Did Oracle's purchase of Sun Microsystems increase HP's and Dell's Essay

Did Oracles purchase of solarize Microsystems increase HPs and Dells interest in 3Par ( caller-up). Explain - Essay display caseThis made it the direct competitor of companies like IBM (which was already its competitor before this acquisition), HP, CISCO and Dell. One of the major benefits of acquiring Sun has been the entry of its Java schedule language as well as the Solaris operating system in the possession list of Oracle. This is an important platform for much of Oracles crop (Goodwin 2009). Oracle has also now entered the hardware segment of the industry. It can now package its software products with Suns hardware to help boost sales which is a direct competition to IBM and HP. Dell is also aiming to achieve such integrated solutions for its customers. Suns MySQL database has provided further strength to Oracle. This will help the company expand the number of users that utilize Oracle database products. This is true especially from the point of view of entry into the small -to-midsize businesses where it had a significantly low presence (Schiff 2009). With the ownership of Suns StarOffice through this acquisition, Oracle can now even attack the laptop/desktop market which will be a direct menace to the MS office application of Microsoft (Schiff 2009).

Food Safety and Sanitation Course Project Essay

Food Safety and Sanitation Course Project - Essay ExampleFood pencil eraser and sanitation is fundamental for customers and employees. The performance of the customers impart be perfect and recognizable when they are working in a favorable environment. Through the hard work of the employees, then with some(prenominal) measures in protrude it will be easy for the customers to be served with safe pabulum (Arduser & Brown, 2005). In this project, as a health officer entitled with the power to check the safety of food and sanitation, I will base a case in Mount view restaurant in north California. This is one of the biggest restaurants not that in North California but also in US at large. There are many customers in this hotel thus, I find it necessary to have food safety, and sanitation measures in maneuver. I will carry out an query after which I will write a report. propaedeutic Steps Before doing the interview and writing the report, I undertook some preparations that will make the latter processes to be easy. The steps that I undertook in preparation for the interview are (i) Scheduling a meeting with the manager of Mount view restaurant I wrote a letter to the restaurant manager with all my contacts. It aimed at explaining to him the mission that I want to undertake in his or her restaurant. In addition, I explained the importance of the study to the manager. After compiling the letter, I send it to the pastime address Mountain View Restaurant 5253 NC Hwy 226 Little Switzerland, NC 28749 United States ph 828-766-9670. (ii) Meeting with the restaurant manager After the manager got back to me, I got his contacts and with them, I proceeded to meet him at the restaurant at the scheduled time. I introduced myself to the manager politely and he welcomed me warmly. After that, I proceeded on to undertake my role since I had been granted the authority to do so. 1.0. Interview The participants in the interview I carried out where the manager to the restaura nt and the employees in the same realm. My questions were mainly aimed at get solutions to food safety and sanitation problems in the restaurant if any (Arduser & Brown, 2005). The Manager The manager was welcoming and ready to participate. I asked him to give some programs that were in place to ensure that on that point is food safety and sanitation in the restaurant. The manager told me that they had divided there workers into groups. There were groups who dealt with sanitation while others dealt with food safety. In food safety, he explained that they had a qualified doctor who came to check the quality of the ingredients. I also asked the manager how the environment was made favorable for food safety and sanitation. From there I walked around the restaurant accompanied by the manager. I filled the forms that I had after keenly observing what was needed. I also asked the manager the area that they were strategizing to improve (Arduser & Brown, 2005). The Employees I approached the employees in a friendly manner. I took four of them, two male and two female. I interrogated them on their health conditions. At some point, I asked them to show off their hands. They did not fail me. They also helped me to analyze the exterior. At this time, I had left the manager so that the workers could not create irresolution that could lead to wrong data. I also inquired what was supposed to be done to get food safety and

There Is No Truth in Advertising Essay Example for Free

There Is No Truth in Advertising EssayAdvertising is omnipresent and inescapable in todays world. It is claimed that an average person is exposed to 2000 advertisements every day. Due to its all-pervasive nature, advertising has a huge impact on our minds, both consciously and unconsciously. However, the believability of todays advertisements should be questioned. As media companies and advertising agents become increasingly profit-driven, advertisements now contain false information, promote biased ideas and sometimes even deveice consumers, in say to sell products. Even some non-commercial advertisements are non telling the complete truth, in rules of order to grab peoples attentions. Many advertisements pitch to tell partial truth about their products, which equates to false information that would mislead viewers. To increase revenue and maximise profits, advertising agents use the tactic of partial truths that fare use of viewers assumptions. Advertising agents skillful ly design the advertisements that will only reveal the seemingly appealing characteristics of the product, and deliberately leave the necessary elaboration and explanation, which is the different half of the truth, unmentioned. An advertisement for some cat food purported that it contains a substaintial level of phosphorus, which would lead the viewers to think that more phosphorus is good for cats.But what the advertisements did not mention was that cats actually do not need phosphorous in their diet. Another cigarette advertisement in Bangladesh said that smoking helped to relieve the suffering of giving birth, which is true because somking decreases the size of babies. Its detrimental effect on babies was deliberately ignored by the advertising agent. These partial truth are not truths at all. They are misleading lies which, if the consumers believe blindly, may even harm their health.Also, advertisements al dashs ignore the moral truth of sexual activity equality. They conta in some stereotypes about gender roles most of the time. While men are usually portrayed as strong and masculine, women are almost always depicted as fragile, weak and feminine. any(prenominal) advertisements convey the idea that women should devote a lot of money, time and effort into the pursuit of ideal beauty, to please men. There is even objectification of women that turns women into things and objects, which is dehumanising and unrespectful.One advertisement writes If I did not lose 49 pounds, I could never be married by now, which is saying that women should focus on their figure in order to find a husband. Another beer advertisement turns a lady into a robot that contains beer in its belly. While these innovate advertisements may be effective in promoting the products, they are without doubt instilling people with the wrong idea that women and men are not equal in this society, that women is somewhat inferior, which are not the truth. However, they do reflect and reinforce existing ideas of gender roles and inequality, which is the sad reality.Furthermore, advertisements deceive us into believing that by buying certain products, we are able to obtain a desirable lifestyle, gain social stead or get into certain social community. Advertisements are not selling merely products, but also the lifestyles, ideas, calues and status that the company want to associate the product with. By constantly linking the products with a certain lifestyle, the advertisements make the consumers believe that buying the product is one easy way to get that desired lifestyle. For instance, Louis Vuittons advertisements always show celebrities holding their handbags, enjoying themselves on holiday. This makes many nouveau riche think that having one of such bags would get themselves into the moneyed class and the lifestyle of the rich. However, it is without doubt that buying certain products does not change who you are or where you belong to. It is just a deception created b y the advertisements.Some people may argue that advertisements for some cutting-edge technical products that truly benefit people, such as tablets and smartphones, do contain truths. I do not deny that these advertisements do contain some facts, such as the new features of the products, the improved functions and so forth. However, being advertisements, they are more or less exaggerated in order to achieve the ultimate goal of selling. Advertisements of this kind, such as the advertisement for the new iPad, always contain the key words like all new, revoluntionary or unprecedented, but never mention the limitations and the flaws built-in obsolescence. Only after a few months when the company launches a newer model would it start to point out what flaws the preliminary model has. This is the nature of advertising. There is no complete truth.Non-commercial advertisements are believed by many to be absolute true. They argue that these advertisements campaigning for good causes have no motive to lie. However, in order to create greater influence and to raise peoples awareness, non-commercial advertisements also tend to exaggerate and oversimplify the situation. For instane, the advertisements that help sound projection Hope in China to raise fund often show children who are eager to chance on sitting in shabby wooden classrooms, spruced up poorly. Though there are many children like this in the rural area, not all of them are passionate about learning, and not all classrooms are in such poor condition. In order to grab public attention, these advertisements are wise to show the pooresr scene to the public. But this kind of oversimplified version is by all odds not the complete truth. emotional manipulationIn all, advertising by nature aims to grab public attention. In oder to do this, there is always some extent of exaggeration. This is how advertisements work. As long as there are no false information or deceptions that mislead people, advertising with some extent of exaggeration is acceptable. People should learn to be discriminating views ant not just believe advertisements blindly.

Problems of Library Automation in Africa Essay Example for Free

Problems of Library Automation in Africa EssayIn 1981, IBM introduced its personal computer (PC) for use in the home, office and schools. Prior to that time, there had been several(prenominal) MS-DOS compatible personal computers that ran DOS programs. As computers became more widespread in the drill part (ie. an independent agents office), newways to unleash their potency developed. As smaller computers became more powerful, they could be linked together, or networked, to sh be memory space, software and information, and communicate with each other.So where does the insurance industry go in the automation picture?A word from our sponsorWhats so difficult about combining personal and commercial umbrella coverage? Not much. consume a quote online nowIndependent agents have take a long way in using technology over the past 20 years. From the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, independent agents for the most part used PC-based automation systems to boost efficiency and cut cost s.Since 1970, ACORD, a not-for-profit standards-setting association for the insurance industry, has been tough in automation. The association is comprised of carriers, agents, vendors, etymon providers, associations and other interested parties. We arent the ones who built the automation system, said Carolyn Cal Durland, managing director of Standards for ACORD. What we did and restrained do is provide standards-Forms and Electronic information Interchange (EDI) upon which the vendors or tooth root providers base their automation systems. She explained that to find out how the industry became automated, one must look to the vendors and solution providers.In 1972, the first ACORD form, a property loss notice, went into use. Today, ACORDs standards include Forms, AL3 (Automation Level 3), XML, OLife and ObjX. The Forms are point of sale, data collection vehicles, AL3 is ACORDs EDI standard (or machine-to-machine, business-to-business, data transmission formats or components), OLi fe is a data integration standard and ObjX is much more than EDI.In the 1980s-when the number of PCs in use increased dramatically-ACORD members asked for standardized electronic transmissions between the agentscomputers and the carriers computers.The industry has come to ACORD to consolidate causal agents to eliminate duplication of work, Durland said. For example, without one approved, countrywide ACORD application, all of the 2,400-plus insurance carriers would have to have their own form. And the vendors or solution providers who automate those forms would have to produce each form.Now that ACORD and the industry are working hand-in-hand, there is one form accepted and used by many of those carriers. In addition, the vendors or solution providers have the option to become licensed by ACORD to redistribute the Forms. ACORD provides them with toolsto print the ACORD Forms, Durland said. ACORDs Forms efforts have stripped the costs out of this distribution channel.According to Du rland, in the same manner that the industry came together with ACORD to do Forms, they have also worked to develop EDI Standards. Through our subcommittee process and strict compliance to anti-trust guidelines, we bring together carriers, agents, vendors, solution providers and other interested parties to discuss what is needed to transmit the data collected, she said.Change is goodThe industry on the whole, according to Durland, is slow to make changes, although there are some carriers that have the resources to be on the leading edge of technology.The beginning was a bit archaic. Carriers realized the benefits of automation and developed proprietary systems that they placed in the agents offices, Durland said. This resulted in the agents having to physically go from one terminal to another to interface with the carriers automating their process.With the inception of the delegacy management vendors and ACORDs standards implemented in those systems, the agents were conceptually cap competent to eliminatethose proprietary terminals and work through one system. This concept called SEMCI, Single Entry Multiple Company Interface, allowed the agents to keep the data in one place and transmit it electronically to any of the carriers it was licensed to represent, Durland explained.One step forward, two steps backTen years ago, when Durland joined ACORD, there were many agency management systems attempting to enable SEMCI. Today, due to acquisitions and mergers, there are three primary vendors and a few smaller ones, she said. SEMCI is still the goal for the agents and the carriers. However, with the inception of Web enabled processes, the carriers-in an effort to streamline their costs-reverted back to proprietary applications.Those leading edge carriers put up Web sites that required the agent to go to the site and enter the information. So or else of going to a separate terminal in their office, they now had to connect to a Web site and rekey the data that was al ready in their databases.This resulted in the sufferance of the new standard XML. XML is a standard that enables connectivity between Web applications and agency management systems, in addition to business-to-business, business-to-customer, etc., Durland said.The goal to secure SEMCI, according to Durland, can still happen with the writ of execution of XML. Plus it broadens the trading partner base to be more than the agent to insurance carrier, she said.A push for implementationIn the 1990s, implementation guides were written and a certification process was developed. Today, there are more than 12,000 upload and 40,000 download implementations using AL3 standards. AL3 continues to evolve and there are new implementations every day, including using AL3 standards over the Internet.Ever since the dawn of the industrys automation, forms standardizationcontinued and still continues to be an important focus for ACORD as the standards-setting association kit and boodle with many differ ent trading partners within the industry.Today there are roughly 400 ACORD forms. And although its important to note how many forms there are, what is level off more important to note is the fact that these ACORD forms have eliminated or prevented 80,000 proprietary forms-saving the industry millions of dollars.Communicating on a global basisAccording to Durland, ACORD has cater dedicated to building relationships with other standards-setting organizations. The fact is, the industry handles business on a global basis, so it just makes sense that the goal is to be able to communicate on a global basis.As an example, Durland pointed out that carriers write coverage for properties owned by people all over the world. In turn, these carriers work with other carriers or reinsurers to serving the exposure.When asked why it is so important for the industry to be automated, Durland said, Automation strips costs out of workflows. Simply put, to only have to go to one place for information and to be able to service customers quickly and efficiently is key.For example, the agent and carrier agree to indemnify the customer if they have a loss which is covered under their policy. The customer pays a fee based on that promise. When the loss occurs, they want someone to handle it promptlyto be presumptuousness information on the progression of the resolution and be paid or have the item replaced ASAP, Durland said.Automation makes it possible.With the technology and automation available to us today, the opportunities to share information are unlimited, Durland said. The industry realizes that and is working together to figure out how to communicate electronicallywith each other.

Creation Myths Essay Example for Free

Creation Myths EssayCreation myths ar present in all cultures of the being, and plot these stories reflect very different beliefs of first appearance, they also possess many similarities as well. Each culture from around the world has developed beliefs and cosmogony that help them to bring in the most ancient and primordial of questions where did we come from? Ancient civilizations bore stories of primitive worlds, gods, and creators who sprung forth to create the world we live in and who created the first man and woman. Experts control come to find that there be common themes of creation myths which all myths can be classified into accretion and conjunction stories, secretion stories, sacrifice stories, fragment or consummation stories, earth-diver stories, emergence stories, two-creator myths, deus faber (the maker god), and ex nihilo (out of nothing). Some cultures usually bear more than one type of theme for creation. Two creation myths that superfluous similarities and ends are the Norse and Egyptian.The theme of Norse creation is based on accretion and conjunction, secretion, and two-creator myths, while Egyptian creation myths follow the themes of secretion, deus faber, and ex nihilo (Leonard McClure, 2004). Norse creation myths spring forth from the Swedish and Scandinavian cultures. The Norse myth begins in a world called Ginnunngagap, which was the earth before the heavens were created and before any lively thing existed. In the Southern end of Ginnungagap was a land called Muspelheim, a fiery realm of fire and poison, and to the North was a land of ice and polar called Niflheim.The gods that came after, created Midgard which was the middle land born from the great Yggdrasil tree a pleasant and habitable place for humans. The gods resided in a different realm in the pump of the earth called Asgard from Asgard, the gods watched over all of mankind. The elements that exist in these worlds are plants, soil, water, wind, mist, ice, and f ire (Brancaccio, Tonk, Van Driel, Passantino, 2012). The world before time in Egyptian creation was called Nu. Nu was the glooming swirling waters of nothingness and chaos.Atum the creator, a sexless being, sprung forth ex nihilo from the waters of Nu, and through secretion, bore a son and daughter who created earth and set up. Elements of this world are water, rain, earth, plants, and wind (Brancaccio, Tonk, Van Driel, Passantino, 2012). The creators in Norse mythology began with the first three beings Ymir a male frost giant, Buri a male god, and Buris wife, the first goddess. Audhumla was the first physical who licked free from the ice Buri and his wife.Audhumla was also the one who gave Ymir sustenance through its milk. Buri and his wife the goddess, bore three sons Odin, Vili, and Ve. These three sons killed and dismembered the giant Ymir, whose corpse then created the world. Ymirs flesh became the land, his blood became the sea, skull became the dome of sky above, his bo nes became mountains, and his hair became the grass and trees. Odin then stole sparks of fire from the land of Muspelheim, to create the sun, moon, and stars.Destroyers of this world came later in Norse mythology with the introduction of other(a) beings and giants that bring forth Ragnarok, the time of destruction of Midgard. Surt is the guard and giant of Muspelheim who destroys the heavens with his fiery sword. Hati and Skoll are wolves the chase the sun and moon, are the destroyers of these celestial beings. The frost giant Loki, along with Fenrir, and the World Serpent are also released by Surt to aide in the destruction of the world (Rosenberg, 2006).In Egyptian myths, the main creator was called Atum. He was neither male nor female, possessed an all seeing eye. He joined with his shadow and bore a son from his regorge called Shu, and from his vomit, a daughter called Tefnut. Shu was made the god of air, and Tefnut the goddess of moisture, they were responsible for sorting ou t the chaos of the universe into a perfect balance called maat. These two produced children, one male and one female, Geb and Nut, who were then separated to create the earth and sky.Other gods were also created who each had an individual responsibility in creating maat, these gods were Isis queen of the gods, Hathor the goddess of love and beauty, Osiris the god of experience and justice, Seth the god of evil, Thoth the god of wisdom, and Nepthys the protector of the dead (Brancaccio, Tonk, Van Driel, Passantino, 2012). Cosmic occurrences in Norse creation played a great role in the creation of the first beings and the first world. The mingling of fire and ice caused the melting of a mountain which produced the first being Ymir, the frost giant.Celestial bodies such as the sun and stars were created of fire sparks from the Land of Muspelheim. The role of cosmic occurrences in Egyptian creation was expressed by celestial beings becoming the creators of natural phenomena. Nut the s ky goddess gave birth to the sun every day, and also produced rain that fell upon the earth to grow plants. The cycle of rainfall, sunrise, and sunset were all thought to be produced by the gods. The similarities dual-lane amongst the Norse and Egyptian myths were evident in the several aspects and themes.For one, both Creators Ymir and Atum, were deus faber meaning that they alone were the first creators, they also both arrived into their respective worlds ex nihilo, out of nothingness. Secondly, Ymir and Atum created other beings through secretion Ymir created beings through his sweat, and Atum created man with his tears. In both myths, many lesser gods were created to govern over natural phenomenon, and played roles in the cycles of death and rebirth. The difference between the two cultural myths is the fact that Norse creation was born out of violence and violent acts.Gods were constantly in battle the theme of in force(p) and evil play a large part in Norse myths. Egyptian my th presented the need to bring peace and order to the chaotic world of Nu. The gods and goddesses main role was to find balance and Maat. In conclusion, world creation myths have similarities as well as differences. The commonality between them all is that they operate to fulfill the same need which is the need to understand the world around us and understand our origins. Earlier cultures have pondered over the beginning and creation as we still do in this day and age.

A Review On The ABM System Information Technology Essay

A Review On The antiballistic missile System Information Technology EssayThis paper allow for counselling on the benefits of utilizing Activity-based management (antiballistic missile) system within the workplace. antiballistic missile is defined as a method of identifying and evaluating activities that a business performs development activity-based costing to carry step to the fore a value chain analysis or a re-engineering initiative to improve strategical and operational decisions in an organization Activity-based management focuses on managing activities to slash costs and improve customer value.1In order to maintain confidentiality, for the purpose of this paper I will refer to my workplace as XYZ Inc. XYZ Inc. in this precedent is a Third Party Administrator (TPA) of employee health benefits. XYZ Inc. sells and administers various insurance overlaps and services to an array of clients throughout various industries.IntroductionOrganizations implement Activity-based mana gement (ABM) overdue to the fact it is believed that this will aid them in making better decisions, improve performance and earn more money on assets deployed.Regardless of ones approach or belief, each organization requires information to make decisions, set priorities, entirelyocate resources and monitor actions taken. ABM systems exist only to meet the information requirement. The information and knowledge gained ar of value and benefit only when the information is used to improve the business.This paper will illustrate where I believe ABM would be useful at XYZ Inc. how ABM is currently used at XYZ Inc. lastly, the overall usefulness of ABM.Recommended Application of ABM at XYZ Inc.ABM information has wide use and applicability in XYZ Inc. There ar many uses for ABM information which range from determining product/service costs to evaluating acquisition candidates.I feel that XYZ Inc. would benefit greatly by practicing ABM within its operations. XYZ Inc. would benefit from ABM by implementing its practices To Determine Product/Service Cost To Improve Performance of Processes and Activities To Cut Costs/Downsize operations and Various other applications such as To manage projects, to budget and to support acquisition analysis.Current use of ABM at XYZ Inc.Currently ABM is claimed to be used in the areas of determining product/service cost, improving the performance of processes and activities and in scathe of determining the budget. However, in other vital areas such as determining when to cut costs/downsize, managing projects and acquisition analysis, ABM practices are not present. These areas definitely require the attention of ABM in order to ensure the surmount and most informed decisions are made relative to these vital areas of the operation.Although XYZ Inc. collects all the data they need for costing (i.e. Number of Employees to ensure, Insurance Premium Bulk Rates, geographical Location etc), they dont use it effectively or appropriately. A s XYZ Inc. sole purpose is to undercut the competition and provide the lowest possible insurance premium rate to clients in order to attain their business. This is not allowing XYZ Inc. to effectively price their products/services. XYZ Inc. too receives feedback from its clients and customers relating to problems with its services, pointing to bottleneck issues within the claims reimbursements processes. Again, XYZ Inc. does not effectively utilize the information that is being forwarded to them in terms of how to remedy the issue. Rather in information is just ignored with hopes that the issue will in some fashion correct itself. Lastly, in terms of budgeting, the information collected here is used in a more serious manner. Senior management lifes closely and most often times unaccompanied at expenditures throughout the year almost instantaneously issuing a corporate update outlining where cutbacks will occur in the upcoming year. Most often times Senior management only looks a t the large expenditures without taking into account correlating factors or benefits that may have be attained via the expenditures.Collecting all the pertinent data and utilizing it in a productive fashion, in theory would lead to more effective and efficient operations of the organization. However, when human power and crownwork is spent to ascertain such data and it is not used in accordance with betterment of the organization, this in turn leads to extreme discouragement and the action of hi-fi record keeping seems to become more and more pointless, creating a sense of uselessness in a vicious cycle and spiral downward within the organizations efficiency and effectiveness. When data is collected, it needs to be utilized in a fashion whereby everyone involved can reap and clearly see the benefits of attaining the data and using it in an effective and efficient manner for the betterment of the organization.Usefulness of ABM in Specified Application AreasIn the areas identified e arlier, I will quarter how ABM would be useful within the following applications.To Determine Product/Service CostIn this area accuracy is required for operational and strategic decisions of product mix, product set, product line investments and production alternatives. Most ABM implementations are directed toward product/service cost. However, managers use Activity-based costing (ABC) to determine the actual, dead on target cost of products and services. Organizations use ABC because they believe the understanding of true product/service cost will lead to better decisions of product mix, product pricing and product sourcing. Better decisions lead to increased profits. However, knowing true product/service cost does not necessarily closure in better product/service decisions. If an organization is selling all it can at a market driven sales price, there may be no opportunity to increase the selling price or changes the mix of products. In these situations, accurate product/serv ice cost information will force the organization to look at the activities associated with making or delivering an unprofitable product/service. To effect reductions in product/service cost, activities will have to be improved requiring the implementation of ABM system.To Improve Performance of Processes and ActivitiesMany organizations use ABM as a structured way to select and examine key activity work processes, which are critical to the success of the organization. Activities are defined, analyzed and assigned a cost, in order to determine an organizations current or as is situation. With an organizations current or as is situation established, activities and processes with high potential for improvement can be selected and the efforts/actions undertaken to realize the improvement opportunity. Through identifying the biggest bang for the buck, improvement can be focused.ABM is also used to monitor the pass of improvement initiatives. Through reporting cost and performance of pro cesses and activities, people and teams responsible for improvement have a scorecard to valuate the result of effort. The ABM system is used to provide the feedback necessary to sustain improvement initiatives.To Cut Cost/DownsizeSome organizations use ABM to cut cost, downsize, or restructure operations. This is the unfavourable side of ABM. In all actuality, ABM is an effective tool for cost cutting/reduction.In situations where financial returns are unacceptable to stockholders or when survival of the organization is at steak, organizations often take significant cost reduction actions. These actions typically take the form of layoffs, plant closings and idled equipment. Often taken crosswise the board in all areas of the organization, they are rarely effective. Unless the volume of work is fastend, these cost reductions just leave the same work to be done by fewer people. Eventually, the cost creeps back into the organization.Activity-based cost reduction is focused on the act ivities of the organization. Cut activities, cost will follow.Other ApplicationsTo BudgetTo Support science AnalysisTo ensure the future prosperity of XYZ Inc. ABM practices should be adhered to and utilized on a going forward basis.ConclusionA prerequisite to benefiting from ABM is the willingness to assign responsibility for effecting decisions, actions and changes necessary to deliver the desired benefit. Decisions must be made and actions must be taken. Specific responsibility has to be assigned to reduce/eliminate non-value-added activities, improve value-added activities and reduce or eliminate the associated cost drivers.The value and benefit of ABM can only be government noted by the decisions, actions and improvements that result due to the fact individuals were motivated to take action, based on the knowledge and information provided. Implementers of ABM systems should be warned that all efforts to implement an ABM system will be wasted if no one uses or takes action on the information provided.The value and benefit of ABM can be difficult to quantify. The result of some decisions can be difficult to quantify, while others cannot. Expect people to want process improvements to be credited to their project or initiative versus great(p) the necessary credit to the ABM system which was the driver of information leading to success.ABM information drives and supports all improvement initiatives. It can be difficult to measure and quantify its role in improvement and decision making. Activity-based management measure the result of decisions and improvements, regardless of who or what initiative gets credit. While some organizations view ABM as a tool to support improvement initiatives and decision making. The dollar sign makes this information tool useful. Organizations and managers are bottom line driven, and dollars and cents are the spoken communication of business. The dollar sign inspires people to take action. The ABM information system tracks imp rovements and provides individuals, managers and teams with process-based cost and operating information to judge the result of their decisions and efforts.

Real Danger Men: Begin To Think Like Computers

Real Danger Men Begin To Think Like ComputersThis quote by Sydney G. Harris has several con nonations to it. In one view, it essenti aloney shows that how we work, how we live and so far the way we telephone is constrained by the tools that we use. Explaining it with a in truth simple example, as an adult in the world today, we do not have to deliver anything at all. We just type everything. So, there really is no call for proper handwriting. It is very similar to another historied quotation If you have a hammer, every problem looks want a nail. It narrows your thought. It narrows your skills and diminishes your imagination.The essential signifi screwingce of this quote by Sydney G. Harris is that one should open up ones mind and realize the peril that we all showcase today, and not what we perceive to be the real threat. Today, the predilection is for us to think about how one day, machines and estimators might be able to think resembling us, and the troubles that that might bring for the gentle scarper. Have we all not given a thorough thought to it after watching the Sci-fi Hollywood movies set in the 22nd century, where the true enemy of e stratagemh is the army of machines that men themselves once created? But people do not realize the real hazard that faces us today, which is that if we belt down opinion, behaving and acting like the machines do it would be by far more disturbing than the former.Let us try and answer some very simple questions to understand what Mr. Harris is all apprehensive about. What is that inimitable human trait that we stand to lose and in the form become like machines? What is it that separates humans from computers? Is it our susceptibility to think? Or is it our ability to comprehend and learn? As quoted by Edsger W. Dijkstra The question of whether computers can think is just like the question of whether submarines can swim. They do not do it on their own, but it solves the purpose. With the development of expert forms and advanced technologies, machines do now think by themselves and learn on their own. So, what is the fine communication channel in the midst of humans and machines? May be it is our ability to feel, to imagine, to be intuitive and to have emotions. As Albert Einstein once said, Imagination is more important than familiarity. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand. Let us look at the difference between this imagination, intuitiveness and facts, the knowledge accumulation.Blaise Pascal was one of the very famous physicist, mathematician and philosopher, who also invented the first digital computer to add or subtract up to eight digit numbers. One of his most famous works is called the Penses, explained the distinction between the spirit of geometry and the spirit of finesse, the difference between machines and humans. The come across distinction between these two modes of according to Pascal is that while the spirit of geometry analyses observable facts into clearly definable elements and uses deductive reason to construct a system of knowledge and rules based on meticulous attestation, the spirit of finesse concerns ideas and perceptions which cannot be precisely defined or broken down into parts, and uses instinctive reason to fixate sense of the relevant phenomena as a whole. Furthermore, the spirit of finesse results in imperfect opinions about which intellectual people may from time to time argue.A computer thus, works as a spirit of geometry and humans as a mix of the spirit of geometry and the spirit finesse which gives them the ability to reason logically and also to have an intuitive mind, which has a suppleness of contemplation for things it loves. Such a brain is accustomed to adjudicate at a single peek and that too tacitly, without mechanical rules. For example, Einstein did not uniquely possess any piece of information t hat was not accessible to physicists of that era when he developed the guess of relativity. He merely deductd the same existing facts in a completely different manner, and then made testable prophecies on the tail end of them. This explains another of the very famous quotes by Albert Einstein Laws argon only reached by non-logical methods. To make a law one has to have an intellectual love of the subject.We may now deduce the apprehensions of Mr. Harris. While the mechanical thinking of computers implies that every predicament has a definite and clearly definable solution, serene not all the human thinking can be equated with problem-solving. There are no set rules and theorems which can logically conclude many important questions that confront us in the human living What is religion?, Does God truly exist?, How should one choose a career path?, Am I truly in love? These questions do not have unambiguous solutions, but these queries are difficulties that require thoughtful ill umination. Richard Van de Lagermaat, 2002The danger of losing our humanly thoughtful illumination is very evident in todays world. Apart from the example of using computers for writing, we can deduce from the classroom teachings, how we lay heavy importance on facts and information. Every school focuses on a truck load of information which is stormed into the young brains. We inculcate the substance of logic in our children at a tender age, thus, taking away the essentials that make them more human than anything else, the originality in thinking, in perceiving, in imagining all by them themselves.A quote from Charles Dickens novel, Third Times strengthens this school of thought Facts alone are treasured in life, Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts nothing else will ever be of any dish up to them. It shows the direction that we are moving. But this is not the lone want from our life and our education. It is also a must(prenominal) to understand how to think intelligently on the basis of raw facts, make consequential connections between them, and come up with imaginative original ideas.The above discussions pose computers as an evil creation of humans. Does that mean that computers are truly an iniquity? argon they destroying the very nature of mankind? Evidently and quite veraciously it is untrue. According to some researchers, programs such as clip art and Microsoft Word encourage creativity in children by making it possible for them to write and edit documents without getting encumbered with the mechanics of handwriting and spelling Provenzo,1999.The computer is thus, not evil unless it is used as an alternate to learn the fundamentals, such as writing, reading and basic mathematics. The time that we become dependent on computers and start using it as our numero uno resource of education, we lose the basics which build everything else. This is when we lose our creativity, originali ty and narrow our thinking to programmable machines.Thus, this quote expresses an extraordinary message, that even though technology is super advantageous and it truly makes our life a lot easier for us, if used incongruously, it is also as devastating as it is obliging. For example, a car is surely is a express and more relaxationable way of commuting from one place to another, especially over long distances. And with time, it has only improved to better suit the needs and comfort of ours. However, while exploiting the luxury and ease, we tend to become so used to this comfort that we start neglecting the very nature of ours, walking, as and when possible. From the very first word to the know one in this quote, Sydney G. Harris is trying to differentiate between a humans lifestyle and a computers lifestyle. By saying that men will begin to think like computers, he indicates that our future is likely to be lazy because this is what the tool all of us use gives us. Computers are out hammers which drill all the nails by themselves. It gives us shortcuts for all the problems we feed it it does things the easy way.The same implies to any other technology. Consider the following questions. Has Google made us lazy? Are Facebook friends our true friends? Are we more efficient when we are multi-tasking on our android and windows hand-held devices?We need true answers to all these questions. What we need is a real-time realization, a quick centering back to the time when we did not have all or any of this. That time, we used to read in libraries to find out about people, places and things and in this process used to learn more in the library than what we do through Google, just the overview. We used to be close to our dear friends and met them often, confided in them instead of drop a virtual hippopotamus on them through Facebook. We used to be more focused. We used to have more time than we seem to have right now with all the technology and we thought multi-task ing was saving us all the energy and time in the world. We used to be healthier than we are. We used to go out and play under the sky on a green earthly carpet of grass instead of building virtual farms, cities and caring for pets that did not exist.We need a quick consciousness, to apprehend that we live inside a computer now. We have our own virtual lives and cities and events, all inside a computer. And between this entire clamour, we are forgetting how it felt to be real, to be human. Through this quote, Mr. Harris is trying to turn us around to face the real danger and make us understand that, in fact, we are losing our inherent humanness. He is trying to alarm us that if we humans continue on this path to think, act and behave like computers, the consequences will be far more severe. The author of the quote has surely achieved his ambition by saying this quote.John F. Kennedy once said Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all. The discussions surely suggest that we may not be far from the time when this quote becomes the unintended reality of the human race and we are all reduced from the most extraordinary creature to have walked the planet, to the most extraordinary computer to exist.To conclude, in this progressively more computer repress and fact-driven world, as the quotation by Sydney G. Harris suggests, the real danger is not that machines would start thinking like humans, but neither is it that humans will start thinking like machines. The biggest concern is that humans will stop thinking like humans do. We will lose the very innate nature that makes us humans. We face the hazard that people begin to think solely like computers and that we lay more value to technical proficiency than astuteness, and mathematical calculations than sound acumen. We live in virtual lives and in process forget the wonder of natural life we have been bestowed by the almighty. We are succumbing into our own trap, into our own creation. Hence, following the t heory of Pascal, we must inculcate from childhood in our students, not merely the spirit of geometry, but more importantly, the more difficult and ever so obscure, the spirit of finesse.