Is there water and life on mars?

Unlike Earth, since there are no oceans to obscure the planet Mars, its topography is now better explored and known than that of Earth (Australian Geographic 2003). It has the largest known volcano in the Solar System, Olympus Mons, three times as high as Mt Everest, arid the longest and deepest known canyon, Valles Marineris, 4000 km long and 10 km deep (Australian Geographic 2003).Mars has no continental plate movement, so its surface isn't constantly reworked by mountain-building processes. As a result, much of the landscape is as it was billions of years ago (Australian Geographic 2003).NASA researchers are taking lessons from the debate about life on Earth to Mars. Their future missions will incorporate cutting-edge biotechnology designed to detect individual molecules made by Martian organisms, either living or long dead (Zimmer 2005).The search for life on Mars has become more urgent thanks in part to probes by the two rovers now roaming Mars' surface and another spaceship tha t is orbiting the planet. In recent months, they've made a series of astonishing discoveries that, once again, tempt scientists to believe that Mars harbors life or did so in the past. At a February conference in the Netherlands, an audience of Mars experts was surveyed about Martian life. Some 75 percent of the scientists said they thought life once existed there, and of them, 25 percent think that Mars harbors life today (Zimmer 2005).The search for the fossil remains of primitive single-celled organisms like bacteria took off in 1953, when Stanley Tyler, an economic geologist at the University of Wisconsin, puzzled over some 2.1 billion-year-old rocks he'd gathered in Ontario, Canada (Zimmer 2005). His glassy black rocks known as cherts were loaded with strange, microscopic filaments and hollow balls. Working with Harvard paleobotonist Elso Barghoorn, Tyler proposed that the shapes were actually fossils, left behind by ancient life-forms such as algae. Before Tyler and Barghoorn' s work, few fossils had been found that predated the Cambrian Period, which began about 540 million years ago (Zimmer 2005). Now the two scientists were positing that life was present much earlier in the 4.55 billion-year history of the planet. How much further back it went remained for later scientists to discover (Zimmer 2005)?In the next decades, paleontologists in Africa found 3 billion-year-old fossil traces of microscopic bacteria that had lived in massive marine reefs (Zimmer 2005). Bacteria can also form what are called biofilms, colonies that grow in thin layers over surfaces such as rocks and the ocean floor, and scientists have found solid evidence for biofilms dating back 3.2 billion years (Zimmer 2005).Fluvial Landforms geologic features putatively formed by water were identified in images of Mars taken by the Mariner and Viking spacecraft in the 1970s (Bell 2006). These landforms included enormous channels carved by catastrophic floods and large-scale valley networks s omewhat reminiscent of river drainage systems on Earth. Over the past decade, images from the Mars Global Surveyor, which has been orbiting Mars since 1997, have revealed spectacular examples of extremely small and seemingly young gullies formed in the walls of some craters and canyons. These observations indicate the past presence of liquid water on the Martian surface or just below it but not necessarily for long periods (Bell 2006). The water from the catastrophic floods, for example, may have lasted only a few days or weeks on the surface before freezing, seeping back into the ground or evaporating.Furthermore, the networks of river-like valleys shown in the Viking orbiter images do not have the same characteristics as terrestrial river valleys when seen at higher resolution (Bell 2006). The Martian valleys could have formed entirely from subsurface water flow and ground erosion a process known as sapping-rather than from water moving over the surface. The gullies observed in th e Mars Global Surveyor's images may also be the result of water seeping underground below ice or from buried snow deposits (Bell 2006). Although these features are stunning and dramatic indicators of water on Mars, they do not firmly prove that the Red Planet once had a warmer, wetter, more Earth-like environment with long-lasting lakes and rivers.In the past few years, however, new satellite images have provided much more convincing evidence that stable, Earthlike conditions prevailed on Mars for long periods (Bell 2006). One of the most exciting discoveries is a class of features that look like river deltas. The best and largest example, photographed by the Mars Global Surveyor, is at the end of a valley network that drains into Eberswalde Crater in a region southeast of the Valles Marineris canyon system (Bell 2006). This drainage system terminates in a 10-kilometer-wide, layered, fan-shaped landform characterized by meandering ridges that crosscut one another and show varying de grees of erosion. To many geologists, this feature has all the characteristics of a delta that formed at the end of a sediment-bearing river flowing into a shallow lake.Further evidence of an Earth-like climate in Mars's past comes from high-resolution images, taken by the Mars Odyssey and Global Surveyor orbiters, of the small-scale valley networks on the plateaus and walls of the Valles Marineris canyon system. Unlike previously identified valley networks that seem to have formed largely from subsurface flow, these newly found networks have characteristics that are consistent with their formation by rainfall or snowmelt and surface runoff. For example, the networks are arranged in dense, branching patterns, and the lengths and widths of the valleys increase from their sources to their mouths. Moreover, the sources are located along the ridge crests, suggesting that the landscape was molded by precipitation and runoff. Indeed, these landforms provide the best evidence to date that it may have rained on Mars.A more exploratory possibility is that these runoff features arose relatively recently, perhaps one billion to 1.5 billion years after Mars formed. To estimate the ages of Martian landforms, researchers count the number of impact craters on the feature the more impacts the region has endured, the older it is. This dating method, however, has many uncertainties; it can be difficult to distinguish between primary and secondary impact craters and volcanic calderas, and erosion has destroyed the evidence of craters in some regions (Bell 2006). Still, if these surface runoff valleys do turn out to be relatively young, Mars may have had an Earth-like climate for as much as a third of the planet's history and perhaps longer if even younger valleys are eventually identified.Yet another piece of evidence supporting persistent liquid water on Mars is the observation of truly enormous amounts of erosion and sedimentation in many parts of the planet. Making calculatio ns based on new orbital imaging data, researchers have determined that the rate at which sediments were deposited and eroded in the first billion years of the planet's history may have been about a million times as high as the present-day rate (Bell 2006).But what process could have transported the massive amount of sediment needed to bury almost everything in the Gale Crater region? (Bell 2006) Scientists believe flowing water offers the best explanation. Studies of erosion and sedimentation rates on Earth suggest that wind could have moved some of the Martian sediment in the past (just as it is doing today, albeit at a very slow pace). No viable wind-based scenario, however, can explain the rapid transport of millions of cubic kilometers of material across large fractions of the planet's surface, which apparently occurred repeatedly during Mars's early history. Flowing water, though, has routinely moved gargantuan amounts of sediment on Earth and could have done so on the Red Plan et as well.In addition scrutinizing the shape of Martian landforms, scientists have searched for hints of liquid water in the composition of the planet's minerals (Bell 2006). One of the reasons why researchers had long believed that Mars never enjoyed an extensive period of warm and wet climate is that much of the surface not covered by wind-borne dust appears to be composed of material that is largely unweathered pristine volcanic minerals such as olivine and pyroxene. If water had flowed over the surface for a long time, the argument went, it would have chemically altered and weathered the volcanic minerals, creating clays or other oxidized, hydrated phases (minerals that incorporate water molecules or hydroxide ions in their crystal structure).The emerging paradigm is that Mars had an extensive watery past: puddles or ponds or lakes or seas (or all of them) existing for long periods and exposed to what must have been a thicker, warmer atmosphere. During the first billion or so y ears of Martian history, the Red Planet was a much more Earth-like place, probably hospitable to the formation and evolution of life as currently known. The Martian environment began to change, however, as sulfur built up, the waters became acidic and the planet's geologic activity waned (Bell 2006). Clays gave way to sulfates as the acid rain (of sorts) continued to alter the volcanic rocks and break down any carbonates that may have formed earlier. Over time, the atmosphere thinned out; perhaps it was lost to space when the planet's magnetic field shut off, or maybe it was blown off by catastrophic impacts or sequestered somehow in the crust. Mars eventually became the cold, arid planet recognized today.This new view of Mars is not yet universally accepted, however. Key questions remain unanswered (Bell 2006): How long did the waters flow in the Eberswalde delta; for decades or millennia? Where are all the sediments that appear to have been eroded from Meridiani Planum and places such as Gale Crater? And were they eroded by water or wind or something else? What is the global abundance of clay minerals on Mars, and were they ever major components of the planet's crust? And, most vexing, where are the carbonates that should have formed in the warm, wet, carbon dioxide-rich environment but have not yet been observed anywhere on Mars, not even in the older terrains where clays have been detected? Acidic water could have destroyed the bulk of the carbonates but surely not all of them!Perhaps the most important question of all is: Did water or life ever exist on Mars, and if so, was it able to evolve as the environment changed so dramatically to the present-day climate? (Bell 2006) The answer depends in large part on how long the Earth-like conditions lasted. What can be deduced is that the past decade of discoveries on Mars may be only a small taste of an even more exciting century of robotic and eventually human exploration.ReferencesAustralian Geographic, (2003 ) Life on Mars. 08161658, Jul-Sep2003, Issue 71Bell, J., (2006) The Red Planet's Watery Past. Scientific American, 00368733, Dec2006, Vol. 295, Issue 6Zimmer, C., (2005) Life on Mars? Smithsonian, 00377333, May2005, Vol. 36, Issue 2

Accounting Essays – BT Cashflow Changes

BT Cashflow Changes.BT Group ( BT ) is the taking UK company supplying landline telecommunication services and equipment. It besides had the nomadic telecommunication concern which was later sold as MMO2. After the sale of nomadic concern, BT ‘s profile has now changed from a growing company to a mature hard currency bring forthing company. A )Fiscal public presentationThe most common nonsubjective appraisal of the fiscal public presentation of a house is the return it generates on its assets and the measure and quality of the returns. Measure is measured by the absolute and per centum alteration in entire net incomes. The net income and loss history of an administration and its analysis are the premier and first indexs of a house ‘s fiscal public presentation. The latest one-year consequences of BT is for the period stoping 31 March 2005. Appendix I shows the sum-up of cardinal net income and loss figures over the last three old ages. BT ‘s turnover and net income after revenue enhancement in 2005 have increased as compared to 2004 but are still lower than those in 2003. The turnover has declined by 5.7 % merely whereas net income after revenue enhancement has declined by 32.7 % over the two twelvemonth period. This shows that the concern has really low variable costs which is in line with the heavy fixed cost investings usually made by telecommunication companies in set uping their webs and subsequent really low variable costs in transporting informations. While turnover increased in 2005, runing net incomes have declined. This indicates that the concern is confronting some pricing force per unit areas or is passing more on advertizement as the operating net income declined by 0.5 % merely. BT ‘s 2005 net income after revenue enhancement was & A ; lb ; 1,820m and was well higher than & A ; lb ; 1,406m. Though the absolute net income is really high figure compared to most of the concerns and indicates that the company is in strong fiscal place, it besides shows that BT has high fiscal purchase. The company paid a important high involvement and if grosss and operating borders come under more force per unit area, it could hold problem paying involvement costs. BT is cognizant of this issue and has focused on cut downing its net debt. After confronting tough times in early 2000s, it has sold many old investings to raise money for refunding debt. BT ‘s portion monetary value rose after it announced its strategic determination to cut down net debt by raising money through divestments. The net involvement payments have declined from & A ; lb ; 1,439m in 2003 to & A ; lb ; 801m in 2005. Not merely that, the net involvement payment has declined from 49.5 % of operating net income to 29.0 % from 2003 to 2005. The decrease in net involvement as a per centum of operating net income is an of import betterment as it gives investors comfort that even if operating borders come under force per unit area, the company would still be able to run into its involvement liabilities. One speedy manner to analyze a company ‘s public presentation is to look at the net incomes per portion form. The net incomes per portion had besides a alteration form similar to that of net income after revenue enhancement. It foremost decreased from 31.4p in 2003 to 16.4p in 2004 before increasing to 21.4p in 2005. The 2005 addition in net incomes per portion highlights the betterment in public presentation. Though the net incomes did lessening in 2004, BT kept on increasing entire dividend paid to stockholders. This shows the direction ‘s religion in concern traveling frontward and its ability to run into higher dividend outlooks in future. The returns generated on assets is measured by Return on Capital employed ( ROCE ) . Appendix II shows the computation of ROCE for BT. BT had a healthy ROCE of 19.0 % and 20.7 % in 2004 and 2005. The quality of returns is measured by their consistence and by the spread of net incomes, i.e. , the per centum of net incomes being generated from different divisions and locations. The less trust of net incomes on any one division and/or location means the company is in better form to defy downswings in its markets. None of BT ‘s concern contributed more than 50 % in its turnover in the twelvemonth ended 31 March 2005 ( BT, 2005 ) . This indicates that BT Group is moderately good protected from the diminutions in a concern line. The state of affairs is somewhat different if we look at the operating net incomes where BT Wholesale division contributes more than 50 % of net runing net incomes. Any more border force per unit areas in this concern could cut down future net incomes. Most of BT ‘s net incomes originate from UK and hence it net incomes are susceptible to alterations in UK economic system. Fiscal placeThe fiscal place of a company covers its fiscal construction, its assets and liabilities, its liquidness and hazard direction attack ( Accounting Standards 2004/2005 ) . Appendix III gives the high spots of BT Group ‘s balance sheet from 2004 to 2005. The entire fixed assets have increased by & A ; lb ; 639m in the last twelvemonth. While entire fixed assets have increased, the entire current assets have decreased by & A ; lb ; 254m, so entire assets have increased by & A ; lb ; 385m. The lower addition in entire assets as compared to increase in fixed assets is chiefly due to diminish in hard currency and investings. The major alteration in fiscal construction has occurred on the liabilities side. The entire current liabilities have gone up by & A ; lb ; 3,938m due to increase in current loans and adoptions of & A ; lb ; 3,227m. This shows that BT is financing much more of its assets from current adoptions. The monolithic addition in current loans and adoptions has reversed the net current assets ( liabilities ) place. BT had net current assets of & A ; lb ; 2,027m in 2004 and had net current liabilities of & A ; lb ; 2,165m in 2005, a net lessening in current assets of & A ; lb ; 4,192m. While the current liabilities have increased, the long term creditors have decreased by & A ; lb ; 4,335m. If we merely look at long-run creditors, the decrease is impressive and it gives more assurance to the investors that company is in better fiscal place now. But when we combine the lessening in long term creditors with the addition in current liabilities, the net alteration is really less. And the fact that alterations in current liabilities is chiefly due to borrowing alternatively of addition in trade creditors means that the funding of assets has simply shifted from long term adoptions to short term adoptions. The current assets to current liabilities ratio has declined from 1.24 to 0.83 in the last one twelvemonth, a mark of concern in footings of liquidness particularly when the addition in liabilities is non chiefly due to higher trade creditors. Debt to equity ratio indicates the funding of assets. BT had entire debt of & A ; lb ; 13,697m in 2004 and the corresponding figure for 2005 was & A ; lb ; 12,589m, a lessening of & A ; lb ; 1,108m. If we now exclude hard currency and short term investings from entire debt, BT ‘s net debt was & A ; lb ; 8,425m and & A ; lb ; 7,786m in 2004 and 2005 severally. The net debt to book value of equity ratio declined from 2.75 in 2004 to 2.02 in 2005. This means that debt fundss about twice assets as being financed by equity. Higher sum of debt consequences in lower leaden mean cost of capital as debt is cheaper equity. But as BT reduces more debt, its leaden mean cost of capital will increase. The addition would be partly offset by lower cost of equity due to take down opportunities of bankruptcy. Hazard of bankruptcy is measured by involvement screen ratio which is defined as the ratio of hard currency available for involvement payments to net involvement. Appendix IV shows the EBITDA computation and involvement screen ratio. The involvement screen ratio has increased from 6.1 in 2004 to 7.0 in 2005. The healthy involvement screen ratio shows that BT has farther reduced the hazard of bankruptcy and is in better fiscal place now. The debt degree is now really much within manageable degrees and is more like a hard currency rich mature company. Companies usually tend to follow certain dividend tendency to signal market of their appraisal of future net incomes. Dividend declaration is besides portion of hazard direction as it is based on direction ‘s appraisal of future hard currency coevals and outgo outlooks. The hiking in dividend in 2004 and 2005 inspite of diminution in net incomes in 2004 shows the direction appraisal of future low hazards to hard currency flows. Fiscal AdaptabilityAn entity ‘s fiscal adaptability is its ability to take effectual action to change the sum and timing of its hard currency flows so that it can react to unexpected demands or chances ( Accounting Standards 2004/2005, page 26 ) . Appendix V shows the chief elements of amalgamate hard currency flow statement of BT Group. BT Group is bring forthing high sums of hard currency influx from operating activities. During the twelvemonth ended 31 March 2005, the company generated & A ; lb ; 5,900m of net hard currency from operating activities. BT is in telecommunication concern which demands comparatively high degree of absolute investings. It spent & A ; lb ; 2,408m on capital outgo during the twelvemonth ended 31 March 2005. Even if we believe that all of capital outgo was required under normal operations, BT was still left with & A ; lb ; 2,282m of excess hard currency in 2005. As we can see from the Appendix III that BT has now focused on refund of loans. During the last three old ages, the company has reduced adoptions by & A ; lb ; 7,395m. Though BT is able to bring forth important sum of hard currency before disposals but that was non plenty in 2003 and 2004 to refund loans. The company so sold some of its investings to bring forth hard currency for loan refunds. BT besides pays a important sum of dividend to its stockholders. So if its cyberspace hard currency from operations do diminish in future, it has still some buffer in footings of dividend payments to take attention of loan refunds. B )The aim of fiscal statement is to supply information about the coverage entity ‘s fiscal public presentation and fiscal place that is utile to a broad scope of users for measuring the stewardship of the entity ‘s direction and for doing economic determinations ( Accounting Standards, 2004, page 22 ) . The conformity of an entity ‘s fiscal studies with UK ‘s Accounting Standards can be gauged over two chief countries – content and format. Content is of import to give true and right image of a house ‘s fiscal public presentation and place. Different users need different information. Fiscal statements are used by investors to establish their investing determination. So it is of import that fiscal statements have the right content to assist accomplish this end. It is besides of import to hold right format of presentation. Investors are more likely to experience comfy if they see familiar presentation manner and can so measure the company easy. We will look at the content and major fiscal statements to see whether they comply with UK Accounting Standards. We will so besides at few extra notes to fiscal statements to see whether they are besides in line with true and just rule and give the readers a clear image of the entity. First of all we compare net income and loss statement with FRS 3 ‘Reporting fiscal public presentation ‘ . BT ‘s amalgamate net income and loss statement clearly shows the entire turnover and portion from joint venture and associates, and in making so gives more lucidity of its gaining base. The fiscal statement format is similar to the illustration formats shown in Accounting Standards 2004/2005. BT ‘s 2005 Annual Report nevertheless does n't demo portion of turnover and net incomes from discounted operations ( BT, 2005 ) . It is because BT did n't sell any concern in 2005. If we look at the 2002 Annual Report ( BT, 2002 ) , it shows the turnover and net incomes from discounted operations besides. The fiscal statement besides has statement of entire recognized additions and losingss in line with FRS 3 patterns. So the histories run into net income and loss statement UK Accounting Standards in footings of both content and format. We now compare BT ‘s hard currency flow statement with the format prescribed in FRS 1 ‘Cash flow statements ‘ . BT ‘s hard currency flow statement has non merely got all the headers but they are besides in the same order as mentioned in FRS 1. BT study besides gives sub-categories under the major headers and hence is a echt attempt to educate investors every bit much as possible on the coevals and usage of hard currency flows. BT hard currency flow statement uses the format prescribed for the ‘Group ‘ histories. The notes to fiscal statement besides has detailed describing on rapprochement of operating net income to run hard currency flows, analysis of net debt, acquisition and disposals in line with formats for the ‘Group ‘ histories. The following subdivision we analyse is on segmental coverage and look into its comparison with SSAP 25 ‘Segmental Reporting ‘ . SSAP 25 says that a populace limited company should supply segmental analysis on lines of concern category and geographical location. The notes to fiscal statement subdivision in the 2005 Annual Report has a subdivision on segmental coverage wherein BT shows the turnover, runing profit/ ( loss ) and net assets/ ( liabilities ) of different concern lines. It besides provides the above informations based on the geographical location of contrary coevals. The above meets SSAP 25 demands and besides helps investors make a better judgement of hazards faced by BT. BT is in telecommunication concern where engineering alteration is rapid. BT has acquired many companies in recent old ages to maintain gait with the technological developments. So it is of import to analyze the acquisition policies and revelations are in line with the UK Accounting Standards. FRS 6 ‘Acquisitions and Mergers ‘ and FRS 7 ‘Fair values in acquisition accounting ‘ govern the acquisition accounting policies. BT ‘s one-year study under ‘Notes to fiscal statements ‘ gives elaborate revelation of entire and just value of the acquisitions made by it. BT ‘s fiscal statements non merely give the book and just value of acquisitions but besides a elaborate account of them for each acquisition. The clear and easy to understand format of fiscal statements and the deepness of information in them signals that BT non merely merely make the lower limit to run into UK Accounting Standards but besides follows them in true spirit. Appendix I – Highlight of BT Group ‘s net income and loss histories ( Beginning: BT Annual Report and Form 20-F ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.btplc.com/Sharesandperformance/Howwehavedone/Financialreports/Annualreports/AnnualReports.htm ) Appendix II – ROCE of BT Group ( Beginning: BT Annual Report and Form 20-F ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.btplc.com/Sharesandperformance/Howwehavedone/Financialreports/Annualreports/AnnualReports.htm ) Appendix III – Highlight of BT Group ‘s balance sheet ( Beginning: BT Annual Report and Form 20-F ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.btplc.com/Sharesandperformance/Howwehavedone/Financialreports/Annualreports/AnnualReports.htm ) Appendix IV – Interest screen ratio ( Beginning: BT Annual Report and Form 20-F ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.btplc.com/Sharesandperformance/Howwehavedone/Financialreports/Annualreports/AnnualReports.htm ) Appendix V – Highlight of BT Group ‘s hard currency flow statements ( Beginning: BT Annual Report and Form 20-F ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.btplc.com/Sharesandperformance/Howwehavedone/Financialreports/Annualreports/AnnualReports.htm ) Bibliography and mentions Accounting Standards 2004/2005 – Extant at 30 April 2004 ( 2004 ) ; Wolters Kluwer ( UK ) Limited. BT ( 2005 ) ; BT Annual Report and Form 20-F for the twelvemonth ended 31 March 2005 ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.btplc.com/Sharesandperformance/Howwehavedone/ Financialreports/Annualreports/AnnualReports.htm BT ( 2002 ) ; BT Annual Report and Form 20-F for the twelvemonth ended 31 March 2002 ;hypertext transfer protocol: //www.btplc.com/Sharesandperformance/Howwehavedone/Financialreports/Annualreports/Annualreportsarchive.htm

Reducing Ambiguity in Business Requirements Case Study

Reducing Ambiguity in Business Requirements - Case Study Example On the other hand, the word â€Å"or† implies uncertainty. This implies that any rules developed from such word will have different meaning interpretations to different people. This makes the end users in the system to have different interpretation for a particular process leading to ambiguity or bad business requirements. Although ambiguous business requirements are a major cause of bad business requirements, they are not the only reasons behind bad business requirements. Deficiency in requirements is the second cause of bad business requirement. Deficient requirements are requirements with insufficient rules or rules that do not consider all end users involved in the system. Errors in requirements are also a major cause of bad business requirements. Error in business leads to wrong interpretation by different users leading to bad requirement. Requirements without boundary conditions also lead to the development of bad business requirement. Boundary conditions are rules that define limits according to rights and or wrongs. Lacks or specification on people required to run the system is also a cause of bad business requirements. Lack of the word I or we in the requirement will lead to the development of bad business requirements. Such words specify the roles or requirements of different people required to run the system. In addition, lack of specification of component or feature in the system causes the production of bad business requirements. A bad business requirement therefore lacks specification of the people or a group of people that requires taking a certain action. Most business requirements focus on the technology rather than the business outcome of a system. A system that is biased towards technology has bad business requirements. Finally, bad requirements lack the ability to be traced back to main decision makers in the business. A requirement that state that the system must support employee’s birthday is a bad

Expand the report that will be send later. Focusing on training and Research Paper

Expand the report that will be send later. Focusing on training and development, staff turnover, reward and benefit as well as r - Research Paper Example The company achieved a 27% revenue growth over the three years ending in 2007 (Seeking Alpha 2011). This paper will evaluate whether the recruitment and selection, training and development, staff turnover, and reward and benefit policies of McDonalds are strategic or not. The paper will analyse if those policies have assisted the organisation to achieve its goals and objectives. Recruitment and selection The market success of any business largely depends on its product quality and service efficiency. It is clear that high quality products can be designed, produced, and delivered only if high quality people are employed. AsRioux and Bernthal (1999) point out, for any business like McDonalds offering customised services, efficiency in employee recruitment, selection, and retention is particularly vital to meet customer satisfaction and thereby promote market share growth. While analysing McDonald’s recruitment and selection policy with reference to related practices such as trai ning and development, staff turnover, and rewards and benefits, the policy seems strategic. ... 004, the company employed 43,491 people in its restaurants and they embraced 40,699 hourly paid workers, 2,292 managerial personnel, and 500 office staff. McDonald’s US franchisees employed further 25,000 people in 2004 (The Times 100, n.d). Most of the McDonald’s employees are paid based on an hour-rate system and those employees are referred to as crew members. In order to ensure the efficiency of employee recruitment and selection process, McDonalds’ management has specifically outlined skills and behaviours that an applicant should possess. According to this, â€Å"for each position there is a job description outlining typical duties and responsibilities and a person specification defining personal skills and competences.† (The Times 100, n.d). The McDonald’s recruitment policy makes its individual restaurants responsible for appointing adequate number of hourly-paid workers. The company’s Management Recruitment department coordinates all activities associated with the recruitment process (McDonald’s Restaurants Limited 2004). In order to recruit skilled and efficient hourly-paid employees, the organization follows some typical requirement approaches including advertising in restaurants, local job centres, career fairs, and other local facilities (The Times 100, n.d). Throughout the company history, it seems that McDonald’s management mainly uses advertising in restaurants technique to hire quality staff. The company believes that this recruitment policy would assist to find out quality workers from local people and/or friends of existing workers. The management collects applications from huge number of candidates and prepares a short list of applicants to be interviewed based on specific criteria. Over 60% of the McDonald’s crew members are aged 20

Significant Security Event Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Significant Security Event - Research Paper Example Riot control police is not a special form of police force. Riot control police includes members of the police department of a region who have been trained with the knowledge, skills and abilities to deal with riots. This paper will examine why the need for riot control arises along with the tactics used by to counter rioting people with different examples of how riot police have tackled riots. The main purpose of riot control and riot control police is to take measures in order to control, disband as well as arrest individuals who are involved in protests and riots. In case of riots several measures are implemented to end the riot such as negotiations. But in certain scenarios negations tend to fail. Especially when there is a deadlock between the rioting individuals and those who are held responsible for the riot to occur, severe measures need to be taken to control riots. Riots are quite a unique problem as in case of riots police cannot use lethal force to stop the rioting public from protesting or being violent (ANON, 2014). This is because those who are rioting may be rioting for the just cause and may be rioting against those who have been elected by the rioting people into the government. Stopping a riot or a protest is not defined as a daily duty of the police force. Riot police is mostly called upon by the government when they fail to end the riot in a peaceful m anner or when the protestors become violent and agitated. The purpose of the riot police is to end the riot through forceful measures while ensuring that those who are protesting are not deadly damaged through the techniques used. Most of the riots start at the level of a crowd which includes a group of people who gather in a certain area due to a mutually shared interest (ANON, 2014). For example: in the case of Ferguson riots of 2014, the riots started after a 18 year old Black

Child Development through Interaction, Observation and Conversation Essay

Child Development through Interaction, Observation and Conversation - Essay Example For example the child could run away from balls that were thrown at them and could easily hit them to hurt them. The child was however selective with choice of games as he preferred less strenuous games. Again, the child used mastery in motor skills to walk from shelf to shelf to get books that they preferred to read. Interacting with the child, it was noted that his choice of book selection was affected by gender as the child perceived that as a male he was to read books with themes that focused on adventure and fiction rather than those about nature. From Piaget’s cognitive child development theory, children can be seen a little scientists who possess the ability to create their own forms of knowledge (Joseph, 2000). This was exactly what was experienced with the child as he constantly preferred to use real life situations and experiences to get questions that were posed in the classroom answered. At the playground, the child exhibited intensive metacognition abilities as he confirmed that he could know through knowing. This is because while the child was observed playing a video game on football, the child always tried to transfer knowledge in real life football into the game so as to win. According to Piaget’s stage of cognitive development, second graders can be said to be concrete operational stage where they start to think more logically but also struggle with abstract and hypothetical concepts (Jacobi, Calamari & Woodard, 2006). This was seen with the child’s language capabilities which were translated into choice of books that were selected. This is because the child wanted books with more illustrations that directly translated the ideas they wanted to read about. Through interaction with the child, it was found that there child had some difficulty accepting and adapting to the classroom as a social setting. This is because the child was constantly withdrawn from

A critical review of training and development in the hospitality Essay

A critical review of training and development in the hospitality industry of Athens, 2000-2010 - Essay Example What brings someone to spend hard-earned money on enjoyment is a trust that the hospitality provided will be of a high quality. Poor customer service can scuttle major companies, while good CSRs can develop the capital and brand name of an upstart. Training is the process used for the development of knowledge and skills needed to perform the jobs, duties, and tasks found in an organization (Christine Jaszay, Paul Dunk). Education is identified as a key component in ensuring the sustainability of tourism (Chandana Jayawardena). Customer service representation is a skill that is worth billions to companies (Stella Service, 2010). Training all of the aspects of the hospitality industry, such as massage therapy, spa skills, customer service skills and interaction, entertainment abilities such as singing or dancing, cooking, and all of the other essential skills for hospitality industry success is extremely pricey but utterly important to success. The purpose of this study is to examine h ow many of the 4 star and 5 star hotels in Athens have training programmes for employees or or prospective employees, the way these training programmes are planned and executed, and the difference of the training in international hospitality chains and the individually owned hotels in the area of Athens. Research History and Current State of Athens Hospitality Industry The Athens hospitality industry is currently undergoing a resurgence, but hospitality has always been a key part of Greek culture. Xenia, or hospitality, was an important element of Greek culture in an era where every stranger on the road could be an imminent threat and travel was dangerous, lonely and dreadfully important (Lucas, 2007). â€Å"Zeus, the king of the gods, demanded that strangers be treated graciously. Hosts had a religious duty to welcome strangers, and guests had the responsibility to respect hosts. The tight interconnections and mutual respect in this host-guest relationship are reflected in the fac t that the word zenos in ancient Greek can mean both â€Å"host† and â€Å"guest.† The relationship is often symbolized in the Odyssey by the presentation of gifts† (Lucas, 2007). The Odyssey and The Iliad indicate, in general, that â€Å"[t]he higher a society's level of hospitality, the more civilized that society is† (Tiedemann, 2009). Penelope could not simply cast out her suitors: Doing so would be grossly impolite, even though she did not wish to marry. Paris' seizing of Helen from Menelaus was an unbelievable violation of xenia, and would secure Zeus' support for the Greeks against the Trojans. And the nightmarish treatment of the Odyssey by Circe was not least a violation of xenia. Thus, there are millennia-old cultural traditions that predispose Athens to value hospitality and providing the best service to those who visit. This is an important cultural asset that should be emphasized in literature, training and promotion. The Athenian hospitality market was transformed after the Olympic games. The hospitality industry was far from weak prior to the Olympic games, but certainly political instability and the Papadopolous junta were problematic to Greece's international image as well as Greek attitudes towards foreigners, especially Americans (Karalis, 2009). Prior to the Olympic games, Athens had 252 hotels; four new hotels were created in 2005 and four closed in 2006, bringing the total back to 252, which matches the larger Hellenic Chamber trend as well (Ikkos and Pashidalis, 2007). But it wasn't so much in the number of hotels but the quality of hotels that the post-Olympic period was different from the pre-Olympic one. The number of five star hotels grew by 3 from 2003 to 2007, the number of four

Mandiant Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mandiant Report - Essay Example The concern identified and highlighted by Madiant is critical to the future of the network industry. The activities of the perpetrators as indicated by Madiant are a threat to the security of various governments across the globe (Lambert, 2013). Why the report was written? Madiant report examines a number of issues; first, it identifies the cropping trends that threaten the network security. The network security is important because it helps in preserving useful information about an institution within a given country. Moreover, illegal acquisition of information is unacceptable across globe. Information laws tend to define the extent to which an institution can seek information or engage each other in acquiring certain information. Unfortunately, the APT1 the main perpetrator in this situation seems to be acquiring certain information from various institutions without the knowledge of these institutions. Second, the report explores cyber espionage campaign. The growing cyber espionag e campaign has reached a threatening level. The escalating cyber espionage by a specific perpetrator APT1 over others across the globe is alarming. In response to this observation Madiant wish to bring the attention of the whole world this unscrupulous group. Arguably, by presenting the report to the world, various governments would not only join hands in condemning the act, but would also loud initiatives aimed at creating cyber network environment where such practices do not find space. Lastly, the report is an insight about the escalating trends in the cyber network world. Although the world favors scientific activities, it does not welcome activities that seems to destroy the present gains. Cyber threat should attract condemnation across the globe because of various reasons such as breach of secrecy laws as well as threatening world peace (Lambert, 2013). The intrusion by the perpetrators may lead to leaks in security information, consequently, leading to security lapses. The ma in question that the report tends to answer is the owner of APT1. The question such as the intention of APT1 as well as who support their activity seems to form the premise of this report. Since the institutionalization of Madiant, it has conducted numerous researches about various cyber espionage, however, the trends of APT1 has been suspicious. The fact that the group has continued to attack various cyber network and still security information tends to suggest that the institution has some hidden objectives. Madiant report is condemnation of cyber espionage activities of China or groups believed to be receiving funding from the Chinese government. Madiant views cyber espionage as a threat peaceful coexistence between countries. Cyber networks run by various institutions especially governmental institutions contain information about a country’s affair (Carr, 2013). This seems to suggest that hacking such information contributes to leakage and exposure of such information to unauthorized identities. The suspicions of Madiant stems from the fact that the host country of APT1 does not show any support towards curtailing the activities of this group. If the Chinese government were not an interested party to the cyber espionage, it would take an initiative towards curtailing the missions of this group. Another suspicion of Madiant is the fact that APT1 trends are similar to those attributed to Chinese department of defense (US

Article Rebuttal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Article Rebuttal - Essay Example The views of Mr. Mackey are one dimensional and lack a sense of ethics. His argument is weak since he does not provide any empirical evidence that philanthropy is bad for business. My perspective regarding this issue is the complete opposite of Mr. Mackey. As a customer anytime I see a company donating money to a good cause such as world hunger I get excited about the initiate. The good deed stays in my mind and when I go shopping if I see any products produced by that company I am inclined towards supporting the firm. The use of social responsibility adds value to the brand of a corporation. John Mackey seems to believe that the only purpose of going into business is making money. He fails to realize that each corporation has a different reason for existence. The man that was once the richest person in the world, Bill Gates, has donated billions of dollars generated by Microsoft towards social causes. The company is still the market leader in the software industry. Shareholders do not mind when a company that is profitable shares some of the wealth with the less fortunate members of our society. John Mackey went as far as saying that donating money towards social causes is stealing money from the investors. This view is completely biased and does not represent the views of the majority of businesspeople in the United States and abroad. I think that by making these absurd statements Mr. Mackey is the one that is decreasing the shareholder value of the company. As a customer I would not support any company with a management team that has such a greedy perspective in life. There are many problems our global society is facing. The majority of the world’s wealth is not in the hands of the 210 governments of the world. The private corporations have hundreds of trillions of dollars in wealth. Our society depends on the generosity and good intentions of the corporate world. In the United States corporations can deduct up to 5% of net income if they

DIVORCE AND CHILDREN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

DIVORCE AND CHILDREN - Essay Example Divorce is already commonplace in the United States. This is the case across all relevant demographics: regardless of the social class, age, religion and ethnic membership, divorce is prevalent. For example, recent estimates reveal that between 40 percent and 50 percent of recent first marriages are likely to end in divorce (Lamanna and Riedmann, 474). Statistics also paint a grim scenario. In 2009, the Census Bureau reported that the marriage rate in America is 7.5 marriages per 1000 people and the divorce rate is 3.6 per 1000 people (Andersen and Taylor, p.326). The high incidence of divorce highlights the degree of impact on all parties involved as well as the society in general. Because the experience involved is recognized as painful and difficult. The adults – the husband and wife – undergoing this process encounter tremendous stress and pressure. An expert on the subject explained that this is a commonality across all divorcing partners. The story, wrote Antunes, often went like this: After months or sometimes years of discussions, hurtful arguments, destructive behavior, indifference, tears, betrayals, false hopes, starting over, forgiving, counseling, praying and doing everything we can think of in order to â€Å"fix† our marriages, we arrived at the Crushing yet defining moment when we knew our relationships were over (ix). If the process is an ordeal for the husband and wife, one can only imagine the toll it will claim on their children. As depicted in the above account, divorce seemed like a battle and children are most assuredly caught in the crossfire. This is one of the most compelling reasons why divorce can be considered bad. It adversely affects the hapless children. Adverse Effects on Children It is common sense to claim that there are only rare cases when children do not feel sad about their parents’ divorce. The fact is that they are often torn by conflicting loyalties: who should they side with in the conflict? In addition, feelings of fear, loss and anger are also common, along with desires for reconciliation (Andersen and Taylor, 327). The psychological impact of losing parents to this process is significant. In the short term, children experience feelings of confusion as well as the feeling of being betrayed as they helplessly witness how their family unravel and torn apart before their eyes (Clarke-Stewart and Brentano, 106). Also, as their parents tangle between themselves and embroiled in their own troubles, children are also in danger of being neglected. Because of these variables, children’s lives are negatively affected in the long term. For instance, a study revealed that 70 percent of children living with divorced parents had lower levels of well-being in comparison with children raised in intact families (Clarke-Stewart and Brentano, 106). In addition, these children can also display violent and antisocial behaviors especially when the divorce is typified by high conflict. Poor performance in school and poor adjustment skills are also accepted outcomes especially when research indicates that families on the verge of breakup have been found to be typified by â€Å"less intimate interparental and parent-child relationships, less parental commitment to children’s education, and fewer economic and human resources, resulting in more academi c, psychological and behavioral problems† (Goldstein, 197). So, all in all, the process for divorce is a crisis for children. This is critical because there are just numerous variables involved and that these tend to accumulate, leading to a much bigger problem, amplifying the estimated severity and pathology of psychological and emotional disturbance, changing the children’s behavior and character in the process. It is important to note that children are created by society. Morton explained this circumstance when he argued that â€Å"children are assigned to social groups by lottery† and that â€Å"once they are in a group, they remain there for life†. These arguments are aligned with the philosophical school

Tv Cooking Show Essay Example for Free

Tv Cooking Show Essay Ever sit at home with nothing to do? That’s how I feel all the time! Especially when I’m off from school, work, and simply everything. When I have nothing to do, my basic routine is to sit on the couch with my dog and turn on the TV. If Disney Channel is not an option to watch, I would turn to channel fifty-three, the Food Network. Watching the Food Network brightens my knowledge to a variety of cooking. The show taught me how to filet a fish, how to grill a lobster to perfection, and how to make one amazing pork chop. To be honest, without the Food Network shows, I would still be able to cook, but the foods would not be as good and flavorful. If I did not watch any cooking show, the only way for me to cook would be out of my crock pot. My foods without any lessons from the TV would be plain, tasteless, and simple. Being a student at Louisiana Culinary Institute, cooking and baking hold a very promising place in my life. Although it’s out of boredom that I watch the Food Network, cooking and baking is what I do everyday. Growing up I loved watching my mom and grandma do what they do best in the kitchen cooking. Admiring and watching them brought me to my passion in the culinary field. Watching them cook taught me a few things as well. Even though my cooking can not be compared to theirs, it does come pretty close. When I watch the Food Network, my favorite show is â€Å"Diners, Dive-Ins, and Dives† with the host and chef, Guy Fieri. This show is perfect for me because I love to travel and I love to eat. The show is about Guy Fieri’s quest around the world to find the best diners that serve the best foods. Good foods, cheap prices, lay-back locations, and traveling is all that I can ask for, and this show have gotten my vote. Not only do I find out where to eat, I also learn how some of these amazing foods are prepared. What more can I ask for? Every year, traveling is always on my calendar and agenda. When I travel, the most important thing is location, where to eat, and prices. Watching â€Å"Diners, Dive-Ins, and Dives† helps me know where I can go to eat when I’m out of town and help me save money. The thing that is so interesting when I watch Guy Fieri’s show is that anything that I crave for at home, I can make for myself if the restaurant is not around. The show taught me how to cook delicious foods within my price range. Watching the show helps me plan any road-trips much easier. It doesn’t matter where I travel, Guy Fieri can always refer me to a good place to dine.

The Effects Of War On Humanity

The Effects Of War On Humanity A dictionary definition of War is a state of open, armed, often prolonged conflict carried on between nations, states, or parties. Whilst this definition is clear enough it does not come close to exploring the true meaning of war in terms of emotions and the effects of war on humanity as detailed throughout history by the poets. Wars prior to 1914 have inspired poets to record for posterity the grime hard facts of conflict and the impact on lives While ravens and kites peck at human entrails (Li Po or Li Bais Nefarious War). Other poets have used war to stimulate their audience, maybe to take up arms When can their glory fade? O the wild charge they made (Alfred Lord Tennysons The Charge of the Light Brigade), while others have used poetry to record glorious acts to maintain the memory and perhaps justify a past war So on they fought like a swirl of living fire (Homers The Iliad) which remained only as a verbal record for centuries before it was written down. The poems studied have explored the different aspects of war. From Homers The Iliad and his glorious description of Menelaus Finest Hour through to Alfred Lord Tennysons homage to courage and honour in his celebrated The Charge of the Light Brigade to Li Pos Nefarious War this essay will explore how poets have considered the impact of war on humanity. This essay will touch on the simple rhythm of Whitmans Beat! Beat! Drums! and narrative provided in another Walt Whitmans elegy Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night I kept one night. This essay will contrast the glory of a cavalry charge with Whitmans crushing description of the degeneration of a bereaved mother in Come up from the Fields Father. This essay will consider how these poems compare across the range of emotion all of which humanity has experienced when war is declared, fought or concluded. This essay will also make reference on John Scotts The Drum, comparing to the distaste for the different sounds of war. Homers The Iliad is an epic poem telling the story of the Trojan War. It is set in a time where people considered the Gods to be all powerful and present in life influencing every aspect of human existence. The war referred to in The Iliad was the Trojan War fought between the Greeks and the Trojans in what is now mainland Turkey. The war took place in the 8th or 9th century BC. The epic poem concerned the famous story of the abduction of Helen of Troy by Paris and her husband, the Greek King Menelaus war to gain her back and destroy the city of Troy. The Greeks landed close to Troy and besieged the city for ten years. During these years a number of battles were fought and The Iliad provided a narrative of these engagements. One such episode describes the fight over the body Patroclus, a friend of Achilles, who had been killed by Hector, the Trojan hero. In describing the fight for Patroclus body Homer recalls the gods Ares, Athena and finally Zeus and compares the warriors efforts t o those of the Gods Not even Ares  [1]  , lasher of armies, not even Athena  [2]  Watching the battle here could scorn its fury Homer demonstrates the supreme effort made to recover the body of a dead comrade. The use of anaphora here helps to highlight the colossal effort demonstrated during the conflict that not even the acts of Gods could compare. This comparison by Homer may have been a useful device in the context of the times in which the poem was retold usually by travelling actors bringing stories to distant Greek villages, the comparison of effort to that of the Gods implies superhuman strength designed, no doubt, to inspire awe from the villagers. Therefore the Iliad can also be compared to a type of propaganda, not only to entertain the masses, but also to remind them that the men at arms in the service of the King were to be not only admired but feared; in this way showing an effect on humanity. Homer sets a scene that is full of men grappling, fighting and straining. This titan like struggle contrasts with Whitmans elegy Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night I kept on the field one night where the authors reflections on the after battle scene describe a quiet lonely place Vigil wondrous and vigil sweet there in the fragrant silent night, But not a tear fell, not even a long-drawn sigh, long, long I gazed.. His use of long drawn sigh and repetition of long suggest time and space for reflection as opposed to the crowded feel of the combat in the Iliad. Further, Homers description of the environment Fought on at their ease beneath a clear blue sky, Sharp brilliance of sunlight glittering round them, not a cloud in sight to shadow the earth and mountains. Men who fought at a distance worked with frequent breaks suggest a sun scorched, hot sweating place where grit and dust mix with blood to create a fearsome scene. The imagery created would have been familiar to listeners who will have recognised such a hot eastern Mediterranean climate. Homers efforts to ensure his listeners recognition go some way to allowing empathy with the heroes in the poem. This narrative style contrasts with the short clipped verse in The Drumby John Scott which has an absence of any description of the environment in which the conflicts referred to take place. In The Iliad, Homer sets the scene providing a background for the listener to connect with whereas Whitmans poem has no intention or need for such description as his intention is dramatically different. InThe Drumthe environment has no relevance above the message that the pounding of the drum is the messenger of doom. Similarly, Beat! Beat! Drums! by Walt Whitman is being described by a tentative soldier; the soldier illustrates the hatred he obtains for this drum that is beating for the announcing of war breaking out. John Scott uses a very common poetic device in The Drum; he utilizes poetic meter to create the rhythm thus creating an echo of the drums. He uses iambic tetrameter as shown in the following quotation; I hate that drums discordant sound/ parading round, and round, and round. The pattern of the stressed and unstressed syllables (-/-/-/-/) conveys how the drum in the poem is being played. For Scott, the sound is hateful as it calls young men to fight and fall in foreign lands. In Whitmans poem he writes using free verse, however, the heavy stresses on the syllables on the opening line also demonstrates the sound of the drum. This suggests the destructive nature of war on humanity. The use of onomatopoeia in Beat! Beat! Drums! also helps suggest this. In Homers The Iliad, I feel as though Homers exploration on the effect of war on humanity is very clear. He shows the physically grueling experience of being on the battle field, with the gods as passive spectators. The Iliad includes a lot of references to the young men involved with battle; Grim and grueling, relentless drenching labour, non stop. Homer is making it clear through the use of alliteration, a list and negative words that these men are working very hard. This can be compared to the elegy Come Up From The Fields Father, as Whitman also shows the effect war has on young men. However, the two different poets have different ideas to put across to the reader. Homer wanted to show the benefits of the young fighting because of the enthusiastic approach revealed by them. Whitman wanted to show the negative effect of war on the young soldiers and their families. In the poem the family of the young soldier receives a letter that tells them he has been injured; gunshot wound in t he breast, cavalry skirmish, taken to hospital. The impact the letter has on the family is devastating and when the mother finds out that her only son is dead, she is so grief stricken that she wants to die. The second ancient poem under consideration is Li Pos Nefarious War. Li Po or Li Bai, the variation of Romanization of à ¦Ã‚ Ã… ½Ãƒ §Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ½, was a poet who lived around 700 BC in imperial China. He was a famous poet who wrote many poems on varied subjects including war, love and wine. He was renowned for his ability to write without correction. His career was spent in the court of the Chin Dynasty  [3]  but he fell foul to court intrigue and eventually committed suicide. Li Po was not a soldier but in his Nefarious War the speaker is clearly a warrior, who talks of his weariness with conflict and his reflection on wars impact. At the time of writing imperial China was engaged in continuous struggle to defend its borders against marauding tribes. The impact on its people was considerable. Given the vast size of China it was not possible to defend all the territory under the emperor and therefore much time was spent on the campaign where the armies would travel for years to combat warring hordes or tribes attempting to steal territory, people or possessions. Po seems to suggest war is unavoidable. His first stanza describes locations of the campaigns the head-stream of the Sang-kan, the Tsung-ho road, the waves of Chiao-chi lake and the pastures on Tien-shans snowy slopes. This can be compared to Homers description of the plains of Troy where a specific battle is fought for a specific reason. Li Po provides no particular political reason for war other than the need for defense against a foe. Nefarious War suggests an unrelenting, grinding attrition where the defenders of the empire need to be ever watchful Where the Chin emperor built the walls against the Tartars, There the defenders of Han are burning beacon fires. The beacon fires burn and never go out, There is no end to war this signifying a constant state of alertness using alliteration to make the point burning beacon fires./The beacon fires burn where the use of B provides a harsh staccato and repetition provide a prelude to the final There is no end to war suggesting an exhausti ng vigil followed by the suggestion of lament that no end to the conflict is in sight. Due to the depressing language Po uses, one thought springs to mind, Po might well be making a plea for peace symptomatic of a need for rest from the ever present danger and the need for a constant watch. This can be contrasted to the battle being described by Homer, it is stated that the fighting is done in one place, not on a widespread scale. Additionally, there are many references to the length of war, the fact that war goes on forever. Li Po describes the conflicts as The long, long war goes on ten thousand miles from home. The repetition used here is very effective, it makes the reader feels the real expression of tedium made by speaker. Also, Po uses the repetition to link to the idea of the life of a warrior being boring; the mere fact that it is the same everyday and nothing changes. John Scott uses repetition in his poem The Drum with his reference to the troops parading round, and round, and round. This is similar to the repetition of Long, long which suggests that war has a negative effect on humanity. Li Po goes on to describe the battlefield in his third stanza. In the battlefield men grapple each other and die provides a brief summary compared to Homers detailed description of the fight for Patroclus body. Li Pos economy with words suggests a different view of war. Far from it being an illustrious fight between men for a reason (the recovery of Patroclus body) the empty, uselessness suggested in this opening line portray a futility. Li Po contrasts the leaders with the followers So, men are scattered and smeared over the desert grass, and the generals have accomplished nothing. Here it is the ordinary soldiers that do the dying whilst the generals who command the army achieve little by the efforts of their men. In The Charge of the Light Brigade Tennyson refers to this element of war with his Not though the soldier knew, some one had blundered where generals order the deaths of men under their command without thought. However Tennyson goes on to emphasis the heroism and dedicati on to duty displayed by the cavalry at Balaclava whereas Li Pos reference to the men and horses dying merely reminds the reader of the impact of battle on them (The horses of the vanquished utter lamentable cries to heaven). This reminds us that the effect of war is not only on humanity, but on the animals. This can be therefore related back to Pos point about the gravity of war and how it affects everyone, that it is inescapable and destructive Li Po suggests a lot about the leaving of the bodies on the battle field. The mere fact of different birds of prey pecking at the human entrails explains to us that the dealing with human fatalities at this time was very poor. This image is repulsive it is clear that they dont even care what happens to the bodies due to the negative wording. However if you contrast this to Homers The Iliad, the fight for a heros body, such care and passion demonstrated in for the body of Patroclus and to ensure a proper burial. This is of course not the case for the bodies being described by Po. In Whitmans Vigil Strange I Kept On The Field One Night, there are many references to a brother or very close friend relationship between the two comrades representing, on a general scale, the bond between soldiers at the time of the American Civil War. An interesting point is that if we compare Nefarious War with the perspective of Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night, it demonstrates the progression in concern for soldiers as human beings, over the centuries, with individual lives and families rather than just complete armies or unnamed bodies on the battlefield. At a point of interest, The Iliad and Nefarious War were written in different parts of the world; therefore this can be linked to the conflict that exists today. This is the clash of Western vs. Eastern culture; it can be interoperated that Homer was presenting the ethos of his people and Li Po doing the same. Both poets representing the way in which warfare is dealt in their culture. Through out the range of poems that are being considered, there are aspects of soldiers joining in unity. Noticeably it is hardly used at all in Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night, as the idea that the poet wants to get across is the concept of the individual love and not of comrades showing unity. One may even sense an impression of ignorance, coming from the poet, of the soldiers feelings or of the terrible effects of the war-torn environment that surround them by focusing on one relationship and not the big picture. However, this is definitely not the case shown in Nefarious War; Po wants the widespread effects on humanity to be apparent while being read. Last year we fought by the head-stream of the Sang-kan, this year we are fighting on the Tsung-ho road. We have washed our armor in the waves of Chiao-chi Lake; we have pastured our horses on Tien-shans snowy slopes. The repetition of we in this context is an effective means of pulling in the reader and allowing Po to cr eate unity between himself and his comrades. We is often used as a motivational device to form a community within a group; it is used to show equality from even the lowest ranked soldier fighting alongside to a King. In this case, Po is trying to present to the reader the universal suffering that is taking place. This can be contrasted, with great clarity, to Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night, by the author showing individual anguish instead of a collective misery. Whilst the misery illustrated by Po throughout his poem does seem to distract from the actual descriptive nature of the war, his message should not be ignored that war is a destructive force and nothing good comes out of it. However, it is worthy of note that Pos exploration/description of war differs from Homers or Whitmans. Whitman shows an energized approach towards war, as though, he is remembering action to happen, for example, Beat! Beat! Drums!Blow! Bugles! Blow! Through the windowsthrough doorsburst like a ruthless force. This quotation demonstrates a real eruption of Whitmans message here that war is destructive, the explosive B alliteration articulated by Whitman shows us the genuine energy that war does in fact bring. In the first stanza of Nefarious War, the idea of fatigue is portrayed by Po with a thought of no hope, armies [have] worn and grown old. An automatic image that comes to mind when including such words as old and worn gives off the negative vibe intended by Po, it makes us imagine a withering army consisting of a few men. Consequently, Po intentionally illustrating the effects on humanity but especially the armed forces of the country. In spite of this; Po uses a lot of active verbs in the third stanza, comparable to the energy in The Iliad. Po uses words such as grapple and vanquish. This can be compared to the violent words used by Homer. The image in our heads of men hacking the lines to pieces and the illustration of both sides dragging the corpse. These expressions are full of energy; they are the many of the violent cinematic imagery used by Homer to formulate the actual being there effect the poet wants the reader to experience. In addition to that point, Homer wanted to report the horror of the battle of Troy; as a consequence he uses much hyperbole to shock his audience. One of the very moving similes Homer uses to describe the fighting is the link to fire, relating the fighting as a swirl of living fire. The main descriptive word here is fire, which gives an impression of carnage and mayhem. This is exactly what Homer wants to create; he wants to explain to the reader what a hectic battle this truthfully is. Nefarious War has a lot in common with another Whitman poem, Come Up From the Fields Father. This poem deals with the torment of war on humanity. It is about a letter arriving at a household in America reading that the son has a gunshot wound to his breast. This of course is devastating to the family. Whitman then focuses on the mothers reaction, which is fainting going Sickly white in the face and consequently wishing to die when she discovers her son is dead. Come Up From The Fields Father can be compared to Nefarious War in that they both deal on the effect of war on humanity and the disturbance of the normal life. While they stand at home at the door he is dead already, The only son is dead. This quotation is adequate for what the author is trying to explain to the reader, the idea is linked back to what Po wants to get across, the suggestion of no hope. This image plays in our mind, the word only automatically creates an image of aloneness or only one, and this demonstrating the devastating effects that war has on family life therefore Whitman showing no amnesty towards war. If you look at the different poetic devices used by Homer and Po, you will see that Homer uses a lot of enjambements to retain the flow of the action in the battle; In Nefarious War there is only one example of enjambment. An example from the illiad is; Achaeans to drag him back to the hollow ships/ And round him always the brutal struggle raging. It is worth noting how Homer wants the flow to stay fluent when being read; this is done by not using a comma at the end of the first line, hollow ships. Po wants to get the message through about the evils of war; he shows this by using negative poetic devices, such as sibilance. Sibilance comes from the Latin word meaning hissing the link to the ancient belief of a snake hissing; this being the link to evil. As in the bible, Satan disguised himself as a snake in the garden of evil. The representation of this is made by authors use of s, soft c, sh and z sounds. So, men are scattered and smeared. The annotation smeared is a very ugly word, it creates an automatic blood shed image, the hint of smearing blood on a sword. The concept of men [being] scattered is very potent to the reader, it creates a picture of a bomb shell hitting the battle field. This quotation is very clear in what Po wants you to get from his poem; he wants you to pick up on the evils of war, as shown by the use of sibilance. Po also wants you pick up on the effects of war on humanity, humanity being the men that have been scattered and smeared. Po comes across as one of the normal men affected by the war participating in his country; he uses a first hand account, fabricating the struggle of the humanity in ancient China. After all, war affected the run of the mill man, not specially trained soldiers, the average farmer as hinted by Po; The barbarian does man-slaughter, not plowing. This completes Pos message to the reader, the thought of war having an effect on not just humanity but the livelihood and the wellbeing of families. Thus Po intentionally showing the reader the detestable effects of war on the humanity in China at the time. Tennysons Charge of the Light Brigade is an example of a war poem written for a purpose that to provide some useful propaganda and to understand this more fully the context surrounding the setting needs to be considered.The Crimean War (1853 to 1856) fought between the allied coalition (Britain, France, Turkey and Sardinia) and Russia was the first large scale conflict to be covered by journalists as we understand it today. For the first time reports of battle could be cabled or returned by fast sloop back to London in time for newspaper runs. Accounts of the battle field by independent reporters shocked the home audience as the public became aware for the first time of the poor conditions of the fighting soldiers and the incompetent nature of the leadership. The conflict surrounded Russias continual threat to the Ottoman Empire. Russia required a warm water port in the Mediterranean and provoked a war with Turkey over religious matters in Ottoman held Jerusalem. Britain and France came to Turkeys aid and sent men and ships to the black sea to counter the Russian threat to the Bosphorus. At this period, Britain was at its most powerful with an empire stretching around the globe. British superiority in trade, manufacturing and sea power provided a sense of invincibility to the nation who supported the war. Technology had developed to enable telegraphic communications and photography and so it was possible for the conflict to be followed both in the written form and visually in much shorter timescales than ever before. Russell of The Times was the most noted correspondent. The coalition forces had landed in the Crimea on the black sea and laid siege to Sevastopol, the main Russian port in the area. The coalition forces were thinly stretched through battle casualties but mainly through disease and poor sanitary conditions. In an attempt to raise the siege the Russian forces attacked the coalition flank at Balaklava. During this action there were three major events, the Highland soldiers resistance to a Russian cavalry charge the Thin Red Line the Charge of the Heavy Brigade to repulse a further cavalry attack and the most famous of all, the Charge of the Light Brigade. The first two actions were fine examples of British soldiers led by their commanders beating the enemy when defeat looked certain, however it is the Charge of the Light Brigade that has become world famous for its pointlessness. Against all the accepted rules of warfare of the day, the British Light cavalry charged the main body of the Russian army due to a poorly worded order. Many men and horses were killed for no gain. The Charge was reported by Russell and along with other reports of the poor handling of the war, public opinion turned against the conflict. Florence Nightingale famously intervened with the wounded and set up a hospital in Scutari. Questions were raised in parliament and long after the war ended there were concerns on all aspects of the handling of the war. It is against this backdrop that Tennysons Charge of the Light Brigade must be considered. Like Homer, Tennyson had specific reasons for the construction of his poetry. The war had proved unpopular and as Poet Laureate, Tennyson may have been responding to the public attacks against the establishment by presenting the charge in its more favourable light. Tennyson emphasises this in his last three lines Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred! He keeps this exaltation to the last to leave the reader in no doubt that whatever the reasons for the blunder the charge was an honorable thing. Tennyson opens the account by recreating the rhythm of the horses cantering, Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward. This is an example of dactylic meter with the last foot onward as trochaic. This use of meter helps to establish the prologue to the action the cavalry steadily advancing on the enemy. Tennyson takes the reader to the centre of the action, Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them, and Stormed at with shot and shell. This use of anaphora and alliteration simulates the effect of gun fire as the cavalry move down the valley. Tennyson provides this imagery to set the scene of the carnage the men faced. Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell. Here Tennyson tells us that despite the storm of lead these well trained disciplined soldiers kept going where perhaps others would have stopped. He raises this point earlier in the poem Forward, the Light Brigade! Was there a man dismayed? This seems at first a rhetorical question, however Tennyson quickly confirms the irrelevance of the question with Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die in doing so he reminds the reader that the soldiers were there to do their duty and not question the intentions of their leaders. The repetition of Theirs is emphatic. It is not for the soldier to reply to an order neith er is it to try to fathom the intricacies of military tactics, their job was to follow orders and perhaps die in the process. Tennyson is reminding the audience of the nature of soldiering and warfare. The first three stanzas deal with the approach, the fourth addresses the action at the guns while the fifth describes the return of the Light Brigade. Tennyson repeats his use of alliteration here again Stormed at with shot and shell to remind the reader that the cavalry was under fire both in to action and homeward bound. Against a backdrop of criticism of the war Tennyson is reminding the reader throughout that the action was to be admired When can their glory fade? O the wild charge they made! All the world wondered. Here reminding the reader that through the action Britain remains admired. This contrasts with Li Pos Nefarious War that has none of the elements of message contained within Charge of the Light Brigade. Li Pos poem is at its heart anti war; So, men are scattered and smeared over the desert grass, And the generals have accomplished nothing suggests the absolute pointless waste of human life by the soldiers, leaders. In contrast Tennysons only reference to the poor leadership of the war was Not though the soldier knew, Someone had blundered Tennysons assertion that some good came out of the action exampled by the splendid military precision displayed by the cavalry Boldly they rode and well and Flashed all their sabres bare, Flashed as they turned in air suggesting military discipline and prowess, this contrasts with Scotts The Drum- I hate that drums discordant sound, Parading round, and round, and round the repetition of round provides an imagery of pointless drilling of soldiers undergoing repetitive tasks for no apparent reason. In conclusion, the range of poems and poets that I have included in my study have expressed the full range of emotions and views from the heroic to the wastefulness of war but, ultimately, all have provided a graphic portrayal of the effect of war on humanity. Of the main poets that I have concentrated on, Homer and Tennyson focus on the energy of war and portray human sacrifice as the ultimate in. In contrast, Po wants to inform people of the terrors of war in order that humanity will learn from the terrible deaths of the war-torn and not have wars in the future. While Po has more of a wide-reaching message, probably aimed at a more at a high political level, Whitman similarly portrays war as wasteful, he concentrates on the more personal, everyman loss that soldiers deaths have on families back home. Finally, John Scotts poem, The Drum portrays the initial bravado and excitement that war can incite in both soldiers and the people at home, but ends with the brutal realities of the m angled limbs, and dying groans, And widows tears, and orphans moans, And all that Miserys hand bestows, that demonstrate the truly awful effects of war on humanity, which are perfectly summed up by Benjamin Franklin (1706 -1790), There never was a good war or a bad peace.

E-Procurement and Competitive Advantage

E-Procurement and Competitive Advantage 1.0 Introduction The Internet plays an important role as it is revolutionizing the way in which business is conducted around the world. In new millennium with the emergence of electronic system, organizations are strained to shift their operation from traditional way to e-business had lead clear increase in global competition which threaten existing businesses and modernize business practices. Apart from that, technology is consider an integrate part of any business as technology can contribute to economic growth, increases productivity and quality of products as well as increases competitive advantages of industrial sectors. Besides, the developing of technology is in an increasing pace and dramatically changes business models in business sector. In such competitive environment resulted from globalization, firms must create more dynamic strategy over their competitor to survive in the business sector. Due to competition from various companies has increased as advancements in technology; it has broken down the traditional barriers to entry the market. Therefore, at the ever changing world, procurement process has been transformed into strategic resources. The use of new technology in procurement has provided substantial benefits. However, some organizations are exploiting competitive advantage through mergers, acquisitions, supply and distribution channel imptovements (Hamel and Prahalad 1994), as cited in Longenecker and Ariss (2002). 2.0 Research Objective To determine that whether e-procurement can achieve competitive advantage To investigate whether total quality management can achieve competitive advantage To examining whether implementation of e-procurement in total quality management can help to achieve further competitive advantage. 3.0 Research Questions Does e-procurement results in competitive advantage? Does total quality management results in competitive advantage? Does implementation of e-procurement in total quality management can help to achieve further competitive advantage? 4.0 Hypotheses E-Procurement can result in competitive advantage. Total quality management can result in competitive advantage. Implementation of e-procurement in total quality management can provide further competitive advantage. Literature Review 5.0 E-Procurement and Competitive Advantage 5.1 Conceptualization of E-Procurement Nowadays, the evolution of e-procurement is becoming more successively and interested on a global scale. According to Min and Galle (2003), e-procurement is defined as business-to-business purchasing practice that utilizes electronic commerce to identify potential sources of supply, to purchase goods and services, to transfer payment, and to interact with suppliers (as cited in Pearcy and Giunipero 2008, p.26). Besides that, electronic procurement consists of e-Maintenance Repair Operate (MRO), web-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), e-sourcing, e-tendering, e-auctioning, e-exchanges and e-informing (Min and Galle 2001; Knudsen 2003; Walker and Harland 2008). Apart from that, an Aberdeen Group (2001) found that e-procurement technologies are divided into 2 categories: direct procurement and indirect procurement (cited in Angeles and Nath 2007). Direct procurement is the purchase of high volume raw materials that used in the manufacturing process of a finished product (Harrigan et al. 2008). Whereas indirect procurement is the purchase of maintenance, materials and operation goods that are not directly involved in the production process such as office supplies, personal computers and advertising (Bof and Previtali 2007). Apart from that, procurement process involves a complex series of events which allows a firm to more from the basic need to reaching a final purchase decision through technical specification and potential supplier evaluation (Robinson et al. 1967, cited in Osmonbekov et al. 2002). Hence, many firms in diverse industries adopt the strategy of e-procurement and focus on restructuring the entire order-to-delivery process rath er than specific task in order to improve the efficiency of purchasing or supply management function as well as reduce operation costs of organization. 5.2 Conceptualization of Competitive Advantage The achievement of sustainable competitive advantage has long been the goal of companies and organizations. However, due to the rapid change in the global environment, researchers from various backgrounds have come up with their own different perspectives to identify definition of competitive advantage. In traditional industry, the importance of industry structure and market position plays significant roles to achieve competitive advantage (Porter 1980, cited in Ma 1999; Passemard and Kleiner 2000). According to Pfeffer and Vega (1991), the conceptualization of competitive advantage can be described as organizational practice, resource and asset that used to improve an organizations competitive position in the marketplace (as cited in Longenecker and Ariss 2002). Porter (1985) further description on competitive advantage grows out of the firms unique ability in creating superior customer value (as cited in Ma 2002, p.525). However, recently, Rindova and Fombrun (1999), state that competitive advantage is built on relationship and not an exchanges sustained social interactions in impressions which may affect future behaviors (cited in Tzokas and Saren 2004). 5.3 Competitive strategies in E-Procurement E-procurement has been seen to have the potential to play a pivotal role in a firms endeavours to create a competitive cost advantage that lasts for many years, hence grounding sustainable competitive advantage (Bloomberg et al. 2002, p. 14) cited in (Pires and Stanton 2005). In order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, company should concern on the implementation of organizational business strategy in area of e-procurement. However, if the organization fails to apply a successful strategy, it will result in loss of business productivity and competitiveness which will undermine the long-term performance of the organization. Apart from that, a firm can enhance its market position and competitive strength by developing procurement strategy. Below are the competitive strategies which e-procurement can achieve competitive advantage: 5.3.1 Cost Reduction The reduction of purchasing cost has been recognized as one of the most significant purposes in procurement (Collis and Montgomery 1995), since the average manufacturing firm spends half of its sales revenue on the purchase of materials (cited in Ordanini and Rubera 2008). Furthermore, research shows that by using e-procurement can achieve cost saving which average reduction in purchase price of 17 per cent (Bartezzaghi and Ronchi 2005, cited as Harrigan et al. 2008). Additionally, by implementing e-procurement in an organization, it can help us to reduce purchase price of materials and costs that related to internal workflow of activities such as equipment and labour costs. With the use of electronic procurement, transactions can be proceed through HTML, EDI, e-mail and Internet which can eliminate the usage paper requisition for placing order, invoice as well as receipt (Sarkis et al. 2004). Additionally, Companies using e-procurement have reported savings up to 42% in purchasing t ransaction cost associated with less paperwork, which translates into fewer mistakes and more efficient purchasing process (Davila et al. 2002). 5.3.2 Efficiency Maximization E-procurement can improve the efficiency of the process which order fulfillment time can shortened up to 80 per cent (Minahan 2001, cited in Harrigan et al. 2008) as well as reduced the inventory levels (Min and Galle 2003). Thus, e-procurement has impact on the purchasing cycle time and delivery time. In order to achieve high quality performance, mostly organizations has seen the benefits of applying new technologies in its manufacturing processes because it can manufacture in a high volume production without any concerns in regards to cost. The investment in advanced equipment has enabled the company to achieve a high level of process capability that could not achieve by manual processes. Due to there are many repetitive and complicated tasks that machines can do which human being cannot do it. According to Bof and Previtali (2007), electronic procurement can accelerated the flow of important information between buyers and suppliers as well as elimination of transaction errors by transform the way of purchasing raw material from traditional methods to online. Currently, the use of internet serve as a foundation of data flow for strategic manufacturing purpose in e-procurement such as using barcodes in firms to manage the raw material. As the workflow automatically routes information through the purchasing process without re-keying all the date, user can use it easily and with a minimal error. According to Smith and Correa (2005), they stated that by using e-business can lead to highly accurate information gathering though proper database via internet and it enable to indentify each product moving throughout supply chain. Apart from that, the information that recorded in the system are stored in a real-time fashion, therefore, users can acquire an accurate tracking in supply chain compared with the traditional manual methods. Therefore the adoption of e-procurement will improve efficiency that can strengthen competitive advantage in firms and industries. In general, firms should adopt the e-procurement strategies to achieve competitive advantage among the competitors. For instance, firms need to learn the management practices which are reduce production costs by elimination waste and achieving higher efficiency to capture the attention of the suppliers. 6.0 Total Quality Management and Competitive Advantage 6.1 Conceptualization of Total Quality Management (TQM) Since 1980s, TQM has been regarded as one of the competitive strategies for firm to improve their competitive advantage and has widely implemented throughout the world (Kuei et al. 2001; Brah et al. 2002; Rad 2006). Besides that, TQM has been widely regarded as rational structure and scientific tools for the improvement of quality as well as improve competitive advantage (Sun 2000; Li et al. 2002). There is no universally agreed definition on TQM as many researchers have their own beliefs and prejudices towards the term (Martinez-Lorente 1998; Sun 2000; Psychogios and Priporas 2007; KlefsjÃÆ' ¶ et al. 2008). However, the definition provided by researchers is more like vague descriptions than definitions and contain terms as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a philosophy, which à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ an approach for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (KlefsjÃÆ' ¶ et al. 2008). As just an example, Rad (2006) defines TQM as a philosophy which provides a template for success to an organization through customer satisfaction. On the other hand, in recent years, a tendency toward agreement on a system perspective of TQM has been suggested. One such definition is from Hellsten and KlefsjÃÆ' ¶ (2000), who define TQM as a continuously evolving management system consisting of core values, methodologies and tools, the aim of which is to increase external and internal customer satisfaction with a reduced amount of resources (cited in KlefsjÃÆ' ¶ et al. 2008, p. 121). The definition provided by Hellsten and KlefsjÃÆ' ¶ (2000) is stated clearly as it consists of three components which are interdependent and supporting each of the values to sustaining a culture based on a kernel of core values. 6.2 Competitive strategies in TQM In order to compete with the increasingly of competitors, it has forced organizations find ways to reduce costs while maintaining customer satisfaction and making continuous improvement to the products. Since 1980, TQM has been recognized as a way to achieve goal by establishing a quality-based culture for improving customer satisfaction. Apart from that, TQM has been widely recognized as one of the most competitive weapon, if implemented successfully, provides a competitive advantage for organizations through quality (Martins and Toledo 2000; Beskese and Cebeci 2001; Prajogo and Sohal 2004). In order to achieve the goals of organization, they should implementing successful TQM strategies. 6.2.1 Quality Focus Currently, TQM have become a key focus for organizations as it considers as tools for improvement quality. According to Mandel et al. (2000), he noted that the implication of quality as a factor of international planning. Quality improvement refers to the efforts on increasing effectiveness and efficiency in order to satisfy customer expectations (Talha 2004). Organizations must plan the strategic to implement quality improvement planning into their business plan. If the organization has emphasized quality as an important strategic, this will leads to higher sales and operating profits as well as improve the competitive positions of the firm as the customers will pay more to quality products that satisfy them. Also, nowadays customers are become more sophisticated, continuous improvement in product quality is essential to satisfy their needs. Therefore, once the organizations satisfy the requirements of customer, items are producing according to specifications, it will minimizing defective items and the cost of rework (Khan 2003). Yet, TQM will increase the organizations competitive advantage because they concentrated on the improvements to offer superior quality of products to its customers (Martins and Toledo 2000). Hence, quality improvement is essential for the very survival of a company to achieve competitive advantage. 6.2.2 Customer Focus Customers have their expectations towards an organization which they patronize. If the expectations are not met, they will get dissatisfied and stop patronizing the organization; hence customer satisfaction is one of the important elements to attain competitive advantage. According to Bergman and Klefsjo (2003), satisfied customer are loyal customers and loyal customers are profitable customers and profitable customers make lucrative businesses and happy owners (cited in Bergquist et al. 2005, p. 312). However, customers are usually irrational. In order to develop their potential quality, companies need to develop the strategies on customer focus. Generally, customer focus means as the activities of the companies are intended to benefit the customer but the customer is seen from the companies own perspective (Lagrosen 2001, p.350). Organizations should make an effort to gain information regarding the needs and wants of the customer rather than always focus on the companies view of product and its features. 6.2.3 Process Focus The goal of process management is to zeroing down the defective and failures rate as well as reduce process variation by building quality into the production process which can reduced cost. According to Ou et al. (n.d.), inferior quality manufacturing process will increase high scrap rate and rework rate which will lead to use more resource to produce qualified products. Therefore, firms should concern on process management to avoid the occurrences of unnecessary costs such as waste costs by finding quality problems immediately. TQM implementation can directly increasing firms quality performance by improving manufacturing process, has indirect effects on increasing customer satisfaction as well as the reputation of firms. By reducing unnecessary waste cost such as waste of production, avoidable process and waste of defects, firms can put into practice of lean production. According to Womack and Jones (1996), lean production has its origin in philosophy of achieving improvements in most economical ways with special focus on reducing waste (cited in Dahlgaard and Dahlgaard-Park 2006, p. 264). For instance, firm can designing the production process and giving orders and instructions to the workers. The improvement of manufacturing efficiency will improve customers satisfaction and eventually the companys financial performance. 6.3 Adoption of e-Procurement in Total Quality Management to achieve Competitive Advantage There is no clearly evidence shows that the adoption of e-procurement in total quality management can achieve further competitive advantage, however it can be shows that the ways of both e-procurement and TQM are almost using same strategies to achieve competitive advantage. 6.3.1 Business-to-business (B2B) E-procurement E-procurement is defined as the use of information technologies to facilitate business-to-business (B2B) purchase transactions for materials and services (Wu et al. 2007, cited in Walker and Harland 2008). With the development of B2B e-procurement, the traditional method of business are replaced by the electronically transactions. Besides that, BCB e-procurement can help TQM in achieving competitive advantage. 6.3.1.1 Cost Minimization Application of e-procurement practices into total quality management is beneficial as it can improve facilitation of efficient and cost-effective trading routes to conduct business. According to Harrigan et al. (2008), e-procurement can reduce purchasing costs by amending the way raw materials are purchasing from traditional methods to online ordering. With the implementation of e-procurement, transactions can be proceed via e-mail, electronic data interchange, fax which can directly eliminate paper usage such as invoice, receipts as well as paper catalogs. However, Turban et al. (2006) argues that systematic procurement transactions tend to waste time on non-value-adding activities such as handling errors in ordering and invoicing, data entry which often time consuming and costly to trace (cited in Aboelmaged 2009). 6.3.1.2 Efficiency Maximization Apart from the cost reductions arising from transactional, e-procurement can also contribute to efficient purchasing process in many ways. As earlier mention, TQM have been emphasized that its main focus is improving products quality, therefore it may be less paying attention on giving maximize efficiency. Consequently, by implementation e-procurement in TQM can achieve maximum efficiency. It is obvious that e-procurement greatly helps improve communication with suppliers providing access to the information 24 hours a day. Therefore, the system availability can makes it easier for businesses to receive order from the supplier and summit an order. By providing greater access, firms can reduce the purchasing cycle time and improved performance between buyers and suppliers. According to Choudhury et al. (1998), repetition in the procurement system will increase the efficiency and result in a higher level of electronic integration between buyers and suppliers (cited in Walker and Harland 2008). 6.3.1.3 Methods of B2B e-procurement Previously, most of the organizations are using traditional modes of communication such as phone, fax, memo and face-to-face. However, through evolution of the technologies, organizations can improve the speed in business transactions through the utilization of the B2B e-procurement methods: 1. Reverse Auctions. A reverse e-auction is a form of the electronic data communication which provides a forum wherein several suppliers compete online for contracts offered by a customer (Tassabehji et al. 2006). Due to no human intervention along with computerized accessible format, it can help both parties gain form less paperwork, shorted cycle times for circulation requesters for quotations, faster responses to potential bidders and reduced transaction costs (Plouffe et al. 2001). 2. Lean procurement. Lean procurement generally imply on small quantity of products purchased frequently from few suppliers, who deliver the items in exact quantities at the specific time and place (Wilson and Roy 2009). It also further noted that lean procurement unlike the traditional purchasing system such as TQM where the price considerations, suppliers are evaluated through the reliability, behaviors, performance as well as price. Based on the traditional purchasing system, the relationship between buyers and suppliers are based on the long-term trust and commitment. 3. Internet. Through internet, companies have ability to speed up the business transactions through a faster way as it allows companies to pay invoices and payment electronically. Besides that, the use of internet through videoconferencing provides a visual contract which allows companies communicate with the suppliers (Samaniego 2006). 7.0 Theoretical Framework Competitive Advantage E-Procurement Total Quality Management 8.0 Research Methods 8.1 Explanatory My research is about the ways of e-procurement and total quality management in achieving competitive advantage of organizations. In the literature review, I am explaining the relationship between e-procurement and competitive advantage as well as total quality management and competitive advantage; therefore my research is an explanatory study. According to Saunders et al. (2009), explanatory study is known as causal study which is emphasizes on explaining the relationships between variables. 8.2 Research Philosophy The research philosophy that I adopt in the literature review is epistemology. Epistemology concerns what constitutes acceptable knowledge in a field of study (Saunders et al, 2009, p. 112). This research will be mostly exploring the strategies of how e-procurement and TQM to achieve competitive advantage. Besides that, although many successful cases that shows that e-procurement and TQM can provide competitive advantage to an organization. However, I may not be able to know that e-procurement and TQM can achieve competitive advantage. Therefore, I a going to do this research to find out how e-procurement and TQM can help an organization achieve competitive advantage. Furthermore, the fact that it is an explanatory study also makes this research epistemology. Both the cause and the effect are known under an explanatory effect. In this research, I will acts as a positivist. A positivist will prefer working with an observable social reality and that the end products of such research can be law-like generalizations similar to those produced by the physical and natural scientists (Remenyi et al., 1998, p. 32, as cited in Saunders et al., 2009, p. 113). Therefore, I will only based on the quantifiable observations which I can see, hear and touch to develop hypotheses. 8.3 Approach Deductive approach is an approach of working from more general idea to a more specific idea and also known as waterfall approach and therefore, conclusion follows logically from the premises (Gill Johnson, 2010). My research will utilize deductive approach since the theory and hypothesis have been created at the starting of the research. Besides that, the research itself is an observation to further confirm the relationship between e-procurement, TQM and competitive advantage as well as allows me to test and confirm my hypothesis. 8.4 Method The research measurements used in this study will be mixture of qualitative and quantitative factors. A quantitative research aims at determining the relationship between one thing and another (Denzin Lincon, 2005). A qualitative research is used to address research questions that require explanation or understanding of social phenomena and their contexts (Ritchie and Lewis, 2003). In this research, I will more focus on quantitative research instead of qualitative research. By using quantitative research, I can find out the following data: 1. The percentage of organizations which are successfully achieving competitive advantage after adoption of either e-procurement, TQM, or both. 2. The percentage of organizations which adopt neither e-procurement nor TQM, but have achieved competitive advantage. Besides that, I plan to apply structured questionnaire and interview which form by structured questions and answers. Structured interviews use questionnaires based on standardized set of questions which can be result more accurate and credible data. Although quantitative research is the main focus in this research, qualitative research is still under consideration towards these issues. Under qualitative methods, I will be using semi-structured and in-depth questionnaire and interview. A semi-structured questionnaire or interview is where the questions are structured but the answers are left unstructured. However, in-depth questionnaire or interview is where both the questions and answers are unstructured. Therefore, my research choice is Mixed Methods whereby both quantitative and qualitative methods are being considered. 8.5 Strategies The strategies that can be implemented in conducting this research are survey. Survey is a research strategy that involves the structured collection of data from a sizeable population (Saunders et al., 2009). The reason for choosing survey as my strategy is survey allows me to collect the quantitative data which I can analyze quantitatively using statistics. By using survey, I can easily calculate the percentage of increase in profits after implementing e-procurement and TQM. Through the survey, questionnaire will be given. Structured questionnaires bring convenience for me when carrying out the percentage calculation. Another strategy that can be implemented is archival research which makes use of administrative records and documents as the principal source of data (Saunders et al., 2009). In this research, archival research can used to identify the companies in the past that have been successful in achieving e-procurement and TQM and changing effects that has led to their success. 8.6 Sampling Sampling techniques are used to define the target population by keeping with the objectives of the study. Hence, sampling methods are techniques for collecting sub-volumes from larger volume of target population (Groves et al., 2010). Sample selection will be done on a random basis to avoid selection bias. In this research, the sampling method that will be use is stratified random sampling. Stratified random sampling is a modification of random sampling in which you divide the population into two or more relevant strata based on one or a number of attributes (Saunders et al., 2009, p. 228). I will divide all companies in Malaysia into 4 groups which are companies that implement e-procurement, companies that implement TQM, companies that implement both e-procurement and TQM as well as companies that do not implement both e-procurement and TQM. In this case, companies will be selected using random sampling. Besides that, 50 questionnaires will be distributed randomly to every company. 8.7 Time Horizon In terms of time horizon, my research will be considered as cross-sectional study. Cross-sectional study refers to data gathered only once over a period of time. Since this research must complete within 1 month, I am not be able to analyze the development of e-procurement in future. Therefore, my research will more focus on the e-procurement of e-procurement nowadays and explain the relationship between every variable. Besides that, this research typically deals with historical data, hence the necessity to get results frequently is comparatively low as the industry conditions will not change rapidly. 8.8 Possible Result For the hypothesis of this research to be true, it must be supported by the fact that adoption of e-procurement in TQM can provide further competitive advantage. Besides that, the results of the survey as well as archival research should show that the companies that implement neither e-procurement nor TQM can achieve competitive advantage. However, if the result of this research shows that the adoption of e-procurement in TQM does not achieve competitive advantage then the hypothesis of the research will be proven false. 9.0 Conclusion Based on reading of literature, I can suggest that hypothesis of this research paper is accepted. It clearly shows that e-procurement and TQM on business can achieve and sustaining competitive advantage in business world nowadays. The development of e-procurement does give a huge impact on business management will continuing technological revolution provides a number of challenges for firms today. An efficient e-procurement should implement competitive strategies to achieve competitive advantage as well as enhance market position in market. Besides that, a further competitive advantage can be gained by implementing e-procurement in TQM. Hence, it can be concluded that adoption of both e-procurement and TQM can bring organization to achieve further competitive advantage. However, in practice, TQM benefits are not easy to achieve. Many organizations and companies have difficulties in implementing TQM due to lack of consistent senior management commitment, superficial knowledge of imple menters of TQM as well as lack of strategic plan for change. In other words, TQM can have a dramatic impact on an organization. (4258 words) 10.0 References Aberdeen Group. (2001). 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