Project: Data Warehouse and Hotel Management Reservation

This acknowledgment transcends the reality of formality when I would like to express deep gratitude and respect to all those people behind the screen who guided, inspired and helped me for the completion of my project work. I consider myself lucky enough to get such a good project. This project would add as an asset o my academic profile. I express my sincere gratitude to our respectful for enabling me to make use of laboratory and library facilities liberally, that helped me a long way in carrying out my project work successfully.I would like to express my thankfulness to my project guide, Mr.. Wallabies Albert for his constant to my parents who have encouraged me with their blessings to do this project successfully. Finally I would like to thank to all my friends, all the teaching and non- teaching staff members of the IT Department, for all the timely help, ideas and encouragement which helped throughout in the completion of project. Hotel management reservation systems have becom e a common trend in today's business organizations. With the coming of the internet/intranet everything is Just a click away.As the Hotel began its quest for the development of Hotel management reservation system that would be used to serve the whole of England, it becomes every web developers ‘and programmers responsibility to tackle the challenge and this challenge still goes on. As pioneers took on the task, it created a platform for others and it's from those existing system that new development are based. The new Hotel management reservation system should be designed in a way that guarantees the security of the users' data and it should be designed in the most user friendly way possible, putting in consideration all the accessibility requirements.A hotel booking system has been developed with enhancements that cover some of the loopholes discovered in the existing hotel management reservation systems. The objective of this project is to create a hotel management reservati on system where customers can request for services and accommodation on specified dates. They can et information regarding time, cost, room and other services offered all at the same time and place. The system displays all the available services, and room reservation.This system would help the hotels to better serve its customers by catering to their needs. The system would use a Database to hold this information as well as the price of the rooms and availability information for the hotel. Hotel reservation system plays a great role and has a potential effect on day to day performance measures, this type of system have highly evolved from decades due to sigh demand for their use, effective and efficiency in any given institutions and Hotel industries.Due to the rapid change of technology the use of such management system has become a necessity to any given high learning institution for better performance and is used with quite a large number of users at the same time but it can save time, resources and creates awareness of the evolving technology. Therefore a Hotel Management Reservation System will be developed to provide simple and fast online solution for Customers, Workers, Hotel administrators and Managers in managing orders and reservation made by customers.It will allow interaction of hotel organizations and customers on single platform, allowing customer booking and validation with the simple system. The system will be developed to ease the manual process which involves a lot of paper work and it occupies a lot of space and it's tiresome to employees. The researchers believe that the knowledge gained in the development of the system will be an effective tool in providing the needed IT skills of the students in the hotel industries. It will be beneficial to the Hotels since the use of the system as a working tool will improve the delivery of instruction and prove to be cost-efficient. 2 Background of the Study The project on â€Å"Hotel Management Rese rvation System† is one of the interactive This system can handle almost the entire task required in the Hotel Management being one of the key to raise the organization prestige and status as it saves processing time and help to provide better management system. Using this system one can make their managerial aspect of hotel strong and fast. Mainly the program is divided into three aspects, one for administration, staff and another for customer.Hotel Management Reservation System is broadcasted throughout in the hotel local outwork during working hours so that all customers receding can know in detail about hotel and can reserve through the computer found in their rooms. This system facilitates the manager to keep details rate of any items and services and also edit them as per requirement. It also enables to calculate all the daily financial transaction which includes reservation and booking, billing, restaurant billing, and other accounting module. Using this system one can k eep detail on check in and checkout time of every customer visiting the hotel.This system also keeps record of joking the hotel services by the customer so that manager can easily handle such task in less time. Hotel Management Reservation System will be designed aiming to keep good interaction between manager and customers, through the graphical presentation so that both parties will be benefited. The system is developed for easy management of the following types of accommodation like Hotels, Guesthouses, Conference rooms, Villas, resorts and any other room booking which is to be managed on a day-to-day basis.One of the most important skills of Hotel Management Reservation System researcher will have the knowledge of using an on- nine hotel reservation system. Hotel reservation system will be designed to simplify the task of on-line booking and to enable hotel to compete in today's demanding and competitive market. The system will provide the customers and clients with a unique, in novative and easy to use interface that improves the way people use the system today. Online users will have to compare prices and facilities in the hotel.Throughout this Project Proposal on Hotel Reservation Management System we will be describing about objectives of this project, functions of the program, flowchart, algorithm, budget and schedule for the project. . 2 Problem statement This system is intended to automate the activities of hotel including transactions and service delivery. Most hotels currently use manual and paper work systems to deliver services to their customers. This requires intending customer to physically appear at the Hotel reception desk avail the data required to prepare his or her accommodation in the hotel rooms.Some of this services provided in hotel are absolutely tedious and indeed involve a lot of writing and recording. Consequently this leads to wastage of resources in terms of papers, ink and time. The paper work has been associated with a lot of errors, redundancy of data, and misapplication of rooms and lose of funds. Also the records are subjected to theft and catastrophes like fire, earthquakes and hence the need for a system to cater for all these problems. As well as hospitality services such as accommodation.Bearing in mind that the most critical and necessary activity in any service delivering institution is quality of service in which is relative to the time spent in delivering it. Then the system will absolutely quicken and optimize these processes in hotels. Furthermore, from the management perspective, the managers will be in a position to control, monitor and manage the business in the shortest time possible, accurately and in efficient manner. Therefore, there is a need of an automated system which will enable them to administrate and monitor all the services in the hotel. . 4 Objectives The main objectives of the project will be concentrated towards the development of such project that will help in reduce the problems encountered with the customer's record keeping method and reservation facilities for the costumers in hotel. This yester will be focused on both hotel staff and customer who can manages all hotel tasks in reliable way, saving the precious time. The objectives of this system can be divided into two categories, which are being explained as follow: I.Specific Objectives 0 To develop a Hotel management and Reservation system 0 To provide interaction between both the both hotel staffs and customer. To keep the details record of hotel. 0 To keep the detail record of customers. 0 To provide easy way to view details rate of each room in the hotel's and reservation for customer. To provide reliable and easy way of booking facilities to customer. TOT manage and edit the different rates of services. 0 To keep the proper accountancy record of the hotel. 0 To provide proper billing system for customer. To test and validate the system after it has been developed. TOT evaluate the system and highlight the benefits the system can provide to the hotels and its workers. 1. 3 Aim Considering today's need in the field of Hotel Management System and other Reservation System, I as the student of DID have planned to developed a system named â€Å"Hotel Management and Reservation System† which will meet almost all the demands required in the field of hotel. This is the system which is mainly made to be in the management of a Hotel and Reservation of Hotel.To achieve this goal of preparation of the system it is very necessary to choose appropriate programming language which meets the goal in given time and budget. Taking all this in mind I database of the system. Access is one of the most widely used programming languages used in creating database all time. As it provides low-level access to memory, it required minimal run-time support. Through the use of Microsoft access it's going to divide whole complex program into a number of function which make ark simpler.My sys tem will provide lots of services to user like viewing info, editing info, reserving, accounting etc. All these things can be divided into sub-routine which has clearly defined purpose. Microsoft Access is also going to provide file handling system which will be main key to develop my system. My system is the comprehensive system which is going to be consisting of an integrated module for various aspects of Hotel Management and reservation System. As entire modules necessary to hotel are integrated tightly at no additional cost, it saves both time and money for the user.Through this system, the Hotel administration can easily manage their loyalty programs in an effective way. The project Hotel management and Reservation will manage and maintain the records of customers, room in hotels, booking information and other financial transaction of hotel on a database which will be used to store information. The system will provide high security on the data stored on the data base will not b e manipulated. The administrator will have the authority to make any change on the data base.The fore strong password will be used to protect the data. Thebe. Et script language will be used in front-end while Access language will be used use in the back-end. In this system, the researcher is going to create a user friendly interface, so that normal persons can add, delete and edit the entries of customers and handle all the transaction easily. 1. 5 Scope of the project The main aim of the researcher coming up with this project is to create a database management system that will be more efficient and easy to use in the hotel.The researcher will focus the study at â€Å"A-hero Beach Resort†, and other related different hotels located within Kampala and Entente town. The system will be implemented by use of different method of research such as questionnaires and survey in order to interact with workers and customers to get the required information about my area of study. The re searcher wills also Interviews on workers and the customers to facilitate my research on this project. Also direct observation will be used in this case and also have an access to the store documents and records found in the hotels.

My First Day in College Essay

One day, while I was laying peacefully on my bed, my mother came in with a letter from Florida A&M University. I didn’t really want to speculate anything because a few days before I received a letter from another college saying that I wasn’t accepted. Nevertheless I was still excited when I opened it and even more so when I read that I had been accepted. So without much hesitation I packed up and headed to Tallahassee. When I arrived my mother and I took care of registration and a plethora of things you have to manage as a new student. After all the hassles of college registration were completed my mother departed for home and I was left by myself to attend college. What a great feeling! Little did I know what I had on store for the next day, my first in college. The time was around 6:30 am, my alarm rang and it suddenly hit me that I’m now in college. I got out of bed a little earlier than I normally would have to because I knew nothing more than which classes that I was supposed to attend. As I prepare myself for a day of school I noticed my roommate’s door was open. I went asked him a little about the bus situation, he told me that I should just walk in the morning because the bus isn’t that reliable at times. That later turned out to be very true, I have taken the bus to school since I’ve been here at FAMU. So I began walking to class but as I walked I saw a few people waiting for the bus and I started to question my roommates theory about the bus, yet I kept walking toward campus. As I get to campus I’m in complete and utter dismay because I knew what my class schedule was but I didn’t actually know where the classes were. So as I walk pondering on where to go I happen to see a building that says housing. I walk into the building and luckily there was someone there. I look on my schedule and asked where the building was of what I thought was my first class. One of the gentlemen took me outside and showed me the building. I thank him sincerely and went about my way. I walked all the way to the building and sat down because I noticed that I had a little time before the class started. I just happen to take look at my schedule again and I noticed that the class that I’m actually waiting for is my second class. At this point I’m very upset with myself because I asked  for the wrong class. So I walked reluctantly back to the housing office hoping that they would help me again. As I walked back I’m thinking to myself â€Å"I hope they’re not too busy to help me†. When I get back into the office luckily it was a different person there so I ask them were this building was. She told me but she was very unclear and I wasn’t sure what she was talking about. Her almost exact statement was â€Å"It’s near the gym†. I wasn’t sure if the gym had rooms in it or what. So as I go toward the gym and a guy asks me where a class was, I say with a confused look on my face â€Å"I don’t know† so he asked somebody else and they helped him out. At one point it sounded like we had the same class so I followed him. This class was actually in the gym, so I stood there for a while and I overheard somebody saying that it was an aerobics class so I left in search of my class yet again. Next I leave that class to find somebody else to help me out a little. I find someone and although he was very vague on giving directions also I managed to find the class. Remarkably I still managed to make it to the class on time. Finally I took a seat and the instructor started speaking. I realized that the person who is speaking isn’t even the instructor of that class, she was out that day. So the substitute hands out the syllabus and an overview of chapter one. All in all I’d say I spent 15 minutes in that class. Thinking back, I had spent more than 15 minutes just searching for the class. As I walked toward my other class I realize that my two trips to housing where actually a good thing, because I already knew where this class was. In this class I had a very interesting teacher. He was a very loquacious man and said he didn’t write anything down on the board nor did he repeat anything, so you had to get it right the first time. After about 45 minutes of that it was time for me to go home. So walked back to my room and took a well deserved nap. That concluded my first day at FAMU. Overall this university is a great place to further your education although, like any other institution of higher learning, it does have its faults. My first day was filled with confusion and challenges but I managed to get  though it as will any other first day student. Generally I think this will be a great experience for me and ultimately it will help me in pursuit of my career dreams.

Lower the college tuition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lower the college tuition - Essay Example Since education is based upon the ideals of opportunity for all and higher personal advancement, increased tuition costs ruin the promise of education and make it only available to the elite members of society. Education is supposed to be meritocratic in nature and that means that people are accepted into universities and colleges across this country based on their abilities and not the wealth of their parents. Education is the way in which people break through social barriers like class and privilege. Is it true that education is merit-based? Is it true that America’s ideas about higher education are based upon the notion that it allows people to advance, progress and move forward in life? A basic idea behind the sociology of education is that it promotes greater equality and is based upon merit and equal opportunity for all. The expansion of education in the past two hundred years in the United States is an incredible advance which has supposed increased social equality and made society a better place. Less than one hundred years ago, the educational institutions of this country were closed to women, ethnic minorities such as African-Americans and a whole bunch of other social gro ups. What is amazing is that while a long time ago educational opportunities were denied to more than 50% of the population, today education is supposed to be available to all. Education is supposed to promote social equality and when tuition is high and out of reach for many students, it promotes division based on social class and limits the opportunities for many qualified students (Conley, 59-72). Looking at the opportunities associated with higher education, academics Persell & Cookson studied education and privilege. They determined that through education â€Å"the transmission of privilege is central to the reproduction of an

Fractal Geometry Relating To Dance and Leaves Essay

Fractal Geometry Relating To Dance and Leaves - Essay Example This can be illustrated by geometrical concepts using drawings on flat space. This essay discusses this, the intriguing ubiquity relating to the sequence 1, 1, 2, 3†¦ the golden ratio, Phi, in the aesthetic of natural as well as creation of art to our life. The fractals started with George Cantor, German mathematician, in 1883. One of the easy ways to watch the division similar to the whole after being magnified. One of the most famous fractal is Mandelbrot set. The mathematician who created that is Benoit Mandelbrot started study self-similarity in 1960 was interested by many people in graphing some complex numbers. He applied the formula zz^2+c, which c is some real numbers and z, is a complex number, for example, â€Å"a+bi†. The computation of fractal program is based on a well known non-complex iterative some equation such as f(z)=z2+c, where z and c are complex numbers. Fractal geometry is crucial in studying complexity for many reasons. That I will explain it and relate it to the real life by dressing the fractal to dancing movement. First reason is almost all natural objects have irregular shapes and hence require more general dimension than Euclidean geometry allows. The natural shapes have more dimension than the Euclidean geometry. Also, that shows the natural shapes can be showed with different styles and different length. For example, the movement for the dancer cannot be count or knowing the next movement how is going to be or which style going to be dressing. Dance Company used a movement to midi converter to produce midi some sounds in respect to the motion of the dancer. This picture I’m using shows how we are not able to measure their body’s axis. Furthermore, to relate this to our nature there is a perfect example that the leaves. A leaf axis is extremely complex and has too many axis that inform to us witch is not easy to count them or measure them, based on our two detentions Fractal

First Growing Chinese Companies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

First Growing Chinese Companies - Essay Example In 1994, Lenovo made its stock public by selling its shares. In 1999, Goldman Sachs managed the sale of the company’s new shares. The company’s shares were at peak in 2000. A year later, Dell took the largest share of the personal computer market. Lenovo acquired its original name in 2003 to avoid the oversee brand infringement. Lenovo prepared its expansion outside the country of China, which overtook Japan to be the 2nd largest personal Computer market. In 2004, Lenovo changed its name to Lenovo Group. The company’s 1st quarter Personal Computer shipment growth in the country lags competitors like Dell. The company holds 11% of the Asian market. Sales of services for Lenovo and hand held electronics grew at a faster rate of all its products in the latest 2003 and 2004 financial year. On December 3rd 2004, the company discussed with IBM about selling its Personal Computer business. Four days later, the purchase of the IBM PC was announced. The internationally co mpetitive tasks in crucial sections of the ICT emerged from the technology and science institutions that already existed. The key example of a company is Lenovo. The company was developed after China realized that it needed to invest in a computer. One of the challenges that the company faces is the absence of Chinese language processing instruments in the machine. The company overcame the above obstacle by coming up with sophisticated indigenous creativity. During the process, they set up themselves on the direction that allows the company to compete globally with other leading computer companies and become a leader in their own way. Consequently, the Chinese processing expertise that Lenovo used came from institutes that conducted research. The Chinese language applications and other capabilities, Lenovo was able to grow at a faster rate. The company came up as the leading success story of China. The success of the company was a benchmark when it went global. In 2005 the company a cquired IBM Personal Computer. IBM later gave birth to the mass Personal Computer computing era and Wintel guidelines that ensured that Intel and Microsoft gained a better place in the industry. The brief analysis of the Lenovo focused on the earlier times when the needed conditions were in a position that would result to a learning growth trajectory that is sustainable. The trajectory led China to become a major player in Layer one of the global ICT ecosystem. China is strong in the equipment’s and computers of telecoms. In the telecoms equipment Huawei is making a significant effect on the global market. Other firms found in this market are Ningbo Bird and Datang. The country has become a leader in consumer electronics due to the migration of Chinese in the production from Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. Various mediums sized companies have erupted and are struggling to find the Chinese market niches. Layer 2: China Telecom China Telecom established in 1999 after previously China Telecom split into China Satcom, China Mobile, and new China Telecom. China Telecom was mandated to mobile phones. The newest China Telecom held about seventy percent of the old China Telecom resources. China Telecom is found in Telecom Services Industry. The industry is facing very little competition. The two main companies in this industry are the China Netcom and China Telecom. The two companies are geographically separated and their competitive relationship is limited with one another.

Should California Pass a Law that Protects Employees from Workplace Research Paper

Should California Pass a Law that Protects Employees from Workplace Bullying - Research Paper Example entire population of the globe is moving ahead towards the betterment and improving the standard way of life, yet, people are coming across numerous problems and concerns in their everyday lives, particularly in their workplace environment. One of the prominent social and ethical dilemmas needing to come under consideration in the twenty first century is bullying although bullying is a significant concern that dates back to centuries. Moreover, experts have indicated it as one of the growing concerns; however, until few years ago, it has gone under ignorance. Bullying can be defined as "repeated and persistent negative actions towards one or more individual(s), which involves a perceive power imbalance and create a hostile environment" (Pate & Beaumont, 2010, pp. 172). In other words, bullying is a practice that either an individual or a group of people carries out that includes an unwelcomed or violent behavior in order to prove that they are dominant or have supremacy power over the weaker individuals. Moreover, bullying occurs with an intention to hurt or intimidate the other person or to create a level of embarrassment or humiliation for him/her in public. Recent studies have revealed the fact that according to common observations, the unpleasant and insulting actions of bullying have a frequent impact that outlasts and continues with the passage of time (LaVan & Martin, 2008). It has been an understanding that people with supremacy bully around the weaker people and make the victims’ abilities, gender, religion, or cultures as the source of origin to exploit or abuse. Verbal harassment, physical assault, and psychological violence or anxieties are the primary methods and techniques that come under exercise in bullying. The victims of bullying are even termed as â€Å"targets†, and â€Å"bully† is the person who intimidates the victim. Moreover, several people who just stand as an audience to become the witnesses of bully come under the reference as

Jackson asministratiom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jackson asministratiom - Essay Example For that matter, Jackson established the rules needed to initiate the Indian removal. His efforts were based on the view that such actions can be undertaken on a publicly acceptable manner which he maneuvered with ease. His goal though on achieving his goal immediately created detrimental effects due to other issues that compounded the situation such as economy (Satz 64). This can be attributed to the fact that the government needed to provide for the needs of the Indian emigrants which on the other hand are often neglected due to the goal to finish at the fastest possible time. The said needs are in relation to the lands in the West that served as replacement for the tribal lands the Indians owned (p. 64). Basically the said issue is not a simple matter since it had caused undermining of the confidence and trust of the people. One of the reason is the focus on the said project had caused the leader to neglect other aspects of leadership causing a shift in the leadership load to the leaders of the state. This created criticisms on his leadership. He, at one glance can be judged to have an obsession of the said project since he had been working for the said goal even prior to his presidency (p. 97) There are different conflicts that resulted in the said policy. One of which is the Cherokee case in Georgia which resulted in the Treaty of New Echota signed by John Ridge. This did not resolve the issues though since Ridge was not the recognized leader. Jackson’s successor, Van Buren though enforced the treaty resulting to 4,000 deaths from the Cherokees in the Trail of Tears. Later on, the tribes from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida lived in associated with the white Americans refusing to leave the land but without creating conflicts (p. 126). The Indian removal resulted to the transfer of 45,000 American Indians to the western part of US. This is in addition to the millions of acres of lands purchased by the government. Such actions

Fundamentals of organizational behavior Research Paper

Fundamentals of organizational behavior - Research Paper Example The main objective of OB was to lay emphasis on the different elements of this subject to understand the varied facets of the employee behavior. Therefore, the origin of OB is derived from the above mentioned subjects. In France, the emergence of OB was with the evolving of other subjects and was quite different from OB taught in the east, UK and USA. OB laid emphasis on the varied aspects like organizational communication, development, outcome and climate (Desreumaux 352-444). The communication system in France was developed since a long time and the dissemination of information was structured in a unique way. Thus, OB in France focused especially on the organizational communication, which is considered as backbone for the smooth integration of activities and systems within the organization (Desreumaux 444-577). Organizational Culture, Social Systems, Role & Status Organizational structure is largely dependent on the organizational culture, which helps in the development of a positi ve organizational climate (Jackson, â€Å"Cross-Cultural Management and NGO Capacity Building†) In France, the different kinds of organization usually have formal or informal structures, which lead to creation of different kinds of organizational culture, climate and environment (Brennan and Vecchi 149-164). The development of social culture within the organization is essential for the perfect balance between the organizational environment and outcome. In France, mostly the employee attitudes, beliefs and opinions form the basis of development of employee role, which contributes significantly to the individual employee outcome. The role of an employee plays a significant role in the formulation of strategy, which can help in tackling organizational problems and removal of functional barriers. The role of the employees or designation is very important in shaping the organizational culture. It also helps in the contribution to the integration of the varied systems and process o f the organization (Davidson and Omar 1352-1706). Motivation, Maslow’s Hierarchy Model & Herzberg Two Factor Needs Motivation inspires the employees, who indirectly help in increasing the employee outcome. Motivation also helps in the systematic grouping of the organization, which leads to proper teamwork and coordination of activities among varied departmental units. The French give due importance to the systematic grouping, which lead to proper delegation of tasks and activities. This in turn promotes the development of positive organizational climate for the betterment of the entire system. As mentioned before, the French organization give due importance to the communication channel within the organization, which relies heavily on the certain factors like motivation, leadership etc. Similarly, the Maslow Needs of Hierarchy is critically important in French organizations, which serves purposeful as guidance for the increase in the organizational outcome and also to maintain a perfect balance within the organ

Acquisitions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Acquisitions - Essay Example Multiple acquisition can be simply defined as the act of acquiring and subsequently integrating several businesses over a period of time. The primary argument for this type of acquisition is that this method will help investors to â€Å"build a strong market position in a traditionally fragmented market†. In addition to building a strong nationwide market position, this strategy may also assist foreign investors to develop a portfolio of local brands. Referring to Meyer & Tran, it is the most aggressive market entry strategy. Multiple acquisition policy would provide investors with increased flexibility as this method assists them to exercise greater control over local market. One of the notable demerits of the multiple acquisition is that a higher initial investment is required under this type of acquisition strategy. In addition, integration of a number of independent businesses may raise operational difficulties because this process involves organizational change. Possibly, this acquisition strategy would end up in a huge loss unless the top management exhibits higher levels of skill and efficiency. The indirect acquisition is the process of acquiring an organization that locates outside the focal country with a subsidiary unit in the same emerging country. According to Meyer & Tran (2006), indirect acquisition strategy would assist investors to easily and quickly achieve market share, particularly if the acquired firm possesses strong globally and locally recognized brands.

This is for Human Growth and Development class (Socw) Essay

This is for Human Growth and Development class (Socw) - Essay Example It proposes that environmental experience shapes personal character. It is not the genetic makeup that controls the biological fate. Two forms of control are, therefore, proposed to influence development; the internal control (genes) in nature and the external control (environment) as per nurture. Nature assumes that the development of characters that deviate from the norm is indication of the expression of defective genes. This causes the concept of victimization and irresponsibility. In the nurture, the gene activity is linked to changes in the conditions that may enhance the potential of inducing dysfunction or disease. The regulation and control of the environment shape an individual’s biological expression. The environment directly controls the behavior and gene activity (Lipton, 2002). The failure to account failure to account for genetically controlled human when there are not enough genes to code proteins is cited as a drawback to gene determinism (Lipton, 2002). The proficiency of cells to maintain successful and integrated life in the absence of genes reveals that genes are not predominant in cell function. Therefore, genes cannot control biology since they are no self-emergent (Lipton, 2002). Genes cannot self-actualize and are chemically unable to turn on or off at will. Gene expression is under the regulatory control of environmental signals that act through epigenetic mechanisms. In conclusion, genes can be regarded as expressing life but not control. Nurture seems to play a most principal role in human development compared to nature. The change in environment generates need for new

Essentialist and Post Structuralist Theories of Race and Ethnicity Essay Example for Free

Essentialist and Post Structuralist Theories of Race and Ethnicity Essay Identity Analysis Toward Productive Pedagogies: An Essentialist and Post Structuralist Perspective Race and ethnicity will be used to analyse the central theme of identity from an essentialist and post structuralist perspective. Definitions of race and ethnicity will be presented and distinctions made between the two categories. The character Eva from the film The Freedom Writers will be used as a medium and present an argument that race and ethnicity are social constructs but not absent of essentialist influences. Following a self reflection of my own identity the similarities between Eva and I show a congruence between essentialist perspectives of race and ethnicity to the existence of ethnic tensions and prejudice. In the context of Post structural theory it will be argued that it offers a more realistic and progressive appraisal of identity as fluid and changing through social contexts. Differences between Eva’s and my own identity serve to highlight the inequality of dominant culture over ethnic minorities. Therefore, pedagogical strategies will be examined from a post structural perspective as a means to promote inclusivity and authentic Indigenous perspectives within the classroom. Essentialist theories about ethnicity and race present these identity themes as fixed and unchangeable. Weber (1978) defines race identity as â€Å" common inherited and inheritable traits that actually derive from common descent† (p. 368 ). The character Eva from the film The Freedom Writers identities her race as â€Å" those south of the border†, or specifically Hispanic. Ethnicity from an essentialist perspective differs from race as Zagefka (2008) ascribes to the notion that â€Å" essentialist accounts of ethnicity maintain that ethnic groups have a certain ‘essence’ which determines their character† (p. 1). Therefore, essentialist ethnicity elaborates on race identity informing that behavioural traits are also biologically determined. Eva’s statement â€Å"We fight over race, pride and respect† illustrates the essentialist nature of fixed, unchangeable boundaries that exist between her group and other ethnic groups. Eva’s racial hatred of the other ethnic groups is evident through her gang affiliations and violent behaviour toward them. An essentialist perceptive would assume that Eva’s racial hatred is determined at birth but as Eva’s character develops throughout the film the essentialist perspective loses validity and Eva’s sense of identity is seen to be socially constructed. Post structural theory maintains that race and ethnicity are socially constructed presenting Eva’s identity as fluid and evolving. However, Morning (2006) concludes that â€Å" the conception of race as rooted in biological difference endures, at least in the United States today†. Therefore, ethnicity offers a more authentic analysis of Eva’s identity formation from a post structuralist perspective then the residual of essentialism that exists in relation to her racial conceptualisations. In Eva’s formative years her subjectivities about race were essentialised from her fathers’ emphasis of her origins and therefore the â€Å" need to protect your own†. The violence from other ethnic groups and the arrest of her father because of his ethnic background resulted in an intense hatred for white people. Eva â€Å" hated white people on sight†. Eva’s hatred developed over time through social contexts involving ethnic and racial violence. Eva’s changing identity is represented from a post structural perceptive through narrative and social interactions in Mrs Gurwall’s classroom. Marra (2005) states that â€Å"Narrative is a powerful means of constructing different kinds of social identity, including ethnic identity. † (p. 2). Using a diary as an artefact Eva is able reflect on her own subjectivities about identity to better understand her beliefs and values (J Nailer, 2005 p. 152). Through social interactions in the classroom under the guidance of her teacher Eva’s ethnic identity is reconstructed to establish a type of class ethnicity involving students from different races. As a self reflection process my own personal identity can be examined through essentialist and post structural perspectives centred on themes of race and identity. During my childhood years race identity was represented from an essentialist perspective. I identified as a member of the white race and was educated from a white, colonial historical perspective. Instilled from an early age was the notion that being black meant being inferior. Not only did I perceive Indigenous people as those who sat in the park and got drunk but I engaged in racist language such as ‘nigger’ and ‘coon’. My prejudice is highlighted by Brickman (2009) who suggests â€Å"Indeed, for social categories based on race, increased endorsement of genetic theories (one component of psychological essentialism) has been linked to increased prejudice† (p. 2). My parents assisted in the facilitation of my racial essentialism as did many other adults and peers of my own racial group. During my formative years my identity based upon being a member of the white race assumed greater intelligence, privilege and more appropriate behaviour than Indigenous peoples. The distinction between race and ethnicity is evident when according to Chandra (2006), an ethnic group is â€Å" a named human population with myths of common ancestry, shared historical memories, one or more elements of a common culture, a link with a homeland and sense of solidarity† (p.403). This statement relates to when I left my small town and attended an affluent private college whilst undertaking university study. Although surrounded by members of the same white race I identified with an ethnic group in the context of people from my own town. The essentialist and constructiveness theories for identity are distinct yet in practice difficult to separate. Ayirtman (2007) presents constructionist perspectives as â€Å" the intersubjective formation of individual identities through confrontation and interaction with other(s)† (p.10) whilst Chandra (2006) proposes that changes in ethnicity are constrained by â€Å"descent-based† attributes. In the context of race and ethnicity both statements were appropriate to the way I constructed my own identity throughout my adult years. The immersion in multiculturalism from a large city and university institution influenced me to many different races and ethnic groups. The confrontation of cultural diversity increased fluidity in the boundaries that constituted my identity about themes of race and ethnicity. However, the recognition of cultural differences in relation to my original culture and race still left intact some relatively fixed boundaries around essentialist perspectives. It is evident that Eva and I had different life experiences yet similarities emerge between our two identities. Prominent commonalities between Eva and I relate to the essentialist perspective of race and ethnicity our childhood and adolescence years. Both Eva and I expressed prejudice toward other ethnic groups based on the biological characteristics of race and ethnicity. In relation to ethnicity and race the formative years consisted of seemingly fixed and rigid boundaries around identity groups. Juteau (1996) describes these boundaries as â€Å" monolithic and static, seen as grounded in common origin, genealogy and ancestry† (p. 57). Similar to Eva the fixed nature of my identity boundaries correlated to racial and ethnic tensions resulting sometimes in violence, in varying degrees. Despite essentialised race and ethnicity in formative years commonalities exist between Eva and me through a post structuralist perspective. Racial prejudice was socially constructed through repeated discourses of conflict between racial groups throughout childhood and adolescence. Narrative through the evolving artefact of a diary allowed both Eva and I to analyse our subjectivities about aspects of our identities and both had the experience of an excellent teacher through which effective social interactions allowed empowerment and progressive reconstruction of identity. A key difference between me and the character Eva in The Freedom Writers is that I identified with the dominant Discourse in society and Eva identified as a member of a minority ethnic group. Thomson states â€Å"A successful school student is one who has acquired much of the dominant ‘habitus’, that is, ways of being in the world, as well as the cultural and symbolic capital derived from their schooling† (p. 8). An analysis of Thomson’s statement works on two levels. At the school level, and identifying as a member of the dominant culture, allowed me to be familiar with school discourse and the knowledge’s valued there in. Eva’s ethnic and racial identity immediately placed her at odds with the school discourse which restricted her acquisition of cultural capital. At the level of society I was able to exert more agency through the social influence that a familiar discourse facilitated. A seemingly natural relationship existed through identification with a common culture, language and physical race attributes. Eva’s race and ethnicity reduced the agency she could exert against the dominant culture. Her common culture and race attributes are at odds in a society where the majority race was white. The similarities and differences evident between Eva’s identity and my own identity offer invaluable understandings to develop positive, productive teacher-student interactions in the classroom. Taking a post structural approach to pedagogy teachers can be aware that their own subjectivities will influence the way they teach. (Nayler 2005). . In a multi-cultural scenario where individual students bring a variety of cultural identities into the classroom a teacher faces the challenge of facilitating inclusive pedagogical practices. Carrington advises that â€Å" the teacher facilitates a culture of respect and value for all members of the class. † (p. 113). This statement requires student interactions that involve listening to other students and being encouraged to support each other through peer assisted learning. Classroom organisation must allow students to actively participate in whole class, group collaboration, independent and problem- based learning. These student practices must be based around purposeful knowledge that engage what Thomson (2002) refers to as a student’s â€Å" virtual schoolbag† (p. 1). Through strong relationships between teacher, parent and community what students have learnt at home and in wider society can be transferred into the classroom. Therefore individual student’s â€Å" knowledge’s, narratives and interests† can be recognised and built upon with high teacher expectations of connecting them to the valued knowledge’s of the school curriculum. (Thomson, 2002). More specifically, is the need to embed Indigenous perspectives into the classroom. When embedding Indigenous studies into the classroom teachers (non-indigenous especially) need to access authentic knowledge and often admit their shortcomings in relation to skills and knowledge required to teach such units. Miller, Troy and Currell (2005) point out the risk that â€Å"as members of the dominant culture (we are all white Australian), perhaps we found it easy to revert to a knowledge base that we had naturally accepted since early childhood† (p. 61). Teachers must be critical about the resources they select to teach Indigenous studies whilst forging strong relationships with Indigenous communities. These factors will ensure that Indigenous studies are taught from an indigenous perspective and not corrupted by social, political and historical perspectives of the dominant culture of which many teachers identify with. The identity categories of race and ethnicity can be analysed from an essentialist and post structuralist perspective. The post structural perspective of race and ethnicity presents a more authentic analysis of identity as being influenced by different social contexts. Whilst the post structural perspective offers a more progressive application to Eva’s and my own identities essentialist influences are not invisible. The commonality of prejudice through race and ethnicity being essentialised offers an excellent reference point to show the usefulness of a post structural approach to productive teacher pedagogies. A post structural perspective offers the opportunity for teachers to critically reflect upon their own subjectivities in the context of their own identities. Teachers can therefore adopt pedagogical strategies that promote inclusiveness in the classroom and embrace the richness of cultural diversity, whilst linking the diverse array of knowledge’s to the value knowledge’s of the school curriculum. References 1. Marra, M (2005). Constructing Ethnicity and Leadership Through Storytelling at Work. Retrieved from http://www. mang. canterbury. ac. nz/anzca/FullPapers/06WorkCommFINALed. pdf 2. Carrington, S. (2007). Classroom relationships, pedagogy and practice in the inclusive classroom. In M. Keeffe S. Carrington (Eds), Schools and diversity(2nd ed. ). (pp. 108-127). Sydney: Pearson Australia. 3. Miller, M. , Dunn, T. Currell, K. (2005). Learning and the importance of knowing: Student perspectives on centralising Indigenous knowledge in their preparation as teachers. In J. Phillips Lampert (Eds), Introductory Indigenous studies in education: The importance of knowing. (pp. 60-79). Sydney: Pearson Australia. 4. Thomson, P. (2002). Vicki and Thanh. In Schooling the rustbelt kids:Making the difference in Changing times (pp. 1-18). Crow’s Nest: Allen Unwind. 5. Nailer, J. (2005). Understanding ourselves. In J. Austin (Ed), Culture and Identity (2nd end). (pp. 139-154). Sydney: Pearson Australia 6. Morning, A. (2006). Ethnic Classification in Global Perspective: A Cross-National Survey of the 2000 Census Round. Retrieved from http://as. nyu. edu/docs/IO/1043/Morning_2008_Ethnic_Classification_in_Global_Perspective. pdf 7. Brickman, D. (2009). The Implications of Essentialist Beliefs for Prejudice. Retrieved from http://deepblue. lib. umich. edu/bitstream/2027. 42/63752/1/dbrick_1. pdf 8. Chandra, H. (2006). What is Ethnic Identity and does it Matter. Annual Review of Political Science, 9, (pp 397-424. ) Retrieved from http://www. nyu. edu/gsas/dept/politics/faculty/chandra/ars2005. pdf 9. Juteau, D. (1996). Theorising ethnicity and ethnic communalisations at the margins: from Quebec to the world system. Nations and Nationalism, 2(1), (pp 45-66. ) Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary. wiley. com/doi/10. 1111/j. 1354-5078. 1996. 00045. x/abstract 10. Ayirtman, S. (2007). Recognition through Deliberation: Toward Deliberative Accommodation of Cultural Diversity. Retrieved from http://arts. monash. edu. au/psi/news-and-events/apsa/refereed-papers/political-theory/sayirtman. pdf 11. Zagefka, H (2008). The concept of ethnicity in social psychological research: Definitional issues. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 33(3), (pp 228-241. ). 12. Gruwell, E (Writer), Lagravenese, R (Director). (2006). In D. Devito, M. Shamberg, S. Sheer (Producers), The Freedom Writers. Paramount Pictures.

Burberry history Essay Example for Free

Burberry history Essay Barberry was founded in 1856; originally focusing on producing innovative functional outwear. over the years Barberry has adapted to changing trends and tastes to suit the consumers wants and needs. Additionally the extension of their product portfolio, for example their perfume and accessories range, Is a response to competition from leading brands such as Ralph Lauren and others. Barberry set out to create a luxury, premium brand image, however in recent years in Britain especially, the public perception of Barberry products have been labeled as chap kook because of their distinctive tartan pattern on clothing. In September 201 2 the high brand luxury clothing company Barberry issued a profit warning taking El ban off Buyers market value resulting with a share fall of 19%. We are currently In an economic recession which has resulted In less consumer confidence and a trend of reduced spending habits. However the types of consumers that purchase brands like Barberry would usually not be effected by the economic recession. They are likely to have much more disposable income and secure well- paid Jobs. Retail analyst Joana Satyrs stated that The global economic crawls Is dragging on and the longer It drags on the less confident even wealthier Individuals become. Meaning that even those with more disposable Income to spend on luxury goods such as Barberry, are less confident which Is a major factor resulting In reduced spending habits. If consumers are spending less the company is likely to result in profit losses. If the problem deteriorates it can result in closing of stores and making staff redundant; adding to the already high unemployment figures Barberry s a luxury brand is not immune from the economic instability which has seen weaker sales not only in the UK but globally. From researching Buyers share decrease we can see that the 2012 London Olympics has played a major factor in profit loss. The types of customers buying Barberry products are likely to live in expensive locations such as London; Barberry state that the London Olympics pulled tourists away from shopping and pushed them more towards visiting the Olympic park and stadium and spending their money on souvenirs. However due to the economic recession and the trend of reduced pending habits, Buyers luxury high priced goods were Increasingly likely to see reduced sales. Although wealthier Individuals are likely to be unaffected by the economic recession, the Auks high unemployment rate has made Buyers customer base even more restricted than before. In contrast to Buyers view that the Olympics contributed to their profit loss, we believe that the Olympics helped the Auks unemployment rate hugely giving more individuals and potential customers more disposable income. However now that the Olympics are over, it can shift focus onto spending more on brands such as Barberry. In comparison; lower priced stores such as Tops and H M are receiving higher likely to buy from stores that have fashionable styles and a wider variety of clothing at much lower prices. BBC business news (twitter) stated that UK retail sales rise as shoppers buy winter clothing and that sales volumes were up 0. 6% in the last month. Individuals are much more likely to spend EYE OHIO on a coat rather than an IEEE one; especially during the economic recession. Taking the above into account, there are a number of ways in which Barberry could improve their economic position in the retail market. While Barberry are not in a state of danger as it stands, if their profit and share prices were to decrease further they may have to cut their costs. This could see a decrease in quality of their products resulting to a decline in brand loyalty and a future reduction in sales. One way Barberry could improve their situation is by re-marketing their product range to appeal to a different target audience, that of the middle and working class. Evidence suggests that lower priced stores (Tops and HM) have been benefiting as a result of their lower prices. If Barberry were to adjust their position in the market, closer to that of HM they may wreak the rewards. However, we think that Barberry may tarnish their entire business reputation if they do so. It takes many years to achieve a high brand reputation like that of Barberry and it would be a massive risk to put it all on the line. Also the lower priced retailers market is dominated by a few big players and is extremely competitive, making it harder for Barberry to establish itself in the lower priced category. We think that Barberry should ride out the storm for the time being. If anything is to be done it should be investing more into marketing and branding to appeal to the upper middle-class. Although this would be costly initially, sales should pick up over time; improving Buyers share price and profits. Furthermore, in the meantime it would be easy for Barberry to take advantage of the current state of national pride (following the Olympics) and go back to basics promoting the Brutishness of their brand. Another way in which Barberry can improve their current situation is by taking a similar approach to Versa by launching a more economical clothing range with gig street brands such as HM. For Barberry to differentiate themselves they can instead launch their clothing range with Ezra rather than HM. Reason being that they types of clothes they offer are very similar in terms of sophistication and quality. This method was very successful with Versa as their line with HM sold out within 30 minutes. By introducing a more affordable clothing line, Barberry will advantage from an increase in sales and profits as demand from consumers will increase. The cheaper they market their new clothing range the more people would want to buy it s they will be purchasing Barberry clothing for a faction of the cost.

Dss Analysis And Decision Support System Information Technology Essay

Dss Analysis And Decision Support System Information Technology Essay Abstract During our study and research on DSS we came to mutual agreement that DSS is an ever evolving domain. Lot of research has been carried out on the usage of DSS in many different domains especially in Clinic. But we found that research on the DSS System as a whole (regardless of which domain) has not been conducted many times in the past. Based on the initial study we have identified the following problems 1. There is no universally accepted definition for DSS, 2. There have been a many reports of failure of DSS systems. In the research paper below we have tried to define DSS system based on the Characteristics and the Targeted users. Paper also covers the decision making process, the decision analysis cycle, Framework of DSS which form the base of the DSS. We have also made an attempt to formulate the Critical success factors of the DSS and Reasons for the failure of DSS. We have tried to collect most of our data through secondary research which involves collating of data from existing research documents and books.   In 1960 J. C. R. Licklider wrote a paper on his observation of how the interaction between man and computer can improve the quality and competency in recognizing and problem solving. His paper proved to be like a guide to many future researches on DSS. In 1962 with use of hypertext online system helped in storage and retrieval of documents and creation of digital libraries. SAGE (Semi Automatic Ground Environment) built by Forrester is probably the first data driven computerized DSS. In 1964 Scott Morton built up an interactive model driven management decision system which could help managers make important management decisions. In 1970 John D.C. Little noted that the requirement for designing models and system to make a management decision was completeness to data, simplicity, ease of control and robustness, which till date are relevant in improving and evaluating modern DSS. By 1975, he built up a DSS called Brandaid which could support promotion, advertising, pricing and product r elated decisions. In 1974 the focus was on giving managers with information which was from accounting and transaction processing system with use if MIS(Management Information Systems) but MIS was found to not helping out managers with making key decisions. Hence in 1979 Scott Morton and Gorry argued that MIS just primarily focused on structured decisions and hence the system which also supports unstructured and semi-structured decision should be termed as Decision support systems. Gorry and Scott Morton coined the phrase DSS in 1971, about ten years after MIS became popular. (David Arnott, An Analysis of Decision Support Systems Research, p.1) Decision support system now-a-days are critical for the daily operation and success of many organizations. Due to which there is a huge investment being made on development, customization, implementation and upgradation of these systems. Despite the rapid growth of information technology over the past decade, the success of Decision Support System remains questionable due to the lack of insufficient studies on the outcomes. As David Arnott and Gemma Dodson stated in Decision Support System Failure (David Arnott, Gemma Dodson, p.1) The development of a decision support system is a risky affair. The Volatile task environment and dynamic nature of managerial work means that DSS Projects are prone to Failure. As per David Arnott and Gemma Dodson definition above its very important to understand why organization take such a big risk and invest in a Decision support system. (Efraim Turban, Ramesh Sharda, Decision Support and Business Intelligence Systems, 8th Edition, p.12) Some of the factors why company use DSS Systems suggested by Efraim and Ramesh are: Speedy Computation Improved Communication and Collaboration Increase Productivity of group members Improved data management Managing Giant Data warehouses Quality Support Agility Support Overcoming cognitive limits in processing and storing information The paper here deals with the study of how decision analysis happens in DSS, Problems and there types, Why DSS are required or implemented by organization, Decision making process, Types of DSS, Reason for the failure of DSS, Critical success factor of DSS. Activities that require decision making form a set or a group of problems, varying from structured problem to unstructured problem. As Simon States The boundary between well structured and ill structured problems is vague, fluid and not susceptible to formalization.  (The structure of ill structured problems, 1973, Herbert A. Simon) the Decision making process, decision made and the style of making decision can be influenced by the personality of the individual and their cognitive style, and which is one of the major reasons for different decision aids being sought. (Management Information System 8/E Raymond McLeod, Jr. and George Schell) Decision types in terms of problem structure: Structured problems can be solved with algorithms and decision rules. A structured decision can be defined as one in which three components of a decision-the data, process, and evaluation. Structured decisions are made on a regular basis in business environments. If a rigid framework is placed for the decision making process it helps to solve the problem. Unstructured problems have no structure in Simons phases. These decisions have the same components as structured ones-data, process, and evaluation- but there nature is different. For example, decision maker use different set of data and process to reach a decision or goal. In addition, as the nature of the decision is different a few numbers of people within the organization are even qualified to evaluate the decision and to confirm one. Semi structured problems have structured and unstructured phases. Most of the DSS System is focused on Semi Structured decision. Characteristics of this type of decisions of this type are Having some agreement on the data, process, and/or evaluation to be used, Efforts to maintain a level of human-judgement in the decision making process. To determine which Support system is required it is necessary to analyze thoroughly and understand the limitations and ill effects, which the decision maker are manifested with. Apart from which it is also important to understand the objectives of the system. (Management Information System 8/E Raymond McLeod, Jr. and George Schell) Decision Support System Objectives: Efficiency of the system. Making decisions. To support managers, not to replace people. Used when the decision is semi structured or unstructured. Incorporate a database. Incorporate models. It is also important that like any other computer based system the DSS should be: Simple Robust Easy to Use Adaptive Easy to communicate with. Now that we have a brief idea about the type of problems that are faced by the managers and the qualities that the DSS system should pertain understanding the decision making process would give an insight to the how a decision is made. Decision Making: (Administrative Behavior, Herbert Simon, 1947) Herbert Simon in 1947 defines decision as the behavioral and cognitive processes of making rational human choices, that is, decisions. It states that any decision making is a behavioral and cognitive process of making choices from a set of options available. So, it is important for the DSS, to be accurate enough for making a choice from many different options available. To make accurate choices from the options available DSS takes help from constrains defined and the goals that it has to achieve. (Administrative Behavior, Herbert Simon, 1947) Simon states in his journal The human being striving for rationality and restricted within the limits of his knowledge has developed some working procedures that partially overcome these difficulties. These procedures consist in assuming that he can isolate from the rest of the world a closed system containing a limited number of variables and a limited range of consequences. By this Simon mean that people with limited knowledge about a particular task or domain will develop some technique that will help the person to overcome these difficulties. This in a sense defines the basic purpose of DSS system to make help managers with making decision. It is also important to understand the term isolated from the rest of the world, by this Simon meant that the decision should be purely be based on the goals to be obtained and based on the criteria defined it should not come under any other influence. He also formulated a model of decision making. (David Arnott, An Analysis of Decision Support Systems Research, p.1) Simons model of decision-making has been used in DSS research since the fields inception and was an integral component of Gorry and Scott Mortons seminal MIS/DSS framework. (Image Taken from Wikipedia, Figure 1) In Simon model of decision making (Figure 1) there are several phases through which an individual goes through to reach his objectives or goal. Phases of Decision Making as per Simon Model are as follows: Intelligence: Identify reality. Get problem/opportunity understanding. Obtain required information. Design: Make decision criteria. Make decision alternatives. Look for related unmanageable events. Identify the links between criteria, alternatives, and events. Choice: Logically assess the decision alternatives. Make recommended actions that best meet the decision criteria. Implementation: Consider the decision  analysis  and assessment. Evaluate the cost of the recommendations. Have confidence in the decision. Make an implementation plan. Secure required supplies. Set implementation plan into act. Based on the Decision making process by Simon and the problem structure described above we can define the accuracy of decisions can be measured by the following criteria: The methods or technique with which it achieves the desired results or goals; and The efficiency with which the goals and sub goals are obtained. By this we mean members of the organization may focus on the method and technique used to reach to the result or goal, but the administrative management must pay attention to the efficiency with which the desired result was obtained. To understand the efficiency of the decision made it is necessary to analysis the decision made. Decision Analysis in itself is a vast field and deals with many methodologies to measure the efficiency of the decision. Decision Analysis: (Ronald Howard, 1965, Decision Analysis: Applied Decision Theory)Decision Analysis is a discipline which was developed to deal with the challenges of making important decisions which involved handling major uncertainty, long-term targets and complex value issues. Decision Analysis comprises the philosophical, theoritical, methodological, and professional practice necessary to formalize the analysis of important decisions. (Ronald Howard, 1965, Decision Analysis: Applied Decision Theory) Decision analysis is a logical procedure for the balancing of the factors that influence a decision. The procedure incorporates uncertainties, values, and preferences in a basic structure that models the decision. Typically, it includes technical, marketing, competitive, and environmental factors. The essence of the procedure is the construction of a structural model of the decision in a form suitable for computation and manipulation; the realization of this model is often a set of computer programs. Decision-making consists of assigning values on the outcomes of interest to the decision-maker. Thus, decision analysis evaluates the decision-makers trade-offs between monetary and non-monetary outcomes and also establishes in quantitative terms his preferences for outcomes that are risky or distributed over time. Ronald A. Howard in his paper Advances: Foundations of DA Revisited goes on to discuss the Pillars of Decision Analysis The First Pillar: Systems Analysis Systems analysis grew out of World War II and was concerned with understanding dynamic systems. Key notions were those of state variables, feedback, stability, and sensitivity analysis. The field of systems engineering is currently in a state of resurgence. Decision analysis and systems engineering have many complementary features (Howard, 1965, 1973). The Second Pillar: Decision Theory Decision theory is concerned primarily with making decisions in the face of uncertainty. Its roots go back to Daniel Bernoulli (Bernoulli, 1738) and Laplace. Bernoulli introduced the idea of logarithmic utility to explain the puzzle called the St. Petersburg paradox. In the most influential book on probability ever written (Laplace, 1812), Laplace discusses the Esperance mathematique and the Esperance morale. Today we would call these the mean and the certain equivalent. The Third Pillar: Epistemic Probability Jaynes taught that there is no such thing as an objective probability: a probability reflects a persons knowledge (or equivalently ignorance) about some uncertain distinction. People think that probabilities can be found in data, but they cannot. Only a person can assign a probability, taking into account any data or other knowledge available. Since there is no such thing as an objective probability, using a term like subjective probability only creates confusion. Probabilities describing uncertainties have no need of adjectives. This understanding goes back to Cox (2001), Jeffreys (1939), Laplace (1996) and maybe Bayes, yet somehow it was an idea that had been lost over time. A famous scientist put it best over 150 years ago: The actual science of logic is conversant at present only with things either certain, impossible, or entirely doubtful, none of which (fortunately) we have to reason on. Therefore the true logic for this world is the calculus of Probabilities, which takes account of the magnitude of the probability which is, or ought to be, in a reasonable mans mind. (Maxwell, 1850) The Fourth Pillar: Cognitive Psychology In the 1960s few appreciated the important role that cognitive psychology would play in understanding human behaviour. At the time of DAADT, we just did our best to help experts assign probabilities. In the 1970s the work of Tversky, Kahneman, and others provided two valuable contributions. First, it showed that people making decisions relying only on their intuition were subject to many errors that they would recognize upon reflecting on what they had done. This emphasized the need for a formal procedure like decision analysis to assist in making important decisions. The second contribution was to show the necessity for those who are assisting in the probability and preference assessments to be aware of the many pitfalls that are characteristic of human thought. Tversky and Kahneman called these heuristics methods of thought that could be useful in general but could trick us in particular settings. We can think of these as the optical illusions of the mind. An important distinction here is that between descriptive and normative decision-making. Descriptive decision-making, as the name implies, is concerned with how people actually make decisions. The test of descriptive decision-making models is whether they actually describe human behaviour. Normative decision-making is decision-making according to certain rules, or norms, that we want to follow in our decision-making processes. The underlying premise of decision analysis is to distinguish between a good decision and a good outcome. A good decision is termed as logical decision which is based on the information, values, and preferences of the decision-maker. A good outcome is one that benefits the end user. The aim is to arrive at good decisions in all situations which would go on to ensure as high a percentage of good outcomes. But at times it may be observed that even a good decision has achieved a good outcome. But for majority of the situations we may face making good decisions is the best way to ensure good outcomes. A decision can be defined as a choice among alternatives that will yield uncertain futures, for which we have preferences. To explain the formal aspects of decision analysis the image of the three-legged stool shown in Figure 3.1 (Howard, 2000). The legs of the stool are the three elements of any decision: what you can do, the alternatives; what you know, the information you have; and what you want, your preferences. Collectively, the three legs represent the decision basis, the specification of the decision. Note that if any leg is missing, there is no decision to be made. If you have only one alternative, then you have no choice in what you do. If you do not have any information linking what you do to what will happen in the future, then all alternatives serve equally well because you do not see how your actions will have any effect. If you have no preferences regarding what will happen as a result of choosing any alternative, then you will be equally happy choosing any one. The seat of the stool is the logic that operates on the decision basis to produce the best alternative. We shall soon be constructing the seat to make sure that it operates correctly. Decision Analysis provides a formal language for communication for the people involved in the decision-making process. During this, the basis for a decision becomes clear, not just the decision itself. The views may differ on whether to adopt an alternative because individuals possess different relevant information or because they may value the consequences differentlly. Decision analysis Cycle: The professional practice of decision analysis is decision engineering. Creating a focused analysis requires the continual elimination of every factor that will not contribute to making the decision. This winnowing has been a feature of decision analysis since the beginning (Howard, 1968, 1970). Since DAADT, the process has been described as a decision analysis cycle, depicted in Figure 3.4 (Howard, 1984a). The application of decision analysis can be modeled in form of an iterative procedure called the Decision Analysis Cycle. Decision Analysis Cycle: The procedure is divided into three phases: Deterministic phase: the variables affecting the decision are defined and relations between the variables established, the values are assigned, and the importance of the variables is measured upto a acceptable level of certainity. Probabilistic phase: the associated probability assignments on values are derived. We also take into account the assessment of risk preference, which identifies the best possible solution in the face of uncertainty. Informational phase: the results of the first two phases are reviewed to determine the economic value of eliminating uncertainty in each of the important variables in the problem.It is the most important phase among the three because it evaluates in monetary terms to have the perfect information. Decision Support System: There is no universally accepted definition for the DSS system as of now. It is the major reason we have to rely on the Characteristics and Objectives of the DSS to understand the system. Below are a few famous definition for the DSS we would refer to formulate a definition for the system. (Decision Support Systems: An Organizational Perspective, Keen Scott-Morton, 1978) Keen and Scott define DSS as Decision support systems couple the intellectual resources of individuals with the capabilities of the computer to improve the quality of decisions. It is a computer-based support system for management decision makers who deal with semi structured problems. If we correlate the definition from Keen and Morton and Simons definition stating The human being striving for rationality and restricted within the limits of his knowledge has developed some working procedures that partially overcome these difficulties. These procedures consist in assuming that he can isolate from the rest of the world a closed system containing a limited number of variables and a limited range of consequences. We understand that the base of the DSS system is to support the manager. But one of the drawbacks of the definition from Keen and Morton is that they state that the system deals with only semi structured problems but the present DSS system also handles Unstructured and Structured issues. Peter Keen in 1980 defined DSS as Personal System to assist Manager must be built from the Managers perspective and must be based on a very detailed understanding of how the manager makes decision and how the manager organization functions. (Donald R. Moscato, 2004, p.1) In the above definition Peter Keen tries to define DSS in terms of the implementation and customization of DSS and states that it should be done based on Managers perspective, styles of decision making and the organizations function. Drawback with this definition is that it defines DSS as a personnel system and with the introduction of Group DSS and Communication DSS the definition becomes obsolete. Bonczek, Holsapple and Whinston (Foundations of Decision Support Systems, Bonczek, Holsapple and Whinston, 1981, p.19) argued the system must possess an interactive query facility, with a query language that is easy to learn and use. The above definition tries to explain that DSS systems should be interactive and should have a language of its own so that constrains of the decision and the goals can be addressed to the system and is easy to understand and use. (We have stated in the section objectives of DSS). (Daniel J Power, 2001, p.1)Sprague and Carlson (1982) define Decision Support Systems broadly as interactive computer based systems that help decision-makers use data and models to solve ill-structured, unstructured or semi-structured problems. Sparague and Carlson explained the DSS system as an interactive system and which can help managers solve ill-structured, unstructured and semi-structured problem. If you observe the definition is a co-relation of definition provided by Peter Keen, Keen Scott-Morton 1978 and Bonczek, Holsapple and Whinston-1981 by removing there drawbacks. A few more definition that we thought explains DSS are as follows: Marakas in 2002 (Marakas, 2002, p.4) stated the following is a formal definition of DSS: A decision support system is a system under the control of one or more decision makers that assists in the activity of decision making by providing an organized set of tools intended to impose structure on portions of the decision-making situation and to improve the ultimate effectiveness of the decision outcome. Importance of Marakas definition is that it takes into consideration the tools that a manager can use to work with DSS system (can term it as third party tools in some cases) other that the query language or the normal interactive screen of the DSS. From the above example it is pretty clear that to define a DSS not only we will have to study the characteristics and the tools, types of DSS but also the framework of the DSS to select a definition or to define one. (Ralph H. Sprague, Hugh J. Watson, Decision Support System Putting Theory into practice, 3rd edition, 1993, p.4) Characteristics of DSS: They tend to be aimed at the less well structured, underspecified problems that upper level managers typically face. They attempt to combine the use of models or analytic techniques with traditional data access and retrieval function They specifically focus on features which make them easy to use by non-computer people in an interactive mode They emphasize flexibility and adaptability to accommodate changes in the environment and the decision making approach of the user. Framework of DSS: From (Daniel J Powers, 2001, p.1) we come to know that the framework for the Decision support system should be based on the following factors: (by this Daniel J Power meant System should be discussed and explained in terms of four descriptors to maintain better communication:) Dominant Technological Component The Targeted Users Purpose Deployment Technology (Daniel J Powers, 2001, p.1) And the Five generic categories of DSS are: Communication Driven Data Driven Document Driven Knowledge Driven Model Driven decision support system. (Daniel J Powers, 2001, p.1) DSS Deployment technology can be: Mainframe Computers A client server LAN Web Based Architecture Marakas (2002) meant that it is important to understand the type of DSS to determine the best design and approach of a new DSS. In 1976 Steven Alter, a doctoral student created a taxonomy of seven DSS types on Gorry and Scott-Morton framework based on a study of 56 DSSs. In 1980, Steven Alter (Daniel J Power, 2001, p.2) proposed his taxonomy of Decision Support Systems. Alters seven category typology is still relevant for discussing some types of DSS, but not for all DSS. Alters idea was that a Decision Support System could be categorized in terms of the generic operations it performs, independent of type of problem, functional area or decision perspective. His seven types included: File Drawer Systems Data Analysis Systems Analysis Information Systems Accounting and Financial models Representational Models Optimization Models Suggestion Models. Alters first three types of DSS have been called data oriented or data driven; the second three types have been called model oriented or model driven; and Alters suggestion DSS type has been called intelligent or knowledge driven DSS. Importance of Alters Study was: Supports concept of Developing Systems that address particular decisions. Makes clear that DSS need not be restricted to a particular Application Type. Based on Alters study Daniel J Power formulated an expanded framework. The purpose of expanded DSS framework is to help people understand and apply the framework to integrate, evaluate, implement and select appropriate means for supporting and informing decision-makers. Expanded Framework suggested by Daniel J Power (Daniel J Power, Expanded DSS framework, June 2001, p.5) Dominant DSS Component Target Users: Internal / External Purpose: General /Specific Deployment Technology Communications Communications- Driven DSS Internal teams, now expanding to external partners Conduct a meeting or Help users collaborate Web or Client/ Server Database Data-Driven DSS Managers, staff, now Suppliers Query a Data Warehouse Main Frame, Client/ Server, Web Document base Document-Driven DSS Internal users, but the user group is expanding Search Web pages or Find documents Web or Client/ Server Knowledge base Knowledge- Driven DSS Internal users, now Customers Management Advice or Choose products Client/Server, Web, Stand-alone PC Models Model-Driven DSS Managers and staff, now customers Crew Scheduling or Decision Analysis Stand-alone PC or Client/Server or Web (Ralph H. Sprague, Hugh J. Watson, Decision Support System Putting Theory into practice, 3rd edition, 1993, p.4) Three Technology Levels: Specific DSS System which actually accomplishes the work might be called the specific DSS. DSS Generator This is a set of related hardware and software which provides a set of capabilities to quickly and easily build a specific DSS. DSS Tool These are hardware or software elements which facilitates the development of a specific DSS or DSS Generator. Based on the details above we would like to define DSS as DSS can be defined as use of computer application that can help managers, staff members, or people who interact within the organization to make decisions and identify problems by using available data and communication technology. It is also very important to understand the reason for the failure of DSS. And what are the factors that could cause the failure of system and which factors are to be termed as the success factors of DSS. Reason for Failure of DSS System: Despite the benefits that DSS offers the implementation of such system has been limited. Some of the reasons can be the following: Proper evaluation of the DSS preceding and during DSS development. DSS output does not fit the producers decision-making style. Complexity involved while operating the DSS. Post Implementation support. Benefits from these systems are not always realized Other than the above reason few disadvantages of the DSS system are: Over dependency for Decision making Assuming it to be correct. Unanticipated effects Deflect personal responsibilities Information overload. Considering the above reason, to increase the rate of success of DSS implementation and customization, the following factors should be considered and managed. Critical Success Factors of DSS: Hartono (Hartono et al, 2006, p.257) uses the following words to describe their interpretation of Critical Success Factors: Success antecedents are those key factors that organizations can manage so that the management information system is favorably received and the implementation is deemed as successful (Johannes Johansson; Bjorn Gustafson, Critical Success Factors affecting Decision Support System Success, from an end-user perspective,2009, p.1)Johannes Johansson and Bjorn Gustafson identified three factors that significantly affect end-users perceived net benefits, namely Data Quality, Problem Match and Support Quality. (S. Newman1, T. Lynch, and A. A. Plummer; Success and failure of decision support systems: Learning as we go, p.1)The case study HotCross, a DSS under development to evaluate crossbreeding systems in northern Australia, provided evidence of a shift in the development process because greater emphasis was put on the learning process of breeding program design by end-users rather than emphasis on learning how to use the DSS itself. Greater end user involvement through participatory learning approaches (action learning, action research, and soft systems methodologies), iterative prototyping (evolving development processes), as well as keeping DSS development manageable and small in scope, will provide avenues for impr

Da Evil Deer :: essays research papers

It all started on the opening day of deer season. The beautiful day was just cold enough to want a jacket but, but hot enough to where if one was worn you’d sweat to death! It seemed like a typical opening day. It wasn’t though, it turned out to be quite different.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I walked out to my favorite tree belt with my trusty gun at my side and waited for the buck I had been eyeing for months. I needed a nice buck this year. See I bet Buddy that my deer would be twice as big as his. Twenty bucks was up for grabs and I needed to buy a new paintball gun.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As I thought about what kind of gun I wanted, the biggest buck I had ever seen showed up about 100 yards away from where I sat. That was my ticket to twenty dollars. I raised up my gun, put the deer in my crosshairs, and sat there for a second to admire it’s beauty. That‘s not all I noticed though. The deer had red eyes, and below the red eyes, on the ground, set an AK-47 with a weird scope.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I thought sweet! Not only will I get twenty dollars, I’ll also get a new assault rifle that someone left lying around! Then it occurred to me that I was the prey. I got up and ran! Lead flung by me as I made my way to the Jeep. All of a sudden blood started squirting out of my leg! I thought cool, that didn’t even hurt! But my leg gave out and I fell to the ground.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As I was lying there, I devised a new plan. I layed their acting dead and waited for the deer to pick me up. He threw me over his shoulder, and I slowly pulled out my hunting knife. A quick slice and the psychotic, evil deer was laying on the ground out cold. The twenty bucks was mine! Then, as I was cutting the deer open, a button buck jumped out of the evil deer, and my monster buck disappeared! As the deer hopped away I noticed two things.

Singaporean Mentality Exposed :: I Not Stupid Education System Essays

Singaporean Mentality Exposed Film critics and audiences have dubbed I Not Stupid an excellent commentary on the education system and government paternalism. The movie stars three school children who have been channelled into the undesirable EM3 stream, and shows the trials and tribulation of these children and their parents. I Not Stupid has been described as a "coming of age movie"1 for its rare ability to criticise the government and its policies and bring pertinent issues to light, so much so that many are surprised that it managed to get past the not-too-kind local board of censors. This presents us with an interesting question - with its explicit references to the government and its blatant criticisms of government policies, how did this political satire get past the censorship board? Was it a case of the censors deciding that this sort of criticism was acceptable once in a while? Or perhaps the censors just saw the movie differently. At first mention, the latter might sound very unlikely. However, if we ask ourselves what the real butt of the satire is, we might begin to realise that there is a possibility that this movie is not intended to be a political satire at all. In fact, it is my contention that the butt of the satire in this movie is the Singaporean mentality, and not the government. However, before we can begin to examine the real target of the movie's satire, it is first necessary to have an understanding of the movie and its characters. The movie stars three students, Terry Khoo, Liu Kok Pin and Ang Boon Hock who are in the EM3 stream. Terry Khoo, who is also the narrator in the movie, is portrayed as a chubby and clumsy spoilt brat, whose mother is overly paternalistic. Mrs. Khoo, who is decked in white for most of the movie to no doubt show a similarity between her and the PAP government who also have a white uniform, makes all the decisions for her children, and believes that they should be lucky to have such a responsible mother. While Terry is happy to accept this situation, his elder sister Selena is more rebellious and repeatedly demands her freedom. Liu Kok Pin is a student whose ability in English and Maths is weak. His mother, Mrs. Liu takes it upon herself to discipline Kok Pin to ensure that he scores well in his tests in school, while brushing asi de his natural talent in art.

Inflation Essays -- Economics

Inflation INFLATION CAN OUR ECONOMY GROW WITHOUT IT? INFLATION CAN OUR ECONOMY GROW WITHOUT IT? What is inflation? The definition of inflation, according to Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, is â€Å"an undue expansion or increase, from overissue.† Although, Webster’s is considered by most to be the overall best dictionary, WordNet states the meaning of inflation a lot clearer by saying, â€Å"it’s a general and progressive increase in prices.† It occurs when the value of goods rises faster than the value of money. The usual approximate measure of this is the Consumer Price Index, which weigh the prices of different goods according to importance in a typical budget and then shows how much the prices of these goods have increased. This immediately raises some problems; for example, the weight of the goods must change over time. The importance of computers was not measured in the price index 100 years ago. Another problem is the failure of the price index to capture changes in quality. The qualit y of a good may have improved by 20%, while the price has only risen by 10%. The consumer price index doesn’t feel this should be a factor, but many would disagree. Hence, inflation is not easy to define in practice. This should be kept in mind when discussing how to defeat inflation. There have been numerous theories on how to defeat inflation and even some theories on whether, or not, it should be defeated at all. Some say that inflation is not only expected, but often, needed. Economists believe that in order for the economy to expand and grow, there has to be some level of inflation. Therefore, the opposite holds true as well. If you want to lower inflation, you have to accept a semi-standard economy. They call this tradeoff the Phillips Curve. The Phillips Curve is thought to be the â€Å"proper† way of balancing economic growth and inflation. For this reason the Federal Reserve is always looking for the perfect equilibrium at which we can maximize our economic growth while keeping inflation as minimal as possible. They do this by increasing and decreasing interest rates. Although, Economists and the Federal Reserve abide by the Phillips Curve as a general rule for not letting inflation get out of hand, it has been proven many times in the past that it is possible to have a very healthy and prosperous economy without raising inflation at all. There are even exa... ...creased. This would show a truer relation of the prices of goods to the inflation of the economy. I can see the Federal Reserves reasoning behind raising interest rates to slow down the economy and lower inflation, but they need to realize that the rate of inflation is not completely dependant upon the rise and fall of the economies well-being. The past has proven to us numerous times that the economy is quite capable of being stable and prosperous without effecting the inflation rate in a negative way. That’s why I feel that it would be in the nations best interest to continue letting the economy expand into bigger and better things without raising interest rates to unneeded proportions. WORKS CITED Forbes, Steve. â€Å"Bad Idea Begets Bad Economy.† Forbes. Oct. 9, 1995: p23. Dentzer, Susan. â€Å"Honey, I Shrunk the Price Tag.† U.S. News & World Report. Sept. 23, 1996: p72. Forbes, Steve. â€Å"Stop Stunting Our Prosperity.† Forbes. Oct. 16, 1995: p27. â€Å"Inflation.† Hypertext Webster Gateway. Jan. 20, 1999: internet. http://work.ucsd.edu:5141/cgi-bin/http_webster?inflation Bootle, Roger. â€Å"Chapter 2-Prices.† The Death of Inflation. Nicholas Brealey Publishing. 1996: p488-489.

Is inverting in CSR profitable or not

Is Investing in CARS profitable to business? At any juncture when an organization goes past simply legitimate compliances and emphatically engages in activities that seem to more extensive social good which is for the most part outside the diversions of the firm and is more customized towards the more extensive social responsibility, the firm Is said to have embraced the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CARS) (McMillan et al. 2006). The terms corporate social responsibility (CARS), corporate governance (CGI corporate sustainability (CSS), corporate citizenship and triple bottom line (TAB) are all being seed synonymously with each other and all these terms fall Into the broader concept of â€Å"ethical business† (Cast et al. , 2004). CARS Is taking the responsibility to empower people both socially and economically (Albuquerque, 2010).Holmes and Watts (1999) suggest that â€Å"CARS Is a duty of every corporate body to protect the Interest of society at large and alt hough every business's mall motive Is to earn profit, corporate should take the initiative for welfare of the society and should perform Its satellites accordingly†. CARS includes elements such as environmental protection, social equity ND economic growth and has a strong empathy with the founding principles of quality management (Leonard and Macadam, 2003).A fundamental belief among business and society scholars is that CARS ‘pays off for the organization as well as for the stakeholders and the society in general (Burke and Logon, 1996). The concept of CARS contrasts the classic economic argument that management has only one responsibility which is the wealth minimization of its owners. Classical economist Milton Friedman argued that the main aim of management is â€Å"to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of the society, both those embodied in the law and those embodied in ethical custom† (Friedman, 2007).Even economists such as F riedman, who had previously suggested that social matters were not the concerns of business people and that these problems had to be resolved by unrestricted workings of the free market system, had to change their views regarding corporate social responsibility (Carroll, 1991). A theory called the agency theory exists which suggests that CARS is a complete misuse of corporate resources that could have been spent on value-added internal projects or even have been returned to the shareholders (McMillan et al. 006). Alexander and Buckshot (1978) and Bowman and Hair (1975) have contrasting views suggesting that stakeholders might have a positive view when managers implement CARS and might consider that to be a standout management skill because a firm that Invests In the society Increases It's perceived social reputation which In turn helps build the company's Image whereas companies that do not contribute to the society might not reap equal benefits.Mousse's and Evans (1986) suggest tha t socially responsible activities have a significant Impact on firm's standing especially with such Important areas such as inkers, Investors, the government and engaging In social satellites Is a pivotal part of decision makings In banks and other Institutions these days. A direct Implication of this might be that the businesses can secure more capital from Investors Just because of their perceived social reputation. Investors are only drawn in generally if the profitability then obviously investors would not be interested.There are many organizations embracing the concept of CARS and there are many examples which show significant relationship between CARS and profitability. There have been other retinues too who have suggested a negative relation between social responsibility and profitability and have in fact argued that engaging in socially responsible activities are an added cost to the business that puts the firm at an economic loss compared to firms that are less socially res ponsible (Brandon and Merlin, 1985).However, this traditional concept of cost increment has been downplayed by many organizations that have adopted the concept and the results are quite promising too. One such organization is Timberland which has provided employees the opportunity o take significant amounts of paid time off to volunteer for social causes of their choosing (Peppier, 2003). Louis Button has been introducing CEO-friendly products and has been actively supporting environmental causes which could in turn entice customers to purchase the company's luxury items (Does and Schooner, 2009).Wall-Mart reduced transportation costs by $3. 5 million, saved 3,424 tons of corrugated materials, 1,358 barrels of oil, 5,190 trees and 727 shipping containers through their CARS initiative (Hampton et al. ). Ecology and Environment Inc. (2008) reported an 80% deduction in its annual carbon emissions from its headquarters noting that the efficiency gains resulted giving the company an esti mated net savings of approximately $232,000 from 1998 to 2008 (Sprinkle and Amines, 2010).Another prime example is Body Shop which generates so much profit because it advertises itself as being ethical as it bans animal testing and considers effect on endangered species when choosing ingredients for the company's products (Dennis et al. , 1998). Companies that engage in social performance by adapting CARS as a concept have often increased their ability to entice and to retain employees which in turn leads to owe turnover and significantly less training and recruitment costs (Turban and Greening, 1997). Merck has donated more than 2. Billion tablets of drug Emaciate (vermilion) to help eradicate river blindness in parts of Africa, Latin America, and the Middle easy and some observers noted that there were few financial benefits to Merck (Dick, 2009). Organizational culture is equally important at the workplace because it is directly related to ethical principles. A manager might prom ote unethical practices so as to achieve targets or higher profits causing fear among employees of the company's practices which might be detriment to their own good in the long run (Ross and Perry, 1999).Cornell and Shapiro (1987) induced a new theory whereby they claim that firms with a perceived social image might discover to have substantially lower cost than those of competitors which means they have a better financial performance. Even multinationals have engaged in socially responsible activities abroad. An example is Shell, an oil company based in London that came under intense criticism from various group over their drilling operations in Nigeria ND to compensate that Shell invested over $50 million in health, education, agriculture, Job creation, women's programmer, youth training and sponsorship (Eagleburger, 2003).The need for CARS emerged as it goes beyond Just the legal framework and various attempt have been made by governments of various countries to try and blend th e concept with existing legal paradigms. An example has nothing at all for the wide range of stakeholders that could be affected by the company's decisions such as consumers, employees or the local communities (Frankest, 2001). In the I-J, a number of commissions have been setup since the sass like the Hamper Commission (Committee on Corporate Governance, 1998) which rejected the idea quoting the fact that â€Å"accountability to many is accountability to none† (Frankest, 2001).Being socially responsible has many positive effects for the business. Socially responsible companies not only Just enjoy the benefits of brand image and reputation but also have less risk of negative risk events such as bribery, corruption, child labor scandals and sweatshops which could damage their reputation and cost millions of dollars in information and advertising campaigns Outsource, 2004). Marigold et al(2007) studied the empirical link between corporate social performance and corporate financ ial performance and found out that the overall correlation was positive.They also found that the association was strongest for specific dimension of charitable contributions, revealed misdeeds, and environmental performance. While selecting normal business rules and especially when it comes to selecting a profitable outcome, companies select CARS activities which yield the highest total payoffs in terms of collective benefits to the firm and its takeovers and which fall within the range indicated for strategic CARS of a firm as suggested by (Burke and Logon, 1996).Companies that adopt the CARS principles in the product industry run less risk of having to recall defective product lines and pay heavy fines for excessive pollution which means consumers can trust the companies that are seen to be investing heavily in CARS activities (Outsource, 2004). While helping reduce staff turnover, if CARS activity can hold one highly trained specialist who earns $100,000 this can translate into a $400,000 benefit for the company as the cost of employee turnover can range from 50% to 400% base salary (Sprinkle and Amines, 2010).According to Martin(2002), â€Å"Corporations often willingly engage in socially responsible behavior precisely because it enhances shareholder value†. Academic researchers face difficulty in measuring the relation between social and financial performance. Business students and business faculty members and even fortune rankings have been found to have used subjective indicators (Outsource, 2004).Other researchers have however used survey instruments, behavioral and recapture measures, rating seems, combination of surveys: financial statements, articles on companies in press, academic Journals and government reports to asses profitability against various dimensions (Outsource, 2004). The problem with academicians and researchers is that it is hard to measure profitability Just on one dimension of the broad dimensions that corporate social respon sibility has to offer.Another problem underlying the concept of corporate social responsibility is that it can only come into reality if managers adopting it become moral instead of amoral or amoral (Carroll, 1991). The philanthropic functions and ethical functions (Carroll, 1991) have taken a significant place in recent years making it even difficult for any measurement as such.Other variables can be measured through statistical tools and dependent and independent variables analysis can also be done. Burke and Longed (1996) suggest that there are five strategic dimensions which help firm assess the value created for the firm by CARS programmer: centrality, specificity, their strategic proposition can expect really good results compared to the ones that just eliminate CARS activities.Caravan and McGuire(2010) suggest that ‘increasingly, human resource development (HARD) is viewed as having a role in helping organizations achieve societal, environmental and economic goals'. CAR S as previously mentioned by the author is linked to other departments too. Companies engaging in CARS can actually produce efficient results such as helping to raise awareness among employees, developing potential attitudes towards sustainability, environmental awareness and corporate citizenship.CARS is interrelated with other components of management science. For example, Press et al (2009) suggest that HARD investment as been found to be associated with a positive impact on the triple bottom line of business, social and economic performance and various other literatures aforementioned have suggested how CARS has contributed to reducing staff turnovers hence contributing to a better organizational performance in all sects of the firm itself.There is an argument that exists between business students on how CARS has become a part of business and management courses worldwide and the fundamental aim of business is to make profit; the students deduce the fact that if CARS was not prof itable why would it even be considered as a feature in the study of equines and management as suggested by (Mullions, 2007). There are a few organizations that have adopted CARS and used it as a marketing tool.Tell bank was a bank which was successful because it marketed itself as an ethical bank and other Islamic banks which have tailored their services to meet the religious and cultural needs of the local people are found to have done relatively well (Wilson, 2005). Many organizations have adapted to the concept of implementing CARS activities and even gone on to using it for strategic purposes and almost all of the time to increase their revenues (Wilson, 2005).Classic literatures in business and society proclaimed that while CARS might have short term costs, it actually pays off in the long run as suggested by (Davis K, 1997 and Steiner G. C (1980). Burke and Logon (1996) suggest that companies should carry out the following analysis while implementing CARS so as to increase the ir profits: Firms need to identify the stakeholders which are vital for achieving the firm's mission, aims or strategic objectives. Firms need to find out policies that are relevant to CARS, programmer and related activities which tailors to the wide range of stakeholders. Firms need to access the opportunities that offered by implementing CARS project so as to attain their strategic objectives or so as to solve problems and threats facing the problem (certainty). Firms need to access the cost benefit analysis of CARS projects which can be captured or internalized by a firm opposed to other firms in the same industry especially the competitors (Specificity). Firms need to anticipate future changes in the organizations environment and changes in the needs of key stakeholders which could be addressed through proactive CARS policies and activities (Proactively). Firms need to determine the starting point of mandated requirements in order to find out the opportunities for voluntary acti vities (voluntarism). Firms need to identify opportunities so as to create positive visibility with relevant internal or external stakeholders from CARS activities (Visibility). Finally, firms need to measure and associate the value or future value that is expected from various CARS projects various countries bringing out new legislations and have recognized environment, employees and consumers to be significant and legitimate stakeholders of business. Carroll (1991) suggest that â€Å"corporate executives have had to wrestle with how they balance their commitments to the corporation's owners with their obligations to an ever-broadening group of stakeholders who claim both legal and ethical rights†.Various literatures have suggested both positive and negative correlation between profitability and corporate social responsibility. However, there is no compelling evidence from literature to suggest that there is negative correlation between the two. Organizations that have adapt ed the concept of CARS and have made it part of heir strategy have found to have done well (see examples above) (Albuquerque, 2010). It might be the prime reason why various organization in different parts of the world have used the concept of CARS in their strategic decision making phase.There might be some organizations which have embraced the concept of social responsibility as a voluntary activity but research literatures show that organizations that have used and tailored programmer to social good have in fact benefited in terms of financial performance too. Companies and board of directors now discuss he term CARS in their annual general meetings and are seen to be keen on engaging in these activities and even go as far as advertising what they did in their brochures which are generally released in various Scams.This paper recommends the use of CARS by businesses and there are academic and research evidences to suggest that engaging in these activities will help increase profi t levels for different organizations but Outsource(2004) views suggests that extensive studies are needed to explore the casual mechanism linking CARS to profitability and to determine whether or not those relationships hold consistently over time.