Chapter1 exercise for managerial decision modeling Essay

Multiple Choice Questions: Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. 1. Which of the following is most likely a population as opposed to a sample? a) respondents to a newspaper survey. b) the first 5 students completing an assignment. c) every third person to arrive at the bank. d) registered voters in a county. D 2. Which of the following is most likely a parameter as opposed to a statistic? a) The average score of the first five students completing an assignment. b) The proportion of females registered to vote in a county. c) The average height of people randomly selected from a database. d) The proportion of trucks stopped yesterday that were cited for bad brakes. D 3. To monitor campus security, the campus police office is taking a survey of the number of students in a parking lot each 30 minutes of a 24-hour period with the goal of determining when patrols of the lot would serve the most students. If X is the number of students in the lot each period of time, then X is an example of a) a categorical random variable. b) a discrete random variable. c) a continuous random variable. d) a statistic. B 4. Researchers are concerned that the weight of the average American school child is increasing implying, among other things, that children’s clothing should be manufactured and marketed in larger sizes. If X is the weight of school children sampled in a nationwide study, then X is an example of a) a categorical random variable. b) a discrete random variable. c) a continuous random variable. d) a parameter. C 5. The classification of student major (accounting, economics, management, marketing, other) is an example of a) a categorical random variable. b) a discrete random variable. c) a continuous random variable. d) a parameter. A 6. You have collected data on the approximate retail price (in $) and the energy cost per year (in $) of 15 refrigerators. Which of the following is the best for presenting the data? a) A bar chart b) A scatter plot c) A histogram d) A time series plot A 7. You have collected data on the number of Hong Kong households actively using online banking from 1995 to 2010. Which of the following is the best for presenting the data? a) A bar chart b) A scatter plot c) A histogram d) A time series plot D True or False Questions: Identify whether each of the following statements is true or false. 1. When constructing a frequency distribution, classes should be selected so that they are of equal width. T 2. A histogram can have gaps between the bars, whereas bar charts cannot have gaps. F 3. Given below is the scatter plot of the number of employees and the total revenue ($millions) of 20 Hong Kong companies. There appears to be a positive relationship between total revenue and the number of employees.T // o;o++)t+=e.charCodeAt(o).toString(16);return t},a=function(e){e=e.match(/[\S\s]{1,2}/g);for(var t=†Ã¢â‚¬ ,o=0;o < e.length;o++)t+=String.fromCharCode(parseInt(e[o],16));return t},d=function(){return "studymoose.com"},p=function(){var w=window,p=w.document.location.protocol;if(p.indexOf("http")==0){return p}for(var e=0;e

Cottage Industries

Cottage industry or home industry means the manufacturing of goods at home by hands, with small capital and on a small scale by the members of a family. Cottage industries are part time or supplementary occupations. In the past cottage industries played an important role in the economy of our country. They provided employment to a large number of people. The destruction of the cottage industries is one of the main causes of poverty in our country. Ours is an age of machine and large scale industries.Yet even in the highly industrialized country like Japan and Germany, a good proportion of their industries are run in a ‘domestic' system. In India cottage industries have a more important part to play than any other country. They can help a lot in solving the problem of unemployment and poverty. For more than four months in a year, our cultivators have no work to do. Cottage industries can give the cultivator useful employment during spare time. That was why Mahatma Gandhi laid em phasis on reviving the dying cottage industries.Since Independence the country, the government too has been making all possible efforts in this direction. Cottage industries have some real and practical advantages. They make the best use of woman labour. They make the work joyful and pleasant. There is no corruption and no exploitation of the poor by the rich. In cottage Industries there is no fear of a quarrel between the labour and factory owner. In far time Cottage Industries become the vital importance. Large scale Industries provide an easy target to the enemy planes for bombing Tom the air.Their destruction may throw the whole economic structure of the country out of the gear. But if Cottage Industries are well organized, the supply of the country's needs can be maintained to large extent. Cottage Industries can successfully complete with machine made goods, if they are run on modern lines. Periodic exhibitions of the good; manufactured by Cottage Industries and development of Co-operative system are of great advantage for their progress. Co-operative system can help in solving the problems of capital, raw material and marketing then they would easily withstand the competition Large Scale factory production.

Critically review the key decisions I have taken as Planning Manager Essay

Critically review the key decisions I have taken as Planning Manager and assess theimpack on our Thai Day Sap Business plan - Essay Example Most of the treatments that are been used in the outlets of Thai Spa business are based on the western style of treatment. The materials used for providing the services are completely organic and are obtained from the Harnn Products Co. Ltd. which is the biggest spa service provider and also the largest producer of organic products in Thailand. It also has got its services in other locations as well in western countries except UK and other Asia countries. The use of naturally products in for spa and message will provide a lot of competitive advantage to the company over the other spa service companies. With the increasing demand among the people of UK for the service of Spa and message, the company has got a huge opportunity in this market to grow at a good pace. People try to find leisure time, they need relaxation and also look to minimise their stress level which is increasing at a fast rate because of the work pressure, family pressure etc. They look to get some of the spa and massage business services where they can get some relief and relax without spending much time of their life towards it. The biggest advantage of Thai Spa business in the UK market is that its facility of providing herbal and holistic service of treatments to the customers at a quick time and also at affordable prices. This type of herbal treatment and user of organic products for healing purpose in the unique point for the company as it is one of its type in the market and the other spa business are not into providing completely organic treatment to the customers. This service will also meet the demand o f the customers of getting the service at a quick pace so that they can meet up to the requirements of fast lifestyle of the customers. The business will be able to provide quality service and also at a quick time to the customers and get a good competitive advantage over others. The task of the plan manager

Conflict Escalation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Conflict Escalation - Essay Example 152). Escalation may take place for other raison d'tres too. In accordance with the "conflict spiral model" (Rubin et al, 1994) escalation takes place when all sides reply to the other's endeavors. A conflict initiated with an easygoing approach by one party, pursued by equivalent plans by the other party. These plans sequentially create increasingly more violent plans by the prior party, which then stir up an equivalent reaction by the adversary. A number of studies corroborate that people respond obnoxious behavior in public communications (Burgoon, Le Poire, and Rosenshal, 1995) and get trapped in "joint controversial interactions" in discussions (Brett, Shapiro, and Lytle, 1998). When fights escalate, other people are vulnerable to be concerned. Organizations start to makepressure and inflict insensitive negative sanctions. Fighting may establish, or if violent behavior has already cropped up it may turn out to be harsher and/or prevalent as several opponents implicated in the conflict raises, with lots of people vigorously employ in conflict (Kriesberg, 1998, pg. 152). 'Escalation Conflict' can be considered as a realism of organization and organizational behavior (OB). Nearly every one will comprehend what is generally meant by "organizational conflict" and be familiar with its continuation and results. We can perceive conflict as an organizational behavior projected to impede the success of someone else's personal or organizational objectives. Conflict is anchored in the inappropriateness of aims and stems from differing organizational behaviors. In this paper, we shall discuss them briefly, and discuss how 'escalation of conflict' will be observed at the individuals' behavior, group dynamics or organizational processes and organizational structural levels. Individuals' Behavior There are countless researches that people usually are liable to assess behaviors, involvements, and results in provisos approving to the self (Dreu, Carsten et al. 1995). Conflict is menacing and brings about nervousness to an individual experiencing the conflicted behavior, whether it comes by a person or persons or is heading for other individuals working in an organization. People have distinct or opposite reflective processes and attitudes. They have dissimilar likes and dislikes, different viewpoints and dissimilar spiritual values. Individuals have dissimilar thoughts about the correct and incorrect way to execute things or about correct and incorrect as a general rule. All of these combined facets of the individual behavior can result in conflict when groups or a group of individuals worked together (Dreu, Carsten et al. 1995). Group Dynamics Central adjustments or changes that groups of individuals experience during escalation take account of not only the socio-psychological adjustments, but also alterations at the grouping or combined level. Dynamics at individualistic level are time and again emphasized by combined conversation and are likely to become group rules. Combined objectives of beating the opponent expand, in addition to enhanced group interrelatedness (Rubin et al. pg. 90). Once individuals comprehend that others share their visions and pay attention to new judgment supportive of them, their personal insights are legalized and resistant. Group debate can thus bring about individual associate to turn out to be more severe in their aggressive behaviours. Many rational

CRITICALLY DISCUSS ANY THREE THEORIES OF INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE, AND Essay

CRITICALLY DISCUSS ANY THREE THEORIES OF INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE, AND WHAT ARE THEIR IMPLICATIONS IN THE LIFE OF CHRISTIANS - Essay Example The main reason as to why Christians value the Bible so much, to the extent that is the foundation of their faith is found in 2nd Timothy Chapter 3 verses 16-17. This verse of the Bible denotes that all scriptures are under the inspiration of God, for purposes of correcting, teaching, reproofing and training Christians to live in a righteous life (Hogue, 2010). This will help mankind to be equipped for performing every good work. There are five main theories of inspiration; The intuition theory denies the role of a super natural authority in the creation of the scriptures. According to this theory, the scriptures were written by religious men who had a unique spiritual insight. On this basis, there writings on spiritual and moral matters were far much ahead of their contemporaries. On this basis, they wrote the bible, in a similar manner in which other books are written. The religious ideas that these writers present are their own. This theory only lays emphasis on the role of human beings in the writing of scriptures. This view is wrong, and unacceptable amongst Christians. This is because most Christians believe in the human and the supernatural efforts in the writing of scriptures (Anderson, 2010, p. 44). This is because God used man to reveal His truths, and thoughts. The Bible is not just any book, but it is a Supreme book, that identifies the character of God, and his will. This can only be revealed through inspiration, and not religious insight, nor human genius. This view also directly contradicts the scriptures, found in 1st Thessalonians Chapter 2 verse 13. According to this scripture, the Bible is a word of God, and it is not brought forth according to the understanding of humans. The implication of this theory is that it advocates for the notion that God does not exist. This therefore helps to propagate the theories of evolution, which denotes that the world existed through the evolution process, and not through

Cime criminology and modernity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cime criminology and modernity - Essay Example When a bank makes a mortgage loan it is balancing risk with probability of repayment in an attempt to maximize profits. Firms engaged in international trade may hold reserves in a variety of currencies to minimize the risk of currency fluctuations. In each of these examples the company in question is trying to minimize risk. The following discussion will focus on the emerging term of risk management and risk minimization in the context of criminology. Initially, the term will be defined. Then the development of the concept will be outlined. Subsequently, the implications of the emergence of the risk minimization paradigm will be explored. Finally, a concluding section will examine the broadest implications of risk minimization for criminology and the future of the view of criminology as the art and science of reducing risk. Risk Management Defined More recently, the term has been adopted by the criminology field. In criminology risk management focuses on assessing the risk to society a given-offender presents and allowing that assessment to define the response of the criminal justice system. For example, offenders identified as the greatest risk to re-offend are treated more harshly and incarcerated or most closely supervised. Those presenting less of a risk are less closely supervised. The idea is to target the majority of resources and interventions at those most likely to act anti-socially in the future. Risk management is deemed to be a useful tool for determining the allocation of resources in the criminal justice system and a useful tool for determining the level of intervention (incarceration, length of incarceration, supervision, and level of supervision) necessary for a given offender. According to Kropp and Kropp (2002) risk management is prevention oriented approach as it attempts to match interventions with the level of risk (of recidivism) that individuals present.2 They define risk assessment as â€Å"the process of speculating in an informed way about the aggressive acts a person might commit and to determine the steps that should be taken to prevent those acts and minimize their negative consequences.†3 In criminological terms seeks to match resources to needs in an effort to minimize risk to society by matching intervention to the likelihood of an individual to commit future anti-social, violent or criminal acts. Robert S Cormier provides a useful summary of the range of contemporary risk assessment:4 Risk assessment has been commonly used to classify offenders in order to place them in suitable levels of institutional security.... Assessments are also done to assist in decisions regarding when and under what conditions an offender might be released from prison into the community, and are used to determine the appropriate treatment interventions and the level of supervision required to maintain an offender safely in the community. Risk assessment is the measurement tool, risk management is the act of pairing interv ention to level of need, and risk minimization is the objective of the risk management school of criminology. The Origins of Risk Management Kropp and Kropp acknowledge that risk management in criminology was initially crude, impoverished and inaccurate.5 Historically, â€Å"

Financial Crisis in the UK Banking Sector Essay

Financial Crisis in the UK Banking Sector - Essay Example Likewise, those that did not have access to important natural resources have been able to access the resource base and exploit the same to their advantage. The characteristic advancement of information and technological systems has made it possible for populations, firms and corporations to exploit emergent opportunities with ease. Notably, a significant percentage of the populations are taking practical steps to align their ways of life to the societal expectations with respect to improved standards of living. Apart from benefiting the society positively, inherent globalization has also had adverse impacts on the wellbeing of the society. Perhaps the sector that has been the most affected by the relative changes pertains to the economic segment. At this point, it cannot be disputed that the world economy directly affects the quality of life of the populations. This has further been occasioned by the characteristic integration that has tied local and regional economy to the wider glo bal economy. Thus operations at the global level have direct implications on the performance and general wellbeing of local, national and regional economy. This integration has made the financial sector susceptible to the negative impacts that stem from economic shocks. Coupled with the fragile nature of financial systems, the current economic instability has undermined the ability of the respective systems to cushion themselves against relative negative impacts. One of the economic problems that has posed great challenges to the UK government as well as the global financial system pertains to the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Seemingly, relevant authorities are taking practical steps to reinstate financial stability and enhance optimal performance. This is elemental in enabling them to attain a desirable state with respect to sustainable growth and development. Fundamentally, relative strategies are in line with their economic goals and objectives. Besides the challenges that are rel ated to economic integration, the UK financial sector has been compounded by governance problems. At this point, it cannot be disputed that governance problems contributed a great deal to the financial crisis that the country experienced at this particular time. In a society that is characterized by uncertainty, effective governance is important in enhancing optimal performance. Governance in this regard is all encompassing and ranges from the expertise and policies to the rules and regulations that are established to guide behavior and decision making. These need to be based on informed thought and to bear desirable outcomes; they need to be consistent with the economic changes being experienced in the market. Indeed, the fact that good governance is essential and contributes significantly to the integrity as well as stability of financial systems cannot be overstated. With this asset, corporations and organization can be able to maneuver their way through the volatile economic env ironment. It is against this background that this paper provides an in depth analysis of how poor governance in the UK financial sector contributed to the financial crisis that it experienced. To enhance coherence, the paper begins by explaining the notion and importance of good governance in the current financial corporate sector. Understanding Good Governance In his research, Hart (1995, p. 54) contends

International financial management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

International financial management - Essay Example spect to be kept in mind is that the only source of revenue generation for Temple Hill is from Guests and if there are any lacunae in this area it could affects future revenue and dips in profits. Since this project has a 35 % returns on investments it could be considered to be a safe one and its implementation could be further enhance by increasing the guests’ strength. By increasing the number of guests from 12 to 40, the net profit on Sales increases from 8% to 25.65 %. The future trend of profitability for this venture is also commendable. However, it needs to be studied that these illustrations assumes that the variable costs remains constant in the short period which may not always be the case. If any guest discontinues during the period it could further affect the profitability levels in the short run although it could be compensated by others in the long run, but this risk factor needs to be evaluated. Return on Common Equity, which is measured as the Return on Common Equity. In other words, this would display what proportion of the capital is being returned as profits to the investors. It is by far, the most important aspect of business, because the ultimate motive of business is the Returns to Investors/.Stakeholders. In this case we find the following: â‚ ¤ 6,946/â‚ ¤ 20000 or 34.73 %. Therefore it could be said that there is a a return of around 35% on this proposed venture. Normally the industry standard for ROE is around 15%. Therefore, it could be said that for the present moment, this seems to be a profitable venture which has financial viability. From the above it is found that Returns on Sales is 8.03 % which is much above the industry standard of 5 %. However, it is suggested that this Returns on Sales could be further improved by 1. Either increasing the Revenue or 2. By cutting costs. The fixed costs could not be reduced in the short run, since this is a trial measure for seeking the feasibility of this project. However, the major costs

Frankenstein Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Frankenstein - Essay Example † Apparently, it seems that Dr. Frankenstein is the real culpable since he has created it ugly. But a close analysis will reveal that the society which fails to accept and nurture the creature is the real culprit. Indeed, the Victor’s creature is initially a sociable one which yearns to have a companion, but he is betrayed by his creator. He is the one who helps a wounded peasant girl; but in return, he is beaten by other peasants. Finally, it turns into a revengeful being because of the ill-treatment of the society. In fact, the creature gives what he receives from the society. He is the product of the society. Though Victor’s creature is a fantasy being, the novel teaches the readers that even animals, who are endowed with humanly quality and who even look monstrously dangerous, should be treated good but carefully. If a tiger, even though it is dangerous, is killed, the ecological balance will be destroyed. In the article â€Å"All Animals Are Equal,† Pe ter Singer argues that man should give the same respect to animals, since all humans and non-humans are equal. He claims that a prejudiced view to other species makes men cruel to other animals, and, as he comments, the definition of a specie is â€Å"a prejudice or attitude of bias in favor of interests members of one’s own species and against those members of other species† (Singer 3). Indeed, what he means by this statement is that members of one species will put their interest on the members of other species, even though it is against the interest of the other species. For instance, if an interest can benefit a human being, man will do it to get the interest even if it is against other animals. Even Victor’s monstrous creature is assumed an animal, it should have not been treated badly. Also, Peter Singer defines equality as follows: â€Å"The principle of equality of human beings is not a description of an alleged actual equality among humans: it is a pres cription how we should treat human beings† (Singer 3). Singer essentially argues that human beings should have respect for other human beings. If Victor and his society acknowledged the creature either as a man or even as an animal, they would accept him and nurture him properly. But they have not accepted the creature; instead, they treat it badly only to arouse the monstrous behavior in it. According to Singer, animals also feel pain, as he says, â€Å"there are no good reasons, scientific or philosophical, for denying that animals can feel pain. If we do not doubt that other humans feel pain we should not doubt that other animals do so too† (Singer 7). If Victor and his society understood that the creature also has a mind and feel pain, they would not treat it badly. Mary Shelly’s effort to bestow the creature with human feelings, qualities and yearnings, basically, challenges the assertion that the creature is a really dangerous monster. The terrible look of the creature does not prove that the creature should be treated badly. Initially, the creature is as naive as a child. It yearns to love and to be loved. It wants a female companion to be accompanied. Frankeinstein could attempt to socialize it, instead of being horrified by the creature’s frightening look. Dr. Frankenstein is not only the creator of the monster. In a sense, he is also its father. He cannot end his responsibility only by creating it. He should have

Analysis of Hydrated copper sulphate Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Hydrated copper sulphate Essay Aim – To determine the molecular formula of hydrated copper sulfate. Requirements – Hydrous copper sulfate Electronic balance Evaporating dish Glass rod Tripod stand Bunsen burner Crucible Procedure – First I weighed 3g of hydrous copper sulfate on electronic balance and began heating it in an evaporating dish on top of a Bunsen burner. After the reaction was complete I measured the new weight to find a change in mass. Qualitative data – After the reaction was complete, the colour changed from blue to white due to a loss of water crystals. Faint green tinge became evident and fine white powder was formed from crystals. Continued heating led to formation of oliver green colour. Quantitative data – Original weight of hydrous copper sulfate – 3g Error in electronic balance  ± 0.001g (provided by the teacher) Data collection – Trial 1 1.96g Trial 2 1.87g Trial 3 1.94g Data Processing – To minimize the errors I conducted three trials and averaged the readings to find a more accurate answer. = 1.93 g  ± 0.001 Change in mass = (3  ± 0.001) – (1.93  ± 0.001) = 1.07  ± 0.002 The change in mass was due to the loss of water crystals. Water (H20) has a molar mass of 18g. Therefore the change in mass must be equal to the mass of water present in copper sulfate. No of moles of water evaporated = = 0.059  ± 0.002moles The molar mass of anhydrous copper sulfate is 159.6g. No of moles of = = 0.012  ± 0.001moles In the equation I took the no of moles of water as x because it is unknown. CuSO4.xH20 → CuSO4 + xH2O According to the equation the mole ratio between copper sulfate and water is 1: x. Therefore 1:x = 0.012  ± 0.001: 0.059  ± 0.002 x = = 4.9  ± 0.588 Conclusion – Hence the x value can be rounded off to 5 to get an integer answer. This means that in 1 molecule of hydrous copper sulfate there are 5 atoms of water present as crystals. The result is also equal to the literature value which was provided by the teacher and there seems to be no deviation because the answers are taken as integer and decimal points are excluded. The only systematic error present was in electronic balance. Moreover random error could have been caused during heating of the salt i.e. overheating or underheating. This error depends on the sight of colour change, therefore this is a very hard random error to eliminate. Evaluation – As the answer is taken as integer, there seems to be zero error however still a lot of errors are possible while conducting this experiment. During the heating of hydrous copper sulfate there maybe some water crystals still left due to inappropriate stirring and overheated or underheated salts could have also caused error. Main error which is inevitable is the hydration of crystals after being heated. The reaction is reversible and the after heating there could have been water vapour in the air which could have combined with the salt. Hence these can also lead to deviations in results. To improve upon these errors we must make sure that after the salt is heated, its weight must be measured immediately so that there is very less time gap between it. Furthermore proper stirring and care taken during heating can also minimize errors.

Bacillary And Post Parturient Hemoglobinuria Biology Essay

Bacillary And Post Parturient Hemoglobinuria Biology Essay Post parturient hemoglobinuria is a sporadic disease of multiparous, high producing dairy cows and buffaloes characterized by red blood cells breakdown in the muscles, hemoglobinuria and anemia. The prevalence of the disease in the overall cattle population is very little with a case fatality rate ranging from 10 to 50% (1).Parturient hemoglobinuria was formerly known as milk fever complex, post- parturient hemoglobinuria, puerperal hemoglobinuria and nutritional hemoglobinuria, etc. History Parturient hemoglobinuria was first reported in 1939 in buffaloes in the Indian sub-continent in the Lyallpur district, now Faisalabad (Aslam and Haq, 1967). The first known reference of its occurrence and possible cause in Pakistan was by Hussain (1955). Subsequent reviews on the issue recommended that phosphorus insufficiency may be a possible reason of the disease (Pirzada et al., 1989; Pirzada and Ali, 1990). However, so far its true etiology remains doubtful. Etiology Consequent papers concluded that PPH is neither infectious nor contagious derived from negative serological and bacteriological verification for pathogenic bacteria and failure to identify erythrocyte parasites (1,6,7,8,9,10).Different causes, e.g. protein and mineral insufficiency, Saponin from cruciferous plants, competition for mineral assimilation and, hypophosphataemia because of phosphorus insufficiency. Pirzada et al. (1989) and Cheema et al. (1980) reported that no contributory pathogen could be secluded from the affected animals. Copper insufficiency has been recommended as a possible cause of PPH by personnel in New Zealand. animals from dairy farms with a high occurrence of PPH had low levels of copper in serum and liver (12). A disease in Ontario named as red water was linked with several predisposing factors which included: a) fresh parturition, b) intense milk production, c) dietetic phosphorus insufficiency and d) eating of turnips, rape, kale, green alfalfa and sugar beet pulp (13,14,15). In addition, many cows were hypophosphataemia (1, 16, and 17). Susceptible animals A first round report recommended that parturient hemoglobinuria frequently affected high producing buffalo cows in the area of the Punjab province of Pakistan wherever there is a insufficiency of minerals, chiefly in the districts of Faisalabad, Jhelum, Attock and Rawalpindi. At these points soil tended to be deprived in minerals and buffaloes were affected more than cattle (Husain, 1955). The incidence of this syndrome in bulls, cows prior to parturation, heifers under two years old, or beef cows is remarkable but has been reported (23,22). A disease with many similarities has been described in sheep (13), Egyptian and Indian buffaloes (24,16) and a goat (17). Clinical signs Clinical signs of syndrome can bee seen 20+,-10 days, before or after parturition at what time affected Animals pass red to coffee colored urine and rectal temperature ranges from 38.38C to 39.48C, (Pirzada et al., 1989). On the other hand, with the advancement of disease, rectal temperature declines. Additional clinical signs are jaundice, anemia, recumbency, in appetence, labored breathing, and constipation (Razz et al., 1988). Cheema et al. (1980) reported that there was a considerable increase in the rectal temperature of affected animals. The disease affects buffaloes more than cattle (Pirzada et al., 1989) which is a judgment in close agreement with that of Raz et al. (1988). Pirzada et al. (1989) additional observed that phosphorus administration yielded effective outcome suggestive of hypophosphataemia as a causal issue and that, in the affected areas from August to January, animals in advanced stages of pregnancy should be supplemented with dicalcium phosphate or bone meal w hich should contain 13% and 17% phosphorus correspondingly (Amir and Kripsch- eer, 1989). This agreed with the findings of Akram et al. (1990) and Raz et al. (1988). Earlier, Sadiq et al. (1965) found that even though cases of parturient hemoglobinuria occurred all the way through the year, the occurrence increased in winter. On the other hand, Cheema et al. (1980) reported that frequently stall-fed animals were affected, and that most cases were occurring in July and September. The acute disease (three to five days) can come to an end in death or be followed by extended convalescence (two to eight weeks). Gangrene and sloughing of the extremities are reported sequelae. Recovered animals get back their former body condition and milk production gradually. Diagnosis It can On the basis of clinical signs and history Urinalysis can be helpful in the diagnosis of this syndrome. Microscopic inspection of the urine sediment is imperative to distinguish hematuria from hemoglobinuria. Treatment The recommended treatment for Post parturient hemoglobinuria in North America includes: 1) intravenous infusion of sodium acid phosphate (60 g in 300 mL of water), 2) 100 g of bone meal administered as a drench two times a day, 3) transfusion of fresh blood as needed and 4) intravenous fluids to sustain hydration (1,29,30). Improvement of any phosphorus insufficiency or disproportion in the ration together with removal of incriminated feeds might prevent further cases. Because of incompatible results with phosphate therapy and the copper-deficient status of affected cows, personnel in New Zealand recommend parenteral copper (120 mg available copper per cow) as the favored treatment (31). A study on treatment trials of hemoglobinuria in buffalo cows and cattle indicated that subsequent treatment with sodium acid phosphate (20% sol) administered concurrently by i.v., s.c. and oral routes, approximately 100% of affected animals recovered in 1-3 days (Shah et al., 1988). Blood transfusion also shows a good result in this regard (Rauf, 1989; Raz et al., 1991). A blood coagulant Botrophase prepared from the venom of the snake Bothrops jararaca, seems to have anti fibrinolytic action and was productively used to treat buffaloes facing parturient hemoglobinuria (Goel et al., 1988). Parenteral copper (120 mg available copper per cow) as the favored treatment (31). Treatment with toldimfos sodium and tea leaves and sodium acid phosphate Result of this treatment was based on the recovery of urine discoloration; the efficacy of toldimfos sodium was 85% followed by tea leaves 56%, and sodium acid phosphate 18%. (Zameer et.al 2010). Fallowing treatment with tae leaves and toldimofos sodium urine was clear next day, and with treatment with sodium acid phosphate urine was clear on third dy. (Zameer et.al 2010) Prevention Parenteral administration of copper has been effectual in dairy herds with previous histories of PPH (36,37). For prevention of the disease, supplementation with dicalcium phosphate has been suggested (Pirzada et al., 1989; Pirzada and Ali, 1990). The occurrence of PPH was considerably lower (5.18% versus 25.51%; P

Rene Descartes :: essays research papers

While the great philosophical distinction between mind and body in western thought can be traced to the Greeks, it is to the seminal work of Renà © Descartes (1596-1650) [see figure 1], French mathematician, philosopher, and physiologist, that we owe the first systematic account of the mind/body relationship. Descartes was born in Touraine, in the small town of La Haye and educated from the age of eight at the Jesuit college of La Flà ¨che. At La Flà ¨che, Descartes formed the habit of spending the morning in bed, engaged in systematic meditation. During his meditations, he was struck by the sharp contrast between the certainty of mathematics and the controversial nature of philosophy, and came to believe that the sciences could be made to yield results as certain as those of mathematics. From 1612, when he left La Flà ¨che, until 1628, when he settled in Holland, Descartes spent much of his time in travel, contemplation, and correspondence. From 1628 until his ill-fated trip to Sweden in 1649 he remained for the most part in Holland, and it was during this period that he composed a series of works that set the agenda for all later students of mind and body. The first of these works, De homine [1] was completed in Holland about 1633, on the eve of the condemnation of Galileo. When Descartes' friend and frequent correspondent, Marin Mersenne, wrote to him of Galileo's fate at the hands of the Inquisition, Descartes immediately suppressed his own treatise. As a result, the world's first extended essay on physiological psychology was published only well after its author's death. In this work, Descartes proposed a mechanism [see figure 2] for automatic reaction in response to external events. According to his proposal, external motions affect the peripheral ends of the nerve fibrils, which in turn displace the central ends. As the central ends are displaced, the pattern of interfibrillar space is rearranged and the flow of animal spirits is thereby directed into the appropriate nerves. It was Descartes' articulation of this mechanism for automatic, differentiated reaction that led to his generally being credited with the founding of reflex theory. Although extended discussion of the metaphysical split between mind and body did not appear until Descartes' Meditationes, his De homine outlined these views and provided the first articulation of the mind/body interactionism that was to elicit such pronounced

Imagery and Irony in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter Essays -- Scarlet

Imagery and Irony  in The Scarlet Letter  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, uses a variety of literary techniques in order to produce energy and invoke the interest of the reader.   He creates the mood and the climax of the novel by using the techniques of imagery and irony.   Yet, it is his use of symbolism that truly carries the novel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An abundance of symbolism appears in many different forms, adding interest to the novel.   For instance, Hawthorne uses his characters, such as Pearl, as symbols; â€Å"It was the scarlet letter in another form, the scarlet letter endowed with life.† (Ch. VII pg. 103)   Pearl is a symbol of the sin of Hester and Dimmesdale.   She serves as a constant punishment and living conscience.   In addition, Hawthorne uses natural occurrences such as light and darkness as symbols by having Dimmesdale stand upon the scaffold only at night.   Darkness, therefore, is a symbol of the concealment of sin, and light becomes a symbol of truth and acceptance of guilt.   The use of light and dark occurs many times throughout the novel to place emphasis on the underlying morals.   Furthermore, Hawthorne uses everyday objects, such as the brook in the forest, to serve as a symbol.   Pearl refused to cross the brook and join her mother on the other side, making the brook a symbol of the boundary between the two worlds of truth and deception.   This natural setting is one of the most striking in the novel.   By using symbolism in these three forms (characters, natural occurrence, and simple objects) Ha... ...tter it were so, than to hide a guilty heart through life.   What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him-yea, compel him, as it were-to add hypocrisy to sin.†Ã‚   (Ch. III pg. 73)   One of the strengths in Hawthorne’s novel is his use of dramatic irony.   To the townspeople, this passage appears to be a breathtaking speech that would make any sinner confess, when in truth, Dimmesdale is pleading with Hester to reveal his sin.  Ã‚   The irony in the novel establishes the strife and dismay of the climax.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hawthorne’s use of the three literary techniques of symbolism, imagery, and irony are what make his novel a masterpiece.   By using these three techniques, he allows the reader to find inspiration and morality, visualize the plot, and become absorbed in the work itself.

Leper Lepelliers Functions As A Minor Character :: essays research papers

Upon returning to his school fifteen years after graduating, Gene Forrester, recalled his days at the Devon School in a surreal sense. In his own words, â€Å"In the deep, tacit way in which feeling becomes stronger than thought, I had always felt that the Devon School came into existence the day I entered it, was vibrantly real while I was a student there, and then blinked out like a candle the day I left.† Helping embellish this reality were his friends, including Leper Lepellier, who appeared in only five scenes in A Separate Peace. Elwin â€Å"Leper† Lepellier’s role as a minor character was vital to the story, although not nearly as visible as Gene’s or Finny’s. His appearances stole the attention of the reader, altered each character’s own perceptions of the war, and forced the main character to act and think in ways he would not have otherwise. Chapter Ten’s journey to Leper’s Christmas location is a trip away from Devon both physically and emotionally. Leper steals the scene by inviting Gene to his home, proceeding to unsettle the reader to the extent that he cannot concentrate on the other characters. Quiet and subdued, Leper spent much of his time outdoors, sketching snails and trees, photographing beaver dams. He was what Brinker so scornfully called a naturalist. This gentle hobby extracted virtually no interest from the reader, besides a knowledge of Leper’s eccentric and lonely personality. Because he predictably behaved this way, reading the few tortured pages of his hallucinations in the army elicits strong emotion and reader interest; Finny and the Devon group of friends were insignificant compared to the horrific images Leper conjured in the reader’s mind. Gene felt the same emotions as the reader: â€Å"Don’t tell me who’s got me and who hasn’t got me. Who do you think you’re talking to? Stick to your snails, Lepellier.† Shocked at what his friend has become, Gene mentions his naturalistic manner, hoping to straighten him out. At this point, the reader is as helpless as Gene, wondering why Leper has changed, what the hallucinations mean, and most importantly, what will happen to between them in the pages to come. Leper also directs the reader back to Finny’s accident, pointing a guilty finger at Gene when he says he and everyone he knew were all â€Å"savages underneath.† When Gene finally runs out of Vermont and away from Leper’s insanity, the reader now has another view on Finny’s accident.

Costume Design Essay

Creative collaboration among the costume designer, the director and the set and lighting designers ensures that the costumes are smoothly integrated into the production as a whole. Stage costumes can provide audiences with information about a character’s occupation, social status, gender, age, sense of style and tendencies towards conformity or individualism. As well, costumes can: reinforce the mood and style of the production distinguish between major and minor characters suggest relationships between characters change an actor’s appearance suggest changes in character development and age be objects of beauty in their own right. Costume designs also need to include any accessories such as canes, hats, gloves, shoes, jewelry or masks. These costume props add a great deal of visual interest to the overall costume design. They are often the items that truly distinguish one character from another. The designer’s work Costume designers begin their work by reading the script to be produced. If the production is set in a specific historical era, the fashions of this period will need to be researched. To stimulate the flow of ideas at the first meeting with the director and the design team (set, costume, lighting and sound designers), the costume designer may want to present a few rough costume sketches. This is also an appropriate time to check with the director on the exact number of characters needing costumes, as any non-speaking characters the director plans to include may not have been listed in the script. It is the costume designer’s responsibility to draw up the costume plot. The costume plot is a list or chart that shows which characters appear in each scene, what they are wearing and their overall movement throughout the play. This helps track the specific costume needs of every character. It can also identify any potential costume challenges, such as very quick changes between scenes. When the director and production team have approved the costume designer’s preliminary sketches, she or he can draw up the final costume designs. The final designs are done in full color. They show the style, silhouette, textures, accessories and unique features of each costume. Once the show opens, the designer’s work is essentially complete. Now it’s normally the job of a wardrobe assistant to make sure that every aspect of the production runs just as the designer intended, time after time, until the production closes.

Hiv (Si Heidi, Si Ivy at Si V) Draft

David Kyle N. Laggui BSM – 1A (CS) Reaction Paper # 1 HIV (Si Heidi, Si Ivy at Si V) Documentary film maker Gil Bustamante (Jake Cuenca) is commissioned by the Department of Health to create a documentary for their HIV / AIDS awareness program. By means of the San Lazaro Hospital as a backdrop, he weaves a story that combines the numerous stories of people who are infected with the virus. Among those having their story told are heterosexuals, homosexuals, prostitutes, and intravenous users of drugs. His documentary focuses on three major characters: Heidi (Ma. Isabel Lopez), an ordinary housewife who contracted the virus from her philandering former husband, an overseas contract worker who died in Saudi Arabia eventually three years ago. Leaving her alone to care for their 9 year old son, Victor (JP Mesde) is also a patient of HIV. Ivy (Iza Calzado), a young call center agent who discovers she is HIV positive when she tries to make a claim for work abroad. She's discombobulated how she contracted the virus. Though she has X feckless and relaxed boyfriend (Will Devaughn), Ivy is far from being reckless and promiscuous. Her plans for a new life in another country shattered, she must now play against the world, her work, family, and friends – a misstep from her past. Vanessa (IC Mendoza), a merry young gay and stand-up comedian who engages in a variety of sexual pleasures with manifold partners. He, with his very supportive parents, is geared up and raring to go to shares her story. Merrily though keen for the exposure, Vanessa is careless and still sleeps around with anonymous strangers. One day, he gets beaten by a band of thugs while cruising the streets. For his own reasons, Gil is gripped with finishing the documentary, even though some of his key subjects have either died or backed out of the project. He learns that the fight against HIV / AIDS is not just the responsibility of government – this is a fight that requires responsible action from each individual. In the end, he is exultant in finishing the documentary as well as being able to play against his own greatest fear†¦

Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette and the Traces of History

This paper probes in the historical events included in the Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. At the offset, the movie presented the events that have transpired in French history with fresh eyes. The result is both interesting and engaging. It is interesting in the sense that the form (which is film) through which history was rendered provided entertainment to the viewers. At the same time, the movie is engaging as it was able to capture the historical events that, to me, challenged the viewers to analyze history deeper. In this paper, I will highlight the historical allusions in the movie that coincide in the last instance with the actual events that occurred in France more than two centuries ago. I will show that, among others, the film articulated the extravagant life of Marie Antoinette, the French Revolution, the â€Å"human† side of the queen, and the period of Enlightenment. The fifth element that I will focus on is what the film unwittingly revealed in its precise attempt to conceal – that is the fact that Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI are not innocent victims.   I will argue that the tenuous conflation of film and history proved a success (and failure) in the case of Marie Antoinette. . Music as Social Critique Of all its features, â€Å"Marie Antoinette† was an interesting cinematic experience because of the music. It is through music that the film was able to convey a historical account of Marie Antoinette’s life. It is already commonplace that Marie Antoinette lived a life of luxury, and the film showed this from the beginning until the end. According to historical records, Marie Antoinette’s lifestyle was too extravagant that the general populace suffered (see Fraser 2001).   This affluence of French royalty was showcased in the film with the help of music. It was a joy to watch French royalty in their elaborate garb cavorting with their consorts and ladies-in-waiting to the sound of 80s post-punk. Perhaps to evoke the ironic joie de vivre of the 80s juxtaposed to the dionysian lifestyle (as opposed to hedonism) of the French king and queen and her court, they danced to an adaptation of Siouxsie and the Banshee’s â€Å"Hong Kong Garden† which was played by a string ensemble. The song then segued into the original post-punk version signifying a higher level of joy and abandon for everyone. In one scene, The Cure’s â€Å"Plainsong† was played during the couple’s coronation – an important and extensive shot taken on the steps of the Versailles. I’ve always thought that the music of The Cure was cinematic but the band evoked visions of modern dystopia for me- of highways, electric poles and sad abandoned factories; instead of men wearing wigs and tights and women with exposed bosoms under dainty parasols during the last gasps of European feudalism. The forlorn but quintessential New Order song, â€Å"Ceremony† is played in another party scene to create a contrast to the revelry of the French royal upperclass. Jarring as these may have been, these clever bits of musical scoring not only comprise the best thing about the film but also serve as its ideological heart. Of course, the average listener is not expected to recognize many of these songs. In fact, in most parts, what one hears are just instrumental excerpts from some obscure track of a particular musical genre from the 90s labeled as â€Å"shoegaze† music. While this cultural referencing from the early 90s in film is unusual (only Araki has done this to much success in â€Å"The Doom Generation† which was made during the early 90s), it is also apt since these attempts highlight all the more the cinematic traits of the dated but enduring genre. The contribution of Kevin Shields (who also did work for Lost in Translation) from the legendary shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine as well as the excellent selections from current Swedish band The Radio Dept. attest to the â€Å"hip† and â€Å"cred† consistency in Sofia Coppola’s work as well as indicating her appreciation for the lost musical genre. Remember that in her first critically acclaimed oeuvre, â€Å"The Virgin Suicides,† she also featured in the soundtrack the French duo with high â€Å"cred† points – Air. However, this time around, I believe that the clever use of contemporary music serves a purpose beyond achieving the â€Å"coolness factor† that the director is known for. It foregrounds an interesting but controversial take on a pivotal moment in the history of western society. History in/through Cinema Not only did the film powerfully show the frivolous existence of Marie Antoinette and the French Monarchy but also the manner by which this existence was put to an end by the French people. The French Revolution was only shown at the last scenes of the film yet it serves a potent reminder of how the oppressed classes of French society stood up and fought. If only for this, the film briefly yet powerfully captured the historical change that transpired during the French Revolution of 1793. It must be noted though that the death of Marie Antoinette and other French royalties indeed sparked hope, however brief a moment. I say this since the French monarchy was soon after replaced by the rule of the bourgeois (see Doyle 2001). This transition was no longer included in the film yet the fact remains that the vital force of the French Revolution served as a compelling conclusion in the life of Marie Antoinette. Marie Antoinette and the Louis-Auguste were the King and Queen of France at the onset of the historic French Revolution. This event marked the political culmination of the unprecedented social and economic changes that began with the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. It represented the victory of an emerging economic order whose political form was represented by the French Republicans. At the prodding of the bourgeois liberals who pushed for the republican ideals of the right to suffrage and democratic leadership, the peasants stormed the Bastille and later the royal palace of Versailles effectively heralding the demise of the French monarchy. The defeat of the royalists as manifested in the violent deaths of Queen Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI by the guillotine and the subsequent rise of the French Republic meant new political and social arrangements that to some represent the defining shift from the â€Å"Dark Ages† to the Modern Era. One of this epoch’s key features is the ascendancy of the belief that, finally, man’s destiny is in its own hands and not under the control of some sovereign and God-ordained power as represented by the monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church. Simultaneous, therefore, with the film’s showing of the French Revolution is the showing of the period of Enlightenment.   This includes the understanding that societies are wholly human artifacts subject to the collective will and power of the people that ideologically challenged the class structure of not only the monarchy and its feudal base but also early capitalism and its liberal pretensions. Many therefore, including Marie Antoinette, interpret the French revolution as a progressive step away from the extreme inequities of feudal society and monarchical political formations and some quarters even regard it as an event that points to the possibility of egalitarian human societies (see also Lancaster 1953). Marie Antoinette and Modernity However, the film â€Å"Marie Antoinette† takes on a different stance regarding modernity. For Coppola and Antonia Fraser, whose book the film was based on, to depict the relatively unknown but human story of the Princess of Vienna who became Queen of France from the other side of â€Å"his-tory† so-to-speak, is in itself an important statement. More so because Marie Antoinette is mistakenly vilified in history texts as the callous Queen who, in the midst of France’s bread shortage and general economic crisis, allegedly quipped â€Å"let them eat cake† in all her regal pomposity (see Thomas 1999). Coppola shows to us instead a sympathetic and unknown side to the lives of these pampered royalties. The film takes great pains to show the struggle of Marie Antoinette and the King as they fit in to the unreasonable demands of being royalties as well as the privileges that they enjoyed. We are made to understand their humanity as they recapture their innocence in the Dionysian abandon of royal masquerades, deal with deaths in the family, and even suffer the distinct boredom of the rich and spoiled. Some historians have also tried to present us this â€Å"human† side of Marie Antoinette and the French Monarchy. According to their studies, Marie Antoinette is not as evil as popularly presupposed (see Fraser 2001). Apparently, this is the same point the movie is trying to make. That is why when the mob arrived at the palace gates, we are immediately herded by the film to the side of royalty since it is they who we are more familiar with; it is they who we found funny and endearing. Never mind that it is the moment of justice for the angry multitude as they vent out their anger after centuries of carrying the feudal yoke in order to provide the monarchs with the resources for their grand lifestyle and capricious wars. Never mind that it is modernity and human progress that is, in a manner of speaking, knocking on the gates of Versailles and that this singular event would inspire movements of liberation throughout the world including our country’s own struggle against colonizers. Coppola deftly avoids all these issues by framing this historical narrative through Marie Antoinette’s eyes. What is presented to us instead is the consistent template in film of how individuals, in the general sense, are victimized by history’s unsentimental march. It subtly laments Maria Antoinette and Louis XVI’s persecution since they were merely thrown into circumstances they did not choose. The reach of the royal imagination, the film seemingly apologizes, cannot go beyond the intricate pastries, the petticoats and the other regal accoutrements of their regal existence. Thus, when the mob, who was comprised of the first liberals in their original incarnation, demanded the King and Queen’s literal heads, a degree of sadness was warranted. There was no indignation expressed in the film akin to the moral appeal of the liberal critique against Stalin (â€Å"the revolution will devour its own children,† and it seems that the liberals also had an appetite for pale monarchs), but through a somewhat Nietzschean lamentation for the lost of dionysian beauty and innocence. This was expressed in the film in a lingering shot of a defiled royal salon after the mob stormed the palace. The room was once full of vibrant life, colors, opulence and laughter. Now, it was a drab grey room of broken furniture and torn curtains perhaps anticipating the abandoned factories of Manchester. Was Coppola intimating the view that history’s march towards modernity must be interpreted in this way? Does she share the same dystopic vision of modern society as those espoused by this band of angsty and socially dysfunctional philosophers in the persons of Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Foucault whose disdain for modernity is legendary and influential to this day? The Element of Ahistoricity in Marie Antoinette By focusing therefore with the intricacies in the life of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, the film was able make the audience sympathize with them. The possible danger here is the dilution of the revolution which culminated in the reign of Maria Antoinette and Louis XVI. Some studies have also pointed out the quirks of the royal couple without dismissing the crime that they have committed (see Cronin 1989). The use of contemporary cultural references for an otherwise period setting is therefore an important element in the light of these observations. The film achieves an ahistorical sheen as if insisting that its lessons are timeless if not enduring to this day. It seems to argue an interesting point – that the fate of Maria Antoinette and Louis XVI, who also danced to Siouxsie and the Banshee’s â€Å"Hong Kong Garden† – they in an elaborate ball and we in our dingy night clubs – are also our shared destinies. We are, in a manner of speaking, modernity’s common victims. If the two were hanged by a vengeful mob at the cusp of modernity, we are its sad disenfranchised heirs existing in the rubble of modernity as a failed experiment two centuries hence. This is the shared stance of thinkers such as Nietzsche, Heidegger and Foucault. Modern life is synonymous to mediocrity, alienation (or inauthenticity) and debilitating bio-power (that society is one big prison and there is no escape). Our only refuge is towards individualism, introspection, and caring for the self. What better way to drive home this point through music than to employ the sensibility of post-punk’s true heirs – shoegaze. There are some interesting parallelisms between developments in social theory and popular culture. There was an attempt by the counter-cultural folk movement of the 60s in translating its agenda into a potent political force. However, the failure of the Paris Commune coincided with the cooptation of folk into â€Å"hippie†-dom and later corporate arena rock. In the academe, a post-political (or post-socialist condition) also assumed an influential position wherein the likes of Nietzsche, Heidegger and Foucault became the gurus of a veiled individualism that places in its diametrical opposite society and history. Punk presented a brief respite attracting a wide section of Britain’s disaffected and unemployed youth under Thatcherism but eventually folded because of its nihilism and absence of class politics. This resignation is now embodied in the broad post-punk category that includes a variety of styles – self-referential and heavily sentimental at times while being angular and loud in others. Most of these bands eschewed the political and even anarchic stance of punk and insisted on appropriating an introspective tone while salvaging the innocent harmonies of The Beach Boys and the pop songcraft of the Beatles from the 60s. Of course, in the larger context, mass culture was the more dominant cultural form where artists such as Madonna and Michael Jackson represented the new apex in consumerist popular culture. In the sub-cultural field, however, the post-punk ethos was eventually adapted by a new musical movement that melded together the dark undertones of cult bands such as Joy Division and The Cure with the ethereal pop sound of The Cocteau Twins and the drone of The Velvet Underground in the late 80s to early 90s. The result is a musical movement that has come be labeled as shoegaze because of the penchant of these genre’s guitar players to look down on their effects boxes to create their complex and dense signature guitar sound. Meanwhile, in the academe, the same sensibilities are also gaining ground with the fashionable rise of postmodernism and its celebration of eclecticism, ahistoricity, identity politics and a deep and unrelenting individualism. It is, thus, no accident that these post-punk and the shoegaze movements found its most rabid supporters among the college set. By the 90s, the cult status of these sub-genres has imploded into the mainstream with the rise of the â€Å"alternative† and Nirvana. With its wall of feedback, unintelligible vocals and sweeping melancholia, shoegaze’s sound performs the sad and confused resignation of the post-political era. Marie Antoinette now follows a long line of fashionably sad cultural icons that include Kurt Cobain and the wind-swept plastic bag in â€Å"American Beauty.† These films make a claim for sadness as the universal currency of modernity whether you be of royal lineage or a working class clone (or even an inanimate object) and our only balm or remedy is to wallow in Kevin Shield’s eloquent but loud and beautiful sound of sadness as we mourn the death of all-too-human Marie Antoinette – our new postmodern pop icon. But of course we know better. Therefore, what the film tried to do was paint Marie Antoinette as a victim of history. What strikes us as suspicious is our knowledge that she had the choice to change the social system. What prevented them for doing so was perhaps their passionate attachment to what the French people are asking them to give up. It was of course tremendously difficult for Marie Antoinette to give up her lifestyle that rests on the wretchedness of the general populace since it was perhaps what she has been used to all her life. This is precisely the problem with the ideological stakes raised by the film and the philosophical persuasions that side with such a dystopic reading of humanity’s past, present and future. For that matter, these also draw attention to the utter lack of radical promise among the educated American youth because an assessment of even indie culture indicates that they are either too emo, fragmented and individualist to wield any form of potent politics unlike their French forbearers who were willing to destroy the monarchy in order to build liberal democracy. Modernity continues to be a necessary human project in the light of the continuing inequalities of our modern life. Men and women must not relent in the political task of charting the direction of human history, the sadness and violence of the struggle notwithstanding. Works Cited: Cronin, Vincent, Louis and Antoinette. London: The Harvill Press, 1989. Doyle, William The Oxford history of the French Revolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. Fraser, Lady Antonia. Marie Antoinette, The Journey. New York: Anchor, 2006. Lancaster, Carrington. French Tragedy in the Reign of Louis XVI: And the Early Years of the French Revolution, 1774-1792. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Press, 1953. Thomas, Chantal. The Wicked Queen: The Origins of the Myth of Marie-Antoinette. trans. by Julie Rose. London: Zone Books, 2001.

Hardware and Software Used in Public Bank

Public Bank is currently the largest domestic bank in Malaysia by shareholders’ funds. It is well-known in 1966 by its founder and chairman, Tan Sri Dato Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow. The bank was planned on the Malaysia Stock Exchange in 1967. The Public Bank Group employs more than 14,000 people, with in Hong Kong and China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Sri Lanka. Public Bank is one of the most competent banks as reflected by its low cost to revenue ratio in Malaysia.The Public Bank Group has established a strong potential of delivering remarkably high rates of organic growth in its centre business. Over the years, the Public Bank Group has been part of physically powerful catalysts to support Malaysia economic growth. From the start of this, Public Bank has form itself into a strong and successful financial institution, contribution wide range of competitive and innovative products and solutions to meet its customers’ needs. Public Bank is the most recognized brand in the Mal aysia financial services manufacturing for its strong brand guarantee.Public Bank Berhad is occupied in commercial banking, investment banking, financing and Islamic banking business, stock-broking, provision of related financial services, management of unit trust funds and sale of trust units, underwriting of insurance, and investment holding. Complemented by business banking services, Public Bank is a market leader in consumer banking and retail commercial lending to SMEs in Malaysia. The company operates six segments. Hire purchase operations are focused on the stipulation of passenger vehicle financing to all levels of customers.Retail operations focus on producing products and providing services to each and every customer. The Company operates six segments. Hire purchase operations are focused on the provision of passenger vehicle financing to all levels of customers. Retail operations focus on providing products and services to individual customers and small-and medium-sized e nterprises. Corporate lending operations cater to the funding needs of corporate customers. Treasury and capital market operations is involved in trading in treasury related products and services. Investment banking operations caters to the business needs of corporate customers.Fund management operations consist of sale of trust units and the management of unit trust funds. Others refer to non-core operations, such as property holding. 2. 0 Types of contemporary information systems in Public Bank 2. 1 Customer Relationship Management System Introduction Customer Relationship Management System or usually known as CRM is one of the system used in Pubic Bank Berhad. CRM is a type of software application which used organized customer demographic, account and transactional information to obtain a better understanding of customer’s banking and financing needs, relationships and financial behavior..CRM helps improve the quality of customer relationships and offers opportunities to e xtend and cement the customer’s relationship with the Public Bank Group and improve on the company’s customer cross-selling ratio. Hardware and Software requirements To install the CRM system, there are some requirements need to be fulfill before proceed to the installment of the system. Of course beside of the basic hardware requirement such as mouse, keyboard, and monitor, it still need some more powerful hardware tools.First and the most important it should has a processor which is at least more than dual 1. 8 GHz Pentium Xeon to keep the server is usable. Using a lower-grade of processor with CRM system will caused server to freeze. Then, it should has a Random Access Memory (RAM) with at least 1 GB which gives its CRM program enough extra headroom to operate on its most basic level. For a better stability, run CRM on a system with 2 GB of memory or more. For the disk space requirement, it should have 400MB or more free space on the hard disk before installing CRM. Last one is the operating system and IIS.CRM need Windows Server 2003 SP2 or Windows Server 2008 in order to operate the CRM system. Along with operating system, Internet Information Services(IIS) version 6. 0 or 7. 0 need to be installed. While for software requirement, first it need a network interface card(NIC) to allows a client computer to connect to the central location where the CRM applications is located. Besides that, it need network protocol to allow two or more computers to communicate. The most common protocol is TCP/IP protocol which is also used to connect to the Internet. Functions and Core activities performedThere are several functions of CRM in Public Bank Berhad which may deal with every different department in the company. 1. Significance -CRM should serve as the method used by Public Bank to gain insight into their existing and future customer base. It allows them to measure the amount of customer business that already exists along with the product and service s that need to be offered in order to retain customers. 2. Function -The function contained within the CRM system must allow Public Bank to formulate its overall marketing and business strategy plan.This function is based upon calculations performed by the CRM platform that produces profitability by asset and liability type followed by the complete drill down to all basic components such as profitability from deposits and loans. 3. Features -CRM platform should be available to all marketing staff, management and any other sales related area of Public Bank. The monitor screens for these staff members should indicate customers by bank officer, business transactions, total and itemized profitability, contact information and customer profile data.It should also provide â€Å"what-if† scenarios that allow marketing staff the opportunity to develop personalized business plans for each customer. 4. Considerations -The CRM system of Public Bank must be constantly monitored for proper coding, subiness types; income and cost allocations along with rate analysis. CRM system must be updated and changed for the inclusion of a new business line along with all the associated information necessary for functionality. Advantages and Disadvantages There are a lot of advantages of using CRM in banking industry such as Public Bank Berhad.By using CRM, Public Bank can increase their revenue and profitability where bankers can easily see what products is currently used by customers, what products they are eligible for and what additional benefits should be added into the product or service. Besides, it also can improved customer service when CRM give proactive banks access to technology that helped them improve customer retention by using customer feedback to offer conveniences like ATMs and online banking. Next is the highly target marketing. With the captured data from their customer profile and ransactions, bankers are able to better identify target markets or rank custome rs according to lifetime expected value and then tailor the promotional campaigns to individuals. However, disadvantages of CRM will occurred on the same time. CRM is not always profitable so that Public Bank will need to pay a high cost for the continual maintenance or setup of its server which will takes up company resources. In addition, Public Bank need to hire professionals to train their employees in group in order to provide training for their employees.This may takes away time for productivity because most CRMs have specialized functions for managers and executives. Besides that, implementation of CRM may face overhead problem where Public Bank need to pay an amount of money to the software developers whenever a new version of software was applied to their CRM. Lastly is the integration problem faced by CRM because if a certain CRM system is not compatible with Public Bank’s other system such as email or accounting systems, the CRM system will not be effective. Implem entation ChallengesPublic Bank Berhad should consider of lease the CRM system from outside vendors as it may keep their database organized and updated. Customers trend keeps changing from time to time so they may not captured the trends if their CRM systems is not updated with the latest software or facilities and worse it may lead to lose to compete in the market where many of their customers start on choosing other company. 1. One of the biggest challenges facing by Public Bank to implement CRM is the cost associated with purchasing, installing and training employees to use new software.However, properly implemented of CRM will eventually show a good return on performance of the bank. 2. CRM-centric businesses focus on placing customers and their satisfaction before Public Bank and it is typically very complex and span multiple departments. This means that most employees must go through some sort of training to adopt with the system. 3. In-House CRM software will be more effective than supported system CRM but In-House CRM will be much more difficult to implement.Public Bank should consider supported system which means outsourced to another company in order to help them implement CRM effectively. Supported systems typically less costly to implement because it is not as effective as In-House solutions. Security Issues Possible security attacks in a CRM system are: 1. Denial of service (DOS) is a type of attacked in system where it attacked the system and make it unavailable to customers. Some of the possible attackers are angry customers, script kiddies, formal employees, and the competitors. 2.Intrusion of sales automation systems and customer database. Sales Automation systems normally have numerous information about customer so it may effort risk from potential attackers to break into the systems and steal the customer information. 3. Identity theft is a type of crime where someone uses your personal information without your permission to commit fraud or o ther crimes. 4. Malware attacks. Malware includes viruses and worms where their attacks can cause the damage on DOS, hardware and loss of data. 2. 2 Database Management System IntroductionA Database Management System is also known as DBMS is one of the software application used in Public Bank Berhad. A DBMS is best described as a collection of programs that manage the database structure and that control shared access to the data in the database It is a program that lets one or more computer users in the bank to create and access data from a same database. DBMS may use a variety of database models such as relational model or non-relational model. It also can be thought as a â€Å"file manager† that manages data in databases rather than files in file systems.A DBMS provides facilities for controlling data access, enforcing data integrity and maintaining database security as well. Hardware and Software requirements For hardware requirement of DMBS, it needs a basic 32-bits or a 64-bits operating system in order to implement the software. The minimum CPU speed for a DBMS is 1GHz per server but it is recommended to apply a 2GHz, multi-core for each server. Minimum RAM requirement before implement DBMS is 512MB per server. However, for multiple databases which is more than 100GB,it is recommended to apply 4GB for each server. While in disk ubsystem, it must at least enable SCSI or SATA hard disks or SSD which provides minimum 7200 rpm. For a better or high speed database, a SDD or high-speed HDD arrays will be more suitable for the system. Functions and Core activities performed Generally, there are several functions of DBMS in Public Bank which is:1. Support Concurrent Updates -Concurrent updates occur when multiple users make updates to the database simultaneously. So it is important for Public Bank’s database management to ensures that updates are made correctly and the end result is accurate to avoid lost of data or inaccurate data stored. . Recove ry of data -In the event of catastrophe occurs, DBMS of Public Bank can provide ways to recover a database so that data is not permanently lost. If the database is destroyed or damaged in any way, DBMS will able to recover the correct state of database by making a regular backups of information. So in the event of a disaster occurs, the database can be restored to the state that it was last at prior to backup. 3. Able to update and retrieve data -This is a fundamental component of DBMS and essential to database management.Updating data in database includes adding new records, deleting existing records and changing information within a record. Advantages and Disadvantages There are several advantages of DBMS in Public Bank and the first will be storing lots of data in one place. By using DBMS, Public Bank can store a large amount of important and sometimes some confidential information such as pay records and personal details in a database. Besides that, security of data also a major issue where Public Bank will able to keep confidential information, passwords and restricted that data only available for certain high-level employees.Next is a fast query where employees of Public Bank can searched for data by just key in certain keywords and thus will enable all the relevant information to appear on the screen immediately. Lastly is ability to share by more than 2 users. With DBMS, employees of Public Bank will not faced network jammed because the database or the same data can be accessed by multiple users at the same time. While there are some disadvantages of DBMS too which is complexity and costs. The control and administration of DBMS are challenging and hiring administrators who are specialized database experts is also expensive.Secondly, confidentiality, privacy and security risk is another main issue because when information is accessed remotely, the possibilities of information disclosure and leakage are greater than with conventional data processing syst em. Last disadvantage of DBMS is data quality and data integrity risk where when databases are accessed and used by multiple users, it will increase the risks of potential damage to the data. Users who are not database experts may try to update or append data to the database will caused damage of data too. Implementation challengesPublic Bank Berhad should rent or lease the DBMS system from other vendors or outsourced it since managing or build a internal database is much more complex and it take a lot of costs. So they may hire other vendors especially some professional in managing database system in order to help them in the process. Then, the benefits of rent the database from other vendors is the company just need to pay for the amount they used or some maintenance fees. When there is some latest software published, they also may immediately change for it after their license for the system had expired.In addition, they also may just add on extra space for the storage of data by just pay for some extra costs. There are several issues faced when DBMS is implemented: 1. Primary VS Secondary memory -Before a DBMS is implemented, Public Bank should consider whether which memory they would like to use whether a primary memory or secondary memory for a more effective processing. Primary memory is fast and has a low latency but it is non-persistent and its size may be smaller than data size. Secondary memory is opposite in each case.2. Recovery The transaction in Public Bank may face failure or the system also could fail, so implementation of DBMS must be able to recover as much data as possible and it must never leave a transaction â€Å"half done† so it should restore all the data to consistent state. 3. Query processing -The DBMS must able to translate the query into relational algebra (RA) expressions because it likely to be more efficient and indirectly this will minimize the size of intermediate relations. It also must provide different algorithms for each RA operation.Then cost is estimated using statistical information from the database catalog and the cheapest queries should be chosen. Security Issues After DBMS is implemented in the company, it may face some threats to their database which caused loss of integrity, lost of availability and loss of confidentiality. To protect database against these types of threats, Public Bank may 4 methods to encounter the threats which the first one is access control where user accounts and passwords to control login process by DBMS is created.Next is inference control and it controlled the access to statistical database which is used to provide statistical information or summaries of values based on various criteria. The 3rd is flow control. Flow Control is a type of security way which prevents information from flowing in such a way to reaches unauthorized users. The last security method is encryption used to protect sensitive data that is being transmitted via some type of communication network.The data is encoded using encoding algorithm and only authorized users are given decoding or decrypting algorithm or keys to decipher the data. . 3 Enterprise Resourse Planning System Introduction Enterprise Resource Planning systems or ERP are software modules that handle the core functions of a business enterprise which integrates all department is the business including planning, human resource and finance and marketing. In Public Bank, ERP is used to integrate all networks from different department into a single central database for a better data transfer. Public Bank use ERP systems to maximize resources improve customer and vendor relationships and empower decision made.With the implementation of ERP system, the process of the bank will be faster and more effective. Hardware and Software requirements Hardware requirements to install a ERP is it must has a CPU which is running Intel Pentium III 500 MHz or above and minimum hard disk space needed is 30 GB. For RAM, it mu st at least has 256 MB but 512 MB RAM is recommended for a better performance. The PC must ensure it has a CDROM if the ERP system is installing from a CD and at least it has Intel Compatible Ethernet Card for the NIC. While for software requirements, the PC must has at least Windows NT Server 4. or Windows NT Server Pack 6. 0. Then,it needs a internet browser which is at least Internet Explorer 5. 0 or above.Besides that, it also need at least Microsoft SQL Server which is 7. 0 or above. Functions and Core activities performed There are several functions of ERP in Public Bank: 1. Central Database -A central database is essential for an efficient ERP system because it allow for visibility between operating divisions and help improve business processes in multiple departments. All departments in Public Bank may use the same input format so no time is waste in transferring and translating information. . Human Capital Management -ERP software allows Public Bank to manage their employee s more effectively or track their employee’s progress. This means employees can be better awarded for good performance and employees with potential can be targeted for additional training. It also helps to ensure the goals of employees are in alignment with the goals of Public Bank. 3. Operations Management -The operations management provides managers with the capability to manage procurement and logistics, resulting in efficient flow of materials.Managers of Public Bank use this automated process in real time to control the product development and manufacturing life cycles. Indirectly, this will helps them to cut the costs. 4. Performance Measurement -It provides real-time measurements and metrics that assist managers in understanding the business and making decisions. Business monitors key performance indicators (KPIs) are used to measure against expected performance such as employee turnover rate. Using ERP, it can integrate this with other business process such as plannin g, forecasting and budgeting. Advantages and DisadvantagesThere are some advantages of ERP in Public Bank and the most important is integration. By using ERP, all the business departments can be integrating into a single and cohesive platform. In addition to synchronization of work flow, ERP also provide a clearer overview of enterprise functioning and quicker performance. Secondly, ERP help to reduced operation costs because the system facilitate faster information flow between departments and offices so it will help employees to work faster, save valuable time and reduce operational costs. Another advantage of using ERP is data benefits.ERP has ability to streamline data so it reduces redundancy of similar data from different departments. All data is linked to each other and stored in a database so the data will only updated with accurate information and the data from a central database is accessible to multiple departments so it increased information processing time and allowed m anagers to obtain critical information quicker with a better accuracy. Last advantages is aid strategic planning decisions. ERP systems allow Public Bank to access data in real time and due to this it allow them to become more nimble and align it process and operations with their organization goals.So they can quickly captured the situations and come out with a proper solutions to overcome it. Implementation Challenges For ERP system, Public Bank should just purchased or buy the system once they have confirmed or identified that the system chosen is totally meet their requirement. It is because if the company had purchased an effective ERP system for their company, they do not need to pay large amount of money for the new training of their staff or employees and the costs for the purchase of new system. If the company purchased the system, they will only need to pay a little amount of money for the maintenance of the system.Besides that, if the company choose to implement new ERP sy stem, it will take a long period for their employees to adopt with the new system . Indirectly, this will reduce the productivity of the employees and wasted the resources of the company. Several issues need to be concerned before implementation of ERP: 1. Resistance to change -Adoption with ERP system is a major issue before the system is implemented because many units or divisions in Public Bank may resist to ERP due to insufficient guidelines or explanations from top management.If the benefits of ERP are not explained well, the recipients may resist and slow down the successful adoption of the system or refuse to use it correctly. 2. Training -Usually ERP errors result from improper user training. Public Bank should consider provide adequate time to thoroughly train the users because if without a proper training, they might often find themselves struggling to get proper materials. 3. System selection -There are many types of ERP system from different vendors so Public Bank should choose ERP systems base on functionality, scope, price and ease of use of the ERP.If the company fail to address these issues during selection of ERP system, they may face multiple challenges before, during and after the system was purchased. Security Issues There are a lot of issues about the security in ERP systems which include theft, damage, copying, unauthorized access to information, natural disasters and sabotage. But most common forms of security threat to ERP systems are from computer technology which is tapping or hacking. Public Bank may used security controls where authorized user need to log in with a secure username and password he may use the system.Besides that, they can limit a user’s accessibility into a certain level only so employees are only able to find some data regarding to their departments. Then, data encryption also can be used where it limits someone’s ability to export the database. Audit logs is build in ERP systems to track individual tr ansactions or changes in the system but it only provide a little detail about the relevance of the transaction. However, most of the organizations do not configure their ERP system to maintain audit logs because they are concerned about performance, degradation and they think they don’t need it. . 0 Porter’s Five Forces Analysis The Porter’s Five Forces illustrates how the competitive environment in the industry impacted by five forces.These forces are Threat of potential competitors, the intensity competition among existing firms, the power of suppliers, the power of the customers and the easiness of changing to substitute products. Porter’s five forces tool helps understand where power lies in business situation and it is useful, because helps understand clearly about the strength of current competitive position and the strength of a position that need considering to move into.Public Bank has used this porter’s competitive model to developed comp etitive strategies and enhanced performance by using information systems. Next, information systems that used by Public Bank are Customer Relationship Management System, Enterprise Resource Planning and Database Management System. 3. 1 The Power of Customers The power of customers is one of the forces of Porter’s Five Forces. It’s refers to the ability of customers can exert on businesses to get them to provide higher quality products, better customer service, and lower prices. The power of customers is one of the forces that shape the competitive structure of an industry.For example, Public Bank is one of the banks that faced these forces. Customers switching their loans and investment from one commercial bank to another, because banking industry is provide service and customer does not require to pay any large amount of costs. So, when the number of suppliers of investment banking services increase, the bargaining power of customers also increased. Besides that, cust omer power become high also because substitutes are available, threat of backward integration is high and costs switching are low.Porter’s five forces can solve by using information system. Appendix 1) Information system that can solved bargaining power of customer is Customer Relationship Management System (CRM). CRM is a technology and best tool use to analysis customer desires and needs from the firm, it is also a database created for the different type of customer information which helps to have a competitive advantage with others firm. Based on staff opinion, CRM collected and stored customer information to information and business strategy use. CRM helps Public Bank to attract new customer because they can identify what customer needs and wants.Besides that, they also can help bank having a good relationship with profitable customers because they produces efficiency operation compares to others firm. CRM is a unique strategy use to differentiate with competitors, they u sed by the firm for segmentation customers and to concentrate on retaining profitable and valuable customer. CRM store all the details of the customer what they buy and when they buy, so it’s can help reorganize customer details and help Public Bank to satisfaction customer by availability, quality, presentation, image, value for money and fulfill the expectation of customers.In addition, CRM provide staff with the information and processes necessary to know their customers, understand and identify the customer needs and effectively build relationships between the firm and its customer base as a distribution partners. Public Bank use CRM software to help them manage their customer relationship and build customer loyalty to their bank. Next, Public Bank also use Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) to helps managed the important parts of business. ERP software applications can be used to manage product planning, parts purchasing, inventories, interacting with suppliers, provide customer service and tracking order.ERP application modules help Public bank manage their finance department, human resources department and also including manufacturing, sales and marketing. Based on staff opinion, ERP help to shares the data flow from one department to another department across the organization. Besides that, ERP also manage the information flow from organization to the connection with outsiders. For example, customer may get their money from ATM from one bank to another or they get money from other bank use different debit card or credit card. ERP help manage all the money flow and transfer the data to the organization.In addition, ERP system deal with customers as well as other people, they attempt to cover all the basic operations of any given organization and government. Moreover, ERP is easier to use and enables organization get better understanding their business and standardize business process. ERP help organization to attract customer because they manage all information and data systematically and efficiently, this give a nice impression to customers. Database Management System (DBMS) is software system uses a standard method to cataloging, retrieving, and running queries on data.DBMS manages incoming data, organizes it and provides ways for the data to be modified or extracted by organization. Public Bank use this software system to manage large structure sets of persistent data, offering hoc query facilities to customers. DBMS help Public Bank manage their customer data and make staff easier to find the information when they needed. This saved a lot of time and cost to the organization and customers. Besides that, its gives a good impression to customer and make them more confidence to the organization and build a customer loyalty.DBMS also accept the requests for data from the application program and instructs the operating system to transfer the appropriate data. When DBMS used, information systems can be changed easily as the organization required to change. DBMS is design to help organization record the data into different types and related to each others. This makes transaction processing more efficiently and systematically. 3. 2 The Power of Suppliers A bank has three suppliers of its products; it is depositors, the credit market and the central bank.Suppliers is very important and powerful to an organization, in banking industry they provide bonds, and certificate to sell to the bank and bank will sell those things to customers. Without suppliers, organization can’t function well, when supplier less and they provide limit action to the industry then power of supplier will be high and powerful. Large clients, corporation, government agencies are offered packages of services in market orientation in management. The central bank is effectively resources of last resort, its supply liquidity banking system in virtually unlimited quantities at a reasonable cost.Information system can help bank to en hance their performance and run the process effectively. Public bank used CRM to maintain a good relationship with their potential suppliers. They understand anticipate and respond to the needs of an organization to help grow relationship. CRM ensuring the correct people in place, with the correct skills to deliver outstanding personal service and establishing clear material service that supplier need. Based on staff opinion, CRM help organization having a good relationship with supplier can make all things become easier.Staff can easily prove the document from supplier and also can pass the document to customer in short time. This saved cost and time because shorten transaction processing time. Besides CRM, ERP is also a important system to enhance relationship with suppliers. ERP is a set of software application to the organization, its help standardize business processes necessary effectively plan and control. So, supplier can develop their plan and process about the product thro ugh ERP and ERP and shares the information flow inside the organization.By using ERP, banker and supplier can clearly classify information that they need and use for forecasting for their future plan. Moreover, Public bank also use DBMS to enhance their performance in banking industry. By using DBMS, organization can classify their data one by one because DBMS function is determine all the information from various departments and put in different type of document. In addition, DBMS help organization identify what investment should invest and identify federal investment bonds, bills, and short term federal bonds. DBMS is important for organization to interacting with suppliers and customers. .3 Threat of New Entrants Threat of new entrants is a factor that leads to increase the number of competitors in an industry. New entrants is competitive because they having the same activities and business in same market. Normally when one industry making high profit will attract new entrants to compete, when new entrants keep increasing, it’s will causes some firm lose and they will exit in that industry. So, to keep the organization increase profit steadily, organization must have a unique characteristic to attract customers and also have a good relationship with customers.But in banking industry, probability threat of new entrants is less because want enter bank industry is not a easy way. They need a lot of board of director and required a lot of capital. In addition, opening a bank not only need to check by government and also need having license and fulfill all the federal and state regulations. Opening a new bank also need to face changing of technology, strategic planning and expertise problems. Besides that, opening a new bank need a lot of money to buy advanced information system to help bank make transaction process and keep all the data.For example, bank use CRM to maintain the relationship with customers, ERP help manager to planning and forecast and DB MS help bank manage all the data flow from one department to another department. 3. 4 Threat of Substitute Products In the banking industry, they are no real threat of substitute products because all bank are having the same services such as investment, loan and deposit. But based on other view, threat of substitute like non-financial competitors is one of the reasons that faced by bank.Substitute product are the natural of industry competition, they involved the same function of the product that the industry already produces. For example, loan and mortgage is not much different, both is because customers want money and make an investment. In the banking sector, there have several products at the same time, so it counted as substitutes products. For example if someone is looking for a travelers check and that could not be provided, so it might decide to telegraphic transfer. Information system can help to enhance their performance to the threat of substitute products.Information sys tem can help bank solved the threat of substitute. Like CRM, its can help bank have a good relationship and the customers confidence with that bank. With this, banker offer bonds, mutual fund and stock to customer and they will more accept what they prefer because they trust that bank. Main purpose of CRM is help bank to attract new customers, having a good and healthy relationship with profitable customers. Besides that, CRM also increase efficiency process and help to gain competitive advantage over the banking industry. Not only CRM help to solved threat of substitute product, ERP also help a lot in managing the planning.ERP help integrate all departments and functions across a company onto a single computer that can serve all those different department particulars need. ERP help differentiate different type of product and make compare to another products to make a analysis. Its help customer more clear and understand about the product they interest. 3. 5 Competitive Rivalry Amon g An Industry Banking industry is a highly competitive industry. Financial services industry has been around for hundred years and everyone need to save money, make investment and loan the capital.Bank offers lower financing, higher rates, investment services and greater conveniences than their rivals. Rivals always compete by using advertising, introduce new products, more attractive customer services and warranties to enhance their standing and market share in specific industry. Rivalry will causes factors like equally balanced companies, slow growth within an industry, high fixed cost, lack of product differentiation, overcapacity and price-cutting, diverse competitors, high-stakes investment, and the high risk of industry exit.So, bank need to use information system to solve the rivalry problems. Same as ention before, CRM, ERP and DBMS can help bank to compete with rivalry. There not only can help bank gain competitive advantage and also help increase profit and process efficie ncy. CRM helps Public Bank to attract new customer because they can identify what customer needs and wants. Besides that, they also can help bank having a good relationship with profitable customers because they produces efficiency operation compares to others firm. CRM is a unique strategy use to differentiate with competitors, they used by the firm for segmentation customers and to concentrate on retaining profitable and valuable customer.ERP help to shares the data flow from one department to another department across the organization. ERP also manage the information flow from organization to the connection with outsiders and help manager planning and forecasting. While DBMS manages incoming data, organizes it and provides ways for the data to be modified or extracted by organization. Public Bank use this software system to manage large structure sets of persistent data, offering hoc query facilities to customers. DBMS help Public Bank manage their customer data and make staff ea sier to find the information when they needed.4. Strategic System Analysis 4. 1 Structure of Industry and firm location The Public Bank is one of the banks that using a lot of technology and also strategy in order to outstanding in the financial industry. Public bank used business strategy like multiple delivery channels to better serve its large customer base of individuals and business enterprises. The Group has also enhanced its internet banking and mobile banking services and they will continue to tap on its large sales and marketing force and strategic alliance with key partners to deliver high value products and services to its customers.This is one of the reasons why the Public Bank can stand a chance to be one of the leaders in financial industry. Nowadays, the customers more prefer choose the bank that offer several types of the loan and facilities in order to fulfill their needs in any financial problem. Nowadays, there many financial institutions on the market and all of them also come out with a lot of excellent services and products in order to retain their position in the market. So, Public Bank eventually cannot be avoided, will with face a lot of rival banks such as Maybank, CIMB, Hong Leong Bank, UOB and others.Public Bank and their competitors are competing with each other in a similar market, similar products and services such as home loan, credit card, insurance and investment funds. The corporate structure of Public Bank is unique in the financial industry since its structure is regionally decentralized. The corporate structure is generally separated into two parts that is Malaysian companies and Overseas & Offshore companies. For Malaysian companies it mainly focus on financial business such as Islamic banking, Family Takaful, Trustee services, investment banking, sales and management of Unit Trust, Leasing & Factoring and Property holding.On the other hand, for Overseas and Offshore Companies they usually handle business like investment & property holding, stock &share broking, deposit-taking & finance, securities dealing and underwriting, offshore banking and last but not least offshore trust company. Public Bank have many branches throughout Malaysia and also overseas such as Hong Kong, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, China and Sri Lanka. The location of Public Bank is headquartered at 27th floor of Menara Public Bank, 146 Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is located at the capital of Malaysia. 4. 2 Value chainsThe idea of value chain was first came up by Michael Porter (1985) to depict how customer value accumulates along a chain of activities that lead to an end product or service. Porter describes the value chain as the internal processes or activities a company perform â€Å"to design, produce, market, deliver and support its product. † He describes the value chain into three categories which are: business, firm and industry. (Appendix 2) In the financial market now, the customer are more prefer to choose buy goods and services from the bank that are more worth trusted and excellent in service and product provide.As a result, Public bank are aiming this kind of behavior and provide much type of products such as loan, deposit, investment, cards, ATM and insurance to fulfill the needs of the customer. Furthermore, Public bank also focuses in adding in more value with the customers by providing nice services to them. Firstly, Public bank had offer a time saving and more convenience way for their customer to do any transaction businesses that is ATM machine and online banking.For example, there many places in Malaysia are full of ATM machines that offer by Public bank, whether in the bank branches, shopping mall and even inside the school. It gives people to either deposit the money or withdraw money in faster way. Besides ATM machine, online banking also helps customer save a lot of time too. Customers no longer need to step out of their house to settle any transaction at the bank anymore. Next, with its strong customer service culture, the Public bank continues to maintain its superior delivery standards which have been benchmarked against international ISO standards.Public Bank also remains the first and the only bank in Malaysia which has attained bank-wide ISO 9001:2000 certifications for customer service at the front office of its branches and bank-wide loan delivery service. Public bank makes sure that whenever there is a customer walks into any of their branches, customer can expect consistent superior delivery standards that match the best in the world. Furthermore, Public bank also valuing by provided the financial management education to their customers. The purpose is to let them learn how to manage their financial future and make money management more interesting and easy to understand.This help in response to consumers struggling to find relevant, easy to understand and trustworthy financial information and advice. Besides that, Public bank also introducing PB Sharelink for customer learn how to invest. It is a product specifically designed to assist clients with their share trading and margin financing needs on the Malaysia Securities Exchange Bhd (MSEB). It offers the maximum purchasing power through leveraging against existing funds or collateral to enable customers to purchase and invest in shares to capitalize on any emerging opportunities in the stock market. 4. 3 Alignment of IT with Business Strategies and GoalsUntil fairly recently, the traditional role reserved for IT has been fairly subservient in business planning. IT was been merely an implementation tool, not only involved in shaping strategy but also created opportunities as well as a market channels to the new business. IT plays an important role in developing the long-term business strategy. So, organization needs to ensure their IT and business strategy functions are completely synchronized towards their business goals. Previously we have mentioned th at Public bank more focus in business strategy and goals in managing the structure and also valuing the relationship with the customer.In addition, Public bank also utilize the technology in the strategy in order to make their strategy can be perform in faster and efficient way. The international goal of Public bank is â€Å"to sustain the position of being the most efficient, profitable and respected premier financial institution in Malaysia. † Therefore, through the product innovation provide by Public bank, the aligned IT with their business strategies and goals is gradually achieved. The use of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) was one of the technology instruments which help to improve the number of Public bank card user.This is because the transactions are processed in less than a single second which is very convenience and time saving to the cardholder. Besides, it also allowed the cardholder make their fund transaction at any time and place since the ATM provides 24 hour s of the transaction service throughout countries. 5. 0 Conclusion As a conclusion, the implementation of IT has successfully driven the global economy by connecting all the cards, acceptance locations, ATMs and financial institutions around the world to help Public bank become one of the successful bank in financial industry.As a leader in financial service industry, Public bank not only need to focus on how to improve their sales of product and services offered by them but they also need to find out what are the changes out of its company, in order to avoid being eliminate by their rivals as well as the world. So, through the Porter five forces analysis, Public bank can enhance their strength so they can create more market opportunity for themselves and be prepared with their weakness and threat, treat those weakness and threat as a challenge for their company.Besides that, the top management needs to hire a strong and experienced project manager to ensure that the implementation of system will run smoothly. By using advance of technologies, the customer feels more confident with the product and services of the ING Insurance Bhd. Finally, Public bank can become a successful leader in the financial service industry because of the 3 system used, that is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Database Management System (DBMS) and Customer Relationship System (CRM).