Management and Information Systems Individual Portfolio Report Essay

Management and Information Systems Individual Portfolio Report - Essay Example First, the contribution of each project to the achievement of the portfolio is considered to justify the adoption of the portfolio. Secondly, the manager examines the performance effectiveness of each project in the portfolio. Thirdly, the developer of the portfolio reviews the negative impact of the project on the performance of other projects in the company (Fritz and Schiefer, 2009). Finally, the manager contemplates the dependent and independent projects in a specific portfolio. Ginsters Company operates in a demanding market due to the increased competition in the region. In addition, the company’s operation costs tend to increase because of the long distribution chain. Development of a reliable and appropriate management portfolio for the distribution channel is essential in enhancing the performance of the organisation (Mail Online, 2010). Ginsters Company produces and distributes Cornish pastry, which is in the food industry. The food industry is among the most sensitive sectors in various economies. Management of various processes in the industry requires an appropriate approach to the ethics. There are various ethical issues in the food industry (Strbac, 2008). First, the manufacturing process of the food should embrace cleanliness and health of the consumers (Laudon and Laudon, 2002). In addition, various manufacturers of food products in the world should embrace good practices in their distribution channels in order to enhance the value of the food. Second, the marketing, manufacturing and distribution of the food product are major ethical issues. In this case, the manufacturing process adheres to various ethics such as cleanliness in the systems and use of appropriate raw materials (Fritz and Schiefer, 2009). In addition, the distribution channel should uphold the freshness of the food product in order to promot e health among the consumers. Thirdly, the environment is a sensitive ethical issue in the food

Effective support for information users Essay Example for Free

Effective support for information users Essay Customers are an asset for any organization and to satisfy and retain them is every organization’s goal. The only way to achieve this goal is to build proper relationships with your customer through providing them appropriate customer service when ever they require. Customer gives you business because it is a cycle, if you fulfill your customer need then he will spread a good word of mouth for your organization otherwise they will give you a real hard time. Information technology has great importance in the business world today because the environment is very uncertain therefore innovation needs to be implemented rapidly. Every day we see something or the other coming up with new technology and to survive in this competent world we all have to cope with technological advancements, therefore customers tend to purchase technologically advanced products easily but the difficulty is in understanding the ways to operate these products. This is where they need help and it is a chance for the organizations to retain customers because customer will only stick to the brand which is providing him proper customer service. For this purpose IT organizations have customer service centers so that they can provide their customers with appropriate assistance. The bottleneck is faced when the employees on desk at the customer service center are not able to entertain the customers with what they want. This is usually due to the lack of information employees hold regarding the product and this leads the organization towards losing their customers. (Hoffman). Therefore in order to remove this bottle neck, the organizations should provide their customers with best service, for which they need to consider following strategies: Strategies to ensure that your customers are getting adequate technical support 1) Hire the right people with excellent communication skills. 2) Train your employees so that they are well aware of the product specifications and can easily deliver the information to the customer 3) Employee people with calm and good attitude because customers may be very frustrated or harsh at times still the employee has to remain very tranquil with him in order to avoid any further dilemma. 4) A company should make sure that on desk personnel are well aware of their goals, that is, they believe that it is their duty to entertain more and more customers, understand their needs and interact with them to provide more and more information so that they are satisfied. (Bayan) 5) Customers should be provided with a detailed guide book as well so that they can better understand the product and do not face any hurdles. 6) Customer should be provided with a very comfortable and friendly environment and he should be given great importance so that he can feel that the company really cares for his needs. (Anonymous) Socio-Technical Structure Socio technical structure is an organizational design which consists of a combination of people and technology. It includes the habits and attitudes of people; the way they interact and behave. The technical aspect of this structure includes the machinery processes and physical management. This structure includes hardware, software, people, surroundings data and data structure, law and regulations and procedures. According to this system all the needs of an employee should be identified and met which they bring along to the workplace. This system helps in motivating employees and raises their performance level by taking care of the characteristics that comprises social system. These characteristics involve their communication, involvement, performance, and team work, attitudes, behavior and job satisfaction. This system is emerged overtime through the employees of the organization and thus represents the culture of an organization and its social setup. (Whitworth) As socio technical system includes face to face work, which includes customer service therefore ensuring that your customers are getting adequate technical support and thus it is related to the socio technical structure because it fulfills the requirements, social as well as technical. Providing appropriate customer service by understanding customer needs and communicating positively with them satisfies the social requirement where as giving them technical assistance, that is, to provide information regarding the technical aspects of the product satisfies technical requirements. Any technological advancement cannot be successful if the technology does not take into account the human component because ultimately humans have to interact with the technological design therefore it is important to treat people and technology together within a system. This gives rise to social and technical subsystem in which social subsystem takes into account human needs and attitudes and technical subsystem relates to the devices, procedures and technical know how. The technological and social subsystem needs to be interdependent so that the organization can deliver the best to the customers. In this way the technology offered by the organization will be according to the needs of the customers and thus it would be a perfect fit. (Whitworth) Thus the most important strategy for any company to provide adequate technical support to customers is that it should develop a socio technical structure so that the technical assistance provided to the customers are in accordance to the social needs of the customers. REFERENCES Hoffman, R. (1996) Help is Only a Phone Call Away! How to get good service. The Real World. Retrieved October 15, 2009, from http://www. animatedsoftware. com/misc/stories/jobs/dbmscntr. htm Kay, D. (2004) Show, Don’t Tell: Remote Support Best Practices and Benefits. DB Kay and Associates. Retrieved October 15, 2009, from http://www. webbuyersguide. com/bguide/Whitepaper/Wpdetails. asp? frmCQ=Ywpid=NzU3Mwcategory=723sitename= webbuyersguidekc=newstech101607src=newstech101607 Setting up a successful help deskphysical considerations (http://articles. techrepublic. com. com/5100-10878_11-5112459. html) and Try these efficiency strategies when setting up a successful help desk (http://articles. techrepublic. com. com/5100-10878_11-5112468. html). Setting up a successful help desk (http://techrepublic. com. com/5208-6230-0. html? forumID=14threadID=146337 messageID=1623851). Whitworth,B. Socio-Technical Systems. Retrieved on 23rd July 2010 from http://brianwhitworth. com/hci-sts. pdf

Eyes of a Blue Dog by Gabriel Garcia Marquez :: essays research papers

Then she looked at me. I thought that she was looking at me for the first time. But then, when she turned around behind the lamp and I kept feeling her slippery and oily look in back of me, over my shoulder, I understood that it was I who was looking at her for the first time. I lit a cigarette. I took a drag on the harsh, strong smoke, before spinning in the chair, balancing on one of the rear legs. After that I saw her there, as if she'd been standing beside the lamp looking at me every night. For a few brief minutes that's all we did: look at each other. I looked from the chair, balancing on one of the rear legs. She stood, with a long and quiet hand on the lamp, looking at me. I saw her eyelids lighted up as on every night. It was then that I remembered the usual thing, when I said to her: "Eyes of a blue dog." Without taking her hand off the lamp she said to me: "That. We'll never forget that." She left the orbit, sighing: "Eyes of a blue dog. I've writ ten it everywhere." I saw her walk over to the dressing table. I watched her appear in the circular glass of the mirror looking at me now at the end of a back and forth of mathematical light. I watched her keep on looking at me with her great hot-coal eyes: looking at me while she opened the little box covered with pink mother of pearl. I saw her powder her nose. When she finished, she closed the box, stood up again, and walked over to the lamp once more, saying: "I'm afraid that someone is dreaming about this room and revealing my secrets." And over the flame she held the same long and tremulous hand that she had been warming before sitting down at the mirror. And she said: "You don't feel the cold." And I said to her: "Sometimes." And she said to me: "You must feel it now." And then I understood why I couldn't have been alone in the seat. It was the cold that had been giving me the certainty of my solitude. "Now I feel it," I said. "And it's stran ge because the night is quiet. Maybe the sheet fell off." She didn't answer. Again she began to move toward the mirror and I turned again in the chair, keeping my back to her.

Women in Shakespeares Writings :: essays research papers fc

Shakespeare wrote many entries based on his feelings at that moment. The basis of many of his female characters was brought about by these certain emotions. The women in Shakespeare's writings emphasize many of the characteristics that reflect his own personality. Shakespeare bases many of his plays and poems on his moods.It is often said when writers write of what emotional state they are in, their words form the essence of their works. Shakespeare's moods, whether dark or romantic, have brought about many excellent plays that still touch the hearts of many to this day. (Kellog 225 -256) An example of his romantic mood is found in his play Romeo & Juliet. The strong love between the two reflected Shakespeare's love for his wife Anne. The bonds of love drive the "two star-crossed lovers" to disobey their families in hopes that their true love will unites the mortal enemies forever. In turn it pushes everyone to the edge. Juliet's father partially disowns her because she refuses to marry the suitor he has chosen for her. In effort to keep her and Romeo's love alive, Juliet takes a drug that makes her seem as though she were dead. (O' Conner 69) In the hour of her "fake" funeral, Romeo's friend Balthasar misinterprets Juliet's death. He flees to Mantua, which is where Romeo is exiled for slaying Tybalt. Romeo, not knowing of Juliet and the priest's actions, believes that story he was told to be true. He then returns to Verona a sad and forlorned man. (o' conner 127) Upon his return, Romeo purchases poison so that he may join his true love at the gates of heaven. He arrives at the church and approaches the supposedly dead Juliet. He allows himself one last hug and kiss before they are to meet again. As Romeo drinks the poison, Juliet awakens to find her love dying before her. When Romeo dies, Juliet feels the only way they can be together is in death. Therefore, Juliet falls on Romeo's sword so they can reunite again. Romeo & Juliet is one of Shakespeare's most famous romantic tragedies. (O' conner 217) Another characteristic that Shakespeare posses and gives to his female characters is religious beliefs. During the Renaissance period, women were very active in religion. They were only allowed to speak their minds in church so that is where they spent most of their time (sachs 17). The belief of the Renaissance time was that men ruled over their wives, as parents did children, as kings did coutries, and as God rules over all.

People Whose Native Language Is Not English

People whose native language is not English, but who wish to learn English as a second language, must learn English as a new language, as a skill, as an additional means of communication. They have to learn how to pronounce strange words, and which syllables to emphasise, and what rhythms and tonal pitches should be used. But people whose mother tongue is English do not have to go to school to learn these things, they learn it automatically, from their parents, their relatives, their friends and from everyday life.For example, they do not have to ‘learn' the grammar structure, or the various forms for past, present and future tenses; they just acquire that ability subconsciously and instinctively, from sheer exposure to the language; they do not consciously ‘know' the rules of grammar, and they probably could not even explain them. By the age of three, or maybe even earlier, they just automatically know what words to use in many situation and what form those words should take.However, later, as part of their formal educational training, they will have ‘English' lessons at school, along with other subjects such as Geography and History and Mathematics etc. They may be given writing practice, and the opportunities to read literature that will expand their communication and learning skills. They will be encouraged to read and write stories and poetry, and will be given opportunities to become more and more familiar with their native tongue and how it is used in different ways to communicate information and ideas. They do not need to learn to ‘understand' the English language.They can already do that, but by doing ‘English' as a school subject, they will expand their vocabulary; discover alternative, and maybe better, ways to express themselves. In doing so, any little ‘mistakes' in their English will be corrected along the way. ) SUMMARY †¢Those who are learning English as a ‘second language' are learning it as an ent irely new language. It is not easy to do this, but well worth the effort. †¢Native-English speakers do not have to learn ‘English', they already ‘know' English! But, by learning English as a school subject, their natural ‘English' is enhanced and developed.

7 Key Grammar Differences Between Spanish and English

7 Key Grammar Differences Between Spanish and English Because Spanish and English are Indo-European languages- the two have a common origin from several thousand years ago from somewhere in Eurasia- they are alike in ways that go beyond their shared Latin-based vocabulary. The structure of Spanish isnt difficult for English speakers to understand when compared with, for example, Japanese or Swahili. Both languages, for example, use the parts of speech in basically the same way. Prepositions (preposiciones) are called that, for instance, because they are pre-positioned before an object. Some other languages have postpositions and circumpositions that are absent in Spanish and English. Even so, there are distinct differences in the grammars of the two languages. Learning them will help you avoid some of the common  learning mistakes. Here are seven major differences that beginning students would do well to learn; all but the last two should be addressed in the first year of Spanish instruction: Placement of Adjectives One of the first differences youre likely to notice is that Spanish descriptive adjectives (those that tell what a thing or being is like) typically come after the noun they modify, while English usually places them before. Thus we would say hotel confortable for comfortable hotel and actor ansioso for anxious actor. Descriptive adjectives in Spanish can come before the noun- but that changes the meaning of the adjective slightly, usually by adding some emotion or subjectivity. For example, while an hombre pobre would be a poor man in the sense of one not having money, a pobre hombre would be a man who is poor in the sense of being pitiful. The two examples above could be restated as confortable hotel and ansioso actor, respectively, but the meaning might be changed in a way that isnt readily translated. The first might emphasize the luxurious nature of the hotel, while the second might suggest a more clinical type of anxiety rather than a simple case of nervousness- the exact differences will vary with the context. The same rule applies in Spanish for adverbs; placing the adverb before the verb gives it a more emotional or subjective meaning. In English, adverbs can often go before or after the verb without affecting the meaning. Gender The differences here are stark: Gender is a key feature of Spanish grammar, but only a few vestiges of gender  remain in English. Basically, all Spanish nouns are masculine or feminine (there also is a less-used neuter gender used with a few pronouns), and adjectives or pronouns must match in gender the nouns they refer to. Even inanimate objects can be referred to as ella (she) or à ©l (he). In English, only people, animals, and a few nouns, such as a ship that can be referred to as she, have gender. Even in those cases, the gender matters only with pronoun use; we use the same adjectives to refer to men and women. (A possible exception is that some writers differentiate between blond and blonde based on gender.) An abundance of Spanish nouns, especially those referring to occupations, also have masculine and feminine forms; for example, a male president is a presidente, while a female president is traditionally called a presidenta. English gendered equivalents are limited to a few roles, such as actor and actress. (Be aware that in modern usage, such gender distinctions are  fading. Today, a female president might be called a presidente, just as actor is now often applied to women.) Conjugation English has a few changes in verb forms, adding -s or -es to indicate third-person singular forms in the present tense, adding -ed or sometimes just -d to indicate the simple past tense, and adding -ing to indicate continuous or progressive verb forms. To further indicate tense, English adds auxiliary verbs such as has, have, did, and will in front of the standard verb form. But Spanish takes a different approach to conjugation: Although it also uses auxiliaries, it extensively modifies verb endings to indicate person, mood, and tense. Even without resorting to auxiliaries, which also are used, most verbs have more than 30 forms in contrast with the three of English. For example, among the forms of hablar (to speak) are hablo (I speak), hablan (they speak), hablars (you will speak), hablarà ­an (they would speak), and hables (subjunctive form of you speak). Mastering these conjugated forms- including irregular forms for most of the common verbs- is a key part of learning Spanish. Need for Subjects In both languages, a complete sentence includes at least a subject and a verb. However, in Spanish it is frequently unnecessary to explicitly state the subject, letting the conjugated verb form indicate  who or what is performing the verbs action. In standard English, this is done only with commands (Sit! and You sit! mean the same thing), but Spanish has no such limitation. For example, in English a verb phrase such as will eat says nothing about who will be doing the eating. But in Spanish, it is possible to say comerà © for I will eat and comern for they will eat, to list just two of the six possibilities. As a result, subject pronouns are retained in Spanish primarily if needed for clarity or emphasis. Word Order Both English and Spanish are SVO languages, those in which the typical statement begins with a subject, followed by a verb and, where applicable, an object of that verb. For example, in the sentence The girl kicked the ball, (La nià ±a pateà ³ el balà ³n), the subject is the girl (la nià ±a), the verb is kicked (pateà ³), and the object is the ball (el balà ³n). Clauses within sentences also usually follow this pattern. In Spanish, it is normal for object pronouns (as opposed to nouns) to come before the verb. And sometimes Spanish speakers will even put the subject noun after the verb. Wed never say something like The book wrote it, even in poetic usage, to refer to Cervantes writing a book but the Spanish equivalent is perfectly acceptable, especially in poetic writing: Lo escribià ³ Cervantes. Such variations from the norm are quite common in longer sentences. For example, a construction such as No recuerdo el momento en que salià ³ Pablo (in order, I dont remember the moment in which left Pablo) is not unusual. Spanish also allows and sometimes requires the use of double negatives, in which a negation must occur both before and after a verb, unlike in English. Attributive Nouns It is extremely common in English for nouns to function as adjectives. Such attributive nouns come before the words they modify. Thus in these phrases, the first word is an attributive noun: clothes closet, coffee cup, business office, light fixture. But with rare exceptions, nouns cant be so flexibly used in Spanish. The equivalent of such phrases is usually formed by using a preposition such as de or para: armario de ropa, taza para cafà ©, oficina de negocios, dispositivo de iluminacià ³n. In some cases, this is accomplished by Spanish having adjectival forms that dont exist in English. For example, informtico can be the equivalent of computer as an adjective, so a computer table is a mesa informtica. Subjunctive Mood Both English and Spanish use the subjunctive mood, a type of verb used in certain situations where the verbs action isnt necessarily factual. However, English speakers seldom use the subjunctive, which is necessary for all but basic conversation in Spanish. An instance of the subjunctive can be found in a simple sentence such as Espero que duerma, I hope she is sleeping. The normal verb form for is sleeping would be duerme, as in the sentence Sà © que duerme, I know she is sleeping. Note how Spanish uses different forms in these sentences even though English does not. Almost always, if an English sentence uses the subjunctive, so will its Spanish equivalent. Study in I insist that she study is in the subjunctive mood (the regular or indicative form she studies isnt used here), as is estudie in Insisto que estudie. Key Takeaways Spanish and English are structurally similar because they have common origin in the long-gone Indo-European language.Word order is less fixed in Spanish than it is in English. Some adjectives can come before or after a noun, verbs more often can become the nouns they apply to, and many subjects can be omitted altogether.Spanish has a much more frequent use of the subjunctive mood than English does.

An Inspector Calls Essay Essay Example

An Inspector Calls Essay Essay Example An Inspector Calls Essay Essay An Inspector Calls Essay Essay Essay Topic: Literature Priestley conveys this message through a story of a girl who was driven to suicide by members of one family. All were unaware of the fact they all knew her.   The play was written in 1946, but set in 1912. This relates to the message because its audience will know from the wars that people can affect the lives of others e. g. Hitler and Stalin. Arthur Birling is portrayed as a pompous know-it-all whom you immediately dislike. He believes that society and the community is as it should be. The rich stay rich, the poor stay poor and there is a large gap between the two. He is a man who has worked his way up to the position he is in without inheritance, he believes that a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own. Throughout the play, however, we see that Priestleys views do not concur with Birlings and he has added statements to make the audience see Birlings views as false. Birlings confidence in the predictions he makes, such as the Titanic being unsinkable, and war being impossible, give the audience the impression that his views of community are also misguided. Every one of the predictions Birling makes is wrong; the Titanic sank on her maiden voyage, World War One broke out two years after the play was set and the American Stock Market crashed in 1929. This leads us to regard him as a man of many words but little sense! Mr Birlings behaviour towards the Inspector is very discourteous. He is filled with disgust at how he came into his home, accusing him and his family of a tragedy. He does not care whether the Inspector is doing his job or not. He is also very insolent and doesnt have much respect for others. He is more interested in his own well being. This shows when he finds out that Eric (Mr Birlings son) stole money from the factory. He wasnt interested in Erics reasons for taking the money, but simply when he would get it back. At the end of Act Three, Birling seems not to have taken any of the lessons of the evening to heart. The demise of Eva Smith and the role each member of his family played in her death have not shaken his beliefs. He continues to believe that there was every excuse for what he and his wife did. In fact, he is more concerned with his own reputation than with Eva. who here will suffer more than I will? He says things that should have been said to him, you dont realise yet all youve done you dont seem to care about anything, yet when he says these things, he is of course talking not about Eva Smith, but about his own reputation and an upcoming public scandal. The attitude of Mr Birling, and his willingness to explain away the events of the evening to hoaxes and artfully crafted deception, all go towards the final twist in the plot the Inspector returning to teach the Birlings their lesson again. This ties in with the idea that if you dont learn the lesson the first time, you will be taught it again, through fire and blood and anguish. Eva Smiths story carries Priestleys view throughout the play. Due to the selfish actions of others she suffers a chain of bad luck leading to her premature death. First she asks for a rise from Mr Birling. He refuses and fires her. Next, while working in a clothes shop, Sheila (Mr Birlings daughter) requests for Eva to be fired. Then, while being harassed at a bar, Gerald (Sheilas fianci ) comes to rescue her, gives her a place to stay and supplies her with money. When he finally sent her back to the streets, she met Eric at the Palace Bar. They made love a few times and he gave her 50 pounds, which he stole from the factory. When she found out she was pregnant Eric got rid of her. Finally, she went to a charitable organisation which Mrs Birling was head of. She was refused help for a number of reasons and left with nowhere else to go. When told what they had done, each of the characters responded in different ways. Mr and Mrs Birling responded with disbelief and refused to admit they had done anything wrong. Eric was ashamed at what he had done. Gerald was also ashamed but extremely apologetic to Sheila, and Sheila was deeply regretful and was ashamed of her parents attitudes towards the ordeal. Inspector Goole is used as a way to communicate Priestleys views he acts as a social conscience of sorts. He is the voice of Priestley in the play, or the voice of Priestleys socialist views. We dont live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. He believes in responsibility for and towards everyone. Mr Birling comments on the Inspectors behaviour by saying you werent asked here to talk to me about my responsibilities. Contrary to what Arthur Birling believes, it seems that the Inspector was sent to the Birlings to teach them some responsibility. The character of Inspector Goole is mysterious. This air of mystery is intentional. The name Inspector Goole is an obvious pun (Inspector spectre, Goole ghoul). We as an audience never find out who this Inspector is. He could be anybody or anything. Priestley left the character as a mystery so as to have a larger impact. Through the Inspector, the audience is educated in social understanding and behaviour, seeing the examples of the Birlings and hearing Inspector Gooles prediction. Sheila also contributes to our response to the Inspector because she is young and impressionable, when the Inspector puts forward a view on society she agrees with him. This shows that he has great power and influence. The ending symbolises the warning that the Inspector gave the Birlings. If you do not learn your lesson the first time, you will be taught it again in fire and anguish. Priestley uses the dramatic twist of the Inspector returning at the end of the play, to emphasise this point, he makes it more effective by placing it just as the characters are beginning to relax, believing it was all a hoax. It serves to prick the consciences of both the characters and the audience. I believe the aim of Priestley when he wrote this play, was to make us think about our beliefs. He wanted to give us a sense of responsibility and make a difference in the world. He did this with a set of characters that everyone would be able to relate to.