Information skills and system Essay Example for Free

Information skills and system Essay A system is a collection of devices that works together to archive a particular purpose. Examples include transport system, school system, digestive system etc. A system can be represented as following: Input contribution to processing of system Control commanding processing unit Processing transforming input to output Storage where content can be put away and retrieved for later use. Output the outcome of this system An information system is a system that accepts data (raw material) as input and information (organised data) as output. Examples include a computer, searchable databases etc. An information system is shown below: Purpose The use and function of the system Information process The process of converting data into information Participants All people who are involved in the system Information technology The equipment and instruction used. Data and information Data, the input (raw material), and information, the output (processed data). The information process: Collecting gathering of data from real world. Eg entering details Organising preparing data for the use of other processes. Eg arranging data into tables Analysing converting data into useful information, usually more digestible. Eg creating a graph from tables of data Saving and retrieving storing data/information for later uses. Eg saving document onto hard drive. Processing making change in data/information, including updating, correction of error etc. eg spell check Transmitting and receiving exchanging data/information with other information systems, near of remote. Eg internet, e-mailing Displaying presentation of information. Usually user-friendly, easy to understand. Eg projecting graph onto screen Digital representation of data: All data is in a central process unit is processed as electrical currents. Data is usually converted into binary decimals, consisting only 1 or 0, where 1 represents on and 0 represents off. Different data types are converted differently, and this will be discussed in tools for organising later. Binary digits: Decimal Binary Each digit in a binary decimal can only be 1 or 0. To convert from decimal x to binary: divide x by highest possible power of 2, then divide left over by highest possible power of 2, repeat until 1 or 0 is left. Eg 25 = 24 x 1 + 23 x 1 + 22 x 0 + 21 x 0 + 20 x 1; therefore 25 decimal = 11001 in binary. To convert binary into decimal you do the reverse. Eg 101011 in decimal is 25 x 1 + 24 x 0 + 23 x 1 + 22 x 0 + 21 x 1 + 20 x 1 = 32 + 0 + 8 + 0 + 2 + 1 = 43 ASCII code system: The ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) system uses binary decimals to represent different characters. Each digit takes up memory of 1 bit; it takes 8 digits i.e. 8 bits i.e. 1byte to form a character. 1024bytes (210 bytes) = 1KB; 1024KB (220 bytes) = 1MB; 1024MB (230 bytes) = 1GB etc different combinations of any 8 bit forms a character. ASCII includes most if not all symbols, including intangible ones eg Del, Space etc Hexadecimals: Hexadecimal is used in computing when there are too many digits for binary decimal. Eg 255 have 8 digits in binary but only 2 in hexadecimal. It is used for large value numbers such as in the case of html colour panels. Hexadecimals are 16 digit based; 10 15 is replaced with A F respectively. To convert decimal to hexadecimal or hexadecimal to decimal uses the same method as binary conversion, but 16 based. Eg converting 1980 into hexadecimal 1980 = 162 x 7 + 161 x 11 + 160 x 12 Therefore 1980 in hexadecimal is 7BC Eg converting 15FA into decimal 163 x 1 + 162 x 5 + 161 x 15 + 160 x 10 = 4096 + 1280 + 240 + 10 = 5626 Therefore 15FA in decimal is 5626. Social and Ethical issues: Health of human body can be affect through use of information systems. The study of human body and technology is referred as ergonomics. The following are a few health problems the can arise form the use of information system: Tools for information process Collecting: The collecting process involves deciding what to collect, where to collect form and how to collect. Hardware for collecting different data Text keyboard, text scanner, voice recognition Numbers bar code readers, data loggers, keyboard Images scanner, web cam Video video recorders, digital cameras Audio micro-phone, Software for collecting different data Text Microsoft word Numbers Microsoft excel Images scanner software Video windows media player Audio Sound recorder Organizing Text as explained before texts are converted into binary decimals to be processed by other processes, e.g. displaying, analysing etc. Examples of file types: word document, HTML, PDF Numbers Like text, each numerical number can be converted into a binary number. Common file type: excel, word document Images An image is an electronic copy of a picture, photo, scanned document etc for display on screen. All images are made of pixels, which are the smallest controllable display element on most screens. There are two types of images: Bitmapped: each pixel is treated individually and represents bits in memory. Their size, colour, tone etc is stored and therefore takes up large amount of memory. The most common bitmapped file types are BMP (high quality images), JPEG (less memory, lossy compression method) and GIF (maximum 256 colours for cartoons, lossless compression by less colour and smaller size). Vector: end points containing information about the line (thickness, colour, gradient etc) common type of file is PNG, but not supported by early versions of internet explorer. Audio Series of sound measurements. Digital samples are created from real sound waves. The higher frequency of taking samples and the more accurate they are, the better the quality, but the larger the file. Common file types are MIDI and waveform (MP3, MP4 etc). Video A series of still images recorded at high speed, usually along with audio. Hugh in file size. Common file types include animated GIF, MPEG, Flash etc. data is organized using key frames, one for each image that forms a video/animation when played Analyzing: An example of analyzing data is creating a chart in a spread sheet. Charts and graphs are the most popular ways of analyzing data. They show relationships, trends and comparisons at a glance. The impact (use of colours and symbols to draw attention to important data), speed (obvious) and simplicity (easily understood) made it popular. E.g. software excel, calculator Saving and retrieving: Saving and retrieving is important because it allows edited data to be stored and edited later on. Most information systems have a primary storage and a secondary storage. Primary storage is used to store data/information that needs to be instantly accessible to the CPU. It uses silicon chips on the motherboard to store. RAM random access memory, where frequently used data/information and instructions are stored. When the power is cut off everything in RAM disappears. Data are accessed directly without going through other things. Cache is another example of primary storage. It has the same functions are RAM, but is temporary storage for quick access. ROM read only memory, permanent memory where instructions are stored. These instructions are not to be edited or it may distract the processing of the computer. These instructions are applied when booting the computer. Secondary storages are usually portable. Magnetic tape: long thin plastic coated with thin layer of magnetic metal. Magnetic tape can store large amount of data for a cheap price and little space. However it uses sequential memory access, which takes a lot of time. e.g. video tape. Good for back up. Magnetic disk works the same as magnetic tape, but with a circular piece of plastic/metal. E.g. hard disk / floppy disk. Uses random memory access. Optical media uses laser technology to read and write on CD, CDR or CDRE. Written with high power laser to create lots of tiny holes on disk. Flash memory is erasable memory chips e.g. USB, SD card, memory stick etc. Processing: Examples of processing software: audio editing programmes, movie maker, video editors Transmitting and receiving: Buses and ports are used for transmitting and receiving. Buses are connections between CPU and other parts. Ports are sockets that allow an external device to be installed. E.g. e-mail is transmitting and receiving mails. Displaying Printer, monitor speakers etc. most monitors are displayed in pixels. Number of pixels on the screen can be adjusted. Planning, deigning and implementation Understanding the problem This is the first stage of developing a system. It involves identifying the problem that needs to be solved and determining the requirements of the new system through surveys, interviews, analysing existing system, investigation, research etc. Draw up a project plan, specifying who, what how, when; consisting grant charts, schedules, dataflow diagrams, journals, plans etc. Making decisions Determine the feasibility (is it possible) of this new system, analysing potential solutions and makes a recommendation. A feasibility study shows: nature of problem and overview of existing system identifying problem outline constraints (economical, cost vs. benefit; technical, technology requirements and demands; schedule, time wise; organisational, fitting the goal of organization) restates aim of new system in detail analyse data collected suggest solution no change, new system, investigate etc Designing solution Diagrams such as data flow diagram or system flow chart are used to show context of new system. Data flow diagram is a graphical way of showing the flow of data within the system. O process, ? external entity, ? Data storage, ? data flow. System flow chart shows both flow of data and logic of system. Terminals, input/output, process, database, decision, flow line. Decision trees show all possible decisions and their results. External specification the appearance of new system Internal specifications providing technical support to build the system, identify process required by new system, specifications for input data. Information technology application software may be available e.g. existing accounting softwares. If not then programme has to be written and meets the exact needs of new system. Technical specification new hardware support need or not. User documentation user manual for new system. Must be user friendly. Implementing This is the stage of applying the new system. There are three ways of converting to the new system: Direct conversion where the new system is completely replacing the old system. Does not allow time to check that the new one works correctly, old system is erased. Parallel conversion the new system and old system is run at the same time to allow room for error. Phrased conversion gradual implementation of new system. Certain new ones are implemented while other old ones are still operation. Each operation is individually tested. Pilot conversion when a small part of the organization uses the new system. If new system fails, old is there to back it up. Training is needed to teach participants to use the new system. The participants include those who are learning and those who are teaching. Who needs to be trained is decided upon their existing knowledge. Testing, evaluating and maintaining System needs to be tested to ensure that it runs correctly. Results are compared to expectations and initial aims. Determines if change is required. Occurs after minor adjustments. Evaluation is the ongoing process of assessing the system to identify areas of weakness that needs to be changed. Maintaining is the modifying of system after installation, upgrading by making minor improvements. IPT year11 exams study notes

Methods for Short and Long Term Memory Formation

Methods for Short and Long Term Memory Formation The purpose of the experiment was to determine which Learning Method was the most effective for short- and long-term memory formation. Method efficacy was tested via a Short-Term Memory (STM), and Long-Term Memory (LTM), glyph recall test. There were four groups, each using a different Learning Method which varied in two factors: written repetition (10X/none) and movie viewing (before/after STM test). The Learning Method was used to introduce the symbols, and there was a short maths test before the STM test. Symbol recall was assessed again in the LTM test, three weeks later. As the LTM test was taken after the STM test, all students had watched the movies. Analysis suggested that Learning Method 1 produced higher scores; students who wrote the symbol 10X and viewed the movie prior to taking the STM test had significantly greater glyph recall compared to those who used the other methods (p While Learning Method 1 appeared to be the most effective, it is possible that the results were affected by experimental design flaws; notably, the non-standardised test conditions. The degree of symbol retention demonstrated on the LTM test may be related to memory consolidation, which is aided by hippocampal ripple oscillations. The Learning Methods for each group were as follows (for the method code definitions and full method, see the Appendix): Group 1 (Learning Method 1): WB-1X_MB_10X Group 2 (Learning Method 2): WB-1X_MA_10X Group 3 (Learning Method 3): WB-1X_MB Group 4 (Learning Method 4): WB-1X_MA The independent variable is the Learning Method and the dependent variable is the number of symbols recalled correctly on the memory tests (STM and LTM). Method 1 was the most involved (writing 10X, and watching the movie beforehand). The alternative hypotheses are: Ha: if Short-Term glyph recall is related to the Learning Method (Method 1, 2, 3, 4), then students in Group 1, who used Method 1 (WB-1X_MB_10X), will recall a greater number of symbols correctly on a Short-Term Memory test. Ha: if Long-Term glyph recall is related to the Learning Method used for the Short-Term Memory test (Method 1, 2, 3, 4), then students in Group 1, who used Method 1, will recall a greater number of symbols correctly on a Long-Term Memory test. For the STM data, Levene’s test established that there was an effect of variance (p p p p p = 0.8790) and those in Groups 3 and 4 (p = 0.9260). For the LTM data, Levene’s test established that there was no effect of variance (p > 0.05). As the variance is not significant, a One-way ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc test can be used to test the hypothesis. The One-way ANOVA established that LTM test scores differed as a function of Learning Method used [F(3, 124) = 66.0280, p p p = 0.6160). The results support the alternative hypotheses that if glyph recall is related to the Learning Method used, then students in Group 1 (who used Method 1) will recall a greater number of symbols correctly on both a STM and LTM test. As the test scores for students who used Method 1 were significantly higher in both the STM and LTM tests, at a significance level of 0.05, the alternative hypothesis is favoured. By adopting the alternative hypotheses there is a possibility of Type 1 error in both cases. The hippocampus contributes critically to memory formation, organisation, and storage Memory consolidation, a process that transforms newly acquired information into long-term memory, also depends on the hippocampus. Through consolidation, labile newly formed memory traces are progressively strengthened into long-term memories and become more resistant to interference. However, it is suggested that they remain susceptible to updating and modification The hippocampus generates high-frequency ripple oscillations in local-field potentials (LFPs), observed most prominently in the hippocampal CA1 pyramidal layer Ripples participate in strengthening and reorganising memory traces, possibly by mediating information transfer to neocortical areas Memory traces are represented by assemblies of principal neurons that are activated during ripple-associated network states There is evidence suggesting that memory consolidation is enhanced during sleep and resting (â€Å"off-line†) states Sleep is a state which optimises the consolidation of newly acquired information in memory, depending on the specific conditions of learning and the timing of sleep It induces long-lasting cellular and network modifications responsible for memory stabilisation A proposed neural mechanism for sleep-dependent memory consolidation, is reactivation of awake experience (neuronal replay) in the hippocampus which is associated with sharp wave-ripple (SPW-R) events that occur primarily during off-line states SPW-Rs are â€Å"aperiodic, recurrent instances of large deflections (sharp waves) in the hippocampal LFP†, and they are associated with synchronous fast-field oscillations (ripples) During SPW-R events, hippocampal cell firing closely follows the pattern that took place during the initial experience Theta (4-8 Hz) oscillations and ripples (~200 Hz) occurring during sharp waves may mediate encoding and consolidation, respectively. Pyramidal neurons replay previous waking activity in a temporally compressed manner, thus reactivated firing patterns occur within shorter time windows propitious for synaptic plasticity within the hippocampal network and in downstream neocortical structures. Slow-wave sleep (SWS) supports system consolidation and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep supports synaptic consolidation through specific patterns of neuromodulatory activity and electric field potential oscillations. During SWS, there is a diminution in cholinergic activity and the ripples stimulate the redistribution and transfer of hippocampus-dependent memories to the neocortex The thalamocortical spindles generated by the thalamus arrive at the neocortex at the same time as the hippocampal memory information, due to the slow oscillations which facilitate the transfer, and this synchronisation is thought to be vital to the long-term storage of memories within neocortical networks During REM sleep, at high cholinergic and theta activity, local increases in plasticity-related immediate-early gene activity may promote synaptic consolidation of memories in the cortex Incoming signals move through the hippocampus via a ‘trisynaptic loop’ consisting of synapses between principal cells in the dentate gyrus (DG), CA3 and CA1 Hofer et al investigated the cellular and network properties of SPW-Rs with simultaneous laminar multielectrode and intracellular recordings in a rat hippocampal slice model. Spontaneous SPW-Rs were generated in the DG, CA3, and CA1 regions During the memory encoding phase, the hippocampus binds neocortical representations to local memory traces. Then, during the off-line periods, the traces are concurrently reactivated in the hippocampus and cortex to potentiate the corticocortical connections underlying stored representations Studies show that disruption of ripples during post-learning SWS impairs memory consolidation and learning In an experiment conducted by Ego-Stengel and Wilson rats were trained daily in two identical tasks, each followed by a one hour rest period. Following one of the tasks, neuronal activity associated with ripple events was disrupted, without changing the sleep-wake structure, via selective stimulation of hippocampal afferents. It was found that the rats learned the control task significantly faster than the task followed by the stimulation, which suggests that interfering with hippocampal processing during sleep led to decreased learning Similarly, Nokia et al. found that disrupting hippocampal ripples using electrical stimulation either during training in awake animals, or during sleep after training, had a negative impact on learning A study by Wang et al indicated that the median raphe region (MnR) is important for regulating hippocampal ripple activity and memory consolidation. A fear conditioning procedure was used to determine this relationship, via interruption of ripple activity. Simultaneous in vivo recording in the MnR and hippocampus of mice showed that, when a group of MnR neurons was active, ripples were absent; ripple activity was related to the activity of MnR neurons. Additionally, MnR may regulate memory consolidation via its projections to thalamocortical regions, which facilitate interactions between the hippocampus, thalamus and cortical regions during SWS. Under the assumption that there was little deliberate reactivation of memory traces for the symbols in the three weeks following the STM test, the degree of retention of the symbols on the LTM test may be related to memory consolidation via hippocampal ripples occurring during sleep and rest. There were a number of limitations which may have affected the validity of the results. The major limitation was the non-standardised test conditions. Since different groups took the test at different times of the day, and different individuals have performance peaks at different clock times randomisation of subjects is important. This also leads to the possibility that students in an earlier group may have informed others of the symbols or experimental procedures. Knowledge of the tests could have influenced the students’ concentration, with those who knew being more likely to apply themselves to the Learning Method. While all students would be likely to undergo some degree of memory consolidation following the STM test, those who were aware of the experimental design would likely have greater retention. If all students took the test at the same time under standardised conditions, it would be less likely for this issue to affect the results. Additionally, the small sample size, and the fact that the participants were all students of one course (Neuroscience), also means that the external validity of the experiment, and thus the generalisability to groups other than the experimental group, cannot be established. There was also only one group per Learning Method, so it is unknown if the results are repeatable.

Case Study Mazda Motor Corporation Marketing Essay

Case Study Mazda Motor Corporation Marketing Essay Mazda Motor Corporation is one of the worlds leading car manufacturers with the total net sales in 2009 reaching a whopping 2,535.9 billion Yen. Mazda Motor Corporation was established in Japan in 1920, under the name, Toyo Cork Kogyo. Initially only dealing with the manufacturing of car parts, they have ventured out to the producing of commercial trucks, eventually proceeding on to the manufacturing of cars, which it is widely known for nowadays. As times passes, Mazda Motor Corporations has since successfully ventured out of Japan, conquering other parts of the world including Mexico, Italy, Thailand just to name a few, as well as establishing Research and Development sites in countries like Germany, China, and the United States of America. Mazda Motor Corporation mainly cater to the needs of 2 different segments of consumers: Commercial consumers and Non-Commercial Consumers. Vehicles under the Mazda E-series and Mazda BT-50 cater for commercial purposes. Examples of vehicles that fall under the above categories include pick-ups, lorries and vans which are most commonly used by companies for transporting of goods and materials etc. On the other hand, Mazda also cater to non commercial consumers and their vehicles are designed specifically to satisfy 2 groups of consumers: Family PMET ( Professional, Managers, Executives and Technicians). Models such as Mazda 5 and Mazda 8 are MVPs (Multi Purpose Vehicles) which are well suited for large families while models like Mazda 3 Mazda 6 are the typical family sedans suitable for smaller families. On the other hand, models like Mazda RX-8 and Mazda MX-5 offer a more sporty look and may seem to appeal more to young working professionals or PMETS. Mazda 2 Mazda CX-7 are SUVs( Sports Utility Vehicles which are targeted towards sports enthusiasts. The head office of Mazda Motor Corporation is located at 3-1 Shinchi, Fuchu-Cho, Aki-gun, Hiroshima, with different branches located at various parts of Japan like Osaka, Tokyo, Yamaguchi and many more to allow provide easy accessibility to consumers. Mazda Motor Corporation has adopted a mixture of B2B (business to business), B2C (business to consumer) business model. The company has a wide range of products to cater to the needs of both commercial and non commercial consumers. By segmenting out their target consumers, Mazda will be able to spread out the risk of doing business should the sales in one market suffer. This strategy will also enable Mazda to reap the benefits of increasing its market share in both the commercial and non commercial segments. Purchasing Strategies Mazda Motor Corporation, despite being a car manufacturer, obtains their parts and materials from suppliers. The 3 main suppliers which they obtain essential parts includes: Kanto Yokokai (located in Kanto, Kansai and Tokai regions of Japan) and Nishi Nihon Yokokai (located in Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu regions of Japan). Mazda Motor Corporation obtains their necessary materials like plastic from Yoshinkai. However, the engines of all Mazda cars are manufactured by the company itself, instead of obtaining it from suppliers. Parts for the car like screws and nuts are obtained from multiple suppliers. This allows the company to have a wider variety of choices to choose from since they are not limited to only one supplier. This provides them with flexibility as well as more bargaining power, which will allow them to obtain their necessary materials at the cheapest possible price. However, the materials used in the car manufacturing process are obtained from only one supplier. Though there is only a single supplier for the materials, Mazda Motor Corporation is also able to obtain the materials needed at a suitable price. This is due to the fact that Mazda Motor Corporation has chosen Yoshinkai as their sole supplier for materials. This will allow them to have special benefits since the honour of being the sole supplier of materials is given to Yoshinkai. A few reasons why Mazda Motor Corporation has decided to buy the materials and parts instead of making it themselves is because of cost advantages, lack of expertise as well as the quality of the supplied items. If Mazda Motor Corporation, a car manufacturing company, were to venture into the production of their own required parts and materials, the company will not be focused on car manufacturing but on other areas like manufacturing of metal for example. This will be expensive for the company since they would have to spend more money to research on the steps needed to carry this out since there is a lack of knowledge in this area. Even if this research is a success and the company managed to produce the items needed, the quality may not be as good as that of which are obtained from their suppliers, who are more experienced. This may also cause Mazda Motor Corporation to lose their identity as a leading car manufacturer as consumers might be confused as to whether Mazda Motor Corporation is a car manufacturer or a manufacturer of materials and parts. There are certain areas which Mazda Motor Corporation looks out for while deciding which supplier to purchase their parts and materials for. These areas are quality of the delivered items, time for delivery of the materials and cost of these materials. All if not most companies operate for one common aim, which is to make profit. Mazda Motor Corporation is no exception. Thus, it is essential for the company to obtain the materials needed at the cheapest price available without compromising the quality of the materials. This will allow their budget to be lowered, which will eventually lead to a higher profit gain as compared to when the company purchase the same materials, with the same quality at a higher price. The time at which the materials are delivered is equally important as well. If the materials ordered are delivered late, this may lead to a delay of production, which may lead to a loss of profit for the company. In worse case scenarios, the company may have to compensate their customers if production is halted because of this delay. Mazda Motor Corporation also adopts the Make-To-Stock strategy for its operations. This is due to the fact that the company is churning out the same few models of cars in a huge volume. Thus, by adopting this strategy, the company is able to meets its production target and satisfaction of the majority of its customers can be guaranteed. The low manufacturing costs also allows the company to make a profit as well. However, the company also utilises the Make-To-Order Strategy. This can be seen in the customization option which Mazda Motor Corporation offers to customers who wishes to customize their cars. This provides a wider range of product options to customers and not limiting them to purchasing cars which are already made. Order Management Mazda Motor Corporation has showrooms located in its head office as well as in many other regions around the country, be it in Japan, where their main head office is located, or in other countries which Mazda Motor Corporation has ventured into. Interested customers can either walk-in to any of their showrooms, where a sales associate will assist them in choosing a suitable car for them, or an appointment can be made beforehand either through telephone or email. Once the customer has chosen their desired car, an order form will be filled in, which will be entered into their system later on. An invoice will then be issued to the customer. The order will be passed on the head office, where the staff will check with their records to see if there are still stock available. If not, they will check if production for that particular car has been scheduled. Otherwise, a delivery order will be given to the distribution centre where the car will be picked by the staff according to details on t he picking list. Transport will be arranged to deliver the car to the selected venue where the customer will collect it. This venue will either be at the warehouse, or the service centre since the showroom may not have enough space to store the cars. Mazda Motor Corporation, at the moment, only handles sales of its cars at their showroom and not through other channels like email or telephone calls. ordermanagement model .jpg Inventory Management Mazda Motor Corporation has developed its own inventory management system called the Mazda Materials Management Planning, also known as M3P in the auto industry. This system allows the company to have efficient control over its stocks and inventory levels, which in turn will allow the company to have increased efficiency in meeting demands in production level. Alongside with M3P, Mazda Motor Corporation has also utilised the point of sale system, also known widely as POS, to complement their self produced inventory management system. POS allows the automation of inventory control in a bid to increase the work efficiency of the staff to allow them to obtain all the information required so as to handle customers needs without much difficulty. In the long run, the high efficiency of the staff will allow the company to bring in more revenue since the company will have made a name for themselves due to their high work efficiency rate. M3P also allows the company to have better demand forecast. This will allow the company to predict and plan and schedule order of parts and materials needed so as to continue productions and ensure that there are no unexpected halt to production plans because of insufficient inventory levels. Delivery time can also be further enhanced through the utilisation of this system. In turn, this will help improve satisfaction in customers and allow Mazda Motor Corporation to build up its reputation of having an organized and well-planned system to manage both the companys as well as the customers needs. Operations Planning Mazda Motor Corporation carried out long-range operation planning with the assistance of M3P. M3P, when coupled with all the different statistics of inventory management, provides a rather accurate forecast which allows it to handle supply and demand to meet its various needs. This allows the company to have detailed demand forecasts of up to a year, which enables them to have proper planning of their production schedules. This will give the company to have sufficient time to resolve any issues which they might encounter in the areas of outsourcing of their materials, expansion of the company and other various aspects. With all the above carried out, Materials Requirement Planning (MRP) is also carried out thereafter. Mazda Motor Corporations plans all the different parts of the car which will be produced. This allows the company to have a schedule at which a particular car should be completed, together with all the materials needed and whether there is a need to order these materials should there not be enough in the inventory. By doing so, the company will be able to meet all, if not most of their sales order. Customer Relationship Management Like most companies, Mazda Motor Corporation takes great pride in building up a good relationship between customers and the company. The company itself sees a need to have a common understanding with its customers. This is one of the reasons why the company has come up with an approach to ensure customer satisfaction. [INSERT MAZDA FOUR PILLARS HERE] The company believe in providing different appealing products to customers. Quality of the product is also ensured in order to maintain the reputation of one of the leading car manufacturers in Japan. Efficient after-sales service is also provided to make sure that customers are being taken care of even after a purchase has been made. The company believes that by understanding the various needs and wants of their customers, the company will then be able to improve and make changes to better suit the customers needs. Mazda Motor Corporation is also open to comments and suggestions from its customers through its call centre. The call centre handles inquiries, complaints as well as suggestion from its customers. Besides through the call centre, customers are also able to provide their input through the Mazda Motor Corporation website on the Inquiries page. The company takes all these input seriously. By doing so, they are able to make changes to keep up with the customers needs. This in turn, will allow the customers to feel that the company is doing their best to serve the customers and ultimately, allow them to have a good impression of the company. Mazda Motor Corporation will then be able to ensure a never ending flow of customers, which allows more generation of profit for the company. Purchasing Strategies Mazda Motor Corporation purchases its parts from multiple suppliers, but only a single supplier for its materials. On the surface, this may not be a problem to the company as of now. However, with only a single supplier for its materials, Mazda may end up being on the losing end in the event if the supplier is to increase price in order to gain more profit, seeing that they are the only sole supplier of the materials. If such a situation happens, the company will have to raise their budget to accommodate the sudden hike in price, which will in turn reduce their total earnings. In worse cases, if the company is unable to come to terms with their supplier, productions will have to be halted and production schedules will be delayed. This will cause the company to be unable to meet the demands of customers and the company may have to pay a large sum of money as compensation. A sudden shortage of materials from its suppliers may also cause the company to put their production plans on halt since there are insufficient materials. Time will then be wasted in order to source for another supplier to obtain the necessary materials. To solve this problem, Mazda Motor Corporation can outsource for a second supplier for its materials. By having a second supplier, the company will have a backup option should they be unable to obtain their materials from one of its suppliers. This will also allow the company to have greater bargaining power to obtain the materials at a lower cost since there are now competitions between the two suppliers. Order Management Customers purchase of cars in Mazda Motor Corporation is done on-site, which means that all orders are handled in the show rooms of the company. Since no orders can be done online or through phone calls, the company will lose business to its competitors in the auto industry who may have started accepting orders online or via phone calls. This, in the long run, will cause the company to lose its reputable position as one of the leading car manufacturers in Japan and ultimately, reducing profits for the company. Thus, a solution can be devised to solve this problem. Firstly, the company adopt the idea of e-commerce by having an online order system. This allows customers to make purchases online, anywhere 24/7. With such an approach, the company will be updated with technology trends and yet carry out business at the same time, killing two birds with one stone. A user-friendly e-commerce website can be incorporated into the current website of the company. This will allow the company to have a website with multiple usability. Customers can view available products and if they are interested, make purchases online. With such convenience, customers satisfaction is sure to be guaranteed as they are able to buy their desire car through a hassle-free process. By implementing the above solution, Mazda Motor Corporation will be able to portray themselves as a company that is able to accept changes to satisfy customers needs and keep their reputation as one of the leading car manufacturers in Japan. Inventory Management As mentioned in earlier parts of the report, Mazda Motor Corporation utilises their own unique inventory system, M3P to handle its inventory. Though this system has been said to aid the company in controlling its inventory levels to meet production demands, it is not entirely perfect. The reason being, any program, no matter how good it is, will bound to fail at times. Since Mazda Motor Corporation relies heavily on M3P to handle its inventory, there will be major problems should the system were to malfunction at any one point of time. Inventory levels will then not be updated and the company may miscalculate its production schedules. This may cause all productions to be affected. Demands will also not be met and it will affect the entire operations of the company. Another reason is that inventory levels in the system may not be updated real-time. This is a serious issue to the staff of Mazda Motor Corporation, The staff will not be able to gauge accurately whether there is a need to replenish its stocks since the inventory levels is not accurate. This might then lead to a shortage in supply of stocks, affecting the operation of the company. One measure which the company can undertake would be to have sufficient safety stock at any one point of time. Thus, if M3P were to fail because of any unexpected errors at any one point of time, there will still be enough safety stocks to provide temporary relief if there should be any miscalculations of inventory levels due to the system fault. Operations Planning Mazda Motor Corporation, with the help of its inventory management system M3P, plans its operations on a long term basis. This, on the surface may look impressive as it portrays the image that the company is able to do this because of their great foresight. However, though plans may be carried out beforehand, there might be certain unexpected situations that may occur in between. For example, the company may undergo acquisition by other company for commercial purposes. This may result in major changes in operations of the company. Suppliers may not be willing to supply necessary resources to the company, which may affect productions and delivery of goods to customers. Late delivery of goods will not only cause the company to incur additional costs, it will also affect customer relationship and the companys reputation may also be at risk. This problem is not difficult to solve. Mazda Motor Corporation can still have long term planning done ahead of time with the forecast predicted through the usage of M3P. However, backup plans should be done alongside with all its future plans and schedules. This will allow the company to have different alternatives when they are faced with an unexpected situation or emergency. The company will thus be able to have well-planned schedules and not worry if any problems will affect its operations since they have backup plans for insurance. Customer Service Relation Having good relations with customers is one of the values which Mazda Motor Corporation possesses. This is why the company has set up a call centre with around 50 staff to respond to any calls with questions regarding various issues. An inquiry page has also been set up to allow customers to enter all their queries for an answer online, on the Mazda Motor Corporation homepage. However, there might be certain questions which may be complicated and the staff may take more time to respond to these questions. Though there may be similar questions asked before, not all staff members may be aware of these questions and the solutions to it. Thus, the response time may be reduced greatly and the work speed may not be as efficient as expected. It will also pose a problem should there not be enough staff to entertain queries from customers since there is only 50 staff to handle all this questions. Thus, besides adding on to the inquiry page on the homepage of Mazda Motor Corporation, the company can also make use of the latest social networking tools. One example would be the use of Facebook. The company interact with customers with this. Customers will also be able to inquire about certain things by posting a comment on the page. This way, if the staffs of Mazda Motor Corporation are unable to provide a response to the customer quickly, there might be other people who will be able to answer these questions. One advantage of this is that customers are able to connect with other customers and not only the company itself. This will allow them to exchange information needed and ease the burden on staffs handling these inquiries, though this does not mean that the staff will not be responding to any questions posed by customers. This form of connection between customers will allow experience to be shared among each other as well. Besides helping to improve customer relationship, social networking can be a way for Mazda Motor Corporation to provide updates to its customers. This can include events or promotions. Thus, this form of interaction will be beneficial in helping bridging the gap between customers and the company.

Malta: A Small country With Tourism and Potential Essay -- Islands, Eu

Located in the midst of the Mediterranean Sea, Malta was committed to becoming a unique tourism destination. The country and its sister islands, Gozo and Comino, offer an extensive range of characteristics, making the destination a memorable experience. From the surrounded location of the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, to the ancient sites and some of Europe’s best-known diving experiences, Malta gains tourists from around the world. With a sophisticated background, Malta strategically promotes their Maltese tourism in other countries. It remains a quiet island in the Mediterranean, but constantly depends on other countries to help bring in tourism. The tourism industry plays an important role in Malta’s economy; however, a constant dependency on other countries draws a concern. Overall, although Malta is one of the smallest southern European countries, it is large in character and the future of its tourism is just beginning. Established only60 miles from Sicily and 180 miles from the African Continent, the Maltese Islands hold a range of characteristics. (Travel Away) Multiple qualities of this distinctive country help gain tourism each year. Tourists are mainly attracted to the historical, seaside and educational aspects of the islands. (Merrien) However, it also holds high-class hotel and food industries, which helps attract over a million tourists every year. (Waller) This popular, yet small island, measuring 17-miles long, and 9-miles wide, contains a population of some of the friendliest and most sophisticated 345,000 natives. (Malta - Home) Surrounded by beautiful beaches throughout Malta, the oldest known human structures in the world still stand in great condition, right beside medieval castles, nearly 400 churches and ... ...Merrien, Nathalie. What Are the Strategies Deployed in Malta to Develop Its Tourism Industry? Universite Angers, 2013. Web. 2014. Waller, Neil. "Malta Top 10 Attractions." - My Destination Malta. N.p., n.d. Web. 2014. "Malta, A Sophisticated Cultural Destination." Travel Away. N.p., n.d. Web. 2014. "Malta - Home." Malta - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 2014. "Visit Malta." News RSS 20. N.p., n.d. Web. 2014. "Fortina Spa Resort Malta - 5 Star Hotel in Sliema Malta." Fortina Spa Resort Malta - 5 Star Hotel in Sliema Malta. N.p., n.d. Web. 2014. "Expat Focus." Malta. N.p., n.d. Web. 2014. "Malta Food and Wine." Wineries in Malta. N.p., n.d. Web. 2014. "New Transport Service between Malta and Sicily." MaltaToday.com.mt. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. Marketing Malta to Different Segments: How Medical Tourism Fits within MTA's Marketing Strategy. N.p.: n.p., 2011. PDF.

Culture and a Mans Dying Wish :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A man dies. His community's culture deems that he be buried in holy ground lest the community suffer some catastrophe. He, having always been at odds with his community on this point, has left a provision in his will that he be cremated and his ashes scattered into the ocean. The body waits in the hospital while the community debates the issue. What is to be done?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The elders have asked for a moral opinion. What is one to say? If the belief that the man must be buried is one deeply ingrained in the hearts and minds of the community, then a decision to cremate him would cause an uproar. On the other hand, if there are some who sympathize with the man, either decision might cause a schism within the community. The ultimate action would have to depend on much more than the culture's belief about burial. It would have to take into account the culture's beliefs on individual rights, freedom of belief, and the validity of the man's will. It would also have to take into account the moral implications of carrying out a man's dying wish and the repercussions of violating a sacred social institution. This is not a decision to be taken lightly, but by stepping back and weighing the options carefully, one can come to a conclusion which would be the most moral given the situation. I say most moral because there really is no right choice here. Any action taken will most definitely be wrong to at least one group of people. Here no plea can be made to universal morality because neither belief in its specific sense appeals to any pure moral intuition. People on the other side of the world might have neither the belief that the man should be buried, nor the belief that his ashes should be spread. Each person's choice would be too influenced by his own cultural morality, and so nobody would really have a right to judge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Were I to be asked for an opinion on this matter, I feel I would have no authority in my response. It is really the community's choice, and I would be afraid to make a decision which affects people completely strange to me. I doubt they would ask me in the first place, but were I to be asked my opinion I would say that the man should be buried in the special burial ground.

Space – Should the costing be spent?

I have chosen to write a report entitled, â€Å"Space – Can the expense be justified?†. I chose this as I had a keen interest in the matter; once we had discussed this as a class. Another reason in which why I have selected this topic is because as the world of media is advancing, this subject has been under debate for many years now, but with no final conclusion. Humans are said to have landed on the moon in 1969, however again through media many accusations have been made against this. This proves media manipulates decisions made; therefore the public should be more aware of the situation. Sources of information For this assignment, my main source of information will be the BBC news archive, due to the fact this is a government based company. Therefore the information will be very much factual and reliable, rather than opinion based data from other sources of media. Further on, I will use the British National Space Centre (BNSC) as this is Britain's main space exploration organisation. Following on, I will be using â€Å"Encarta Encyclopedia† which is a screen-based archive of various facts and figures including extended explanations of various topics. This proves I will be using a vast range of sources which I have selected, however most are screen-based as these are constantly being updated throughout key advancements. Space The universe contains everything – all of space and time and all the matter and energy within it. The universe is unknowably vast, and ever since it formed, it has been expanding, carrying some of its most distant regions forever beyond the naked eye. The universe contains everything from the smallest atom to the largest galaxy cluster and yet it seems they all have the same laws. [1] For many years, space was out of reach for humans on our planet. People thought day and night on how to make space exploration a reality. Everyone at some time in their life asks questions similar to: â€Å"Where does space begin? Where does it end? What is the difference between space and the universe?† Space is built of so little matter that we cannot consider it as empty. However on Earth, there is matter everywhere, in the form of liquid/solid/ and gas. In space there is no night or day, this is due to the fact our atmosphere scatters the sun's rays, ultimately giving the blue colour in our sky. [2] A crucial property of the universe is that it is expanding. [3] It must be growing, because distant galaxies are quickly withdrawing from Earth. Assuming that the universe has always been growing, it once must have had to be smaller and denser; this is the face which strongly supports the Big Bang theory. [4] Benefits of space exploration Space exploration has many benefits for us, which could eventually save mankind from extinction if the time came. The following examples are a handful of positive effects if we did invest more into space exploration. Population increase/Colonization Since history has been written, our population has grown rapidly with 6.5 billion people today. It is said that the world's population has quadrupled in the last one hundred years. If the population carries on dramatically increasing we will have many problems including housing issues, for the number of people. By the year 2050, from predictions, it shows that there will be eventually ten billion people living on Earth, this is a growth around 75 million people per year. [5] The graph on the left shows the predicted population grown for the next 50 years, as well as the â€Å"population boom† which has occurred earlier. The key shows different areas of the world and the population increase there. Asia seems to be increasing the most; this clearly is a developing region of the world. On the other hand a developed region such as Northern America seems to have a steady increase. For this issue to be rectified, space exploration can be extremely helpful. If we can locate a suitable area beyond the Earth then we can â€Å"Colonize†. We have determined that many materials can be available in space, however human space flight advancements and engineering is vital for this to occur. The moon seems to be a viable location for us to â€Å"Colonize†, due to the fact, it is extremely close to us compared to other planets therefore easy to transport goods and supplies. The only issue is that there seems to be low amounts of Hydrogen and Carbon. The low gravity is also a major concern. Lack of resources As above, if the population carries on increasing as predicted, Earth's resources will eventually start to run out. This will have a dramatic effect on the habitants on Earth, as many necessities we take for granted will be depleted. These items include: * Clean water * Natural resources such as Fossil fuels Experts say that seas will become emptied of fish while forests – which absorb Carbon Dioxide emissions – are completely destroyed and fresh water supplies become scarce and polluted. For example since 1970 forests have been reduced by twelve percent. This proves that if space exploration improves and is funded, we can get numerous materials from out of space. For example, on the Moon there seems to be a great deal of silicon and metals such as iron, aluminium and titanium. [6] Counter-benefits of space exploration On the other hand of this debate, there are many disadvantages against investing in space exploration. This topic has been under debate for many years now, many people feel that the money is better spent elsewhere, ultimately spent on this planet prior to exploring others. NHS and Healthcare The amount of money spent on space exploration may have better uses, as the NHS are currently in debt, this should be rectified. Spending for example à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½150m on a certain probe could instead cut the NHS's debt by a fifth. Also, there are many people who are fighting disease, however some which aren't currently curable, as the research hasn't been paid for; there is always scientist's salaries to fund. Helping cure disease ultimately seems imperative. Space exploration can't bring people's health therefore as healthcare is vital, exploration should be halted until many basic lives saving problems are treated for. The diagram on the right shows how much per year the NHS is spending, this is also projected for up till 2008.[7] They seem to be spending currently around 90 million per year. This proves to me that developing a space instrument which tends to cost 100 million plus is not needed, as this can be fund the NHS for the year (the entire nation's treatment). Human space flight Unlike robotic space exploration, human space flight costs much more however with little benefit and outcome. Additionally, sending a robotic device to space can increase the scientific knowledge attained. Robots are clearly more efficient than humans, the speed and technology is much faster. The majority of astronauts sent to space also unfortunately pass away due to the tasks being extremely difficult regardless of how much training they have completed. Conclusion After completing this report, I have clearly shown the benefits and counter-benefits of space exploration, and wherever it should be funded. I believe my main benefit is how we can search for resources elsewhere, therefore not having to worry greatly on the amount we are using, (within reason). We evidently have two sides of the debate, which can become extremely ethical; â€Å"For, or against, science†. However this would be political of me to discuss. I have used evidence from both sides of the argument, the scientific aspect as well as the ethical reasons, which have been shown mainly within the health care section. It is also debateable that why isn't the UK investing in human space flight, even though the UK holds the world's fourth largest economy however they have no presence in manned space flight, or any interest in such activities. On the other hand they have invested largely into unmanned space flight, which have been a helping hand to improve the quality of life. From this report, evidence shows that the positives unmistakably outweigh the negatives for the title â€Å"Space – Can the expense be justified?†. Personally I am supporting space exploration due to the fact I am intrigued into the question many people ask, â€Å"What is out there?† I also believe with the advancements of the modern world, during my life time I will be able to maybe benefit from space exploration in one way or another.

Paycom Marketing Plan

The Obama administration’s proposal for a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, which was released as part of its â€Å"Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy,† is intended to give users more control over how their personal information is used in commercial transactions (Klosek, 2012). This type of framework is geared toward technologies such as mobile apps. Mobile app technology is capable of cloning personal information from a mobile device such as ID numbers, email address, current location, texts messages, calendars and personal photos. Companies such as Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and AOL have agreed to not track consumer browser use. These companies have been critized in the past for not doing what is required to protect the privacy of its consumers. They have been tracking their information without any consent or providing information to the consumer regarding how the data will be used. Now with the CPBR, consumers will now have the right to control what information is used, how it will be used and monitor the accuracy of the data collected. In order to use the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights for future litigation, seven general principles have been developed to use as a guide. â€Å"Individual Control: Consumers have a right to exercise control over what personal companies collect from them and how they use it (Kloesk, 2012). † Going forward, companies will have to present consent as well as choices to the consumer about the data that is being collected, whereas before, consumers have been unaware of what type of data was being collected and how it was being used. Transparency: Consumers have a right to easily understandable and accessible information about privacy and security practices (Klosek, 2012). † There are many privacy risks in regards to mobile devices. With the CPBR, consumers with be informed about the most recent and relevant information regarding what personal data can be used. Mobile apps are an example where this information can be critical. â€Å"Respect for Context: Consumers have a right to expect that companies will collect, use, and disclose personal data in ways that are consistent with the context in which consumers provide the data (Klosek, 2012). This generally translates into a deeper guide to increased disclosers to the consumer. In the case that information or data is collected from a consumer and used for anything else other than for the use of the company, the consumer will be notified before and given the opportunity for consent prior to the information being used. They will also be informed what the data will be used for in relation to what is being shared. â€Å"Security: Consumers have the right to secure and responsible handling of personal data (Klosek, 2012). In summary, any data collected will be encrypted and secured when being moved from the consumer’s device to the companies servers. â€Å"Access and Accuracy: Consumers have a right to access and correct personal data in usable formats, in a manner that is appropriate to the sensitivity of the data and the risk of adverse consequences to consumers if the data is inaccurate (Klosek, 2012). † This describes the consumer’s rights to ensure t hat the data being collected is accurate. If they information is incorrect, then they will have the right to correct anything in error. In order for the consumer to ensure accurate information, they will also be granted access to the data being collected. â€Å"Focused Collection: Consumers have a right to reasonable limits on the personal data that companies collect and retain (Klosek, 2012). † Companies cannot collect data from any devices, unless it is relevant to the need or purpose of the original use. Any information collected will be used for a specific goal that is to be accomplished relevant to the need for it to be collected. Accountability: Consumers have a right to have personal data handled by companies with appropriate measures in place to assure that adhere to the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights (Klosek, 2012). † Data retained will be handled appropriately. This means that employees will be properly trained on how to ensure information collected is secure and relevant. These seven guidelines are intended to act as a plan to improve consumers’ privacy protections. In addition, it act s as a tool to ensure that information being used from the internet is used to promote economic growth. It will also allow consumers to have increased involvement of their personal information and â€Å"help businesses maintain consumer trust and grow in the rapidly changing digital environment† (Obama, 2012). In the past, the internet has not been secure enough to protect consumer’s personal information. With added protected, consumers can feel more confident to use the internet which will enhance the opportunities for job creation and business growth. The seven guidelines more specifically provide a foundation to protect consumers and grant a greater self-certainty for businesses. American Consumers can’t wait any longer for clear rules of the road that ensure their personal information is safe online† (President Obama, 2012). In order for a consumer to feel secure, they need to have confidence that their information being used is accurate and used for relevant purposes related to the companies purpose and mission. Daniel Weitzner, who is a former White Hou se deputy chief technology officer for internet policy, is now an advisor to the Coalition for Privacy and Free Trade. He states, â€Å"I believe really strongly that the privacy tends to make progress when there are broad coalitions† (Weitzner, 2013). The Coalition for Privacy and Free Trade welcomes companies that collect, use and transfer personal data (Liebelson, 2013). Prior to the CPBR, companies have been accused of using information for unjust purposes. Apple has been caught storing users’ address books. Google was found tracking the search engines on users’ iphones. Overall, online privacy has been an issue since the internet was created. With the CPBR, consumers can feel for confident in their internet use. Because of these alligations over internet companies, the Federal Trade Commision as prompted companies like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and AOL to commit to using the Do Not Track technology top prevent user browsing behavior from being tracked (Dharapak, 2012). Leadership is the key to being a successful manager. Peter Northouse (2001) defines leadership as a process whereby one individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. If you want to become an effective leader, a manager must guide employees in a positive manner in order to accomplish a goal as it relates to the company’s mission. There are two types of leaders. There is the transformation leader and the transactional leader and people may argue which leadership role is best for their company. As a manger myself, I believe that the transformational manager can better take the pulse of a group, understand its unspoken currents of thought and concerns, and communicate with people in terms they can understand and embrace. The transformational leadership approach can help managers become exceptional leaders. These types of leaders must develop a skill that will make individuals want improve, change, and be led. You not only have to know their wants, but you must also be able to identify their motives as well as needs. There are four factors to transformational leadership in which are known as the four I’s. The four I’s include: Idealized Influence describes managers who are role models that can be trusted, respected, and able to make good decisions for the organization. Inspirational Motivation is a way of motivating associates to commit to the vision of the organizations, while encouraging team spirit to reach goals that increase revenue and market growth for the organization. Intellectual Stimulation describes mangers who encourage innovations and creativity through challenging the normal beliefs or views of a group. These types of managers promote critical thinking and problem solving to make the organization better. Individual considerations describe a manager who can act as a coach and advisor. This helps not only the associates but the organization as a whole as well (Hall, Johnson, Wysocki, Kepner, 2012). The strengths involved with the transformational approach is that you can effectively influence employees on all levels and identify the needs an values of personal as well. However considering no individual is perfect, there are weaknesses identified by the approach. The weaknesses are that there are many components that seem too broad, treat leadership more as a personality trait than as a learned behavior, and have the potential for abusing power. Although, the strengths of the transformational leader empower individuals to do what is best for the organization. They also have strong role modeling skills that develop high values. In addition, they are active listeners that develop spirit and cooperation, create vision, and helps the organization by helping others put forth to the organization. Transactional leadership styles are more geared towards maintaining the normal flow of operations. They do what it takes to keep the lights on. They use discipline and incentives to motivate employees to perform. They tend to exchange rewards for high performance. A Transactional leader tends to not look ahead in strategically guiding an organization to a position of market leadership; instead, these managers are solely concerned with making sure everything flows smoothly today (Ingram, 2013). Transactional leaders can provide advantages in their abilities to address small operational details very quickly. They manage the things that build a strong reputation in the market. Transformational leaders shoot for ambitious goals while trying to achieve success through vision and team-building skills. Overall, different management styles are suited for different situations. One may needs to possess the skills of both leadership roles. Many times for minimum wage employees, the transactional approach would be more effective. Shift supervisors may also benefit from the transactional approach because they will need to pay attention to the small details. However, a COE with exempt employees will benefit more from a transformational leadership style. They need to have the ability to communicate, plan strategically, and pass missions down to implement details. Marketing Channels is similar to the ways that services and products are distributed. These concepts can be applied to channels in marketing and used as promotional channels. These channels include both direct and indirect marketing. Both of these concepts are extremely vital for various reasons, mainly because companies have to focus particularly on these. Direct marketing can allow a consumer to buy a product by communicating with several advertising media without having to meet in person with a salesman. This includes mail-order selling, direct mail sales, catalog sales, telemarketing, interactive media, and televised home shopping. Examples include distribution channels because they increase the convenience on a product or services to a customer. When customers have easy access, in most cases the demand of the product increases. It is because of distribution channels, that most retailers are wholesalers in the market. Marketing channels are also essential to the marketplace. These channels make the company aware of the needs and demands. Going back to direct and indirect marketing channels, they may sell to wholesalers, who in return, sell to retailers, or sell directly to retail stores. Companies can also use dependent or independent marketing channels. An example of an independent marketing channel would be a manufacturer’s representative. They usually sell the same or similar products to several different manufacturers. These people try to push better selling brands in retail stores, but they are not dependent on sales of the brands and can sell other brands because they are still profiting (Suttle, 2013). However, dependent channels such as small manufacturers rely on wholesalers to market their products to retailers. They also strongly rely on retailors to properly execute their promotions and sales. In the United states, channel members collectively earn margins that account for 30 to 50 percent of the ultimate selling price (Kotler, 2006). There is a very high cost involved with the marketing channel process. Most business are more likely to use several different channels, whether one would think of them as a channel or not. These include but are not limited to print advertising, email campaigns, pay-per-click marketing, direct mails, and banner ads. All of these are used to promote different products and services. The main concept to gather from a marketing channel is that it is a set of interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for the use or consumptions by the consumer or business user. Marketing channel functions are performed by intermediaries. This includes a transitional function that is a result of buying, selling, and risk taking. Then there is the logistical function which involves assorting, storing, sorting, and transporting. Last, the facilitating function is incorporated by financing, grading, and marketing information and research. An industrial distributer in involved with a variety of marketing channel performances. These include selling, stocking, and delivering a full product assortment and financing. In smaller words, they act like wholesalers. When making the decision of what marketing channel to use, differential advantages can occur when a company retains a long-term advantage positions in the market that is relative to competitors. IT is important to choose the correct channel design because it directly influences all other marketing decisions and is also the key external resource for many manufacturers. When making these choices, one must ask three questions. 1. How close a relationship should be developed witht the channel members? In question 1, the factors to be considered include: distribution intensity, targeted markets, products, company policies, middlemen, environment, and behavioral dimensions. Who is doing the buying? Where, when and how end users but? 2. How should the marketing mix be used to enhance channel member cooperation? In questions 2, the company must have a firm grasp on the marketing mix. This include the product strategy such as quality branding, pricing strategy such as wholesale/retail/consumer, promotions strategy rather it is push/pull, and a distribution strategy. 3. How should the channel members be motivated to cooperate in achieving manufacturer’s distribution objectives? In question 3, a company needs to know the motivation of the channel members. They need an idea of what portfolio concept they will use for motivating ifferent types and sizes on channel members. Berman, B. Marketing channels: John Wiley & Sons Inc. , New York, 1999, ISBM-13; 978-0471362616. Delton, L. E. , Strutton, D. Marketing Channels: A Relationship management Approach. New York: Prentice Hall, 1997. Frazier, G. L. Organizing and managing channels of distribution// Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 27, No 2, Spring 1999, p. 226-241 Guibert, N. Network governance in marketing commitment in business-to-business channels// Journal of Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 2004, Vol. 2, No 6, p. 636-651. Remaining a small business is not easy. However, remaining small can have its advantages when it comes to business. One question many entrepreneurs ask them self is whether to stay small or expand. In some cases this decision can have its advantages and disadvantages. Why keep your business small? Staying small keeps the founder in close contact with the business, enables personalized service, enables flexibility, and you can make a profit sooner. Small keeps the founder in close contact with the business. You have the opportunity to be more personal and interactive with the customer. You can stay more attentive to feedback and hands-on interaction. This enables you to make decisions more quickly and carefully. When you have a larger business, decision can sometimes take too long and too can leave you with damaging results. Small enable personalized service and flexibility. A majority of communication in small businesses is between the customer and the company. There is usually not a chain that a customer has to go through when they need something. If they have an area of concern or need an answer quickly, small businesses make the process much more friendly to the customer. When you are small, you are much more flexible to adapt to change. You can tweak rules and policies that better benefit customers. Small also allows for a faster profit. You can save money in overhead much easier along with salary and benefit cost while keeping expenses low. By doing this, profit adds up at a much faster rate. When your company is just ran a few or a handful of people, there are opportunities that can be offered to you that you would not typically get in a larger business. You have more customer contact which gives you the leg up when dealing with customer objections and ways to overcome the challenges. A small business can also be cheap. The internet has cut many overheads of running a business. In the past, business owners needed to buy phones, land lines, offices, office equipment etc. These days, all they need is a website and a few business cards. â€Å"People make the mistake of believing that being bigger and more complex makes them better. This can be the opposite: the more simple and small your business is the better you product or service is going to be (Westbrook, 2011). Actor Rainn Wilson, who plays Dwight on the popular sitcom The Office. Wilson is the co-founder for soulpancake. co, which is a social networking site for people who are interested in debating life’s big questions. They ask questions and then have discussion with others on the site. This creates a platform for interaction rather that a traditional content site. It also allows users to define the content and enables soulpancake to be more malleable as a business (Elliott, 2013). Rainn enjoys keeping his business small and is not concerned with expanding the business. By keeping this website distant from networks such as twitter and facebook, he feels that the users can feel freer to express their philosophical thoughts with each other. Vector Resources, Inc. is a woman-owned small business that provides a variety os technical support services to the government as well as the private sector clients. Their small business success has been geared around their commitment to customer satisfaction. They work in partnership with their customers to understand their needs and priorities and provide responsive, value-added support (Weisband, 2002). Vector has remained a successful small business because they keep the company in close contact with the business, they enable personalized services, enable flexibility, and they make their profits sooner. Instead of being afraid, Vector embraces the fact that they are a small business. They are not ashamed and do not try to go large. They grow off the idea that a business will only be small once so take advantage and appreciate it while it lasts. Owning a small business also has its advantages when it comes to fraud controls. In 2012 only 56% of small business experience external audits, whereas larger business had 91% audited. Small business received fraud training at 18. 5% compared to nearly 60% at larger organizations. â€Å"The percentage of small organizations that have formal controls in place is just so dwarfed by the large organizations,† Andi McNeal, CPA said. He also goes on to say â€Å"We noticed a real opportunity for small organizations to invest in simple measure, even a code of conduct, which frankly shouldn’t cost more than a handful of hours of employee’s time. † With this being said, training for employees is reduced as well as the risk that larger businesses have to maneuver past.