Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 86

Summary - Essay Example Participants were sampled from three regions: Bakony, Tolna and Baranya, and the capital region and 150 participants were selected from each group and questionnaires administered. The sample was representative. The study identified ethnic identity matrix for noting varieties of german orientations, established differences between members of the ethnic group and recommends sensitivity to communication in marketing to different ethnic groups and sub groups. Care is however necessary, especially when marketing to the German minority, because of their sensitivity that establishes contingencies such as â€Å"inadvertent stereotypes, biology and genetics, and ethnocentric bias† (Sas and Kozma, 2009, p. 96). Implementing mainstream marketing with the target population identified one theical issue that is unavailability Germans’ preferred foods. The study concludes that ethical marketing is a viable strategy in Hungary (Sas and Kozma,

Differences between Christian Beliefs and Buddhist Beliefs Research Paper

Differences between Christian Beliefs and Buddhist Beliefs - Research Paper Example This paper illustrates that in Christianity, the Ten Commandments is a list of rules imposed on Christians for the proper conduct of their lives. The goal of Christianity is to go to heaven after death. Thus, one must follow the Ten Commandments and God will allow them into heaven. In contrast, the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism is a set of suggestions for a more satisfactory life. The goal of Buddhism is to achieve Enlightenment, or nirvana, through one’s own efforts as there is no higher power than one’s self. Beliefs of Christianity and Buddhism As an organized religion, Christianity, when practiced by an individual, can be the only religion that is recognized. This is due to the belief that all other religions are false and practicing them would be sinful. Also, Christianity, more specifically Catholicism, contains only three central figures - the Father (God), the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. It is considered to be a sin to believe in or worship any o ther idol. According to Christian law, it is impossible to believe in God and to believe in other deities. Buddhism, as a way of life, has no contradiction in following more than one religion; there are many people that practice both Buddhism and another religion, even Christianity. There are also no creator gods or deities to worship. Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha, is the founder of the Buddhist path and philosophy, but he is regarded more as a mentor or a leader rather than a god. Therefore, there has never been a purpose to worship him, nor did he ever desire it or request it from others. Christianity is organized based on hierarchical structure within the Church and specific days of observance. Christianity consists of numerous people of importance, such as the Pope, Deacons, bishops, monks, priests, ministers, youth ministers, and Sunday School teachers. Each person plays an important role in the running of the Church and in the teaching and spreading of the Chri stian message. Certain days of importance and holidays are observed, like Sundays, which is reserved for church, and other days that celebrate occasions in the life of Jesus, like birth (Christmas) and his resurrection (Easter). Buddhism, however, has no priestly hierarchy, though practitioners are able to become monks. These monks are similar to the monks of Catholicism, though they do not share the same religious duties. As previously stated, Siddhartha Gautama is recognized as the founder of Buddhism, but he is little more than a fellow practitioner of old. In regard to days of observance, Buddhism does not deem one day holier than another. Instead, practitioners are encouraged to celebrate every day that they are alive. Some people do observe the birth of the Buddha, but it is not considered to be a sacred holiday. Salvation is another vast difference between the two religions. In Christianity, salvation is achieved through faith, a relationship with Jesus Christ, and daily repe ntance of sin.

Computing And It In Workplace Information Technology Essay

Computing And It In Workplace Information Technology Essay This documentation has been written and compiled as a representation of our group assignment that has been completes as part of an assessment of the Computer and Information Technology in Workplace (CITW) module. Where by our group has chosen Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) as the organization which with a group of three individuals, the three individual topics that we have selected based on the chapters that we have learned to be compared with Maybank are security, enterprise computing and ethical legal issues. Malayan banking Berhad online banking, Maybank2u.com, is the scenario to be discussed on how the computers and information technology are valuable to it. With this current scenario, in a group, we also able to learn on the functions and process, its advantages and disadvantages and the impact towards the organization upon implementing its online banking system. Introduction Maybank is the largest banking and financial group in Malaysia and has been leading the banking industry for over three and a half decades. Malayan Banking Berhad or Maybank was incorporated in Malaysia on 31 May 1960 and commenced operations on 12 September 1960. On 17 February 1962, Maybank was listed on the then Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (now known as Bursa Malaysia). Maybank is today among the largest companies by market capitalization on Bursa Malaysia. Maybank vision is to be a regional financial service leader and their mission is humanizing financial services from the heart of ASEAN. Maybank has also won many awards and recognition over the past few years. Maybank is the leading provider of financial services, meeting the different needs of their targeted customers through an efficient and integrated Group. Maybank is Malaysias largest financial services group with total assets exceeding RM350 billion. The Group has an extensive global network of 1,750 offices in 14 countries namely Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, United Kingdom, U.S.A., Bahrain, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. The first overseas branch is open in Brunei. Maybank offers a comprehensive range of financial services and products ranging from commercial banking, investment banking, Islamic banking, cards issuance, offshore banking, leasing and hire purchase, insurance, factoring, trustee services, asset management, stock broking, nominee services, venture capital and Internet banking. The online banking such as Maybank2U brings a lot of advantages of their customers. Today, the Maybank Group has over 40,000 employees who serve over 18 million customers worldwide, with 9.5 million customers in Malaysia alone. Maybank has been consistently ranked among Malaysias most valuable brands. It is also ranked first among Malaysian banks by Brand Finance in its Global 500 survey and 134th among the top 1,000 banks in the world by The Banker Magazine. Maybank (Online Banking Maybank2U) A current scenario Maybank2U Online Banking Our group has chosen a current scenario which is online banking via internet through maybank2u.com.my website. Technology have improve become better as they help the human to do thing easier, flexible and fast without physically appear in the place. Maybank have come up with these online banking services Now days lot of people prefer to do their bill payment transaction money online banking via online by just click on the website using their input device such as mouse and keyboards which is easier and easier rather than go to the bank queue up in the counter to do billings or transaction. Besides that, most people also own a laptop or smart phone which they can connect internet easily since most of the restaurant or place have WIF connection. It is easier, faster and save more time by doing it via Maybank2u.com rather than physically appears in the bank itself. Maybank2U online banking helps lots of people as it is user friendly and many banking services provided in it. Function of online banking in Maybank2u (M2U) Bills and Statement Customers can pay, view, save and print their bills, credit card and bank statement via online in their M2U account. Besides that, they can also can view, save and print their advices and notices via online rather than receive printed copies. It makes customer easy to manage their bills, bank statement and advice online without any charges. Life and Leisure It helps their customers to get enjoy sweet music by downloading n certain Maybank support website, order their favorite food such as in Pizza Hut, buy tickets such as movie tickets via this Maybank2u.com website. Maybank2u.com Merchant Programme It is a program that lets all the merchants sell their product and collect payment from their customers via online M2U or in the merchants website which Maybank have supported. They can pay their bills online by debating their Maybank savings or by using Maybank credit card. Online banking for business customers Business customers will get some additional services such as cheque service using M2U. They can view stop cheque, cheque status, and request for cheque book via online. They can also view their account summary and transactions history. They can transfer their funds in own accounts, registered third party, registered interbank GIRO, enquire, cancel future transfer and also pay over 500 bills and make future payments. Transfer funds Transfer fund between two accounts can be done in Maybank online banking. For specific transactions, Transactions Authorized Code (TAC) it must be necessary because it gives extra cover of security to protect you against unauthorized access to your account. For TAC we can request 24 hours a day and 7 days a week at maybank2u.com.my or by phone. Advantages of Using Online Banking via Maybank2U.com (M2U) Flexibility We can pay, view, save and print our bills, credit card and bank statement, advices and notices via online in our M2U account anytime and anywhere with the present of internet connection and electronic device that can connect internet such as smart phone and notebook. It is fast and more convenient ways to settle our bills rather then we got to bank. View accounts summary We can check and view your account balance is the maybank2u.com (M2U). We can daily check our account summary by selecting our accounts at Account and banking page in M2U. It makes us easier to view our account anytime. Paperless Paperless are use in online banking. Paperless banking is environmentally friendly, and the support of go green. Users can save all their information, bills statement or others in their hardware or save in their e-mail. They did not need to waste money to buy files to keep all their document and then need of space to keep all those files. It will also be difficult if we wanted to find some bill it takes more time also. Free There are no charges or any fee for this M2U online statement service or use the M2U online banking services. Disadvantages of Using Online Banking via maybank2u.com (M2U) Start-up may take time In order to register for your banks online program, you will probably have to provide ID and sign a form at a bank branch. If you and your spouse wish to view and manage your assets together online, one of you may have to sign a durable power of attorney before the bank will display all of your holdings together Privacy and Security Issue Even though, M2U website are well protected their customer or user information or privacy there are still information being steal or hack by the hacker or computer theft. It is not very secure since the information is passing through the network. The customers or user of M2U will have the probability of losing their privacy. Phishing Phishing activities by irresponsible may occur which the hacker will send e-mail ask to enter your information and then they easily hack into your account. Many customer of M2U or user will be cheat easily because they will thought that the phishing website are the real website. It is not easy for some users of M2U to detect that it is phishing website or the real website since might not know more about security in a website. Complicated when data being hack When someone account are being hack the person have to make do a lot of prevention such as make in order to be safe such as making police report, call to the bank to stop the account and others. It wastes a lot of time if any bad incident had occurred. Technical breakdowns Sometimes M2U website will be down due to some maintenance users have to wait for the website to on back as usually. It might takes a long time from them to recovery back their website if any major issues happen such as then server problem and others. If user in emergency to transfer money or doing some payment via online M2U during website go down , user still have to go to the branch to do it since waiting for the website recover might takes a long time. Impact of the Technology Since the launch of Malayan Banking Berhad Internet Banking (Maybank2u.com), it has impact the organization mostly in good factors. Maybank2u.com (M2U) has an active user with a year-on-year growth which remains as the leader in internet banking. Many customers finds attractive with this product due to its ability to pay for any online purchases, payment of monthly utility bills, electronic billing and online statements. With these functions, the customer can easily made the payment from their home with wasting their time on queuing and travelling just to settle the payment for that particular time. By providing this functions, the bank has taken the step to be as an agent where the payment from the customer for the bills to be paid. Another impact to the organization is by achieving more than RM6 million for non-audited cost saving by eliminating the needs of printing and mailing account statement for customer. Previously M2U user will only have to enter their username and password in order for them to enter the secure site, but for security purposes, M2U has expand its security by making the user to choose any pictures from the listing and create a phrase for the picture selected. Upon login, user only required to enter their username, if user found that the picture and phrase shown is not as per user selection, it is suggested not to continue but if everything is matched, user is safe to proceed. The features, layout structure and content must be updated from time to time. It must be straight forward and user friendly so that it will be a peace of mind for the user when they use this product. Individual Topic Ethical and Legal Issues This refers to the rules and standards that should be followed and standardize to everyone. Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) has their own ethical and legal issues. When compare to the slides, all the sub-topic is used but they actually have other that not cover in the slides such as the ethical and legal issues for banking industries. Unauthorized Access Use Maybank, as a custodian of public funds, has a responsibility to safeguard its integrity and credibility. It is on this understanding that the organization sets out clearly the code of ethics and conduct for its staff. The code stipulates the sound principles that will guide all Maybank staff in discharging their duties. It sets out the standards of good banking practice. Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) having many branches mainly covering the Asian countries. With the banking system connects to a particular server, each staff is holding their own unique identification and password. This will enable the staff to use any company computers in any branches. The banking software that the staff should be using will be enabled by the IT Department people. By this, not all staff has the access to all the banking software or system throughout the bank. Every computer in the organization is monitored. The group whom in-charge in monitoring the use of the organization computer will be able to see who are the particular users that login to the system and the location of the user. For any unusual event during the monitoring, it will be triggered and person who at that time was monitoring will be aware of the situation. This is one of the protections against the hackers. Other than access control and monitoring, each members of staff login into the organization network will be audited. Some higher personnel are allowed to access the organizations network from outside the organizations area. Hardware Theft Vandalism It is the act of stealing or defecting any computer equipment. Every personnel in the organization are in-charge of looking after the companys property especially that was given to them to perform their task. All equipments belong to Maybank has its own tagging number which able to track of the items and equipment. Software Theft It is the act of stealing software or illegally duplicating of software for distribution. In this organization, all the software are legally purchased and only be enable to the user upon request or instruction given to the IT Department. The software own by the organization is kept only by this department. Any duplication made, can only be made by the personnel under this department. Any software that are installed to any Maybanks computer will have the license agreement that the user need to agree during installation without any other safeguard due to the product activation was done earlier by the IT personnel. For normal software, the organization will purchased for multiple user and in some cases, the organizations will have to purchase only for single user. This will depends on the quantity of user whom will be using the software. Most of the software license is only valid for one year maximum this is to ensure that any illegal copy made will only valid for one year. Information Theft To safeguard against the information theft is by encryption. Encryption is the process of converting readable to unreadable. Maybank prevent from information theft not only by encryption but by having a password to decrypt the information. This password is between the person who encrypt it and the person who will decrypt it. IT Code of Conduct It is the written guideline that helps to determine whether computer action is ethical. People might think that this code of conduct will only give and apply by the people who are working under IT Department. In Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank), this code of conduct is included in their organizations code of conduct. This means that it will not only apply to people who are working under IT Department. Information Privacy In any banking industries, it is difficult to control especially the customer information privacy. Not only due to the leak of information by the staff but it also because of the information is stored online. Maybank only required their staff and customer to fill in their particulars in the forms provided which are necessary. This is to ensure that their necessary information is only for the use of within the organization. The computer that connects to the organizations network will automatically clear the history of cache and cookies upon either shutting down or logout from the computer. Most of the machine in the organization are blocked from other website and forward email, there are still some unwanted email that might be unblock due to internal issues. In the organizations code of conduct also mention that the staff is restricted to view other website that not related to their task given. Although there are sites which are not blocked, there will still be a monitoring from other department on the site that the personnel visit. The organizations also equipped their machine with auto spam program which will delete most of the spam that detected by this program. Content Filtering This is a process of restricting access to certain material. This system has been mention in the above topic that this organization is using it. This is to block the websites which are listed to be blocked. It will be based on the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA). Another software that was used is to set what the user can only browse to. Some user in the organizations only allowed browsing through their intranet sites. Other user can browse through the internet but either with or without limitation is depends on their positions level and task. Security Issues Computer security is a protection of information and property from theft, natural disaster or corruption, while allowing the information or property to remain accessible to all the users. Security issues are the ways on how the information is protected or being hacked. Similarity of the security issues in Maybank The similarities of security issue in the security slide with Maybank such as the security method use are the same. Secure Sockets Layers (SSL) Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) has used the Secure Sockets Layers (SSL) in all their websites which same as in the security slide module. SSL is web addresses beginning with https indicate secure connections in the website. We can see the Maybank web address begins with https when their user uses the Maybank website to login. They use SSL to ensure data integrity and data confidentiality. All the data that passes between client and Internet server will be encrypted by using 128 bits SSL protocol from VeriSign Certificate Authority. SSL is a secure way of transferring information or data between two computers through the Internet using encryption methods which it will encrypted all the data and the information become human unreadable or cant understand the data and information. The encryption method that Maybank use is end to end encryption which is adopted within the banks computer networks and resources. Digital Certificate Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) has Digital Certificate in all their websites which same as in the security slide module. Maybank website and its other website such as Maybank2u.com all are WebTrust certified. WebTrust is one of the Certificate Authority (CA) program. It is an independent corporation that monitors and tests all the facilities to assure that Maybank maintain the highest and most current standards in Internet information security and exchange. This proves that Maybank compliance with leading international security standards and the commitment to maintaining a secure environment in all Maybank websites in which the confidentiality, authentication,  integrity, and  nonrepudiation  are vitally important. Firewall Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) has used Firewall System in all their computers which same as in the security slide module. Firewall system is used in all Mayabank websites for system security and to monitor the measures for online users to do their transaction in Maybank website. Besides that, it is to detect, prevent and protect the networks from unauthorized access while permitting legitimate communications to pass on Maybank network systems. Maybank also recommend their user to have a firewall installed in their computer. This is because of safety in terms of their personal information such as their password from being hack by other people or by hacker. Antivirus Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) has used Antivirus Program in all their computers which same as in the security slide module. Antivirus is software that used to identify removes and protect against malware or malicious attack such as computer viruses, worms, Trojan horse, adware, and spyware. It is also used to reduce the risk of loss information, repair expense, cost and time taken. Maybank recommended its customer to purchase automatic upgrades your virus protection. Besides that, they also recommended not to open any attachment from unknown people via e-mail. Maybank has also used antivirus program in its entire company computer. Disaster Recovery Plan Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) has applied Disaster Recovery Plan in its company which same as in the security slide module. Disaster Recovery Plan is the emergency plan to be taken right after disaster occurs at the particular place. In conjunction, Maybank disaster recovery plan takes a long time to recover and they have found some alternative solution in order to recovery the data faster when natural disaster occurs. Differences of the security issues in Maybank The difference of security issue in the security slide with Maybank such as the security method use is the different to protect their property. Results-Driven Computing (RDC) framework Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) has applied Results-Driven Computing (RDC) framework in its company for backup purpose which different from the security slide module. RDC is a data centre which can store a huge number of data in it. Maybank combine RDC and disaster recovery plan to get fast delivery of data, better and cheaper computing across the mid-range, grid and mainframe environment. Besides that, Maybank wanted to full fill it requirement for world class disaster recovery. They have set up a different data centre to store the entire fully replicate banks critical data across the entire platform. They ran both method of backup simultaneously. Username and Password Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) has use username and password to login or access the system which different from the security slide module. In Maybank website its company has use password and username in order to prevent unauthorized access to its company financial services. It is one of the security issues in Maybank to protect the customer information and privacy. Username can be in alphanumeric and alphabetical where else password must be and alphanumeric. The username must be between 6 to 16 characters and the password must between 8 to 12 characters. All the password and username are case sensitive. Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) has use Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) in all its company and branches which different from the security slide module. CCTV is place in the many places in the building such as in every Maybank counter, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) machine, and other places. It is to protect and detect in case any crime or bad incident happen such as robbing, snatching and others all will be recorded as prove by using CCTV. It is also will be tightly being monitor if required. Fire alarm and Intruder Alarm Systems Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) has use Fire alarm and Intruder Alarm Systems in all its company and branches which is different from the security slide module. Fire alarm helps Maybank in case of be caught by fire it will alert all the people in that particular building. Intruder alarm system is help to alert people around the particular place if any incident happens such as robbing and quickly informs police and to alert the customer and staff to beware. It is important to have fire alarm and intruder alarm system in a company. Enterprise Computing Enterprise computing is a large organization such as Maybank that requires special computing solutions because if its size and use of computers in networks that encompass variety of operating systems, protocol, and network architectures. Similarities of Enterprise Computing with Maybank. The below are some similarities of the enterprise computing in the slide that apply in Maybank. Enterprises. Maybank is well organized as shown in the hierarchy below that show the similarities of enterprises. Figure Organization Chart of Maybank Four Management Activities. The four management activities are the similarities in Maybank. The four management activities are planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Planning is setting the objectives and strategies tactics by the executive management such as Tan Sri Dato Megat Zaharuddin Megat Mohd Nor, Chairman of Maybank. Next is the organizing that concerns more on the people and the management structure by the middle management. Leading is important in Maybank. This is because communication between customers is important to prevent misunderstood and those leader such as the supervisor will have to give proper instruction to their subordinates and motivate them to maintain the best service provided by Maybank to their customers. Controlling and monitoring have to be done every time to make sure good performance , take measurement on any matter and take corrective action to improve the quality and services provided by Maybank. Functional Unit. The similarities of Maybank company with the slide note is they have functional unit. Maybank have divided to several department for example Maybank do have human resources(HR), customers service department to help their customer if there is any enquiry. Maybank also have several centers and divisions as well such as the financial services, insurance takaful, enterprise transformation global wholesale banking, group Islamic banking corporate affairs and communication and also customer feedback management. Online Banking. Besides that, online banking is one of the similarities. Maybank provided online banking to their customer. As the trend nowadays most of the people use technology and internet to do all their things via internet, Maybank has provide the online banking services so that their customer do not need to go to the Maybank to pay their bill. In addition, the customers can also view their bank account and statements online without going to the Maybank or the ATM machine. This can save the customer times as they do not need to queue at the counter to pay their bill or bank in their money into their account. Transaction Processing System (TPS). Maybank also do use Transaction Processing System (TPS) in their system. This Transaction Processing System captures and processes data from day to day transactions. TPS is use in ATM machine, credit card and also in Touch n Go. Customers can easily pay their things using their credit card rather than bringing a lot of cash with them which is dangerous. Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Customer Relationship Management (CRM) manages information about customers, interactions with customers, past purchases and interest. Maybank uses CRM to attract more customers to use their bank services as it is crucial in the financial services industry where competition is intense. At Maybank, CRM is treated as a core function, reflecting their customer-centric business approach. Maybank have invested in an Analytical Customer Relationship Management (aCRM) system to transform the business fully and drive business by leveraging on the strategic use of information about our customers. Portal. Besides that, the similarities is Maybank do also provide portal for their customers. Portal is collection of links, content and services presented on Webpage. Maybank had Launches Countrys First Internet Financial Portal in the year of 2000. This service enables customers to conduct a host of financial services via internet. These include opening of account, balance enquiry, funds transfers, cheque status enquiry, stop payment of cheque, bill payment, online stock investment, insurance application and renewal, online shopping and electronic procurement (B2B). In addition, Maybank also have eProcurement Portal to acquire goods and services efficiently and effectively for both internal and external customers. It is design to enable Maybank and its suppliers to reduce transaction and handling costs, and to automated timely information exchange. Data Warehouse. Data warehouse is a huge database that stores data required to analyse historical and current transaction. In 13 August 2002, Maybank has sign agreement with Oracle for data warehouse to provide business intelligence for business needs and also to improve high value customer relationship and services. With better and quicker access to required information, their staff will be empowered with better decision making in their relationship with the customers. Web Services. Web services are also one of the similarities. The conversion to online processing and payment will revolutionise the business-to-business (B2B) receivable management processes eliminating many of the issues associated with manual processing of invoices and payments. With online processing, those who enrol in the programme will gain operational efficiency as invoicing and payments are all electronically processed. Online access will also increase productivity and financial management for customers. Maybank will continue to assist businesses to transform their B2B processes particularly for receivables and payments. Maybank will continue to collaborate with our partner American Express to offer innovative global B2B corporate solutions to promote cashless transactions particularly to the small-medium enterprises (SMEs). With more business adopting cashless payment solutions this will increase the volume of online payments Virtual Private Network (VPN). Virtual Private Network (VPN) provides secure connection for user connecting to company network server using internet. Telekom Malaysia (TM) had provided IP VPN services for Maybank to replace their analogue network which serves their off-bank ATM machine. This service allows their customers to make use of internet communications in a private and highly secured environment and improved system availability and response time. Differences The below are some differences of the enterprise computing in the slide that apply in Maybank. Enterprise Hardware. Maybank use Mobius Viewdirect Total Content Management to store their critical information rather than using the enterprise storage medium such as CD-ROM server or DVD-ROM server. Recommendations/Proposals Maybank2U online banking should increase more on their security to prevent other people to hack their customer account. Maybank2u online banking can ask more verification of their customer before doing any online banking using the Maybank2U website. They can improve their question and answer (QA) in their website. They should provide more questions, answer and the solution on how to use their website and how to handle the problem if they faced some problem while using Maybank website. They also can show few examples or some tutorial on how to register as a member and how to use the Maybank website or the services provided in their website. It will attract more and more user or customer to use the online banking system. They can also try to filter the phishing website which acts like Maybank website. To save its customer and users from being hack any lost their privacy. Conclusion Based from what we have learned and our researched, not all of what we have studied is applied directly in the working world. With the technology in the banking industries now, it makes our life easy. Back then, it is impossible if we say that money can be transfer from wherever we are but now with the help of technology, not only we able to transfer funds but we also able to make a purchase from other area or country without us bein

Barack Obama :: American Politics, Leadership

In 2007 when then Senator Barack Obama announced his run for the presidency of the United States, the country was experiencing great turmoil and people were ready for a change in leadership. No matter what political party you held, it appeared to be an overwhelming sentiment that people were looking for a shift in direction, especially relating to the bad economical positions a lot of Americans had found themselves in. All of the challenges that the country was experiencing was a sign that the next President would have to lead based on social, political and economical environments. This diverse demand was aligned with the more contemporary study of match the leader’s style with the demand of the assignment. To better ensure a leader’s effectiveness, many high profile leaders are being singled out as a way to correlate success with a leader’s approach. As a contemporary leader, President Barak Obama’s leadership style is constantly being critiqued. Although many still debate the effectiveness of his presidency, most people agree that his transformational leadership approach was the prescribed style the country was in need of. Leadership Traits I believe that defining a leader by one set of traits can be challenging, if not impossible. That is mostly likely that when you research leadership traits you come across various opinions; among them is Baker (2001) who believes that when leaders are defined they should be defined based on the traits associated with three systems. These systems (Baker, 2001) include the classical system, the equilibrium system, and the transforming system. Each of the systems (Baker 2001) has traits associated with them, for the exception of the transforming system. If we buy into Baker’s trait theory (2001), the transforming system would be the group that would set the stage for defining the leadership needs that the United States was experiencing when President Obama took office. In the transforming system the leader’s role cannot be defined in advance, but emergences from the dissipative or transforming processes (Baker, 2001). As we see the constant introduction of challenges since President Obama took office his leadership style has had to adjust to function effectively. Leadership Styles As defining what leadership traits are has evolved, so follows the leadership styles and how they are best used. Some of these styles include charismatic leadership, transformational leadership, transactional leader, situational leaders, directive leadership style, coaching leadership style, supporting leadership style, and delegating leadership style.

Bluetooth Applications

BLUETOOTH APPLICATION ABSTRACT In the current scenario the world is plagued by accidents which are primarily due to human errors in judgment and hence thousands of lives are lost. These accidents can be avoided if only there was a mechanism to alert the driver of approaching danger. This can be done by monitoring the distance between nearby cars and alerting the driver whenever the distance becomes too short. This is precisely the aim of this paper.In this paper we propose the use of Bluetooth Technology by which we can check the speed of the car whenever it comes dangerously close to any other vehicle up front, thereby saving very many lives. CONTENTS: 1. INTRODUCTION 2. ROAD ACCIDENT STATISTICS 3. OPERATION 4. AUTOMATIC BRAKING SYSTEM 5. REPRESENTATION OF OUR IDEA 6. CONCLUSION 7. REFERENCES INTRODUCTION Since Bluetooth devices are capable of communicating with eight other devices simultaneously we can monitor and check the speeds of up to eight cars simultaneously, thus preventing accidents.Thus if we have two Bluetooth enabled devices in two cars the devices automatically communicate with each other when they come in the range of up to 100 meters of each other. The range is dependant on the power class of the product. Power transmission rates vary in many Bluetooth devices depending upon the power saving features available in a particular unit, bandwidth requirements, transmission distance. The statistics of road accidents is tremendous and highlights the need for such a system. The following is a statistic on the number of road accidents occurring each year.ROAD ACCIDENT STATISTICS OF INDIA 1970-2003 | |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Sl. No. | |Source:   Data received from States/UTs. | s OPERATION Because of traveling at high speeds there is a possibility of having accident. The figure 2 shows that when two cars or more come within the distance of 10 km at high speeds there is a possibility of having accidents. The Bluetooth radio is a short dist ance, low power radio operating in the unlicensed spectrum of 2. GHz and using a nominal antenna power of 20 dBm. [pic] At the 20 dB the range is 100 meters, meaning equipment must be Within 100 meters to each other (about 328 feet) to communicate using the Bluetooth standard. With the help of this technology we can send data to the eight devices. The group of eight devices is known as piconet. Here we have a piconet and a scatternet, in the piconet M is the master and S1 to S7 are the slaves [pic] Radio communication is subjected to noise and interference, as the 2. 4 GHz frequencies are shared between the all device in piconet.So the Bluetooth specification has solved this problem by employing what is called as spectrum spreading, in which the Bluetooth radio hops among different frequencies very quickly. There are 79 hops starting at 2. 402 GHz and stopping at 2. 480 GHz, each of which is displaced by 1 MHz. The Bluetooth avoids interference by hoping around these 79 frequencies 1600 times per second. So in order to avoid it we use bluetooth equipped car, in which each car have bluetooth transmitter and receiver. And the every car should have mini computer to monitor the relative position of the car with the other car. pic]When any car comes close together bluetooth device sends warning signal to the car. Based on the type of warning signal received the computer sends signal to the brake control system to slow down the speed of the car. There are two types of control signals. First type of signal control the speed of the car and the second type of signal is to overtake the car which is moving forward. Schematic diagram of car: [pic] AUTOMTIC BRAKE SYSTEM: The automatic brake system is the next generation braking system for controlling the speed of the car.On receiving the control signal from the traveling car the computer inside the car manipulates the signal and gives control signal to the braking system. There are four main components to an automatic brak ing system: †¢ speed sensors †¢ pump †¢ valves †¢ controller [pic] Automatic braking pump and valves The computer constantly monitors the distance between each of these cars and when it senses that the car is getting too close it moves the hydraulic valves to increase the pressure on the braking circuit, effectively increasing the braking force on the wheels.If the distance between two vehicle is within the 100m the Bluetooth devices get enabled and if the distance come closer within 10m the automatic braking system takes the control. After the speed of the car is reduced and distance increased the hydraulic valves decreases the pressure on the braking circuit, thus effectively decrease the braking force on the wheels. The following steps show the various functions of the hydraulic valves: †¢ in position one, the valve is open; pressure from the master cylinder is passed right through to the brake. in position two, the valve blocks the line, isolating that b rake from the master cylinder. This prevents the pressure from rising further should the driver push the brake pedal harder. †¢ in position three, the valve releases some of the pressure from the brake.REPRESENTATION OF OUR IDEA In the figure 7 when car A and car B come within the range of 100m both the Bluetooth devices get enabled and if any one of the car comes too fast then the bluetooth device sends a warning signal to the other car and it processes the signal and gives it to the automatic braking system. pic] CONCLUSION: The Bluetooth technology is being widely adopted by the Industry leaders. The possibility for new applications is very exciting with this Versatile technology. It provides a simple, logical answer to all the Problems-which is built a single common radio into every mobile computer, then neither do companies have to worry about WAN, nor do communication companies need to worry about building external cables. The Bluetooth communication device will thus be a small, low powered radio in a chip that will talk to other Bluetooth enabled products.Bluetooth has been designed to solve a number of connectivity problems experienced by the mobile workers & consumers. Thus, this technology helps make the electronic devices more user friendly and helps address various other problems like accidents. ———————– Fig 1 CAR 1 CAR 6 CAR 4 CAR 3 CAR 7 CAR 8 CAR 5 CAR 2 MINI COMPUTER INSIDE THE CAR Fig 2 M S72222222 S1 M2 S2 S1 M1/S S1 S1/S3 M1 S3 Fig 3 Fig 4 Fig 5 Fig 6 Within 10m Sends warning signal Receives signal and control the speed of car Fig 7

Disease Trends and the Delivery of Healthcare Services Essay

Aging and obesity are two components of disease trends in the United States. Studies, reports, articles, and many other forms of information have been conducted or written to see just how these components of disease trends will influence the delivery of health care. If Americans keep indulging, we will be the largest country in the world, and that is not speaking geographically. Not since the beginning of man has the world had so many older people. There is a large percentage of elderly, more so than ever before. This has not always been the case. It is documented, in 1930, that America’s aged 45-64 numbered less than 5. % of the American population. This day and age if you had 8 people at least one of them is 65 or older. From 2000 to 2010 that age group grew to 26. 4 percent of the American population. By the 2030 there will be 72. 1 million older people in the U. S. This is caused because of the â€Å"Baby Boomers†, people born between 1946 and 1964, are coming of retirement age (Transgenerational, 2013). . Environmental factors of ageing play a large role in the majority of cases of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease; two diseases that are closely related to ageing. Exposure to toxic chemicals and other pollutants, diet, exercise, and socioeconomic stress can also play a large role on how ageing can be affected. The coming of the millenniums the aging population has become a major demographic trend in the United Sates. Improved health and longevity and declining fertility have had a growth spurt in the older populations dramatically. Here are some interesting facts. A swelling Population (Transgenerational, 2013) * For the first time in history, people aged 65 and over will soon outnumber children under the age of 5. Throughout the world today, there are more people aged 65 and older than the entire populations of Russia, Japan, France, Germany and Australia—combined. * By 2030, 55 countries are expected to see their 65 and older populations at least 20 percent of their total. * By 2040, the global population is projected to number 1. 3 billion older people—accounting for 14 percent of the total. * By 2050, the U. N. estimates that the proportion of the world’s population age 65 and over will more than double, from 7. 6% today to 16. 2%. As the number of the elderly increases, public health challenges increase. At least 80% of people over 65 years of age have a chronic health condition and at least 50% have two chronic health issues. Diabetes, affects close to one out of five persons over the age of 65. Diabetes causes increased morbidity and health care cost is increased. Diabetes will intensify as the population ages; with more people over the age of 70 having the largest increase. By 2050 we are looking at least 8. 6 million men and women over the age of 70 with diabetes. Alzheimer is another disease affected by ageing. As adults live longer the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease, also increases. Close to 10% of over 65 and close to 47% over 85 suffer from this degenerative and debilitating disease (Transgenerational, 2013). A chronic condition, such as arthritis, is another disease affected by ageing and is a huge cause of disability. As the elderly are living longer there are more complications related to health than most anything else related to ageing. Everyday new medications ad new technologies are being created and can be contributed to people living longer. However, what the body is like at 55 years is not the same as it is at 75 years. You do not heal as fast or as well, therefore the rehabilitation process will take longer and cost more. The most common condition touching those 65 and older is coronary heart disease, and then stroke, cancer, pneumonia and the flu (AgingCare, 2013). Hip fracture from falls is another common factor of health complication in the elderly. Many of the elderly have at least one of the following ailments not previously mentioned, and some with two or more: (AgingCare, 2013) * Breathing Problems * Depression * Incontinence (urine and stool) * Cancer * Eye problems (cataracts, glaucoma, Macular Degeneration) As the body gets older, other things to be aware of are: (AgingCare, 2013) * A slower response time, which is really important when assessing if a person can drive handle a vehicle. * Thinner skin, which can lead to breakdowns and wounds that don’t heal quickly * A declining immune system, which can make warding off viruses, bacteria and diseases difficult * Reduced sense of taste or smell, which can lead to reduced appetite and dehydration Current and future trends of obesity are not looking too promising for Americans. Americans are fat, and we lie about it. Most women say they do not weigh as much as they really do and both men and women say they are taller than they really, so the body mass index are not true rates, either (insidermonkey, 2010) If we continue with the current trends of the past 30 years, we could be looking at 100% of an overweight population. By 2048, all African-American women could be obese and at least 90% of all Hispanic men could obese, too. 100% of the population overweight is another story. Here are some interesting facts: (insidermonkey, 2010) * Non-Hispanic black people have the highest obesity rate of 36. 8%. Hispanics have an obesity rate of 30. 7% Non-Hispanic white people have an obesity rate of 25. 2%. * Other races, such as Asians, have the lowest obesity rate of 16. 7%. * The obesity rate of people aged 18-29 is 20. 3%. * The rate is 27. 8% for 30-39 age group, 29. 4% for 40-49 age group, 31. 1% for 50-59 age groups. The obesity rate declines slightly to 30. 9% for the 60-69 age groups * Those who manage to stay alive past the age of 69 have an obesity rate of 20. 5%. Obesity is one of the factors causing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes (insidermonkey, 2010). A large portion of people that are obese are also diabetic. Environment, behavior and biology are the ntricate interactions from Obesities end result. The current obesity epidemic is caused more by the environmental factors, such as a sedentary lifestyle, setting and watching TV or playing games, eating fatty high calorie foods, than the actual biological factors. People watching televisions are flooded with commercials showing all the comfort foods craved by the public. The convenience of a drive through restaurant is more appealing to some than the grocery store and cooking a healthy meal. The fast food we buy is packed in portion sizes that are way out of line with the federal recommendations. Moreover, the imbalance if calorie intake and physical expenditure has decreased in today’s lifestyle. Fighting the obesity epidemic requires environmental and social policy changes, mainly in the portion sizes, making healthful foods more readily available and promoting physical activity. Obesity is known as the plague of the 21st century. Obesity is beginning to be one of the â€Å"sensitive† issue in the U. S. and people are afraid to discuss the issue because political correctness. Statistics do not tell the true story and are grossly underestimated. There are parts of the U. S. hat the obesity rates are highest and that is the Midwest and the South; the home of fried chicken and potatoes and gravy. The obesity rates are the lowest on the West coast and the Northeast; obviously, a fish eating population. A fun fact; the US is biggest Big Mac consumer in the world (insidermonkey, 2010). It is agreed by the healthcare professionals that the more overweight a person is, the more likely they are to have health problems. Overweight or obese people are at higher risk for chronic diseases (WebMD, 2012). If a person’s weight is at 20% over the maximum healthy weight considered for their height, they are thought to be obese. Those at greatest risks for overweight/obesity related conditions include: (WebMD, 2012) * People with a family history who have had heart disease or diabetes are more likely to develop these problems if they are obese. * High blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, or high blood sugar levels are all warning signs of some obesity-associated diseases. * â€Å"Apple† shaped. People whose weight is mostly around their stomachs may be at greater risk of developing heart disease, diabetes or cancer than people of the same weight who are â€Å"pear-shaped† (they carry their weight in their hips nd buttocks) (WebMD, 2012). Obesity can cause your health to suffer tremendously. It is harder on your heart and all your organs. A few of the main health issues can be blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, high cholesterol and an over-all metabolic syndrome, this is a combination of a your blood sugars, blood pressure, high cholesterol and high triglycerides (agingc are,2013). Caring extra weight on your body frame also can be contributed to osteoarthritis. Sleep apnea is another health complication that can be linked to obesity (agingcare, 2013). You over-all quality of life may not be as good as it could be if you were not obese. Some of these issues may be, depression, discrimination, physical discomfort, shame, and even social isolation (Mayo Clinic, 2012). In 2030, it is estimated the older generation is be 20% of the American population. As people age in the future they will enjoy longer lives and better health. Older people will also be more active than in past generation; if the percentage of the elderly can stay below the obesity levels. Having the number of aged increased, there will be an increase in health-care cost, too. Many elderly will be independent and take care of themselves but many will also depend on the care of long-term facilities. The issue with this can be that the number of working tax payers may decreased in relativity to the number elderly increase. So, we might see inadequate public resources and less people being able to formally care for the elderly. The obese population already have a large medical costs of obesity are as high as $147 Billion. On average, obese people have medical costs that are $1429 more than medical costs of normal weight people (insidermonkey, 2010). Getting older is something we have no control of. We do have the control to prevent ourselves from becoming obese. We have control over what we put in our mouths. We have control over how we treat our bodies. If we are obese in our younger years, there is a possibility that we won’t make to our older years. It would be nice to know in 2030 we are not going to have a nation of old fat people. How we treat our bodies and how we teach our children to treat their bodies will tell how we are going to age and what quality of life we are going to have.

New Product Development (NDP)

New Product Development (NDP) Introduction Products act as the main source of monetary benefits that organisation organisations enjoy upon availing them to willing clients. An organisation may decide to increase its sales returns by colonising new markets. Due to differences in the needs of the target consumers in different markets, it may be compelled to either improve or develop completely new products to suit a market (Kim Wilemon, 2007).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on New Product Development (NDP) specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This strategy is perhaps largely workable for Google when it chose to enter the Chinese market. Considering that the goal of new product development (NPD) entails coming up with products that succeed in a target market, using the case of Google China, this paper investigates the processes of developing such commodities. Purpose This paper discusses new product development at Google China. The discussion borrows fr om various theoretical frameworks for developing new products in organisations. The paper also conducts interviews on customers and company employees about the reception of Google China’s new products with the aim of developing an understanding on the effectiveness of NPD practices of the company. Background First led by Kai-Fu Lee, Google China began as a subsidiary of Google Company in 2005. It ranks the third position in the Chinese market after Soso and the Baidu. Carsten (2013) informs how it controlled a market size of about 338 million people in 2009. Over the years, the company has been struggling to expand its market. However, it has encountered immense challenges akin to the various legal regulations on search engines in China’s mainland. In 2010, Google searches were prohibited for some time in China’s mainland. Mobile searches and others yielded DNS errors (Carsten, 2013). Hong Kong does not censor search results for various search engines. Google Ch ina found it the most appropriate location from where to control the sharing of networking and information resources across the internet with Google customers who are located in the China. Marketing successful Google products elsewhere across the globe in the Chinese market is incredibly difficult because of censorship and other regulations on information sharing. The company endeavours to search new products that fit the Chinese search marketplace.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For instance, it presumes that the software for android Smartphones has a high potential to succeed in the Chinese market. Google had controlled 29 percent of the total search market in China by 2010. However, this trend declined by 24 percent over 2012 before settling at 1.7 at the close of 2013 (Carsten, 2013). This poor performance attracted the necessity for the development of new pr oducts that suit the Chinese market. This case has been given priority if Google China has to operate in the market with success in the future. Scope New product development comprises all approaches that are applied to avail new products in all markets where an organisation’s operations are established. These strategies include idea development, design of the products, its engineering, marketing research, and promotion analysis. The scope of this paper is limited to product design, idea development, and engineering. The other two aspects (marketing analysis and research) focus on ensuring acceptance and performance of the products in the marketplace. Methodology This research uses both primary and secondary resources. Direct online interviews, which are conducted on employees and customers of Google China, are the sources of primary data. The interview questions are designed to eliminate ambiguity. This situation enhances clarity so that interviewees can respond accurately. T he interviews (as shown in appendix 1 and appendix 2) focus on determining the reception of Google products, which the Chinese people search consumers. The questions also target at determining the implication of censorship upon the consumption of the product. This information may provide an opportunity for benchmarking or reverse engineering in the development of new products that suit the Chinese consumers. A sample of 20 people (customers and Google China employees) was interviewed. Primary data is important in helping develop thumbnails for products that are likely to succeed in the Chinese market.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on New Product Development (NDP) specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the development of the actual products requires the deployment of an appropriate NPD conceptual model. Therefore, a wide range of secondary data on frameworks of NPD becomes important. The most appropriate framework is then selected for analysis of Google China’s NPD processes. Assumptions The models deployed in the discussion of NPD are borrowed from secondary resources. Such models are developed for application in general organisations without considering specific needs in some markets. This research assumes that upon generation of ideas that measure up to the needs of the Chinese market, Goggle China can follow such models to create products that will succeed in the Chinese marketplace. The research also assumes that no other recent or better NPD models exist in unpublished scholarly works and/or stored in a form that is inaccessible through online libraries. Limitations Using online interviews to collect data in a nation where there is regulation of freedom of expression through online media is one of the major limitations of this research. Fear among the interviewees on the purpose or use of the information that is sought from them may increase their reluctance to participate in th e interviews. This situation has the implication of lowering the accuracy and reliability of the research findings and the offered recommendations. The approaches deployed by Google in NPD may also differ from those applied by other organisations. Thus, the process of generalising and applying the recommended NPD processes in other organisations is another limitation of the research. Frameworks Sequential Model The sequential model depicts the process that leads to the development of new products. It comprises a number of sequentially organised steps (Smith Reinertsen, 1998). Application to the Organisation Sequential model in figure 1 shows that NPD initiates with the development of the concept or a product idea before examination of the feasibility of the products. This case makes the model highly applicable in Google China since the challenge of developing new products that meet the needs of the China’s search market requires compliance with China’s rules and regul ations.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The feasibility of the product must be evaluated in the context of legal and regulatory environment so that a failure to pass the feasibility test calls for a re-examination of the concept before any other effort to develop the product further. Aspects such as the quality of the product and its capacity to satisfy of customer needs are also accomplished at the feasibility stage (Smith Reinertsen, 1998). In fact, at Google China, organisational resources can be wasted if software and applications developers initiate NPD process without total assurance of the likelihood of acceptance of the new product as it progresses in each stage of development. Overlapping Model The overlapping model approaches NPD process through the interactions of various professionals and work teams from the beginning to the end. Rather than operating through specialised stages, contribution of all players in the development process ensures attention to varying ideas since the development process takes place (Ulrich Eppinger, 2004). Under the model, each of the stages of NPD initiates before the end of the preceding stage (Ulrich Eppinger, 2004). Additionally, new product developers at one stage pre-visit the previous stage in an attempt to incorporate various changes to eliminate cascading bugs in the current stage from the previous stage as illustrated in figure 2 below. Figure 2: Overlapping Model in Product Development Source: (Ulrich Eppinger, 2004) Application to the Organisation While developing new Google China’s products, several variables may influence the success or failure of the overall development process. While implementing a phase in the NPD process, it important to consider the necessary changes in the previous phases in an effort to incorporate them in the second phase to increase the probability of success of later phases. For instance, it is important to evaluate a phase in the context of the likely omissions of legal requirements as they apply in Chinaâ⠂¬â„¢s search industry. Innovation Value Chain Framework Source: (Hansen Birkinshaw, 2007) Projected by Hansen and Birkinshaw (2007), the innovation value chain scheme presents four chronological stages, namely creation of thoughts, selection of the appropriate idea, transformation, and idea execution. The model provides an in-depth examination of an organisation’s efficacy through KPI constraints for gauging production capacity. The framework may be fruitful at Google China since it can be tailored to diverse production stages within the company Application to the Organisation The usability of the value chain framework to different sectors within Google China makes it feasible to gauge the circulation of various production strategies across many systems while at the same time weighing production at different departments that make the company. The framework can come in handy while determining production at Google China by enlightening its expenditure in IP security and/or i n structuring its status to advance its production volume. High-Tech model Google China operates in a technology intensive industry. This environment underlines the necessity for considering NPD models that are applicable to such an industry. Cooper and Edgett (2010) assert that high-tech organisations need to establish NPD models that incorporate their business objectives and specific goals. They suggested an NPD model that concentrates on these aspects. NPD comprises various stages, namely thought formation, plan selection, model testing and expansion, industry scrutiny, beta testing, bazaar investigation, methodological execution, commercialisation, and pricing of the new product (Cooper Edgett, 2010). However, the plan deviates from the sequential and overlapping models. It features a special concept, namely strategic arena, which only applies in high technology organisations (Cooper Edgett, 2010). This aspect refers to the particular business-oriented bazaar, trade, applicati ons, merchandise category, technology, or simply efforts that are concentrated on a new product (ZemlickienÄâ€", 2011). The model also highlights the importance of the use of strategic maps in the NPD process. Application to the Organisation Strategic maps help in assessing the most effective and important strategic arena (ZemlickienÄâ€", 2011). This claim suggests that they offer mechanisms of evaluating and visualising the mechanisms of addressing various factors that influence the NPD process. For Google China, strategic maps provide a room for incorporation of environmental factors that control the company’s success in the Chinese search market. In this sense, the model provides mechanisms for ensuring the development of customised Google products that are likely to boost the organisation’s competitive advantage in the Chinese market. Diamond Production Framework The diamond framework, which makes part of Porter’s work that sought to address the issue of c ompetition disparities with reference to different products, has five key production elements, namely product upgrading and technology plan, idea-to-launch procedure administration, portfolio supervision, atmosphere, traditions, headship, and new product performance. Source: (Rugman DCruz, 1993) Application in the Organisation Using this framework, Google China can think about three foremost matters, i.e. the availability of a premeditated product arrangement to advance its production levels, configuration of the plan with the company’s approaches, and the existence of reputable systems for ensuring successful execution of business strategies Critical Analysis Gaps Identified The aim of approaching the problem of NPD in the context of a conceptual model that has various decision loops or algorithms is to ensure a reduction of bugs that result in failures of new products either in the development process or soon after completion of the entire process. Identifying gaps in the organisation’s approach to NPD can help conceptualise an alternative approach to NPD, which will lead to the development of new products that have a higher probability of success in the market (Ulrich Eppinger, 2004). Google China uses NPD plan based on the standardised NPD model deployed by its parent company across all other markets, notwithstanding special laws and regulations in the Chinese market. This gap may explain the reduced success of Google success in China between 2010 and 2013 as discussed before. Strengths Although different NPD models have their strengths and weaknesses, consideration of strengths and weakness of the organisation in any market, which prompts the development of a new product is incredibly important. Google China has a large resource base support from the parent company akin to its successful global operations (Carsten, 2013). The resources can be utilised in marketing research to identify specific attributes for search engines that are valued by Chinese search consumers. This information can be deployed as inputs of idea conception stage, which is common to sequential, overlapping, and high-tech models, to enhance utility levels of new products in the market. Weaknesses Due to declining competitive advantage in the Chinese market, the company may encounter challenges while trying to place its new products successfully in the Chinese market. This possibility is a significant weakness upon considering that it has a low presence in the social media advertising. New media advertising constitutes one of the growing ways of communicating a product to consumers (Kotler, Adam, Denise, Armstrong, 2009). The company has no capacity to solicit for relaxation of Chinese laws and regulations on search engines. These inabilities create uncertainty on whether the nation will enact new laws that can create a non-conducive political climate for success of new products that are developed consistently with the provisions of the current l aws. Recommendations In a market where the existing products of an organisation perform poorly, introduction of new products becomes the only option to re-energise its operations. Developing a new product begins with the identification of an appropriate NPD model. Google Company approaches NPD from the context of examining ideas from its people. It prioritises the top most100 ideas, utilises agile approaches, promotes visibility, and/or pays attention to usability of its products. This approach fails to incorporate regulations such as censorship. The model generally applies in nations that have higher levels of freedom for expression and sharing of information. Thus, it is recommended for the company to incorporate this consideration while at the same time deploying either high-tech or overlapping NPD approaches in the Chinese market. Conclusion Organisational products undergo different phases, namely the development phase, the preamble stage, rapid growth stage, maturation, and dec line phase. At the decline phase, re-engineering or developing new products is important to prevent a total collapse of the organisation in a given market. Google China recognises the importance of developing a new product that will renew its fortunes in the Chinese market. NPD starts with identifying an appropriate model. The paper has discussed three NPD models together with their applicability at Google China. Reflection Any organisation that seeks to gain a competitive advantage in a market that is characterised by competition and statutory regulations must not only focus on compliance, but also look for products that meet consumer needs better than the competitor products. Through this assignment, I have learnt that introducing organisations’ operation in a new market requires the development or modification of products to meet specific needs of the market. The objective of any organisation is to deliver value to its owners. This value is normally expressed in terms of t he returns on investments. Organisations face the pressure of delivering value to not only to the owners, but also to other stakeholders who have stakes in the performance of the firm (Cooper Edgett, 2010). This goal cannot be achieved without high-performing products in the market since sales act as the main way of generating income in a profit-making organisation. By studying the case of Google China’s struggles in establishing itself in the Chinese search market, I have leant that total assessment and analysis of the organisational operation environment is important in avoiding failures in placing products in the new marketplace. Through the assignment, it is evident that the rules of new product development change with the changing external forces as an organisation ventures into different markets. This situation has altered my perception of new product development process as encompassing a holistic approach, which can be applied within any organisation with success. Ini tially, I viewed product development as a process that constitutes all steps that are necessary for ensuring that a new product satisfies the needs of the target market in terms of usability. However, it is now clear that although a product may be highly usable, a regulatory force can prevent its consumption in the market. Google Company has been successful in the global search market. Many organisations, especially software and networking applications companies, have benchmarked their NPD processes with those of Google. I believe Google Company is one of the global organisations whose products have received positive reception in all markets. However, through the assignment, it is clear that no single company’s NPD strategies can lead to the creation of new successful products in all markets. Thus, although benchmarking is essential, it is important for an organisation to approach new markets in an open-minded manner. This case ensures that the input for idea conception, anal ysis, and testing only depends on the anticipated environmental variables, but not on other variables that apply in another market segment. This assignment has provided a learning opportunity on how product development process occurs in real-life. It is not a straightforward approach, but an approach that requires many iterations and examination of probable products through several algorithms to enhance their positive reception in the market. For instance, through the interviews, potential customers of Google products in China unanimously agreed that if Google searches do not return DNS errors, which occur because of blocking of some sites due to censorship of the products to comply with China’s regulations, they could consume them. In this extent, focusing on a particular organisation has provided an opportunity to appreciate how a particular context in which an organisation influences its NPD conducts. Reference List Carsten, P. (2013). Microsoft Blocks Censorship of Skype in China: Advocacy Group. Retrieved from www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/microsoft-blocks-censorship-skype-china-advocacy-group-f2D11664965 Cooper, G., Edgett, E. (2010). Developing a product innovation and technology strategy for your business. Research Technology Management, 53(3), 33-40. Hansen, M., Birkinshaw, J. (2007). The Innovation, Value Chain. Harvard Business Review, 85(6), 87-98. Kim, J., Wilemon, D. (2007). Sources and Assessment of Complexity in NPD Projects. RD Management, 33(1), 16-30. Kotler, P., Adam, S., Denise, S., Armstrong. (2009). Principles of Marketing. Australia: Prentice Hall. Rugman, M., DCruz, R. (1993). The double diamond model of international competitiveness: Canadas experience. Management International Review, 33(2), 17–39. Smith, P., Reinertsen, D. (1998). Developing Products in Half the Time. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons. Ulrich, K., Eppinger, S. (2004). Product Design and Development. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. ZemlickienÄâ€", V. (2011). Analysis of High-Technology Product Development Models. Intellectual Economics, 5(2), 283-297. Appendices Appendix 1: Interview questions Are you an employee or potential customer of Google China? Employee customer/potential customer If you are an employee, what is your experience with Google China? Always occupied in troubleshooting networks and directing customer traffic Hardly occupied in troubleshooting networks and directing customer traffic If you are customer/potential customer, have you ever used Google China search products Yes No If your response to question 3 is No, why? Highly censored Always returns DNS error If your response to 4 is b, can you consider using the products if Google China search products do not return DNS error or when censorship is limited? Yes No Appendix 2: Interview Reponses Question Response a b 1 4 16 2 0 4 3 3 13 4 5 8 5 8

After World War II Artistic Development essays

After World War II Artistic Development essays 1. Discuss political development in Great Britain. Political development in Great Britain has been stable, where two major political parties have Smoothly alternated in power and pursued policies of an underlying continuity. The Conservatives place a larger emphasis on the private sector in the economy, and the Labour Party has often been the winner during times of economic downturns, where they struggle to balance the budget and reassure creditors loans will not fall through. Up until the 80s at least, both parties shared in improving public services, especially education and transportation. Their big differences lay in to join or not to join the Common Market, to protect black immigrants or not, and whether to allow Scotland and Wales local representation. The biggest problem though was still the economy. Their industry just couldnt keep up with the other industrial nations, and inflation didnt help anything. After World War II, Britain faced problems with weak management, demanding labor unions, poor education, and high costs of welfare and defense - all of which did nothing but add to the countrys financial woes. This peak of recession in the 70s affected all the parties. The Labour Party bore the brunt of public reaction, because they were in power. The Conservatives, led by Margaret Thatcher, became more powerful and more open to free enterprise. The Labour Party became more divided among themselves, and more leftist. The Conservatives style of austere government wasnt always popular, but the war in the Falklands helped them gain popularity. However, a third party did spring up, the Social Democrats, and government still seemed to flounder on old divisions. 2. Discuss the May 1968 upheaval in France. The upheaval in France was rather surprising, considering the popularity and stability of the Fifth Republic. In the 1965 presidential elections, de Gaulle an...

Aurora- Light of Mystery

Aurora - Mysterious Light text box: This shuttle image shows the characteristic oval shape of Aurora. What is my aurora? Aurora or aurora is the emission of the upper atmosphere generated by the high latitudes of the two hemispheres. The northern hemisphere aurora is called aurora and the southern hemisphere aurora is called aurora. Aurora (Latin is dawn) is a beautifully magical light that you can see in the darkness of the polar sky. Aurora borealis is one of the most mysterious and interesting phenomena in nature and has been fascinated by Scandinavian tourists and locals from ancient Vikings. Watching a spectacular light show or discovering the aurora is only the beginning of your outstanding journey. For thousands of years European cuisine masterpieces have captivated travelers. From traditional cultural cuisine to contemporary cuisine specialties, it is a worthwhile travel to visit these delicious destinations. Bring a healthy appetite and enjoy a wonderful taste, sight and sce nt on this rich cooking trip Aurora is Aurora or Antarctica. These are ghostly lights that appear in the sky of the earth. These are extremes facing the earth. In the north, these auroras are called auroras. In the South these auroras are called aurora aurora. Amp; nbsp; These occur when there is a magnetic field outside the Earth 's atmosphere. After that, the solar wind attacked the magnetic field and released these aurora to the earth's south north pole. The color of the aurora depends only on the height of most of the collision of the streetlight and the neon sign emits light according to the amount of gas of the subject. If these auroral lights are about 300 kilometers tall they may turn red. This is very rare, but it will happen when the solar wind is at its maximum. The most common colors are yellow and green. All of these lights are called by oxygen, but they are all at low altitudes

Asset Planning Discussion Post 5 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Asset Planning Discussion Post 5 - Coursework Example Legally, she would be held liable for making decisions without involving her mother who is the genuine investor (Securities and Exchange Commission, 2003). As a result, a broker cannot proceed with the changes before getting permission from the original investor. It was evident that Joyce had no clue on the happenings and looked confused on the questions raised by the broker. The first step a broker would take is to ensure that the original broker was consulted the proposed changes. This is to avoid impersonation and misrepresentation of material facts that would later jeopardize the agreement. Another viable step to take is to ignore the changes because of the investor’s age factor that cannot allow for a long-term investment plan. Similarly, investment objective was another issue that directly affects suitability (Securities and Exchange Commission, 2003). Rebecca wanted venture-capital type investments contrary to Joyce’s small-cap growth, which was against the agreement. In this regard, the lack of interest shown by Joyce was a clear manifestation that she was not privy to the proposals made by her daughter Rebecca. The investment advisor or broker should not make any changes since it is illegal and can result in financial losses (Stanley,

Education policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Education policy - Essay Example Researches (Eagle, 1989; Henderson & Berla, 1994; U.S. Department of Education, 1994; Ziegler, 1987) confirm that when families are involved in their children's education, 'children earn higher grades and receive higher scores on tests, attend school more regularly, complete more homework, demonstrate more positive attitudes and behaviours, graduate from high school at higher rates, and are more likely to enrol in higher education than students with less involved families' (Hoover-Dempsey, K.V., & Sandler, H.M., 1997). So that, it's so important to involve parents in educational programmes of their children as an important goal for schools. Education here plays the major role, so that the child's education is a shared responsibility of the school and the home. At school he is said to be given knowledge common for the whole class and meant for the children of particular age taking into account their level of mental, physical and social development. At home parents can help their offshoots to solve the possible problems which can emerge at school; they can also help them to come through the adaptation process to the new surrounding and new system of communication successfully. 'Outside the school, the home is the most salient source of learning, encouragement and support for a child', notices Alison Rich (Rich, A., 2001). She also stresses upon the 'parental resources' which refers to 'income level, parental education and parental employment'. This is urgent because family income can increase educational opportunities of a child greatly by providing him with a bigger number of books and educational tools. Besides this, p arents with higher level of education tend to have children who are much interested in their self-improve and realization thus giving them much motivation for their finishing high school and continuing educational steps on higher levels. On the contrary, children from unemployed families tend to be backward in education and have smaller level of motivation for studying. All these facts stress upon the fact of importance of parental participation in their children's development process, educational process in particular, to set a good example for them. There also some factors that can be a rather positive impulse for children to like school and are eager to study. This is a notion of 'parental involvement in a child's education' that 'can be crucial in developing a child's academic ability and confidence' (Rich, A., 2001). Parents can actively participate in their child's school life, taking part in 'school committees, attending sporting and social events, attending parent teacher nights, volunteering and so on' (Rich, A., 2001). Doing this they show their great involvement into their children's life that gives their offshoots a sense of responsibility for their deeds and their progress in studies. Parents can also provide a suitable home environment for children to be ready for school, and to know that in case something goes wrong with their studies they can learn at home and improve their knowledge. Psychology deals with the notion of 'psychological readiness of a child for school'. This includes all the facts that influence a young person to be ready to face and to step into a new system of

Logical Fallacies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Logical Fallacies - Essay Example She convinced me to go to school the next day. But I did not listen to her, instead, I stayed in my room and kept away from other people. I believed that if my family are going to see me and make an eye contact, they will catch sore eyes from me. What my mother did was to search the internet about my condition and look for information on how to treat sore eyes. After few hours, she knocked on my door and told me to go out fast. I was avoiding her gaze when she said that it’s not true. I did not understand what she meant by that. She told me that people don’t get sore eyes by making eye contact with people suffering from sore eyes. She directly looked at me and explained that sore eyes can only spread by contact of dirty and contaminated hands with the eyes. Hands can get infected if they get in contact with contaminated or infectious objects and surfaces. Therefore, sore eyes are brought about by viral infection and not by looking at someone with sore eyes. The popularity of something does not make it true. It is very popular among children and even in house hold that people get sore eyes by making eye contact with someone suffering from the same infection. It is therefore a common and popular misconception among the people not only in the United States but also in other countries. If not because of my mom and her eagerness to help and convince me to go to school, I will not find out that everything my friends and I believed in about sore eyes were not true. Thus, the very next day I attended school. But it took a lot of my day to explain to my friends and classmates that they will not catch sore eyes by just looking at

The Unorthodox Owner Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Unorthodox Owner - Case Study Example The structure is completely wrong. It defies normal marketing standards. The prior standard indicates the employees with higher revenues will get higher commissions than employees with lower revenues. The new commission pool pays people who do not actually sell or complete Second, the confused employees did not know how to correctly respond to the new unorthodox marketing strategy. It is wrong to confuse the employees. The confused employees do not know the intricacies of the equality distributed commission pool. Third, Wilkinson did not indicate the responsibilities of the new chief operating officer. Consequently, the new COO does not know what he should do in the new job. Consequently, the COO may not be implementing what the owner, Wilkinson intents because of the miscommunication. Finally, Wilkinson wanted the commission pool to be evenly divided among the sales people, both top sellers and lackluster performing sales persons (Zoratti 19). It is wrong to distribute the commission equally among all the sales persons. The implementation will indicate that employees with low revenues will receive the same amount of commission as the sales persons generating ten times the amount generated by the low revenue-generating (Burton 26). For example, the sales person generating the $ 1,000,000 top selling sales persons will receive the same $ 10,000 commission as the sales person generating $ 1,000 sales for the same month (Ross & Lemkin 4). To generate the required net profits, the company must produce the profit-generating responsive revenues (Boone 14). In addition to the bonuses, Wilkinson increased the commission from 5 percent to 7.5 percent (Hartline 270). The compensation plan influences sales performance (Dougherty 1). Mr. Wilkinson should not implement the unorthodox commission and bonus scheme without fully explaining the details of the new scheme. Mr. Wilkinson’s spending more time giving a

Green Buildings in Hong Kong Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Green Buildings in Hong Kong - Essay Example Energy competence and ecological with the aspire to endorse energy protection and improved building design. The study of "greener" and additional energy proficient buildings was also activating by the quest for improved recital and excellence in the construction industry. A demanding task of building designers and professionals today is to endorse green and energy competent buildings in a cost effectual and environmentally reactive way. This research shows Hong Kong Government is scheduling to set up a green building label system as a way of using market power to endorse ecologically aware buildings. In this regard a several-month consultancy study to expand the technique, identified as "complete ecological recital appraisal system for Buildings". It is supposed the knowledge of the obtainable appraisal methods against barriers will form a helpful surroundings of this study. At the similar time, appraisal of the building regulations is being conducted with the aim to take away barriers to original and green building designs. These initiatives focal point not only on latest buildings but also on redevelopment of old and decrepit buildings in the urban restoration process (ASHRAE. 2001). Barriers against energy efficiency in buildings are serious to attain sustainable development in a so

Judith Butlers Imitation and Gender Insubordination Essay

Judith Butlers Imitation and Gender Insubordination - Essay Example The society identifies only heterosexuality and is organized to support this heteronormative way of thinking. ( Thesis) Homosexuality has been a taboo in all cultures as heterosexuality is the only sexual identity accepted by the society. The society has a sex hierarchy concept and has been continuing it since ancient times. Homosexuality was never accepted as normal by societies around the world. The homosexuality even though practiced in secret was a matter of despite and sin. As per (Butler 120)â€Å"Here, as in Gender Trouble, Butler rejects the notion that a volitional subject precedes its acts of parodic repetition, and she continues to insist that gender performativity is constitutive of the subject-effect it is said to express†. The society was built around the idea of a family and homosexuals being unproductive were never considered as a sexual identity. The union of male and female was the ideal sexual image of society. People could never think about homosexual couples or a person with same sex orientation. Heteronormative thinking is a belief that heterosexuality is the norm. Accord ing to this thinking people who are not heterosexual do not fit into the society. The society is conditioned and organized along these years to accept heterosexuality as a norm. The society does not encourage their children to show behaviors of homosexuality. As per ( Butler 121) â€Å" Indeed, a foucaultian perspective might argue that the affirmation of "homosexuality" is itself an extension of a homophobic discourse†. They think it as a physiological or psychological problem. The parents or relatives do not accept a child or a person who is not heterosexual. One way their thinking is organized is because they bully or insults a person who has such behavior. The society handles the person with sarcasm and humor. They think a homosexual person is incapable of having a personality. The society thinks they are neither man nor

Green Buildings in Hong Kong Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Green Buildings in Hong Kong - Essay Example Energy competence and ecological with the aspire to endorse energy protection and improved building design. The study of "greener" and additional energy proficient buildings was also activating by the quest for improved recital and excellence in the construction industry. A demanding task of building designers and professionals today is to endorse green and energy competent buildings in a cost effectual and environmentally reactive way. This research shows Hong Kong Government is scheduling to set up a green building label system as a way of using market power to endorse ecologically aware buildings. In this regard a several-month consultancy study to expand the technique, identified as "complete ecological recital appraisal system for Buildings". It is supposed the knowledge of the obtainable appraisal methods against barriers will form a helpful surroundings of this study. At the similar time, appraisal of the building regulations is being conducted with the aim to take away barriers to original and green building designs. These initiatives focal point not only on latest buildings but also on redevelopment of old and decrepit buildings in the urban restoration process (ASHRAE. 2001). Barriers against energy efficiency in buildings are serious to attain sustainable development in a so

The Modern Nuclear Family Essay Example for Free

The Modern Nuclear Family Essay The nuclear, isolated, or restricted family is not a recent phenomenon, but has existed in many cultures throughout human history. Indeed, the extended family of several generations is found mostly in relatively advanced, stable, and affluent, but not yet industrialized societies. Very primitive and very sophisticated societies seem to prefer the nuclear family model. However, nuclear families can vary in the degree of their isolation and restrictedness. For example, before the Industrial Revolution the Western nuclear family was often embedded in a larger social unit, such as a farm or estate, an aristocratic court, or a village populated by relatives. Many older city neighborhoods also kept kinship ties strong, and thus even very small families remained open to the community. Family visits might be frequent and extended; children might freely circulate and feel at home in several households. On the other hand, we have seen that, beginning in the late 17th century, a trend toward closeness reduced the size of many larger households and changed the relationships between the remaining family members. They became more concerned about each other. They needed each other more. The idyllic home of the bourgeois became an island of serenity in the gathering storm of modernization, a haven secure from the world out there, from aggressiveness, competition, and class warfare. We have also seen how this home sheltered women and protected the children from sexual and other temptations. Other nasty social realities were also kept safely at bay. The family income was no longer earned inside, but rather outside the house. The division of labor between the sexes became more pronounced as men spent more and more time away from their families as wage earners in factories, shops, and offices. Their wives became almost the only companions of their small children whose care and education was now their main responsibility. (Formerly, these tasks had been divided between mothers, grandmothers, nurses, and servants.) Virtually the only middle-class men who still worked at home were doctors and lawyers in private practice. As a rule, however, the bourgeois family saw its head and breadwinner only when he returned from his work at night. This work itself remained an abstraction to both his wife and his children. The removal of productive work from the home into the factories had, of course, important consequences for all family members. It was no longer necessary for any of them to develop strong roots in any particular community or to become attached to a particular house. Instead, they became free to move about, to follow industrial development into new settlements, to go after the jobs wherever they might be. Moreover, family connections became less important, as factory work became ever more rationalized and efficient. Nepotism gave way to hiring and promotion on merit alone. By the same token, the new worker, business man, or bureaucrat no longer had to take care of distant relatives. He now worked exclusively for his own small family and this made him more industrious. He could advance faster, since his income had to support only very few people. Thus, the individual husband and father was no longer weighed down by traditions or extensive social obligations. In addition, the education of his children and the care of his aged or sick parents began to be taken over by the state. In view of these developments, many observers have noted a fit between the nuclear family and industrialism. In other words, small, intimate, and mobile families seem best suited to advance the cause of industrialization and, conversely, industrialization seems to encourage the formation of small families. After all, in modern industrial societies there is a general trend toward equality and personal independence. This, in turn, allows for the free choice of a marriage partner, place of residence, and occupation. In an extended family these freedoms are always restricted, because a wrong choice would affect too many relatives. Thus, people who want to take full advantage of the new possibilities normally marry late and keep their families small. However, this rule also has its exceptions. Sometimes large families are more useful, because they can serve as a back-up unit by providing shelter and aid at crucial moments. This may be especially important for lower-class individuals who try to move up, although the higher classes often also maintain extensive family ties. Thus, even in fully industrialized societies one can find many men and women who appreciate the traditional extended family or at least a large network of relatives. Still, by and large, the closely-knit nuclear family has been dominant in Western societies for the last several generations, and thus it has shaped the general perception of what a family should be: A man and a woman marry for love, have two or three children, live alone by themselves in a family home or apartment, and spend all their free time together. The man leaves for work in the morning, while the woman takes care of the children and the house. She also cooks dinner and ministers to her exhausted husband when he returns at night. Once or twice a year, at Thanksgiving or Christmas, there is a brief, ceremonial get-together with other relatives at Grandmas house, but otherwise everyone keeps his distance and minds his own business. Obviously, according to this ideal model, the family members are relatively isolated from the larger kindred and, indeed, from the rest of the community. However, they are to be compensated for this isolation by a greater emotional warmth inside the nuclear circle. Father, mother, and children are to be the world for each other. A deep mutual love is supposed to keep them together and boost their morale as they compete economically with other small family units. Unfortunately, as many families have discovered, things do not always work out that way. The lack of wider contacts is often perceived as crippling, too much closeness becomes oppressive, and inescapable familiarity breeds contempt. Therefore, almost from the beginning, the modern nuclear family has also been subject to criticism. In Victorian times, when the cult of the home was at its height, this criticism was expressed mainly by great bourgeois writers, such as Flaubert, Ibsen and Strindberg, who denounced the hypocrisy, shallowness, and dullness of middle-class life, and who exposed the suffering and vicious psychological infighting behind the facade of respectability. The family was further criticised on philosophical and political grounds by Friedrich Engels who tied it to the origin and maintenance of private property. Finally, Sigmund Freud provided perhaps the most serious, if indirect, accusation when he described the happy nuclear household as the breeding ground of neurosis and sexual perversion. At any rate, by the late 19th century the disadvantages of the bourgeois family model had also become evident to many average men and women. The emotional hothouse atmosphere of the home began to seem stifling, and what once had been praised as a sanctuary was more and more often condemned as a prison. In the traditional extended family, children had been able to choose between several male and female adult role models; now they had only their parents. Formerly, their early education had been shaped by a number of different people and a variety of influences; now they depended entirely on their own mother and father. Actually, the latter was not even always available. Since he no longer worked inside the house, his children had no clear conception of his social role. Instead, he became simply an abstract provider and disciplinarian, a mysterious and distant authority figure. He was occasionally loved, frequently feared, but rarely understood. At the same time, the wife and mother found herself more restricted than ever before. Her greatly increased maternal duties kept her confined inside her four walls. She could venture outside only for a visit to church or to go shopping. Her world had shrunk, and her functions were narrowly circumscribed. She had to be feminine, motherly, sensitive, proper, and in all matters of importance she had to defer to her husband. It is understandable, therefore, that many Victorian women began to resent the nuclear family and their position in it. Thus, it was a signal of things to come when, in Ibsens A Dolls House, the heroine Nora simply walked out on her husband and children. As time went by, more and more women demanded complete legal equality with men and the freedom to develop their full potential as human beings. They began to struggle for the right to vote and the reform of marriage and divorce laws. They also entered the work force in ever increasing numbers. Finally, during World War I, they proved their capabilities in many formerly inaccessible jobs and thereby further emancipated themselves from the home. {See also The Emancipation of Women.) Recent decades have seen a continuation of this trend. In many families today both husband and wife work outside the house, while the children spend much of their time in a nursery, daycare center, kindergarten, or school. As a result, the emotional ties between family members have become somewhat less constrictive, and a greater tolerance prevails. The influence of peer groups has grown, not only for the children, but also for their mothers. The traditional male and female roles are being reevaluated. The mass media keep everyone in touch with the larger community and its continued transformation. Still, the family circle as such has not widened. Grandparents are rarely part of the household, but live on their own in retirement villages, senior citizen centers, or nursing homes. Unmarried relatives move to a singles hotel or apartment building. Thus, the average American family remains fairly small. Indeed, there are now many fatherless families consisting only of a woman and her children. The one-parent family or core family is usually described as an incomplete nuclear family, and there is a general assumption that it is socially undesirable. The lack of a father figure is seen as detrimental to child development, and hasty generalizations are made about undue female influence. In the U.S. these comments sometimes even have racist overtones, as mother-child families are frequently found in the poor black population. However, with the rising divorce rate, this family type has also become increasingly common in the white middle class. Indeed, at the present time about 1 out of 6 children in America lives with only one parent, and the number of such households may well increase in the future. After all, our welfare regulations and other government policies often have the effect of breaking up families that would otherwise stay together. Our legisiatures have not yet learned how to test new laws through family impact studies which would reveal such unintended consequences in advance. Still, in the meantime it should be remembered that the one-parent family is not necessarily bad. In the years following the two World Wars, millions of women have successfully brought up their children alone, and this impressive example should caution us against superficial judgments. Moreover, upon closer examination, many core families are discovered to maintain close connections to wider kinship groups and thus turn out to be more open and viable than might have been supposed. Finally, we know that there are also many father-child families which have not received sufficient critical attention. It is another question whether the nuclear family itself, even when complete, is still the best available option. Many people today are convinced that small, single households are uneconomical and wasteful, that they are still emotionally unhealthy, that they perpetuate outmoded sterotypical sex roles, and that they produce competitive, egotistical children in an age when universal cooperation seems the only hope of mankind. It is also argued that the modern family no longer has any other function than to provide love and intimacy, and that this is by no means enough to justify its existence. Indeed, since families have been largely relieved of their economic, educational, and protective functions by the state, sexual attachment has become the nearly exclusive basis of marriage, and this basis is notoriously weak. Frequent divorce and remarriage, however, while perhaps practical for the adults, hardly seem in the best interest of the children. Under the circumstances, it is only fitting that a number of thoughtful men and women should continue to search for more stable, new and improved family models.