Internet Marketing Strategies of Hsbc

In line with HSBC’s aim for development with global focus, the company was able to adopt a strategy, which enhances its technology development through information systems operations. This strategy was able to increase staff retention rates, and decrease staff turnover, which brings greater continuity and efficiency to the company’s projects (Annesley 2006). Moreover, in terms of internet communications, HSBC has a single global center of excellence for e-commerce IT, made up of collocated businesses and staff, distributed in international offices, such as in New Jersey, Chicago, Canada, Hong Kong and London. In accordance to this, HSBC was also able to implement and introduce another feature of HSBC. com, the HSBCnet, which is its developed key global platform, designed for commercial customers in other countries. HSBCnet includes services for global markets, global cash management and investment banking that are being used regularly by corporate customers. Moreover, as an response to the need of security, the company has developed a second-generation internet technologies, exposing customers to intelligent, personalized content and better targeted marketing, and this feature allows the customers to save time, avoid repetition of tasks by pre-filling in application forms, to come back to a product offer, and get to the end of an application process (Annesley 2006). Furthermore, the company has also developed the successful credit card authorization and accounting platform, which consists of linked applications, such as credit assessment, risk-based pricing, card ordering and transaction processing and reporting (Annesley 2006). These strategies enabled HSBC to gain competitive advantage over their competitors, by implementing an effective and efficient Internet-based information system. These strategies become relevant to the problems of Nokia because like HSBC, they can also develop the same strategies and use them for their own advantage

Corporations Essay

CHAPTER 19 CORPORATIONS 1. – THE NATURE AND CLASSIFICATION OF CORPORATIONS A corporation is a legal entity created and recognized by state law. It can consist of one or two persons identified under a common name. CORPORATE PERSONNEL When an individual purchases a share of stock in a corporation, that person becomes a shareholder and owner of the corporation. Shareholder and corporations are liable. THE LIMITED LIABILITY OF SHAREHOLDER One of the key advantages of the corporate forms is the limited liability of its owners. Corporate shareholders normally are not personally liable for the obligations of the corporation beyond the extent of their investments. CORPORATE TAXATION Corporate profits are taxed, and do not receives tax deduction for dividends distributed to shareholders. Profits that are not distributed are retained by the corporation. These retained earnings if invested properly, will yield higher corporate profits in the future. TORTS AND CRIMINAL ACTS A corporation is liable for the torts committed by its agents or officers within the course and scope of their employment. Corporation may be held liable for criminal acts of its agents and employees, provided the punishment is one that can be applied to the corporation, corporation can be fined. CORPORATION SENTENCING GUIDELINES Penalties depend on factors and executives involvement. Corporate lawbreakers can face fines smaller amounting or to hundreds of millions of dollars. When a company has taken substantial steps to prevent, investigate, and punish wrongdoing, such as by establishing and enforcing crime prevention  standards, a court may impose less serious penalties. Corporate sentencing guidelines require corporations to train employees on how to comply with relevant laws. CLASSIFICATION OF CORPORATIONS Domestic, foreign, and alien corporations * Domestic corporation; by its home state (the state in which it incorporates). * Foreign corporation; corporation formed in one state but doing business in another state. * Alien corporation; corporation formed in another country but doing business on the E.E.U.U. In some instances, the corporation must obtain a certificate of authority in any state which plans to do business. But the foreign corporation does not need this certificate to sell goods over the internet. Public and private corporations * Public corporation, is one formed by the government to meet some political purpose, such a U.S. Postal service, AMTRAK. A public corporation is not the same as a publicly held corporation. A publicly held corporation is any corporation whose shares are publicly traded in a securities market, such as the New York Stock Exchange or over the counter market. * Private corporation, are created for private benefit. Most corporations are private although they may serve a public purpose. Nonprofit corporation Corporation formed for purposes other making a profit are called nonprofit or not-for-profit corporations. Private hospitals, educational institutions, charities, and religious organizations for example, are organized as nonprofit organization. Close corporations A close corporations is one whose shares are held by members of a family or by relatively few persons. Referred also as closely held, family, or privately held corporations. Usually the members of the small group  constituting a close corporation are personally know to each other. A close corporation is often operated like a partnership. *Management of close corporations To prevent a majority shareholder from dominating a close corporation, the corporation may require that more than a simple majority of the directors approve any action taken by the board. *Transfer of shares in close corporations The transfer of one shareholder’s shares to someone else can cause serious management problems. Control of a close corporation can also be established through the use of shareholder agreement. S corporations A close corporation that meets the qualifying requirements specified in subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code can operate as an S corporation. If a corporation has a S corporation status, it can avoid the imposition of income taxes at the corporate level while retaining many of the advantages of a corporation, particularly limited liability. *Qualification requirement for S corporations 1) The corporation must be a domestic corporation. 2) The corporation must not be a member of an affiliated group of corporations. 3) The shareholders of the corporation must be individuals, estates, or certain trusts. 4) The corporation must have no more than one hundred shareholders. 5) The corporation must have only one class of stock, although all shareholders do not need to have the same voting rights. 6) No shareholder of the corporation may be a nonresident alien. *Benefits of a S corporations 1) When a corporation has losses, the S election allows the shareholders to use the losses to offset other taxable income. 2) When the shareholder’s tax bracket is lower than the tax bracket for regular corporations. The S election causes the corporation’s entire income to be taxed in the shareholder’s bracket, whether it is distributed. Professional corporation Professional corporation such as physician, lawyers, dentists, and accountants can incorporate. There is generally no limitation on liability for acts of malpractice or obligations incurred because of a breach of duty to a client of a PC. In many states, professional persons are liable not only for their own negligent acts, but also for the misconduct of persons under their direct supervision who render professional services. A shareholder in a professional corporation is generally protected from contractual liability and cannot be held liable for the torts that are committed by other professional at the firm. 2. – CORPORATE FORMATION One of the most common reasons for creating a corporation is the need for additional capital to finance expansion. Incorporation may be the best choice for an expanding business organization because a corporation can obtain more capital by issuing shares to stock. PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES Persons rarely engage in preliminary promotional activities. It is important for businesspersons to understand that they are personally liable for all preincorporation contracts made investor, accountants, or others on behalf of the future corporation. INCORPORATION PROCEDURES Exact procedures for incorporation differ among states, but the basic steps are as follows: 1) Select a state of incorporation. 2) Secure the corporate name. 3) Prepare the articles of incorporation. 4) File the articles of incorporation with the secretary of state. Selecting the state of incorporation Because laws differ from state to state. States fees are considered too. Securing the corporate name The choice of a corporate name is subject to state approval to ensure against duplication or deception. All the states require the corporation name to include the word corporation (Corp.), Incorporated (Inc.), company (Co.), or limited (Ltd.). Preparing the articles of incorporation The primary document needed to incorporate a business is the articles of incorporation, must include the following information; 1) The name of the corporation. 2) The number of shares the corporation is authorized to issue. 3) The name and address of the corporation’s initial registered agent. 4) The name and address of each incorporator. *Shares of the corporation The articles must specify the number of shares of stock the corporation is authorized to issue. A company might state that the aggregate number of shares that the corporation has the authority to issue is 5k. *Registered office and agent The corporation must indicate the location and address where of it registered office within the state. *Incorporators Each incorporator must be listed by name and address. *Duration and purpose A corporation has a perpetual existence unless the articles state otherwise. The owners may want to prescribe a maximum duration, however, after which the corporation must formally renew its existence. A corporation can be formed for any lawful purpose. *Internal organization Articles can describe the corporation’s internal management structure, although this is usually included in the bylaws adopted after the corporation is formed. Filing the articles with the State Once the articles of incorporation have been prepared and signed by the incorporators, they are sent to the appropriate state official, usually the secretary of State. FIRST ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING TO ADOPT BYLAWS Usually, the most important function of this meeting is the adoption of bylaws. If the articles of incorporation named the initial board of directors, then the directors, by majority vote, call the meeting to adopt the bylaws and complete the company’s organization. DEFECTS IN FORMATION AND CORPORATE STATUS The procedures for incorporation are very specific. If they are not allowed precisely, others may be able to challenge the existence of the corporation. When the corporation seeks to enforce a contract against a defaulting party that party may be able to avoid liability on the ground of a defect in the incorporation procedure. De Jure and De Facto corporations If a corporation has substantially complied with all conditions precedent to incorporation, a corporation is said to have de jure existence. Because a de jure corporation is one that is properly formed, neither the state nor third party can attack its existence. Sometimes, there is a defect in complying with statutory mandates, under these circumstances the corporation may have de facto status, meaning that it will be treated as a legal corporation despite the defect in its formation. The following elements are required for de facto status; 1) There must be a state statute under which the corporation can be incorporated. 2) The parties must have made a good faith attempt to comply with the statute. 3) The enterprise must already have undertaken to do business as a corporation. Corporation by Estoppel If a business holds itself out to others as being a corporation but has made no attempt to incorporate, the firm normally will be stopped from denying corporate status lawsuit by a third party. When justice requires, the courts treat an alleged corporation as if it were an actual corporation for the purpose of determining the rights and liabilities in particular circumstances. A corporation by estoppels is thus determined by the situation. CORPORATE POWERS When a corporation is created, the express and implied powers necessary to achieve its purpose also come into existence. The following order of priority is used if a conflict arises among the various documents involving a corporation; 1) U. S. Constitution. 2) Constitution of the state of incorporation. 3) State statutes. 4) Articles of incorporation. 5) Bylaws. 6) Resolutions of the board of directors. To borrow funds, the corporation acts through its board of directors to authorize the loan. ULTRA VIRES DOCTRINE The term ultra vires means â€Å"beyond the power†. Most cases dealing with ultra vires acts have involved contracts made for unauthorized purposes. In some states, when a contract is entirely executor, either party can use a defense of ultra vires to prevent contract enforcement. 3. – PIERCING CORPORATE VEIL Occasionally, the owners use a corporate entity to perpetrate a fraud, circumvent the law, or in some other way accomplish an illegitimate objective. In these situations, the court will ignore the corporate structure and pierce the corporate veil. The following are some of the factors that frequently cause of the courts to pierce the corporate veil; 1) A party is tricked into a dealing. 2) The corporation is set up never to make a profit or always to be insolvent. Not enough money when it formed. 3) Statutory corporate formalities, such a holding required corporation meeting, are not allowed. 4) Personal and corporate interests are mixed together. THE COMINGLING OF PERSONAL AND CORPORATE ASSETS The potential for corporate assets to be used for personal benefit its especially great in a close corporation, in which the shares are held by a single person or by few individuals. In such a situation, the separate status of the corporate entity and the shareholder must be carefully preserved. Certain practices invite trouble â€Å"family owned corporation†, the comingling of corporate and personal funds, the failure to remit taxes, including payroll, and the shareholders continuous personal use of corporate property. LOANS TO THE CORPORATION Corporation laws usually do not specifically prohibit a shareholder from leading funds to her or his corporation. Any transaction has to be made in a good faith and for fair value. 4. – DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, AND SHAREHOLDERS ROLE OF DIRECTORS The board of directors is the ultimate authority in every corporation. Directors have responsibility for all policymaking decisions necessary to the management of all corporate affairs. Just as shareholders cannot act individually to bind the corporation, the directors must act as a body in carrying out routine corporate business. The board selects and removes the corporate officers. Election of directors Can be less than three, directors are elected by a majority vote of the shareholders. *Removal of directors A director can be removed for cause (failing to perform). *Vacancies on the board of directors Can occur because of death or resignation or when a new position is created through amendment of the articles or bylaws. Compensation of directors Director usually are compensated for time, effort, etc. In many corporations directors are also chief corporate officers and receive compensation in their managerial positions. Board of directors meetings The board of directors conducts business by holding formal meetings with recorded minutes. The date of regular meetings are usually established in the articles or by board resolution. Rights of directors A corporate director must have rights to function properly in that position. COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 1) Executive committee. The board members often elect an executive committee of directors to handle the interium management decisions between board of directors meetings. 2) Audit committee. Is responsible for the selection, compensation, and oversight of the independent public accountants who audit the corporations financial records. 3) Nominating committee. This one chooses the candidates for the board of directors that management wishes to submit to the shareholders in the next election. 4) Compensation committee. Reviews and decides the salaries, bonuses, stock options and other benefits. 5) Litigation committee. Decides whether the corporation should pursue requests by shareholders to file a lawsuit against some party that has allegedly harmed the corporation. CORPORATE OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVES Officers and other executives are hired by the board of directors. DUTIES AND LIABILITIES OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS Are deemed to be fiduciaries of the corporation because their relationship with the corporation and its shareholders is one of trust and confidence. Duty of care Directors and officers must exercise due care in performing their duties, they need to act in a good faith. If directors and officers failed to exercise due care results in harm to the corporation can be held liable for negligence. *Duty to make informed and reasonable decisions Directors and officers are expected to be informed on corporate matters and to conduct a reasonable investigations of this situations before making a decision. *Duty to exercise reasonable supervision Directors are also expected to exercise a reasonable amount of supervision when they delegate work to corporate officers and employees. *Dissenting directors Directors are also expected to attend board of directors meetings, and their votes should be entered into the minutes. Unless a dissent is entered in the minutes, the director is presumed to have assented. Dissenting directors are rarely held individually liable to the corporation. *The business judgment rule Directors and officers are expected to exercise due care and to use their best judgment in guiding corporate management, but they are not insurers of business success. Under the business judgment rule, a corporate director or officer will not be liable to the corporation or to its shareholders mistakes of judgment and bad business decisions. Duty of loyalty Defined as faithfulness to one’s obligations and duties. Typically involve; 1) Competing with the corporation. 2) Usurping a corporate opportunity 3) Having an interest that conflicts with the interest of the corporation. 4) Engaging in insider trading. 5) Authorizing a corporate transaction that is detrimental to minority shareholders. 6) Selling control over the corporation. Conflicts of interest Corporate directors often have many business affiliations, and a director may sit on the board of more than one corporation. Sometimes engage personal interest too. Liability of directors and officers Corporate directors and officers are personally liable for their own torts and crimes. Additionally they may be held personally liable for the torts and crimes committed by corporate personnel under their direct supervision. THE ROLE OF SHAREHOLDERS The acquisition of a share of stock makes a person an owner of and shareholder in a corporation, shareholders own the corporation but have no right to manage it. Basically the shareholders ownership control is limited to voting to elect or remove members of the board of directors and deciding whether to approve fundamental changes in the corporation. Shareholders are not agents of the corporation, nor do they have legal title to the corporations property, such as its building and equipment, they simply have an equitable (ownership) in the firm. Shareholders powers Shareholders must approve fundamental changes affecting the corporations before the changes can be implemented. Shareholder approval normally is required to amend the articles of incorporation or bylaws, to conduct a merger or dissolve the corporation, and to sell all or substantially all of the corporations assets. Shareholders have the power to vote to elect or remove members of the board of directors. Shareholders meetings At least annually and proper notice need to be send it. *Proxies The law allows stockholders to either vote in person or appoint another person as their agent to vote their shares at the meetings. The signed appointment form authorizing an agent to vote the shares is called proxy. Shareholder voting Shareholders exercises ownership control through the power of their votes. Corporate business matters are presented in the form of resolutions, which shareholders vote to approve or disapprove. *Quorum requirements At least 50% need to be present. Extraordinary corporate matters, such as a merger, consolidation, or the dissolution of the corporation require approval by a higher percentage of representatives of all corporate shares entitled to vote. *Voting list The RMBCA requires a corporation to maintain an alphabetical voting list of shareholders. *Cummulative voting Most states permit and some require, shareholders to elect directors by cumulative voting, a voting method designed to allow minority shareholders to be represented on the board of directors. *Other voting techniques A voting trust is an agreement under which shareholder transfers the shares to a trustee, usually for a specified period of time. The trustee is responsible for voting the shares on behalf of the beneficiary-shareholder. RIGHTS OF SHAREHOLDERS Stock certificates Is a certificate issued by a corporation that evidences ownership of a specified number of shares in the corporation. In jurisdiction that require the issuance of stock certificates, shareholders have the right to demand that the corporation issue certificates and record their names and addresses in the corporate stock record books. Preemptive rights With preemptive rights a shareholder receives a preference over all other purchasers to subscribe to or purchase a prorated share of a new issue of stock. Which means a shareholder who is given preemptive rights can purchase the same percentage of the new shares being issued as she or he already holds in the company. This rule does not apply to treasury shares, shares that are authorized but have not been issued. Stock warrants Are rights to buy stock at a stated price by a specified date that are given by the company. Dividends Is a distribution of corporate profits or income orders by the directors and paid to the shareholders in proportion to their respective shares in the corporation. *Sources of funds for dividends Depending on the state law, dividends may be paid from the following sources; 1) Retained earnings 2) Net profits 3) Surplus *Directors failure to declare a dividend Shareholders can ask the court to compel the directors to meet and declare a dividend. To succeed the shareholders must show that the directors have acted so unreasonably in withholding the dividend that their conduct is an abuse of their discretion. Inspection rights Shareholders in a corporations enjoy both law and statutory inspection right (but limited). This include inspect voting lists, specified corporate records. Transfer of shares Corporate stock represents an ownership right in intangible personal property. The law generally recognizes the right of an owner to transfer property to another person unless there are valid restrictions on its transferability. Rights on dissolution When a corporation is dissolved and its outstanding debts and the claims of its creditors have been satisfied, the remaining assets are distributed on a pro rata basis among the shareholders. The shareholders derivative suit When the corporation is harmed by the actions of a third party, the directors can bring a lawsuit in the name of the corporation against that party. LIABILITY OF SHAREHOLDERS One of the hallmarks of the corporate organization is that shareholders are nor personally liable for the debts of the corporation. If the corporation fails the shareholder can lose their investment but that is the limit of their liability. Watered stock When a corporation issued shares for less than their fair market value, the shares are referred as watered stock. Usually the shareholder who receives the watered stock must to pay the difference to the corporation. Duties of majority shareholders A majority shareholder is regarded as having a fiduciary duty to the corporation and to the minority shareholders. This occurs when a single shareholder owns a sufficient number of shares to exercise de facto control over the corporation. In these cases the majority shareholders owe a fiduciary duty to the minority shareholders. A breach of fiduciary duties by those who control a closely held corporation normally constitutes what is known as oppressive conduct. 5. – MAJOR BUSINESS FORMS COMPARED

DCQ Sontag Essay

Photography shows us the world, but only the world the photographer creates. According to Sontag, photos show that we understand through a photo in the way we see the picture. Seeing photos can limit our understanding because we only see the picture not whats going on around it. In other words the viewer only sees what’s within the frame. Images allowed us to see situations that occurred; however, it is extremely limited in what the audience can see. I qualify Sontag’s claim that photography limits our understanding of the world because nothing is picture perfect. A picture is just a snapshot or quick image of something distorted. Photography has accomplished the task of manipulation to the point where images do not exhibit the honesty. In general photography is used to trick the audience’s eyes. For example, ads are displayed every day in our lives distorting the honesty portrayed. Long ago when a cigarette commercial came on they had enhanced the color, and edited all the little details that appeals to our emotions, making cigarettes look good. The only problem is cigarette isn’t good for anyone, but the viewers wouldn’t get that message due to the changes the photographers have made. Following this further Sontag infers that nothing that comes from a photo can really be understood. The reason for that is because photography shows everything but context. Photography gives people a small glimpse of reality, but the realities have been manipulated to the photographer’s idealism. However as Sontag pointed out photography takes the gaps in our mental pictures and replaces them. Photograph gives proof and confirms the past, but it does not exhibit the honesty a citizen would have lived through. For example if no pictures were captured during the Holocaust time period, it would be hard for people to believe that all the torturing actually occurred. Images allowed us to get a glimpse of what the Jews went through but the feelings and emotions aren’t the same. One cannot say they truly understand how the Jews felt, without actually experiencing what the Jews did. It takes one to be there to experience the emotions and tears the Jews had as the gas killed them and family. Sontag says understanding can only come from what is shown.. There is much  more to life than what meets the eye, and this can be exemplified and proved in many different ways. Pretend that someone knows nothing about the tragic events that occurred on September 11, 2001. A photo is placed in front of Them. They take a look. It appears to be a man dressed in what appears to be in work clothes but the thing that strikes their attention first, the thing that stands out most is that he is upside down. Odd they think. The background behind the man is what looks to be a steel like structure. Maybe if their senses are sharp that day you’ll come to the conclusion that this is an image of a man who decided to end his life by jumping off the top of a tall building while in midair. However, did the photograph show them what was going on around him? The building he jumped off of? A hijacked commercial airlines plane crashed into it leaving the building to go up in flames and ready to collapse with smoke pouring out the windows. Leaving him and at least 1,000 other people trapped on the high floors of the tower. This man, this falling man, was surrounded by absolute chaos, destruction, death, a living hell, but they would never know. He looks so calm, so serene even though he is more than well aware that his life is about to end in a matter of seconds. To the person looking at the photo they only see it as Sontag says they do. Through what they see in the picture, not what is really occurring. To an extent, yes, photography does limit us in the view of the world like Sontag refers to. Pictures are taken by photographers who chose what they wish to express and how they wish life to appear to be. By doing this, reality has changed, becoming manipulated into something that it truly is not. It is now a reality created from the human mind, influenced by its wants, desires and emotions. Photography also fails to give us background, or deeper knowledge about the photo. Pictures lack the emotion experienced by the person taking the picture (how hard it may have been to get the picture the photographer wanted). Yet pictures can sometimes invoke an emotional response (a gruesome death, a spectacular sunset). Pictures lend to a greater understanding of what is happening around the world. When someone sees the faces of others in places they never will travel to, they start to understand the emotion they show. Words sometimes can not do justice to the things you are able to see. Pictures only help the reader  better understand his/her meaning of what is actually taking place. Yet, do not be fooled by everything you see today. Technology has taken photography to a new level. Make certain you trust your source first. The old saying â€Å"Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear† no longer rings true. Be skeptical, but keep your eyes and mind open at the same time. Qualifying Sontag, a single photograph of an event, place, time or whatever will only give you a limited perspective of that event, place or whatever. However it does not limit our understanding of something. It simply gives a single viewpoint or snapshot for us to base an overall understanding. Susan Sontag claims in her passage, â€Å"On Photography†, that photography limits our understanding of the world. However, the truth is that photography enhanced our understanding of the world. It allows us to see things that would be otherwise impossible to see. Sontag argues that photography does not allow people to truly understand things and that it does not teach any ethical or political knowledge. The truth is that it deepens our understanding and expands our knowledge of the world around us. Without photography, people would have no idea of what surrounded them and what happened before their time. Photography produces a visual history of the world, thus producing a greater appr eciation for it.

Approach to Marketing vs Value Approach Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Approach to Marketing vs Value Approach - Essay Example All the four P’s are classified to as the marketing mix. The most important thing is the product and should satisfy the consumer. The price is the amount that the customer pays for the product. The things that should be put into consideration when setting up a price is the neutral pricing, market skimming price and the penetration pricing. The price determines the companies’ profit. Promotion is basically all the skills of advertising brought together to market products. Place is the same as distribution and it is the location where the consumers go to purchase the products (Ramas, 2012). When it comes to marketing all the aspects of retaining and attracting more customers becomes a priority. This is achieved by creating, communicating, and delivering to the customers. Advertising of the products is very important through magazines, newspapers, internet ads and TV advertising. There are other ways of making the products to prosper in the market like the branding, pricing, promotion, product design and many others. Marketing is very important since one cannot run a business without customers. They are the most important stakeholders in businesses (Charles, 2010) Creating, communicating, and delivering values to customers gives us what a good definition of marketing is. Both marketing and market mix are important and go hand in hand to achieve a good successful

Writing essay on volcanic phenomena Research Paper

Writing essay on volcanic phenomena - Research Paper Example However, it is better not to stay close, because lava emits poisonous gases. Notwithstanding that lava flows makes no loud sound, its emitting of poisonous gases can be hazardous for human health. Moreover, it is better to know and prevent potential damages caused by lava. These are two properties that are usually taken into account: viscosity, and gases (Rowland). Viscosity represents a concept that explains lava’s fluidity. When the fluidity is high, lava cover large distances and is considered to be very dangerous. Such lavas can stop flowing only when they become cool and consequently solid and this process takes time. According to Nagata, â€Å"The variation in electric conductivity with temperature is expected to be closely related to that of the viscosity of the lava, as in the case of viscous glass, in which, as is known empirically, the reciprocal of the ionic conductivity caries linearly with the coefficient of viscosity† (Nagata, p2). Temperature of lava is high. It is 1,250 ° Celsius (Rowland) in Hawaiian volcanoes, but generally, lava temperature can reach 750 ° Celsius. Therefore it is desirable to be as far as possible from lava flow. Nevertheless safe distance depends on activity of lava flow and direction of the wind but this distance preferably shouldn’t exceed 10 m (Riley). Lava is dangerous not only for humans, but also for everything around. Lava flow can surely damage some surrounding objects. Fortunately, concrete and iron can resist it. It can be explained as follows: Irons melting point is 2750 °F in comparison to lava’s melting point 1300-2400 °F. Furthermore lava can’t melt steel like other metals, dirt and rocks (Lava). It’s worth remembering that lava moves not very fast and it is possible for people to outrun it. For example, hot Hawaiian lava flows about a few meters per minute while cool lavas flows only a few meters a day (Lava). But it is as well necessary to know that lava

Ecommerce Assignment (National Bank of Dubai) Essay

Ecommerce Assignment (National Bank of Dubai) - Essay Example According to a study, by the Department of Psychology at Middle East Technical University, organizational success (of a web site) may be considered by the site's user-friendliness.4 The criteria specified in the study ("rollovers, pop-up menus, and search capabilities") to determine user-friendliness is, however; met by the NBD's web site. Therefore, based upon these criteria, it must be concluded that the site is an organizational success. The non transaction interactivity of the web site is sufficient and dynamic, yet rudimentary. The most attractive (and unique) aspect of this area is the "careers" section which shows the depth the bank has undertaken to inform potential employees of unique career paths. There is a very well formatted "site feedback" questionnaire as well as a separate link to contact the bank directly. However, an attempt to contact the bank, via this method (during working hours,) did not receive a reply as of the time of this writing. Privacy and security is a prime concern for all banks and customers and NBD appears to have a fairly good handle on the process.

Sales Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Sales Management - Research Paper Example For the past fourteen year I have been a real estate and sears maintenance agreements sales person. I understand the needs of my consumers, thus providing appropriate products that match their desires. Due to the diversified behaviors of my consumers, I have initiated effective marketing strategies that take into account the language and culture of my clients. During my experience as a sales person, I learned that social, cultural as well as emotional forces are vital especially when consumers are buying a particular product. During my working experience in Memphis, I have realized that consumers are not only influenced by their culture and learning but also their perception and attitude. For example, the real estate that depicts modern designs is highly demanded by younger consumers while old clients are indifferent to the design of the property. In this regard, I take into account the implication of the consumer’s perception on their buying patterns. Additionally, the belief possessed by consumers has an effect on the sales of a particular product. For example, there is a strong belief that Memphis real estate is of good quality. In this way, I am focused on expanding my operations to cover a huge area of Memphis. As a real estate as well as sears maintenance agreements sales person for 14 years, I have a vital responsibility of setting up the marketing goals that include determination of the appropriate marketing mix. For instance, during establishment of operations in new markets, I put in place effective promotional strategies to ensure adequate measures to face off my competitors in the real estate industry. In the same way, as a real estate sales person, I have made myself responsible for estimating the sales and marketing potential of my organization. To comply with this principle and succeed in the Memphis real estate market, my marketing strategies involved setting up monthly and annual goals. In this way, I use all the necessary measures to me et my targets. In addition, I make sales forecast that encompasses estimating the products units that I sell on a monthly basis. In my efforts to set organizational goals that are related to distribution, as a marketer, I emulate market potential and estimation of sales. Major factors that I consider during the making of sales estimation and forecasting include economic conditions, stages of business maturity, regulatory environment and market expectations. In order to be successful in the real estate industry as well as in selling of sears maintenance agreements, I have been very keen in undertaking sales planning. This entails making weekly and monthly goals that guide me in my marketing strategies. One of my strategies that I emulate to match with the principle of sales planning includes leading my sales teams in a way that they met the objectives outlined by a sales plan. Some of the major aspects that I consider during the formulation of a sales plan include product types, sale s quotas and customer requirements (Spiro et al., 2008). Even though I am responsible for making the entire sales plan, I encourage other sales people to make their own plans based on my sales plan. In this way, it is possible for individuals to make their own plans that are compatible with my plans and that are not necessarily followed by other team mates. In my

How will Management Strategic Changes help reduce Labour Turnover in Dissertation

How will Management Strategic Changes help reduce Labour Turnover in Calvin Klein - Dissertation Example A proactive management can intervene suitably and avoid labor turnover caused due to personal reasons by assisting the people to overcome those problems. This will increase the retention level and the investment made by the company to train them during the period of their services will be justified, if the general retention level is at satisfactory level. The study focuses the strategic management changes required in relation to labor turnover in Calvin Klein. Calvin Klein is a publicly traded company in the fashion industry founded by American fashion designer  Calvin Klein with its head quarters in New York. The product portfolio is wider and includes women's and men's clothing, handbags, footwear, bedding, bath, dinnerware, perfumes underwear for men and women and panties, bras, and sleepwear for women with worldwide operations. The research questions are directed at study and analysis of the current trend in labor turnover and the causes thereof with the aim of seeking logical solutions for taking effective measures to reduce the labor turnover and introduce changes in the style of the management to address the important and long term issue of labor turnover. The chief objectives of introducing changes and formulating strategies are discussed along with the limitations involved in introducing the changes and implementing the strategies. The recommendations are given along with the managerial implications thereof after a thorough analysis of various factors and management issues involved. Strategic Management Changes to reduce Labor Turnover in Calvin Klein Table of contents 1. Research questions 4 2. Project aims 4 3. Objectives 5 4. Literature review 7 Causes of labor turnover 7 Trends in the labor market 8 Retention policy 9 Converting the problems into opportunities 10 5. Analysis 11 Calvin Klein’s operations and business 11 Labor environment 12 Leveraging the strengths in the operations and business 12 Human resources management 13 Measures to mitigate labor turnover 15 Retention policy 16 Tactics to keep labor turnover under control 16 Retention vs. Labor turnover 18 Evaluation of Performance and performance rewards 19 6. Discussion 20 Diversity in work places 20 Maintaining labor turnover at healthier level 21 Role of HRD 21 Exit interviews 22 Changes in human resources management structure 22 7. Methodology 23 8. Project approach and planning 23 9. Conclusion 25 10. References 28 11. Appendices 30 1. Research questions What are the reasons for the current level of labor turnover? Is the labor turnover in tune with the prevailing trend? What are strategic management changes which will have positive impact on labor turnover? What are the changes required in management policy in respect of retention of labor to keep labor turnover under control? 2. Project aims The issues of labor turnover and retention policy of the management are two sides of the coin. Due to the interrelationship between these two concepts, changes in the management style will have positive effects on the overall performance. The research aims 1. To analyze the causes of labor turnover for the purpose of introducing changes and 2. Formulating strategies for reduction in labor turnover and strengthening the retention policy. The causes of labor turnover are multifarious in an organization. A company with international operations in several countries of the world has several

Equity and Trusts Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Equity and Trusts Law - Essay Example A fixed trust will be automatically void unless each beneficiary could be identified. Whereas with a discretionary trust a House of Lords decision held that the test was different: can it be said with any certainty that a particular person is or is not a member of the class of beneficiary It is therefore of concern that the financial advisors at Rigby, Jolly and Pinnar (RJP) are mixing fixed and discretionary trusts into a single instrument. Beneficiaries in fixed trusts are allocated a specified share or interest in the instrument. This leads to a situation whereby a fixed trust cannot be administered unless the precise number and identity of the beneficiaries is known, since each beneficiary 'owns' a specified share of the trust. It is important that there should be neither conceptual nor evidential uncertainty. There have been indications that the courts will relax this requirement to some extent provided it is possible on a balance of probabilities to compile a list of the beneficiaries in order to determine the maximum amount of shares- even if the exact identity and whereabouts of a beneficiary is unknown. Hence in Gold v Hill [1999]4 an oral direction to a beneficiary to 'look after Carol and the kids' was deemed sufficiently certain to uphold the trust, despite the fact that the exhortation is open to interpretation. Discretionary trusts however, are treated quite differently by the courts since they invariably allow the trustees discretion in selecting the beneficiaries. Provided the trustees can distribute the proceeds there is no particular need to identify each and every possible beneficiary: McPhail v Doulton [1971]5. The court will look at all the circumstances to determine a suitable distribution of the proceeds - be that appointing new trustees or a representative from the class of beneficiaries or even the original trustees. The decision in Re Baden's Deed Trusts (No 2) [1973]6 required a distinction to be made between conceptual (or semantic) uncertainty and evidential difficulty. The court applied the McPhail test to the wording "dependants" and "relatives": "Can it be said with certainty that any given individual is or is not a member of the class" For example the phrase "my children" may create evidential difficulty - which will not defeat the court, but "all those who owe me favours" is conceptually uncertain because the description in the latter is not conceptually clear. How do we define 'favours' in that phrase The class of "dependants" and "relatives" is conceptually certain. Once that had been established then it is a straightforward matter to determine whether as a matter of fact a particular individual is a relative or a dependant. Let's run the Head of Legal Services clauses past the McPhail test: My friends Assiduous lawyers working I the EU all or any of the good looking girls I dated in my youth 1. Is the phrase conceptually certain No - too ambiguous. No objective test for what a 'friend' meant to the benefactor No - the word 'assiduous' is too vague. How would the benefactor define 'assiduous' No - the phrase 'good

Chinas Current Foreign Investment Environment Essay Example for Free

Chinas Current Foreign Investment Environment Essay Since the reform and opening up, Chinas utilization of foreign investment is developing constantly. Along with the continuous improvement of the investment environment, the scale of foreign investment into China has been continuing expanding, which making China became the worlds second largest inflow of funds country. In the backdrop of Chinas own economic development, in 2010, China became the second largest economy in the world, with a 5878. 6 billion dollars GDP at the same year.? Inside the country, foreign investments forming a large-scale foreign economy, and made important contribution to China’s economy and pushed it into the international economic system. I would like to talk about my own views about Chinas current foreign investment environment, and analyze its opportunities and challenges. The quality of investment environment is directly related to the ability to attract high-quality foreign capital investment. Investment environment affected by many factors, and these factors work together, such as national macroeconomic policies, the basic anagement system of national government, the level of infrastructures and so on. First, I’d like to analyze the advantage of Chinas current foreign investment environment, which directly related to the opportunity for China to attract foreign investment. Advantage: Good economic environment A countrys economic environment determines the future direction and development of the countrys economy, while China is in a good momentum of economic development stage. Chinas macro-control policies become more and more mature after years of development, and have accumulated a lot of valuable experience. These policies have played a catalytic role for the countrys overall economic development. In order to develop an opening-up economy, in 2001, China became a member of the WTO, provided a good opportunity to make Chinas economic more opening to the outside world and provide better investment environment. By accepting new things and developing Chinas own economic growth model, the level of Chinas economic grows rapidly. China has a strong domestic purchasing power, which reflects Chinas huge market size and market potential. According to the effective demand theory of Keynes, due to the economic crisis, there is a lack of effective demand in western countries. Effective demand makes up with consumer demand and investment demand. Diminishing marginal propensity to consume, diminishing marginal efficiency of capital and liquidity preference is the three major social and psychological factors resulting in lack of consumption demand and investment demand, and then reduce the investment rate in developed countries.? Thus, more foreign investors would turn to find a better place to invest, it is the opportunity of Chinas foreign investment environment. Advantage: Stable political environment Since Chinas reform and opening up, peoples living standards continue to improve, China’s international status and international influence also has been enhanced at the same time. China could maintain a stable developing social environment. This is the basic guarantee of the investment environment. For example, the reason why Wal-Mart invested a large amount of money on shopping plaza, Sam shops, and community shops in China, is that Wal-Mart believed China has a stable political and social environment. A stable political and social environment is an important factor that can nsure the safety of foreign investments. Advantage: Acceptable infrastructure China has the worlds largest infrastructure construction. After years of development, the level of Chinas infrastructure has been significantly improved. For example, the government invested a lot of money on the construction of transportation, electricity, water, and natural gas supply. The ability to provide materials and efficient transportation are favorable factors for attracting foreign investment. For example, Wal-Mart relies on its efficient logistics and distribution, and Wal-Mart decided to locate its distribution center in Tianjin. Tianjin is a coastal city, it not only reflects the natural advantage of Tianjin, but also reflects that in recent years, Tianjins tremendous achievements in constructing infrastructure. Advantage: Abundant labor China has the largest population in the world, and also provides a lot of cheap labor resources. Companies could enjoy cost advantages because of the cheap labor cost, especially in labor-intensive industries. China also has a comparative advantage in labor-intensive industries. Wal-Mart has 50,000 employees in China. The company gives their employees necessary training to meet the needs of high-tech industries and enjoys low cost of labor. Labor and capital are substitutes. In China, Wal-Marts development relies heavily on a lot of cheap labor. Imagine Wal-Mart has such a large number of employees in developed countries, the labor cost is much higher than in China, therefore, the actual profit must be affected. In this way, invest in China is a good choice for War-Mart. I have talked about the advantages of the foreign investment environment in China, and then I would like to talk about the disadvantages. Disadvantage: The laws of the market economy system are not perfect China joined the WTO in 2001, which means that China can be on an equal footing with the developed countries. However, Chinas current economy is a market economy with Chinese characteristics, which has some differences with the mature market economies in developed countries. Chinas market economy has been accepted for a short time, with little experience, many laws and regulations are unreasonable. Chinas legal basis, the legislative process, operational mechanism is still not completely turned to erve market economy. Some existing laws and regulations confront with the principles of market economy. In terms of implementation, many laws and regulations are not uniformed in the implementation process, which have caused lots of problems for foreign investors. The imperfect legal system also affects employee’s rights. For example, Wal-Mart, Dell, Kodak and other foreign companies are refused to establish union in China. Actually, there are few laws to protect employee’s rights in China. These foreign companies are not afraid of these imperfect laws. Foreign companies like Wal-Mart, has a long operation history in many countries around the world, has many experiences of how to deal with workers in many countries, the legal basis in China is still very weak. Disadvantage: Low government efficiency Bureaucracy and corruption is a significant problem of the government. In the Chinese government system, the institutional settings are bloated, some department’s functions are unclear, policies and regulations are not uniformed between the various departments. These problems are particularly serious in recent years, greatly limits the improvement of the foreign investment environment. Foreign investors lack of a complete understanding of the Chinese government, they will face a lot of problems but do not know how to deal with it. Disadvantage: The low efficiency of the financial sector According to a survey conducted by the World Bank, Chinas financial resources are concentrated on state-owned enterprises. For some companies with high potential, especially for some small and medium-sized private companies, they can not get strong financial support from the bank in a short time. Lack of support also leads these companies to the slow development or even the bankrupt. This is also a disadvantage to foreign investors. Foreign investors in China want to get the financial support have to face cumbersome procedures, mainly because of the financial institutions system is not perfect. At the same time, the interest rate is not determined by the market, which limits the flow of credit funds to the foreign companies, the private sector, and small enterprises. Disadvantage: The investment environment and labor distribution has regional differences China has large land area, but because of the natural causes, history and other factors, the investment environment and labor distribution are various from region to region. In the southeast coastal areas, infrastructure, labor resources, and policies are attractive to foreign investors. In the central and western regions, due to the geographical conditions and the limitations of natural resources, economic development is relatively slow, the policy is not attractive to foreign investors. For example, Wal-Mart opened 191 stores in China are mostly located in the southeast coastal areas. As shown below: Wal-Mart China mainland outlets maps Disadvantage: Resources and environmental constraints China is a big country. However, the resources for every person rank very low around the world. With the economic development, social development and the improvement of the consumption level, there are some limitations in the energy, land and other natural resources. China’s economic growth mainly depends on high pollution industries, and has not fundamental changed. Environmental pollution makes retail enterprises such as Wal-Mart faces a lot of problems in the procurement process. A lot of goods can not enter the mall because of the pollution. Chinas foreign investment environment and also be limited, therefore, the transformation of economic growth mode is the top item of Chinas current economic development. Summary In summary, the entry of foreign capital is an inevitable trend in China, which has made more demands on Chinas investment environment. How to use the opportunities and advantages of the Chinas investment environment are important issues need to be considered by the government. Only by analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of Chinas investment environment, developing relevant policies and regulations, increasing the anti-corruption efforts and transforming the economic development mode, China could improve the foreign investment environment to the next level. In this way, China could receive a more important role in the world economy.

SMP And MPP Databases Analysis

SMP And MPP Databases Analysis It has by now become a compulsion to implement Data Warehouses and Decision Support systems in almost all the major organizations. Almost every form of organization is investing heavily in building Warehouses across the multiple functions they implement. Data Warehouses, with their large volumes of integrated, consistent and conformed data, provide the competitive edge by enabling business establishments to analyze past and current trends, monitor current patterns and shortcomings and make informed future decisions. The size of the average Data Warehouse is growing exponentially with each year with organizations looking increasingly to gather every bit of information possible into the warehouse. Modern day ETL tools provide excellent support to integrate from varying and disparate sources like Mainframes, Relational databases, XML files, unstructured documents like PDFs, emails and web pages. It is not just the size of the Data Warehouse that is increasing, but also the utility and the functionality that is expected out of it, that is seeing a multi fold increase. A large number of advanced and high performance Business Intelligence applications Reporting, Dashboards, Scorecards, Data Mining and Predictive modeling are now executed over the Data Warehouse and these applications execute highly complex queries accessing large volumes of data. These requirements the ever growing size of the Data Warehouse and the increasing complexity of the queries executed against it has necessitated the need to look for alternate architectures and implementations of relational databases that can scale up effectively to support efficient querying across large volumes of data with shorter response time and consequently raised the debate of going MPP (Massively Parallel Processing) enabled databases over SMP (Symmetrical multi processors) structured data bases. II. SMP (Symmetrical multiprocessor) Symmetrical multiprocessor systems are single systems containing multiple processors (2 64, or even higher) in which a common pool of memory and disk I/O resources are shared equally. These systems are controlled by a centralized operating system. Sharing of system resources by the processors enables them to be managed more effectively. Very high speed interconnections are deployed across the SMP systems to allow effective interconnection and equal sharing of memory and resources. Apart from high bandwidth, low communication latency is another important property that SMP systems should possess to demonstrate high levels of scalability. This is necessitated by often employed operations in data warehouse such as index lookups and joins that involve communication of small data packets. If the amount of data present in each message is less, then the importance of low latencies is paramount. In SMP , multiple cpus share the same memory, board, I/O and operating system. Each and every CPU acts independently. When one CPU handles a database lookup, other CPUs can perform database updation and perform other tasks. As a result, the device will be able to handle the highly complex networking tasks of todays world in a very easy way. Thus SMP systems too involve a degree of parallelism in that multiple processors can be used to perform mutually exclusive operations in parallel. SMP are relatively cheaper when compared to MPP databases. The cost of upgrading is also lesser because as we scale the number of processors, only an additional processor board needs to be added. Processing power can thus easily and seamlessly be increased by adding extra processors. However SMP have the limitation that they can only scale so far. As all cpus on the same board share a single memory bus, there is a chance of bottlenecks to occur. This bottleneck impacts performance and slows down processing. Instead of placing too many number of CPUs on the same SMP board, designers of high-end network elements can distribute applications across a networked cluster of SMP boards. Each board has its own memory array, I/O and operating system. However this approach begins to complicate the up gradation. Network -specific codes has to be added by network managers to applications. Also as drivers are tightly bound to kernel, moving them involve creation of a new kernel image for each board. III. MPP (Massively parallel processor) Massively parallel systems are composed of many nodes. Each node is a separate computer having a minimum of one cpu and also has its own memory which is local to it. There is a connection also for connecting all the nodes. These type of systems have separate ALUs that runs in parallel fashion. Various standards like MPI are used by nodes for communication. Message passing mechanism is used by nodes for communication. Each node in a massively parallel processor system is accessed with the help of an interconnect technique. The technique supports transfer of data which is at the rate of 13 to 38 MB/sec. Every node in the system contains CPU, disk subsystems and memory. These nodes are self sufficient nodes. The system can be considered as a shared nothing system. Shared nothing indicates that the nodes have their own memory, OS and I/O subsystems, nothing is shared. These systems are designed to have good scalability. Also these systems allow the addition of any number of processors to the system. In cases where partitioning of problems are possible, MPP systems exhibit good performance. In that case there will be no communication among nodes and all the nodes work in parallel fashion. But this partitioning occurs only in rare situations and therefore the performance that MPP systems promises to exhibit is reduced. Such partitioning occurs in the case of ad-hoc queries that are typical to datawarehouses. Also the high scalability that MPP systems offer is limited by data skew or when communication between nodes in the system is highly needed. Single node failure reduces not only the power required for processing but also makes the data located at that node inaccessible. In industries, single-processor nodes which are termed as thin are augmented with multiprocessor nodes which are termed as fat with the help of many processors in SMP configuration. In such cases, the MPP nodes will have many number of processors and less number of nodes. The architecture of MPP includes a group of independent nodes which are of shared-nothing type. Each node has cpu, local disks and memory. Message based interconnect connects all these together. IV. DEPLOYING DATA WAREHOUSE Now that we have discussed in brief the inherent differences between an SMP and an MPP, the below section details the considerations that have to be taken into account while deploying a Data Warehouse. The main consideration when deploying data warehouses are that they should be able to extract meaningful and un-obvious, information from large amounts of data . They can use techniques such as relational intra-query parallelization, on-line analytical processing (OLAP), data mining, and multidimensional databases for the extraction. To perform these analyses, systems that are powerful require access to many times the amount of data that is stored in any one of a companys operational systems. Organizations deploy data warehouses by transferring data periodically from on-line transaction processing (OLTP) databases into data warehouses. These are implemented at fixed schedules via ETL routines that execute at pre-defined intervals in a day. The ETL routines could also execute weekly/monthly and quarterly for sources that provide information at that frequency. Since the databases used in data warehouses are different from the operational OLTP source systems, the ETL from the source systems to the Data warehouse can be a resource-intensive operation involving data extraction, data cleansing and conforming of the data. The amount of storage needed is staggering as well with the entire operations of the company integrated within the Data warehouse sales, orders, operations, finance etc . As the usefulness of this data is not predictable in the beginning, all of the companys data is usually stored in a data warehouse . Data warehouses pose a constant challenge of rapid deployment of application. In the case of OLTP systems the workload is predictable and can be managed with careful tuning. While in the case of data warehouses, they constantly changes whenever new applications are created. Because of their constantly-changing nature, all data warehouses require custom configuration. Factors to consider when deploying data warehouse 1) Complexity of Query: Query complexity ranges from canned queries that are simple to data mining using techniques in artificial intelligence. Canned queries make use of optimized, pre-compiled SQL which may be used in answering questions which are simple and are repeated frequently. Complex data analysis is done using ad-hoc queries which are written in SQL. Also those queries that support operations in data mining are very much complicated . Such queries are not written in SQL and they are difficult to optimize also. Intensive methods like neural nets, genetic programs etc are used by these queries. 2) Workload in Database: Workloads of decision support systems varies from interactive operation to batch operation. Data visualization packages uses access to data warehouse that are interactive. Such packages extract data trends with the help of executing pre-compiled queries. 3) System Architecture: DSS makes use of the technology, parallel processing. Parallel computing architectures range varies in the extent to which memory is hierarchical. Memory is accessed uniformly by symmetric multiprocessors with the help of high-speed buses or crossbar switching technologies. These technologies support point-to point interconnection between processors. Groups of SMP systems are used by clustered approaches. These are linked with interconnection mechanisms which are of slower speed. MPP systems use nodes containing local memory that are accessed through a local high-speed bus. Communication among nodes are carried out through message-based interconnects which are of lower speed. VI. NEED FOR SCALABLE DATA WAREHOUSES The size of a Data warehouse grows rapidly in size and the growth cannot easily be accurately anticipated. Data warehouse implementations often start small and grow as the volume of data and the demands increase. Data warehouses are often deployed with a few processors in the beginning, and can support many times the initial processing capability. Properties When more number of processors are added to an SMP, or nodes are added to an MPP, it is important that system should scale. Ideally, a Data Warehouse system should exhibit two properties to show good levels of scalability speed-up and scale-up. 1) Speed-up: It is the property demonstrated, in which if a job needs one time unit to complete with one processor then it will need 1/N of the time to complete with N processors. For example, consider a job that needs five hours to complete with one processor , it needs only one hour to complete with five processors. Then we say that the system scales well. 2) Scale-up: It is another important property. Consider a system with excellent scale-up. It provides the same level of performance even if the data warehouse size increases through the addition of processors or nodes. For example, when the database size is one terabyte , a batch job that takes five hours to run will take the same time of five hours when the size is two terabytes. In order to maintain scalability, the data should be re re-partitioned across the nodes. This is a time consuming and risky process as databases are terabyte-sized . This step is not required on an SMP. Database administrators valuate scalability by checking whether the systems behavior is predictable when workload intensity increases. If the systems behavior is predictable even when the workload grows, then the system scales well. VIII. CONCLUSIONS Both SMP and MPP server databases can be used for Data warehouse implementations. There are different situations where each can be utilized. The general trade-off point on choosing between the two depends on several factors: 1.) Volume of data expected to be stored in the database. 2.) Expected number of concurrent users. 3.) Complexity of queries to be executed number of joins, aggregations etc to be used. 4.) Average volume of data accessed by each query. 5.) Anticipated growth volumes. When the number of concurrent users is less, and when the volumes are low, SMP are preferred. In fact SMP are preferred for more OLTP like environments. In contrast when the volumes are large, and the number of queries executed is large and involves complex query processing MPP server databases are preferred. These databases on account of their parallel processing capabilities can be utilized to execute complex queries more efficiently and hence offer a natural choice for typical Data warehouse implementations.

The Bargaining Power Of Buyer

The Bargaining Power Of Buyer Fraser Neave holding Bhd. was incorporated at year 1883 when founders John Fraser and David Chalmers Neave formed a company named Singapore Straits Aerated Water Company in Singapore. Few years later, FN was consolidated and enter the food beverage industry. FN has its own vision to become the leading total beverage company in Malaysia and the region and their mission is to be a world-class multinational enterprise providing superior returns to their shareholders, excellent value for their customers and a rewarding career for their employees. FN Company is one of the Malaysia well known beverage company which the famous product is the isotonic drinks 100plus launched at year 1984. FN produce wide range of beverage that can be classified as soft drinks, dairies, non-carbonated beverages as well as separate business property. They were launching the sweetened condensed filled milk in year 1973, and the acquisition of Nestlà ©s canned milk business in Thailand and Malaysia in year 2007. Other than that FN high quality canned milk was also gain excellent reputation in Malaysia. This product is largely use as beverage mixers in coffee, tea and chocolate drinks and now canned milk has successfully to export this product to more than 20 countries around the world. In addition, the halal certification offers strong reassurance to Muslim customers in the growing Halal markets in the Middle East and Africa. FN Company was awarded The Readers Digest Trusted Brand from year 2005 to 2008, Media Magazine Top 1000 Asian Brands 2007 and so on. It proves that their customer was confident when using their products since they are concern about their health and safety quality. FN Company was continuously improve their quality and brands to challenges the marketplace and to become the leader. FN Company is also well-known company that caring about the social environment and working environment. They implemented and executed various environmental stewardship and launched numerous recycling campaigns in schools to inculcate good environmental habits among young people and thus, create awareness on the importance of recycling. FN Company also set-up a RM1.2 million funds named Chairmans Award to promote educational excellence and to recognize high-achievers among children of FN Groups employees. FN Company has achieved a safety record of zero accident (no loss time accident) accumulated from 1 February 2007 to 21 September 2009 with a total 962 days or 2.3 million working hours. In terms of its environmental compliance incident and achieved zero environmental compliance status. FN Company has three main businesses which are soft drinks, dairy products and property. Soft Drink FN Beverages Marketing Sdn Bhd represent Malaysias largest soft drinks manufacturer and distributor. There are four manufacturing plants nationwide, including its state of the art facility at its headquarters in Shah Alam, Selangor. Their products are 100PLUS, FN Fun Flavours, FN Originals, SEASONS, Ice Mountain and Fruit Tree. The company started operations in 1936 when FN Ltd obtained the franchise of Coca-Cola in Singapore and Malaysia. After that FN Coca-Cola (M) Sdn Bhd (FNCC) was born and license agreement would end in September 2011, the company renamed as FNBM. In Malaysia, 100PLUS is a outstanding local success story, cover 90 percent share of the isotonic drinks market and also the No.1 ready to drink (RTD) brand in Malaysia. For non-carbonated portfolio, SEASONS is currently No.2 in Asian drinks category while Fruit Tree continue to grow within the juice segment. The soft drinks division perform well during the festive periods and continue to pursue world class excellence in distribution so that the products are readily available with focus on market execution. Over the years, FNBM has used few strategic measures that emphasize on its brand presence by invested in advertising and promotions, product availability and operational efficiency. In April 2010, FNBM was selected to become exclusive distributor of Red Bull energy drinks in Malaysia and has improved FNBMs beverage portfolio. Dairies Products Next business is dairy products. FN Dairies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd has produced varity such as sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, pasteurised milk, UHT milk, juice and ice cream. FNs dairy business had a joint venture with Beautrice Foods of Chicago, USA in 1959 with the construction of Southeast Asias first sweetened condensed milk plant in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. The Carnation Company from US joined the partnership in 1965 to form Premier Milk as the manufacturing arm. The Group constantly seeks product innovation and invention, more products adding into portfolio and after that the Group had a successful journey into ice cream business. In 1989, the Group purchased the interests of Beatrice Foods and restructured its dairy operations under FN Dairies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. It was expanded further with the acquisition of Magnolia in 1995. In 1998, the Group started its pasteurised business. Today, FNs dairies division has a vision of being Malaysias leading dairy and food marketer with world class products, standards and capabilities forming part and parcel of its offerings. In 2011, FN Dairies (Malaysia) disposed off its entire ice cream business to FN Creameries (M) Sdn Bhd. Property About the property business, FN Properties is a business unit of Fraser Neave Holdings Berhad, the purpose is to unlock the value of land acquired and held by the company. The first property is the former FN factory land at Jalan Foss, has been developed into commercial spot called Fraser Business Park. The development follows the general direction of Fraser Neaves underlying philosophy of a socially responsible corporate citizen. Key value lies within the emphasis of continuously creating innovative designs and applications towards the development, giving its occupants a taste of the modern and the future alike. More is expected from future property launches as the unit break new ground with innovative design and product development that focus on feature that are particular to the FN brand name. In future, the property division will emphasize on changing existing Premier Milk plant into a landmark in Petaling Jaya. The redevelopment is estimated 5 to 8 years period. PEST Mission: To be a world-class multinational enterprise providing superior returns to our shareholders, excellent value for our customers and a rewarding career for our employees. Vision: To become the leading total beverage company in Malaysia and the region. Every company has their mission and vision statement served as overall purpose of business. The mission and vision statement above are set by FN. There are external environmental issues have or will affect FN to achieve their mission. These external environmental issues are being categorized according to PEST(EL) model. PEST(EL) model is to analyze the external environment issues of company. It categorized environment issues into political, economic, social, technological, ecological and legal influences. Economic Improving growth prospect of Malaysia, Thailand and the region brings more income to FN as is signals economy are in good condition and peoples are willing to spend hence will increase sales in that particular region. The growth prospects include rising of Malaysia GDP in year 2010 that is approximately 10% compare to 4.5% in 2009 that rise from some major factor of manufacturing industry production with a double digit growth of 16.9% in year 2010. ASEAN countries are growing quick in their economy thus putting FN a favourable factor in growing of profits. FN has built up positive consumer sentiment to their product. For example 100PLUS, isotonic drink that is specialized for sportsmen to retain the metabolism. It is a concept well-built that it is voted number 1 isotonic drinks in Malaysia since its introduction in 1983. That well-built positive sentiment brings others drinks of FN to be well marketable. It is the consumer sentiment to the products enhanced the profitability factor of FN towards other competitor thus is at an advantage in the market. Political Government had put initiative to boost spending of consumer with new economic model (NEM), with this model being pursue, Malaysia economic boost as consumer purchasing power increases and are advised to spend. FN will get benefit by provide goods to be sold to the market hence boosting sales. FN products are all Halal hence are entitled for Halal Hub Tax Incentive. The incentive offered had decreased FN some percentage of tax liability to the government. It made FN more profitable compare to those companies which does not qualified for the incentive. Government has taken back some incentive in year 2009, the withdrawal of subsidy of fuel and sugar has put an impact to FN as most of the FN core businesses needed large amount of sugar which is dairies and soft drink business. The withdrawal of sugar subsidy lower the overall profit of the FN although there is a large improve a sales but the profit doesnt show much improvement as the sugar cost increases. Withdrawals of fuel subsidy did also impact on FN as the cost of their internal and external distribution cost increases thus reduces profit. Technological In the beginning of 2011, FN introduced new product, Ice Mountain and it has faster share gain among bottler waters player which established 5% market share in Malaysia. FN launched new beverage Zesta across Malaysia in October 2011.Zesta has remarkably great tasting berry soda flavored soda. It contents the Guarana tropical berries that originate from Amazon, South America. In addition, Guarana tropical berries invigorate the body and mind. Zesta is an extension of our already large array of FN beverages, a beverage that was initiated to complement our existing range of FN brands, creating a transition vehicle for our growing band of consumers, said Dato Ng Jui Sia, CEO of Fraser Neave Holdings Bhd. FN believes that Zesta is the illustration of growing trends for beverage enhanced soda. (Zesta 2011) Environmental Sichuan Earthquake of May 2008 has caused the raw material cost increase and companys profit is affected. Natural disaster is beyond expectation and control of the company. Profit before interest and tax in 2008 grew only 5%. This environmental factor has affected company to achieve their mission. Natural disaster would serve as obstacle that FN provide superior returns to shareholders. Porters 5 forces Today, Fraser Neave Holdings Bhd (FN) has extended business at more than 20 countries worldwide and established itself as a regional player. So that, FN need use Porters five forces model to analysis and understanding the nature of the competitive environment. FN has a lot of benefits from using Porters five forces model. They can ensure that management considers a wide range of potential impacts when devising strategy. They allow the division of the work in environmental analysis and make decision in time. In addition, Porters five forces also help to develop effective strategies to raise FN profitability, power, and competitive position in an industry. Porters five forces is divided into threat of entry, intensity of competitive rivalry, threat of substitute product, bargaining power of buyer and bargaining power of suppliers. Threat of entry Threat of entry is new entrants into market will bring extra capacity and intensify competition. The strength of the threat from new entrants will depend upon the strength of the barriers to entry and the likely response of existing competition to a new entrant. FN produce two new soft drink FN Clearly Citrus and Zesta were launched in soft drink market at year 2011. Zesta and FN Clearly Citrus are getting customer support and the new produces also have a higher demand from the buyer. Zesta sales would create other competitor have entered the soda market, it will be posted a threat for the FN affect the market sales. Therefore, FN should defensively competitor who are entered the soda market to creating barriers that new entrants to the market find difficult to overcome. This can ensure the Zesta sales would not affect and ensure the maximize shareholders wealth. FN able to occupy in the Malaysia soda market a very important role. Bargaining power of supplier Bargaining power of suppliers definition with the stronger power of suppliers in an industry the more difficult it is for firms within that sector to make a profit. It is because suppliers can determine the terms and conditions on which business is conducted. Most of the products are contented sugar, sugar is essential for production. Malaysian Government has removed sugar subsidies on selective basis and subsidy for Dairies Malaysia was removed. Increased of sugar cost and global commodity cost forced price of Sweetened Condensed Milk increased by 25%. However, sugar subsidy was removed on selective basis which means FN can look for suppliers whose sugar subsidies werent removed. In addition, competitors will also search for new suppliers and it may not easy to reduce cost as low as before. Apart from that, FN may have to concern about any switching cost for current suppliers. Bargaining power of buyer Bargaining power of buyer sense of the powerful buyer can force price cuts and quality improvement. The government removed sugar subsidy, FN material cost increased and affected the product selling price increased. In 2011, Sweetened Condensed Milk has increased 25% of the price which cause the demand reduced. Revenue and profit was decline during the year. Buyers also have full information about the soft drink and dairy product market. They should know which company product cheaper, more health and best quality. FN need to retain the customer by improving product quality and introduce new product. Buyers always have different choice for their beverage and dairy product. Apart from that, same type of competitors product will be display nearby companys products. For example, Jusco will be placing same type of products together which allowed buyers to search easily. There is low switching cost for buyers. Beside, degree of product differentiation is low which customer may feel all bran ds are similar. This threat is more difficult to control, because FN management need to concentrate on changing buyers preference and also maximize the shareholders wealth. Threat of substitute product Porters 5 forces have indicated that the threat of substitute product is the other firms within the industry has offers similar product with similar benefits for the customer. This threat may affects the competitive environment of the company and influence our ability to achieve profitability. On FN Magnolia have offers Pasteurised Milk and Sterilised Milk. The range of the customers is children and adults. The Pasteurised Fresh Milk can be enjoyed chilled or warm, plain or mixed with other foods or beverages and they innovate into Lo-Fat Hi-Cal Milk provide less fat and more healthier of the Fresh Milk for our body. However, Marigold has offers HL Milk is low-fat milk No.1 in Malaysia. HL Milk has perfect balance of nutrients for everyone in the family and it consists high in calcium and protein, low in fat and lactose and fortified with 9 essential vitamins to supplement healthier lifestyle. Marigold HL Milk is first choice for the customers who are caring health conscious. FN should innovation their milk product provide more healthy to attract or retain consumer choices. Another competitor is Dutch Lady has provided a Dutch Lady Milk powder for satisfy customer needs who want mix it with other coffee or tea favour and it has a rich and creamy taste and allowed to dilute in hot or cold water easily. Furthermore, Dutch Lady also has provided different formulations to cater to children of different ages to promote their brain development and healthy growth. Therefore, most of the mother would choose Dutch Lady Milk products of their children rather than choose FN milk products. FN SEASONS offers soft drink products are leaders in countrys most comprehensive range of consumer, catering to every occasion. The Soya range provides protein nourishment while the Chrysanthemum and Grass Jelly provides healthier refreshment with less sugar let FN SEASONS become best quality and healthy drinks. However, they are having lesser favors for the customer choose. YEOS have more favors, such as Lychee drink, Sugarcane drink, Bandung Rose drink, coconut juice, soursop drink and guava drink for the customer to choice. Hence, consumers who are Sugarcane drink lover may change its option to YEOS products. Although there are many competitors for isotonic drink, 100Plus still able to gain over 88% of the market share. Company has done a lot promotion for 100Plus which the reason 100Plus is successfully gain more than half of the market share. (Annual Report 2010) Intensity of competitive rivalry Intensity of competitive rivalry among competitors in the industry strives to companies to gain competitive advantage over the rivals and drives the profit of the rivals firm to zero. The company can gains the competitive advantage by several ways, such as pricing policy, improving the products differentiation with other and exploiting relationships with suppliers. If can gain more competitive advantage over competitors can increase the profitability of the company. FN only provided soft drink products and dairy products, appears less competitive advantage compare with others. Nowadays, people more have health conscious when they buying products may choice to buy the products which consists more nutrition. In food and beverage industry also have many company has provide more diet product to satisfied the requirements of the different customers. Dutch Lady Low Fat Yoghurt is a healthy snack and it will enhance the absorption of nutrients, ensuring digestive system stays healthy. It contains Vitamin A, C and E, calcium and Active Live Cultures. In Addition, the Marigold have offer the Yogurt and cultured milk Vitagen which have consists nutrition products for the body. The Vitagen has billions of live probiotic cultures to helps maintain a healthy digestive system. Probiotic cultures in VITAGEN can withstand bile and acidic stomach juices and reach the intestines alive to fight harmful bacteria in the intestines. Furthermore, the Yoghurt contains live and active cultures help digestion and promote a healthy digestive system and calcium for the development of strong bones and teeth. Marigold also has offers Jelly is a great-tasting double-layered jelly that is filled with fresh fruits. Its cool and refreshing taste makes it great for everyone in the family and contains no preservatives and is a healthy alternative to fruits after a hearty meal. This makes Marigold become Malaysias first and only pasteurised Jelly. This all is key reasons that the consumer may change favors to this type of products. To gain competitive advantage, FN should provide more nutrition products for the customers have more choose. Porters national competitive advantage diamond Porters diamond model suggests that there are inherent reasons why some nations and industries within nations are more competitive than others on a global scale. The argument is that the national home base of an organisation provides organisations with specific factors which will potentially create competitive advantages on a global scale. (Michael Porter 1990) Porters diamond model consist of four conditions of national advantage which are factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries and firm strategy, structure and rivalry. Factor conditions Factor condition is about important elements that exist in a company which lead to national competitive advantage. It can be country specific or industry specific. FN Dairies had constructed plant in Pulau Indah costs RM350 million and will be completed within the second half of 2011. The new plant promotes cutting edge green technology which would have huge gains in water, energy and environmental conservation. With existence of this plant, FN Dairies could be on the top list of worlds largest producers of canned milk. (Annual Report 2011 pg 41) An increase in production line is an advantage of the company. FN had launched a new RM45 million polyethylene terephthalate (PET) monoblock production line which is the first in Asia Pacific. This able to done all the things in only one production line, for example blow bottles, fill and pack all carbonate soft drinks products. (Annual Report 2010 pg 32) FN has the latest innovation and technology that bring advantages to them. With this latest technology, FN can enhance its operations by continuing improve production lines. FN can produce more products in effective and efficient way. In addition, the new machineries increase as the production lines increases. The warehouse management system has implemented to make operation work run smoothly. Besides, the introduction of new sales forecasting tools helps in manufacturing, if sales forecast is low, the manufacturer will produce less stock. Supply chain act as an important role in a business. Without supply, production would not be carried out. Improvement in supply chain lead to high efficiency of production and logistic by upgrade the systems. FN introduce higher level of operational automation and inventory management to ensure the manufacturing process has no error. Besides, the product quality management has to make sure that the products are in acceptable quality and safety measures are enhanced in order the product would not harm people. Demand conditions Secondly, the demand conditions state that if the local market for a product is larger and more demanding at home than in foreign markets, local firms potentially put more emphasis on improvements than foreign companies. This will potentially increase the global competitiveness of local exporting companies. FN non-carbonated portfolio has slightly increased from 25.4 per cent to 28 per cent in soft drinks business. This represent there is a growing demand for drinks. During the year, FN included fruit teas and juices to its range of soft drinks, and launch new drink called Zesta recently catering consumers of this segment. The ability to innovate, differentiate and manufacture new product lines will bring advantages such as gain more market share. (Zesta 2011) FN Fruit Tree released five new flavours in bottle form which are orange, apple, lychee, blackcurrant and mango. As the demand increases, Fruit Tree has becoming one of the fastest growing categories in Malaysia. The new flavours are the extension to the Fruit Tree cans range and the research shows that consumer preference toward these flavours compared to other brand in the market. (Annual Report 2010 pg 36) FN Holding Berhad has built a new warehouse in Kuching which triple larger than previous warehouse capacity to improve the quality of service and make sure delivery to customers is on time. Furthermore, it utilised advanced warehousing technology such as high selective racking, super flat flooring and Very Narrow Aisleway (VNA) trucks. Related and supporting industries Thirdly, the related and supporting industries mean that when local supporting industries and suppliers are competitive, home country companies will potentially get more cost efficient and receive more innovative products. In February 2010, 100PLUS signed a partnership agreement with AirAsia Berhad, officially sell 100PLUS on AirAsia flights which depart from Malaysia. AirAsia Berhad is a Malaysia top airlines company, being a partner of AirAsia Berhad has a real competitive advantage for FN. This agreement is a big step for division to extend business offshore. Passenger dehydration happened frequently in air travel, with 100PLUS the passenger can get over the dehydration. Support from AirAsia is like an advertisement effect, whenever there is a flight, there is an appearance of 100PLUS. (Annual Report 2010 pg 038) Firm strategy, structure and rivalry Structure and management system can affect competitiveness. FN is running beverage and dairies business in addition to food business too. FN buy 23.08 per cent share in Cocoaland Holdings Berhad. Cocoaland is a major snack food manufacturer in Malaysia. FN is diversifying the business risk to various subsidiaries. FN develop the food business to supplement beverage and dairies business. As the Malaysia grow into high income economy country, the consumption of middle income will increase and food business will be benefited. GE model 3 portfolio business Property Dairy product Soft drink GE business matrix Industry Attractiveness- Economic Factor Business Strength- Brand Strength High Medium Low High Investment/ Growth Soft drinkSelective Growth Selectivity Medium Dairy productSelective Growth Selectivity Harvest/Divest Low Selectivity Property businessHarvest/Divest Harvest/Divest FNs business has divided into 3 portfolio and that are Soft Drinks, Dairy Products and Properties. First of all, we will use the environmental factor and brand strength as the industry attractiveness factors and business factors benchmark. Soft Drinks FNs core soft drinks business portfolio will be classified at the classes of selective growth. The company soft drinks 100plus and Zesta are popular in Malaysia and have helped the company in bringing certain level of stable income.100plus as the companys core product have promoting an active lifestyle and healthy living to consumer. Many events have been run to promote 100plus as it is isotonic drink of choice at major sporting events. 100plus is present at top sports events such as Piala Malaysia Final 2011 100plus Tunku Abdul Razak Cup, KL Marathon 2011 and so on to continue building prestigious images of 100plus to consumers. Profit of division has been growing from year 2007 to 2011. However, sugar subsidy withdrawn by Malaysian Government has major impact on price of sugar. The division has lesser growth rate for year 2011. In addition, global commodity cost has increased which is unfavorable economic factor. Soft Drink division has very high brand strength but economic factors are not really favourable to the division. Dairy Products FNs dairy products will be classified at the classes of selectivity. Companys dairy products have included sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, pasteurised milk, UHT milk, juices and ice cream. Dairy Products also suffered from withdrawal of sugar subsidy and global commodity price increased in 2011. FNs dairy products business has classified at selectivity, with medium level of attractiveness and medium business strength on the dairy products. Although the product Milo is popular in Malaysia, Milo is not owned by FN, it was franchised. This product reduces business strength as it is not the only major player in the market. The dairy products will seem less attractive to the investors to consider investing because the deliberate of the milk market is very costly. In addition, the cost for hire workers and the cost to obtain technology for producing the dairy products are costly for subsequent production of dairy products. Moreover, the dairy products license also difficult to be approved by the government. New entrant will find difficult to entry, because the market has been controlled and played by a few major competitors. New entrant will find difficulty to enter to the market as these factors created entry barriers. Properties FNs property business had generated more revenue in year 2007 compared to the year 2006 by 6%. Revenue for the year 2008 had declined by 24% compare to year 2007. FNs property business has classified at selectivity with high level of attractiveness and low business strength. The company is more concentrated in the soft drink products and has no initiative to promote companys property to the public, not many people knows that FN has already entered into properties. FNs property business is non comparable with beverage business that seems to be so successful and FNs property business strength is low in this industry. The property business that has high profitability in the industry will attract more investors to invest. The government encourage removing of old building and build more new business park in order to bring in more prosperity to our country. Moreover, our property business is at growth stage because it is newly introduced into the industry, hence it does not have strong bus iness strength on the property business. Ratio analysis and Key performance Indicators Revenue of continuing operation continues to grow from 2009 to 2010 by 11.2% and 2010 to 2011 7.6%. In 2010, the revenue is able to grow better than 2011 due to improved economic conditions. Malaysia Government has introduced New Economic Model 2010 helps to boost spending in Malaysia. Profit before interest and tax growth rate also decline from 2010 to 2011, 31% to 14%. The result was affected because of particular division wasnt doing well in 2011. Soft Drink Soft Drink division has current ratio of 1.77 and 1.99 for year 2010 and 2011. It indicated improvement in managing assets and liabilities. The growth momentum of soft drink division has continued. The division has been doing well over the years. It contributes the largest profit to FN. In 2010, the soft drink division was able to generate revenue 21% more compared to last year. Soft drink was delivering higher volume especially during festive periods such as Chinese New Year. In addition, sales volume of 100Plus Seasons have grew more than 20% and reflected strong consumption and growing popularity of the brands. 100Plus generated over 88% of market share in isotonic category and Seasons generated 27% market share of Asian drink category. While Badminton competition Thomas Cup was around, 100PLUS Thomas Cup 1 Million Support Campaign was held for Malaysian to show their support for Malaysian badminton team. Apart from that, the division served as distributor of Red Bull energy drinks in Malaysia and commenced from 1 April 2010. Soft drink volume was able to benefit from Red Bull which contributed 2.2% helps to improve the divisions beverage portfolio. (Annual Report 2010) Soft drink division grew only 16% from 2010 to 2011. The growth rate is eroded due to the reason of Malaysian government has withdrawn the subsidy of sugar and fuel. Therefore, raw material cost has increased and causes the profit margin diminished. Coca-Cola business exits the FN in September 2011 which also the reason of profit margin diminished. However, 100Plus and Seasons still generated volume growth 10% and 14% to benefits the division. 100Plus and Seasons are the leading brands in the division and continue to enhance the divisions beverage portfolio. 100Plus was being promoted continuously as 100PLUS New Thematic Launch in July 2011. Beside, FN SEASONS Nourishing You Malaysia National Consumer Contest held between March and April 2011 to create consum