How did the recent financial crisis affect Financial Markets and Essay - 1

How did the recent financial crisis affect Financial Markets and institutions - Essay Example Causes of recent crisis The most immediate cause of the credit crisis was the bursting of the US housing bubble (Almendarez , â€Å"The Financial Crisis and a Fragile Global Economy†). There was a sharp rise in the value of the real estates in several countries which included the advanced economies of the world. Various countries including the largest world economy were running high and growing â€Å"current account deficits† (Obstfeld & Rogoff, â€Å"Global Imbalances and the Financial Crisis: Products of Common Causes†). Buoyed by the booming housing market there was an excessive rise in the leverage level especially in the consumer market of Britain and US and various global financial entities. Some noted economists like Greenspan argue that global imbalances led to the financial fiasco. Again there are others like Taylor who discards this view. The progressive deregulation of the financial markets coupled with an ineffective supervisory oversight is also said to be one of the reasons that aggravated the crisis. There are contradictions regarding the link between the global financial turmoil and global imbalances. ... balances with easily available foreign money facilitated deferral of crucial policy decisions (Obstfeld & Rogoff, â€Å"Global Imbalances and the Financial Crisis: Products of Common Causes†). To make gains from the boom in the housing markets the lenders extended adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) to borrowers with a wrong credit history. All this was well as long as the Fed kept the interest rates low but with the hike in the rate of interest the borrowers were unable to meet their rising instalments resulting in delinquencies and loan foreclosures. The value of the mortgage backed securities fell sharply due to the sudden delinquencies. The investment in these securities were not limited to advanced economies rather to make gains from the housing boom the investors across the globe rushed to invest in these mortgage backed instruments. Therefore a fall in the value of these instruments sent ripples across the worldwide financial markets plummeting the global stock indices. Imp act of crisis on money and capital markets The issue of asset backed commercial paper (ABCP) peaked in July 2007 with a sharp drop in the subsequent months. The financial institutions like IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG were not able to roll over their ABCP investments. There was a sharp rise in the spread between the â€Å"ABCP rate and overnight interest swap rate† which is actually a measure of the liquidity and default risk of ABCP. The impact of the crisis was first seen in the global capital markets. In June & July 2007 there was a downgrade of the mortgage backed securities from AAA to A+. This downgrade was significantly large as the ratings downgrade normally happens in single notches. OECD labelled these ratings downgrade to be unexpected and this exposed the credit rating agencies to

Simulaitons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Simulaitons - Essay Example In the present case, the optimum solution is obtained for- Profit maximized ($1254) when Tables for 4=10, Tables for 2=8, wait staff=3 and kitchen staff=2. Loss of sales is least ($941). Other than the proposed alternatives, we can have two more possible solutions. There are basically, two areas of concern namely- Order taking and the ovens. The speed of operation at both these places directly influences the waiting time. Therefore, the optimal automation of these two areas would do a great deal of good even if there were initial investments to be made. A) Given the significant downtime and relocation costs, once you have decided to reconfigure equipment to improve process layout, how do you balance the immediate production requirements versus future needs for the facility There must always be a scope for future improvement, and so in order to achieve this, there must always be an effort for finding out better alternatives and under the present situation, the existing production must not stop, and so the best option for this would be to relocate only one thing at a time. This will ensure that current production stays unaffected and there is scope for future additions into any vacant space. B) The "cost of delay" is an important cost t

Issues In Ethical Hacking And Penetration Testing Information Technology Essay

Issues In Ethical Hacking And Penetration Testing Information Technology Essay In this fast growing business world the growth of Information Technology is sky-scraping. Information is a business asset, therefore it is very important to protect the Business Intelligence and the confidential information. It may protect its availability, privacy and integrity. Information Security is more than protecting computer data security; it is the process of protecting the intellectual property of an organization which engages with Network Security. The availability of access to stored information on  server  databases has increased to a great extent. Most of the companies store their business and individual information on their computer than ever before. Many businesses are exclusively stand on information stored in their data centers. Personal staff details, client lists, salaries, bank account details, marketing, sales information and more importantly their research and development secret recipe or marketing strategies may all be stored on a database. If they lack this information, it would directly affect the business operations. Therefore powerful Information security systems needed to be executed to protect this information. The biggest threat to businesses may be the people who make a living from  hacking  or breaching through information security systems. By using their technological skills, they are brave enough to break into computer system and access secured information. Hackers can even turn your home computer into a bomb (Randy Jefferies, 2005). Firewalls, which are intended to prevent access to a computer network, can be easily bypassed by a  black hat namely a hacker with the right tools and skills. The breach can result a heavy loss of crucial information, or a virus could be planted and delete all secured information as an intruder. So that is why Information Security Professionals plays a vast role in this Business Industry, because of this, there is an important position for ethical hackers, who can defend and protect the organization against cybercriminals and even they are capable of penetrating their own system for the testing purposes .When the question arise that, is hacking actually bad? Or is it possible  that there are times when hacking can be seen as good? Before addressing  these scenarios, the term hackers and ethics needs to be defined. So this is where ethical hacker comes in. Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Ethical Hacking can be defined as hacking a network or a system to seek and test vulnerabilities that a hacker could exploit and take advantage of the system. This implies, doing it for the betterment of the firm. This process is done to secure and defend the system from cybercriminals known as black hats with a legally authorized way. The people who involve in ethical hacking are called as white hats who are professionally trained security experts. Most of the firms employ one these White Hats to protect their information systems whilst some firms hires. The Computer crime is where the computer is  the place of the crime and the criminal activities can range from  fraud, theft, and forgery. Businesses who try to approach the problem  have independent computer security professionals who attempt to break  into the computer systems and penetrate as mentioned above. Both of these people, crackers and  professionals are ethical hackers, but they have different ethics. Negative observation of hacking, When is hacking bad? In recent news, a certain hacker who claims to be  known as Gwerdna hacked into a Mac computer, He even made comments on  how easy it was for him to hack into the security and he has stated to break into that library machine he only took 10 minutes. (Micheal Harvey, 2006). The term Ethical Hacking can be addressed as penetration testing. This is a method of evaluating the network or computer system by simulating an attack from a malicious source, a White Hat Hacker but act as a Black Hat Hacker (Wikipedia, 2010). These ethical hackers use these methods which can be identified and clarified as malicious softwares namely Buffer Overflow, Logic Bomb, Parasite, Sniffer, Spoof, Trojan Horse, Virus, Worms. Importance and Benefits of Ethical Hacking As mentioned above the reason for conducting an ethical hack, obviously, is to keep information assets secure. One survey conducted by Rick Blum, stated that It (ethical hacking) is very important and helps save you money and reputation in the long run. (Rick Blum, 2009).Network testing is the most important type of ethical hack, because it is obvious the hacker can easily break the firewall and get into the network. So network should be highly secured. Thats a reason why it is considered as a very important fact for organization because of the rising cyber crime rates and the high growth of cyber criminals. Since computer technology has developed, the crime rates also increased. The intellectual hackers have made mass destructions and losses for many companies and they have damaged their database and leaked information. Had exploited the brand image of most of the firms and damaged their trust on their clientele. Hackers have transferred millions of dollars without any awareness of the banks and their involvement. Even hacked into police departments emergency help desks. For example a group of hackers called Vandals hacked the New York City Police Departments voice- mail system and replaced the usual polite announcements with You have reached the New York City Police Department. For any real emergencies, dial 119.Anyone else were a little busy right now eating some donuts and having coffee. It continued You can just hold the line. Well get back to you.Were little slow, if you know what I mean. Thank You. The bogus messages continued for 12 hours before they were investigated and corrected by ethical hackers (Donald Pimkins, 2000) Some time ethical hacking will not reveal vulnerabilities of a network or a system. But there are a number of consequence benefits that can be derived from an ethical hacking process. The picture below will give a clear idea of what are the benefits available in this process and how it can be prioritized. Ref: http://www.isaca.org/Images/journal/jrnlv2-06-red-teams-audit-tool-2.jpg The size of the threat depends on the type of the business and how its fits with hackers motives. Therefore to prevent these kinds of issues and threats in future firms employ ethical hackers. The term ethics will be clearly structured in the following paragraphs with the support of ethical principles, ethical issues, ethical dilemmas and ethical theories. Business Ethics According to the study Business ethics can be defined as a form of applied ethics that examine ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that occur in a business environment (Gwendolyn Cuizon, 2009). Many businesses have gained a bad reputation just by being in business. By not being stick to business ethics policy firms may fall in trouble, if a business is damaged by an ethical disaster it affects the bottom line which implies profit. It is agreed that IT systems are put in place to support the strategic planes of an organization which would be in lined with business ethics. So that is why organizations see ethics as, a bringing competitive edge to their business. In my point of view in business, the perspective view of stakeholders are different , they see theres whats illegal, whats legal but unethical, ethical but against company policy, not against policy but not in the clients best interests, and finally whats not really opposite to the clients best interests but isnt really going to benefit them moreover. Which can be understood by the below image. http://www.gryphonshafer.com/blog/2008/08/business_ethics.png Ethical Principles and Ethical Issues Ethical principles can be defined as the foundation of ethical behavior. An ethical principle arrives from the social Context, from religious beliefs, and from ethical theory. These ethical principles can applied to computer technologies that have an impact on peoples daily lives where they interacts in government, in education, at work, at play ground and workout) (Penny Duquenoy, 2010) Some general ethical principles can be listed as Respecting others Consider others as equal Keep promises Respect the property of others Act honestly The principles can be addressed as below which relevant to Information Systems professionals and related technologies officers. The Royal Academy of Engineering, in collaboration with Engineering Council (UK) and a number of the leading professional engineering institutions, has developed a Statement of Ethical Principles to which it believes all professional engineers and Information Professionals should follow. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Accuracy and Rigor à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Honesty and Integrity à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Respect for Life, Law and the Public Good à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Responsible Leadership: Listening and Informing (Engineering Ethics, 2007) Ethical issues can be addressed as whatever threatens or breaks an ethical principle is an ethical issue. For example ethical principle Respect the property of others Ethical Issue Hack someones computer without their permission and steal information and destroy it by sending a virus or a worm So by understanding this example an ethical issue can be clearly understood. And to assess these kinds of ethical issues in different perspectives ethical theories should be applied. Ethical Theories As discussed above an ethical issue can be identified and evaluated by using ethical theories .These theories can be used as tools for making ethical decisions, and they may also helpful in providing a basis for critical thinking. An issue can be taken in different perspectives and formed opinions with helpful of ethical theories. There are two main ethical theories, Kantianism Consequentialism Kantianism The Kants theory can be defined summarized without going in deep. Kant says that how we behave ethically comes from within us, and the things that we decide are good or bad are based on whether we could imagine everyone doing them. (Immanuel Kant) So for example, it would be logically conflicting to say that breaking a promise is good because if everyone broke their promises there would be a loss of trust in promises, and the whole nature of a promise would be lost. Therefore, he says, that certain things cannot be universalized which means they would not work if everyone did them, and those things are wrong. Examples are: killing others, lying, stealing, breaking promises. Moreover, in Kants point of view, things that we view as wrong are essentially wrong that is, they are always wrong and there is never any reason situation where they would be right. This conflicts directly with the theory of consequentialism, which will be addressed next. Consequentialism Consequentialism theory can be defined as, a theory which deals with consequences of actions rather than the actions themselves .So, and for example, it could be argued that stealing could sometimes be the right action to take provided the outcome is for the good. Theory says that a good outcome is that which brings the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people. Therefore stealing, for example, is a morally acceptable act if it brings greater benefit to the greatest number. For example, if a king has a warehouse full of food when most of the people in the country are starving. In this instance stealing the food to distribute it to the starving people would be the right thing to do. So by this act a great number of people get benefited. So in this case according to consequentialism theory stealing is not bad while it fully contradicts with Kantians theory. Ethical Dilemmas Ethical dilemmas can be addressed as moral dilemmas. An ethical dilemma is a situation where in moral principle or ethical obligations conflict in such a way as to make any possible resolution to the dilemma morally intolerable. In other words, an ethical dilemma is any situation in which guiding moral principles cannot determine which course of action is right or wrong. Can simplified as you will have issue and you will have a solution which will leads you to an unethical way.(Lee Flamand, 2007). Ethical, Legal, Professional, Social and Cultural Issues in Ethical Hacking When we discuss about ethical hacking there are many issues which can be listed, which will arise in many circumstances. For evaluating these issues and come up with a good solution or opinions the above discussed, structured ethical principles and ethical theories can be taken off. This will obviously give a clear picture to the reader. In this study for further more analysis two important incidents will be assessed by me using the both ethical theories. A Dutch hacker who copied patient files from a University of Washington medical center (and was not caught) said in an online interview that he did it to publicize the systems vulnerability not to use the information. He disclosed portions of the files to a journalist after the medical center said that no patient files had been copied. (Sara Baase, A Gift of Fire, 2003.) If we critically evaluate the above scenario, it is obvious that the hacker has committed a cyber crime and he should be punished according to the Kantianism theory which tells some actions are always wrong. Even though the Dutch hacker didnt misused the copied files he has break into the network and penetrated it. So its ethically wrong when we see in the perspective of Kants theory. But if we evaluate this using Consequentialism theory it will completely contradict with Kantianism theory. Though the hacker was not get caught he has came to an online interview to announce that there is vulnerability in University of Washingtons medical centres network which can be easily attacked. So this good behavior of the hacker shows that he has came to this decision concerning about the betterment of the patients. which direct the theory an action is good If the consequences bring greatest benefit to number of people .If he has published all the copied files through the internet the both parti es will be get affected, the patients and the University. The files may contain confidential information of patients and which they never want to expose. So although this act can be identified as ethically correct whilst its legally wrong. Therefore by this action the Medical centre gets a chance to secure and defend their systems from future attacks. But a according to the statement A solution to an ethical issue can raise another issue Anonymous. May be this act is ethically correct according to the theory of Consequentialism. But what if the hacker found some medical information about his friend? Which information is a kept secret? What if he tells him? What if the friends get to know that his confidential medical information has got leaked through the internet? These kinds of issues can arise which will sometimes take into an ethical dilemma. If we move to the next case which is, A 17 year old hacker know as YTcracker, who penetrated several government and military web sites (including those belongings to the Bureau of Land Managements National Training Center, NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center and the Defense Contracts Audit Agency) said he routinely sends messages to government web site administrators insisting that they address vulnerabilities and adopt Unix or other more secure systems can be penetrated, but the messages largely go ignored. YTcracker said in his defacement of website he targeted systems the government would look at and take seriously and secure it. (Federal Computer Week, 1999) Though this case is Similar to the above discussed one, it provides a different idea. The hacker who has penetrated all these sites called YTcracker has only one intention that is to alert and notify the government organizations to protect their valuable informations, Which can be easily breached and gained access. If critically evaluate this case according to the Kantianism theory. The act of YTcracker is ethically wrong as it threatens the ethical principles go beyond the theory. But according to the point of Consequentialism theory the act is ethical. Because the hacker hasnt done any damage to the government organizations using their web sites. He has only warned and notified them to make them more secured. So greater amount of people gets benefited, because there are most sensitive informations are available in government sites such as National Security, Military and NASA. So if the hacker leaks the information from their databases what will happen there are would be a huge problem for the US government. But both of these incidents are illegal according to the Computer Misuse Act 1990 even they are ethical according to the theories. Because the hackers have offended unauthorized access to computer material (Misuse Act 1990) Ethical Concerns and Professional Issues When implementing an ethical hack in an organization there are ethical issues which engages with information systems professionals can be addressed as, Ethical Hackers have to break the organizations security policy and procedures. Violating the code of conduct. Privacy of the employer and employees Secret Business strategy, Marketing Strategy and product recipe leakage If we further analyze above ethical issues a question may arise, Does ethical hacking is ethical? Before address the issues, we are tend to find a solution for the above question so if, we evaluate the question by putting into Kantianism theory somehow its breaking the rules and regulation, braking the firms security policies and procedures, penetrating the code of conduct. So this act of ethical hacking can cannot be ethical. Even though the professional hackers do it legally it can be unethical, According to Kants point of view. Considering with view point of consequentialism theory this process can be identified as ethically correct, because its all done for the betterment of the organization. So there is no way of criticizing it. Firms do these to seek the vulnerabilities and defend the entire network there should be a testing procedure. So this can be taken as that. In this point of view we can decide its all ethically correct, even though they break their own code of conduct. As information systems professionals point of view ethical hacking can be identified as a complete mess. Because they have to stick to a code of conduct. Then only they are professionals. But when they are being forced to violate these terms when they involve in penetration tests there are in trouble as professionals. Therefore as professionals who are expected to comply with local laws, sometimes they may have to assess and evaluate ethical and legal issues against their personnel values. There can be privacy invasion takes place when they do a ethical hack. Most of the firms hire an ethical since they dont employ one. So when he penetrate their systems and network he can get whatever the information he needs from the organizations databases and networks. All confidential employee and partner documents and information can be seen. The ethical hacker is able to view all the weak points of the firewall. If the ethical hacker is not a professional he may attack the organization later when he needs. Or he will be a big threat. So these issues may arise. And even the secret marketing and business strategy of a leading company leaks the hacker can sell it for the competitors. So this would be a threat for some firms to conduct and penetrations test using an Legal Issues and Laws When considering about legal aspects, the issues which was discussed in the above paragraphs can be brought up since it involves legal issues. Even though those incidents were ethical, its completely illegal, because it breaks the Computer Misuse Act 1990. This Act will be clearly discussed below, The Computer Misuse Act 1990 The  Computer Misuse Act 1990  is an Act of the  UK Parliament. The Bill eventually became the Computer Misuse Act in August 1990.The Act introduced three new criminal offences: Unauthorized access to computer material Unauthorized access to computer material with the intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences Unauthorized modification of computer material.(Statuelaw, 1990) What if an ethical hacker pretends to be an inside intruder? He who knows the entire network and secrets of a company. So he can easily damage and destroy the entire information system. When these situations occur according to the misuse act legal issues can be identified. For an example a disgruntled computer technician at Reuters in Hong Kong detonated logic bombs at five investment-bank clients, causing 36 hours of downtime in networks providing market information crucial for trading. The banks switched immediately to alternative services and reported no significant effects on their work; however, Reuters was deeply embarrassed by the incident (Financial Times Limited, November 1996) so looking into these factors the organization should be fully aware of these kinds of threat which can be aroused. Sometimes Internal politics may force the ethical hacker to make huge losses for the firm. When they employ for and public company. There are so many people in a director board. So what if the ethical hacker gets an order from higher management to plant a logic bomb or do a parasite for important information of the firm and put the blame on another person. For the ethical hacker this job is not that much difficult. Even they may ask him to steal other companies confidential documents. This might cause legal issues which will entirely damage the firms reputation. These kinds of issues can arise without the awareness of the management. Social and Cultural Concerns It is agreed that in business ethics there are loads of issues as deeply addressed in above paragraphs and social and cultural issues can also identified as one of them. Social issues are about to impact on the society. IT depends on the societys reaction and behavior. According to the ethical principles firms should negotiate with the society. If an Information System of a Hospital or a School got hacked, there would be huge issues in the society. As their sensitive information contain on those Information Systems. Similarly this case may occur in a firm. So when an ethical hacker gets involved in this process he has to keep the trust on them if not the blame can be put on him by the society. So both parties get affected. The brand image can be get spoilt in the society when their informations get leaked out. They will lose the trust and faith on their employer. And when the ethical hacking process gets leaked out there are chances of affecting the companys culture. If there is a culture there are certain values to be respected. And if this values get exploited by the penetration testers issues may arise. And when they design these IS system they should respect the values without harming it. For e.g. Pornography. Conclusion From the clearly structured study, it is understood ethical hacking consideration is crucial to maintaining a verifiable level of information security. Even though there are lots of issues in certain aspects of Ethical hacking; it is a critical component of our overall security program which keeps the internal, contracted security. Ethical hacking is a necessity in order to protect company assets and stay close to the reality of unethical hacking. It ethical hacking is very important and helps save you money and reputation in the long run. Ethical Hacking is the best way to assess the network from an outsiders perspective. To reduce the addressed issues above organizations can have their own ethical hacking team or hacker to prevent outside information leakage and to get rid of the fear of that. I think ethical hacking is a must have for any serious organization today in this fast moving business world. It should be a critical part of any proactive organization in todays global competitive market.

Waiting for the Bus - Original Writing :: Papers

Waiting for the Bus - Original Writing It was about 8 o'clock in the evening, it was been raining for a very long time; the atmosphere around is so miserable; the air is so heavy as if it's filled with lead and the surroundings are dull and lifeless as if it was the darkest corner on earth. A middle aged man with tattoos all over his body smoking a cigar is being interviewed by a female doctor in a psychiatric hospital. While preparing the apparatus, the young lady tells him about the procedure:" This conversation will be recorded, as many others before it, do you understand Peter? Would you like to tell me about your dreams?" In this depressing room, with dull lights, you can only see the still outline of the two people, as if they are mysterious statues sat there staring at each other. After a while the man takes a deep breath and begins to talk."Every night for all the three months that I have been kept here, I have had the same bizarre dream, the screams of which have been waking everyone up at night". There was a pause during which the young psychiatrist was looking desperately into the madman's eyes and him looking away as if ashamed of something. "My dreams get longer each night"- whispered the patient in a distressed voice. The conversation was ended there and then; Peter never said a word until his next meeting with the psychiatrist. Every time they met their chat got them one step closer to the patient's dream. Spring was approaching; the weather gradually began to change from cold and rainy to sunny and cheerful. These were the first few days it has been like this. It was like a new start for Peter; the weather was divine and precious, he could not get enough of it, it seemed like it gave him power and superiority over every one else. As the days grew longer, so did the conversations the psychiatrist and the man had. It was an ordinary day and as usual Peter was having a 5 o'clock

OXO: Satisfaction Guranteed Essay

OXO’s most profitable customers are those with dexterity problems like arthritis such as the wife its founder, Sam Farber, had when coming up with the idea of starting OXO. Now OXO designs products that are usable by as many people as possible. This means that men and women, young and old, left and right handed, and those with special needs can utilize their products (OXO, 1990). â€Å"Through market segmentation, companies divide large, heterogeneous markets into smaller segments that can be reached more efficiently and effectively with products and services that match their unique needs (Kotler & Armstrong, 2014).† Psychographic segmentation is primarily used by OXO in efforts to target a multitude of consumer’s with different lifestyles. Each OXO product â€Å"was developed based on the concept of Universal Design (also known as Inclusive Design), a philosophy of making products that are usable by as many people as possible (OXO, 1990).† Many of the com petitions kitchen gadgets from the research attempt to conform to the needs of consumers such as OXO has done. There are few that have reached the standard for universal ease of use. The value proposition that is extended to OXO’s clients is a satisfaction guarantee which is clearly stated on its website. â€Å"We guarantee everything we make! If for any reason you are not satisfied with an OXO product, return it for replacement or refund (OXO, 1990).† OXO’s satisfaction guarantee is similar to that of some of it’s competitors but not all. Companies such as CUTCO and CHEFS share the 100% satisfaction guarantee value proposition. In order for OXO to develop their product line to stand out from competitors â€Å"Smart Design’s first assignment was to come up with tools that were comfortable in the hand, dishwasher safe, high quality, good looking and  affordable.† OXO’s â€Å"designers divided tool types by wrist and hand motions: twist/turn (used to scoop, stir and peel), push/pull (graters and knives) and squeeze (scissors, garlic press and can openers).† 3 Levels of Product Core customer Value: What is the customer really buying? OXO’s customers are purchasing â€Å"wonderfully comfort–able tools that are easy to use (Corporate Design Foundation).† Actual product: brand name, quality level, packaging, design, features OXO’s hand tools are sold under the name Good Grips, chosen because â€Å"it communicates the major advantage of the line quickly,† explains Farber. OXO’s goal is to provide â€Å"budget–conscious consumers with tools that adhered to OXO’s principles of universal design, focusing on user comfort.† OXO makes grave attempts to use less plastic in packaging (Corporate Design Foundation). Augmented product: delivery and credit, product support, warranty, after-sale  OXO provides product support via email, phone, fax, and mail. The company’s satisfaction guarantee is a warranty within itself. Customers can return products for a replacement or a full refund. After researching OXO’s products it became very apparent that the company follows an intensive distribution strategy. Their products are found in many different shopping outlets such as JC Penny, Bed Bath and Beyond, Kohl’s, Amazon.com, and Sur La Table just to name a few. This type of distribution is very convenient for the company if they’re aim is to provide comfortable gadgets for all to use. Distributing to these types of stores appears to target all lifestyle groups. The pricing of OXO’s Good Grip products seem very reasonable in nature from the product prices I have seen recently. I’ve even purchased a few of the gadgets myself because the pricing and handiness. In comparison to like items, OXO adopted the correct pricing scheme and has made itself a viable competitor in the home goods market. OXO is doing what any other reasonable and profitable company is doing by advertising on social media sites. There is vast community of social media  users that can be pose as potential customers of OXO. Facebook and Twitter are the two most reputable social media sites and they OXO utilizes both to broaden its customer base. Facebook alone has: Over 1.15 billion users, one million webpages can be accessed with the â€Å"Login with Facebook† feature 23% of Facebook users login at least 5 times daily  47% of Americans say Facebook is the top influencer of their buying decisions On average, Americans spend %16 of each online hour on Facebook. 70% of marketers acquire new customers through Facebook. And Twitter: Now has over 550 million registered users and 215 million monthly active users Between 2012 and 2014, Twitter achieved a growth rate of 44% 34% of marketers use Twitter for lead generation (Romeri, 2014).† The vast amount of internet users speaks for itself. OXO is conducting business via internet and attracting a multitude of clients through social media and word of mouth. OXO has raised the bar for the kitchen gadget market with its Good Grips product line and its guarantee of satisfaction. They’ve even taken it a step further to cut advertising costs by advertising through social media sites and even creating a blog site in order to listen and respond to consumer thoughts and concerns on their products. References Corporate Design Foundation. (n.d.). Getting a Grip on Kitchen Tools. Retrieved from Corporate Design Foundation: http://www.cdf.org/issue_journal/getting_a_grip_on_kitchen_tools.html Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2014). Principles of Marketing. Upper Saddle, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. OXO. (n.d.). Blogger Outreach. Retrieved from OXO: http://www.oxo.com/bloggeroutreach/ OXO. (1990). Our Roots. Retrieved from OXO: http://www.oxo.com/OurRoots.aspx OXO. (1990). Satisfaction Guarantee. Retrieved from OXO: http://www.oxo.com/Satisfaction.aspx Romeri, M. J. (2014, February 18). New Social Media Statistics You Need to Know. Retrieved from Social Media Today:

The ways in which poets make use of form and language to present their views on love and marriage Essays

The ways in which poets make use of form and language to present their views on love and marriage Essays The ways in which poets make use of form and language to present their views on love and marriage Essay The ways in which poets make use of form and language to present their views on love and marriage Essay Essay Topic: Poetry The two poems studied from the nineteenth century on love and loss give a very different view on love and marriage. A woman to her lover, by Christina Walsh gives a view of a woman wanting co-equal love, whereas in My Last Duchess by Robert Browning, there is a view of patriarchal love and dominance by man. These are both very different views on love, however in A Woman To Her Lover, the views expressed in these days would be seen as rational and what is accepted. In the days which it was written it would be seen as discordant. This essay will focus on comparing the form and language of both poems and how these techniques help to present their views on love and marriage. Along with form and language, this essay will also comment on the use of rhetorical questions, personal pronouns, the use of exclamation marks, imagery and repetition. In A Woman To Her Lover the poem is based on a four-stanza reply to a question, If that be what you ask. We can see that she has been asked to marry and she is setting out the guidelines. The poem also has no set rhyme scheme or rhythm; it also rejects traditional conversion and rules. In the nineteenth century there were rules which women had to follow and what was expected of them, but this freedom in which the poem is written expresses the freedom that the writer is asking for in the relationship between her and her lover. The freedom in the poem represents the freedom asked for in marriage. My Last Duchess is written as a dramatic monologue, the speakers personality is revealed through what he is saying. It is written in iambic pentameter and rhyming couplets, which gives the effect of strictness, with a patriarchal and restrictive view of love. There is also enjambement in this poem, which gives it a natural flow, this suggests that what he is saying comes naturally and it is the only way that he thinks. The language in both poems is archaic and of the time but Christina Walsh uses an unusual word order, no servant will I be. This makes the statement more direct with a suggestion of harshness. It also emphasises her disgust at the traditional view of love. In My Last Duchess the duke has an ostentatious voice, worked busily a day. This shows that he has high expectations of his employees and he will also have high expectations of his wife. The Duke also tries to make people fear him, if they durst. This would show that he feels that people should be scared of him, which would include his wife, so he would not be very close to his wife if she were scared of him. The use of questions and rhetorical questions are used in both of the poems. The woman in A Woman To Her Lover uses questions in a reply to an assumed proposal of marriage, Or if you think to wed. These questions are the theme for the whole poem. This can show that he has asked her a question, but before she can answer she has to know things about him. This makes us feel that she is not rushing into marriage but is thinking carefully about if she wants to marry him. The duke, on the other hand, answers his own question, whod stoop to blame. He wants the envoy to agree with his anger and disgust at his disobedient wife. He expects correct answers and is single minded about other views. Along with this he always expects people to agree with him. He would not expect his wife to have her own views, even her view of if she wanted to marry him. Cristina Walsh uses the words we, you and I a lot in her poem, A Woman To Her Lover. This shows that the woman wants co-equal love as she involves the man in the poem. She says what we want rather than I want. It shows partnership in the relationship and togetherness. My Last Duchess has a lot of the personal pronoun, I. This shows that he sees love as ownership and will see his wife as a possession rather than a partner. Love does not account for his choice of wife and will only have a trophy wife, someone who will look good to other people. Cristina Walsh uses exclamation marks in her poem to emphasize her disgust in patriarchal views of love at the end of the stanza, I refuse you! If the exclamation mark were not there we would not be able to see how much she despised the view of patriarchal love she is talking about. Robert Browning uses the exclamation mark also to emphasize his disgust but it is when he remembers his wife having her own views, Sir, t was all one! We can see that he is very dominant and gets angry when she does what she wants. Once again the exclamation marks lets us see how angry he gets and how much he hates her having her own views. A Woman To Her Lover uses quite a lot of parallel structure throughout the whole poem If that be what you ask. This use of parallel structure gives the effect that she is ranting and raving about her disgust of the ideas that she is talking about. The parallel structure also gives the effect that she is shouting very fast and gives fluidity to it. My Last Duchess does not have any parallel structure as I think that the duke is trying to give a note of dignity to himself. Therefore the use of parallel structure will give the effect that he is shouting and getting excited. He tries to make himself sound better than he really is which makes him sound fake about love and that women dont see him for what he is. Christina Walsh uses repetition at the beginning of a sentence to try to get a lot of points through. There are three sentences one after the other all beginning with And. This tells us that the woman has a lot of conditions and points for her love to her lover. Robert Browning uses repetition further apart in his poem; that spot of joy, this gives us the feeling that he is wrapped up in one thing only and can only think about that one thing. This repetition makes us think that he is obsesses with the bad behaviour of his wife and cannot let simple things drop. This makes us think that he is strict with his wife and is not caring or forgiving. These two poems both give very different views of love and marriage in the nineteenth century. Christina Walsh gives a modern view of a relationship, which is what most couples try for today. She lists the conditions for her love. These conditions however are not biased but things that will balance the relationship. Whereas in Robert Brownings, My Last Duchess the Duke talks about a relationship where he has complete dominance over his wife. He also expects her to look up to him at all times and be thankful of everything he has and for her to not acknowledge any other men. Robert Brownings patriarchal view of love, which he talks about in My Last Duchess, was seen as acceptable in the nineteenth century, especially by men. Women yearned for the view of Christina Walsh, but nothing was done about it, we can now see that this view is now a reality in todays world and any other view, i.e. Robert Brownings view, would be unacceptable.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

Total Quality Management (TQM) TQM is an intricate approach aimed at improving the value of processes by consistently checking for deficiencies in these products and services (Sashkin Kiser, 1993).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Total Quality Management (TQM) specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More TQM is equally indispensable in the administration of hotels. It determines consumer contentment in terms of value of services provided. Nonetheless, measuring value still remains one of the concerns in the hospitality segment. It is crucial to apply TQM as a systematic approach; however, this is not enough to maintain it in an organization. TQM can be lucratively implemented in management of hotels by first recognizing customers as the most essential component of a transaction. This means paying attention to their responses. There should always be a balance between the initial expectations of clients and how they view the service received. A service can be considered of high quality if it meets or exceeds client expectations (Sanders Graham, 1992). Quality of processes provided can be improved by evaluating competitor’s performance. An outstanding provider pays attention to concepts pertaining to timeliness. It is the responsibility of a manager to make certain employees provide services on demand within the agreed time. Integrity is also vital; it entails completeness of the service that an organization provides. Employees should always follow the right procedures during provision of services. TQM is also implemented by coming up with measurement steps, which gives it, coherence. Statistical analysis of the processes helps in highlighting possible shortcomings in products and associated services. The results derived from the measurement methods are quite vital in making sound decisions (Mukherjee, 2006). An executive in the hospitality industry can constantly progress the quality of processes offered in various ways. One ca n induce personnel to embrace teamwork directed towards quality culture. Employees should be assisted so that they can improve job performance by eliminating barriers. These may incorporate lack of quality materials that aid duties. Job performance can also be enhanced by providing sufficient and relevant training in TQM as well as other areas of work. TQM requires managers to distinguish achievement. Symbolic rewards such as certifications should be accompanied by material recompense (Sashkin Kiser, 1993).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The thriving realization of TQM in an organization by an executive can be evaluated in various ways. Employees should embrace and sustain a tradition of TQM. Successful achievement of TQM involves acknowledging consumers’ needs. It also entails establishing clients’ wants, which should be, written down and explored . Consumer desires eventually translate to the processes that distinguish an organization. The processes developed should be understood by those within the company. The administration of an organization should ensure that the processes developed satisfy the needs of customers. Finally, administration should derive a means of providing processes with exemplary standards (Sashkin Kiser, 1993). TQM initiative is poorly implemented by organizations on numerous occasions. This is evident when a company does not demonstrate objectivity in improving their products and service through the provision of long-term plans for education and research. Such organizations focus on profits that are termed as short-term in nature. TQM cannot be productively implemented if an institute disregards the needs of the customers (Sashkin Kiser, 1993). An organization that inadequately attends to client feedback, and lacks methods of evaluation is likely to fail. References Mukherjee, P.N. (2006). Total Q uality Management. Mumbai: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd Sashkin, M. Kiser, K. J. (1993). Putting total quality management to work: what TQM means, how to use it, and how to sustain it over the long run: San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Sanders, I. Graham, M. (1992). Total Quality Management in the Hospitality Industry. Vol 3, Issue 3: Oxfordshire: Carfax Publishing Company  Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Total Quality Management (TQM) specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More