Analysis and Summary of Thomas L. Friedmans Views on...

Since the advancement of the world civilizations, the world gradually became smaller in terms of connection. From the first trades between cities in the early centuries of the Common Era, to the current day where civilizations are the most advanced compared to before. Communication is the key point of the progress of humanity. The biggest change and acceleration of communication happened starting from the dawn of the 21st century. This all happened in the last hundred years when the world reshaped in terms of politics, communities, technology, and most importantly the ways of communication. As much as these progresses have their positive effects, they can still be dangerous if businesses, governments and even people don’t keep with it. One†¦show more content†¦4. Open Sourcing (Uploading): this marks the begging of the collaboration of people from around the world to create all kinds of software, websites, and databases as an open source to everyone. 5. Outsourcing: the ability for a certain company to divide the component of its products and produce them in different places to achieve the most efficient and cost-effective way. 6. Offshoring: is relatively the same as outsourcing, except it is manufacturing the products in outside of the company’s original country mostly due to lower labor cost in other countries. 7. Supply Chaining: the shipping, and distributing of sales mostly through technology to maximize the sales of items. 8. Insourcing: Is doing the work of a certain company by another company on their behalf. 9. In-Forming: considered one of the most effective flatteners. This includes search engines on the Internet as it gives almost infinite information accessible to all people. 10. The Steroids: most trendy flattener for the young people. These include smartphones, iPods, digital assistance, IM, and VOIP These flatteners had their significant impacts on the world as Friedman argues. However, these flatteners didn’t impact the world equally, each country was influenced by these flatteners in a way or another. Iraq is one of those countries that were definitely affected by these flatteners but in different ways than other countries. In my opinion, the In-Forming flattener had its most impacts on Iraq. Since theShow MoreRelatedThe World Is Flat, By Thomas L. Friedman1454 Words   |  6 PagesThe World Is Flat is a visionary and insightful text written by Thomas L. Friedman. In short, the text brings about the study of globalization at its forefront. Moreover, Friedman analyzes the evolution of business and importance of information with respect not only to the 21st century, but with regards to the history of trade as we know it. It is from this study and understanding that Friedman engages in a detailed thought process as to how an institution, government, or individual can rema in competitiveRead MoreThe Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility: a Review of Concepts, Research and Practice15551 Words   |  63 Pagesassociation founded in 1992 to provide corporations with expertise on the subject and an opportunity for business executives to advance the ï ¬ eld and learn from one another. There has been an explosion of interest in CSR in the European Union and around the world. The London-based  © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and British Academy of Management. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA 86 Ethical Corporation is anotherRead MoreHistory of Management Thought Revision17812 Words   |  72 Pagesexclusive social club. Yet, due to failing eyesight, he did not go to Harvard as planned but started as a factory apprentice. His early experiences as a worker would shape his view of management. 2. Taylor at Midvale Steel a. Started as a laborer, rose into management. This would lead to his â€Å"shop management† point of view. b. Took a home study course to get his college degree in mechanical engineering. c. As a worker, then a first line supervisor, he observed numerous industrial practices

Law and Order Situation Free Essays

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan came into being on August 14, 1947. Pakistan has a strategic location in South Asia, surrounded by India, China, Afghanistan and Iran. Pakistan has a total area of 803,940 sq. We will write a custom essay sample on Law and Order Situation or any similar topic only for you Order Now km and an estimated population of 170 million. Pakistan is a federation, with four federating units, called Provinces, namely, Punjab, Sindh, North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Baluchistan. The capital is Islamabad, and the tribal belt adjoining the NWFP is managed by the Federal Government and is know as FATA i. e; Federally Administered Tribal Areas.Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas have their own political system, yet certain of their subjects are taken care of by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas. The Provinces are further divided into Divisions and Districts. The basic administrative unit is a district, being governed by the District Nazim, popularly elected, who is supported by a senior civil officer called District Coordination Officer (DCO) and the District Police Officer (DPO) in the smooth running of the local government, rather a new system introduced by the President Pervez Musharraf regime in 2000 and 2002. Pakistan has a parliamentary form of government, and the Parliament consists of two Houses, i. e; the Senate (Upper House), giving equal representation to all Provinces, and the national Assembly (Lower House), representing the nation on population and direct adult voting system. The Senate is a permanent legislative body and consists of 100 members. The National Assembly has a total of 342 elected members (272 general seats, 60 women seats and 10 non-muslims (minority) seats). The President is the Head of State and the Prime Minister is the Head of Government.The Provinces have their own Provincial Assemblies, the Chief Minister, and a Governor, who is a nominee of the Federal Government through the President of Pakistan. Pakistan has enormous importance due to her strategic location; her being the front line state during the Soviet invasion on Afghanistan (1979-1988), and now a front line of defence and a staunch ally of the Allied Nations in the global war on terror. Pakistan has tremendous human and natural resources, excellent minds and brains, beautiful historical places, arts and literature, and has been contributing to the world peace and progress hrough various international forums, like UN and its Agencies, OIC , SAARC and other international organizations of which Pakistan is a member .The literacy rate is 53% the national language is Urdu and the official language is English; 97% population is muslims and 3% minority (Christian, Hindus, and others). Annual per capita income is $ 736; population growth rate is 1. 29 and the life expectancy is 64. About 65% population is in urban area. However, the UNDP Index for Pakistan is at a lower rank due to some of her poor socio-economic indicators. Many more details about Pakistan could be found on her official website www. gov. k , and its various ministries and departments. LAW AND ORDER SITUATION IN PAKISTAN: After 9/11, the US/Nato forces invaded and bombard the Afghan nation, sometimes indiscriminately, which led to the desired goal of destruction of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, but in addition, gave rise to a lot of internal and external problems for Pakistan: the economy, internal security environment and social tranquility jolted badly due to such problems. The spill-over effect of Taliban from Afghanistan into the tribal belt of Pakistan has been under continuous discussion in the western media and US administration, both civilian and military departments.Right from the every day reports of various research institutes in USA and news stories of Washington Post, the New York Times, etc to the well-researched analysis and reports of EUROPOL (TE-SAT,EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report , 2008) and Council on Foreign Relations report on ‘Securing Pakistan’s Tribal Belt (Daniel Mark ey, 2008), Pakistan remains in the mainstream of our debate on war on terror. Pakistan has deployed more than 90,000 security forces on the Pakistani side of Afghan border, with more than 900 check points to stop cross border movement of Afghan-Taliban and other miscreants.Pakistan received a death toll of 1200 security forces in tribal areas during the ongoing war on terror and hundreds of civilians and police in the settled/urban districts. A cascade of suicide attacks in 2007 horribly terrorized the nation and literally pardysed the local administration. The general public has greater grievances against the western nations, especially the USA which alongwith Nato forces carries out unnecessary airstrikes on Pakistan tribal areas, on the pretext of ‘actionanble-intelligence’ against Al-Qaeda stalwarts, the results of which have never been tangible and visible.Rather, the illiterate tribal people and other population of the country take it for unwarranted instigation and looking for lame excuses to attack Pakistan’s tribal territories, most often, allegedly pushed by some unfriendly elements. Pakistan’s tribal areas (seven Tribal Agencies and six Frontier Regions) are usually described by the US as ‘safe-haven’ for Al-Qaeda, which is strongly rebutted by the government and general masses.There might be some Afghan-Taliban elements in these areas, who might have been hiding in the rugged mountains of the tribal belt, but it is not acceptable that they can visibly operates or organize their activities in any part therein. The US/Nato airstikes on Pakistan’s tribal areas have never been a success in chasing and hitting any high valued target so far. All their claims are debated and challenged. Some times innocent children, women and Pakistan’s security forces are hit and killed, as often happen in Afghanistan as a result of ‘unintentional’ and ‘friendly fire’!Unfortunately, no one has undeniable facts and figures about the various kinds of Taliban and there is no good research about their organization, structure, style finances, strength, weaknesses and gradual infiltration, tactical retreat and resurgence. This development at the international scene has made things worse for the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) in the country, especially the police who have never been trained and equipped to deal with terrorist activities suicide bombing and IEDs. The unofficial statistics for terrorist activities are much higher than the official figures.However, we still rely on the statistics provided by the National Police Bureau in its report on National Public Safety Commission. Figure-I gives a details of these terrorist activities and bomb blasts a nd the passage below gives a comprehensive account of all other recorded and cognizable crimes through out the country. Figure-I As many as 537866 cases were registered in the country during 2006 as compared to 447745 cases recorded during 2005 thereby showing an increase of 90111 (20. 1%) cases. Punjab registered a rise of 66306 (24%) cases, Sindh 10520 (22. %) cases; NWFP 11612 (11. 2%) cases, Baluchistan 1137 (16. 9%) cases, Islamabad 556 (14. 7%) cases and AJK 376 (7. 9%) cases. However, there was a decrease of 159 (5. 5%) cases recorded by Railways police, and 237 (12. 8%) cases in Northern Areas. †¢ Murder: showed a rise of 266 (2. 7%) cases in the country including 22 (0. 4%) cases in Punjab; 151 (8. 2%) cases in Sindh; 50 (2. 3%) cases in NWFP; 34 (11. 7%) cases in Baluchistan and 38 (48. 7%) cases in AJK while there was a decrease of 34 (26. 8%) cases in Northern Areas. †¢ Attempt to Murder: rose by 691 (5. %) cases in the country; 371 (5. 2%) cases in Punjab; 143 (5. 9%) cases in Sindh; 102 (3. 9%) cases in NWFP; 64 (22. 1%) cases in Baluchistan; 31 (29. 2%) cases in Islamabad and 32 (9. 3%) cases in AJK while there occurred a decrease of 59 (42. 1 %) cases in Northern Areas. †¢ Rioting: showed a rise of 710 (22. 4%) cases in the country including 30 (19. 7%) cases in Punjab; 486 (21. 5%) cases in Sindh; 93 (30. 2%) cases in Baluchistan and 126 (40. 5%) cases in AJK while there was a fell of 22 (23. 4%) cases in Northern Areas. Assault on Public Servants: increased by 700 (21%) cases in the country including 235 (19. 1%) cases in Punjab; 409 (31. 1%) cases in Sindh; 21 (5. 9%) cases in NWFP; 8 (5. 4%) cases in Baluchistan and 45 (42. 1%) cases in AJK while there occurred a decrease of 10 (10. 6%) cases in Northern Areas. †¢ Zina: crime recorded under this head rose by 116 (5. 8%) cases in the country; 80 (5. 7%) cases in Punjab; 60 (30. 8%) cases in Sindh and 11 (15. 3%) cases in Islamabad while there was a fall of 13 (19. 7%) cases in Baluchistan and 14 (66. 7%) cases in Northern Areas. Kidnapping/Abduction: showed an increase of 1320 (15%) cases in the country; 1052 (15. 3%) cases in Punjab; 98 (7. 7%) cases in Sindh: 52 (11. 5%) cases in NWFP; 53 (59. 6%) cases id Baluchistan; 8 (72. 7%) cases in Islamabad. 12 (100%) in Northern Areas and 50 (44. 6%) cases in AJK. †¢ Kidnapping for Ransom: rose by 70 (32. 3%) cases in the country including 23 (20. 5%) cases in Punjab; 23 (36. 5%) cases in Sindh; 21 (77. 8%) cases in NWFP and 4 (50%) cases in Baluchistan. †¢ Suicide: showed a rise of 24 (14. 6%) cases in the country.There was an increase of 9 (225%) cases in Punjab and 15(11. 1%) cases in Sindh. †¢ Highway Dacoity: increased by 20 (21. 3%) cases in the country. There was an increase of 12 (54. 5%) cases in Sindh and 8 (100%) cases in Baluchistan. †¢ Other Dacoity: increased by 478 (21. 1%) cases in the country including 247 (16. 7%) cases in Punjab; 207 (30. 1%) cases in Sindh; 22 (78. 6%) cases in Baluchistan and 12 (100%) cases in Islamabad. †¢ Highway Robbery: rose by 63 (41. 2%) cases in the country; 43 (34. 4%) cases in Punjab; 10 (76. 9%) cases in Sindh and 10 cases in NWFP. Other Robbery: showed a rise of 2411 (19. 7%) cases in the country; 1640 (18. 7%) cases in Punjab; 722 (23. 8%) cases in Sindh and 70 (89. 7%) cases in Islamabad while there occurred a decrease of 16 (11. 9%) cases in NWFP and 7(11. 5%) cases in AJK. †¢ Motor Vehicle Theft/Snatching: increased by 3056 (18. 7%) cases in the country including 1587 (16. 6%) cases in Punjab; 1107 (20. 9%) cases in Sindh; 64 (12. 6%) cases in NWFP; 181 (41%) cases in Baluchistan; 93 (22. 9%) cases in Islamabad; 11 (57. 9%) cases in Northern Areas and 9 (10. 2%) cases in AJK. How to cite Law and Order Situation, Essays

Scientific revolution free essay sample

Between the years of 1550 to 1750, the Scientific Revolution encouraged new ideas and theories regarding life, humans, and the universe. The great thinkers of this period such as Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Bacon, and Decartes all challenged religion and philosophy when they delved into the world of science and logical thinking. Many topics like Nicolaus Copernicus’ heliocentric view of the universe not only challenged the church, but also altered the way people viewed God and their faith. As logical and rational thought started to spread, the use of mathematics to have a better understanding of things spread as well, resulting in new ideas and views of philosophy. The people soon began to grasp these concepts, which resulted in their questioning of the church and the way they viewed life. Before scientists began looking up into the sky for answers, the church had provided the people with the knowledge they needed. The Catholic Church had always taught and believed that the earth was the center of the universe and that all things such as the planets, moons, and suns revolved around us because God loved us so much that he made us the center of His universe. We will write a custom essay sample on Scientific revolution or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When Copernicus proposed his hypothesis: the idea that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe, the church decided that the theory was false and they rejected it. Even though they did this, it raised a few questions within the scientific community. Kepler, Brahe’s assistant, used part of Brahe’s work to mathematically prove Copernicus’ theory to be true. Others came forth with findings of their own that also supported Copernicus’ theory. One of these people was Galileo whose discoveries made Catholic believers question the doctrines of the church. The people wondered to what extent did their faith answer the questions of the universe. Sir Isaac Newton was able to combine the work of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo into one theory that allowed him to believe that you do not need religion to explain the things that happen on earth, you just need reason. This ultimately drove believers and supporters of the church to rethink their life and what it means to believe in the Catholic faith. As rational thinking became popular, so did new ideas and views about how people saw themselves and the way they lived their lives. More and more scientists and other people used the scientific method and mathematics to prove things for themselves. As their logical thinking increased, their previous concepts soon diminished. Things like the geocentric theory were proven wrong while law of the earth, like the law of gravity, were being proven true. Often, the church tried to write the scientists off as heretics because of their unorthodox beliefs and because it went against the church’s teachings. The scientists were so curious about the world and the universe around it that they didn’t stop; they kept making remarkable advances in the society that they lived in. The great scientific and mathematical thinkers of the Scientific Revolution inspired people to change their ways of life and their beliefs. The new view of the universe and its heliocentric nature shifted the faith of devout religious people away from the church. People were encouraged to learn mathematics and literature. Between the years of 1550 and 1750, old religious theories were slowly dismissed as new rational theories and philosophies became popular and reigned true.

Shane Essays - English-language Films, Shane, Homestead Acts

Shane Shane is a classic example of western fiction in which Schaefer contrasts the values of the isolated family farm with the lawlessness of the cowtown. Shane, the gunfighter protagonist, attempts to find peace with the farmers but can only help clear away the violence for the civilization the farmers bring. Schaefer reveals the difficult struggles of homesteaders who fight to bring justice to an ungoverned land, and strives to fulfill the hopes and promises of prosperity to their families. The reality in the struggles of these farmers were supported with an accurate correspondence to history (e.g. The Homestead Act) and with detailed and atmospheric languages. The language is easily understandable and helps the reader to better comprehend the book. It is simply a great page turner. Although it is a fictional work, it does not fail to portray the harsh life style of the westerners of the 1800's. While the book depicts some of the western struggles, it adds an element of suspense as a novel as well with the battle between a protagonist and antagonists. Images of blood occur often in the book to emphasize the risk involved in living a western life, especially where justice does not exist. The simple language of the book does not hinder from creating its lively images, rather it makes it easier for the readers to comprehend the book. The absence of flashbacks or allusions further strengthens the simplicity of the book. The story is told through the eyes of an omniscient observer who especially concentrates on the Starrett family. Such concentration does not allow the reader to observe the lifestyles of other homesteaders; the Starrett family basically symbolizes the homesteader of that era. This particular view- point favors the triumph of good versus the evil. This old-fashioned philosophy on the battles between the good versus evil is still a universal theme, and therefore is able to appeal to today's young readers. Despite the brevity of the book, Schaefer has included all the necessary items to describe the lives of homesteaders: the struggle against famines, the competition for more land, etc. The author has limited the sophistication of its language because the novel is geared toward younger ages, and to tell the lives of simple homesteaders in a simple and undisguised way. Furthermore, the author has admirably utilized its simple language to bring a novel filled with gracious images of hope and death. The universal theme of good versus evil creates the suspense required for the novel and is appealing even to the modern society. This novel is more than a mere juvenile literature because it teaches the cruelty of life in the society by using the homesteader, which can be better related to adults.

Free Essays on What Ethics Means To Me

To me, ethics is a very strong word and tells a lot about who you are as a person. In today’s modern world, people’s ethics have changed drastically if you compare them to our parents’ generation. We see more and more in the news that people are finally becoming aware of the dangers that pollution, second-hand smoke, and global warming have on our society. Yet on the other hand, the corporate world is finding excuses and loop holes in policies and laws that have been created to keep pollution emissions at their current levels and to keep their profits increasing. Companies buy pollution credits from other companies that don’t use them and cheat people and companies to make themselves a quick dollar. I myself as a person, don’t agree with the way people are very selfish and are out only to benefit themselves. Although I have not been in the position to hold a job at a corporation or big business, I have had the experience of being in a large school for the past five years and have built up friendships with many people in my age group. Over the past few years, I have witnessed them develop as a person and for the most part people have turned out pretty good. At the start of this school year, I started noticing that more and more of my friends were starting to tutor younger students, donate plasma, and do volunteer work in the community. I have been assisting my peers and volunteering for many years and at first I thought that these people were becoming better people. I was very wrong. I soon found out when I was talking to them that they were doing it for completely selfish reasons. The only reason that they were doing these services was to improve their chances of getting into University and obtaining scholarships. Now although the community is temporarily benefiting from these students helping in various volunteer opportunities, they were doing it for completely the wrong reasons and I do not agree with wh... Free Essays on What Ethics Means To Me Free Essays on What Ethics Means To Me To me, ethics is a very strong word and tells a lot about who you are as a person. In today’s modern world, people’s ethics have changed drastically if you compare them to our parents’ generation. We see more and more in the news that people are finally becoming aware of the dangers that pollution, second-hand smoke, and global warming have on our society. Yet on the other hand, the corporate world is finding excuses and loop holes in policies and laws that have been created to keep pollution emissions at their current levels and to keep their profits increasing. Companies buy pollution credits from other companies that don’t use them and cheat people and companies to make themselves a quick dollar. I myself as a person, don’t agree with the way people are very selfish and are out only to benefit themselves. Although I have not been in the position to hold a job at a corporation or big business, I have had the experience of being in a large school for the past five years and have built up friendships with many people in my age group. Over the past few years, I have witnessed them develop as a person and for the most part people have turned out pretty good. At the start of this school year, I started noticing that more and more of my friends were starting to tutor younger students, donate plasma, and do volunteer work in the community. I have been assisting my peers and volunteering for many years and at first I thought that these people were becoming better people. I was very wrong. I soon found out when I was talking to them that they were doing it for completely selfish reasons. The only reason that they were doing these services was to improve their chances of getting into University and obtaining scholarships. Now although the community is temporarily benefiting from these students helping in various volunteer opportunities, they were doing it for completely the wrong reasons and I do not agree with wh...

A Letter Concerning the Tuition Fee Increase in the Campus Essay Example for Free

A Letter Concerning the Tuition Fee Increase in the Campus Essay ? This academic year in our school had been very exciting and full of learning for the students. The school had been efficient enough in providing us the quality education that students’ need in preparation of their future careers. However it had been a serious issue in the campus among us, students, the continued increase in our tuition and other fees.   Students see, that in order to escalate further the quality of education in our school, the school has to face strenuous modifications in technology, books, and other school facilities. However, there would always a need for students to be consulted first about the issue, because these matters would always concern us. Along with the increase in the tuition fee is the increase in all other fees. Why? First, if the school would not fight for a greater state subsidy, then the school had to pay for the bills, the salary as well as to the technology and materials it would employed. With this matter, the budget would come from the tuition of the students and everything else would be increased; Internet fee, laboratory fee, school paper, etc. Second, education is supposed to be a right and not just a privilege, but with the continued increase in the tuition fee, along with other miscellaneous fees in the campus, there had been an apparent decline in the enrollment rate compared to the previous years. This only shows that few students were able to access the right to education because of the increase. Hence, there is a significant relationship between tuition fee increase and to the limited access of students to education (Dalton 2006). A similar study from the Rand Corporation in 1995 indicated that for every 10percent increase in the tuition fee of the students, there would be a 1.97 percent in the enrollment of the focus of study. Third, the effect of tuition fee and other fee increases would be felt less by those of the middle class brackets. Most of the burden would be felt by those in the lower class; usually with among black and with ethnic backgrounds. Accordingly, majority of the students in most schools were usually coming from the lower bracket and they were the ones who were greatly affected. The school is the only way for these students to move to the next ladder in the society. The tendencies for these students are to dropout or to transfer to a cheaper school with low educational standards. Needless to say, the educational preparation that they got is not enough to equip them for a high paying job in the future. The tuition fee increase that the school implemented is a subtle permit for the state to less care for the educational welfare of its citizens. Students are wary of the fact, that because of the tuition fee increase, we have to burden ourselves with part time jobs more than double just to compensate for the shortage in budget. Students recognized that tuition fee increase in needed to uplift the educational quality in this school. However, it is too fast and too soon to implement. Students are not prepared yet; emotionally, physically and financially.   There was no consultation in the increase in fees. It had always been our right to know and the responsibility for this school to be transparent. The students carried the baggage of financial hardship just to beautify the school, but the education that we got before then was still the same as now. Except of course in slight innovations in the laboratory facilities and in technology, the same education system we got from the school. If tuition fee increase is really bound to happen, we wanted to be prepared for it. We wanted an apparent positive change in the learning that we got; of course it is not to say that we got no learning from this school, it is just that, the change in learning is just minimal. This school has been our battleground to combat poverty, to uplift our situations and to gain learning. If the school is to increase its tuition fee and other fees, we expect that it would also provide subsidy through scholarship, or other alternative solutions to augment our financial difficulties. As well as it is the responsibility of our parents to finance our education; it is also the responsibility of the state to provide to its people the right to education. But how could we get this if tour very right has now become a mere privilege. The sad fact is, not the privilege of the majority but of the few only.   If we are destined to suffer from the tuition fee and other fee increases, would it be right that we would also demand great changes in everything. Would the payment that we give, be enough for us to pose subordinate command over our instructors and over other employees; anyway, we paid for them. Students believe, that in this school, students of characters should be made and not just a mere passive, technologically dependent ones. We need support to develop our minds, which is the role of this school. But where would we go now if this school would deprive us of that need? We seek to be consulted first, we need data of its great benefits on us, and we need alternatives for the increase that is accessible for everybody and not only for the few. [Name of the Sender] [Position/Occupation] Works Cited Dalton, McGuinty. â€Å"Canandian Federation of students.† 8 March 2006 A Letter Concerning the Tuition Fee Increase in the Campus. (2017, Feb 21).

Epidemiology study case and powerpoint Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Epidemiology and powerpoint - Case Study Example This prompted the epidemiology team to be called to the scene. After the health department had conducted investigation, the following results were revealed in the list of food that was eaten by the students during the party, the total student who ate a particular food and the illness tabulation. Following the complaints of vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pains filed by the students, the department of epidemiological health decided to send health team for fieldwork to determine the number of cases. in addition, the health team was also to collect samples to verify the diagnosis of the outbreak. In addition, enough information was collected on the types of food the students ate at the party using questionnaires that were filled by the students. Through the fieldwork conducted by the health team epidemiologist, they concluded that there was an outbreak of a disease in the AHS 360 class after the students who attended the party showed similar symptoms hours after the party. After verifying the disease outbreak in the class, the health team further decided to verify the existence of the epidemic using the cases observed and the estimated number of cases. The decision to launch the investigation was influenced by the severity of the illness, potential ability to spread and the control measures available. The health team collected samples for clinical findings and laboratory examination to verify the exact disease outbreak following symptoms that detail foodborne disease. From the clinical features presented by the students, the results of the questionnaires answered, epidemiological risk rate and the laboratory examination, it was concluded that Bacillus Cereus was the actual causative agent to the disease outbreak in AHS 360 class. It was confirmed that those students who attended the party and ate food were at a risk of developing symptoms of the disease compared to those who did not attend the party. In addition, those who attended the party and did not eat any

Visiting the museums Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Visiting the museums - Research Proposal Example Paintings and sculptures are some of the fascinating views found in the museum. All these together with creative drawings and paintings add up to more than 20, 000 collections of creative works. There are six exhibitions that are permanent in the National Portrait Gallery. It also contains sculptures and drawings of past American presidents. America’s history about the origin of Americans is presented by informed workers in the gallery. The available exhibitions normally feature the prominent people who excelled in entertainment and sports in the 20th century. The Smithsonian American Art Museum holds a large variety of American art. It is most likely the largest collection of American art globally. So many artworks dated from the seventeenth century are present in this museum. The largely inclusive visual arts in the museum present a variety of exhibits of the American history. Visitors are presented with gifts, reading materials and graphics in the stores of the museum. Most of the catalogues and books are on American art. There are millions of artistic objects associated with America’s history. It is hard for a visitor to go through all of these in one day. There are staffs who guide visitors through the museum as well as activities in which they participate in order to facilitate their learning. The museum is situated in the National Mall. This is found between the Capitol Building and the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. It is usually open from September to June. In the museum visitors learn much about American Indian culture. The museum staffs are experienced people who took me and other visitors all over the exhibitions explaining in detail and answering questions from their audience. They offer guided tours depending on the interests of the visitors. The staffs are American Indian professionals whose experience is evident from the

Google Inc. is an American multinational corporation Essay Example for Free

Google Inc. is an American multinational corporation Essay These include search, cloud computing, software, and online advertising technologies. Most of its profits are derived from AdWords. Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University. Together they own about 16 percent of its shares. They incorporated Google as a privately held company on September 4, 1998. An initial public offering followed on August 19, 2004. Its mission statement from the outset was to organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful, and its unofficial slogan was Dont be evil. In 2006 Google moved to headquarters in Mountain View, California, nicknamed the Googleplex. Rapid growth since incorporation has triggered a chain of products, acquisitions and partnerships beyond Googles core search engine. It offers online productivity software including email, an office suite, and social networking . Desktop products include applications for web browsing, organizing and editing photos, and instant messaging. The company leads the development of the Android mobile operating system and the browser-only Chrome OS for a netbook known as a Chromebook. Google has moved increasingly into communications hardware: it partners with major electronics manufacturers in production of its high-end Nexus devices and acquired Motorola Mobility in May 2012. In 2012, a fiber-optic infrastructure was installed in Kansas City to facilitate a Google Fiber broadband service. The corporation has been estimated to run more than one million servers in data centers around the world and to process over one billion search requests and about 24 petabytes of user-generated data each day. In December 2012 Alexa listed google.com as the most visited website in the world. Numerous Google sites in other languages figure in the top one hundred, as do several other Google-owned sites such as YouTube and Blogger. Its market dominance has led to criticism over issues including copyright, censorship, and privacy. History Google began in January 1996 as a research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin when they were both PhD students at Stanford University in Stanford, California. While conventional search engines ranked results by counting how many times the search terms appeared on the page, the two theorized about a  better system that analyzed the relationships between websites. They called this new technology PageRank; it determined a websites relevance by the number of pages, and the importance of those pages, that linked back to the original site. A small search engine called RankDex from IDD Information Services designed by Robin Li was, since 1996, already exploring a similar strategy for site-scoring and page ranking. The technology in RankDex would be patented and used later when Li founded Baidu in China. Page and Brin originally nicknamed their new search engine BackRub, because the system checked backlinks to estimate the importance of a site. Eventually, they changed the name to Google, originating from a misspelling of the word googol, the number one followed by one hundred zeros, which was picked to signify that the search engine was intended to provide large quantities of information. Originally, Google ran under Stanford Universitys website, with the domains google.stanford.edu and z.stanford.edu. The domain name for Google was registered on September 15, 1997, and the company was incorporated on September 4, 1998. It was based in a friends . In January 2013, Google announced it had earned $50 billion in annual revenue for the year of 2012. This marked the first time the company had reached this feat, topping their 2011 total of $38 billion. Financing and initial public offering The first funding for Google was an August 1998 contribution of from Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, given before Google was incorporated. Early in 1999, while graduate students, Brin and Page decided that the search engine they had developed was taking up too much time and distracting their academic pursuits. They went to Excite CEO George Bell and offered to sell it to him for $1 million. He rejected the offer and later criticized Vinod Khosla, one of Excites venture capitalists, after he negotiated Brin and Page down to $750,000. On June 7, 1999, a $25 million round of funding was announced, with major investors including the venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers and Sequoia Capital. The company offered 19,605,052 shares at a price of $85 per share. Shares were sold in an online auction format using a system built by Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, underwriters for the deal. The sale of $1.67 billion gave Google a market capitalization of more than $23 billion. The vast majority  of the 271 million shares remained under the control of Google, and many Google employees became instant paper millionaires. Yahoo!, a competitor of Google, also benefited because it owned 8.4 million shares of Google before the IPO took place. There were concerns that Googles IPO would lead to changes in company culture. Reasons ranged from shareholder pressure for employee benefit reductions to the fact that many company executives would become instant paper millionaires. As a reply to this concern, co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page promised in a report to potential investors that the IPO would not change the companys culture. In 2005, articles in The New York Times and other sources began suggesting that Google had lost its anti-corporate, no evil philosophy. In an effort to maintain the companys unique culture, Google designated a Chief Culture Officer, who also serves as the Director of Human Resources. The purpose of the Chief Culture Officer is to develop and maintain the culture and work on ways to keep true to the core values that the company was founded on: a flat organization with a collaborative environment. Google has also faced allegations of sexism and ageism from former employees. The stock performed well after the IPO, with shares hitting $700 for the first time on October 31, 2007, primarily because of strong sales and earnings in the online advertising market. The surge in stock price was fueled mainly by individual investors, as opposed to large institutional investors and mutual funds. The next year, against Page and Brins initial opposition toward an advertising-funded search engine, Google began selling advertisements associated with search keywords. When the company changed names to Overture Services, it sued Google over alleged infringements of the companys pay-per-click and bidding patents. Overture Services would later be bought by Yahoo! and renamed Yahoo! Search Marketing. The case was then settled out of court; Google agreed to issue shares of common stock to Yahoo! in exchange for a perpetual license. In 2001, Google received a patent for its PageRank mechanism. The patent was officially assigned to Stanford University and lists Lawrence Page as the inventor. In 2003, after outgrowing two other locations, the company leased an office complex from Silicon Graphics at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, California. The complex became known as the Googleplex, a play on the word googolplex, the number one followed by a googol zeroes. The Googleplex interiors were designed by Clive Wilkinson Architects. Three  years later, Google bought the property from SGI for $319 million. By that time, the name Google had found its way into everyday language, causing the verb google to be added to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary, denoted as to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet. 2013 onward Google announced the launch of a new company called Calico on September 19, 2013, which will be led by Apple chairman Arthur Levinson. In the official public statement, Page explained that the health and wellbeing company will focus on the challenge of ageing and associated diseases. As of September 2013, Google operates 70 offices in more than 40 countries. Google celebrated its 15-year anniversary on September 27, 2013, although it has used other dates for its official birthday. The reason for the choice of September 27 remains unclear, and a dispute with rival search engine Yahoo! Search in 2005 has been suggested as the cause. The Alliance for Affordable Internet was launched in October 2013 and Google is part of the coalition of public and private organisations that also includes Facebook, Intel and Microsoft. Led by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the A4AI seeks to make Internet access more affordable so that access is broadened in the developing world, where only 31% of people are online. Google will help to decrease internet access prices so that they fall below the UN Broadband Commissions worldwide target of 5% of monthly income. The corporations consolidated revenue for the third quarter of 2013 is reported in mid-October 2013 as US$14.89 billion, a 12 percent increase compared to the previous quarter. Googles Internet business was responsible for US$10.8 billion of this total, with an increase in the number of users clicks on advertisements. Acquisitions and partnerships Since 2001, Google has acquired many companies, primarily small venture capital-funded firms. In 2004, Google acquired Keyhole, Inc. The start-up company developed a product called Earth Viewer that gave a three-dimensional view of the Earth. Google renamed the service to Google Earth in 2005. Google acquired Urchin Software in April 2005, using their Urchin on Demand product to create Google Analytics in 2006. In October 2006, Google announced that it had acquired the video-sharing site YouTube  for US$1.65 billion in Google stock, and the deal was finalized on November 13, 2006. Google does not provide detailed figures for YouTubes running costs, and YouTubes revenues in 2007 were noted as not material in a regulatory filing. In June 2008, a Forbes magazine article projected the 2008 YouTube revenue at US$200 million, noting progress in advertising sales. On April 13, 2007, Google reached an agreement to acquire DoubleClick for $3.1 billion, giving Google valuable relationships that DoubleClick had with Web publishers and advertising agencies. Later that same year, Google purchased GrandCentral for $50 million. The site would later be changed over to Google Voice. On August 5, 2009, Google bought out its first public company, purchasing video software maker On2 Technologies for $106.5 million. Google also acquired Aardvark, a social network search engine, for $50 million, and commented on its internal blog, were looking forward to collaborating to see where we can take it. In April 2010, Google announced it had acquired a hardware startup, Agnilux. In addition to the many companies Google has purchased, the company has partnered with other organizations for research, advertising, and other activities. In 2005, Google partnered with NASA Ames Research Center to build of offices. The offices would be used for research projects involving large-scale data management, nanotechnology, distributed computing, and the entrepreneurial space industry. Google entered into a partnership with Sun Microsystems in October 2005 to help share and distribute each others technologies. The company also partnered with AOL to enhance each others video search services. Googles 2005 partnerships also included financing the new .mobi top-level domain for mobile devices, along with other companies including Microsoft, Nokia, and Ericsson. Google would later launch AdSense for Mobile, taking advantage of the emerging mobile advertising market. Increasing its advertising reach even further, Google and Fox Interactive Media of News Corporation entered into a $900 million agreement to provide search and advertising on the then-popular social networking site MySpace. In 2007, Google began sponsoring NORAD Tracks Santa, displacing former sponsor AOL. NORAD Tracks Santa purports to follow Santa Claus progress on Christmas Eve, using Google Earth to track Santa in 3-D for the first time. Google-owned YouTube gave NORAD Tracks Santa its own channel. In 2008, Google developed a partnership with GeoEye to launch a satellite providing  Google with high-resolution imagery for Google Earth. The satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on September 6, 2008. Google also announced in 2008 that it was hosting an archive of Life Magazines photographs. Some of the images in the archive were never published in the magazine. The photos were watermarked and originally had copyright notices posted on all photos, regardless of public domain status. In 2010, Google Energy made its first investment in a renewable energy project, putting $38.8 million into two wind farms in North Dakota. The company announced the two locations will generate 169.5 megawatts of power, enough to supply 55,000 homes. The farms, which were developed by NextEra Energy Resources, will reduce fossil fuel use in the region and return profits. NextEra Energy Resources sold Google a twenty-percent stake in the project to get funding for its development. In February 2010, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission FERC granted Google an authorization to buy and sell energy at market rates. The order specifically states that Google Energy—a subsidiary of Google—holds the rights for the sale of energy, capacity, and ancillary services at market-based rates, but acknowledges that neither Google Energy nor its affiliates own or control any generation or transmission facilities. The corporation exercised this authorization in September 2013 when it announced that it will purchase all of the electricity produced by the not-yet-built 240-megawatt Happy Hereford wind farm. Also in 2010, Google purchased Global IP Solutions, a Norway-based company that provides web-based teleconferencing and other related services. This acquisition enabled Google to add telephone-style services to its list of products. On May 27, 2010, Google announced it had also closed the acquisition of the mobile ad network AdMob. This occurred days after the Federal Trade Commission closed its investigation into the purchase. Google acquired the company for an undisclosed amount. In July 2010, Google signed an agreement with an Iowa wind farm to buy 114 megawatts of energy for 20 years. On April 4, 2011, The Globe and Mail reported that Google bid $900 million for six thousand Nortel Networks patents. On August 15, 2011, Google made its largest-ever acquisition to-date when announced that it would acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion subject to approval from regulators in the United States and Europe. In a post on Googles blog, Google Chief Executive and co-founder Larry Page revealed that the acquisition was a  strategic move to strengthen Googles patent portfolio. The companys Android operating system has come under fire in an industry-wide patent battle, as Apple and Microsoft have sued Android device makers such as HTC, Samsung, and Motorola. The merger was completed on the May 22, 2012, after the approval of Peoples Republic of China. This purchase was made in part to help Google gain Motorolas considerable patent portfolio on mobile phones and wireless technologies to help protect it in its ongoing patent disputes with other companies, mainly Apple and Microsoft After the acquisition closed, Google began to restructure the Motorola business to fit Googles strategy. On August 13, 2012, Google announced plans to layoff 4000 Motorola Mobility employees. On December 10, 2012, Google sold the manufacturing operations of Motorola Mobility to Flextronics for $75 million. As a part of the agreement, Flextronics will manufacture undisclosed Android and other mobile devices. On December 19, 2012, Google sold the Motorola Home business division of Motorola Mobility to Arris Group for $2.35 billion in a cash-and-stock transaction. As a part of this deal, Google acquired a 15.7% stake in Arris Group valued at $300 million. On June 5, 2012, Google announced it acquired Quickoffice, a company widely known for their mobile productivity suite for both iOS and Android. Google plans to integrate Quickoffices technology into its own product suite. On February 6, 2013, Google announced it had acquired Channel Intelligence for $125 million. Channel Intelligence, a technology company that helps customers buy products online, is active globally in 31 different countries and works with over 850 retailers. Google will use this technology to enhance its e-commerce business. The official confirmation of Googles acquisition of the Israel-based startup Waze occurred in June 2013. Waze is promoted as a community-based traffic and navigation app. Following the acquisition of Waze, Google submitted a 10-Q filing with the Securities Exchange Commission that revealed that the corporation spent US$1.3 billion on acquisitions during the first half of 2013. The filing also revealed that the Waze acquisition cost Google US$966 million, instead of the US$1.1 billion figure that was initially presented in media sources. The 2012 acquisition of WIMM Labs, a company that previously made an Android-powered smartwatch, was confirmed in August 2013. As of August 31, 2013, Google has not publicly commented on the news concerning WIMM Labs. The acquisition of  Flutter, a creator of hand gesture recognition technology, was confirmed by the corporation in early October 2013. The reported price is US$40 million and Google spokesperson stated: Were really impressed by the Flutter teams ability to design new technology based on cutting-edge research. Flutters technology allows users to enact hand gestures to control navigation for apps such as iTunes, Windows Media Player, and Winamp. Google data centers As of 2011, Google Inc. owned and operated six data centers across the U.S., plus one in Finland and another in Belgium. On September 28, 2011, the company announced plans to build three data centers at a cost of more than $200 million in Asia and purchased the land for them. Google said they will be operational within two years. Products and services Advertising For the 2006 fiscal year, the company reported $10.492 billion in total advertising revenues and only $112 million in licensing and other revenues. In 2011, 96% of Googles revenue was derived from its advertising programs. Using technology from the company DoubleClick, Google can determine user interests and target advertisements so they are relevant to their context and the user that is viewing them. Google Analytics allows website owners to track where and how people use their website, for example by examining click rates for all the links on a page. Google advertisements can be placed on third-party websites in a two-part program. Googles AdWords allows advertisers to display their advertisements in the Google content network, through either a cost-per-click or cost-per-view scheme. The sister service, Google AdSense, allows website owners to display these advertisements on their website and earn money every time ads are clicked. One of the criticisms of this program is the possibility of click fraud, which occurs when a person or automated script clicks on advertisements without being interested in the product, causing the advertiser to pay money to Google unduly. Industry reports in 2006 claimed that approximately 14 to 20 percent of clicks were fraudulent or invalid. In February 2003, Google stopped showing the advertisements of Oceana, a non-profit organization protesting a major cruise ships sewage treatment practices. Google cited its editorialpolicy at the time, stating Google does not accept advertising if the ad or site advocates against other individuals, groups, or organizations. The policy was later changed. In June 2008, Google reached an advertising agreement with Yahoo!, which would have allowed Yahoo! to feature Google advertisements on its web pages. The alliance between the two companies was never completely realized because of antitrust concerns by the U.S. Department of Justice. As a result, Google pulled out of the deal in November 2008. In an attempt to advertise its own products, Google launched a website called Demo Slam, developed to demonstrate technology demos of Google Products. Search engine According to market research published by comScore in November 2009, Google Search is the dominant search engine in the United States market, with a market share of 65.6%. Google indexes billions of web pages, so that users can search for the information they desire through the use of keywords and operators. In 2003, The New York Times complained about Googles indexing, claiming that Googles caching of content on its site infringed its copyright for the content. In this case, the United States District Court of Nevada ruled in favor of Google in Field v. Google and Parker v. Google. The publication 2600: The Hacker Quarterly has compiled a list of words that the web giants new instant search feature will not search. Google Watch has criticized Googles PageRank algorithms, saying that they discriminate against new websites and favor established sites. The site has also alleged that there are connections between Google and the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency. Google also hosts Google Books. The company began scanning books and uploading limited previews, and full books where allowed, into its new book search engine. The Authors Guild, a group that represents 8,000 U.S. authors, filed a class action suit in a New York City federal court against Google in 2005 over this service. Google replied that it is in compliance with all existing and historical applications of copyright laws regarding books. Google eventually reached a revised settlement in 2009 to limit its scans to books from the U.S., the UK, Australia, and Canada. Furthermore, the Paris Civil Court ruled against Google in late 2009, asking it to remove the works of La Martinià ¨re from its database. In competition with Amazon.com, Google sells digital versions  of new books. On July 21, 2010, in response to Bing, Google updated its image search to display a streaming sequence of thumbnails that enlarge when pointed at. Though web searches still appear in a batch per page format, on July 23, 2010, dictionary definitions for certain English words began appearing above the linked results for web searches. The Hummingbird update to the Google search engine was announced in September 2013. The update was introduced over the month prior to the announcement and allows users ask the search engine a question in natural language rather than entering keywords into the search box. Productivity tools Gmail, a free webmail service provided by Google, was launched as an invitation-only beta program on April 1, 2004, The service was upgraded from beta status on July 7, 2009, at which time it had 146 million users monthly. The service was the first online email service with one gigabyte of storage. It was also the first to keep emails from the same conversation together in one thread, similar to an Internet forum. The service offers over 15 GB of free storage, shared with other Google Apps, with additional storage ranging from 20 GB to 16 TB available for per 1 GB per year. Gmail uses AJAX, a programming technique that allows web pages to be interactive without refreshing the browser. Steve Ballmer, Liz Figueroa, Mark Rasch, and the editors of Google Watch have criticised the privacy of Gmail, but Google claims that mail sent to or from Gmail is never read by a human being beyond the account holder and is only used to improve relevance of advertisements. In 2004, Google started opensource software project hosting, called Google Code, which allows developers to download incomplete programs at no charge. Google Docs, another part of Googles productivity suite, allows users to create, edit, and collaborate on documents in an online environment, similar to Microsoft Word. The service was originally called Writely, but was obtained by Google on March 9, 2006, and was released as an invitation-only preview. On June 6 after the acquisition, Google created an experimental spreadsheet editing program, which was combined with Google Docs on October 10. Enterprise products Google Search Appliance was launched in February 2002, targeted toward providing search technology for larger organizations. Google Apps allows  organizations to bring Googles web application offerings, such as Gmail and Google Docs, into their own domains. The service is available in several editions: a basic free edition, Google Apps for Business, Google Apps for Education, and Google Apps for Government. In the same year Google Apps was launched, Google acquired Postini and proceeded to integrate the companys security technologies into Google Apps under the name Google Postini Services. Other products Google Translate is a server-side machine translation service, which can translate between 35 different languages. The software uses corpus linguistics techniques, where the program learns from professionally translated documents, specifically UN and European Parliament proceedings. Google launched its Google News service in 2002, an automated service which summarizes news articles from various websites. In March 2005, Agence France Presse sued Google for copyright infringement in federal court in the District of Columbia, a case which Google settled for an undisclosed amount in a pact that included a license of the full text of AFP articles for use on Google News. In 2006, Google made a bid to offer free wireless broadband access throughout the city of San Francisco along with Internet service provider EarthLink. Large telecommunications companies such as Comcast and Verizon opposed the efforts, claiming it was unfair competition and that cities would be violating their commitments to offer local monopolies to these companies. In his testimony before Congress on network neutrality in 2006, Googles Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf blamed the tactics on the fact that nearly half of all consumers lack choice in broadband providers. Google currently offers free wi-fi access in its hometown of Mountain View, California. In 2010, Google announced the Google Fiber project with plans to build an ultra-high-speed broadband network for 50,000 to 500,000 customers in one or more American cities. On March 30, 2011, Google announced that Kansas City, Kansas would be the first community where the new network would be deployed. In July 2012, Google completed the construction of a fiber-optic broadband internet network infrastructure in Kansas City, and after building an infrastructure, Google announced pricing for Google Fiber. The service will offer three options including a free broadband internet option, a 1Gbit/s internet option for $70 per month, and a version that  includes television service for $120 per month. The project, called Android, turned out not to be a phone but an operating system for mobile devices, which Google acquired and then released as an open source project under the Apache 2.0 license. Google provides a software development kit for developers so applications can be created to be run on Android-based phones. In September 2008, T-Mobile released the G1, the first Android-based phone. On January 5, 2010, Google released an Android phone under its own company name called the Nexus One. A report in July 2013 stated that Googles share of the global smartphone market, led by Samsung products, was 64% in March 2013. Other projects Google has worked on include a new collaborative communication service, a web browser, and a mobile operating system. The first of these was first announced on May 27, 2009. The company described Google Wave as a product that helps users communicate and collaborate on the web. The service is Googles email redesigned, with realtime editing, the ability to embed audio, video, and other media, and extensions that further enhance the communication experience. Google Wave was initially in a developers preview, where interested users had to be invited to test the service, but was released to the general public on May 19, 2010, at Googles I/O keynote. On September 1, 2008, Google pre-announced the upcoming availability of Google Chrome, an open source web browser, which was then released on September 2, 2008. On July 7, 2009, Google announced Google Chrome OS, an open source Linux-based operating system that includes only a web browser and is designed to log users into their Google account. Google Goggles is a mobile application available on Android and iOS used for image recognition and non-text-based search. In addition to scanning QR codes, the app can recognize historic landmarks, import business cards, and solve Sudoku puzzles. While Goggles could originally identify people as well, Google has limited that functionality as a privacy protection. In 2011, Google announced Google Wallet, a mobile application for wireless payments. In late June 2011, Google soft-launched a social networking service called Google+. On July 14, 2011, Google announced that Google+ had reached 10 million users just two weeks after it was launched in this limited trial phase. After four weeks in operation, it reached 25 million users. At a launch event on July 24, 2013 in San Francisco, U.S., a newer version of the Nexus 7 Google tablet device was released to the public, alongside the  Chromecast dongle that allows users to stream YouTube and Netflix videos via smartphones. In 2013 Google launched Google Shopping Express, a delivery service initially available only in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Moto X  Speaking at the D11 conference in Palos Verdes, U.S. in late May 2013, Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside, a former Google employee, announced that a new mobile device will be built by his company, which is wholly owned by Google, at a 500,000 square-feet facility in Texas, U.S. formerly used by the Nokia company. The facility will employ 2,000 people by August 2013 and the new phone, named the Moto X, will be available to the public in October 2013. The Moto X features Google Now software, and an array of sensors and two microprocessors that will mean that users can â€Å"interact with in very different ways than you can with other devices,† in the words of Woodside. Media reports suggest that the phone will be able to activate functions preemptively based on an awareness of what the user is doing at any given moment. Corporate affairs and culture On Fortune magazines list of best companies to work for, Google ranked first in 2007, 2008 and 2012 and fourth in 2009 and 2010. Google was also nominated in 2010 to be the worlds most attractive employer to graduating students in the Universum Communications talent attraction index. Googles corporate philosophy includes principles such as you can make money without doing evil, you can be serious without a suit, and work should be challenging and the challenge should be fun. Employees After the companys IPO, founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and CEO Eric Schmidt requested that their base salary be cut to $1. Subsequent offers by the company to increase their salaries have been turned down, primarily because their main compensation continues to come from owning stock in Google. Before 2004, Schmidt made $250,000 per year, and Page and Brin each received an annual salary of $150,000. In 2007 and early 2008, several top executives left Google. In October 2007, former chief financial officer of YouTube Gideon Yu joined Facebook along with Benjamin Ling, a high-ranking engineer. In March 2008, Sheryl Sandberg, then vice-president of global online sales and operations, began her position as chief operating officer  of Facebook. At the same time, Ash ElDifrawi, formerly head of brand advertising, left to become chief marketing officer of Netshops. On April 4, 2011, Larry Page became CEO and Eric Schmidt became Executive Chairman of Google. In July 2012, Googles first female employee, Marissa Mayer, left Google to become Yahoo!s CEO. As a motivation technique, Google uses a policy often called Innovation Time Off, where Google engineers are encouraged to spend 20% of their work time on projects that interest them. Some of Googles newer services, such as Gmail, Google News, Orkut, and AdSense originated from these independent endeavors. In a talk at Stanford University, Marissa Mayer, Googles Vice President of Search Products and User Experience until July 2012, showed that half of all new product launches at the time had originated from the Innovation Time Off. Googleplex  Googles headquarters in Mountain View, California, is referred to as the Googleplex, a play on words on the number googolplex and the headquarters itself being a complex of buildings. The lobby is decorated with a piano, lava lamps, old server clusters, and a projection of search queries on the wall. The hallways are full of exercise balls and bicycles. Each employee has access to the corporate recreation center. Recreational amenities are scattered throughout the campus and include a workout room with weights and rowing machines, locker rooms, washers and dryers, a massage room, assorted video games, table football, a baby grand piano, a billiard table, and ping pong. In addition to the recreation room, there are snack rooms stocked with various foods and drinks, with special emphasis placed on nutrition. Free food is available to employees 24/7, with paid vending machines prorated favoring nutritional value. In 2006, Google moved into of office space in New York City, at 111 Eighth Avenue in Manhattan. The office was specially designed and built for Google and houses its largest advertising sales team, which has been instrumental in securing large partnerships. As of February 2012, a significant engineering team is based in New York City, and has been responsible for more than 100 engineering projects, including Google Maps, Google Spreadsheets. As of September 2013, Googles East Coast office is located at 76 Ninth Ave, New York City, New York. In November 2006, Google opened offices on Carnegie Mellons campus in Pittsburgh, focusing on shopping-related advertisement coding and smartphone applications and  programs. By late 2006, Google also established a new headquarters for its AdWords division in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Other office locations in the U.S. include Ann Arbor, Michigan; Atlanta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; Boulder, Colorado; Cambridge, Massachusetts; New York City; San Francisco, California; Seattle, Washington; Reston, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Furthermore, Google has several international offices. In October 2006, the company announced plans to install thousands of solar panels to provide up to 1.6 megawatts of electricity, enough to satisfy approximately 30% of the campus energy needs. The system will be the largest solar power system constructed on a U.S. corporate campus and one of the largest on any corporate site in the world. The idea of trimming lawns using goats originated from R. J. Widlar, an engineer who worked for National Semiconductor. Google has faced accusations in Harpers Magazine of being an energy glutton. The company was accused of employing its Dont be evil motto and its public energy-saving campaigns to cover up or make up for the massive amounts of energy its servers require. Easter eggs and April Fools Day jokes Google has a tradition of creating April Fools Day jokes. On April 1, 2000, Google MentalPlex allegedly featured the use of mental power to search the web. In 2007, Google announced a free Internet service called TiSP, or Toilet Internet Service Provider, where one obtained a connection by flushing one end of a fiber-optic cable down their toilet. Also in 2007, Googles Gmail page displayed an announcement for Gmail Paper, allowing users to have email messages printed and shipped to them. In 2008, Google announced Gmail Custom time where users could change the time that the email was sent. In 2010, Google changed its company name to Topeka in honor of Topeka, Kansas, whose mayor changed the citys name to Google for a short amount of time in an attempt to sway Googles decision in its new Google Fiber Project. In 2011, Google announced Gmail Motion, an interactive way of controlling Gmail and the computer with body movements via the users webcam. Googles services contain easter eggs, such as the Swedish Chefs Bork bork bork, Pig Latin, Hacker or leetspeak, Elmer Fudd, Pirate, and Klingon as language selections for its search engine. The search engine calculator provides the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the  Universe, and Everything from Douglas Adams The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. When searching the word recursion, the spell-checkers result for the properly spelled word is exactly the same word, creating a recursive link. When searching for the word anagram, meaning a rearrangement of letters from one word to form other valid words, Googles suggestion feature displays Did you mean: nag a ram? In Google Maps, searching for directions between places separated by large bodies of water, such as Los Angeles and Tokyo, results in instructions to kayak across the Pacific Ocean. During FIFA World Cup 2010, search queries including World Cup and FIFA caused the Goooogle page indicator at the bottom of every result page to read Gooooal! instead. Philanthropy In 2004, Google formed the not-for-profit philanthropic Google.org, with a start-up fund of $1 billion. The mission of the organization is to create awareness about climate change, global public health, and global poverty. One of its first projects was to develop a viable plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that can attain 100 miles per gallon. Google hired Larry Brilliant as the programs executive director in 2004, and the current director is Megan Smith. In 2008 Google announced its project 10100 which accepted ideas for how to help the community and then allowed Google users to vote on their favorites. After two years of silence, during which many wondered what had happened to the program, Google revealed the winners of the project, giving a total of ten million dollars to various ideas ranging from non-profit organizations that promote education to a website that intends to make all legal documents public and online. In 2011, Google donated 1 million euros to International Mathematical Olympiad to support the next five annual International Mathematical Olympiads . On July 2012, Google launched a Legalize Love campaign in support of gay rights. Tax avoidance   Google uses various tax avoidance strategies. Out of the five largest American technology companies it pays the lowest taxes to the countries of origin of its revenues. The company accomplishes this partly by licensing technology through subsidiaries in Ireland, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the Netherlands. This has reportedly sparked a French investigation into Googles transfer pricing practices. Following criticism of the amount of  corporate taxes that Google paid in the United Kingdom, Chairman Eric Schmidt said, Its called capitalism. We are proudly capitalistic. During the same December 2012 interview Schmidt confirmed that the company had no intention of paying more to the UK exchequer. In 2013, Schmidt responded to questions about taxes paid in the UK by pointing to the advertising fees Google charged UK companies as a source of economic growth. Google Vice president Matt Brittin testified to the Public Accounts Committee of the UK house of commons that his UK sales team made no sales and hence owed no sales taxes to the UK. Environment Since 2007, Google has aimed for carbon neutrality in regard to its operations. In June 2013, the Washington Post reported that Google had donated US$50,000 to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank. In July 2013, it was reported that Google had hosted a fundraising event for Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, who has called climate change a hoax. See also Comparison of web search engines Criticism of Google Dont Be Evil Google Google Balloon Internet Google Catalogs Google China Google Chrome Experiments Google logo Google platform Google Ventures – venture capital fund Google X Google+ Googlebot – web crawler Googlization List of Google domains List of mergers and acquisitions by Google Ungoogleable References External links not add links at the Internet Archive at Hoovers Bibliography: Wikipedia

Why JT Rocks! :: essays research papers

I'll say straight up that I'm not nor ever was an N'sync fan. The 80's are over and so is the mandate for me to listen to and love pop..I like a bit more substance to my music. But even still, some albums or songs are so catchy, with great beats that even as pop or r&b records they make you run out to the store and purchase them. I thought this was the case w/ Timberlake, as the first single from his Justified had me boppin' my head and tapping my toes. No doubt about it, Justin has soul and can sing, so I figured with this new album he would let the whole world know who he is. Houston, we have a problem..... First off, before you notice anything else about Justin's album the first thing that strikes your mind isnt his vocals or style, but who the producers are. Within 6 seconds of each song it becomes apparent who was on the boards that day i.e. Neptunes, Timbaland, Mcknight etc. Now, maybe it was Justin's intention to have as many flavors as possible on the album to show his range, which isnt a bad thing neccesarily, but I feel that the production overshadows the man on the mic. Justin is never really able to make a song his 'own', and that is a key thing with great artists. Even if they dont write or produce a song, great artists have the ability to make it their own, to make it impossible for anyone else sing the song in with quite the same impact- this is not the case with Justin. He does an admirable job with each song, and as I said, the boy can sing...but b/c of his lack of ability to make each song his own, the album sounds a bit schizophrenic or rather like a long impersonation 'Justin performs Timbaland' 'Justin performs Neptunes' etc. Production should never overwhelm a song, but complement the artist's style seamlessly(see Aaliyah's Aaliyah album). Maybe next album, Justin will have more of an identity to bring to the mic. And speaking of a lack of identity, that is my next gripe with the album...Justin trying way too hard to be Micheal Jackson. Now to you younger kids out there who cant recall the late 70's and mid to early 80's, this may seem like a new sound. But, all you

The Fool in King Lear

â€Å"The Fool both emphasises and relieves the tragedy of the play. † Discuss. The fool is a continual character in the workings of Shakespeare. The Fool is usually a cunning peasant that uses his intellect to outdo people of a higher social status. This is particularly the case in the play King Lear. Lear’s jester, the Fool, is indeed a very strange character. He uses crazy talk and merry songs to give Lear important advice. Not only is he important in the development of the plot but he’s important in the development of Lear’s character and also has an important role in the development of the mood in the play.The Fool is one of the wiser, if not the wisest, characters in the play and emphasises the tragedy in that his sharp and mocking double-talk and his constant stabs at Lear’s dignity add depth while at the same time entertaining. He somewhat narrates and activates the audiences awareness of important issues in the play. This is especially so a t the end of Act III scene ii when the fool addresses the audience. â€Å"This is a brave night to cool a courtezan. I'll speak a prophecy ere I go:†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He is the voice of reason throughout the play which is ironic because of his part as â€Å"the fool†.Furthermore, the king’s jester has an important part in the development of the king’s character. It seems as if the Fool's purpose is to make Lear see the world as it is and to help him laugh at his horrors. He basically acts and speaks as Lear’s conscience. When Lear is foolish, he bluntly points out the mistakes he has made and tries to help his king see the results of his actions. The fool can get away with pointing out the horrid truth because he is supposedly mad but that means that people don’t always listen to his advice where they should.However, Lear almost treats his jester like the son he never had and therefore somewhat prioritizes what he says, even if most of the time it is not what he wants to hear. Perhaps the fool of King Lear is different to other Shakespearean fools because he is not the average comic fool. Some of what the fool says is funny, but mostly he emphasizes the horror of the tragedy. It is humor that lets him go further in helping Lear than Kent or Cordelia without being banished.After Act III scene vi the fool disappears and doesn’t return to the stage again; the reason why this happens is debatable. Most agree that this is because he is no longer dramatically useful to Shakespeare but all agree that the fools absence seems to darken the mood of the play. Once the king has reached his absolute lowest there is nothing more his surrogate son can do for him. He no longer needs to be told the stupidity of his actions because Lear has finally learned to recognize the truth for himself.

Letter to Congress Essay

My name is †¦ and I am writing as your constituent in the 53rd Congressional district of California. I am writing to ask you to cosponsor Rep. John Conyers’ Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act (H.R. 676). United States House of Representatives Bill Number 676 is the proposed U.S. legislation to establish single-payer health care, improved Medicare for All, in the United States. It will establish lifelong, comprehensive coverage for health care. A single-payer system would take the charge of insurance premiums off of employers and put it on the people as a nation, where it belongs. I can’t think of a more pro-business step that Congress could take at this time. It’s also the right thing to do, the humane thing to do. Obamacare doesn’t address the lack of sustainability of our healthcare system. It won’t keep insurance prices down, more than 30 million people will remain uninsured, and insurance companies will manipulate their way out of a ny imposed regulations. We will no longer be paying for a system that wastes $400 billion in excessive administrative costs, more of our health care dollars will be spent on health care, and more of the doctors and nurses time will be spent on caring for people. The result will be more time spent on prevention and wellness and the U.S. dramatically raising its life expectancy. As a Registered Nurse who has been employed at various managed care payers, I know firsthand the corruption and abuse that is typical of health insurance companies. It is political corruption that has allowed this situation to continue. Right now Congress and the President are fighting over how much to slash Medicare and Medi-Cal/Medicaid benefits. The American people don’t want to see this happen. National, single-payer healthcare (H.R. 676) is pro-business, and pro-people. Please co-sponsor today. Thank you for your time and attention.

T4RSP Tax Slips for Canadian Income Taxes

T4RSP Tax Slips for Canadian Income Taxes A Canadian T4RSP tax slip, or Statement of RRSP Income, is prepared and issued by a financial institution to tell you and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) how much money you withdrew from or received out of your RRSPs for a given tax year and how much tax was deducted. A T4RSP slip also shows the amount withdrawn from an RRSP under the Home Buyers Plan and for the Lifelong Learning Plan. Money transferred from an RRSP to a spouse or partner under a court order or written agreement in a marriage or partnership breakdown is also shown on a T4RSP. Residents of Quebec receive a Relevà © 2 (RL-2). Deadline for T4RSP Tax Slips T4RSP tax slips must be issued by the last day of February the year after the calendar year to which the T4RSP tax slips apply. Sample T4RSP Tax Slip This sample T4RSP tax slip from the CRA site shows what a T4RSP tax slip looks like. For more information on what is included in each box on the T4RSP tax slip and how to deal with it when filing your income tax return, click on the box number in the pull-down menu or click on the box on the sample T4RSP tax slip. Filing T4RSP Tax Slips With Your Income Tax Return When you file a paper income tax return, include copies of each of the T4RSP tax slips you receive. If you file your income tax return using NETFILE or EFILE, keep copies of your T4RSP tax slips with your records for six years in case the CRA asks to see them. Missing T4RSP Tax Slips If you havent received a T4RSP slip, file your income tax return by the deadline anyway to avoid penalties for filing your income taxes late. Calculate the income and any related deductions and credits you can claim as closely as you can using any information you have. Include a note with the financial institutions name and address, the type and amount of RRSP income and related deductions, and what you have done to get a copy of the missing T4RSP slip. Include copies of any statements you used in calculating the income and deductions for the missing T4RSP tax slip. Other T4 Tax Information Slips Other T4 tax information slips include: T4 - Statement of Remuneration PaidT4A - Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other IncomeT4A(OAS) - Statement of Old Age SecurityT4A(P) - Statement of Canada Pension Plan BenefitsT4E - Statement of Employment Insurance and Other BenefitsT4RIF - Statement of Income From a Registered Retirement Income Fund

Organizational change in the public sector Essay

Organizational change in the public sector - Essay Example They bring sophisticated technology to cope with this competitive environment. It is said that there is no best way to manage the organizational change but public sector organizations must need some appropriate approaches to manage the organizational change to cope with the private sector organizations. Some people think that privatization is appropriate for organizational change but it is inappropriate for the public sector organizational change because there is lack of clarity in privatization. Structural and cultural changes are appropriate for public sector organizational change (Coram, Ron, and Burnes 2001) Weaknesses of Public Sector Organizations Public sector organizations are under pressure throughout the world for its less efficiency. Organizational change in public sector can be achieved through changes in men charged with leadership, personnel turnover, human resource management changes, procedure and structure change , way of communication, technology, methodology, shari ng cultural norms, training the employees. The changes in leadership personnel can have a negative impact (Karen Ann 259 page). When the change is implemented there might be some resistance occurred. There may be the conflict among the employees, owners and executives (Leigh, Karyn 2002). Mostly public sector organizations are vertically integrated. ... Strengths of Public Sector Organizations In the horizontal structure there are few positions are at top and the remaining people are the peers. This structure is more common in law, architecture and medical firms. Staff works in teams rather than according to the hierarchy. Few public organizations use divisional structure. In this structure functions and responsibility are assigned according to the territory basis. Examples The department of homeland security and the California energy commission are examples of public sector organizations that are operating under matrix structure. Matrix structure is a mixture of divisional and functional structure. These two departments use highly specialized employees and equipment, employees do the same task repetitively and they get specialize in that particular task. How changes are implemented in public sector organization Diagram (Dolan & Garcia, 2002) Organizational change in public sector can be done through a proper process. First of all o rganization must do its SWOT analysis. After doing the SWOT analysis organization see that where they are standing today and what they want to be in future. So there is a gap between the today and future. This gap can be filled by doing some proper changes. These changes can be Corporate values and norms Organizational structure and process Regarding the products and services (This is 100% UNIQUE) Result of organizational change Organization also sees that from these changes Who will be affected? What will be the cost? How much time is required to fulfill this gap? What will be the major focus areas during fulfilling this gap? Public sector organization can make changes in the organization through Information Communication Involvement Education and training

Argument Assignment- why prostitution should be legal in the U.S Essay

Argument Assignment- why prostitution should be legal in the U.S - Essay Example The reasons due to which legalizing prostitution should take place are that legalizing will decrease government spending, will decrease incidences and spread of HIV virus and this will even help in keeping the society safe from severe criminal activities One of the reasons due to which prostitution should be legalized is that legalizing has several economic benefits associated with it for the prostitutes as well as the government of United States. Prostitution is an act in which the prostitute willingly sells themselves and they mostly do so because they are in dire need of financial assistance. Since the government is recognizing prostitution as an illegal act, several prostitutes are arrested day by day for an act that they indulge in out of freewill. The most important point to be noted is that prostitution does not harms the overall society, its benefits and costs are beard by those who are purchasing prostitutes and by those who are selling themselves. Since prostitution is recognized as an illegal act, police is running after the parties involved to imprison them. Several prostitutes are being arrested every day and this is increasing the population of the jail and is even resulting in an increase of the government’s fi nancial expenditure. During the period of 1987, Jacobsen reported that the total cost of putting prostitutes behind bars and brining them to justice experienced by the government is around $2000/arrest (Jacobsen 135). FBI pointed out that the total number of prostitutes booked into correctional centers totaled to 56,560 individuals (FBI 1). Calculating the total cost bared by the government to deal with 56,560 individuals involved in prostitution may end up amounting to $113,120,000. If prostitution is recognized as a legal act, this government spending can be saved and used for other purposes and countering criminal activity

Analyse performance management and performance appraisal in primark Essay

Analyse performance management and performance appraisal in primark london - Essay Example ns attributed to proper performance management but these broadly fall into direct financial gains, motivated workforce goals and improved management control (Daniels, 2006). When the sphere of organisational development (OD) is considered, performance can be seen as actual results achieved against the desired results wanted. In case that there are any differences between these, there is the possibility of performance improvement. Both performance management and improvement can be taken as a cycle where: The focus of this text will be to analyse the performance appraisal system and practices of an actual organisation. In order to deal with the issue better the performance appraisal system is outlined below against which the current review will take place. The typical performance appraisal is a developed method through which the job performance of an employee can be assessed for issues such as cost, quality, time, quantity etc. through an evaluation by the corresponding manager or supervisor (Patterson, 1987). This process is essential to guiding and managing the career development of employees whereby the employee’s worth to the organisation is obtained, analysed and recorded. Overall the performance appraisal process documents an employee’s personal strengths and weaknesses, their recent success and failures as well as their suitability for further promotion or training as applicable. The performance appraisal process also accounts for issues other than productivity alone in trying to assess an employee. The most common aims of a performance appraisal are: Engro derived itself from Exxon Mobil’s fertilizer venture that went online in 1966 in Daharki, Pakistan. After Exxon’s exit from the business in 1991 the company became the country’s first successful employee led buyout. Since then the company has kept on expanding from the fertiliser business into the food business, the industrial automation market, chemical storage jetties and the like. The

Mythology Greek Drama Agamemnon Sophocles' Oedipus Essay

Mythology Greek Drama Agamemnon Sophocles' Oedipus - Essay Example From then on, he has assumed the throne and has led the kingdom successfully until the plagues came. Since there was no way to decipher what causes the indignation of the gods, the Thebeans along with the king's consent sought the help of the prophet Tiresias. Though a little hesitant, the sage boldly revealed the truth that it was King Oedipus's crime that brought the curse on the land of Thebes. His ego is hurt when Tiresias told him that he is the cause of all the ill events in the kingdom by killing Laius and marrying Jocasta who happen to be his parents. This humiliation leads to anger, not only towards Tiresias but also to Creon, his uncle turned brother-in-law. He suspects that Tiresias was in connivance with Creon in putting an end to his reign as king of Thebes. Publicly he denies the crime and admits his innocence. His anger leads to his suspicion that the two men are in to overthrow his throne. However, his abilities and intelligence did not spare him from the destiny that the gods have fated on him. At birth, his parents, King Laius and Queen Jocasta were told that their son would kill his father and marry his own mother. Even if he was sent away, the prophecy did not escape him. The reason why he left his foster parents is to escape his tragic destiny because it was revealed to him also. But it is something that only the gods can control. It is beyond human intervention and power. His hubris or excessive pride brings him to his own destruction for upon realizing that he has actually killed his own father at the crossing of the three roads and has married his own mother, he blinded his own eyes and decides to be banished from the kingdom of Thebes. ... sive pride brings him to his own destruction for upon realizing that he has actually killed his own father at the crossing of the three roads and has married his own mother, he blinded his own eyes and decides to be banished from the kingdom of Thebes. He stood by his own words that the culprit must be severely punished. However, throughout his life even when he was at Colonus, he firmly opines that all that happened to his life and his loved ones were not his own doing but that of the gods who controlled his destiny. He claims that he was not entirely responsible for all that happened to him and the kingdom of Thebes but that he was only a victim of fate. Prophetic, blind yet knowledgeable Tiresias The man who outlived the two kings is not a political leader but a sage and a seer. He is often consulted when the people and the king want to find explanation and solution to certain phenomena which are beyond human comprehension. Greek mythology tells us that Tiresias lost his eyesight when Hera struck him for he sided with Zeus. Since Zeus cannot undo what Hera did, he chose to bless Tiresias with the gift of knowledge of future events, thus he became a prophet. In this trilogy, he paradoxically is physically blind, but his vision goes beyond the material into the spiritual realms. In Oedipus the King, he humbly accepts Oedipus' insults and accusations but he remains true to his prophecy even if the truth hurt so much and even if it was the king he was addressing. He is not afraid of Oedipus when he reveals to him that Oedipus is the cause of the plagues in Thebes. In reality, he is often proven right in the end. His physical blindness may be symbolic of his impartial and objective revelation of the truth. He sees beyond what human eyes can perceive: the will and

A Comparative Financial Analysis Of The Mobile Phone Industry Marketing Essay

A Comparative Financial Analysis Of The Mobile Phone Industry Marketing Essay A comparative financial analysis of the mobile phone industry and three of the leading mobile phone manufacturers, so as to determine the investment prospects in this particular industry. Contents Title Page No. Executive Summary 3 Industry Profile 4 Effects of Recession on the Mobile Phone Industry 4 PEST Analysis of the Mobile Phone Industry 4 HTC Corporation 7 Introduction 7 SWOT Analysis Motorola Inc. 10 Introduction 10 SWOT Analysis 10 Nokia Corporation 12 Introduction 12 SWOT Analysis 12 Financial Performance Analysis 15 HTC Corporation 15 Review of Key Financial Analysis 15 Ratio Analysis 16 Stock Review 20 Motorola Inc. 21 Review of Key Financial Analysis 21 Ratio Analysis 22 Stock Review 25 Nokia Corporation 27 Review of Key Financial Analysis 27 Ratio Analysis 28 Stock Review 32 Review by Expert Market Analysts 33 HTC Corporation 33 Motorola Inc. 33 Nokia Corporation 33 Other types of Investments 34 Savings Account 34 Fixed Rate Bonds 34 Personal Assessment 35 Recommendations 37 References 38 Appendices 45 Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4 1. Executive Summary The mobile phone industry is perhaps one of the fastest growing industries in the world today. A mobile phone is generally accepted as a necessity for every human. It has developed so much in the recent years that its hard to recognize its early incarnation. The original mobile phone was the size of a brick and affordable by a select group of people. Today, mobile phones are available in all sizes to suit every individuals needs. But, like all other industries, this industry too has been affected by the financial crisis of 2008-2009. In our financial analysis, we will be looking at the mobile phone industry and three of the leading mobile phone manufacturers. We will analyse the financial aspects of Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK), Motorola Inc., (NYSE: MOT) and HTC Corporation (TAI: 2498) We will look at the different financial reports published in the companies Annual Report, and calculate the different financial ratios to understand the investment opportunities in these companies shares. 2. Industry Profile The Mobile Phone Industry The mobile phone industry has grown dramatically in recent years. According to a report published by TomiAhonen Consulting, in January 2009, there were approximately 4 billion mobile phone subscribers around the world. Out of these, around 3.1 billion were unique. Also, new handsets have been selling at the rate of 1.15 billion per year. This figure keeps increasing year over year and so does the economy around it. 2.1 Effects of Recession on the Mobile Phone Industry The recent financial crisis of 2008-2009 has had severe effects on most companies of the world. As such, the companies from this industry too have felt its effect. In Q3 2008, Nokia lowered its market share outlook due to the weakening global economy (Silicon.com 2008). Nokias global device market share was 30% in the Q3 2010, down from an estimated 34% in the Q2 2009 (Nokia Corporation 2010). Nokia announced in July 2010 that their profits had dropped by 40% (Inside Ireland 2010) Even, HTC and Motorola have experienced slow growth as well as lower sales compared to earlier years, especially Motorola which incurred huge financial losses (HTC Annual Report-Motorola Annual Report 2008-2009). 2.2 PEST Analysis of the Mobile Phone Industry Political / Legal Mobile phone companies are largely multinational. As such they have to comply with the different legislations and regulatory bodies of different countries which have their own set of particular standards. An example of a regulatory authority would be the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) operating in the US and Office of Communications (Ofcom) in the UK. The mobile phone usage is spread geographically. As such, the companies from the mobile phone industry have a high exposure to different political climates. This increases the companies risk exposures. However, huge costs are incurred in complying with the different legal and reporting procedures in different countries. Also, sometimes, companies face stiff resistance from the national governments of some countries. A recent example of such a stand-off would be the one between RIM Blackberry and the Government of India (Daily News Analysis, 2010) and the Government of United Arab Emirates (Yahoo News, 2010). Economic Being global brands, mobile phone companies have to comply with the different taxation laws and trade laws applicable in the different countries of the world. Also, they have to take into account the foreign exchange rates while importing/exporting and pricing the devices. This generally has an effect on the device prices and subsequently on the operating income of the companies. Social Mobile phones have become an essential part of everyones lives. 9 in 10 adults in the US use at least one mobile device. 31% of mobile phone users check personal emails on their phones and 21% check their work emails. Internet browsing has become an important aspect of the mobile ecosystem. Approximately 1 billion users browse basic internet on their mobile devices, while around 450 million users use real internet on their devices. (Tomi Ahonen 2009) Access to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter is increasingly becoming an important feature of mobile phones. Health concerns have been raised by research institutes over the effects of radiation caused by mobile phones on the human body (NBC News 2008). Although the evidence is controversial, it has raised caution among the mobile phone users, and the companies are forced to develop new antenna systems for mobile phones to help reduce radiation. Technological The mobile phone industry is highly technology-driven. Mobile phone companies have to continually adapt themselves to the rapidly changing technology and introduce new products to keep up with the technological advancements and to meet the ever-changing demands from consumers. They need to keep investing substantially in the Research Development of new products and technologies. 2.3 HTC Corporation (TWSE: 2498)HTC Wordmark.png 2.3.1 Introduction: HTC Corporation (HTC) is a mobile manufacturer based in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. Its principal aspects are the research, development and manufacture of smart handheld devices including smartphones and PDAs (HTC 2010). The company is generally considered to be a pioneer in the smartphone and PDA segments of the mobile phone industry. The company initially was involved in developing smartphones based on the Windows Mobile platform, having made the worlds first PDA based on the platform (HTC 2010). However, since 2009, HTC is increasingly developing more devices based on Google Inc.s Android Operating System. But, as a means to strengthen its relation with Microsoft, HTC has recently launched a number of devices based on Windows Phone 7 (Mann, J. 2009). HTC is a member of the Open Handset Alliance, a group of handset manufacturers and mobile network operators dedicated to the advancement of the Android Operating System (Reardon, M. 2007). The HTC Dream was the first mobile smartphone in the world to use the Android OS. It was marketed by T-Mobile, in some markets, as the T-Mobile G1 (Wired 2008 HTC Press Release 2008). As of 2009, HTC obtained nearly 43.8%, 30.4% and 20.8% of its total revenue from North America, Europe and Asia, respectively (HTC Annual Report 2009). HTC Corporation was formerly known as Hi-Tech Computer Corporation. 2.3.2 SWOT Analysis: Strength HTC is a leading manufacturer of smartphones. It is a pioneer in many technologies. It had developed the worlds first PDA, and also the first smartphone using Windows Mobile. Now, it is a leading manufacturer of quality Android smartphones. As such, it has a good reputation as an innovative brand. Financial stability gives HTC the opportunity to invest heavily in Research Development of new technologies. Despite the financial crisis, HTC is doing significantly well in 2010 (HTC Report, Q3 2010). Also, good product quality has helped HTC establish itself as a reliable brand. HTC has been a pioneer in many of the technologies now common in modern mobiles phones. It has a plethora of patents designed and applied to modern communication devices (Google Patents, 2010). Also its product portfolio consists of a wide variety of smartphones based on a number of smart-platforms including the Android OS, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7 and HTCs own BREW OS. (HTC 2010) HTC has also developed a new cloud-based service called the HTC Sense to compliment its range of smartphones (HTCSense.com, 2010). Due to a number of quality products, HTC is steadily increasing its consumer base. Also, HTC is involved in exclusive tie-ups with respectable cellular companies such as T-Mobile (T-Mobile G1, G2), Orange (San Francisco) and Google (Nexus One). This helps better the image of the company in consumers eyes. Weaknesses HTC does not have a big brand image compared to its rivals Nokia, RIM Blackberry and Sony Ericsson. Also, its market share is significantly lower than that of its rivals. Also, HTC is involved in a number of law-suits with rival company Apple Inc. This is highly damaging to its reputation in the global corporate environment. (Reuters, 2010) HTC does not have an effective marketing strategy compared to its rivals, as a result of which its new product information fails to reach the consumers. Opportunities There is a huge demand for smartphones in recent times. HTC has the capability to satisfy these demands. HTC can continue to develop new touchscreen technologies and better smart features. Through effective marketing communication and public relations system, HTC can increase its brand value and target consumer base. Furthermore, HTC can enter new markets and establish its brand there. It can continue to develop and apply more of its innovative patents. Threats The threat of new technological developments and competition is high in the mobile phone industry. Also, one of the biggest threats to modern mobile phones is the huge mindshare commanded by Apples iPhone and its iOS Operating System. Every new mobile phone is consistently compared to Apples offering and its success or failure depends, to some extent, on how favourably it compares to the iPhone. This threat is present for HTC too, despite its large portfolio of Android devices. 2.4 Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) NYSE MOT.gifMotorola Wordmark.png 2.4.1 Introduction: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola) is a multinational telecommunications company based in Illinois, USA. It manufactures mobile phones and also designs and sells network infrastructure to worlds leading cellular companies. In 1986, Motorola devised the Six Sigma quality system which has become a global standard for quality improvement. In 1991, Motorola demonstrated the worlds first working-prototype digital cellular system and phones using GSM standard in Hanover, Germany. The worlds first two-way paging system was introduced by Motorola in 1995. Motorolas mobile department, as of 2009, has been solely focused on Google Inc.s Android Operating System. Motorola is an advanced innovator of mobile phone technologies. Motorola has just announced that its business will split into two separate publicly traded entities on January 4, 2011. The two new entities will be known as Motorola Solutions Inc. and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. and will continue to trade on NYSE with the new ticker symbols of MSI and MMI respectively (Reuters 2010). 2.4.2 SWOT Analysis: Strengths Motorola is a leading manufacturer of smartphones. It is a pioneer in many technologies. It had developed the worlds first GSM mobile phone. Now, it is one of the leading manufacturers of quality Android smartphones. As such, it has a good reputation as an innovative brand. Financial stability gives Motorola the opportunity to invest heavily in Research Development of new technologies. Being the worlds oldest mobile phone brand, it has considerable brand image. Also, Motorolas devices have a good build quality which establishes it as a reliable mobile phone manufacturer. Motorola has developed a new interface for its mobile phones called the MotoBlur which integrates the different aspects of ones social life. This has been quite popular with the consumers (Motorola Report, 2009). Weaknesses Motorola is consistently losing its market share to its rival companies. One of the reasons is the lack of an effective marketing communication strategy and also a weak PR system. Also, Motorola fails to introduce new products as frequently as its rival companies. Motorola is also slow in providing software upgrades for its current devices, which generally has a negative impact on consumers who want to keep their devices updated to the latest software version. Also, Motorola is involved in a number of law-suits with Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corporation over intellectual copyright infringement. This is highly damaging to its reputation in the global corporate environment. (Reuters, 2010) Opportunities There is a huge demand for smartphones in recent times. Motorola has the capability and technology to satisfy these demands. Motorola can also improve its market position by means of effective marketing strategies and a better PR system. Also, Motorola can improve its after-sales service for its devices. Threats Apples iPhone and it iOS Operating System are considered a huge threat to virtually every mobile phone brand. Despite its growing portfolio of Android devices, Motorola still has to overcome Apples threat. 2.5 Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) Nokia wordmark.png 2.5.1 Introduction Nokia Corporation (NOKIA) is a Finnish multinational communications corporation based in Keilaniemi, Espoo, Finland. Nokia is engaged in the manufacturing of mobile devices and in converging Internet and communications industries. It has over 123,000 employees working in 120 countries. Its products are available in more than 150 countries. Nokia has global annual revenue of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬41 billion and operating profit of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.2 billion as of 2009 (Nokia Corporation 2009). It is the worlds largest manufacturer of mobile phones which currently accounts for about 36.6% of the market share for mobile phone technology (IDC 2010). Nokia is a public limited liability company listed on the Helsinki, Frankfurt, and New York stock exchanges (Nokia Corporation 2010). Nokia plays a very large role in the economy of Finland. It is the largest company of Finland. The brand value of Nokia is valued at $29.5 billion. It is listed as the eight most valuable global brand in the Interbrand Best Global Brands list of 2010 (Interbrand 2010) and also on Bloomberg Businessweek Best Global Brands list of 2009. It is the first non-US company to be included in the list. (Bloomberg Businessweek 2010) 2.5.2 SWOT Analysis: Strengths Nokia is highly respected as a global mobile brand and it has a high brand value. It is the most preferred brand for mobile phones in Europe, as of 2009 (Eurobrand 2009) Nokia has a worldwide distribution network which makes it easier for Nokia to make its products available to wider target consumers. Nokia has a healthy financial background, which enables Nokia to invest consistently in Research Development. Also, the phones made by Nokia have a fairly user-friendly interface which enables it to be accepted by a wide variety of consumers. Nokia has a large product portfolio with something to offer to every type of consumer. It offers a wide variety of phones from the basic lower-end phones to the more expensive high-end smartphones. Weaknesses There are reports that indicate Nokia consistently losing its market share, as it fails to address the competition it faces from rival smartphone manufacturers like Apple Inc., RIM Blackberry and Google Inc. (Reuters 2010) Also, Nokia is involved in several controversial law-suits with rival company Apple Inc. This is highly damaging to its reputation in the global corporate environment. (Reuters, 2010) Nokia also lacks diversity in its managerial aspects. It has only two directors out of ten who are not Finnish. This reduces its capability to understand the different demands and trends across different parts of the world. (Nokia, 2010) Opportunities Nokia can increase its market presence by launching its products in new markets. It can also increase its market share in current markets by launching innovative products at competitive prices. MeeGo is Nokias upcoming operating system, which if marketed and implemented properly will turn around the fortunes of Nokia. As the mobile industry grows rapidly, Nokia can increase its market share by extensive advertisements and through effective marketing communication. Nokia can better its reputation and increase its brand loyalty by having a healthy Public Relations System. Threats The threat of competition is omnipresent in the mobile industry. The big threats to Nokias dominance are the smartphones developed by Apple Inc. and RIM Blackberry, which offer better products and services than Nokia. Also, the Android Mobile Operating System developed by Google Inc. is supported by a number of other big mobile companies and is consistently increasing its market share through a variety of smartphones from the cheap to the more expensive. The phenomenal growth of Android OS is a big threat to Nokias devices until it can provide an Operating System that can best Googles offering (Reuters 2010). Financial Performance Analysis 3.1 HTC Corporation 3.1.1 Review of Key Financial Data The statement of comprehensive income, balance sheet and statement of cash flows for HTC for the years 2006 to 2009 are represented in the tables 1, 2a, 2b, 3a and 3b respectively. 2007 We can see from the figures shown in the tables below that 2007 was an average year for HTC. The net sales have improved by 11.61% and the profit has increased by 12.76%. While the operating profit has increased 14.31%, the operating expenses have increased by a substantially more 49.97%. The main operating expenses incurred in 2007 were for selling and marketing purposes (62.30%). 2008 The net sales in 2008 increased by 22.27% and the net profit decreased marginally by 1.06%. Once again the operating expenses by 52.85% which resulted in a decrease of 0.92% in the operating profit. The main operating expenses for this year were for RD and selling and marketing purposes which increased by 59.80% and 46.31% respectively. On the whole this year was not so bad for HTC. 2009 In this year, HTC experienced the effects of recession. The net profit decreased by 26.65% while the net sales decreased by 5.3%. Although the operating expenses have increased by just 5.93%, the operating profit hugely decreased by 25.16%. The RD saw its expenses cut by 11.83% and the selling and marketing expenses again increased by 18.85%. Q3 2010 When compared to Q3 2009, the net sales has increased by 39.71% and the net profit also increased by 30.97%. The operating expenses continue to increase substantially by 38.37%. However, the operating profit has increased by 31.31%. The RD expenses increased by 16.22% and the selling and marketing expenses have shot up by 49%. On the whole, HTC recovered greatly during the first nine months of 2010. 3.1.2 Ratio Analysis According to the data collected from the income statements, the balance sheets and the cash flow statements, the ratio analysis has been divided in five parts, Profitability, Efficiency, Liquidity, Financial and Investment. However to judge a business, getting the information about the planned ratios is also important. Getting this kind of information is hard for people outside the business. In that case, this report may be biased. The ratios are listed in table 4. Profitability Ratios It can be seen from the chart below that the ROCE is decreasing steadily by about 15% each year. However, ROCE of 42.77% is favourable for the company. The operating profit margin and the gross profit margin are also decreasing, but as the chart depicts these figures are improving. Efficiency Ratios The average inventories period of HTC decreased from 27.8 days in 2007 to 22.4 days in 2009. This represents the decreased demand for mobile phones. The trade receivables to trade payables ratio has remained fairly constant throughout these three years. This means that the creditor and the debtor for HTC did not change much. The sales revenue to capital employed ratio has improved from 2.3 times in 2007 to 2.56 times in 2009. Liquidity Ratio For the business to have good liquidity, the current ratio and the acid test ratio should generally be greater than 2. The current ratio has decreased from 2.42 times in 2007 to 1.89 times in 2009. The acid test ratio has also decreased from 2.24 times in 2007 to 1.8 times in 2009. However, HTC still has a high liquidity as its ratios are quite near to 2. Financial Ratios The gearing ratio for HTC is 0% for all the three years. This means that HTC has no long-term liabilities. Also the interest cover ratio is much higher. According to these ratios, the profit for the year 2009 can cover 188,926 times the interest payable in 2009. Investment Ratios These ratios help investors to evaluate their investment options about HC Corporation. A dividend yield ratio of 6.65% means that investors can get a good cash return on their investment in HTC. But the earnings per share has decreased from NT$1.56 in 2007 to NT$0.90 in 2009. Also, the P/E ratios show that the confidence among buyers of HTC shares is low. 3.1.3 Stock Review According to The Financial Times, HTC Corp. (TWSE: 2498) has consistently outperformed the Taiwan SE Weighted Index over the last five years. On Jan 1, 2007 the common stock of HTC was priced at NT$ 645 and as of Dec 10, 2010 the price has soared to NT$ 897. This means an investment in the HTC stock gave a return of 39.07% during this period. Wright Investors Service has given HTC Corporation a quality rating of AAA1 (Appendix 1) U:ManXPMy DocumentsMy Pictureshtc stock.png Stock Performance over 5 years. Source: FT.com 2010 3.2 Motorola Inc. 3.2.1 Review of Key Financial Data The statement of comprehensive income, balance sheet and statement of cash flows for Motorola for the years 2006 to 2009 are represented in the tables 5, 6a, 6b and 7 respectively. 2007 We can see from the information represented in the tables below that the net sales have declined by 15% and a loss has been incurred by 101%. The operating expenses have increased by 21.65% and the operating profit decreased by 114%. The main operating expenses are incurred for selling, general and administrative purposes. The dividend for 2007 was $0.20 per share. In general, we can say that 2007 was not a financial good year for Motorola. 2008 In 2008, the net sales of Motorola decreased further by 18%. Also, the net loss increased by 8561%. The operating loss increased by 332% while operating expenses increased by only 2.67%. The dividend remained constant at $0.20 per share. Overall, we can say that Motorola incurred huge losses in 2008, partly due to the recession. 2009 Financial condition of Motorola improved over the course of 2009. Although there was still a net loss incurred, it was substantially less than 2008 which decreased by 99%. The net sales decreased even further by 27%. The operating loss decreased by 94% and the operating expenses decreased by 33%. The dividend for 2009 decreased to $0.05 per share. So, we can say that, although still in loss, Motorolas financial condition has recovered and this shows that Motorola has the ability to successfully implement solutions to its problems. Q3 2010 From the recent financial documents of Motorola, it is clear that it is slowly recovering its business. However, the financial condition of the company is still not very good. 3.2.2 Ratio Analysis Profitability Ratios As per the Ratio Table (Table 8) the ROCE and the operating profit margin for Motorola have remained negative for all the three years. This means the company has incurred losses throughout these years. But, the condition is generally improving since 2007. The gross profit margin is high for all the three years. This is not due to the product, but because of the low operating expenses. Efficiency Ratios The average inventories turnover period for Motorola is constantly increasing from 41 days in 2007 to 48 days in 2009. This means that there is a decreased demand for Motorola products over the years. It also means that recession has affected Motorola too. The sales revenue to capital employed is also quite low at 0.47 times in 2007 to 0.41 times in 2009. If trade receivables to trade payables ratio remains greater than 1, it means that the company has a good supply chain and has the ability to manage the trade receivables and trade payables. The TR/TP of Motorola is generally steady throughout these three years from 1.39 in 2007 to 1.24 in 2009. Liquidity Ratios The current ratio and acid test ratio of Motorola decreased from 1.78 times and 1.55 times respectively in 2007 to 1.63 times and 1.38 times respectively in 2008. However, in 2009, they increased to 1.92 times and 1.82 times respectively in 2009. This shows that the Motorola has good liquidity, although sometimes inventories can be seen as a risk to the company. Financial Ratios The percentage of long-term liabilities of Motorola is high, from 59.1% in 2007 to 63.5% in 2009. This is also a big risk for the company. The interest cover ratio is very low which means that Motorola does not make enough profit to pay its interests. Investment Ratios The dividend payout ratio shows a speculative situation of Motorola which is extremely low. Also the dividend yield ratio is low at 0.64% in 2009. The earnings per share is low. Motorola is not earning anything on its ordinary shares in issue. Even the P/E ratio is staggeringly low which means that the investors have no confidence in Motorolas business. 3.2.3 Stock Review According to The Financial Times, Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT) has outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the last week. However, the overall performance has been mixed. On Jan 3, 2007 the common stock of Motorola was priced at $20.57 and as of Dec 10, 2010 the price has dropped to $8.64. This means an investment in the Motorola stock would have resulted in a 57.99% loss during this period. Wright Investors Service has given Motorola Inc. a quality rating of ABNN. (Appendix 1) U:ManXPMy DocumentsMy Picturesmot stock.png Stock Performance over 5 years. Source: FT.com 2010 3.3 Nokia Corporation 3.3.1 Review of Key Financial Data The statement of comprehensive income, balance sheet and statement of cash flows for Nokia for the years 2006 to 2009 are represented in the tables 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11a and 11b respectively. These are compiled from the annual financial reports of Nokia for the said years. 2007 From the figures shown in the tables below, we can see that 2007 was a particularly good year for Nokia. The net sales have increased by 24.2%; and the profit has also increased by 67.3%. Although the operating expenses have a 17.8% increase, Nokia has gained more operating profit which increased by 45.5%. The main operating expenses incurred are for Research and Development (RD). The increase of sales and marketing expenses (32%) refers to the new products of Nokia (ibid). As can be seen from the table 2, the profit for the year is the highest compared with other years. The dividend for 2007 was à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬0.53 per share (ibid). Overall, 2007 was a successful year for Nokia. 2008 Nokias sales have decreased in 2008. The net sales also decreased by 0.7% compared to 2007; and the operating expenses have a significant increase of 33.5%. The Annual Report highlights the recession may have had a negative effect on the companys performance. The decrease in demand from consumers led to the profits reduction (NOKIA, 2008). In addition, the transfer of Finnish pension liabilities is a main reason for the increase of expenses (ibid). Both in 2007 and 2008, Nokia has recruited more employees because of which the wage expenses have also increased. The dividend for the year was à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬0.40 per share (ibid). To sum up, this year was not so good for Nokia. 2009 In this year, Nokias performance declined even further. The income statement shows a significant decrease in the net profit, which is less by 93.3%. The sales and the gross profit reduced by 19.2% and 23.7% respectively. The effect of recession was still evident on Nokias financial performance. As a result, the investment on RD remained same as that in 2008. Due to the reduced demand, the marketing and sales expenses have also reduced from à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬4830 million to $3933 million (NOKIA, 2009). The dividend for 2009 remained same at à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬0.40 per share. Overall, it is clear that Nokia started reducing the expenses to face lower demand in the mobile phone market. Q3 2010 Tables 5, 6 and 7 show the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement of Nokia in Q3 2010. It is clear that Nokia has slowly recovered its business in these 9 months. To be more specific, the net sales have a 4.7% increase compare to Q3 2009. Although the gross profit is lower than Q3 2009, the operating expenses have decreased substantially. In that case, the profit before tax has risen from -à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬426m to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬403m, which is good for the company. 3.3.2 Ratio Analysis Profitability Ratios From the chart below it can be seen that the ROCE is steadily decreasing from 2007. To be more speci