching the program was the final recommendation to be made. Cineplex’s head office was located in Toronto, Ontario, and the company operated in six provincial markets — Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia — but none of the four Atlantic provinces. Lewthwaite would have to decide whether the program should be launched regionall y or across all six provinces. In early 2006, Cineplex had completed the installation of a new point-of-sale platform, which had the technological capability to support a national loyalty rollout.A national launch was appealing to Lewthwaite because it would be cost-efficient and would accrue revenues faster than a regional rollout. However, it was also riskier than a regional rollout: any problem would affect all markets. A regional launch would give Cineplex the opportunity to resolve problems before full implementation. The regional rollout would be more expensive at completion, but it would allow Cineplex to stretch funds over a longer time period. If Lewthwaite recommended the regional option, she would need to decide how the regional launch would be phased in.Lewthwaite knew several complex decisions needed to be made, and she had little time before the steering committee’s meeting the following week. Having a more comprehensive understanding of customer behavior and de mographics was important in improving Cineplex’s success, but could a loyalty program be implemented in such a way to fit senior management’s criteria? If she recommended going ahead with the program, which loyalty partner should she use? How should the rewards be structured and promoted? What would the promotional campaign entail, and how should the launch take place?As she leaned back in her chair, she knew it was going to be a very long week. Page 9 9B08A008 Exhibit 1 CINEPLEX ENTERTAINMENT INCOME STATEMENTS 2003–2005 (Cdn$ in Thousands) Total revenue Cost of operations Gross income Amortization Loss on debt Impairment on assets Loss (gain) on disposal of assets Interest on long-term debt Interest on loan Interest income Foreign exchange gain Income taxes Income from discontinued operations Non-controlling interest Net Income 2005 490,299 421,529 68,770 42,948 4,156 4,296 122 2004 315,786 248,818 66,968 22,530 – (111) 2003 295,540 242,636 52,904 18,404 – – (92) 18,401 8,280 4,020 14,000 (378) – (1,463) 14,000 (473) – (1,149) 1,381 (922) (3,696) 366 28,116 6,357 6,184 1,828 12,976 – 30,248 304 39,323 Source: Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund 2005 Annual Report, http://dplus. cineplexgalaxy. com/content/objects/annual%20report%202005. pdf, accessed January 3, 2008. Page 10 9B08A008 Exhibit 2 CINEPLEX ENTERTAINMENT ATTENDANCE AND REVENUE PER GUEST DATA Attendance Box office RPG Concession RPG Film cost as a per cent of box-office revenue 2006E 61,000,000 – 2005 9,945,000 $7. 73 $3. 44 51. 7% 2004 28,096,000 $7. 45 $3. 04 51. 6% 2003 27,073,000 $7. 28 $2. 91 52. 1% Source: Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund 2005 Annual Report, http://dplus. cineplexgalaxy. com/content/objects/annual%20report%202005. pdf, accessed January 3, 2008. Page 11 9B08A008 Exhibit 3 HIGHLIGHTS FROM CINEPLEX EMAIL SURVEY OF CURRENT CUSTOMERS Survey Period: May–June 17, 2005 Respondents: 4,261 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ à ¢â‚¬ ¢ 95 per cent of respondents were interested in joining a Cineplex Entertainment movie rewards program 87 per cent of respondents currently elonged to the Flight Miles program, and 39 per cent identified Flight Miles as their â€Å"favorite rewards program† 31 per cent of respondents were interested in the opportunity to collect Aeroplan points 56 per cent of respondents indicated that they would be interested in receiving a 10 per cent discount at concessions The majority of respondents suggested that they would be more inclined to join if there were no additional card to carry Page 12 9B08A008 Exhibit 4 SUMMARY OF REVENUES AND CANNIBALIZATION RATES †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢Membership fee possibilities, a one-time fee of $2 to $5 Increase in concession RPG of from 5 per cent to 15 per cent Net increase in attendance (actual incremental attendance times 1- the estimated cannibalization rate) Cannibalization rate assumptions Worst: 50 per cent Most Likely: 25 per ce nt Best: 12. 5 per cent Page 13 9B08A008 Exhibit 5 PRELIMINARY REWARD STRUCTURE OPTIONS Option 1 Membership fee Permanent concessions discount Points? Sign-up points Points per adult movie transaction Points per concession combo transaction Option 2Option 3 Annually $5 Option 4 No One-time $2 – 10% 15% 10% Yes Yes No Yes 500 100 – 250 100 100 – 100 – 75 – – No Reward Items and Maximum Retail Value Points Required 500 750 Free child admission $8. 50 Free concession combo $12. 37 – – – – – – 1000 adult Free adult Free admission admission $10. 95 $10. 95 – 1500 Free event Free event admission1 admission $19. 95 $19. 95 – Free adult admission/concession combo ($23. 32) – Free adult/2 children admission $27. 95 – – 2,000 2,500 – – – Night package2 Free adult admission $10. 95 out $37. 47 1 2Includes admission to the following viewings: the Metropolit an Opera, NHL series, or WWE series. A Night out package includes two adult movie admissions, two large sodas and one large popcorn. Page 14 9B08A008 Exhibit 6 SUMMARY OF CINEPLEX’S REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL PROGRAM OVERVIEW Cineplex Entertainment is looking into the possibility of creating a new entertainment-focused loyalty program. Members will earn points that can be redeemed for free movies or other entertainment-related rewards. An ongoing marketing program requiring a member database and website is required. VENDORS TO PROVIDE †¢ †¢A proposed approach and high level design concept for the website that is creative and functional Pricing for the database and website build WEBSITE GOALS †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Acquire new customers and deepen relationships with existing customers by enticing them to sign up, then encouraging them to remain active in the loyalty program Provide an easy way to sign up, check status of points earned, get information on rewards t hat can be earned, redeem points, and interact with other members The site will be a major marketing channel to reach members. It will be used for viral and targeted online promotionsProvide an online community for members DATABASE USE †¢ †¢ †¢ For program administration, analysis and reporting For analysis and reporting on moviegoer’s behavior and preferences For marketing to customers THE TARGET MARKET †¢ †¢ †¢ Is very comfortable with the online environment, text messaging, downloading, and browsing Wants and expects discounts and free offers in an attainable timeframe Wants simplicity and convenience WEBSITE REQUIRES †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ A public section accessible to all, a member’s section accessible with member ID and password and an administrative site to be used for customer supportSite must connect to program database to collect, maintain, retrieve and report member data including demographic information and po ints data Integration with Cineplex’s POS equipment and mobile channels for marketing Site will link to and from the sites of main partners and vendors Site must be available in English and French Page 15 9B08A008 Exhibit 6 (continued) VENDORS’ RESPONSES TO THE CINEPLEX REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Alpha Alpha was a leading marketing firm specializing in loyalty programs and performance improvement.As a global company, Alpha’s clients include American Express, Coca-Cola, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft. Alpha has served the Canadian marketplace since 1980, and its focus is helping organizations identify, retain, and build customer relationships in order to maximize profit and drive long-term success. With a history of designing and implementing loyalty programs, Alpha’s technology platforms focused on customer behavior tracking and loyalty rewards fulfillment. In preparing its response, Alpha held focus groups to help determine what type of website appealed to Cin eplex’s target market.These groups indicated the importance of security, easy navigation, and keeping site content up-to-date; they also spoke out against pop-up advertisements. All respondents were familiar with e-newsletters, and noted that loyalty members should have the option to opt in, because they do not want to be overwhelmed with promotional messages. Alpha used this information in conjunction with Cineplex’s specifications to present how the website would be designed. The approximate investment cost for the program design was $500,000 with $40,000 per month required for website upkeep.Kappa Known for managing data for the Royal Bank of Canada, Kappa was one of the largest global marketing agencies. With a strong focus on customer loyalty programs, Kappa offered a high standard in data privacy and security and was the undisputed industry leader in mobile marketing, which linked strongly to Cineplex’s target market. The Kappa proposal focused on creating a youth-driven brand identity that engaged viewers to join the program through program incentives and links to third-party social networking sites, such as MySpace.With a significant portfolio of integrated loyalty program solutions, Kappa also had entertainment industry experience, having previously worked on technology platforms with Famous Players, the Toronto International Film Festival and IMAX. Kappa’s main differentiating factor was its proposal to have two distinct sites, one for members and one for non-members. Although similar in nature, one site would focus on member acquisition and program information while the other would focus on member retention through contest promotions and access to personal account activity.Approximate costs would be $1 million. Gamma Gamma, a competitor in the Canadian marketplace for four years, had vast experience in information technology strategy and a track record of developing CRM programs for leading organizations, such as Kaplan U niversity and Citi Financial. Gamma’s response to the RFP included a proposal to plan, design, and manage Cineplex’s marketing and technology programs on its specialized marketing platform that supported all aspects of email management and e-communication campaigns.This platform would also enable Cineplex to track members on an ongoing basis through different promotional mediums, such as web advertisements and search functions, and to respond instantly to member behavior through messaging for those leaving the site. Gamma’s offer was appealing because it included a fixed-price, fixed-time model. Gamma was unable to provide costs for data management because it was unsure of Cineplex’s technical capabilities, but preliminary planning and design costs were estimated at around $200,000. Page 16 9B08A008 Exhibit 7LARGE MEDIA MARKETS Market Calgary Edmonton Montreal Ottawa Toronto Vancouver Newspaper Calgary Herald Edmonton Journal Montreal Gazette Ottawa Citiz en Toronto Star Vancouver Sun Radio VIBE 98. 5 Sonic 102. 9 Q92 BOB FM Mix 99. 9 Z95 FM SMALL- AND MEDIUM SIZED MEDIA MARKETS Market Barrie Cornwall Guelph Kitchener London North Bay Owen Sound Quebec City Regina Saskatoon Sault Ste. Marie St. Thomas Sudbury Thunderbay Windsor Winnipeg Newspaper Barrie Examiner Standard Freeholder Guelph Mercury Kitchener Record London Free Press North Bay NuggetOwen Sound Sun Times Quebec City Journale Regina Leader Post The Star Phoenix Sault Ste. Marie Star St. Thomas Times-Journal Sudbury Star Chronicle Journal Windsor Star Winnipeg Free Press Radio Rock 95 FM Rock 101. 9 Magic FM KOOL FM Fresh FM EZ Rock Mix 106 Le 93. 3 Z-99 C95 EZ Rock 100. 5 Fresh FM Big Daddy 103. 9 FM Rock 94 89X Q94 Page 17 9B08A008 Exhibit 8 COST PER THOUSAND IMPRESSIONS (in Cdn$) Website google. ca mtv. ca muchmusic. ca yahoo. ca imdb. com canoe. qc. ca Big Box Advertisement 20 27 29 19 17 26 Banner Advertisement 12 35 32 13 9 –