Satisfaction level of retailers and the visual merchandising

Satisfaction level of retailers and the visual merchandising This chapter is a review of the central theoretical literature of satisfaction level of retailers and the visual merchandising and its impact on consumers buying behaviour which ultimately leads to increase in the margin of the retailers. The first part of this chapter deals with the most popular brand of PepsiCo and the satisfaction level of retailers with respect to per product margin. The second chapter examine the planogram norms of the company and it tries to find out whether or not the retailers follow it properly. The third and last part of the chapter examines the effectiveness of Visual Merchandising and its effectiveness on consumers buying behaviour. All these objectives/problems have been examined in the light of academic literature and some of the facts have been supported by the data taken form the company i.e., Pepsico. To find out the most popular brand of PepsiCo the satisfaction level of its retailers Most of the manufacturers of consumer goods including PepsiCofrequently use intermediaries to sell their products to the final consumer. Intermediaries such as big and small retailers have substantialstimulus over the marketing of these goods and hence over the ultimate consumer choice (Laland Narasimhan, 1996). Even PepsiCo is one of the largest networks of retailers in India (PepsiCo, 2010). The consumer goods retail market is characterized by intensivecompetitionamong retailers competing for a share of the consumers money (Albion and Farris, 1982). Retailers, generally, carry so many products, and on any given purchase occasion a typical consumer buys a subset of the vast number of items a retailer has on its shelf. Generally consumers are ignorant or uninformed about the prices of all the products they want to buy and subsequently select a retailer to shop at based on the advertised prices of a subset of the products they desire to buy. Given this, retailers tend to compete more aggressively based on the prices of a selected set of items by advertising these prices to consumers (Agustin Singh, 2005). It means that these retailers will sell more products of only those company which tries to make them happy through more or heavy margin.The items that the retailers select to compete on are those that most consumers de-sire and value highly. Since the profit from any cust omer is the sum of profits from advertised and un-advertised items, the intensity of retail competition, as evident from the prices of these items, increases with the amount the consumer will expend on the unadvertised items once at the store. This aggressiveness therefore translates into lower retail mar-gins on these selected items since the retailers expect that consumers, once inside a store, will buy non-advertised products as well on which the retailers make money. Thus manufacturers, who are more adept at using pull strategies to enhance the popularity of their product, obtain a significant competitive advantage vis-a-vis others. The positioning of the product and the image conveyed through advertising act as drivers in creating this advantage which results in higher wholesale prices that these manufacturers can charge the retailers (Lal and Narasimhan, 1996). The cost of acquiring new customers usually far exceeds the cost of retaining an existing customer. As a result, customer retention has become a managerial strategy that has spurred interest in understanding and implementing store-loyalty programs (Agustin Singh, 2005; Carter, 2008; Pan Zinkhan, 2006; Reichheld, 1996; Reichheld Sasser, 1990; Sheth Parvatiyar, 1995). That is why retailers are the most important link between the company and the customers.Manufacturer advertising also affects prices and margins at both the retail and wholesale levels. The relationship between prices as well as margins at the retail and wholesale levels can be found in the economics literature (see, e.g., Ferguson 1982 or Pindyck and Rubinfeld 1989), where it has been argued, based on the theory of derived demand, that the movements of prices and margins at the retail and wholesale level are necessarily perfectly correlated. In other words, if advertising leads to increased market power through produ ct differentiation, both wholesale and retail prices in-crease, leaving both manufacturers and retailers with higher margins; or if advertising leads to increased price sensitivity through reduced perceived product differentiation, both wholesale and retail prices decrease, leaving both manufacturers and retailers with lower margins. In contrast, Steiner (1973, 1978, 1984) has argued that it is possible that a manufacturers advertising can have opposite effects on wholesale price elasticity and retail price elasticity, implying that margins can move in opposite directions. However, he does not offer a formal model of manufacturers and retailers to support his arguments. Source: (Lal and Narshimhan, 1996) There is scant empirical literature on the effects of advertising on margins. In Table 1, Lal and Narasimhan (1996) summarised the evidence presented in the literature on the negative association between manufacturer advertising and retail margins. Reekie (1979) shows that manufacturers advertising and retail margins are inversely related in a cross-sectional study of many categories. Farris and Albion (1987) find that in many nondurable consumer good categories, higher brand advertising is associated with lower retail margins, though there were a few categories where the opposite is true. They also find that the negative relationship between manufacturer advertising and retail margins is strongest in categories with high penetration, non-food, and large category advertising budgets. Steiner (1973) uses data from the toy industry to conclude that the more popular toys (i.e., the more heavily advertised) yield lower retail margins. Finally, using data at the four-digit SIC level, Nels on (1978) finds that there is a negative association between manufacturer advertising and retail margins. The reader is also referred to Steiner (1993) for some anecdotal evidence from different industries on the inverse association between manufacturers advertising and re-tail margins. Support for positive association between manufacturer advertising and wholesale margins is provided in Quelch et al. (1984) and Narasimhan (1989a). Note that all these studies are cross-sectional and all these studies have focused on either the whole-sale margin or the retail margin. The one exception is Steiner (1991), who documents, using data from the toy industry, that higher levels of manufacturer advertising are associated with higher wholesale margins while leading to lower retail margins. Taken as a whole, these studies demonstrate that in general, higher manufacturer advertising leads to higher wholesale margins and lower retail margins, though the effect at the retail level is less systemat ic. Thus we see that in contrast to the standard economic arguments, there is empirical evidence to suggest the possibility of an inverse relation-ship between wholesale and retail margins. The objective in this chapter is to revisit thisproblem and offer a formal model to explain how the margins at the retail and wholesale level can be negatively related. It shows that if a manufacturer can affect the intensity of retail competition, it can increase its wholesale price while at the same time exert downward pressure on retail margins. Furthermore, It demonstrates that if manufacturer advertising can enhance the attractive-ness of the brand as shown in Boulding et al. (1994) (resulting in a higher willingness to pay or increasing aggregate demand for its product), manufacturers brand advertising can increase the intensity of competition at the retail level. Finally, it is shown that even if there is competition at the wholesale level, a manufacturer with a more popular or well-positi oned brand can use advertising to increase profits. The intuition behind our result is the following. First, it should be noted that retailers selling a large assortment of goods cannot advertise the prices of all goods. Moreover, retailers need to advertise the prices of some goods in order to make it worthwhile for consumers to shop at the store. Hence consumers make store choice on the basis of advertised prices and expected prices for goods bought on a shopping trip. Given the fact that retailers charge and consumers expect to pay a higher price for the unadvertised goods, and consumers prefer one-stop shopping due to transportation costs, any effort by the manufacturer that affects the proportion of consumers who decide to shop at a retail store for any given difference in the retail price of the advertised good would lead to an increase in the intensity of retail competition. Such actions by the manufacturer would lead to lower retail margins. At the same time such actions can also increase the wholesale price and manufacturers margins since these actions allow the manufacturers to recover some of the rents derived by the retailer on the unadvertised good. In other words, since the retailers make a higher margin on the unadvertised good, any action by the manufacturer that affects the size of these profits to the retailers allows the manufacturer to wield more power and set higher wholesale prices. We show that if manufacturer advertising leads to lower price sensitivity or increase in aggregate demand, an increase in such advertising would result in lower margins for the retailers and higher margins for the manufacturers. It should also be noted that while our work is silent on the exact role of manufacturer advertising, Kaul and Wittink (1995) report that one empirical generalization from past studies is that an in-crease in non-price advertising leads to lower price sensitivity among consumers. Finally, it is important to recognize that our result is shown to exist in a context where retail advertising has no impact on the demand of the advertised brand, and that our result would not exist in the absence of the composite good. Moreover, the inverse relationship be-tween wholesale and retail margins can exist only for goods/brands where the retailer reveals price via advertising(Lal and Narasimhan, 1996). Previous research in the area of store loyalty focuses on customer satisfaction as a major predictor of loyalty (Bloemer Kasper, 1995; Brown, 2004; Cronin Taylor, 1992; Garbarino Johnson, 1999; Reichheld, 1996; Sawmong Omar, 2004; Taylor Baker, 1994). However, many companies rated high on customer satisfaction indexes showed poor financial performance (Buttle, 1999; Passikoff, 1997). There is evidence supporting high rates of defection among satisfied customers across many industries (Buttle, 1999; Jones Sasser, 1995). Thus, the ability of customer satisfaction reliably and accurately to predict loyalty has not been unambiguously established (Higgins, 1997). Clearly, the development and implementation of successful store-loyalty programs would benefit from a better understanding of loyalty, its antecedents and its consequences (Ray and Chiagouris, 2009). It is evident from the above discussion that satisfied and happy retailers would ultimately lead to increased sales. Higher m argin per product or total income of retailers from a particular product would to happy retailers. From the above discussion it is clearly evident that If the company spends heavily on advertisement of on its product, it will increase total sales, which means it will ultimately more margin on total sales and in this way the company can make happy its retailers.The PepsiCo spends heavily in India for its Pepsi Soft Drink, much more than its nearest rival Coca-Cola (PepsiCo, Annual Report,2010).These heavy advertisements have a significant positive impact on the total sale of its soft drink over last year. It is a clear sign of happy retailers who are gaining low margin per bottle of Pepsi but in total higher revenue from its total sales. To check the planogram (POG) norms, whether the retailers followed it properly or not There are many factors which are generally used to stimulate consumers purchases, including advertisement, product variety, layout of stores, merchandise appraising, services offered, and other marketing programs (Levy and Weitz, 1992) but space planning and store layout are one of the prime consideration (Yang, 2001). The layout of stores and proper space planning highlight the importance of improvement of the visual effect on the customers for shopping and the space productivity of retail stores (Yang, 2001). Planograms, typically,are used to display exactly where and how many items are physically placed onto which store shelves. Because of limited shelf space, planograms plays a vital role for the improvement of financial performance of the company in general and for retailer in particular (Yang, 2001; Yang and Chen, 1999). There are two ways for retailers to increase margin (Profit). They will have either increase sales or by reducing costs. Cost reduction is basically operational in nature. It heavily depends on technology, management of personnel and efficient inventory management. Generally increase in sales is market driven and can be categorised in to two different segments i.e., (i) in-store -tactics and; (ii) out-of-store tactics. Out of store tactics is used to attract more and more customers into the store while in-store tactics used to compel customers psychologically to buy as much as they can, when they enter into the stores (Dreze, Hoch and Purk, 1994). Previous Space Management Research In the field of Space Management, the impact on sales of space management is very limited because of high implementation cost. The existing work methods can be categorised into three different models- (i) Commercial Applications, (ii) Experimental Tests, and (iii) Optimization Model. In business literature, applications oriented approaches are preferred because of its simplicity and the easy operation. For example, PROGALY Model ((Dreze, Hoch and Purk, 1994). ) is generally preferred. In this model, space is allotted to a product in proportion of total sales. Cifrino (1963) and McKinsey (1963) argued for space with respect to Direct Product Profit (DPP). Rest of the models have concentrated on lowering the operating cost and minimising inventory and handling costs (Cifrino, 1963). Planogram Integrity: A serious Issue There are many retailers who have recognised the importance of proficiently exploit their customer services in times of intense competition. Confronted by the amplified pressure of fee discounters and the rise of a price war between supermarkets organisation on the one hand and the companies on the other hand since 2003, Indian Retailers want quality in their operations to endure large collection at reduced profit margins (PepsiCo 2009). Thus, balancing inventory and renewal costs, given a collection of wide range of products and the corresponding shelf space at the retail stores is rally an important task. Retailers aim at exploiting availability of the products in the collection at a marginal cost of operations. These objectives have to be attained on the shelves, where a particular product meets its customers. The amount of shelf space allocated to a product is thus primarily a consequence of marketing decisions: i.e., the merchandising category to which the product is assigned an d the allocated number of facings, which are the number of slots on the front of the retail shelf. This planogram on its turn govern the available shelf space for the operations. From both an operations as a marketing point of view, it is thought-provoking to scrutinise whether local managers are contrary from the planogram, to determine the grounds and to analyse the consequences (Woensel et al, 2008). Planogram integrity is the degree to which the planograms and its norms are followed in practice(Woensel et al, 2008). High planogram integrity stands for small/very little difference between planogram and the authentic situation in a store (Woensel et al, 2008). A planogram encompasses significant information for the accomplishment of operations. Generally, when creating planograms the retailers decides the collection composition, the location of products in the store and the amount of space apportioned to each product (Levy and Weitz, 1992). Figure of Planogram Woensel et al, (2008) have completed empirical research on the planogram and data collected for ten stores in India. During this collection period, the stores were not allowed to change their mode/style operations. Moreover, the days were carefully selected such that the period of measurement did not include any periods of expected demand peaks/drops (e.g. no holidays). The data were gathered for Pepsi soft drink only. Woensel et al, (2008) observed that collection in the stores seems to be reasonably different from the one identified in the planograms. The main driver for this was identified to be the possibility to locally add or drop items from the collection. Also, categories with a larger collection seem to be more prone for abnormalities than one with smaller collections. This designates the drawbacks of managing these huge collections with composite swap relationships. On the locational level, it seemed that the abnormality is small (for the common collection in both actual situations versus planogram). The common of abnormalities could be linked back to facing differences. The foremost cause is due to the different shelving in practice than the one used in the planogram. Finally, also considerable differences between the stores exist; some store managers follow the norms provided by the company for the planograms very closely; other store managers do not take it seriously. The Root causes for erroneousness were typically associated to the local store management. Another vital issue is the acceptance time required for updating the shelves following the changes in the planograms(Woensel et al, 2008). Over and above these is no proper processes for controlling these messages was available to all stores, leading thus to a serious issue with planogram integrity. Furthermore high levels of inaccuracy in the real realizations are also ascribed to the lack of incentives from the headquarters for enforcing the planograms. Generally, it is witnessed that the inaccuracy of the planograms is correlated to the regularity, the timing and/or the type of changes in the planograms. Of course, one should not overlook the strain in the following the planogram closely. Because of repeated introductions or de-listing of products and changes in style and pack size or the turnover of a product, frequent changes in the planograms are needed(Woensel et al, 2008). Without a detailed plan to implement the changes in the planograms, they might be postponed, not implemented in full or the local management already anticipated the changes before the company conversed with them(Woensel et al, 2008). It can be concluded that planogram integrity is a vital issue that requires a retailers management consideration. Woensel et al, (2008) shown clearly that common of differences relate back to facing differences. The second important issue is collection and display of products and third issue locational differences. From the above discussion, one can find four main drives for these differences, (i) Local Store Management, (ii) a substantial acceptance time for changes, (iii) diverse local situations that presumed in the planogram and (iv) lack of incentive from the company. The foremost consequence of a lack of planogram integrity proved to be a significant loss of effectiveness both in marketing strategy as in the operational executions, as such indicating that planogram integrity is a serious issue The Impact of Visual Merchandising on the Consumer Decision Process Introduction McGolddrick (1990, 2002) argued that Visual Stimulation and communication are very important facets of retailing. This interest in the visual has combined to form the exercise of visual merchandising. This is demarcated as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ activity which coordinates effective merchandise selection with effective merchandise display (Walters and White, 1987, p. 238). Consequently, Visual merchandising is apprehensive with both how the product and/or brand is visually communicated to the customer and also whether this message is decoded appropriately in this context affecting a positive psychological or behavioural outcome, ultimately leading to purchase (Kerfoot, Davies and Ward, 2003). The significance of accomplishing such a consequence has meant that within the retail environment, various procedures have been used to exhibit, merchandise and communicate products. This diversity in visual merchandising procedures has conceivably also stemmed from the vast collection of goods and services that are sold by retailers. The progress of merchandising procedures and the proliferation of these methodologies among retailers have been well-established history. Baum (1987) accepted the significance of window display long back in 1897. Baum who was the founding editor of  The Show Window  ,where he offered strategies for effective window displays where he provided an early mechanism for the dissemination of visual merchandising best practice. This early publication evolved to examine display across the store and continued to offer advice for some considerable time (Law and Yip, 2004). The potential of display and visual merchandising is so strong that a publication solely addicted for visual merchandising and display stated in 1922 with the title Visual Merchandise and Store Display.   Nevertheless, the prominence of visual merchandising has been not acknowledgedmuch consideration in the academic world and in literature (Lea-Greenwood, 1998). The most notable exception has been within the US fashion-based literature, where a number of texts have been devoted to the subject. These though are primarily practitioner-based, highlighting again a deficiency of attention from retail academics. This study represents a small step towards addressing this lack. It investigates the influence of visual merchandising stimuli within the retail store environment on customer perceptions and responses. In doing this, the research is focused on the potential psychological and behaviour outcomes that result from customer interaction with visual merchandising, rather than directly trying to establish what constitutes best practice  per se  or manipulating visual merchandising techniques themselves. This soft drink and FMCG retail sector has been chosen as it has recently elevated visual merchandising to an issue of board level concern (Lea-Greenwood, 1998). The sector offers an ideal background in which examination of the impact of product display and visual merchandising can be conducted on customers, as the degree of retailer complexity in this area is likely to be higher than that demonstrated by companies in other sectors. Sproles (1979) has focused on the procedure, such as the effects of communication channels in current society, the characteristics and the functional purpose of soft drinks. However, Hart and Dewsnap (2001) also established a decision-making model to explain the behaviour of consumers through visual merchandising and store display. It was revealed form their study that there were interweaved a complicated set of interlinked aspects to affect decision making on intimate soft drink, and amount the factors, brand loyalty tended to be the repeatedly adopted factor to curtail the decision-making process and the degree of apparent risk while shopping intimate soft drink. Speaking from the View-points of marketing and consumer behaviour, the two models are adequate to explain the corresponding phenomenon (Kerfoot, Davies and Ward, 2003). However, viewing from the retailing aspect, the environment of stores can increase consumers response (it may be positive of may be negative) to a brand of the product being sold in the store. To achieve a positive store environment, visual merchandising has been widely adopted by retailers (Kerfoot, Davies and Ward, 2003). Likewise, intimate soft drink has been going through a series of Soft drink treatments in recent years. Examples can be found in contemporary intimate soft drink brands, such as Coca Cola and Pepsi, Sprite and so on. Instead of targeting different customer segments by adding advanced functions to products, intimate soft drink brands try to establish a distinctive image in consumers mind. In this study, focus is put on the influence of visual merchandising on store atmosphere and its corresponding impact on consumer decision making process for intimate soft drink (Law and Yip, 2002). Dimensions of visual merchandising and display Omar (1999) advocates that there are three types of interior display- (i) architectural display (ii) merchandise display and (iii) point-of-sale display. This study efforts on merchandise display; the choice of a singular store to deliver the stimulus photographs minimises the architectural elements; additionally, point-of-sale areas were omitted from the photographs to guarantee only merchandise display was considered(Kerfoot, Davies and Ward, 2003). The most important aspects within merchandise display have been acknowledged within the academic literature as: packaging (Bruce and Cooper, 1997; Da Costa, 1995), layout, (Levy and Weitz, 1996; Berman and Evans, 1995), colour (e.g. Koelemeijer and Oppewal, 1999), fixturing (Levy and Weitz, 1996; Donnellan, 1996), merchandise (Davies and Ward, 2002), presentation techniques (Buchanan  et al., 1999), and so on. These areas have received varying degrees of attention as separate elements. Nevertheless, in fact, there is tiny work has been done that makes these aspects composed as merchandise display(Kerfoot, Davies and Ward, 2003). The examination of Influences, that such display creates on consumers, especially in term of brand communication and purchase intention, are lacking in terms of literature. Though, several of the elements of merchandise display have been scrutinised from an environmental psychology approach, as well as from a service environment perspective. These two relat ed literatures provide potential starting points as each considers the physicality of the in-store environment and its influence on customers (Kerfoot, Davies and Ward, 2003).. Literature Review Visual Merchandising is one of the most significant constituents in atmospheric management(Kerfoot, Davies and Ward, 2003). It embraces the interior of stores as well as the exterior of stores.The exterior of store comprises retail premises, window display, and facade while the interior of store embraces fixtures and fittings, store layout, and store highlights as well as wall display(Kerfoot, Davies and Ward, 2003).There are many constituents who governtogether store exterior and interior and it embraceslighting design, colour co-ordination, selection of mannequin and the application of design principles(Park et.al., 1986). A good assortment of visual merchandising with comprehensive consideration of proper cooperative expressions is very important, if retailers really want to project the best side of their company/store (Kerfoot, Davies and Ward, 2003). Consequently, customers could receive the envisioned message of stores or retailers through several different types of themes sty les designed especially from suitable visual merchandising strategy and for influencing buying decisions and behaviours in a positive sense. Conclusively, visual merchandising helps to establish the complete image of a retail store in the mind of consumers(Park et.al., 1986). Kerfoot, Davies and Ward (2003) acknowledged that visual merchandising has many objectives, (i) Retail Identity Building in the mind of customers, (ii) influencing customers final decision to buy as many products as he/she can afford inside a store (iii) last but not the least, to increase overall sales. Visual merchandising pays its attention on numerous facets of customers, which include affective pleasure, sensory pleasure and cognitive pleasure (Fiore, Yah and Yoh, 2000). Sensory part contains personal feeling of customers, such as response to temperature and noise, feeling crowded in a store (Ko Rhee, 1994; Hornik, 1992 and Grossbart et. al 1990). Store-related and product associated information can also be assimilated from storeenvironment (Baker et. al 1994), for example, searching a product that enhances ones self-concept (Kleine III et al., 1993). Also, window display plays a critical role in affecting store entry decisions as it is a very important information cue for consumers (Bettman et. al, 1998) There are many schools of thoughts regarding consumer decision process. The process of diffusion can affect consumptions response to different product attributes (Mitchell and Creatorex, 1990). The selection of promotional channels and the format of transition are the best examples. Similarly, there were other thoughts regarding general consumers decision making process. For Rogers model (1962), decision making was not longitudinal but rather cross-sectional. Following Rogers thought, Robertson (1971) developed a conceptual model with eight procedures (awareness, comprehension,problem perception, attitude, trail, adoption, legitimation, and dissonance). Nevertheless, Sproles (1979) established a specific framework for visual merchandising with ten procedures. The key focus of Sproles model was the relationship between the influences of communication channels in current society and the functional purpose of soft drink objects. Hart and Dewsnap (2001) conducted a specific study on deci sion process of purchasing intimate soft drink. His findings revealed that consumers had to go through a set of interlinked factors or relied on brand loyalty. In the light of the criteria, self-concept, perceived risk and consumer involvement were also critical in shaping the final decision (Law and Yip, 2004). While reviewing the current trend of intimate soft drink brands, being functional is the fundamental requirement of consumers, adding extra value to products is regarding as the selling point. In terms of functional aspect, mint flavour or Diet Pepsi using consumer care can be found in triumph brand. In times of readymade food and soft drink, almost every brand is using the same stuff. For example Pepsi introduced the Diet Pepsi, in the same year Coca cola introduced the diet version (PepsiCo, 2010). They introduced in the name of consumer health and family sentiments. Though, there is very few research about the inter- relationship between the importance of store aesthetics and consumer decision process, as a result, the purpose of this study is to look into this precise affiliation (Law and Yip, 2004). The study is beneficial to retailers who are newly established or re-position in the intimate soft drink market. As mentioned, for consumers who have a high degree of brand loyalty, external factors such as store atmosphere, may not has a great impact on decision process. But, if consumers rely on peer influence, advertising or have no idea about a brand, visiting the store is the first contact with the brand. Having attractive human-like mannequins of film starts or popular sportsman/woman and matching with style and appeal can break the decision process (Law Yip, 2004). Customers attention can be provoked at the stage of responsiveness but in a negative way due to the social and cultural constraint. Therefore, it is difficult to continue the decision process from awareness to interest. Hart and Dewsnaps (2001) study on consumer decision process for visual merchandising delivers a critical direction for pre-purchase evaluation. Paying a close attention to the interaction of cultural or societal difference and visual merchandising elements causes a great impact on final purchase decision. To find out the influence made by Pr

Corrosion Audit :: essays papers

Corrosion Audit 1.Introduction: Corrosion is the electrochemical deterioration of a metal because of its chemical reaction with the surrounding environment. While new and better materials are continuously being developed, this progress is offset, in part, by a more aggressive operational environment. This problem is compounded by the fact that corrosion is a complex phenomenon. It can take many different forms and the resistance of materials to corrosion can drastically change with only a small environmental change. Corrosion is most often thought of as a slow process of material deterioration, taking place over a significant period of time (examples being general corrosion, pitting, exfoliation, etc.). Other forms of corrosion degradation can occur very quickly, in days or even hours, with catastrophic results. These forms (such as stress corrosion cracking, environmental embrittlement, and corrosion fatigue) depend on both the chemical and mechanical aspects of the environment and can cause catastrophic structural failure without warning. Some of the data of losses due to corrosion follows. In the United Kingdom the Paint Research Association has estimated that metallic corrosion costs developed countries some up to four per cent of gross national product (GNP) annually. In the UK this would equal about  £30 billion. In the United States, various reports put the cost of corrosion slightly higher at four to five per cent, equating in that country to about US $300 billion, of which it is claimed that around one-third could be prevented. In India approximately 5% of the GDP is lost due to corrosion, of which again it is claimed that around one-third could be prevented. CORROSION AUDIT: There is no clear definition of corrosion audit. It mainly contains inspecting the corrosion sites, analyzing the reasons of corrosion, suggesting methods of prevention, doing the cost analysis of prevention and losses due to corrosion. 2.Main Materials Used in IITK: ï‚ · Centrifugally cast iron (CI) ï‚ · Galvanized iron (GI) ï‚ · Steel ï‚ · Stainless steel ï‚ · Cast iron ï‚ · PVC (Poly venyl chloride) ï‚ · RCC (Reinforced concrete council) Centrifugally cast iron vs. Galvanized iron: CI is more resistant to corrosion in soil and water environment as compared to GI. But CI cannot be threaded much frequently, as it will corrode very fast near the threads and thus will lead to breakage and leakage. So CI is used only, where long pipes are needed. For small length pipes, like those in houses, GI is the better option.

Tartuffe: Truth and Religious Teachings

Dana Epstein Professor Morris ENG 2850 TR54C October 13, 2009 The Illusions That Define Us: Appearance versus Reality â€Å"Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration. † That quote by Nicollo Machiavelli is simply defined as, what you see is not always what you get and few men have the gift of being able to see through an appearance. In Tartuffe and Monkey, appearances are far from reality in many instances. Even though both texts were written in different milieus both societies focus strongly on religion and material value.Both characters are deceived by power, desires and the need to prove themselves. Spiritually is used to enlighten and religious teachings help Monkey to see the truth. However, Orgon needs to trust his senses because spirituality is used to deceive. The realization that is difficult for the audience to distinguish the difference between appearance and reality in both stories is very evident. In Tartuffe, Orgon is deceived by the holy zealous Tartuffe solely based on his false piety of religion. His need for power and prestige blinds his ability to see the truth about Tartuffe.He is so enthralled by Tartuffe because he enriches Orgon with power by appealing to his desires. Tartuffe is claiming to be a traditional figure of authority by presenting himself as a holy man and Orgon foolishly goes against everyone’s feeling towards Tartuffe and falls for his act. The audience is not told that Tartuffe is a liar or hypocrite but, through his words and the actions that follow, it allows the audience to differentiate between the lying Tartuffe and the honest family. In the first scene, Dorine states her feelings toward Tartuffe. You see him as a saint. I'm far less awed; In fact, I see right through him. He's a fraud. † Tartuffe, the hypocritical fraud, does no appear until act three, allowing the audience to see the other characters as honest witnesses to Tartuffe lies. As soon as he arrives, he over zealously informs Dorine that she is showing too much cleavage. His actions are seen as forced rather than genuine. Orgon is so blinded by Tartuffe that he does not even believe his own son when he tells him that Tartuffe is trying to seduce his wife Elmire.Orgon responds with â€Å"Ah, you deceitful boy, how dare you try to stain his purity with so foul a lie? † Orgon finally needs to perform a scientific experiment by hiding under the table to actually hear Tartuffe try and seduce his wife. Orgon’s mistake is that he needed to trust his senses rather then his spirituality and need to prove himself. His desire to be all powerful Orgon and control his children’s lives ended him in a bind where all his belongings were in the hands of Tartuffe. Orgon was deceived by religion and his desires to be all knowing and all powerful.The appearance of a â€Å"holy man† that Tartuffe presented completely blinded the reali ty that he was a con artist. Orgon chose to go against the intuitions of those he loves and trusts and is left struggling to define his own reality and truth in what spirituality means to him. The religious teachings and spirituality in Tartuffe leave Orgon to pick up the pieces of his fallen life and proves that trusting his senses was the key to defining reality. On the contrary, the religious teachings in Monkey help him to see the truth and define reality.Monkey’s journey consisted of many encounters where appearance is deceiving. The evil wizard is one of the most deceiving characters throughout the story. Through changing his appearance, he is able to disguise his true self as a lion of the gods to complete his task in teaching the king a lesson for being unkind to a beggar who was asking for help. The evil wizard pretended to help the king of the Crow-Cock Kingdom but instead shifts his form into the king and steals his throne. When Monkey confronts the evil wizard abo ut this change he then again shifts his form into Tripitaka so that Monkey cannot attack him.Through these appearances, the evil wizard was able to hide the reality that he was truly a lion on a mission. Though the evil wizard was one of the most manipulative characters, Pigsy and the Dragon both deceived reality with their appearances. Pigsy fooled those of the woman he married into believing he was a hard working young man, but once his true identity of a pig was known they soon became fearful of him. Another instance was when the white dragon was punished for eating the white horse so he was then transformed into Tripitaka's white horse for the journey.The appearances that deceived were all to complete their own missions and ultimately teach a lesson. Throughout the stories Monkey by Wu Ch`eng-en and Tartuffe by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliere, appearance versus reality is a key theme. The audience can see the demise that Tartuffe had in store for Orgon all along. As for Monkey, t he reality throughout the story is layered between illusions and the supernatural, reality and truth. Both characters were deceived by opposite forces in which the quest for power and to meet their desires blinded their inability to decipher truth from false.

Evaluation of Operations Management - 2059 Words

Evaluation of Operations Management INTRODUCTION A financial institution is selected for the purpose of this review. To maintain its confidentiality this organization will be referred to as RCB Bank. This review is based on personal working experience in RCB Bank and reference to other materials such as internet and books on related subject. RCB Bank was established in July 1959 with its first branch located in Kuala Lumpur. RCB Bank was the first American bank to be incorporated as a subordinate company of the worldwide American bank. It started with 17 employees and now has 5,500 staff of which more than 95% are local. It was localized in 1994. Now, this institution serves customers across 7 branches in KL, Selangor, Penang and Johor.†¦show more content†¦Among the popular ones are the ‘Zero defect’ and the ‘WOW’ campaign. As the name suggest, these campaigns are to encourage an error free processing and a beyond expectation customer servicing respectively. Staffs are encouraged to support the campaign and rewards are given to those who excelled in their achievement. The above are just some example of the tools applied by the organization in ensuring quality, hence gaining edge against its competitors. Speed Speed is another important objective for organization to have an edge against it competitors. Customer expect speedy fulfillment of their needs in various aspects of their lives i.e getting a passport or loans application. In this millennium world, it is possible to provide instantaneous service like internet banking and phone banking. Customer could make their banking transactions electronically without having to physically go to the bank. This not only saves the customer precious time and money but provide convenience of banking from their own home. The institution has invested time and money in re-engineering processes to eliminate long and unproductive processes. An example of this is where previously customer is required to sign multiple forms in order to conduct transactions on the various banking products. With re-engineering, the institution has cut through the process and now requires just aShow MoreRelatedSystem and Operation Management. Critical Evaluation of Relevant Issue. Tesco Case Study4502 Words   |  19 PagesIntroduction The 21st century has brought about several improvements in business strategies and operations. Most businesses have realized that to be very effective in their given industry the internal operations of such businesses have to be to the highest level of standardized efficiency (Wang et al 2010). These busineses have also realized that the effective management of the systems and daily operations of the organisation would facilitate organisational productivity and result in maximization ofRead MoreImportant Metrics Of Business Performance Management Essay847 Words   |  4 Pagesimportant metrics of business performance management are financial, customer, internal, strategic, and compliance. These metrics can be seen as the key factors that operations managers focus on while working to ensure the successful performance of any company. I will discuss each of these metrics below. â€Å"Key metrics in the evaluation of management are financial performance numbers. These include sales, profits and costs† (Markgraf, B., n.d.). For an operations manager, a good metric to evaluate wouldRead MoreInternal Controls And Internal Control1466 Words   |  6 PagesInternal controls refers to all the policies and the processes used by the management to safeguard the assets of an organization from mysterious loss and to ensure reliability as well as the integrity of the financial information provided by the accounting section (Pickett, 2013). In addition, internal controls work towards ensuring that the management is in possession of accurate, complete, and timely financial information so as to monitor the progress and enhance the business decision making processRead MoreEssay Management and Operations Management Theory1272 Words   |  6 PagesManagement and Operations Management Theory ABSTRACT This paper defines the four functions of management and the operations management theory. It then provides an analysis of how the functions of management the operations management. THE FOUR FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT Planning: It is an act of formulating a program for a definitive course of action. The management defines a goal and puts forward its strategies to accomplish the objectives defined. Organizing: To divide the work forceRead MoreManagement and Operations Management Theory1282 Words   |  6 PagesABSTRACT This paper defines the four functions of management and the operations management theory. It then provides an analysis of how the functions of management the operations management. THE FOUR FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT Planning: It is an act of formulating a program for a definitive course of action. The management defines a goal and puts forward its strategies to accomplish the objectives defined. Organizing: To divide the work force into specific groups and giving each group a specificRead MoreEvaluating And Monitoring Programs And Work Operations Essay1593 Words   |  7 Pagesprograms and work operations, no matter if an organization is offering a social service, business amenities, or manufacturing a product. Though the final output may be different, some key aspects and best practices of evaluating can be used to gauge the way any group is working. During an interview with Greg Sherwood, a supply chain manager and manufacturing evaluation specialist, he emphasized the importance in making personal observations, understanding the true objectives of an evaluation, and the importanceRead MoreOperational Audit1064 Words   |  5 PagesNATURE OF OPERATIONAL AUDIT †¢ Also known as management audits and performance audits. †¢ Conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and/or efficiency of operations. †¢ Examinations of all or part of an entity to determine the degree of its operational efficiency, effectiveness and economy. †¢ Also refers to the auditor’s study of business operations for the purpose of making recommendations about economic and efficient use of resource, effective achievement of business objectivesRead MoreStrategy Management : Multinational Corporations And Other Industries Essay1366 Words   |  6 Pages147651 ASSIGNMENT-6 Strategy management in organizations: Multinational corporations and other industries have strategic management departments set up in order to design and implement strategies. Strategic management is formed with managers from various teams and with several years of experience. The best thing about the strategic management team is that refer to previous years of data and history of the organization in designing the strategies. Strategy management team in an organization is veryRead MoreSmiths Information Services, Inc. Is Entering Into Phase 1 Of The Corporate Overhead Reduction Program1710 Words   |  7 Pageson-site data center that was created in the mid-1980s. At the time the servers were state-of-the-art, yet as the company grew, we have simply managed and maintained the old and aging hardware. Currently the center must be manned 24/7 to remain in operation and to stay competitive. Increased labor that is required to maintain the systems and hardware, the increased cost of utilities, and the footprint for housing t he large and outdated equipment costs are falling out of control. Outsourcing/In-houseRead MoreProper Strategy Implementation And Evaluation Of Dish Network1386 Words   |  6 PagesThis essay will react to the proper strategy implementation and evaluation that should be adopted by Dish Network. Dish is an American based corporation that provides broadcasting services to clients via television and the internet. A strategic management plan such as that possessed by Dish can be successfully implemented when a high focus is placed on measuring the level of performance and commitment in the implementation and evaluation phases. The strategic plan should be evaluated before, and after

Irony By Charles Dickens A Tale Of Two Cities - 1561 Words

Coincidence? I Think Ironic While the Victorian people called for romantic intrigue and petty drama in the literature of their time, Dickens’ added complexity to his novels not to satisfy the frivolous needs of Victorians but to further the theme of irony in his novel. In A Tale of Two Cities, irony is an ever-present theme and is woven into the plot seamlessly by author Charles Dickens. Coincidence is a complementary theme to irony in this novel. Dickens’ constant implementation of situations of coincidence and chance leads to a greater sense of irony throughout this book. Dickens adds complexity to the plot and further enforces the theme of irony in the novel through circumstances of coincidence, including the indictments of Charles Darnay, the life and associates of Dr. Manette, and Madame Defarge’s need for and path to revenge. Throughout the course of this novel, the ironically kind and generous Charles Darnay is indicted three times, and on each occasion, t he basis for the accusations against him and the surrounding circumstances derive entirely from coincidence and chance. At Darnay’s first trial in London where he has been accused of treason, Jerry Cruncher spots Lucie Manette and Dr. Manette seated in the courthouse and inquires about their purpose for attendance and receiving the response â€Å"’Witnesses.’/ ‘For which side?’/ ‘Against.’/ ‘Against what side?’/ ‘The prisoner’† (Dickens 48). From this statement and from what is later explained by theShow MoreRelatedA Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Essay1033 Words   |  5 PagesCharles Dickens, the greatest novelist of the Victorian period, is well known for his skillful use of irony in moments of coincidence and chance within his stories. In one of his most famous books, A Tale of Two Cities, he showcases this skill by forming small connections between various characters throughout the story. Th ese minute connections end up playing important, plot-twisting roles in the story. Dickens’ use of coincidence and chance weaves and enhances the plot, making readers consider howRead MoreUse of Repetition in A Tale of Two Cities1577 Words   |  7 PagesRepetition is one of the linguistic devices of which Charles Dickens is very fond, and the novelist makes things easy for his readers by his constant repetitions, and his habitual phrases are remembered by readers who are not used to reading with close attention. Dickens’s stylistic use of repetition reaches its climax in A Tale of Two Cities (1859). Therefore, it is fruitful to deal with the language of Dickens, especially that of A Tale of Two Cities, from the point of view of repetition in order toRead MoreA Tale Of Two Cities Or A Tale Of Two Worlds?2163 Words   |  9 PagesKaren Vanderford Ms. Faris Honors English IV 29 May 2015 A Tale of Two Cities or A Tale of Two Worlds? A person’s class status in today’s world is based on what one owns and how society views an individual; nothing else really matters. Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities exemplifies the importance of social status through the way society views and treats its characters. Lucie Manette, from England, is the â€Å"golden thread† who everyone adores, especially a man named Sydney Carton, who is knownRead MoreCritical Analysis on a Tale of Two Cities2729 Words   |  11 PagesEnglish 1/3/12 Mr. Burns A Literary Analysis of A Tale of Two Cities I. Introduction Charles Dickens’ twelfth novel, A Tale of Two Cities, was written to show all of the good and evil that was present during the French Revolution. He uses the two main cities, London and Paris, to represent this, and then ties in a love story with many different symbols of good and evil such as Darnay and Carton, Madame Defarge and Miss Pross. In his novel, Dickens also shows both sides of the revolution with theRead MoreA Tale Of Two Cities By Charles Dickens1704 Words   |  7 PagesA Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is a novel set during the time of the French Revolution in England and France. The Revolution is a time of great danger and constant change. Dickens’ novel expresses the theme of fate through metaphors in many different ways. These metaphors connect the fates of Dickens’ characters that are intertwined in some way whether they are aware of how they are connected or not. Charles Dickens illustrates to his readers that fate is predetermined as shown throughRead MoreCharles Dickens : The Greatest Author Of His Time Essay1885 Words   |  8 PagesMarch 2016 Charles Dickens Charles Dickens is often regarded as the greatest author of his time. His works are notorious for engaging the popular imagination with its comic elements, memorable characters, and highly detailed rendering of life in Victorian England. Although the 20th century saw a dismissal of his works as simplistic and vulgar by critics, Dickens never lost favor with the popular audience. Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England on February 7, 1812 to John Dickens and ElizabethRead MoreEssay On Oliver Twist2076 Words   |  9 Pages Oliver Twist Charles Dickens Honors English 10 Ms. Salsbury Ethan Wigal October 6, 2017 Charles Dickens is a famous British author known for writing many classics. He was born on February 7, 1812, in Portsmouth, England. Born to John Dickens and Elizabeth Barrow, Charles was the second child of eight. He grew up poor, eventually dropping out of school to bring in more money for his family. Dickens worked as an office boy, which helped to start his writing career. In 1836, he finallyRead MoreTale of Two Cities4458 Words   |  18 Pagess Tale of Two Cities – Study Guide Questions 2008 Use these over the course of your reading. They are very helpful if you use them!! Book I: Recalled to Life Book I, Chapter 1: The Period 1. What is the chronological setting of this opening chapter? What clues enable us to determine The Period? 2. How does Dickens indicate the severity of social conditions in both France and England? 3. Who is the king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face? 4. How does DickensRead MoreNarrative techniques of Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist and David Copperfield6299 Words   |  26 Pages Diploma thesis Charles Dickens’s â€Å"Oliver Twist† and â€Å"David Copperfield†: Two novels compared (Narrative techniques) Mentor: Student: Dr. Muhamet Hamiti Arbnesha Kusari Table of Contents 1. Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦3 2. Biography of Charles Dickens†¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦....4 3. Oliver Twist†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Read MoreTerm Definition Source Of Definition1183 Words   |  5 Pagesphrases, clauses, or words https://mcl.as.uky.edu/glossary-rhetorical-terms We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardships... to assure... the success of liberty J. F. Kennedy, Inaugural Speech Balanced sentence A sentence made up of two parts that are roughly equal in length, importance, and grammatical structure http://grammar.about.com/od/ab/g/Balanced-Sentence.htm Sleeping on a Seely is like sleeping on a cloud Advertising slogan for Seely mattresses Colloquial/colloquialism

The Rise of Anxiety Disorder Essay - 1049 Words

As the world leaps into the future, it seems that mental illness is becoming more of a problem among many people. One of the most common types of illnesss among the current population is anxiety disorders. It is evident that there is a rise of anxiety disorder among the Western World. There are three main factors that contribute to this, they include our education system, technology and media, and the treatment and decreasing criticism anxiety patients receive. In recent years, it has become a well noted fact that the education system has become in many ways tougher, for better or for worse. Nevertheless, for anyone susceptible to an anxiety disorder, school often aggravates their symptoms. Today over 10 per-cent of European and†¦show more content†¦The unreasonable quantity of time a child spends in school limits their freedom to grow as individual and relax. As well, one can infer that the testing system â€Å"is almost designed to produce anxiety and depression† (P sychology Today: The Decline of Play and the Rise of Childrens Mental Disorders). In addition, some psychologist have noticed a trend of high-achieving students expressing a strong reluctance to attend class because of anxiety, this is becoming common among high school students. Psychologists have referred to this as â€Å"school refusal† (Points of View: THE NEW WORRY EPIDEMIC). For students, there is an on-going pressure to get high grades; in that sort of high pressure environment, anxiety is inevitable. In the past 20 years there has been a technological revolution and although it has made some aspects of life easier, it has also contributed to a great amount of stress. The media has been a major growth industry in this revolution, one cannot avoid the excessive advertisements and negative news that it presents. Furthermore, the media creates unrealistic idealization for the average person, especially for women. The media is a major contributor to anxiety among the genera l population. When one is constantly bombarded with a collection of unrealistic ideals such as the latest smart phone, the latest clothes and the perfect body, it prepares one for an inescapable and great amount of pressure (PsychologyShow MoreRelatedEssay about Social Phobia or Just Shyness1667 Words   |  7 Pagessocial anxiety disorder, also called social phobia. In investigating the causes, symptoms, and treatment of social anxiety disorder, I found that while drug companies and some researchers have hailed the unveiling of a drug for social anxiety as an important step, others feel that the disorder is poorly defined and its prevalence is exaggerated. Therefore, the following questions emerged: how did the diagnostic category of social anxiety disorder come about? How much of the disorder is rootedRead MoreSocial Anxiety Disorder : Social Phobia Disorder1654 Words   |  7 PagesSocial anxiety is â€Å"a fear of humiliation or of being judged by others, and an avoidance of social situations where attention centers on the individual† (Martis). According to the Social Anxiety Institute, social anxiety has become the third largest psychological disorder, following depression and alcoholism (Richards). Commonly, victims of this social phobia have problems pursuing social environments, interactions, and relationships (â€Å"Social Anxiety Disorder†). The failure to fulfill daily requirementsRead MoreNeuroticism Is A Dimension Of Temperament That Can Potentially Play A Role1057 Words   |  5 Pagesdimension of temperament that can potentially play a role in disorders. Barlow and colleagues (2014) provide an understanding of this role, through the triple vulnerability theory. The theory incorporates: general biological vulnerability, general psychological vulnerability, and specific psychological vulnerability all interacting in the development of an emotional disorder (or neuroticism itself), particularly anxiety and mood disorders. Neuroticism is the tendency to experience frequent, intenseRead MoreFrequent Symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Essay1133 Words   |  5 PagesObsessive Compulsive Disorder, commonly known as OCD - one in every 50 adults and one in every 200 adolecence. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder that causes people to have unwanted obsessions with things and recurring compulsions or rituals. Many times, the obsessions or compulsions have to do with cleanliness or germs. An example of this would be a person who is obsessive with washing their hands repeatedly. (website 1, paragraph 1) Every person who has this disorder has different compulsionsRead MoreSymptoms And Symptoms Of Anxiety Disorders1193 Words   |  5 PagesAnxiety Disorder â€Å"Anxiety refers to the brain response to danger, stimuli that an organism will actively attempt to avoid† (Beesdo, Knappe, Pine, 2009, p. 1). Both children and adolescence are at risk of anxiety disorders; it is known that it is the most frequent disorder of these age groups. The classification can be found in a DSM or ICD (Beesdo, Knappe, Pine, 2009). In children, the separation from normal anxiety to pathological anxiety is difficult to assess. Some examples of normal anxietyRead MoreSeparation Anxiety : A Type Of An Attachment Disorder1232 Words   |  5 PagesNo one is perfectly healthy. In today’s society, many people suffer from some type of disorders. Separation anxiety is one of them. According to the www.attachment.org website, â€Å"this disorder is a type of an attachment disorder that is usually observed by young children, who feel they are getting lack of affection and attention from parents or their caregivers due to separation.† I believe that many people feel unsafe being alone and they are afraid to be alone. However, due to inescapable situationRead MoreWhat is Anxiety? Essay1019 Words   |  5 PagesAnxiety is a feeling and emotion of excessive and prolonged worry, a sense of dread and generalized tension. Fear and anxiety are similar emotions but have important differences. While fear is based on a specific threat and is relatively short, anxiety has no definite basis and often prolonged. We all experience anxiety at some level. Students feel anxious when taking an exam. You may feel apprehensive about going out on a blind date. Many people are scared of delivering a speech. Many situationsRead MoreEssay on Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)1308 Words   |  6 PagesSocial anxiety disorder (social phobia) can be described as an extreme, persistent fear of being scrutinized or judged by others in social situations. This fear may lead to feelings of embarrassment, humiliation and self-consciousness. People who suffer from this condition may â€Å"feel powerless against their anxiety† (ADAA). These emotions often interfere with daily activities, such as school, work and personal relationships. The person might begin to withdraw socially or avoid situations in whichRead MoreDiagnosis Of Anxiety Disorder ( Adhd )872 Words   |  4 PagesDiagnosis of Anxiety Disorder Jake’s origin of his Anxiety Disorder stemmed from the rise in the difficulty of his classes. More specifically, it could have been a behavioral, humanistic, and/or a cognitive factor of which induced his anxiety. Depending on how the counselor came up with Jake’s diagnosis, comparative analysis can be applied to the three possible variable factors of Jake’s counselor’s reasoning, and how other psychologists view each of the same behavioral, humanistic, and cognitiveRead MoreThe Link Between Depression And Suicide Essay1288 Words   |  6 Pagesbetween Depression and Suicide: Depression carries a high risk of suicide. Over 90% of people who die by suicide have clinical depression or another diagnosable mental disorder. Many times, people who die by suicide have an alcohol or substance abuse problem. Often they have that problem in combination with other mental disorders. Warning Signs: †¢ Always talking or thinking about death †¢ Clinical depression -- deep sadness, loss of interest trouble sleeping and eating -- that gets worse †¢ Having

Capturing Integration Complexity BPM and SOA †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Capturing Integration Complexity BPM and SOA. Answer: Introduction In any given day, there is always a significant amount of data generated by the healthcare industry. This data is very important as it determines the decision made by the institutions involved, an outcome that also includes the diagnosis and treatments given to the patients. Moreover, the same data is used in making managerial decisions that aim to improve the services of the institution. Similarly, Headspace, a healthcare organization aims to build a modern information system to capture the data of patients most of who are young people with mental illnesses. Now, the system will mainly store patients stories, data that will determine the treatments given to the patients. Therefore, a large storage facility is needed to support this functionality as the content will continuously increase with time(Pattnaik, 2017). Now, cloud-based solutions are been sort out as a desirable alternative to this requirement as they offer extended IT resources at affordable prices. In essence, the organization will lease the computational infrastructure from a service provider to store and process the data. In the process, the organization will increase its overall service availability and accessibility. In addition to this, the organization will be able to minimize its overall expenditures since most of the resource needed will be acquired based on the immediate demands(Bisong Rahman, 2011). In light of these objectives, this report offers an in-depth analysis of the cloud solutions where the various aspects of the technology are highlighted. The report also discusses the various non-functional requirements of the system including its development process. Non-functional requirements In software development, non-functional requirements represent the systematic elements of building quality systems based on the needs of the users. In essence, the system must reflect some envisioned qualities characteristics such as performance, security, reliability and usability. However, developing these qualities is not as easy as enacting the functional requirements of the systems, because they are not solely based on the technical aspects of the software packages(Chung, Yu, Mylopoulos, 2017). In essence, non-functional requirements are usually determined by the interaction between the end user and the proposed system. Furthermore, their determination is often subjective to certain conditions which intensify their definition. Nevertheless, their presence must be reflected in a system and in most cases must be outlined as soft goals that will depend on the trade-off of various functionalities. A quality system must have increased maintainability and reliability outcomes both during its development time as well as its execution time. Furthermore, as stated above its performance must be consistent based on an adequate usability, where all the requirements of the end users are met while continuously engaging the end user(Ebert, 2011). Therefore, the system qualities will represent the general characteristics that will determine the run-time behaviour, system experience and the system design. In this case, they represent different areas of system concern that have a potential to impact the package at wider layers and operation tiers. For the Headspace system, the following characteristics will be necessary: Application availability this attribute represents the duration of time that the system is available to the user offering the different functionalities and operations. While its an abstract factor, its measurement is done using percentages of the overall downtimes at a given period of time. Interoperability this represents the ability of an application to perform different functionalities including communicating with other external systems for the successful interchange of operations with external entities. Now, this will be a crucial factor to the Headspace project which will interact with a cloud resource. Scalability on an account of the patients stories, the systems infrastructure, particularly, the storage will require an adjustable infrastructure that will regularly meet the needs of the institution. Moreover, the system must be able to handle the rapid changes in the overall functional load. Supportability finally, to improve the reliability and usability of the system, the application will require to poses some troubleshooting elements that will be used to resolve operational issues. The same elements will be crucial in resolving security problems (Microsoft, 2017). System interface Software packages constitute a wide variety of functionalities that are usually represented as various inputs and outputs. In each component, an input will stem from another elements output, an outcome that will constitute different operational subsections. Moreover, for a cross-platform system such as the Headspace system, a variety of information from different elements will be used. In essence, the collection of these inputs and outputs will define the systems interface where definite boundaries are given(Salustri, 2015). These boundaries require the following attributes (requirements): High response time consider the feedback that the system gives to the users, it must be within a reasonable time to avoid performance frustrations. Moreover, the same response must be desirable as per the users needs. This requirement will ensure a seamless interaction of the various components of the application. Concurrency secondly, the systems elements, for instance, the database instance (cloud) and analyser should interact seamlessly with minimal conflicts. Again, this attribute will promote the usability of the system having developed a favourable performance(Chung, Nixon, Yu). User interface (UI) requirements Similar to the other interfaces, the UI represents the boundary between the system itself and the end user. Now, unlike the system interface that may require a technical background to analyze, the UI will be frequently judged by the user based on their levels of satisfaction(Clark Petrini, 2011). Therefore, the UI must possess the following attributes. Familiarity and simplicity the users ability to interact with the system will depend on the design of the interface which should be familiar to the functionalities and environment of the system. In this case, the application elements such as icons and buttons should be easily located. Clarity perhaps the most significant attribute of the UI, where the user must figure out the general proceedings of the system with ease. In all, the end users should not be frustrated while using the application. Finally, responsive again, the UI requires a fast response to users requests by having minimal lag instances(Usabilitypost, 2017). There are factors or attributes of a system that will restrict the overall freedom of the system by limiting its different functionalities. These factors will represent the systems constraints as they will deter of the application functionalities. Furthermore, unlike the other non-functional requirements, they are global in nature as they will affect all development processes of the system(Ambler, 2014). In this case, the project may face the following constraints: Deployment environment a cloud resource is proposed and although it represents a favourable operation environment, it defines a new operational paradigm that will limit various functionalities. Economic constraints resources such as time and budget will restrict the development process which will affect some system functionalities(Ebert, 2011). A review of the cloud-based solutions Most information systems have always been implemented on on-premise equipment owing to the conveniences of physically accessed infrastructures i.e. security and improved data management. However, the recent growth of cloud solutions has started to shift this outcome as organizations try to increase the availability of their facilities. In essence, cloud solutions, unlike on-premise equipment, will require fewer resources from the systems owners as they are leased from service providers(HA Guled). Furthermore, the users will have minimal cost expenditures as they will have minimal back-end functionalities i.e. support and management. However, at the same time, these resources will often represent a security risk owing to the operating environment. In all, the Headspace project is likely to have the following strengths and weaknesses after incorporating cloud services into its system. Benefits of cloud solutions Minimal capital cost with cloud solutions, a variety of computational resources can be accessed and used to offer a wide range of services. These resources are not implemented by the end user but by the service provider. Moreover, the end user can scale the capacity of these resources based on the immediate demands while only paying for the relevant services and durations. Usability and availability cloud facilities especially storage enable the users to adequately store data in a variety of locations. The same experience is given by the overall infrastructure which is accessible from any location and at any given time. Disaster recovery another considerable benefit that is usually facilitated by the service providers resources which are often in different locations. Therefore, in case of a failure in one location, a backup in a different service centre takes over the roles. This outcome is different in on-premise systems as they are localized in specific locations(Fesak, 2012). Drawbacks/weaknesses Environmental security limitation the general concentration of resources in a single online platform represents a serious security threat. Moreover, because of their size and functional significance, they are often the target of attacks as they offer a wide range of resources to intruders. Data security While cloud facilities may offer adequate storage facilities to host data, their utilization will require the user to transfer a considerable amount of their control to service providers. This control allows service providers to be able to access and manage confidential information which affects the security of the data involved. Record retention limitations - another significant drawback of cloud solutions that are caused by its inability to retain extensive records owing to its operational structure. In most cases, cloud facilities will continuously erase old archives in an attempt to conserve storage space. This outcome limits the users in case they require old information(Romes, 2013). Software development life cycle (SDLC) There are various methods that are used to design and develop software systems. These methods define the models of SDLC where a variety of systemic operations are logically executed. Now, while the definition and operations of SDLC may seem obvious to the end users, their existence is as result of the complexity of developing information systems. In essence, a wide range of factors and considerations are determined before implementing systems which necessitates the need for eloquent development structures to implement software packages. Furthermore, various systems will have different requirements and functionalities and thus will require different development procedures(ISTQB, 2017). In all, SDLC will represent the procedures of developing and deploying software solutions to end users where a wide variety of requirements are given. In this project, two general SDLC approaches are considered and are outlined below. Predictive SDLC This approach follows a conventional structure of system development which has a predictable procedure that encompasses all the system requirements. In all, a consistent a structure defines the approach where various implementation phases are executed sequentially with minimal system variations. Now, to meet this operational requirement, the predictive approach will assume all the systems requirements including the end users functionalities. Furthermore, it will outline a logical and sequential procedure for developing the system(CIOCouncil, 2012). However, its most notable feature will be its inability to respond to changes where every new and subsequent requirement after the start of the development process will require a complete restart of the design process. A good example of this approach is the waterfall design model which uses a sequential pattern to execute projects. In the model, the developers will execute a development phase independently without overlapping the sequential plan. Advantages of the method The method is easy to understand because of its simple structure that is defined before the start of the implementation process. Moreover, it requires constant documentation of the processes involved which further simplifies the process. Secondly, its predictability requirements enable the users and developers to determine the implementation timelines before the process start. The approach also uses minimal resources because of its conventional structure that defines all the systems requirements(Balaji, 2012). Disadvantages Because of it sequential structure, the development process will require the completion of each subsequent phase before proceeding to the next. This requirement demands a lot of time, an outcome that limits its application in time-sensitive systems. Moreover, the same execution requirement causes the approach to produce poorly structured systems because developers will rush the development phases so as to meet the set deadlines. Finally, the approach does not accommodate any changes during the development process, an outcome that affects its overall functionalities(Balaji, 2012). Adaptive SDLC approach A modern approach to system development as it follows an agile and adaptable procedure to system implementation. Now, unlike the predictive approach that predicts and assumes all the requirements of the application, the adaptive method will define a versatile model that will provide room for system variations. Therefore, any changes during the development process will be accommodated in the final design of the solution. Furthermore, the method will also focus on the users requirement, a design attribute that will increase its satisfaction levels(Devi, 2013).. Nevertheless, the method starts like any other SDLC approach where all the system requirements are defined including the user preferences and functionalities. From this general step, the method will then segment the development process into various phases which will have different design functionalities. Now, these phases are then executed simultaneously having established their unique requirements. This implementation process will result in multiple sub-systems which are then combined to form the final solutions using iterative techniques. Advantages of the method The adaptive method is extremely flexible owing to its ability to accommodate any design requirements. Secondly, its user-centered design process facilitates the development of efficient systems that are able to meet the end users requirements. This approach also increases the users satisfaction levels as their requirements are usually guaranteed. It is also time efficient because all the design phases are executed concurrently based on their individual requirements. Disadvantages Because of the specialization exhibited by the development phases, the method requires a lot of resources. In addition this, the method also makes it difficult to predict the development timelines as it has to accommodate all the changes given by the end users(Balaji, 2012). Recommendation Although the predictive approach represents a simple structure of implementing systems, its extensive limitations affect its overall suitability. For one, it will require the developers to assume all the requirements and preferences of users based on their initial assessments. Therefore, unlike the adaptive method, it will focus on the functional requirements of the system i.e. the tools and capabilities, an outcome that does not guarantee the users satisfaction. Secondly, its deployment structure will not accommodate changes, a limitation that will affect its application in modern applications that require agile infrastructures(CIOCouncil, 2012). On the other hand, its counterpart, the adaptive method will meet all the users requirements because it will outline an agile and flexible implementation structure. Moreover, the adaptive approach will follow a user-centred procedure that will guarantee the users satisfaction. In all, the adaptive approach will ensure that all the requireme nts of the Headspace project are met, which makes it the method of choice. Conclusion This report has highlighted the benefits of cloud-based solutions which in general increases the availability and accessibility of IT resources. This technology also minimizes the overall cost of deploying solutions as the end user leases most of the resources needed. Now, the Headspace project requires these benefits in order to improve its service delivery systems which at the moment are backlogged with a lot of data. Furthermore, with the system, the organization will be able to improve the treatments that are given to its mental patients as they require a complete review of users personal experiences i.e. stories. Therefore, with the integration of cloud solutions, the Headspace system will meet the overall requirements of the institution of increasing its service delivery systems References Ambler, S. (2014). 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