Saturday, December 28, 2019

The Symbolism of the Conch Shell in Lord of the Flies by...

The Symbolism of the Conch In Lord of the Flies, several symbols are used to illustrate important ideas that are crucial to the plot and meaning of the book. One of these symbols is the conch: this rare shell is not only a precious and expensive in the world of merchandise; it also holds a dark and mysterious power over a group of English boys, lost on an island with no adults, clues, or means of escape. The boys set up a civilization and try to live in the society they have set up. This system works for a while, aided by the power of the conch. However, as the story advances, the civilized way of life that the boys have set up starts falling apart, and savagery starts luring certain boys outside of the safe and rational walls of†¦show more content†¦The conch is gone (181) [†¦]† So their token of power, their last little bit of significance, has been shattered to pieces, and washed away by the cleansing waves of the sea. When the conch is destroyed, it is a clear sign that all civilization has disappeared and disintegrated. This is shown to the extent that a person – Piggy – is killed, or rather, murdered. Symbolically, the shell is destroyed at the same time that Piggy dies: these two were basically all of the order, rational thinking, structure and civilization that were present on the island, and they are both lost at once, by the very hands of the savages. The conch also represented purity and innocence, and the humanity in the boys: both the conch, and humanity, are fragile and pure: â€Å"The conch lay at Ralph’s feet, fragile and white (171).† This important of the boys lives on the island â€Å"exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist (181)†, and along with it went everything it represented. The conch, therefore, is a powerful and mysterious object in this novel that represents purity, innocence, order, unity, and everything that is good, everything that crumbles and disintegrates as the once-civilized boys turn to savages. The conch, symbol of hope, is shattered, and its destruction brings about the destruction of the boys’ very essence, of their love, of their compassion, of their humanity. The conch, a powerful and important object on a number of levels, plays an important role in Lord ofShow MoreRelatedWilliam Goldings Lord of the Flies Essay1255 Words   |  6 Pagesever since they were born, or would they disregard all of it and do as they please because there is no definite authority figure to tell them how to live. In William Goldings, The Lord of the Flies, he brilliantly tells a story of life and death and everything in between. His use of symbolism with the conch, beast, and lord of the flies is phenomenal. It is a story that makes you think. Every person, when faced with reality, may act civil now, but in a survival situation, human nature takes overRead MoreWilliam Golding s Lord Of The Flies 1299 Words   |  6 PagesKanak Garg Mr. Fraser English 10 Honors, Period 6 19 December 2014 Savagery in Civilization: Symbolism in Lord of the Flies Symbolism as defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary, is â€Å"the use of symbols to express or represent ideas or qualities in literature, art, etc.† (â€Å"Symbolism†). For this reason, symbolism is utilized in literature in order to make novels more interesting and convey notions that are usually either highly controversial or extremely philosophical. For example in the popularRead MoreEssay On The Conch Shell In Lord Of The Flies946 Words   |  4 PagesSymbolism Essay Some actions made my individuals not only has an effect on the people around them, but the objects close by as well. This important object or sign, can all be based upon the people using it, and also be in relation to its environment and surroundings. In the novel, The Lord of the Flies, the author, William Golding uses a conch shell to represent different meanings throughout his novel. The message in each of the different meanings of the conch, show how a group of young, BritishRead MoreEssay about The Conch in William Goldings Lord of the Flies1532 Words   |  7 PagesThe Conch in William Goldings Lord of the Flies In William Goldings novel â€Å"Lord of the Flies† he uses a lot of symbolism. The entire book is microcosm to the real world, as the novel is set at the time when World War II was going on and on the island there is a hunt at the end of the book symbolic of the war. A symbol Golding uses throughout the book is the conch. It represents authority and order. The person holding the conch had the power, and it created orderRead MoreThe Symbolism Of The Conch958 Words   |  4 PagesSwaninger Period 1 1 May 2017 The Symbolism of the Conch For centuries philosophers, have debated the question of whether man is naturally evil. William Golding poses this question in his novel Lord of the Flies. Set on a tropical island during World War II, the novel begins when schoolboys from Great Britain are being flown to safety and their plane is shot down. No adults survive, and the boys are left to control themselves and get rescued. The boys find a conch, which is a symbol of power and authorityRead MoreEssay on Symbolism in Lord of the Flies, by William Golding912 Words   |  4 PagesSymbolism in Lord of the Flies, by William Golding In his classic novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses many elements of symbolism to help the readers gain a greater understanding of his message. Symbolism can be anything, a person, place, or thing, used to portray something beyond its self. It is used to represent or foreshadow the conclusion of the story. As one reads this novel, he or she will begin to recognize the way basic civilization is slowly stripped away from the boys as conflictRead MoreLord Of The Flies : Symbolism1012 Words   |  5 PagesBabatunde Carter (Jnr) English 102-0501 Mrs. Geneva Cannon 16th, November , 2015 Lord of the flies : The Symbolism of the Conch For Centuries philosophers and scholars have bantered about the topic of whether man is naturally fiendish. William Golding offers this conversation starter in his sensible novel â€Å"Lord of the Flies†. Set on a tropical island amid World War II, the novel starts when school boys from Incredible England are being traveled to well being and their plane is shotRead MoreSymbolism And Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding892 Words   |  4 Pageswhole story. Throughout the novel, author William Golding includes symbolism that hints at irony, foreshadowing, and a variety of themes. These symbols contribute to the depth and meaning of the story, allowing the characters to act under their influence. In Lord of the Flies, there is a numerous amount of symbols, such as the signal fire, the conch, and the ritual. The signal fire possesses many symbolic meanings essential to the story, Lord of the Flies. In the beginning of the novel, Ralph startedRead MoreLord Of The Flies By William Golding1212 Words   |  5 Pagesthis is just what happens in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. This piece of literature is used by the author to describe the very real society of human beings, through the eyes of young, â€Å"innocent† children. There is savagery, evil, goodness at heart, and the sense of hope, whether being lost or discovered, in this book. In Lord of the Flies, there are multiple different symbols that Golding uses to show the fall of society. Two of them being the beautiful conch shell, and the hopeful signal fireRead More Lord Of The Flies Essays655 Words   |  3 Pages Symbols Imagine a bunch of young childrens lives changed by being trapped on a island with no civilization around. William Golding shows how terrifying it can be in Lord Of The Flies, the novel that brings symbolism above all to the emotions of all that read it. The symbols that bring out the meaning the best are the leadership skills, the fire and the conch. First, are the leadership skills, as are shown in the book, Ralph has. Ralph in the novel has many ideas, leadership skills, and has the

Friday, December 20, 2019

Globalization Is The Process Of International Integration

Globalization is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture. It approaches in transportation, telecommunication-internet, mobile phones which have been the key factor in globalization, producing further interconnection of economic and cultural activities. Economic globalization is the increasing economic interdependence of national economies across the world through a rapid increase in cross-border movement of goods, service, technology and capital. Whereas the globalization of business is centered around the reduction of international trade regulations as well as tariffs, taxes, and other impediments that suppresses global trade, economic globalization is the process of increasing economic integration between countries, leading to the emergence of a global marketplace or a single world market. Another type of globalization called International Migration which has helped increasing diversity in m any countries. Globalization has been accepted by increasing number of people moving across the border for various reasons. There are different forms of border crossing accepted by governments but then there are also illegal border crossing which is considered illegal. Almost all the governments welcome international tourism which is the biggest industry as well as it provides a lot of jobs to people which helps the economy and governments of almost every nation like to have tourists in theirShow MoreRelatedGlobalization Is The Process Of International Integration938 Words   |  4 Pagessuggest that we belong in this league. I would like to commend the way we are handling the elements of marketing - global, technological, sociocultural, competitive, and economic influences (Nickels, McHugh, McHugh, 2014). Globalization is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of products, worldviews, ideas and other aspects of culture. The elimination of global barriers – geography and distance – has generated the interdependence of nations both in economic and culturalRead MoreGlobalization Is The Process Of International Integration6873 Words   |  28 Pages Globalization is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas and other aspects of culture. Advances in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, including the rise of the telegraph and its development the Internet, are major factors in globalization, generating further interdependence of economic and cultural activities. Though scholars place the origins of globalization in modern times, others trace its history long before theRead MoreGlobalization Is The Process Of International Integration Through Trade And Communication1151 Words   |  5 Pages Globalization is influencing the world to become more productive and efficient, but the high demands must be balanced out with ethical practices. The opportunity to reach a better economic standing is commonly eschewed and the promise exploited. While China s jeans and denim factories give the people the chance to improve their economic standing, many factories abuse and exploit their workers, bringing into question how a business should run to be both efficient and ethical. Globalization is theRead MoreGlobalization and Its Meaning Broadly Speaking, the Term ‘Globalization’ Means Integration of Economies and Societies Through Cross Country Flows of Information, Ideas, Technologies, Goods, Services, Capital,1074 Words   |  5 PagesGlobalization and its Meaning Broadly speaking, the term ‘globalization’ means integration of economies and societies through cross country flows of information, ideas, technologies, goods, services, capital, finance and people. Cross border integration can have several dimensions – cultural, social, political and economic. In fact, some people fear cultural and social integration even more than economic integration. The fear of â€Å"cultural hegemony† haunts many. Limiting ourselves to economicRead MorePro Globalist vs Anti Globalist1341 Words   |  6 PagesPro Globalist vs. Anti Globalist An Essay Globalization in a broader sense means Integration. This integration happens through the flow of resources in the form of information, ideas, technology, goods, services, capital, finance amp; people. Like everything else that flows, the flow of resources happens from high potential (country) to low potential (country). Globalization is therefore a natural phenomenon and is bound to happen unless stopped by an external force. In principle all flows areRead MoreEssay on Globalization1614 Words   |  6 Pagesmulti-dimensional manifestations, a process of interaction and integration within the world, and is a highly discussed and contested topic in today’s context. Globalization includes aspects like: economics, politics, ideas, knowledge, culture, society, environment, health, social etcetera. Though globalization can be traced back into time immemorial, but the extent and magnitude of present globalization is unprecedented. The integration and interdependence of globalizatio n implies that today local eventRead MoreGlobalization Evolution703 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿GLOBALIZATION EVOLUTION OF GLOBALIZATION The term globalization denotes â€Å"globe† as a single market. Product presence in different Markets of the world. Production base across the globe. Human resources from all over the world. International investment Transaction involving IPRs. The advent in ICI(information, communication and technology) Rapid economic liberalization of trade and investment The mobility of people and transactional moves The reach of satellite channels, internet etc. Read MoreEssay Creating a Better Future Through Globalization1536 Words   |  7 PagesThe term â€Å"globalization† was known in the common vocabulary in the 1980. It is used to describe the increased movement of people, knowledge, goods, and money across national borders. It has led to increased interconnectedness among the worlds populations, economically, politically, socially and culturally (T. L. Friedman 6-14) . Even though globalization often is thought of in economic terms, this process has many social and political implications as well. The globalization of today’s world throughRead MoreEssay on Globalization: Sharing Our Prosperity With the World1388 Words   |  6 Pages Globalization is the growing interdependence of the worlds people that involves the integration of economies, technologies, and cultures (Bradshaw). It is described as the increased movement of people, knowledge and ideas, and goods and money across national borders that have led to the increased interconnectedness among the world. Globalization is often thought of in economic terms but as we know there are three major components implicated with this idea including: economics, politics, andRead MoreHow Globalization Affects Developing Countries?1504 Words   |  7 PagesHow Globalization Affects Developed Countries The phenomenon of globalization began in a primitive form when humans first settled into different areas of the world; however, it has shown a rather steady and rapid progress in the recent times and has become an international dynamic which, due to technological advancements, has increased in speed and scale, so that countries in all five continents have been affected and engaged. What Is Globalization? Globalization is defined as a process which, based

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Amazon Experimentation & Testing Strategy †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Amazon Experimentation Testing Strategy? Answer: Introducation Amazon.com, Inc. was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994. The company is located in Seattle, Washington and is a market leader in the e-commerce industry (Ernest, 2015). Amazon had about $ 136 billion in net revenue in 2016 (Landrecht Zhang, 2016). The company commenced its operations in 1995 when it opened its virtual doors for customers on the web. Further, it was incorporated in 1994 in Washington and also constituted as a legal corporation in Delaware in 1996 (Landrecht Zhang, 2016). The company is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and uses the symbol AMZN. Amazon is the number one retail company in the world and provides technological infrastructure for businesses that have different business focus and range in size (Dages, et al., 2016). The company offers services to four types of customers that include enterprises, sellers, final consumers, and content creators. Amazon.com retail website is consumer friendly as it provides a wide range of selection, low prices, and the we bsite is easy to use. The internet site also provides convenience as all needs of consumers can be met in one online store. It is important to note that Amazon equally provides a platform for products from different sellers. The platform enables them to access a larger market for their products because of the strength of the Amazon brand (Ernest, 2015). As of 2016, the company employed 341,000 part-time and full-time employees (Lang, et al., 2016). The increase in the number of employees can be attributed to the expansion of operations by Amazon. Amazon.com also makes use of temporary personnel and independent contractors as a supplement to their workforce (Lang, et al., 2016). The number of customers has continued to grow. For instance, almost 50 percent of households in the United States are now subscribed to Amazon Prime, a membership program (Ernest, 2015). Also, 50 percent of all online searches begin directly on Amazon, and the company captures almost one in every 2 dollars spent by Americans online (Ernest, 2015). The market power of Amazon now rivals and exceeds that of Walmart. This can be attributed to the strategies that Amazon has been employing as will be discussed later. The company also has high growth prospects in the next 5years because 20 percent of the United States 3.6 trillion dollars retail market will have mov ed online, and Amazon.com is likely to attract about two-thirds of that market share (Zhu Liu, 2016). Some people have begun to say that Amazon is the Walmart of online retail (Zhu Liu, 2016). The company has become the giant of internet retail because of the strategies it has employed over the years. There are also challenges that like any other business, Amazon will possibly face in the future. But whether the company is well placed to overcome these challenges will determine whether or not the company will sustain its remarkable success. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to critically analyze Amazons strategies, suggest possible challenges that the company may face in future, and come up with potential strategies that Amazon can use to overcome these obstacles. Amazon.Com Strategy Analysis Business activities and strategies play a critical role in the future growth and development of organizations. These business strategies become more essential in case of companies such as Amazon that are doing e-business (Dimar, et al., 2016). Every business entity employs different strategies so as to remain in operation and make profits. Some use strategies that are aimed at maximizing profits while others use customer-centric strategies (Dimar, et al., 2016). An organization may also use more than one strategy to achieve its goals. The objective of this report is to analyze the business strategies of Amazon. The company has employed various strategies since opening its doors and lately Amazon has been focusing on making profits (Ernest, 2015). When Amazon.com was founded in 1994, it was mostly marketed as an online bookstore (Landrecht Zhang, 2016). The companys growth was initially slow, and it did not turn any profit until about seven years after it opened its virtual doors. Amazon started being profitable mainly due to the dot-com bubble and its change of business strategies. The company successfully transformed its corporate-level strategy into acquisitions, mergers, and partnerships (Landrecht Zhang, 2016). Amazon has a marketing strategy that can be attributed to its success as well. The company is customer centric and maintains that the most crucial component of the business are customers. Amazon has been labeled as the most customer-centric company by both its followers and customers (Landrecht Zhang, 2016). Partnership strategy As Amazon flourished, the share price of the company grew and enabled it to partner with and acquire various enterprises that operated in different sectors. For instance, Amazon has partnered with 2nd Watch, 8kMiles, Arcus Global, Drugstore.com, Living.com, Wineshopper.com, Kozmo.com, and Homegrocer.com among others (Klaus, 2015). In most of these partnerships, Amazon bought an equity stake to share in the prosperity of its business partners. Amazon also charges fees for placements on its website. The company equally demanded that publishers pay specific fees for advantageous position to boost books sales on its website (Klaus, 2015). Many of the online companies that Amazon initially partnered with failed between 1999 and 2000, but Amazon was not pulled down by its failing partners because it covered growth potential (Klaus, 2015). Amazon has also been able to strengthen its grip in various sectors by partnering with other companies. It has equally consolidated its strength in vario us sectors by using technology to accelerate the promotion of products and distribution through these partners. Other retailers can sell their products through the internet using Amazons infrastructure and user interface via what the company refers to as Syndicated Stores program (Voigt, et al., 2016). For instance, in the United Kingdom, Waterstones, the largest classic bookstore found competition with online stores challenging and expensive. Waterstones eventually formed a partnership with Amazon where the online retail giant distributes and markets its books for a commission online. Similarly, in the US, Borders makes use of the Amazon merchant platform to distribute its products (Voigt, et al., 2016). Amazon has the same arrangement with Toys R Us, a toy retailer. These partnerships are beneficial to Amazon because it enables the company to expand its customer base into the customers of other suppliers. Also, customers who purchase in one category like books are also attracted i nto buying into categories such as electronics and clothing (Dages, et al., 2016). Amazon Marketplace also enables other retailers and Amazon customers to sell their used and new books as well as other goods apart from the regular categories. Another partnership strategy is the Amazon Merchant program. This program allows third parties that are bigger than the companies that sell through the Amazon Marketplace to distribute their products through Amazon. Amazon, in turn earns sales commissions per unit or fixed fees (Ernest, 2015). This kind of partnership can also enable customers to have a wide variety of products to choose from and conveniently buy them through one checkout process. Amazon has equally formed partnerships with smaller companies via its affiliates program which was launched in 1996 (Ernest, 2015). Experimentation and testing strategy Amazon terms the philosophy of testing and experimentation as Data beats intuition. The company uses automation and experimentations that are real time to personalize its content (Weniger, et al., 2015). This is for the reason that actual behavior of the consumers is the effective way to decide on tactics. The company has an experiments culture of which A/B tests are crucial elements. For instance, Amazon uses A/B tests when deciding on new home page design, different algorithms for recommendations, moving features around the page, as well as changing search relevance rankings (Weniger, et al., 2015). The company usually tests new treatments against prior control treatments for a week or a few days. The system will then randomly indicate treatments to visitors and measure ranging variables like revenue and units by category, length of session, session time among other parameters. The new features are then launched if the metrics that are desired are substantially better statistically (Weniger, et al., 2015). However, tests that are statistical pose a challenge because distributions are not always normal. Another challenge is that since A/B tests are run every day, they may conflict because of overlapping. Also, there are long term effects where some features have positive impacts for the first few weeks and opposite effects where shifting navigations can temporarily degrade performance. The company also finds that the online experience of their users evolve and their online actions change. This implies that Amazon.com has to test its features and evolve continuously. This is also in line with the companys customer-centric strategy (Weniger, et al., 2015). Technology The experimentation and testing strategy as discussed above must be easily supported by technology which can be hard to achieve when management of content is standardized (Mosca, et al., 2015). Amazon has been able to stay competitive by developing the technology it uses internally and with an investment that is significant which in many instances not available for other companies that do not have the needed focus on the online channels (Mosca, et al., 2015). In using their own proprietary technologies, and technologies that are licensed from third parties, the company has implemented many functionalities and features that improve and simplify the experience of customer shopping. It also becomes easy for third parties to sell their products on the Amazons platform, as well as facilitate the companys fulfillment and customer service (Mosca, et al., 2015). Amazons strategy is to place more emphasis on the development efforts and constant innovations by enhancing and creating specialized and unique proprietary technology and to acquire or license technology that is commercially developed for other applications where appropriate and available (Mosca, et al., 2015). The company regularly invests in many technology areas, including the seller platform. For example, A9.com is a subsidiary that is wholly owned by Amazon and is focused on search technology A9.com, as well as other Amazon sites, digital initiatives, and web services. According to (Mosca, et al., 2015), Amazons technology approach can be said to be distributed development and deployment. For instance, the home page Amazon has some content slots or pods that call web services for features. This makes it easy to make changes to the contents in the pods and also where the pods are located on the screen (Mosca, et al., 2015). Amazons website contrary to many sites makes use of flowable page design which allows it to benefit from the real-estate on screen. The company also uses technology that can support many e-retails that are standard. Amazon makes use of application sets for validating and accepting orders made by customers, tracking and placing orders with suppliers, assigning and managing inventory to customer orders, and making certain that products are properly shipped to customers. Amazons transactions processing systems can also handle many different status inquiries, millions of item, requests about wrapping of gifts, and multiple methods of shipment. The systems enable customers to decide whether to receive single or several shipments that are based on availability and to track how each order that has been placed is progressing. Besides, the applications authorize processes such as charging and accepting the credit cards of customers (Mosca, et al., 2015). Future Challenges The internet has made inroads into many facets of our everyday lives. Apart from business information, a lot of personal information is also digitized now and stored in computers that have internet connections. Systems that are internet connected stand a higher risk of destruction or tampering by cyber criminals. Because of the threat of cyber-attacks, internet users are predisposed to privacy threats as marketers use invasive and aggressive tools to collect customer information. Also, with more people embracing internet purchasing, e-retailers will likely face tax challenges too in future. Cyber-attack challenges Online and mobile channels will continue to evolve. It will carve out new markets and bring many opportunities for established organizations like Amazon and new companies (Veroef, 2016). Unfortunately, there will likely be significant disruption to e-commerce payment systems and processes. The anonymous, interconnected, and instantaneous nature of these channels has led to the development of malicious threats that target retail services companies and e-commerce and their customers (Veroef, 2016). Digital fraud and cyber-crime will continue to rapidly evolve with criminals using techniques that are increasingly sophisticated to target vulnerable people, technologies, and processes. If the cyber-crime threats are realized successfully, they have the potential to undermine important digital services, cause severe damage to the image of a brand, and lead to significant operational and financial pain for companies and their customers. The challenges of cyber-crime can also imply that thes e criminals can deface websites and steal data that is valuable from the systems (Veroef, 2016). Taxation Challenges E-commerce has become the new normal because services and goods have shifted to a digital platform from a physical one. Services and commodities have also become digital as they are transacted online. The current laws of taxations could present serious challenges in e-commerce in future, especially transactions that are international in nature (Owen, 2015). Conclusion Online trading has grown, will continue to exist, and will be used extensively in future. E-commerce will likely evolve in future and companies will need to change their strategies if they want to remain competitive. Also, competition in E-commerce is likely to increase in the future because many traditional retail stores will have online platforms. Leading online retailers like Amazon will need to find ways of retaining profitability and sustainable development that is long term. Even though there are challenges in e-commerce, Amazon will overcome these challenges and stay competitive in future because of the innovativeness of the company. Recommendations To prevent cyber-attacks and achieve security objectives, it is imperative to recognize that it is essential to protect customer data and services. Therefore, it is important to have a company-wide security model to protect customers. Consumers also need to be educated on cybersecurity and protection of their personal data and privacy. With regards to taxation challenges, Amazon should collaborate with governments to come up with tax laws that will accurately recognize and deal with e-commerce. References Dages, J., Li, M. Moore, C., 2016. Walmart V. Amazon. The Economist Case Competition, II(6), pp. 12-25. Dimar, K., Kuchar, R. A. Ragas, M. W., 2016. Book Battles: A Strategic Communication Analysis of Amazon.coms Dispute with Hachette Book Group and Authors United. Corporate Strategy, III(7), pp. 12-20. Ernest, J., 2015. Critical Evaluation of how well placed Amazon is to Sustain its Historical Online Retailing. British Journal of Marketing Studies, III(6), pp. 31-42. Klaus, P., 2015. The case of Amazon.com: Toward a conceptual framework of online customer service experience. Journal of Services Marketing, I(8), pp. 16-36. Landrecht, T. Zhang, J., 2016. Amazon.com. Business Strategy, IV(4), pp. 23-45. Lang, S., Tinder, L., Zimmerman, J. Harrison, J. S., 2016. Amazon.com: Offering Everything from A to Z. Journal of Business, I(5), pp. 23-30. Mosca, P., Zhang, Y., Xiao, Z. Wang, Y., 2015. Cloud Security: Services, Risks, and a Case Study on Amazon Cloud Services. Int. J. Communications, Network and System Sciences, IV(16), pp. 7-13. Owen, R., 2015. The Amazon Tax Issue: Washing Away the Requirement of Physical Presence for Sales Tax Jurisdiction over Internt Business. Journal of Law, Technology, and Policy, VII(8), pp. 29-38. Veroef, P. C., 2016. Challenges and Solutions for Marketing in the Digital Era. European Management Journal, II(2), pp. 23-47. Voigt, K.-I., Buliga, O. Michl, K., 2016. Business Model Pioneers: How Innovators Successfully Implement New Business Models. 2nd ed. New York: Springer. Weniger, S., Weiss, T. Loebbecke, C., 2015. Innovating for the Mobile End-User Market: Amazons Kindle 2 Strategy as Emerging Business Model. Corporate Strategy, V(4), pp. 3-16. Zhu, F. Liu, Q., 2016. Competing with Complementors: An Empirical Look at Amazon.com. Journal of International Journals, IV(10), pp. 34-40

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Managing diverse workforce free essay sample

Workforce diversity includes the obvious differences we see when we look around: race, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, age, religion and ethnicity. But it’s also the less obvious traits, the subtle differences that often register with us unconsciously, such as socioeconomic status, marital status, educational background, language, accent and appearance. We all have something that makes us unique, some special talent or ability that we bring to the table that differentiates us from our colleagues. That’s diversity at its best. Sourcing and managing people from a diverse background have become a critical part of an employment and management strategy. Workers who vary in age, gender, ability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background or culture, ethnicity and language, make a positive contribution to an organization’s workforce — they’re an asset to organization culture and the bottom line as companies and managers are realizing every day that passes. There is a common belief that a diverse workforce brings innovative and creative solutions to an organization from ‘outside the box’. An effective corporate diversity program is a powerful way to gain a competitive advantage and stand apart from competition. It can’t be overstated that diverse workforce brings real bottom-line value to any organization. Diverse workforce allows organizations to break barriers, attract new customers and build customer-base and help form strategic alliances with partners across the globe by having better knowledge of the target markets and establishing better communication capabilities and having ability to communicate in a variety of languages including understanding of cultural differences. Just over half of the employers polled in Canada said they anticipate a shortage of quali? ed workers in the next ? ve years and approximately 67% believe they currently have a more diverse workforce than 5 years ago. These forward-thinking companies are not only placing an emphasis on making a positive contribution to their workforce – but on their bottom line. Source:Randstad Despite Workforce diversity is becoming common phenomenon across Canada, managers of today are increasingly facing the challenges of handling a diverse workforce and being sensitive to this diversity (Tjosvold, 1985). The rationale behind this research is to understand challenges organizations are facing as a result of managing diverse workforce. Additionally the research would try to look into various ways managers can overcome these challenges and make managing diverse workforce a real success. The concept of managing diversity originated in America following the growing need to manage cross-cultural and individual differences in an increasingly diverse demographic workforce (Cox Blake, 1991). In Canada, immigration and large numbers of women entering the workforce promoted diversity management efforts since the 1990s, although the workplace composition differs from that in the USA (Miller A. Rowney, 1999). Experts (Fernandez, 1993; Rice, 1994; Carnevale and Stone, 1994) indicate that business owners and managers who hope to create and manage an effective, harmonious multicultural workforce should remember the importance of the following: Setting a good example: This basic tool can be particularly valuable for small business owners who hope to establish a healthy environment for people of different cultural backgrounds. This is because they are generally able to wield significant control over the business basic outlook and atmosphere. The leaders must exhibit strong commitment to addressing issues like myths, stereotypes, and real cultural differences, as well as organizational barriers that interfere with the full contribution of all employees. Communicate in Writing: Organization policies that explicitly forbid prejudice and discriminatory behavior should be included in employee manual, mission statement and other written communications. Diversity should be a super-ordinate goal instead of a goal assigned to individual group. Training Programs: Awareness and skill building training programs provides information on cultural norms of different groups and how they may affect work behavior. New employee orientation programs are ideal for introducing workers to organization’s expectation regarding treatment of fellow workers irrespective of their cultural or ethnic background. Recognize individual differences: There are number of dimensions around human relationships. These include but not limited to: acceptance of power equality, desire for orderliness and structure; the need to belong to a wider group etc. Difference should not be assumed to be cultural. Other sources are personality, aptitude or competence ( Goffee, 1997). Actively seek input from Minority workers: Seeking opinions of minority groups and their involvement on important matters is beneficial not only because of the contributions they can make but also as it sends a message that they are valued by the organization. Revamp reward system: An organizations performance appraisal and reward system should encourage and reinforce effective diversity management. Flexible Work environment: Cox (1994) indicated that flexible work environment could be highly beneficial for and to people of non-traditional cultural background because their approaches to problems are more likely to be different from past norms. Continuous Monitoring: Experts recommend that business owners and managers establish and maintain systems and routines that can continually monitor the organization’s policies and practices to ensure that it continues to be a good environment for all employees. Periodic surveys should be conducted by management to understand employee’s needs (Jorgensen, 1993). Impact of Diversity on Organizational Culture: Hill and Jones defined organizational culture as those set of norms, values, and attitude that defined the way the employees of an organization behaved and interacted with each other and with others outside their organization (Hill and Jones, 2001). Organizational culture has been seen as instrumental in impacting individual employees in an organization. A positive organizational culture promotes diversity by taking advantage of diverse talent pool as well as intellectual capital whereas a negative organizational culture will stifle and discriminate against diversity and thus affect the work environment and consequently the employee productivity (Chatman and Spataro, 2005). Thomas identified that organizational culture is responsible for the systematic and planned way in which a diverse workforce is managed in an organization and their skill sets are put to use for the benefit of the business (Thomas, 1992). With dramatic adoption of diversity as a value-add across number of organizations, it’s become important to make sure organizational culture promotes workplace diversity. It means extensively analyzing a organizations current culture and changing those parts that limit cultural diversity. Also, it means recruiting new employees for the skills they can bring to the organization rather than their cultural homogeneity. Lastly, it means working with a management team to help them understand that cultural diversity is a business issue, and their own careers will benefit from enabling their employees to reach their full potential (Managing Diversity, 1999). Diversity management contains three (3) components: 1. Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action programs direct attention to laws that guide recruitment and promotion. 2. Valuing differences centers on interpersonal qualities that shape managements relationships with their employees. 3. Managing diversity focuses on the diverse quality of employees work-life needs such as childcare, family leave, and flexible holiday schedules. It requires setting policies and procedures that empowers managers to meet employees needs (Galagan, 1999; Jenner, 1994; Wilkinson, 1999). Managing diversity is managing human resource needs, says Ben Harrison. ( Jenner, 1994). Human resource personnel alone cant do the work of managing diversity. All levels of managers should implement programs designed to heighten awareness of cultural differences, foster appreciation for these differences, and identify the commonalties among the various ethnic groups. Managing diversity is an effort that will involve all members of the organization In order to reap the fruits of diversity. The process should start by including managing diversity into the overall strategy, this will promote cultural synergy and effectively integrating the better elements associated with multiple cultures. This tactic will help in aiding of identifying and implementing of new practices in companies with diverse units. Steps to be taken to begin managing diversity are: 1. Assess your organizations needs by conducting an organizational audit to determine which diversity problems exist. The audit should consist of surveys, interviews, focus groups, or a combination of these. 2. One should learn all s(he) can by exposing him/herself to different types of people, for this can reduce Stereotyping. 3. Strengthen top managements  commitment level. White males control the resources and feel most of the fear; therefore, they should be informed of the importance of their involvement, for this can reduce if not eliminate their fear. 4. Develop new selection criteria that include personality characteristics. Promote cultural synergy by effectively integrating the better elements associated with multiple cultures. 5. Invest in communication training to reduce prejudice and develop 6. Choose soluti ons that balance strategy to achieve the organizations goals. 7. Build diversity into your leadership team: You must plan for the development and promotion of your employees. 8. Look for ways to adjust your organization to your workers. This means the organizations culture should be employee oriented. Instituting flexible management systems to accommodate diverse workers can do this. This includes job sharing, flextime, and separate reward and benefit systems. (Managing Diversity, 1999,Galagan, 1999;Nelton, 2000) Conclusion At the end of the day appreciating diversity in people means recognizing, accepting, and supporting their differences. In addition, properly managing diversity means creating an environment that takes advantage of the different characteristics of everyone, which is in the best interest of the organization and the employee. The concept of managing diversity was developed as a result of the changing demographics of workforces, imperfections of Affirmative Action programs, and discrimination laws. Managing diversity involves consumption of all program and resources to building systems and a culture that unite different people in a common pursuit without undermining their diversity. It differs from solely using from Affirmative Action programs or other of its kind, because it creates an environment where all individuals can contribute to their maximum potential. Attaining support from top management is the most important implementing step in the process, which is necessary to ensure success. Additionally, it reduces the fears of the dominant group. Through the use of all valuing diversity, managing diversity and affirmative action companies create a qualified, diverse work force that appropriately reflects the demographics of its communities.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

The Future Of Aviation Insurance Essays - Types Of Insurance

The Future Of Aviation Insurance Essays - Types Of Insurance The Future Of Aviation Insurance Insurance and the Future of Aviation AVM 401 Analysis of Issues in the Aviation Industry Southern Illinois University, Carbondale September 26, 2000 Assignment #2 Introduction This report will discuss the future of the aviation industry and the effects of high insurance cost. As the industry enters into the millennium, the insurance industry must look at several problems that also face the aviation industry. Survival for the small FBOs is getting harder each day; the threat of financial devastation is real when it comes to lawsuits. General aviation may be forced to change its way of doing business and become more like the military and commercial airlines. One can only hope that society will change their attitude towards the aviation industry and the litigation that surrounds the industry. We all hope for a positive future for the community. Insurance and the Future of Aviation The aviation industry, as it is known today, has grown into a set of definable industries. Modern aircraft range from military to commercial airlines to the most diverse group, general aviation. Aviation has come a long way the last 100 years. The industry is still developing, with growth comes problems that must be solved before the industry can go to the next level. As the industry enters into the millennium, the insurance industry must look at several problems that face the aviation industry. Legal concerns, in many cases, theyre influenced by our society. The court system plays a big part by their decisions that are passed down. Its rare when an aviation case goes to court, because insurance agencies know theyll lose when the jury hears the case. Its just too easy to prove pilot negligence; most aviation accidents result from pilot error. Also, when they do go to court, they very seldom mount a defense due to the unreasonable verdicts, and ridiculous awards. These practices has forced aircraft owners to stay away from new policies and let their insurance coverage lapse. Aircraft owners pay three to five times the amount for adequate liability coverage than their counter parts else where in the world. Survival for the small business operators is getting harder each day due to the General Aviation Revitalization Act (GARA); the threat of financial devastation is real when it comes to lawsuits. The (GARA) defects lawsuits from manufacturers to aviation service providers. FBOs insurance rate are skyrocketing because of this, which contributes to the cycle by causing higher repair cost. Many small business operators really dont want to take the chance and cant afford the rising cost thats associated with liability insurance. As of February 2000 at least three aviation insurance under writers ceased writing coverage for the small business operators, saying its a major risk (Chappell, T. 2000, p.2). One of the main reasons is the cost to the underwriters. Aviation insurance companies have paid out a dollar and quarter for ever dollar theyve taking in, for each of the last several years. No wonder so many are closing down, merging, or getting out of the historically riskier aviation activities (Chappell, T. 2000, P.2). General aviation may be forced to change its way of doing business and become more like the military and commercial airlines. Maintenance problems may be identified by computers, and then repaired by the manufacturers. The industry is coping with the mounting cost associated with liability insurance. Remove and replace maintenance is the attitude the industry must lean towards. The manufacturers would set up new factory service centers and repair facilities for the general aviation customers. This system wouldnt help the rising cost of insurance, but maintenance and ground liabilities would rest on the shoulders of the manufacture. The market itself is shrinking, weve had a generation of pilots from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam that was introduced to aviation and trained at the governments expense. Because of modern technology, well never again have the numbers that we once had. The aging fleet and pilots cant help the situation that the industry is facing; the average aircraft age is 15 to 20 years, and the post Vietnam pilot is now 50 to 60 years of age. The underwriters are very worried about the age of both the pilots and the aircraft. During a telephone interview with Darrel Hyde

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Outline for Artist Research and Comparison Essay

Outline for Artist Research and Comparison - Essay Example 36-45). Besides Tomma, Daniel Buren is another painter whose works were successful in inspiring me for this paper. In particular, Daniel is a conceptual artist who represents the art movement of Abstract Minimalism, so he somehow relates with Tomma in some ways. Moreover, regarding his artistic style, he is more into sculptures and integration of art into historical buildings that is a noteworthy characteristic of this artist (Temkin, pp. 216-236). Brice Marden is the third artist that found his place in this paper. He is another painter that represents the Abstract Art movement, and specifically, the Abstract Minimalism (Marden & Keller, pp. 23-49). Despite being an abstract painter, his works relate especially with the landscape and nature that is a unique and unusual attribute about an abstract painter. Lastly, Blinky Palermo was an abstract painter from Germany who dies in the year 1977. One of the major reasons of choosing this painter was his integration of abstract art into fa bric paintings and colorings that put him aside other artists from the Abstract Art movement. Although he was an abstract painter, but experts have related his works with Constructivism, as well as Modernist Art movement (Temkin, pp. 216-236). After analyzing different studies and works of the four painters, the final paper will be including investigation and scrutiny of two painters, Tomma Abts and Brice Marden. It is an observation that both painters enjoy few similarities in their relationship, as well as some differences that distinguish them from each other. For instance, both represent the movement of Abstract Art that brings them under a single umbrella, and it will be easier to analyze their works from a single lens. Detailed study of Tomma Abts (Hoptman & Hainley, pp. 22-27) has indicated that her works seem abstract in an ideal manner; as none of her works seem to represent or deliver any kind of theme