Tata Motors marketing strategy Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tata Motors marketing strategy - Coursework Example The suppliers have little bargaining power over Tata Motors (Morrison, 2011). The suppliers include companies selling metals, tires, radios, air condition units, and other accessions to Tata Motors. The suppliers include companies offering different accessories Tata Motors. A large number of competing suppliers prevents one supplier having significant control or influence over Tata Motors’ choice of suppliers. In the short term, the suppliers’ bargaining power has a favorable effect on Tata Motors. Tata Motors can choose a supplier that offers the best quality product or service. In the long term, the suppliers’ bargaining power has an unfavorable effect on Tata Motors. The suppliers may unite to offer an industry-agreed price for the products. The new competitors’ threat is insignificant (Clark, 2010). With the high entry barriers, entities are discouraged from entering Tata Motors’ current vehicle market. One of the high barriers is the required h igh investment amount. Another barrier is the high India import duty rates. A third high barrier is the need to adapt the imported motor vehicles to India’s dilapidated poor road conditions. The fourth barrier is the high-temperature level’s damaging effects on the new competitors’ motor vehicles.The substitutes deliver lesser transportation quality and service than Tata Motors. The use of slow men-carrying Palanquin transport is not practical. The use of the Bullock cart is unrealistically slow. The horse carriage is slower than the Tata vehicle.

Time Management Essay Example for Free

Time Management Essay Introduction It is rightly said Time and Tide wait for none. An individual should understand the value of time for him to succeed in all aspects of life. People who waste time are the ones who fail to create an identity of their own. My Rational on my first action plan was: I have poor attitudes towards managing time, such as managing time to study. Developing effective study habits is important as they will help me to use my study time more productively and will also help to handle stress. Therefore, learning some effective memory techniques, developing a good support network and working with other class members will enhance our study habits (Anthony, 2012). So it is important for me to make an action plan about time management. Benefits of time management could be; Time Management makes an individual punctual and disciplined. One learns to work when it is actually required as a result of effective time management. To make the judicious use of time, individuals should prepare a TASK PLAN or a TO DO List at the start of the day to jot down activities which need to be done in a particular day as per their importance and urgency against the specific time slots assigned to each activity. A Task Plan gives individuals a sense of direction at the workplace. An individual knows how his day looks like and eventually works accordingly leading to an increased output (Management Study Guide [MSG]). If we do not have a proper time management skills, it will be more difficult to achieve the goals in your future. This report includes a deep research about time management skills. This includes a brief description of what is time management, how it helps in an organisation and some benefits improving your time management skills. And lastly the action plan with the actual outcomes. What is time management Time management is the art of arranging, organizing, scheduling, and  budgeting ones time for the purpose of generating more effective work and productivity. There are an abundance of books, classes, workshops, day-planners, and seminars on time management, which teach individuals and corporations how to be more organized and more productive. Time management has become crucial in recent years thanks to the 24/7, busy world in which we live (Wisegeek, 2013). Time management is important for everyone. While time management books and seminars often place their focus on business leaders and corporations, time management is also crucial for students, teachers, factory workers, professionals, and home makers. Time management is perhaps most essential for the person who owns his or her own business or who runs a business out of the home. Managing work and home responsibilities under the same roof takes a special type of time management (Wisegeek, 2013). An important aspect of time management is planning ahead. Sometimes, successful time management involves putting in more time at the outset in order to reorganize ones life. Though many time management books and teachings differ in their suggestions, most agree that the first step in efficient time management is to organize the workspace or home. Even if ones schedule is well-ordered, but the office and filing system are a disaster, time will be wasted trying to work efficiently in a disorderly place (Wisegeek, 2013). Lastly, good time management involves keeping a schedule of the tasks and activities that have been deemed important. Keeping a calendar or daily planner is helpful to stay on task, but self-discipline is also required. The most efficient to-do list in the world will not help someone who does not look at or follow his own daily planner (Wisegeek, 2013). Time management helping in organisations. Time Management refers to managing time effectively so that the right time is allocated to the right activity. Effective time management allows individuals to assign specific time slots to activities as per their importance. Time Management refers to making the best use of time as time is  always limited. Time Management plays a very important role not only in organizations but also in our personal lives. (Management Study Guide) Time Management includes: 1.Effective Planning 2.Setting goals and objectives 3.Setting deadlines 4.Delegation of responsibilities 5.Prioritizing activities as per their importance 6.Spending the right time on the right activity Effective planning: Plan your day well in advance. Prepare a To Do List or a TASK PLAN. Jot down the important activities that need to be done in a single day against the time that should be allocated to each activity. High Priority work should come on top followed by those which do not need much of your importance at the moment. Complete pending tasks one by one. Do not begin fresh work unless you have finished your previous task. Tick the ones you have already completed. Ensure you finish the tasks within the stipulated time frame (Management Study Guide). Setting goals and objectives: Working without goals and targets in an organization would be similar to a situation where the captain of the ship loses his way in the sea. Yes, you would be lost. Set targets for yourself and make sure they are realistic ones and achievable (Management Study Guide). Setting deadlines Set deadlines for yourself and strive hard to complete tasks ahead of the deadlines. Do not wait for your superiors to ask you every time. Learn to take ownership of work. One person who can best set the deadlines is you yourself. Ask yourself how much time needs to be devoted to a particular task and for how many days. Use a planner to mark the important dates against the set deadlines (Management Study Guide). Delegation of responsibilities: Learn to say NO at workplace. Dont do everything on your own. There are other people as well. One should not accept something which he knows is difficult for him. The roles and responsibilities must be delegated as per interest and specialization of employees for them to finish tasks within deadlines. A person who does not have knowledge about something needs more time than someone who knows the work well (Management Study Guide). Prioritizing Tasks Prioritize the tasks as per their importance and urgency. Know the difference between important and urgent work. Identify which tasks should be done within a day, which all should be done within a month and so on. Tasks which are most important should be done earlier (Management Study Guide). Spending the right time on right activity: Develop the habit of doing the right thing at the right time. Work done at the wrong time is not of much use. Dont waste a complete day on something which can be done in an hour or so. Also keep some time separate for your personal calls or checking updates on Facebook or Twitter. After all human being is not a machine (Management Study Guide). Organized Avoid keeping stacks of file and heaps of paper at your workstation. Throw what all you dont need. Put important documents in folders. Keep the files in their respective drawers with labels on top of each file. It saves time which goes on unnecessary searching (Management Study Guide). Dont misuse time Do not kill time by loitering or gossiping around. Concentrate on your work and finish assignments on time. Remember your organization is not paying you for playing games on computer or peeping into others cubicles. First complete your work and then do whatever you feel like doing. Dont wait till the last moment (Management Study Guide). Be Focussed One needs to be focused for effective time management. Develop  the habit of using planners, organizers, table top calendars for better time management. Set reminders on phones or your personal computers (Management Study Guide). Benefits of time management. Its normal to hear time management discussed in business circles; yet, it is a topic that can be of great benefit to everybody. Time is a challenge for all of us, whether were business people, workers, students or stay at home moms or dads. There seems to be less time in todays world, and thats why its a lot more important to learn how to properly manage our time. In this article, we are going to be discussing a few key reasons why time management is so important (Marie, 2012). A big benefit of time management is just how that it boosts your productivity. It is something that almost everybody hopes to be able to do. Seldom do you hear of individuals who feel that theyve got adequate time to do the things they need and wish to do. In lots of instances, the problem is not not enough time but rather the fact that you do not have an efficient way of managing your time. Time management shows you how to set priorities, and to focus on how much time youre wasting every day. The idea is not really to put yourself under more pressure to try and do more, but to utilize your time more wisely so you appear to have more of it (Marie, 2012). One positive advantage of time management is decreased levels of stress. Not having enough time is one of the main reasons we experience stress. Think about how tense you feel if you are worrying about being late for a scheduled visit or if youre stuck in traffic. These issues relate to time, and if you have this type of situation often you could probably benefit from some training in time management. Learning how to control schedule so that overwhelmed us and become an issue indicates that you are supervising your time efficiently. We often believe that the solution to our problems is doing things faster, but it could be even better and more relaxing if we learn how to manage our time better (Marie, 2012). Time management doesnt just include boosting your productivity and  efficiency; you also want to feel more pleasure and a better quality of life. Time is an important component of life and so we feel better about our lives when we have the ability to control our time. Conversely, feeling that were running out of time can create an overall feeling that we arent good in some part of life. Those who are genuinely successful are aware that time management is a crucial skill they have to get good at. It could be the one determining factor that lets you live in the moment and appreciate your life instead of feeling that time is a merciless boss (Marie, 2012). Time management is very significant in our present times, even more so than in previous decades. Existing technology allows us to do things faster than before and yet we feel forced to continually increase the pace. As an example, we continue to have difficulty keeping track of the large number of available information even with computers and other gadgets that are extremely powerful. Time management is the component that can give us a sense of control over time so we can quit rushing and loosen up (Marie, 2012).

Free College Essays - Dante’s Paradiso :: Dante Paradiso Essays

Dante’s   Paradiso In spite of all the sheer effort put behind it, Dante’s Paradiso is not easy to enjoy. It is an alliance between difficulty and controversy. It is a narration of Dante’s so called visit to heaven, which seems tangible to no one but him. He slowly gives us his perceived account while inserting an archive of philosophical tidbits, which often divert the reader’s attention from the supposed plot. Dante claims himself gifted and says that all his said experiences are ones that he encountered first-hand. And so the reader is assumed to believe that the author is not in a make-believe world and his arguments with heavenly beings are actually marvelous adventures. The theme is not relevant at all to the present, as scholars today would say that his ideas are primitive and unsubstantial. The only thing applicable to today be the fact that it is based on the timeless issue: the afterlife. And as he inserts his personal views in life, he does it in an authoritative method as his heavenly friends explain them to him. Now if the reader assumes this is all make-believe, it is tiresome to go on as the book is direly detailed. On the other hand, if the reader believes Dante’s account, then I am afraid he is very misled. As many biblical verses are inserted in the text, it is quite bothersome that his explanations and fabulous stories take on a less dogmatic direction. It doesn’t seem right to quote religion to serve both misinterpreted purposes and claims to a divine philosophy. This dissenting view is the only social impact I can make out of the book. As I read on the translated verses looking for some conflict or climax, I reached neither. It just seems as if this popularly supposed story is intended to be educational just like a textbook. Nevertheless, it is not hard to see why Paradiso was dubbed a masterpiece. If the title of "masterpiece" is labeled upon the works of great worth, I am afraid entertainment value is not somethi ng distinguishable in this case even if there is an undoubtedly enormous amount of effort, skill, and thought that was invested in it. All the lines rhyme in pairs, and are written in deep Spanish. A rhyme scheme is followed and even literary formality is observed. Dante is obviously intellectual, as his work shows.

Birth: The Beginning of Life Essay -- Birthing Birth Essays

Birth: The Beginning of Life Birth: a definition For all mammals (with platypuses being the exception), parturition is the beginning of life as we know it. More specifically, birth is the means by which non-human primates and human primates alike begin their experience of the world. I am interested in the significance of childbirth the method by which it is carried out, its implications for the birthing mother, and the way that the birthing process is viewed by different societies. Both birth and the postpartum period involve a certain degree of danger for the birthing mother, her nascent child, and her entire family or community. Because childbirth is so dangerous (the average lifetime risk of dying from pregnancy related causes is about one in fifteen in some poor countries, MacCormack 1), most cultures have distinct patterns that determine how the birthing process will be carried out. The birthing process involves different birthing positions; different rules concerning who is allowed to be present during the time of birth; mechanisms for deciding where birth takes place; and different ways by which mother and child deal with labor, birth and postpartum. "As a life crisis event, birth is everywhere a candidate for consensual shaping and social regulation the particular pattern depending on local history, ecology, social structure, technological development, and the like" (Jordan 4). By exploring the original human condition of childbirth one is able to gain insight into the universal biosocial phenomenon known as the birthing process. In addition, I am interested in studying childbirth because, as women's work, it is usually not given enough attention in the traditionally male-dominated field of anthropology. "Unt... ... Peoples. London: J. Cape, 1971. Hrdy, Sarah Blaffer. The Langurs of Abu: Female and Male Strategies of Reproduction. Cambridge, MA:, Harvard Univ. Press, 1997. Jordan, Brigitte. Birth in Four Cultures: A Cross-cultural Investigation of Childbirth in Yucatan, Holland, Sweden, and the United States. 4th ed. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 1993. Lawlor, Robert. Voices of the First Day: Awakening in the Aboriginal Dreamtime. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Trad. Ltd., 1991. MacCormack, Carol P., ed. Ethnography of Fertility and Birth. 2nd ed. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 1994. National Geographic Society. "Among the Wild Chimpanzees." National Geographic Video, 1984. Pinker, Steven. "Why they kill their newborns" New York Times Magazine 11 Feb. 1997: 52-55. Smuts et. al. eds. Primate societies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986.

Child Pornography an Epidemic Essay

The internet can be a useful tool when used for the right reasons, but what about the wrong reasons, such as child pornography? Child pornography is growing in astounding numbers, it is gaining more popularity every year and there is still not enough legislation to help slow it down. Society has become overly sexually stimulated, simple sexual pleasures are now not enough in many people’s minds, which may lead to harmful, unhealthy sexual desires. Sexual abuse of minors has become a huge social problem in the world today. For a philosopher such as Plato was it normal to live this way? What was and is now considered to be a normal way of living? Pornography comes in different forms such as pictures, film or writing which stimulates sexual arousal. Child pornography is the deliberate abuse of a minor, it not only destroys Childs self-esteem but it later becomes an issue for society to deal with as well. Children are forced to endure both physical and mental harm. A young mind does not have the capability of understanding that what is happening to them is wrong. The young victims are usually lured into watching explicit materials first by the pedophile, in which it is made to seem as though these acts are acceptable and that â€Å"everyone is doing it†. According to Enough. org, Child pornography is one of the fastest growing industries online, it has become a 3 billion dollar industry. Many of the victims blame themselves for what has happened to them because they â€Å"allowed† the abuse to happen or continue. Many of these children suffer from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, emotional numbing and have trouble sleeping or concentrating. Most pedophiles begin by watching soft porn, and then the addiction escalates which leads them to watch more intense explicit materials. Later, these more hardcore images or film may not satisfy the addiction, this is when they turn there fantasy world into reality becoming sexual predators. As seen by millions on an NBC show called â€Å"How to Catch a Predator† hosted by Chris Hansen, many of these men had no issues meeting an under aged girl or boy for sexual satisfaction. These men ranged from your everyday white collar worker to a Rabbi, Priest, teacher, doctor or even a father who brought his young son along. Perversion in these individuals can be so intense that these are the lengths some of these predators will go to. Who can we trust anymore when most of these individuals are off the radar, meaning they haven’t been caught yet? It’s no wonder so many of our children are more sheltered than ever. When I was growing up rain, snow or sun shine my friends and I were outside playing. Today most of our children are behind a television/ computer screen most of the time. I feel parents should be more vigilant when leaving there child with certain individuals, including child care providers, coaches, even your best friends extended family. People need to rely on their instincts more than ever. According to an article on businessinder. com there are 116,000 searches for child pornography every day. The porn industry as a whole earns $3,000 per second! Americans Account for over half of the world’s porn revenue. I feel that for most of these sexuak predators there is not much that can be done at this time. The two main options available are either jail time or some a form of counseling. I do not believe these sexual desires could ever disappear completely. There is a big difference when taking into account alcohol/drug abuse versus child pornography addiction. An addict can be rehabilitated and in many cases they replace there drug or alcohol addiction with other addictions, usually positive outlets, but how the mental state of a sexual predator could possibly change is a question that is still goes unanswered. If it were possible to rehabilitate a pedophile what would their outlet later be? As further demonstrated by a quote from mentalhealthamerica. net- â€Å"Mental health professionals have difficulty determining which sex offenders are likely to be dangerous if not committed and what if any treatment should be provided. This means that courts, which must rely on professional expertise, will regularly make mistakes in deciding who should be committed or released, with serious consequences for both the public and the offender†. Many pedophiles are classified as having â€Å"Antisocial† personality disorder, because of the taboo nature of this addiction it is no wonder they often isolate themselves. Being that the system has no set way of dealing with these individuals it is difficult to understand what the possible outcome of any type of treatment could be. Enough. org states there are approximately 650,000 registered sex offenders in the United States alone. Of course, not every country agrees that marrying an under aged person is a crime or taboo. We could look at polygamy in the world for example. This is a normal practice for many Muslim and Islamic communities. Many of the leaders in these communities marry young girls and many of them are asked to bear their children at a young age because this is when they are the most fertile. For outsiders this type of behavior is very taboo but for the polygamist community it is very common. The same could be said for cults and tribes around the world, many of the young girls in cults are told that relationships with their spiritual leader will bring them closer to God or whomever they believe in. On the other hand, Plato believed people are evil because of ignorance. Plato held the same belief as Socrates that no one knowingly does what he knows to be bad for his soul. Plato uses the term â€Å"just† when speaking about the highest form of life possible. In the city, the shape of a just or good life is one that is specialized. According to Plato, no one but philosophers can achieve a truly good life, because they alone are born with the capacity to recognize the good. He states, â€Å"The pleasure pertaining to the sight of what is cannot be tasted by anyone except the philosopher† (Rep. 82c5). Though, in the Republic, it seems that Plato is trying to give hope to his readers and inspire them to attain what is good and just in their own lives. To him, human limitations can be overcome through instruction. Could this instruction also help the pedophile on his road to reform? I wouldn’t say that individuals with anti-social personality disorder â€Å"live in the dark† per se, I believe the fear of persecution by the public leads them to live in the shadows. The problem is that many of these individuals are educated and very well regarded in their communities. They live among us and are able to function in society as normal citizens of society most of the time, and it is usually behind closed doors where there double life emerges. When thinking of Plato it was evident that he was a homosexual, he was attracted to both men and young boys, therefore I am not sure that he would have much of an issue with the behavior of today’s pedophiles. It seems to have been normal practice in Greece to have relations with young boys, ranging from the ages of 12-17 years of age. Men taught the young boys rules of adulthood, the young boys played the passive role while the older men played the masculine role in the relationship. I do realize that times were much different back then, as knowledgeable as these philosophers where, when thinking about present day, it is very obvious much was left to be learned as far as proper relationships and age limitations are concerned. The concern I had about some of the behaviors towards young men and or women are whether or not these youths had a say in their involvement in these relationships. Where they forced into some of them or did they willingly participate? Did the parents freely give up their children or did they not have a say? Being that I am from today’s generation and society I cannot fathom allowing my 12 year old son to commit to a relationship with another grown man. Did they not believe they were harming these young people? It seems as though they experienced no guilt but only pleasure and satisfaction when gaining a relationship with a young boy. Because the boy’s role was passive submissive, I feel there was a sense of low self-worth associated with that. What did these men do when the boys grew hair on their chests and beards on their faces? Did they simply get rid of them or did they continue the relationship? In some cases I would think they held on to the ones they truly cared for, whatever that meant. What then came of the boys who became adults? Did they also continue the cycle of having relations with young boys? If these boys did not have sexual desires for men, but were constantly being wooed by these prestigious older men then it is obvious that they sometimes gave in to these relationships unwillingly. Much like todays pedophiles it seems as though the boys were lured with promises of a secure and happy friendship/relationship. As with today’s predators they also took their time getting to know the victim before initiating sexual relations. Though intercrural sex was widely practiced, meaning penetration of the penis between the thighs was used very often back then, I still feel the children felt huge sense of belittlement. Therefore in regard to Plato’s idea of a good life, I in contrast believe the good life consists of being happy whether you are educated or not, rich or poor. I grew up poor, my father quit school after the eighth grade, and despite this we had a happy home life. I do feel receiving a traditional education is very helpful, but in some cases it is not necessary. It is human nature to continuously learn new things throughout our lifetime. As we grow older we become so much more knowledgeable about everything around us. I think experiencing things first hand speaks volumes about ones level of maturity. I feel the way we should live to attain happiness is to never have limitations, we should always have the option to keep learning be it through instruction or self-learning. Life should never be left a standstill, people should never feel sorry for themselves or hopeless. If someone wants to be happy and not feel jealous of the way their neighbor is able to live then something can always be done about it. If someone feels unworthy or depressed they can seek out counseling. I do believe that what is good for me is not necessarily what is good for someone else. Culture and personal upbringing obviously have a lot to do with how individuals behave within society. I completely agree with Socrates statement, that the unexamined life is not worth living. Both Socrates and Plato believed that seeking wisdom through examination of life transformed ones soul. By making that choice we moved towards a good life. Lastly, we have yet to learn what a goes through a pedophiles mind and why it is that they can have sexual desires for under aged kids. Though a sad, isolated life for today’s sexual predators, the same could not be said for the days of Plato and the workings of the world back then. I myself feel immense joy and happiness by helping others, not by causing sorrow and pain that is felt by the unfortunate victims involved in these horrific acts. The psychological world has yet to learn the true cause or therapy that will help these individuals, we can only be hopeful that much needed changes come in the near future.

Definition and Examples of Tautologies in English

Definition and Examples of Tautologies in English   In grammar, a tautology is a  redundancy,  in particular, the needless repetition of an idea using different words. Repetition of the same sense is tautology. Repetition of the same sound is tautophony. In rhetoric and  logic, a tautology is a statement that is unconditionally true by virtue of its form alonefor example, Youre either lying or youre not. Adjective: tautologous or tautological. Examples and Observations Here are examples of tautology in use by famous authors in their work: It took only as many minutes to find the following half-dozen examples in one days crop of papers: A major nuclear disaster could have been sparked off . . .. . . who died of a fatal dose of heroin. . . equalized the game to a 2-2 draw. . . kept it from his friends that he was a secret drinkerDirty Den has made up his mind never to go back to EastEnders, finally severing his connection with the soap . . . a group for one-parent single mothers Tautology is either unnecessary elaboration (the Inland Revenues white-collar workers), pointless repetition (pair of twins), superfluous description (Europes huge butter mountain), a needless appendage (weather conditions) or a self-cancelling proposition (He is either guilty or not guilty). (Keith Waterhouse, Waterhouse on Newspaper Style, rev. ed. Revel Barker, 2010)At the risk of being redundant and repetitive, and redundant, let me say that tautology is the last thing children need from their parents, especially when they are in trouble.Whatever you have to say, whatever you do, avoid tautology. Try to say it only once! (Tom Sturges, Parking Lot Rules 75 Other Ideas for Raising Amazing Children. Ballantine, 2009)The new public management has brought new ailments, particularly tautology. You often see such phrases as first class organizations are those that perform excellently. (David Walker, Mind Your Language. The Guardian, Sep. 27, 2006) Mark Twain on Tautological Repetition I do not find that the repetition of an important word a few timessay, three or four timesin a paragraph troubles my ear if clearness of meaning is best secured thereby. But tautological repetition which has no justifying object, but merely exposes the fact that the writers balance at the vocabulary bank has run short and that he is too lazy to replenish it from the thesaurusthat is another matter. It makes me feel like calling the writer to account. (Mark Twain, Autobiography of Mark Twain. University of California Press, 2010) Tautologies in Logic In common parlance, an utterance is usually said to be tautologous if it contains a redundancy and says the same thing twice over in different wordse.g., John is the father of Charles and Charles is a son of John. In logic, however, a tautology is defined as a statement that excludes no logical possibilitiesEither it is raining or it is not raining. Another way of putting this is to say that a tautology is true in all possible worlds. No one will doubt that, irrespective of the actual state of the weather (i.e., regardless of whether the statement that it is raining is true or false), the statement Either it is raining or it is not raining is necessarily true.(E. Nagel and J. R. Newman, Gà ¶dels Proof, 1958  A  tautology is  a statement that is logically, or necessarily, true or is so devoid of content as to be practically empty (and thus true because completely empty statements, making no claim, cannot be false). Example: Scott Peterson did it or he didnt.  (Howard Kahane and Nancy Cavender,  Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric, 10th ed. Thomson Wadsworth, 2006) Tautology. Yes, I know, its an ugly word. But so is the thing. Tautology is this verbal device which consists in defining like by like . . .. Since it is magical, it can of course only take refuge behind the argument of authority: thus do parents at the end of their tether reply to the child who keeps on asking for explanations: because thats how it is, or even better: just because, thats all. (Roland Barthes, Mythologies. Macmillan, 1972) Tautology as a Logical Fallacy One of the most boring fallacies, the tautology, basically just repeats the premise. FAN: The Cowboys are favored to win since theyre the better team.​  (Jay Heinrichs, Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion. Three Rivers Press, 2007) Pronunciation: taw-TOL-eh-jee Also Known As: pleonasm EtymologyFrom the Greek, redundant

Chemistry Lab †Determining A Molecular Formula

Chemistry Lab – Determining A Molecular Formula Free Online Research Papers Purpose: To determine the molecular formula of CuSO4 xH2O using the mass of percent of water. Hypothesis: The variable x will be 5 and therefore the molecular formula will be CuSO4 5H2O. Materials: Hot Plate Beam Balance 100mL Beaker Scoopula Stirring Rod Beaker Tong Hydrated Copper (II) Sulfate Procedure: 1. Prepared a table to record observations. 2. Carefully plugged hot plate into desk outlet and turned on to medium heat. 3. Measured the mass of the beaker and the stirring rod. Recorded the mass in the table. 4. Added 3 g to 5 g of hydrated copper (II) sulfate to the beaker. 5. Measured the mass of the beaker with the hydrated copper (II) sulfate. Recorded the mass in table. 6. Heated the beaker with the hydrated copper (II) sulfate, stirred occasionally, until the crystals lost their blue colour. 7. Removed the beaker with the beaker tongs and allowed it to cool. 8. Found the mass of the beaker with the white powder. Recorded the mass in the table. Results: Substance Mass Empty beaker and glass rod 53.02 g Beaker, glass rod, and hydrated copper sulfate 57.34 g Beaker, glass rod, and anhydrous copper sulfate 56.165 g Hydrated copper sulfate 4.32 g Anhydrous copper sulfate 3.145 g Water 1.175 g Questions: 1. Determine the percent by mass of water in your sample of hydrated copper (II) sulfate. 2. Based on your data, determine the molecular formula of CuSO4 xH2O. 3. Suppose that you heated a sample of hydrated ionic compound in a test tube. What might you expect to see inside of the test tube, near the top of the test tube? Explain. If I heated a sample of a hydrated ionic compound in a test tube, inside the test tube I would expect to see water vapour, since the H2O would be evaporating when heated in the hot plate. 4. Suppose that you did not completely convert the hydrate to the anhydrous compound. Explain how this would effect: a) The calculated percent by mass of water in the compund. If I didnt completely convert the hydrate to the anhydrous compound, the calculated percent by mass of water int hecompound would be less. This is because the mass of the water would be less due to the mass of the anhydrous copper sulfate would be more. Thus it is not completely anhydrous. Therefore, if I went to subtract the hydrated by the anhydrous copper sulfate to get the mass of the water, it would be less. b) The molecuar formula you determined. If I didnt completely convert the hydrate to the anhydrous compound, the molecular formula would also be less since the mass of the water would be less due to the mass of anhydrous copper sulfate being more). Therefore, your molecular formula (and x) would be less. 5. Suggest a cource of error (not alraedy mentioned) that would result in a value of x that is: a) higher than the actual value. A course of error that would result in a value of x that is higher than the actual value is if you had not measured the masses correctly. If you had measured the mass to be more than it actually was, than your x would end up being higher than the actual value. b) lower than the actual value. A source of error that would result in the value of x that is lower than the actual value is if you had not measured the masses correctly. If you had not measured the compound with the stirring rod inside, than the mass would be less than it actually was. Thus, your x would be lower than the actual value. 6. List 5 specific safety precautions pertinent to this experiment. Pertinent to this experiment, there were some safety precautions to be taken into consideration. Firstly, your hair would have to be tied back since you were working with a hot plate. Secondly, you had to keep the aisles clear in case of an emergency, so that the teacher can have easy access to you. This also includes keeping your stools and bags clear of the aisles. Thirdly, you had to use a beaker tong to place the beaker ont op of the beam balance, since it was too hot to touch. Fourthly, you had to check your beaker for any cracks, since if it had any, then it would have a great chance of it exploding when heated. Lastly, you had to constantly moniter the hot plate and make sure not to touch it since you would burn yourself if you did. Conclusion: In conslusion, the hypothesis has been proven to be incorrect since the hypothesis was that the variable x will be 5. However, through calculations, it was proven the correct answer for variable x is 3. Therefore, the molecular formula of the hydrate is CuSO4 3H2O. Research Papers on Chemistry Lab - Determining A Molecular FormulaDefinition of Export QuotasResearch Process Part OneEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andStandardized TestingAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationThe Spring and AutumnMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New Employees

Ethical Leadership in Business Essay Sample

Ethical Leadership in Business Essay Sample Ethical Leadership in Business Essay Ethics is specific standards set within an organization to guide employees. Business decisions are made based on these standards. Hence, they affect the way companies operate and how the company interacts with its employee, customer, the community, and other shareholders. Ethical leadership plays an important role and is known to be the most important factor that promotes productivity in workplaces. Ethical leadership is associated with individual characteristics and includes honesty and trustworthiness. The importance of leadership cannot be underestimated, and the management sets the tone for every decision made within a company. Therefore, ethical leaders are considered as role models and have the ability to hold their employees accountable. Leaders are looked upon as the key decision makers; they have a huge responsibility to ensure that all stakeholders are comfortable at all times. A leader with ethical morals exercises their duty by showing good examples and treating people fairly. Ethical leaders are more like role models and take moral identity as an important element. Thus, they behave in ways that are rational and logical. Individual moral identity means having specific behavior such as caring and being compassionate. Therefore, moral identity is linked to ethical leadership, which is further related to social behavior like charity. Practicing ethical leadership is essential for those in authority because it makes a significant impact to his subordinates. Employees will behave ethically and avoid being unethical depending on the leaders’ action. Those in authority are in charge disciplining an employee who breaches any ethical code. Therefore, they lead by example. Ethical leadership emphasizes the need to acquire positive outcomes, but also obtaining these positive outcomes within specific ethical standards. In leadership, transparency plays an important role in upholding the companys image. To display ethical leadership means to set good examples for employees to enable them to follow the organization culture. It is about creating policies and code of conduct that are useful in setting straight what is expected of employees. It is important that employees feel safe within their work environment. Therefore, a conductive environment that fosters open communication is key in maintaining standard ethical practices. Whereby employees can feel free to report to the higher authority in case a senior officer behaves unethically. One way organizations promote ethical leadership is by taking seriously any complaint forwarded by the employee. Organizations also need to offer ethic training regularly to help create a better ethical environment. As part of compliance efforts, the organization needs to invite motivational speakers to help employees see the sense of practicing ethical behavior. To ensure that ethical standards are maintained. Strict punishment should be administered to those violating the ethical standard. To promote ethical standards, the old employees and new employees should be aware of the organizations code of ethics, and every employee should be aware of the organizations core values. Employees need to be guided to adopt appropriate behavior. Factors like integrity, sense of responsibility, discipline, emphasis on quality and teamwork need to be emphasized at all times. In todays world, young people are ambitious and are eager to succeed using all means. Most employees are willing to engage in any means by foregoing their ethics and moral values to achieve success. It is important that part of the organization ongoing ethical compliance employees should be aware of the values and ethics required by the company. In a nutshell, ethical leadership involves considering different factors that can affect employees and be mindful of employees. Ethical leadership is the most important element in business. Ethical leadership creates ethical workplaces thus leaders are expected to uphold certain values to maintain the integrity of the organization.

Database in an Organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Database in an Organisation - Essay Example This study covers various aspects related to database systems in the BMI healthcare hospital located in the United Kingdom. An analysis of database applications shows that a database system is an integral part of any health care organization. The key functions of a database system are also determined which include recording the relevant data, processing of data, organizing the collected data, and assisting departments of an organization in the different business processes. The result of the study shows that an efficient database system plays a key role in the progress and development of BMI healthcare hospital. 1. Introduction Data or up to date information is of critical importance for any company or organization. It not only plays a key role in the success of an organization but also makes the organizations compete with other firms in a competitive environment. However, companies need to manage the data in an appropriate way in order to make a good use of it. Therefore, information technology professionals have developed database systems, which not only help the organizations manage the data properly but also make the organizational activities efficient and well organized. It is due to the utmost importance of database systems that almost every company or organization of the current business environment has implemented efficient database systems in order to manage data in an organized way. In this paper, we will discuss what database systems are and what role do they play in the success of an organization. 2. What is Database? Before going into the discussion related to databases and their uses in organizations, let us get a better understanding of what database actually is. Date, Kannan, and Swamynathan (2006, p. 6) state, â€Å"A database is basically a computerized record-keeping system†. Database is a record of important data or information, which an organization requires to run different business processes and activities. â€Å"A database can be limited to a single desktop computer or can be stored in large server machines, like the IBM Mainframe† (Satalkar, 2009). Database systems are not like spreadsheets. Some of the functions, which make database systems different from spreadsheets, include retrieval of records that match certain criteria, updating of records in bulk, cross-referencing records in different tables, and performing complex aggregate calculations (Chapple). Database systems help the employees retrieve some specific data from the records. Database systems also help the doctors prepare reports based on recorded data and assist them in performing complex calculations needed to analyze different case histories. 2.1 Types of Databases â€Å"Two of the most popular database systems used by web developers today are MySQL and Microsoft's MS SQL server† (Hobach, 2008). There are various types of databases depending on the structure of data. Some most common types of databases include flat model database , network model database, hierarchical model database, and relational model database. The most commonly used type of database is relational model database. â€Å"In a relational database, information is stored in tables (often called relations) which help organize and structure data† (Martin, 2010). Companies use relational model database not only to store data but also to retrieve it when needed. Data is stored in the form of tables and each record stored in the table can have many fields. Using relational model

Product Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Product Marketing - Essay Example Brand awareness consists of brand recognition and brand recall. The former relates to consumers' ability to confirm prior exposure to the brand when given the brand as a cue. The latter relates to consumers' ability to retrieve the brand when given the product category, the needs fulfilled by the category, or some other type of probe as a cue. The management of Beijing brand awareness will play an important role in potential sponsorship decision making for three major reasons. First, it is important that potential sponsorships think of Beijing brand when they think about Olympics games. Second, Beijing brand awareness can affect decisions about brands in the consideration set, even if there are essentially no other brand associations. Finally and the most important, Beijing brand awareness affects sponsorships and consumers decision making by influencing the formation and strength of brand associations in the brand image. A necessary condition for the creation of a brand image is that a brand node has been established in memory. On the other hand, related to brand image, it is defined as perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory. Likewise, brand associations are the other informational nodes linked to the brand node in memory and contain the meaning of the brand for sponsorships and consumers. Based on the proposal of Keller (199... Based on the proposal of Keller (1993), marketing team of Beijing Olympics games has to consider three major categories of increasing scope: attributes, benefits, and attitudes. The attribute category is related with the features that characterize the Olympics games. Likewise, attributes are categorized in product-related and non product-related. The former is defined as the ingredients necessary for performing the product or service sought by consumers. The latter is defined as external aspects of the product or service that relate to its purchase or consumption. The four main types of non-product related attributes are: price information, packaging or product appearance information, user imagery (e.g. what type of person uses the product or service), and usage imagery (e.g. where and in what types of situations the product or service is used). In the case of management Beijing brand focused on sponsorships, marketing team has to put emphasis on user imagery. Associations of the typical sponsorship of Beijing Olympics are based not only on demographics aspect but also on psychographics. User image attributes can also produce brand personality attributes. Plummer (1985) assets that one component of brand image is the personality or character of the brand itself. Consequently, potential sponsors will expect to form part of a brand which is composed by sponsors of their same "personality" (e.g. brand image of the sponsors). The benefit category is the personal value consumers (in our case sponsorships) attach to the product or service attributes, that is, what consumers think the product or service can do for them. Benefits can be distinguished into three categories

Huntington Disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Huntington Disease - Essay Example Autosomal dominant alteration (mutation) in any of the tow copies of an individual’s gene known as Huntington. Thus each child of the affected person usually has 50% chances of inheriting the Huntington’s disease. The physically apparent Huntington’s disease may develop at any age from birth to the death, but commonly they show up between the period of 35 to 44 years of age (Purdon et al., 1994). Clinical features Physical examination of an individual often in combination with psychological examination may help in the determination of the beginning of the onset of the Huntington’s disease. Extreme unplanned movements of body part are frequently the grounds for attempting medical consultation. Moreover, if these movements are disconnected and have haphazard distribution and timing, they propose the diagnosis of Huntington’s disease. Psychiatric or cognitive symptoms are seldom the initial diagnosed but they are commonly only distinguished in apprehen sion or when they grow further. The level of progression of disease can be gauged using a unified HD rating scale which renders an overall scoring system based on behavioral, motor, functional and cognitive assessments. Medical imaging, like MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and CT (computerized tomography), can reveal caudate nuclei’s atrophy in the earlier stages of the disease but these alterations does not provide diagnostic of the disease. Cerebral atrophy is evident in the progressed stages. Functional neuroimaging methods such as PET and fMRI can reveal alterations in brain activity prior to the onset of symptoms (physical) but are used for experimental purposes and thus are not employed clinically (Jang-Ho Cha and Young, 2000). Huntington’s disease is characteristically a grownup onset disorder qualified by insidious onset of psychiatric as well as neurologic symptoms (Harper, 1996; Ranen et al., 1996). Within the U.S., about 25,000 individuals are impacted by H D (almost 10 out of 100,000 population) and roughly 150,000 individuals have 50% risk for the Huntington’s disease because of bearing an affected parent (Jang-Ho Cha and Young, 2000). The symptoms typically commence in the period between 35 to 45 years of age while disease onset may range from as immature as 2 years or as aged as 80 years. Early symptoms consist of personality change and the continuing emergence of small spontaneous movements (Harper, 1996). Symptoms develop, with chorea turning more incapacitating and obvious. Over existence, motor symptoms deteriorate such that difficulty in walking increases as do eating and speaking. Weight loss is general, to some extent because of the extra energy needed for extrinsic movements but also to heightened expenditures of quiescent basal energy. the majority HD patients ultimately surrender to aspiration pneumonia, due to swallowing difficulties (Purdon et al., 1994). Around 10% cases of HD initiate prior to the age of 20. Th e Westphal variant (juvenile form) exhibits more parkinsonian nature. Instead of chorea, the eminent features are rigidity, bradykinesia and tremor. The juvenile onset may contain seizures. Juvenile onset typically consequences from transmission from father (Nance and Myers, 2001). Among individuals who produce symptoms prior to 10 year’s age, it has been seen that greater than 90% possess father with the same disease (Ranen et al., 1996). This propensity for anticipation of onset in younger age within following generations is

Behavioral theory development Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Behavioral theory development - Research Paper Example Unlike Erikson, Freud’s theories were based upon studies of neurotic patients; Erikson’s theories were based upon studies of normal childhood. Keoke and Porterfield (2001) explain the beginning of Erikson’s observation of normal childhood development as follows: in 1902, Erickson was born in Germany to a well-off family who immigrated to Germany from Denmark; at the age of 25 years, Erickson moved to Vienna, Austria where he established a school and was fortunate to become one of Sigmund Freud’s students and colleagues. During the Hitler reign of terror, Erikson migrated to the United States where he worked with prominent anthropologists and studied two American Indian tribes called the Sioux and Yukon. Erickson’s anthropology study turned into the first empirical study on normal childhood development. The focus of the study was the early childhood development of the Sioux and Yukon children in their home and school environment compared to White Ame rican children. After a longitudinal scientific investigation focused upon the childhood development of the Sioux, Yukon, and White American cultures, including the American Welfare system, Erikson knew that it was time to establish his own theory of development which was in direct conflict to his teacher and colleague namely Freud (Keoke & Porterfield, 2001). Santrock (1997) describes Erikson’s famous eight developmental stages as follows: (a) Trust vs. Mistrust is focused upon the fetal years through the first year and ideally the child learns to get physical and emotional needs fulfilled of which must be achieved before the child will learn how to trust; (b) Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt initiate around the second year of the child’s life in which independence and the assertion of the child’s will is observed through the behavior of doing things and exploring. Erikson observed that if

Plato's View of Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Plato's View of Democracy - Essay Example Many people were wondering how the ideal state could come about. It was argued that it could be a democracy, and this 'idealized world,' could, in name exist. Plato doubted this however. Other people caught onto Plato's ideas about the Greek state quickly. They even adopted them for their own philosophies about the world. In fact, "Jews used Plato's myth [about the demiurge in Timaeus] to imagine how the world could have gotten so out of shape when it was God's wisdom that had planned it." (Mack, 1995) Plato was talking not only about democracy, but about the creation of a polis: "Well, then, said I, is not the city you are founding to be a Greek city" (Hamilton, 2005) Plato insisted that Greeks would run a democratic city in a better fashion than barbarians or non-Greeks, and insisted upon this point with some alacrity. "They will not, being Greeks, ravage Greek territory nor burn habitations, and they will not admit that in any city all the population are their enemies, men, women, and children, but will say that only a few at any time are their foes, those, namely, who are to blame for the quarrel." (Hamilton, 2005) Plato insisted that Greeks would not harm their own land if they were to fight for it and, would indeed not pillage the land. "And on all these considerations they will not be willing to lay waste the soil, since the majority are their friends, nor to destroy the houses, but will carry the conflict only to the point of compelling the guilty to do justice by the pressure of the suffering of the innocent." (Hamilton, 2005) Plato considered that it would be an injustice towards Greek countrymen if Greeks were to commit their own savage acts of war on their own country in pursuit of democracy, saying, "if either party... The Plato's View on Democracy The problems Plato had with democracy were that: there was a fake quality about this notion, and that in fact in Greece not all men were equipped to become faciliators of the state; men needed an oligarchic state because no man was an island capable of helping himself; and that a society in which there is a hierarchy avoids justice, and includes a state which would dissolve into a tyranny because people would not know what would be the right thing to do. "While Plato and Aristotle founded their schools, the Academy and the Lyceum, before the beginning of the Hellenistic period, the Epicureans and the Stoics first appeared in the early decades of that period." (Koester, 1995) Plato does have a way of describing events, but he does so in a mentally rigorous process. "When Plato describes the universe [and how ordered a democracy should be], "he does so in almost entirely mythological terms; so too in his many discussions of the nature and destiny of the soul (Phaedo, Gorgias, Phaedrus, Republic, Laws)." (Tarnas, 1991) In that period, not every man was deemed equal in Plato's eyes. "In the middle period dialogues (Phaedo, Symposium, Republic), Plato set out the character of the ideal society and speculated on the nature of true reality as such. Plato had a very narrow view on democracy, and he can’t be blamed for that seeing as how the people of his time were at times unreliable.

Behavioral theory development Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Behavioral theory development - Research Paper Example Unlike Erikson, Freud’s theories were based upon studies of neurotic patients; Erikson’s theories were based upon studies of normal childhood. Keoke and Porterfield (2001) explain the beginning of Erikson’s observation of normal childhood development as follows: in 1902, Erickson was born in Germany to a well-off family who immigrated to Germany from Denmark; at the age of 25 years, Erickson moved to Vienna, Austria where he established a school and was fortunate to become one of Sigmund Freud’s students and colleagues. During the Hitler reign of terror, Erikson migrated to the United States where he worked with prominent anthropologists and studied two American Indian tribes called the Sioux and Yukon. Erickson’s anthropology study turned into the first empirical study on normal childhood development. The focus of the study was the early childhood development of the Sioux and Yukon children in their home and school environment compared to White Ame rican children. After a longitudinal scientific investigation focused upon the childhood development of the Sioux, Yukon, and White American cultures, including the American Welfare system, Erikson knew that it was time to establish his own theory of development which was in direct conflict to his teacher and colleague namely Freud (Keoke & Porterfield, 2001). Santrock (1997) describes Erikson’s famous eight developmental stages as follows: (a) Trust vs. Mistrust is focused upon the fetal years through the first year and ideally the child learns to get physical and emotional needs fulfilled of which must be achieved before the child will learn how to trust; (b) Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt initiate around the second year of the child’s life in which independence and the assertion of the child’s will is observed through the behavior of doing things and exploring. Erikson observed that if

International law discussion 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International law discussion 2 - Essay Example The OAS can directly trace its roots to these meetings. World War II convinced the leaders of the American nations that they needed to come together to guard against outside aggression and to contain conflicts within the hemisphere. In 1948, meetings were held in Bogota. Not only did the attendees sign the Charter of the OAS, it resulted in their pledge to fight communism in the Americas and in the adoption of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, the world’s first human rights agreement. Like many international treaties, the Charter of the OAS was developed as a response to outside forces—first, to fight imperialism and secondly, to guard against outside aggression, most significantly, communism. With the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s, as well as the return to democracy in Latin America and the increase of globalization in the 1990s, the way in which the OAS has enforced its Charter has changed. There has been some criticism of the OAS and t he Charter as being an arm of the United States, especially after the OAS expelled Cuba in 1962 and Honduras in 2009. One thing that has remained, however, is that in the case of the Charter of the OAS, it was created in response to outside forces and threats. 2.

Is Credit Card Necessary in Our Life Essay Example for Free

Is Credit Card Necessary in Our Life Essay A credit card is a card issued by a financial company to the holder in order for an individual to borrow funds often at a point of sale. It is important to note that credit cards charge interest and are basically use for short-term financing. Moreover, the interests charged on credits cards are enacted usually one month after purchasing is made and borrowing limits are pre-set. This is with regard to the individual`s card rating. Significantly, credit cards contain a higher interest rate that is about 19% per year than majority of the consumer lines or loans of credit. Consequently, many consumer stores allow payment through credit cards, an aspect that has seen the vast growth of these cards. Suze denotes says â€Å"For Americans who don’t pay their entire credit card bill each month, the average balance is close to $4,000. † In addition, they are a mode of payment in the current world by most companies and even the civil servants. However, the various limitations like dent limit make credit cards insignificant in our life. Credit cards are not necessary in our life because they impose various limitations to the card holders. First, charging items, goods, and services on plastic can be convenient but encourage poor spending habits. Credit cards are readily within one`s reach. Moreover, people walk with these cards in their wallets and handbags. This is not only, a limiting factor, but also encourages the issues of money expenditure. For instance, online stores have become a considerable element in the current American society. Buying of goods and services can be done within seconds, especially with the home delivery services at hand. Suze in her argument emphasizes, â€Å"But also realize that some of you are broke by circumstances. I believe you are Broke by Choice. † This is to indicate the practices that we engage with the accessibility to the cards. Credit cards expose high rate expenditure among people with even little goods they would purchase locally. Credit card debt is a considerable problem that each ground people every year. Rise in the interest rates is a limit factor towards the use of credit cards. It is evident that financial companies vary their rates within days and even a month. For instance, the interest rate may change frequently if the economy of the nation keeps alternating. This puts the credit card holders in a chilly spot. The fluctuation of interest rates has resulted to individuals going for loans since they cannot support their bills. Suze denotes, â€Å"The average interest rate charged on credit is 15 percent, with plenty of folks paying 18 percent † Moreover, the financial companies are after profits, and to ensure they have established this, they enact interest rates that are merely undistinguishable by the credit card holders. This exposes the card holders to vulnerability of inevitable charges by the organizations. Moreover, at times payments through the credit cards get missed. This is usual among the card holders. Various companies have emphasized on credit card payment mode. However, it is imperative to note that during the transfer of money from the corporative, some instances of money loss have been identified. Efficiency is a factor that cannot be relied on from payment and service coherence. Furthermore, online vandalism in the form of account hacking is a current problem facing credit card issuing financial corporations. For instance, payoneer company accounts that are issued online to individuals from various regions of the world have faced vandalism with clients and card holders losing millions of cash. Hacking online credit card accounts has become a common practice in the present society. This has forced people to limit the utilization of the credit cards. Credit cards are likely to accumulate debts if the monthly charges are not paid in time. â€Å"†¦if you are late on any other card, your zero deal can be in jeopardy. † In addition, credit card scores are trashed by the financial companies rendering to discrimination of the individual card holders. On the other hand, credit cards can be regarded to be very significant in the modern world. This is because they solve the issue of distance payment. For instance, an individual living in Great Britain can receive his/her salary even if working for a company established in the United States. This is because the credit cards allows funds to be deposited on the card holder`s card. Furthermore, the card holder can withdraw money from any card supporting Automatic Teller Machine (ATM). This is not only an advantage to the credit card holders but a limitation to knowing their bank ledger rates and various banking processes within the account. Majority of the credit card holders neglect the various conditions and terms they are subjected to during account application. Considerably, for the people who do not pay their credit card bill every month, it is significant to note that their average balance is estimated to $4,000. Considerably, the higher earning individual with an annual income that ranges $75000 and $100000, the average balance is approximately $8,000. â€Å"To see if you have been late on any card, not just their car. † This is a remarkably high cost in incorporating credit card in aspects of payment and other financial areas. It does not make meaning if an individual is paying, for example, 18 percent interest on a $7,000 balance and he/she makes just 1. percent minimum payment each month. This is because the individual will end up paying $20,000 in the averagely 50 years he/she will take to decline the balance to zero. It is important to note that those people who like buying goods on credit are at a big risk of ending up in great debts. The various transactions or credits that are made on the credit cards are crucial since they gain more interest to the related financial company. It is important to limit the rate at which one uses the credit card. Suze denote â€Å"Push yourself hard to make that extra payment as large as possible. Otherwise, an individual will end up accumulating a good amount of dents. Paying for groceries and friends drinks at the restaurant at your expense is a practice will finally get one to the unpaid credit balance. The card sets an individual for many snares and traps though the card companies in order for you to spend more creating more debts. The strategy for getting out of rid of the credit card debt is only by maneuvering the credit card companies with strategies that will ensure individuals pay the least amount possible interest rate. Considerably, the average interest charged on a credit card is about 15 percent. However, Suze says that, â€Å"majority of the people pay at around 18 percent and any balance carried by a credit calls for the rate lowered as possible. † In conclusion, it is important to note that credit cards are not necessary to our life. This is with consideration on the various credit debts they can amount to an individual. Further, they enhance high expenditure through online stores including groceries. Therefore, progressive use of credit cards even with minor goods and services that can be obtained readily endangers you to debts that are critical within credit card use. The most appropriate strategy in dealing with high-rate debt in the use of credit cards is ensuring that all your cards are equally used. â€Å"If you have a FICO score of at least 720, and you make at least the minimum payment due each month, on time, you should be able to negotiate with your current credit card issuer to lower your rate. If other cards are frequently used unlike others an individual would be paying the monthly charges and other interests for free. Therefore, credit cards are a critical aspect in the financial ground of an individual.

Production and operations management

Production and operations management Production and Operations Management (POM) is about the transformation of production and operational inputs into outputs that, when distributed, meet the needs of customers. The process in the above diagram is often referred to as the Conversion Process. There are several different methods of handling the conversion or production process Job, Batch, Flow and Group POM incorporates many tasks that are interdependent, but which can be grouped under five main headings: PRODUCT Marketers in a business must ensure that a business sells products that meet customer needs and wants. The role of Production and Operations is to ensure that the business actually makes the required products in accordance with the plan. The role of PRODUCT in POM therefore concerns areas such as: Performance Aesthetics Quality Reliability Quantity Production costs Delivery dates PLANT To make PRODUCT, PLANT of some kind is needed. This will comprise the bulk of the fixed assets of the business. In determining which PLANT to use, management must consider areas such as: Future demand (volume, timing) Design and layout of factory, equipment, offices Productivity and reliability of equipment Need for (and costs of) maintenance Heath and safety (particularly the operation of equipment) Environmental issues (e.g. creation of waste products) PROCESSES There are many different ways of producing a product. Management must choose the best process, or series of processes. They will consider: Available capacity Available skills Type of production Layout of plant and equipment Safety Production costs Maintenance requirements PROGRAMMES The production PROGRAMME concerns the dates and times of the products that are to be produced and supplied to customers. The decisions made about programme will be influenced by factors such as: Purchasing patterns (e.g. lead time) Cash flow Need for / availability of storage Transportation PEOPLE Production depends on PEOPLE, whose skills, experience and motivation vary. Key people-related decisions will consider the following areas: Wages and salaries Safety and training Work conditions Leadership and motivation Unionisation Communication ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ production types of production method Definition In our introduction to production and operations management (POM) we suggested that there are several different methods of handling the conversion or production process Job, Batch, Flow and Group. This revision note explains these methods in more detail. Introduction The various methods of production are not associated with a particular volume of production. Similarly, several methods may be used at different stages of the overall production process. Job Method With Job production, the complete task is handled by a single worker or group of workers. Jobs can be small-scale/low technology as well as complex/high technology. Low technology jobs: here the organisation of production is extremely simply, with the required skills and equipment easily obtainable. This method enables customers specific requirements to be included, often as the job progresses. Examples include: hairdressers; tailoring High technology jobs: high technology jobs involve much greater complexity and therefore present greater management challenge. The important ingredient in high-technology job production is project management, or project control. The essential features of good project control for a job are: Clear definitions of objectives how should the job progress (milestones, dates, stages) Decision-making process how are decisions taking about the needs of each process in the job, labour and other resources Examples of high technology / complex jobs: film production; large construction projects (e.g. the Millennium Dome) Batch Method As businesses grow and production volumes increase, it is not unusual to see the production process organised so that Batch methods can be used. Batch methods require that the work for any task is divided into parts or operations. Each operation is completed through the whole batch before the next operation is performed. By using the batch method, it is possible to achieve specialisation of labour. Capital expenditure can also be kept lower although careful planning is required to ensure that production equipment is not idle. The main aims of the batch method are, therefore, to: Concentrate skills (specialisation) Achieve high equipment utilisation This technique is probably the most commonly used method for organising manufacture. A good example is the production of electronic instruments. Batch methods are not without their problems. There is a high probability of poor work flow, particularly if the batches are not of the optimal size or if there is a significant difference in productivity by each operation in the process. Batch methods often result in the build up of significant work in progress or stocks (i.e. completed batches waiting for their turn to be worked on in the next operation). Flow Methods Flow methods are similar to batch methods except that the problem of rest/idle production/batch queuing is eliminated. Flow has been defined as a method of production organisation where the task is worked on continuously or where the processing of material is continuous and progressive, The aims of flow methods are: Improved work material flow Reduced need for labour skills Added value / completed work faster Flow methods mean that as work on a task at a particular stage is complete, it must be passed directly to the next stage for processing without waiting for the remaining tasks in the batch. When it arrives at the next stage, work must start immediately on the next process. In order for the flow to be smooth, the times that each task requires on each stage must be of equal length and there should be no movement off the flow production line. In theory, therefore, any fault or error at a particular stage In order that flow methods can work well, several requirements must be met: (1) There must be substantially constant demand If demand is unpredictable or irregular, then the flow production line can lead to a substantial build up of stocks and possibility storage difficulties. Many businesses using flow methods get round this problem by building for stock i.e. keeping the flow line working during quiet periods of demand so that output can be produced efficiently. (2) The product and/or production tasks must be standardised Flow methods are inflexible they cannot deal effectively with variations in the product (although some variety can be accomplished through applying different finishes, decorations etc at the end of the production line). (3) Materials used in production must be to specification and delivered on time Since the flow production line is working continuously, it is not a good idea to use materials that vary in style, form or quality. Similarly, if the required materials are not available, then the whole production line will come to a close with potentially serious cost consequences. (4) Each operation in the production flow must be carefully defined and recorded in detail (5) The output from each stage of the flow must conform to quality standards Since the output from each stage moves forward continuously, there is no room for sub-standard output to be re-worked (compare this with job or batch production where it is possible to compensate for a lack of quality by doing some extra work on the job or the batch before it is completed). The achievement of a successful production flow line requires considerable planning, particularly in ensuring that the correct production materials are delivered on time and that operations in the flow are of equal duration. Common examples where flow methods are used are the manufacture of motor cars, chocolates and televisions. +++++++++++++++++++++++++ capacity management the meaning of capacity Introduction The capacity of a production unit (e.g. machine, factory) is its ability to produce or do that which the customer requires. In production and operations management, three types of capacity are often referred to: Potential Capacity The capacity that can be made available to influence the planning of senior management (e.g. in helping them to make decisions about overall business growth, investment etc). This is essentially a long-term decision that does not influence day-to-day production management Immediate Capacity The amount of production capacity that can be made available in the short-term. This is the maximum potential capacity assuming that it is used productively Effective Capacity An important concept. Not all productive capacity is actually used or usable. It is important for production managers to understand what capacity is actually achievable. Measuring capacity Capacity, being the ability to produce work in a given time, must be measured in the unit of work. For example, consider a factory that has a capacity of 10,000 machine hours in each 40 hour week. This factory should be capable of producing 10,000 standard hours of work during a 40-hour week. The actual volume of product that the factory can produce will depend on: the amount of work involved in production (e.g. does a product require 1, 5, 10 standard hours? any additional time required in production (e.g. machine set-up, maintenance) the productivity or effectiveness of the factory Constraints on capacity In capacity management there are usually two potential constraints TIME and CAPACITY Time may be a constraint where a customer has a particular required delivery date. In this situation, capacity managers often plan backwards. In other words, they allocate the final stage (operation) of the production tasks to the period where delivery is required; the penultimate task one period earlier and so on. This process helps identify whether there is sufficient time to meet the production demands and whether capacity needs to be increased, albeit temporarily. Production Scheduling A schedule is a representation of the time necessary to carry out a particular task. A job schedule shows the plan for the manufacture of a particular job. It is created through work / study reviews which determine the method and times required. Most businesses carry out several production tasks at one time which entails amalgamating several job schedules. This process is called scheduling. The result is known as the production schedule or factory schedule for the factory/plant as a whole. In preparing a production schedule, attention needs to be paid to: Delivery dates (when are finished products due?) Job schedules for each relevant production task Capacities of production sections or departments involved Efficiency of these production sections or departments Planned holidays Anticipated sickness / absenteeism / training Availability of raw materials, components and packaging There are two key problems with production scheduling: (1) Measurement of performance (e.g. should financial performance be most important (e.g. minimise the amount of stock), or are marketing objectives more important e.g. always produce enough to meet customer demand). (2) The large number of possible schedules often caused by too much complexity or variety in the production needs of the business. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ introduction to break-even analysis Introduction Break-even analysis is a technique widely used by production management and management accountants. It is based on categorising production costs between those which are variable (costs that change when the production output changes) and those that are fixed (costs not directly related to the volume of production). Total variable and fixed costs are compared with sales revenue in order to determine the level of sales volume, sales value or production at which the business makes neither a profit nor a loss (the break-even point). The Break-Even Chart In its simplest form, the break-even chart is a graphical representation of costs at various levels of activity shown on the same chart as the variation of income (or sales, revenue) with the same variation in activity. The point at which neither profit nor loss is made is known as the break-even point and is represented on the chart below by the intersection of the two lines: In the diagram above, the line OA represents the variation of income at varying levels of production activity (output). OB represents the total fixed costs in the business. As output increases, variable costs are incurred, meaning that total costs (fixed + variable) also increase. At low levels of output, Costs are greater than Income. At the point of intersection, P, costs are exactly equal to income, and hence neither profit nor loss is made. Fixed Costs Fixed costs are those business costs that are not directly related to the level of production or output. In other words, even if the business has a zero output or high output, the level of fixed costs will remain broadly the same. In the long term fixed costs can alter perhaps as a result of investment in production capacity (e.g. adding a new factory unit) or through the growth in overheads required to support a larger, more complex business. Examples of fixed costs: Rent and rates Depreciation Research and development Marketing costs (non- revenue related) Administration costs Variable Costs Variable costs are those costs which vary directly with the level of output. They represent payment output-related inputs such as raw materials, direct labour, fuel and revenue-related costs such as commission. A distinction is often made between Direct variable costs and Indirect variable costs. Direct variable costs are those which can be directly attributable to the production of a particular product or service and allocated to a particular cost centre. Raw materials and the wages those working on the production line are good examples. Indirect variable costs cannot be directly attributable to production but they do vary with output. These include depreciation (where it is calculated related to output e.g. machine hours), maintenance and certain labour costs. Semi-Variable Costs Whilst the distinction between fixed and variable costs is a convenient way of categorising business costs, in reality there are some costs which are fixed in nature but which increase when output reaches certain levels. These are largely related to the overall scale and/or complexity of the business. For example, when a business has relatively low levels of output or sales, it may not require costs associated with functions such as human resource management or a fully-resourced finance department. However, as the scale of the business grows (e.g. output, number people employed, number and complexity of transactions) then more resources are required. If production rises suddenly then some short-term increase in warehousing and/or transport may be required. In these circumstances, we say that part of the cost is variable and part fixed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ quality management introduction One of the most important issues that businesses have focused on in the last 20-30 years has been quality. As markets have become much more competitive quality has become widely regarded as a key ingredient for success in business. In this revision note, we introduce what is meant by quality by focusing on the key terms you will come up against. What is quality? You will comes across several terms that all seem to relate to the concept of quality. It can be quite confusing working out what the difference is between them. Weve defined the key terms that you need to know below: Term Description Quality Quality is first and foremost about meeting the needs and expectations of customers. It is important to understand that quality is about more than a product simply working properly. Think about your needs and expectations as a customer when you buy a product or service. These may include performance, appearance, availability, delivery, reliability, maintainability, cost effectiveness and price. Think of quality as representing all the features of a product or service that affect its ability to meet customer needs. If the product or service meets all those needs then it passes the quality test. If it doesnt, then it is sub-standard. Quality management Producing products of the required quality does not happen by accident. There has to be a production process which is properly managed. Ensuring satisfactory quality is a vital part of the production process. Quality management is concerned with controlling activities with the aim of ensuring that products and services are fit for their purpose and meet the specifications. There are two main parts to quality management (1) Quality assurance (2) Quality control Quality assurance Quality assurance is about how a business can design the way a product of service is produced or delivered to minimise the chances that output will be sub-standard. The focus of quality assurance is, therefore on the product design/development stage. Why focus on these stages? The idea is that if the processes and procedures used to produce a product or service are tightly controlled then quality will be built-in. This will make the production process much more reliable, so there will be less need to inspect production output (quality control). Quality assurance involves developing close relationships with customers and suppliers. A business will want to make sure that the suppliers to its production process understand exactly what is required and deliver! Quality control Quality control is the traditional way of managing quality. A further revision note (see the list on the right) deals with this in more detail. Quality control is concerned with checking and reviewing work that has been done. For example, this would include lots of inspection, testing and sampling. Quality control is mainly about detecting defective output rather than preventing it. Quality control can also be a very expensive process. Hence, in recent years, businesses have focused on quality management and quality assurance. Total quality management Total quality management (usually shortened to TQM) is a modern form of quality management. In essence, it is about a kind of business philosophy which emphasises the need for all parts of a business to continuously look for ways to improve quality. We cover this important concept in further revision notes. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ quality control Quality control is the more traditional way that businesses have used to manage quality. Quality control is concerned with checking and reviewing work that has been done. But is this the best way for a business to manage quality? Under traditional quality control, inspection of products and services (checking to make sure that whats being produced is meeting the required standard) takes place during and at the end of the operations process. There are three main points during the production process when inspection is performed: 1 When raw materials are received prior to entering production 2 Whilst products are going through the production process 3 When products are finished inspection or testing takes place before products are despatched to customers The problem with this sort of inspection is that it doesnt work very well! There are several problems with inspection under traditional quality control: 1 The inspection process does not add any value. If there were any guarantees that no defective output would be produced, then there would be no need for an inspection process in the first place! 2 Inspection is costly, in terms of both tangible and intangible costs. For example, materials, labour, time, employee morale, customer goodwill, lost sales 3 It is sometimes done too late in the production process. This often results in defective or non-acceptable goods actually being received by the customer 4 It is usually done by the wrong people e.g. by a separate quality control inspection team rather than by the workers themselves 5 Inspection is often not compatible with more modern production techniques (e.g. Just in Time Manufacturing) which do not allow time for much (if any) inspection. 6 Working capital is tied up in stocks which cannot be sold 7 There is often disagreement as to what constitutes a quality product. For example, to meet quotas, inspectors may approve goods that dont meet 100% conformance, giving the message to workers that it doesnt matter if their work is a bit sloppy. Or one quality control inspector may follow different procedures from another, or use different measurements. As a result of the above problems, many businesses have focused their efforts on improving quality by implementing quality management techniques which emphasise the role of quality assurance. As Deming (a quality guru) wrote: Inspection with the aim of finding the bad ones and throwing them out is too late, ineffective, costly. Quality comes not from inspection but from improvement of the process. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ total quality management tqm Total quality management is a popular quality management concept. However, it is about much more than just assuring product or service quality. TQM is a business philosophy a way of doing business. It describes ways to managing people and business processes to ensure complete customer satisfaction at every stage. TQM is often associated with the phrase doing the right things right, first time. This revision note summarises the main features of TQM. Like most quality management concepts, TQM views quality entirely from the point of view of the customer. All businesses have many types of customer. A customer can be someone internal to the business (e.g. a production employee working at the end of the production line is the customer of the employees involved earlier in the production process). A customer can also be external to the business. This is the kind of customer you will be familiar with. When you fly with an airline you are their customer. When Tescos buys products from food manufacturers, it is a customer. TQM recognises that all businesses require processes that enable customer requirements to be met. TQM focuses on the ways in which these processes can be managed with two key objectives: 1 100% customer satisfaction 2 Zero defects The Importance of Customer Supplier Relationships Quality Chains TQM focuses strongly on the importance of the relationship between customers (internal and external) and supplier. These are known as the quality chains and they can be broken at any point by one person or one piece of equipment not meeting the requirements of the customer. Failure to meet the requirements in any part of a quality chain has a way of multiplying, and failure in one part of the system creates problems elsewhere, leading to yet more failure and problems, and so the situation is exacerbated. The ability to meet customers (external and internal) requirements is vital. To achieve quality throughout a business, every person in the quality chain must be trained to ask the following questions about every customer-supplier chain: Customers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Who are my customers? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ What are their real needs and expectations? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ How can I measure my ability to meet their needs and expectations? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Do I have the capability to meet their needs and expectations? (If not, what must I do to improve this capability?) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Do I continually meet their needs and expectations? (If not, what prevents this from happening when the capability exists?) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ How do I monitor changes in their needs and expectations? Suppliers: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Who are my internal suppliers? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ What are my true needs and expectations? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ How do I communicate my needs and expectations to my suppliers? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Do my suppliers have the capability to measure and meet these needs and expectations? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ How do I inform them of changes in my needs and expectations? Main Principles of TQM The main principles that underlie TQM are summarised below: Prevention Prevention is better than cure. In the long run, it is cheaper to stop products defects than trying to find them Zero defects The ultimate aim is no (zero) defects or exceptionally low defect levels if a product or service is complicated Getting things right first time Better not to produce at all than produce something defective Quality involves everyone Quality is not just the concern of the production or operations department it involves everyone, including marketing, finance and human resources Continuous improvement Businesses should always be looking for ways to improve processes to help quality Employee involvement Those involved in production and operations have a vital role to play in spotting improvement opportunities for quality and in identifying quality problems Introducing TQM into a Business TQM is not an easy concept to introduce into businesses particularly those that have not traditionally concerned themselved too much with understanding customer needs and business processes. In fact many attempts to introduce TQM fail! One of the reasons for the challenge of introducing TQM is that it has significant implications for the whole business. For example, it requires that management give employees a say in the production processes that they are involved in. In a culture of continuous improvement, workforce views are invaluable. The problem is many businesses have barriers to involvement. For example, middle managers may feel that their authority is being challenged. So empowerment is a crucial part of TQM. The key to success is to identify the management culture before attempting to install TQM and to take steps to change towards the management style required for it. Since culture is not the first thing that managers think about, this step has often been missed or ignored with resultant failure of a TQM strategy. TQM also focuses the business on the activities of the business that are closest to the customer e.g. the production department, the employees facing the customer. This can cause resentment amongst departments that previously considered themselves above the shop floor. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Trade Law Essay -- International Law

Part 1: Critically assess the argument that electronic bills of lading are better and more effective than paper bills of lading. This essay will answer the first part of the question by at first introducing bills of lading, their history and features and then explain what electronic bills of lading are. Bills of lading originated as a result of Mediterranean trading during the 11th or 12th century AD when records of the goods loaded (where the word ‘lading’ comes from) on to ships over long distances were kept. During the early part of the 20th century rules were drawn up by the International Law Association called the Hague Rules that aimed at regulating the obligations and the liabilities of those carrying the goods by sea. A bill of lading documents the type, destination and quantity of the good being transported and also serves as a receipt of shipment when the goods reach their destination. Being a legal document between the carrier and the shipper, which must be signed by both and also signed by the recipient, a bill of lading can be treated as evidence under many different laws as it is a document of title. Due to it being a document of title the shipment will be incomplete without the documentation; therefore it cannot be passed on to the correct party when the goods are presented at the port of destination stipulated in the ocean bill of lading. Bills of lading are usually made in three original pieces or parts which are sent off to the consignee by mail, another is sent off to with the goods and the last is retained by the shipper. Sometimes the master of the ship retains a copy for their own personal reference. An example copy of a bill of lading may be seen in appendix one, at the end of this essay. Two ex... ...hnology Law, 17(2), 125-149. Livermore, J. (2006). Electronic bills of lading. Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce, 28(1), 455-59. Nilson, k. (1995). Electronic bills of lading — planning for areas of risk. Journal of Financial Crime, 2(4), 311-316. Scrutton, T. E. (2009). Charterparties and Bills of Lading. London: BiblioBazaar. UNCTAD. (2004). UNCTAD Survey Reveals Why Paper B/Ls Still Rule. Managing Exports, 2004(8), 1-14. Wang, F. F. (2010). Law of Electronic Commercial Transactions: Contemporary Issues in the EU, US and China (Routledge Research in Information Technology and E-commerce Law). Routledge. Yiannopoulos, A. (1995). Ocean Bills of Lading: Traditional Forms, Substitutes, and EDI Systems. The Hague: Kluwer law International. Zekos, G. I. (1999). EDI and the contractual role of computerised (electronic) bills of lading. Managerial Law, 41, 1-34. Trade Law Essay -- International Law Part 1: Critically assess the argument that electronic bills of lading are better and more effective than paper bills of lading. This essay will answer the first part of the question by at first introducing bills of lading, their history and features and then explain what electronic bills of lading are. Bills of lading originated as a result of Mediterranean trading during the 11th or 12th century AD when records of the goods loaded (where the word ‘lading’ comes from) on to ships over long distances were kept. During the early part of the 20th century rules were drawn up by the International Law Association called the Hague Rules that aimed at regulating the obligations and the liabilities of those carrying the goods by sea. A bill of lading documents the type, destination and quantity of the good being transported and also serves as a receipt of shipment when the goods reach their destination. Being a legal document between the carrier and the shipper, which must be signed by both and also signed by the recipient, a bill of lading can be treated as evidence under many different laws as it is a document of title. Due to it being a document of title the shipment will be incomplete without the documentation; therefore it cannot be passed on to the correct party when the goods are presented at the port of destination stipulated in the ocean bill of lading. Bills of lading are usually made in three original pieces or parts which are sent off to the consignee by mail, another is sent off to with the goods and the last is retained by the shipper. Sometimes the master of the ship retains a copy for their own personal reference. An example copy of a bill of lading may be seen in appendix one, at the end of this essay. Two ex... ...hnology Law, 17(2), 125-149. Livermore, J. (2006). Electronic bills of lading. Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce, 28(1), 455-59. Nilson, k. (1995). Electronic bills of lading — planning for areas of risk. Journal of Financial Crime, 2(4), 311-316. Scrutton, T. E. (2009). Charterparties and Bills of Lading. London: BiblioBazaar. UNCTAD. (2004). UNCTAD Survey Reveals Why Paper B/Ls Still Rule. Managing Exports, 2004(8), 1-14. Wang, F. F. (2010). Law of Electronic Commercial Transactions: Contemporary Issues in the EU, US and China (Routledge Research in Information Technology and E-commerce Law). Routledge. Yiannopoulos, A. (1995). Ocean Bills of Lading: Traditional Forms, Substitutes, and EDI Systems. The Hague: Kluwer law International. Zekos, G. I. (1999). EDI and the contractual role of computerised (electronic) bills of lading. Managerial Law, 41, 1-34.