Amazon.com is a multinational ecommerce company

Amazon.com is a multinational ecommerce company Amazon.com is a multinational Ecommerce company, which was founded by Jeff Bezos who is considered to be one of the worlds top innovative executives. Amazon.com started as an online bookstore and expanded with time to sell almost everything. The role of information system in this company is a leading role, because the company is an online retailer. The company started as an online store for books to rapidly expand to sell everything such us beauty items, auto parts, apparel, electronics and groceries. Amazon has started as an online book retailer and later on has grown to sell products such as VHS, DVD, Computer software, furniture, food, music CDs and toys. The company has also been able to launch websites in different countries such as United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan and Germany. By 2001 the market place of Amazon has been launched to enable Amazons customers to sell used books, DVDs and CDs Amazons logo shows an arrow that stretches from A to Z, which also forms a smile to indicate Amazons care for customers satisfaction. eBay on the other hand is one of Amazons rival online companies. Amazon.com has been an innovative company in its domain; therefore it attracted lots of competition from different companies. eBay as an example is a very strong competitor. It is the number one online auction website. It recruited more than 15000 employees. Just like Amazon, eBay provides customers with comprehensive web services such as: Search via keyword or phrase. Submit new items. Re-list items. Provides information about certain seller or bidder. eBay is considered to be the largest online trading company in the world. It was founded in 1995 to become one of the most popular online shopping sites in the world. It has over 100 million registered users internationally. It allows buyers and sellers from the around the word to facilitate sales of services and products and form a diverse international community. In order for users to be able to transfer money to sellers, eBay started up Pay Pal, which became the worlds largest online bank. Until 2005, eBay has enjoyed a decade of online auction monopoly. Right now it is challenged by google and it is no longer the worlds only online auction community. Information system: Amazon uses an information system (MIS) that focuses on the customer supplier relationship. It focuses on increasing intimacy between customers and suppliers. Amazon uses a sophisticated Information system and sophisticated techniques that allow Amazon to standardize the processes it uses in order to give customers high satisfying experiences. The website opens up with a search bar where customers can type down their desired item and then be able to sift through the data base where the item and similar items can be found. The customer once finding the desired item can give the option of ordering the item and buy it through credit card or gift vouchers that can be purchased through cashu. Once the item is shipped, the customer can receive it within few days up to few weeks depending on the destination required. Unlike its competitors, amazon.com does not ship items through warehouses owned by the company. Books for example are shipped directly from publishers; therefore, warehouses ar e not needed. These systems are managed by different technological applicants in order to help Amazons employees work with efficiency. Once a customer places an order, the management system would start working on reserving the item, schedule the shipment, make invoices and update the customers account and record. Amazon uses TPS (Transaction Processing Systems) in the process of the transaction done, as in once picking up the number of items needed the website calculates the total amount. It can also be seen in the preparation of invoices. DSS (Decision Support System) in Amazon can be seen in how Amazon presents its customers with the chance to choose items from a best selling list added to the home page. It is also implemented in a service provided by the website called â€Å"Look inside the book†. Customers are left with the choice to make a decision in buying a specific book or not by taking a look at random pages of the content of the book. It can also be seen in the typ e of shipment that is considered appropriate for the customer. ESS (Executive support system) is seen in the executives handling of queries and answering questions of customers. Amazon uses its own customized database called Amazon S3 (Amazon Simple Storage Service). It is predicted that with time, this system will take the place of Oracle databases because it is simple and less expensive. On the other hand, eBay uses Business 2 Business (B2B) information system. eBay works through a person 2 person process. Customers can search for items via eBay and then directly contact the seller by negotiating the price with other buyers. B2B can be seen through the way processes are made. Customers are in direct contact with buyers and the transaction and money transfer occurs through PayPal, which is an individual website by itself-though it is fully owned by eBay-. eBay has a massive oracle database that includes over 200 million registered users, two petabytes of data, ECRM: Amazon takes the privacy of its customers very seriously. It is true that it keeps a profile about its customers according to what they buy and what items they are interested in, but it does not sell information about its customers to other companies. It also verifies the price of the item ordered to ensure items are not mispriced. This is done to ensure the satisfaction of the customers. Amazon manages knowledge through allowing customers to be able to see pages of the books desired for purchase. On the other hand, customers cannot review a whole book nor can they print the pages. Customers are only allowed to review pictures of the reviewed pages and not the actual page. This method has been used by Amazon to prevent violation of copyrights as well as manage knowledge. E-CRM (E-Customer Relationship Management) can be easily seen on Amazon.coms webpage. Amazon uses E-CRM by suggesting items to the customers based on previous purchases. As an example, previously I have bought the Kindle reading device through Amazon.com. This picture shows recommended items other customers with similar purchases have bought. The second part also shows books that I might be interested in. Amazon.com. 2010. Todays Recommendations For You. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/yourstore?ie=UTF8ref_=pd_irl_gwsignIn=1. [Accessed 05 May 10]. Amazon has also provided its customers with special features. They are: Products and pricing information retrieval. Customer reviews. Wish lists retrieval. Performing simple and advanced searches. Updating Shopping carts. eBays reputation of being the biggest online auction house in the world has attracted hackers and fraudsters who find it easier to access illegal information about customers and their accounts. This led criminals to sell fraud and sell knock-off and fake items. eBay works hard on detecting fraud activities on its website and considers this as its core activity of its business in order to provide its customers with safety and security. eBay uses whois domain in order to provide its customers with the highest security system. wikipedia. 2010. WHOIS. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whois. [Accessed 23 May 10] eBay uses whois to fight scam and phishing issues because of an epidemic scam that occurred few years back. The scammers used phishing emails that seemed to come from a trustworthy companies asking for customers financial information. With whois system, eBay was able to detect thousands of phishing attacks (1125 in 2005). Management challenges: Amazon has a competitive edge that shows its concern with its customers. This can be seen through making the shopping experience fun and easy for Amazons customers. Most of the online shopping standards were innovated by Amazon. One of the most obvious examples is the 1 click system, which allows returning customers to shop using one click instead of being forced to re-enter their information and payment method. Amazon.com has thought of a very intelligent idea to increase sales on the website. This has been done through inventing Kindle. Customers can purchase books for their kindle only through the website, and this can increase the sales of books sold on Amazon.com. eBay has a famous issue with â€Å"glitches† on its website. Many customers have been complaining about this issue for years. In 2009, the website had a whole day glitch and sellers suffered from losses. What these glitches do is that they disable search for items for a period of time. At some point, a glitch was responsible to delete an 11 years old account of a reliable user. Dan Goodin. 2007. The Register. [online] Available at: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/12ebay_glitches/. [Accessed May 25th 10] Online/offline communication: It seems that Amazon.com takes it customers needs and satisfaction very seriously. Amazon controls all operations between customers and vendors. Customers order the required products through Amazon, while Amazon contacts the specific vendor for the product, the customer does not have a direct connection with the vendor. This type of communication is an online communication, because the customers whole transaction occurs through Amazon.com. Customers are not transferred to the vendors homepage. The transaction does not occur through the vendors homepage as well. The whole process is done fully via Amazon.com, even the final payments and delivery systems. Even though shipments are done through vendors, Amazon.com has given instructions that all packaging happens in a specific way. Hence, the Amazon.com packages and boxes. Shipments can also be tracked through Amazon instead of communicating with the vendor directly. This proves that Amazon.com uses in online communication service with its customers, because it controls all the transaction starting from giving the customer choices for a product and ending with the products delivery, exchange and refunding. eBay works as a broker between sellers and buyers. Buyers and bidders can place their orders via eBay. Sellers ship items to the highest bidder, which means that eBay does not control the process of shipment or money transaction. Money is transferred directly to the seller through PayPal. This means that eBay is not involved in the process, because sellers control the process starting from deciding the price of the product and ending with the shipping of the product. Knowledge Management: There are two types of knowledge management, the usual knowledge management and Customers knowledge management. Amazon uses Customers knowledge management, because it is more efficient and innovative. Managers in Amazon.com are aware of the fact that customers are more knowledgeable than the company can realize. Knowledge is a key to competitiveness. Knowledge is managed through Amazon by motivating customers to share their knowledge by providing products reviews, customers order histories, suggestions based on customers prior orders. Amazon allows knowledge to be exchanged through its customers rather than keeping it within the company. The knowledge does not get lost this way because the more customers the company has, the more knowledge it gains. eBay manages knowledge through providing managers with the playbook concept and providing eBay customers with Whois. Playbook concept is about knowing the steps needed for success. It allows managers to take the necessary steps that would allow eBay to grow as fast as the managers want. Playbook works in setting the suitable conditions of electronic trading in order to allow certain areas to flourish and grow. Playbook consists of hundreds of web pages that include information that are considered to be a collective of wisdom for all eBay managers worldwide. It consists of updated topics about online marketing and management categories. eBay has also provided its customers with free available Whois data base so they can check the legitimacy of websites that are forwarded to them that may be part of a phishing scam. This database provides them with information about websites, if the information is incorrect, then it means that this website is part of a phishing scam. This comes under both eCRM and knowledge management, because it is a service presented to the customers that allow them to identify scammers while at the same time it provides them with the knowledge about which website is secure and which website is a fraud. References: Junnarkar, Sandeep, (2010) eBay taps business-to-business boom, [Online] Available: http://news.cnet.com/2100-1017-238000.html [March 15th 2010] Keith Regan. 2003. ecommerce times. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.technewsworld.com/story/20603.html?wlc=1275082118. [Accessed 29 January 03] Schoenfeld, E, 2005. The World According to Ebay. Enterprise Information System, [online]. 13, 2-4. Available at: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2005/01/01/8250238/index.htm [accessed 17th May 2010] wikipedia. 2010. WHOIS. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whois. [Accessed 23 May 10] Dan Goodin. 2007. The Register. [online] Available at: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/12ebay_glitches/. [Accessed May 25th 10] Gosnell, Denise. (2005) Professional Web APIs: Google ®, eBay ®, Amazon.com ®, MapPoint ®, FedEx ®, Indianapolis, Indiana:Wiley publication, inc. Shanahan, Francis. (2007) Amazon.com ® Mashups, Indianapolis, Indiana: Wiley Publication, inc.

The Negative Impact of Narcotic Regulations on Long Term Care Patients

A family sits by their loved one in the last hours of his life, supporting him in his time of need. He has resided in a long-term care facility for the past two years. As his organs slowly shut down, his body succumbs to immense pain. He is sweaty, his brow is furrowed, and each time he is touched to be cared for he moans. The morphine doses prescribed to handle his pain are no longer effective. In order to provide this patient with the best care possible, his nurse tries to contact the physician. It is the weekend and the nurse is only able to page the on-call doctor. She anxiously awaits a return phone call, while explaining this situation to his distressed family. The pain appears to be increasing. Twenty minutes later the physician calls her, and issues orders to increase the morphine doses. The nurse then contacts the pharmacy answering service and waits for the on-call pharmacist to return a call. In twenty more minutes the on-call pharmacist responds and informs the nurse that he needs to directly speak with the physician before she can legally give the medication and that he will contact her after this has occurred. In the interim, the patient dies in immense pain and the family is distraught that his last hour was spent in agony. This situation is playing out time and time again in long-term care facilities all over the United States as a result of regulation DEA-337N that was reinterpreted by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in January, 2010. The regulation states that a nurse has to be an agent of the prescribing physician to call in a narcotics prescription to a pharmacy (U.S. Department of Justice, 2010). In theory, this new regulation makes sense to prevent illegal acquisition of narcotics, but it is potential... ...dents, DEA-337N requires immediate revision. Patients in the long-term care setting can experience inordinate amounts of pain while waiting for physicians to arrange the dispensing of narcotic medications necessary for pain control. References United States Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration. (2010). Title 21 code of federal regulations Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/cfr/index.html Nursing's social policy statement. (2010). Sliver Spring, MD: American Nursing Association. Guido, G. (2010). Legal and ethical issues in nursing. Upper Sadle River, NJ: Pearson. Yukari, T, Noriko, M., & Okamoto, Y. (2010). Literature review of pain prevalence among older residents of nursing homes. Pain Management Nursing, 4(11), Retrieved from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/734065

Decision Making in DHL

Introduction: DHL commits its expertise in international express, air and ocean freight, road and rail transportation, contract logistics and international mail services to its customers. A global network composed of more than 220 countries and territories and about 275,000 employees worldwide offers customers superior service quality and local knowledge to satisfy their supply chain requirements. DHL accepts its social responsibility by supporting climate protection, disaster management and education. DHL is part of  Deutsche Post  DHL.The Group generated revenue of more than 53 billion euros in 2011. I will be discussing DHL from many aspects such as decision making and its effect on the organizational performance from the perspective of Cyert & March and compare it to Bursson theory. Also I will cover Zimmermen theory about rules and apply it to DHL case study. Finally I will examine the macro environment of DHL organization. Body: DHL was the global market leader in internati onal express shipping, overland transport, and air freight, as well as ocean freight and contract logistics.As of April 2011, its network covered more than 220 countries and territories worldwide in 120,000 destinations. It had many awards to its credit (Refer to Exhibit I for the details of awards won by DHL). According to Ken Allen, CEO, Express Division, DHL, â€Å"The express sector is one of the major drivers of global trade and we are excellently positioned to capitalize on this through our services which meet our customers’ domestic and international transport requirements, anywhere around the world. † Formal organization has its own specific function or functions.A university for example has the main function of promoting education. But it also promotes artistic, literary, athletic and other interests of the members. The principal function of the church is religion but it also promotes charitable, ethical, athelitic, recreational, educational and other activiti es. Thus the formal organization may have its latent as well as manifest functions. The formal organization has its own norms or rules of social behavior. Certain conducts are appropriate in certain organization. Formal organization lays down procedure to be followed by the members.Members of an organization have different statuses. Statuses imply division of labor. The division of labor is characterized of all organizations and in a sense; organization is synonymous with the division of labor. Organized actions in a formal organization are possible because of division of labor. Bureaucracy refers to the administrative aspect of the formal organization. It refers to the arrangement of the organization designed to carry out its day to day business. It is represented by a hierarchy of officials who are assigned different responsibilities and provided with different statuses and roles.The formal organization is based on rationality. The rationality of formal organizations has two sourc es- the predominance of rules that have been devised to help achieve definite results and the systematic reliance on knowledge in the operation of the organization. The formal organizations are relatively permanent. Some organizations last for longer time while others perish within a short period of time. According to Zimmerman he illustrates the inadequacy of the rational decision making approach.He shows that members of an organization are far from adhering to the rules and procedures that should inform their decision making; they instead use & understand these rules in everyday work in creative & adaptive ways. He wants to understand how organizational members actually make sense of & understand what these rules mean in practice. Studies assumes and accept the existence of clear rational , objective rules of decision making but are contrasted with actual practice. Zimmerman objects this view; he offers how these rules become alive: how formal plans are used by members to deal wit h every day work activities.He analyses how employees’ use of formal rules is determined by their attempts to achieve their view of their priorities. Activities of bureaucratic actors in a public assistance organization will be examined. To Zimmerman, following rigid or complex procedures impedes effective action. The analysis is concerned with the judgmental work of receptionists in assigning applicants to intake case-workers. This study investigates the variety of practices, operational meaning and situational relevance of policies and procedures for everyday organizational activities.Rules, policies, formal planning Researchers argue that rules and policies are to some degree abstract and general, and should not be treated as idealizations. Rules cannot completely reflect the changing organizational situations. Informal rules and policies usually develop, where personnel modify and redefine the rules in light of operating conditions. The formal plan of the organization is used and interpreted by personnel in a way that best suits their everyday work activities. Usually, procedures and rules are designed to ensure efficient achievement of formally defined goals.However, it is not always practical to strictly follow the rules, because of the ever-changing output of the many interactions of individuals. People use and understand the rules in everyday work in creative and adaptive ways. The chapter wanted to understand how organizational members actually make sense of and understand what the rules mean in practice. Receptionists made sense of the rules in subtle ways, and made decisions about when and how to use them in light of their experience and knowledge of applicants and situations.The problem is then how the formal plan of an organization could be used by its members to deal with everyday work activities and of what are the features that members use to recognize and interpret. Instruct others, about the operational intent & behavioral implications of such a plan. The sense of routine provides employees with: * A way to recognize the exceptional character of a given event. * The good grounds for suspending or otherwise modifying the rule as normally applied Suspension or bending a rule is considered a reasonable solution to minor dilemma.The use of formally prescribed procedure, viewed from the notion of their competent use becomes. * Not a matter of compliance or deviance (behavior) * But a judgmental work providing for the reasonableness of viewing particular action as essentially satisfying the provision of the rule Rules are not hard and fast social facts but are the result of continual interpretation and negotiation which produces an – ever shifting framework to be taken. Rules may be negotiated and changed and new rules also stand over and above organizational actors informing and shaping the emotional life of an organization.Rules are resources for action, but because contexts vary, they do not determine perform ance of individuals or their organization. Industry observers felt that like any other successful company, DHL’s success could be attributed to some of the basic strategies it had adopted: knowing the customers and solving their problems, expanding the business, and creating a win-win situation for all stakeholders. According to company officials, the opening of the new European hub at Leipzig/Halle in 2008 was an example of adhering to that old formula.While deciding on the location of this hub, not only did the DHL authorities focus on optimally locating its facilities, but they also planned for the company’s long-term future. DHL was also faced with having to train large numbers of new personnel. In three years’ time, 2,000 employees were qualified for their respective tasks at the hub. DHL estimated 2,000 employees were working at the hub in September 2008. Their number is expected to rise to approximately 3,500 by 2012. Nearly 90% of the newly employed work ers come from the region around the airport.Two-thirds of them were previously unemployed. Some 7,000 more jobs will likely be created in the surrounding area, bringing the total number of direct and indirect new jobs around the Leipzig/Halle hub to approximately 10,000. In addition, DHL is training young people in the various logistics and IT professions at the airfreight hub. With all the mentioned above DHL is a company who follows and respect the rules and that to succeeds and maintain success. With all the complexity in DHL as a formal organization, decision making can't be that easy as well.The political perspective is clearly identified by Cyert, March ; Miller , where they identified theories of decision making that are concerned with politics (Coalition aspect) ; processes (Problemistic search) where an activity is only initiated by an immediate problem rather than an orderly systematic process of search and analysis. ( as for Pettigrew). Here, Pettigrew view organizations and decision making as a political arena in which:; Political behavior follows the unequal distribution of resources ; the creation of specialized loyalties and perspectives thru organizational differentiation.Organizational units with different or conflicting interest, loyalties and mindsets struggle for advantage with obvious implications for the nature and outcome of decision making. Political activity is central to organizational structures and processes: divisions of interest result from the hierarchical nature of power. Power relations ; politics originate in the structure ; processes of the organization. Structures create specialism's which develop loyalties which in turn breeds politics. The heart of conflict, politics & co-operation is Power.Cyert and March propose two major organizing devices: a set of variable concepts and a set of relational concepts. They claim that Theory performs two major functions: * it is an exhaustive set of general concepts. * it has a set of rel ational concepts The exhaustive set of general concepts, the process of decision making can be analyzing in term of variables that effect organization goals, expectations and the variables that effect organizational choice. Organization goals: A theory of organizational goals considers how goals arise in an organization, how goals change over time, and how the organization attends to these goals.There are two sets of variables affecting the goals of an organization. As the international express business had been growing steadily over the previous few years and assuming that it would continue to expand in the future as well, the Leipzig/Halle site had developed the potential to become a crucial junction for the express and logistics specialists. At the same time, DHL considered an additional starting and landing capacity in Central Europe to be necessary, as the company’s existing European hub in Brussels had reached its threshold limit.The organization visions of labor becaus e individuals have limited capacities, and limited time, to devote to any particular aspect of the organizational system, such limitations constrain the bargaining process. As an adaptive response, coalition members are motivated to develop mutual control systems, such as the budget and the allocation of tasks by the division of labor and specialization. Set variables influence the aspiration-level on any particular goal dimension. There are three variables; the organization past goal, the organizations past performance, the past performance of other ‘comparable’ organization.Organization expectations: Expectations are seen as the result of drawing inferences from available information. Expectations are by no means independent of hopes, wishes, and the internal bargaining needs of subunits in the organization. Therefore a good theory for the organizational expectations should consider variables that affect either the process of drawing inferences or the process by which information is made available to the organization. Organization choice: A theory of organizational choice needs to characterize the process by which the alternatives available to the organization are ordered and selected.Organizational decisions depend on information estimates and expectations that ordinarily differ appreciably from reality. Choice takes place in response or influence. DHL considered an additional starting and landing capacity in Central Europe to be necessary, as the company’s existing European hub in Brussels had reached its threshold limit. Theory as set relational concepts, there are four fundamental concept to understanding of the decision-making process in a modern, large-scale business organization.The quasi resolution of conflict; uncertainty avoidance; problematic search and organizational learning. After we went through decision making, I'll analyze DHL with PEST analysis to understand its macro environment. PEST analysis  stands for â€Å"Polit ical,  Economic,  Social, and  Technological analysis† and describes a framework of macro-environmental factors used in the  environmental scanning component of  strategic management. Political  factors are how and to what degree a  government  intervenes in the economy.Specifically, political factors include areas such as  tax policy,  labor law,  environmental law,  trade restrictions,  tariffs, and political stability. Political factors may also include goods and services which the government wants to provide or be provided (merit goods) and those that the government does not want to be provided (demerit goods  or merit bads). Furthermore, governments have great influence on the  health,  education, and infrastructure  of a nation. In Leipzig/Halle, courier and express services are of vital importance to the efficiency and growth of the Leipzig/Halle economy.With Leipzig/Halle geographical position which is away from the centre of continent al Europe, fast and effective delivery services are essential for Leipzig/Halle businesses involved in international trade. Economic  factors include  economic growth,  interest rates,  exchange rates  and the  inflation rate. These factors have major impacts on how businesses operate and make decisions. For example, interest rates affect a firm's  cost of capital  and therefore to what extent a business grows and expands. Exchange rates affect the costs of exporting goods and the supply and price of imported goods in an economy.Advances in technology and the increasing use of e-commerce, combined with the courier and express sector's commitment to investing in IT, and have cushioned the industry from the worst effects of the recent global slowdown. Social  factors include the cultural aspects and include health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes and emphasis on safety. Trends in social factors affect the demand for a company' s products and how that company operates. For example, an aging population may imply a smaller and less-willing workforce (thus increasing the cost of labor).Furthermore, companies may change various management strategies to adapt to these social trends. In DHL a raft of government measures to tackle environmental pollution and congestion have increased costs for the, largely road-based, express logistics sector. Technological  factors include technological aspects such as  R&D  activity,  automation, technology incentives and the rate of  technological change. They can determine barriers to entry, minimum efficient production level and influence  outsourcing  decisions. Furthermore, technological shifts can affect costs, quality, and lead to  innovation.DHL used satellite-based navigation systems. The company planned to improve the system by including and analyzing more information concerning terms of traffic, traffic lights, and construction sites. Conclusion We co nclude that DHL can't operate without rules, it should consider and fear competition as it should take its decisions rationally without complexity. That by applying the above theories and understand them very well as an organization. I will be summering chapter 6 The Irrationality of Action and Action Rationality of: Decisions, Ideologies and Organizations.A decision is a choice between at least 2 alternatives. Decision making was explained by economists, political researchers as well as, psychologists and sociologists. Some individuals decide and others carry out the decisions. Researchers elaborated in the direction of rationality while other evidence shows that the process does not comply with rationality specially in strategic major issues. People are not clever enough to behave rationally. Therefore decision makers should be carefully selected. Irrationality is inherited in human beings which cannot be changed by training.Decision makers don’t have enough information on the many variables involved. Therefore, information systems may help to improve the process beside caring about objectives and alternative comparison. An action perspective to explain the process is more acceptable. Since leaders don’t only take decisions but also act and induce others to act on them. Since managers act while making decisions rationality of decisions take in consideration practical internal and external norms. Irrationality as a base of organizational actions 1. Searching for alternatives. 2. Estimating Consequences 3. Evaluating Alternatives . Choosing 5. Making Rational Use of Irrationality Rational decisions create irrational procedures from an action point of view. They should be avoided in order for an action to be taken. References: * Salaman, G. (2002) Decision Making for Business, London, The Open University/The Alden Press, Oxford. * Salaman, G. (2001) Business Behaviour in a Changing World: Module One Study Guide, London, The Open University. * http ://www. dhl. com. kw/en/about_us. html * http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/PEST_analysis * http://www. sociologyguide. com/organization-and-individual/formal-organizations. php

Worlds Columbian Exposition (1893) Essays - Free Essays

World's Columbian Exposition (1893) Essays - Free Essays World's Columbian Exposition (1893) Famed journalist Richard Harding Davis described the World?s Columbian Exposition as ?the greatest event in the history of the country since the Civil War. (Larson 5) This is quite a claim, as America had experienced several great events between the 1865 and 1893, including the creation of a railroad stretching from coast to coast in 1869 and the defeat of General Custer at The Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876 (Students for Students). Nevertheless, Davis?s claim is quite apt. The World?s Columbian Exposition (also known as the 1893 World?s Fair) (Larson 4) had a profound effect on Chicago, America and history. The World?s Fair was significant, first because of its size and ingenuity. According to writer Erik Larson, the fair extended over an area larger than one square mile (Larson 5). America?s goal in creating the fair was to compete with France, which had impressed the world with its own exposition that some said nothing greater could ever be produced. This was important, because America was not yet a great power in the world and was competing against the greater European counrtries to make a name for itself during the Gilded Age. France?s exposition had brought about the still-famous Eiffel Tower and America had given Chicago the daunting task of creating something more impressive. The fact that Chicago, in just a short amount of time, was able to create wonders that ?eclipsed? the Eiffel tower and that managed to bring almost half of America?s population into one city is impressive in and of itself. The fact that the fair?s creators transported customs, wonders and even citizens of a number of far away countries makes it even more impressive. Out of the fair came such marvelous and lasting things as the Ferris wheel, Juicy Fruit gum, moving pictures, pancake mix, and an automatic dishwasher. (Larson 247-258). Yet, these things are only part of what permanently fixed the World?s Fair in the minds and memories of Americans. Perhaps even more impressive than the wonders of the 1893 World?s Fair was that so many people of so many backgrounds managed to work together to create something on such a massive scale in so little time. Working against the clock and obstacles ranging from personal disagreements to natural challenges, a team of the city?s best architects, landscapers, artists, businessmen, news figures and planners all managed to work together to create something that Larson says none of them could have imagined on their own. Furthermore, says Larson, the fair brought together some of the finest minds in the country for the first time: Among the attendees of the fair were the following: Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Jane Addams, Clarence Darrow, George Westinghouse, Thomas Edison, Henry Adams, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, Nikola Telsa, Ignace Paderewski, Philip Armour and Marshall Field. The fact that the World?s Fair brought together the best of the country?s intellects, the most ingenious works of architecture the country had ever seen, the most novel foods (including Crackerjack and Shredded Wheat) and inventions alone make it memorable. But these things constitute only the bright side of the event. The darker events may be what truly stand out in American memory and may give more credence to Harding?s claim. Certainly, they would have been important to Harding as a journalist, and they would fuel news stories for years. Among these darker events was the assassination of Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison. (Larson 330) This, according to Larson ?transformed the closing ceremony from what was to have been the century?s greatest celebration into a vast funeral.? (Larson 5) Yet, perhaps more chilling and more memorable than Carter?s assassination, were the other acts of horror that haunted the fair.

Business Writing Skills The WritePass Journal

Business Writing Skills Introduction Business Writing Skills Sally and Richard Williams, The Oaks, Dubrington. Dear Mr. Mrs. Williams, Re: Your Purchase With respect to the previous correspondence on the above matter, we have in-closed copies of all the documents that relate to your purchase for your kind consideration. This is in fulfilment of the requirement of section 1(4) of the Property Act law. The law expects seller’s solicitors to supply you with the stated documents in order for the purchase to be completed effectively. This property is registered at the Land Registry with an absolute freehold title. Nevertheless, there is a small area of land coloured red. The Gas Board has a right to laying a gas pipe across the land within the area coloured red. Because of this right, you are advised not to erect any permanent structures on this property since this right is not time bound. This means that the Gas Board can access that area unconditionally and are not liable of any destruction of property that may result due to their operations. Of course, the board would have to make good any damage or losses caused thereby. However, to be on the safe side, it has been deemed necessary that you are informed of this issue. In case you don’t understand the information presented in these documents, please contact us as soon as possible for clarification.   More information concerning the above communication will be availed as soon as the surveys and searches are availed to us from the land registry. Warm regards, Josephine Brown Vice President of Myton Co Solicitors 555-333-4321 [emailprotected] References Guffey, M. 2003, Business Communication: Process Product. New York, NY: Cengage Learning. Means, T. 2009, Business Communications, New York, NY: Cengage Learning. Ober, S., 2007, Contemporary Business Communication. New York, NY: Cengage Learning.

Imrerial Russia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Imrerial Russia - Essay Example Caucasus was composed of areas such as Bashkirstan, Tartarstan, Central Asia as well as Siberia. A considerable proportion of the population within the Empire belonged to the peasant group which accounted for about 81.6 percent of the total population within the Empire. The other category was composed as follows; Clergy which accounted for 0.9 percent, nobility, accounted for about 1.3 percent, merchants and burghers all of whom accounted for approximately 9.3 percent of the total population within the Empire. The military on the other hand accounted for about 6.1 percent. According to Resnick and Richard (76) it is estimated that more than 88 million individuals were peasants during this time. Of this group, approximately 10,447,149 were males all of whom were formally serfs while the remaining group was the state peasants. Statistics further indicate that this group was about 9,941,891 males and the type of peasants domain accounted for about 842,740 according to the Empire statistics of the year 1858. One of the major changes that the Russian society underwent in the year 1861 was the famous emancipation of the serfs. It is imperative to note that the problem of serfdom was spread throughout the entire Empire. By mid 19th century, it had become apparent for the rulers within this Empire that this problem could not be ignored in the event that Russia wanted to be modernized and reformed as argued by Resnick and Richard (153). In this regard, the issue of the serfs being freed took center stage throughout the entire Empire. Hence, against this backdrop, serfdom was abolished by Tsar Alexander II during this year. Evidence from literature indicates that Czar Alexander actually managed to emancipate about 44 million peasants from the state oppression. Perhaps this can be attributed to the fact that the said Czar knew very well that the only way for Russia to the rest of the world was indeed ready for modernization and was through the abolishment of such a system of oppression. Though the move was noble, it caused several problems within the Empire. This was further aggravated by the fact that majority of the freed peasants were uneducated. One of these problems was that the land provided to this group was actually quite small in comparison to what they had been allocated as plots when they were serfs to the Empire. In a nutshell, each plot averaged about 8 acres which was a far cry of what was being offered to them after their indictment. Other than ensuring that the serfs were emancipated in mainland Russia, Czar Alexander was also concerned with this problem in Georgia. The process of liberating the serf in Georgia called for delicate negotiations to ensure that he did not loose the much earned nobility loyalty and whose leadership power greatly depended on the readily available labor from the serfs . The other challenge which the Czar was faced with was finding a workable solution that would be agreeable to the land-owners within the Empire. However, fr om the evidence provided above, it is justifiable to state that he failed in this issue of land ownership. Although he eventually succeeded in liberating serfs in Georgia as well, his inability to solve the land problem brought more harm than good. Most notably, he brought them under the colonization of their landlords since most of them still had to work for

Coney Island Hospital Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Coney Island Hospital - Essay Example Coney Island Hospital prides itself in its ability to take an active role in building a healthier Southern Brooklyn. In so doing, the hospital makes a cognizant effort to reach out the ethnically diverse community it is an integral part of. This is done through the utility of innovative approaches. The Community Wellness 2000 initiative represents one of the many community-based coalitions utilizing a proactive healthcare method. In so doing, it imparts a strong philosophy of health maintenance and sickness prevention as a means of improving the health and well-being of the individuals within the community of Southern Brooklyn. The fundamental goal of initiatives such as the Community Wellness 2000 initiative is the provision of preventive and integrated healthcare services (New York City Department of Health, 2006). One of the fundamental strengths of Coney Island Hospital is its ability to provide superior clinical services to its culturally and ethnically diverse constituents. In its advertisement, the hospital emphasizes its excellent departments and specialty areas. These areas include Adolescent Medicine, Urology, Cardiology and Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. Additionally, Coney Island Hospital prides itself in the fact that it has worked arduously to expand its Women's Health services to include a multi-disciplinary Osteoporosis Program which is built around the concept of preventative medicine. Another area of improvement within the hospital is the improved level of services provided by the Breast Health Center. Through its utility of state of the art technology, the hospital has strategically positioned itself as one of the leading facilities for breast disease detection and management (New York State Department of Health, 2006). One of the most distinguishing features of Coney Island Hospital is its recently-formed community-based alliance with practitioner within the private sector. This alliance as embodied in the "Partners In Private Practice" program has experienced phenomenal growth and in a relatively short period of time, it has grown to include six medical offices that provide both primary care and specialty services. These offices are truly a part of the ethnic and cultural diversity Coney Island Hospital caters to in that the offices are specifically designed to serve the Russian, Pakistani and Chinese communities (New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, 2006). The specialty services offered by Coney Island Hospital serve as the main distinguishing features. Its specialty services include Adolescent Medicine, Adult Primary Care, Ambulatory Services, Breast Health Center, Cardio-Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center and multicultural services. The Adolescent Medicine Program proves dedicated services to young people between the ages of 12 and 21. The services offered to the young people serviced by this program includes preventive and curative services for sexually transmitted diseases, substance abuse, weight/nutritional management, scoliosis as well as vision, hearing and psychological assessments and social services. The ambulatory surgery department of Coney Island Hospital is one of the highest rated in the tri-state area. It boasts modernized pre-test and registration areas as well as a state