The It Professionals Role In Competitive Market Intelligence Essays

The It Professional's Role In Competitive Market Intelligence Abstract The successful company will be driven to increase stakeholder value and profitability while creating a working environment that encourages and nurtures the growth of personal creativity and development as well as nurturing a sense of well-being for all members of the organization. When dealing with the forces that drive industry competition, a company can devise a strategy that takes the offensive. This posture is designed to do more than merely cope with the forces themselves; it is meant to alter their causes. The IT professional's role in competitive market intelligence The IT professional is increasingly being called upon to be a sleuth in the quest for the competitive market intelligence that is so necessary to support the enterprise's overall business strategy. In today's fast-changing marketplace, it is essential to monitor the techniques of similar businesses, and IT is being called upon to fulfill that functional need. IT must provide marketing with answers to vital questions such as: 1. How are competitors getting business? 2. Where does the enterprise look for new customers? 3. How are prospects targeted? 4. What services, products, and prices do competitors offer? 5. What images do our competitors project, and how does that compare to our image? The combined strength of marketing and IT Enterprises have depended on marketing for too long to provide competitive intelligence. It is crucial for IT professionals to contribute their specialized expertise to successfully adapt to the changing dynamics of the market arena. Marketing cannot do the job without the cooperation, tools, and willing support of the IT department. With the combined strength of the two complementary functions, a winning competitive market intelligence program is within the enterprise's reach. Useful and sometimes surprising insights can be gained from exploring the terrain of actual and potential competitors. Hardly an academic exercise, sizing up the competition should become an ongoing, regular, and systematic process of gathering, analyzing, and acting upon relevant data, which will provide businesses with two tangible benefits: It will reveal the steps that management must take to preempt competitive strikes. It will signal new market opportunities. Competitive monitoring enables management to develop practical strategies and measure the success of their actions. What you should know Simply knowing who your competitors are is not enough; you should also ferret out what their strategies and objectives are. You can gauge their strengths and weaknesses by learning about their products and services (current and new), pricing, features, and the level of customer satisfaction. How are your products or services positioned relative to the competition? Do your customers and prospects see your service as having the highest quality and still selling at the lower price? Is your product viewed as the low-cost brand, the premium-priced brand, the old standby, or the leader? After getting some comments, it may still be neither possible nor desirable to change your service's features. Instead, research could point out what to communicate and how to communicate to your market. For example, you could tell your marketing department what potential customers are looking for and highlight the features that are valued by your customers. Your information will enable the marketing people to create materials that tell customers what they want to hear and sell them what they want to buy. Differences can be subtle but they really do matter. Are yesterday's customers and clients being lured away by today's competition? Are they being tempted by the competition's siren song? Are they saying yes to your rival's lower fees or discounts? Are they buying new products or services that your company has not even thought of offering? Who will provide the answers? IT can, at the very least, provide meaningful data to formulate the correct solutions. Potential market threats While management understands the importance of keeping an eye on the competition, some members of management mistakenly believe that the marketing department alone has the resources to do a proper job. This is simply not true. Much valuable information exists in the database mines of the IT function. The IT professional must do some of the digging in those mines to find it. Most IT professionals are already in an excellent position to obtain and use primary competitive

Marketing Mix Paper Essays - Marketing, Brand Management, Business

Marketing Mix Paper Essays - Marketing, Brand Management, Business Marketing Mix Paper Marketing Kudler Fine Foods MKT/421 July 8, 2013 Dr. Mark Vitale Marketing Kudler Fine Foods In the current retail food industry there are numerous competitors struggling for the same dollar. It is vital for each business to recognize their target market, recognize their competitors and then put together their marketing plan. The information below will detail Kudler Fine Foods marketing strategies which consist of increasing its services, improving its effectiveness of the business and increase consumer purchase cycle. This paper will also talk about areas where Kudler Fine Foods needs to expand their market research. Kudler fine food is a store that markets fine foods and needs to bring about increasing their goods to the community. Kudler feels by improving the business operations can determine the store increase and effectiveness and the demand of its clientele at a higher quantity of buyers. In taking a look at the demographics and the consumer behavior and who are the major consumers out there, and what do their purchase decisions are. The importance of the marketing research is not only used for the purpose of knowledge, but it is also a critical component needed to make good decisions for the company. It will allow the company to advertise goods and services. A strategic marketing plan by, deciding what the overall objective of your company should be in. Kudler Fine foods are in a very excellent place to stay dominant in the grocery store path and increase their sales quantity by adding more stores in different places. Consumer behavior essentially refers to how and why people make the purchase decisions they do. Marketers strive to understand this behavior so they can better formulate appropriate marketing stimuli that will result in increased sales and brand loyalty. There are a vast number of goods available for purchase, but consumers tend to attribute this volume to the industrial world's massive production capacity. Rather, the giant known as the marketing profession is responsible for the variety of goods on the market. The science of evaluating and influencing consumer behavior is foremost in determining which marketing efforts will be used and when (Reference for Business, 2013). This helps the marking business in making the best decisions and the rights decision for Kudler fine Foods to promote business for the store. Kundler Fine Foods gives the highest quality to it a customer thats why it is so important to continue to give the customers what they need and want. Furthermore by not doing the research how will they evaluate their company and know what the customers should focus on in keeping the customers happy and coming back. From researching Kudlers Fine Foods will give a full description of supply and demand of their goods and make public to the competitors that are in the market of fine foods. Then there are other smaller markets that are comparable such as Sprouts, Trade Joes, and other community markets that can be competitors to Kudler. By researching this it will help to divide in a different class of markets. Differentiation strategy will give the consumer a choice an integrated set of action that the company can designed to produce or deliver goods or services that customers perceive as being different in ways that are important to them. In researching customers needs and what they want gives Kudler Fine Foods an upper quality for competitors. The gross sales for Kudler were over $10 million but when researched their net income was only $700,000 and the reason was of the operating cost. Kudler may not have the resources to launch advertising for the company because problems have occurred because of the lack of experience to the target market. Kudler needs a target market to allow the company to focus on marketing dollars and brand communication on a exact markets that is more likely to buy from than or other markets. This is a much more reasonable and efficient, and successful way to make potential clients and generate business. Kudler chain of stores makes them a distinguished factor in the market. This is why a lack of customers will have a huge affect on the growth of the company because of the decrease of the sales in the company. Research will help

Bio-psycho-social perspective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Bio-psycho-social perspective - Essay Example For society, the most troubling of these is the remorseless and fearless antisocial personality. Between normality and abnormality there is not a gulf but a somewhat arbitrary line. This demarcation depends on how atypical, disturbing, maladaptive, and unjustifiable a person’s behavior is (Covinsky, 2007). For the patient who is psychologically healthy, there are numerous motivations to recover. Patients are generally frustrated with their physical symptoms and difficulties with functioning. The desire to be healthy motivates them to strive to overcome whatever hurdles are in their path. Most patients are able to persevere through the course of treatment and recover. However in some cases whether due to the severity of the medical condition, incorrect diagnosis, inadequate treatment, preexisting psychological vulnerabilities, complicating psychological reactions or factors in the social environment some patients fill to recover and instead enter a downward spiral. A number of factors can contribute to this downward spiral (Gatchel, 1994). The psycho medical vortex provides a paradigm of how biopsychological disorders become intractable. Using this paradigm a variety of interventions can be identified alternately, when a seemingly untreatable condition has already appeared this model can offer some suggestions as to how to identify the road blocks to recovery and where to intervene (Gatchel, 1994). When chronic pain appears within the context of biopsychosocial disorder, comprehensive assessment requires assessing all the biological, psychological and social aspects of the condition and understanding the relationship between them. By correctly assessing the type of biopsychosocial disorder that is being treated and understanding the history or how it developed a more effective treatment plan can be developed. Research suggest that when the biological psychological and social aspects of

Site study report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Site study report - Research Paper Example The company subcontracted to supply furniture was a Chinese firm called xxxx. We got to learn that the main reason the owner of the restaurant wanted it renovated and refurbished was so that it would look more attractive to customers. According to the owner of the restaurant, the restaurant looked dull, the floor looked old, the furniture were outdated and did not afford customers the kind of comfort that they deserved. By changing the outlook of the restaurant, it would look like it has been rebranded without having to change its name. The plan that had been developed by the construction company for the renovation of the site was a 2-D drawing made to scale. The floor plan outlined the arrangement of the restaurant in terms of furniture, and fixtures. It was quite evident that the new arrangement of the restaurant would be significantly different from the old one. Apart from the floor plan, the company had a 3-D model of what the restaurant would look like once it was completed and fully furnished. Instead of the old blue color, the restaurant would have a bright pinkish color. The floor would be finished using floor differently colored tiles in replacement of the concrete floor. According to the 3-D plan, the restaurant would have a reflected ceiling and that would host several colored lights. In the old plan, the ceiling was plain and only had one or two lights centrally located in every room of the restaurant. In place of the high energy white bulbs, the restaurant would be fitted with energy saving bulbs of different colors. The old partition that divided one of the sitting areas into two was demolished in line with the new plan. It was evident that the contractor made the final product look like it appeared on the space plan and 3d computer model. We learnt that the restaurant was to have a lively, almost natural theme and so many of the furniture would be made of natural materials such as bamboo and wood. The restaurant’s furniture were mainly of Chinese style to match the culture of the target customers. One of the things I got to ask related to the production of the plan and 3D- model. The plan had been developed by the contractor in consultation with the owner of the restaurant. While the space plan had been drawn using AutoCAD software before being printed, the 3D-model had been done using Autodesk Homestyler. It is worth noting that the use of software in modern design has many advantages as it saves the designers a lot of time and energy, allows for greater accuracy, and makes it easy to make changes to plans in case of need. I asked the supervisor to outline the process involved in satisfying a customer’s need with respect to construction and interior design. He stated that the process involved several stages that began with the customer providing a brief of his/her requirements or specifying their needs. Based on the specifications, a designer will ask the customer questions regarding how the facility will be used, how many people it should accommodate, and what the customer hopes to achieve from the work among other questions. Based on this information, a team of designers will engage in research before coming up with a creative design and technical drawings, with the customer’s budget in mind. It is at this point that different software are used to come up with the plans, models and renderings. The customer is then shown the design for approval. If the

Role of Universities in Research and Innovation Essay

Role of Universities in Research and Innovation - Essay Example Information on research and innovation is necessary for policymakers so that they may be able to see how they can help the universities to promote their innovation and research in the market. Government support is not enough in most institutions. In most cases, universities collaborate with industries in conducting research. Universities have people, units, and function, which are involved in partnership actions that have an effect on technological and economic development. They do this by licensing and spin-offs. Universities differ in the way they organize their programs or activities so as to foster innovation. Research institutions, majorly in the United States, are more concerned about their societies in the recent past. This is because they represent the inner resources of knowledge in those societies (Amidon, Formica & Mercier-Laurent 2005, p.56). Competency of individuals, knowledge and skills and their application has improved significantly in the economy where these individ uals work. Most countries focus on the development, application, preservation, and discovery of all forms of knowledge and skills. These are the humanistic, scientific, and social knowledge. They therefore assist publicly and privately funded universities. The institutions then appreciate these contributions by appropriately contributing to the development in economy. They enhance knowledge linking activities, which improve technology commercialization, enhance workers’ competency, and assist community and organizational change and increase competency of professionals. He also provide social, economic, and cultural organizational analyses to train and educate individuals and to bring individuals and... This paper stresses that universities are directly involved in state and regional innovation processes in many ways. Development strategy emphasize on improving research institution in low and middle-income perspective and placing them at the inner part of development policies. Commercialization and technology transfer initiatives provides the means in which basic research and its market place meet one another. This is where ideas are converted into products, which then drive the new market and business formation. There are several challenges facing universities that need to be tackled for the institution to remain competitive in knowledge economy. One is to reduce student faculty ratio, this needs a plan on operating funds for new enrollment expansion. This needs expansion of faculties and hiring new staff. Many universities invest financially and politically in the development mechanisms of their firms. This report makes a conclusion that the values, economy, capabilities of a community , competence and orientation of workers must all be transforming and developing continuously across a large range of knowledge, changing technology and global conditions. Research in innovation and technology mobility is on a rising field, and its attractive conditions for learning research attract future academic interests. Efforts to improve long lasting capacity building are under acceleration in almost all growing universities. In conclusion, research and innovation are key aspects of knowledge development.

Theory of Deontology Analysis

Theory of Deontology Analysis Malik Jones This paper will argue why deontology is the most plausible ethical theory in my opinion. I will deliberate how should we live, how should we interpret the human condition, the most serious objections to this ethical theory, and how should one who holds this ethical theory respond to these objections. According to deontology, we should never inflict wrong onto anyone, or thing because no matter the circumstances, it will always be wrong. It does not matter if you are trying to save a trolley full of people hurtling down towards a group of workers by sacrificing one person, or if you are trying to steal two dollars from someone who has one million dollars, no matter the circumstance you shall never inflict damage to anyone no matter how big or small the matter, or the circumstances. In deontology, no matter what wrong you do, no matter the circumstance, whatever you do that inflicts damage to others or anything, it is immoral and you should feel deprived about the situation. People who have faith in deontology, or deontologist, think that morality is a matter of duty. People have moral responsibilities to do things that are right and moral duties not to do things that are immoral. Whether something is correct or incorrect doesnt depend on its penalties or magnitude. Rather, a deed is right or wrong in itself. The only thing that should drive human beings is the desire to do the right thing. Not money, power, material things, or even possibly doing things to achieve some sort of eternal life, but we should do the right thing, for no other reason, besides the fact that doing the right way is the right way or the only way. Kants claim is that the moral standing of our behavior is determined exclusively on the basis of the rightness and wrongness of the action itself. This means that it is unconditionally wrong too, for instance, self-defense, in all conditions, regardless of the consequences. For example, say there has been a case of armed robberies around your community by a group of ruthless criminals. Law enforcement also believes that this group of individuals have been bouncing from city to city and maybe even have had jobs in several other states, but they were not harming anyone who let them come in, take what they want, then leave.   Then one day, a group of people comes to your house late at night, while all of your family is asleep. The thieves came this late in the night expecting no one in the house to be awake. Little do they know that you are wide awake in your house a reach away from a twelve-gauge shotgun that can inflict enough damage with one or two shells to ensure that your family will remain safe and that no other family will have to suffer the wrath of these men. The only question left in the mind of a deontologist is that will you save your family and yourself or will you inflict damage to others, and if you let them just come and take whatever they want, then your family will be left with none of the means that you once had to survive on that you spent your life working on. This is one serious objection to deontology that pushes many people away from it, because most people will acknowledge that it is right to do the right time all the time for the sole sake of doing right, but they dont appreciate the fact that deontology requires no matter what you must always do the right thing no matter the circumstances because most people will want to save their family for the greater good if at all possible in this scenario for example. Just like in any great debate, though, ever objection can get counteracted which is certainly the case with even the most severe examples such as the one stated before. One might argue that if the father had time to hear and know they were coming, he had time to react without inflicting harm to the home invaders. He could have got his family and left the house before the invaders broke into the house. When the news hit that this group of people were now currently in their area, they should have come up with a signal to let everyone in the house know that the invaders were there and came up with a plan to evacuate and meet up somewhere to call the appropriate authorities. Or if evacuating wasnt an option, then contact the authorities and have faith that they will do their job to either stop the thieves in the act or catch them in a timely manner to restore your family to the way it was before they broke in. You also never know the circumstances that made them start to burglarize you, to begin with. Lets say that it is revealed that the group of individuals are all family members, and they have no health insurance, but their mother is terribly sick with cancer and they cant afford to get her the treatments that she drastically needs without committing these acts. If you kill them instead of giving them what they want, not only are you killing people that had no intention to kill you unless necessary, but you would also be killing a person who was in no way shape or form related to the crime that the guys were committing because she was completely unaware of what her family was doing to pay for her treatments. Deontology, while not perfect, gives the best explanation of the human condition and is the most plausible ethical theory out of all the lessons that we were taught in class. To me, while it may not be realistic in every single case, if society would look at life from a deontologist point of view, the world would be a much better place.

Kabuki : A Japanese Form Essay -- essays research papers fc

Japan’s dances and dramas as they are seen today contain 1300 years of continuous uninterrupted history. This prodigious feat of conservation, theatrically speaking, makes Japan an extraordinary and unique country. In all of Asia, where tradition generally is sanctified and change eschewed, Japan stands as the only country whose theatre is its entirety has never suffered an eclipse nor undergone any drastic revivification or renovation. The most traditional form of Japanese theatre is kabuki. Its origin goes back to the latter part of the 16th century and, with extensive and continuous evolution, it has now been perfected into a state of classical refinement. Though not as flourishing as it once was, the kabuki theatre retains wide popularity among the people, and is in fact drawing quite large audiences even now. During the period generally referred to as the Edo Era, during which much of the development of kabuki took place, distinctions between the warrior class and the commoners was more rigidly observed than at any other time in Japan's history. Mainly the merchants cultivated the art of kabuki in those days. They had become increasingly powerful economically, but had to remain socially inferior as they belonged to the commoner class. To them kabuki was most significant as the artistic means by which to express their emotions under the prevailing conditions. Thus, the fundamental themes of kabuki plays are conflicts between humanity and the feudalistic system. It is largely due to this humanistic quality of the art that it gained such an enduring popularity among the general public of those days and remains this way today. A unique feature of the kabuki art, and possibly the most significant detail and in keeping with the kabuki spirit of unusualness, is the fact that it has no actresses whatsoever (Bowers 325). Male impersonators known as onnagata play all female parts. The players of the kabuki drama in its primitive stage were principally women, and with the increasing popularity of kabuki, many of the actresses began to attract undue attention from male admirers. The authorities felt that this would lead to a serious demoralization of the public and in 1629 the theatrical appearance of women was officially banned. However, since the public already accepted kabuki, men immediately took over and have continued performing to the present. The ban on... ...e curtain is open and serve also as prompters. They are not characters in the play and the audience is supposed to disregard them. â€Å"A review of theatrical history of the world shows that an ancient dramatic art, once its form has been stabilized in a near perfect state, has been capable of surviving the test of time even when its literary elements were no longer contemporary.† (Hsu, 123) The truth of this statement is born out by the present state of kabuki. It does not depict contemporary life in Japan, a country whose whole civilization has undergone a great degree of Westernization, yet it enjoys wide popularity. A principal reason for this lies in the fact that it is now a crystallized form. Kabuki has thus retained, and seems destined to retain, a place in the nation's pride and affection. Works Cited 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bowers, Faubion. Theatre in the East. New York. Grove Press, Inc., 1993 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hsu, Tao-Ching. The Japanese Conception of the Theatre. Seattle. University of Washington Press, 1985. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mackerras, Colin. The Japanese Theatre in Modern Times. Amherst. University of Massachusetts Press, 1975.

Should Alcohol Drinking Age Be Decreased of Increased?

Should alcohol drinking age be decreased of increased? In my opinion it should be decreased because if we are classified as an adult and we are allowed to get married and etc. Why are we not allowed to drink. Lowering the drinking age would teach kids how to be more responsible at a younger age. If kids are just cut off from things, they are just going to find a way around it anyway. Kids just need to learn to do things in moderation. Because unfortunate, adults aren't responsible with alcohol either.Maybe if they were not taught that drinking was a â€Å"rebel† thing at a young age we wouldn't have so many alcoholics or so many kids over doing it at parties. People use alcohol for numerous reasons; peer pressure, celebration, anxiety, sadness, boredom, rebellion and insomnia are just a few. Teens fall under the category of â€Å"people†. The legal drinking age is currently twenty-one, but illegally drinking age is as low as zero. Why? Is the main question asked? I can assure you the underage drinking age percentage would drop if the age is lowered.Few reasons for teens drinking are: peer pressure, enjoyment, etc. But the main reason for doing so is â€Å"breaking the law†. 87 percent of high school seniors have used alcohol. That means that a large quantity of teens under the age of seventeen to eighteen have used alcohol before. We all know why teens drink, I mean is common since. Just the feel that they get of breaking the law is huge. Being rebel and not following the rules is an important role of a teen’s life.Consequences are the one that change them, but we don’t want them to experience the consequences of being under the influence of alcohol because we know them and they are fatal. Dying in a car accident and killing others is a mess that we don’t want to clean. Despite the fact that is illegal for young teens to purchase it, they are able to get it through their parent’s own liquor cabinets, unscrupulous store clerks, or older friends who purchase it for them. As we all see, is not hard for teens to obtain alcohol. Why not lower the drinking age then?I mean any way you put it, they are getting it. We have all heard of the famous saying â€Å"we want you to join the military and protect your country. † Well, you are telling me that I can legally kill someone at the age of eighteen, while I sign up with the military and go to war but I can’t have a sip of alcohol. Due to this none senseless situation, age should be equaled. In other words, if voting and military sign up is eighteen, then drinking should also be eighteen. Besides at the age of eighteen you are legally an adult.Why can’t we drink then? Drinking age in Australia is eighteen, and in UK is as low as sixteen in restaurants. Studies have showed that those teens/adults are perfectly fine. In fact, Dr. Ruth Engs; professor of Applied Health Sciences at Indiana University in Bloomington, uses this examples to propose the following: â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the drinking age be lowered to about 18 or 19 and permit those of legal age to consume in socially controlled environment such as restaurants and official school and university functions† (direct quote from Dr.Engs). Drinking age should be lowered, and I know that by lowering it we can drop the percentage of reckless teen alcohol abusers. It is worth trying it , and if everything goes the opposite then change the law once more which is done lots of times, for dumb reasons and raise the drinking age back to twenty-one. Changes are always good most of the times, and I know this one in particular is an excellent one.

Causes of the french revolution essays

Causes of the french revolution essays The statement citing the essential cause of the French Revolution was the power clash between the powerful, rising bourgeoisie and a well-established aristocracy defending it's privileges. The causes of the French Revolution, being provoked by this collision of powers, were the financial debt of the government and the long-standing political differences in the government. After the Seven Years War, the government of France had major financial troubles. Marie Antoinette had very lavish tastes and only added to the huge debt France was currently stuck with. This was worsened when France aided the American Revolution against Great Britain, seeing as the government had already reached great financial debt. Also with the American Revolution, French soldiers came back and realized that they too, were oppressed and wanted representation for the people. The financial problems were not fixed and continued because of the government's inability to be allowed to tax the wealth holders of the French nation. There was a great absurdity in France being a rich nation with a government in poverty. The deteriorating finances of the government are what triggered the prolonged differences between the Bourgeoisie and the aristocracy. The political differences between the monarchy and the nobles came about after the Seven Years' war also. The increasing debt of the government escalated the hope for the monarchy to resume an "absolute power" status as it did with Louis XIV. The only result of the attempts for absolutism by the monarchy was a series of new and increased taxes on the nobles. The aristocracy immediately reacted to these taxes as declaring them unfair and would not pay them. The monarchy made many attempts at taxation, such as a land tax, feudal dues, and salt tax, but the nobles defeated each of these. The government continued to become poorer and poorer and it seemed the only successful taxation was done towards the pe...

Fire Prevention Essays

Fire Prevention Essays Fire Prevention Essay Fire Prevention Essay Essay Topic: To Build a Fire Fire Prevention Name Institution Date : Fire Prevention For purposes of this study, I chose to analyze the article ‘Fire Safety Handbook for Apartment Managers’ by the Seattle Fire Dept. This article attempts to outline fire safety and prevention measures regarding fire tragedies that occur in apartments and residential settings. According to the article, Fires in residential buildings are most prevalent because the dense nature of these buildings that allow heat, smoke, and fire. Fire is common accident and in most cases cannot be anticipated. In case this tragedy strikes, response should involve fast action and quick decisions (Seattle Fire Department, 2010). Being prepared in such cases can save lives and property. For purposes of preventing fires, the Seattle and Washington state laws designed regulations for fire safety on multi-residential housing. This publication was established to endow property managers with the necessary knowledge regarding fire tragedies and their prevention. The publication by the Seattle and Washington state provides information about fire safety and prevention for staff and tenants. The publication also highlights recommendations for the development of procedures in case of a fire emergency. In a year, the fire department in Seattle responds to about 150 fire emergencies that occur in multi-residential houses. The article endeavored to investigate the reports in most of these fires, establish the common causes of these fires, and design relevant prevention measures. Upon analyzing this article, I was able to establish that it is in agreement with the material I study in my course. According to my study course, I am able to understand that cooking accidents are the main cause of fires in the United States. According to the article, Seattle in particular registers more fires resulting from cooking than any other cause. More than a third of fire accidents in multi-residential buildings are caused by cooking errors. In this case, most of the fires resulted from unattended food in the kitchen. Prevention of these fires should then involve more responsibility when cooking and proper maintenance of cooking apparatus (Seattle Fire Department, 2010). Additionally, the article outlined heating apparatus as the second factor that causes most fire accidents in America. The winter months in particular record the most usage of heating devices. While the use of these devices is imminent, the article stresses due care when using them and ensuring that they are safe to use. Additionally, the article report also outlined smoking as another major cause for fires. These fires as mostly caused by leaving cigarette unattended or near chairs and sofas (Slater and Smith, 2009). However, other than highlighting responsibility as a factor for preventing fires caused by cigarettes and heating devices, I think that the article should have included smoke alarms as a means preventing these fires. These devices would help detect fires in their early stage and hence stop them before they spread. Conclusively, fires occurring in residential buildings are the most common in the United States registering a remarkable 52 percent. The article by the Seattle Fire Department endeavors to investigate residential building fires, and in particular, those in Seattle. My thoughts on this article and its relation to my course study maintain that the most effective way preventing fires involves identifying and removing fire hazards. Some of these preventive measures involve exercising more responsibility when performing household activities such as cooking and using heating devices. Ultimately, I was able to establish that the article complements my course study apart from majoring only in household fires. References Seattle Fire Department. (2010). Fire Safety Handbook for Apartment Managers. Seattle: Scholastic Press. Slater, T., Smith, J. (2009). Fire prevention. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Porters Force for Competitive Advantage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words - 7

Porters Force for Competitive Advantage - Essay Example A comparative analysis of the systems followed by businesses of various economies to gain edge is evaluated from Porter’s competitive advantage view. Â  The model’s approach to identify the cluster of small industries where their competence has a direct correlation with the performance of other businesses in the same economy, along with other factors, adds value chain to the process. The advantages can be from consumer-business relationship or local market context, giving it an edge over similar businesses in offshore markets. The various elements of the model is as in the figure below, that shows the business elements and suggests the underlying factors boosting the affectivity of the competence. Further, Rugman and Verbeke (1993) suggested that the factors affecting the competence are related with each other and existing market environment. The four distinct determinants of the model have great influence on the strengths of the business located therein. The vertical relationships of buyers’ intelligence and suppliers are correlated horizontally with technology, skills, distribution challenge etc. The use of the model in the process gives the overview of the industry in terms of competition in the industry. Pressman (1991) observed that the respective Government identifies these clusters to support and promote them as a source of economic growth. Factor Conditions: The position of a business as production capacity, skill manpower availability, infrastructure, legal frameworks etc aided by the government agencies determines the factor conditions. The conditions would determine the performance and ease of doing business in a particular economy.

How Does Interface Design on social networking website Impact on Dissertation

How Does Interface Design on social networking website Impact on today's Youth - Dissertation Example edly taken over by the Digital Revolution. The Internet has changed the face of our world. Web based and Social Networking Websites and Soft wares have broadened our horizons and now we have plenty of new opportunities to choose from. First of all, online learning and Web based teaching have become synonymous with Face-to-Face learning. Secondly, each day new aspects of web based solutions are made available for the ease of online students. The only issue that must not be neglected is the protection of one’s privacy and safety. The young users are vulnerable and prone to many a web based menaces and exposed to a whole new world of Internet crimes. Proper coaching and counseling are required on part of the parents and teachers both, to make them beware of the criminal activities and privacy invasions taking place by mere use of the online social networking applications. 48 3.1 Objectives: 49 3.2 Data Analysis and Methods of Data Collection: 50 Limitations & Ethics Issue: 52 53 3.3Research Methodology – Case studies 54 a)Case Study 1: PINTEREST: A security Issue: 54 b)Case Study 2: Face book the case of Privacy: 55 3.4 Research Methodology: Conclusion of Online Surveys: 56 QUESTIONNAIRE 56 BIBLIOGRAPHY 68 TABLE OF FIGURES 73 CHAPTER 4 74 INTRODUCTION 74 4.1 FINDINGS AND NEW APPROACH: 75 4.2) FINDINGS: 76 5) Uploading music, movies, widgets and related information. 77 6) Downloading games and applications. 77 7) Authoring and showing creativity by uploading your own content such as: Personal blogs videos, music, poetry etc. 77 8) Sharing third party content e.g. liking someone else’s preference or work as hosting a YouTube video or a blog page. 77 9) Posting Public and Private Messages such as: Through Face book and MySpace. 77 10) Collaborating and interacting with other people, as it is the best way for people who are not very social and are introvert and shy. 78 WEBSITES DESIGNED SPECIALLY FOR YOUNGSTERS: 78 Many conventional social network ing services are intended and designed for teens and young people according to their interests and preferences such as: 78 1)Teen Second Life. 78 2) Habbo Hotel. 78 3) Imbee. Com. 78 4) Disney. 78 5)Nick.com 78 6) ClubPenguin. Etc 78 These websites are specifically designed for TEENS AND YOUNG ADULTS, according to their age, maturity levels and basic security requirements as well as profile modifications and identity security as they have a required age limit for signup (National School Boards Association, 200