Y2k Essays (1015 words) - Calendars, Software Bugs, COBOL, Hazards

Y2k Civilization's dependence upon computers has grown exponentially in the last thirty years. Businesses use computers to keep their records, write reports, and to converse with colleagues and clients. The average businessperson depends primarily on their computer to complete a day's work. Years ago, programmers caused what could have potentially been a major problem with modern computer systems. While attempting to conserve scarce and expensive data bits, they programmed the year using two digits instead of four. At the turn of the century, computer systems would not be able to discriminate between the year 1900 and the year 2000. As the speculation of what would happen at the turn of the millennium grew, those who depended on computers became frightened at the thought of what their world might become. In order to prevent any major problems from occurring, measures were to taken to repair this bug. Now that the beginning of the new century has passed, it is safe to say that the precaut ions taken by businesses and the government were not done so in vain. Now the century has turned, our computers are safe and precautions no longer need be taken. On and after January 1, there were several Y2K related problems with computers around the world, but these problems were minor and solvable. For instance, an eyeglass lens manufacturer's plant had troubles with bringing up purchase orders when customers had questions, because the purchase orders were sorted by date. In addition, the same manufacturer's plant had computers controlling the manufacturing process. Since problems affected the computers in their sales and administration office, they felt it necessary to have employees hand-check the quality and accuracy of each lens before it left the building (Zandonella, par. 4). These problems led to slight setbacks in business, but they were able to recover in time to maintain their reputation. In several cases, the Y2K glitch affected the software involved in processing purchases made with credit cards. There were some reports of people unintentionally being billed for the same meal up to twelve times. The consumers involved experienced depleted accounts, bounced checks, and hours spent straightening out balances with banks and credit card companies (Y2K, par. 1). If precautions had not been taken by most of the credit card companies, many more cases similar to these could have occurred causing a great disaster in the credit industry. People might have lost faith in credit card companies, which make up large portions of the economy. In Kansas City, KS, a few court cases were delayed, including a civil suit regarding a wrongful death, due to year 2000 related computer failure. In one case, two citizens were not served subpoenas until almost two months after they were issued (Overman, par. 2). Ellen Crawford, public information officer for the Jackson County Circuit Court, commented, ?There were a lot of problems and one of them was issuing summons? (Overman, par. 8). The programmers blamed for writing all this ?buggy? software incidentally caused the bug with good intentions. Now that the materials they were originally attempting to conserve are relatively inexpensive, programmers would only be lazy to utilize a two-digit year instead of four. The only possibility of another scare mimicking this one is in 8,000 years, when the year turns to 10000. At the rate technology in software engineering has been moving in the last thirty years, it is very unlikely that the same software will be used in 8,000 years. Some people believed that the Y2K precautions were taken in vain, and that far too much money was spent on the problem. Many compared the United States to smaller countries, citing that the amount these other countries spent to fix these problems was slim to none. Despite a few exceptions, these countries had no major problems along with the United States. For example, International Data Corp. accused the United States government of overspending by $41 billion. Meanwhile, the Chair of the President's Council on the Year 2000 Conversion agrees that there was overspending, but that it was more in the range of $10 billion (Berkowitz, par. 2). According to Ben Berkowitz of the University of Southern California, the CIO of the 3Com corporation believes that spending was ?out

buy custom Audi A8 essay

buy custom Audi A8 essay The advertisement is selling a brand new luxurious lifestyle which shows a an Audi A8 car where the advertisement itself begins by showing us why we should have a reason to say goodnight to everything that we might have seen and termed as luxurious and also showing us that there is more luxury to what we termed as luxury since it has become old and out dated which showed why in the advertisement the voice is seen to say goodnight to everything in life. This Audi commercial goodnight is a brand new 60 second TV advertisement which has been billed so as to be able to prelude to the Super Bowl ad which is up coming and the advertisement campaign is aimed at redefining new luxury. Its inspiration came from the book Goodnight Moon which was a childrens book which was initially written in 1947 by Margaret Brown who by then, the book was considered to be one of the most and best-selling book of children since it was very entertaining to the children (Foster, 2011). This advertisement goodnight is intended to mirror the story of the Goodnight moon and it takes all its viewers on a journey which is animated, through a mansion which is of a traditional style which is laden with stuffy luxury which is considered to be old and out dated. So this advertisement says goodnight to everything which is considered to be old luxury which is defined by the excesses and the gluttony, and all the features which are found in the Audi A8 sedan flagship of the 2011 which is the companys most technologically advanced vehicle that the company has been known to have produced in its new luxury Audi lineup. The good morning in the advertisement symbolizes the embrace of the new technology and new luxury as the Sedan A8 features are shown in the advert (Foster, 2011). The advertisement made me feel confident in myself. At first, I was somehow confused because after I watched the advertisement for the first time, my first reaction was to put on a very big smile on my face. The advertisement is very well planned since it began with a very good mansion although in the original advertisement it was considered to be out dated and part of old luxury which we are supposed to say goodnight to. With time, I came to find out that there I have a reason to sa goodnight to all the past and say good morning to new things and embrace the advancing technology of today. I think it is a very funny way to say goodnight. This advertisement can affect our behaviors and the way we feel about our communities because it can make us to hate the things we have currently and possess which make us to have very high aspirations because the main aim of Audi advertisement is to persuade people to buy the new luxurious car. In this case, the advertising is appealing enough to make people to want to purchase the car and embrace the new technology which can make a majority of the people to want to advance in the community. The main problem is that people may abandon all the good feelings that they had about their community in the name of them being out dated and old fashioned and try to adapt the new advanced technology which not everyone can be able to afford especially the young generation who is out to adventure all the new technologies which are coming up. The advertisement will influence our buying patterns because after one sees the advertisement which is very appealing and eye catching, one would be much exited to try out the new model of vehicle which is being advertised. The luxury of today and the consumers of today only exist in a world where there is no tradition but increasing entrepreneurial accomplishments where it can influence us as consumers to seek out the new and the luxury which is more evolved so that we can be able to stand out from the crowds. This advertisement about the Audi car can greatly affect our environment because the driving of a car by a citizen is one of the most polluting act that a citizen can commit especially air pollution. Vehicles are considered to produce environmental effects which are as a result of the vehicle itself or the infrastructure of the transport system. the Audi advertisement is very appealing to the public and it means that the total sales of the car would be very high which shows that there would be congestion which would further lead to the dangerous emissions in to the air from these vehicles which is a form of air pollution in the form of toxic gasses being released into the air like carbon monoxide, benzene, particulate matter, and nitrogen Dioxide. These emissions often affect thhe health of people and the carbon dioxide which is produced is a form of greenhouse gas emission. The heavy metals and the petroleum products which are from these vehicles can contaminate the storm water which can cause harm to all the creatures which live in the water like fish and the land. The expansion or roads due to the increment of the number of people using vehicles has been on the increase making up about 30%-35% of the total land in a majority of the cities which consume the natural habitats and can cause biodiversity losses. The noise and vibrations which is produced by vehicles can affect all the people who live very near to the busy roads and can cause interference with daily activities of people like sleeping. This advertisement plays very much into the problem of the consequences of the social sprawl in Conveyers, GA especially the urban sprawling where this advertisement can bring a lot of environmental side effects which are considered to be very toxic because of the auto mobile use which is considered to pollute the environment. The rise of technology has brought up a lot of problems to its end users who are the people and the rise in the technology has led to very many people to want and desire to live a luxurious life which has made the number of people who have embraced the new technologies to increase in numbers and as a result, it has led to poor urban planning and also decision making. The roads in the urban areas become too overcrowded because everyone uses a car and the rural areas remain to be very backward since the people move from the rural areas to the urban areas in quest for this new technology. This advertisement leads to an increase in the number of Audi S8 car sales for the company and in turn leads to poor infrastructures and chocking transportation systems and most especially in the urban sprawl. This is because there is no way one can live a luxurious life in the rural area, so people have to move to the cities where they can get all the luxury that they may need and it means buying more cars which increases the congestion in the traffic which means that the transport system could be slowed because of the many increasing cars on the road. This sprawl means that it would have very heavy impacts of the peoples lives. Buy custom Audi A8 essay

The Old Man and the Sea Questions for Discussion

The Old Man and the Sea Questions for Discussion Written by Ernest Hemingway,  The Old Man and the Sea is a famous novel about man versus nature and the determined struggle against inevitable aging and death. While Hemingway is known to be the master of brevity, his concise works also are much more complex than they would first appear, and  The Old Man and the Sea  is no exception. A literary classic, this novel is a great pick for a book club and a part of many schools curriculum. Here are questions related to The Old Man and the Sea that will get the discussion going.   Start From The Top: What is important about the title?   Plot Development: What are the conflicts in The Old Man and the Sea? Would you describe them in terms of physical, moral, intellectual, or emotional conflict?How does Ernest Hemingway reveal character in the novel? Symbolism: What are important themes in the story? How do they relate to the plot and characters?What are some of the symbols in the novel, and what do they represent?How universalare the ideas in  The Old Man and the Sea?  Does the story end the way you expected? How? Why? How realistic is the story?Where does The Old Man and the Sea take place? Is the setting important to the ideas in this book? Whats Your Opinion? Would you recommend this novel to a friend?

THE MEXICAN MURALISTS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

THE MEXICAN MURALISTS - Assignment Example This resulted in feelings of hostility between the upper and the lower or middle class. This hostility later grew into ultimate animosity towards the upper class and anything even related to the upper class. Between 1923 and 1928, Diego Rivera was appointed to create murals and many researchers believe that it was Rivera’s art which set the foundations for the Mexican Muralist Movement. (Magazine, n.d.) In 1910, Mexico was in despair due to the dictatorship of President Porfirio Diaz. Vast majority was suffering from impoverishment and poverty. The Muralist Movement originally served as the mouthpiece to represent the vision and history of ideology of the government. Later on, it depicted the struggle of the lower and working class against the oppression. This movement was led by three artists, Diego Rivera, Josà © Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros who later came to be referred to as, Los Tres Grande which means â€Å"the three great ones†. They formed the Labor Union of Technical Workers, Painters and Sculptors and dedicated their art and murals to express the Mexican history and the opinions of the society. The Los Tres Grande used the traditional form of fresco painting and displayed their murals in the public places, which they regarded as the most convenient avenue to communicate to the public. (Flores, 2014) Orozco, Siqueiros and Rivera were analogous in many aspects but they all had very diverse approach in their art and motivation styles. Orozco had a European style of expression and he was broadly influenced by symbolism.

Strategies for analyzing and entering foreign markets Essay

Strategies for analyzing and entering foreign markets - Essay Example onal franchising is the strategy that gives the opportunity to an independent entrepreneur to operate a business under the name of another established brand name. International franchising helps businesses to expand into foreign markets using a franchise agreement. When franchises are expanded internationally, it opens new opportunities to new markets that the business could not have reached. International Franchising also allows businesses to take advantage of favorable government regulations in various countries. This helps to save money through the paid taxes. There are cultural differences that exist in various countries that might go a long way in killing the business in these countries. There is also financial risks involved when trying to expand the business into other countries. In analyzing foreign markets, firms first critically need to choose well the foreign market in which it would want to venture in. This would involve the analysis of the potential success of the business products in that market (Adam, 2001). The firm then requires gathering enough information to use in the analysis process. The information may include the knowledge about domestic government agencies, private agencies in that country as well as other private sources. In the analysis, it is also important for the firm to assess the possible risks in the foreign market. Firms choose their modes of entry into a foreign market through identification of the market, collection of information about the market, risk assessment, securing capital and space to carry out the

Organization behavior Essay Example for Free

Organization behavior Essay 1.) Critically review learning theory. Learning theory is a routine that is carried out on a daily basis in order to have an experience in various fields of work. There are several theories that explain learning theory. One of the theories is Maslow’ Hierarchy of needs which explains that, when the need level is satisfied, it ceased to become a motivator and fulfillment of higher level is the next goal. (Francesco and Gold, 2005).The second theory is Hertzberg’s motivation hygiene theory which states that, employees’ growth and esteem needs are driven by the motivation factors, responsibility and achievement. This wills results into a job satisfaction at work place. (Francesco and Gold, 2005). The third theory is McClelland’s learned needs theory which explains that needs is learned through Childhood environment, social norms and assists in the understanding of individual motivation (Francesco and Gold, 2005). The last theory is ERG theory which contributes on Maslow theory. It has three categories of needs. Existence which is the physical and psychological need, relatedness which is the need to share ideas with others and feel secure and growth is the need to achieve to fulfill of self esteemed needs. The learning theories have assisted very many people at work place especially the people who are working in the organizations. (Francesco and Gold, 2005). There have been several philosophers who have tried to explain what is learning. Various theories of learning have been therefore have been discussed. Learning theories are the ideas about why or how changes occur. There has been a theory on the behaviorist orientation to learning .This theory is from theorist such as Thorndike, Pavlov and skinner. (Smith, 1999).This theory argues that people change their behavior from the kind of learning they get. People according to the theory are stimulated by the environment they live in. When people live in a good environment they learn to be good and vise versa. Behaviorists argue that people can be taught to produce behavior change in the desired direction. An educator trying to teach people to change should arrange environment of the person to get the desired response. People can learn through skill development and training as well as behavior according to behaviorists. (Smith, 1999). There is another theory on cognitive orientation to learning. Cognitivist such as Piaget, Bruner and Gagne believe that learning process is an internal mental process. Internal mental process includes receiving insight about information, processing the information, memorizing it and finally making a perception. (Smith, 1999).That is how the learning process is according to Cognitivist. People according to the cognitivist learn through the internal cognitive structuring. This structure helps people develop skills and capacity to learn better. Cognitive structure if followed can help a person develop intelligence learning and memory as function of age as well as learning how to learn. Whichever the theory that is followed learning is an important aspect of human being and people should strive to learn more to improve themselves. (Saljo,1979) 2. Positive and negative reinforcements, punishment and extinction in shaping behavior There are many types of positive reinforcements that Godot can use. First Godot can reward excellent behavior. This is normally a very effective method of reinforcing good behavior. (Verddelho, 1999)The implication here is that when an employee is rewarded for good performance, the employee feels motivated to do even better the next time. In the end this will lead to an improved performance which is good not just for the individual but also for the organization. The second positive reinforcement is recognition. Recognition here implies acknowledging excellent behavior of good work. In this case the meaning for this is that supervisors like Godot can simply acknowledge and commend a well performing employee like Diane. Recognition of good work has the implication of having positive congratulatory words for a job that has been well accomplished. This can simply be achieved by a simple word of mouth like ‘well done.’ Unknown to many supervisors, this simple act of recognition normally has a very positive effects on the motivation of an employee of an individual and can result in positive work behavior. (Francesca Gold, 2008) The use of incentives is another positive reinforcement that can result in improved positive behavior. In this case incentives can be in form of extra or bonus pay for exemplary performance. Incentives can go along way in improving an individual’s performance on the job. (Francesca Gold, 2008)This is more so if an individual is capable of making more money by displaying good performance method. In this case the issue of a tip was a good gesture to the employees since those with exemplary performance would feel encouraged to do more. One negative way of reinforcing behavior is through harshness. In this case, the employees will only perform well because of fear of reprimand by Godot and not because they feel a compelling need to work hard. This is a negative reinforcement because positive organization behavior should be forced but should come spontaneously. The implication here is that employees should not be coerced into behaving well but rather positive behavior should just come naturally. This therefore means that these employees should not work hard because of fear of being reprimanded by the supervisor but instead should do so because of a need to do so. (Dwyer, 2005) 3. Discuss the impact of these reinforcements and punishment has on behavior and on Diane’s behavior specifically Reinforcement theory suggests that a reinforcement/reward and punishment of certain behavior will most likely result in a repeat of that particular behavior. That is to say that if behavior is not recognized or appreciated chances of it being repeated will be low. . (Francesco Gold, 2005)   However, the consequence of reinforcement is determined by whether it is negative or positive. Positive reinforcement will motivate employees and result in behavior that will increase an organization’s output and the opposite is true. . (Francesco Gold, 2005) Diane works hard and her output is great. However, when she breaks a plate one day, Godot yells at her and even makes her pay for the broken plate and the cost of cleaning up the messed caused. Diane has been waiting all along for recognition but she only gets a negative reinforcement for her good output. As it is, it is better to motivate people for the right reasons rather than to punish them for the wrong reasons. (Skinner, 1957). Diane is punished for the wrong reason and fails to get reinforced for the right reasons. Negative reinforcement is not likely to motivate individuals and therefore this will in turn lead to them slacking in their work and thus the overall out put will be low. (Skinner, 1957).   It is because of this that she relaxes when carrying out her duties. Reinforcement suggests that behavior determines outcome and a person will be motivated to seek reinforcement and avoid punishment. When she got a chance to work at a fancy French restaurant at Sydney known La Maison, Diana a University Student could not spend her vacation at her parents home Queabeyan, since she needed money to change on her diet during her next semester . (Skinner, 1957). Ready to prove how good she was, she would balance several plates on her arm and the customers would compliment her on her efficient service, but one day she dropped a bowl of bouillabaisse appetizer on the carpet and hurriedly went for sponge while apologizing but   Godot shouted at her that he would deduct $24.95, $20 from her pay to compensate for appetizer and cost of cleaning rugs respectively, out of anger and confusion, next day Diana slowed down to avoid recurrence of same incident thus she carried   no more than two dishes at a time thus slugging her tips down (Skinner, 1957). Q4 .Effectiveness of hourly pay rates and tips as a method for reinforcing desired behaviors. Tips and hourly rates have been used as a mode of payment against other methods of payment like piece rate and monthly payments. There is a big variation in the effectiveness of the methods. When hourly rate is used as the mode of payment, it has been found to have an effect on quality and speed. These two factors are the one that determine the output of any activity (Encina, 2000). Payment in work acts as an incentive to the worker. Whenever the worker is paid well he will work well and poor pay means poor jobs. It is noted that the worker will always optimize what he has at hand. When he is paid hourly he will do he/her work according to the hour he is being paid. This will spoil the consistency (Encina , 2000). When tips are added to the hourly rate, the worker will optimize on the tips and he/she will improve on his hourly work to get more tips. Things are different when hourly pay is made without the tips as there will be no motivation. Paying on an hourly rate together with the tips may improve on speed but destroy the quality. The use of tips and hourly rate need a balance as what motivate the worker are the conditions of work. Diane on his part was being motivated tips (Encina , 2000). Apart from the pay, there are other factors that motivate worker during their work. Recognition during work is another factor that lender the effectiveness of work. A worker may improve his effectiveness due to tips. This will improve his/her efficiency. When a worker feels that his efficiency has improved, he will look for recognition.   Payment on hourly rates can improve the behaviors of the worker but additional inputs like recognition should be added. Diane opted to work in the right he will perfect the work and in return he will be recognized to get a better pay. For the behavior of an hourly paid worker to improve, incentives have to be added. This will help in improving the efficiency of work and altitude towards work will improve (Schildkraut 2003). The behavior of workers depends very much on the pay and recognition. As much as workers are paid hourly tends to improve the output, their behavior depends much on the supervision. Workers will always maximize on their man hours instead of employers manpower (Schildkraut 2003). Therefore to ensure that the behavior of the worker is good requires supervision. The supervision should not oppress the worker but instead it will help improve his behavior. The role of the supervisor for hourly paid worker is to help the worker to improve in his productivity. Though the supervisor will optimize on production, it should not destroy the quality of the work (Schildkraut 2003). In conclusion hourly rates can improve on the worker behavior but proper measures should be put in place to ensure that the objectives of the company or organization are met. The measure can include recognition after improvement, controlled supervision, and improvement after achievement. There should be no mistake of paying hourly for organization benefit but it should be to the worker (Schildkraut 2003).

General Environmental Analysis Essay -- Essays Papers

General Environmental Analysis The airline industry is very stable and unlikely to change in the near future. There are many reasons for this. Air travel continues to grow and will continue in this fashion as long as the economy stays in an upward trend. US domestic air traffic grew 2.3% in 1998 and 3.5% in the first six months of 1999 according to Air Transportation Association. The percentage of flyers has increased an average of 2% each year and the percentage of people who have ever flown before increased from 73% in 1993 to 81% in 1997. (Airport Transport Association, Internet). The top three reasons that people fly are business trips (47%), visiting relatives (38%) and going on vacation (13%). Most airline revenues are gained from the fares they charge these passengers, but they also earn ancillary revenues from transporting mail, shipping freight, selling in-flight services and from serving alcoholic beverages (Airport Transportation Association, Internet). The primary target market of airline passengers today is the business traveler because business trips account for the majority (47% ) of airline flights. Though this percentage of business trips is slowly declining, the actual number of business travelers is increasing. The business traveler fits the description of the average airline passenger of being male, between the ages of 35 and 54, having a household of $60,000 or more and lives in the western region of the country (Airport Transportation Association, Internet). The business traveler tends to be very price inelastic in terms of plane fares and as a result, airlines provide benefits to them such as priority check-in, expedited baggage handling, frequent flier miles and in-flight cell phones to business people to entice them to fly with their carrier. The other segment of the airline market is that of leisure travelers. These passengers tend to be extremely price sensitive which is exactly opposite the business traveler. As a result, airlines must find ways to beat competitors in terms of prices. Because the leisure traveler is not loyal to any one carrier, price becomes the determining factor in deciding which carrier to fly on. Again just opposite of the business traveler, the number of leisure fliers has decreased while the number of trips has increased. While the industry seems to be doing extremely... ...y another airline and using it through a larger airline may be a smart move. Some amount of capital should be devoted to improving technology because it is, in a sense, the power of the future. Bibliography Air Transport Association. â€Å"Air travel Survey.† Online. MSN.com. Internet. 12 Nov. 2000. Available: www.londecon.co.uk/pubs/comp/crb8.htm. Carey, Susan et.al. â€Å"AMR, Northwest talks turn serious as pressure rises for decision on merger†. Wall Street Journal. July 12, 2000. Competition Bulletin 8. Online. MSN.com. Internet. 9 Nov.2000. Available: www.activemedia-guide.com/airindustry.htm. â€Å"Four leading airlines launch global alliance,†Transportation and Distribution, Cleveland, OH, August 2000. Mooreman, Robert W. â€Å"United turns to academics to show alliances aid consumers.† Aviation Week and Space Technology. New York. Oct.2,2000. Travel Agent. â€Å"Forecast for the Future: Airlines.† Online. Yahoo.com. Internet. 12 Nov.2000. Available: www.finarticles.com/cf_1/mOVOU/2-298/59013812/p2/article.jhtml. US Business Reporter. â€Å"Airline Industry Profile.† Online. Yahoo.com. Internet. 12 Nov. 2000. Available: www.air-transport.org/public/industry/23.asp.