Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Isolation Theme in Grendel :: essays research papers

Isolation Have you ever felt as though you’re alone in the world, even though you are not? In the book Grendel, the main character is the last of his species, excluding his mother who might as well be non-existent in the novel. Grendel is a monster who speaks a language very similar to that of the humans he watches almost constantly. He feels a certain attachment to them throughout the whole novel, but he is unable to become close to any of them due to his horrifying form. The humans are terrified of Grendel, and attack him whenever he comes near. He feels completely isolated, as do many people in our world. The story begins with a flash-back into Grendel’s early years. He is all alone even then, but he is too young to realize it and fills this void with imaginary friends. He talks about how he entertained himself during his early years saying â€Å"Crafty-eyed, wicked as an elderly wolf, I would scheme with or stalk my imaginary friends, projecting the self I meant to become into every dark corner of the cave and the woods above† (17). People in our world may invent imaginary friends also, sometimes for companionship, as part of play, or for other reasons. Imaginary friends can serve as an important source of companionship to some children and even adults, especially if companionship is absent for them in the social world. As an example â€Å"young children in boarding schools often develop imaginary friends to cope with extreme stress and separation from their intimate relations† (www.phycologytoday.com/z10/fl/mllr.7se.php) Finding a mate is hard for Grendel, especially because he’s the last of his species. However, he still has the same emotions as humans when it comes to love. He first encounters these unfamiliar emotions when Hrothgar is given a wife named Wealtheow. Grendel thinks she is beautiful, and starts to rethink his war on the humans when he contemplates killing Wealtheow, saying to himself â€Å"It would be meaningless, killing her. As meaningless as letting her live. It would be, for me, mere pointless pleasure, an illusion of order for this one frail, foolish, flicker-flash in the long dull fall of eternity.† (108). Even though he is a monster, he still feels the same emotion of love that humans do. Grendel and the humans share a common language, but the humans’ disgust for, and fear of Grendel precludes any actual meaningful exchange.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Dirt Bike Usa

TABLE OF CONTENT I. DIRT BIKES USA COMPANY I. IS REQUIREMENT AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE II. COMPETITIVE STRATEGY III. OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE: 1. rent or buy decision for hardware and software 2. CUSTOMER DATABASE 3. SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SOLUTION 4. E-COMMERCE STRATEGY 5. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT 6. COMPONENT PRICE CHANGES. I – DIRT BIKES USA COMPANY: Dirt Bikes USA is Dirt Bikes production company based in California.It was founded in 1991 by Carl Schmidt and Steven McFadden, two young but experienced bikers with engineering backgrounds who saw that dirt bikes were becoming very popular in the United States as both sporting and racing motorcycles. 1. Goals and Culture * Culture: Carl Schmidt and Steven McFadden founded dirt bikes USA. They noticed that Dirt bike was becoming popular in the United States. They were founded on a friendly, family type atmosphere, attention to detail and quality, and continual learning and innovation.With these values Dirt bikes has excelled to one of the top companies, competing with the likes of Honda, Yamaha, and Kawasaki. * Goals: Dirt bikes goals are very ambitious, and if fulfilled will bring them to the top of the list. They want to improve on their services, and products, and innovate cutting edge technology that will hopefully propel them to the top. They want to increase sales in both the domestic and international market. 2. Products and services: * Dirt Bikes does not sell directly to retail customers, relying on a network of 40 distributors concentrated in the Western and Midwestern United States.A small percentage of Dirt Bikes are sold in Europe using independent distributors that sell other brands of dirt bikes and motorcycles as well as Dirt Bikes. Dirt Bikes motorcycles, parts, and service, including warranty repairs, can only be obtained through an authorized Dirt Bikes dealer. All motorcycle and spare parts sales, shipping and set-up must be handled by a certified dealer. If a potential customer lives more than 50 miles from the nearest authorized Dirt Bikes dealer, the customer can purchase a Dirt Bike or Dirt Bike parts through a certified independent motorcycle dealer.Retail customers can purchase spare parts directly from Dirt Bikes only by verifying that they live more than 50 miles from an authorized Dirt Bikes dealer. The engines for Dirt Bikes are Rotax engines from Austria and tires are from Dunlop, but many of their parts, such as shock absorbers, front wheel forks, exhaust pipes, and headlights, are from the United States. Dirt Bikes currently produces four models: the Enduro 250, the Enduro 550, the Moto 300 and the Moto 450. The two Enduros are endurance racers, while the Motos are for motocross racing.All four are very modern, with such technology as both kick and electric starters, steering stabilizers, and liquid cooling 3. Organization: Carl Schmidt is the CEO of Dirt Bikes USA and Steve McFadden serves as President and COO. The employees of this company are involved in the design, engineering and production aspects, and include 3 full-time designers, 3 full-time engineers, 4 full-time parts specialist, and a 10-employee service department. There is also a marketing manager whose job is to oversee 5 sales representatives. Overall, the company employs 120 people and has expanded greatly since the early 1990’s.The strengths of this organization is that production department is divided effectively in smaller parts, they can easily control the operations. However, the weaknesses of organization is moderately hierarchical & small, there are no separate managers for service, shipping & receiving, parts and design & engineering and manufacturing. II – INFORMATION SYSTEM REQUIREMENT AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: Dirt Bikes USA relies heavily on database software such as Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access. This is to keep track of sales, inventory, and employee matters.The best selling product of Dirt Bikes USA has been the Enduro 550 and th e worst selling product has been the Moto 450. Sales by Model| Model| 2003| 2004| 2005| 2006| 2007| Enduro 250| 1201| 1663| 2291| 2312| 2195| Enduro 550| 2832| 3290| 3759| 4078| 3647| Moto 300| 1755| 1932| 2454| 2615| 2627| Moto 450| 463| 598| 661| 773| 823| TOTAL| 6251| 7483| 9165| 9778| 9292| In the first three years, international sales were consistently rising from 2003 – 2005, and then started to fall during the last two year. They have never contributed more than 10% of the total sales.International sales have grown relative to Domestic sales, however, in 2006, there has been a decrease in international sales while domestic sales have also increased. Domestic vs. International Sales| | 2003| 2004| 2005| 2006| 2007| Domestic| 5723| 6843| 8254| 8889| 8530| International| 528| 640| 911| 889| 762| TOTAL| 6251| 7483| 9165| 9778| 9292| % International| 8. 4%| 8. 6%| 9. 9%| 9. 1%| 8. 2%| | | | | | | Figure 2: Domestic vs International Sales from 2003 to 2007 Consolidated State ments of Income (in thousands)| | 2007| 2006| 2005| Revenue| | | |Net sales| 60,144 | 64,063 | 61,529 | Cost of goods sold| 45,835 | 43,155 | 41,072 | Gross profit/(loss)| 14,309 | 20,908 | 20,457 | Gross margin| 23. 8%| 32. 6%| 33. 2%| | | | | Operating expenses| | | | Sales and markering| 4,733 | 4,537 | 3,944 | Engineering and product development| 3,141 | 2,992 | 2,339 | General and administrative| 1,913 | 1,601 | 1,392 | Total operating expenses| 9,787 | 9,130 | 7,675 | Operating income/loss| 4,522 | 11,778 | 12,782 | | | | | Other income/expense| | | | Interest income/expense| 1,747 | 175 | 80 | Other income/(expense)| (6,254)| (2,914)| (3,080)|Income before provision for income taxes| 15 | 9,039 | 9,782 | Income taxes| 1,459 | 1,729 | 535 | Net income/(loss)| (1,444)| 7,310 | 9,247 | Net margin| -2%| 11%| 15%| | | | | Summary Balance Sheet Data| | | | | At December 31| 2007| 2006| 2005| Current assets| | | | Cash and cash equivalents| 6,994 | 7,197 | 6,891 | Accounts reveivabl e| 13,083 | 12,981 | 12,872 | Inventories| 6,315 | 5,931 | 5,843 | Total current assets| 26,392 | 26,109 | 25,606 | | | | | Property plant, and equipment| 36,920 | 34,515 | 32,002 | Other assets| 1,765 | 1,903 | 1,834 |Total assets| 65,077 | 62,527 | 59,442 | | | | | Current liabilities| | | | Accounts payable| 8,943 | 8,694 | 7,592 | Accrued expenses and other liabilities| 10,877 | 9,382 | 8,654 | Total current liabilities| 19,820 | 18,076 | 16,246 | | | | | Long-term debt| 9,772 | 9,338 | 8,890 | Total liabilities| 29,592 | 27,414 | 25,136 | | | | | Shareholders' equity| 35485| 35113| 34306| Total liabilities + shareholders' equity| 65,077 | 62,527 | 59,442 | The income statement and balance sheet are the primary financial statements used by management to determine how well a firm is performing.The income statement, also called an operating statement or profit and loss statement, shows the income and expenses of a firm over a period of time, such as a year, a quarter, or a month. The gross profit represents the difference between the firm’s revenue (or sales) and the cost of goods sold. The gross margin is calculated by dividing gross profit by net sales. Revenue is not growing steadily, from 2005 to 20046 the revenue increases at rate of 4. 12%; from 2006 to 2007 the revenue decreases at rate of -6. 12%.Cost of goods sold increases steadily from 2005 to 2007, while revenue just increases from 2005 to 2006, and decreases from 2006 to 2007. Gross margin and net margin decreases from 2005 to 2007 Operating expense increases from 2005 to 2007 A company has more current assets than current liabilities, firm has enough working capital to fund investments in new products and information systems. Firm has assets to pay for expenses and to finance the development of new products and information systems. III – ANALYZING COMPETETIVE STRATEGY 1. VALUE CHAIN OF DIRT BIKE USA:The company provides value to its customers by designing and manufacturing high qu ality custom motorcycles, and by servicing those motorcycles. Dirt Bikes choose top components from different famous suppliers around the world to make sure that each component of their product perform the best quality to customer. This activity make it become a unique spirited style for which company is noted. Moreover, all of Dirt Bikes’ product are warranty repaires, shipping and set-up must be handled by a certificate dealer, if the customers living within 50 miles from the nearset athoritizedDirt Bike dealers, they can purchase a Dirt Bike or Dirt Bike parts through a certified independent motocycle dealer, and so forth. The fact showing Dirt Bike’s concentration on providing the best products and services to its customers is that the company’s parts and service department is responsible for 15% of the total revenue. Furthermore, the most significant evidence to prove that Dirt Bike has provided the best quality products can be seen in the numbers of races that this brand wins each year. Besides, focusing on diversity of products is also a reason create value for Dirt Bike in the high competitive market.The company has produced many forms of racing dirt bike such as racing specifically for different size bikes, for short distances, long distances, and even for up to six days. Currently, Dirt Bike produces the highest value product is the Enduro 550, which is the top selling bike focused toward the dedicated beginner and semi-professional racer. By products lines that represent the needs and request of customers, Dirt Bike has gained the satisfation and trust from its customers. One of the most activities creating the most value for Dirt Bike is advertisement.Most of its advertisement is at racing event or racing magazines. Although known as one of the supplier selling the highest quality to customer, Dirt Bike use a very competitive level of price to against others competitors. Honda :2012 Honda CRF ® 450R $8,440| Dirt Bike 2012:Mot o 450 $8,995 The Enduro 250 $3,250The Enduro 550 $7,600The Moto 300 $4,295| Yamaha motocross :2012 Yamaha YZ 250F $7,290| | KTM: 2012 KTM SX 250| $6,899| | | | Kawasaki2012 KX450F US MSRP Price: $8,399| | Other ways to provide value to customers are the policy of listening to customers’ feedback on how to improve the product, sharing their experiences and informing the newest products to them through Dirt Bikes USA Owner Group. In addtion to adding value to its products and customers, Dirt Bikes also have a professtional employees who communicate with customers and show up the high quality as well as the differences of Dirt Bike directly. 2. RIVALS There are many company which produce and sell dirt bikes in the world.Among of such a huge competitors, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha represent as Dirt Bike’s primary competitors. Those companies are known for completely custom in-house design. Besdides that, they not only sell products but also the parts of their bikes ,which allow them to expand theirs business and control the quality as well as the revenue of company. Furhermore, Having a large Expenditure budget on advertisement helps them build a significant image in customer’s trust, gain a strong loyalty with long-term customer, appear popular on other retailers’ websites.Four brands shoould have been consider as the â€Å" big four† threaten Dirt Bikes USA. Honda Advantages: * Slimmed -down fuel tanks * Wide-ratio gearing * Electric starting Suzuki Advantages: * Loads of mid-range * Lightweight handling Yamaha Advantages: * Lightweight frame * Lightening- quick handling * Smooth power delivery 3. FACTORS INFLUENCE DIRT BIKE INDUSTRY: * Internet: the fast development of Internet is always a good sign for society and all manufacturing process whole the world. However, it is also considered as a potential threat of any industry, not except dirt bike.The ease of access allows Dirt Bike as well as other competitors to search the information of lower price supplies, high quality but cheaper parts as well as labor or advance advertisement. There is the same source for all compaies, therefore, it is hard for Dirt Bike to make the differences from other exitsting competitors as well as new potential competitors who are going to step into this segment. * Economy situtation: There is no exactly prediction about the world in the future, especially the current economy in Europe is not a optimistic view for Dirt Bike when its the largest market is almost in those Western countries.When there is a recession, people tent to reduce their demand in leisure activities; as a result, the revenue of dirt bike industry will steadily decrease. * The policy of goverment: It can not deny the relationship between economy and politic. Lower tax on import goods and service as well as afforable tax income, so forth are factors can determine the supply and demand of dirt bike industry. When governemnt carry out the tighten poli cy, selling those products will get the big trouble. * Taste of customer: Taste is also an important factors influent on dirt bike industy.It is very simple to see that switching hobby from using dirt bike to other vehicles will cause a headache for producer to motivate their customer to spend money on unnecessary procucts. * Quality: When Dirt Bike came into this industry, it made a promise on providing high quality and services to its customerl; therefore, it must keep its promise as its competitive advantage against others rivals. * New competitors: a market with many competitors will also cause some problems to existing company in dirt bike market. The organization as well as strategy will change along with behaviors of new enterprises. . COMPETITIVE STRATEGY: The most suitable strategy that Dirt Bike USA should follow is Low-cost Leadership. As we know, it has 4 big competitors who make Dirt Bike have to apply the most attractive strategy to gain more loyalty, interest from cus tomers as well as keep its market segment in long term. Others set the higher prices for their products as the claim on the quality. If Dirt Bike could produce such high quality products but sell at an attractive price, this competitive advantage would help Dirt Bike become unique in this industry.Moreover, Dirt Bike should apply some methods to improve its business besides the Low-cost Leadership: * Firstly, Dirt Bikes is known as one of the highest quality suppliers in the world. Its warranty on satifation of customer with Dirt Bikes’ products is its competitive advantage and it should continue to make use of this advantage to expand its business to others segment or others countries. It can do the same as other rivals by selling the parts to satisfy full demand of customers or expand its business to ATV or road motorcycles, which will help Dirt Bikes’ revenue as well as gain a better profit. Secondly, Dirt Bikes alsmot sell its products through its distributors. The information they keep is just information about those distributors not its customers. Another way to improve its business is develop its information system. Set up a large source of information about about all customers not only help Dirt Bike with managing customer profile more easily, spreading out needed information faster but also create a great bridge to build a long-term relationship with customer. * Finally, it should spend more money and time in advertisement, especially E-commerce.Its website should be redesigned to make customer as well as employees has a clearly look at all products it is selling. Providing more detail, technical information, comparision to others same line products. Those essential information has to be uploaded on the Website, beautiful and clear design to help customer more knowledgeable about products they would like to buy and support employees when they talk about products customers would like to know or they would like to sell. What is more, Dirt Bikes should invite famous riders to ride advertise for their products. This method will raise the trust in customer more. . INFORMATION SYSTEMS WOULD BE SUITABLE FOR THE CHOSEN STRATEGY: * CAD/CAM: technology allows engineer and draftspeople to design systems. * Communication and collaboration systems: allows all employees to communicate effectively and efficiently via e-mail, voice mail, call center and others. * Data warehouse: allows managers and knowlegde workers store huge amount of data that can be easily accessed and manipulated for decision support. * Mobile computing systems: supports mobile employees who work with cusomer or business partners outside the physical boudaries of the organization.Supply Chain Management System: This system may allow the company to manage their inventory levels more efficiently. * * IV – OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE: * Developing a website privacy policy: developing a web site privacy policy There are some kind of personal information the web site can collect in order to serve customers well such as name, address, email, phone number†¦these database can be collected through: Order form If customers order products, the company requires personally identificable information. With these database, the company will deliver products exactly and on time.Email is very useful to provide services for customers. For example, a customer has a problem about his product, he can send email to service center to get the help instead of going to the company, or when the company has promotional campaign, it will send information to customers to announce about the news and encourage customers to buy new products. Surveys or contests: Participation in these surveys is completely voluntary. The requested information certainly includes contact information. Clickstream, web bacons: he company can use information collected from clickstreams to well understand about what customers are interested in, what they need; since the company set up pl ans to satisfy customers or provide services they needs. Although the website collects customer information and uses them as marketing and business purposes, it is ensured that security is very important to the company. When customers enter sensitive information such as social security number or credit card number on order forms, the company always warrant that information is encrypted by using secure socket layer technology (SSL).Additionally, not share personal information to the third party is a goal of the company. 1. Improving decision making: Making the rent or buy decision for hardware and software a. Rent or purchase software | | 2 tables above shows that the cost of purchasing software is less than the cost of renting hosted software. Thus, purchasing software is the best solution | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | b. Strengths and Weaknesses of renting vs purchasing | Rent| Purchase|Strengths| -cheaper cost -alternative new software easily-having most of the required features-minimal IT staffs| -free management to deal with product's core competence forever-have guaranteed appreciation over a time period time-minimal IT staffs| Weaknesses| -limited time using-limitation on the software customization-uncomfortable when the software is out of date-frequent software updates-long term reliance on vendor support| -expensive cost-expense when alternative new software-limitation on software customization-incompatible with company needs-frequent software updates-long term reliance on vendor support|If the company rent software, it can change into another software when the old one doesn’t fit company needs. The cost paid for rented software is cheaper than purchased software, so the cost for changing does not take much as well. Suppose the rented software is not out of date, the company also does not waste available resources as well as the money spending. Software is usually sold in a package. The c ompany has to buy full package even though it may not use all the functions. Thus, the company will waste the big money for spending useless functions of the software which is going to be released.Otherwise, the company has free management to deal with software’s core competencies forever. The company do not need to concern about time using as renting. That is uncomfortable when someday the software is out of date but the company still need to use it, the manager will have to sign a new contract for continuously using. That affects to company’s operations and waste time. Renting and purchasing need to be updated frequently to ensure that they always fits to company demands, hence both of them rely on vendor support in long term. Additionally, limitation on the software customization need to be considered as well.The company rent or purchase any software, it just has authority to use this software for helping the business to run effectively. It is not allowed to transfe r or copy into many versions to sell. However, minimal IT staffs is a strong point of both renting and purchasing. Software helps the company to handle well with a large information that human can not do although amount of staffs is large. c. Other factors need to be considered (beside cost): * Duration of need (long term or short term) If the company want to use in short term (usually under 6 months), then renting is optimal solution.In contrast, purchasing will be the best solution if time using is over 6 months (long term) * Compatibility Software run on iphone can not run on android. That is example about compatibility. Similarly, Microsoft 2010 can not run on window XP SP1, SP2, rather than they are window XP SP3, win 7 or later * Friendly interface Software that is easy to use will increase efficiency for the company. * Efficiency Microsoft 2007 is better than Microsoft 2003 because Microsoft 2007 has more functions than Microsoft 2003:colorful interface, beautiful templates.F urthermore, office 2007 can open XML files which are files of older office version†¦More functions are shown on ribbon. That helps users manipulate quickly. * Supporting The software should provide support for common tools used for the volume digitization of paper documents and integration with other devices that generate digital documents such as fax servers. 2 – CUSTOMER DATABASE: Dirt Bikes USA does not sell its products directly to retail customers; however, these transactions are primarily made through its distributors’ network.The information of a customer will be collected by the company’s distributors when this sale is made. This database is then forwarded to Dirt Bikes. Figure 1: Customer Database collected from distributors. Figure 1 shows the customers’ information that distributors forwarded to Dirt Bikes. This table includes many kinds of information: customer name, address (street, city, state, and zip code), telephone number, model pur chased, date of purchase, distributor, customers’ interests and tastes (their ages, level of education, and favorite sport), and their attentions to racing events.Storing all the information at only one place is so complicated and when it develops into thousand-record table, it is difficult to manage all information effectively. Moreover, it may take a lot of time to withdraw a piece of data as needed. To be able to market aggressively, therefore, the database needs to be redesigned. The new database will include tables and reports that allow the company to know certain information about the customers. The Marketing department would also like to be able to keep the customers updated on certain events, such as races and sales, depending on their ages, education level, and their previous purchases.Using Microsoft Access program (version 2007), the database that we designed is very simple to use, yet very effective. From the main database (Figure 1), 3 sub-tables are adding and each table manages 1 kind of information withdrawing from the main data. Figure 2: Distributor table The table shows the list of distributors’ names and their IDs. Managing distributors’ information by their IDs can avoid confusions and help looking up this information easily and quickly. Figure 3: Model table This table shows the models of dirt bike that the company produces and sells in the market.Each model is managed by 1 ID. Figure 4: Purchase table This table show previous purchases. Each record comprises Customer ID (the customer that made this transaction), Model ID (model ordered), date purchase of such transaction, and Distributor ID (distributor that made the transaction with the customer). Purchase ID is the primary key of the table. Figure 5: Relationship between 4 tables. This figure shows the relationship between 4 tables: Customer table (main table), Purchase table, Model table, and Distributor table.Specifically, Customer ID is the primary key in Custo mer table and in Purchase Table; Customer ID is the foreign key. Model ID is primary key in Model table and the field with the same name in Purchase table is foreign key. Distributor ID in Distributor table is the primary key and is the foreign key in Purchase table. All these relationships above are in one-to-Many type because the primary keys of tables of Customer, Distributor, and Model can appear many times in Purchase table. It means that one customer can make many transactions with many distributors and buy many models as well.Figure 6: Identify repeat customer by query. This table shows the way we design query to count the number of transactions that customers have made so far with source is Purchase table. Based on the result of this query, we can report frequent customers of Dirt Bikes USA. Figure 7: Repeat Customers. This figure shows the process that we create report of frequent customers. Customers that bought more than 1 product of the company will be reported with thei r names, phone number, model they ordered, dates of purchases and the distributors they bought dirt bikes from.Besides knowing who are valuable customers that the company needs to take good care of, Marketing department can also recognize effective distributors to give them acknowledgements for their good jobs (rewards, bonus, etc. ). Additionally, more reports can be added to better suite the needs of the company. Several reports that may be of need to Dirt Bikes USA are Racing events report, which show customers are avid racers, as well as the ages of the customers. Below are some examples of the reports needed by the Marketing department of Dirt Bikes USA. Figure 8: Racing events.This figure shows the way we made report of Racing events. The report shows customers that will attend racing events. This information is useful to Dirt Bikes USA because it enables the company to notify customers of when certain racers are being held. This way, the customers are aware of races and event s that they are interested in attending or racing in. Figure 9: Customers’ ages, Education levels, and favorite sports This figure shows the way we design the report of Customers ‘Ages, Education Levels, and favorite sports. The report allows the Marketing department to see their customers’ tastes.It can also help the company know which group of customers they are serving. From this information, Dirt Bikes USA can improve their performance in Customer services as well as improving its products’ designs and quality to fit customers’ interests. 3 – SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SOLUTION: A supply chain is defined as a network of organizations and business processes for procuring materials, transforming raw materials into intermediate and finished products, and distributing the finished products to customers. Fulfilling orders on time is becoming increasingly harder for Dirt Bikes.This is due to the delays of obtaining certain parts to the motorcycles , especially their fuel tanks. This is a serious issue because this could lead to loses in sales because customers do not want to wait so long for their orders to be filled. Finding a different fuel tank supplier is very necessary. In response to the supply chain problems that Dirt Bikes USA searched for alternate suppliers on the internet. There are three possible alternative suppliers that were found: Company| Location| Cost of part| Cost of shipping| Motosport. com| Gresham, OR 97230| $247. 9| Fedex: free 2days| Motocyle-superstore. com| Medford, OR 97204| $273. 99| Free ground| Xrsonly. com| Hesperia, CA 92345| $249. 95| UPS 3 day: $26. 39| The suitable choice is motosport. com. They have the cheapest price and their website guarantees 30 day price matching. The shipping is not only free but 2nd day by Federal Express. The motosport. com website also looks more professional, and has a contact page that shows a picture of their administration offices, and the address of their war ehouse. It is possible that Dirt Bikes USA could be aided by implementing supply chain management software. Logility: Voyager SupplyPlanning| Wolin Design Group: da Vinci| Features| – Maximize probabilitycost for effective solutions- Optimizing sourcing and decision making. – Helps balance resources, constraints and customer service levels. – Analyses of customer orders-Evaluate costs and revenues| – Easy to report cost of effective solutions- Free training- Allows implementation of all or one applications- Optimizing resources. – Helps balance resources, constraints and customer service levels- Analyses of customer orders| Dirt Bike USA should also invest in good supply chain management software.The figure below compares the features of The Logility Company’s Voyager Supply Planning software with Wolin Design Group’s da Vinci software. The suitable option is the da Vinci software. There are some reasons for this, first of all, the co mpany does not require the purchase for all the components of the software; a company can choose to buy only certain applications. There are even add-ons to the standard software package. Before the company purchases the product, they are allows to do a demo with employees from Wolin Design Group.If the company is not satisfied with the product, the company will not have to purchase the software. Once the demo is complete and the company purchases the software, the implementation process begins. There is a Help Desk that can answer any questions or fix any problems that may arise. The actual software package itself provides Dirt Bikes with great services. Da Vinci is a whole database where every part of the ordering, financing, and inventory side of the company can be kept. It allows tracking of the products and shipping aspects.Inventory Management and other reports are easy to access because of the tracking. There are reports for the profit, revenue and costs of Dirt Bikes, as wel l as management reports. The reports help with the decision making and the everyday success of the company. The software also tries its best to minimize the cost of building the bikes and the all around costs in general. Voyager Supply Planning software is a great option, but da Vinci provides services that are more suitable for Dirt Bikes USA. 4- E-COMMERCE STRATEGY: Internet is becoming more and more popular in modern life as well as in business.E-commerce is an useful application for seller and buyer to reach their willingness.. Almost everyone has a computer with internet connection. By having a website, Dirt Bikes would be able to expand its business better because it will reach out to many people. Customers will also find it more convenient to do their shopping online. The customers have more time for choosing products and the shopper has a chance to read about all the different kinds of bikes. It also enables them to compare bikes to one another, as well as see pictures of al l of them. E-commerce allows the company to be more competitive.Dirt Bike should sell not only motorcycle but also parts on the Web, the customers will have more option when looking its website. Advertisement about the new products, popular product on the front page of the website is also a good way to attract customer. Although there are many benefits from E-commerce, Dirt Bike has to face with risks that derive from online trading. * Buyers from all over the world may use fake or stolen credit cards and online payment accounts or they outright lie about delivery. Many claim non-delivery or damaged goods in order to get refunds.This is turn makes it costly for sellers, as they are faced with the reality that now they have lost both their inventory and money. * Sellers may take money without ever sending any product or forwarding inferior goods to the customers. * When a company accepts a customer's credit card and personal data, unless the business takes measures to protect that in formation, data is easily stolen through hacking, making both the seller and the buyer vulnerable. Solutions for better E-commerce strategy: One e-commerce company that provides excellent services is NetSuite.It allows a small to medium company to be managed completely on this one software. Some of the services : website and web store building and hosting, built-in analytics and reporting, low-cost customer service, and superior e-commerce marketing tools. In order for the e-commerce software to be a profitable investment for Dirt Bikes, the cost savings need to increase. The increase should be more than the company has made in the past, and then some because of the cost of the e-commerce software. Advantages: * Managed Completely on on Software. Website and Web store building and hosting * Built-in analytics and reporting * Low-cost customer service * Superior e-commerce marketing tools 5 – KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: The most important explicit knowledge of Dirt Bike USA assets a re its engineering designs, its customer relations management, and its sales/marketing processes. This is the explicit and tacit knowledge, most of the knowledge can be documented. The engineer can graph his or her design and the customers or sellers can save their information in their documents.There is also tacit knowledge, the designers have to think about the new ideas to refresh the products and attract people, the engineers have to think about the techniques to deal with employees and customers as well, they have to think the ways to increase the employees’ productivity, some tricks that can be used by the sellers to persuade the customers to buy their products. However, the knowledge assets of Dirt Bike is not only internal asset but also external assets. The Dirt Bike use outside engine manufacture so it has be knowledgeable about the engine products that are produced and developed by their engine suppliers.The marketers also use outside media to know about the market trend, the customers interest to increase the investment from outsiders to expand the company. Knowledge management system is the system that would contain as much information as possible that can be documented and organized, from raw data to data studies. The system brings many benefits for employees and company itself. The engineers can use the data from this system for the correct engine designs and knowing whether the engine products from the suppliers are qualified are or not. The designers can use the data and get the materials for the products.The marketers can use external and internal data for making marketing plan and getting investment. The sellers can use the data for market segmentation, and determine the time for selling suitable kind of product. The managers can know the information quickly to update about the new plan, new economics trend to have better react. Finally, the company can get the products’ feedback from customers, make the survey about the custom ers’ interest. With many benefits from the Knowledge management system Dirt Bike need to use it but the problem here is how can they find he Knowledge management system company that suitable for them? The appropriate knowledge management system for Dirt Bike is Safeharbor (http://www. safeharbor. com/solutions/knowledge-management-services/) it has almost everything that suitable for not only Dirt Bike but also many different companies. Its Knowledge Engineers work directly with the company’s teams to help with some or all of the following: Content assessment, Content creation and testing, Analysis and reporting, Contact center alignment, Taxonomy, Best practices.It has some functions that other companies do not have like multi-language which is necessary for the company to have agencies in different countries, multi-currency for faster transaction and Boolean search for faster searching. The company has 3 competitive advantages: simple and intuitive, powerful and cust omizable, cost effective. It provides: Internal Knowledge base: * Powerful Search Engine. * Easy Article Creation and Content Management. * Powerful Knowledge Base Management Tools. * Improved Agent Effectiveness * Moderator Controls. * Reporting & Analytics * Cloud Mobility. External Knowledge base: Extremely Customizable. * Intuitive Self Service. * User Feedback. * Community Forums. Component| Component No. | Source| Unit Cost| Quantity| Extended Cost| | Brake cable| M0593| Nissin| 27. 81| 1| 27. 81| | Brake pedal| M0546| Harrison Billet| 6. 03| 2| 12. 06| | Brake pad| M3203| Russell| 27. 05| 2| 54. 10| | Front brake pump| M0959| Brembo| 66. 05| 1| 66. 05| | Rear brake pump| M4739| Brembo| 54. 00| 1| 54. 00| | Front brake caliper| M5930| Nissin| 105. 20| 1| 105. 20| | Rear brake caliper| M7942| Nissin| 106. 78| 1| 106. 78| | Front brake disc| M3920| Russell| 143. 80| 1| 143. 80| | Rear brake disc| M0588|Russell| 56. 42| 1| 56. 42| | Brake pipe| M0943| Harrison Billet| 28. 52| 1| 28. 52| | Brake lever cover| M1059| Brembo| 2. 62| 1| 2. 62| | | | | Total cost| | 657. 36| | | | | | | | | * Integrated Help Desk and Call Center. 6. COMPONENT PRICE CHANGES The table above shows the cost when it is not affected by any impacts. However when the front brake caliper increased from $103 to $107,the extended cost would increase, too and if the brake pipe increases from $27 to $30 the extended cost increases. The brake system represent 30 percent of the total materials cost for one complete Moto 300 motorcycle.Therefore, not only does the cost of the brake system increase, but the whole motorcycle price. | | | Brake Pipe| | | Total Cost| 657. 36| 27| 28. 00| 29| 30. 00| | 103| 653. 64| 654. 64| 655. 64| 656. 64| | 104| 654. 64| 655. 64| 656. 64| 657. 64| Front Brake caliper| 105. 00| 655. 64| 656. 64| 657. 64| 658. 64| | 106| 656. 64| 657. 64| 658. 64| 659. 64| | 107| 657. 64| 658. 64| 659. 64| 660. 64| The table shows the total cost increase when the price of the brake pipe and front brake caliper increase. Finally when the front brake caliper and brake pipe increase up to $ 107 and $30 the total cost increases to $660. 64. REFERENCES:

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Emr Concerns Are Plaguing The Health Care Industry Today

EMR concerns are plaguing the health care industry today that requires change. Healthcare professionals, such as nurses, are on the front lines in the defense against medical errors. Closing the gap between current clinical and hospital practices and the various approaches to improving patient safety requires changes that are cultural and systemic in nature. The greatest challenge to hospitals using an EMR system is the expense of the new system, and the challenge nurses face with technology adoption in usage of EMR and protection of records. Even though spending depends on both the hospital size and the technologies were chosen, implementation and installation of a Health Information Technology system, which includes EMR, are often multi-year investments. The transition from a paper-based system to an electronic system is a very complicated process within every hospital establishment. The transformation is time-consuming and involves numerous staff from across the hospital, includin g Information Technology personnel, physicians, nurses, ancillary providers, etc. Although hospitals work hard at managing the changes required to move toward an electronic environment, there is no guarantee that hospital personnel will properly utilize the expensive new IT system or EMR. Therefore, the training in the EMR integration is required to all medical staff to have an efficient and uncomplicated system. In the United States year 2011, there is a leakage about thirteen Iowa HawkeyeShow MoreRelatedThe Electronic Medical Records ( Emr )1366 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction The Electronic Medical Records (EMR) is a secure source of information that give clinicians real-time access to a variety of patient health information. It is a new technology in the health and hospital information field where clinical, demographic, and management information is entered in a electronic record. EMR information can be accessed such as patient history, billing or insurance data, allergies, immunizations, medications, orders, laboratory tests, diagnostic results, and images

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Brief History On Rubber By Christopher Columbus - 1946 Words

RUBBER: A material that can be extended to in any event twice its unique length and will withdraw quickly and coercively to generously its unique endless supply of the power. BRIEF HISTORY ON RUBBER: Rubber has been around for a very long time. Thousands of years ago ancient people of Central America used Rubber balls in their games. Historian believes that teams of players try to pass the ball through the rings by using their hips. As the time passed these people found other uses of Rubber as well for example: dipping the feet’s in Rubber for shoes and also for clothes. In 1942, Christopher Columbus sells to the new World and started study to this and explores headings to this newly discovered thing. He started to tell European peoples about Rubber and its uses but they didn’t took interest. Soon people figured out about the Rubber. Pretty soon Rubber factory becomes popping up and Rubber goods become all the rich. Soon America build its own Rubber factories and become the world’s largest Rubber industry. Later Charles Gujer experiment with some Rubber by heating it and the property of Rubber becomes actually good and this inspired further experiments soon p rocess of vulcanization which gives stability to natural Rubber which was sticky when warm and hard when gold it was not good for tires. Later John Demonte use Rubber around bicycle tires. In late 19th century Rubber becomes common for car tires. Types of Rubber: There are fundamentally two general classificationsShow MoreRelatedImpact of Globalisation on Nokia3238 Words   |  13 Pagesforward which the company might use to respond to the impacts of globalisation you have identified. Table of Contents 1. Background 1.1 What is Globalization? 1.2 The Importance of Globalization regarding a business 1.3 Nokia - a brief introduction 2. Characteristics and issues influencing Globalisation 3. How globalisation impacts the company 3. 1 Product 3 .2 Logistics 3. 3 Acquisitions 4. Evaluation and recommendations 4.1 Rugman and CollinsonsRead More The Struggle of EZNL In Modern Mexico Essay4460 Words   |  18 Pages What follows is a brief introduction to the setting of which the EZLN was born: the history of Mexico, the conditions and peoples of Chiapas, the shrouded origins of the EZLN, and the legend of the man from which they took their name: Emiliano Zapata. Following this is an account of the uprising that announced their presence to Mexico and the world in 1994, the effects of this, the march on the capital in 2000, and the on-going struggle they lead today. A Brief History of Mexico This timelineRead MoreBrazil Culture17445 Words   |  70 Pages287.597 sq mile Water (%) 0,65 Population 2005 estimate 187.560.000 (5th) 2000 census 169.799.170 Density 22km sq. (182nd) 57/sq mi. Currency Real ( BRL) Time Zone (UTC-2 to-5 (officially -3)) Internet TLD .br Calling Code +55 TABLE 1 THE HISTORY OF BRAZIL Portuguese Discoveries (1487-1497) In the 15th and 16th centuries Portugal, an Iberian Kingdom with barely a million inhabitants, was hemmed in by the Atlantic in front and by a hostile Castile behind. After years of struggle against theRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesBrier, and Roy Rosenzweig Also in this series: Paula Hamilton and Linda Shopes, eds., Oral History and Public Memories Tiffany Ruby Patterson, Zora Neale Hurston and a History of Southern Life Lisa M. Fine, The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin, and Community in Autotown, U.S.A. Van Gosse and Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., History and September 11th John McMillian and Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David MRead MoreProject Managment Case Studies214937 Words   |  860 Pagescooperation. Both company and department goals can be achieved. It puts an end to the can t see the forest for the trees syndrome. Harold Grimes, plant manager I think that formal project management will give us more work than longterm benefits. History indicates that we hire more outside people for new positions than we promote from within. Who will be hired into these new project management jobs? We are experiencing a lot of backlash from people who are required to teach new people the ropes. InRead MoreMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 Pagesâ€Å"Sponsored Links.† These â€Å"Links,† because of their relevance to the search, would be clicked on more often than if they were labeled simply â€Å"Ads.† They decided to display the links in a clearly marked box above the free search results. The ads would be brief and look identical, with just a headline, a short description, and a link to a web page. But these would be targeted ads, offering a major advantage for advertisers confronted with the huge wastage of advertising reaching uninterested audiences. Read MoreStrategic Marketing Management337596 Words   |  1351 Pagesstrategy Strategies for market leaders Marketing strategy and military analogies: lessons for market leaders Strategies for market challengers Strategies for market followers Strategies for market nichers Military analogies and competitive strategy: a brief summary The inevitability of strategic wear-out (or the law of marketing gravity and why dead cats only bounce once) The influence of product evolution and the product life cycle on strategy Achieving above-average performance and excellence Summary Read MoreStrategic Human Resource Management View.Pdf Uploaded Successfully133347 Words   |  534 PagesOsland, and Asbjorn Osland. â€Å"Work-Related Consequences of Smoking Cessation,† Academy of Management Journal 32, no. 3 (1989): 606–21; Nobile, Robert J. â€Å"Putting Out Fires with a No-Smoking Policy,† Personnel 67, no. 3 (1990): 6–10. 106.Farrell, Christopher, Joseph Weber, and Michael Schroeder. â€Å"Why We Should Invest in Human Capital,† Business Week (December 17, 1990): 88–90. 107.Falkenberg, Loren E. â€Å"Employee Fitness Programs: Their Impact on the Employee and the Organization,† Academy of ManagementRead MoreLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 . .6 . .6 . .8 . .8 . 10 . 12 . 13 . . . . . . . 16 . . . . . . . 17 2—The Evolution of Management Thought . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Management in Ancient History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 The Effects of the Industrial Age on Management . . . . . 22 Classical Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Scientific Management Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Read MoreHuman Resources Management150900 Words   |  604 Pageseconomic, social, cultural, and technological ones—when addressing these activities. These external considerations are especially important when HR activities must be managed internationally, as discussed in Chapter 4. The HR activities for which a brief overview follows are: ââ€"  ââ€"  ââ€"  ââ€"  ââ€"  ââ€"  ââ€"  HR Planning and Analysis Equal Employment Opportunity Staffing HR Development Compensation and Benefits Health, Safety, and Security Employee and Labor/Management Relations HR Planning and Analysis HR planning

Friday, December 20, 2019

Transformation Of The Human Race - 1762 Words

Transformation’s Role As A Mentor To Growth The progression of the human race throughout history has relied on unique individuals willing to take a stand for what they believe to be true to themselves and to their culture. Important political and cultural developments have taken their roots in charismatic people with fresh ideas that may not exactly fit within the status quo. The complexity of evolution is seeded deep within every human being; and one must come to terms with their identity to be fully content with themselves. There will never be one clear meaning to life; thus there will always be room for constant improvement and growth. Elucidations to such concepts exist in the field of arts and entertainment as a recurring theme, or simply as basic character development. Two popular examples are, for instance, William Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, in which temperamental and odious Katherina falls in love with the endearing Petruchio, or in more recent cinema, Jules Winnfield from Quentin Tarantino’s Pul p Fiction, who discovers his life as sanctimonious and false according to the greater good he wishes to contribute to. From a literary standpoint, A Room With A View by E.M. Forster is an enticing social commentary on the Edwardian society existent in England in the early 20th century, as well as being a cordial tale of love and growth. As the main focus of the novel is the journey of the protagonist from suppression to freedom, the work remains relevant today asShow MoreRelatedThe Effects of Apartheid on South Africa1644 Words   |  7 Pagesthat the apartheid laws were rules disadvantaging members of a certain race, and this act which violated human equality and dignity was deeply frowned upon. This suggestion by Desmond Tutu is essentially trying to seek revenge by enforcing rules on the beneficiaries of the past laws that disadvantage them based solely on their race. One instance cannot be described as horrific, while the same thing forced onto a different race is seen as justi fied. This ideal of reconciliation in South Africa willRead More The Dehumanization of Gregor in Kafkas Metamorphosis Essay694 Words   |  3 PagesMetamorphosis In the novella The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, the main character Gregor undergoes a physical transformation from human to bug. Despite this change in appearance, he maintains his human brain as insect tendencies slowly take over his day to day behavior. He maintains his thoughtless state of mind, memories, and inner dialogue during his exterior transformation. Although he maintains his mental capacities, it is his change in appearance that causes his family to turn againstRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Black Like Me 1582 Words   |  7 Pagestaking medication that would darken his skin and the transformation that he made was incredible. At the time, there was no tolerance for anyone that was not a white man. The world was a different place and segregation was a real thing. It is hard for me to picture a world where someone cannot eat in a certain restaurant or use a restroom all because of the color of their skin. In the beginning of the book, Howard Griffin makes the transformation from a white man to a black man. His experiences takesRead MoreEssay on Middle Passage1227 Words   |  5 Pagesat the structures of identity and the total transformation of the self. The novel talks about the hidden assumptions of human and literary identity and brings to view the real problems of these assumptions through different ideas of allusion and appropriation. As the novel tells Rutherford Calhoun’s transformation of un-awareness allows him to cross â€Å"the sea of suffering† (209) making him forget who he really is. The novel brings forth the roots of human â€Å"being† and the true complications and troublesRead MoreMan Trumps all Others847 Words   |  3 Pagessense, giving rise to expansive civilizations and an apparent dominion over the natural. It is not exclusively anthropocentric, as specific races have been repeatedly castigated as a result of a narcissistic understandin g of the self. This self-entitled presumption has led to much of the behavior that continues to disregard the organic and even fellow humans. In her revealing work Becoming Undone: Darwinian Reflections on Life, Politics, and Art, Elizabeth Grosz exposes the origins of this prevalentRead MoreDarwin and History1162 Words   |  5 Pageslast entered public consciousness. While the theories presented by Darwin were simultaneously being celebrated, condemned or challenged, it triggered a new form of self-awareness. Because Darwin initially avoided addressing the ultimate question of human evolution until The Descent of Man published in 1871, it would lead others to pursue the matter with diverse explanations. Known as the father of German Darwinism, Ernst Haeckel’s Natà ¼rliche Schà ¶pfungsgeschichte (The History of Creation) was firstRead MoreEducation And Complex Communication : Booker T Washington1071 Words   |  5 PagesEducation and complex communication are the two m ain things that separate us from animals. When slavery was abolished in the early 19th century, people knew it would take some time for African Americans to progress as a race, and most importantly to join in contributing to an integral part of society. To say people knew might be a tough assumption to make, many people doubted this to ever be a possibility. One of the people who contributed to making this a possibility was Booker T Washington. BookerRead MoreShould Same Sex Marriage Be Legalized?945 Words   |  4 Pagessex marriage should not be legalized, but it cannot be banned. I sense that a marriage is intensely between a man and a woman. â€Å"While state’s laws that deny same-sex couples the opportunity to legally marry are discriminatory, does an international human right protecting gay marriage exist?† (Gus) That is the way life is set and it is just the way it should be either it’s in the Bible, the Quran or any testament. If we speak of morality, t his is and should be the norm for man and woman to become validatedRead MoreThe Veil, And Double Consciousness1154 Words   |  5 Pagesbetween her blackness and Americanness, and instead, she expresses her refusal to be defined by any single aspect of her identity, and asserts her individualism as being more salient than any racial or national ties. The notion of becoming conscious of race is presented early in the essay, as Hurston recounts her childhood in Florida. Hurston describes growing up in Eatonville, Florida, an â€Å"exclusively†¦ colored town†, save for white tourists. She depicts reveling in the spotlight of her front porch, tellingRead MoreThe Ethics Of Capital Punishment923 Words   |  4 Pagesseek capital punishment. Susan Gissendaner received this sentence for plotting to kill her husband, although her boyfriend actually killed her husband. Since being in prison, Susan has undergone a conversion and transformation. She is now a model prisoner. Due to Susan’s transformation, they are trying to have her sentence changed. Should Susan’s sentence be commuted to life in prison is the question being asked? This paper will answer the question by providing a moral judgment viewed by two

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Mountain gorillas Essay Example For Students

Mountain gorillas Essay Half man and half beast. This is what is usually said about the gorilla. They say that the gorilla is related to us. You can find mountain gorillas in the Virunga Volcanoes, which are located on the boundaries of Zaire, Rwanda, and Uganda.The Virungas are 600 miles of tropical rainforest.You’ll find then roaming around 7,800 and 11,000 feet, but at low elevations. The gorillas live in units. Most of the units consist of about 6-12 members in it, most of them being related in some way. With each unit, there is a leader, usually an old silverback, who was a virtual dictator. A silverback male has large canines and he may weigh 400 pounds. He is the one who decides when to proceed, and when to stop, and which direction to go. When he sleeps, everyone else is supposed to be sleeping to, and then he gives a signal to wake up. When the old silverback gets too old, then his eldest son usually is the one to take over. The females are usually responsible for the nursing portion in the unit.Gorillas are peaceful and tolerant by nature. Whenever two groups meet, they either ignore each other, or they give each other a grumpy grunt. Sometimes the two groups would even stay together, and then eventually separate. There are many rumors about gorillas being very violent, but there are no reports about it.There are times when they have little mock fights, but there is never any blood shed in them. Right now there are not too many mountain gorillas you will find in the Virungas. Their population is only in the hundreds. In 1960, there was an estimated 450 gorillas still remaining in two isolated habitats. In a 1981 census, it gave a figure of about 254 gorillas. Right now there is somewhere between 400-450 mountain gorillas that have survived. There are so few of these creatures for many reasons. There are many poachers who kill the gorillas for their head or hands to sell to tourists as a souvenir, or hunter that kill them to have a trophy. With so much of this going on , the rangers of the parks so not think there will be anymore of these gorillas left by the end of the century. There have been a few projects and conservation groups made to save this endangered species. The Washington-based African Wildlife Foundation, started a program in the parks on park security, to prevent as much poaching. The tourist program also developed rapidly. They went from 1,352 paid visitors in 1978 to 5,790 in 1984. With the help of the money from tourism, they were able to start some programs on the conservation of the mountain gorillas. The basic issues of the groups and programs are human population and the way land is used. The future for the gorillas look very bleak. Illegal logging, gold prospecting, and hunting has become more and more popular where the gorillas live. To assure gorillas a future will require a dedication that can not just be done through projects or even years or centuries, but it takes a commitment for the rest of eternity. BIBLIOGRAPHYBaumgartel, Walter. Up Among the Mountain Gorillas. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1976. Fossey, Dian. Gorillas in the Mist. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1983. Patterson, Francine. The Education of Koko. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1981. Schaller, George B. Gorilla: Struggle for Survival in the Virungas. New York: Aperture Book, 1989.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Accounting Information Systems Collected Data Information

Question: Describe about the Accounting Information Systems for Collected Data Information. Answer: Introduction This study deals with discussion on Accounting Information Systems. AIS are the process for collecting stores as well as process in financial and accounting data. Internal users of particular business organization use collected data. In this present study, the tax authorities, investors as well as creditors use information. Accounting Information Systems is one of the computer-based processes that help in tracking all accounting activities with information technology resources (Worrell, Wasko and Johnston 2013). This particular information system unites traditional practices by following the accounting principles such as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). It is mandatory selecting proper AIS or ERP system. This further helps business organization in taking efficient decision in regard with investment in accounting software. This widely depends upon different types of size of business. This current study elucidates the business process of B Bakery in along with given bus iness requirements (Ward and Peppard 2016). Business Process Baker is an individual who bake cake as well as bread for selling them in the market. Cake and bread are baked with the help of oven and other concerted heat sources. Bakery is the place where baker bakes and makes products such as breads and cakes. Baker specializes in baking cake and bread known as Pastry Chef (Vanhoof et al. 2014). There are several types of baker such as Commercial Baker, Retail Baker as well as Bread Maker and Baked Goods Producer. Baker mixes as well as bakes the ingredients in accordance with recipes for making various types of pastries, bread and other form of bakery products. Key Activities of the Business Several key activities of bakery firm involves production of bakery food products, manufactured products distribution especially to the targeted customers as well as accounting of related operational activities of the business firm on manual basis (Vanhoof and Aerts 2014). Addition to that, bakery firm activities includes baking on accurate basis. It is baked in oven temperatures for fulfilling the personnel responsibilities as well as maintaining the inventory of business firm. Therefore, key activities of bakery business required efficient budgeting as well as cleanliness and safety at the same time. Bakery Food Products Production B Bakery focuses majorly on bread manufacturing as well as other products of confectionary. This aims at spotlighting on health factors on all the food items (Sutton and Arnold 2013). Manufactured Products Distribution B Bakery engages in selling manufacturing products with the help of various distribution channels. It majorly involves pub chains as well as supermarkets in the most appropriate way. Manual Accounting of various operational activities It is important to understand the fact that business firm properly maintains its accounting records on manual basis. It is recommended to business firm in appointing an accountant for business function (Sousa and Oz 2014). It requires to record transactions and its accounts as presented in the financial statement of a particular business organization in given financial year. Staff Employment From the case study on B Bakery, it is easy to gain understanding that the bakery firm employs more than 70 employees for conducting business operations in an effective way. This particular firm requires maintaining the salary accounts of employees with the help of using manual procedures (Rainer et al. 2013). Therefore, there is high probability that business firm commits some mistakes regarding payment methods as well as salary accounts of its employees. Development of Business Requirements Business Process Essentials implementation There is various business process or activities needed for running particular business in smoother terms by considering operating and regulations of any kind. There are even some of the activities considered as indispensable in nature. In case of B. Bakery, several business activities deal with operational and regulatory activities for a particular business firm. This includes identification of sales cost, cost effective process as well as periodical analysis and other process of production in an overall manner (Newman, Stikeleather and Waddoups 2016). Addition to that, it further takes into consideration proper structure for payroll activities informational analysis as well as preparing financial statement and tax payment on timely basis. It is important to conduct detailed analysis for B Bakery from last year transactions. This involves viewing at the turnover rates for B Bakery for future analysis purpose. Revenue generated by B Bakery amounts to $13.5 million. B Bakery employs more than 70 staff members (Marshall, Curry and Kawalek 2015). They are appointed for the medium scale business named as B Bakery. This particular bakery firm enjoys continuous growth for given years with its unique products. There was an issue concerning with deficit of proper accounting as well as system for recording of given data B Bakery should incorporate given business process for making the bakery business more efficient in nature. Cost of sales Identification It is important to consider the fact that bakery industry aligns completely with the business organization in the manufacturing activities. Addition to that, these particular organization manufacturers various types of products involving in process as well as materials (Ismail and King 2014). Therefore, this particular organization should efficiently incorporate accurate system for accounting purpose. This will help in identifying manufacturing expenses for making use of accurate products. Cost Effective Process for Production Accounting is requires for system of producing given food items. It enables control over the expenses for developing in the production systems for taking into consideration cost-efficient measures (Hall 2012). Periodical Analysis B Bakery is a FMCG manufacturer and aims at incorporating business process for analyzing financial condition of the organization for specified period (Guragai et al. 2014). Payroll accurate structure Proper accounting system and proper payroll structure initiates with salary payment. There are even other contributions for making the payment to staff members for given business organization (Guffey and Harp 2013). Informational analysis There are various forms of information that further help in smooth business activities in analyzing and preserving usage of appropriate techniques. Financial Statement Preparation Every business firm prepares financial statement for given year. It is recommended in using accurate potential information from the financial statement and analyze based upon that Business firm prepares financial statement by taking consideration crucial configuration for specified time (Galliers and Leidner 2014). Tax Payment Tax is one of the important debts considered by any business organization. Therefore, business organization should utilize such methods for making the process of tax return in easier terms (Dull, Gelinas and Wheeler 2012). Required Outcomes for Achieving Business Objectives It is necessary to find out business process requirements with proper outcomes and results. Gaining this type of information helps in achieving the required objectives in relation with business organization (Du, Huddart and Xue 2015). It requires analyzing the given procedures as it will help business organization in running profitable enterprise in the upcoming financial year. Improvement in Pricing Strategy Cost of sales is one of the basic structures for construction of selling price for given products and services. Management Department of business need incorporation of accurate system for costing as it will identify proper sales cost. Addition to that, implementing effective strategies leads to proper as well as accurate pricing method. This will help in guiding identification of selling prices for food products in an effective way. It is important to determine the selling price for given food products as it will generate ways for change as well as modifying the pricing strategy wherever necessary (Daoud and Triki 2013). Cost Effective System for Production B bakery is a medium-sized business firm dealing in bakery industry. Activities performed by B Bakery come under manufacturing activities. As far as manufacturing unit is concerned, it deals with observing activities of business enterprise on matters relating to indirect costs (Considine et al. 2012). This leads to ineffective consumption of labor as well as materials at the same time. This particular control cost system has the ability for identifying the factors responsible for ineffective utilization of financial resources. Superior Control over the Financial Performances B Bakery has the ability in analyzing the financial condition with the help of periodical analysis in given financial matters (Bishop et al. 2016). This will help management department in gaining proper understanding of firm performances for specified period. It is recommended to the management team in taking given defensive measures for proper course of action. Therefore, resulted outcome analyzes given positive traits for viewing at the firm achievement for short duration of time as well as given factors under consideration. Increases the Profitability of the Firm Business aims at gaining profitability with the help of eliminating factors arising from excessive expenses as well as bringing improvement in the level of production. B Bakery has the ability in analyzing the given data as well as information in association with current market condition (Baskerville and Wood-Harper 2016). It involves analyze after studying market as well as its nearest competitors setting the strategies of marketing in proper ways. Determination of the Requirements of Systems B Bakery requires implementing proper accounting software for processing with given unique characteristics as discussed below with proper justification: Cost Analysis Accounting software selection should enables specified characteristics for recording of production cost in an efficient way. Addition to that, accounting software has the ability in financial reports production based upon required demand (Azad and Faraj 2013). Accounting software specifies with contrasting between various types of item cost for given time. Recording of Documentation In case of medium-sized business, it gets holds of many accounting transactions for given accounting year. Accounting expert requires dealing with accounting transactions that should be relevant in nature. It relates directly with the financial statements for a given business organization (Anandarajan, Anandarajan and Srinivasan 2012). Addition to that, financial statement need prior adjustment for specified time for evaluating the performance-based business activities This particular accounting software requires recording of financial transactions gaining information on regular basis. The recording process enables bringing adequate financial information as extracted from accounting software at the same time. Basic Financial Structure It is important to consider the fact that accounting elucidate in explaining the financial structuring. This deals with accurate systems taking into account creditors as well as debtors and inventory management system. Payroll accounting system brings out the recording of salary payment as well as other staff benefits. Addition to that, this accounting software has all types of unique features helpful in tracing the cash transactions on regular basis. This particular accounting software aims at regulating the usage of internal network for business as well as implementation of securities for gaining information from generated accounting data. Software Selection Accounting Software Package Vendors There are different types of vendors involving in providing accounting packages. It requires making the section depending upon individual accounting software pancakes from authentic websites. Some of key vendors named as MYOB, DacEasy and SAP accounting software. Selection of various types of Accounting Software In the recent market, various types of accounting software area available that needs to be recognized by medium sized business organization. In this case, B Bakery need to select one accounting software option for bringing change in their accounting systems These accounting software are divided into three broad segments such as low-end software as well as medium-end software and high-end software. Low-end accounting software- Low-end accounting software should be used by small-scale business for accounting purpose as individual professionals regulate it efficiently. This mainly involves doctors and advocates (Marshall, Curry and Kawalek 2015). Low-end accounting software had been developed with the help of usage of accounting system in the most appropriate way. Medium-end accounting software- Medium-end accounting software has been structured based upon double entry system. Basic features of accounting have been covered in this particular accounting software in case of business venture (Ismail and King 2014). Addition to that, medium-end accounting software has the ability in fulfilling the key requirements of business firms and this leads to revenue generation in the upcoming financial year. High-end accounting software- High-end accounting software means highly progressive technology that deals with efficient factors in case of advanced accounting system. This particular accounting system needs further improvement by implementing using of particular software in an effective way (Marshall, Curry and Kawalek 2015). It is recommended to B Bakery in selecting medium-end accounting software for carrying out the business activities in smoother terms. This particular accounting software will meet the purpose in aligning with specified objectives for given period. It is an expensive affair in using high-end accounting software in comparison with medium-end accounting software for incorporating given software (Daoud and Triki 2013). Vendor Selection Comparison between features of accounting software packages Two main software packages prove appropriate especially for small as well as medium-sized business. This involves MYOB and DacEasy (Ismail and King 2014). This above-mentioned accounting software are divided into four major sections namely creditors, stock as well as debtors and pay structure. Preparation of financial reports can be done in several ways. Therefore, software analysis based upon given grounds like ease in utilization of software, scalability as well as documentation and reporting alternatives. Supporting Documentation It is important to understand the fact that preparation of printed and online documents should be utilized with the help of mentioned accounting software. As far as DacEasy software is concerned, it renders finding out correct location in aligning with given index. It requires understanding various alternatives that enables management department in searching help button located on the screen. MYOB is other accounting software whereby button is present on each screen as well as generation of information is much easier as expected (Worrell, Wasko and Johnston 2013). Payment Structure DacEasy is accounting software that helps in setting up direct deposits. Addition to that, this software helps in generating characterized into tax deposits as well as employees for given specified time (Daoud and Triki 2013). This help in proper construction of payment structure for future analysis purpose. As far as MYOB is concerned, payment structure should be managed in way of utilizing alternatives by viewing at the staff status in the most appropriate way. Expenses and Scalability There are various differences noticed from strategy regarding the pricing structure of both the accounting software named as MYOB and DacEasy. These versions revolve around single usage of both the systems by networking of multiple users. Simplicity in using particular accounting software system MYOB structure is considered as simpler as well as convenient in nature. This particular software helps beginners for the financial management for mapping down the given accounting tasks. Addition to that, installation process of MYOB is easy as well as accessible with usage of navigation bar. On the other hand, DacEasy Accounting software operates very easy as well as usage of consumer alternatives with navigating on screen from one section to other. This particular tool bar aims at designing unsuitable actions for consumers. Time Scheduling DacEasy accounting software aims at providing options for timely bill payments. This particular section deals with payroll accounting system with time billing of data (Worrell, Wasko and Johnston 2013). Billing report should be presented on timely manner. In case of MYOB accounting software, billing time deals with bringing references in terms of credit activities Alternatives of Reporting In case of DacEasy Accounting software, it designs ways for report generation as well as creation of various types of reports. On the other hand, MYOB has the ability in producing more than 190 report types. This also can captures as well as present the given data keeping in mind employees as well as vendors and customers in the most appropriate way. Creditors Vendor Selection in case of DacEasy based upon various accounts payable such as vendor management, purchase orders as well as printing cheques and quotes. In case of MYOB, it aims at supporting e-payments as well as purchase orders and tax form assessment for printing purpose. Addition to that, it is requires using of software as well as credit memos for developing purpose by the vendors. Debtors In case of DacEasy, this accounting software gives proper details of customers such as banking as well as sales invoices. Transportation of products fails in anticipation as well as sales invoices by implementing given accounting system. MYOB accounting software helps in managing with accounts receivable. Therefore, it was difficult to estimate shipping costs as well as shipping activities in offering shipping instrument. Addition to that, income calculations as well as customer charges and other charges in association with finance for performing in smoother terms. Selection of most suitable vendor It is recommended to B Bakery for using MYOB accounting software for carrying out its business activities. It helps in producing given financial reports in an effective way and user-friendly at the same time. There is no particular difference noticed in cost from both the packages and quite similar to one other. Accounting structure and installation process considers as simple in comparison with MYOB. MYOB is accounting software that renders two-way facility in transfer and in case of DacEasy. MYOB can be noticed more flexible in nature in comparison with DacEasy. It helps in providing facilities regarding billing time, as it is not included by DacEasy. Addition to that, in using MYOB accounting software, inventory calculation will be done using FIFO and LIFO method (Worrell, Wasko and Johnston 2013). It can also use other method such as standard as well as average costs. Financial statement users should use MYOB accounting software because of its simplicity as well as easy installat ion process in the most appropriate way. B Bakery is a medium sized bakery firm that should use and implement MYOB accounting software. 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