Law case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Law case study - Essay Example Once offer and acceptance are found to exist, the courts will then look to determine whether or not there is consideration. Consideration was defined by Lush LJ in the following terms: While Daniel offered to sell his guitar to Marina for the sum of 500 pounds, Marina did not accept the offer outright. Her offer was no more than a conditional acceptance, in that she would purchase the guitar if she could raise the sum offered. It is commonly felt that in order for the acceptance of an order to be legally binding it must follow the essential substance of the offer made.4 By saying what she could only purchase the guitar if she could raise the funds, Marina was no accepting the offer but merely indicating that she would if and when she had the necessary consideration. Therefore the offer and acceptance would not have been completed until such time as Marina communicated to Daniel a firm intention to purchase the guitar. Since this never happened there was no binding agreement between them. The fact that Daniel sold the guitar to a third party on Wednesday despite having promised Marina that he would not sell the guitar before Friday is of no consequence. There is nothing preventing Daniel withdrawing his offer at anytime before the prescribed period which was stated to Friday. Either party is at liberty to change their minds before the agreement is complete.5 In any event, Marina has a more onerous task establishing that the offer and acceptance goes beyond a mere gratuitous exchange of promises. These kinds of promises, in the absence of an executed deed of contract and/or consideration will not be enforced by the courts. In order to substantiate an effective claim against Anthea for breach of contract, Marina will have to show that there was some consideration.6 Consideration is defined by Patterson J as: Since Marina did not suffer a detriment pursuant to the offer made and withdrawn

Successful Factors of Malmaison Hotel Chain Essay Example for Free

Successful Factors of Malmaison Hotel Chain Essay I had worked in Malmaison hotel chain for 2 years in various departments taking up different roles, and over the two years, Malmaison hotel chain as an organization has demonstrated potential future market leader quality and showed excellent growth rate, good profitability and increased market share. However, the hospitality industry as a whole, over the past a few years has been far from as optimistic as the Malmaison hotel chain has been. In the West Midlands, for example, it has been common for bars, restaurants, hotels to changed ownership, merged, be acquired, or go bankrupt. Indeed, bars and restaurants are three times more likely to go bankrupt than other businesses in the UK, according to Accountants UHY Hacker Young (2007), Their report revealed that 15. 5% of businesses in the UK hospitality and catering sector (restaurants, pubs, and hotels) fail every year in comparison with just 5. 2 % for the economy as a whole. UHY Hacker Young (2007) had investigated over 150,000 businesses that had failed in the past one year, and found out lots of anecdotal warnings about the high failure rate of restaurants in the first year to be true. In the hospitality industry the owners and managers were struggling with raising second round financing; market research and financial planning were not completed in a proper fashion; loyal customer base that protects against fast changing consumer tastes in bars and restaurants was not developed entirely, all of these have contributed to the high failure rate in the UK hospitality industry businesses. In such an economic and market environment, why Malmaison hotel chain has been a success becomes an interesting subject to study. Malmaison hotel chain was founded in 1994 along with its sister hotel chain Hotel du vin which is also owned by the same company MWB, there are 21 chain hotels that are under the same ownership and there are 3 more hotels which are just opened by the end the 2007 and a further 4 more Malmaison hotels are due to open by the end of 2008. The company is also in negotiation for another 7 sites. Malmaison hotel chain is recognised as the UKs leading lifestyle hotel group that is top of the brands in a recent survey. According to Caterer ; Hotelkeeper (2008), the survey of 2000 business and leisure travellers by BDRC, revealed that 53% of all travellers said they preferred to go to Malmaison as their first choice, 46% chose Hilton and 40% chose Marriott. Malmaison has over 1,500 bedrooms across the UK. The gross value of these hotel property assets in the Groups latest published accounts to 30th June 2007 was ? 553 million, not to mention the reputation which has gained the group a valuable brand image that worth millions. Over the years the group has won a number of awards, such as best hotel groups in the UK, also it won the best place to work for in the hospitality industry 5 years in a row. It is believed that a key reason for Malmaison hotel chain’s success lies in its efficient and developed human resource management system, productivity and performance measurement and monitoring system, market research team work, strategic management, adaptability to changes and its financial control. These will be investigated and discussed in detail later in the research. . 0 Aim The aim of this research project is to explore what has Malmaison hotel chain done to accomplish such a success while operating in the current UK economic and market environment. 3. 0Project Objectives ?To review the current teaching and practice regarding human resource management, marketing management, financial management, and operational management in relation to the hospitality industry. ?To analyze the management fashion and operation processes of Malmaison and their impact on the performance and productivity of Malmaison. To make recommendations to the management team of Malmaison Hotel Chain to increase the efficiency, effectiveness and the performance of the organization. 4. 0 Literature Review 4. 1 Introduction There are obviously a large number of factors, ultimately all contributing to the success of Malmaison, however, in this research, a limited range of key issues will be addressed which are believed to be the most significant contributing factors behind for Malmaison’s success. The literature review research was supported by electronic resources and library research. There has not been much work been done on the reasons for the success or failure of the UK hospitality industry, and there is even far less attention being paid to hotels. Both strategic marketing management and human resource management are broad concepts, it is therefore, necessary to focus upon a few critical issues within these subjects that have particularly been focused upon in the operation and management of the Malmaison group. 4. 2 Job Satisfaction Job satisfaction is a critical factor that contributes to better performance, Professor Stephen Robbins’ study shows that happy workers are more likely to be productive workers. As a result, the correlation between job satisfaction and job performance is also rather strong (Robbins, 2007). However, George and Jones (2008, p93) pointed out: â€Å"job satisfaction is not meaningfully associated with job performance†. A study that was conducted by Iaffaldano and Muchinsky (1985) in the 1980s in this area concluded that job satisfaction only accounted for 2 percent of the difference in performance levels across employees. Another more recent review indicated a very similar result that job satisfaction only accounted for 3 percent of the difference in performance level across employees. (Judge, Thoresen, et al. , 2001) George and Jones (2008) also mentioned that work attitudes such as job satisfaction affect work behaviours only when employees are free to vary their behaviours. The study suggested that most of the employees are not free to vary their behaviours at work because organizations spend a considerable amount of time and effort to ensure that members perform their assigned duties dependably regardless of whether they like their jobs or not. However, it is worth mentioning that the hospitality industry might be an exception to this rule simply because the work attitudes of the employees account for a very heavy portion of the level of the service in delivering satisfaction to customers’ needs. It will, therefore be worth carrying out further research to study the correlation between job satisfaction and job performance in this particular industry. 4. 3 Motivation, Job Design and Goal Setting Wagner Hollenbeck (2005) suggested that: â€Å"one way for an organization to gain a competitive advantage over its rivals is to generate a more motivated workforce†, â€Å"a person who is highly motivated will start work sooner and leave work later relative to someone is unmotivated. While engaged at work, a highly motivated person will work faster, take fewer breaks, and be less easily distracted relative to someone who is unmotivated†. Job design and goal setting are two of the major factors contributing towards creating motivation, George and Jones’s (2008) study suggested that: â€Å"Job design can have a profound effect on employee motivation. The specific goals employees strive for and the more general corporate objectives that an organization pursues over time are important sources of motivation for employees. † Wagner Hollenbeck (2005) pointed out that the methods of work design developed with the motivational perspective in mind include job enlargement and job enrichment. Callinan, Forshaw Peter’s (2007) studies showed that a job’s core characteristics, which are skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback are believed to be key influences on employee motivation. Goal setting is also considered to be â€Å"communicating accurate information on work performance† and these â€Å"can be positive motivators for employees. † George and Jones (2008) have similar opinions on this subject. They believe that â€Å"two major characteristics of goals that lead to high levels of motivation and performance, one is specificity, the other is difficulty†, â€Å"specific goals lead to higher performance than do vague goals or no goals†, and â€Å"difficult goals (not impossible) lead to higher motivation and performance than do easy or moderate goals. However, there are limits to goal setting theory, Thus, studies by George and Jones (2008) show that there are three particular circumstances under which setting specific, and difficult goals will not lead to high motivation and performance, they are goals which involve employees’ skills and abilities, tasks which require employees’ complete attention and a considerable amount of learning, and when creativity is needed to perform the task. In hospitality, these 3 circumstances do happen very often, this research will be carried out with heavy focus upon these circumstances and issues to review how Malmaison Hotel balance these pros and cons within their organization. 4. 4 Groups and Teams A large amount of work has been done regarding group dynamics and team effectiveness. However, there is one area that is most interesting and related to, not only Malmaison hotel chain, but to the whole hospitality industry, that is the correlation between cohesiveness and performance of groups or teams. George and Jones (2008) suggested there are five factors that influence a group’s level of cohesiveness: 1. Group size, as it gets bigger, members tend to be less satisfied, group between 3 and 15 people are believed to be the right size that promotes cohesiveness. 2. Similarity/diversity of group member, depending on the tasks and situations, similarity and diversity can be beneficial to group cohesiveness. 3. Competition between groups, generally competition will be facilitating group cohesiveness but occasionally it can be dysfunctional and impair effectiveness when there is too much competition within a group. 4. Success, members will be more attracted to a successful group and proud to be a member. 5. Exclusiveness, when it’s difficult to get in a group, and the group has a high status, group cohesiveness tends to be high. However, they also pointed out that occasionally, too much cohesiveness within a group can impair the organization’s effectiveness if the group’s goal is not aligned with the goal of the organization or other groups within that organization, for example waiting staff‘s goals of providing good service in order to get decent tips are aligned with the restaurant’s goal of satisfying customers, but not aligned with bar tending staff’ goals. 4. 5 Leadership Leadership plays an important role in a hotel organization success. Thus, Peter Jones and Steven Gross-Turner pointed out in Managing Projects in Hospitality Organizations, hotels are in a turbulent environment, and â€Å"managers are in fact in the best place to identify what changes need to be made since they are the people who have direct contacts with employees and customers† (Jones et al, 1991). 4. 6 Organizational Structure Centralizing and decentralizing organizational structures are two most used structures nowadays. A decentralized structure will decentralize authority to lower level managers and non-managerial employees, give them the responsibility to make important decisions, keep the problem of slow and distorted communication to a minimum and make the job more interesting and rewarding while, at the same time, fewer managers are needed. (Blau and Schoenher, 1971) However, too much decentralization provides employees with too much authority and they might pursue their own goals at the expense of the goal of the organization. A centralized structure generally has more levels within the organization and provides employees with more opportunities to gain promotion and progress. For the hospitality industry, where employees perform primarily physically, more opportunities clearly will be attractive for those who desire a less physically demanding position. 4. 7 Conclusion Kotler (2001) pointed out that â€Å"today’s successful organizations to a certain degree all have one thing in common, that is they are dedicated to sensing, serving and satisfying the needs of customers in well defined targeted markets†. In the hospitality industry, when service is their major product, this philosophy is obviously critically important. However, how Malmaison strategically positions itself to compete with its rivals is an even more crucial and difficult issue that the proposed research will focus on. 5. 0Methodology 5. 1 Introduction A number of approaches will be taken to collect the needed data and information in order to serve the purpose of this research project, increase the quality of the results and findings and enhance the credibility of the research project. Malmaison hotel chain has over 20 hotels throughout the UK, each individual hotel will be unique and differentiated in terms of their focus and priorities depending on their local customs and culture. However, what this research project will be concentrating on is what the common factors are for the Malmaison hotel chain as a whole that turns the organization into a success. Therefore the Birmingham Malmaison will be the subject of the investigation. Birmingham is a multi cultural city and operating in a multicultural organizational environment has been becoming a trend for organizations world wide. The researcher gained two years working experience in this hotel, and therefore it is especially worthwhile doing the research project in such an environment. (Cox, 2001) To complete this research project, three stages will be taken in order to process the project, they are desk based research, field based research and the preparation of a detailed case study. 5. 2 Desk Based Research At this stage of the investigation, a heavy focus will be upon the articles that address the hospitality industry, hotel management, hospitality strategy, as well as the paper work that states hotel policies, financial and management accounts, board of directors statements, stock control data, and general manager’s letters to all the staff. These secondary data contain enormous amounts of information that indicates the hotel’s management style and attitude and forms the fundamental policy to the customers and market. These data are absolutely the first key for this research and will provides valuable information and evidence on the reasons for the Malmaison hotel chain’s success. In addition to that, some of these data are available to the public and can be quickly and easily collected. Some of these data are not available to the public, but, as a former member of staff, I could still gain access to this information. With the information and evidence collected, the primary data collection work will be much more focused and relatively easier having the support and assistance of the secondary data collected. 5. Field Based Research A series of interviews (8-12 people) will be carried out to gain a first hand insight of the impacts which the management style of Malmaison hotel chain has on its employees, and how it affects the performance of the organization. The interviews will take place in various departments across the organization in order to gain a full understanding of the operation sy stem in the Malmaison hotel chain. Some of the board of directors, the general manager, department managers, sector supervisors, and staff that work at the front line and have direct contact with customers all will be interviewed. The total number of interviews will be between 8 to 12. This will give the evidence and information on how each department functions and what are the impacts of them on each other. One or two suppliers will also be interviewed to provide evidence on how the Malmaison hotel chain cuts deals with suppliers and how they interact with each other and how is it affects the organization financially and what impact it has on the marketing and sales strategy of the organization. However, caution must be taken while conducting these interviews. Thus, Saunders (2002) suggests that it is in the researchers’ own interest to seriously consider the reliability, forms of bias, validity and generalisability of the information obtained. Therefore, carefully prepared interview questionnaires will be used and questions which appear in the questionnaires will also be cautiously selected to gain as fair a view as possible. The framework suggested by Easterby-Smith (1991) may be adopted to make sure that the data generated from the interviews is thoroughly reviewed and evaluated. The stages in this process will include: 1. Familiarisation 2. Reflection 3. Conceptualisation 4. Cataloguing concepts 5. Recording 6. Linking 7. Re-evaluation 5. 4 Preparation of the Case Study A case study will be generated at the final stage of the research by putting together the data that is gathered from the previous stages. The case study will bring up recommendations to the management team of Malmaison hotel chain and also, there will be discussions of to what extent the findings can be generalized and to what degree the Malmaison hotel chain management structure, human resource management policies and operational systems can be copied and utilized by other organizations within, or even outside the hospitality industry. . 0 Ethical Issues While conducting the research and interviews, the financial information of Malmaison will be discussed in the interviews, its financial statement will also be used later in the dissertation to analyse and measure its performance, and such information will be kept confidential. The final report will be identified as ‘Commercial in c onfidence’ and will not be available to a wider audience than those directly involved in its assessment. 7. 0 Task List TaskProblemsSolutions Research literature on hospitality management, current hospitality industry trends analysis in the UK. Limited amount of literature in the area of topic. E- journals, business review magazines, textbooks, newspapers, internet. Review literature and identify relevant and reliable articles. Time consuming to select relevant articles. Time management. Contacting general managers in Malmaison hotel chain to gain access to information. Very difficult to get access to key information and financial report and management accounting report. Utilize my identity as former employee in the organization. Selecting different individuals to conduct interviews. Too many employees to choose fromSelect people who may represent the department and be able to give valuable information and opinion. Arranging interviews with selected staff. Difficult to fit in everyone’s schedule and it’s time consuming since the amount of time between each interview when the person is available is unpredictable. Be patient and positive. Conducting interviews. Response may not be relevant. Textbooks on how to carry out interviews. Transcribe interviews scripts. Time consuming while large amount of information gathered in interviews with limited amount of transcribe skills.

Religious Terrorism and the Media | Essay

Religious Terrorism and the Media | Essay When the term terrorism is mentioned to any individual, the term is most likely to be associated with Islamic terrorist groups such as ISIS or Al-Qaida. Although there is an assumption that religious terrorism is confined to one religion as that is what is being portrayed the most within academic readings and news media, however, the notion of that belief is false. Many religious terrorist attacks have been made throughout history on behalf of a religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism. However, due to the media presenting most terrorist attacks made by popularized terrorist groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaida, it can overshadow other religious terrorist acts that have occurred and may be assumed that religious terrorism is confined to one religion. Within society, the use of media has a major influence as it connects society with current events that happen internationally. However, with the way the media has been structured, only the most interesting news events that occur presents itself to audiences as other current events are overshadowed or set aside equally presenting itself amongst other news. In Religious conflicts in todays mass media (Iuhas, 2013) the article analyzes the media coverage of religious conflict with the intent to discover how religious conflicts are portrayed within the media. Throughout the investigation, Iuhas (2013, p.373) found that social groups have shown that they rely on the information presented by the media as it concerns their well-being within society. Knowing media is being used as a prime source for information on current events, journalists adapt news stories by using vocabulary and syntax that are influenced by several sources such as their public audience, mass culture, and the pressure o f unknown events to appeal more to audience (Iuhas, 2013, p.). By using vocabulary that is influenced by society to adhere to their needs, it manipulates the audiences perception of the events around them to adhere to the reality and truth of the events that occur (Iuhas, 2013, p.373). By contorting the truth about the conflicts that occur, it can personally affect an individuals attitude when viewing a violent news story such as terrorist propaganda. A study was conducted to measure anxiety levels amongst participants, who were religious and non-religious, while watching various forms of terrorism media footage as they were split into an experimental and a control group (Slone, 2000, p. 512). Two groups were created as to observe the difference of anxiety-levels between both groups. The experimental group was showed footage of terrorism campaigns that could inflict their well-being, while the control group also viewed terrorism media footage, but in context that did not affect thei r lives (Slone, 2000, p.513-514). Results of study concluded that anxiety-levels for participant who viewed the experimental footage and were non-religious appeared to be higher than those who viewed the control group footage as there was no differences shown in anxiety-levels (Slone, 2000, p.515-516). Concluding from the study and the media tactic of using vocabulary to appeal to audiences, with viewing media stories of terrorism that could possibly effect society and the use of contorting the reality of the current events the combination of the two distorts the individuals perception of the violent actions that occur and need to be educated about these events in order to understand the events that are occurring. Nonetheless, the relationship between the media and terrorist organizations can be seen as symbiotic as both groups can benefit from the others work. As media has the main source for terrorist organizations in modern day society, the objective to be on mass media is by gaining publicity and the legitimacy as the media brings attention to their followers and sympathizers (Wilkinson, 1997, p.52). With the use of media in terrorist organizations the connection between the two can be seen as a symbiotic relationship as both are dependent on each other as they both gain resources they need from the others actions (Wilkinson, 1997, p.52). With the known fact that terrorist organizations have a need to be on prime-time television to gain publicity and awareness to their followers and sympathizers, the media gains news coverage from this unusual relationship. The field of media coverage is a competitive market as each media station is wanting to be the first to cover any major news story (Wilkinson, 1997, p.54). With that being said, the media will respond to any terrorist propaganda as it will be automatically deemed bad news (Wilkinson, 1997, p.54-55). However, although media will cover terrorist acts when it occurs, ultimately terrorist attacks can be overshadowed by other terrorist attacks that were made by other popularized terrorist organizations that are more appealing to media stations and audiences. When relating terrorism to a certain society, some may never assume that terrorism would be seen in North America, especially in America. However, religious terrorism is relevant within the United States as it is most often known as domestic terrorism, although this particular type of terrorism it can be linked to religious ideologies as it gives the acts of terrorism a legitimacy for their actions (Sharpe, 2000, p.605). The Identity Christian movement is a form of Christianity that follows and outgrows the White supremacy philosophy as it is composed of several components that leads to the belief that the White race is superior than other minorities with their evidence found within their own creation of the origin story of how humanity was created and within the Bible (Sharpe, 2000, p.606). Organizations that adhere to the White supremacy philosophy includes neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan, in which, they target several social groups such as homosexuals, African Americans, Jews, Hisp anics, and Asians (Sharpe, 2000, p.604). Although there is evidence that religious ideologies come into conflict with domestic terrorism, government officials will not refer domestic terrorism as religious terrorism as acts of violence that target religions and ethnic minorities are considered hate crimes as opposed to terrorist attacks against the targeted groups. The Identity Christian movement consists of biblical context and theories that allow the White supremacist followers to engage in violent acts on the behalf of their religious belief that the White race will restore humanity to its former glory. Another religious terrorist group known as the Aum Shinrikyo was known to be a religious organization in Japan that based their teachings and doctrines on Buddhism and Hinduism that were also involved with violent acts such as murdering and kidnapping citizens (Metraux, 1995, p.1140). The terrorist organization had a rapid growth with having initially 10,000 members in 1987 and expanding operations in 1992 in countries such as the United States, Russia, and Sri Lanka (Metraux, 1995, p.1140). Although the religious group is seen as a cult rather than a terrorist group, the Aum Shinrikyo appealed to individuals as their religious intent was to relieve suffering and poverty within Japan but moved their intent as they grew to the need of self-awareness in a control-oriented society (Metraux, 1995, p.1141). Although the teaching of Aum Shinrikyo can be seen as helpful to members as Buddhism concepts are used in the organization, the terrorist group, however, made violent plans using the r esources they had within the group such as scientists to create a gas 5,000 times stronger that sarin gas (Metraux, 1995, p.1153). With no evidence to prove that the leaders of Aum Shinrikyo were involved in planning such violent acts, the perception to society was that Aum Shinrikyo was an authentic religious organization (Metraux, 1995, p.1154) despite the evidence of the intent to cause harm to Japan society. The conclusions the religious terrorism can be used on behalf of any religion can be seen as it has been done on by the Identity Christian movement and Aum Shinrikyo. However, analyzing tactics the media such as altering media stories to appeal more to audiences and to display a sense of safety within society, in relation to domestic terrorism within North America. The notion that the media has a position is creating the perspective that religious terrorism is confined to one religion. Bibliography Iuhas, F. (2013). Religious conflicts in todays mass media. Revista De Stiinte Politice, (37/38), 372-380. Metraux, D. A. (1995). Religious terrorism in japan: The fatal appeal of aum shinrikyo. Asian Survey, 35 (12), 1140-1154. doi:10.2307/2645835 Sharpe, T. T. (2000). The identity christian movement: Ideology of domestic terrorism. Journal of Black Studies, 30 (4), 604-623. doi:10.1177/002193470003000407 Slone, M. (2000). Responses to media coverage of terrorism. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 44 (4), 508-522. doi:10.1177/0022002700044004005 Wilkinson, P. (1997). The media and terrorism: A reassessment. Terrorism and Political Violence, 9 (2), 51-64. doi:10.1080/09546559708427402

Research Proposal for Academic Achievement and Parental Involvement Ess

Abstract Most recently there has been much heated debate regarding our children's education and the blamed responsibility to be in the hands of the educational system. However, researchers and educators generally agree that parents play an extremely important role in students' academic development. Parents have been found to actually have the advantage over peers, educators, counselors, and other professionals. This study examines the assumed relationship with a student's academic achievement and the amount of parental involvement they receive. There also seems to be an increasing trend toward higher educational expectations. High school sophomores in 1990 were more likely than sophomores in 1980 to report the expectation of receiving a bachelor's or advanced college degree. Educational attainment does appear to be increasingly important to students, parents, counselors, and teachers. These apparent trends in educational expectations and advice given by adults were consistent across races, socioeconomic strata, school type, section of the country, and student achievement levels (Rasinski et al., 1993). The purpose of this study is to merely examine the relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement. With the study of these two topics there are many various variables that help in determining the eventual out come. It is extremely difficult to form any conclusions regarding parental involvement because for the variety in conceptualization and the subjective measurement of parent involvement. Other variables obviously play important roles such as, internal locus of control (Baumrind, 1991; Trusty & Lampe, 1997), and self-esteem (Chubb & Fertman, 1992). It is generally accepte... ...reement with perceived maternal and paternal educational goals. Journal of Marriage and the Family. (43, 85-93). Smith, T. E. (1991). Agreement of adolescent educational expectations with perceived maternal and paternal educational goals. Youth & Society. (23, 155-174). Steinberg, L., Lamborn, S. D., Dornbusch, S. M., & Darling, N. (1992). Impact of parenting practices on adolescent achievement: Authoritative parenting, school involvement, and encouragement to succeed. Child Development. (63, 1266-1281). Trusty, J. (1996). Relationship of parent involvement in teens' career development to teens' attitudes, perceptions, and behavior. Journal of Research and Development in Education. (30, 317-323). Wilson, P. M., & Wilson, J. R. (1992). Environmental influences on adolescent educational aspirations. Youth & Society. (24, 52-70).

Formation of National Bank Essay

            In American history, banks are among the oldest business structure and one of the largest, oldest and important industries. The structure of the bank is in a way that is accessible to each citizen although banks and banking seems to work mysterious. The bank serves economic functions in operating a payment system although modern economy is boosted with an efficient payment system in swiping cards, atm. The establishment of the National Bank from Hamilton efforts to start fight for the needs and what would help the country to create free enterprise opportunity. The authority bill advocates the start of National Bank in American.            Alexander Hamilton is the sole proprietor of national bank. Being the secretary of treasury, Hamilton has suggested benefits the country would have from the national bank comparing it with the banks of England. He wanted a national bank to be created where the federal government could achieve their appropriate goals, keeping their money and insuring their properties. He was convinced that the tenth amendment was the appropriate mean and a proper constitution in specified albeit. On the contrary, Jefferson vehemently opposed Hamilton contributions on the matters of financial policy as the tenth amendment interpretation of the on the policies (Sylla, Wright & Cowen, 2009). Jefferson argues constitutionally that the Federal government has no authority to give any bank a go forward document. Nonetheless after the world war era Washington adopted Hamilton ideas and gave the first National bank 20 years charter in 1791 (Rhoades, 2010). Alexander Hamilton organized a move ment advocating the creation of a central bank due to financial constraint after the end war.            The bank plays an important part in entrepreneurship in to the republicans; bank has played a crucial part in storing money stock for the country. The bank makes legal tender by holding obligated reserves in exchange request. The National bank offers financial intermediation in investing money we deposit by lending it to business enterprises and households they want to credit. The world is becoming competitive and small businesses rise have done well. The banks today copies Hamilton evolution of National bank. Banks creates profit with the stockholders by charging debtors more for loans than they pay those who deposit the money. The entrepreneurial spirit is very stable and stronger today in academic recognition and entrepreneur and economic crisis (Ciobotaru, 2013). This creates opportunities for the Native American to feel free to get loan giving them the ability to start business for themselves. They offer loan with small interest, which they pay regularly.          It provides intermediate functions of the bank as it finance many generation of entrepreneurs and other business builds American economy. Moreover, the bank plays a common role in the society. It acts as the power point of all evolving enterprise in America business firms for strengthening capital regulation and official regulation agencies. In addition, private banks also serve as a monitor in provision of information with collaboration with the National bank. Conclusion            In fact, Hamilton contribution to evolution of National bank has inspired many in life. He had focused in the future and saw the need of banks to provoke the spirit of entrepreneurs in young generation. Through financing the community, banks have benefited from the interests from the debtors making it to flourish in business and country economic development. We should embrace these ideas of bank to benefit from its resources. Reference Ciobotaru, A. (2013). Entrepreneurial education as a society project. An essay on the conceptualization of the spirit of initiative and entrepreneurship in educational field. Review Of Economic Studies & Research Virgil Madgearu,  6(1), 41-76. Rhoades, S. A. (2010).  Bank mergers and banking structure in the United States, 1980-98. Diane Publishing. Sylla, R., Wright, R. E., & Cowen, D. J. (2009). Alexander Hamilton, central banker: crisis management during the US financial panic of 1792.  Business History Review,  83(01), 61-86. Source document

Fictional and Fictitious

Fictional and Fictitious Fictional and Fictitious Fictional and Fictitious By Maeve Maddox Websters Unabridged Dictionary gives the same definition for both fictional and fictitious: of, relating to, characterized by, or suggestive of fiction. Fiction, of course, is anything untrue, whether its a lie or a novel. Websters gives six definitions for fiction, among them: 1 : the act of creating something imaginary : a fabrication of the mind 2 a : an intentional fabrication : a convenient assumption that overlooks known facts in order to achieve an immediate goal b : an unfounded, invented, or deceitful statement 3 a : fictitious literature (as novels, tales, romances) b : a work of fiction; especially : NOVEL Making a distinction between fictional and fictitious, however, is both useful and customary. Fictional tends to be used in talking about fiction in the sense of creative writing: Alice in Wonderland is a fictional character created by the mathematician Charles Dodgson. Fictitious tends to carry a negative connotation and is used to denote fiction associated with dishonesty: The man used a fictitious resumà © to obtain the job. We praise Ken Follett for writing a fictional account of the building of a cathedral, but we condemn a journalist who incorporates fictitious elements in a news story. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Slang Terms for MoneyAt Your DisposalWhat Is the Meaning of "Hack?"

Gods Chosen Soldier essays

Gods Chosen Soldier essays Beowulf, is a story of a man who seems to be unrealistic to people of today. Yet the character, Beowulf still arouses the imagination of any generation from all over the world. Beowulf, is undoubtedly one of the most studied, debated over, and read epics of all times. One of the most controversial topics in the tale is the juxtaposition of Christian ethics which are found throughout the story, yet the time frame of the tale was a time that is known as mainly a pagan belief existing among the people. Upon researching different authors, one can find every possible interpretation imaginable about the Christian verses pagan elements in the story. However, the fact still remains that either the Christian elements found throughout was derived from the poet or perhaps a man even in the time of Beowulf could have been chosen by God to try and lead the people to a true God. The beautifully written epic, Beowulf, tells of a simpler time when a man such as Beowulf could understand and app reciate his unusual strength as a gift worthy only to be claimed by almighty God. As the epic begins, a far away land is in trouble and in desperate need of hero. Beowulf hears of a fierce monster ravaging and killing men of King Hrothgars land, the Danes. These same people were at war long ago with Beowulfs people, the Geats, therefore Beowulf and his people knew of the Danes well. Beowulf's father was the first to strike a blow and start a famous feud (Crossley-Holland, 44). Yet when Beowulf heard of the Danes distress he quickly understood that he should go. Beowulf was considered the bravest and strongest of his people, and most other warriors for that matter. Beowulf understood his strength to somehow be of divine nature rather than of his own accord (Norton Anthology, 1058). Many times throughout the epic are references made to God or to an all-powerful force. Such references are excessively...

Nero Cafe Financials Essays

Nero Cafe Financials Essays Nero Cafe Financials Essay Nero Cafe Financials Essay THE BEST ESPRESSO THIS SIDE OF MILAN’ ANNUAL REPORT 2008 HIGHLIGHTS FY2008 (JUNE 2007 – MAY 2008) FINANCIAL EVOLUTION STORES 371 REVENUE (? M) 129. 3 108. 8 90. 7 FY08 GROWTH 19% 70. 1 50. 5 REVENUE UP 19% TO ? 129. 3M (2007: ? 108. 8M) LIKE-FOR-LIKE STORE SALES INCREASED BY 2. 4% EBITDA ROSE BY 20. 5% TO ? 24. 1M (2007: ? 20M) PRE TAX PROFIT CLIMBED BY 38% TO ? 13. 2M (2007: ? 9. M) STRONG CASH GENERATION CONTINUES TO FUND ROLL-OUT OF NEW STORES A NET INCREASE OF 61 NEW STORES DURING THE YEAR, BRINGING GROUP TOTAL TO 371 YEAR END LAUNCHED â€Å"NERO EXPRESS† CARTS FOR AIRPORT AND RAILWAY STATION HUBS: OPERATING WITH A TOTAL OF 15 NERO EXPRESS CARTS BY YEAR END (MAY 2008) ENTERED FIRST INTERNATIONAL MARKET TURKEY. OPENED 7 STORES BY YEAR END (MAY 2008) CURRENTLY 393 STORES IN 210 UK CITIES AND TOWNS; ANTICIPATE 410 STORES BY CURRENT YEAR END (MAY 2009) 04 05 06 262 FY08 GROWTH 20% 214 162 10 07 08 04 05 06 07 08 STORE PROFIT (? M) 32. 7 28. 3 FY08 GROWTH 16% 10. 6 23. 0 16. 8 FY08 GROWTH 20. 5% EBITDA (? M) 24. 1 20. 0 15. 6 11. 3 6. 5 04 05 06 07 08 04 05 06 07 08 PROFIT BEFORE TAX (? M) 13. 2 9. 6 FY08 GROWTH 38% 7. 3 5. 1* 2. 4 04 05 06 07 08 *BEFORE GOODWILL WRITE-OFF 01 05 08 09 10 12 FINANCIAL EVOLUTION CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT GROUP INCOME STATEMENT GROUP BALANCE SHEET NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS THE EXECUTIVE BOARD DIRECTORS ADVISERS 13 CAFFE NERO STORES FIGURES FOR 2004 ARE STATED UNDER UK GAAP AND PROFIT FIGURES ARE BEFORE GOODWILL AMORTISATION AND EXCEPTIONALS CAFFE NERO GROUP LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2008 FINANCIAL EVOLUTION 01 CAFFE NERO HAD THE WIT AND VISION TO WISELY CULTIVATE A MORE ENDURING, SOPHISTICATED EUROPEAN IMAGE SUNDAY HERALD 2008 02 03 CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT INTRODUCTION The financial year 2008 (FY2008), for the Caffe Nero Group (â€Å"the Group† or â€Å"Caffe Nero†), was a year of launching into new business areas as well as expanding Caffe Nero’s core UK high street business. Despite a noticeable consumer slowdown from September 07 – May 08, Caffe Nero successfully launched a new division and format called Nero Express; opened in its first international territory – Turkey; progressed its UK expansion by moving into Northern Ireland; continued to rank as the top UK coffee house brand among its peers; and recorded a very solid financial performance. FINANCIAL During FY2008, the Group had success both with top line revenue and with bottom line profit. Although the surrounding economic environment in the UK was challenging, revenue still moved up by 19% to ? 129. 3m (2007: ? 108. m). Like for like store sales were a respectable 2. 4%, marking 44 consecutive quarters of positive like for like store growth at Caffe Nero. Cash flow profit (EBITDA) also progressed significantly despite substantial rises in costs. Commodity prices – wheat, milk, coffee and oil – along with minimum wage and various other ingredient costs, all rose in the period. Whilst this put pressure on our margin, Caffe Nero was still able to grow EBITDA by nearly 21% to ? 24. 1m (2007: ? 20m). Likewise, at the pre-tax profit line, respectable gains were made: pre-tax profit rose by 43% to ? 13. 7m (2007: ? 9. m), which was ahead of management expectations. A second major advancement in the year was to open in our first international territory Turkey. We launched Caffe Nero Turkey in October 2007, which entailed forming a separate JV company based in Istanbul, building a team, developing operational expertise, securing sites and constructing stores. We managed to do all of the above and open seven stores in the year. By the year end we had approximately 100 people in Caffe Nero Turkey. This was a great start for our fi rst overseas territory, and a tribute to the hard work and dedication by our local partners and Turkish management team. The third area of progress was with our core UK business. We opened 39 new stores in the year, including our first foray into Northern Ireland. In a two month period we launched three successful stores in the greater Belfast area, and then, more recently, have opened a fourth store in the same area. The management team has been very pleased by the early results from this new grouping of stores. In total, the Group opened 61 stores in the 12 months to May 08, taking Caffe Nero to 371 stores at year end. BRAND We were proud to note that the Group received accolades from its peers recently. Caffe Nero was ranked as the most respected coffee house brand in the United Kingdom by independent UK coffee operators (Allegra Strategies 2008 Independent Coffee Operators survey) in September 2008. Caffe Nero was also named one of the most respected brands in all of the UK Food and Beverage (F B) industry in a recent survey of several hundred F B executives. It ranked just behind Marks Spencer and Tesco and ahead of Pizza Express and Starbucks. The survey included all types of F B businesses, ranging from food retailers to restaurants and pub groups to food service companies to food manufacturers. Allegra Strategies, â€Å" Top of the Mind† F B executive survey November 2008). During FY2008, the Caffe Nero brand also continued its â€Å"Partnership with the Arts† programme. It promoted and sponsored the RSC’s celebration of 100 years of English history, the Tutankhamen exhibition at the O2 and the First Emperor exhibition at the British Museum. We have co ntinued this partnership at the beginning of FY2009 by sponsoring the Rothko exhibition at the Tate Modern. â€Å"HOT, STRONG AND DELICIOUS COFFEE† HARDEN`S LONDON RESTAURANT GUIDE 2008 Our cash position also remained strong. Despite opening more than 60 stores in the year, the cash position of the Group at the year end was similar to that of the year before, namely more than ? 9m of cash at hand. GROWTH The Group advanced in three key areas during FY2008. The first was the launch of a new sub-brand called Nero Express. Nero Express units are smaller kiosks located in main transport hubs. They provide Caffe Nero coffee and a narrower food menu to â€Å"on the go† consumers. Caffe Nero opened 15 Nero Express units in its first year of operation. Setting up a separate organisation and working out the logistical issues of operating in railway stations and airports was no small challenge. We are very pleased with all the progress that has been achieved in our first 12 months of operating this division, and look forward to growing and strengthening our Nero Express business both in the UK and internationally. CAFFE NERO GROUP LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2008 CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT 04 05 CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT (CONTINUED) CURRENT TRADING The current economic climate remains challenging for most UK retailers. Costs have been increasing over the last 12 months, particularly hitting food and beverage operators, and consumer spending has also been slumping. There is evidence emerging, however, that cost inflation is abating in some key areas such as oil, heat and light, wheat and milk, which will help our margin in the coming months. To date, Caffe Nero has handled the turbulent times relatively well. We opened 22 new stores between June and October (the first five months of FY 2009), giving the Group a total of 393 stores. This total includes 11 stores in Turkey and 16 Nero Express kiosks. Caffe Nero also maintained its positive like for like store sales growth from June – October 08, and sales overall grew by 15%. The consumer environment looks set to remain challenging and will likely soften even further in the coming months. That said, a recent independent report by Allegra Strategies has indicated that the branded coffee market is forecast to continue to experience 6% annual growth. Caffe Nero’s strong brand and low price point, with an average transaction spend of ? 3. 40, will undoubtedly help to mitigate some of the predicted downturn as consumers refuse to relinquish their â€Å"affordable treat† in gourmet coffee. Whilst we anticipate that the second half of the year (Dec – May 2009) will be more challenging for our business than the first half, we remain committed to a measured expansion plan. During this period, we will also focus on our existing estate, with an emphasis on driving marginal revenue, maximising profit and preserving cash. In December we will open our first Middle East store in the Dubai Mall, the world’s largest inside shopping complex. At least two more stores in Dubai will follow shortly thereafter. We also anticipate adding two or three more stores in Turkey by the year end. Regarding the UK market, we will carry on opening stores at a steady pace. In total, we anticipate opening more than 35 stores in the year and remain confident of achieving double-digit sales growth. UK COFFEE OPERATORS RANK CAFFE NERO AS MOST RESPECTED COFFEE BRAND ALLEGRA STRATEGIES, INDUSTRY SURVEY ON COFFEE 2008 GERRY FORD CHAIRMAN CHIEF EXECUTIVE 24 November 2008 06 07 GROUP INCOME STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2008 GROUP BALANCE SHEET FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2008 Notes 2008 ? 000 2007 ? 000 Notes 2008 ? 000 2007 ? 000 Revenue Cost of sales Gross profit Administrative expenses excluding depreciation, amortisation and impairment and exceptional items Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, impairment and exceptional items Administrative expenses – depreciation, amortisation and impairment Operating profit before exceptional items Administrative expenses – exceptional item Total administrative expenses Operating profit Bank interest receivable Finance expense Profit before taxation Tax on profit on ordinary activities Profit attributable to equity holders of the parent (2) 129,307 (96,591) 32,716 (8,660) 108,819 (80,488) 28,331 (8,290) Non-current assets Goodwill Software Property, plant and equipment Lease premiums Other receivables 831 92 53,019 2,240 1,040 57,222 Current assets Inventories Lease premiums Other receivables Cash and cash equivalents 1,058 543 5,490 9,580 16,671 Total assets Current liabilities Trade and other payables Provisions (24,388) (24,388) Non-current liabilities Provisions Total liabilities Net assets Equity Called up share capital Share premium account Capital redemption reserve Options tax reserve Other reserve Retained earnings Shareholders’ equity 389 13,385 15 – 6,249 29,411 49,449 389 13,385 15 – 6,249 16,182 36,220 (56) (24,444) 49,449 (63) (29,631) 36,220 (29,463) (105) (29,568) 73,893 872 363 1,721 10,399 13,355 65,851 831 125 48,697 2,561 282 52,496 4,056 (11,154) 12,902 (19,814) 12,902 327 13,229 13,229 20,041 (8,894) 11,147 (1,249) (18,433) 9,898 423 (762) 9,559 (5,116) 4,443 08 CAFFE NERO GROUP LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2008 GROUP INCOME STATEMENT CAFFE NERO GROUP LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2008 GROUP BALANCE SHEET 09 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AT 31 MAY 2008 2. TAXATION a) Analysis of tax charge in the year Current tax Deferred tax Income tax expense reported on consolidated income statement 2008 ? 000 2007 ? 000 – – 5,585 (469) 5,116 b) Reconciliation of total tax charge The tax assessed for the year differs from the avarage standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of 29. 67% (2007 – 30%). 2008 The differences are explained below: ? 00 Profit on ordinary activities before tax Profit on ordinary activities multiplied by standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of 29. 67% (2007 – 30%) Effect of: Expenses not deductible for tax purposes Movement in deferred tax asset not recognised Group relief Adjustment for prior year deferred tax Reversal of deferred tax previously recognised Income tax expense reported on consolidated income statement 13,229 3,925 856 2,135 (6,916) – – – 2007 ? 000 9,559 2,868 1,045 – 169 (10) 1,382 5,116 c) Deferred tax Deferred tax recognised in the financial s tatements and the amounts not recognised are as follows: 2008 Recognised Not recognised ? 000 ? 000 2007 Recognised Not recognised ? 000 ? 000 Decelerated/(accelerated) capital allowances Other timing differences Tax losses Deferred tax asset – – – – 2,369 193 139 2,701 – – – – 1. 087 299 149 1,535 CAFFE NERO IS STILL ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING BRANDS IN EUROPE BUSINESS WEEK MAGAZINE EURO 500 2008 Deferred tax assets are recognised once it is considered more likely than not that they will be recoverable against future taxable trading profits arising in the group. 3. AUDITED ACCOUNTS The income statement and balance sheet extracted from the statutory financial statements for Caffe Nero Group Limited. Full accounts are available from 3 Neal Street, London WC2H 9PU. The financial information provided is not inclusive of Caffe Nero Turkey. 10 CAFFE NERO GROUP LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2008 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 11 THE EXECUTIVE BOARD DIRECTORS ADVISERS CAFFE NERO STORES BEBEK FLAGSHIP STORE IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY GERRY FORD CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE Dr Ford oversees the general management, strategy, and branding of Caffe Nero. Dr Ford first developed his European coffee house concept in 1996. The concept was applied to the five original sites acquired in 1997, and the brand has subsequently been rolled-out throughout the UK. Dr Ford holds a BA from Stanford, an MBA from INSEAD and a PhD from Oxford. He has over 20 years experience managing, advising and investing in small and medium sized consumer goods companies. He also co-founded Paladin, a private equity group which invests in food, consumer brands, and media businesses. In 2005, Dr Ford was named â€Å"UK Entrepreneur of the Year† by the Financial Times, London Stock Exchange and the British public. BEN PRICE FINANCE DIRECTOR Mr Price oversees all financial aspects of the group as well as site acquisitions in the UK. Mr Price has a physics degree from Oxford and qualified as an accountant with Ernst Young, where he worked for five years in the audit practice. Since then he has had over 15 years of senior finance management experience in the retail sector. For three years he was at Dixons, where he became one of the senior finance managers reporting directly to the Group Finance Director. He then served as the finance controller of a furniture retailer before joining Caffe Nero in June 1997 as part of Dr Ford’s original management team. JONATHAN HART MANAGING DIRECTOR, UNITED KINGDOM Mr Hart is responsible for the growth and general management of the day-to-day operation of the UK business. He has over 20 years of retail experience with a number of major-brand companies including Tesco, Woolworths and Dixons, where he was responsible for creating and growing a number of its businesses including The Link, Dixons Tax-Free and international e-commerce. At Dixons he became a member of the Group Executive Committee reporting to the Group CEO and responsible for all of the Group’s high street formats with a turnover exceeding ? 1 billion. ISIK KECECI ASUR MANAGING DIRECTOR, CAFFE NERO TURKEY Ms Asur heads the Caffe Nero Turkish joint venture, and along with her husband, Mustafa Asur, holds a 50% investment stake. Ms Asur has over 20 years management experience in media and branded consumer goods. As Director of corporate development for Bertelsmann AG New York, Ms Asur successfully led several MA projects, later becoming a board member for the largest media conglomerate in Turkey – Dogan Holding. In 2001, she founded Al Shaya Turkey, a multi-brand retail operation including Starbucks, The Body Shop and Debenhams. A graduate of Harvard Business School, Ms Asur was named as the CEO of the most admired company in Turkey in 2004 by the Capital magazine poll and a Global Leader by the Economic Forum in 2005. DIRECTORS G W Ford B J Price J D Hart I K Asur (Turkey) SECRETARY B J Price AUDITORS Ernst Young LLP 1 More London Place London SE1 2AF BANKERS Bank of Scotland The Mound Edinburgh EH1 1YZ SOLICITORS PWC Legal 1 Embankment Place London WC2N 6DX Linklaters 1 Silk Street London EC2Y 8HQ REGISTERED OFFICE 3 Neal Street London WC2H 9PU COMPANY NUMBER 4129005 HEATHROW T5 AIRPORT STORE NERO EXPRESS KIOSK 12 CAFFE NERO GROUP LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2008 THE EXECUTIVE BOARD DIRECTORS ADVISERS CAFFE NERO GROUP LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2008 CAFFE NERO STORES 13 CAFFE NERO GROUP LTD 3 NEAL STREET LONDON WC2H 9PU WWW. CAFFENERO. COM Manufactured from 100% Virgin ECF Fibre. Fully recyclable and manufactured from environmentally approved 100% ECF wood-pulp in mills with excellent environmental records. ISO14001 Accreditation    Designed by hattrick marketing 0870 609 3216 www. hattrickmarketing. com

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and the Politics at Play Essay

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and the Politics at Play - Essay Example The Associated Press recently published an article on the same, in which they indicated an estimated rate of flow of oil from these Taylor wells at 20 times higher than what previous estimates indicated. In an attempt to estimate the impact of this oil spill, Rice observes that there is a significant decrease in the number of sperm whales seen in this area, which implies that there is no food within this area for the whales to feed on, hence their disappearance. The truth is that this phenomenon points to the fact that the ecosystem within this area is slowly disappearing, and the few whales often seen are just on a hunting spree.The core of this issue is that while the government seems to be passive about tackling this issue, a great chunk of marine life is under threat in the Gulf of Mexico. My concern, as an environmentalist, is not only directed to the ocean life, but to the health of the people whose lives depend on fishing from the water around this place. The economic effects of this pollution are immense. While cleaning this mess would have been cheaper and easier say 10 years ago, the water expanse covered by this spilled oil this far is big, and the value of oil lost to date is also much.Additionally, the studies and results available so far on the effects of this oil spillage is still a fragment of the actual impact. Complete details about the level of environmental degradation may never get to the public very soon, and the long-term effects on the health of the Gulf are still a mystery.

The Mortal God Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Mortal God - Research Paper Example This concept over the years has been employed into interactive human interface games as a creativity perspective. To understand the concept of anthropomorphism in video games, this paper therefore seeks to delve into the portrayal of gods as human figures and look into the reasons for this depiction. It also looks into how gods are given human traits. All these will be with regards to the video game â€Å"God of War 3†. The concept of anthropomorphism is depicted in the video game by a coincidence that most of the gods are named based on human traits and characters (Wade, 56). The controller controls the god of war, Kratos. The naming in this case is reflective of some human naming based on characteristics such as the conqueror, the magnificent, and the merciful among other character based names. The depiction of a god with such a name was directly derived from the human trait of war and retribution. Furthermore, there is the god of the sea, Poseidon. This name is synonymous to the human nature of a sailor. The other god in the game is Hades, also known as the lord of the underworld and ruler over the dead. He is also the god of wealth due to the precious metals mined from earth. In this case, he is named after the common human trait of resourceful people. The game also depicts a goddess known as Hestia, the goddess of virginity. This name is also based on a completely human condition of virginity. Hera is the goddess that protects marriages and takes special interest in women. A custodian of marriage is basically a human approach accomplished either in law or intrinsically held within human nature. Next is the Goddess of the city, handicraft and agriculture. The craft from which she draws her name are completely human activities. Another god in the game is Apollo, the god of music. Music is another primarily human activity. The game also focuses on the god of the sun of

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Describe the experience that impacted you most this semester in your Essay

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Give Five Difference on Quality Assurance and Quality Control Essay Quality Assurance (Qa) Qa Is Process that is use to Create  amp; enforce standard amp; guideline to improve the Quality of  Soiftware Process amp; Prevent Bug from the Application Quality assuranceis a process in which all the roles are  guided and moniteered to accomplish their tasks right from  the starting of the process till the end Quality Assurance:- customer satisfication by providing value for their money by always supplying quality product as per customer specification and delivery requirement. Quality Control: QC is evaluating the product,identifying the defects and suggesting improvements for the same. It is oriented towards Detection eg:Testing. Quality Control is a system of routine technical activites,   to measure and control the quality of the inventory as it   is being developed. Quality Control includes general methods such as accuracy  checks on data acquisition and calculation and the use of  approved standardised procedure for emission calculations,   measurements, estimating uncertainites, archiving  informations and reporting. Quality Control (QC)Qc is a process that is use to Find Bug  From The Product , as early as possible amp; make sure they  get Fixed   Quality control is a process in which sudden checkings are  conducted on the roles   Quality Control :- QC is evaluating the product,identifying the defects and suggesting improvements for the same. It is oriented towards Detection eg:Testing. What are 8 principles of total quality management and key benefits the eight principles of TQM: 1. quality can and must be manage 2. everyone has a customer to delight 3. processes, not the people, are the problem 4. very employee is responsible for quality 5. problems must be prevented, not just fixed 6. quality must be measured so it can be controlled 7. quality improvements must be continuos 8. quality goals must be base on customer requirements. The concept of TQM (Total Quality Management) Total Quality Management is a management approach that originated in the 1950s and has steadily become more po pular since the early 1980s. Total Quality is a description of the culture, attitude and organization of a company that strives to provide customers with products and services that satisfy their needs. The culture requires quality in all aspects of the companys operations, with processes being done right the first time and defects and waste eradicated from operations. Total Quality Management, TQM, is a method by which management and employees can become involved in the continuous improvement of the production of goods and services. It is a combination of quality and management tools aimed at increasing business and reducing losses due to wasteful practices. Some of the companies who have implemented TQM include Ford Motor Company, Phillips Semiconductor, SGL Carbon, Motorola and Toyota Motor Company. TQM Defined TQM is a management philosophy that seeks to integrate all organizational functions (marketing, finance, design, engineering, and production, customer service, etc. ) to focus on meeting customer needs and organizational objectives. TQM views an organization as a collection of processes. It maintains that organizations must strive to continuously improve these processes by incorporating the knowledge and experiences of workers. The simple objective of TQM is Do the right things, right the first time, every time. TQM is infinitely variable and adaptable. Although originally applied to manufacturing operations, and for a number of years only used in that area, TQM is now becoming recognized as a generic management tool, just as applicable in service and public sector organizations. There are a number of evolutionary strands, with different sectors creating their own versions from the common ancestor. TQM is the foundation for activities, hich include: * Commitment by senior management and all employees * Meeting customer requirements * Reducing development cycle times * Just In Time/Demand Flow Manufacturing * Improvement teams Reducing product and service costs * Systems to facilitate improvement * Line Management ownership * Employee involvement and empowerment * Recognition and celebration * Challenging quantified goals and benchmarking * Focus on processes / improvement plans * Specific incorporation in strategic planning This shows that TQM must be practiced in all activities, by all personnel, in Manufacturing, Marketing, Engine ering, R;amp;D, Sales, Purchasing, HR, etc. The core of TQM is the customer-supplier interfaces, both externally and internally, and at each interface lie a number of processes. This core must be surrounded by commitment to quality, communication of the quality message, and recognition of the need to change the culture of the organization to create total quality. These are the foundations of TQM, and they are supported by the key management functions of people, processes and systems in the organization. Difference between Product Quality and Process Quality 1. Product quality means we concentrate always final quality but in case of process quality we set the process parameterProduct quality means we concentrate quality of product that is fit for intended use and as per customer requirement. In the case of process quality we control our rejection rate such that in-house rejection is at minimum level. | | 2. Product quality means we concentrate always final quality but in case of process quality we set the process parameter 3. Product quality is the quality of the final product made. While Process quality means the quality of every process involved in the manufacturing of the final product. 4. Product quality  is focusing on meeting tolerances in the end result of the manufacturing activities. The end result is measured on a standard of good enough. Process quality focuses on each activity and forces the activities to achieve  maximum tolerances  irrespective of the end result. Something like a paint can manufacturer, the can and the lid need to match. A product quality focus on whether the paint can and lid fit tight enough but not too tight. This focus would require cans to be inspected and a specific ratio of defective would be expected. Process quality, the can making activities would be evaluated on its ability to to make the can opening exactly 6. 000 inches. The lid making would be evaluated on its ability to make  lids  6. 10 inches. No cans would be defective if the distribution of output sizes is narrow enough. The goal of process quality is to force narrow variance in product output to be able to expect close tolerances. This focus on process quality typically generates higher product quality as a secondary outcome. 5. When we talk about software quality assurance, we often discuss process measurements, proces s improvements, productivity increase, quality improvement etc. And when we talk about quality improvement, mostly people think about product quality improvement. Most of the time people forget about process quality improvement. In fact, people find it difficult to differentiate between product quality and process quality. Let us find out the difference! During software development we have work products like requirement specifications, software design, software code, user documentation, etc. Quality of any of these work products can be done by measuring its attributes and finding of they are good enough. For instance, a requirement specification may be ambiguous or even wrong. In that case, quality of that requirement specification is bad. So during quality assurance audit (peer review, inspection etc. ), this defect can be caught so that it can be rectified. During software development project, a lot of processes are followed. The top processes are the project processes like project initiation, project planning, project monitoring, and project closure. Then we have development processes like  requirement development, software design, software coding, software testing and software release. All of these processes are not executed perfectly on any project. Improvement in these processes can be achieved if we have audits of these processes. For instance, these audits are done by using standards like CMM (Capability Maturity Model). These standards dictate as to how any project or development process needs to be executed on any project. If any process step is deviating too much from these standards then that process step needs to be improved. The most important job of any software quality assurance department is to audit and ensure that all processes on projects being executed in that organization adhere to these standards and so quality of these processes (project amp; development) is good enough. Effect of ISO on Society Society ISO standards help governments, civil society and the business world translate societal aspirations, such as for social responsibility, health, and safe food and water, into concrete realizations. In so doing, they support the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. Social responsibility 1 November 2010 saw the publication of ISO 26000 which gives organizations guidance on social responsibility, with the objective of sustainability. The standard was eagerly awaited, as shown by the fact that a mere four months after its publication, a Google search resulted in nearly five million references to the standard. This indicates there is a global expectation for organizations in both public and private sectors to be responsible for their actions, to be transparent, and behave in an ethical manner. ISO 26000, developed with the engagement of experts from 99 countries, the majority from developing economies, and more than 40 international  organizations, will help move from good intentions about social responsibility to effective action. Health ISO offers more than 1 400 standards for facilitating and improving health-care. These are developed within 19 ISO technical committees addressing specific aspects of healthcare that bring together health practitioners and experts from government, industry and other stakeholder categories. Some of the topics addressed include health informatics, laboratory equipment and testing, medical devices and their evaluation, dentistry, sterilization of healthcare products, implants for surgery, biological evaluation, mechanical contraceptives, prosthetics and orthotics, quality management and protecting patient data. They provide benefits for researchers, manufacturers, regulators, health-care professionals, and, most important of all, for patients. The World Health Organization is a major stakeholder in this work, holding liaison status with 61 of ISO’s health-related technical committees (TCs) or subcommittees (SCs). Food There are some 1 000 ISO food-related standards benefitting producers and manufacturers,  regulators and testing laboratories, packaging and transport companies, merchants and retailers, and the end consumer. In recent years, there has been strong emphasis on standards to ensure safe food supply chains. At the end of 2010, five years after the publication of ISO 22000, the standard was being implemented by users in 138 countries. At least 18 630 certificates of conformity attesting that food safety management systems were being implemented according to the requirements of the standard, had been issued by the end of 2010, an increase of 34 % over the previous year. The level of inter-governmental interest in ISO’s food standards is shown by the fact that the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organizations has liaison status with 41 ISO TCs or SCs. Water The goals of safe water and improved sanitation are ingrained in the UN Millennium Development Goals. ISO is contributing through the development of standards for both drinking water and wastewater services and for water quality. Related areas addressed by ISO include irrigation systems and plastic piping through which water flows. In all, ISO has developed more than 550 water-related standards. A major partner in standards for water quality is the United Nations Environment Programme. The Waterfall Model was first Process Model to be introduced. It is also referred to as a  linear-sequential life cycle model. It is very simple to understand and use. In a waterfall model, each phase must be completed fully before the next phase can begin. At the end of each phase, a review takes place to determine if the project is on the right path and whether or not to continue or discard the project. In waterfall model phases do not overlap. Diagram of Waterfall-model: Advantages of waterfall model: * Simple and easy to understand and use. * Easy to manage due to the rigidity of the model – each phase has specific deliverables and a review process. Phases are processed and completed one at a time. * Works well for smaller projects where requirements are very well understood. Disadvantages of waterfall model: * Once an application is in the  testing  stage, it is very difficult to go back and change something that was not well-thought out in the concept stage. * No working software is produced until late during the life cycle. * High amounts of risk and uncertainty. * Not a good model for complex and object-oriented projects. * Poor model for long and ongoing projects. Not suitable for the projects where requirements are at a moderate to high risk of changing. When to use the waterfall model: * Requirements are very well known, clear and fixed. * Product definition is stable. * Technology is understood. * There are no ambiguous requirements * Ample resources with required expertise are available freely * The project is short. The basic idea here is that instead of freezing the requirements before a design or coding can proceed, a throwaway prototype is built to understand the requirements. This prototype is developed based on the currently known requirements. By using this prototype, the client can get an â€Å"actual feel† of the system, since the interactions with prototype can enable the client to better understand the requirements of the desired system. Prototyping is an attractive idea for complicated and large systems for which there is no manual process or existing system to help determining the requirements. The prototype are usually not complete systems and many of the details are not built in the prototype. The goal is to provide a system with overall functionality. Diagram of Prototype model: Advantages of Prototype model: Users are actively involved in the development * Since in this methodology a working model of the system is provided, the users get a better understanding of the system being developed. * Errors can be detected much earlier. * Quicker user feedback is available leading to better solutions. * Missing functionality can be identified easily * Confusing or difficult functions can be identified Requirements validation, Quick implementation of, incomplete, but functional, application. Disadvantages of Prototype model: * Leads to implementing and then repairing way of building systems. Practically, this methodology may increase the complexity of the system as scope of the system may expand beyond original plans. * Incomplete application may cause application not to be used as the full system was designed Incomplete or inadequate problem analysis. When to use Prototype model: * Prototype model should be used when the desired system needs to have a lot of interaction with the end users. * Typically, online systems, web interfaces have a very high amount of interaction with end users, are best suited for Prototype model. It might take a while for a system to be built that allows ease of use and needs minimal training for the end user. * Prototyping ensures that the end users constantly work with the system and provide a feedback which is incorporated in the prototype to result in a useable system. They are excellent for designing good human computer interface systems. In incremental model the whole requirement is divided into various builds. Multiple development cycles take place here, making the life cycle aâ€Å"multi-waterfall† cycle. Cycles are divided up into smaller, more easily managed modules. Each module passes through the requirements, design, mplementation and  testingphases. A working version of software is produced during the first module, so you have working software early on during the  software life cycle. Each subsequent release of the module adds function to the previous release. The process continues till the complete system is achieved. For example: In the diagram above when we work  incrementally  we are adding piece by piece but expect that each piece is fully finished. Thus keep on adding the pieces until it’s complete. Diagram of Incremental model: Advantages of Incremental model: * Generates working software quickly and early during the software life cycle. More flexible – less costly to change scope and requirements. * Easier to test and debug during a smaller iteration. * Customer can respond to each built. * Lowers initial delivery cost. * Easier to manage risk because risky pieces are identified and handled during it’d iteration. Disadvantages of Incremental model: * Needs good planning and design. * Needs a clear and complete definition of the whole system before it can be broken down and built incrementally. * Total cost is higher than  waterfall. When to use the Incremental model: * Requirements of the complete system are clearly defined and understood. Major requirements must be defined; however, some detail s can evolve with time. * There is a need to get a product to the market early. * A new technology is being used * Resources with needed skill set are not available * There are some high risk features and goals. Difference between spiral model and incremental model Incremental Development Incremental Development is a practice where the system functionalities are sliced into increments (small portions). In each increment, a vertical slice of functionality is delivered by going through all the activities of the software development process, from the requirements to the deployment. Incremental Development (adding) is often used together with Iterative Development (redo) in software development. This is referred to as Iterative and Incremental Development (IID). Spiral model The Spiral Model is another IID approach that has been formalized by Barry Boehm in the mid-1980s as an extension of the Waterfall to better support iterative development and puts a special emphasis on risk management (through iterative risk analysis). 4 Reasons to Use Fishbone Diagrams The fishbone diagram, or the cause and effect diagram, is a simple graphic display that shows all the possible causes of a problem in a business process. It is also called the Ishakawa diagram. Fishbone diagrams are useful due to how they portray information. There are 4 Main Reasons to use a Fishbone Diagram: 1. Display relationships   The fishbone diagram captures the associations and relationships among the potential causes and effects displayed in the diagram. These relationships can be easily understood. 2. Show all causes simultaneously   Any cause or causal chain featured on the fishbone diagram could be contributing to the problem. The fishbone diagram illustrates each and every possible cause in an easily comprehendible way; this makes it a great tool for presenting the problem to stakeholders. 3. Facilitate brainstorming   The fishbone diagram is a great way to stimulate and structure brainstorming about the causes of the problem because it captures all the causes. Seeing the fishbone diagram may stimulate your team to explore possible solutions to the problems. 4. Help maintain team focus   The fishbone framework can keep your team focused as you discuss what data needs to be gathered. It helps ensure that everyone is collecting information in the most efficient and useful way, and that nobody is wasting energy chasing nonexistent problems. Agile software development is a group of software development methods based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams. It promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary development and delivery, a time-boxed iterative approach, and encourages rapid and flexible response to change. It is a conceptual framework that promotes foreseen interactions throughout the development cycle. Rapid application development (RAD) is a software development methodology that uses minimal planning in favor of rapid prototyping. The planning of software developed using RAD is interleaved with writing the software itself. The lack of extensive pre-planning generally allows software to be written much faster, and makes it easier to change requirements. Code and fix Code and fix development is not so much a deliberate strategy as an artifact of naivete and schedule pressure on software developers. [5] Without much of a design in the way, programmers immediately begin producing code. At some point, testing begins (often late in the development cycle), and the inevitable bugs must then be fixed before the product can be shipped. See also: Continuous integration and Cowboy coding What Are the Benefits of Pareto Analysis? A Pareto analysis is an observation of causes of problems that occur in either an organization or daily life, which is then displayed in a histogram. A histogram is a chart that prioritizes the causes of problems from the greatest to the least severe. The Pareto analysis is based on the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, which states that 20 percent of effort yields 80 percent of results. For example, if an individual sells items on eBay, he should focus on 20 percent of the items that yield 80 percent of sales. According to Mindtools. com, a Pareto analysis enables individuals to make effective changes. Organizational Efficiency * A Pareto analysis requires that individuals list changes that are needed or organizational problems. Once the changes or problems are listed, they are ranked in order from the biggest to the least severe. The problems ranked highest in severity should become the main focus for problem resolution or improvement. Focusing on problems, causes and problem resolution contributes to organizational efficiency. Companies operate efficiently when employees identify the root causes of problems and spend time resolving the biggest problems to yield the greatest organizational benefit. Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills * You can improve your problem-solving skills when you conduct a Pareto analysis, because it enables you to organize work-related problems into cohesive facts. Once youve clearly outlined these facts, you can begin the planning necessary to solve the problems. Members of a group can conduct a Pareto analysis together. Arriving at a group consensus about the issues that require change fosters organizational learning and increases group cohesiveness. * Improved Decision Making * Individuals who conduct a Pareto analysis can measure and compare the impact of changes that take place in an organization. With a focus on resolving problems, the procedures and processes required to make the changes should be documented during a Pareto analysis. This documentation will enable better preparation and improvements in decision making for future changes. BENEFITS OF CONTROL CHARTS 1. Help you recognize and understand variability and how to control it 2. Identify â€Å"special causes† of variation and changes in performance 3. Keep you from fixing a process that is varying randomly within control limits; that is, no â€Å"special causes† are present. If you want to improve it, you have to objectively identify and eliminate the root causes of the process variation 4. Assist in the diagnosis of process problems 5. Determine if process improvement effects are having the desired affects 1st party audit First Party The first party audit is an audit carried out by a company on itself to etermine whether its systems and procedures are consistently improving products and services, and as a means to evaluate conformity with the procedures and the standard. Each second and third party audit should consider the first party audits carried out by the company in question. Ultimately, the only systems that should need to be examined are those of internal audits and reviews. In fact, the second or third parties themselves have to carry out internal or first party audits to ensure their own systems and procedures are meeting business objectives. SECOND PARTY (EXTERNAL) AUDIT Unlike the first party audit, a second party audit is an audit of another organization’s quality program not under the direct control or within the organizational structure of the auditing organization. Second party audits are usually performed by the customer upon its suppliers (or potential suppliers) to ascertain whether or not the supplier can meet existing or proposed contractual requirements. Obviously, the supplier’s quality system is a very important part of contractual requirements since it is directly (manufacturing, engineering, purchasing, quality control, etc. and indirectly (marketing, inside and outside sales, etc. ) responsible for the design, production, control and continued supportability of the product. Although second party audits are usually conducted by customers on their suppliers, it is sometimes beneficial for the customer to contract with an independent quality auditor. This action helps to promote an image of fairness and objectivity on the p art of the customer. THIRD PARTY AUDIT Compared to first and second party audits where auditors are not independent, the third party audit is objective. It is an assessment of an organization’s quality system conducted by an independent, outside auditor or team of auditors. When referring to a third party audit as it applies to an international quality standard such as ISO 9000, the term third party is synonymous with a quality system registrar whose primary responsibility is to assess an organization’s quality system for conformance to that standard and issue a certificate of conformance (upon completion of a successful assessment). Application of IT in supplying Point of sale  (POS) or  checkout  is the place where a retail transaction is completed. It is the point at which a customer makes a payment to a merchant in exchange for goods or services. At the point of sale the merchant would use any of a range of possible methods to calculate the amount owing, such as a manual system, weighing machines, scanners or an electronic cash register. The merchant will usually provide hardware and options for use by the customer to make payment, such as an EFTPOS terminal. The merchant will also normally issue a receipt for the transaction. Functions of IT in marketing Pricing Pricing plays an important role in determining market success and profitability. If you market products that have many competitors, you may face strong price competition. In that situation, you must aim to be the lowest-cost supplier so you can set low prices and still remain profitable. You can overcome low price competition by differentiating your product and offering customers benefits and value that competitors cannot match. Promotion Promotion makes customers and prospects aware of your products and your company. Using promotional techniques, such as advertising, direct marketing, telemarketing or public relations, you can communicate product benefits and build preference for your company’s products. Selling Marketing and selling are complementary functions. Marketing creates awareness and builds preference for a product, helping company sales representatives or retail sales staff sell more of a product. Marketing also supports sales by generating leads for the sales team to follow up. Market segmentation Market segmentation is a marketing strategy that involves dividing a broad target market into subsets of consumers who have common needs, and then designing and implementing strategies to target their needs and desires using media channels and other touch-points that best allow to reach them. Types of segmentation Clickstream behaviour A clickstream is the recording of the parts of the screen a computer user clicks on while web browsing or using another software application. As the user clicks anywhere in the webpage or application, the action is logged on a client or inside the web server, as well as possibly the web browser, router, proxy server or ad server. Clickstream analysis is useful for web activity analysis, software testing, market research, and for analyzing employee productivity. Target marketing A target market is a group of customers that the business has decided to aim its marketing efforts and ultimately its merchandise towards. A well-defined target market is the first element to a marketing strategy. The marketing mix variables of product, place (distribution), promotion and price are the four elements of a marketing mix strategy that determine the success of a product in the marketplace. Function of IT in supply chain Making sure the right products are in-store for shoppers as and when they want them is key to customer loyalty. It sounds simple enough, yet why do so many retailers still get it wrong. Demand planning Demand Planning is the art and science of planning customer demand to drive holistic execution of such demand by corporate supply chain and business management. Demand forecasting Demand forecasting is the activity of estimating the quantity of a product or service that consumers will purchase. Demand forecasting involves techniques including both informal methods, such as educated guesses, and quantitative methods, such as the use of historical sales data or current data from test markets. Demand forecasting may be used in making pricing decisions, in assessing future capacity requirements, or in making decisions on whether to enter a new market. Just in time inventory Just in time  (JIT) is a production strategy that strives to improve a business  return on investment  by reducing in-process  inventory  and associated  carrying costs. Continuous Replenishment Continuous Replenishment is a process by which a supplier is notified daily of actual sales or warehouse shipments and commits to replenishing these sales (by size, color, and so on) without stock outs and without receiving replenishment orders. The result is a lowering of associated costs and an improvement in inventory turnover. Supply chain sustainability Supply chain sustainability is a business issue affecting an organization’s supply chain or logistics network in terms of environmental, risk, and waste costs. Sustainability in the supply chain is increasingly seen among high-level executives as essential to delivering long-term profitability and has replaced monetary cost, value, and speed as the dominant topic of discussion among purchasing and supply professionals. Software testing Difference between defect, error, bug, failure and fault: â€Å"A mistake in coding is called error ,error found by tester is called defect,   defect accepted by development team then it is called bug ,build does not meet the requirements then it Is failure. † Error:  A discrepancy between a computed, observed, or measured value or condition and the true, specified, or theoretically correct value or condition. This can be a misunderstanding of the internal state of the software, an oversight in terms of memory management, confusion about the proper way to calculate a value, etc. Failure:  The inability of a system or component to perform its required functions within specified performance requirements. See: bug, crash, exception, and fault. Bug: A fault in a program which causes the program to perform in an unintended or unanticipated manner. See: anomaly, defect, error, exception, and fault. Bug is terminology of Tester. Fault:  An incorrect step, process, or data definition in a computer program which causes the program to perform in an unintended or unanticipated manner. See: bug, defect, error, exception. Defect: Commonly refers to several troubles with the software products, with its external behaviour or with its internal features. Regression testing Regression testing is any type of software testing that seeks to uncover new software bugs, or regressions, in existing functional and non-functional areas of a system after changes, such as enhancements, patches or configuration changes, have been made to them. Verification and Validation example is also given just below to this table. Verification|   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Validation| 1. Verification is a static practice of verifying documents, design, code and program. 1. Validation is a dynamic mechanism of validating and testing the actual product. | 2. It does not involve executing the code. | 2. It always involves executing the code. | 3. It is human based checking of documents and files. | 3. It is computer based execution of program. | 4. Verification uses methods like inspections, reviews, walkthroug hs, and Desk-checking etc. | 4. Validation uses methods like black box (functional)   testing, gray box testing, and white box (structural) testing etc. | 5. Verification  is to check whether the software conforms to specifications. | 5. Validation  is to check whether software meets the customer expectations and requirements. | 6. It can catch errors that validation cannot catch. It is low level exercise. | 6. It can catch errors that verification cannot catch. It is High Level Exercise. | 7. Target is requirements specification, application and software architecture, high level, complete design, and database design etc. | 7. Target is actual product-a unit, a module, a bent of integrated modules, and effective final product. | 8. Verification is done by QA team to ensure that the software is as per the specifications in the SRS document. 8. Validation is carried out with the involvement of testing team. | 9. It generally comes first-done before validation. | 9. It generally follows after verification. | Differences Between Black Box Testing and White Box Testing Criteria| Black Box Testing| White Box Testing| Definition| Black Box Testing is a software testing method in which the internal structure/ design/ imple mentation of the item being tested is NOT known to the tester| White Box Testing is a software testing method in which the internal structure/ design/ implementation of the item being tested is known to the tester. Levels Applicable To| Mainly applicable to higher levels of testing: Acceptance TestingSystem Testing| Mainly applicable to lower levels of testing: Unit TestingIntegration Testing| Responsibility| Generally, independent Software Testers| Generally, Software Developers| Programming Knowledge| Not Required| Required| Implementation Knowledge| Not Required| Required| Basis for Test Cases| Requirement Specifications| Detail Design| A programmer, computer programmer, developer, coder, or software engineer is a person who writes computer software. A quality assurance officer implements strategic plans, supervises quality assurance personnel and is responsible for budgets and allocating resources for a quality assurance division or branch. Levels of testing In  computer programming,  unit testing  is a method by which individual units of  source code, sets of one or more computer program modules together with associated control data, usage procedures, and operating procedures, are tested to determine if they are fit for use. Intuitively, one can view a unit as the smallest testable part of an application. Integration testing (sometimes called Integration and Testing, abbreviated Iamp;T) is the phase in software testing in which individual software modules are combined and tested as a group. System testing of software or hardware is testing conducted on a complete, integrated system to evaluate the systems compliance with its specified requirements. System testing falls within the scope of black box testing, and as such, should require no knowledge of the inner design of the code or logic. In engineering and its various sub disciplines, acceptance testing is a test conducted to determine if the requirements of a specification or contract are met. It may involve chemical tests, physical tests, or performance tests. In systems engineering it may involve black-box testing performed on a system (for example: a piece of software, lots of manufactured mechanical parts, or batches of chemical products) prior to its delivery. Software developers often distinguish acceptance testing by the system provider from acceptance testing by the customer (the user or client) prior to accepting transfer of ownership. In the case of software, acceptance testing performed by the customer is known as user acceptance testing (UAT), end-user testing, site (acceptance) testing, or field (acceptance) testing. A sample testing cycle Although variations exist between organizations, there is a typical cycle for testing. The sample below is common among organizations employing the Waterfall development model. Requirements analysis: Testing should begin in the requirements phase of the software development life cycle. During the design phase, testers work with developers in determining what aspects of a design are testable and with what parameters those tests work. Test planning: Test strategy, test plan, testbed creation. Since many activities will be carried out during testing, a plan is needed. Test development: Test procedures, test scenarios, test cases, test datasets, test scripts to use in testing software. Test execution: Testers execute the software based on the plans and test documents then report any errors found to the development team. Test reporting: Once testing is completed, testers generate metrics and make final reports on their test effort and whether or not the software tested is ready for release. Test result analysis: Or Defect Analysis, is done by the development team usually along with the client, in order to decide what defects should be assigned, fixed, rejected (i. e. found software working properly) or deferred to be dealt with later. Defect Retesting: Once a defect has been dealt with by the development team, it is retested by the testing team. AKA Resolution testing. Regression testing: It is common to have a small test program built of a subset of tests, for each integration of new, modified, or fixed software, in order to ensure that the latest delivery has not ruined anything, and that the software product as a whole is still working correctly. Test Closure: Once the test meets the exit criteria, the activities such as capturing the key outputs, lessons learned, results, logs, documents related to the project are archived and used as a reference for future projects. Types of Performance testing Stress testing (sometimes called torture testing) is a form of deliberately intense or thorough testing used to determine the stability of a given system or entity. Usability testing is a technique used in user-centered interaction design to evaluate a product by testing it on users. Volume testing refers to testing a software application with a certain amount of data. This amount can, in generic terms, be the database size or it could also be the size of an interface file that is the subject of volume testing. Maintenance testing is a test that is performed to either identify equipment problems, diagnose equipment problems or to confirm that repair measures have been effective. When it comes to quality management, IT organisations can take a leaf out of industry’s book. Thanks to the success of companies like Toyota and Motorola, methods such as Total Quality Management (TQM) and Six Sigma are gaining rapid popularity. And with good reason. Quality is a good generator of money, and lots of it. Unlike industry, IT has no physical chain. This makes it more difficult at first to be able to take concrete steps towards the implementation of quality management. But the parallels are easily drawn. Regard a satisfied end user as the equivalent of a faultless end product, a carefully conceived system of applications as the equivalent of a streamlined production line and so forth. And similar to industry, things can go wrong in any aspect. The faultless implementation of processes leads to significant savings (and not forgetting satisfied end users). What should you focus on to set up quality management for IT within your own organisation and subsequently make money? The service excellence strategy Organise a strategy of service excellence for the internal IT services, where the optimisation of service to end users receives top priority. After all, poor quality leads to high repair costs. Especially in IT. Resolving incidents costs money (direct costs). And the indirect costs, such as loss of productivity are, though often unobserved, several times these direct costs. Focus on management and service processes The focus within IT is often on the projects and the functionalities of the systems. But to ensure service excellence, the performance of management and service processes are equally important. If these processes are substandard, it could result in a lack of clarity, unnecessary waiting times and – in the worst case scenario – to malfunctions. A reassessment of processes is vital to prevent these discomforts and reduce relevant costs. Measure the effect of failure and errors The effect of failure and errors at the workplace is rarely measured. Organisations often have no idea how much these mistakes are costing them and what the consequences are for the service to their clients. The costs of incidents and malfunctions are easy to calculate by using a few simple rules of thumb. When you do this regularly, it will become clear for everyone where savings can be realised (read: how much money can be made). This will suddenly put the investments made towards achieving higher quality in an entirely new perspective. Use simple, service-oriented KPIs The moment you have insight into what causes the direct and indirect failure and error costs, it’s a small step to define a number of simple and service-oriented KPIs. These KPIs can form the guideline for measuring and improving service quality. Examples of such KPIs are: * The average number of incidents per employee; * The percentage of incidents resolved during the first contact with the helpdesk (the so-called ‘first-time right’ principle); * The percentage of incidents caused by incorrectly implemented changes. Implement a measurement methodology Improvements within a quality system happen on the basis of facts. The collection of facts takes place through measurements within the operational processes, on the basis of preselected metrics (e. . the number of complaints). The key performance indicators (KPIs) show whether a specific objective has been achieved, for example a desired decline in the number of complaints, expressed in percentages. Don’t overestimate the power of ITIL ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) is a collection of best practices for the structuring of operational processes. Many companies have implemented IT IL in an effort to make their service more professional. ITIL lets you lay a good foundation to make the IT service more professional. But beware: it is no quality methodology. It might be good for defining IT processes, but offers no scope for actual improvement. So you will need a separate quality methodology in addition to ITIL. Most organisations require a drastic improvement in the quality of their IT services. Perhaps the realisation that this won’t be costing any money, but will instead generate it, offers the incentive needed to set to work earnestly on the issue. The end result means two birds with one stone: a service-oriented IT company that saves costs, and an IT company that truly supports the end users in carrying out their activities optimally. The Importance of Quality Improvement in Your Business Venture A career in the business industry requires you to be tough and flexible. Business is a difficult venture. You have to make your way through and outperform competitors. Businesses nowadays have also gone global. You have to compete with other business entities from the world over. Because of the tough competition in the business scenes, getting the attention and the trust of customers has become increasingly difficult. This is where quality improvement comes in. Quality plays a vital role in any business. Consumers want the best and want to pay the lowest possible price for products that are of the greatest quality. Moreover, quality is also one of the main components of being able to stay in the game despite the competition around you. Constant quality improvement is important in keeping you afloat. This has to do with eliminating or reducing the losses and waste in the production processes of any business. Quality improvement most often involves the analysis of the performance of your business, products, and services and finding ways to further improve them. There are certain techniques that can help you in achieving quality improvement. Knowing these steps can lead you to improved quality in your business. Benchmarking or comparing your company to the best or the top of the field will also be beneficial. You have to identify what makes an organization or company ‘the best’ and why the consumers want to purchase these products or services. Compare the quality and cost of their products with yours. Also include the processes that use to produce them. This can help you in looking for your own business factors that you have to improve upon for success. Setting up your own internal quality checks is important. You have to ensure that in ach step of making your product, you are meeting the standards of the industry and also providing your customers with the best products. This needs to be done with the least amount of waste and as few resources as possible. You need to be rigid about following the quality checks that your company has put forth. This will save you from having to deal with returned items and pr oducts. It also helps in guaranteeing the satisfaction of your customers. You need to assess your own production and your products. You need to know if these have passed the international standards on quality for the respective industry you do business in. Moreover, measure how your product is doing against others in the market. These are important in order to know what aspects you have to improve. You cannot afford to be forgiving when assessing. You need to be honest and blunt when gauging your own company. This will help you in finding needs for improvement. After assessing, you have to take the steps in making the necessary changes that will lead you to improvement. You may need to change your quality policy or do more research about your products and provide better features. You may also need to conduct training for your employees in order to update them with new methods in your processes. Quality improvement is not just a one-time process. It needs to be continued despite the success that a company or organization is appreciating. Competitors will always try their best to outwit you. And so, you have to continue on improving your products and services in order to offer more to your clients. This will not only lead you to more sales but also to a better reputation in the industry. Keep in mind that it is often more work to stay on top than to get to the top!