Structure and Culture of Small Medium Enterprises

‘The category of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is made up of enterprises which employ fewer than 250 persons and which have an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million euro, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding 43 million euro.’ (Definition, 2011) Above explained is the new definition reconstructed by European Commission based on the developments to business environment. This was published in the year 2005 in their website further talking about the importance of SME’s to the European community in the report they issued. Looking further into how and why SMEs plays a major role in the business environment the report explains that, the 25 million SMEs provides 75 million jobs covering 99% enterprises in 25 European union countries. Nonetheless, SMEs has to face difficulties in capital and other important factors such as investment loans especially during the early stage which makes it less stable and short period existence for these types of businesses. (Introduction, 2011) However, some determined minds working through this field tend to survive the obstacles faced in the early stage and carry on with the other phases. Usually SMEs have less than 250 employees. This small community also has to have an intranet among them to be updated and connected to each another. One of the most common tools is paper based communication. Paper based communication requires plenty of paper, more procedure, and more time, which is less reliable and difficult to manage. It also has its advantage of having long time proof of records. But that is not the basic factor highly prioritized in today’s business world. As alternatives keeps the place tidy and stores the record internally in any hard disk or any software. Most importantly, company records are much safer where there is more IT involved. Though, communication is a basic factor in every business organization, not every company has established the latest technology of communication. Different industries or companies have communication process based on their level. Like, huge companies use modern and efficient and/or costly ways of communication whereas; small and medium enterprises (SMEs) use alternative modes which are cheaper and more procedure involved means of communication. This report is based on SME’s highlighting their ways of communication with their stake holders and most importantly, upon how they can improve the method of communication with lower cost. Instead of complicated communication systems these SMEs also could rely on more efficient ways which is more IT related. Among every possible upgrade the key factor for SMEs would be to analyze and go with the minimal cost plan. Executive Summary The introduction of the report explains about what exactly are SMEs. This highlights upon the business culture and structure also the methods they could apply in order to upgrade the existing techniques for an easier method of communication. Alongside, coming up with low cost upgrades as SMEs would not have huge amount in their turnover, moreover it would not be valuable for them for spend abundantly on communication within the organization. Hence, I have shared some opinions which they could rely on and at the same time which would fix into their budget. The report further gives explanations on how the SMEs could grow in its scale by following some method to aware the customers of its existence. And what other IT related yet cheaper ways in which they could keep records like, stock, daily sales and attendance. As far as record keeping is concern in a business organization, SMEs also needs to maintain daily stock report and sales report in a daily basis in order to avoid stock imbalance. If stock is not handled well as a daily/weekly, at the end of the year, missing stocks would be numerous and mysterious. This is going to be a hard task for the company to investigate specially for SMEs. The options elaborated in the report helps to identify some different techniques which help to standardize the majority of work done within the organization. The methods are been separately explained on how each can be utilized and the outcome result of it. Most of it talks about the efficient and effectiveness brought by using the methods. Like how to computerized the stock report and the result in quick search of a transaction or any stock details. Also methods on how the SMEs can reach their customers by spending the least amount on advertising. Structure and Culture of an SME SMEs are usually sole traders who have no more than 250 employees and less turnover of Rs50 million and below. (Fernando, R. 2003) The organizational behavior within the SMEs is less formal than of a larger organization. There are no specific standard followed by the employees. Where attendance maybe the only effective factor for any employee. These types of businesses are usually referred as bureaucratic organization, where the manager/owner has high authority in decision making in every aspect without any recommendation and knowledge by the staffs. For instance, owner decides how a shift would work; if/whether the interior has to be changed and to recruit more staffs and so on. Also he plays the leadership role in deciding how to contact with the customer. Like, if the purchase bills has to be made or not and if so how; printed receipts or manual. Taking a look at why smaller and medium enterprises have a less formal routine is due to cost cutting, result in manual work with cheaper materials to work and also they do not keep a record of day to day business other than the cash-flow. Cash flow records are also maintained in a log book where the cashier list down the items sold, each one separately till the end of the day. And what if a customer needs the receipt? They get a manual receipt with company stamped and purchase details hand written by the cashier, costing more time work and procedure. Meanwhile, the owner keeps a record of bulk purchase in his logbook noting it down after every purchase. This kind of record keeping is difficult to maintain if they want to find something quickly. Moreover, human errors and easy going behavior of a staff may lead to mysterious results of stock imbalance. The external communication; customer communication is preferably poor in SMEs as they do very less advertisements and direct approach to the customers are almost nil regarding its existence. Most of its customers may not know if they have a new stock or introduce a new brand and so on. To be in contact more with the customers is the only way a business can run successfully. But as I have mentioned earlier that SMEs would not prefer any expensive methods of communicating within its organization, below are some upgrades they could bring on in order to connect with the customers and have more efficient way of communicating within the organization. Additionally, some advanced system to keep record. Improved procedure within the business Method 1 Though it has been a tradition to SMEs to keep paper records, they could switch to more IT based information storage. The owner could purchase sales software which is user friendly and easy to train cashiers and/or related department like stores. The registration of the software can be made annually with an annual payment method based on the license to use it. Thus, stock can be maintained in this specific platform at the same time encoding items can result for easy access. Sales software would not be of high cost as it has to be paid annually and compared to the ease it makes in maintaining the majority of the work. Thus, the SME’s would save much time on stock maintaining in efficient way which is more effective; most importantly, with low cost. Method 2 If sales software is considered as high cost per annum simple spreadsheet documentation can be maintained by help of a Microsoft excel expert. Microsoft excel provides a solution to store and calculate the raw data by customized formulas also with the help of the in-built formulas available in the software itself helps to solve minor calculations. It has the potential to create a spreadsheet of raw data into flowcharts, tables and reports to bring a better understanding. The cells are editable which enables to reenter if any changes have to be made. A sales chart can be made in terms of a day, week, month or a year based on their preference. If a company preferred to list down the sales and the stock details in a daily basis, they could include different days tagged in different tabs. While creating different excel documents for different months. Hence, any record can be searched easily with shortcut keys. Meanwhile the SME can keep a good record also record keeping method would be more efficient. SMEs connecting with customers The reason behind low interaction between SMEs and its’ customer is also is to avoid expenses while running business. Bad assumption of SMEs is that communicating to the customers through advertisements are overheads to the company, in fact the attraction gained by the customers would only cause them to have more trade and eventually more profit. To obtain these, SMEs can integrate with modern and IT related communication system which would cost them a lower rate. Method 1 Not only internet can be used as a tool to market but also mobile advertising can be the best and more direct way of approaching to the customer personally. The company can register corporateSMS service from a local telecommunication centre. It helps to forward the same text message with many recipients at the same time. This service can be used to notify the customers for new stock arrivals and so on. News spreads easily, thus a single text message can reach the news to a family and close friends. Overall another 5-10 people would be aware of the news. This makes the direct communication more useful and effective. Method 2 Online marketing is the leading method in modern community. It has become so common that the SMEs also could hire an UI designer to build a platform for their business on the web. This could provide their information regarding the business and products available. Updating the website helps the customers to be familiar with the present availability. There are many web hosting companies which sometimes charge less than $10 per annum. This is quite very few amounts to spend in order to collect more customer and profit to the business. Method 3 Why spend a cent when you can advertise for free? The organization can created a web page about themselves on social networking sites, most common; the Facebook. Owning a page does not require any payment. Numerous amounts of people can search and go through the page as Facebook is in fact, the top rated social networking site where over billions of active users login almost daily. Hence, the chance of more people viewing the page is high and meanwhile, they get to know about the location, service and products available in the organization. The page can be more attractive if company could share pictures of products to make it more helpful the buyers. The details like, history of the organization, mission/vision/objectives and how the customers can contact can also be also included as more details in the information tab provided. Hence this method of online marketing can help to reach more customers without costing any. Method 4 Apart from advertising to the customer, a proof of purchase is required when a customer makes a transaction. In most SMEs a receipt is not provided unless the customer request for it. Hand written slip with a seal of company is how they usually provide it. In my opinion along with sales software they would be able to link to a POS (point of Sales) centre thus a computer generated receipt can be printed through a receipt printer. This method would help both the customer and company to minimize the time of sales. Recommendation Based on the methods mentioned above, my recommendation on how the SMEs could manage their stock is by using a sales software as this is a computer programmed method the chance of mistakes are less compared to using an excel sheet to write down the records manually. Plus, the purchase bill or receipt can be automatically printed after every sales entry if required which leads to a more reliable and quick sale. Thereby, providing the customer a proof and the system detects a sale been done and automatically adjust the balance amount. In the excel sheet this could also be done using the formulas yet it is not reliable if not well maintained. And in most situations daily maintenance cannot be done since the manual work is larger than the automatic level. In case of the sales software technique the normal selling routine goes parallel with the automatic generating of the stock report. It makes the handling procedure much easier and effective. Talking about the marketing point, since Facebook requires none to create a page in the website, this can be easily done to promote its business. This method is the highest effective way because the website is a well-known platform for almost every region. Hence, people around the world will get to know the company and by chance the SMEs could also grow larger in their business according to the income and time. The second best choice I recommend is to register with corporateSMS and to directly approach for customers. This could be done by introducing a visitors’ book and recording the basic information of the customer like; name, contact and preferred item. While the company receives new stock they could text specific group of people with common interest of item, thus the same message can be delivered in bulk. This kind of advertising is more direct and effective. Conclusion Effective communication is the base of the business. If the communication process is reliable then the company can run smoothly. Running a smooth business requires sufficient ways to overcome any conflicts. Any loop holes has to be fixed; starting with the procedure within the company and how to interact with its stakeholders. If a good policy can be retained then the SMEs would also be a well-established part of the society. Rather, having to discontinue soon after starting the business. The success story comes with strong determination; the willingness of a person is all it counts. The report has been highlighted with few methods to improve the existing nature of the SMEs to produce a better procedure to them for their future. Ways in which they could rely on making more profit by spending a small amount of money. Let me conclude by saying that, in my opinion these methods to upgrade the existing techniques followed by SMEs would help them save more time and minimize errors and mistakes from sales maintaining. SMEs can develop their existing communication process within the organization for an efficient and effective system, where they could easily communicate with its customers also within the business community. The opinions mentioned are of low cost also more efficient and convenient to run a small and medium enterprise for a better communication to the organization.

God and Man Benedict Spinoza

Since the alienation is made without reservation, the union is as perfect as possible, and no associate has anything further to demand; When the social compact is violated each person then regains his first rights and resumes his natural liberty while losing the conventional liberty for which he renounced it; Albert Camus (The Myth of Sisyphus) The gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain whence the stone would fall back of its own weight; If one believes Homer, Sisyphus was wisest and most prudent of mortals and according to another tradition, however, ne was disposed to practice the protession ot highwayman; Opinions d as to the reasons why he became the futile laborer of the underworld; To begin with, he is accused of certain levity in regard to the Gods; Homer tells us that Sisyphus had put Death in chains He dispatched the god of war, who liberated Death from the hands of her conqueror;He wanted to test his wife's love so he ordered her to cast his unburied body into the middle of the public square; He is much through to his passions as through his torture; His scorn of the Gods, his hatred of death and his passion for life won him that unspeakable penalty in which the whole being is exerted toward accomplishing nothing; Myths are made for the imagination to breathe life into them; If this myth is tragic, that is because its hero is conscious; But it is tragic only at the rare moments when it becomes conscious. Sisyphus, proletarian of the gods; powerless and rebellious, knows the whole extent of his wretched condition; He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile; The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart; Simone de Beauvoir (The Second Sex) Those who are condemned to stagnation are often pronounced happy on the pretext that happiness consists in being at rest.This notion that we reject, for our perspective is that of existentialist ethics; Present existence can only be Justified by ts expansion towards an indefinitely open future; Every time transcendence falls back into immanence, existence is degraded into an en soi(in itself), and freedom into facticity; Every individual concerned to Justify his or her existence experiences it as an undefined urge to transcend himself or herself; Woman is a free and autonomous being like all human nevertheless finds herself and chooses herself within a world where men compel her to assume the status of the Other; Biologically – The more separate the female individual, the more imperiously does continuity of life assert tself against her separateness. Historically is when sub-species of humans are brought together each aspires to impose its sovereignty upon the other. If both are able to resist this imposition there is created between them a reciprocal relation sometimes in enmity, sometimes in amity but always in a state of tension. Ontologically i s when man never thinks â€Å"self† without thinking â€Å"other†; he views the world wider the sign of duality, a polarity which is not at first sexual in character.Miguel de Unamuno The man of flesh and bone; the man who is born, suffers, and dies; the man who eats nd drinks and plays and sleeps and thinks and wills; the man who is seen and heard; the brother, the real brother; He is the legendary featherless biped, the social contractor for Rousseau, the homo economicus of the Manchester school, The home sapiens of Linnaeus, or, if you like, the vertical mammal; This concrete man, this man of flesh and bone, is at once the subject and the supreme object of philosophy, whether certain self-styled philosophers like it or not; Philosophy answers to our need of forming a complete and unitary conception of the world and of life, and as a esult of this conception, a feeling which gives birth to an inward attitude and even to outward action; The philosophy of this man Kant , a man of heart and head that is to say, a man there is a significant somersault, as Kierkegaard, another man would have said, the somersault ot the Critique ot Pure reason to the Critique ot Practical reason; This transition of Kant exists already in embryo in the Lutheran notion of faith; The first God, the rational God, is the projection to the outward infinite of man as he is by definition, that is to say, of the abstract man, of the man no-man; The other God, theGod of feeling and volition, is the projection to the inward infinite of man as he is by life, of the concrete man, the man flesh and bone; Whosoever reads the Critique of Practical Reason carefully and without blinkers will see that, in strict fact, the existence of God is therein deduced from the immortality of the soul, and not the immortality of the soul from the existence of God; All the rest is the Jugglery of the professional of philosophy

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How should one live - Essay Example 2). Most of us people believe that a life devoid of sorrow or hardships is essentially the one that is desirable. Yet another school of thought holds that sorrow and happiness are the two sides of the same coin, and that hardships are an invincible component of human life. According to them, the true essence of life lies in the success in overcoming the difficulties and challenges posed by life. A balanced approach towards life is instrumental in bringing about a transformation of the mind and the soul. It is true that happiness and peace are  the two major issues in human existence. But one can never get everything he/she wants because it is practically impossible. â€Å"The good for man is an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue, or if there are more kinds of virtue than one, in accordance with the best and most perfect kind.† (Barnes, 2004, p. 16). One can learn to control his/her mind and live a restrained and satisfied life with a whole new viewpoint. Restraint and self-control helps to purify the mind. It cleanses the thought process of negative feelings like greed, hatred and jealousy that keep us enslaved in emotional bondage. It brings the mind to a state of tranquility and awareness and leads the soul to a state of concentration and insight. Another way of leading a meaningful life is to learn to love one self. It is a matter of great regret that most of us spend our entire life cursing ourselves for what we are and pondering over what we could or should have been. We feel ashamed and embarrassed to accept what we are and keep comparing ourselves with others. Instead of self-reproach one should rather love oneself and one’s world. One should realize that pain and comfort are two facets of the same life. So if we are so eager to gain comfort, we should also not hesitate in facing pain. The idea that has to be reinforced is that one should be equally receptive to the

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Ethical Standards - Essay Example The new code of conduct will act as a guideline for all the employees to follow, when confronted with a dilemma (Roth, 2005). The devised code of conduct will try to cover all the business aspects where any predicament can arise. Thus, code covers the matters of business conduct, marketing and sales practices, business gifts, relationship with colleagues and clients, insider trading, reporting measures and the use fo company or clients’ resources. Therefore, it is very important for every ECG employee to fully understand and abide by the code of conduct. A company’s image is affected by the manner the employees, within and outside the workplace. With ECG’s plan of venturing into international business market, acquiring rival firms and launching an IPO it is essential for the company employees to be on their finest behaviour. This will affect the company’s representation and in turn affect the planned investments (Johnson, 2006). The purpose of developing a code of conduct and policies is to ensure through mutual consent and understanding that these policies are implemented in order to achieve the ultimate target of integrity. The role of all the HODs is very crucial in this regard. The HODs have to become an example for their subordinates. Until the HODs follow these codes of conduct, it is very unlikely for the members of that department to do so. In order to ensure that these policies are adhered to at all times, the HODs should adopt the â€Å"lead by example† approach in this regard (Roth, 2005). The code of conduct clearly specifies the kind of behaviour which is expected from all the employees, irrespective of their stature in the company. Emphasis has been placed on integrity, honesty and trust which should be the foundation of any ethical code. The general business code of conduct lays down the rules for the employees, for the business practices and for the overall business as well. The code of conduct outlines the cul ture of the organization and provides the employees with a framework which will help them in their daily activities. The code also provides the employees with a framework by which they can judge their own behaviour and also learn how to interact with other colleagues and clients. A successful and positive relationship with our clients is essential for the success of ECG. We as a company have been proud of the fact that all out business activities are dealt with honesty, integrity and fairness. Since the relationship with our clients is so vital for our success, care should be taken with the information we provide to our clients, which is always accurate and never misrepresented. Even though client servicing is important, care should be taken when the company is incurring expenses on account of client entertainment or other benefits. These expenses should not exceed a reasonable limit and should always be approved by the finance department. This is made mandatory in order to increase transparency within the system (Lagan & Moran, 2005). Special attention needs to be paid to the marketing and sales department in particular. The marketing department is the department that directly interacts with the consumers. Therefore, the working of the marketing department is a reflection of the company’s image and policies. Documentation of the transactions is an essential part of the code of conduct. Employees are required to document every transaction which takes place between ECG and its clients. This not only makes audit very easy, but also helps

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The factors that led to change in Apple Inc Research Paper

The factors that led to change in Apple Inc - Research Paper Example A brand of innovations, â€Å"Apple†, was established in the year 1976 on April Fools’ Day (1st April), though it was incorporated only on January 3rd, 1977 with a brand name of Apple Computer. After 30 years, the word â€Å"Computer† was removed from its branding as it shifted its traditional focus from computers to consumer electronics. It was founded by three budding entrepreneurs, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, though the latter moved out of the company by selling his shares to the other two for US $800. The first inaugurated model was the Apple I which was hand made by Steve Wozniak. It was sold as a motherboard consisting of CPU, RAM and basic video chips.As times gradually passed and moving into the 20th century, a lot of products have been designed and created by the company. The products that the company possess at present are, Mac and accessories, iPad, iPod, iPhone, Apple TV and different software. Apple has spread its business over 10 cou ntries with over 300 retail stores and workforce of 60,400 permanent."Apple’s annual worldwide sales had grown to US$108 billion in 2011. They say that impressions are constant and that’s why first impression is the last impression. Apart from all the latest electronic gadgets, the logo has also made lots of designer think â€Å"why on earth would a bitten apple be a company’s logo†. The former President Michael M. Scott was once found to quote, â€Å"the most expensive bloody logo ever designed†.... Apple’s annual worldwide sales had grown to US$108 billion in 2011. They say that impressions are constant and that’s why first impression is the last impression. Apart from all the latest electronic gadgets, the logo has also made lots of designer think â€Å"why on earth would a bitten apple be a company’s logo†. The former President Michael M. Scott was once found to quote, â€Å"the most expensive bloody logo ever designed† (Linzmayer, 1999). Drivers to Change Since the resignation of Steve Jobs in the year 1985, the company tried to identify, the factors that could be the reasons for the ups and downs of their business. The factors were: Inadequate Financial Performance: Not meeting the demands according to the supply turned out to be a financial loss to the company. The delay made the investors furious that resulted in a lot of unsold products. The debt to the supplier of raw materials increased and the company was in the edge to file bankrupt cy (O’Grady, 2008). Change in Strategic Objectives: Apple started to focus more on the consumer electronics rather than computer electronics. They started to experiment more on the consumer oriented products like portable CD, audio players, digital cameras and video consoles. This sudden re-orientation resulted in huge finances in order to bring in the new resources required to manufacture the products (O’Grady, 2008). Competitors Market Invasion: The re-orientation of the company helped companies like IBM and Microsoft to substitute the shortages that Apple could not deliver. They brought in same products with much cheaper costs and attracted disappointed and confused customers (O’Grady, 2008). Later after the return of Steve Jobs

Explain Washington landlord tenant law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Explain Washington landlord tenant law - Essay Example It is vital to note that the apartments allow for disability access. Pets are accepted in the apartments, but one has to pay a deposit of $400 to keep a pet and $200 is refunded when a tenant’s lease expires. However, there are breed restrictions on the type of animal one can keep. The tenant is also provided with one free covered parking space. The lease is one year long (McQueen 54). There are number provisions in the lease that comply with the law. For example, the lease provides the tenant with emergency maintenance and this ensures that the landlord repairs any damages to the apartment. This covers the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act RCW59. 18.230(1). I also find it interesting that the landlord expects tenants to pay a fee to keep a pet at the resident. This is an extra deposit to the security and damage deposit paid when one starts renting the apartment. This is a legal fee since the landlord has the right to charge for fees covering special cleaning. There is also a clause in the lease that the landlord can change the rules regarding the use of the community amenities like the swimming pool, fitness center, and tennis court. This is against the law since a landlord does not have the right to change the terms of a lease once the tenant has signed it. Change to the lease can only occur if the tenant agrees to it (Haupt and Kathryn 132). Another provision of the lease that I find interesting is that the landlord does not have to return the tenant’s security deposit if the apartment is damaged in any way. This is not legal according to the law of Washington State. The landlord is only allowed to keep the exact amount a tenant owes on repair costs. The rest of the money must be returned to the tenant (RCW 59.18.280). Another provision of the lease that I find interesting is the fact that if I move out before the end of the lease, I will be forced to pay all rent owed before the landlord can re-rent the apartment RCW

Incident of National Significance Essay Example for Free

Incident of National Significance Essay Whenever an event of disastrous impact threatens any place in the country, various emergency responses from different government units are mobilized. The National Response Plan (NRP) was designed so that the way in which these kind of events are addressed are done effectively and in an organized manner. As an extensive response plan, it also provides ample support mechanisms that would aid in preventing further damage and facilitate recovery. The NRP is applicable to all real and possible â€Å"Incidents of National Significance. † These incidents, according to the Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-5), are those situations which have potentially deep and far-reaching effects that necessitate a â€Å"coordinated and effective response† from these resources. All calamitous situations under the Stafford Act are considered Incidents of National Significance. Aside from this, the NRP could be utilized for any event that requires federal intervention. The aforementioned criteria also distinguish Incidents of National Significance from other events being handled by other agencies or are under a different response program. These criteria are qualitative in nature, and it usually applies when division authorities are overwhelmed with a particular situation. For example when the state, local, or tribal authorities need more resources or could not cope with the existing demand in services, they would request assistance from the   Department of Homeland Security. This is also applicable whenever an incident concerns a number of federal agencies or departments. In addition, the countrys President can request this program anytime when it is deemed necessary. Discuss the term, â€Å"ESF† as described in the National Response Plan. In your discussion, be sure to address the basic composition of each ESF. The Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) is a system of coordinating and facilitating response whenever situations of Federal authority arise. It defines the â€Å"mission, policies, concepts of operation, and responsibilities of primary and support agencies† participating in the execution of the National Response Plan (NRP). Basically, the ESF defines the responsibilities and roles of these Federal agencies and   departments. It can be activated due to Incidents of National Significance and other similar situations under the Stafford Act. However, it is possible that these Incidents of National Significance, can already be addressed by other Federal agencies and may not necessarily require the aid of ESFs. The current ESF design framework includes â€Å" economic stabilization, community recovery, and mitigation. â€Å"   It provides the staffing and necessary resources for emergency situations. The NRP includes 12 core ESFs,   each of which is comprised of primary and support agencies. Thes e agencies have their own scopes and obligations. The ESFs come from different management areas that includes emergency management, police and law enforcement, public works, fire, rescue, and medical and health services. Each ESF is assigned support agencies depending on their capabilities and resources in a particular field or area. Though each ESF provide these services based on their given scope or responsibility, they are also expected to assist other ESFs in accomplishing their goals. How does the ESF relate to an â€Å"Incident of National Significance? † Incidents of National Significance are those situations which have potentially deep and far-reaching effects that necessitate a â€Å"coordinated and effective response† from â€Å"Federal, State, local, tribal, private-sector, and nongovernmental entities. † Each day there are situations that require special and emergency response from the authorities. When a local jurisdiction feel that Federal Intervention is needed because of insufficient resources or if a greater expertise is required to address a certain event, they will call on help from the National Response plan (NRP). This is done in order to â€Å"save lives, minimize damage, and provide the basis for long-term community recovery and mitigation activities. † The NRP uses a functional approach to define the roles that each ESF plays in response to emergency situations, each agency or department being assigned to an ESF based on their capabilities or the services they are able to provide whenever this emergency happens. It takes into account those practices that each department does best. The appropriate assignment of services and responsibilities to any situation, such as those Incidents of National Significance, is crucial so that different agencies can work together effectively, whether they are local or Federal agencies. This ensures that the communications between them are facilitated accordingly and that they can effectively help each other when the time arises.

Social Security Program (SSP) Essay Example for Free

Social Security Program (SSP) Essay Summary As Social Security Program (SSP) is projected to be in deficit in the near future, there is a proposal to privatized SSP and giving workers the chance to invest their payroll taxes to investment opportunities with higher return.   However, it is barred by four major alternatives; namely, current system, tax increase, benefit cuts, and government-led investing.   It is found that privatization approach combined all the advantageous feature of the major alternatives and most importantly providing greater autonomy and worker satisfaction in the long-run.    As a result, it is recommended that further discussion must be opened to public, expert and politician debates to concretize privatization strength and also its weaknesses.   Introduction Officially referred as Old-Age Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI), SSP is a payroll tax funded social insurance program of the US.   In 2005, there is a proposal from President Bush to upgrade the current SSP by splitting the benefits to be shouldered by the Government and the benefits to be shouldered by the retirees themselves.   It calls for Thrift Savings Plan-like investment opportunities observed in Government workers which can be channeled to several investing options in bonds and securities market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bush plan intends to divert part of payroll taxes to private social security accounts.   Democrats disagreed and assure that the Trust Fund is in good form until 2042.   Social Security and Medicare are two primary important national issues among voters.   The pay-as-you-go scheme is the current strategy of the SSP which makes current retirees beneficiaries of current taxpayers.   Also, due to this scheme, the proceeds from payroll taxes surpassed disbursements for two consecutive decades.   As a result, these surpluses are being diverted to other Congressional projects other than SSP.   As early as 2018, however, the surpluses would turn out to be deficits because of the fund diversion.   Analysis Creation of private accounts is argued to minimize long-term liabilities on one hand while this benefit could have short-run difficulties on the other.   The former is supported through the ability of private accounts to reduce payment to future retirees (e.g. the invested amount and interest).   The latter, however, recognized the tendency of those accounts to lengthen in the investment pot as prospective retirees suspend from going out the labor force.   As a result, the pre-retirement period will finance payment through a fund that suffers from a deficit (e.g. revenues/ payroll taxes are less than expenses/ retirement benefits).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The surpluses since1983 are invested in US Treasury Bonds and gained at least $1.8 Trillion in 2005.   The importance of this figure would supposedly be eminent as there are forecasts that expenses will exceed revenues in the coming years.   However, the truth is that the Government is merely borrowing those surpluses to reduce budget deficits.   When the Trust Fund demands redemption, this would result to problematic scenarios such as increase in taxes, postponing of projects, rising debt and selling state properties.   This is the cause of turmoil on how to curb SSP direction.   If no action is done, the Trust Fund is bound to exhaust between 2042 and 2052 with emergency financing is only capable to cover at most 75% of SSP expenses. There is also a lobby to increase quality of life of retirees by raising the rate of return of the SSP contributions in level with interest paid via Government borrowing.   Although the proposal of President Bush addresses part of this, there is suspicion that the privatization strategy is tarnished by libertarian principles against redistribution of state income.   In 1980s, a single-earner couple would receive at least 7% return to their SSP investment.   In contrast, similar couples who are bound to retire in 2010 would only expect an earning of 3.6% return.   There are three elements of such plunge; namely, the aging workforce, rise of total benefits and minimal investment exposure of the Trust Fund.   The third element is vital to the concept of conservative investing as SSP is a means for retirees to remain independent in terms of financial support and be empowered regardless of age.   Findings Privatization provides the future retirees to shoulder investment risks and channel their contributions based on their return expectation.   They are benefited because customized needs will be addressed and retiree satisfaction is optimized.   In macroeconomic terms, it can trigger increase in wealth of retirees that can trickle down to rise in consumer spending which can lead to economic expansion.   In contrary to the current SSP, however, privatization houses moral hazards because excessive risks that will be confronted by individuals can proceed to investment crash.   The current system is characterized by lower risks and management costs compared to the possibility of zero returns and reduction of principal in privatization.   As the current system is bound for bankruptcy, it is aggravated by high payroll taxes, poor return and discrimination against women, low-waged and minority workers.   However, it minimizes the issues of insolvency that privatization failed to r esolve. Along with the current system, there are three non-privatization alternatives with regards to SSP; namely, tax increases, reduction of benefits and obtainment of greater return by real capital asset investing.   Increasing tax rates is supported by the research that US citizens are willing to pay indefinite amount of tax as long as it targets appropriate programs in which apparently Social Security is inclusive.   Further, it is projected that in the near future gross domestic product or GDP will outgrow Social Security taxes by at least 10% caused by pressures of aging population. To save the solvency of SSP from 2016 forecasted deficit, tax rise should meet $103 per worker and by 2030 such increase is required to hit $1,543 per worker.   In this course, adverse effects of tax increase option will result such as reduction in jobs as well as slower economic growth.   There will be also less incentive for workers to work because their Social Security contributions are viewed as pure tax rather as investment that they will receive when they retire. The second option is benefit cut.   One advantage of this is that retirees would be able to receive greater face value even after the reduction of benefits because the payment is done periodically. The privatization alternative also offers benefit cuts but on extreme terms such as ad adjustment of benefit indexing formula with inclusion of adjusted wage productivity and setting a non-greater-than inflation rate ceiling for rising benefits.   The benefit cut option will most likely follow the economic growth to prevent adverse economic impacts.   Specifically, the current SSP plan of increasing the benefits should be lowered to 3%.   Considering excessive benefit cuts of privatization approach, some analysts believed that reduction or even eradicating spouse benefits can be employed.   This strategy is said to solve the issue of small-wage earners. The third alternative is government-led investing by which the state will have the discretion of putting the money from the SSP to private assets.   Privatization also allows this feature with the difference of decision-maker who will make the call which is the workers themselves through creation of private accounts.   Government-led investing reduces the probability of individual workers to manager their finances on sub-optimal and risky manner.   It addresses the lacking of the current system for higher returns with limitation of risks from private accounts.   Potential retirees can enjoy greater returns on one hand and minimal risks on the other.   However, there is bottleneck on this approach. One of the major hurdles is that the substantial finance eminent in SSP can buy a major stake on US companies.   In effect, the negative image of Government agencies and even politicians can mix in corporate world.   Conclusion There is what analysts called ostrich method that supports the current system.   It challenges the very extreme view in projecting the insolvency of SSP.   For example, the growing economy will pus wages and payroll taxes up that can sustain the needs of the Trust Fund.   However, not only solvency issues are important at this stage of US economy.   Apart from the fact that unmet levels of economic growth yet experienced by the country is required to maintain SSP in the decades to come, there are issues of higher rate of return, elimination of minority and women life expectancy-to-benefit inequalities, greater opportunities for wealth creation and absence of right to benefits (e.g. lack of property ownership of contributors). When workers are able to invest their Social Security taxes on their own terms and choosing, it provides sense of ownership and control to their finances and necessarily results to addressing the issues cited in the preceding statement.   Seemingly, privatization is a better option compared to the three alternatives including the option of retaining the current system.   Recommendation It is recommended that the Government should execute due diligence going to final decision on how SSP will be managed.   The public must get involve with deliberations of economic, political and historical experts with authorities and the President on top of the discussion.   This effort would not be very demanding to them as Social Security is one of the most important national issues for US citizens and can serve as the primary source of politicians vote in coming elections.   With relevance on the household and national levels, SSP resolution would be a mere part of US challenge to sustainable growth.   References Anrig, G. (unknown). 10 Myths abut social security, The Century Foundation. Cox, W. (2005). An alternative to the destruction of social security, Online Journal. Lochhead, C. (2005). Bush’s social security proposal takes a hit: GAO finds problems with privatization, Chronicle Washington Bureau. Tanner, M. (2002). No second best: the unappetizing alternatives to social security privatization [Internet].

Low Level Programming Language Computer Science Essay

Low Level Programming Language Computer Science Essay Low-level programming language is a programming language that provides little or no abstraction from a computers instruction set architecture. The word low refers to the small or nonexistent amount of abstraction between the language and machine language; because of this, low-level languages are sometimes described as being close to the hardware. A low-level language does not need a compiler or interpreter to run. The processor for which the language was written is able to run the code without using either of these. By comparison, a high-level programming language isolates the execution semantics of computer architecture from the specification of the program, making the process of developing a program simpler and more understandable. Low-level programming languages are sometimes divided into two categories: first generation, and second generation. First generation The first-generation programming language, or 1GL, is a machine code. It is the only language a microprocessor can process directly without a previous transformation. Currently, programmers almost never write programs directly in machine code, because it requires attention to numerous details which a high-level language would handle automatically, and also requires memorizing or looking up numerical codes for every instruction that is used. For this reason, second generation programming languages provide one abstraction level on top of the machine code. Example: A function in 32-bit x86 machine code to calculate the nth Fibonacci number: 8B542408 83FA0077 06B80000 0000C383 FA027706 B8010000 00C353BB 01000000 B9010000 008D0419 83FA0376 078BD98B C84AEBF1 5BC3 Second generation Second-generation programming language, or 2GL, is an assembly language. It is considered a second-generation language because while it is not a microprocessors native language, an assembly language programmer must still understand the microprocessors unique registers and instructions. These simple instructions are then assembled directly into machine code. The assembly code can also be abstracted to another layer in a similar manner as machine code is abstracted into assembly code. Example: The same Fibonacci number calculator as on page one, but in x86 assembly language using MASM syntax: fib: mov edx, [esp+8] cmp edx, 0 ja @f mov eax, 0 ret @@: cmp edx, 2 ja @f mov eax, 1 ret @@: push ebx mov ebx, 1 mov ecx, 1 @@: lea eax, [ebx+ecx] cmp edx, 3 jbe @f mov ebx, ecx mov ecx, eax dec edx jmp @b @@: pop ebx ret High level programming language High-level programming language is a programming language with strong abstraction from the details of the computer. In comparison to low-level programming languages, it may use natural language elements, it is easier to use and more portable across platforms. Such languages hide the details of CPU operations such as memory access models and management of scope. This greater abstraction and hiding of details is generally intended to make the language user-friendly, as it includes concepts from the problem domain instead of those of the machine used. A high-level language isolates the execution semantics of computer architecture from the specification of the program, making the process of developing a program simpler and more understandable with respect to a low-level language. The amount of abstraction provided defines how high-level a programming language is. The term high-level language does not imply that the language is superior to low-level programming languages in fact, in terms of the depth of knowledge of how computers work required to productively program in a given language, the inverse may be true. Rather, high-level language refers to the higher level of abstraction from machine language. Rather than dealing with registers, memory addresses and call stacks, high-level languages deal with usability, threads, locks, objects, variables, arrays and complex arithmetic or Boolean expressions. In addition, they have no opcodes that can directly compile the language into machine code, unlike low-level assembly language. Other features such as string handling routines, object-oriented language features and file input/output may also be present. High-level languages make complex programming simpler, while low-level languages tend to produce more efficient code. High-level programming features like more generic data structures, run-time interpretation and intermediate code files often result in slower execution speed, higher memory consumption and larger binary size. For this reason, code which needs to run particularly quickly and efficiently may be written in a lower-level language, even if a higher-level language would make the coding easier. With the growing complexity of modern microprocessor architectures, well-designed compilers for high-level languages frequently produce code comparable in efficiency to what most low-level programmers can produce by hand, and the higher abstraction may allow for more powerful techniques providing better overall results than their low-level counterparts in particular settings. There are three models of execution for modern high-level languages: Interpreted Interpreted languages are read and then executed directly, with no compilation stage. Compiled   Compiled languages are transformed into an executable form before running. There are two types of compilation: Intermediate representations   When a language is compiled to an intermediate representation, that representation can be optimized or saved for later execution without the need to re-read the source file. When the intermediate representation is saved it is often represented as bytecode. Machine code generation Some compilers compile source code directly into machine code. Virtual machines that execute bytecode directly or transform it further into machine code have blurred the once clear distinction between intermediate representations and truly compiled languages. Translated A language may be translated into a low-level programming language for which native code compilers are already widely available. The C programming language is a common target for such translators. Examples of high level programming language include: Java, C, Python, Scheme, Prolog, C++, C#, VB, Java Script, Ruby and Lisp. Comparison of high and low programming languages below are similar programs in both languages to find greatest and smallest data value in a data set. Validating raw data Input validation is an important part of any computer application that requires user interaction. It applies to anything that the application does to ensure that data entered by the user is acceptable for the purposes of the application. Input validation can take place at various times in the data entry cycle. For example, the programmer can: Constrain the users entry of data before it begins by providing very restricted data input fields that permit only valid choices. The most common way to do this is to provide standard controls that do not permit free keyboard entry, such as drop-down lists, option buttons, and check boxes. Constrain the users entry of data at the moment that it occurs by monitoring every keystroke for validity and rejecting unwanted input as its typed. For instance, a particular entry field might seem to the user to ignore anything but numeric characters. React to the users entry of data after the user is finished, accepting or rejecting the contents of a data field when the user attempts to leave the field or close the screen. Input validation can also have varying degrees of user participation. For instance, the program can Automatically correct a users mistakes without asking the users opinion. Warn the user of incorrect input and prompt the user to correct the input before allowing the user to continue with other activities. Benifets of Data Validation: Reduces the time that is spent completing forms and eliminates costs associated with errors by validating data, improving efficiency and minimizing the high cost of exception handling resulting from data input errors. Validation happens immediately in a visual basic form and can catch common errors such as not entering a required field, incorrect data type or entering incorrect data based on other data previously entered into the form. Example validation of checking if the date entered is after todays date: Private Sub Date_Entered_AfterUpdate()   Ã‚  Ã‚   If Me.Date_Entered>date() then  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Date_Entered is form field name   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   msgbox Please enter a date less than or equal to todays date.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Me.Date_Entered.setfocus  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   set cursor back in the date field   Ã‚  Ã‚   end if End Sub Using strings with passwords in visual basic The use of strings benefits data entry in a password application in visual basic because the program would not reset itself and crash on error input. This could affect the safety of the password which could be compromised. It compares the 4 digit numbers inputted in order and will only allow access when all 4 characters are correct and in the right sequence. If this doesnt happen it will reset and wipe the numbers clear. This is so the imputer cannot see which ones he/she has got right and try different ones for the others remaining. In visual basic for the above program you could limit the user to a certain amount of attempts before the user is locked out. When the code is incorrect you could have a warning flash up on the computer, or if the wrong sort of data is inputted you can have a warning asking for the correct data. Likewise if you have not inputted 4 digits it would crash so this can be modified in the code strings with . Data Types Boolean Data Type   This data type holds values that can be only true or false. The keywords True and False correspond to the two states of Boolean variables. Use the Boolean data type to contain two-state values such as true/false, yes/no, or on/off. The default value of Boolean is False. Type Conversions When Visual Basic converts numeric data type values to Boolean, 0 becomes False and all other values become true. When Visual Basic converts Boolean values to numeric types, False becomes 0 and True becomes -1. When you convert between Boolean values and numeric data types, the .NET Framework conversion methods do not always produce the same results as the Visual Basic conversion keywords. This is because the Visual Basic conversion retains behaviour compatible with previous versions. Programming guide Negative Numbers. Boolean is not a numeric type and cannot represent a negative value. In any case, you should not use Boolean to hold numeric values. Type Characters. Boolean has no literal type character or identifier type character. Framework Type. The corresponding type in the .NET Framework is the system Boolean structure. In the following example, runningVB is a Boolean variable, which stores a simple yes/no setting. Dim runningVB As Boolean Check to see if program is running on Visual Basic engine. If scriptEngine = VB Then runningVB = True End If Integer Data Type   Integer data holds signed 32-bit (4-byte) integers ranging in value from -2,147,483,648 through 2,147,483,647. The Integer data type provides optimal performance on a 32-bit processor. The other integral types are slower to load and store from and to memory. The default value of Integer is 0. Programming guide Interop Considerations. If you are interfacing with components not written for the .NET Framework, for example Automation or COM objects, keep in mind that Integer has a different data width (16 bits) in other environments. Widening. The Integer data type widens to Long, Decimal, Single, or Double. This means you can convert Integer to any of these types without encountering a System.OverflowException error. Type Characters. Appending the literal type character I to a literal forces it to the Integer data type. Appending the identifier type character % to any identifier forces it to Integer. Framework Type. The corresponding type in the .NET Framework is the System.Int32 structure. If you try to set a variable of an integral type to a number outside the range for that type, an error occurs. If you try to set it to a fraction, the number is rounded. The following example shows this. The valid range of an Integer variable is -2147483648 through +2147483647. Dim k As Integer The following statement causes an error because the value is too large. k = 2147483648 The following statement sets k to 6. k = CInt(5.9) Char Data Type   Holds unsigned 16-bit (2-byte) code points ranging in value from 0 through 65535. Each code point, or character code, represents a single Unicode character. You use the Char data type when you need to hold only a single character and do not need the overhead of String. In some cases you can use Char(), an array of Char elements, to hold multiple characters. The default value of Char is the character with a code point of 0. Unicode Characters The first 128 code points (0-127) of Unicode correspond to the letters and symbols on a standard U.S. keyboard. These first 128 code points are the same as those the ASCII character set defines. The second 128 code points (128-255) represent special characters, such as Latin-based alphabet letters, accents, currency symbols, and fractions. Unicode uses the remaining code points (256-65535) for a wide variety of symbols, including worldwide textual characters, diacritics, and mathematical and technical symbols. You can use methods like IsDigit and IsPunctuation on a Char variable to determine its Unicode classification. Type Conversions Visual Basic does not convert directly between Char and the numeric types. You can use the Asc, AscW Functions to convert a Char value to an Integer representing its code point. You can use the Chr, ChrW Functions to convert an Integer value to a Char having that code point. If the type checking switch (Option Strict Statement) is on, you must append the literal type character to a single-character string literal to identify it as the Char data type. The following example on page 8 illustrates this. Option Strict On Dim charVar As Char The following statement attempts to convert a String literal to Char. Because Option Strict is On, it generates a compiler error. charVar = Z The following statement succeeds because it specifies a Char literal. charVar = ZC Programming guide Negative Numbers. Char is an unsigned type and cannot represent a negative value. In any case, you should not use Char to hold numeric values. Interop Considerations. If you are interfacing with components not written for the .NET Framework, for example Automation or COM objects. Widening. The Char data type widens to String. This means you can convert Char to String without encountering a System.OverflowException error. Type Characters. Appending the literal type character C to a single-character string literal forces it to the Char data type. Char has no identifier type character. Framework Type. The corresponding type in the .NET Framework is the System.Char structure Comparison table between Ladder Logic and Visual Basic Language Ladder Logic Visual Basic Suitability for engineering applications High Medium Availability Medium High User friendliness Low High Cost of software High Low Size of code Low (high compact) High Difficulty of use Medium to High Easy Ease of programming Medium User has knowledge then low User has no knowledge then High Ideal use Machine control Simulation Resources: www.wikipedia.org, www.msdn.microsoft.com, www.fortran.com, visual basic help, www.visualbasic.freetubes.net, www.blueclaw-db.com

frogs :: essays research papers

Frogs are usually small animals that have smooth, moist skin, bulging eyes, and external eardrums behind the eyes; the adults lack a tail. Frogs have long hind legs, and most species can take long leaps. Many species also have webbed feet, making them excellent swimmers. Most frogs, especially males, are quite vocal. As the frog forces air through the voice box, or larynx, the vocal cords vibrate to make calls distinctive of its species. A much louder sound is produced by the males of species that possess vocal sacs, which swell enormously when the frog calls to attract a mate. The frog's tongue is attached at the front of the mouth instead of at the rear, and it is covered with a sticky substance, making it an efficient trap. Like most amphibians, most frogs pass through a free-living fishlike larval stage before undergoing true metamorphosis into adult frogs. Many of these frogs lay their eggs in water, although some lay their eggs on vegetation above the water, in wet places on land, or even on the back of one of the parents. The breeding season varies according to species and geographic region but often coincides with heavy spring or summer rains. Tadpoles have gills and a tail, and most feed on algae and other vegetation, although a few are carnivorous and may even feed on their siblings. As tadpoles mature, the tail is absorbed, lungs develop, the gills disappear, legs appear, and the adult frog form is established. Some frogs, especially in the tropics, do not go through a larval phase; these frogs lay eggs, usually in damp places out of water, that hatch directly into froglets. Behavior Frogs live in a variety of habitats, but most prefer moist regions. Although they are air breathers, frogs can stay underwater for long periods, and they can breathe through the skin. Tree frogs are adapted for tree living; other frogs are permanently aquatic; still others spend most of their lives in underground burrows, coming up only to feed or breed.

Progression Of Music From The 1940s To The Present Essay -- essays res

Progression of Music From the 1940's To the Present The progression of music from the 1940's to the present has seen extremes, it has been controversial at times, traditional at times and inspirational at times, but never have the American people turned away music in its entirety. There have been times when parents did not approve of the music that their children chose to listen to, but the parents had never turned away music. Music has been criticized and promoted. Since the 40's music has progressed from Ballads (which were still lingering around from the 30's) to blues (popular among Blacks) to rock and roll, to pop, and back again. In the 1940's ballads were popular. Ballads were dancable music performed by big bands. They were composed of stringed instruments, wind insteruments, and a singer or two. This was the time period when music started to be broadcasted live over television and record albums were entering the home. (Hays) The 50's marked a beginning for a new era of music to be known as Rock & Roll. Many of the artists took advantage of the Electric guitar, developed for popular music in the 1930's but never really became popular until the 50's. Rock & Roll was a combination of many music styles in an upbeat sort of fashion. One example of when country had an impact on Rock & Roll was with Bill Haley and Jerry Lee Lewis. Jerry's career was huge, with his hits like "Whole Lotta Shakin' goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire". That is, his career was huge, until the it was made public that he fell in love with a married his 13 year old cousin. In 1957 Rock & Roll had been turned upsidedown when Buddy Holly hit the airwaves with "That'll be the Day." Buddy Holly rolled out hit after hit after hit. That is, until his plane went down in Iowa. He died at the young age of 22. That night his music was playing non-stop and has not stopped playing to this day. The blues and gospel of James Brown and Jackie Wilson was popular with the black community. "Someday, maybe someone will discover the reason that Chuck Berry, Do Diddley, Fats Domino, and Little Richard never connected with black audiences" (25 years,p15). This may be because they might have almost been embarrassed from their blues roots. In the 60's such st... ...n the 90's or present day, the synthesizer is still being used in dance and techno music. Also introduced into the 90's was the computer. The computer has been around a while, but not been used in the music industry. Today just about anyone can produce their music using this tool. Also metal has become more aggressive, popular and contains political lyrics. Lite rock has also developed and has captured the ears of many listeners. Music has progressed from fun to an industry in itself. People can now earn a living off of music, often luxurious life. Along with the music progressing the American people have progressed. The world of music continues to change and may never stop progressing until the world stops progressing. Footnotes 25 Years of Rock & Roll (USA:Lorelei Publishing Co. Inc.,1979) William Hay, Twentieth-Century Views of Music History (USA:Berne Convention.,1972) Bibliography 25 Years of Rock & Roll. USA:Lorelei Publishing Co. Inc.,1979 Ewen, David. American Popular Songs. New York:Random House, 1966 Hay, William. Twentieth-Century Views of Music History. USA:Berne Convention, 1972 Wilder, Alec. American Popular Song New York:Oxford University Press, 1972