Wednesday, August 26, 2020

The Main Communication Channels in Organizations

The fundamental correspondence channels that are usually utilized in my association are wireline and remote correspondence channels. Being a friendliness organization, the high ranking representatives are visit connection with the lesser authorities for consistency.Advertising We will compose a custom paper test on The Main Communication Channels in Organizations explicitly for you for just $16.05 $11/page Learn More The primary types of correspondence under the wireline station are calls and PC systems (Middleton, 2002). In this association, senior officials normally use phones to impart inside the association, just as to sort out outside gatherings and meetings among others. Then again, remote correspondence station includes the utilization of web through PCs, cell phones, TVs, and radio calls. Since the association has an official site all official correspondence inside the association just as to the organization’s customers is done through the web. Phone and radio calls ar e for the most part utilized by the high ranking representatives to impart gatherings or crises. As indicated by Middleton (2002), a portion of the fundamental impedances inside correspondence channels coming about into commotion are electromagnetic obstructions, and obstructions of radio frequencies among others. As it has been uncovered, impedances of the electromagnetic framework normally cause wastefulness in the exhibitions the whole framework, coming about into clamors. Further, obstructions of the radiation transmitted by the vast majority of the electronic machines may meddle with the frequencies in the whole correspondence framework, coming about into commotion. One of the primary techniques that should be fused in my organization’s correspondence framework is a ‘short message’ warning for an official message. Since numerous authorities are not generally signed in their messages, it would be very significant if the framework is made progressively compell ing through ‘short message’ warning for any new message from the organization. It ought to be noticed that, messages are successful methods for correspondence, yet in addition vital in the current society commanded by advanced correspondence. Fundamentally correspondence has to a great extent improved on account of innovation since it is simpler for data to arrive at enormous number of crowd inside an exceptionally brief timeframe (Middleton, 2002). As per Middleton (2002), organization’s atmosphere influences correspondence to a great extent. In the event that in an association there is free connection between the top and lower authorities, correspondence would be simpler and viable. Then again, when lower positioned representatives are confined to unreservedly collaborate with their high ranking representatives, correspondence would be constrained among the social classes.Advertising Looking for exposition on business correspondence? We should check whether we can support you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Generally, the repetitive example of conduct inside an association decides a great deal the general correspondence designs inside the association. For the most part, the authoritative atmosphere decides the how between gathering of relational correspondence patterns are encouraged. As announced by Middleton (2002), non-verbal correspondence is one of the most impressive methods for correspondence inside an association. Non-verbal correspondence includes the utilization of body signs and motions toward signify a specific significance. A portion of the principle non-verbal correspondence modes are outward appearances, signals and changes of conduct. On this premise, the improvement of abilities to peruse non-verbal correspondence adequately is significant. Through preparing of the non-verbal language of correspondence, it gets workable for the individuals in the association to see each other all the more precisely. In the w ake of being prepared on different ramifications of the non-verbal communication, an individual creates fitting aptitudes important to viably peruse non-verbal correspondence. In the association that I work for, nonverbal correspondence is to a great extent utilized in my working environment. For this situation, signals and outward appearances are the principle nonverbal correspondence modes utilized. For example, if an individual isn't content with the supervisor’s conduct the person glares, showing his disappointment by the supervisor’s activity or message. All the more thus, motions are to a great extent used to inform a person about a consideration required at certain point critically. Hand signals are the most famously utilized type of motions in my work place, since the clamor made by machines doesn't improve viable verbal correspondence (Middleton, 2002). As held by Middleton (2002), correspondence inside associations might be either through formal or casual cha nnels. One of the primary focal points of formal correspondence is that, the messages can be put away for sometime later. All the more along these lines, messages from formal correspondence can be tried for precision and dependability. Be that as it may, casual channel of correspondence requires formal aptitudes of communicating thoughts. On this premise, formal correspondence is just constrained to the first class and dexterous people inside an association. Then again, the principle favorable position of casual association is that, it doesn't require uncommon aptitudes and results into progressively relational connections inside an association. Notwithstanding, casual correspondence channels might be misleading, coming about into its inconsistency for future references. One of the most generally utilized casual correspondences in associations is rumors.Advertising We will compose a custom exposition test on The Main Communication Channels in Organizations explicitly for you for jus t $16.05 $11/page Learn More One of the manners by which associations can utilize bits of gossip in their association is to spread talk of curtailing to amplify creation in their association. By being nearer to the representatives and along these lines giving more consideration to the environments of work environment, directors would make workers increasingly gainful since they would be progressively spurred. As indicated by Middleton (2002), it is at last not moral for administrators to depend on bits of gossip since they are at last temperamental and may stir pressure inside the association. By and large, utilization of bits of gossip in associations is a casual correspondence implies which is deceptively worthy as methods for correspondence inside associations, in spite of being a propelling operator among the representatives. Reference Middleton, J. (2002). Authoritative Behavior. New York: Capstone Publishing. This exposition on The Main Communication Channels in Organizations was composed and presented by client Zoey Sloan to help you with your own examinations. You are allowed to utilize it for examination and reference purposes so as to compose your own paper; in any case, you should refer to it likewise. You can give your paper here.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Fairy Tales as Moral Lessons free essay sample

Stories as Moral Lessons When a great many people consider fantasies, they for the most part envision an excellent princess that should be safeguarded, a valiant ruler that protects her and a joyfully ever subsequent to including a wedding between the sovereign and princess. Individuals envision beasts and witches, yet now and again, when they read a fantasy they may see a hidden good to the story that instructs us to carry out beneficial things as opposed to terrible. I read The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen quite a long while back and was stunned at how extraordinary it is from the Disney variant we as a whole know. In the Disney variant, similarly as with all Disney films, there is a glad consummation where the young lady gets the sovereign. This isn't so in the first form by Hans Christian Andersen. His cheerfully ever is the point at which the little mermaid gets a spirit and gets the chance to go to paradise in view of her great deeds not wedding the sovereign and living joyfully ever after. We will compose a custom article test on Fantasies as Moral Lessons or on the other hand any comparable subject explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page Hans Christian Andersen’s story recounts six mermaid princesses and focuses on the most youthful, much like the Disney variant, yet that is almost the main thing that is the equivalent. She is not the same as her sisters; she is tranquil and keen. Her nursery is not quite the same as her sisters in that it is molded like the sun and highlights a sculpture of an attractive kid, predicting her affection for the surface world and a human kid. She sees an attractive sovereign commending his birthday on a boat. Soon thereafter a tempest overturns the boat and she spares him from suffocating. She puts him on the shore almost a strict house where he will be found and dealt with. Later we are informed that she hears mariners talking about â€Å"so numerous beneficial things about the doings of the youthful sovereign, that she was happy she had spared him. †(Andersen, standard. 16) She realizes where the prince’s palace is and goes through consistently watching him and falling all the more profoundly enamored with him. Subsequent to got notification from her grandma that mermaids have no spirit and are essentially transformed into ocean froth when they pass on, except if they wed a human that cherishes them more than their folks, she decides that she should wed an uman with the goal that she may get a spirit. Since she is as of now enamored with the sovereign, she goes to the abhorrent sorceress who blends a mixture that will give her legs so she can go ashore and attempt to win the prince’s heart, however the sorceress’ cost is the little mermaid’s voice. The sorceress removes the little mermaids tongue and gives her the mix ture. The little mermaid goes to the shore, drinks the elixir and gets her legs, yet, similar to the sorceress stated, it is unimaginably difficult to stroll on her legs. She is found by the ruler after she has flushed the elixir and gotten legs, yet she can't talk in the wake of having her tongue cut out by the sorceress. Notwithstanding the way that she can't talk, she prevails upon the ruler with her excellence and beauty, yet the sovereign accepts that a young lady at the strict house was the person who spared him and is infatuated with her. The little mermaid figures she can even now wed the ruler in light of the fact that the young lady he thinks protected him and is infatuated with is in a strict house concentrating to be a religious recluse. We see this case of instructing individuals to do great as opposed to fiendish most plainly toward the end when the little mermaid passes on. She joins the â€Å"Daughters of the Air† and is informed that she has been given a spirit and may go to paradise following 300 years. In addition to the fact that she obtains a spirit and an opportunity to go to paradise, however she will have her 300 years decreased by one year each time she finds a decent kid who carries satisfaction to their folks. On the opposite side, each time she cries a tear from seeing a kid accomplish something terrible, she will have one day added to her 300 years. Much the same as other fantasies, the young lady gets a compensation toward the end, however in The Little Mermaid, it is the award of a spirit and paradise in light of her great deeds that make the cheerful completion, not wedding a sovereign and living joyfully ever after. This story is plainly impacting individuals that their great deeds will be remunerated, not that they will have a joyfully ever after, yet they will win peoples’ hearts and go to paradise in the event that they do great. It likewise welcomes youngsters to be acceptable with the idea that they would enable a mermaid to get to paradise. Andersen initially finished the story with the mermaid dissolving, yet afterwards included the girls of air coda, expressing that it was his unique expectation and, actually, the working title of the story. The little girls of the air say they can procure spirits essentially by doing 300 years worth of good deeds, yet Andersen later reconsidered it to express that this relies on whether youngsters are fortunate or unfortunate. Great conduct takes a year off the ladies time of administration while awful conduct causes them to sob and a day is included for each tear they shed. This has gone under much analysis from researchers and commentators, expressing that, This last message is more terrifying than some other introduced in the story. The story slides into the Victorian good stories composed for youngsters to alarm them into great conduct. P. L. Travers, creator of Mary Poppins and noted fables pundit, says, But a year taken off when a kid carries on and a tear shed and a day included at whatever point a kid is shrewd? Andersen, this is extortion. What's more, the kids know it and state nothing. Theres unselfishness for you (Travers 1979). We see too in different pieces of the story instances of affirmed conduct being remunerated. At the point when the little mermaid, who is the most delightful young lady on the planet, hears mariners continually commending the ruler she spared from suffocating, it makes her happy even more that she saved him and experienced passionate feelings for him. This is another case of good deeds being compensated, in light of the fact that the sovereign successes the core of the little mermaid with his great deeds. There is the fundamental component of a shrewdness being in the story; the sorceress that gives the little mermaid a mixture that will give her legs so she can be with the sovereign she cherishes. The sorceress removes her tongue in installment for the elixir, which is an extremely sad thing to happen particularly in light of the fact that the little mermaid has the most lovely voice of all. The little mermaid endures the loss of her tongue and the torment that goes with her mysteriously made legs with the most extreme effortlessness. She overlooks the agony in her feet and legs, since it is better for her to endure peacefully and be with the ruler she adores than to wipe out the reason for torment and be not able to be with her sovereign. Here, once more, we see a case of prudence. In Disney’s rendition of The Little Mermaid, it is totally unique. They change the end with the goal that the little mermaid weds the ruler. This adaptation doesn't instruct individuals to do great, it just shows little youngsters that they should search for Prince Charming to deeply inspire them and remove them to a manor to live joyfully ever after. End After perusing The Little Mermaid and all the fantasies in our course book, Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, and having grown up watching Disney motion pictures, it is my conviction that most fantasies were composed with the aim of putting forth for individuals the significance of being acceptable and prudent. We see this unmistakably in Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid where we are shown how extraordinary a prize you will get for acts of kindness and the punishment for terrible deeds. Works Cited Andersen, Hans C. The Little Mermaid. Copenhagen: 1837. Print The Little Mermaid. Dir. Ron Clements. Perf. Jodi Benson, Samuel Wright. Disney, 1989 Travers, P. L. Mary Poppins. London: 1934. Print Behrens, Laurence and Rosen, Leonard J. Composing and Reading Across the Curriculum twelfth Edition. London: 2012. Print

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Essay Questions for the 2014 First Year Application - UGA Undergraduate Admissions

Essay Questions for the 2014 First Year Application - UGA Undergraduate Admissions Essay Questions for the 2014 First Year Application As promised, here are the essay questions for the 2014 First Year application. 1. Choose an intellectual or creative opportunity (for example, community involvement, a summer program, a unique project, travel abroad, etc.) from your high school years that you have enjoyed and highlight how you have grown personally because of the experience. 2. It has been said that every friend and acquaintance with whom you share your life can become, in ways small or large, a part of who you are. Briefly tell us about one such personâ€"not a relativeâ€"who many people would say is quite different from you. Use only her or his first name, and in particular, reflect on your interactions and how those experiences may have changed you. 3. Tell us an interesting or amusing story about yourself that you have not already shared in your application. 4. UGA’s First Year Odyssey Program offers more than 300 seminar courses for new freshmen. Some examples include “The History of Horseracing”, “Einstein and the Theories of Relativity” and “The Zombie Plague”. If you could create your own seminar course at UGA in any subject area that interested you, what would it be? What would the course be named and what would you hope to learn? These four essay questions will be required for First Year applicants who apply Regular Decision or are deferred Early Action. Each essay should be about 150 to 200 words, but remember to focus on substance and not word count. Before submitting your application and essays in the Fall, always remember to proofread and edit! The First Year application will be available in early September. Go Dawgs!

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Economic Growth In Northern And Eastern Province Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3553 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Ever since the LTTE was defeated in May 2009, there has been just one thought on the business communitys minds opportunities for growth in the North and East provinces. However, business confidence was low due to the political instability in the country at that time. But, following the results of the recently held Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, the emergent political stability for the foreseeable future has restored investor confidence. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Economic Growth In Northern And Eastern Province Finance Essay" essay for you Create order With abundant man-power and land availability coupled with the massive infrastructure development taking place and incentives provided for investment in the area, almost all industries are trying to grab a piece of the pie. In addition to the local investors, the government has also taken steps to attract foreign direct investments in the region. However, their success will be determined by their ability to raise finance for their planned investments. BANKING INDUSTRY Blue chip companies have the option of generating funds through the sale of equities in the form of IPOs and rights issues. However, most Sri Lankan businesses are small and medium sized enterprises most of which are not attracted by the option of sharing ownership through the sale of shares. Hence they look towards banks to provide financial solutions for their investments. The banking industry is one of the most profitable industries in the island. With the above scenario of businesses clamoring to obtain funds for their investments, the banking industry has turned into a vital business partner without which nothing can happen. This is also the opportunity that each bank has to create a reputation for itself in Project Financing. In order to meet these needs, banks have to undergo expansion. The Sri Lankan banking industry comprises of licensed commercial banks, licensed specialized banks and registered finance companies. The licensed commercial banks comprise of what can be termed as state banks, domestic private banks and foreign private banks. It is these institutions, the licensed commercial banks, numbering 22, which fight for the spoils in a very profitable industry. The two state banks have an advantage since they are used by the government for its numerous projects. The foreign banks, 11 in number, have an advantage where-in they are able to provide funds for large investments by approaching their world-wide groups. It should be noted that the foreign banks have increased their stake in credit advances in recent times. It is the nine domestic private banks which have to strive hard to win over clients through capitalizing on their very own competitive edge. Furthermore, the domestic private banks also face some competition from the 14 development banks (categorized under licensed specialized banks) which normally make the first move in the project finance sector. THE NEED FOR RISK MANAGEMENT With increasing regulation in the banking industry, banks have to balance their potential profitability against risk of loans turning into non performing advances. For instance, over-exposure to a particular industry could result in losses if the industry fails. In addition, the selection of a wrong location to establish a bank branch would result in poor customer attraction. Thus, Risk Management has come to the forefront of all activities connected to banks. Stringent credit tests need to be undertaken to weed out poor investments and banks would have to reduce risk by getting involved in a range of industries. Banks presently focus on risks relating to nonpayment of advances and exposure to a particular industry. However, they would also have to take into account knowledge risk, relationship risk, operational risk etc. when taking decisions as all these play a role in the final decision. Furthermore, relationship risk is of significance since people in the region place their faith in financial institutions based on relationships. Therefore, in an environment of economic growth where the demand for credit is rising, banks have to be careful of the options they select. Diving head-on into any mildly feasible project or haphazard selection of expansion tactics will spell disaster. It is here that the management should ensure that effective risk management strategies are in place and a right balance is struck between profitability, expansion and risk exposure. PUBLICATION An analysis of the above scenario is seeking publication in a magazine/newspaper catering to bankers and professionals across other industries. I have short listed the following publications; The Banker is a quarterly publication by the Institute of Bankers in Sri Lanka. This is the only local industry journal and covers all aspects of the banking industry in the country. With its circulation of 16,000 reaching industry professionals, its position as a journal makes it a good medium for any industry related articles. Its only drawbacks are that articles have a ceiling limit of 1,500 words, is highly technical and focuses little on strategy. The Financial Times is Sri Lankas only financial daily. Launched in 2009, it covers news items on local and foreign businesses while giving more emphasis to domestic issues. It also consists of articles relating to business strategy across varying industries on a weekly basis. With its core readership being financial sector employees and business analysts, this newspaper would be an ideal platform to capture the attention of my target audience. Lanka Monthly Digest (LMD) is the island nations leading business magazine with a monthly readership of nearly 20,000 and a target readership which comprises business and opinion leaders, senior managers and professionals. Its content comprise chiefly of current affairs, business and politics relating to the domestic environment. However, it provides little emphasis on the local banking industry. I firmly believe that my article, which takes into account the need for risk management in an environment of economic growth potential is a timely read for professionals in the banking and financial services industries, and as such would be of interest to the readership of the above three magazines. However, The Financial Times emphasis on local business news and investment opportunities making it the preferred read for investors, bankers and business analysts influences me to make it the chosen publication for my article. I believe that this newspapers readership would benefit from the points raised from the banking industry perspective on tackling growth and risk management. It could also be a starting point of debate on what the future holds for the banking industry and strategies to be implemented in the current economic climate. Word Count: 1059 words TASK TWO THE BALANCING ACT ECONOMIC GROWTH, RISK EXPANSION ECONOMIC GROWTH Sri Lanka has received its third opportunity to turn around its economy. Following independence in 1948 and opening up of the economy in 1977, the end of the conflict in the Northern and Eastern parts of the country in May 2009 has bought with it opportunities hitherto inaccessible. The infrastructure development currently taking place together with the abundant man power, availability of land, proximity to Trincomalee port and government incentives for investment in the region has made the Northern and Eastern Provinces hot spots for investors. At present, analysts forecast that bids for investment in tourism, agriculture, fisheries and manufacturing sectors will increase in the region. While blue chip organizations will undertake most of the large scale investments, many small and medium enterprises have been queuing up to grab a piece of the pie. This is where the banking industry comes into play as more than 95% of the investors are bound to approach banks for funding. The Sri Lankan banking industry has performed reasonably well over the past few years. Profit before tax of all Licensed Commercial Banks reached Rs. 27.6 billion for the year ended 2009 while registering a growth of 9.3 per cent. On average, the banks are taxed nearly 60% of their earnings. However, the Sri Lankan banks have comfortably managed to remain on the black despite 2009 being a tough year due to the heightened war and global recession. To-date, business ventures based themselves in the Western Province primarily due to infrastructure availability. However, with the ending of the war and the development activities in the other regions as well as in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, banks have begun expeditiously establishing their presence in certain areas. The 2009 Central Bank Annual Report states that The number of new bank branches opened by Licensed Commercial Banks was 49, of which 38 were outside the Western Province. Further, out of the 49 new bank branches 17 branches were opened in the Eastern Province while 10 branches were opened in the Northern Province. This indicates that banks have begun expanding their operations to meet the demand. It also shows that the banks have recognized the need to build relationships with the community in order to help them get them back on their own two feet. In the long term, a step by step approach would assist banks to increase their volume of retail banking activities due to the fact that, with time and economic development of the region, people tend to turn to banks for other financing solutions. However, corporate banking is a different kettle of fish. The recent decrease in interest rates to around 10% to 13%(the lowest in recent times) and the Central Banks special lines of credit for the agriculture and livestock sectors, Small Medium Enterprises, and development programmes such as Eastern Rising and Awakening North, have resulted in a massive demand for project finance. Offering advances for investments which comply with the special lines of credit category provide banks the room to earn more profits since the cost of obtaining funds for those loans is lower than the market rate of obtaining funds to provide advances to loan applicants under normal circumstances. The Central Banks above-mentioned initiatives would not only assist entrepreneurs obtain cheaper funds, but also provide banks with opportunities for increased profitability. However, the demand for advances also means that commercial banks have to face increased competition among themselves and with development banks to win over large clients. While negotiating with SMEs tend to be a little easier considering their lower bargaining power and their fear of the application being rejected elsewhere, banks tend to struggle when negotiating with multi-nationals or conglomerates since they are able to look at other avenues of finance due to positive credit ratings and reputation as well as the promise of a slice of probable future banking needs, such as working capital, once operations start. Furthermore, not all projects succeed as planned, and with banks handing out more advances to maintain market share, they run the risk of their advances turning into non-performing loans which have now hit 8.8% (refer appendix table 3). In addition, setting up new branches and the expense involved in promoting the bank is a cost that most banks did not forecast. Therefore, while the positive economic climate is going to bring in more business, increased costs will have to be incurred to be able to meet the demand. Thus, if not managed properly, the economic growth could spell doom for some banks. RISK MANAGEMENT IN TIMES OF GROWTH The Sri Lankan banking industry managed to steer clear of the ills faced by the banking industry in the western world. However, the crisis in the west has resulted in domestic banks adopting extremely tight conditions which have to be complied with in order to get approval for advances. Despite being in an environment of economic growth, interest rates being lowered and demand for credit rising, the current sentiment expressed by entrepreneurs is that they are not getting advances they apply for. While banks are right to protect their interests and ensure they keep their non-performing loans at a minimum, their tight financial risk management policies have blocked them from earning as much as they can. Furthermore, operational risk management strategies have also limited the scope of intuitive judgment. Thus, employees are constrained by not being able to proceed with attractive options till the necessary controls have been complied with. In comparison, banks have devoted insufficient attention to knowledge risk and relationship risk. In these times of economic growth, banks should ensure that their personnel are consistently provided with training and education programmes on the developments in different industries and market trends. An absence of knowledge of the market could result in evaluators turning down applications for profitable ventures. Furthermore, in an industry operating largely on the strength of relationships and an environment where it is the retail customers who set up SMEs, banks run the risk of losing customers to competitors who accommodate their request for advances. Therefore banks have to ensure that they give as much support to their clients as possible. After all, when it comes to an enterprise, a lost customer also means a loss of all the future business, such as leasing, current accounts, overdrafts etc., he would carry out once the venture gets off the ground. EXPANSION The banking industry has recognized the need to establish a presence in the Northern and Eastern areas. However, this was not something they envisaged when budgets were drawn up at the end of the year. For instance, Sampath Bank has now drawn up a strategy to open their 200th branch by end 2011 (they had 131 at end 2009). But selection of locations in North and East would not be easy since infrastructure development projects are still to be completed and the people have barely begun returning to their homes. However, early movement into the region would provide them with the opportunity to establish a relationship with the community and begin retail banking activities. While retail banking would be slow to pick up and provide returns, a presence is nevertheless important to assist business ventures which have already started or are proposed to start in the region. However, expansion is more than simply setting up branches. Some analysts are of the opinion that with 22 licensed commercial banks and 14 licensed specialized banks, the Sri Lankan banking industry is too crowded and mergers would bring about improved efficiency and profits. However, with single shareholder ownership limits, acting in concert rules and anti-competitive laws in place, this seems highly unlikely at present. Furthermore, the Sampath Bank-HNB takeover incident in 2000 and the 2009 Commercial Bank ownership tussle indicate that directors of banks are loath to takeovers of any sort. This leaves the banks with the option of Market Development and Product Development. At present, none of the domestic private banks and foreign banks has a presence in the districts of Kilinochchi, Mannar and Mullaitivu while certain domestic private banks have only one or two branches in Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Vavuniya districts. However, Bank of Ceylon and Peoples Bank, the state-backed banks, have a considerable presence in the area connected to its online network. It is safe to say that they have already obtained the first mover advantage. Under these circumstances, a strategy for the private domestic banks would involve identification of a suitable location to set up the branch, identification of which products to sell and then a considerable amount of expenditure in promotions and marketing staff. The marketing arm would need to sell their existing products to a segment of the population who may already bank with their competitors the state banks. Thus pricing should be carried out carefully. Initially, basic instruments such as different savings accounts, current accounts, housing loans, leasing facilities and ATM networks would be sufficient. However, these banks would also have to meet the needs of the corporate clients who invest in the region. Thus the expansion strategy would have take into account the relevant banks level of involvement in the area before setting up a branch. Furthermore, risk evaluations have to be carried out to forecast the potential earnings in the long run since the branches would provide a positive return only in the medium-term period. While a physical presence in the area would cover one part of the strategy, the balance part would require adapting products to suit the needs of the corporate clients. Standard products would be difficult to sell considering the different environment of operations in the region. Meanwhile, risk management should be carried out effectively to ensure that non performing advances are kept to a minimum. Thus, the balancing of the opportunity for growth, the requirement to follow risk management procedures and the need expand operations while maintaining profitability is something the banks will have to carefully consider in the coming months. MARKETING IN THE INDUSTRY The above scenario would necessitate a change in the manner in which marketing professionals carry out their work. Hitherto, financial solutions were first created and then the task of attracting customers was given to the marketers. The Sri Lankan financial market still trades in basic savings and credit instruments and therefore the risk is low. Furthermore, most customers are aware of the various instruments. It was simply a matter of convincing the clients to make use of the variety of financial solutions. A change in the status quo could pose a problem to the marketing profession in the banking industry as it employs few pure marketers. In Sri Lanka, in order to be promoted, even marketers have to arm themselves with academic or professional qualifications in banking. Therefore, marketers in the industry would also have to gear themselves with knowledge on business, finance and statistics. Furthermore, in an environment where banks have to be a partner in most business ventures, marketers would now have to play a more pro-active role in the field of corporate banking. They will have to attract customers by analyzing the investment market, opportunities for growth and then lure existing business ventures to actively engage in business in the northern and eastern regions. Simply said, they have to be a step ahead of the investors and provide the enterprises with the opportunities to do business in, instead of businesses seeking opportunities and then approaching banks for finance. This would require considerable investments in knowledge management. Furthermore, marketing professionals, as individuals, would have to invest more time in keeping a tab on available business opportunities as well as conduct studies on various industries and segments in each industry which would stand to benefit from the opportunities in the North and East. They will also have to strengthen ne gotiation skills to be able to convince corporate clients to sign up with their bank. In both, retail banking and corporate banking, customer relationships are a vital component since, in a climate of growth, a loss of a client would also result in the loss of further business the customer would have bought in through positive word of mouth and turning towards the bank for financial solutions to unrelated problems. Hence, marketers will have to be more courteous in service and establish better bonds. This means that marketing professionals would have to ensure that customer relationship strategies are strengthened while carrying out operations. TIME TO GET THINGS STARTED FAST Private domestic banks would have to get things rolling fast if they are to grab a slice of the retail banking share in the North and East provinces. Adjustments need to be incorporated into strategic plans and implemented. Furthermore, risk management strategies have to be reviewed and strengthened while taking into account relationship risk, knowledge risk and operational risks when dealing with corporate clients. And for all this to succeed, the marketers would have to change their approach and get ahead of the game by updating themselves on the advances in each industry and developments in the Northern and Eastern provinces. Word Count: 2150 Words REFERENCES Central Bank of Sri Lanka Annual Report 2009, report on Financial Sector Development Available at: https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/pics_n_docs/10_pub/_docs/efr/annual_report/ar2009e/PDF/12_chapter_08.pdf [Accessed 21 April 2010] Medium Term Macro Economic Policies and Challenges Central Bank of Sri Lanka Available at: https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/pics_n_docs/10_pub/_docs/efr/annual_report/ar2009e/PDF/5_chapter_01.pdf [Accessed 21 April 2010] LMD magazine Available at: https://www.lmd.lk/2010/April/about.htm [Accessed 22 April 2010] Financial Sector Assessment of Sri Lanka by Asian Development Bank Available at: https://www.adb.org/documents/assessments/financial/SRI-financial-sector-assessment-2005.pdf [Accessed 23 April 2010] BOI incentives for Northern and Eastern Provinces Available at: https://www.boi.lk/2009/pdf/Eastern%20%20Northern.pdf [Accessed 5 May 2010] Central Bank Key Economic Indicators Interest Rates Available at: https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/pics_n_docs/10_pub/_docs/efr/annual_report/ar2009e/PDF/3.pdf [Accessed 5 May 2010] Selected Financial Performance Indicators in the Banking Industry 1998-2009 Available at: https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/pics_n_docs/08_stat/_docs/xls_financial_sector/table5.04.xls [Accessed 5 May 2010] Association of Professional Bankers of Sri Lanka Available at: https://www.apbsrilanka.org/general/aboutus.html [Accessed 22 April 2010] Regulation of the Banking and Related Sectors in Sri Lanka by Ms. Joan De Zilva, Director, Bank Supervision, Central Bank of Sri Lanka Available at: https://www.ips.lk/events/workshops/22_07_2004_ria/papers/joan_de_zilva_banking_supervision.pdf [Accessed 5 May 2010] Sri Lanka Sector Quarterly Update Third Quarter 2009 Available at: https://www.wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2009/11/24/000334955_20091124015756/Rendered/PDF/517720NEWS0Sri10Box342045B01PUBLIC1.pdf [Accessed 7 May 2010] World Bank Sri Lanka Economic Update, April 2010 Available at: https://www.wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2010/05/27/000334955_20100527074112/Rendered/PDF/547290WP0SriLa10Box349429B01PUBLIC1.pdf [Accessed 24 May 2010] Central bank of Sri Lanka Recent Economic Developments Highlights of 2009 and Prospects for 2010 Available at: https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/pics_n_docs/10_pub/_docs/efr/recent_economic_development/Red09En/data_e_2009_10/red_chap_8.pdf [Accessed 26 May 2010]

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

NO GUI Delphi Applications

​Console applications are pure 32-bit Windows programs that run without a graphical interface. When a console application is started, Windows creates a text-mode console window through which the user can interact with the application. These applications typically dont require much user input. All the information a console application needs can be provided through  command line parameters. For students, console applications will simplify learning Pascal and Delphi - after all, all the Pascal introductory examples are just console applications. New:  Console Application Heres how to quickly build console applications that run without a graphical interface. If you have a Delphi version newer than 4, than all you have to do is to use the Console Application Wizard. Delphi 5 introduced the console application wizard. You can reach it by pointing to File|New, this opens up a New Items dialog - in the New page select the Console Application. Note that in Delphi 6 the icon that represents a console application looks different. Double click the icon and the wizard will set up a Delphi project ready to be compiled as a console application. While you could create console mode applications in all 32-bit versions of Delphi, its not an obvious process. Lets see what you need to do in Delphi versions 4 to create an empty console project. When you start Delphi, a new project with one empty form is created by default. You have to remove this form (a GUI element) and tell Delphi that you want a console mode app. This is what you should do: Select File New Application.Select Project Remove From Project.Select Unit1 (Form1) and OK. Delphi will remove the selected unit from the uses clause of the current project.Select Project View Source.Edit your project source file:†¢ Delete all the code inside begin and end.†¢ After the uses keyword, replace the Forms unit with SysUtils.†¢ Place {$APPTYPE CONSOLE} right under the program statement. You are now left with a very small program which looks much like a Turbo Pascal program which, if you compile it will produce a very small EXE. Note that a Delphi console program is not a DOS program because it is able to call Windows API functions and also use its own  resources. No matter how you have created a skeleton for a console application your editor should look like: program  Project1;{$APPTYPE CONSOLE}uses  SysUtils; begin// Insert user code hereend. This is nothing more than a standard  Delphi project file, the one with the  .dpr extension. The  program  keyword identifies this unit as a programs main source unit. When we run a project file from the IDE, Delphi uses the name of the Project file for the name of the EXE file that it creates - Delphi gives the project a default name until you save the project with a more meaningful name.The  $APPTYPE  directive controls whether to generate a Win32 console or graphical UI application. The {$APPTYPE CONSOLE} directive (equivalent to the /CC command-line option), tells the compiler to generate a console application.The  uses  keyword, as usual, lists all the units this unit uses (units that are part of a project). As you can see, the  SysUtils  unit is included by default. Another unit is included too, the  System  unit, though this is hidden from us.In between the  begin  ...  end  pair you add your code.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Workplace Analysis of the Psychological Contract Free Essays

string(98) " on Burnout in a Multigroup Analysis’, has documented the prevalence of gross labor violations\." The saying that mutual admiration within the workplace binds the workforce could be a pretext to harmonizing relationships between employees and employers. The mutual admiration could be working both ways of benefits, being beneficial to the result of work and the business endeavor. Thus, mutual admiration of workforce within the organizational setting of a workplace is perceived to tie the bond of commitment, reliability and trust, aside from the legal stipulations in a written contract of employment. We will write a custom essay sample on Workplace Analysis of the Psychological Contract or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, how a psychological contract does characterize the mutual values of consistency and guaranty between an employee and an employer? This basic question could be examined in the process of understanding the relationships and define the circumstances surrounding the situations in the workplace. This paper will discuss and analyze the psychological contract affecting the workplace, relating several issues being confronted by employees and employers. Defining psychological contract and its effect It would be important first to know what psychological contract is all about. As defined by Psychologists Janet Smithson and Sue Lewis from the Department of Psychology and Speech Pathology at the Manchester Metropolitan University, understanding the â€Å"psychological contract† is referred to as the â€Å"meeting of expectations† where both employee and employer aspires (Arygris 1960; in Price, Munden Solley 1962; in Smithson Lewis 2003: pp. 1-2). In layman’s definition, â€Å"meeting of expectations† could be exemplified by the performance of the employee towards work which is being expected by the employer to produce a quality, efficient and effective result. On the other hand, it is for the employer to provide the necessary wage and benefits, compensating the good result of performance of the employee. However, without meeting neither one nor any of the expectations could breach and defeat mutual concern. In which case, one of the results could be a defiance and conflict of interests, wherein work and labor related issues become a dilemma in the workplace. Psychological contract in contemporary working environment With the rapidly increasing growth in numbers and sizes of profitable organizations, human resource management experts and scholars perceive the development of a â€Å"standardized† labor policy and procedures in workforce deployment. Correlated to this perception is the indicated inclination of management leadership to eventually acknowledge the reform through labor treaties, specifically in recognizing the collective bargaining agreement with labor unions. However, â€Å"meeting of expectations† may still be a â€Å"one-sided† concern of the employer’s management due relevance of emerging diversified industries that may not totally materialize the â€Å"inclination† to reform the culture in a workplace. Kheeran Dharmawardena (2008) in his journal entitled: ‘The Changing Nature of the Psychological Contract and its Impact on Modern Organizations’, has examined the relevance of psychological contract from the early studies of several organizational experts. Dharmawardena synthesized the findings that scarcity of employment and security of tenure patterns the good performance of employees (Bergmann et. al. 2001; in Lester Kickul 2001; in Dharmawardena 2008: pp. 1-7). It may be analyzed that causal to the shortage of employment opportunities, the workforce retains the â€Å"showmanship† of performance, aspiring to achieve â€Å"job security† or long tenure of employment. The aspiration itself relinquish the â€Å"no-no attitude†, wherein retaining good performance in the distinction of skills and acquirement of further learning from the workplace extends the â€Å"systems thinking† as a psychological contract to upholding the need of being employed. Acknowledging the above analyses has related the perception of Cyril van de Ven, (2004) who viewed that the intensive diversified industrial trends increases the effects of unpredictable organizational change. Considering the unpredictability, most contemporary employers are decisive in achieving the sustainability of their organizations (especially the businesses that rely in the global supply chain) by acquiring the best possible workforce, workplace and market (Rousseau 1995; in Shore Tetrick 1994; in van de Ven 2004: pp. 1-11). It shows that this typical ambition of contemporary employers is relative to â€Å"systems thinking† of the employees, having the psychological contract to securing the profitability and existent ability to do business. In sum, the mutual concern of employee and employer attributes the psychological contract of sustaining the interest, in which narrates the desire or aspirations of the employment to co-exist in a secured and sustained working environment. Psychological contract and workplace issues This topical discussion features the subject matter pertaining to psychological contract and workplace issues. As an overview, the mutual aspect in sustaining overall organizational performance signifies the â€Å"oneness or belongingness† of membership to the organizational objective, referring to members and leadership. However, the situation of dissatisfaction and question of confidence becomes the common issue that is dealt with, specifically in employee and employer relationship. Janice Anna Knights and Barbara Jean Kennedy (2005), in their journal ‘Psychological Contract Violation: Impacts on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment Among Australian Senior Public Servants’, has cited the finding that dissatisfaction and loss of confidence are perennial issues dreadfully affecting the psychological contract. According to Knights and Kennedy, the common violation to the value of satisfaction is being dismayed by the fact that what has been verbally promised is contradicted by lies. This can be exemplified by the failure of the organizational leadership in fulfilling the promise to the membership. Reflective of Knight’s and Kennedy’s ascription to psychological contract on that particular case of unfulfilled promises may not only result dissatisfaction or disappointment but a deliberate disparity that may lead to organizational collapse. It may also relate the situation in a workplace where the employees were not able to achieve the promised benefits and due compensation of labor, in which the psychological contract to expect or aspire the viability of employment has failed. In most cases of labor disputes, the unfulfilled delivery of legally or lawfully mandated wages and benefits is claimed to violate the laborer’s rights. The violation may in itself affect the psychological contract of the employee, being unsecured or unguaranteed to achieve the source of livelihood. Therefore, psychological contract extends the paranoia of defeated and unfulfilled envisioning for a beneficial workplace. In Cantisano et al. ’s (2007) journal, entitled: ‘Social Comparison and Perceived Breach of Psychological Contract: Their Effects on Burnout in a Multigroup Analysis’, has documented the prevalence of gross labor violations. You read "Workplace Analysis of the Psychological Contract" in category "Papers" Based on the exhibited data from the conducted study research, the responses of respondents ranging from lower-income to medium-income labor forces or employees suffer from â€Å"breach of psychological contract†. To cite, employer denial to providing the necessary and just compensation [as required by law] infringe the common aspiration of the workforce to obtain the reasonable share of labor. As further cited, the effect on the â€Å"breach of psychological contract† has indicated the respondent’s extreme anxiety, such as (1) negative social judgment referring to employee-employer relationship, (2) emotionally exhausted for being violated and abused, (3) feeling of cynicism or skeptic that employers are exploitative, and (4) loss of self confidence and esteem (Van der Zee et al. 2000; in Cantisano et al. 007: p. 125). Empowering psychological contract In relation to the previous discussions, Brian P. Niehoff and Robert J. Paul (2001) of the electronic magazine Review of Business have proposed the enabling of policies that may be supplemented to the existing labor laws. Accordingly, the 2001 data of incidence in committing labor-related violations has remarkably increased to an alarming 33,000 cases of labor malpractice pending before the investigation or proper promulgation of the National Labor Relations Board which piled up in ten years from 1991 (Niehoff Paul 2001: pp. -2). Niehoff and Paul (2001) have emphasized that â€Å"loose promises† in the workplace in order to encourage or attract the attention of the workforce. It may validate the negative thinking [of the already cynical employees] that employment is no longer beneficial and insensible to the aspirations of the workforce to gain social equity and equal treatment of labor. As cited, the disagreement point out to unreciprocated or unequalled performance of the employers to maintain the tenure of employment and sustainable income sourcing (Niehoff Paul 2001: pp. 3-4). Indicative of Neihoff and Paul’s proposal could harness the psychological contract within the workplace. Upholding the â€Å"sensitivity† of the employer would mean to fulfill the promise by granting the just compensation and rectify indiscriminate treatment, and abdicate the flawed promises. As cited, it may not only the conflict within the workplace that shall be settled but the whole process of the system, wherein workforce may only be survived by their â€Å"grim determination†, and the remainder of â€Å"self-belief† that contemplating on the issue could be the only way to obtain the psychological contract. However, the â€Å"culture of deceit† could be permanent or entangled in the protectionist character of employers, obviously protecting the business interest (Neihoff Paul 2001: pp. 3-4). Empowering the psychological contract can be objectively described in the organizational life of Pret a Manger, a leading sandwich biscuit company in the United Kingdom. In a contributed article of Psychologist Michael Wellin which was recently published by the electronic magazine Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the SPG Media Limited, it quoted that: growing numbers of businesses apply the psychological contract convergent to forge organizational relationship between employees, the management and the company itself†. Dr. Wellin pointed out that the â€Å"trade secret† of Pret a Manger is the continuing openness of thoughts and understanding the situation, character and culture of the organization, where employees and employers are aware and much sensitive in dealing with the issues that relates the psychological contract. Dr. Wellin has found the strong importance of organizational values of Pret a Manger in dealing with the â€Å"mutuality of efforts† of both employees and employers. As cited, Pret a Manger has developed the organizational expectations by and between the employees and the management, such as follows in bulleted list below (Wellin 2008; in SPG Media Limited 2008: pp. 1-2): Management expectation on employee’s attitude towards work †¢ Sensible hard work; †¢ Prudently hilarious and easy to please; †¢ Have the benefit of good life; †¢ Work early to leave early. Employee’s expectation from Pret a Manger management †¢ Fairly compensated according to individual performance and position; †¢ Dynamic working environment of diverse workforce and skills; †¢ Provide development-education and skills training; Promotion of managers among the internal regular employees. Based on the findings on empowering the psychological contract, it appears that retaining the â€Å"mutuality of efforts†, referring to meeting the expectations of employees and employers, could paved the way towards achieving a dynamic and reliable collaboration or synergy in the workplace. This extends the analysis that fulfilling the psychological contract of the workforce systematizes and mobilizes their natural desires to sustain the viable means of the workplace, in which therefore meeting the expectations or objectives of the leadership at a judicious manner. It may also attribute the perception that the sensibility of an employer in upholding the employees expectations [as a psychological contract] could be considered as a social, moral and civic responsibility by promoting the rights and welfare of the labor force, wherein a more beneficial return will impart to the invested cost of values and as bonus to the margins of business profit. To further validate the analysis, it points out the situation that psychological contract eventually changes according to socio-economic, socio-cultural and socio-political changes. This can be exemplified by the previous discussions on the development of labor forces and markets that have been attributed by the rapidly changing business and policy environment as a result of â€Å"social diversification of industries†, keeping abreast at the global landscape of production and supply of goods. In short, psychological contract emerges in the â€Å"social and economic status† of the labor force. As cited, psychological contract always retains in the unstable or stable economic and political condition which reciprocate a particular situation (Pascale 1997; in Sharpe 2001). This can be exemplified by the prevailing global economic recession, in which the downturn of economies of highly developed and rich countries [like the US and some European countries] affects the domestic economies of undeveloped countries as a result of depleted purchasing power that as well decline the demand for labor market. Thus, the virtual effect of economic crises affects the â€Å"systems thinking† of the employees in a particular firm that may at anytime declare a bankruptcy and closes shop. The psychological contract on the expected security of tenure in employment would be at the brink of eventual loss. It may be further analyzed that workplace is an â€Å"economic-driven† organization that exist and operate its venture within a calculated business risks. The only dynamism could be indicated by feasibility studies along with planning and market testing. In this particular condition, unpredictability and uncertainty of employment may pattern the psychological contract of workforce in a workplace. Findings and conclusion This paper has found that psychological contract is characterized by the â€Å"social and economic values† pertaining to the mutual efforts and benefits of an employee and employer. In other words, there must be co-existing endeavor, agreements and appreciation to making effective, reliable and congruent the achievement of requirements and sharing of needs. However, the findings may have only analyzed the situational perception of a workplace, in which may needing the variations of reconsidering the overall â€Å"societal conditions†. What has then highlighted in the result of examining and analyzing the empirical studies derived and depicted in this paper is the fact that psychological contract can only be achieved by a consistent and truthful fulfillment of expectations, reassuring mutual efforts of employee and employer. It may be then concluded that psychological contract can be sustained by making productive the economic condition of every countries, good governance and the advancement of policy support on workforce and workplace issues. Thus, psychological contract attributes the achievement of an economically secured family and socially progressive population. How to cite Workplace Analysis of the Psychological Contract, Papers

Monday, May 4, 2020

Depending On The Demand For The Product â€Myassignmenhelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Depending On The Demand For The Product? Answer: Introduction Whos it is a gadget that is very useful for the household these days. Safety and security had always been a matter of concern for most of the households. Sometimes the owners of the house feel unsecured as in if they open the door there might be some stranger or rogue who can tend to be harmful. For this reason, the ABC company has introduced their new gadget whos it. This gadget is an innovative product which will hit the market very soon and will be spread worldwide too, depending on the demand for the product. This will make life easy for the elderly people who are unable to run to the door every time the doorbell rings. The gadget will be provided with other accessories to give full support as required. Other accessories include a remote with a screen and a set of batteries for the remote. There will be a speaker too which will be audible in every nook and corner of the house (Baden-Fuller Haefliger, 2013). Goals and objective The goal of ABC Company is to deliver the best in convenience, quality and value for their customers. They have employed 500 people in two of their stores to manufacture the product. They have also recruited an additional 100 people who will work as suppliers. They have previously gained the trust of their business partners by providing high quality goods and services. The ABC Company has never remained stagnant which is their most interesting part. They always keep on changing their goods and services and try to introduce something innovative every year. They always try to place their operations on technology, demand and choice of the customers. They have done a market survey before introducing their new product with the aim of expanding their market (Bergek et al., 2015). They have tried to respond to the new changes by placing the customers as the first priority in the business, paying attention to their needs and want and create something new and innovative methods for improving the quality of shopping. In the recent years it can be seen that technology has played a big impact on any business. This innovative product has also used technology to its extreme. They have invested in a unique area where nobody has invested before. They have taken a wise decision by investing in such a product that will easily attract the people and will have a high sale with profit. Their first penetration in the market will determine whether their supply will be able to meet with the demand or not (Binz, Truffer Coenen, 2014). Market Analysis Target market The target market for the company will include any one in general because it is not so expensive that people of low income group will not be able to afford it. Still these gadgets will be targeted mainly for those households where elderly people resides or those women who has to live alone or any person who has problem in walking. Market size The ABC Company has invested almost a million dollars for this new and innovative product. This investment can be considered as the highest till date as compared to their previous innovations. This shows that they were determined beforehand only to capture the target group with their new and innovative product (Camisn, Villar-Lpez, 2014). Market growth Previous research and the product details of the company have shown that they are highly competitive and concentrated. They are increasing rapidly to move ahead of their fellow competitors without even giving them a scope to participate in the competition. Market profitability ABC Company can be considered as one of the most important profit- makers in a slow and low cost market. They were fortunate economics that they did not have to struggle with their new products as compared to other companies. They kind of dominated the market when the new product whos it was introduced (Coccia, 2014). Market trend Australia got a special insight in the future of technological market because of the new innovation of the ABC Company. They have painted a picture for other companies as what should be the market of technology in the coming years. Key success factors There are different success factors of the ABC Company such as their dedicated practices which have never ceased to amaze their customers. Their deep experience also counts when it comes to strong sustainability consulting skills. Competitor analysis It can be said that with respect to the innovative product the ABC company did not have such tough competition as they had brought forward such a unique product which none of the companies have thought of before (De Massis, Frattini Lichtenthaler, 2013). Competitor comparison ABC Company had already made a place for them in the market with more than 100 stores spread in Australia. They are trying to expand in other countries too with their new and innovative product. They have started the competition with other companies and very soon they are going to be in the lead. Strategic differences ABC Company has used the strategy of low price with their new product which has made them stand at a distinguishing place than other technological companies. They have kept their prices low which would target more customers and that will help them in expanding their market globally. This strategy has kept them ahead of the competitors because other companies have kept their product price high which made many customers avoid the products (Perez, Popadiuk Cesar, 2017). Marketing plan Marketing plan of ABC Company refers to the fundamental goal of attaining a sustainable competitive advantage and increase in sales. The recent marketing plan has helped them to increase their sales as well as the profit tending to put it at the top of the technological industry. SWOT analysis Strength- Their strength is that they are almost on the leading position which will encourage the ability of the company in gaining an advantage in the competition by means of their strong resources. Weakness- the impact that they might have on the customer can be considered as their weakness. This is because they have only presumed that their new product will affect the sales of the company but they are not sure of that. Opportunities- They have a good potential growth in the Australian technological industry and certain factors like computerization advances in the technical field will be able to change the lifestyle of the customers. Threats- There might be high level of competition in the technological industry worldwide. They can face a challenge in expanding their market throughout the world. Organizational plan ABC Company is a popular brand in the technological sector of the Australian region. Their expertise ranges from different gadgets which are essential in daily lives. The structure of the company needs to be identified before drawing any conclusion about the operation management principle. The principle that the company follows is coordinated contraction where exists a primary contractor. Sub contracts are the given contract for certain jobs in the ABC Company. The sub- contractors are given instructions about the production of various goods. Sometimes ABC can take the responsibility of making the raw materials available and planning and controlling the sub- contractors. The sub- contractors also make the tools and equipment available which are essential for the trade (Kogan et al., 2017). Financial plan Budgeting comes first in financial plan. ABC Company needs to work on identifying and prioritizing the medium which will lead to long term personal goals. They also observe their bills to keep a track on how much are they spending and what can be cut down. They also keep a look on their debts that provide the highest interest rate and do the payment as per the priority. They have created a realistic firm budget to determine their saving capacity compared to the competitors. It is a well- appreciated system of giving rewards after reaching the budget milestones. If they can maintain their financial plan accordingly then it will be not so hard for them to rule the technological industry in Australia and other areas (Sandn, Hekkert Negro, 2017). Conclusion ABC Company is a technological company which benefits people regarding gadgets and other electric appliances. Their target is to bring middle class products in the homes of working class. This technological company targets the both the upper middle-class households and working- class population. They have positioned their product at a low price for shopping benefits of the customers. As this is a safety product therefore they made sure that this should be available and accessible to one and all. They can be regarded as the pioneers to introduce the innovative and unique model whos it. This well- known company operates a number of subsidiaries and has their own store brands. With strong brand name comes, efficient operations. Reference Baden-Fuller, C., Haefliger, S. (2013). Business models and technological innovation.Long range planning,46(6), 419-426. Bergek, A., Hekkert, M., Jacobsson, S., Markard, J., Sandn, B., Truffer, B. (2015). Technological innovation systems in contexts: Conceptualizing contextual structures and interaction dynamics.Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions,16, 51-64. Binz, C., Truffer, B., Coenen, L. (2014). Why space matters in technological innovation systemsMapping global knowledge dynamics of membrane bioreactor technology.Research Policy,43(1), 138-155. Camisn, C., Villar-Lpez, A. (2014). Organizational innovation as an enabler of technological innovation capabilities and firm performance.Journal of business research,67(1), 2891-2902. Camisn, C., Villar-Lpez, A. (2014). Organizational innovation as an enabler of technological innovation capabilities and firm performance.Journal of business research,67(1), 2891-2902. Coccia, M. (2014). Driving forces of technological change: the relation between population growth and technological innovation: analysis of the optimal interaction across countries.Technological Forecasting and Social Change,82, 52-65. De Massis, A., Frattini, F., Lichtenthaler, U. (2013). Research on technological innovation in family firms: Present debates and future directions.Family Business Review,26(1), 10-31. Kogan, L., Papanikolaou, D., Seru, A., Stoffman, N. (2017). Technological innovation, resource allocation, and management.The Quarterly Journal of Economics,132(2), 665-712. Perez, G., Popadiuk, S., Cesar, A. M. R. V. C. (2017). Internal factors that favor the adoption of technological innovation defined by information systems: a study of the electronic health record.RAI Revista de Administrao e Inovao,14(1), 67-78. Sandn, B., Hekkert, M. P., Negro, S. O. (2017). Improving the rigour of the Technological Innovation Systems framework: towards a TIS model.

Monday, March 30, 2020

Employees Motivation Essays - Motivational Theories, Management

Employee's Motivation A business seeks profit by provided customers with goods and services (Schoell, et al 15). There are various types of businesses that differ according to their ownership. The three basic forms of private ownership businesses are the sole proprietorship (i.e. sole trader), partnership, and corporation (Schoell, et al 132). The type of ownership that a business organization would apply is dependent on the owner's financial status and objectives. Apart from the different types of ownerships, there are various styles of management and leadership. The organization's management and leadership style has a great effect on the working environment and the employees' motivation. The development of an optimal leadership style and managerial skills that is the most appropriate to an organization is crucial, having a major effect on its life span. The working environment affects the employees' motivation, which in turn influences the overall progress and well being of the organization. According to a management consultant, called Peter Economy, It all comes down to keeping employees enthusiastic and energized, which is accomplished by developing a leadership style that would endorse the ideal environment in the business firm (Buchanan 1). A Manager's leadership style contributes directly to the subordinates' motivation and work satisfaction, and the work progress in the organization. There are two types of leadership styles, one that is task-oriented and the other that is employee-oriented. A manager with a task-oriented style will have work results as his biggest concerns; and therefore, he will develop rigid regulations that would lead the subordinates into working their tasks, exactly as he taught them, to reach his desired results. On the other hand, the manager with an employee-oriented manner will be concerned with the employees' condition. This manager's objective is to boost the employees' self-esteem and persuade them on working together to help him in decision-making and on ways to solve problems. However, not all leaders develop a style that is an absolute task-oriented or employee-oriented, their style is consisted of different characteristics from each styles. Hence a manager would be referred to as a mor e task-oriented or a more employee-oriented, rather than solely describing him as either one (Schoell, et al 284). There are three main types of leadership styles that shape all kinds of leaders. The three types are the autocratic, democratic, and free-reign styles of leadership. The autocratic style of leadership would be considered the most task-oriented type, in which the manager carry out all the decision-making process without any consultations from subordinates. Communication is one-way, where the work provided by the manager is to be done without any modifications by the subordinates. In this style of leadership, the delegation of authority is centralized, meaning that the decision-making is only performed by top-line managers and is rarely delegated to subordinates along the chain of command (Bovee, et al 476-8). The democratic leadership style is more of a participative type of leadership (Schoell, et al 286). It is a two-way communication leadership, in which employees are allowed to contribute in the decision-making; however, the manager makes the final decision. The delegation of auth ority in this style of leadership is less centralized and more decentralized than in the autocratic style. Employees feel more flexible, since they are allowed to modify in the methods of accomplishing the tasks and to contribute in the decision-making. This changes the working environment; making it an environment with a lot of team working, where each employee feels that he plays an essential role in the well being of the business (Bovee, et al 476-8). The free-reign style of leadership is the most lenient style, in which the employees have the complete freedom by having the right of making the final decision-making. When assigned tasks, they finish them using their desired method, making the final decision and adding any innovations. The leader creates a very friendly environment where each subordinate is accountable for his job, without the involvement of the leader, except in some situations. However, the manager in this case adopts this style of leadership when there is great honesty and trust between the employees and managers. Ideal leaders follow the motivational theories to enhance the working environment and to make the employees not only satisfied, but also highly motivated. Employees' motivation is

Saturday, March 7, 2020

Free Essays on Asian Religions In The USA

Asian Religions in the USA In this essay I will discuss the many aspects and ideals of Asian Religions along with their impact and the role they play within the United States. I had a few questions that I had to try and find answers for, in order to complete the connection of Asian Religions to the United States. Why are some Americans and westerners finding Asian Religions as well as Asian thought and philosophy to be more gratifying than traditional western religions and philosophy? How are Asian Religions perceived and practiced here in the United States as opposed to its place of origination? Finally, is there further growth of the Asian Religions as well as philosophy still possible here in the United States and the west? All of the answers to these questions will try and explain the place Asian Religions have here in the United States. Why are some Americans finding Asian religions as well as Asian thought and philosophy to be more satisfying than traditional western religions and philosophy? One thing I might point my finger at is the expansion of religious studies within the United States. As we discussed in class, just within the past ten years the idea of religious studies (including more than just the majority religions) is just now being accepted and explored. As we have become more familiar with the many different religions that are in this world, the more we will pursue and possibly practice those religions. As the west is becoming more educated to all the different religious possibilities, I feel many people are becoming more accepting of a person who searches out these different possibilities. Technology is also a factor in the education of Asian religions. The technology we have today allows people to really explore the entire world from the tips of their fingers. Being knowledgeable that somethi ng different does exist will open your mind to different avenues. You may find a western traditional religi... Free Essays on Asian Religions In The USA Free Essays on Asian Religions In The USA Asian Religions in the USA In this essay I will discuss the many aspects and ideals of Asian Religions along with their impact and the role they play within the United States. I had a few questions that I had to try and find answers for, in order to complete the connection of Asian Religions to the United States. Why are some Americans and westerners finding Asian Religions as well as Asian thought and philosophy to be more gratifying than traditional western religions and philosophy? How are Asian Religions perceived and practiced here in the United States as opposed to its place of origination? Finally, is there further growth of the Asian Religions as well as philosophy still possible here in the United States and the west? All of the answers to these questions will try and explain the place Asian Religions have here in the United States. Why are some Americans finding Asian religions as well as Asian thought and philosophy to be more satisfying than traditional western religions and philosophy? One thing I might point my finger at is the expansion of religious studies within the United States. As we discussed in class, just within the past ten years the idea of religious studies (including more than just the majority religions) is just now being accepted and explored. As we have become more familiar with the many different religions that are in this world, the more we will pursue and possibly practice those religions. As the west is becoming more educated to all the different religious possibilities, I feel many people are becoming more accepting of a person who searches out these different possibilities. Technology is also a factor in the education of Asian religions. The technology we have today allows people to really explore the entire world from the tips of their fingers. Being knowledgeable that somethi ng different does exist will open your mind to different avenues. You may find a western traditional religi...

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Research Proposal Outline Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Research Proposal - Outline Example This will further help in reducing such activities since the core of the issue lies in the activities conducted while engaging in truant. The Wisconsin Statutes in its Section 188.16(1) (c) defines truancy as ‘any absence of part or all of a school day for which a pupil’s parent or guardian has not provided a valid excuse’ (Wisconsin, 2000). The reason for choosing this particular topic is that education has somewhere lost its importance in today’s world. There has been a remarkable increase in dropout and truancy rates which means that the education sector is failing somewhere. Students no longer consider education as their basic right. They believe in this world where retail giants and fast food franchises would hire them at good pay, they do not need education to survive. As the concept of single working parent is slowly disintegrating and parents no longer have the time to concentrate on their child’s educational development, children find it easier to play truant and get away with it. A recent study conducted on the subject of truant reveal that more than 50 percent of the parents are aware that their children are playing truant and yet they do not seem to care (Abrams, 2011). The report further revealed that the reasons for committing truant are not properly understood by the authorities. The authorities though impose punishments on the students, fail to realize the core reason behind the act. Most students said that the actions taken against truancy do not bother them and they still continue to commit truant because they have lost interest in school. Since education is the main pillar the supports the economy of every nation, the increasing number of truant activities should raise a red flag and it is time that the education sector focused on this issue also. Right now, authorities are not concerned with increasing dropout rates and they fail to acknowledge the fact that truancy subsequently leads to dropping off from school and if

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Business psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business psychology - Essay Example e case at hand involves a large company engaged in the sales business which is offering research opportunities that allow their sales staff to be more productive. One of the better ways to take this opportunity is to use an experimental approach which will allow the company to analyse the effects of performance reviews exactly as they are conducted within their setup. While the company could use research done on companies like GE or any other large organisation, it would not be exactly suitable for them and would offer little more than general guidelines. The actual conduct of the experiment is explained further onwards in the paper but the overview can be given as a set of surveys. The first survey which obtains the opinions and feelings of the employees would be conducted one week before the performance reviews and the second survey would be conducted one week after the employees have had their performance reviews. At the same time, continual monitoring of employee performance levels would let us understand how performance reviews in the company affect anxiety levels, stress levels and employee performance. There are two significant benefits to the company which are expected from this experiment. The first and primary benefit is expert support and knowledgeable consultancy regarding their performance evaluations and the secondary benefit is the accurate analysis concerning the negative or positive effects of performance reviews on salespersons. The time spent on performance reviews is a major investment which must be undertaken quite frequently as many companies have performance reviews every six months if not every quarter. Therefore, it would be wasteful to invest in the process time and again without understanding the effects of the process on the employees. Writing in the American Business Association Journal, Neil (2004) reports that the primary purpose of performance appraisals is not to seek out the people who are underperforming in the company, rather,

Monday, January 27, 2020

The Mathematical Mystery Behind Sudoku Mathematics Essay

The Mathematical Mystery Behind Sudoku Mathematics Essay Puzzle games can be very enjoyable and is popular amongst kids as well as adults. Many of you may know the game Sudoku; where by the goal of the game is to fill in the remaining empty cells with each number from 1-9 appearing no more than once from each column, each row and each of the nine sub-grids. Sudoku is a type of logic-based numerical puzzle game that has a unique solution once completed. The most common form of a Sudoku is constructed as a 99 grid with nine 33 sub-grids and is primarily partially completed. Sudoku has become appealing among puzzle enthusiasts and involves complex thinking and practice. Available daily in newspapers, mobiles and many more, this addictive and brain-teasing puzzle game has become one of the most popular games to play since the time of the Rubiks cube. This dissertation discusses the mathematical side involved in Sudoku. There is no mathematics in actually solving a Sudoku but more of how it is used from a creators side. The 99 grid will be considered in the majority of the report; however a glimpse into other size grids will be discussed briefly also known as variants. Mathematicians have been questioning How many unique solutions are there in a Sudoku? Essentially meaning what are the possible ways of filling in an empty Sudoku grid so that each row, column and sub-grid contains the numbers 1 through 9. Your first thought of an answer may be a couple of thousands, but as you understand the concepts behind a Sudoku, you begin to grasp a whole new aspect. Combinatorics and permutation group theory are largely interwoven with analysing Sudoku. For that reason, I aim to explore these theories and understand how it applies to the methods of enumerating Sudoku grids. In particular I will be looking at Felgenhauer and Jarviss approach to enumerating all possible Sudoku grids where they employ several mathematical concepts. Furthermore I will uncover the importance of Latin squares and its use of constructing Sudokus. There are many constraints in regards to when are similar solutions considered different such as solutions of similar structure, symmetry etc. Preserving symmetries are known as relabeling symbols, band permutations, reflection, transposition and rotation. Burnsides Lemma theorem is one of their techniques in computing the number of essentially different solutions. Many difficult problems are of the type called nondeterministic-polynomial known as an NP-complete problem. This will direct me onto the debate on whether Sudoku is an NP-complete problem. Sudokus can take many forms and shapes. These are called Sudoku variants and consist of rectangular regions, Sudokus with a large region having no clues (numbers), an empty row, column or sub-grid and many more! Here I will research the logic behind irregular Sudokus as well as examining any occurring patterns or whether it has occurred by chance. 1.2 Latin squares and Sudoku Sudoku is also a special case of Latin squares. The Swiss mathematician, Leonhard Euler made many fundamental discoveries during 1782 including Latin squares. A Latin square is an N x N matrix where by a set of N characters are arranged such that each row and column contains one of each character. This is also in the case of a Sudoku, when complete, with an additional constraint that the nine sub-grids must hold the numbers 1-9. A reduction can be made to any Latin square by permuting the rows and columns. This arrangement is an aspect of combinatorics and is most commonly referred to as enumeration. Enumerative combinatorics is a classic area of Combinatorics and involves counting the number of infinite class of finite sets. Counting combinations and counting permutations are two of the most common forms. The number of valid Latin squares is known to be approximately 5.525 x 10 ²Ãƒ ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ·. Write about Colbourns proof 1.3 Combinatorics and Permutation group theory Combinations and permutations have slightly different meaning. Combinations are the number of different ways of selecting n objects from a set but the order of events is not important. From a set of 3 objects, lets call these 1, 2 and 3. If for example I was asked to pick the number of ways of selecting 2 objects out of the 3, there would be three combinations 12, 23 and 13. 12 = 21 since the order of each pair is not important. A permutation on the other hand does consider the position. Therefore if I was to use the above example, there would be six permutations. A simpler way to calculate a larger set would be to use formula 1: Formula 1. = = Where is the combination formula, is the permutation formula, n is the total number of objects and r is the number to be arranged Both methods are one way of computing the number of possible Sudoku solutions and this will be looked at later in the report. Chapter 2 Enumerating possible Sudoku solutions 2.1 Distinct Sudoku solutions There are many approaches to enumerating possible Sudoku solutions. To enumerate every possible Sudoku solution, a Sudoku differs from another if they are not identical. Thus all solutions will be consider unless they are like for like. Felgenhauer and Jarvis was the first to enumerate the Sudoku grid solutions directly in 2005. There approach was to analyze the permutations of the top row used in valid solutions. Their knowledge of the complexity in computing the number of Latin squares has made them aware of how they should go about getting an answer with fewer computations. Hence by using relabeling this could shorten the number of counts. To make it easier, each sub-grid is given an abbreviation seen in figure 3. B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 Figure 1. Abbreviated sub-grid with top band (Felgenhauer and Jarvis, 2006) Firstly they consider every solution to filling in blocks B2, B3, given that B1 is in standard form. To work out every possible way of arranging B1 on its own would essentially be computing the number of permutations of 9 symbols. There are 9! of filling in B1. The main operation they use is called relabeling. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Figure 2. B1 in standard form (Felgenhauer and Jarvis, 2006) Felgenhauer and Jarvis have found that B2 and B3 is the same as the transpose of B2 and B3. Therefore the number of ways of arranging B1, B2 and B3 and B1, B2 and B3 to a complete grid is equally the same. This means that computing one set of possibilities will cut down the number of solutions. Inevitably, there are few pairs of B2 and B3 that needs to be worked out and as well as using reduction the number of possibilities for the top band of a Sudoku grid is 9! x 2612736 = 948109639680. The next section involves brute force computation. As running through all 2612736 possibilities would be exceedingly tedious for B2 and B3, Felgenhauer and Jarvis attempts to identify configurations of the numbers in these blocks which give the same number of ways of completing to a full grid. This in return, will cut down the number possibilities. Permuting B2 and B3 in every way such that the result gives a unique solution will preserve the number of complete grids. This is the same for B5 and B6, and B8 and B9. However this changes B1 from its standard form, so an additional relabeling of B1 needs to be performed. Another approach to reducing the number of possibilities is to permute the columns in each block and permute the rows of any block. Reducing the number of possible ways by permuting. Lexicographical reduction Permutation reduction Column reduction As a result of these methods, Felgenhauer and Jarvis have found that there are approximately 6670903752021072936960 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‹â€  6.671 x 10 ²Ã‚ ¹ Sudoku solutions. In light of this result, there are fewer solutions than Latin squares due to the fact that there is that extra restriction of 9 sub-grids. That being said, there will be no shortage of Sudoku puzzles any time soon. Verification of this result has been confirmed by several other mathematicians Ed Russell to be more precise. 2.2 Essentially different Sudoku grids Whether symmetrical Sudoku grids are considered as two separate solutions is another method of enumerating the possible solutions. In this case, the only solutions are ones that are essentially different. Lets say two Sudoku grids are equivalent if one is a transformation of the other by applying any number of symmetries. If however, no such chain of symmetries can occur between two grids, it is essentially different. Two Sudoku grids are the same provided the first grid can be converted to the second by applying some sort of symmetry. For instance, take figure 3 4 below; the set of 3s in the first grid can be interchanged by the placements of the set of 1s, effectively producing the second grid. 1 7 2 8 6 4 9 3 5 4 9 3 5 1 7 2 8 6 6 5 8 2 9 3 1 7 4 2 4 7 3 5 9 6 1 8 8 6 5 1 7 2 3 4 9 3 1 9 4 8 6 5 2 7 5 8 6 7 2 1 4 9 3 9 2 4 6 3 8 7 5 1 7 3 1 9 4 5 8 6 2 Figure 3. Valid Sudoku grid 3 7 2 8 6 4 9 1 5 4 9 1 5 3 7 2 8 6 6 5 8 2 9 1 3 7 4 2 4 7 1 5 9 6 3 8 8 6 5 3 7 2 1 4 9 1 3 9 4 8 6 5 2 7 5 8 6 7 2 3 4 9 1 9 2 4 6 1 8 7 5 3 7 1 3 9 4 5 8 6 2 Figure 4. Another valid Sudoku grid from Figure 1 As well as this, a solution is said to be the same as another if any two columns or rows are swapped. The first column and second column in figure 3 can be exchanged to give figure 5. The two solutions are said to be symmetrical because the transformation still produces a valid Sudoku grid. 7 3 2 8 6 4 9 1 5 9 4 1 5 3 7 2 8 6 5 6 8 2 9 1 3 7 4 4 2 7 1 5 9 6 3 8 6 8 5 3 7 2 1 4 9 3 1 9 4 8 6 5 2 7 8 5 6 7 2 3 4 9 1 2 9 4 6 1 8 7 5 3 1 7 3 9 4 5 8 6 2 Figure 5. First and second column swapped from Figure 1. Another form of symmetries includes rotational grids. A rotation of Figure 3 by 90 degrees generates a new valid Sudoku grid shown in Figure 6. 7 9 5 3 8 2 6 4 1 3 2 8 1 6 4 5 9 7 1 4 6 9 5 7 8 3 2 9 6 7 4 1 3 2 5 8 4 3 2 8 7 5 9 1 6 5 8 1 6 2 9 3 7 4 8 7 4 5 3 6 1 2 9 6 5 9 2 4 1 7 8 3 2 1 3 7 9 8 4 6 5 Figure 6. Rotational of 90 degrees from figure 1 These operations performed above maintain the property of it being valid and this is known as symmetries of a grid. When an object is subject to these operations, certain properties are preserved. An example would be if one performs symmetry on to a Sudoku grid and repeats this operation once more, the final transformation is itself symmetric. In addition a symmetrical object can be transformed back to its original state by another form of symmetry. Performing several symmetries on a Sudoku grid can also be achieved by grouping its neighbouring pair. So the first symmetry can be paired with the second or the second can be paired with the third and so on. The resulting transformation is nevertheless the same either way. From these properties, it is inevitable to say that the set of symmetries form a group of any Sudoku grid. A group is a set G if it satisfies the following properties: CLOSURE If f and g are elements of G, then f ·g is also an element of G. ASSOCIATIVITY If f, g, and h are elements of G, then f ·(g ·h)=(f ·g) ·h must satisfy. IDENTITY ELEMENT There is an element e in G such that g ·e=e ·g=g for all g in G. INVERSE For any element g of G, there is another element d of G such that g ·d=d ·g=e, where e is the identity element. (The element d = g-1.) The symmetry group is thus generated by the transformations of: re-labelling the nine digits, permuting the three stacks (3 vertical blocks of a Sudoku), permuting the three bands (3 horizontal blocks of a Sudoku), permuting the three columns within a stack, permuting the three rows within a band, and any reflection or rotation. Any two transformations can be merged to shape other elements and together they comprise of the symmetry group G. Given that any element of G can be mapped so that it takes one grid to another, we can say that the set of valid Sudoku grids has a finite number of elements. Thus G has finitely many symmetries. The association between symmetrical Sudoku grids are in fact an equivalence relation and satisfies the following three properties: for grids A, B and C in set G Reflexivity A = A Symmetry If A = B then B = A Transitivity If A = B and B = C then A = C Let A be any valid Sudoku grid, we must consider all the grids that are equivalent to a valid Sudoku grid A. To do this, we firstly have to group together grids that are essentially the same so that we can partition the set of grids. This will break the set of Sudoku grids into subsets, with groups that contain no relating elements within each other. The term subset can be called equivalence classes. This can also be referred to as X/G. In any equivalence class, there are elements that are equivalent to each other by symmetry. The total number of elements in X/G is equal to the number of essential Sudoku grids. To enumerate all essential Sudoku grids, we shall look at all the symmetries neglecting the re-labelling of the nine digits for the time being. The number of distinct symmetries founded by Russell and Jarvis (2006) is said to contain 3359232 (pg 4). In this finite group H, we need to find the average number of grids fixed by an element of H, up to re-labelling. Next we need to verify the number of fixed points of all elements in H. Russell and Jarvis have found that there are 275 classes of symmetries using a software package called GAP. It is interesting to note that some of the elements in H contain equivalent fixed grids. In other words, it is now easier to work out as each of the classes contains one symmetry. However a number of symmetries in H have no fixed points. Subsequently, it is not necessary to calculate the number of fixed grids for those that have no fixed points. That being said, there are only 27 out of 275 classes that contain fixed points, meaning fewer computation s. Rotman. J. J (1995) demonstrate that if X is a finite G-set and |X/G| is the number of G-orbits of X, then Formula 2 holds where, for gцG, X is the number of xцX fixed by g (pg 58-61). Using this notion, we have established that the number of valid Sudoku grids is of a finite set and X/G is the number of essentially different Sudoku grids, so we can obtain the number of essentially different Sudoku grids by using the Burnside Lemma Theorem. Formula 2. Burnside Lemma Theorem (Rotman, 1995) Burnside Lemma Theorem is a useful tool when dealing with symmetry with a set of countable objects. When used to enumerate the essentially different Sudoku grid, the set of equivalent grids form an orbit of the symmetric group. The number orbits are essentially the number of different grid solutions. This may sound slightly (ALOT) trickier to compute, nonetheless Russell and Jarvis have shown that the number of essentially different Sudoku grids is 5,472,730,538 with the implementation of Burnsides Lemma Theorem. Chapter 3 Nondeterministic polynomials 3.1 NP-complete and Sudoku Sudokus may relate to a variety of problems, in particularly, whether Sudoku is an NP-complete problem. It is known that NP-complete problems are one of the most complicated cases in NP, also referred to as nondeterministic-polynomial. Its rival, P problems relates to NP as both being in the same complexity class. Mathematicians have yet to solve whether NP-complete problems can be solved in polynomial time or more commonly whether P = NP. Consequently being one of the greatest unsolved mathematical problems. The majority of computer scientists believe that P à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   NP, as a result would mean that NP-complete problems are significantly trickier to compute than to verify. Unfortunately, nobody has yet found an efficient algorithm, not even with the use of computers available today. A problem is said to be NP-complete when its solution can be proved in polynomial time. And if that problem can be solved in polynomial time, all problems in NP can be solved too. An interesting characteristic of NP-complete problems is that the time frame to solve the problem increases rapidly as the size of the problem gets larger. If that is the case and Sudokus are NP-complete, solving a Sudoku of higher order (say 17 ² x 17 ²) will become increasingly challenging algorithmically then the standard 3 ² x 3 ² version were talking trillions of years. It has been shown that Sudoku does belong to the category of NPC problems by Takayuki Yato of the Univeristy of Tokyo (2003). An exchange for the notation ASP-completeness (shorthand for Another solution problem), led the proof of NP-completeness of ASP. Their proof uses reduction in order to obtain the required polynomial-time ASP from the problem of Latin squares by Colbourn (1984) who has verified, the NP-completeness of ASP of Latin square completion Another accountable source by Provan states that, It is known that solving general-sized Sudoku puzzles is NP-hard, even for square grids with blocks consisting of the sets of rows and columns (Latin Squares) or for p2 x p2 grids with blocks consisting of rows, columns, and the p2 partitioned p x p subsquares. Mathematical programmes such as the 0-1 linear programming and the knapsack problems are also cases of NP-complete problems. A full list of other problems that are NP-complete can be found in Garey and Johnson (1979). Chapter 4 Sudoku Variants 4.1 Variation The classic form of a 99 Sudoku are polyominoes. There are other variations of Sudokus that can be applied to the rules of Sudoku. There are puzzles of the size 66 with 23 regions or a 1212 grid of 43 regions. More so, there are other fascinating Sudoku variants such as Greater than Sudoku. Chapter 5 Personal Critical Review The progress I have made during the duration of this project, have been fairly slow but surely getting there. Having said this on many occasions, I have still not conquered my time management skills! The project started very slow which meant I was behind schedule. Nevertheless my organisational skills have kept me on balance. The GANT chart has been of great help in doing so. What has kept me going throughout this project in particular would be self discipline and motivation. This project has proven that I am capable of working to my own initiative, but also well within a group; my time during the group project. Furthermore, my time on this project has definitely promoted a better mentality of my future ambitions. I have learnt that it is crucial to read a lot, as well as reading as broadly as I can. This in turn have aided in the running of my project. With other coursework deadlines, I made that a priority and had no time to meet with my supervisor. I understand that meeting with my supervisor is equally important because a supervisor is there to encourage and to advice on any difficult obstacles I may encounter. An area of interest to proof whether NP-complete problems can be solved in polynomial time, was left open as future work. This could be the next step of extending this report that little bit further. Chapter 6 Conclusion A challenging problem for further research is to proof whether NP-complete problems can be solved in polynomial time. This has yet to be solved and anyone who has a formal proof will be rewarded $1 million dollars by The Clay Mathematics Institute.