Thinking Globally and Acting Locally - 1172 Words

Thinking Globally and Acting Locally The maxim of thinking globally and acting locally has very successfully been enhanced within MTV Networks International. It has positioned itself as globally acceptable TV network and it has dominated in the entertainment market across the world. Youths in different countries enjoy the MTV shows and programs. However, this has had both negative effects and positive effects on the youths. Globalization has led to an increasing connection among different people of the world. This means the youths are to know about what is happening in the larger environment. The youths have borrowed and shared good ideas and innovations across the world under the maxim of thinking globally and acting locally. But on†¦show more content†¦Television tends to undermine the educational goals for teenagers in the developing countries. These teenagers spend time admiring the western teenagers and imaginary things that they just watch on the Television. Parents have also become a bit more permissive due to western influence. It is important to note that westernization is not equal to modernization and thus it should be adopted or copied with great caution. Cultural diversities should be retained as they contribute to the beauty of the world and much cohesion of cultural values. International media has been known to consistently violate some cultural practices for the developing countries. In most cases the developed and third world countries have little or no say on what is to be aired on the Television. Immorality in form of sexual moral decadence, violence, alcoholism, among others has been known to be promoted through the TV viewership. The MTV management seems less bothered with this as they view it as just business doing. 3. Other technological innovations that have helped companies to think globally and act locally Other technologies have also enhanced and promoted globalization. For instance in the remittance industry, Money Gram and Western Union have enabled quick transfers of money across theShow MoreRelatedWe Must Be A Citizen Of A Community Essay1279 Words   |  6 Pagesall around the world. Civic concerns are no longer bounded to the land that one lives on. This brings up the idea of thinking globally while acting locally, which refers to when one’s thinking is not limited to what is directly in front of them. They understand that their actions have implications elsewhere. In order to fully comprehend what it means to think globally and act locally, one must first look at how globalization and hybridity have shaped the world and are continuing to do so. What it meansRead MoreSuicide : What Drives A Person?1049 Words   |  5 Pageshelp the individual prevent this from happening. In my opinion I feel that people who attempt suicide are alone, no one to confine in and afraid to a sk for help without being looked down upon. Marquis, C. Battilana, J. (2007). Acting globally but thinking locally? The influence of local communities, pg. 5. Communities influencing organizations will always focus on how the tools and mechanisms of institutional theorizing as a way to enhance our understanding of the influence of local forcesRead MoreGlobalization : A Global Organization1710 Words   |  7 Pageslonger an option, but a strategic imperative for all but the smallest corporations (Govindarajan, 1998). Several organizations have made their global presence successfully and others have been faced with many challenges. Companies that are operating globally have successfully cultivated a global mindset by opening themselves to cultural diversity and being prepared to adopt successful practices wherever they come from (Gupta, 1999). Now that many organizations have realized that the consumer market isRead MoreAcer Case Study1641 Words   |  7 PagesBoth Lenovo and Acer have enjoyed successes but have utilized different strategies in order to get there. The Acer Group adopted a divide and conquers type of strategy while Lenovo has adopted the strategy of developing and succeeding locally before going globally. In both cases, each company struggles with worldwide recognition. In the case of Acer, they decided to try and improve their recognition through acquisitions of brands such as Gateway and Packard Bell. Lenovo also decided to improve recognitionRead More Personal Leadership Philosophy Essay1052 Words   |  5 PagesLearning: A leader should be continually pursuing opportunities for growth and learning. It means seeking the connect and the growth points, even in the face of failure. According to Wanis (2003), Thinking globally and acting locally means much more than just the statement at face value – to think globally means to realize that the world is constantly changing, and to keep up, one must be prepared to take on opportunities that will result in continued growth and learning. Ultimately, these valuesRead MoreCsr And Its Impact On Human Rights, Labor Standards, And Environmental Protection1229 Words   |  5 PagesIgnorance of the CRS is no longer a suitable approach to continue as an active business in the industry. Previously, only the tip of the iceberg of the CSR had been noticed by the business. But for now, it is about thinking outside the box. It is about including other non-business aspects of one’s business. According to an article published in Times Magazine in 2012 that has the title of† Why Companies Can No Longer Afford to Ignore Their Social Responsibilities†: â€Å"More than 8,000 businesses aroundRead MoreThe Problem Of Shrinking Diversity881 Words   |  4 Pagesemissions and possibly the end of global warming. Although the solution looks somewhat plausible, adopting this solution would entail falling into the trap of trying to apply a simple solution to a complex problem. We would also be thinking globally and acting locally. Meaning that we would be under the impression that our actions on a local level could have tremendous global outcomes. However, implementing technologies such as solar panels in countries like the United States may seem feasible, butRead MoreHuman Resource Management in Multinational Banks in Tanzania1069 Words   |  5 Pagesservices in Tanzania. Both the banks claimed to possess global â€Å"best practices† in managing their organizational structures and human resource management policies. All foreign investors to Tanzania faced the same sort of pressure of thinking GLOBALLY but acting LOCALLY. Now we have to find out whether their actions really reflect â€Å"HR best practices† or not. Citibank Ltd. in Tanzania: Citibank opened three main branches in Tanzania – Dar Es Salaam, Mwanza and Arusha. The bank offered varietyRead MoreHuman Resource Management in Multinational Banks in Tanzania1081 Words   |  5 Pagesservices in Tanzania. Both the banks claimed to possess global â€Å"best practices† in managing their organizational structures and human resource management policies. All foreign investors to Tanzania faced the same sort of pressure of thinking GLOBALLY but acting LOCALLY. Now we have to find out whether their actions really reflect â€Å"HR best practices† or not. Citibank Ltd. in Tanzania: Citibank opened three main branches in Tanzania – Dar Es Salaam, Mwanza and Arusha. The bank offered variety ofRead MoreReview : It s Not Luck 1183 Words   |  5 Pagesowned by the group UniCo. UniCo is doing poorly and has decided to sell the three companies Alex is in charge of. To keep this from happening and save his companies from being sold, Alex must use the Theory of Constraints (TOC) techniques and the Thinking Processes to come up with breakthrough solutions. The first company is Printing Company; its current challenge is how to significantly increase profits (Monteiro 2011, slide 3). The second company is Pressure-Steam; its current challenge is also

The Nutrition And Academic Performance - 1790 Words

Nutrition and Academic Performance Generations have change yet the expectations of overprotective parents are higher than ever. Most parents expect that school systems help create children that are confident and prepare students for high school graduation. At the same time, is important that children learn the required skills and knowledge needed to prevail in college, professional careers, and personal life (Common Core State Standards Initiative 2015). In addition, school systems should also be the reinforcement of healthy eating and taking into account the children’s health problem with increasing rates of obesity, which have doubled and quadruple in adolescents, diabetes especially type 2 a health problem the was more common until adulthood but now in children due to obesity, and malnutrition reducing â€Å"economic advancement by at least eight percent†¦ due to poorer cognition and reduced schooling† (American Heart Association 2014 Unicep United States Fund 2015). However, how does Nutrit ion correlate to academic achievement? According to Ashoka, Contributor the connection exist because no matter how good the school system is, how good the teachers are, the outstanding curriculums, amazing after school programs, the strategic Common Core Standards, and save school facilities: if the students are in poor health their academic achievement will not be accomplished (Ashoka, Contributor 2014). Therefore, adequate nutrition is very important for the nourishment of theShow MoreRelatedEffect of Nutrition on Academic Performance895 Words   |  4 PagesEffect of Nutrition on Academic Performance RGS6035.E2 - Chapter 1 Kurt Cornett Amberton University Effect of Nutrition on Academic Performance Every year millions of tax dollars are spent on school nutrition programs all over the United States. Legislators across the nation lobby for coordinated school health programs and place increasing emphasis on student nutrition. Television commercials remind kids to eat a balanced diet and food products aimedRead MoreEffects of Nutrition on Academic Performance Essay723 Words   |  3 Pagesthe school day starts. The program helps educate students, at an early age, on the importance of eating nutritious food to start their day. Problem Statement Knowing the effects of nutrition on your brain growth and consuming what is necessary for brain function and growth will better prepare you for successful academic completion. Studies have shown that â€Å"students who had better nutritional quality and habits were ‘significantly less likely to fail the literacy assessment[s]’ (Florence et al. 2008)†Read MoreThe Findings From My Current Research Indicate That It1697 Words   |  7 PagesThe findings from my current research indicate that it is true that poor nutrition negatively affects the academic performance of the students. Also, the study shows that when the students are given meals with good nutrient content, it is significant because it supports their growth and development as well as improve their cognitive development (Langford, et. al, 2014). The study showed that majority of the students who performed poorly in their tests are the one that is fed in meals that lack nutrientsRead MoreBharadwaj, Là ¸ke n, Neilson (2013), Have Revealed That911 Words   |  4 Pagesof research has been put on the relationship between the brain function and nutrition. The brain needs a proper diet which improves its performance and function (Bharadwaj, Là ¸ken, Neilson, 2013). More than 60 percent of the human brain is made up of fat which plays a role of the messenger that control aspects such as mood. For instance, the Omega-3 fatty acids have been found to be significant for the optimal performance of the brain, and when a person lacks this kind of fatty acids, he or she mayRead MoreEssay on Breakfast as a Scholastic Tool1448 Words   |  6 Pageshowever, may bear more significant than was ever thought before. Researchers now believe that breakfast indeed is the most important meal of the day, resulting in academic and psychosocial improvements that last a lifetime. While many may have trouble believing that a piece of toast in the morning can produce increased academic performance as well as a healthy mind, the fact is it has been proven to be true. It is for this reason that the federal government should establish a universal free breakfastRead More Psychology Studies Essay1522 Words   |  7 PagesTwo-Year School Breakfast Program for Preschool-Aged Children on Their Nutrient Intake and Pre-Academic Performance. Child Study Journal, 29, 113-131. This study contains information dealing with the relationship between nutrition and academic performance. The A variable consists of eating a well-balanced breakfast with a School Breakfast Program (SBP), while the B variable consists of pre-academic performance. The procedure these researchers used to study a nutritional breakfast was to provide preschoolersRead MoreDo Children That Eat Breakfast?1701 Words   |  7 Pagesfinished their homework†.(Better Grade Through Breakfast Vibrant Life Mar.2001:8 Health Reference Center Academic. Web.1.Nov 2015). Research also indicates that children who skip on an average on breakfast at least a couple of hours a week develop behavioral problems is what studies are indicating and that is due to lack of concentration and behavior problems that develop. Nutrition also plays a role in how we function and develop when it comes to eating breakfast or not. Research indicatesRead MoreThe Effect Of Poor Nutrition On The Student s Academic Achievements1606 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction The purpose of this research paper is to examine the impact of poor nutrition on the Student’s academic achievements. Therefore, this chapter presents and describes the methodology that is used in completing this research paper. The methodology will include the systematic as well as theoretical analysis of methods that will be applied in collecting data, and this is significant in proving whether the hypotheses have been confirmed or not. Inappropriately describe the methodology usedRead MoreLife Chances Of Poor Children Essay1423 Words   |  6 Pages and at least some of these problems might be addressed without substantial increase in resources.† Children in poverty need special support in order to achieve academic success. These flaws will only hold these children back from succeeding. Research Question: Are government assistance programs helping improve the academic performance of children in poverty? Methods Sample The population being studied in this research is families currently living in poverty with middle school age childrenRead MoreAl-Kandari and Vidal, (2007) hypothesized that a health-promoting lifestyle will affect enrollment700 Words   |  3 PagesAl-Kandari and Vidal, (2007) hypothesized that a health-promoting lifestyle will affect enrollment level and academic performance. The conceptual independent variable was the healthy promoting lifestyle and the conceptual dependent variables were the enrollment level and academic performance. The predictors of the correlation study were: nutrition, health responsibility, spiritual growth, physical activity, interpersonal relations, and stress management. The moderators for the study were sociodemographic

Analysis Of The Crucible - 938 Words

Michael Morales Professor Park WR 1 2/26/17 One word takes many shapes One’s words have many meaning and can change shape by different people. Reputation is the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. Thomas Paine a famous English-American political activist, the philosopher born in 1774 best describes Reputation as, â€Å"what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.† Applying that one true identity lies beyond human vision but only truly seen by the god. This message is repeated in ‘The Crucible’ as many characters are challenged between telling the truth to risk their lives to keep their reputations rather than do the right thing. Whether it be, by lying about one’s action,†¦show more content†¦In the end, her action would be the result of Proctor death and end of life. Even respected and model citizen like John Proctor, who are loyal men to the church and word of god. Who show good morals and challenges the court to protects the innocent. He is a man who has been built up his name and thus makes it hard for him to see his name go bad. Even when putting between the difficult situation that requires him name admit of past sin of adultery. Proctors are unable because reluctant to preserve his good name, even willing to die for it. In the end, Proctor gave another chance to free himself, solely by signing a paper saying he had worked with the devil and left the church. Unable to hand over the signed paper, Proctor instead falls to his knee begging. Saying â€Å"tell them I confessed myself, say Proctor broke his knees and wept like a woman, say what you will, but my name cannot.†(Miller 60) His reputation would be ruined. He stood up in court to save people s lives by telling the truth, and it didn’t work. Proctor is able to save his own life by lying but he unable to. He sees the others go down a noble path. He does not wish to see his name go bad. Proctor tears up the document and accepts his final fate. He could not live with the guilt that his name could be tainted forever but instead be remembered by his beloved wife and those would cherish his being. Lastly, Judge Danforth is known as aShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Crucible 1296 Words   |  6 PagesCrucible Character Analysis Miah Nielsen The strength of a dying man can be found in the words, â€Å"Give them no tear! Tears pleasure them! Show honor now, show a stony heart and sink them with it!† (The Crucible, 4. 751-753). This quote is spoken directly from Elizabeth Proctor after her husband was condemning himself to hanging. This married couple faced major conflicts during this historical event in which The Crucible took place. The setting took place during the Salem Witch Trials, which was aRead MoreAnalysis Of The Crucible Essay1890 Words   |  8 PagesMy time travel experience to the 1600’s started in Paul Green Theatre as I sat down to watch The Crucible. I was joined by Reverend Samuel Parris, Betty Parris, and audience members taking up all four corners of the Parris’ upper bedroom in 15th century Salem on the center stage during Act 1. The Parris’ house filled up quickly as we saw Betty Parris bed-ridden and dealing with an illness deemed as the devil’s work by members of the Salem community. The hysteria of witchcraft spread immediately throughoutRead MoreThe Crucible Analysis740 Words   |  3 PagesThe Crucible Timed Writing - Sebastian Pardo In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, he examines in depth the way people respond to intense trials, like the title suggests, and specifically trials of morality and righteousness. Each character undergoes great tribulations, and they don’t all handle it the same way, but the one thing that affects most if not all of their actions, and in turn the story, is pride, and the negative effect it has. It is not only the driving force behind many actions, but alsoRead MoreThe Crucible Analysis621 Words   |  3 Pages The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the time of the Salem witch trials. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses revenge as the main theme throughout the playwright. Revenge is the action of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong done to someone else. Revenge is shown throughout the characters actions in the play. Witch craft is used to represent revenge. If someone didnt like another, they could accuse that person of witch craf t and inflict harm on him orRead MoreAnalysis Of The Crucible 1324 Words   |  6 Pagesdeceit in the face of adversity is quite evident in the play The Crucible. Throughout the play various people are accused of witchcraft by community members they’ve known all their lives. The people of the village in which this all takes place are clearly divided on the issues of what is fact and what is fiction, but most are confused when it comes to who is really telling the truth. Abigail Williams is a very deceitful person in The Crucible. Abigail is the niece of Reverend Parris, a prominent leaderRead MoreThe Crucible: a Literary Analysis1275 Words   |  6 PagesThe Crucible: A Literary Analysis In 1692, Salem was populated by Puritans who believed in black-and-white lines between good and evil. The powers of darkness were real forces to them, which could wreak havoc and destruction on society if unleashed. The system of government was that God was the true leader of society, and he expressed his will through the actions of men and women. In the Old Testament, we hear stories of how God led directly through Moses; Salem, likewise, was led through men whoRead MoreAnalysis Of The Crucible 1364 Words   |  6 Pages Themes A theme in The Crucible is that a society ruled by theocracy and status based on religion is bound to fall apart. Salem s strict adherence to the Christian shurch is evident in everything the citizens do. They use measures of a person s knowledge and adherence to the religion as a means of judging their character and also their status in society. They believe God [was] provoked so grandly by such a petty cause (121), which is why the jails are packed (121). If the citizen didRead MoreAnalysis Of The Crucible 848 Words   |  4 PagesLauren Fiori Ms. Yatco American Lit. Honors October 21st, 2014 Writing from Sources In the introduction to The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Christopher Bigsby describes a crucible as a severe test and applies the definition to the play. Bigsby also expresses that the tests and trials that occurred in Salem are not restricted to this specific historical time; furthermore, these are struggles that people have faced throughout time. Betrayal, denial, rash judgement, and self justification are some ofRead MoreAnalysis Of The Crucible845 Words   |  4 Pagesever-quickening race towards human extinction, you must have a certain level of security clearance. You must complete the re-souling of your host body with the installation procedure, plus many rigorous physical and psychological tests, as well as the Crucible. This is the most important of the tests. Once you have experienced it, you will never, can never, be the same person you were. We call the consciousness or the sense of self we garner from a properly functioning brain, the soul. It is what manyRead MoreThe Cru cible Analysis978 Words   |  4 Pagesthe world over Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The Crucible is a fictionalized story written by Arthur Miller about the Salem witch trials that took place in Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692 through 1693. From France to the broadway theaters in New York the The Crucible appears conveying its message to all who witness this piece of work. The Crucible is still one of Arthur Miller’s most produced plays today.  The Adaptations Behind The Work The Crucible is a fictionalized story written by

Driven to Their Death - 646 Words

Driven to Their Death â€Å"I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.† Elie Wiesel once said. Nazis tormented the Jews all throughout the Holocaust just because they didn’t like their race. There have been multiple movies, books, and graphic novels about the holocaust showing all the traumatic deaths, and other horrifying events that took place. The graphic novel Maus written by Art Spiegelman shows the survival story of a man named Vladek, and written by his son Artie. Vladek was a true survivor, whether it was purely luck or not, but he also cared about other people who were there with him. In the movie Schindler’s List directed by Steven Spielberg this shows the story about the holocaust and how one man named Schindler saved many men, women, and families. In both stories, there are m ultiple motifs such as trains, lists, and death. Both stories show the same motifs in very similar ways. One way the motifs are the same is that the trains represent their journey to their own death. In Maus, there are multiple pictures of trains throughout the novel. Trains were used for transportation and ultimately to send Jews to concentration camps. One of the most important trains was the one that the Spiegelmans were on when they thought they were going to Hungary, but they ended up being at Auschwitz.Show MoreRelatedComparing Aristotle and Miller ´s View on Tragedy1230 Words   |  5 Pagesunnoticed by the Gods. The Gods played a huge role on what occurred in a citizen’s life. If a prophecy was decided by a God, then there was no altering it. Aristotle believes that this is what makes up a true tragedy. He suggests that tragedy is plot driven, and if the plot is set then there is no way around it. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is paying for the sins of his f ather King Laios. Laios was given horrible future by the Gods for angering them when he rapes another man. He was given a predictionRead MoreHamlet As A Tragic Flaws1515 Words   |  7 Pagesto their demise. Despite each of these tragic characters having a unique fatal flaw, this aspect in their characters is what eventually leads Claudius, Ophelia and Polonius to their untimely deaths. Despite being the only truly innocent, and pure character in Hamlet, driven to madness and, ultimately, death by external forces out of her control, Ophelia does play a role in her own demise due to her submissiveness and inability to stand up for herself. Her submissive nature is first introduced duringRead MoreThe Catania â„ ¢ Coronary Stent System1195 Words   |  5 Pagestarget vessel revascularization, index vessel-related nonfatal myocardial infraction and cardiac death. Secondary end points are: binary restenosis, percent neointimal hyperplasia volume, late lumen loss, overall mortality and procedural success. Results From the study, we concluded that the incidence (in hospital) of stent thrombosis, myocardial infarction, target vessel revascularization and death was 0%. Achievement ratio of acute angiographic was 100%. There were no event be observed duringRead MoreHamlet : A Cycle Of Revenge1165 Words   |  5 Pagesand fairness, where everything has a purpose and things happen with reason. Yet oftentimes such fairness does not necessarily exist. Individuals are sent to death for crimes they didnt commit, governments pass legislation in favor of the few, and in the case of The Tragedy of Hamlet, the Shakespearean masterpiece, parents may face untimely deaths at the hands of enemies. This, of course, commences a cycle of revenge, a cycle where an equilibrium of justice is attempted to be reached through retributionRead MoreYear 11 Changing Perspectives Essay (Looking for Alibrandi and Breath by Tim Winton)1225 Words   |  5 Pagesregard for family, eventually abandoning his parents to embark i n activities driven by a burning desire to become extraordinary. He pushes the boundaries to extreme levels and beyond personal danger. This is later described as â€Å"rebellion against the monotony of drawing breath,† breath and the concept of breathing being a recurring motif throughout the novel. Like Josie Alibrandi, Pikelet is living a self- indulged life, driven by ambitious behaviour, unable to recognise the values that provide life withRead MoreWomen ´s Role in Othello by William Shakespeare717 Words   |  3 Pagesplay are subsequently led to their death. Both deaths of the female characters are direct results of the madness that ensues between these two men. Gertrude’s death comes from her drinking the wine that was marked to be drunken by Hamlet only. Had Claudius not poisoned the wine, Gertrude would not be a direct casualty of their conflict. Ophelia too has an unfortunate tragic death in which she is driven insane then falls into the brook and drowns. Ophelia is driven mad by the pressure she gets entangledRead More‘Conflict is more often driven by self-interest than genuine sense of right and wrong.’ The Quiet American1235 Words   |  5 Pages ‘Conflict is more often driven by self-interest than genuine sense of right and wrong.’ â€Å"Show me a man who has no interest in his own good, and Ill show you a man who is not in touch with his own humanity. R. Alan Woods. Conflict can be driven by any emotion whether it be greed, love, hate or lust, after all conflict occurs merely when an individual feels something strong enough that they will not quell before opposition in violation of this emotion, because of this assessing the most frequentRead MoreThe Rage That Drives Achilles Essay785 Words   |  4 Pageshis ego is insulted. Achilles is driven by rage and anger and will do everything in his power to seek vengeance on anyone whom gets in the way of his pride whether it is friend or foe. One might argue whether Achilles is an epic hero but this answer lies within the reader. Achilles is one man who has the greatest fighting abilities as well as the greatest military prowess of any of the Achaean ranks. The only downfall for Achilles is that his inner force is driven by rage and proves to be devastatingR ead MoreIt s Smart It S Safe It Self Driven Cars1384 Words   |  6 PagesSmart It’s Safe It’s Self-Driven Cars Veronica Morales Schurr High School â€Æ' Abstract Since the first release of cars, improvements have always been needed, such as airbags and brakes for safety reasons; however, with the latest computer technology engineers and scientist have found a way to have cars be self-driven. This removes human error, reduces accidents and releases a new way of transportation. Companies like Google have been involve in creating their own self-driven car and have actually testedRead MoreThe True Nature of Obsession (Othello, Endless Love and Damoyre)1637 Words   |  7 Pagesobsession driven jealousy. Scott Spencer identifies this idea with his text â€Å" Endless Love†. Spencer wrote this novel in first person, a technique that provides profundity of insight into the obsession driven mind of manipulated the adolescent character, David. Spencer uses the characterization of David to exemplify themes of passion, devotion and loyalty as he explains â€Å"There was nothing in my life that wasn’t alive with meaning†. Although D avid’s motives for love where mainly sexually driven, it is

Sociological Imagination-the Sociological Big Picture Free Essays

Sociological Imagination-â€Å"The Sociological Big Picture† C. Wright Mills wanted people to know that outside of ourselves and our personal problems, we are being shaped by the external forces that surround us in society. Whether people are aware of it or not, they are being influenced by society and its factors. We will write a custom essay sample on Sociological Imagination-the Sociological Big Picture or any similar topic only for you Order Now The location in which one lives, the nation’s current economic standing, government affiliation, and more are all effecting people in some way. When living in a broadened social experience where things are all interconnected to one another, it has the power and potential of influencing our human behaviors and impulses that are not internally inherited as Mills suggests, but rather shaped by society. The location where a person lives helps bring meaning and shape the ideas of social acceptabilities. For example, in the Amazon basin of South America the Yanomamo Indians see very differently than people of America. This primitive tribe find normalcy among hallucinogenic yopo trips, villages where peoples attire are loin cloths, and a society composed of hunters and gatherers. Whereas Americans who are surrounded by urbanization, consumerism, materialism and so on may find the Yanomamo way of living off-putting. Also, the nations economy can affect citizens like after keeping 350,000 students out of school for seven days, teachers in Chicago are ending their strike after some negotiation. The Chicago Teachers Union battling for their rights about their job security, teacher abilities, salary raises, and more. Union president, Karen Lewis, after not being able to reach compromise the first time a few days prior, has now settled on an official contract. Though the near from perfect contract still needs ratification, union members agree â€Å"It was time to end the strike† said Lewis who’s rights to petition and peacefully assembly helped union members and the Chicago’s delegates reach a settlement. Chinese artist, internet blogger, and activist, Ai Weiwei was detained by the Chinese government after trying to find the names of the thousands of victims lost in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake; which authorities were refusing to give out to civilians. This only fueled his dislike of the Chinese government, which he had a tendency to expose in his blogs and artwork. In China where the internet is monitored heavily by the state, unlike other places around the world, often Weiwei’s political opinions of China’s autocracy became censored. After three months of detention, Weiwei was released on bail. When society can influence people, one must be willing to pull themselves away from a narcissistic point of view and adapt to a perspective where you are able to evaluate the â€Å"sociological big picture†. Building a sociological imagination can create within oneself the ability to truly see what others see and why people act the way they do whether it be stone age indians, claimant mobs, or dissident artists: we are all shaped by society. How to cite Sociological Imagination-the Sociological Big Picture, Essay examples

College Football Recruiting free essay sample

Second half senior year February – first football National Letter of Intent Signing Day with colleges (www. ncaa. org) April – second National Letter of Intent Signing Day Key Roles ETHS college advisors – very knowledgeable, academic focus ETHS coaches – prepare highlights DVDs, make recommendations to college coaches, advise athletes, focus on good environment for student athlete Athlete and parents – identify schools, narrow choices, pursue coaches and self promote, push for commitments, commit at best time Third party advisors ETHS coach sends letter to selected college coaches with list of prospects, height, weight, GPA, and contact information Athlete sends letter to selected coaches stating serious interest in program and attaching athletic resume including: contact information, GPA, test scores, academic honors, and athletic information such as height, weight, statistics, awards, references, and highlight DVD and directions to ETHS football internet address for highlight DVD access. forms available) Athlete considers taking prep course for ACT and SAT and takes ACT and SAT. We will write a custom essay sample on College Football Recruiting or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Register with NCAA clearing house Considering participating in high school football testing and competition clinics, including for example National Underclassmen Football Combines (www. nationalunderclassmen. com) College visits Summer after junior year Continue college visits Consider attending college football team prospect camp Request ETHS head coach to write specific letters of recommendation to preferred college coaches Call, write, email, and text college coaches to show interest and to ask questions about football program and how much interest school has in player Fall senior year Submit applications to short list of colleges Go to up to five paid for official college football recruiting visits Continue contact with coaches from top choice schools Ask ETHS coaches to make first 4 game highlight DVD and send to college coaches Narrow list to top 4 – 6 schools Push scholarship program coaches to commit that they will definitely offer scholarship and/or push non-scholarship program coaches to commit that they will use all influence with admissions office for admission Prepare to make choice and to commit to one school Winter/spring senior year Continue to press college coaches and to focus on top list February is first NCAA letter of intent signing day April is second letter of intent signing day Key Concepts Process starts big with lots of schools and data and must be driven steadily down to fewer schools with best fit Accurately assessing athletic skill level and academic status is extremely important to long term success Athlete must aggressively seek out football program that fits and will work long term Many resources are available to assist, but athlete and parents together must push process and people to achieve success Gradually over time must press college coaches for commitments of scholarships at scholarship program schools or commitments of admission at non-scholarship schools If playing football in college is essential, make sure program is at right level for the athlete.

Colgate-Palmolive Keeps the World Smiling free essay sample

Executive Summary The objective of this RFI is to determine whether or not Colgate-Palmolive (CP) should remain with SAP for their technology infrastructure, or if they should seek out other or new IT opportunities. CP needs to determine what is important and whether or not IT supports it. We evaluate the current problem CP is facing and the future trend of the technology. We reviewed SAP and its competitor, Oracle, to determine whether CP should stay with their current provider and what advantages would be available to them from their current and other IT providers. CP must have a very good handle on automation and rationalization. assignment help accounting These two items being the two most common forms of organizational change because they are slow-changing and slow-moving. Not only that, but they also offer reasonable returns with minor risk (Laudon, Laudon, Dass, 2010, p. 483). We also researched from CP, SAP and Oracle’s annual report and find data and articles to prove our points. Colgate-Palmolive Colgate-Palmolive (CP) Company is a $15. 3 billion multinational enterprise (MNE) that as of December 31, 2009 employs approximately 38,100 employees worldwide and serves people in more than 200 countries and territories. The company provides consumer products that help to make lives healthier and more enjoyable. They also focus on strong global brands in their core businesses — Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care and Pet Nutrition. CP is delivering strong global growth by following a tightly defined strategy to grow market shares for key products, such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, bar and liquid soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, dishwashing detergents, household cleaners, fabric conditioners and specialty pet food (CP Annual Report, 2009). Truly global in scope, CP sells its products in over 200 countries and territories and approximately 75% of sales come from international operations (Colgate. com, 2010). Analysis of Organization’s Current Problems IT management of projects in company at this size can be challenging. In the past, CP developed its company into geographical regions and each region planned its own projects and deployed avaliable resources to build those systems (Laudon, Laudon, Dass, 2010, p. 568). As global operations became more and more integrated, managers realize the need for CP to have more global coordination and a global approach to IT resources. They need to manage the firm from the top to down. The managers need to know who is working on what project and what the current status of each project is. They also need to ensure they have a skilled project manager who is able to coordination the project while demonstrating efficient resources allocation. Simultaneously they must also have an efficient supply chain to help them manage and allocate their inventory. When CP management began to looking for solutions and trying to analyze the problem the have incurred they found they needed an enterprise system to help manage the company from a global perspective instead of regional. CP began using SAP’s enterprise resource planning system in 1993. Since the first year they began using the system, CP has benefited, for example, the system has helped CP reduce its finished inventory by half, while cutting order receipt-to-delivery time for its 50 top customers from 12 days to 5 days (Whiting, 1999), identifying savings opportunities has been enhanced by continuous improvement of globe approach program. Currently formal Global Funding the Growth programs exist that share, monitor, and track savings ideas in a searchable database accessible worldwide. Previously, savings programs have been locally or regionally driven. According to CP’s annual report, technology also helps CP to perform its greater responsibilities as â€Å"category captain† (Annual report, 2002, p. 15) . Trade customers give to top companies in each category this designation. In this role, CP advises their customers on category-specific merchandising ideas that increase consumer purchases. In the U. S. , handheld computers used by CP’s sales force are improving merchandising effectiveness with new software that enables immediate analysis and communication right from the store aisle. Achievements in this area led to CP U. S. to being awarded Retail Merchandiser Magazine’s 2001 â€Å"Best in Class Category Captain Award† in oral care for merchandising effectiveness, operational efficiency and marketing innovation (Annual Report, 2002, p. 15) . The Company’s investment in technology continues to provide substantial returns. By mid-2002, SAP enterprise-wide software supported 94 percent of CP’s business (Annual Report, 2001, p. 10) . SAP has already led to significant improvement in supply chain performance and customer service, and that is only the beginning. CP has a long history of strong performance, which comes from absolute focus on their core global businesses, combined with a successful worldwide financial strategy. Dow Theory Forecasts (Unknown, 2001) reported: The stock trades for 30 times projected 2001 earnings of $1. 92, high compared to its long-term profit-growth projection of 13% annually. How can a company, with less than 2% annualized sales growth over the last five years keep that valuation? By boosting profit margins, gobbling market share, and buying back plenty of its stock. Higher margins and a smaller share base will boost both earnings and return on equity. Colgate controls 35% of the U. S. toothpaste market, up from around 31% a year ago (p. 4). CP designed this financial strategy as a way to increase gross profit margin and reduce costs in order to fund growth initiatives and generate greater profitability (Colagte. com, 2010). Advantageously, SAP’s software helps CP to improve its business process and business efficiency. According to CP’s annual report in 2001: SAP has already led to significant improvement in supply chain performance and customer service, and that’s only the beginning. Additional savings are just starting to come from the next generation of applications now under way that facilitate a wide range of key activities, including on-line ordering by customers, management of retailer inventory, store shelf management, sales forecasting, collaborative planning with trade customers, and purchasing. CP has leveraged SAP to develop new unique technology that captures data on purchases of materials and services around the world, providing a distinct competitive advantage. Information on everything CP buy is updated daily and can be viewed and analyzed in minutes. A powerful business tool, this reporting system is driving efficiencies and simplification worldwide. For example, the number of glycerin specifications and suppliers were quickly identified and subsequently reduced by 50 percent, resulting in over $4 million in annual savings around the globe (2001, p. 14. ). In 2002, global implementation of the base SAP system was completed. Significant benefits are being realized as these new applications bring savings across many functions, including sales, marketing, the supply chain, and human resources. These new systems are currently in several areas of CP’s operations and global installation follow. For example, SAP’s new Business Warehouse module enables CP managers everywhere to quickly access uniform companywide reports in many areas, allowing for easy analysis and faster generation of their action plans. Benefits are already in evidence in purchasing, where standardized reports reflect their daily data on the prices of raw and packaging materials in dozens of markets worldwide. In sales, enhancement of â€Å"flash† reports provides timely and detailed analysis of the number and status of new orders (Annual Report, 2002, p. 8) . The data is sorted by brand, customer country, category, or trade channel, which enables faster and better decision making for CP’s management level and shortens business processes inside and out. Another new SAP application enables web-based procurement of goods and services while giving CP the advantage of better financial control and tracking. Payment processes are becoming simpler and more efficient, as proven with the elimination of over 20,000 invoices annually (Annual report, 2002, p. 18) . The Continuous Quality Improvement process has identified many savings opportunities. In order to share, monitor, and track savings ideas in a searchable database accessible worldwide, a formal Global Funding the Growth program was established. Not only that, a collaborative approach to identifying savings opportunities is encouraged throughout the supply chain. The benefits of continuous improvement are largely evident in the expansion of SAP software, now a vital tool in managing the Company’s business operations globally. The enterprise software has been a major driver of gross profit margin improvement, which has risen from 47. % in 1995 when implementation started, to 54. 6% in 2002, up 120 basis points over 2001(Annual report, 2002, p. 5) . SP’s Gross Profit margin had steady growth after implementing the new system in 1993. Gross Profit Margin is a financial metric used to assess a firm’s financial health by revealing the proportion of money left over from revenues after accounting for the cost of goods sold, the following example is the ca lculation for gross profit margin: Gross profit margin serves as the source for paying additional expenses and future savings (Investopedia, 2010). We can see from the graph below, their Gross Profit Margin has shown continuous grow since SAP installation of applications from 1993 to the end of 2009. Economic crisis affected CP sales, as shown in the graph below. Specifically, notice downward movement in years 2002 in Asia and 2008 in USA. Oracle Some background on the company, Larry Ellison, Bob Miner, and Ed Oates founded a new company by the name of Software Development Laboratories in June 1977. The company changed its name to Relational Software Inc. (RSI) in 1979 and in 1982; became Oracle Systems—and hosted its first user conference, in San Francisco. Challenges, changes, and innovation have filled the intervening years for Oracle. As far back as 2001, the Dow Theory Forecasts (Unknown) informed readers that: Chairman Larry Ellison claims to have carved out an e-business market niche that didn’t exist before Oracle filled it. While outspoken Ellison is far from impartial, he does have a point, as the company began harnessing the power of the Internet five years ago, long before most of its competitors (p. 4). This makes a good point to show Oracles innovative and forward thinking ability. They have been able to keep pace with their competitors, though have not yet been able to dominate SAP. In the past five years, â€Å"Oracle has made 57 acquisitions-a staggering pace of just about one per month. With $20. 8 billion in cash and a strong stock price, Oracle’s in a position to continue that pace† (Evans, 2010, p. 22). The rate of acquisitions, if handled with care, could be a great thing for the company. However, if not closely monitored could lead the company into financial difficulties. For a company that has been an industry leader for many of its 30 years they probably know what they are doing. More recently, and in spite of Oracle’s â€Å"generally cautious stance on cloud computing†, they have also â€Å"vowed to focus on industry-specific functionality† (Evans, 2010, p. 12). This is important because SAP customized the software purchased by CP in 1995. Oracles ability to offer customization will open doors and increase revenue capabilities for the company worldwide. Along the same lines, Henschen (2010) describes an important new product development for Oracle as follows: Oracle’s new product Enterprise Performance Management System release 11. 1. †¦includes Hyperion Planning enhancements such as user-configurable workflows for common planning and forecasting of processes, and â€Å"zero-code† Web forms for creating task-specific data entry and planning interfaces†¦. new apps in the suite include Financial Close Management, Disclosure Management, and Private Sector Planning and Budgeting (p. 18). The mentioned applications wou ld simplify processes, which they directly affect. Additionally, the Disclosure Management interface allows the user easier handling of statutory reporting to government agencies. Similarly, companies should be mindful of their business process management (BPM). To their credit, the Oracle-BEA System allows companies who purchase their product the ability â€Å"to verify that process performance has been improved and measure the impact of process changes on key business indicators† (Laudon, Laudon, Dass, 2010, p. 483). A company with the ability to streamline their BPM in this way is also able to eliminate the need to juggle multiple mainframe applications. Information Week gave Oracle an overall grade of B in a recent report card they published (Evans, 2010, p. 2). Even though Oracle is able to deliver a fully integrated and optimized system, there were some concerns about the 22% charged for annual maintenance fees. That can add up to quite a chunk of money. Evans (2010) notes in the same article that â€Å"each quarter, co-president Safra Catz highlights Oracle’s 50% or greater operating margins and underscores how those are made by the main tenance fees† (p. 22). Evans goes on to say, Ms. Catz believes that customer satisfaction is at an all-time high. Which is a problem because the figures calculating customer satisfaction are not released (p. 2). Transparency or the lack thereof can say a lot about a company and affect its future success. Oracle would need to work with the transparency of their customer services measures if they hope for a higher grade by Evans in the future. Over the years, Oracle has proven to be a consistent threat to SAP, and by the looks of things, they will continue to remain a threat. According to the Oracle website (2010), their goal for the future is: To become #1 in middleware and #1 in applications, just as we have in database. And we will provide our customers with complete, open solutions integrated from the disk to applications software that meet their business needs and solve their business problems. And, we will continue to innovate and to lead the industry, while always making sure that we focus solving the problems of the customers that rely on our technology. The company currently has over 370,000 customers and only time will tell how successful, how many more customers they will acquire, and if they are able to meet this goal. From the look of their current offerings, they have a good start on achieving their goal. According to the Oracle website, their product, Oracle Accelerate, designed for the consumer products industry claims to deliver â€Å"a powerful combination of complete and scalable applications that can meet all your business challenges† (2010). The issue here is that the Oracle products are a good fit for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), and is found in various places on the Oracle website, as well as stated in customer testimonials. As we all know, an SME is â€Å"a company with 500 or fewer employees in the United States† (Cavusgil, Knight, Riesenberger, 2008, p. 68). As always, companies must protect their intellectual as well as physical property. Not just physically safeguard it but to also pursue legal action if necessary. Oracle’s 2010 fiscal year, runs from June 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010 and according to the most recent Oracle Form 10-K Annual Report: On March 22, 2007, Oracle Corporation, Oracle USA, Inc. and Oracle International Corporation (collectively, Oracle) filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against SAPAG, its wholly owned subsidiary, SAP America, Inc. , and its wholly owned subsidiary, Tomorrow Now, Inc. (collectively, the SAP Defendants) alleging violations of the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the California Computer Data Access and Fraud Act, civil conspiracy, trespass, conversion, violation of the California Unfair Business Practices Act, and intentional and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage. Oracle alleged that SAP unlawfully acce ssed Oracle’s Customer Connection support website and improperly took and used Oracle’s intellectual property, including software code and knowledge management solutions (Unknown, 2009, p. 116, 117). Naturally, the case is not as simple as state above and we are unable to judge it solely on what we read. As a direct result of technological advances in which information is â€Å"filtered through these social institutions, organizations, and individuals† (Laudon, Laudon, Dass, 2010, p. 131) these types of intrusions and ethical issues become more common. The legal system will determine and award damages if they are due to the plaintiff. This case is of particular interest since it seems to be a battle of industry giants. Of course, this case has many amendments, allegations, and complaints, the above reference s simply the original claim filed. The court has set a new trial date of November 2010. Many individuals and businesses will be closely anticipating and watching how this trial unfolds. Oracle faces many of the same risks as other businesses, such as the current recession, the global economic crisis, political and market conditions, foreign currency exchange fluctuati ons, etc. They also share risks applicable specifically to their industry, such as ability to develop new products and services, integrate acquired products and services, ability to enhance existing products and services, etc. The ability to foresee, plan, overcome, and take advantage of the risks shared by competitors will lead to their continued success. Technology This leading consumer products company is committed to using technology to create products that improve the quality of life for consumers wherever they live. CP operates on an SAP ® infrastructure with SAP R/3 ® as the core software (SAP R/3 functionality is now available in mySAPâ„ ¢ ERP). In the late 1990s, when the SAP software went live in Asia, there were a number of reasons why a single version of it could not be used throughout the region. First, tax structures within India are extremely complex; resulting in SAP software for India had added separate functionality. Second, the SAP system did not handle complex languages like Chinese and Thai on the same system. As a result, the Asia-Pacific region had three SAP systems that could not be integrated: one for India, one for China, and one for the rest of Asia. Since 1987, Colgate-Palmolive Code of Conduct has served as a guide for company daily business interactions, reflecting our standard for proper behavior and our corporate values. The Code of Conduct is updated and reissued on a regular basis to ensure comprehensiveness. The Code clearly conveys to each of us that the manner in which we achieve our business results matters just as much as achieving them. The CP Code of Conduct applies to all CP people, including Directors, Officers, and all employees of the Company and its subsidiaries around the globe. Vendors and suppliers are also subject to these requirements as adherence to the code is a condition for conducting business with CP. Most importantly, each employee is responsible for demonstrating integrity and leadership by complying with the provisions of the Code of Conduct, Global Business Practices Guidelines, Company policies and all applicable laws. By fully including ethics and integrity in their ongoing business relationships and decision-making, they demonstrate a commitment to a culture that promotes the highest ethical standards. The new technology helps CP with the privacy policies. It collects information on or through company’s site that can personally identify you, only when voluntarily offered by the visitor. For example, they collect personally identifiable information to respond to visitor questions and comments about them and their products and services, to mail e-newsletters and to contact winners of contests and promotions. They claim that they do not share any of the personal information provide to them with any third party other than service providers who assist in providing the information and/or services they are provide others. To the extent that they do share personal information with a service provider, they would only do so if that party has agreed to comply with their privacy standards as described in this privacy policy. Any non-personal information, communication, and material sent to this site or to CP by E-mail are on a non-confidential basis. They are free to use and reproduce any such information freely, and for any purpose whatsoever. Specifically, they will be free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques contained in such information for any purpose, including developing, manufacturing or marketing products. Any information you send to this site must be truthful, not violate the rights of others and be legal. Like many other companies, they use cookie technology, where their servers deposit special codes on a visitors computer. This information helps them to determine in the aggregate the total number of visitors to the site on an ongoing basis and the types of Internet browsers (e. g. , Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer) and operating systems (e. g. , Windows or MacIntosh) used by their visitors. This information is used to enhance the visitor on-line visits. Under no circumstances do they use this information to personally identify visitors or cross-reference the information with any type of personal information that is voluntarily offered on or through the site. C may modify this policy at any time, it is their sole discretion, and all modifications will be effective immediately upon their posting of the modifications on this site. Unless they specifically provide otherwise, this policy only applies to this site and their online activities, and does not apply to any of their offline activities. In all cases, however, they will take reasonable steps to help safeguard personal information. They will only share your information under terms and conditions that obligate recipients to protect the privacy and security of their personal information. Except as described in this Privacy Statement or as required by law, they will not share personal information with a third party unless they have consent or have notified a visitor to their site about this practice when they first collected personal information. At any time, the visitor has the right log in to the system to modify, correct, or erase the personal information that you provided to use in your Job Profile or your resume. In the event that you erase your Job Profile or your resume, we will make your Job Profile or resume inactive. However, you understand that we will retain your Job Profile indefinitely for its own record-keeping purposes. C evaluated several companies before deciding to engage SAP Consulting. John Giroux, head of the Asia-Pacific Shared Services Organization at Colgate-Palmolive explains, â€Å"There is a strong partnership between SAP and Colgate-Palmolive. We have co-developed solutions with SAP Consulting before and recognized that with its offshore delivery model we could take advantage of a very competitive price for high-quality resources. We knew that SAP Consulting has developed work protocols, as well as communication and project management methodologies that ensure the physical location of resources is not an issue. † Colgate-Palmolive was keen to use SAP Consulting both to access areas of SAP expertise and, through the offshore delivery model, to leverage Indian software developers from both SAP and other companies. C believed this would reduce costs and, if successful, would act as a model for a new way of working. Responsiveness to promotions and other changes in supply and demand have been enhanced due to the closer link between producers and consumers. Improvements in cycle times, fulfillment performance, and inventory levels were supported through enhancements enabled by DP and the collaborative engine. In particular, forecast error with a major retailer was reduced from 61. 9% before CPFR to 21. 9% after CPFR was implemented. All three initiatives were supported by SAP APO’s real-time integration model, where any changes in stock, sales orders, and so on are transferred in real time between customer or internal ERP systems and SAP APO. This ensures that modifications to the plan can be ade rapidly – which is particularly important to facilitate planning for promotions. The VMI, CBS, and collaborative planning implementations will extend globally. As the implementation extends to all brands and plants, C expects to multiply the impact of the current implementations substantially. Moreover, savings are being achieved outside direct supply chain operations, including in key areas such as IT. As the standardization init iative is extended, visibility is being improved throughout the supply chain, and consistent data will be increasingly useful in management decisions covering tactical and strategic plans. In particular, enhanced data availability using mySAP Business Intelligence (mySAPâ„ ¢ BI) supports improved tactical and strategic decision making at various levels in the organization. By improving C going forward, new forces are shaping their use of systems for enhancing competitiveness. These drivers include price competition, the evolving attributes of global trade, and the consumer goods industry’s use of promotional campaigns. These factors are motivating C to pursue continued cost reductions through all aspects of the business and to make use of collaborative tools that improve links with global customers. E-commerce is growing at a high annual rate in the consumer goods industry, providing further impetus for them to make use of e-business tools that strengthen its integration internally and its links with partners and customers. C intends to continue to pursue supply chain improvements that will enhance its competitive position. In addition to extending the use of vendor-managed inventory, cross-border sourcing, and collaborative planning globally, C is pursuing; they are working with SAP to implement repetitive manufacturing processes using the PP/DS capabilities in SAP APO. These processes will perform repeated production runs using a single bill of material, with back flushing of material requirements. Production will become more responsive to promotion-driven demand changes, as making and finishing operations will be distinguished as separable manufacturing processes, facilitating quick production scheduling changes. C is specifically supporting development of a PP/DS-related Wave algorithm. This algorithm will provide optimization of repetitive manufacturing during potential sudden peaks and valleys in requirements and finite capacity constraints. Outsourced manufacturing: Due to the variations in supply requirements resulting from the promotions-driven environment, third-party manufacturing contractors are increasingly relevant to C business. They expect to make use of SAP APO-enabled collaborative planning links with these contractors. Transportation planning: C is planning to implement Transportation Planning/Vehicle Scheduling (TP/VS) in SAP APO to optimize its transportation network and derive ongoing cost savings. Supply chain event management: C is planning to use SAP supply chain event management capabilities to track carrier tendering and customer shipments – and to provide early warning of undue delays or problems. Additional collaborative scenarios: C will pursue various additional forms of collaboration with customers and partners. Of significance will be company participation in consumer goods industry e-marketplaces, which provide exchanges for collaborative demand, procurement, and logistics planning. For global companies like C, it has become increasingly important to harmonize systems and processes worldwide. C customers, such as major retailers, are expanding across country boundaries and expect to have their requirements managed consistently from region to region. C also has facilities that manufacture goods for worldwide markets. Managing global supply chains is more difficult when systems differ from country to country. In addition, development and maintenance work has to be duplicated on each individual system. The demand planning (DP) capabilities and collaborative engine in SAP APO provide the Colgate sales subsidiary with a mechanism for communicating demand information to the supplier and further synchronizing planning across the supply chain network. For example, Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR) is being deployed by Colgate by making use of SAP APO tools with customers, enabling collaboration on promotional activity, inventory levels, and demand forecasts. The associated CPFR processes can drive forecast accuracy improvements and thereby enable a range of cycle time and customer service improvements. In particular, statistically computed-base demand is calculated by DP and can drive repeatable replenishment processes, and changes resulting from promotions can be incorporated using collaborative processes. The support that the collaborative process provides for separate management of base and promotional demand is very valuable. Promotional demand management is substantially independent of the base demand, and it is critical information for driving manufacturing, product finishing, and distribution in Colgate’s consumer products business. To support the collaborative process covering promotional demand, the collaboration engine allows the exchange of up-to-date planning information, enables user-access security restrictions, supports exception-based management, and facilitates tracking of performance measures including forecast accuracy. The SAP APO-supported supply chain implementations have achieved significant, measurable benefits for the initial America-based implementations. The competitive position of C business has been enhanced – by improving service to the retail trade and internal customers, enhancing responsiveness, and improving margins. They have achieved performance gains with SAP APO beyond what had already been achieved with SAP R/3, and the company is well-positioned for multiplying the benefits across the global enterprise. Quality Assurance Since 1993, SAP integrated with C to provide them business solutions. C is depended on SAP to do a lot of maintenance work for them. C outsourced as much maintenance work as possible to enable their internal IT to focus on their customers. They offer software to ensure the quality assurance and control, both for their own applications and C product. To ensure success, it is important for C to select a partner who can support the entire project. SAP addressed both business-solution requirements and IT requirements, including implementation, live operations, administrative services, education, and professional services (Sap. com, 2010). According to their website, Sap offers a easy-to-use CRM functionality on a pay-as-you-go basis, clear and comprehensive service level agreements, 99% system availability, Compliance with data protection standards worldwide, single vendor viability and accountability and 24/7 global production support (Sap. om, 2010). They also tailor services and collaborate with C to customize applications for the best fit and to ensure quality and success. Their applications ensure to improved sales, productivity, achievement of revenue objectives, consolidated accurate customer records, support continuous business improvement, enable quick ROI, and minimize implementation costs (Sap. com, 2010). Impact of New Technology Over the years, the business model has dramatically changed with the increasing pervasiveness of new technologies. C depends on SAP to develop, make changes, and follow the trends. According to Dr. Vishal, a member of the Executive Board of SAP AG and Chief Technology Officer, new cloud computing technology will enable, through the emergence of the internet of services, setting the stage for a new era of business networks (SAP Research Report, 2010, p. 6). Equally promising for SAP is the in- memory database technology which will allow them to answer business queries in no more than a second, strengthening the vision of the real time enterprise (SAP Research Report, 2010 p. ). Now SAP is focusing on four areas of future technology development, cloud based applications, future compliances solutions, global â€Å"internet of things’ services, and service delivery framework. According to their 2009-2010 research report: Cloud computing is the generic umbrella term for flexible, IT-related services, such as storage, computing power, software development environments, and applications, combine d with service delivery through the Internet to consumers and businesses. The main innovation is that the IT infrastructure no longer lies with the user, meaning that users can access these services without special knowledge. Clouds provide major opportunities for new business models by restructuring the value chains in the information and communication industry, making cloud computing a concept that will surely change the way people work and companies operate. The Internet of Things fuses the digital world and the physical world by bringing together different concepts and technical components. Experts predict that the Internet of Things will lead to tremendous efficiency gains in many industries, such as manufacturing and energy supply. Applications, services, middleware components, networks, and end points will be structurally connected in entirely new ways. As such, pervasive networks, miniaturization of devices, mobile communication, new models for business processes, collaboration, and lifecycle management will be made further possible. Thanks to the Internet of Services, the opportunity to create a Web-based service industry is becoming a reality. In this type of virtual world, software providers, service providers, brokers, and users can collaborate using a service delivery platform (SDP) to build flexible and dynamically integrated applications. The SDP supports the whole lifecycle of a service offering from its creation, introduction, and redesign with incorporated user feedback. SAP Research is looking to further explore services that can be managed through IT and, being combined, lend themselves into value- added services (SAP Research Report, 2010, p. 19). For C, future technology will definitely enable them to collaborate more freely; C can offer to its customers many values. Business process will be more efficient and cost saving. More opportunities will be available to C, customers, and its suppliers. Human Interface With approximately 38,100 employees worldwide there are bound to be human issues at C, and not just the interface kind. How they manage those issues can be a challenge to any organization. Changes in how company information is used can and does lead to new distributions of power and authority. There can be resistance and opposition to deal with at all levels of an organization and it would smart to prepare for that challenge. As far as the effect on the systems used by the human assets, Laudon, Laudon, Dass, (2010) complicated our RFI evaluation when they wrote the following: Enterprise application software vendors such as SAP and Oracle-PeopleSoft have developed powerful software packages that can support the primary business processes of a large firm worldwide from warehousing, customer relationship management, supply chain management, and finance to human resources. These large-scale enterprise software systems provide a single, integrated, worldwide software system for firms at a cost much less than they would pay if they developed it themselves (p. 131). This statement puts SAP and Oracle on the same level playing field, which in reality may not be the case. They both have good products and application to offer. If C were to make the change to Oracle, or anyone else, the impact on human interface would be enormous. New applications, how they relate to other parts of IT applications could be costly and time consuming on a human level. Whether or not Oracle has enough to offer C to make such a change is the multi-million dollar question. It certainly could add up to millions of dollars if they were to convert to Oracle or any other provider and that provider were unable to deliver the quality of product, both in IT and consumer goods, they currently enjoy. The biggest risk factor for C is maintaining and enhancing their reputation and branding. Reputation and branding are two of the easiest areas damaged by product quality, supply chain issues, customer service, employee morale, etc. Risk assessment and risk management are both ongoing functions for companies of any size. At this point, we need to look at the risk of C making a change from SAP to any other IP service provider. Laudon, Laudon, Dass, (2010) define risk assessment as â€Å"determines the level of risk to the firm if a specific activity or process is not properly controlled† (p. 314). They go on to write â€Å"business managers working with information systems specialists should try to determine the value of information assets, points of vulnerability, the likely frequency of a problem, and the potential for damage† (p. 314). The sheer magnitude, cost, and complexity of a companywide IT provider change would be worthwhile only if the new company had significantly more advanced and superior product(s). We are able to determine that the SAP system and applications are working well for C and that SAP is an industry leader providing services to MNE’s. Should C decide to change to Oracle, or any other provider, for their IT they would have to ensure they had skilled project managers who have the knowledge to use the following tools: ? Risk Assessment ?Internal Integration ?Formal Planning ?Formal Control ?Gantt or PERT Charts ?External Integration Mind you, the tools listed above are but a few of many used to ensure the success of a project and its participants. Probably the most important tool is the human one, the Project or Program Manager who has technical and administrative experience, team member who are also highly experienced, and participating in team meetings. Lest we forget, there may be outside sources able to provide their experience and team support. Someone who is not able to manage a project(s) or people will most likely have cost overruns, time slippage, technical shortfalls that can impair performance, and fail to obtain the anticipated benefits. In this case, C needs to ask itself if the risks outweigh the benefits. Clearly, they do not. Conclusion For C to make a change to another IT interface provider, that provider would have to have a lot more to offer than the current provider SAP does. A major area where SAP has dominated is their ability and willingness to customize IT specification for C. At this time, Oracle is close but not worth the investment or risk to make a change over, they are just now beginning to offer customization for SME’s. We do not feel that Oracle has enough advantages to offer C as an MNE and that C should remain with their current IT provider, SAP. Subsequently, we have determined that at this time a change would be low-benefit and high risk to the company. Evans recently reported in Information Week (2010): SAP makes its own case for having industry-tailored applications. The larger point, however, is that the two most-powerful enterprise software companies are now locked in direct competition to deliver to CIOs in every industry deeper and more powerful insights, new customer-centric features, and, ultimately, greater business value (p. 2). Maybe, in time, Oracle will overtake SAP as the industry leader, even until then we recommend C remain with SAP because it is a very long and costly process merging from one system to another. Unless SAP is not improving and following the trend, which from our research on SAP, they are, and have been, focused on innovation. References Annual Report. (2001). Co lgate Annual Report 2001. Retrieved from http://files. shareholder. com/downloads/CL/925173196x0x236529/90A2D1BD-1300-44EE-935E-C1E8C8906458/ColgateAR_PDF1. pdf Annual Report. (2002). Colgate Annual Report 2002. Retrieved from http://files. shareholder. com/downloads/CL/925173196x0x236520/0BE8EC61-8FAD-4C4F-ADDE-AC29921B7B0D/ColgateAR02. pdf Cavusgil, S. T. , Knight, G. , Riesenberger, J. R. (2008). International business strategy, management, and the new realities. Upper Saddle River, NH: Pearson Prentice Hall. Colgate. com. (2010). Colgate World fact sheets Retrieved from http://investor. colgate. com/ColgateWorld/colgate_world-glance. cfm? header=fin Colgate World of Care. Code of conduct Retrieved on May 24, 2010 from http://www. colgate. com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/LivingOurValues/CodeOfConduct. cvsp