IT Company and Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

IT Company and Globalization - Essay Example This report aims to offer an insight into the effort of an organisation to maintain its sustainability with the development of different marketing strategies to retain the pertaining competitive advantages and introduce new advantages over the competitors. The strategies have been discussed in light with the relative theories. Information technology has been a significant influential factor to shape up any company’s presence in the global market. As the numbers of elements in the business network have been increasing, maintaining the relationship between the elements has been becoming more and more difficult. This report aims to explore the contribution of the information technology to offer a sustainable position in the international business environment. A conclusion has been inferred from the analysis of the organisation’s marketing strategies to the enhancement and evolvement of new competitive advantages. Skype has brought revolution in the world of communication. Globally, a huge number of people use their product to make free audio and video calls, share files with other users, worldwide. The organisation was institutionalised in the year of 2003. Based in Luxemburg, the organisation has its offices in the Europe, United States and Asia regions. In the third quarter of the year 2009, the Skype users made 3.1 billion minutes of calls to various landlines and mobiles, spread worldwide. This leading internet communication company has reported of 20 million people to be online in the pick hours. The wide range of products and services has given Skype to be one of the leaders in global internet communications medium. â€Å"What’s most important, however, is what Skype can do. Voice and video calling, IM and SMS are now available on a wide range of operating systems and mobile devices† (Skype, n.d.). Skype has been software to bind the world in a single thread. This has bee n quite appreciated to help the people to cut on their costs as they are now

Coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Coursework - Essay Example Coca Cola Company owns over 300 brands including carbonated drinks, non-carbonated drinks, fruit drinks, sports drinks and bottled water. It is estimated that this company has a daily turnover of 2billion on all of its brands thus providing enough prove that Coca Cola Company is among the biggest companies holding biggest market share in the global markets where 80% of the turnover and profitability comes from international markets outside USA. To sustain this dominance and to facilitate its expansions into the new market segments at the same time launching new products the company has to develop market plan in where it outlines various guidelines and strategies that the company should fully implement, more notable is that the Company has become a success story because of its various marketing strategies that suits the various consumer market segment across the globe (Doole 2008). These marketing strategies have enhanced the continued expansions of the company into the new global pot ential markets through acquisition of other brands countering its major competitors, launching of new brands and development of new markets in the unexploited markets as well as facilitating brand awareness to the existing and potential consumers thus enhancing consumer satisfaction, trust and loyalty on these brands. The Company approach on laying emphasis on consumer marketing campaigns has seen the Company’s brand varieties such as Diet coke, Rc cola, Sprite and Fanta performing well in all the market segments globally. The key factor that is notable to significantly contribute to the Coca Cola Company’s global market sustainability is the brand consumer marketing approach of adopting global marketing strategies. The need for adopting global marketing strategies came as a result of the company implementing the consideration of expanding into the global markets where they needed to address the various consumer needs, market segments and diverse consumer cultures (Doo le 2008). Marketing strategies for making marketing decisions varies in different regions in the world therefore it has become important for Coca Cola Company to conduct consumer marketing based on the domestic market segment cultures and the needs of the society. Coca Cola Company has faced stiff competition and increased rivalry in the domestic markets and the international markets, its major rival is Pepsi which is also manufacturing and distributing substitute products to those of Coca Cola Company. There are also other challenges that the company needs to address in order to consolidate its position as a leader in the global and domestic markets. These among others include lower sales of brands in the new markets; communication marketing mechanisms are inadequate; brand recognition and awareness in some market segments was very low and finally is the negative perception of consumers towards Coca Cola brands in regard to health issues. With this situation the Company needed to c ome up with unique marketing strategies and techniques to ensure that they edge out its competitors through the expansion of its markets and the consolidation of the customer base. To ensure that they identify suitable and appropriate marketing strategies for this consideration, the company sought to understand the consumer theories that may apply in the various societies in regard to marketing. They also found out how various marketing and advertisement models work in the consumer

Effect of Standard Costing Changes on Firm Operations

Effect of Standard Costing Changes on Firm Operations The Rise and Fall of Standard Costing and Its Effect on Everyday Operations For European and American Firms Contents (Jump to) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GENERAL OVERVIEW ACCOUNTING OVERVIEW LITERATURE REVIEW EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The overall purpose of this paper and study is to investigate cost or lean accounting within the operations management realm and how its unpredictable rise and fall allow organisations to continuously learn and utilize knowledge management as a core value. It was also important to use a larger organisation that has history of outstanding operations and customer centered focus upon services. This investigation will require an in-depth study of work processes, communication and leadership with regard to knowledge management as a value within the team construct while looking at how this reflects leaning accounting principles. What tools are available and what kind of evolution is Nestle undergoing in order to remain competitive in a changing economy? How does this change knowledge management and communication company wide? What this study argues is that accounting practices are changing due to the evolving business plan. This is a movement toward modern accounting and it is important to see the relationships between costing accounting, its fluctuations and how they impact the health of the organisation as a whole with regard to productivity and job satisfaction. How an organisation applies methods of costing into its framework for accounting of expenses and its direct rise and fall over the time period of the product life cycle, directly influences the production, operation, distribution and employee retention of the global company. In fact changes in accounting practices have led to many tried and true business models to no longer exist. Costing and its rise and fall can have a direct relationship with success and competitive advantage in the market place. However the purpose of this study is to explore and reflect upon how accounting practices change operations management and the supply chain management model as a tool of managers and team members alike. Really it is how accounting practices have changed business practices because of new legislation focusing on global companies in Europe and the United States. Accounting costs, expenses and losses reflects the health of the organisation and with change comes confusion. This study argues th at with such changes comes a lack of defining the company’s value within the market but also the value it has for its employees, as they become active participants and investors. GENERAL OVERVIEW How corporate accounting is handled is changing worldwide. How each expense is accounted for within an organisation’s financial sheets has been evolving. Such a proposal for change has received much commentary from not only the financial community and corporate America but also key members of Congress, European union leaders and the public. Such a response results from the uncertainty that such change will benefit businesses and economic growth. It is feared that such change will have the opposite effect and cause world leaders to lose its competitive edge in the global market. The urgency for a solution has only been stressed recently in light of such debacles like Enron and Tyco. It is believed that companies do need to account honestly for expenses but at what price to its employees, the public and the economy? Part of the issue with current legislation to change the practice of accounting for employee stock options is that there is no real way to value their worth. This cr eates an unsettling feeling among investors and employees struggling to understand this benefit. ACCOUNTING OVERVIEW What this truly means for any corporation functioning globally or even locally this that effective cost accounting because a volatile issue for management to consider. One could argue that such rise and fall of how costing pays a part in the entire operation has a negative effect upon how the company’s valuation is seen on the open market if done incorrectly. Costing at every step of the product life cycle plays a huge part in how this valuation is decided from inventory at the shop floor level, to everyday operations management, to an employee’s value with the company and their net worth personally. Changes within the global economy in the recent years the disappearance of tried and true business models leaves many with a poor taste in their mouths because one must understand how efficiency, affordability and effective leadership come into play. Effective costing of routine operations and corporate behaviours must be tracked and studied in order to carve the fat. This study aims to look at exactly what the rise and fall of costing means to a global organisation conducting business on many levels. For the purpose of proving the argument that such an evolution of accounting practices has a powerful influence on the organisation, one will look at examples from the shop floor to the continuous management of knowledge and communication. Accounting for such expensing and pricing correctly is what makes the organisation strong but also its people. The benefits of standard costing gives rise to more modern accounting practices today, which then lead to leaner functionality throughout the organisation. It can be argued that by putting a framework of standard costing as accounting practice also leads to a better defined operations team but also leads to a lean supply chain as further innovation is introduced into the organisation. With this in mind, evolved traditional business models like Wal-Mart and Nestle are discussed because these are globally operat ing corporations with high success rates. LITERATURE REVIEW PRICING STRATEGIES It can be difficult to assess why a product has a certain cost or price to the consumer. How is it that companies arrive at certain amount for a product or service? What are the factors that play into this amount and do they change over time while in the market? Mish defines clearly, price as being â€Å"the value or worth; the quality of one thing that is exchanged or demanded in barter or sale for another† (2004, p. 985). A mistake that happens to many companies is they allow the market to manage the price of the product and avoid strategic management of pricing in general. What is usually done according to Nagle is â€Å"they list the prices based on their own needs and then adjust transaction prices to based on what customers say they are willing to pay. Only a few companies question why someone is willing to pay no more that a particular amount or how that willingness could be changed† (2002, p. 1). In order to be strategic in pricing, a company must confident and understand that â€Å"pricing involves managing customers’ expectations to induce them to pay for the value they receive† (Nagle 2002, p.1). Fortunately, when it comes to financial products, many customers remain in the dark about product and services. Sometimes a service oriented company such as the Bank of England can take advantage of such undulation but as more information becomes available due to the Internet, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for a company to set the pace this way. More than not, more companies especially financial ones that rely on customer relationships, allow for a value-based price structure that is contingent on the customer paying when value is delivered. This type of pricing system relies heavily on segmentation of the demographic when it comes to offering promotions and incentives to buster customer loyalty. Much of this applies to financial type products that are well defined for the consumer either through education or these pr oducts are a must in life like the credit or loan product. Keeping this in mind, many financial products consist of high quality products and add-ons that when offered by one company allows that company to diversify and establish the price. The table here below aids in illustrating this point. Table 1: Pricing Strategies (Anderson Bailey 1998, p. 2) It is also important for a company to keep in mind demand for the product or service. This is why diversification and globalization are quickly becoming elements of strategy as companies look for new ways to target consumers and enter new areas where their original product has a new life cycle. This is a matter of economics but important for understanding marketing strategy with regards to cost switching or price switching. â€Å"The greater the price elasticity, the closer the company can price products to similar competitive products and vice versa† (Allen 2002). In an industry like the mortgage industry where homeownership is more prevalent in Western nations, elasticity is high and therefore, it is fair to remain competitive with other companies. Also a company like Nestle can bet that charging less may lead to more food products created as customers find they get more service for less money. In this respect elasticity can work either way. It really depends on degree of ri sk one company is willing to take. Still it remains to be found if such a tactic even works when it comes to customer loyalty, as this will be explored in greater detail later. However, it remains to be seen if price loyalty does exist. It seems â€Å"the key to effectively competing for loyalty is ensuring the quality of the customer experience, not the quantity of customer rewards or discount prices† (Compton 2005, p.1). However, the price needs to be adjusted for what the customer expects. It can be a cycle that changing continuously depending on the product or service. STANDARD COSTING AS ACCOUNTING PRACTICE There is concern with standard costing accounting methods and when the practice is an effective method, what advantages and or disadvantages there are to the practice’s use over time within the operations realm and production of a product. What is the history of standard costing, how it came into practice and popularity with managerial accountants? Are there situations where other methods are more beneficial? This plays into mainly focus upon direct material costs and not necessarily labour because of the set hourly wage. Was this the reason for adopting leaner accounting methods with the advent of more expensive operating costs? The fall of standard costing accounting systems may be due to a need for an integrated chain of activities across multiple product life cycles especially when a company diversifies at a global level. It should be notes here that standard costing is a only one method but can be used by management to estimate manufacturing costs of direct materials, direct labour and manufacturing overhead both fixed and variable across the chain of production. The fall of standard costing probably has taken place due to a need for a multifaceted supply chain or layered supply chain. Generally speaking there will be overlapping in the supply chains of a global company and therefore a system to meet this need. This system will appear seamless but also where everything is integrated and communication is at the speed of light and technology is a mandatory tool so that the organisation may remain at a competitive advantage. So how does standard costing accounting practice exactly differ from the other methods available? Obviously accounting practices have evolved to become leaner and applicable to a range of various business practices for a global company like Nestle. So how is standard costing still evident since it is no longer the popular choice? HISTORY Historically speaking the advent specifically for standard cost accounting systems began in the early 19th century United States with the management of the railroads (Hoskin Macve 2000, p. 18). Hoskin and Macve (2000) comment on standard costing always being a feature of the accounting practice from the beginning of business records. However, standard costing did not take an active role until modern business with this quote: Accounting has always embraced cost and management accounting in the sense of analysis of activity and the use of accounting information for choosing, planning and controlling activity. These purposes remained embryonic until choice between significant economic alternatives became available. (p. 19). Companies in the United Kingdom remained family based and therefore lacking formal, concrete accounting methods when compared with businesses found in the United States at the time. Any changes in accounting generally speaking remained with direct relations to changes in the business world. Part of the evolution and the rise of standard costing are directly related to business practices of this time period. There was a need for measurement of productivity in a framework understood by management members. They wanted to calculate human performance on the shop room floor. This sets into place the post-modern ideology for Total Quality Management or TQM, to be discussed later. With these adjustments also came radical changes for an organisational structure, the management’s strategy as this continued across the chain when further technology was introduced as useful tools (Hoskin Macve 2000, p. 21). With adaptations sees as innovative, it was only a matter of time before British companies adopted similar practices toward accounting. This can be evident as the organisation’s market presence gains global relationships and rely upon interaction and exchange of knowledge. At the end of the 19th century United Kingdom companies were learning standard cost accountin g principles and processes as a means of incorporating links into a wider organisational framework. While there was a need for streamlining, there was also a need for flexibility as standard costing started to lose its usefulness. Morelli and Wiberg (2002) concur with other experts that standard costing emerged in the early 1900s. To mirror the Total Quality Management system in place at factories, â€Å"Engineers developed information about standards in order to establish ‘the best way’ to use labour and material resources with manufacturing† (Morelli Wiberg 2002, p. 18). This furthered how processes were put into place to achieve an organisation’s objectives. In order to better understand how history influences practices within the business with regard to product production and the rise and fall of standard costing as an accounting practice, one must first understand different steps with in the standard costing system that defines the practice. All processes or production steps along the supply chain have identifiable, calculable costs as raw materials result in the manufactured marketed product for consumer purchase. Each area of focus to make the product, the costs involved can be absorbed by the final product sale and then profit. This includes materials, labour, outsourcing and fixed or variable burdens. These absorbable costs reflect the true cost of goods as referred to on the general ledger. Variable costs are environmental factors, which fluctuate from day to day. Variables come into play for production measurements as one figures out the true cost of goods when compared with the actual costs incurred for that particular production run. Variable exist when determining quality of materials and labour. However labour becomes a ‘grey’ area of contention when discussing standard costing. Indirect labour encompasses costs work-related but not task related. These become well defined further up the chain of co mmand and less so at the shop floor level. So what exactly is standard costing and why are trends in its use so important to understand? While much of standard costing explains business evolution, organisational practices and diffusion of technology, making labour much different than the post-modernist view; standard costing still applies to business today as many eliminate fat from operations and look into clear streamlines for production purposes. This is mainly due to expenses being on the rise but also a need for reinvestment back into the company for technology needs when at a global level. In many ways, modern lean accounting allows for standard costing to be a framework from which other accounting practices emerge. Standard costing systems are good for production of items in volume but with very little diversification and stable costs. The benefit of this method is that organisations can trace specific cost flows from purchasing to inventory. What distinguishes standard costing as an accounting practice but mostly a framework used today in business, what allows the method to remain a turning point in evolution to other methods like Activity Based Cost or ABC accounting and lean accounting, is by definition in its name. There is the standard by which the accounting practice is defined. By allocating a standard, the organisation already has a set of expectations and even core values of what the costs for production will be. Standards set the pace and atmosphere of production. They remain elemental to preconceived notions of the quantity and cost of inputs needed for production of one simple unit of output. With this backbone, one can develop a proper cost-volume-profit analysis. Still in order for a standard to work effectively it must be well defined and accepted by the organisation. This is where continuous improvement, communication and values for Knowledge Management or KM become important tools for managers. The accoun tant in charge of setting standards must have a comprehension of the full organisational picture and its health. Along the line of command for accounting, standards become commonplace and procedures; or a methodical means of carrying out tasks. For instance, every accountant actively monitors the standards by which the standards apply to him or her. There is only a small window of time for payroll for a week. Without these standards in place, tasks become less defined and unachievable. In this respect and according to M. L. Houlton (1979): â€Å"There are basically two types of standard: (a) Ideal Standards which assume not wastage or inefficiency and (b) Expected Standards which allow for normal and expected losses† (p. 2). By creating such a system leads organisations to ways of measuring performance and other difficult erroneous concepts in need of a qualifier. Still a manager must also understand how standards create a regimented place to work, which may not work for ever y employee on the team. Organisations like Nestle and Wal-Mart may see the advantage of utilizing a standard costing system because â€Å"actual costing has the ability to revalue inventory based on actual costs, which are most accurate† (Peoplesoft 2000, p. 12). Any changes are reflective immediately but also this leads to an organisation the chance to use other accounting methods as well like ABC. This could be especially important to inventory management. Remaining within the standard costing scheme affords the organisation a specialised function with respect to the types of activities. As activities become more detailed so does the accounting. For instance: Technology or electronics industries benefit most from this type of costing because component variations affect total actual costs. Industries that deal with commodities, for example, dairy products or precious metals, and are characterised by widely fluctuating costs, might use an actual costing system to provide the most current values. (Peoplesoft 2000, p. 12). As organisations have grown into multiple national corporations or MNCs with multiple activities on different supply chains, maybe this is why standard costing has become less important to accountants because it called for too much detail where they too must remain efficient to keep their positions. A new leaner way needed to match the business practices because as much as standard costing applies to every product or service on the chain it also allots for more manpower and time. There had to be a way to allow for multiple operations and one accounting system that could branch off to meet multiple activities. OTHER ACCOUNTING METHODS Carmona, and et al (2004), writes of the origin of activity based costing method of accounting or ABC that came into vogue in Europe during the 1920s. What ABC does specifically as Carmona, and et al (2004) speak of Vollmers’s work as: Deployed significant efforts to account for distribution and marketing costs, which ‘tend to be ignored today.’ This first event is then taken as record of the origin (both in terms of time and space), from which the new practice mainly spread both temporally and spatially. (p. 36) This is the start of a movement toward the double entry system and this saw delay and many weaknesses because it did not present a clear, complete picture of accounting. Its weaknesses were found in inefficiencies with charges and discharges. As a result, early double-entry systems were seen as unreliable and not useful to big business. It would not be until later that advanced book keeping procedures would take into account advanced operating processes in production. Carmona, and et al (2004) found these systems although not perfected were used in England and the Colonies as early as 1760 (p. 37). It seems this was the trend as no real streamlined, conforming system would be adopted until modern business practices came into place in the United States. Move to a global arena and model of production purposes and a more refined system is needed because a lot more is at stake. Global business is all about the details. It became common practice more investment applied, the more generally accepted accounting practices became as a diffusion of new technology. Accounting practices became more generally accepted behaviours as businesses became bigger and more prominent in communities across the world. Practices are implemented as Abu-Raddaha, and et al (2000) surmises the following: The information provided by accounting should facilitate international trade and capital flows, not hamper them. It should inform, not just report. More importantly the information demands of both domestic and international financing and other commercial relationships, have to be satisfied. (p. 19). Everything must remain in balance or presented as a well-oiled machine. How does an organisation get to this point of transformation with its accounting practices? Modern accounting asks for more participation and optimisation from the start to finish by the corporate accountant. The actions of the corporate accountants must change as the movement toward lean functioning continues to take place. It should not be a painful process but one of creativity, flexibility and growth. There is a concern that lean accounting requires one to turn off creativity and be boxed into one function or thought process. This will be explored late as a post-modern viewpoint of business where each person has a function within the total quality management or TQM perspective. Modern business may use this as a framework but the modern business model has evolved beyond this fixed view. The truth of the matter is that modern accounting practices could not be further from this view of being boxed in but rather goes beyond breaking the box and creating a different mindset where thin king is seen differently than before. Accounting is seen differently as not having finite possibilities but infinite reasoning. Traditional methods are flawed as proposed by Van Der Merwe and Thomson (2007), â€Å"the direct costing approach doesn’t absorb any overhead or even fixed costs†¦resource consumption accounting or RCA makes no arbitrary assignments at all† (p. 29). A lean, effective method allows for a more detailed account of capacity costs and a basic approach to data collection. Modern times call modern values and thought processes with regard to business seamless behaviour across the production floor. The lean method maintains a â€Å"one-touch flow system† (Van Der Merwe Thomson 2007, p. 29) for information diffusion across the life cycle. This one-touch flow system can be integrated with a supply chain easily and reflects this value added element as a method for better, honest accounting. OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT A most important factor for facilities management to recognize is the use of Total Quality Management (TQM) or a variation of TQM. TQM according to David Steingard is â€Å"a set of techniques and procedures used to reduce or eliminate variation from the production process or service delivery system in order to improve efficiency† (Steingard 2002, p. 2). TQM fits with the facilities management way of doing things as many of their functions require repetition or constant monitoring of daily, weekly and monthly items. Because this is a modernist concept and the modernist movement believed in certainty and static methods of looking at the world, there is not much room for the uncertainty that change creates in today’s workplace using strictly TQM. Therefore either change in this environment must be controlled change or a variation of TQM must be used for the process to work and involve new technologies. Otherwise, TQM alone invents a work environment reminiscent of Franz L ang’s Metropolis and dehumanizes the employee. A variation TQM can be used in facilities management to aid defining team member responsibilities as it sees the whole team as a â€Å"machine creates a system of interlocking parts each with clearly defined use, centralized authority and high degrees of worker discipline culminating with the goal of routinised, efficient and predictable system performance† (Steingard 2002, p. 2). Each team member plays a role in the functioning of the machine. Still much like today’s business environment where change is constant, this system requires continued adjustment, modification improvement of function. TQM as way of defining a work process cannot operate entirely in today’s global market because it succeeds at the expense of innovation and the growth of the employee. It also does not leave room to incorporate change and new ways of improving functions. Still a memory of pure TQM feeds the â€Å"modernist machine of c onsumer capitalism which encourages over-consumption, planned obsolescence, ecological damage and depletion of natural resources† (Steingard 2002, p. 4). This memory has also burdened management as the obsession for perfection, control, consistency, productivity and efficiency increases over time. In today’s facilities team, there must be a healthy medium to not only use past methods for increased productivity and efficiency but also to include modern tools and equipment to make the job easier. In order to remain competitive, technology cannot be ignored, the systems it provides must be implemented in order for logistics to remain seamless and keep up with demand and customer expectation. For instance failure to embrace logistics and technology results in inventory costing a company more money to store than it is worth. McCullogh writes, â€Å"Right now sitting around the globe is a bunch of inventory (worth an estimated) United States $1 trillion—United States $1 trillion of boxes of stuff is just sitting around a warehouse† (‘Warning: Don’t Snub Logistics’, p. 1). This has the potential to represent about 60 percent of the average company’s working capital. This is capital in limbo that is not maximizing its investment potential. A sign of successful shop floor operations is reliance on very little warehousing. In other words, warehousing is measured as the amount of days per month a product sits in the warehouse and if logistics is implemented effectively, this number will decrease and stabilize. The retail average storage of inventory is 26 days of investment not being utilized, profit being lost and daily expenses being incurred in an endless holding pattern. In order to reduce the amount of days inventory sits means companies must create tighter relationships with suppliers via the web or perfect a system of communication between resources to cut out warehousing all together. Instead of inventory remaining stored because of wireless communication and data collection, the product can go straight from the supply source to the retailer’s shelves via a distribution centre that acts much like mail sorting centre. This can work because technology enables a retailer to send data immediately to the supplie r of products that are moving off the shelves with a click of a button. From this electronic message, the supplier knows what the retailer needs, what products are popular, how much and sends then instantly to the retailer’s distribution centre. In organisations the size of Nestle or Wal-Mart, logistics strategy requires much forethought and planning, as there are many branches and divisions that are involved in the process. The idea is to reduce expenses and increase value to the organisation by making the company more productive and efficient. This needs to be done as seamlessly as possible to continue brand loyalty and customer relations while maintaining market share and competitive advantage. In many ways, implementation of this strategy creates a delicate balance. In order to have better Business to Business or B2B relationships, one must understand the connection. Robert Thierauf and Hoctor (2003) explain, â€Å"B2B is about connecting shared businesses and information processes of the extended trading networks, planning, shipping and logistics, inventory management and customer retention to name a few† (Thierauf Hoctor, p. 181). In other words, an optimized planning process can save millions dollars and allow a multination corporation to carry out its objective and gain market share. This means applying advanced technology such as i2 used by Dell Computers and typical ERP vendors. In today’s act of doing business, B2B exchanges are based on supply chain management or SCM technologies (Thierauf Hoctor, 2003, p. 182). This will mean considerable investment in such technology but the benefit of market share will prove it to be a valued investment over the long-run (Burn Hachney 2002; Scerbo 1999). Running these centres effectively certainly poses a challenge of management. Manufacturers must develop new skills and confront channel conflicts with dealers, distributors and independent operators. Leaders in these positions must have an understanding of managing the conflicts in these channels. But well-managed distribution centres would more than justify the risks, as it would save the organisation a significant amount of overhead. With operating expenses as the main cost, it is possible to make the distribution venture essentially self-funding. Facilities can be rented on short-term leases and surrendered if the location isnt successful within a year or two. The cost of goods and labour can be managed as volume grows. Companies should remember that a manufacturers original warranty work usually accounts for about half of the labour expenses and for as much as 20 percent of the total value of services rendered, but these costs are typically charged back to the business unit rather than borne by the company’s distribution. In markets poorly served by local dealers or other distributors, for instance, a centre should gear itself to its company’s end users or consumers b

Demonic Possession :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Demonic Possession Belief in the possibility of demonic possession has waned since the advent of sophisticated medical knowledge. What had previously been considered to be examples of control of an individual by a spirit or devil are now commonly accepted as numerous forms of mental illness, easily explained by nervous system activity. If all types of behavior (including emotional states and cognitive states) are produced and mediated solely by the brain, there leaves no potential for such a phenomenon as demonic possession to exist and such cases would clearly be instances of various illnesses. However, neuroscience has not yet been able to explain all of the characteristics common to purported cases of demonic possession ((1). A possessed individual is typically characterized by having strange physical ailments or disfigurements; verbal outbursts, mostly obscene or sacrilegious in nature; violent behavior and vulgar behavior; bodily spasms and contortions; ability to speak languages never before studied; self-mutilation; "superhuman" abilities such as psychic abilities, abnormal strength, or an ability to perform behaviors out of the realm of human possibility such as levitation; cessation of normal bodily functions for periods of time, including breathing and heart beat; and a pronounced revulsion to symbols, places, people, objects, and ceremonies having any religious context. Other phenomena associated with the presence of a demon include an acrid stench; marked decrease in the temperature of the room which a possessed individual occupies; writing appearing out of nowhere; sounds and voices arising from nowhere; and objects moving on their own and destruction of objects in the room, without anyone havin g laid a hand upon them ((2), (3). Despite the striking quality of this description, the expansion of the fields of medicine and psychology has led to diagnoses other than demonic possession for individuals who present circumstances similar to those mentioned above. These sorts of cases are now readily explained in terms of abnormal functioning in the brain and nervous system. There are various disorders which may mimic demonic possession; these include schizophrenia (and other periods of psychosis), dissociative identity disorder, and Tourette syndrome ((4). Schizophrenia is characterized by the presence of delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorganized or catatonic behavior, affective flattening or inappropriate emotional responses, avolition, and alogia. General psychotic episodes, such as might accompany mood disorders, can also closely simulate a state of demonic possession by hallucinations or delusions. The delusions can be ones of thought insertion, thought broadcasting, delusions of guilt, delusions of grandeur, such as being God (or a demon), or delusions that God (or a demon) is speaking to the person and giving commands for a special mission (5).

Essay On Pop Culture

Technological advancements the last decades have contributed to the creation of a globalized era, with the English language as a common denominator, as the major language spoken between those who do not share any language. Globalization have made it possible for an extreme output of popular culture that has mainly origins of English speaking countries with U. S. A. as the main exporter of popular culture through music, movies, television etc. In this essay I explore the positive aspects that using popular music in the classroom might potentially have.In my main issues I discuss the motivational aspects of popular culture, why teachers might feel insecure or unwilling to use the student's personal interests of popular culture in the classroom. Also how popular culture can be used to understand the cultural values of foreign countries and societies. Furthermore I will present some practical tasks and suggestions for lessons in how to use popular culture and the sub-category music as th e most important teaching resource within popular culture in exercises in the classroom as a motivating way to promote communicative skills of the language.Also important aspects on how cultural and historic influences on music by people and countries can be used to teach students of other values and how music can be used to create understanding for other peoples way of perceiving life. Major Issues: Inviting the student's social environment into the classroom: Motivational effects of popular culture one important factor for successful learning in any context is motivation, a concept that in all forms of education is a key to classroom learning (Harrett & Benjamin, 2009, p. 138).Language learning is not just about teaching student’s formal academic language. In order for a student to be able to effectively communicate in a broader context the student also needs to have knowledge of the informal language and social structures that might not be as present in the literature the schools provide. These issues can be however found within popular culture such as media from television or music, in order to engage in the situations of their life where they have to adapt their language to â€Å"the various domains of their world† (Lambirth, 2003, p. 11)In teaching languages, the introduction of popular culture is a method of creating motivation, as the students can then relate their classroom work to their knowledge, experience and interests of their social life (Harrett & Benjamin, 2009, p. 134). In a study of the English subject for second language learners in Mexican schools it is suggested that an increased attention to popular music in the curriculum would enhance the students motivation for the English language as activities involving this sub-category of popular culture would; â€Å"Using their knowledge, their music and their language.† (Domoney & Harris, 1993, p. 235).Music is such a popular concept for the students, used correctly, it will help to motivate and increase the interest of a subject through a conscious and emotional involvement from the students (Kanel, 1997, p. 218). Pop culture is a way of gaining the student's interest, by connecting the student’s familiar knowledge of the English language that they are exposed to outside of school. Using the students’ knowledge of popular culture will then serve as a meaningful resource to teach the language (Lambirth, 2003, p.12).Using popular culture makes students more prone to learning the subject and will prevent any inhibitions of learning that comes from an affective filter; Peter Krashen's metaphor for when the student feels anxiety, boredom, stress and/or other pressures, they create an emotional barrier that prevent learning (Kanel, 1997, p. 219, Griffee, 1988, p. 24). Developments in English language teaching have been on the interaction and negotiation of the students and on the importance of integrating their experiences, knowledge and feeli ngs into classroom.The ideas and discussions revolving about pop music included these valuable inputs from outside of school and came together and related to the more communicative focus of language learning that is still a popular method of teaching (Domoney & Harris, 1993). â€Å"They get enough of that at home†: Claims that pop culture does not belong in the classroom are outdated. Teachers might feel a general unwillingness toward incorporating popular culture in the classroom and there are often several issues that create this point of view.Teachers might not understand the contemporary popular culture of today’s youth and therefore project negative thoughts on what is popular, expressing ideas such as; children who are more interested in popular culture are not as bright as those who prefer reading. Teachers might also regard pop culture as contra productive for student’s creativity and reason that they get enough of input in their spare time (Lambirth, 20 03). However, the teachers are not those who can fully take the blame for not wanting to incorporate popular culture in the classroom.The teachers are caught between the two strong influences, of the popular culture industry and those who create the educational policies (Lambirth, 2003) It might therefore be unfair to lay blame on teachers for not wanting to take a gamble on their jobs and career by using methods that does not follow their curriculum. Using popular culture in the subject demands some knowledge of current technology and in using media properly in the classroom.The teacher education programs lack the teaching of these issues, young teachers are therefore anxious in using these kinds of modern methods of teaching as they do not want to stray too far from the curriculum. It is of the essence that the teacher training programs start education the students in how to properly use these ways to keep the next generation in tune with the progressive modern digital world. (Har rett & Benjamin, 2009)Classrooms can no longer be a room and place where local traditions are taught and implemented upon the students; the role that popular culture plays suggest that there is a need for better education of informal language (Pennycook, 2010, p. 82). The globalization have created transcultural flows of popular cultures that appeal the students in different ways and many students can no longer be affected by only the local traditions. The student's identities are instead reflected by the popular music and culture that are in constant flow.If the education for our future generations want to stay in touch with the trends of society, by paying attention to the student's knowledge, identity, interests and desires, then it is crucial that issues the students can relate to, such as popular culture are introduced into the language learning in schools (Pennycook, 2010, p. 82). Research supporting the use of pop culture & music in the classroom As i have mentioned above in my paragraph on motivation, pop music is a very large branch of the popular culture and there are studies that affirm musical knowledge and skill as useful and valuable in the classroomAll human beings possess varying degrees of musical intelligence, one of the intelligences that the human race has developed, the others are; linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic and personal intelligences. Asserted in the educational theory of â€Å"multiple intelligences† by Gardner in 1985 (Failoni, 1993). The theory of multiple intelligences confirm that excluding those with brain damage, every person on this earth possess some form of musical intelligence.Anthropologists have acknowledged after tests on both normal and learning disabled-students that music attributes to several functions of language learning that is important. The properties of music, that include: rhythm, melody, harmony, dynamics, form and mood, aids in the cognitive process of gaining vocabulary , enhance retention and is a good way to promote general language development and reading skills (Kanel, 1997). Music can be viewed as an instrument which everybody in the classroom can be involved in use and understand.It is therefore certainly arguable that integrating the musical intelligence in the classroom as a teaching tool by adopting and adapting it into lessons and activities without any demand on either teacher or student to have any knowledge on how to perform or compose music (Failoni, 1993). Audio-lingual method of teaching also supports the use of authentic songs, if the songs are properly chosen so that there is no abundance in non-standard grammar or excessive slang.As the songs that are constructed for ESL lacked the effectively to interest the student as the lyrics ended up being a collection of phonemes in a text (Kanel, 1997). Also the pedagogical theories of Vygotsky as well as Lave and Wenger are applicable to methods of using popular culture in the classroom. Lave and Wenger's theories of situated learning theory states that learning occur naturally through activities, contexts and cultures. The learners utilize their knowledge and experience from their informal sociocultural world and apply them to understand new information.Vygotsky's theories of the socio-cultural are based on how children acquire knowledge through their culture (Debbie, 2007). Even though these theories are abstract they are both successful and popular within pedagogical methods and theories. And they are highly related to the student's exposure of popular culture. the popular culture is an important sphere in which the student's identity outside of school is affirmed, challenged, taken apart and reconstructed (Pennycook, 2010). Teaching values of cultures: Understanding cultural aspects through contemporary popular cultureTo perceive cultures as national entities with shared values and are separated by boundaries of borders to other countries is to look at culture from a very narrow perspective. Culture can be described as â€Å"‘Big C & little c† The Big C are the formal institutions of a country, little c being the daily lives studied by sociologists and anthropologists, patterns of behavior and cultural traditions. When learning a second language, culture is a prominent theme in the process of learning the new language, and that involves studying customs and beliefs of a country (Yuen, 2011).This perspective of culture becomes complex and problematic when studying languages of a nation that have a lot of diversity and different ethnicities. France is an example of an ethnic diverse country because of their imperial history. Through the French hip-hop scene that have been one of the prominent genres for the last two decades we can study the way in which the informal languages of the streets have evolved by influence of various cultures. Traditionalists have disregarded these linguistic features because of their departure from t raditional grammar (Pennycook, 2010).The French hip-hop culture however despite averting from traditional grammar have their own grammatical rules that is followed, (Chi'en, 2008) discusses the weird English that is a result of globalization and of many different English languages co-existing, the same goes for the French hip-hop lingua, it is not broken or radical or â€Å"wrong† it is in fact a form of art; one which can be reproduced only with knowledge of the genre. The hip-hop scene has become a new symbol for the â€Å"tricolor† i. e. the French flag.The opposition of the nationalistic red, blue & white flag which does not symbolize the society of modern France should instead be ascribed to the new colors; â€Å"black, blanc & beur† representing the multiracial, multicultural & multilingual society that is a more objective reflection of how the French social scene looks today. (Pennycook, 2010) Discussing the history of either Jazz, Rock & Roll or Rap is a way of learning the cultural aspects of the African-American community and the roots of both genres which both were born in Africa and brought to America, carried by the slaves and further evolved there to what it is today.  (Omoniyi, 2006)The global use of English has been a key factor to the spreading of the popular culture from major informal institutions such as Hollywood, or the hip-hop music which has been very influential world wide. Studying the re-appropriation of the hip-hop music in African countries as Nigera gives insight of how their values are reflected in songs by comparing them to North American contemporaries.Although the artists in Nigeria are similar to their colleagues in the U. S.  by following the trends of popular culture in appearance, the Nigerian hip-hop differ a lot in their lyrics, such as different themes such as love instead of the misogynist ideals represented in the American hip-hop. (Omonyi, 2006) Studying the sub-genres of hip hop African coun tries gives us knowledge of the African countries that speak English as native tongue and is a part of the globalization of the English language, but are even so underrepresented in text books supplied by schools (Yuen, 2011)The result of the English globalization is that there are a lot of countries that have their own unique music, even though they share the same genre as other English speaking countries. Irish folk music is a popular sub-genre of the folk music, which has aspects of entertainment values with songs about drinking and what the comical consequences of drinking too much. Many songs also contain more serious and political protest songs against British tyranny or the songs about the civil war in Ireland, giving the audience a broad insight into the countries culture and history by listening to their music.But teachers using these methods to promote cultural understanding should be wary not to promote stereotypes of a country â€Å"That Mexicans only dance the hat danc e for example† (Failoni, 1993). Implications for Practice â€Å"Music, the great communicator† the phrase that popular rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers coined in their song Can't Stop. It cannot be assumed that they implicated anything regarding language learning, but they did in fact have a valid point with that statement. Music can be used in teaching the all four strands of language learning; listening, reading, speaking & writing.Students experiencing difficulties with communication skills are likely to react positively to the entertaining aspects of music and might improve their communicative skills as rhymes, melodies and rhythm are easier to remember than ordinary speech (Failoni, 1993). Teaching informal language is something that I have stressed in this article as the researchers have argued that it is important to integrate more of the student's experience from outside of school to promote student participation (Pennycook, 2010).Using authentic pop music as li stening material have been since the 70's gained an increased popularity, because it colloquialism that student's otherwise miss out on in the classroom (Griffee, 1988). Furthermore it will make student's aware of phonetic structures. Listening exercises can be used with mixing reading comprehension, having the students underlining vocabulary in text that is chosen by the teacher consciously as a specific goal for learning (Failoni, 1993).Taking the next step with music from the listening comprehension to speaking, pronunciation skills are improved by the student first hearing the lines and the repeating them with the rythm of music as a cognitive help for the student to more pronounce the words more aptly. (Failoni, 1993) Communicative exercises can be created on the base of exploring different musical styles which is an easy alternative for teachers willing to introduce music in the classroom.(Failoni 1993) There are also a lot of different cultural aspects and styling’s th at can be taught in the classroom to promote cultural awareness. Exercises to engage students about culture can be done through finding songs that are unique in the way that they are symbols of the country or region, some examples are: The Genius of Ravi Shankar (India) Rampal Japanese Melodies (Japan) Bagpipe Music (Scotland) Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D minor (Germany) (Griffee, 1988) Playing these kind of songs can be used in form of quizzes as relaxed competitive tasks for the students.World map’s in the classroom than this is a great tool for enhancing the task and going deeper into details. Further ways are giving the students pictures of things that symbolize the origin of the song, pictures of what kind of food is eaten there, how the buildings looks like, historical remnants like the coliseum. The songs are repeated and the students are asked to chronologically place the pictures based on the order of the songs. This is method is pedagogical in a cognitive way by the connecting the visual and hearing senses.After all the countries of the songs played then follow-up activities is a way to discuss further create cultural awareness by discussions on for an example based on the pictures in front of them, (Griffee 1988) Understanding of social and political structures, both past and contemporary can be discussed and understood under the basis of only discussing a genre of music, listening to Latin American pop music presents the listener to nationalistic views (Failoni, 1988).This is a way for the students to learn these things as many youths are interested in the music. And if it so happens that the students in that particular classroom is not interested in the Hip Hop / Rap genre then the positive thing is that there are an infinite amount of genres to explore. An option is also not using only one genre as a discussion point but bringing in the option for students to do research on the unique historical and cultural aspects of the music they listen to.

Ppt About Forbidden City Essay

1 Introduction The Forbidden City, also called the Palace Museum, which was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Forbidden City was built from 1406 to 1420 by the Yongle Emperor who was the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The English name of the Forbidden City is a translation of its Chinese name Zijin Cheng, which means that the Forbidden City is the residence of the emperor and his family, and no one could enter or leave the palace without the emperor’s approval. The Forbidden City is a rectangle 961 metres from north to south and 753 metres from east to west. Besides, it consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,886 bays of rooms. It is obviously the largest palace around the world. As the home of 24 emperors, 12 of the Ming Dynasty, and 10 of the Qing Dynasty, the palace was the political centre of China for more than 500 years, and this is one of the reasons why we interested in this topic. In the following sections, we will introduce the Forbidden City’s three main halls, The Hall of Mental Cultivation, the famous emperors and the stories of the palace, famous music about the Forbidden City, online virtual Forbidden City, and the best time to travel. 2 Descriptions 2-1 The three main halls There are three halls stand on top of a three-tiered white marble terrace of the square of the palace. They contain the Hall of Supreme Harmony (Chinese: Ã¥ ¤ ªÃ¥â€™Å'æ ® ¿), the Hall of Central Harmony(Chinese: ä ¸ ­Ã¥â€™Å'æ ® ¿), and the Hall of Preserving Harmony (Chinese: ä ¿ Ã¥â€™Å'æ ® ¿). The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the largest and highest level hall of the Forbidden City. Every emperor’s coronation, birthday ceremony, wedding ceremony, and other important ceremonies or political affairs had taken place in this hall. The Hall of Central Harmony is a smaller and square hall, used by the Emperor to rehearse and rest before and during ceremonies. Behind the Hall of Central Harmony, the Hall of Preserving Harmony, it was used by the emperor to banquet the nobility on every Chinese Eve, or other important festivals. In Qing Dynasty, the emperor had taken the most important imperial examinations, Dian Shi (Chinese: æ ® ¿Ã¨ © ¦) in this hall. 2-2 The Hall of Mental Cultivation The reason why we introduce this hall separately is that the Hall of Mental Cultivation is a particularly significant building of the Forbidden City of Qing Dynasty since 1722. The Hall of Mental Cultivation is well-known for the Yongzheng Emperor, who was the 5th emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and son of the Kangxi Emperor. He ruled the Chinese Empire from 1722 to 1735. During his ruling time, the emperor lived in this hall. After his death, other emperors lived in this hall continually, thus the hall had been the actual dominate centre of the Chinese Empire from 1722 to 1911, the ruin of the Qing Dynasty.