Biography Of Christopher Columbus And Charles Lindbergh

Samuel Steiger 1/28/16 English/History History Essay Very few people have been categorized as a pioneer. A pioneer is someone who does something that mankind has never done before to progress science and understanding to our world. These people are very well known through the world. They are in history books as great and famous people. But who were the pioneers of humanity. Some of the most famous pioneers are Neil Armstrong, who was the first man on the moon. The Wright Brothers brought the airplane to the world. Now the plane is a widely use form of transportation. But few pioneers did something across the Atlantic. The most famous of these is Christopher Columbus and Charles Lindbergh. Charles Lindbergh was born in February 4 1902 in Detroit. He became a pilot in his young years. Later in World War 2 he flew fighters in the pacific. He married Anne morrow. But what made him a famous pioneer? He was the first person to fly across the Atlantic. On May 21 1927 Charles Lindbergh flew The Spirit of Saint Louis from New York to Paris. The flight took him 33 hours and 30 minutes. He became a huge sensation for crossing the Atlantic. Before this it would take a few days to travel by boat across the Atlantic now it seemed that it could be done in just a day. He made the world seem a smaller place than it did before. Today the flight from New York to Paris is done in around 7 hours. The reason he flew across the Atlantic was because of a $25,000 cash prize for the first

Agriculture A Global Environmental And Humanitarian Issue

Agriculture uses the domestication and cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms to produce food, fiber, biofuel, medicinal and other products to help sustain and enhance human life. Agriculture has existed for over the last 10,000 years and is credited into propelling our civilization into the modern cultures and technologies we see today. Without the ability to store and domesticate plants and animals it is unlikely that we would have been able to evolve beyond our hunting and gathering ancestors, advancing in both the arts and sciences. Modern agricultural though has developed into a global environmental and humanitarian issue. With the ever growing human population, our ability to sustain arable land is posing a†¦show more content†¦If the population continues to grow, so will our methods of production. Helping to save the planet is the ultimate goal, but in order to do so we will first need to save ourselves. Thomas Malthus was one of the first scientists to investigate the principles of population growth and the concept of carrying capacity. Malthus came to realize that the growth of a population relied upon, and was directly related to the amount of available resources needed to survive. Malthus acknowledged that if a population became too large, surpassing its carrying capacity, it would eventually be checked by what is known as a Malthusian catastrophe (i.e. famine and disease). We can induce this concept when observing a culture of bacteria, or more simply a pasture of farming sheep, first observed as the tragedy of the commons. Today we are already seeing symptoms of overpopulation, as a significant number of our population dies every day because of malnutrition, starvation and disease. So have we already surpassed our carrying capacity? Or are these issues of food security merely a result of affluent nations tipping the scale in their favor? Many people say that we have enough food to feed the current world population, so the issue then becomes how this food is distributed. When considering the amount of food that gets thrown away each year and the rising obesity rates in the United States, it’s hard to argue. Aldo

Agile Scrum Methodology In The Project Management System - Samples

Question: Discuss about the Agile Scrum Methodology In The Project Management System. Answer: Introduction Project management is one of the things that ensure what type of project is being delivered and the project that is delivered is right or not. In business management project management delivers real value. Management of project is one of the things that look easy but actually it is not the thing (Schwalbe, 2015). The stakeholders believe that theproject management is easy to handle but actually it is not so. The idea behindproject management is very surprising. The idea of project management is very prominent for all the organizations that are new and are also very important in organizations that are small. Stakeholders consider project management as a bureaucratic nonsense (Stettina Hrz, 2015). The project management is done through paperwork for doing all the things right at the right time. In this report, two of the project management methodologies are discussed elaborately. The methods that are discussed are the scrum agile method and the PMBOK method. The details of the methods are described and a detailed comparison is done between the agile method and PMBOK method. Area of applications which uses the agile method and the PMBOK method is described. Project Management Methods Project management consists of many methodologies which are used by the managers who handle the project for designing, planning, implementing and for achieving the objectives of the projects. There are many project development methodologies that are used in business processes. The Agile method and the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) are described below. Agile Methodology: Scrum is one of the agile frameworks to complete complex projects. For developing the software, scrum framework is needed. Scrum works very well with innovative and complex works. Working of scrum is very easy. Software development is mainly managed by scrum methodology. Scrum mainly depends on cross-functional and self-organizing team. There is no particular team leader in scrum methodology who will decide what work should be allocated to which person. The main idea of agile method came in 2001 from 17 people. This was the first written form of this methodology that was proposed (Fleming Koppelman, 2016). For Software Development they proposed an Agile Manifesto to bring a ground breaking mindset on collaborating and delivering value with all the customers in a company. Agile method has main four values. These are: Interactions and individuals over tools and processes Comprehensive documentation are needed for working with the software Collaboration with customers are needed that are done over contract negotiation To make some change on the plan that is done previously, response is needed immediately The process of Agile Project Management is considered as a method of value centered for managing the project that allows accessing all the processes in small cycle or phases. The agile method is much flexible and all the projects that exhibit dynamic traits can get benefit from the agile method (Snyder, 2014). The managers which use the agile method in their projects treat milestones as the goal that is to be changed continuously to abrupt all the changes that are received from the feedback of the client. Agile method is best suitable for projects that are small and the project team must have highly collaborative team or should have a project that has frequent iteration. PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge): In the institute of Project Management, the methodologies that are needed to manage the project in not considered as a methodology. The methodologies are considered as some set of standards which involves five processes of steps in project management (Hornstein, 2015). This is outlined as Project Management Body of Knowledge. There are mainly five steps that are followed in the PMBOK. The steps are to initiate the project, plan the project, execute them, control them and finally thee last step involves in closing the project. The steps are discussed as follows: Project Initiation: Project Initiation is the starting of any project. The initiation of the project involves in defining the project in details. Manly in the business case, the phase of initiation begins. In the phase of project initiation, the project manager research if the project that are starting is feasible or not and decide whether they should proceed with the project. The feasibility test of the proposed project is done in this phase. Project Planning: Project Planning is a key step to compete any type of project successfully. This phase helps to develop a roadmap that will be followed by everyone. Goals are being set in the phase of project planning. Mainly two methods are followed for setting the goals in this phase. The methods are SMART and CLEAR. The SMART method involves specific in which specific goals are set to answer question regarding who, when, which, where and why the project is being held. The measurable in method involves to create the criteria that is used to measure the successful completion of the goal (Kerzner, 2017). The attainable methods include to identify the important goals and what is needed to achieve them. R stands for realistic which includes what the project wills and able to work to achieve a particular goal. The T is timely which creates timeframe for achieving goal of the project. The CLEAR goal is the acronym of collaborative, limited, emotional, appreciable and refinable. Project Execution: In the execution phase, the deliverables are developed and are completed successfully. Lot pf works are being carried out in the execution process. The status reports are made and meetings are held, updates related with development and performance report are updated in the execution phase (Larson Gray, 2013). All the team members are involved in completing the project. Project Monitoring and Performance: In the monitoring phase, the manager ensures that all the process that is planned in the planning phase are executed properly (Turner, 2016). An indicator is used by the project manager which is known as Key Performance Indicator to ensure that the project is on track. Project Closure: This phase ensures weather the project is completed or not. On completion of the project, the project manager holds meeting that is sometimes referred as the post mortem. This phase shows weather the project is completed successfully and the project manager held meetings regarding the project and to identify any risk that can come from the project. Comparison between the Methods PMBOK Agile Project Risk Management The process that are involved are planning of risk management, risk identification, analysis of risk in qualitative way and quantitative way, planning for risk response and control and monitoring method related to risk. The processes that are involved in agile method is initial assessment that comes during pregame. Risks are reviewed during the review meetings. Project Integration Management For project integration, the PMBOK method develops project charter, preliminary project is developed, and scope of the project developed, plan and management of the project is done, monitor and also control the project, change control and also close the project. Agile method involves management verification, funding and approval during the planning phase, development of infrastructure and tools are validated, procedure regarded sprint backlog. Project Time Management Processes involve activity diagram, activity resources, activity sequencing, and estimation the activity duration and also control the schedule of the project. Delivery date of the project and the function of all the process are released. The agile method also includes monthly iterations. Project Scope Management Scope of planning, scope of definition, creates the WBS (Work Breakdown Structure), scope control and scope verification are involved in this process (pundak, 2014). To make the domain model, domain analysis is performed, comprehensive backlog list of the product also developed, all the functions that are included in the each processes are defined properly. Project Communications Management Communication planning, performance reporting, manage stakeholders and information distribution is held in this methodology. In agile method, review meeting are done, meeting related to sprint planning is done, communication standards of project team is determined in this (Marcelino-Sdaba et al., 2014). Project Human Resource Management Project team is needed in this method. The project team is managed and developed in done in PMBOK. Team participation in the sprint meetings and the participation in daily scrums are performed. Project Quality Management In PQM, the quality planning is done, quality assurance id given and quality control is performed. Adjustment, review and standards regarded with the product are confirmed. Sprint planning and sprint review meeting is held (Meredith Mantel, 2011). Project Cost Management Cost control, budgeting and cost control is done in project cost management of PMBOK methodology (Wrsch, Mortensen Hvam 2014). The cost that is estimated in the planning phase are released in the agile method. Applications of the Methods Agile methodology application: Minaya Learning Global Solutions is a leading telecommunication industry that implements wide enterprise system that uses the agile scrum methodology in its development process. The implementation of Agile methods included a training environment which gave the learners with systems that trains them as a live environment. The implementation of the agile method in MLGS improved the project productivity and resources. MLGS included a project management with development of the agile methodology and training design. Agile methodology makes a fluid relationship between the client and project manager. Another sector where agile method is applied is by Google which is working on a project that is competing product related to MS Word (Turk, France Rumpe, 2014). All the feature that are provided by MS Word will be present in the also will contain other features that are requested by the team members of the marketing group. The final product will be coming in next 10 months. The project uses agile methodology in the following ways: The project is divided into many parts known as iterations which is done in agile methodology. All the iterations are to be completed in the same duration of time that is between 2 to 8 weeks. The product should be delivered at the end of each iteration. All the processes that are involved in developing the project should be broken up in to 10 releases which are mainly done in the agile approach. The team has collected all the core features of the project that are required and also decide all the features that can be developed in first iteration. Any of the remaining features which are not delivered in the first iteration can be taken forwarded in the next iteration. More importance is given to the collaboration of the team, collaboration with customer, respond to all the changes and deliver the working software (Abrahamsson et al., 2017). The Agile methodology is considered as the most common place in the IT industry. Almost 52% of the respondents involve agile methodology in its project. PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) methodology application: A rapid rate in deterioration in the urban areas is faced by the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong. The city is densely populated and is unique in nature. The government is to expedite the renewal work of the urban area to establish the Urban Renewal Authority in the year 2001. This is done to replace the Land Development Corporation of Hong Kong that was established 1988 (Kiznyte, Welker Dechange, 2016). The new method that was involved in the process operated with public accountability and the transparency that are demanded by the community of that region. To tackle this issue the government involved the PMBOK method. The government also had to complete 225 projects in coming 25 years that involved a cost of 75$ billion. The government wants to make the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong to be a sustainable city that can incorporate the sustainability of the urban population and the quality on t he renewal in the urban areas. The Project Management Body of Knowledge is needed in this project to emphasize more on the aspects of integrated approach, multi-disciplinary approach, for sustainability, enables information technology, involves stakeholder, structure of team hierarchical and attributes of team members (Low, 2015). By implementing PMBOK methodology, the government of Hong Kong supports the implementation and policy that are important for the renewal work in the urban areas. Conclusion There is importance of project management in business that it brings direction in the projects and also brings leadership. Project management ensures a proper planning to execute the strategic goals that are involved in the process of running a business. Management of project also ensures proper expectation of the project that are to be set around about what is to be delivered, when the project is to be delivered and an average cost of completing the project. The quality of project that is to be delivered is also determined by implementing project management and also ensure their clients that the risk that are related with the project are managed properly and if risks occurs, then there should be some mitigation process involved in the planning of project management so that the issue can be avoided. There is importance of project management because involves right people at right time to do the right work they should do. Proper processes are followed throughout the lifecycle of the pr oject by project management. The processes that are involved in the project can be reported and tracked properly and this process helps to make a success path and also helps to determine other to learn from previous success or some failures that may occur in the past. References Abrahamsson, P., Salo, O., Ronkainen, J., Warsta, J. (2017). Agile software development methods: Review and analysis.arXiv preprint arXiv:1709.08439. Fleming, Q. W., Koppelman, J. M. (2016, December). Earned value project management. Project Management Institute. Hornstein, H.A. (2015). The integration of project management and organizational change management is now a necessity.International Journal of Project Management,33(2), pp.291-298. Kerzner, H. (2017).Project management metrics, KPIs, and dashboards: a guide to measuring and monitoring project performance. John Wiley Sons. Kiznyte, J., Welker, M., Dechange, A. (2016). Applying Project Management Methods to the Creation of a Start-up Business Plan: The Case of Blendlee.PM World Journal,5, 1-24. Larson, E. W., Gray, C. (2013).Project Management: The Managerial Process with MS Project. McGraw-Hill. Low, F. S. (2015).Application of Japanese Project Management Methods (P2M/KPM) In Japanese Organisations in Japan and Malaysia(Doctoral dissertation, UTAR). Marcelino-Sdaba, S., Prez-Ezcurdia, A., Lazcano, A.M.E. and Villanueva, P., 2014. Project risk management methodology for small firms.International Journal of Project Management,32(2), pp.327-340. Meredith, J., Mantel, S.(2011). Project management: A managerial approach (8th ed.). Indianapolis: Wiley. Schwalbe, K. (2015).Information technology project management. Cengage Learning. Snyder, C.S. (2014). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: PMBOK () Guide. Project Management Institute. pundak, M. (2014). Mixed agile/traditional project management methodologyreality or illusion?.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,119, 939-948. Stettina, C. J., Hrz, J. (2015). Agile portfolio management: An empirical perspective on the practice in use.International Journal of Project Management,33(1), 140-152. Turk, D., France, R., Rumpe, B. (2014). Limitations of agile software processes.arXiv preprint arXiv:1409.6600. Turner, R., 2016.Gower handbook of project management. Routledge. Wrsch, M., Mortensen, N. H., Hvam, L. (2014).End-to-end requirements management for multiprojects in the construction industry(Doctoral dissertation, Technical University of DenmarkDanmarks Tekniske Universitet, Department of Management EngineeringInstitut for Systemer, Produktion og Ledelse, Operations ManagementOperations Management).

Reflection on Business Management-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Write a reflection on Business Management. Answer: Introduction: Students who like developing their understanding of the international markets and different parts of the world should study international business. As the global economy is expanding, taking courses on international business will help the individual to gain knowledge not only on the global economics but also on the business climates. As a result, demand is continuously growing for individuals who will be capable of understanding the global context of business which would start from logistics of global trade to that of cross border investments (Anderson and Anderson 2017). This may also include various ethical and cultural issues that remains intricately inculcated in the business systems globally. I believe that by studying international business, I will be able to learn about the different societies and cultures and how to handle challenges that come from different practices. In my classes, I had learnt a number of different topics in my MBA classes which would help me in properly a pproaching different situation while working in a global environment. In this assignment, I would be particularly, reflecting on the subjects I had learnt in my course. Reflection writing procedure, if used purposefully and effectively, can reflect ongoing personal and professional learning. This would thereby make students develop a professional capability to demonstrate their progression towards learning outcomes and required standard. It ill thereby provide a structure to me by embedding concepts and theories in practice. Along with that, constant thought and innovation are also simultaneously fostered. Different subjects studied: While studying through the different subjects, I found that international strategy to be one of the most crucial subjects which would be extremely useful while dealing as a manager in the international business fields. This strategy actually provides the procedures by which the organization sells its goods and services outside its domestic market (Priem, Wenzel and Cork 2017). One of the most important rationales that multinational companies provide while conducting overseas ventures is that such market provides new potential opportunities for expansion, making profits and establishing itself on a global scale (Li et al., 2017). I believe that if managers of the international companies provide correct international strategies, they would be able to get a number of advantages. I believe that it would successfully help in increasing the market size and getting a competitive advantage through the location. This may include accessing to low cost, labor, critical resources or customers. S uch strategies would also involve greater returns on the major capital investments and also ensuring greater economies of scale, learning and scope. However, I must also remember another aspect that intricately remains associated with business management is the implementation and management of the business through dynamic strategies. I, as a manager, cannot celebrate success after immediately implementing international strategies. This is because in a constantly changing business environment, there might arise many challenges like new competitors, lack of funds, loss due to other natural factors and many others. Therefore, in such a scenario, dynamic strategies are extremely important which will help me as a manager to develop the ability to modify and implement new strategies in the business fields so that losses can be met (Bharadwaj et al. 2013). I will properly develop and implement dynamic strategies in order to make sure that the organization is properly being able to respond to different changes which might act as both potential threats and opportunities for the company. This can be explained with the help of an example; it might happen that the global organization where I had been given the responsibility to manage the marketing ventures; economic pressures, industry changes, regulatory pressures and other changes in consumer preferences can take place. All these would impact the ability of the global organization to function properly and sell its products to different services and products. Thereby by providing dynamic strategies, I will be able to handle the situation effectively. Now coming aside from the strategic aspects which are very important for the growth of the company, development of the profit margins, establishment in international markets and others, other aspects should also be developed by the manager. These are cultural intelligence and emotional intelligence. I believe that I have to be culturally competent so that not only I can han dle and deal with my overseas clients successfully but also manages employees coming from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Different countries have different cultures of working and every employee has their own cultural preferences and inhibitions which I need to develop knowledge on and respect for. Moreover, I also need to utilize proper emotional intelligence like social skills, motivation, proper communication skills and others so that business partners from other cultures do not feel disrespected or humiliated. For example, if I am meeting up with business partners of a multinational company of Japan for making a deal as a representative of my own company I need to know the cultural preferences of the business experts of that country and what they like. Bowing down heads as an initial gesture of meeting and respectfully taking their business cards are some of the steps I need to know while working with Japanese firms. Therefore cultural intelligence and emotional intelligence are extremely important. At the same time, business ethics which have been taught to us would also help me in handling different moral or ethical situations which arise in business environment (Engle and Crown 2014). Learning them would help me not only to resolve moral and ethical issues internally but would also ensure that business is done with overseas company with proper ethical and moral principles. Theories which can be involved: After going through the theories of international strategy, I have learnt that there are different types of international strategies which are applied to different scenarios to make them successful. There is one type of international strategy called the multi-domestic strategy. In this type of strategy, decision making authority is given to the different local business units in each of the countries in order to develop and thereby maximize local responsiveness. This would help the local bodies to create products and also services which would be customized for the demands of customers of the area or the country. Most of the global food industries usually follow these strategies as customers are found to have food products according with a mix of their own regional food style and that with the continental styles. Again there is another form of international strategy which is called global strategy which is mainly centralized and controlled by the home offices thereby seeking to maximiz e global efficiency (Pagani 2013). The electronics industry can be taken here where a company likes the Sony when producing televisions would maintain a global strategy and not modifying them according to the regional demands. Another international strategy that I can undertake is the translational strategy which combines both global efficiency as well as the local responsiveness. Clothing industries can take such international strategies which I believe could lead them to higher profits. In such a situation where an organization has adapted international strategy and working successfully threats may arise from new competitors who have entered the market or due to natural calamities or changing styles of consumer needs and others. In such a situation, dynamic strategies need to be properly planned and implemented by the organization to overcome the threats (Ott et al. 2016). Three main steps are incorporated in dynamic strategy planning and implementation. The first step is the tran slation of the strategy which is mainly done by investing significantly on up front to understand and share the strategic ambition (Mahmood, /chung and Mitchell 2017). This should also accompany staffing people who thinks strategically and operationally. The second step is the adaptation of the strategy. In this step, individuals need to adapt during strategy implementation by course effectively and then by building in mechanism of learning. The last step is the sustaining of the strategy which mainly consist the sustenance of the strategies by building organizational capabilities and demonstrating impacts. While going through the strategies in details I have understood that many failures may result which include failures to translate strategy, to adapt strategy and to system them. Therefore I personally feel that I should follow five important steps for dynamic strategy management. Strategic management mainly comprises of 5 important steps which I believe if followed properly will assure best implementation of the strategy. These are alignment, agility, employee buy in, clearing accountabilities and knowledge capital. Besides all these, I believe that cultural intelligence is yet another important aspect which would help me to be successfully conducting effective business globally. There are a number of models of cultural intelligence that I can apply successfully in my global business ventures as a manager. One of the most comprehensive models which I personally like and would want to apply is the Global leadership competency model which has 17 dimensions that can be broadly organized into three factors like self management, perceptions and relationships. Other models which I can also follow are the Global mindset model. This model mainly acts as cognitive filter (Caroll et al. 2014). It mainly embraces the complexity and paradoxes inherent in global interactions. The multicultural personality model mainly comprises of emotional stability, social initiative, open mindedness, cultural empathy, and flexibility (Chell et al. 2016). I believe that if I am able to follow these traits effectively and develop cultural intelligence I would be able to successfully conduct intercultural communication and enhance profit margins. While maintaining the cultural intelligence, another aspect that comes hand in hand, is the business ethics. Six important pillars of business ethics need to be maintained by every profession. I believe that each and every of my activities, trustworthiness; respect, caring, citizenship, responsibility and fairness are the main ethical values that I will harbor as effective managers. Besides, utilitarianism, justice, rights and egoism should also be known by me. However, I believe that the most important business ethics which is very important and should be fort prioritized by me is corporate social responsibility ensuring that the organization where I will work makes sure that they contribute enough for such purpose both strategically and financially. Reflection: The subjects whom I have learnt in my academic courses would be indeed very much helpful not only if I get a job in the national sector but also in the international sectors. Studying international business is helping me to be an effective professional for positions across public, private as well as in non profit sectors. I have become quite comfortable in the topics that revolve around international trade, global business operations, planning or industrial development. I have developed a detailed knowledge and therefore in whichever industry I get placed, I will be comfortable and will allocate international strategies which will align with the requirement of the situations. Moreover, the ideas about dynamic strategies will help me to understand how to cope up with new competitions in the fields or other challenges in the fields with the help of dynamic strategy models, their planning and implementations. However, while going through all these activities, I must also keep in mind th at I have to culturally sensitive and should possess cultural intelligence which will help me to successfully communicate and crack deals with overseas organizations or overseas branches of a multinational companies. Lack of cultural intelligence may result in development of negative feelings and distrust in the teams which will hamper productivity. Moreover, maintaining basic business ethics will help me to keep away different ethical, moral and legal obligations and will help in creating a working environment which will be stable and bring out best productivity. Conclusion: In the academic course, I have been fortunate to learn about many aspects of international and national business which would be very helpful for me. I believe the in-depth knowledge gained by me in the topics like international strategy and dynamic strategy would be extremely essential for me to effectively perform my managerial role in my future organizations. I also believe that cultural intelligence is one of the most critical aspects that every global organization has to successfully establish in their organization among every member. This would help the employees not only to effectively communicate within diverse teams but also with their overseas members of their branches so that miscommunication, development of negative feelings and lack of trust do not occur among themselves. All the subjects would ultimately help me to be an effective professional in the future. References: Andersen, T.J. and Andersson, U., 2017. Multinational Corporate Strategy-Making: Integrating International Business and Strategic Management. InThe Responsive Global Organization: New Insights from Global Strategy and International Business(pp. 13-34). Emerald Publishing Limited. Bharadwaj, A., El Sawy, O.A., Pavlou, P.A. and Venkatraman, N.V., 2013. Digital business strategy: toward a next generation of insights. Carroll, A. and Buchholtz, A., 2014.Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management. Nelson Education. Chell, E., Spence, L.J., Perrini, F. and Harris, J.D., 2016. Social entrepreneurship and business ethics: does social equal ethical?.Journal of Business Ethics,133(4), pp.619-625. Engle, R.L. and Crowne, K.A., 2014. The impact of international experience on cultural intelligence: an application of contact theory in a structured short-term programme.Human Resource Development International,17(1), pp.30-46. Li, C., Brodbeck, F.C., Shenkar, O., Ponzi, L.J. and Fisch, J.H., 2017. Embracing the foreign: Cultural attractiveness and international strategy.Strategic Management Journal,38(4), pp.950-971. Mahmood, I., Chung, C.N. and Mitchell, W., 2017. Political connections and business strategy in dynamic environments: How types and destinations of political ties affect business diversification in closed and open political economic contexts.Global Strategy Journal. Ott, D.L. and Michailova, S., 2016. Cultural intelligence: A review and new research avenues.International Journal of Management Reviews. Pagani, M., 2013. Digital business strategy and value creation: Framing the dynamic cycle of control points.Mis Quarterly,37(2). Priem, R.L., Wenzel, M. and Koch, J., 2017. Demand-side strategy and business models: Putting value creation for consumers center stage.Long Range Planning

Stalin’s Reign of Terror Essay Example

Stalin’s Reign of Terror Essay Stalin’s Reign of Terror Name: Course: Date: We will write a custom essay sample on Stalin’s Reign of Terror specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Stalin’s Reign of Terror specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Stalin’s Reign of Terror specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Stalin’s Reign of Terror The book, Journey into the Whirlwind, by Eugenia Ginzburg is a memoir based on the 1917 Russian Revolution. The memoir descriptively illustrates a personal account of the author’s life and incarceration in the Soviet Union throughout the government of Joseph Stalin in the 1930s. Throughout the novel, Ginzburg recounts numerous experiences directly related with Stalin’s reign of terror that witnessed millions of civilians suffer. The book, divided into two parts, provides the reader with an opportunity to glance and delve deeply into circumstances encompassing the author’s tribulations and concurrently, gain knowledge based on one of history’s most controversial leaders, Joseph Stalin. Part 1 The first part of the novel, Journey into the Whirlwind, provides a detailed account of Ginzburg’s arrest, court trial and the two years of solitary internment that she experienced. The first part begins on December 1, 1934 when Ginzburg receives a phone call. Through the phone call, Ginzburg is informed that the secretary to the General Committee of the Communist Party, Kirov is dead. Apparently, Kirov’s death was through a planned assassination. The murder of Kirov engenders paranoia regarding the rebellious political elements in the party, which causes the current government to tauten its grasp on society. Consequently, an innocent and unaware Ginzburg is individually tossed into the tussle when Professor Elvov, her old friend, is detained in 1935 (Ginzburg, 1995). The reason for his arrest was due to his authoring of a chapter that advocated Trotskyist connotations. Ginzburg’s association with Elvov puts her under extreme suspicion. Consequently, the officials of the party in her hometown, Kazan, quickly indict her of failing to denounce Elvov’s treachery to the party. Ginzburg repudiates the accusations, which forces her to be questioned by Comrade Beylin. Beylin and his partner Malyuta originally release Ginzburg with a minor indictment of inadequate vigilance. However, events turn around for Ginzburg when she finds herself being at the mercy of cruel interrogators. In 1936, Ginzburg, an intensely dedicated Communist, witnesses Stalin, the leader of the Communists for the first and last time. Despite Stalin sharing the same ideals as Ginzburg, Ginzburg views Stalin as ugly and a personification of evil. Later, Ginzburg travels to Moscow to appeal her case to the court located at IIyinka Street, where numerous accused persons are queuing in line (Ginzburg, 1995). A political commissar, Sidorov, listens to Ginzburg’s plight and is sympathetic towards her. However, Ginzburg is forced to avail her party card, which eventually leads to her arrest, by Captain Vevers eight days afterward. In the prison crypts at Black Lake Street, Ginzburg is imprisoned together with Lyama, an attractive young woman. The prison food proves to be foul for Ginzburg, so Lyama eats both portions. Lyama also explains to Ginzburg that it is vital to communicate with other inmates. Later, Ginzburg is called in for inquiry by interrogators. They interrogate her using sadistic methods such as starvation and sleep deprivation. However, Ginzburg refuses to confess guilt or turn in others. Consequently, Ginzburg is able to establish communication using the prison alphabet, which involved a series of tapping and translating taps (Ginzburg, 1995). Ginzburg and Lyama gain a new cellmate, Ira. In the interrogation, Ginzburg’s former partners from the periodical, Red Tartary, are summoned to contradict her. She is disappointed when she discovers that two of her counterparts, Volodya Dyakanov and Nayla Kozlova, have consented to sign the interrogators’ papers. Afterwards, Ginzburg is relocated to another prison, which is filthier but less stringent. She develops new relationships and devices a novel communication system that enables her to spread the news all over the prison through singing and opera tunes. However, Ginzburg is relocated again to Moscow. In Butkryki Prison, she hears the screams of cellmates being tortured. Eventually, Ginzburg faces the military tribunal expecting a death sentence. To her surprise, she is sentenced to ten years of imprisonment. After staying briefly at the Pugachev Tower, Ginzburg is transported to Yaroslavl by train. After the end of her two years at Yaroslavl, her sentence is revi sed, and she is reassigned to a remedial labor camp. Part 2 The second part of the novel starts with a clique of 76 female inmates boarding Car Number 7, in a compartment labeled â€Å"Special Equipment† (Ginzburg, 1995). In Car Number 7, among the female prisoners transported together with Ginzburg, another prisoner who later becomes Ginzburg’s friend is in the compartment. Tanya Stankovskaya is happy to possess a bunk in the train. Regardless of the discomfort of traveling in a cattle car, the train is filled with happy voices of female inmates according to Ginzburg because none of the prisoners had seen any other person in over two years. Later on, Ginzburg meets Zinaida Tulub in the train. Zinaida was a historical novelist from Ukraine. Ginzburg tells Zinaida about herself and her life story while discovering the unease of talking due to her long years of forced silence (Ginzburg, 1995). After an upsetting journey that lasted for a month in a cattle car, the inmates pull in at a transfer camp in close proximity to Vladivostok. At the transit camp, the female prisoners intermingle, through a fence, with male inmates, ravening themselves on romantic emotions and probing for recognizable faces. At the camp, Ginzburg stays for a month before being transported to Kolyma, Siberia through ship. Ginzburg and her fellow inmates are transferred through the ship known as SS Dzhurma. In the ship, Ginzburg is shown to be sick from a bout of fever. However, irrespective of the effect of illness on her, Ginzburg decides to conceal her ailment at all costs. She subjected herself to harsh conditions coupled by her illness in order to avoid from being separated from her fellow prisoners. The last batch of female prisoners to be brought into SS Dzhurma was comprised of criminals indicted with crimes ranging from sexual deviance to murder (Ginzburg, 1995). The journey within the ship was significantly uneventful. Life on the ship, SS Dzhurma, was considerably wretched than in Car 7 and Yaroslavl. The hatches within the ship were unfastened throughout the journey in order to allow for the entrance of air into the ship. However, this propagated even terrible conditions throughout the journey. Due to the harsh conditions, Ginzburg becomes terribly ill. At one point, Ginzburg attempts to use the bathroom on the deck only to lose consciousness and pass out for two days due to exhaustion and sickness. After her tumultuous stay at the SS Dzhurma, Ginzburg and the prisoners eventually reach Kolyma, located in the northern Siberia region. In Kolyma, the prisoners are transported to Magadan Camp. However, Ginzburg falls sick again at the camp. Eventually, she is transported to the sick ward. She is brought to the sick ward, where sick men and women are clustered together in taut quarters. The sick ward at Magadan Infirmary allows Ginzburg to bathe and receive treated. Eventually, she is treated by Dr. Klimenko who is the wife of a police investigator. Dr. Klimenko allows Ginzburg to stay in the hospital for one month in order to recover fully. Additionally, Klimenko does this because she believes that Ginzburg has experienced death much greater than the other prisoners have (Ginzburg, 1995). After a month in recovery, Ginzburg returns to Magadan Camp. At the camp, Ginzburg was assigned to Hut 8. Regardless of recovering completely, Ginzburg feels that she has betrayed her fellow inmates. Her reason for feeling this way is attributed to her fair treatment at hospital. She alleges that while she was being treated well in hospital, her friends were suffering in prison. Throughout the trip to the sick ward, her consciousness wavers but she is immediately restored when the doctor prescribes a warm pine bath for her. Her stay at the infirmary in Magadan Camp under the care of a nurse enables Ginzburg to reclaim her health. Eventually, she is put to work with other inmates after she is deemed well. Soon after, Ginzburg bribes the leader of the team, who is responsible for allocating jobs to prisoners, and ends up doing housework in a guesthouse. Later, she works in the kitchen but eventually she is deported to a camp at Elgen. At the camp, she was forced to fell trees in glacial temperatures. Moreover, the overseer, Keyzin was harsh to the prisoners and demanded a high output in the snow, which equaled their food earnings (Ginzburg, 1995). However, tree felling proved to be dangerous especially when in snow. Irrespective of this, Ginzburg and her counterparts were forced to maintain high output but it was impossible due to Ginzburg’s poor health. However, Ginzburg escapes death when a doctor from Leningrad, Vasily Petukhov, carrying out routine medical inspections on her recognizes her and claims that he is familiar with her son (Ginzburg, 1995). The doctor assists Ginzburg in evading the fatal conditions at Elgen by securing her with a medical attendant’s job at a children’s hospital. The Journey into the Whirlwind is indeed an engaging and interesting book. Irrespective of the experiences that the author goes through, Ginzburg manages to induce optimism at the end of the book. Irrespective of the few ills documented in the novel, Ginzburg does not reiterate on the Soviet tactics used against prisoners and innocent civilians but rather on the psychological abuse, that she went underwent in the interrogations and prison life. Regardless of the raw details of Ginzburg’s life under the Soviet government, the author presents an emotional depiction that leaves the reader completely engaged and engrossed. References Ginzburg, E. S. (1995). Journey into the Whirlwind. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Co.

Underwriting and Underpricing Essay Example

Underwriting and Underpricing Essay Example Underwriting and Underpricing Essay Underwriting and Underpricing Essay Underwriting spread represents the net proceeds that the underwriter will realize from the investment. It is the difference between the price per share that is paid to an issuing corporation by an underwriter or underwriting group, and the public offering price that the underwriter offers to the public. While traditionally the underwriting spread was viewed as compensation for underwriting the issue, it now has been introduced as an incentive fee where it act as bonus for investment bank when they performance better than expected.There has been evidence of clustering of spreads internationally, in the US spread is clustered at 7%( Chen+Ritter 2000), in Hong Kong 95% of fees are clustered at 2. 5%( torstia 2003) and in Europe fees range from 3-4%. In general, the more clustering presented in a country, the smaller the spread, vice versa. Furthermore, Esho et al (2004) analyzed the underwriting spread in Euro market found out that there is a positive and direct relationship between the fee charged by the investment banks and the reputation of the investment bank. (link to underpricing Underpricing refers to the first trading day closing price typically exceeds price at which the shares were offered to the public. Over 20 years, researchers investigated the underpricing puzzle associated with initial public offerings (IPOs). Ibboston1975, Ibbostson and Jaffe 1975 and Ritter 1984, among others, all document convincing evidence that initial public offerings are, on average underpriced. There are sufficient evidence of underpricing in UK (increase over time, from 3. 8% to 19%, Chambers and Dimson 2009), USA (40% between 1999-2003) and internationally(gt;15%).Visas offering in March 2008 is a good example of how IPOs are strategically underpriced. Although the IPO of Visa was an almost certain success, the price was kept at a low $44. As buyers ran in, the stock jumped to $69 and, although it fell back to $56. 40 by the close, there was a 28. 4% underpricing, thus lea ving a huge amount of the issuer’s money on the table. However, compared to the overpricing Facebook 2012 which made investors unhappy and damage the bank’s reputation, it can contribute to the reason why underwriters underprice the shares. Therefor it is clear that both underpricing and underwriting spread are costs for the issuer.Chen and Ritter (2000) explained the cost, by stating that underwriting spread was the direct compensation for IBs underwriting the issue and the level of underpricing was an indirect compensation. Smith (1986) also argued that the issuer seeks to maximize the issuer proceeds when it sells securities in an underwritten issue, and is not separately concerned about the underwriting spread or the offer price. Although underpricing and spread are both costs to issuers, issuers still consider the underwriting spread and underpricing together in an IPO based on the following reasons.The issuer’s objective is to minimize the underpricing and spread costs associated with its IPO of its common equity. More concerted effort by the underwriter or the choice of underwriters could reuce the underpricing costs associated with the offering. For instance, banks that specialize in underwriting firms from certain industries, or reputational investment banks may provide greater certification value for firm’s IPO and hence reduce its underwriting costs. In return, such banks could be expected to demand a higher spread as compensation.The spread could also be a function of the risk associated with the security and the size of the offering among other factors. If we consider the spread and underpricing from the underwriter’s view, according to the principal-agent theory, underwriter faces a trade off between the level of underpricing and the fee. This is because if they underprice they face less risk of not being able to sell the issue, but the fee can be dependent on the value of the issue. This shows there is a trade off between spread and underpricing.And the theory suggests the issuer should delegate the decision of deciding the fee and the level of underpricing to the underwriter so they can balance the costs. Because the issuers do not have enough information, do not actually decide. This view can be supported by early studies focus on asymmetric information, which is one of the reasons of underpricing. Baron (1982) argues that asymmetric information exists between underwriters(better informed) and the issuers(less informed), therefore, underwriters are able to price new issues below the market equilbrium to reduce the probability that they will absorb losses due to unsold shares.Another theory which is the efficient contract hypothesis, whereby banks do not compete on the fee/spread, this is fixed, but compete on other quality variables such as underpricing certification and reputation. This once again highlights there is a relationship between spread and underpricing, as if spread is fixed , underpricing is a means for competing against other underwriters. Evidence of this was found by Honsen (2001) where____ issues where spread was fixed at 7%, there was a higher variation of underpricing, suggesting underwriters were competing on underpricing as they were not on the spread charged.Both principal-agent theory and efficient contract hypothesis showed evidence that there is negative correlation between spread and underpricing. However, Kim et al. found out that there is strong evidence that over the long term, underpricing and underwriting spreads are positively related. In particular, low-quality issuers are charged both higher underwriting spread and initial returns as compared to high-quality issuers. This was specifically prominent in low quality issuers who were charged fee of 7. 3% and underpricing of 45. 21%, whilist high quality issuers were charged fees of 7. 39% and underpricing of 18. 92%. This suggests a complementary relationship between spread and underpr icing particularly for low quality issuers. However, Yeoman(2001) suggested net proceeds maximisation theory, whereby the spread and underpricing are substitutes and negatively related. The found evidence of this in his research of IPOs from 1988 to 1933, where there are trade offs that the underwriter must decide between.This was further supported by Ljungquist(2003) who also found a negative relationship between spread and underpricing and therefore as initial returns increased the spread decrease and vice versa. Therefore, there is mixed evidence on ____initial returns and underwriting spreads in IPOs are complements or substitutes, ___evidence found of both a positive and negative effect. However, it is clear that there is a strong relationship returns, that must be managed by both issuers and underwriters.

Process and production improvement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Process and production improvement - Essay Example Besides main course, DH kitchen offers a variety of desserts, salads, side orders, and ice creams along with plenty of beverages like tea, coffee, cardamom tea, and drinks. The increased number of food and cash counters has eased the difficulties of increased student body and caters significantly more people than before. However, there are many aspects of DH, which needs improvement. First, the temperature turns to discomforting degrees at times. Specifically during summers, it gets more suffocating with a huge number of people around and lesser ventilation. Second, the cash counters are located in one centre aisle, receiving people from five counters simultaneously. This results in huge crowd and delay leading to agonized public at both sides of the counter. In addition, DH has been one outlet, which is affordable for all classes: NOPs, janitors, middle-class, or elite rich, everyone can afford. However, the recent 25% increase in prices of all food items have led to great hues and cry in the entire student body whose parents are already fighting with inflation to pay for the expensive tuition of their children. In addition, the quality and taste of the food has always been a great debate at Harvard.