Information Privacy Security: TJX Data Breach Crisis and Lessons

Introduction Protecting the privacy of consumer personal information continues to pose significant challenges for organisations. The complexity is aggravated by consumers’ vulnerability that comes about when they are unable to control the usage of personal information they share with business organisations. Given the importance of information privacy, there has been a host of privacy research focusing on the organisational decisions regarding the use and reuse of consumer personal information (Schwartz, 2009; Greenaway and Chan, 2005). Culnan et al (2008) observes that the emerging decentralisation of technology environment has posed additional privacy challenge: data breaches. Currently, it is only the United States that requires organisations to give formal notice in the event of data breach (Morley, 2014). European Union and its member countries are yet to establish any legal requirements for organisations to notify consumers of any data breach, thereby leaving such eventuality at the f ate of an organisation’s management. Without any notification laws, data breaches remain private and under the discretion of the affected organization. Therefore, this paper focuses on one of the most prominent data security breaches that the world has ever witnessed: TJX data privacy breach crisis, in the context of, ethical principles and theories, legal, professional and social issues. . The Information Privacy Concept According to Xu et al. (2008), the concept of information privacy is multidimensional in nature and is largely dependent on the context as well as personal experiences. Although others see information privacy as full of definition ambiguity (Schwartz, 2009), others have defined consumer personal information as being made up of data generated when consumers conduct transactions. The problems of privacy often emerge from how this consumer information is stored, analysed, used, or shared (FTC, 2008). Information on how to address problems related to privacy management is limited due to minimal research in the area, particularly those issues dealing with management responsibilities on social issues. For example, there is limited research on how organisations should deal with consumers’ personal identifiable information, the role of managers in the protecting the consumer data and the moral duty of every party involved in the handling or accessing consumer data. Overview of TJX Data Breach TJX is a US-based off-price retailer operating over 2,400 stores in various countries and regions including US, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Europe. In the network of stores, the retailer collects and store customer information that would authorize purchases via payment cards, personal cheques , and processing of merchandise returned without a receipt. This violated the legal requirement that prohibits any business from retaining sensitive consumer card information, including the magnetic strips on credit cards (Smedinghoff and Hamady, 2008). In addition, the breach exposed TJX’s failure to observe basic ethical and professional principles. The revelation emerged when in 2007 TJX issued a press release stating that criminals had intruded their data system and stolen over 45 million consumers’ card information within a period of 18 months (FTC, 2008). Although the TJX filed Form 8-K disclosure statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission as required by the law, the company was widely held to be at fault for the breach. The company was accused of breaching the law by storing unencrypted sensitive consumer information, for their failure to limit unauthorised access to the massive data via their wireless network, and the inability to establish adequate security measures within its networks among other issues (FTC, 2008). The Legal and social Issues in the TJX Data Breach The current global data protection guideline is based on the Fair Information Practices (FIPs), which deal with individual rights and organisational responsibilities with regard to management of consumer data (Morley, 2014). In other words, how responsibly the data is used is a pointer to the social expectations with regards to consumer data use. FIPs attempts to put a certain level of balance between the competing business and individual interests in terms of legitimate use of personal information, which serves as the foundation for privacy laws and industry-specific regulatory programmes. In this respect, FIPs lays the foundation for organisations on how to be socially responsible in dealing with privacy issues. On the other hand, the adoption of these guidelines lays the foundations for evaluation by the external audiences on an organisation’s degree of responsiveness (Allen, 2011). There is a general consensus that responsible data management practice is paramount in every organisation (Morley, 2014). However, there is no consensus about how the implementation of individual principles should be carried out. Schwartz (2009, p.1) observes that in most parts of the world, â€Å"fair information practices are implemented through omnibus laws.† Curiously, the United States has no comprehensive laws that compel organisations to observe fair information practice, but instead developed sectoral laws and regulations to consumer privacy protection with laws being enacted in response to issues arising from specific industries. The challenge that comes with this approach is that there is uneven practice in terms of operations and implementations. Moreover, the TJX issue exposed some glaring weaknesses in the implementation of FIP laws and regulations based on the principles of notice, choice, access, security, and sanctions for noncompliance (Culnan, et al., 2008). The effectiveness of data privacy management for organisations that collect, store, and use consumer personal data is curtailed by other issues including unclear law or policy, varied jurisdictions, and differences in data type. The challenge may be further aggravated by conflicting regional or state laws (Allen, 2011). The breaches in the TJX case involved unauthorised access to consumer personal information, which resulted in a variety of risks towards consumer personal information. Nevertheless, there is a general agreement within the statutory laws and regulations that every organisation should ensure there is duty of care with regards to information they collect and store based on consumer’s vulnerability and the actual possibility of harm (Allen, 2011). Allen (2011) observes that although organisations that comply with government regulations are considered legitimate, and readily accepted by their external environment, including partners, this milestone is not easily achievable given the above challenges. For example, the term ‘reasonable procedure†™ as stated in most sectoral data protection regulations does not specify what is actually ‘reasonable’, which may vary depending on the nature and size of the organisation, the types of information it captures and stores, the security equipments and tools in the possession of the organisation, and the nature of risk at display. There has been criticism in regards to the prevailing laws and regulations because they are seen as reactive and outdated at the time when they are enacted (Morley, 2014). The other complaint is that most of privacy violation issues are only detected after the damage is done, thus doing little to reverse the loss on the affected consumers. The Moral Issues and Responsibilities Information ethics is based on the collection, use, and management of information (Morley, 2014). As technology becomes increasingly complex, it is evident that ethical problems related to these developments continue to increase. However, the normative theories (stockholder, stakeholder, and social contracts) used to address the prevailing challenges remain less developed, with many institutions only relying on bare legal minimum requirements in relation to consumer data protection (Culnan, et al., 2008). Morley (2014) observes that these theories are distinct and incompatible with regards to the obligations of a business person. Taking into consideration the large social and financial impact of privacy breach as observed in the TJX case, there are mainly two aspects of moral issues that are central to the data privacy: vulnerability and harm avoidance. The concept of vulnerability highlights most of society’s moral intuitions, with the inherent scenario where one party is at disadvantage with regard to the other party in terms of data collection and use. This situation emerged because one party lacked the capacity to control the information givento the other party. Solove (2007) observed that the root cause of large-scale privacy invasions is embedded inthe lack of information control by the giver. In the case of TJX, consumers suffered outright vulnerability, although they expected TJX to protect their card information with a proper mechanism in place. On the other hand, avoiding harm involves the need for managers to avoid using consumer data to harm the vulnerable consumer socially and financially. Many have argued that it is the responsibility of the managers to take a minimum moral standing to ensure no harm is done in the treatment of consumer information (Culnan, et al., 2008). Conclusion Information privacy is an important issue in the modern business environment. In order to protect consumer information, managers must learn to strike a balance between consumer privacy and business interests by constantly adhering to the principle of protecting the vulnerable consumer and not causing harm to them through their personal information. It is important to note that TJX caused harm when their consumer personal data were stolen by a third party intruder. Although TJX violated industry rules, it is more significant to highlight that the company’s failure to observe moral responsibility in the protection of consumer data should be viewed as more detrimental to the company. Businesses are expected to follow basic ethical principles in managing business activities. While we can argue that the TJX data breach saga received the attention because of the United State’s comprehensive formal notice requirements within the laws on privacy data management, it is also appa rent that personal data protection is beyond the laws and regulations and requires ethical foundations within the organisations. The need to integrate ethical reasoning into the privacy programmes of every organisation is paramount (Xu et al., 2008). We can argue that integrating moral responsibility within organisations will not only establish ethical standards for the organisations, but is growingly becoming a necessity considering the challenges surrounding the implementation of legal requirements. Furthermore, considering that consumers are vulnerable and are unable to control how businesses use their personal information, it is the moral responsibilities of every organisation to go beyond bare minimum legal compliance. That is, each organisation needs to take reasonable precaution when handling consumer data and ensure no harm is caused with this kind of data. References Allen, A. (2011). Unpopular Privacy: What Must We HideOxford: Oxford University Press. Culnan, M. J., Foxman, E. R., and Ray, A. W. (2008). â€Å"Why ITExecutives Should Help Employees Secure Their Home Com- puters,† MIS Quarterly Executive (7:1), March, pp. 49-55. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). (2008). â€Å"Press Release: Agency Announces Settlement of Separate Actions Against Retailer TJX, and Data Brokers Reed Elsevier and Seisint for Failing to Provide Adequate Security for Consumers’ Data,† March 27(available at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/03/datasec.shtm; accessed November 29, 2014). Greenaway, K. E., and Chan, Y. E. (2005). â€Å"Theoretical Explana-tions of Firms’ Information Privacy Behaviors,† Journal of the Association for Information Systems (6:6), pp. 171-198. Morley, D. (2014). Understanding Computers in a Changing Society. Chicago: Cengage Learning. Schwartz, M. (2009). â€Å"Europe Debates Mandatory Data Breach Notifications.† The Privacy Advisor (9:2), p. 1. Smedinghoff, T. J., and Hamady, L. E. (2008). â€Å"New State Regula-tions Signal Significant Expansion of Corporate Data SecurityObligations,† BNA Privacy and Security Law Report (7), October 20, p. 1518. Solove, D. (2007). â€Å"The New Vulnerability: Data Security andPersonal Information,† in Securing Privacy in the Internet Age, A. Chander, L. Gelman, and M. J. Radin (eds.), Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, pp. 111-136. Xu, H., Dinev, T., Smith, H. J., and Hart, P. (2008). â€Å"Examining the Formation of Individual’s Privacy Concerns: Toward an Integra-tive View,† in Proceedings of the 29th International Conference on Information Systems, Paris (available at http://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2008/6; accessed October 29, 2014).

Comparing Old & New Terrorism

Introduction1.1 BackgroundIn the countdown to the end of the twentieth century, notable scholars came up with a new concept of ‘New Terrorism’ which represents a shift from the traditional terrorism. The ‘new terrorism’ ‘refers to a qualitative change in the nature of terrorism, which has allegedly taken place during the 1990s’ (Kurtulus 2007:476). This paradigm has also been variously referred to as ‘contemporary terrorism’ (Laqueur 2003) ‘post-modern terrorism’, ‘super-terrorism’, ‘catastrophic terrorism’ and ‘hyper-terrorism’ (Field 2009). This dissertation intends to undertake the examination of this paradigm shift. It intends to examine the various sources if there is indeed a ‘New Terrorism’ as canvassed by some scholars and policy makers. It would do this by doing a case study of Irish Republican Army, or the IRA and Al Qaeda representing each group.1.2 Aims and ObjectivesIn this section, the research aims, objectives, and research questions will be outlined. Firstly, the aim of this research is as follows: To ensure that this aim is fully explored, the following research objectives have been devised: How are the emerging forms of terrorism different from the traditional methods How should the existing counterterrorism infrastructure be amended in order to meet the challenges of the modern age 1.3 Research QuestionsThe research question is as follows: What are the new forms of terrorism and what factors created them What are the key factors that have contributed to the success of these new terrorist practices Is the current counterterrorist system capable of dealing with the emerging terrorist threat To seek to explore this aim, research question and these objectives, a review of the literature will be undertaken to explore these areas have experienced change over time. The findings from this review will be used to explore and examine the research aim, objectives and question. To ensure that this is appropriately undertaken the following topics will be discussed in the review:1.4 Scope of the StudyA study of the Irish Republican Army will be undertaken in comparison to the modern operations of the recognized terrorist agency Al Qaeda.1.5 Structure of the StudyThis study will be comprised of 6 sections including the introduction, literature review, and methodology, case study analysis, Discussion, Conclusion.2 Literature Review The section will review relevant literature as regards the proposed research.2.1 Defining Terrorism and emerging forms of Terrorism2.2 Factors that contributed to Terrorism’s Success2.3 Current prevention and enforcement options2.4Trends3. Methodol ogy This chapter illustrates the research methodology used as well as providing a brief introductory passage regarding the meaning of research methodology.3.1 IntroductionThe methodology focuses on an explanation of the qualitative and quantitative research approaches considered for this thesis to answer the following questions: How are the emerging forms of terrorism different from the traditional methods How should the existing counterterrorism infrastructure be amended in order to meet the challenges of the modern age This includes the elements of the research approach adopted and the reasons behind this choice.3.2 Methods of Data CollectionSecondary sources dating from the operation of the Irish Republican Army as well as year to date operations of Al Qaeda will provide the required range of data for assessment.3.2.1 Case Study AnalysisYin (2009) contends that the case study analysis strategy is a valid tool for providing empirical content. This method of research allows for an investigation into the real world impact of terrorism. Others contend that the case study is not always the best strategic analysis approach (Baxter and Jack 2008). However, Stake (1995) demonstrates that a case study can provide understanding and increase the capacity for understanding. The approach for this dissertation will utilize a qualitative, interpretative research method; a case study examination of the Irish Republican Army and Al Qaeda. Yin (2009) demonstrates that the exploratory case study method can be used to examine situations in which there is no defined outcome. This research will rest on the goal to identify challenges and lessons for future. For the purposes of this research, the qualitative research approach is more suitable due to capacity to assess the wide ranging nature the terrorist conditions. Case Study This section will present a case study examination of the Irish Republican Army in comparison to the operations of Al Qaeda.4.1 Irish Republican Army formation factorsRyanair and (another airline of your choice)4.2 Effectiveness of the IRA methods4.3 Al Qaeda formation factors4.4 Effectiveness of the IRA methods4.5 Trends4.8 Discussion(Tie the case study to the literature review) 5. Conclusion 7. References Baxter, P. and Jack, S. 2008. Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13 (4), pp. 544–559. Field, A. 2009. The ‘New Terrorism’: Revolution or Evolution?. Political Studies Review, 7 (2), pp. 195–207. Kurtulus, E. 2011. The â€Å"new terrorism† and its critics. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 34 (6), pp. 476–500. Laqueur, W. 2003. No end to war. New York: Continuum. Stake, R. 1995. The art of case study research. Sage Publications, Inc. Yin, R. 2009. Case study research. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Importance of awareness of the security knowledge

This assignment attempts to show the importance of awareness of the security knowledge that will make us more aware about threats like escrow services fraud, spasms and spoofing. There's statistics demonstrates the recent trends of these types of threats that people usually face in the Internet. The impacts mostly negative and sometimes there are big losses. The research studies the potential of cybernetics's to increase loss, scams and spoofing, both locally and worldwide. Social networking sites turned to be at the top of the targets for attackers.Rafter said (201 1), these social network sites are like a treasure trove of prized information for cybernetics's. The reason why they're focusing on social network sites Is because It has million's of users which means a lot of fraud opportunities. In such a popular open software applications, it'll be easier for the hackers to reach and access personal information. One of the newest types of scams is email spoofing. Rafter defined email spoof as fake email messages, that looks Like it's a friend request.It comes with attached file as picture of the account asking for a request. These sorts of emails must carry some type of virus, for example a Trojan horse that tells password and other Important Information; It works If the receiver clicks on the attachment. Pushing campaign means, when the email Is demonstrating a page that's shows the login pages of any social network site in the content of the email. In addition, its fake, and any private information that entered in this page such as password is directly transferred to the hacker.In Youth scam, spammed create fake Youth accounts, and send requests to others Youth users through email asking them to see their profiles. For sure, if someone went to the link Its going to transfer them to he spammed website (Rafter. 2011). In the Gulf countries 25 percent of tablet users and 20 per cent of smartened owners received mails monthly with suspicious links. Also, 13 perce nt of mobile users had received letters from banks or social network sites. Statistics shows that 62% Of Emirates cannot Identify the Pushing Message (Bubbler, 2012).According to Speakeasy, about 35% of the PC's in the Gulf countries have been infected because the users opens any attachment in their e-mail, and 14 % of people entered their personal Information or financial Information In suspicious pages. Internet due to its publicity has been attracting fraudsters whose goals are embezzling users funds by using fake painful scenarios (Palfrey, et. Al, 2010). Owed to the fast respond from the users in the Internet, a fraudster could post fake and false Information or a story to gain money from people.Some of the well-known conducts include big donations under the name of poor country in Africa somewhere people are facing famines and starve to death. Fraudsters display videos and photos that users to donate finances for those poor countries. Unluckily, the fund doesn't go to the poor countries but to the cybernetics's pocket. This was the most common cybercafà © in the United Arab Emirates, which involve money fraud and extortion (Grab, 2014). According to official statistics in ABA Dhabi, â€Å"in 2011, 588 cases of cybercafà ©s were reported, while 792 cases were reported in 2012.The number of cases almost doubled to 1,419 in 2013†³ (Grab, 2014). Many local users have faced these kind of crimes, however according to Gun]obi (2011) Charity scams have been spreading between emirates users. Junior added (2011) these scampers goal is taking advantage of the locals kindness and their lack of awareness in the Internet field (Junior, 2011). According to Sultan AAA-Tamil, (201 1), Social networks sites have a huge number of users, thus, it will make a good fund from collecting money and donations to the victims.He said, there was a hash tag in twitter known by Dissocialized) that collect donations for the losses, they collect more than 70,000 SIR. The problem was that they weren't certain sure if these donations went to the victims and there families or not. An expert in ASK warned whoever wants to donate; they have to contribute with their money in a well-known donation organization to avoid sending their funds to an unknown organization that loud be a Fraudsters. He added, users in the Internet must look wisely into the online donations appeals even if they sound reliable, Just to avoid scampers.Many individuals felt that there should be authorized organizations to collect donations from social networks users to gain more aid for poor people to make sure that the money goes to those who really need it.

Drawing on the literature, critically discuss the positive and Essay

Drawing on the literature, critically discuss the positive and negative factors that may directly or indirectly influence services workers job performance - Essay Example This is because; the potential buyers formulate their own perceptions regarding the organization and its service quality on grounds of its staff efficiency and service performance (Brown, et al., 2002). This research paper aims to critically analyze the positive and negative impacts of service worker’s job performance. It is highly rational to conduct this critical analysis because it aims to estimate the factors that might both directly and indirectly influence the quality of working within a service providing organization. In this era of â€Å"consumerism†, the firms aim to maximize utility of its potential buyers and hence their business revenue. However, it should be noted that customers satisfaction derived from the products or services of an organization considerably depends on the quality of services provided by the employees of the company. Thus, from the analysis and implications of this essay, managerial authorities of different companies can eradicate the pot ential problems faced by them in human resource management and hence improve the quality of their working in long run (Brown, et al., 2002). Economists treat labour resource of an organization as a type of capital. This is because a worker earns money with the help of acquired education, work experience and knowledge. Originally human capital was perceived to be a microeconomic concept but over time its implications are also linked up with the field of macroeconomics. Lucas introduced the â€Å"New Growth Theory† of economics and claimed that human capital productivity and economic growth is directly proportional to each other (Brown, et al., 2002). A rise in the efficiency level of human capital helps to augment economic surplus procured by the profit making firms within a country and finally leads to growth of its national domestic productivity level. Researchers have stated that quality of schooling, educational level of parents, before and on-the-job training significantly influences the

Reading Response # 3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reading Response # 3 - Assignment Example The loss of a few thousand innocent lives was something which radically changed the way Americans think about Muslims and their religion. In order to argue whether there is really a clash of civilization as suggested by Huntington or the reaction is just Muslim or Arab Phobia, it is important to understand the roots of this conflict and how this difference emerged. The theory of clash of civilization is basically based upon the notion of clash of cultures and civilizations with each other. Underlying this theory is the belief that future conflicts between people will be based upon culture of people and that democracy or free markets is not the only ideology of the world. This notion therefore suggests that the primary axis of conflict will be religion as well as the culture of the people. Considering this position, the post 9/11 scenario may not seem as a clash of civilizations but rather Muslim or Arab phobia. The obvious reasons for the attack of 9/11 were based upon the belief that US has supported or illegally occupied and plundered the resources belonging to the Muslim world. This conflict was however by few groups against the State rather than a Muslim State against America. The videos suggested that there is a general Arab and Muslim Phobia because in the War against terror many Muslim countries actually supported the US in its war against Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups. In a way, the Muslim world on the whole, except for a few countries, was officially supporting the US and its war against Islamic extremist groups. There is therefore a general fear regarding Muslims and how may they create a threat for Americans within America. People generally believe that Muslims may harm them and therefore in order to avoid being harmed, Muslims should be labeled and wear bands so that they can be identified. There is a

The Rising Cost of Health Care, and the Uninsured Essay

The Rising Cost of Health Care, and the Uninsured - Essay Example In the face of rising health care costs, fewer employers are able to provide their workers with health insurance; the percentage of employers offering health insurance dropped from 69% in 2000 to 60% in 2005. Even if employers are able to provide health insurance benefits, the trend is towards providing high-deductible insurance that covers an ever-shrinking percentage of health care costs. The net result is that more and more employed middle-class Americans find themselves with low-quality or no access to health care. The erosion of employer-based coverage has been partially offset by increased enrollment in Medicaid, which is designed to provide a safety-net for the lowest income Americans. However, Medicaid has recently been the subject of relentless funding cuts by cash-strapped states and Congressional representatives who are ideologically opposed to welfare programs. As the program continues to be slashed, it is certain that Medicaid will not be able to offset the losses in employer-based insurance, resulting in more and more uninsured individuals. Health insecurity is at an all-time high. In a time when thousands of people lose their health insurance every day, when health care is becoming elusive to even well-to-do Americans, and when any person is just one pink slip away from becoming uninsured, it becomes clear that health care for all is not just important to achieve, but imperative. (http://66.249.93.104/searchq=cache:MjuwB2oUF14J:www.amsa.org/uhc/CaseForUHC.pdf+%22Health+insecurity+is+at+an+all-time+high.+In+a+time+when+thousands%22&hl=en&gl=pk&ct=clnk&cd=1) Most people have health insurance through their employers or jobs. But, employment is no longer a guarantee of health insurance coverage. As companies change from manufacturing-based economy to a service economy, the working patterns revolve and health insurance coverage has become less stable. Due to rising health insurance, many employers cannot afford to offer health benefits. Companies that do offer health insurance, often require employees to contribute a larger share toward their coverage. As a result, a lot of people have made a decision not to take advantage of job-based health insurance because they cannot afford it. Because of this healthcare spending continues to rise at the fastest rate in history. For example in 2004, according to the National Coalition of Healthcare (NCHC) the total national health expenditures rose 7.9 percent -- over three times the rate of inflation (1). Total spending was $1.9 TRILLION in 2004, or $6,280 per person (1). Total healthcare spending represented 16 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Healthcare spending is expected to increase at similar levels for the next decade reaching $4 TRILLION in 2015, or 20 percent of GDP. In 2005, employer health insurance premiums increased by 9.2 percent - nearly three times the rate of inflation. The annual premium for an employer health plan covering a family of four averaged nearly $11,000. The annual premium for single coverage averaged over $4,000. Experts say our healthcare system is filled with inefficiencies, unnecessary administrative expenses, inflated prices, poor management, and inappropriate care, waste and fraud. These problems drastically

Human Resource Information systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human Resource Information systems - Essay Example They should be well equipped with leadership and motivational tools to facilitate the employees for better performance. The HR team should itself be motivated and work in accordance with the organizations objectives. The key elements that make an HR team extraordinary, is a team that encourages creativity, respect diversity and aims to improve the professional advancement as well as wellbeing of employees. It should have proper information system for their transactional activities like payroll, employee status changes and record keeping. With a proper IS in place, there will be minimum paper work required and the large chunks of data can be easily stored in databases, files and tapes which can further help in analysis of these records. In case of traditional HR, where HR professionals deal with training, recruiting, performance management, planning and compensation, a proper IS in place will make the entire process more easier and effective, having specially designed systems such as Learning management system, performance management system etc. Transformational activities that deal with strategic decision making, cultural or organization change, or increasing innovation, are one of the most important tasks of an HR department. The effective running of these activities is vital for an ideal HR department as they add value to the organization. With proper IS such as MIS or a Decision Support System in place for strategic decision making, such decisions can be taken with more ease and effectiveness. As mentioned in the earlier section, Human Resource plays a critical role in business. It not only helps in setting policies, motivating the employees, managing employee information but it actually plays a central role in streamlining the business processes. With the new technologies evolving and businesses adopting different information systems to help them run their business processes such as order processing

Critical evaluation of Freemark Abbey Winery Essay

Critical evaluation of Freemark Abbey Winery - Essay Example The best quality wine is produced only when the fruit has been ripened to a level where it reaches a perfect balance of acidity and sweetness. The ripeness of grapes is influenced by the existing weather conditions as well. In order to produce the right type of wine it is crucial that everything from the level of ripeness the grapes have achieved to the existing weather are all in a perfect balance. Most of all the fermentation process is accelerated by a certain type of bacteria known as botrytis mold. The latter part of the case takes an elaborate look at the different factors which impact its owner’s decisions regarding whether or not to harvest the grapes based on the weather predictions of an approaching storm. It discusses the ways in which the storm could affect the quality of wine and in turn its market price. If the wine was perfectly botrytised the wine would be significantly superior in quality but its quantity would be reduced. This kind could produce fewer bottles but they could easily be priced relatively high at a price of $8.00. The case study revolves around discussing all these factors which influence William Jaeger about deciding whether or not he should harvest the grapes prior to the approaching storm or wait for luck to strike. This is a critical decision to make and all possible options should be evaluated before taking a decision. There are several predictors of decision and various factors which have to be taken into consideration in order to decide whether the grapes should be harvested immediately or at a later stage. The biggest problem is that Jaeger’s decisions are all based on assumptions about the weather forecast. Incase the assumptions fail, the consequential strategy will also be unsuccessful. Freemark Abbey can rent a weather detector to maximize surety. In case the storm does not strike, early harvest can lead to a

Gaming Industry Mini-case homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gaming Industry Mini-case homework - Essay Example Customers will always be important to business but these buyers also have other alternatives to entertain themselves such as online casinos, internet, movies etch. Video games may be more engaging than the alternatives but the low switching cost makes the alternative viable. The alternatives to video games may be numerous but they are not as engaging as video games. The alternatives are also full of risk such as online casino whose legality are still doubtful making its potential users to be less attracted to it. Gaming industry is based on the ingenuity and talent of its game developers, programmers and other talents which is the backbone of the industry. To make sure that my talents are ahead of the game, I would always conduct training and workshops to ensure that they are ahead in the industry. Of course, it is a given that I should keep them happy for them to stay in the company. This could be done by offering them stocks, handsome pay and interesting work. I would not recommend an entry to the gaming industry because it is very risky and volatile. The industry also has very high learning curves that makes it very difficult for new players to catch up with the established players. The huge capital needed to start is also very discouraging and risky. Suppliers have very high power in the chain making the company vulnerable to suppliers. The existing players may also manipulate the price to become very low for the company not to survive its penetration

Economic resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economic resources - Essay Example These core resources serve all living beings by producing a variety of useful goods and services. Few examples are food (produced by plants and other agriculture crops), medicinal plants, transportation media, breathing air, picturesque views, oils, minerals etc from earth's mantle etc. IN-APPROPRIABLE RESOURCES that are used free of price and are costly to the society of living beings. They result in EXTERNINALITIES i.e. situations in which production or consumption imposes uncompensated benefits or costs on other living beings. MECHANISM is a system of controlled interactions of various inputs to produce useful outputs. Mechanism, as applied to PRICE can be understood as a system of interactive processes between needs of prospective consumers and prevailing /possible future market trends. Price mechanism, also called market mechanism is the basis to decide/determine resource allocation, types, quantity, quality of goods and services to be produced. Human wants and desires do not have any boundaries, once their basic needs of FOOD, CLOTHING and SHELTER are fulfilled. Wants/desires appear to be needs depending on the living environment. They are continually dynamic without any limits and influence the trends of market supply and demand chain configurations. Prices are agreed expressions of the value of products/services for exchange and every society that allows exchanges has prices. Inter relation of individual prices results in the existence of a price system. A variety of economic forces bind the prices to form a price structure. Price mechanism is a means to organize an economic activity by meaningfully linking the decisions of consumers, producers and holders of productive resources across the globe. In the modern economy, it enables economic agents to meet

Suspension Bridge Essay Example for Free

Suspension Bridge Essay What is meant by suspension bridge? A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (the load-bearing portion) is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century. Bridges without vertical suspenders have a long history in many mountainous parts of the world. Structure of suspension bridge – This type of bridge has cables suspended between towers, plus vertical suspender cables that carry the weight of the deck below, upon which traffic crosses. This arrangement allows the deck to be level or to arc upward for additional clearance. Like other suspension bridge types, this type often is constructed without false work. Can a suspension bridge be considered as a work on parabola? Yes, a suspension bridge can be called a work on parabola. As a suspension bridge is designed on parabola as the bridge is also in the â€Å"U† shaped figure as we can see it in our project. Parabola is a curved conical shaped open figure. Parabola can be defined in different ways. First, it is the graph of any quadratic function of the form y = ax2 + bx + c. Another way though, is to define it as the collection of all points that are equidistant from a line and a point not on the line. A parabola is a curve, much like a U shape. The most simple parabola is y = x^2. More info about parabola   and suspension bridge Some facts about parabola and suspension bridge:- The vertical line passing through the vertex is called the axis of symmetry. The eq. for the line is where D=0 Quadratic formula if ax2 + bx + c = 0 then x=-b ±b2-4ac2a Basic design of parabolic bridge:- Dutch scientist Christian Huygens believed that two cables running between two towers could support weight that was much greater than its own weight. The cables suspended between the two towers naturally took the shape of a parabola. The parabolic shape of the cable is created not only by gravity but also by the compression and tension forces acting on the bridge. Todays scientists believe that this is the most efficient design because it requires the least amount of materials to support a heavy load. The modern suspension bridge is composed of a deck, supports, foundations, long wire cables and hangers. Latest Research on Suspension Bridges:- Research on structural topology optimization on a suspension bridges parabolic cable has shown that it is possible to increase its capacity to withstand compressive forces. In order to help stabilize suspension bridges, truss systems are used. The truss system helps the deck resist bending, twisting and swaying. DO you KNOW: The longest suspension bridge in the world (as of 2010) is the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Kobe, Japan. It opened in 1998 and spans an incredible 1991 meters (6529 feet) Suspension Bridges Design technology Suspension bridges in their simplest form were originally made from rope and wood. Modern suspension bridges use a box section roadway supported by high tensile strength cables. In the early nineteenth century, suspension bridges used iron chains for cables. The high tensile cables used in most modern suspension bridges were introduced in the late nineteenth century. Today, the cables are made of thousands of individual steel wires bound tightly together. Steel, which is very strong under tension, is an ideal material for cables; a single steel wire, only 0.1 inch thick, can support over half a ton without breaking. Light, and strong, suspension bridges can span distances from 2,000 to 7,000 feet far longer than any other kind of bridge. They are ideal for covering busy waterways. With any bridge project the choice of materials and form usually comes down to cost. Suspension bridges tend to be the most expensive to build. A suspension bridge suspends the roadway from huge main cables, which extend from one end of the bridge to the other. These cables rest on top of high towers and have to be securely anchored into the bank at either end of the bridge. The towers enable the main cables to be draped over long distances. Most of the weight or load of the bridge is transferred by the cables to the anchorage systems. These are imbedded in either solid rock or huge concrete blocks. Inside the anchorages, the cables are spread over a large area to evenly distribute the load and to prevent the cables from breaking free. Suspension bridge: construction that allows automobiles to travel between two points separated by an obstacle. Side span: segment between two pylons at the ends of a bridge. Centre span: segment between two pylons at the centre of a bridge. Side pylon: tower-like vertical construction situated at the side, usually supporting the cables of a suspension bridge or a cable-stayed bridge. Foundation of a pylon: very durable lower part of a tower. Suspender: support cable. Suspension cable: set of braided wire that supports a bridge. Pylon: tower-like vertical support that usually supports the cables of a suspension bridge or a cable-stayed bridge. Stiffening girder: tightener beam

The Kite Runner Essay Example for Free

The Kite Runner Essay The book Kite Runner is about a kid that passes through rough moments during his life time because of war. The boys name is Amir, and his father is a rich man of Pakistan. Amir calls his father Baba and doesnt have a quite good relationship with him. Amirs best friend is called Hassan. Hassan lives in Amirs house, and is his servant. Hassan father also works for Amirs father as a servant. Hassan and Amir do everything together, but there is always that line in the middle of them, between servant and rich kid. When the Russians invaded Pakistan Amir and his father had to leave Pakistan, and got to California. There they had to live as servants because they left Pakistan with all their belongings. Pakistan was devastated and so was Amir. He had left Hassan and his father in Pakistan. So one day Amir goes to meet other Pakistanis and sees a girl he likes. His father gets ill and tells Amir to marry her before he dies. They do get married and his father dies 2 weeks later. After amirs father died the couple realized they couldnt have children. So Amir became an important novelist. The people in India are very kind but take religion seriously. There is a total amount of 7 religions that have been documented. Those include Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity. People have a 54% of literacy level. Its average life expectancy is about 59 years old for males and 60 years for females. There are 18 recognized languages spoken in India. They are classifies in two groups. Those are Indo- Aryan and Dravidian. There is no official language spoken in India. Indias architecture is very unique in its own way. In fact India owns one of the most beautiful pieces of work in the world. The name of this building is called the Taj Mahal. It has a circular shaped figure. There is a fountain in the entrance. This building is a tourist attraction all over the world. It was built by a prince that wanted to give her princess a gift in 1627. The Taj Mahal has 4 pillars next to the main building. In front of it there is an opened gallery with lots of fountains. The Indian architecture is very distinguished even in todays date. After the war in Pakistan ended, Amir decided to go back to search for his best friend Hassan. When he got to his village, he asked every living person where Hassan could be. He found an old lady that told him that Hassan was murdered with his wife and that his son was in an orphanage. Amir searched for Hassans son everywhere until he found him. He took Hassans son back to California where Amir and his wife raised the child as theirs. At first the kid had problems bonding with Amir but as time passed on, the kid accepted Amir as his father. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Miscellaneous section.

Critical Analysis of Marketing Audit for D-GSM

Critical Analysis of Marketing Audit for D-GSM 1.1 Introduction In todays dynamic telecommunication industry it is critical to analyze the dynamic environment and analyze key product/service offering to target customers. Further, the information gathered from marketing audit is used to critically analyze Dialog product line performance and current product management issues with relevant tools and models to identify the key opportunities/weakness which D-GSM could face in future. 1.2 General Issue Inefficient Channel Distribution Management The downstream distribution is a key part of achieving sales objectives for D-GSM. In other words, business-to-business (B2B) customers push the products of D-GSM to end customers. Currently D-GSM is operating with four major first tier distributors and 1200 retailers in 85 cities in Sri Lanka. In recent past further the retail distribution chain has declined in each province (Refer Appendix B 10.0). The long tier retail distribution has reduced the profit margin thus resulted the retailers willing to promote competitors products (Refer Appendix B 11.0). Another reason identified for this decline is high sales staff turnover which resulted for poor retail management. The issue highlighted above can be highlighted using Ishikawa Cause/Effect diagram shown below (Refer Figure 1.0) Model Adopted from (Albert, 1989) 1.3 Product Management Issue Current Health of Product Portfolio Figure 2.0 BCG Matrix BCG Model Adopted from (Kotler, 2008) Healthy product portfolio is important for organization to gain competitive advantage. Further analyzing the Boston Consultancy Group (BCG) matrix (Refer Figure 2.0) its understood that D-GSM key products are positioned i0n cash cow. In long term these products could move to dogs section which could harm the product performance of the organization. Further products like Kids connection and Code-Division-Multiple-Access (CDMA) are currently in dogs section of BCG matrix needs to be removed from the product portfolio as they consume high cost to maintain the products and return low profit to the organization. Moving forward D-GSM needs to plan for product development to position in star segment of BCG matrix which is currently with few products. Star products are highly needed for organization to gain competitive position; eventually star products will become cash cow and dogs respectively, Further D-GSM needs to identify products are in the question-mark segment to invest to generate market share and returns. Now it is proved lack of product portfolio management has resulted developing low income generating products and thus D-GSM needs to follow a strategic system to have a balanced product portfolio management to gain competitive position in dynamic market. Inefficiencies in New Product Development(NPD) Model adopted from (Kotler, 2008) D-GSM is currently facing set back with competitors. Presently D-GSMs core products, which face severe competition from competitors, are in maturity stage. Thus these products are experiencing reduction in the profit margin (Refer Appendix B- 8.0). The marketing audit (Refer Appendix B) clearly indicates that Dialogs Mobile-broadband is currently in maturity stage and clearly indicates declining in profit. Further it is evident that no product-line-extensions are developed for the product survival which has created a quick decline stage for most of the product. There are few products and product-line-extension that are developed having long gap in introducing to the market in the new product development pipeline (Refer Appendix B- 11.0); as a result existing mature products (Cash-Cow) tends to decline faster. Moreover this is further evident that D-GSM has allocated low marketing budget allocated product innovation (Refer Appendix B- 12.0).Overall improper management in NPD has created threat for D-GSM of being a market leader and loosing first mover advantage for key products. Gap identified in mobile-broadband STP Strategy Today in telecom industry mobile-broadband is a core product and a matured product in the PLC; it is consumed in a very high level and has become a commodity in daily life. The marketing audit has identified that D-GSM has been targeting the same segment which are professionals/senior executive since inception their mobile services. This is a drawback for D-GSMs long term survival and its market leadership. Further competitors are able to manipulate this service and will lose its market share (Refer Appendix B; Appendix B- 4.0). The PESTEL analysis provides evidence that new potential segments are emerging such as entry level executives (1), undergraduates/students (2), travellers and businessmen (3). As result old segments are becoming outdated. (Refer Appendix B- 12.0). The below diagram illustrates the ability of D-GSM to cater and take necessary action for new segments (Refer Appendix B- 9.0). Figure 4.0 G.EMatrix Model adopted from (Business tools, 2007) The output of market segmentation matrix identifies the emerging new segment to generate more revenue and increase market share by repositioning the broadband (Refer Figure 4.0). Knowledge gap in customer preference Internet technology is continuously evolving and adapting to such changes is highly important to D-GSM. Continues adaptation to such technology and augmenting future technology is important for long term survival. The marketing audit explicitly specifies that D-GSM provides the core features of MBB to present customers. Further it is not providing the expected features or long term product augmentation of MBB (Refer Appendix B- 9.0). Referring to figure 5.0 clearly indicates gap between current feature offering of broadband and customer expectations. To fulfill this gap D-GSM needs to continuously evaluate customer expectation and adopt to provide new technologies to retain market leadership. 1.4 Conclusion of Critical Analysis Lack of information Knowledge gap in changing market Gaps in STP Potential New segments to target Deficiencies in the product portfolio 2.0 Recommendation Following recommendations are addressed below to overcome current drawbacks faced by D-GSM having critically analyzed using market audit. Recommendations are categorized to cater mobile-broadband and product portfolio management. 2.1 Recommendations for Mobile-broadband product Line Recommendation 1 Reposition Mobile-broadband Topic 1.3 above states that current segment targeted for mobile-broadband is declining. Following segments are identified as target audience who are students, travellers and undergraduates to be targeted to generate high revenue for mobile-broadband. Proposal in Detail Following recommendation is to reposition the mobile-broadband product line targeting new potential segments as the current segment is declining. This is also evident where 3 major UK telecommunication vendors has overall share of 30% mobile-broadband users as students and undergraduates affording on the go low-cost internet facility (Gabriel, 2011). Currently mobile-broadband is a cash cow product. Repositioning this product can help D-GSM to reach more customers and generate more revenue. Based on the proposed recommendation, following product forecast is analysed using net present value (NPV) analysis. Table 1.0 NPV Analysis for Mobile broadband reposition Key Finding of NPV Analysis Return on Investment (ROI): The entire return on Investment on the repositioning the product will be fully recovered by the end of the first year. Forecasted sales performance: Repositioning the product will pave the way to the sales to increase notably. Nearly 67% increase in first year, 150% within two years and 200% within three years. NPV analysis indicates positive (+) result which mean reposition will be successful. The product can be expected to perform well in the market to gain more revenue and market share for Dialog mobile-broadband. Further D-GSM could follow the proposed product reposition process for mobile-broadband Further D-GSM could follow the proposed product reposition process for mobile-broadband Figure 6.0 Proposed product reposition process for mobile broadband product line To better position mobile-broadband D-GSM could adopt the following marketing mix to reach the newly identified segments since the current marketing mix for mobile broadband is outdated. Table 2.0- Proposed new marketing mix for mobile broadband product line Following perceptual map can be considered for the new repositioning strategy, 2.2 Recommendations for Product Management Recommendation 2 Appoint Product Management Team The present marketing structure is incapable of managing multiple product portfolios at D-GSM. This structure only focuses to cater existing product portfolio and provides low importance for NPD. Further, it is inefficient to support and manage more products by fewer staff which increases the existing workload. Proposal in Detail It is recommended to restructure existing marketing hierarchy to cater NPD, to conduct product management efficiently and reduce burden on staff of marketing department. This recommendation emphasises the creation of a product management team, which could be formed to better manage product portfolio for D-GSM. Below product team structure is recommended (Refer figure 7.0) Recommendation 3 Financial Resource Allocation to Product management Further to the critical analysis conducted it is understood low financial resource allocation as key reason for poor performance of product management in D-GSM. To overcome this issue more financial resource allocation has to be allocated for better product management in future. Proposal in Detail Following recommendation is to cater financial resource for product management team. Proposed financial resource will cater the team to conduct product portfolio management, new technology acquisition for product development, research development to introduce new products/service to market. It is recommended to allocate 10% of the annual sales revenue to facilitate product management team. The following financial allocation breakdown is proposed. Table 3.0-Proposed Financial Allocation breakdown for project management team Recommendation 4 -Implementation of Product Portfolio Management System (PPMS) In topic 1.3 identifies the lack of system and process in place to manage product portfolio and help senior management make strategic decision towards managing product portfolio as it consumes human and financial resources .This recommendation will highlight in implementing a PPMS for D-GSM. Proposal in Detail This recommendation is to implement PPMS for D-GSM. This system in place will help management make strategic decisions and allocate investments to individual products with the goal of optimizing the entire product portfolio. Also this system will provide a tool to maximize the performance of product portfolio in varies stages of PLC. The following system will help product management have a consistent view of product performance, products status in PLC, new product development pipeline progress, monitor product operation cost and more with product portfolio management. Further with the help of such system product development managers to align product roadmaps with market expectation and help to increase revenue, grow market share and reduce costs. Benefit for D-GSM by implementing PPMS Maximize the performance of D-GSM product portfolio PMSS in place will enable centralized management of product portfolio PMMS in place will enable product managers to align product roadmaps with marketing objectives to increase revenue, grow market share, and reduce costs PMMS will enable product management team gather historical information which is valuable information that will improve time to market of future products Recommendation 5 Expand Re-align Channel Distribution This recommendation will highlight in improvising the current retail management and introducing new retail partners for D-GSM to expand the channel distribution to compete with competition and in long term to penetrate Sri Lankan market. Proposal in Detail Proposed strategy of expanding the channel distribution to reach wider untapped market of D-GSM as competitors are aggressive in penetrating the market .This strategy will enable D-GSM to gain more consumers and boost profit through additional venues and expanding current channel distribution can be an effective tool to increase existing business for Dialog GSM. Benefit for D-GSM by Expanding Re-aligning Channel Distribution Channel expansion will cut down operational cost in every region and improve sales performance Current level of channel risk will be minimized and risk could be shared among many regional retailers Expanding channel distribution will help in brand building and make products available in more locations which will raise consumer awareness of D-GSM offerings. Recommendation 5 Implementation of Marketing Information System (MKIS) Further to the critical analysis conducted in 1.5 and 1.6 it is evident that there is no system and process in place to monitor dynamic market environment and consumer behavior, in current situation without a proper system in place D-GSM has not been able to understand consumer behavior and identify emerging segments and target potential new market. Proposal in Detail The following recommendation is to implement a MKIS. This system in place will help D-GSM to scan dynamic market environment constantly to make strategic decisions. Further this system will enable the marketing and product management team to analyze consumer behavior and act accordingly in competitive environment. In long term this system in place will enable the organization to be market oriented. Proposed key integrated feature of this system will be; Marketing intelligence Information Analysis Marketing research Internal Records The prototype of the proposed MKIS will be as shown in figure Benefit for D-GSM by implementing MKIS MKIS will enable organization to constantly monitor dynamic marketing environment Distribute marketing information within organization MKIS will enable to analyses consumer behavior, This will help D-GSM to better manage STP strategies for new products MKIS will facilitate towards product planning and control 3.0 Evaluation of Resource capability and Capacity Management 3.1 Introduction This section evaluates the resources and capability requirements to deliver the identified recommendations for product management of D-GSM. This analysis is based on drawbacks identified from the critical analysis and possible recommendations are proposed to re-align the current D-GSM resources and capabilities to desired level. 3.2 Analysis of current organizational capability and resource When conducting a project management in this scale it is important for D-GSM to evaluate current resource capability and capacity of the organization to deliver the recommendations proposed under heading 2.0. Further to evaluate the current strength of delivering the recommendations, a skill audit was conducted within marketing department against the expected skills and competencies required for the product management project (Refer Figure -9.0) Figure9.0 Marketing Team Current Skill vs. Expected Skill for product management project The skills audit analysis (Refer Figure 9.0) against the marketing audit (Refer Appendix B- 14.0 ) indicates there are lack of gap overall skills, therefore there is a need for skills improvement from external or internal sources which needs to be acquired to close the current skill gap. The marketing audit analysis indicates present marketing teams resources are limited and the current structure is incapable of managing the proposed project (Refer Appendix B- 5.0). Therefore it is recommended to recruit a new project management team to implement the recommendation made for D-GSM. To overcome the skill requirement a project management team can be formed from a cross functional basis of appropriate staff who will have relevant skills and knowledge to implement the proposed recommendation as a team. Further D-GSM could acquire required skill and expertise resources from external environment. 3.3 New Capability Resource required Provide Training in Product portfolio management Marketing team currently needs new skills in understanding the importance of organizational product portfolio management to achieve organizational objectives. By training the staff on portfolio management it will enable the marketing team to formulate effective product portfolio management strategies to cater dynamic market environment. Increase Financial Allocations for Portfolio Management To have an efficient product portfolio management more financial resource is needed to cater new product development. The current budget quota is insufficient for product portfolio management and therefore to implement the identified recommendations and to gain new capabilities and other needed resources which needs sufficient financial allocation for product portfolio management. Training on customer relationship management Marketing team is currently in need for training in customer relationship management. Currently in the highly competitive Sri Lankan telecom market relationship management with key customers, retailers and distributors are important to retain recurring business. By conducting such training D-GSM could retain customers to generate more revue for organization. 3.4 How to Acquire New Capability and Resource Internal Development Internal development refers to the changes that a firm undertakes by recombining its existing resources or developing new resources on its own (Capron and Mitchell, 2004). To acquire new capabilities at minimal cost marketing team along with human resource department could form an internal development team to provide key skill and mentoring to staff, this could be in the form of: Knowledge Sharing Session Internal Presentation One to One session Hiring External Consultant â€Å"External sourcing means trading in a strategic capability that stems from external sources† (Capron and Mitchell, 2004).The hiring of a consultant will help D-GSM in gaining external/industrial expertise on product portfolio management and enable the marketing team to build new strategies to increase performance for Dialog Mobile-broadband product line. Training and Development D-GSM could evaluate the option of on-demand training and development to cater highly critical skill and capability needs to manage competitive product portfolio to the market. Further D-GSM could follow the proposed model shown in Figure 10.0 to plan training development. Figure 10.0 Training and Development process Model Adopted from (Moskowitz, 2008) The Benefit of Training and Development Improved motivation Individuals see their skills base extending and their promotion prospects being enhanced. Opportunities for self-improvement, leads to people staying longer in one employment. Higher levels of performance Trained and motivated staffs are more likely to give of their best which in the end justifies the training budget. Recommendation for accruing new resource and capability The options discussed above to acquire new resources and capability to manage product portfolio for D-GSM is to hire external consultant to gain new ideas and industry expertise. Further hiring external consultant will help to reposition broadband product line effectively. Moreover, D-GSM needs to constantly identify new skill required for employers since marketing environment is dynamic and employees adapting to such changes instantly is important, therefor it is advisable to constant monitor required skill and plan to train and develop by external consultant. There is a high risk of outsourcing new resource and capability because it will create conflicts within internal employees and internal information could be considered as risk when outsourcing key resources from external environment 3.6 Financial Consideration Herewith financial proposal is addressed for future budgeting purpose to acquire new capability and resource to implement effective product portfolio management. Table 1.0 Financial Consideration for new resource and capability management 4.0 Project Plan Introduction To the priority of recommendations provided above in topic 2.5, following project will focus to reposition mobile-broadband product line targeting newly identified segment with differentiated marketing mix and finally position the product as affordable product for consumers Project Initiation The following project is selected to increase the mobile-broadband. A stable project based approach is required. This therefore enables the management to monitor the manage performance, cost and time scales. Fore reference purpose this project will be named as â€Å"Project 3G†. Project Objectives The project objectives expected to be achieved by implementing project 3G are as followed, To successfully reposition Dialog Mobile-broadband product line To successfully create awareness to newly identified segments To increase mobile-broadband trial among new segments targeted To position the product to the new target segments using new differentiated value propositions within the period of six months. Project Scopeand creep The project scope refers to the work that must be accomplished to deliver the project objectives and successfully complete the project with quality, time and minimal cost (Hill, 2009). Project scope management will be used to make sure that project covers all the key tasks to deliver high efficiency of triple constraints [4] and focus of project. Further the management will resist and prevent scope creep as it will dent the achievement of triple constrains- budget, performance, and time as project creep could bring negative effects on the members (Kendrick, 2009). Therefore below matrix illustrates project boundary (Refer table 2.0). Table 2.0 Project Scope Matrix Every project stakeholder must be educated about project scope from deviating. If there are any changes to the scope a request should be made to the project manager for consideration (Pritchard, 2004). Project Team The project manager will be General Manager- marketing and sales. He/she is selected for because of leadership skills and previous experience in handling similar projects. The key role of project manager is to manage the project team from initiation to evaluation stage, while leading and motivating the team towards achieving the objectives and clearly defining teams roles, responsibilities and performance, budget and time (Lock, 2007). The proposed project team structure is shown in Figure (9.0). The project team consists of seven members including staff from different department of Dialog GSM. This system will become a cross functional team for the project. Project Sponsor will be the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). According to Melton (2009), project sponsor is accountable for the delivery of the business case and to ensure that project is financially worthwhile. Project Managers and sponsors must work closely together to deliver the project and maintain control. External resources for the project team will be the outsourced marketing consultant and the advertising agencies key account manager for D-GSM for this Project. The consultant will guide the project team in implementing the project by providing training and in-depth guidance on product repositioning of Dialog Mobile-broadband. Furthermore, project manager will be responsible for driving the project team to achieve the project objectives by delegating the project tasks, proper resource allocation for the project through possible mediums and finally responsible to deliver project report for management. Project Beginning and end dates Project 3G will span for a period of 6 months and will be implemented from 1st of July 2011 till the 30th of December 2011. Project Key Deliverable Key deliverable of Project 3G could be highlighted in a work breakdown structure (WBS). The top of the WBS is the project itself. The next layer or level in the structure is ‘work packages (Lock, 2007). WBS explains the key deliverables of the project in figure (10.0). Figure () Key deliverables for project 3G ProjectMethodology

Ban Spam :: essays research papers fc

Ban Spam   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is a new day at the office, and workers are getting online to check their electronic mail, only to find that it has been over run by unsolicited junk mail. This mail, more commonly referred to as spam has been around since the beginning of the Internet, and according to a recent article, as the Internet has grown, so has spam (†Spam Spam† E.L.) A recent study by Star Internet, based on the typical number of staff spending ten minutes a day checking their mail, indicates that spam costs companies in the U.K. 472 dollars a year per worker, and on a national scale, spam costs U.K. firms 4.6 billion dollars a year (Gold F.A.). This is just one reason why bulk unsolicited (spam) e-mail is costly, time consuming, and should be banned.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The term spam for unsolicited e-mail is believed to have originated from a Monty Python skit in which the dialogue was drowned out by shouting out the word â€Å"spam†(â€Å"How to Avoid† F.A.). This is much the way spam drowns out other messages in in-boxes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although spam is a problem for businesses, it is certainly not limited to them. A large amount of spam mail is targeted at anyone who has an e-mail address, and many adults are therefore concerned at some of the content that is sometimes received with these inconvenient messages. Some spam messages may contain explicit content, such as subject headers that display sexually explicit words and phrases that may be unsuitable for children who have access to the Internet.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even though spam can contain some sexually explicit material, there are generally twelve spam scams that seem to be popular. According to one article, many spam messages may contain promises of business opportunities, making money scams, work-at-home schemes, health and diet scams, easy money, getting free merchandise, chain letters, getting free merchandise, investment opportunities, cable scrambler kits, guaranteed loans or credit with easy terms, credit repair, and vacation prize promotions (Gardner E.L.). These are the most popular, but certainly not the only spam scams that are out there today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many ways to receive spam mail, or get on a spammer’s list. Many times, e-mail addresses that are given out while filling out forms over the Internet end up on a spammer’s list. According to one article, this is generally because spammers use special harvesting software for retrieving e-mail addresses, and many times there isn’t a privacy policy that prevents companies from giving out e-mail addresses to other companies.

Hardy :: essays papers

Hardy A Question On Hardy: Where Did His Writings Come From Born into an agricultural community and untouched by industrialism, Thomas Hardy’s pessimism and determinism is what made his themes and styles stand out from other contemporary writers. According to Zabel, Schopenhaur inspired his pessimistic nature. Because of Schopenhaur’s influence, pessimism was the primary view of his writings. Zabel had also stated the driving force behind his works was majority influenced by Spinoza and his determinism. Hardy’s determinism is what made him categorize his characters and give a definitive plot to his works.(26) Thomas Hardy’s talent for writing and his offensive nature are what made him unique for his contemporary moment. He derived his thoughts from the unknown depths of his mind. Thomas Hardy’s writes always reflected his feeling at that moment in time. Whenever someone offered criticism on his work or gave a skeptical remark towards his work, he would somehow include them in whatever he was busy writing. Hardy’s ideal reflected his pessimistic way of being. According to Zabel Hardy’s temperament came from: â€Å"Conformist and skeptical tendencies; in his humanism of stoic acquiescence with gifted, Rebellious, or destructive aberrations from the human norm as against his sympathy with the rudimentary types and stable humors of the folk.† This affirms his belief in herd mentality being absolutely ridiculous. He insisted that an intellectual should have his own individualism and should be self-productive. Hardy tends to attack the public’s normality, usually laughing at their lack of character. His pessimistic nature is what shaped his humanistic views. His confidence and modest temper never suffered Schopenhaur’s exuberance. To challenge Hardy’s critics, he used them as characters with a permanent downfall. Hardy wrote with trial and error impressions. A trial and error impression is one where it is harder to find the true meaning behind the mask that Hardy puts over it. Hardy deliberately made his stories uncomprehendable to first time readers, â€Å"on first reading at least, nettles the sympathy, offers stumbling-blocks to attention, and is likely to make the suspension of disbelief a resentful ordeal.

Rules and Exceptions Essay -- Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Rules and Exceptions One of the factors which have led many philosophers to adopt a more or less sceptical attitude in moral philosophy has been the recognition that most rules have exceptions. This has commonly been regarded as a threat to the entire moral enterprise. How can a philosopher even attempt to find an account of the moral relations that obtain among things which will weave them into the unity of a stable system if every principle, every rule, every judgment has to be qualified by who knows how many exceptions? Plato was acutely aware of how devastating the admission of an exception might be. In the Republic Socrates completely invalidates Cephalus' thesis that justice is simply a matter of returning to others what is due to them by pointing out that if a friend deposited a weapon with us for safekeeping and then asked for it when he was not in his right mind, there would be justice in not returning it to him. Ordinarily we should return what does not belong to us, but this case would seem to be a legitimate exception. Socrates mentions another. It would be right in such circumstances he says to lie to a person who was out of his mind. On the other hand Plato also realised that by no means all alleged exceptions are justified. In the Euthyphro Socrates upon being informed that Euthyphro intends to prosecute his own father for murder suggests that perhaps it would be right to prosecute his father if he killed a relative but not if he murdered a stranger. Euthyphro rebukes Socrates for sugges ting such an exception. Socrates offers no defence except to express amazement at the certainty with which Euthyphro claims to know what is right. There are several ways to resolve the problem of uncertainty which the ex... ...speak both universally and correctly. That is to say rules inevitably fail to take account of all the relevant peculiarities of some cases and situations but in saying that rules are deficient by virtue of their universality. On the contrary many are perfectly good rules. It's just that rules are rules. Aristotle does not mean to suggest that all rules are bad or useless. Therefore unless we are to become rule worshippers and so fail to do the right thing in individual cases just to preserve the integrity and universal application of rules we must appeal in certain cases to another method in order to decide those cases. Fortunately there is such a method: the appeal to intuition. References Immanuel Kant Fundamental Principles and The Metaphysical Principles Of Virtue Kurt Baier Ethics and Society (1966) Kurt Baier The Moral Point Of View (1965)

Online Banking Essay

1. Introduction & Background As the developing of the technology, the Banking had large change, it is necessary to study how to use ATM of Online Banking to keep and management our property. John Shepherd-Barron had invented the Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) in 1967s, the ATM becomes the most important equipment in people’s life after 40 years, and there are about 403,000 ATMs in the U.S (Katharine, 2009). It can say that many people are using it everyday, like save money, and draw money or some transaction money, so the how to avoid and reduce the risk of ATM become more important than others activity, recently, the crime about the ATM increase rapidly, like copy the card information to steal money at ATM, cash trapping and other ATM scam were cost  £29.3million last year in the UK (Emma Reynolds, 2012). The second problem is the emergency about the bank system, like server shut down with out omen, which will make serious effect to human life (European ATM Security & Fraud Prevention). This part provides a critique of the literature of the ATM Bank System. The Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) in 1967s and becomes the most important equipment in people’s life after 40 years, there are about 403,000 ATMs in the U.S (Katharine Gammon, 2009). I choose this topic because using bank system is very important activity in our life, we are overseas student in the UK and we must management our property safely, so I think young people is likely to contribute to this topic. 2. What are the negative effect of ATM & Banking Online 2. 1 Risk of ATM In the ‘ATM Threat and Risk Mitigation’ (Frank D, N.D), the author focus on the all kinds of crimes about the ATM, for example stolen or swindle with ATM, introduce the ATM Security in detail and analysis the development of sale transactions, at last author gives some suggestion to readers how to protect own account and create some ideas for Bank how to complete the ATM Systems perfect. The literature describe how steal the information of costumers’ bank card and how to use these information to copy a card to steal the money also, in conclusion, do not use the ATM which looks suspicious and report to Bank. The literature provides very important information about how to avoid to lose money in ATM. 2. 2 Risk of Bank Online The second literature is ‘Risk Management Principles for Electronic Banking’ Electronic Banking (Basel C, 2003), this is a book which focus on the risk of online banking and this is a group work, there are many people to finish this literature together. I think this is a very good book because author use many example to explain and discuss the risk management principles. In this literature author explain and disuse the challenge of the Online Banking (E-Banking or Internet Transport). Base on the example of Electronic Banking Group (EBG) to describe the 14 risk management principles of electronic banking (Basel C. 2003). This book lists some challenge of the Online Banking: †¢ The innovation of electronic banking skill and customers sever are change rapidly. †¢ The electronic banking more deepens on information technology, so make the process more complicated. †¢ It is base on the Internet; the visitors come from all over the world, so it maybe produces many security issues of system †¢ The author lists the relevant solution: †¢ Effective management from the bank †¢ Building a comprehensive control process †¢ Investigate and supervise the process of relationships. The literature providers some good measures for Bank to reduce the risk of Online Banking (Emma R, 2012). 3. New ATM innovations Nowadays, the technology of ATM develops to a high level, it can realize many useful functions, however, the requirement always can not be content, that encourage people to create new ATM. A technology will be tested in India. ‘In the wake of increasing instances of fraudulent money withdrawals from ATMs in Chandigarh and Panchkula, the security agencies are in the process of conducting tests on the new safety equipment likely to be installed in ATMs in the near future’ said by Khushboo Sandhu (a leading Columnist associated with The Indian Express) in 2010. That means, we do not need bank card anymore, just use the scanner to affirm the costumer (Thorsten, 2012), that will reduce the process time and make process safe, because it is very hard to copy biological information. 4. Analysis and Synthesis The ATM and Banking online system were invented by human, so it must be have many regrets, it must have many risks during the processing. Frank and Basel(2003) had explained some typical risks in the bank system and gave some advise of solution, however, there are always new problems will appear in the future. These problems will become the new challenge of the bank system in Thorsten’s (2012) viewpoint. Maybe this is too professional to students, however , how to choose a suitable bank is significant for the international students.

Interprofessional Education

This assignment will be about my thoughts and feelings relating to the Interview that I have conducted with a healthcare professional. According to Bud, Gogh & Walker (1985), they defined reflection as â€Å"the context of learning as a generic term for those intellectual and affective activities in which individuals engage to explore their experiences in order to lead to new understandings and appreciations,† (as cited in Androgynous & Davie, 1997, Para. 4).Through this reflection, I hope to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the Interview and how I could make It a learning experience for future application, 2. Reflection of the Interview 2. 1. Description My group, consisting of 4 pharmacy and 2 nursing students, was assigned to Professor Bad. He researches on the ethical issues concerning biomedicine, combining his past specialization in philosophy to formulate his thoughts and writings. He was part of an advisory committee in many notable International organization s such as UNESCO and WHO to name a few.In addition, he Is an editor- in-chief for his own Journal publication, called Salsa Bioethics Review. My group managed to get some help from his assistant to secure a meeting room for the interview. The interview questions were aimed at finding out about his roles and responsibilities, a clearer insight into bioethics with case examples and his inter- professional communication experiences. During the interview, I was tasked with note-taking alongside another pharmacy student, while there were 2 audio-visual crew manning 3 digital cameras and 1 photo camera.We delegated a nursing and a pharmacy student to conduct the Interview with the Intention of providing 2 different viewpoints from the questions asked as well as to provide a more focused and centered conversation. 2. 2. Feelings Before the interview started, we realized that 2 out of the 3 digital cameras had roughly 30-40 minutes worth of video recording capacity which might not be enough . My feelings then were that of disappointment because I had planned to combine different angles of the Interview Into our video-making.However, my Initial apprehension was short-lived as the interviewee was amiable and enthusiastic, and I felt relaxed and warmed up to him quickly. During the interview, I was tensed because I was typing rapidly but my group members' poise and confidence in their roles made me reassured. Overall, the interview was a success as everyone executed heir roles expertly and I felt a sense of accomplishment for our efforts in planning and executing the interview. 2. 3. Evaluation The Interview was an eye-opening experience as have never done an informational interview before.After reviewing the video recording, I noted down the strengths and weaknesses of the interview. Firstly, using Jean's ‘SOLES' model, the interviewers were sitting squarely, had an open posture, leaned forward, maintained eye contact, but were a little tensed. One of the interview ers, Celia, kept twirling his pen and even dropped It at one point. Arc, on the other hand, kept spinning in her Secondly, the content of the interview covered multiple areas and it helped us to understand the health professional better.However, the questions did not transit well from the preparation to the exploration stage. An example was the quick transition of understanding the interviewee's roles and responsibility to finding out about abortion. Lastly, the interviewers displayed sufficient communication skills. They responded to the interviewee's answers with nods and verbal cues such as â€Å"uh- huh† and â€Å"yes†. The questions asked utilized the social penetration theory to explore and create self-awareness through self-disclosure.Alton and Taylor (1987) highlighted that self-disclosure and social penetration was co-related: Self-disclosing and learning about others is the process of penetrating deeper into the selves of those people?and enabling others to p enetrate ourselves and gain a deeper understanding of us. This process of penetration is a gradual one, in which each communicator reveals layers of personal depth. (as cited in Doyle, 2004, Para. 6) However, the interviewers could have slowly crafted out the phrasing of the question in their head before asking the question, especially if it was impromptu.This would low the interviewer to understand the main intention of the question without multiple questions asked. 2. 4. Analysis After evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the interview, I decided to explore how these factors might have affected the interview. Firstly, prior to the interview, we did our research into the interviewee's background and tried to understand his roles and responsibilities as well as the concept of bioethics. This enabled us to craft our questions according to how the interviewee responded to show that we had listened and understood his perspective.According to Minnie 2005), he described it as †Å"active learning† and added that â€Å"it involves using the communication cycle and the ability to demonstrate what you have understood when you listen to another person† (peg. 86). This concept is further supported by Egan (1986) who theorized that â€Å"the goal of listening is understanding† (as cited in Minnie, 2005, peg. 86). Hence, this was an area of communication skills which we executed well, albeit some minor fidgety body language which I had highlighted earlier that could have been misinterpreted as being inattentive.Fortunately, the interviewee did not Jump to conclusions and continued to speak enthusiastically. Secondly, the usage of the social penetration theory to encourage self-disclosure was a good way to explore and create self-awareness in the interviewee. Skunk, Meadows, Interring, Tooth & Sooner (2011) defined self-disclosure as â€Å"the act of opening one's self up and revealing information not available otherwise† (slide. 3). Levi ne, Marshall, Wood, Elliott & Wright (n. D. ) illustrated the stages of the theory as â€Å"an orderly process which goes through different stages over time.As interpersonal exchange gradually progresses from the superficial to the more intimate our real selves are revealed† (Para. 3). The four stages to this process are Orientation Stage, Exploratory Affective Stage, Affective Stage and Stable Stage. As we moved from stage to stage, our questions became more personal. For example, in the exploratory affective stage, he revealed how he was a cradle Catholic. When we reached the affective stage where questions were more personal, we asked him if there were any conflicts between his religion and his bioethics research, such as abortion.Finally, at degree of trust and understanding was established, he revealed his personal relationships with his wife, who is a Catholic too, over his line of work. In addition, he as not afraid to display his emotions such as frustration. In the e nd, he showed self- awareness as he could distinguish between the ethical issues of work and his religion. I felt that this was proof that we had managed to fulfill the intended objectives of this model which was to â€Å"escalate a relationship, and moving it from one stage to another. † (West & Turner, 2009, peg. 81) Lastly, the initiation stage to the exploration stage could have transited better. West & Turner (2009) highlighted that â€Å"self-disclosures occur in the context of time- that is, self-disclosures get more intimate as a relationship progresses, and time effect the meaning of disclosure. (peg. 289) Hence, questions related to the interviewee's present life could be asked first before delving into the past. 2. 5. Implication/Conclusion Although I was not conducting the interview, however, I imagined myself to be in the shoes of the interviewer and thought out what could been done differently.With the insight I have gathered after evaluating and analyzing, I f elt that asking multiple questions could have been avoided as it confused the interviewer hence some of his reply did not address the question. Snow (2012) revealed that â€Å"when people are reverse, they tend to ramble, and their questions tend to trail off into series of possible answers† (Para. 8). Thus, the interviewer could have avoided this by taking some time to craft out the question before asking it. Rattail (n. D. ) highlighted that â€Å"stopping a conversation to ask the right questions is far superior to nodding along in ignorance,† (as cited in Snow, 2012, Para. 8). Hence the interviewers could have used linking sentences to steer the interviewee back to the right direction. 2. 6. Action plan After reflecting on the interview, I thought of an action plan to integrate my experiences into future interviews, especially with a patient, since I will become a nurse. Firstly, I will continue to use Jean's â€Å"SOLES† model to show attentiveness to the i nterviewee and in the case of the patient, display that I am able to empathic with him/her. Secondly, preparation is crucial. Prior to any interview, I will ensure that if equipments are needed, I will check for its usability.The questions planned will be formatted correctly to ensure proper transition and if the reply does not answer the question, I would not hesitate to rephrase and repeat the questions again to get a more definite answer. More importantly, I will give the interviewee time to process and answer the question without bombarding him/her with multiple questions. Lastly, Multiprogramming's (2012) highlighted some criticisms of the social penetration theory, â€Å"gender, age, religion, social experience (maturity), and ethnic background could greatly influence resistance to certain self-disclosures† (Para. 2). In that situation, I will utilities other exploration skills such as the Shari Window model, which consists of 4 stages; open, hidden to others, blind to oneself, and unknown to oneself and others. 3. Conclusion of the reflection This assignment is a reflection of my inter-professional experience with a healthcare professional and the communication skills that I have applied to ensure an effective communication. I was exposed to various methods to enhance exploration skills, such as social penetration theory and Shari Window model.In addition, I learnt about the understanding. It is with this insight knowledge acquired that I hope to apply to patients in future to show empathy and improve the nurse-patient relationship.

Financial Management Integrated Case 2 Answers

|Ally Zmijeski | |Financial Management Section C | |Homework 2: Integrated Case Questions | Chapter 2 Integrated Case 2-11A) In a well-functioning economy, capital flows efficiently from those with surplus capital to those who need it in one of three ways: †¢ Direct transfers: occur when a business sells its stocks or bonds directly to savers without going through any type of financial institution. This is used primarily by small firms and doesn’t raise much capital. †¢ Transfers also can go through an investment bank that underwrites the issue, or serves as middleman/facilitator.The company sells its stocks or bonds to the investment bank, which then sells these same securities to savers. Because new securities are involved and the corporation receives the sale proceeds, this transaction is called a primary market transaction. †¢ Transfers can also be made through a financial intermediary, such as a bank, insurance company, or mutual fund. Intermediaries inc rease efficiency of money and capital markets. B) People and organizations wanting to borrow money are brought together with those who have surplus funds in the financial markets.Types of Financial Markets include†¦ †¢ Physical Asset vs. Financial Asset: physical asset markets are for tangible products, while financial asset markets are for stocks, bonds, notes, and mortgages. They also deal with derivative securities whose values are derived from changes in the prices of other assets. o A share of Ford stock is a pure financial asset, while an option to buy Ford shares is a derivative security whose value depends on the price of Ford stock. †¢ Spot Markets vs.Futures Markets: spot markets are markets in which assets are bought or sold for on the spot delivery (within a few days). Future markets are markets in which participants agree today to buy or sell an asset at some future date. Future market transactions can reduce, or hedge, the risks faced by buyers and selle rs if the market changes. †¢ Money Markets vs. Capital Markets: money markets are the markets for short-term, highly liquid debt securities. Capital markets are the markets for intermediate or long-term debt and corporate stocks, like the NYSX. Short-term markets = less than one year o Intermediate term markets = 1 to 10 years o Long-term markets = more than 10 years †¢ Primary markets are the markets in which corporations raise new capital, so the corporation itself receives proceeds. †¢ Secondary markets are markets in which existing, already outstanding securities are traded among investors. The corporation does not receive funds from a secondary market sale. †¢ Private markets are markets in which transactions are negotiated directly between two parties. Public markets are markets where standardized contracts are traded on organized exchanges. C) Financial markets are essential for a healthy economy and economic growth because they provide a variety of opport unities for buyers and sellers to meet, exchange goods and services, better address financial needs, and accumulate wealth to stimulate the economy. D) A derivative is any security whose value is derived from the price of some other underlying asset.The use of derivatives has increased in recent years. If a bank or any other company invests in derivatives, it is difficult to tell whether it is an investment as a hedge against something like an increase in the price of good X, or a speculative bet that prices will rise. This makes the firm’s risk profile more difficult to determine. Derivatives can hedge risk if the price of a good is assumed to change in the future, or if the company is dealing with foreign markets.However, if a company is buying derivatives to speculate on a price change that could ultimately benefit them, this is raising the company’s risk because they are unsure of the future worth of assets associated with the derivative. E) Investment banks help c ompanies raise capital by helping them design attractive securities, buying securities from corporations, and reselling them to savers. Commercial banks are large national banks that offer a variety of services to a wide range of customers.Financial services corporations are large conglomerates that combine many different financial institutions within a single corporation. Most started in one area but later diversified to cover more of the financial spectrum, like including insurance or leasing companies. Pension funds are retirement plans funded by corporations or government agencies for their workers. Mutual funds are corporations that accept money from savers and then use those funds to buy stocks, long-term bonds, or short term debt instruments issued by businesses/government.They pool funds and reduce risk through diversification. Exchange traded funds are similar to regular mutual funds and are often operated by mutual fund companies. ETFs buy a portfolio of stocks of a certai n type and then sell their own shares to the public. Hedge funds are similar to mutual funds because they accept money from savers and use the funds to buy various securities, but they are largely unregulated, have large minimum investments, and are marketed to high net worth people.Private equity companies are organizations that operate much like hedge funds, but they buy and then manage entire firms. They are relatively unregulated. F) The two leading stock markets are the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. Physical location exchanges are tangible entities that have their own building and an elected governing body called a board of governors. The exchange members will sell orders offer the shares for sale, and they are bid for by the members with buy orders.OTC markets are often referred to today as dealer markets, and include all the facilities that are needed to conduct security transactions, but not all are made on the physical location exchanges. The dealer market system consists of the relatively few dealers who hold inventories of securities and make a market for the securities, the thousands of brokers who act as agents in bringing the dealers together with investors, and the computers, terminals, and electronic networks that provide a communication link between dealers and brokers.G) Since Varga is not purchasing the stock directly from Apple, but instead from Smyth Barry, who probably purchased it from Apple, she is dealing in a secondary market; the money she spends to buy the stock is not going directly to Apple, but to a second party. This would not be different if Varga purchased previously outstanding Apple stock in the dealer market, because in both situations she is not giving money directly to Apple, but buying stock that someone else has bought previously from Apple. H) An initial public offering, or IPO, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public.IPOs are often  issued by smaller, newer companies seeking the  fu nds to expand, but can also be done by large privately owned companies looking to become publicly traded. I) Efficient Market: a market in which prices are close to intrinsic values and stocks seem to be in equilibrium. Today, we have an efficiency continuum, where the market for some companies’ stocks is highly efficient and the market for other stocks is highly inefficient. This is defined by the size of the company – the bigger the company is, the more analysts tend to follow it, so new information is more likely to be reflected in the stock price.J) Part One: If the stock market is highly efficient, this would imply that the company that received the FDA grant is a large and well-researched firm, so the rise in the company’s stock price is reflective of its true value and would be a good purchase. Still, I would recommend warning Michelle that some companies let information like this leak into the public for hidden reasons, so she should do her own research to ensure the new stock price is close to its true value.Part Two: Oftentimes, stock prices at IPO’s and shortly thereafter are the highest they will ever be for the company. This is a result of the hype created by the company, media, and investing world around its first public offering. I would tell Michelle again to do her own research, but I also think if she is the type of investor who enjoys the risk of a new company and the excitement of that type of investment, that if she understands the potential to lose, she might as well buy a reasonable number of shares.