International business article Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International business article - Assignment Example Last June Bharti Aitel, India’s largest mobile provider, paid $9 billion to acquire the cellular operations of Kuwait Zain. One of the reasons for the acquisitions of African companies is that compared to India the valuation of these companies are much more attractive. â€Å"The Indians view Africa as a place they can where they can replicate the low-cost, high efficiency business model they have honed at home† (Srivastava & Subramaniam). Africa has a lot of people that are eager to buy consumer goods. Consumer spending in Africa will double in the next decade to reach $1.8 trillion by the year 2020. The African people have been deprived of basic consumer goods for a long time and they are eager to increase participation in the consumer markets. Indian companies visualize Africa as a place they can continue to achieve growth due to the fact that business activity is slowing down at home. Indian companies also want to take advantage of the lower regulatory requirement av ailable for investors in Africa. The article mentions a lot of the advantages that the African continent represents for India businesses. It seems as if the Indian business people want to exploit the African market in order to improve their sales numbers and profitability. Africa is one of the poorest regions in the entire world particularly the Sub-Saharan African region. The article was a bit one side as far as illustrating the advantages that Africa offered to India and not letting the reader know how Africa is going to benefit from the Indian involvement in Africa. Some of the large acquisitions mentioned in the article made a lot of sense from a business standpoint. Due to the fact that Africa has very poor infrastructure landlines are barely available. Most Africans that desire to communicate with each other must utilize mobile technology. It would be smart the African mobile company to offer prepaid mobile services since they are cheaper to acquire which increases the amount

Construction Legal Procedures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Construction Legal Procedures - Essay Example At the turn of 1983, the United Kingdom witnessed the surfacing of a radical Society of Construction Law. Thereafter, the European Society of Construction Law was established as an umbrella law governing the entire construction industry in the European continent (Comba, 2013, pp.302-310). The first and foremost is the time taken by the planning departments in processing the permits. Some of these departments may take very long time to give the feedback thus discouraging the investment approach of the construction works.(Nunnally, 2004)recommended a follow up on the progress of the processing of the permit in order to put more pressure on the planning departments to issue permits on time. Procedures associated with regulation, practises and legislation is too cumbersome and weary. These is because the government through its parliament make changes every time concerning the regulation and standards of the construction. This as a result lengthen the procedures associated with permit issuance.Construction permits are always subjected to various reforms and changes which have no proper definition hence not fully implemented. The reforms are always short-lived and before implementing the proposed rules and regulations, others will have come by thereby in the long run lengthening the process of permits(Nunnally, 2004) Another challenge conflict by the local residents and the community in general. The construction will not be granted permit to start the construction work when there are conflicts in the area of construction. This happens in most cases due to failure by the construction company to involve the local community in the project contract. Before any contract project commences, the community must understand well the benefits and impacts of the project in their lives. Involvement can be done through various channels such as communication through print media, meetings, and seminars among many others. When

This Is Just to Say Essay Example for Free

This Is Just to Say Essay Out of all the poems that we have viewed in the first two weeks of class the one that caught my attention was the poem by William Carlos Williams, â€Å"This is Just to Say†. This poem was so short and so simple but seemed to be so much more than what it really is. The poem by William Carlos Williams; â€Å"This is Just to Say† is difficult to dissect. In shorter poems the perception of what it actually means I feel is harder to find. Being the poem is only 28 words and no word is over 3 syllables it seems that this was an intended note left for someone to find. This poem; This is Just to Say was written in 1934 and it is still unknown to whom or what the poem was intended for. As for I reading this poem it seems as if this was left for a lover. I have intended that this note was left for a lover because they have made the plums the center piece of the poem. Fruits in general are an exotic and forbidden form of love and they use the plums in a seductive way to the reader. I came to the generalization that the plums were not edible for the fact that the last ten words in the poem are; â€Å"forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold†; the sender of the poem is pleading for forgiveness for the fact of eating the frozen plums. Also the fact, that the plums were in an icebox so sweet and so cold it feels as if they were not meant for eating. The perspective I am getting from this is that they wanted to let the reader know they were there intended to leave a trace behind and not just a note. It seems as if the writer knew what they were doing and the plums were a significant meaning to the reader and that the poem took little to no time to write. The poem illustrates great detail in so little words giving you an endless amount of thought to why the sender has eaten these so sweet and so cold plums that were in the icebox. The sender seems as if they planned to write their receiver a note and had to input a secret message as to why they actually have written it. In many cases poems are about love and hidden messages that only the writer can tell you the intended meaning of it. Due to the fact that William Carlos Williams never answered the questions asked about this specific poem he wrote in 1934 his answers to all our questions will remain unknown forever.

Disadvantages Of Moving To A Paperless Office

Disadvantages Of Moving To A Paperless Office The growth in the economy of a country immediately raises the demands for several products to make business work. These demands will in turn influence the growing production and increased output which requires additional energy to run the production machines. Both issues, while common in business, have potential to cause long-term problems; especially when dealing with environmental issues. In product development for instance, corporations are driven to develop and produce new products that comply with environmental requirements like environmentally-safe packaging and fuel-efficient vehicles using hybrid technology. These issues highlight that the future of business is so challenging that innovation becomes the key focus to win business. The development of technology spawns new trends in our business environment. One of the emerging technologies in the information era is a paperless office that benefits from the digitalization of documents. Most of these trends, like any other, possess both advantages and disadvantages. Paperless Office In this paper I am discussing the popular concept of a paperless office. However, the discussion will focus on its issues and disadvantage rather than its benefits. History of Paperless Office In the 1970s there were predictions regarding an office which doesnt require any use of paper. One of those predictions can be viewed in an edition of Business Week in 1975 (The Office of the Future, 1975). It was a dream of an office in 1975 that, in the future, paper would be obsolete. According to some predictions, offices would not require any paper because everything was processed and stored digitally through various technologies. The predictions stemmed from the birth of Personal Computers (Selen, 2001). In reality however, these predictions are still the stuff of cinema. A paperless office as predicted above has never been fully implemented. On the contrary, for most offices today, the presence of the personal computer has not radically reduced using papers as output. People have been swayed away with the easiness of writing or drawing within a personal computer only to then print them on a piece of paper; forgetting the dreams that were present before. Current Expectations Regarding Paperless Office Today, when the need for efficiency has been called for, we return to the hope of a paperless office. The concept has been slightly modified however in the realization that paper has been a part of our daily lives and that the use of personal computers in the 1990s has produced the need for more paper. The concept of Paperless Office is now a philosophy; one of working with minimal paper, using processes that eliminate the use of paper, and to make documentation in digital form whenever possible. The main focus is no longer on how much paper is used, but on the efficiency that is gained from the process towards a Paperless Office (McIndoo, 2009). Processes of Paperless office There are two methods of transforming a company into paperless office. The first is by automating the processes that generally use paper as an essential tool. Technologies that exist in facilitating that process are: Enterprise Data Automation Software. Software used to integrate forms and data with systems that processes them. Form Technology. Software used to design various types of forms. Using forms is no longer necessary if people performing business transactions have personal computers with form technology in it. Databases. Device to replace the function of a filing cabinet. Data is made into digital form and then stored in a database with sufficient security technology in it. Digital Signature. Software allows evidence of signature in digital form. Papers are generally used as business evidences. This is required in business transactions to generate legal binding between two or more parties. Workflow Platforms. Process flow of an office. Paper documents are generally used to transfer a data to other departments so that it can continue doing what is needed next. This flow of work can now be documented and transferred in digital form, using the workflow platforms. The second method of pursuing the paperless office is data storage transformation. In a general office, the data is conventionally stored and protected in a filing cabinet or in warehouses. This generally ends up creating piles of useless scrap paper rather than useful files. Using the Paperless Office technology, all this data can be transformed to a digital form very easily. Some of the tools available to support this process are scanners, book copiers, photo scanners, microfiche scanners, negative scanners, fax to PDF converter, and document management systems. (The Economist, 2008). Issues in Implementing Paperless Office Despite the benefits that are offered by the presence of the concept, the paperless office also generates several problems in implementation that have not yet been overcome. In order to make ease of our understanding, these issues will be divided into the two methods below. Issues in Digitizing the Work-Flow In digitizing the office processes, issues that arise include: Difficulty in Submitting and Signing Digital Documents. It is foreseeable that we can process documents digitally with sufficient practicality. Nevertheless, it is still difficult to image a digital station that can be transferred to our clients desks, so that he/she can sign it. This process is made more complicated if we are to think about the legal implications of digital work processing. It is still a huge question whether digital signature can be used as legal evidence or not. End-user Adoption of the New Processes is Difficult. The issue of getting all divisions of a group of large companies on board regarding the digital processing system can be complex. The system concept may be accepted easier by high ranking officers. However, for end users and executors, the concept of digital work processing might be difficult to adopt. Additional planning and modifications become essential. Changing from the Legacy Processes Can be Problematic. An issue that arises in terms of transforming paper-based processes into digital processes is with dealing with parties that have not adopted the digital processing method. As the world has globalized, we are to think about how to serve and deal with practically all people in the world. Expecting all of them to accept and apply the digital processing system now is practically wishful thinking (Gladwell, 2005). Cost Saving Justifications are Sometimes Not Fulfilled. Another important issue to consider is whether the digital processing system can all be financially justified or not. The basic purpose of digitizing most of the working process is to get significant cost savings out of it. It might work on a smaller scale in areas that we have initially chosen. The question is, whether it will remain cost beneficial when it is implemented in a wider scale or in all areas without exceptions. Issues in Transferring Existing Documents into Digital Form Despite the pros and cons in practicing the paperless office, there are several requirements to take into account when making all documents digital. The issues are as follows: Legal Ramifications. The legal and governmental aspects of a technological development often grow very slowly compared to the technology itself. This should also be rationally expected in a paperless office. Will digital contracts be as lawfully binding as paper agreements? Can document manipulation be considered a heavy violation against the law? Questions like these need to be pondered over by the business society. The Target Reader. Even today, forming a financial report requires a sufficient consideration of the target readers ability to understand the report. The same applies to digital documents. Will the reader accept the new way of doing business or are they more likely to feel comfortable with the old ones? The readers ability to adapt is an important factor for consideration. Changed Longevity of the Documents. This is a similar consideration to our paper-based documentation. Will the technology exist to maintain the longevity of digital documents, at least 5 years into its future? 10 years? 20 years? This is necessary to abide with the rules of business and accounting (Walker, 2009). Companies Going Green. Some companies still perceive that the idea of being green companies is merely to comply with government regulation that forces them to do so. But, in fact, it provides the company with strategic opportunity to take benefits of the consumers increasing awareness of using green products. Since being green companies right now has become part of a corporations marketing strategy, it is now common that they start using traditional performance evaluation measures such as return on investment (ROI), net present value (NPV), market share, and other factors to assess their go green initiatives. In general, the driving forces of going green concept are the result of two forces: external or internal pressures. The Transfer Process. Figure 1 shows that by relying on paperwork, we spend a great deal of time on the process and also waste many sources. Figure 1 Paperless Office Schematic Process Conclusion In hindsight we can now conclude, the concept of a paperless office may not be even feasible. However with growing demands, the need to reduce our dependency on paper and its inefficient storage constraints can be analyzed to meet the growing demands of business. The main focus is no longer on moving to a completely paperless process but to a more efficient, cost effective, and environmentally friendly paper reduction process. Many factors need to be taken into consideration during the economical growth cycle of a business and the people who support that growth. Word processors, scanners, software advancement, algorithms, hardware developments, etc. continue to improve the ability of businesses to be able to plan and implement the digitalization of accessible documents. Combined strategies help move the business forward by reducing paper reliance and improving efficiencies of data access while still maintaining security measures. Cost, ease of use, and legal issues continue to be a driving factor in determining when processes can be digitized. Transforming a business to a digitized process can be difficult and complex. Cost, timing, and longevity of the process need to be analyzed to determine if digitization is even a feasible concept for a particular process. State and federal regulations need also to be considered. Despite the benefits offered by the concept of a paperless office, several problems in implementation have not yet been overcome. Digitalization may work on smaller scales and may never be able to materialize on a wider scale. Cost and ease of use for all people continues to be the driving factor in preventing a paperless system in all areas without exception. There will always be issues and disadvantages of moving to a paperless office. The key focus is to define all the issues and disadvantages of moving to a reduced paper office along with the advantages and timeline constraints.

Deconstructing the clock Essay -- essays research papers

Summary Ever since the dawn of civilization we have observed time by its natural occurrence and we also relied on man made primitive tools to measure time. In the beginning, time has always been a natural event, for example, sunrise to sunset but men’s earlier primitive tools to measure time were inaccurate and were only an approximate indicator, hence often unreliable such as the hour glass.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We became enslaved by the concept of time; our society is controlled by this mechanical device which dictates our schedule accordingly. Time has evolved from a simple method of nature into a measurable product which can be sold and bought. The industrial capitalism owes its existence to the concept of time, without time, the means of worker exploitation wouldn’t exist today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The clock first appeared during the 11th century â€Å"...as a device for ringing bells at regular intervals in monasteries†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Woodcock 883). During the 13th century the first authenticated clock appeared then 14th century came to popularizes clocks â€Å"†¦as common ornaments of the public building in German cities† (Woodcock 883). The early clocks were operated by weight and weren’t really accurate to depend on but during the 16th century, a greater reliability was achieved, the Hampton clock was the first accurate clock in the 1540’s. The Hampton clock only had the hour hands and the two other hands are still not implemented â€Å"The idea of measuring time in minut...

jumpman23- the appeal of advertising Essay example -- essays research

Jumpman23   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Michael Jordan has star power that bridges age, race, and socioeconomic class. Nike understands this aspect of the popular superstar and decided to give him his own clothing line named Jumpman23. It is the most popular form of sports apparel available and the white logo that adorns each article of apparel is known worldwide. Michael Jordan is arguably the most loved and respected athlete of this generation, thus the ad for this company depicted in ESPN The Magazine takes advantage of his immense popularity. In an attempt to expand the companies influence Jumpman23 uses professional baseball player Derrick Jeter to send its message and promote its apparel. In the essay â€Å"Absolution for Sale,† Charity Miller writes, â€Å"We live in a world of images. Among the most persuasive and insistent of these images are those directed at us by advertising. These images often do more then simply try to persuade us to buy a particular product or use a particular ser vice. More subtly, they influence us by appealing to our desires or exploiting our emotions.† The image of Jeter training alone in a gym clothed head to toe in Michael Jordan’s clothing line combine with a poem above describing his intentions. This scene portrays the hard work and dedication that will eventually lead to success as things an athlete of any level should expect while wearing the clothing. Michael Jordan takes advantage of his legend on the basketball court and his appeal worldwide to create a line of apparel that demands the same work ethic from those who wear it. Its success is in Jumpman23’s ability to interest buyers no matter what age, race, or sport.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The advertisement gives the impression that success does not come easily. To reach a goal there is a lot of hard work that goes into the process. This is how Jeter is portrayed in the picture. He is alone, in a dark gym surrounded by mirrors training with a thirty-five pound weight. He stares at his reflection in the mirror, deep in concentration, and highly motivated. The â€Å"light at the end of the tunnel† whether it be a world championship or simply a playground victory takes time, effort, and dedication and he is in the course of working towards that goal. Part of why the ad does not show him on the field, or celebrating a victory is because it wants to capture the countless hours... ...er Jason Taylor â€Å"Team Jordan is something I wanted to do my whole career. Michael exemplifies everything that I think an athlete should be. The desire the competitiveness, everything about the man says winner and that’s what I’m about.† The hard work and desire Jordan put forth in order to achieve his dreams is well documented, and he has used this as the main focus in advertising his clothing line. By using other sports superstars who have achieved great things, he has been able to capture the attention of the sporting world. Once you put on the shoes and the clothing, you will begin to expect great things out of yourself. These goals come only after dedication and effort. Showing the work ethic of other great athletes and the thoughts that motivate them, Jumpan23 has successfully captured the idea of its clothing line. One has to look no further than the miniature symbol of a man flying through the air in order to imagine the possibilities and see what makes this advertisement so appealing. Works Cited Miller, Charity. â€Å"Absolution for Sale†. Criteria 2004. Taylor, Jason. Athlete Bio. 1 March 2005  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.nike.com/jumpman23/team_jordan/team.jsp.

Les Demoiselles D’avignon Essay

My museum paper is on the Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, painted by Pablo Picasso in Paris, June-July 1907. Oil on canvas, 8’x7’ 8† (243.9Ãâ€"233.7cm). He became one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century and the creator (with Georges Braque) of Cubism. A Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, Picasso was considered radical in his work. Born October 25, 1881, Malaga, Spain, and after a long prolific career, he died April 8, 1973 in Mougins, France. This was my first time at the Museum of Modern Art; I never went there because I never had everyone to go with me. I went with my cousin; she is an art teacher and who better to go to the Museum of Modern Art with then an art teacher. When we first got to the museum there wasn’t much to see in the lobby. We went on the escalator to the fifth floor were hundreds of people walking all thought-out the galleries. My cousin explained all the different types of art and artists to me as we were walking though the galleries. I ended up in the Alfred H. Barr Jr. Painting and Sculpture Galleries where I seen a painting from a French painter, Fernand Leger called â€Å"Women with a Book† I thought that was the painting that I wanted to do my report on, but when I seen art work from Pablo Picasso like, The Studio, Ma Jolie and The Three Musician I was speechless. Some of his work that I seen at the museum was breathtaking, but one in particular caught my eye; it was the Les Demoise lles d’Avignon. It is located in the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller, Second Gallery. As you walk into the gallery, the â€Å"Les Demoiselles d’Avignon† is the first painting you see, because of how large it is, and all the bright colors in the art work. When I seen the Les Demoiselles d’Avignon in my art book I through that it was a nice painting, but when I stood right in-front of it I was astonish. The Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is not just a painting; it truly is a master piece. There had to be about thirty people standing around the Les Demoiselles d’Avignon and another twenty people looking at the other art work in the room. Some people were just standing looking at the painting, some taking pictures. As I, started taking pictures of Les Demoiselles d’Avignon I couldn’t help but notice the painting to the right, it was called â€Å"Repose† and to the left was another painting called the â€Å"Two Nudes† both are painted by Picasso. Les Demoiselles d’Avignon are the woman of Avignon, the term demoiselles (meaning â€Å"young ladies†), was a euphemism for prostitutes and â€Å"Avignon† refers not to the French town but to a street in the red-light district of the city of Barcelona where Picasso was a young artist. (Art A Brief History), pg 532. Print. The d’Avignon are actually five prostitutes, and these are five women naked. They’re looking at us, as much as we’re looking at them. The very early studies show a sailor walking into this curtained room where the ladies stand and the woman on the far left now has the traces of having been that man entering the room, and you can even feel a certain masculinity in the sort of sculptural carving of her body and the way that the very large foot is stepping toward the others. It almost seem like it’s a build-up of geometric forms, and if you look at the chest of the woman at the very top right, you can see one of these cubes making up the space underneath her chin, thus the name Cubism. One striking aspect of this painting is the way that it’s staged on which these women are painted, is almost looming out at the viewer. Rather than feeling like these woman are nice and safely set back in some kind of room, that you are peering into. I feel like the woman are almost piled on top of each other. Piled in such a way that the canvas is almost stepping out at the viewer. Its part of the desire of the painting to confront you, I think physically, psychologically, as well as intellectually with everything that’s going on in it. It’s painted in pinkish, peach flesh skin tones against a back drop of brown, white and blue curtains. The figures are very flat and theirs is little illusion that these are real bodies. Looking at the five figu res from left to right, the woman to the far left is standing in profile facing right with her left hand; she reaches up behind her head to hold an orange brown curtain back. She has long straight black hair falling down her back. Her head, from the neck up peers to be in shadow or sun-tan, it’s a darker brown than the pinkish flesh of her body. She stares straight ahead expressionless. Her right eye from the front view is large, simplified and out-lined in black with a black pupil surrounded by brown. Her right arm hangs stiffly by her side. Her breast jets forward in a ruff square shape. Beside this figure, in the center of this painting are two women looking directly forward, straight out of the canvas. Their black eyes are wide and uneven. Their left eye brows extend a sweeping line to form simplify noses. Their mouths are straight lines. The one on the left raises her bent right elbow and places her hand behind her head, as if posing seductively. Her black hair is pulled back and falls behind her left shoulder. Her breasts are half circles; none of the women’s breast has nipples. The women on the right, raises both arms and puts both hands behind her hand. Her dark brown hair is pulled into a high bun. The last two figures don’t fit in with the painting, they are unexpected. The one to the top right stands back, her raised arms parting the blue curtain on which she’s coming out from. Her black hair hangs down her back; one eye socket black and empty. Her nose, like her face is large and elongated, striped diagonally in green across her cheek, suggesting less the face of a human then the forms of an African mask. In front of her, is another woman she is sitting or squatting, elbow on one raised knee which jets forward at the center of the painting almost looks as if her back is facing the viewer, but that is not true because her dark tan face is turned towards the viewer. She raises her arm to her face and beneath her chin is a large ambiguous form recalling a boomerang, it might be her hand, or a piece of melon she’s eating. Her body is flat and her nose is also stripped. Her face looks like a mask, and she has one uneven eye completely white, the other completely blue. The drapery behind them doesn’t hang softly; it looks like shatter pieces of glass with blue and white tones. In the center at the bottom of the painting are assorted fruits on a wrinkle white cloth; a pear, an apple, grapes and a slice of melon. The pear and apple have shrieks of red in them, the melon is reddish too and the grapes are grayish white. In conclusion, my experience at the Museum of Modern Art was delightful. Walking through the museum and seeing ancient statues and painting from so many different decades was so fulfilling. I didn’t realize how much I enjoy looking at art work; I just wanted to see more and more. I kept asking myself, how did they do this? How did they do that? What were they thinking when they paint this? Even though I didn’t get all my answers I was like a sponge, soaking it all up. What a wonderful, amazing day. I will definitely go back. Bibliography: Cothren Michael W., and Marilyn Stokstad. Art: A Brief History 4th ed. Page.531, 19-7. Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest (333.1939) Laurence King Publishing Ltd, London. (2010-2007) Print. Museum of Modern Art 11 West 53 Street, New York, NY 10019. April 29, 2012 Pablo Picasso. Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. 1907. Oil on canvas, 8†² x 7†² 8†³ (243.9 x 233.7 cm). Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest.  © 2003 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. http://www.moma.org/ Web. (2012).