Thursday, October 31, 2019

Human resource management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Human resource management - Essay Example Strategic human resource management is representative of a new transformation in human resource management field. The management is a shift from transactional and tactical duties in the traditional human resource management. This transformation has had major impacts in organizational management. The concept of SHRM has evolved as a bridge between the management of organizational human resource and business strategies. The major impact has been seen through the alignment of the human resources to the performance of the firm to give it a competitive advantage. Modern organizations are increasingly becoming sensitive to productive human resource practices and policies. Strategic human resource management leads to increased productivity and better financial performance. One of the major impacts of strategic management of human resources is the sustained competitive advantage through increased form specific competencies. Strategic human resource management has led to mobilization of new c ompetencies. It has also led to destruction of attributed that cause vulnerability and competitive disadvantage (Gilley & Gilley, 2000). The new strategy places emphasis on people as being the actual resource and critical differentiators in the building of business enterprise. The strategy has led to increased human application resulting to better generation of values. Success comes from managing people effectively (Schuler & Jackson, 2000). The new strategy in human resource management insists that employees must internalize the goals and missions of an organization. This enhances their responsiveness and performance. The new strategy in HRM has had a major effect through introduction of learning processes that enhance the capacity of the organizational needs (Salaman et al, 2005). This has led to identification of knowledge and competencies that are necessary to meet the organizational goals and consumer satisfaction. Strategic human resource management

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Coral Reef and Australia Essay Example for Free

Coral Reef and Australia Essay The great outback! Hey mate! Ever wanted to take an adventurous trip somewhere, but you’re not sure where? Well Australia would be the perfect place to start! Three reasons why Australia should be the first place you visit are for starters, the amazing scenery and beauty of the country, Secondly the exquisite variety of food, and lastly, the unique culture. Australia has one of the most breath taking sceneries in the world, all the way from the Great Barrier Reef to the city of Melbourne. The Great Barrier Reef is known for being the largest coral reef in the world; it is so incredibly vast that it can even be seen all the way from outer space. It is also unbelievably beautiful. Other beautiful places to visit in Australia are the Sydney harbor, which was the first settlement in Australia and you can also find the iconic Sydney opera house there, the beautiful island of Tasmania which is the most mountainous region of Australia and is dotted with beautiful flowing rivers and waterfalls, and also another iconic symbol of Australia the Uluru rock, this rock is famed for its amazing color changes as the sun sets and rises. Australia has so many beautiful sights to visit, which is one fantastic reason to visit Australia. Australian cuisine can vary from your common everyday food that we have here in America, to all kinds of interesting and exotic foods native to Australia. The term â€Å"bush tucker† is used to describe a certain type of cuisine in Australia, that is made up of the native foods in Australia, such as kangaroo, emu, or even crocodile. A lot of foods in Australia contain seafood, as Australia is the third largest fishing zone in the world. Some iconic foods of Australia are, for one, the Chiko roll, a deep-fried savory roll that is also similar to a spring roll. Other iconic foods are vegemite, macadamia nuts, violet crumble, cherry ripe Jaffa’s, and many other different foods. The food in Australia is often described as exotic and delicious. This stimulating food variety is just another great reason why Australia should be at the top on your list of places to visit. The culture in Australia is very interesting and fun, especially if you’re into surfing and water sports, which are very big in Australia, along with other sports such as rugby, cricket, and soccer. Australia is also big into country music, which may come as a surprise to some people, but some great country singers have come from Australia such as Keith Urban. The common apparel in Australia is called surf wear or bush wear, and is very popular among many of the Australian people. As far as religion goes, Australia has no official one, but according to the Australian census, most people are either Christian or irreligious. Most of the Christian are either Roman Catholic, Anglican, or apart of the uniting church. As you now know, Australia has a very interesting and diverse culture, which is the last reason why you should make visiting Australia a priority. In conclusion, Australia is stunningly gorgeous and has many captivating sights and historical scenery to visit while you’re there. It also has a very unique and beloved cuisine that is unlike any other in the world and accordingly very great tasting. Lastly, the variety of culture is just amazing and so fascinating. These are the three main reasons why your next vacation should be a trip to the great outback! See you ther!

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Threat Of Substitute Products Marketing Essay

Threat Of Substitute Products Marketing Essay The porter`s five forces model make a clear view of internal and the external environment of the industry. It allows strategies to create a strategy to gain competitive advantages and to remain the same level for a longer period. Hence, it is important to analysis in order to have an overview of the industry and the underlying the pressure will face by company and understand the objective that facing by Starbuck. Threat of substitute products: Switching cost, buyer propensity to substitute and performance of substitute Rivalry among existing market Smaller privately own coffeehouse, unique character and structure Bargaining power of buyers: Variety option available in the market, a lot of brands available due to no of competitor Bargaining power of suppliers: A crowded market in coffee market, supplier raising the price of coffee bean and choose supplier based on economic and environmental issue Threat of new entrants: Product differentiation and control access to distribution channel, innovation. Industry Competition The greatest among the five forces is perhaps industry rivalry. It has the biggest potential to influence the competitiveness of the industry and in turn the rate of profit for companies. Although the collective strength of the five forces determines the ultimate profit potential for an industry (Porter 1998b, p. 21), industry rivalry is the deciding factor for the determination of such profit rate. If competition within the industry is mild, or there are only few competitors, the rate of profit is generally higher, but if the competition is intense, companies cannot expect to earn spectacular returns on investment (Porter 1998b) The coffee industry has a structure or characteristics that are difficult to define or to set a boundary from which it can be differentiated with other industries (Larson 2008). Although it can be easily recognised from a single commodity, which is the coffee bean, the coffee industrys characteristics are unique in that its scope is much larger than what it appears to be. The coffee industry can be divided into two categories, the productionbased segment and the retail-based segment. For purposes of this paper, the production-based segment will be confined to those companies and individuals who plant and grow coffee beans, whilst the retail-based segment is confined to the specialty coffee sector, wherein the coffee beans are sold to consumers directly, either in the coffeehouses or in retails stores, department stores and supermarkets. It is on the latter segment that the focus of this analysis will be given. In 1987, when the company was bought and formed by Michael Schultz, Starbucks faces competition against other small coffeehouse chains across Seattle. In the entire United States, a number of coffeehouses are established. Most of these coffeehouses are small and medium sized and they are owned by individuals or families. Today, although there are several companies that compete against Starbucks, these competitors were relatively smaller and most often are concentrated only in a certain area or region. In the coffeehouse sector, Starbucks competitors are Second Cup, Gloria Jeans, Coffee People and other similar coffeehouse chains, which are now either situated in a specific state or are expanding or planning to expand their domestic and international operations. Gloria Jeans for example, started its international expansion in the 1990s when the Starbucks stores overseas are already numbering by the hundreds. Among these direct competitors, it appears that Gloria Jeans is the primary c ompetitor for Starbucks, as evidenced in an online survey conducted. The company is also engaged in the consumer products segment selling bottled coffee drinks, whole grain coffee beans or ready-to-drink coffees in packs, and other similar product descriptions. In the consumer products segment, the companys noted and biggest rivals include Procter Gamble, Nestle and Kraft. The latter companies have been in the packaged coffee sector for a significantly longer period, in fact they have been in this business for more than a century, than Starbucks, which started to enter this sector only a few years ago with the formation of its Global ConsumerProducts Group segment. Apart from the two large consumer product companies, the Starbucks products also face competition with substitute products such as soft drinks, energy drinks, and other non-alcoholic beverages. The specialty coffee industry competition is, however, not price-based unlike the other industries. In this particular industry, consumption of coffee is not dependent on the price of the product or commodity but on the differentiation between each product and several value adding variables such as the quality of customer services, brand, brand recognition or image of the company. Hence, the specialty coffee industry is not sensitive to price adjustments or movements. Threat of New Entrants The entry of new players in an industry can bring the competition into new, higher levels. New entrants, most especially large ones, bring new capacity, the desire to gain market share and often substantial resources that could cause a shake-up or a rearrangement of the current competitive positions of companies within the industry (Porter 1998). In order to protect the players/companies positions in the industry, they have to set up high barriers for new entrants. These barriers include economies of scale, product differentiation, capital requirements, cost disadvantages independent of size, access to distribution channels and government policy (Porter 1998). Major players often force new entrants to come in at a cost disadvantage by compelling the latter to spend or invest large amounts of money on production, research and development, marketing, distribution channels, financial resources and all aspects of the business. The specialty coffee industry today is undoubtedly dominated by Starbucks, having no equal or larger company in size that competes directly against the company. However, the industry is open to all potential rivals, especially to large companies engaged in the consumer products and retail chain business. For example, the new entrants in the coffeehouse business today are McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts and Burger King, three large companies which are challenging Starbucks dominance in the industry. These new entrants can equal Starbucks capabilities in the aspects of distribution channels, marketing and other areas. They have the capacity to bring new resources that can cause a shake-up in the industry, but not yet enough to topple Starbucks from its current dominant position. With the three big companies entrance into the specialty coffee retailing segment, Starbucks position is definitely shaken. Despite the openness of the specialty coffee segment to new entrants, barriers to the successful entry of new players appears to be tall. First, product differentiation in the industry is high. Specialty coffees are so differentiated in appearance, presentation, taste and even in image. Brand recognition is especially important for consumers, along with excellent customer service and the overall ambience of the coffeehouse. These barriers were successfully established by Starbucks long before McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts decided to venture in this industry. Favourable access to raw materials is also an important barrier in this industry. Starbucks have exclusive access to quality coffee beans from several suppliers around the world. The beans Starbucks bought from its suppliers follow the Fair Trade criteria established in the industry. This characteristic is simply costly for Starbucks competitors since they have to assure their customers that the coffee they serve is made from the finest coffee beans similar to Starbucks. On this aspect, cost disadvantage will be experienced by the new entrants, such as McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts. However, at present, McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts and other potential rivals are still targeting the lower end of the market, leaving the high-end bracket who are still attracted to Starbucks. However, these new entrants are now shaking up the industry, pressuring Starbucks to cut its price to maintain its rate of investment as the coffeehouse chains market share is now being eaten up by the rivals. threat of Substitute Products Substitute products, as explained by Porter (1998), are those products that come from other industries and can pose as a trade-off for products in the underlying industry. In the specialty coffee industry, substitute products can be those non-alcoholic beverages such as tea, soft drinks, fruit juices and energy drinks and other caffeinated drinks. These are sources of substitute products which the consumers can purchase in place of coffee. However, the only true direct substitute for specialty coffee is the basic coffee, but the basic coffee is considered to be a substantially lower quality than specialty and as such does not present threat to specialty coffee. On the other hand, whilst there are several potential substitutes, a cup of specialty coffee is still what consumers prefer to purchase. Product differentiation and brand image plays an important role in this industry. The specialty coffee products are different in many aspects from the substitutes. Coffeehouses offer not only a cup of coffee but the experience of sipping the specialty coffee on a luxurious ambience, such as what Starbucks is offering. Soft drinks companies and non-alcoholic beverage producers are on a mass marketing, selling their products in retail stores, supermarkets and department stores. Coffeehouses, on the other hand, offer an exclusive place for its consumers to enjoy their coffee. Hence, the threat of substitute products is not significant or is not considered a major force in the specialty coffee business. Buyers Bargaining Power Customers are a powerful force in an industry. They can pressure the companies to cut down their prices, demand better services from the company and can pit one company against another (Porter 1998). In other words, customers can influence the rise and fall of rate of profits in a particular industry. According to Porter, buyers or a buyer group become powerful if: They are concentrated or purchases in large volumes. The products they purchase in an industry are undifferentiated or standard. The products they purchase form a component of their own products or a significant fraction of its cost. They are of low income levels which create incentive to lower their purchase costs. The industrys products are unimportant to the buyers quality of services or products. The buyer does not benefit from the product. They pose a credible threat of integrating backward to make the industrys products These powers can be acquired by the consumers if they act as a group. However, in the specialty coffee industry, the largest fraction of buyers is the individual consumers, and they do not act in unison (Larson 2008). In the specialty coffee industry, individual consumers compose the largest purchasers of the product and these buyers tend to be less concerned with the price of the product (Larson 2008). This decreases their bargaining power further. Product differentiation in this industry is so high that consumers tend to look more for the quality of services and the image of the brand than the price of the product or where did the products raw materials come from, or what is the price of the raw materials, etc. hence, the bargaining power of the buyers are low. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Similar with the buyers, suppliers can also exert influence on the players in an industry. Suppliers can gain bargaining power and can be potential threat to industry players in terms of industry profits. They have the ability to increase or decrease the quality of products in a particular industry (Porter 1998). Michael Porter also outlined the major sources of bargaining power of suppliers. The author said a supplier group is powerful if: It is dominated by a few companies and is more concentrated than the industry it sells to. Its product is unique or at least differentiated, or if it has built up switching costs. It is not obliged to contend with other products for sale to the industry. It poses a credible threat of integrating forward into the industrys businesses. The industry is not an important customer for the supplier group. Again, similar to the buyers situation, the bargaining power of suppliers can only Be increased if they act in unison and they are highly concentrated. However, in the specialty coffee industry, suppliers generally have less bargaining power due to the number of coffee farms and plantations spread across several continents, namely Latin America, the Pacific Rim and East Africa (Larson 2008). Whilst there is only one variety of coffee needed for the industry, Arabica, there are however practically thousands of plantations and individual coffee growers growing this particular type of coffee bean, giving the coffeehouse companies more choices to replace existing suppliers should the latter demand higher prices for their coffee beans. Hence, the suppliers are diverse and spread and the industry players exert more influence and get a larger share of the profits of the industry over the suppliers. To sum up the five forces analysis, it can be concluded that the specialty coffee industry today is generally attractive and highly competitive. Despite the monopoly of Starbucks in the past two decades, a number of small, individual and family-owned coffeehouses have sprouted. The buyers and suppliers have less bargaining power and the threat of substitute products is insignificant. Thus, the rate of profit in the industry is highly concentrated upon the major industry players, particularly to Starbucks. However, with the entry of new players such as fast-food chain giants McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks dominance in the specialty coffee industry is being threatened.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Our Fascination, Hopes, and Fears. :: Artificial Intelligence Aliens Science Essays

Our Fascination, Hopes, and Fears. Introduction: What is Artificial Intelligence (AI) ? Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science which deals with helping machines find solutions to complex problems in a more human-like fashion. [1] What does it mean to say that a machine might be intelligent? This is the goal of the field of AI, yet it is not an easy goal to define. AI researchers express their goals differently, but they all share an interest in creating, through the hardware and software of a computer, an entity that is in some way recognized as intelligent and that shares some aspects of the distinctly human conditions. Thus, AI can be viewed as the attempt to create a machine that is in some way created in the image of the human person, an image loosely defined using the term intelligence. [3] One of the most challenging approaches facing experts is building systems that mimic the behavior of the human brain, made up of billions of neurons, and arguably the most complex matter in the universe. Alan Turing, a British computer scientist, stated that a computer would deserves to be called intelligent if it could deceive a human into believing that it was human. This generally involves borrowing characteristics from human intelligence, and applying them as algorithms in a computer friendly way. [1] "Strong AI" approach claims that modeling the human mind is necessary for creating some form of computer-based AI that can truly reason and solve problems. A strong form of AI is said to be sentient (self-aware). In contrast, "weak AI" approach focus instead on simulating intelligence (attempting to create machines which will be perceived as intelligent by their users) rather than trying to create it through a model of the mind. The field of Artificial Intelligence has split into several different approaches based on the opinions about the most promising methods and theories. These rivaling theories have lead researchers in one of two basic approaches: bottom-up approach (which believe the best way to achieve artificial intelligence is to build electronic replicas of the human brain's complex network of neuronsand) and top-down (which attempts to mimic the brain's behavior with computer programs). [4] Many articles showed a desire to allay fears that computers truly are intelligent, or worse, that human might soon be supplanted by machines. [3] Intelligent computers, robots, androids, and cyborgs have come to be staple characters in science fiction stories and films.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Afro Samurai

The manga series â€Å"Afro Samurai† follows the life of a black samurai named Afro, who is on a mission to avenge his father's death. After witnessing the death of his own father, Afro no longer lived a normal life. Instead, all he wanted to do was find and kill Justice, the man who killed his father and took the Number One Headband. Interestingly, the past that brought him pain and hatred had only given him the strength to carry on his life. As a kid, he killed anyone who stepped in his way of avenging his father's death.Even though Afro is brave and strong enough to continue the lonely and dangerous journey, he still faced trauma and painful flashbacks. Through â€Å"Afro Samurai†, we will be able to examine the psychological disorders and functions of memory by creating an outcome based on his childhood experiences. At a very young age, Afro had to helplessly witness Justice cut off his dad’s head. Tears fell down on his face as the head was rolling over to h im. Normally, if a child experiences such thing, he/she would’ve run away. However, Afro just stood there with his eyes wide open.It was too cruel and traumatic for him to even react with the situation. The feeling of fear, helplessness and anger had left a mental illness in Afro. Without shaking, he picked up the number 2 headband and his dad’s head. Carrying them in his bag, he set off to seek revenge from Justice. He went crazy and killed people cruelly even though he was just a kid. Based on what happened to Afro when he was young, I diagnose that he might suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is an anxiety disorder caused by experiencing life- death situation, or witnessing out-of-control events.There are three types of PTSD symptoms: intrusive memory, avoidance/numbing, and increased anxiety or emotional arousal. Afro tended to show some symptoms that are related to avoidance and intrusive memory. While watching the first half of the second epis ode, I notice that Afro prefers not to talk. â€Å"Lemonade†, he replies shortly to the lady in the bar. Plus, he doesn’t join any conversation with Ninja Ninja who most of the time talks endlessly. Afro definitely has emotional numbing as if he doesn’t care about anything except revenge. Even though, his eyes are filled with sadness andanger, there is barely any facial expression shown when he is with his friend or when he kills people. On the other hand, Afro also experiences flashback in his sleep after he is saved from a life and death situation. His breath becomes heavier and faster as he dreams about the bad incidents that has happened after his father died such as being chased, humiliated, and beaten up. The flashback comes when the event tends to happen again. It might be impossible to cure Afro’s mental illness since his emotion is numb. However, in order to help him, I need to define what he desires the most.Since he only aims for avenging and k illing, it will be appropriate to change his thinking on his trauma and revenge. Cognitive therapy can help him reflect on the whole situation. With the help of a therapist, he will be able to replace his thoughts with more accurate and distressing thoughts. â€Å"What would you do after you kill Justice? †, â€Å"Where are you going to take your life after you success your mission? †, â€Å"Do you think it will be the end after you kill Justice? †, etc†¦ These questions can be asked to help Afro determine his real goal in life.The prognosis for Afro’s case depends upon the severity and length of time has suffered from PTSD. It will be difficult for Afro to recover since he was very aware when and how the incident happened. The treatment process can be continued for years. Afro will be more likely to have fewer traumas when he sleeps, and show more emotion. As a human-being, he should be able to live and feel like a normal person. He might be addicte d to seek revenge and kill people if he is not cured. Afro’s memory is mostly filled with his dad’s death.When he witnessed his dad died, his senses collected information and held those cruel details in sensory memory. From the sensory memory, the information was encoded and stored in working memory. Since the incident was too traumatic, it became flashbulb memory which was immediately stored in long-term memory. Better than anyone else, Afro knows that this memory can’t ever be forgotten and it will haunt him for the rest of his life. Even though, it hurt to remember, it was what taught him to be strong and to be cruel to whoever tried to harm him.He kills people without a blink in his eyes just like how Justice did to his dad. Afro had suffered so much in the past, but it doesn’t mean there is nothing bright in his memory. While he is unconscious after being poisoned and fell down from a cliff, he dreams about the little girl who had saved him in the pa st. The little girl with her teddy bear is probably the only light in his dark memory. This long-term memory is retrieved to working memory as the situation seemed to repeat. Afro tends to act gently to the lady who doesn’t only save him but also reminds him of that little girl.Maybe, after all, he is not a psycho killer. Painful memories tell him to be strong and give him the reason why he is alive. But, nice memories remind him that morality still exists in this shady world. After all, by watching â€Å"Afro Samurai†, I’m able to discover more about psychological disorder and function of memory. The movie helps me encode information deeper, store them better in my working memory, and retrieve them more affectively. It also shows me that pain perhaps is not there to destroy people, but to give them the strength to live on and do better.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Free Essays on Puff Daddy

Biography Sean â€Å"Puffy† Combs has established himself as one of the biggest names in hip-hop (Heal). Combs a Harlem native whose father was killed when he was only 3 years old, rose from the mean streets to the top of the music business (AP wire, March 18). â€Å"It is true that he started from scratch, and I don’t think that because he was arrested, people will stop buying his albums (AP wire, March 18). Before pursuing his career as a vocalist, Combs was a business-minded Howard University student and an intern at Andre Harrell’s Uptown Records. Combs soon became the A&R representative for Uptown. He then began producing for soon to be mega-stars Mary J. Blige, Heavy D., and Jodeci to name a few. After being let go by Uptown Records (for reasons unknown to this day), Combs took his act over to Clive Davis’ Arista Records distribution team in late 1993 (who are rumored to have paid an estimated $75 million dollars to establish his own record label, B ad Boy (Heal). With the deal cemented with Arista, Sean Combs was about to embark on the greatest mission of his life. Turn Bad Boy Records from an unknown label into one of the most powerful world entertainment companies ever to be helmed by someone in their twenties. Strengths One only has to look at the Bad Boy roster of acts and the strong catalog to see that this is one their biggest strengths. They had early success starting in 1994 when Combs released his child hood friends album â€Å"Ready To Die†. That childhood friend was none other than Christopher Wallace a.k.a. â€Å"The Notorious B.I.G.†. B.I.G’s singles â€Å"Juicy†, â€Å"Warning†, and, â€Å"Big Poppa† took the then unknown label to new heights in the spring and summer of 1994 (Heal). Following the platinum success of Biggie and Craig Mack, other known artists clamored to have their songs graced by Combs magic touch. Artists such as New Edition, KRS-One, Mariah Carey, Lil K im and others wanted their re-mixes done by the... Free Essays on Puff Daddy Free Essays on Puff Daddy Biography Sean â€Å"Puffy† Combs has established himself as one of the biggest names in hip-hop (Heal). Combs a Harlem native whose father was killed when he was only 3 years old, rose from the mean streets to the top of the music business (AP wire, March 18). â€Å"It is true that he started from scratch, and I don’t think that because he was arrested, people will stop buying his albums (AP wire, March 18). Before pursuing his career as a vocalist, Combs was a business-minded Howard University student and an intern at Andre Harrell’s Uptown Records. Combs soon became the A&R representative for Uptown. He then began producing for soon to be mega-stars Mary J. Blige, Heavy D., and Jodeci to name a few. After being let go by Uptown Records (for reasons unknown to this day), Combs took his act over to Clive Davis’ Arista Records distribution team in late 1993 (who are rumored to have paid an estimated $75 million dollars to establish his own record label, B ad Boy (Heal). With the deal cemented with Arista, Sean Combs was about to embark on the greatest mission of his life. Turn Bad Boy Records from an unknown label into one of the most powerful world entertainment companies ever to be helmed by someone in their twenties. Strengths One only has to look at the Bad Boy roster of acts and the strong catalog to see that this is one their biggest strengths. They had early success starting in 1994 when Combs released his child hood friends album â€Å"Ready To Die†. That childhood friend was none other than Christopher Wallace a.k.a. â€Å"The Notorious B.I.G.†. B.I.G’s singles â€Å"Juicy†, â€Å"Warning†, and, â€Å"Big Poppa† took the then unknown label to new heights in the spring and summer of 1994 (Heal). Following the platinum success of Biggie and Craig Mack, other known artists clamored to have their songs graced by Combs magic touch. Artists such as New Edition, KRS-One, Mariah Carey, Lil K im and others wanted their re-mixes done by the...