Proposal †Story of an Hour Essay

Topic: The hidden feminism in â€Å"Story of an Hour†. My objective is to reveal author Kate Chopin’s feminist message in â€Å"Story of an Hour†, by identifying key elements of the short story. The main elements I want to focus on is Mrs. Mallard’s attitude toward the conflict in the story, I think that showed a feminist attitude. Mrs. Mallard’s every action and words exerted feminism, how she truly felt about her marriage was finally exposed. I would like to also pinpoint the acts of feminism during the time that this story was written that could possibly relate to each other. Thesis: Mrs. Mallard’s reaction of excitement to her husbands death revealed a feminist view of how most women truly felt and thought about their husbands back then. Questions to address: If this was Chopins way of expressing feminism, why would she do it in a form of ironic writing? Since â€Å"The Story of an Hour† was written a little over 10 years after the time the death of Chopin’s first husband’s death similar to Mrs. Mallards? Did majority of women, back in those days, feel oppressed about their marriage like Mrs. Mallards did? In the story, Mrs. Mallard is diagnosed with heart disease, was this her true cause of death or was it â€Å"the joy that killed†? Did Chopin use Mrs. Mallard’s death as a form of guilt for being excited for her husband’s supposed death? Methodology: The sources that I intend on using for this assignment are reader’s journals from Galileo and other similar sites, that are written on â€Å"Story of an Hour†, and also secondary source books from my school library. The articles that I plan to utilize are the ones that have feminist references to â€Å"Story of an Hour†. I will those references in particular to support my argument. In addition I intend on using is a former reader response I have written on the character of Mrs. Mallard. By using this reader response as another secondary source, I am going to relate a few references to my argument and support that as well.

How to Study Effectively Essay

lace where you can work regularly. This place should be dedicated to study, free of potential distractions from friends or family — yes folks, even your cat. Regular work in such an environment helps form good, effective study habits, and improves concentration and focus. Distractions waste precious time and cause tension. Get rid of clutter. Keep things simple — keep things tidy. Get a study timetable organized and prioritize. Prepare a list or timetable for tasks for that day, and for the week and number them according to which ones need to be done first. These get the priority and will not necessarily be the easiest. Mark and label all your work folders and content and place them in separate piles so that you can clearly see how much work you need to do and what has already been revised. Tick off the tasks as they are completed. Make sure that the area for your study is well lit and has an ambient temperature where you can focus. The quality of focus determines the quality of understanding. You cannot apply what you learn without understanding and exams test your ability to apply what you have learnt. The Motivation for Learning should be clear — top grades will mean higher earnings and a better quality life. Learn to work for them†¦ Food: What you eat affects your thinking. The Rule is Eat Little — but often. Eat healthy meals such as fish, fruits, and sandwiches that provide the vitamins and minerals that you need and do not make heavy demands on your digestive system. Know when You are ‘Switched On’. Try to be aware of your bio clock and what time of the day you work best. Optimise by revising when you work best but keep an eye on the exam date and time. You will need to get used to working at that hour. Do The Challenging Revision First — when you are fresh. Trying to focus on difficult problems when you are tired can be difficult. Look after your physical health. Take regular breaks, get plenty of fresh air and do some walking or stretching. Study in small chunks lasting 25 to 35 minutes. Your memory and concentration will work better if you study in short bursts but often†¦

Final Exam Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Final Exam - Term Paper Example For example a juvenile may be required to avoid committing any form of crime. Discretionary conditions refer to the requirements that may not result in revocation of probation and depends on the judge’s decision (Del, 2006). For example: the juvenile may be required to stay at home during weekends. 3. Knowledge includes legal rules regarding juvenile probation system such as the age limit of the offender to be recognized as a juvenile delinquent (Del, 2006). Knowledge of rehabilitation programs for delinquents such as knowledge of group rehabilitation programs. Skills include the ability to work with delinquents. For example probation officers may be required to communicate with juveniles in an empathetic manner. 4. Various roles and duties of juvenile probation officers include managing cases of different juvenile offenders (Del, 2006). Furthermore they have to provide recommendations regarding the conditions that govern the probation period. They even have to facilitate the juveniles in following as well as understanding their probation conditions. They have to develop standards of supervising juveniles and remain in contact with families looking after them. 5. Miranda warnings are guidelines that the police officers have to provide to suspects regarding their silence and their confessions. These warnings are provided while suspects are in custody and are going to be interrogated (Del, 2006). In case of juvenile suspects, they are to be provided with Miranda warnings as soon as they are arrested. The probation officer reads Miranda warnings to juvenile suspect, right before interrogating the suspect. 6. There are various cases that reveal the conditions required for testing school athletes for drug testing. These conditions include the voluntary participation of the student in the test and there needs to be a purpose for conducting a drug test such as the purpose of identifying whether a student is eligible to take part in

Metaphor Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Metaphor - Article Example The recent political scandal in UK is MP’s expenses. A huge upheaval regarding the misuse of allowances and exploitation of claims has been in the limelight of late, evoking questions about MP’s role in democracy. Media is the watchdog in democracy. It has already started investigating into the scandal and is attempting to make up for any flaws in the democracy. There are accusations against a significant number of MPs. What does this imply? Is politics power? Where does the money come from? The public who elect the representatives pay for them. Allowances are nothing but the taxes that the public of their constituencies pay. If an MP exploits parliamentary allowance, he/she is answerable to media as well to the public, the money exploited is theirs. MPs spending for their personal needs are neglecting their promise towards their constitution and people. Government should come down hard on the MPs who misuse their position for their personal gains. Subsidy is for the public and not for the government and the people who are part of it. Unless they live a normal life of a common man, how can they relate to the problems and needs of their society and cater to it? But MPs consider their position as money breeding opportunity and not as a responsibility to serve the public. They look upon themselves hardly as public servants but go after luxuries for themselves. MP’s expenses are not alone a scandal but a sign of the times. Can there be any additional evidence for the deterioration of democracy and exploitation of authority? Ask the MPs, how best the tax can be used? Should there be any question at all about how they use the allowances? Why not? It is after all the public’s

Social Security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Social Security - Research Paper Example Social security also provides income for those people who have become disabled and can no longer work and for those spouses and children whose wage earner has passed away. Thesis Statement Social Security is facing a long-term financial problem but it is not a crisis as some are trying to lead everyone to believe. Background Social Security as an Agency The United States was among those lagging behind major developed nations to set up a social security organization. In 1911, Wisconsin was the first state that approved the first state workers' reimbursement law to be held legitimate. It was the time when most Americans assumed the government should have no consideration to bother for the elderly, disabled, or disadvantaged. But such approaches altered during the critical period of Great Depression of the 1930's. Many Americans at this specific point of time sensed economic calamity or failure could outcome from happenings over which workers or government had no control. In 1935, Congr ess passed the Social Security Act. This law became the basis of the U.S. Social Security system. It provided cash benefits only to retired workers in commerce and industry. In 1939, Congress amended the act to benefit wives and dependent children of deceased workers. In 1950, the act commenced to cover numerous farm and domestic working classes, self-employed workers, technical and vocational workers, nonprofessional and many government and local bodies’ employees. Coverage became almost worldwide in 1956, when legal professionals and other professional workers of different fields came under the scheme. Congress further added disability insurance for the special employees to the system in 1956 and thus Medicare was set up in 1965. In the late 1970's, prices increased much faster than wages. This trend caused benefits to rise more rapidly than payroll tax revenues and resulted in a major drain on the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund. The law accelerated parts of a p reviously scheduled tax increase and expanded the categories of workers covered under Social Security. It required all federal employees hired after 1983 to join the system. The law also required the participation of about a million employees of nonprofit organizations. The legislation made up to 50 percent of the benefits of some higher-income retired people subject to federal income taxes and gave the resulting revenues to the Social Security trust funds. In addition, the law required a gradual rise in the normal retirement age. From the mid-1960 through the mid-1980, the tax-paying labor force was enlarged by the entry of the baby boom generation that is, the group of people born during a period of high birth rates from 1946 to 1964. Also, low birth rates in the 1920's and 1930's resulted in a relatively small population of retirees in the 1980's and 1990's. Because of these developments and because of the 1983 legislation and strong economic growth Social Security costs as a per centage of earnings subject to the FICA tax declined significantly from 1986 to 1989. This percentage began to rise again in the early 1990's. (Justice, 2005) George Bush Era and social Security George Bush has been working on a proposal to privatize the social

Distribution Models in Emerging Countries Essay

Distribution Models in Emerging Countries - Essay Example In the past nine years, the last-mile submission problem has been an issue for many, 139 public business owners who have joined the Santa Clara School International Social Benefit Incubator.   The cost of transport and middlemen often make it uneconomic to provide essential goods and services to under reserved areas.We have observed that the key issues seem to be:†¢ Build or partner with a channel,†¢ Product mix†¢ Retention, and compensation.With respect to the channel, there are three common alternatives (listed here in order of increasing capital and operating costs): Make use of current route and facilities. Microventures’ Hapinoy expanded in a wide horizon from dinner to remedies by increasing the buying power of current stores in inadequate areas in the Malaysia. They also lease transport from popular â€Å"Jeepney† vehicles to avoid the costs of pickups and individuals.Establish a route using existing social categories or organizations. Solar Sist er works with ladies categories to select well-connected sales-agents to spread solar products in non-urban Africa.Complicated goods and services may require creating techniques to incorporate customers. Husk Energy Systems has used a â€Å"micro-franchising model† to supply equipment and training to local business owners to set up and work town power-systems in India.Choosing the right product mix and determining if service and support are required is not prioritized a decision for all three programs.... Establish a route using existing social categories or organizations. Solar Sister works with ladies categories to select well-connected sales-agents to spread solar products in non-urban Africa. Complicated goods and services may require creating techniques to incorporate customers. Husk Energy Systems has used a â€Å"micro-franchising model† to supply equipment and training to local business owners to set up and work town power-systems in India. Choosing the right product mix (which impacts exercising, strategies and margin) and determining if service and support are required (which impacts abilities and training) is not prioritized a decision for all three programs. To increase and complement income from purchase of solar illumination systems in non-urban Indian, ONergy also provides â€Å"energy review,† individual exercising, fix, and update services.(Genuario, 2006) Business Significance: There are indications of advancement, however, with the restrictions on fore ign-investment companies with store passions in Chinese suppliers being put overdue in 2004, and the government’s latest contract with Avon to fight its 1998 ban on network marketing, starting the way for Avon to begin using its international business in Chinese suppliers. Avon was one of the first newcomers to Chinese suppliers, having designed regional research ability and a collection that involved 30 % products designed for regional customers before the 1998 law. Up to now they have created a multiple style of 6,300 shops with immediate sell employees and 1,600 surfaces in shops, according to The NPD Team. Avon earnings are approximated to have started 24 % last year and the company desires Chinese suppliers to be a $1 million market for them in the next few years. Procter &

The Assortment of Products in ACT II Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Assortment of Products in ACT II - Case Study Example The company is goal oriented to keep their customers with constantly changing its brands as per the changing trends in the current market situation. It ensures customers satisfaction and guarantees over its high-quality production. In order to be steady in the market its product prices are lower in the market (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius, 2011). In addition, production of zero fat corns is among the strategies the company has diversified into to adapt to the current market. A number of channels of distribution arose for ACT II popcorn so that it could reach the preferred market and satisfy the various diverse needs of the consumer. A diagrammatic representation shows as below. ACT II popcorn can be distributed to the vendor machine on the first instance, and then the consumer can be able to get it. Secondly, it can be distributed to the vending machine and through the agent; the consumer can obtain the product. Lastly, the product can be distributed to the drug stores then the various vending machines available in the drug stores and via the agent; the product is able to reach the destined consumer. The marketing strategy that the Conagra foods company should use is market segmentation. Market segmentation is the case in which the whole market is divided into many market niche i.e. small markets which can easily be captured and controlled by the company. The pricing model should be from the small amounts in order to cover all the consumers. This strategy would help in the business becoming a leader in distribution. The grocery mode of distribution is not able to cover all customers and so there should be a number of modes of distribution. A number of challenges accrue when there are expansion and growth in the business. Foreign tastes, cultural differences, distance and trade regulations. Different consumers would have different tastes and preferences in their life cycles. This is because of the civilization and their lifestyles. It can also be due to income levels.  

Debreifing Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Debreifing - Research Proposal Example Data backup and system documentation had not been addressed (Schmidt, Erek, Kolbe & Zarnekow, 2009). Communication channels in the company were poor thus retrieving information from responsible persons was impossible. â€Å"Lassiter was finding it very difficult to gain information from Kovecki on the progress and status of the system conversion† (Midsouth chamber of commerce, n.d.). A person who clearly understands the roles to be undertaken must head each section/department. Information technology department had to employ a full-time staff with experience in membership organizations and experience on the accounting software to ensure full running of the new system. Simon Kovecki was employed but lacked experience in membership organizations and the accounting software. He wasted a couple of months in learning how the organization operates and training himself on how to use the system. All systems must contain documentation to ensure ease of use (Schmidt, Erek, Kolbe & Zarnekow, 2009). Decision-making role must be well defined to ensure decision pertaining the company is made at the right time; immediately. A specific department to avoid role duplication should do purchasing. UNITRACK software is the best since it is powerful and can handle the matters of the MSCC Company even during its growth. The software is user-friendly and cheap. UNITRAK software firm could have been given chance to install the software and train all the employees as this could have cut cost on training and relieve Kovecki the computer analyst from the training job to handle other system affairs of the company like interviews. Implementation cost could have been cut off since UNITRAK would have done this free of charge (Schmidt, Erek, Kolbe & Zarnekow, 2009). Information technology systems are always complex and need expertise to use. Transforming from the old system to new system (target system) is challenging. Before actual

Mix Racial and Cultural Groups Are Growing in the United States Essay Example for Free

Mix Racial and Cultural Groups Are Growing in the United States Essay Mixed Racial and Cultural Groups is increased by a marginal number in the United States. The growth of these multiracial groups started to surface through migration of different ethnics and raised most of their families in the United States even through marriage. These are some of the issues that have been raised by individual people of having an entity separation of mixed race and cultural or to considered them as Americans without a hyphen. Thinking about this issue myself, and thinking of my two children who married to a different ethnic rather than Samoans. These questions come to mind about this issue: How, Why, and what the three words that needs a big explanation about this matter. According to multiracial Americans, Americans whose identity as two or more races identifies with just one group culturally and socially. From statistics that I got from online, stated that about 2. 9% of the population in the year 2010 are self-identified as multiracial. The identity or the classification of the people’s identification is generally according to the culture they were raised in. Social segregation in many areas of the country is forming interracial unions or cultural group. The diversity of social conditions through migrations brought new groups of people to the United States. Through these migrations, mixed races started to rise when interracial marriage were born and started to increase in the United States. The movement of multiracial identity by more than one ethnicity has taken place and strong. Statistics from the year 2010 census in the United States shows that the largest multiracial groups were white and black which is 1. 8 million. The other 1. 7 millions are white and some other race, white and Asian is 1. 6, white and American Indian and Alaskan Native is 1. 4 million. I have learned that the largest growing group in multiracial is white and black which is about 134%. That is more than 1 million people. MIX RACIAL AND CULTURAL GROUP According to Susan Saulny of the New York Times, title Race Remixed, said that â€Å"sea of change is how we think about race, ethnicity and its place in society†. I believe that a challenge to trend towards multiracial from a sociological perspective is a leap that we should take. The understanding of racial and ethnic categories of their boundaries can be a problem to other multiracial groups. I think that ancestry is the biggest influence in identities through a number of generations through migrations. I also believe that each multi mix or racial group should be treated the same regardless of their identity. If they are legally citizens of the United States, they have the right to be treated equally. I believe that they have contributed to the wellbeing and welfare of the United States through their services in employment within the government, military or private companies. Regardless of the race and ethnicity, they should be treated and considered Americans. President Obama is good example of what I mean about treating them the same no matter what color of their skin or where they are from. I know that some of these mix race entities are trying to separate themselves with-in the United States but when they travel to other countries of the world, they considered be call Americans. As a citizen of New Zealand, I am proud to call myself to be an American and I respect the land that my children were born. What can the United States or these multiracial groups gain from wanting to be separated from their identity. Through my search online, I came across Mrs. Karissa Sulliva’s draft and she said that ancestry influences identities. She said that socialization is the crucible of racial and ethnic identity formation. Farley in 2002, construct racial and ethnic classifications which was adopted by the government for each race or reconsidered themselves to either refuse to identify their own race and ethnic category. MIX RACIAL AND CULTURAL GROUP. I believe that mix racial and cultural groups are increasing daily by the number throughout the United States. However, research shows that children with an original multiracial identity grow up to be happier than those of single-race identity. Some of the statistics shows that another addition to the growth of mix race is through adoption of children from countries outside of the United States. According to Fact’s for Families 2010, parents are coping with these pressures in having open communications with the families about their culture and race. Encouragement and support in every multicultural group for families to be familiar with their language, traditions and customs within their families. They have to support and try to establish a good relationship by creating a network for their children, parents, family member, relatives and the community. In conclusion, the separation and classifications between mix racial and multicultural groups is not an easy task or thing to do. Two of my children are married to different ethnic. My oldest daughter is married to an African American and my son is married to a girl who is beautiful and white but has about four or five mix blood in her. I believe in democracy and the United States is nowhere in having a separation of any mix race and cultural group who are living in the United States. God Bless America, God bless the people of the United States. References: Perez, Anthony Daniel, Hirschman, Charles. The Changing Racial and Ethnic. http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC2882688/ The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (March-2011). Facts for Families, no. 71 Multiracial Children. http://www. aacap. org/galleries/FactsForFamilies/71_multiracial_children. pdf Dr. Nicole Martinez and Mrs. Karissa Sullivan. May 6, 2013 .docx.

Breakfast at Tiffany(TM)s Essay Example for Free

Breakfast at Tiffany(TM)s Essay Breakfast at Tiffanys is a romantic comedy that was released in America in the year 1961. Breakfast at Tiffanys was based on the novella by Truman capote. It introduces a young woman, played by Audrey Hepburn whose profession is a high class males escort, prostitute. When studying the film in more depth, I queried how and why a high class prostitute film could be so popular. In my article I will address and find out how and why the film is still so popular today. The film is a total of 110 minutes in length which is consequently 20 minutes longer than an average romantic comedy of today. The first scene is one of the main reasons why Breakfast at Tiffanys is so popular today. When making a film the opening scene is extremely important and needs to include certain things for the film to be popular and well selling. The opening scene of any film should set the scene and introduce the audience to the surroundings and setting of the film. When we see the character, protagonist, for the first time we are automatically drawn in by her as she is in the foreground and the only thing moving in the scene, our eyes are focused on her. The audience feels connected with her and has an opportunity to be a part of her life. The audience is then introduced to one of the main themes throughout the film of Tiffanys Tiffanys after this film became more popular and some members and shoppers of Tiffanys say that consequently Tiffanys was made by the link of the film and the well known jewellers. As the scene progresses the camera follows her from the side as she walks. Then the camera changes to behind her with the use of an over the shoulder shot to increase the already gained intimacy. The fact that she is an ordinary woman on an average day and she has nothing special makes the audience almost feel they could be her. Another reason why it is still so popular today is that it fits in with the romantic comedy criteria. Every girl or most girls love romantic comedies. The comedy can be identified in many of the scenes. For instance at the part scenes where lots of comedic techniques and ideas are used such as the cigarette burning a womans purple headdress and Holly checking the time on a mans watch consequently pouring a drink on the womans headdress. Also the cat jumping on everybody as they walked through the door. The comedy is basic and not to detailed as to not over power the romantic aspect of the film and this is why the film is still so popular. The soundtrack of the film is based around the song Moon River lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Music by Henry Mancini. The song is a total of 2 minutes 44 seconds and won an Oscar for the best original song. The music can be identified in many of the scenes, if carefully looked for. For instance in the party scene the song Moon River is played in the background but has been edited to create a more up-tempo version. The lyrics of Moon River are totally associated to the life of Holly Golightly. As the actress, Audrey Hepburn was no singer the song was very simple an only sung in one octave which almost makes the performance of the song more believable and the audience can relate to the lyrics more. The soundtrack can still be bought today from amazon and because it is still so widely available that helps the film stay so popular. Due to the advertising of the film, the film was made more popular. The poster that was widely used was the image of Audrey Hepburn on a white background with a border of blue, red and yellow. The poster has many hidden meanings in the images and colours used, for example, the border colours used, when added together, make the background colour of white. The yellow also used could mean wealth and link to jewellery from Tiffanys. Audrey Hepburns name is in capitals and black lettering as the film sold off her name. The picture of the protagonist takes up half of the poster as people aspire to be like her. The title of the film Breakfast at Tiffanys is in a red colour to represent Romance. In the background a shot of the end scene is added to show the setting of the film and to reveal the ending. All these things together make the film still so popular by creating a picture and selection of images which stick in the audiences mind for years to come. This poster can also still be bought in shops and on the internet. On Tuesday 5th December 2006 the Givenchy dress used in the 1961 film, was sold for 1.2 Million dollars which keeps Breakfast at Tiffanys constantly in todays society so the popularity of it is still withheld. Fashion of the 60s is still popular today whether that is because of the film or not, people still dress in 60s clothes and Audrey Hepburn is still kept as an admired icon. The novella that was used to base the film around had a different ending to the film. The ending of the novella resulted in Holly travelling to Brazil and sending Paul a postcard, Holly never wrote to him again. The director made the choice to change the ending for a variety of reasons. The way the novella ended was on a cliff hanger with loose ends which wouldnt make the film popular, so the director of Breakfast at Tiffanys decided to make the ending in to a typical happy, clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½d ending that ties up all loose endings as more people prefer happy endings and they stay popular after time. The way the ending of the film now ends is that the audience can walk away from the film feeling happy and uplifted full of aspiration to be like her. Sinse the ending was changed i believe that it has helped the film to be influential to our culture and stay popular after 50 years due to the film still being a part of todays present society. Breakfast at Tiffanys is still so popular today due to the hard work and important techniques used when making the film, the film was created to achieve all the necessary aspects of a romantic comedy which hasnt changed in the last 50 years consequently making the film still a big hit today.

The company aims and objectives

The company aims and objectives 1 Introduction Strategic management is the way a business will formulate, implement and evaluate its decisions across the departments in order to help the company to achieve its objectives. It means using the company aims and objectives to develop policies and plans, allocate resources in order to implement the plans and then evaluate whether this has been successful. Strategic Planning ensures that an organisation is doing the right things. If a business needs to change the way it runs its business operations then a strategic plan explains what the organisation is changing to. Once it has determined the right things to do, it devolves accountability for doing them right to one or more business plans (Guest 1989). Every organisation has a mission statement setting out its aims and objectives and strategy can be defined as â€Å"The determination of the basic long-term goals and objective of an enterprise and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals† (Alfred Chandler, 1963). Johnson and Scholes (2002 p13) suggested that a company needs a mission and mission statements; a vision or strategic intent; goals; objectives; unique resources and core competences, strategies and control. Strategy was ‘the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term: ideally which mat ches its resources to its changing environment, and in particular to its markets, customers or clients, so as to meet stakeholder expectations. To continue in business and be profitable every business needs a strategy and according to McGee et al (2005)strategy is the ability of a company to thrive and survive. The report will outline the stages, steps and procedures that should be implemented to carryout a strategic analysis as part of the strategic management process. The New Vintage Car Company is a specialist organisation which has a small niche in the specialist car market and a mission statement, objectives and strategic intent. 1.1 Aims and Objectives of the report The aim of the report is write a report about a chosen firm within the automotive industry (real or invented) indicating the stages, steps and processes involved in the planning and analysis, formulation and implementation and evaluation of the strategic management process. 1.2 Objectives To understand the importance and characteristics of strategic management to all forms of organisation To investigate a range of strategic management models and their strengths and weaknesses To consider the relevance for strategic management of organisational culture and ethics To analyse and evaluate a range of strategic management models To apply and to tailor models of strategic management as appropriate 2 Stage One Strategic analysis Generally there are two main approaches to strategic management the organisational approach dealing with competitive advantage, resource allocation and economies or scale and the the human approach. According to Arieu (2007), ‘there is strategic consistency when the actions of an organization are consistent with the expectations of management, and these in turn are with the market and the context. Strategic management can be bottom-up, top-down, or collaborative processes which means that in the bottom up approach employees send in proposals to their managers who choose the best ideas which are assessed through capital budgeting processes such as return on investment or cost benefit whilst the top-down approach is where the CEO and the planning team make the decisions. Johnson (1999 p154) advised that strategic planning was the ‘process of drawing up long-term, wide ranging plans in accordance with the organisations main aims and will involve analysing customer expectations, competitive pressures and overall changes in the market. Operational planning on the other hand was the development of plans for a specific operation within the organisation whether it was for a product or a service. He added that although organisations used information from analysis, quantified objectives which became the organisations targets for a planned period of time, could be based on ‘ guesswork. Strategic management is an ongoing process that evaluates and controls the business and the industries in which the company is involved; assesses its competitors and sets goals and strategies to meet all existing and potential competitors; and then reassesses each strategy annually or quarterly [i.e. regularly] to determine how it has been implemented and whether it has succeeded or needs replacement by a new strategy to meet changed circumstances, new technology, new competitors, a new economic environment., or a new social, financial, or political environment. (Lamb, 1984:ix). As the New Vintage Car Company is a small specialist business it is very much a very collaborative style of strategic management with the 10 main employees taking part in management decisions. 2.1 Strategic management theories Strategic management was a concept which was developed in the 1950s and 1960s which theorised that gathering all the functions under one strategy and coordinating the different departments. Chandler (1962) showed that a long-term coordinated strategy was necessary to give a company structure, direction, and focus stating that ‘structure follows strategy. Selznick theorised that an organisations internal functions should be matched to any external environmental circumstances through SWOT analysis which was developed by the Harvard Business School General Management Group. Anscoff developed a strategy grid to compare market penetration strategies, product development strategies, market development strategies, horizontal and vertical integration and diversification strategies and a gap analysis. Druckers (1969) management by objectives (MBO) meant that companies set objectives and then monitored if they had been achieved and suggested the use of team work. Function strategies incl ude marketing strategies such as new product development strategies, human resource strategies, financial strategies, legal strategies, supply-chain strategies, and information technology management strategies dealing with short and medium term plans. However, Mintzberg (1988) thought of strategy as a process or pattern of behaviour which has evolved over time and necessitated fluidity and the realization that there were unpredictable issues which could arise. 2.2 Analysis Part of the planning process for a company would be to analyse the current market place and the companys position in it. This could be done through various analysis techniques such as PEST, SWOT, Gap analysis, Porters generic strategy analysis. 2.2.1 PEST analysis The PEST analysis could be used by the organisation to look into market growth or decline whilst investigating the position of the company, its potential for future growth and the direction the business should take. PEST stands for Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors, and can be used in conjunction with SWOT which are the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis. PEST can be extended to PESTLE by adding Environmental and Legal or even adding any Political and demographic issues as STEEPLED (Grundy 2006). 2.2.2 SWOT analysis In order to see where the company is in the market place, a SWOT analysis will need to be undertaken. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths would be the type of business and whether is has been well established in the area and has a loyal customer base Weaknesses are anything which may hinder the company in achieving its objectives and which may need to be changed such as financial constraints. Opportunities are the things a companies can use to progress Threats are the issues which affect a company and could potentially threaten the companys futuresuch as thecredit crunch with suppliers closing down, transport costs rising and banks not lending money (Armstrong 1982 p198 Hill Westbrook 1997). 2.2.3 Gap analysis The company will need to judge where there is a gap in the market, either a place for their product or where the company is at the moment and where they would like to be and so the difference is the gap. After this analyis the company needs to decide how to bridge the gap either through a strategic approach or a tactical/operational approach. The tactical operational approach would make use of the Marketing Mix Product, Place, Price, Promotion 2.2.4 The value chain Porter (1998) also theorized that a company could be successful if it contributed to the industry it was in via a value chain which meant that everything a company does should be questioned in terms of what value it adds in the eyes of the final customer. In 1993,John Kay stated that ‘adding value is the central purpose of business activity. 2.3 Competitor analysis A company needs to analyse what its competitors are doing, how well they are doing it and whether they are a real threat. 2.3.1 Competitive advantage and Porters 5 Forces theory Porters 5 Forces Model New entrants, Industry competitors, Suppliers, buyers and substitutes is a useful theory can help for an organisation to formulate the appropriate strategies to be successful in their market (Thurlby, 1998). Porters theory takes 5 elements which can influence a business such as New Entrants to the market and Industry competitors are there any new or similar companies setting up in business which could be a threat and which customers will choose instead of the original company; Suppliers who may be powerful enough to put up prices which the company has to pay or even refusing to do business with the company; Buyers how customers can put pressure on the company to lower prices or alter product lines; Substitutes customers changing to alternative products from another company if there is a product price increase; the use of price cutting and aggressive marketing by other similar rival companies; (Porter 1998). 2.4 The Competitive-positioning approach Companies need to be aware of the competitions own strategies at all times. A competitive advantage can be attained by organisations if the current strategy is value-creating, and not currently being used or activated by competitors or future competitors (Barney, 1991, p102). Choosing the correct market level is important as too high will lose customers and too low may see to many competitors. Porter (1995) thought that there were three routes to competitive advantage. A firm either (1) focused on a particular customer group (2) Specialised in skills competitors cannot match or (3) became the lowest cost producer. Having the competitive advantage means that a company must outperform its competitors by delivering superior value to customers and, in doing so, earn an above average financial return for the company and its stakeholders. Doing this successfully over a long period is sustainable competitive advantage which requires that they outperform their competitors for a long period in a way that customers are prepared to purchase at a sufficiently high price. Campbell et al (2007) argued that there were 8 areas which need to be considered for competitive and sustainable competitive advantage to continue for a company. They need to have a strategic intent to stretch the organisation in the future and be willing to work at continuous improvement which includes inputs, processes and outputs of products and services. They would need to work in a different way to their competitors and importantly they need to be perceived to be better by their customers who need to believe that they are the main r eason for the company being in business to serve their customers. The company must build on their core competences by continuous internal review and keep communication channels open both internally and externally. Its core competency is the restoring of classic cars and all the skills which go with this. The management must be aware that the business environment is constantly changing and they must be prepared to change with it especially during the current recession They need to be aware of their competitors but also know when collaboration and co-operation with competitors through strategic alliances is a necessity. 3 Stage Two Strategic formulation The New Vintage Car Company has formulated a strategy through the planning and analysis of companys SWOT and the gap analysis as well as having looked at the competition which is a few other similar small businesses. Strategy formulation is the process of determining appropriate courses of action for achieving organizational objectives and staying a profitable business. Johnson and Scholes (2002 p11) theorised that there were different levels of strategy: (1) corporate dealing with the ‘overall purpose and scope of an organisation and how value can be added to the business areas of the company and when a company has decided on its products and the market it should compete in (2) business unit strategy deals with how a company can achieve an advantage over its competitors and what opportunities can be identified or created and competitive strategy which is when the company sets out the framework for success in the market it has chosen with goal setting, commitment of resources a nd the monitoring or strategies and (3) operational strategy is how the different areas of a company deliver the corporate strategies with reference to resources, people and processes. Once the strategy has been formulated, the company needs a mission statement, set the aims and objectives and conduct the internal and external analyis of the niche in the market. The company would then implement the strategy by undertaking certain steps such as entering into a partnership or expanding distribution outlets. The strategy will then need to be reviewed. The strategy formulated by a company should reflect an environmental analysis as well as the organisaitonal vision, mission statement and organisational objectives. The way to formulate strategic plans is to use three steps which find out where the company is now, determine where the company wants to go, and then determines how to get there. This may require to take certain precautionary measures or even to change the entire strategy. Johnson and Scholes (2002) strategic model looks at three criteria suitability and whether it will work; feasibility and whether it is possible to make it work and acceptability and whether the strategies will be successful. 3.1 Suitability The strategies for the company need to be suitable for that company and its current and future position in the market. The question to ask is is it economical to pursue the strategies and would there be any cost advantages for the business due expansion (economies of scale) referring to efficiencies associated with supply-side changes, such as increasing or decreasing the scale of production, of a single product type? The company needs to also address the question of economies of scope which means efficiencies primarily associated with demand-side changes, such as increasing or decreasing the scope of marketing or distribution. A company which sells many product lines, sells the same product in many countries, or sells many product lines in many countries will benefit from reduced risk levels as a result of its economies of scope. If one of its product lines falls out of fashion or one country has an economic slowdown, the company will, most likely, be able to continue trading. Thin king of its customers the company needs to look at the experience economy and what their customers will get and how they will feel they receive not only value for money but are getting something extra and feel part of the company experience. This encourages company loyalty. The New Vintage Car Company has a loyal customer base in the UK and has overseas customers in countries where the current financial downturn has not had such as great impact. The company would make use of decision tree analysis and what if analysis. 3.2 Feasibility Feasibility is concerned with the resources required to implement the strategy and whether they are available now or need to be developed or obtained. The resources which would need to be looked at would be (1) finance and funding and whether the company would have enough capital without taking on a loan or issuing more shares; (2) people and whether there would need to be a recruitment drive to employ more skilled craftspeople or even take on apprentices; (3) time and whether the length of time it would take would be prohibitive or whether the time scales involved would be acceptable and (4) information and whether the company has enough expertise and knowledge to expand using the strategies. For this the New Vintage Car Company would need to undertake a cash flow analysis and forecast as well as a break even analysis and a deployment analysis. 3.3 Acceptability Acceptability deals with how the main stakeholders of a company will accept any new strategies. The stakeholders in a company are the shareholders, employees and customers. They will need to know the expected performance outcomes and whether there are risks and what the consequences of a failed strategy would be for the company. The shareholders would want to know that there would be returns on their investments either financial or non financial and the employees would expect improved pay or career prospects and customers would be concerned that they would still get the quality they were used to. An ideal tool for this would be stakeholder mapping. Therefore the formulation of a good workable strategy for the New Vintage Car Company is essential. Strategic formulation allows the company to plan its capital budgeting especially where there are limited funds and capital funds need to be invested where they can be most effective for all the stakeholders. The next stage is implementation. Implementing any strategies will mean a change of some kind. Strategic Planning ensures that an organisation is doing the right things and then doing them right but the strategic plan explains what the organisation is changing to. The Corporate plan would be at the head of the strategic planning with departmental strategic plans and functional strategic plans for other parts of management. What goes into a strategic plan must take into account the needs of the stakeholders, any environmental risks and threats plus the competencies, resources and values that the company has. (http://www.changeperform.com.au/strategic_plan_process.html) 4 Stage Three Strategic implementation and evaluation In order to implement the plans made, there will need to be an allocation of resources including money, people, time and computer support and establishing a chain of command with specific responsibilities given to individuals or groups. This also includes the right training for employees. Strategic management can often be planned or unplanned in that there are unpredictable circumstances as well as those which can be planned for. Once the strategy has been implemented, it will need to be evaluated as to its success or failure once again through SWOT analysis for company strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats both internal and external. The changes that could affect an organisation are any Political Changes such as a change in government, legislation, taxation,; any Economic Changes such as inflation, interest rates, unemployment; Social Changes such as population trends Technological Changes such as breakthroughs, new products and technologies, Implementing any strategies will need time and effort but they should not be imposed. The management of change is an important part of strategic implementation. Change cannot be forced on employees or implemented too quickly or there will be industrial problems. The idea of change is opposed for many reasons including job insecurity; fear of loss of status; pay cuts and job losses; breaks in routine; learning new skills and methods; change of work site and work colleagues. As the New Vintage Car Company is a small business it may be able to weather any of the changes which could affect the business. As the business uses a collaborative approach to management, the employees are part of the decision making process and the strategies which would affect them would be discussed collectively The Paton-Johnson model (2007 p109) can be used, as it suggests sequential stages for the management of change through initial conversations about change; diagnosis of what needs to be changes, how and why; the development of a new vision for the organisation and its employees which is shared and a plan to implement the changes. A useful addition to strategic strategies is Warrs Vitamin Model (1987) which considers the well being of company staff and the changes made in the organisation as vitamins to help the health of the company. Healthy minded employees work well and increase production which benefits the company. Employees need to know they are valued and respected within an organisation and if they do not feel this way they are discontent. 5 Conclusions There are many reasons why strategies fail and companies fail with them. Companies need to understand their market and their competition both now and in the future, know their own strengths and weaknesses and be aware of any opportunities which may come and any threats which are looming. The New Vintage Car Company will need to be confident of their employees competence in handling the new strategy and to introduce the changes gradually and with communication, cooperation and participation. Although strategic management is a complex process it can be handled efficiently although too much constraint may be limiting any future visions for the company. As a collaborative company there are just as many pitfalls as for those with top-down management style ‘too many cooks as well as ‘dictatorships. Strategic management consists of interpreting, and continuously reinterpreting, the possibilities presented by changing circumstances for achieving an organizations objectives. Strategic management processes are essential for an organisations success but they need to be paced and not rushed as this is where mistakes are made. The aim of the report was write a report about a chosen firm within the automotive industry (real or invented) indicating the stages, steps and processes involved in the planning and analysis, formulation and implementation and evaluation of the strategic management process. This was achieved through a brief investigation into the strategic levels associated with the New Vintage Car Company. The objectives of the report were o understand the importance and characteristics of strategic management to all forms of organisation and this was achieved through a review of the levels of the strategic management process and the theories and models with strengths and weaknesses. References Ansoff, I (1965) Corporate Strategy New York: McGraw Hill, Argyle, M. (1972, p.201) The Social Psychology of work, Penguin UK Armstrong J S (1982). The Value of Formal Planning for Strategic Decisions Strategic Management Journal 3: 197-211. Axelrod, R. and Cohen, M. (1999) Harnessing Complexity: Organizational implications of a scientific frontier New York: The Free Press, Chandler A (1962) Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the history of industrial enterprise, New York: Doubleday, Chartered Institute Of Personnel And Development. (2005) Managing change: the role of the psychological contract. Change agenda. London: CIPD. David, F (1989) Strategic Management, Columbus: Merrill Publishing Company, Drucker, Peter (1954) The Practice of Management, New York: Harper and Row, Grundy , T. (2006) Rethinking and reinventing Michael Porters five forces model. Strategic Change. Vol 15, No 5, August. pp213-229 Henry A. (2008) Understanding Strategic Management Oxford University Press Hughes, M. (2006) Change Management: A Critical Perspective. London: Chartered Institute Of Personnel And Development. Johnson B (1999) Introducing Management : a development guide for new managers Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Johnson A Paton K (2007) Health Promotion and Health Services: Management for Change Oxford: Oxford University Press pp107-128 Johnson G Scholes K (2002) Exploring Corporate Strategy London: Pearson Education Ltd Lamb, R B (1984) Competitive strategic management, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, McGee et al (2005) Strategy: Analysis and Practice UK: McGraw Hill Moncrieff, J. Is strategy making a difference? Long Range Planning Review, vol 32, no2, pp273-276. Michaud C Thoenig J C (2003) Making strategy and organization compatible. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Mink/Esterhuysen/Mink/Owen, (1993) Change at Work Action Science Approach cited in Schumacher W D, (1997) Managing Barriers to Business Reengineering Success (Business Process Management Group) (www.bpmg.org) Pettigrew A. and Whipp R. 1993 p.5 Managing for Competitive Success Oxford: Blackwell Porter, M. (1980a) How Competition Forces Shape Strategy, Harvard Business Review, September-October, pp.137-145. Porter, M. (1980b) Competitive Strategy, New York: Free Press. Porter, M. (1998) Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, New York: Free Press. Turner S. (2002) Tools for success: a managers guide. London: McGraw Hill. Warr P (1987) Work, Unemployment and Mental Health Oxford: Oxford Unviersity Press http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/ corpstrtgy/changemmt/chngmgmt.htm accessed 10 May 09 Harvard Business School (2002) Toward Continuous Change: Staying Competitive Through Change Harvard Business School Press (http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?referral=3035id=7188BC) accessed 12 May 09 Appendix A The New Vintage Car Company is a small specialist car making company which restores old classic cars but it looking to branch out into making new build cars based on the classic models of previous decades through a partnership with another small car company which produces self build car building kits for classic cars such as the MG. The company employs a skilled team of classic car body builders, wheelers, panel beaters, wing makers, and fender manufacturers who are skilled in working aluminium, steel, stainless steel, copper, brass and magnesium alloy as well as restoring ash frames from old cars or fabricating new wooden frames. The company has experience as vintage car coachbuilders has helped with classic car projects, from manufacturers including: Alvis; Amilcar; Auto Union; AC; Alfa Romeo; Aston Martin; Allard; Austro Daimler; Bentley; Bugatti; Bristol; BMW; Cadillac; Cisitalia; Cooper; Daimler; Delahaye; Delage; Invicta; Jaguar; Lotus; Lancia; Lagonda; Lamborghini; Maserati; Mercedes; Morgan; Porcshe; Riley; Rolls-Royce; Railton; Sunbeam; Tojeiro; Vauxhall; Veritas. The company has successfully completed a wide range of car commissions, from simple body repairs on existing bodywork to complete restorations and new bodies, sometimes from the most basic of plans. Commissions are from the whole of world motoring history, from fantastic exotica such as the 1938 Alfa Romeo Bimotore and two 1930s Grand Prix Auto-Unions, to a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Gull-Wing Magnesium Coupà ©. (adapted from http://www.rodjolley.com/flash/flashed.html)

Divided We Fall Essay -- essays research papers

"Divided We Fall," a Czech movie about hard decisions and loyalty, not to one's country, but to yourself, is protrayed very well by director Jan Hrebejk. This movie, considered a black comedy, is more than just a true story being told; it shows how hard it was for one family to conseal a Jewish person in their home. Csonger Kassai's character, David, escaped prison in Poland and returned to Czechoslovakia where he thought that someone could help him. He is taken in by his former employee (Bolek Polivka, who plays Josef), who is reluctant at first, but spends the next two years lying in order to save David, himself, and his wife, Marie (Anna Siskova). Throughout the film, there are many close calls. The worst one is that Marie told Horst (a worker for the Nazis, who always comes over uninvited) that she is pregnant (in order to save David), although everyone knows the couple want children, but have never had any. Although you think that the couple have the hardest part of keeping David a secret, it's hard for David, especially at the end where he has to show his face in order to save the people who have consealed him. The setting of the house where Josef and Marie lived was a very good example of what most non-Jewish people would live in. It was small, but cosy just enough for two people. It also included a pantry which was turned into a shelter for David. Not many shots were taken out of the house and that ones that were taken of the street told the audience a lot, especially during the resistance. That scene showed people blowing up houses where collaborators lived, breaking glass windows, and running around the street chaotic. The cinematic techniques added much emotion to the story created on screen. Everytime there was a very important section or Nazis knocking on Josef's door, the cameras seemed to be slowing down just a little bit, as if to tell the audience "Okay, now it's the time to pay attention." Throughout the film, Hrebejk knew where to put the cameras in order to get the best take of a scene, which enhanced the view of watching the movie and added suspence to it. The music suited the movie very nicely. By the type of music playing, you could determine what sort of scene was coming up, either fast and light... ... it was his home, in order to save Josef and Marie from the Nazis searching their house. In that part, he did what was right. The perpetrators in the film would have been the Nazis who persecuted any family who had a Jew hiding with them. The victim was, of course, David. The collaborator was mainly Horst, but at time, Josef, when he really neede to be. The recuers were Josef and Marie, and at some times, Horst too. Some could say that, in order to save Josef, Marie and Horst, David was the rescuer. Simacek (played by Jiri Pecha0 would be also considered a rescuer since he never told the truth about Horst not being a real doctor. There seemed to be no bystanders in this film. The name of the film, "Divided We Fall," is only part of the phrase that was used througout the whole film. "United we stand, divided we fall' was the quote used mostly by Horst when he wanted to uplift Josef's feelings. It seemed easy to stand united but when trouble occurs, divided is what most people will be. The film showed, especially at the end, that people could be united even through tough times and even though they feel like going against their conscience.

Pompey :: essays research papers

Question: Account for Pompey’s rise to political prominence between 78- 62 BC. You are to examine and analyse political machinations of Pompey and attempt to explain how he managed to fulfil his ambition. You must establish a clear understanding of the complexities of the political situation and the effects of the Civil War. Gnaeus Pompeius Crassus, better known as Pompey, or Pompey the Great, was born on September the 20th, 106 BC. Pompey was a Roman general and statesman, the erstwhile ally of Julius Caesar, but later his arch rival for power. Pompey was born in Rome into a senatorial family, and established an impressive military record. He brought an end to the Servile War instigated by the slave Spartacus; cleared the Mediterranean Sea of pirates; conquered the kingdoms of Pontus, Armenia and Syria; and captured Jerusalem in 61 BC. He entered Rome in triumph, but encountered opposition from the Senate. Pompey then formed an alliance, commonly called the First Triumvirate, with Julius Caesar and Marcus Licinius Crassus. The career of Pompeius opened in fraud and violence. It was instigated, in war and peace, through illegality and treachery. Pompey was a great general, but a bad politician. Pompey helped to end the slave revolt of Spartacus in 72 BC. Because of his leadership abilities, Pompey was elected consul in 70 BC. However, he ran into opposition in the senate, especially from Marcus Crassus, and returned to leading the army to more conquests. Pompey was an opportunist, he worked by himself, all the while leading the senate to think that he was working with them. He manipulated the senate to make out that Caesar was dangerous. Pompey became the most powerful man in Rome. During the time of his political prominence, the senate was very weak. Because of Pompeys popularity with the public and his military ability, along with his opportunism, he rose to this political prominence by his political machinations. The Civil War between Gnaeus Marius and Lucius Sulla was a major factor that effected his political situation. Pompey was a young, confident man who had a habit to boast of the magnitude of his clientela, to advertise monarchs and nations bound to his personal allegiance. (Ad fam. 9, 9, 2: ‘regum ac nationum clientelis quas oestentare crebro solebat). Pompey had from Thrance to the Causasus and down to Egypt acknowledging his predominance. The worship of power, paid homage to Pompey as a god, a saviour and a benefactor, devising before long a novel title, ‘the warden of earth and sea’.

Commercial Bank Service Delivery

Commerce Bank INDUSTRY: Banking SERVICE: Checking Accounts & Loans COMPANY/BRAND: Commerce Bank SOURCE: HBS Premier Case Collection WRITTEN BY: Frances X. Frei, Corey Hajim PUBLICATION DATE: Dec 02, 2002 PROD. #: 603080-PDF-ENG Reader's comments would be much appreciated and replied to!!! Analyze Commerce Bank's service delivery system prior to ‘Retailtainment’. Base your analysis on the following heads: Service OfferingFunding Mechanism Employee Management System Customer Management System ANALYSIS: Commerce Bank’s Service Delivery System Commerce Bank’s entire banking and operational philosophy is designed around creating a retail experience for the customer. This was unusual for the entire banking industry and thus a great source of differentiation from both the operational standpoint and from the service delivery design perspective.This meant that the entire value proposition from the customers’ standpoint depended on the design of the service en vironment/theater including the 3 service marketing mix variables This can be seen from employee comments and facts in the case about these variables Product: â€Å"We believe the value of a bank is not its loan base but rather the deposit base† – Vernon Hill (Chairman & CEO) Price: â€Å"We are generally the lowest ratepayers in every market† – Vernon Hill (Chairman & CEO) Place: ‘†¦ eciding where to put a branch was just as important as what the building looked like.. ’ Promotion: ‘Commerce spent $500,000/branch in NYC on promotion†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and ‘Red and blue painted Commerce vans with an emblazoned logo’ People: â€Å"This is not a job for someone who ‘s interested in being cool or indifferent† – John Manning (Employee Trainer) Process: â€Å"the way we look at credit and credit quality is a lot tougher†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – Falese Physical Evidence: â€Å"They i. . customers know what th e deal is whenever they visit one of our banks† – John Cunningham (CMO) The Chairman and CEO, Vernon Hill has been able to do this by understanding 2 very important aspects or critical success factors of the banking business Understanding the Nature of the Servicescape: Despite trends (cross selling & non-interest revenue) in the banking industry moving towards the more remote delivery mode (Pg. : Most banks actively encouraged customers to move their transactions from full-service channels to self-service channels†¦monetary penalties for using the more expensive channels†¦charging $3 to visit the teller), he understood that because banking as a service depended so heavily on the service attributes of searchability, experience and credence and the nature of the servicescape was in essence that of an Elaborate- Interpersonal type Reducing the Listening Gap (from Gap Model of Service Quality): In comparison to other banks in the industry which competed on keepin g a low-interest ratio, he rightly understood the customers’ real need by competing instead on service, convenience and other intangible service differentiators (Pg. 6: †¦the competition is beating on the 3% i. e. ustomers wanting a higher interest rate; we decided to compete on the 62% i. e. customers wanting convenience) Keeping this in mind we can now look at the 4 dimensions its Service Delivery system prior to ‘Retailainment’ Service Offering In light of this, the bank’s entire service offering can be visualized as in the figure below: Here we can see that the service offering in itself is split into CORE OFFERING: This is not very different from what other banks in the industry offer. However, from an execution standpoint their focus was different, because their strategic intent for both operations and growth was that Bank Value is ‘Deposit Base’ NOT ‘Loan Base’. Their core offering i. e. anking services included Deposi ts or Checking accounts (first 3 years no monthly service fees and free 1st order of checks) Sr. No. Type Minimum Balance Details 1 Standard Checking $100 No monthly service fees 2 Interest Checking $1000 No monthly service fees, Unlimited check writing, Interest 3 50 Plus Club $100 No account maintenance charge for checking account with interest, free checks, money orders, notary service and travelers’ checks 4 Consumer Checking None No per check charge for first 8 checks/month for $3 monthly fee Table 1: Commerce Bank’s Deposit Product Line Loans: Commerce’s value is not in its loan base but in its deposit base.So for Commerce, loans are not given out as easily as other banks in the industry which believe that growth is in loans since deposit growth can occur only with the lowest interest rate. However, credit quality checks for loan approval is very stringent ATMs: Withdrawals were available at any ATM and purchases anywhere Visa was accepted. Transactions w ere immediately reflected in accounts and statements Cash Reserve Line: All accounts could be combines with a Cash Reserve Line to ensure protection from overdrafts SUPPLEMENTARY SERVICE: Commerce has 8 supplementary services (4 facilitators and 4 differentiators) which allow for superior customer service: FACILITATORS DIFFERENTIATORS InformationCommerce decided to use Live agents over the phone instead of Voice Response Unit (VRU)to talk to customers Consultation Branch manager (also the Loan officer) consults/advises loan applicants and helps to manage both loans & deposits Order Taking (Banking context: Cash withdrawal & loan application process)  · Loans were assigned to service branch instead of Head office for easy access for customer  · Weekend banking facilities were provided to allow customers to bank on Saturdays & Sundays Hospitality  · Helpline phones at ATMs  · Employee escorts with umbrellas during rains  · Lollipops and dog biscuits at drive through banking windows  · Coffee and newspapers in waiting lobbies Billing Banking context: Loan approval and monthly statement generation process)  · Loan applicant had to personally sign-off by on loan papers at service branch  · Online Monthly statements Safe Keeping (Banking context: Peace of mind about account balances and check deposits)  · Immediate updating of ATM withdrawals in online statements  · A ‘Check View’ feature on Commerce’s website Payment (Banking context: Loan repayment process)  · Payment is easier for customer and assured for bank, since loan customer also has a deposit at service branch Exception handling (Banking context: Coin currency & Irregular hours )  · ‘Penny arcades’ to handle coins  · Midnight timing at busy locations 10 minute rule to increase banking hours by 20 minutes in a day’ operation Table 2: Commerce Bank’s Supplementary Services mix As a result of this unique service offering design, Commerce has produced above average results in its undifferentiated core offering: Comparison Parameter Commerce’s Value Industry or Competitor Value Deposit Growth (1996-2001) 30% US Banking Industry-20% (98-01) Deposit Growth (2001) 40% US Banking industry – 5% Online Usage 34% Wells Fargo – much lower Net Income growth (1998-2001) 200% (Double) US Banking industry – 20% Table 3: Commerce Bank’s Performance Comparison Funding Mechanism Commerce’s funding mechanism can be looked at from 2 perspectivesCommerce’s own startup and growth strategy (how it funded it’s own growth) Commerce’s banking and lending operations (how it functions as a bank) Startup and Growth Strategy Founded in 1973 with $ 1. 5 million as startup capital (assumed to be seed capital not VC funding) Chairman & CEO, Vernon Hill did not believe in M&As as a growth strategy but as a cost-cutting measure Started operations as a community bank in southern New Jers ey Used the retail franchise expansion model (without acquisitions) to grow Expanded into branches in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York Concentrated on seeing customer as a revenue-generator (not cost center).However, cross-selling was not encouraged since main revenue stream was considered as deposits Expansion into New York was done organically (Branches were wholly owned and run by Commerce and promoted heavily (Spends – $500,000 per branch) By 2001, Commerce had $ 1 billion in core deposits Banking and Lending Operations Commerce’s 2 basic product categories were: Deposits (Debits) and Loans (Credits). Its operations as compared to the Industry can be analyzed as below: Product Category v Commerce’s Philosophy: Focus is consumer business (Deposits) Best value from both (conventional & electronic) channels Low-expense ratios are bad Outgoing friendly service Industry Trend: Cross-Selling products Preference to electronic channels Non-interest income revenue Pushing customers out of store(bank) DepositsRates need not be the highest in the industry (only 3% want this) Longer operating hours allow for more time for customer service (62% want this) Non-interest income revenue (i. e. ATM charges) must be used as competitive advantage to grow and not simply be an addition to the bottom line They are transaction-oriented and low growth Dozen or more types of checking accounts $5 monthly fee for Internet Banking facilities Loans Assigned to customer service branches that received credit for deposits Loan-deposit ratio low Stringent credit quality checks Customers mostly commercial real estate projects, mortgages and consumer loans Loan officer is also branch managerLoan delivery is centralized leading to customer and loan officer disconnect Loans are 90% of deposit base (2001) Lower credit quality loans (i. e. sub-prime mortgages) get approved Loans not linked to deposits RESULT > Deposit Growth (2001) – 40% Online Usage – 34% N et Income growth (1998-2001) – 200% Loan & Deposit growth (1998-2001) – 20% Deposit Growth (2001) – 5% Non-interest income growth – 27% Interest Income growth – 11% Customer attrition – 1/3rd of customer base Table 4: Commerce Bank’s Funding Mechanism Employee Management System Commerce’s Employee Management System can be broken up into Hiring Training Work Autonomy Workplace involvement Rewards Appraisal or Performance Measurement HIRINGPolicy emphasizes internal (among employees) and external (customers & employees) engagement Extensive interviews (2000 interviews for 40 positions in Manhattan branch) Experience about local and entrepreneurs given high importance Interviews used to know about competitors and their best performers TRAINING WOW program (process improvement) for all employees to be trained and integrated into the Commerce culture (‘Traditions’ class) Commerce University (full time education and trai ning facility) Easy to remember framework for learning Commerce service deliver model: SMART (Say YES to customers, Make each customer feel special, Always keep customer promises, Recover, Think like a customer) Continued business education for senior executives WORK AUTONOMY ‘Kill the stupid rule’ program to suggest improvements WORKPLACE INVOLVEMENTAll employees encouraged to hand out their visiting cards to recruit potential employees Redeemable WOW! Stickers WOW! Awards and Musical performances Red Fridays (Pictures taken of those employees who are wearing red) Mascots – Mr. C , Buzz and Dr. Wow REWARDS Glamorous prizes for top performers (like a leased Porsche Boxster for 1 year) $5000 reward for the staff of nearest Commerce branch where a competitor closed down $50 reward for suggesting improvement in the ‘Kill the rule’ program (mentioned above) APPRAISAL OR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT All shops (branches) performance data on an internal database open to all branch managers Salary increases based on shopping (No. f deposits) results Mystery shoppers visited 14000 shops (branches) annually for evaluating employees, customer-service reps for compliance with greeting and other procedures Competition between branches in different regions in the form of Leagues (assuming this is like football or baseball leagues) to get the best service report Table 5: Commerce Bank’s Employee Management System Customer Management Systems Commerce’s Customer Management Systems or customer-centric programs can be divided into: Customer Acquisition Programs Customer Retention Programs Both these have some customer ‘delight’ features which are called as such because they are against industry norms and unexpected by customers Acquisition Industry NormEmployees were encouraged to cross-sell products (deposit account and loan products) Employees’ key performance measures were volume of calls handled and number of tran sactions processed rather than customer satisfaction or repeat customers Customers were seen as cost centers and in order to keep a low-expense ratio were pushed to use the electronic channels (full-service to self-service) Also, customers using the conventional personal (teller) banking channel were penalized through extra fees This savings in the marginal cost was then used to give a higher interest rate which banks felt was the only way to attract new customers. These are the result not understanding why customers selected their banks in the first place. In addition to proximity, customers chose banks based on service. Vernon Hill, CEO & Chairman, Commerce Bank understood this and built it into Commerce’s Customer Management System Commerce’s customer acquisition methodology Branches located close to competitors branches Branches are designed to be inviting, open windows (Note: this is a visual ‘Cue’ designed into the physical evidence variable.It shows honesty and transparency) and ample parking Red & blue painted commerce vans helped create free advertising opportunities Building designs across all branches were consistent (Note: This gives a consistent message to the customer – Integrated marketing communication) Very high promotional spends for every new branch in the form of direct mailings, subway ads, phone kiosks and free food (like 10,000 hot dogs in Commerce napkins) First time customer is given 4 simple checking account options (See Table 1) and First time customer is given a free gift for opening an account Employees treat customers with outgoing friendly service and do not try to cross-sell products or push customers out of the store after they finish their transactions Loan applicants were encouraged to open deposit accounts first Retention Industry Norm All banks provided the same ease-of-use electronic banking features along with their extensive branch networks. Also, existing Customers were expected to be c omfortable in a different environment and deal with a different culture when banks merged. In spite of this, even the best retail banks lost 15% customers/yr as the following table shows: Sr. No. Reason for leaving of customer base 1. Dissatisfaction with steep fees and fee surprises, poor service and errors 34 2. Outside of reach of current branch locations 34 3. Availability of more convenience such as longer hours in other banks 15 Table 6: Customer attrition in the Banking Industry Commerce’s customer retention methodology Analyzing the facts of the case, it can be clearly seen that Commerce’s customer retention program targeted exactly those pain points (See Table 6) which caused customers to switch banks. Convenience Extended banking hours (10 minute rule allowed for 20 minutes of extra banking everyday) Busy locations were open till midnight (12:10 am)Weekend banking (Saturdays & Sundays) which started in Jersey shore were extended to all branches Exactly same e nvironment across all branches (Note: This feature was lost after ‘‘Retailainment’ program was launched) Phones in ATMs reach helplines Live agents instead of VRUs Boundary-spanning Roles and Interface Employee conduct monitored by mystery shoppers for friendliness (handshakes), consistency in greeting and other procedural details when dealing with customers Employee appraisals and salary increases linked to branch performance (which is linked to service quality) and not volume of transactions handled Live agents dress codes stricter than other call center settings Personal attention Guidance to manage deposit accounts by branch managersLoan accounts handled by local customer service branches and not central headquarters Guidance to manage loan accounts by loan officers (who also happened to be branch managers) Customer delight features No fees for ATM and check cards Non-interest income (ATM charges/fees for using other bank’s ATMs) returned to customers E mployee escorts with umbrellas to cars during rains ‘Penny Arcade’ program to handle coins with no charge either customers or non-customers (Note: This might have even helped customer acquisition) Gifts (pens and lollipops) at drive-through banking windows All these helped drive the growth engine of Commerce Bank. It grew to $1 billion in deposits by 2001. While the net income for the industry stood at 20%, Commerce doubled its net income in the period 1998 -2001.

God’s Business Man Essay

A successful Christian business man may sound like an oxymoron, but that was R. G LeTourneau. He built big, powerful machinery that could do things that no other machine could do before, but he also believes that a Christian business man owes as much to God as a preacher does (LeTourneau, 1967). Mr. LeTourneau states, â€Å"God needs businessmen as partners as well as preachers† (1967). Imagine a man becoming a very successful Christian business man, the founder of LeTourneau University, and a leader of many missionary works. The proceeding essay will discuss the man, his faith, and my personal reflection of R. G. LeTourneau. R. G. LeTourneau-The Man- Robert Gilmour LeTourneau (November 30, 1888 – June 1, 1969) was born in Richford, Vermont. R. G. Letourneau had little interest in a formal education, and left school at the young age of fourteen. While working in Portland, Organ at the East Portland Iron Works, as a machinist, he studied mechanics from an International Correspondence School, but never finished. Although he did not earn a formal education he did become famously know for earthmoving machinery, which he was granted hundreds of patents for his inventions. The bulldozer, bridge spans, scrapers of all sorts, rollers, dump wagons, the electric wheel, logging equipment, portable cranes, and many others are examples of his revolutionary inventions. R. G. LeTourneau always had a positive attitude, and did not quit when he faced problems. He prayed about the issues, reviewed them, and continued to work hard until he resolved the problems. R. G. LeTourneau once said â€Å"The only difference between can and can’t is a little extra effort† (1967). R. G. LeTourneau- His Faith-Mr. LeTourneau was also known to be a Christian business man that was very generous. He was the founder of a private Christian university, LeTourneau University, in Longview, Texas as well as a philanthropist to many Christian causes. His life’s verse was Matthew 6:33: â€Å"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (1967). He was the fourth child with five brothers and three sisters, and he was described as a restless, impulsive, energetic, determined, ambitious, and a hard worker. He clashed most with his father as a young boy. Later in life LeTourneua married Evelyn Peterson, and helped raise four boys and one daughter. When R. G. LeTourneau turned 30 he dedicated his life to God and did so for the next fifty years. He was respected by his employees and business par tners as a Christian business man. He worked personally alongside his employees, at the controls of his machines, and closely with business partners at corporate meetings. Mr. LeTourneau practiced his faith and communicated it with his employees and others by publishing a paper called NOW, and it reached others worldwide spreading his Christian message. R. G. LeTourneau- My Personal Reflection-Mr. LeTourneau said â€Å"When I visualize a 150-ton crane, I want to see it lift 10 ton the next morning† (1967). I have the same personality traits as Mr. LeTourneau, which is being determined and ambitious. I understand his motivation and vision for inventing new machines. I am personally doing this in my current position at work. I help others by showing them a new way to do things, and assist them with the design and commissioning of the ideas we envision. Another quote from LeTourneau states â€Å"If you waste dollars for me, it’s not too serious- I can make that up. But don’t waste my time – it can’t be recalled† (1967). I understand this quote, because I have learned that my time is very important and time management is imperative for me to be successful in my life, both professionally and personally. I have learned that R. G. LeTourneau was an amazing person, and one of his most impressionable accomplishments was that he founded LeTourneau University. I am filled with joy that I have chosen to earn my business degree from LETU, because I will not only earn my business degree, but will also develop my relationship with God. In conclusion, R. G. LeTourneau â€Å"God’s Businessman† was truly an amazing person. He was a great inventor of earthmoving equipment as well as a generous Christian philanthropist. He founded a private Christian university named LeTourneau University, and conference grounds that carry his name. He believed that God came first and everything else will follow. Mr. LeTourneau was a hardworking man, who preferred to spend his time at the drawing board or spending time on the factory floor with his workers, than live the high-life with other successful businessmen. R. G. LeTourneau suffered a stroke in March 1969, which he never recovered from, and died on June 1, 1969. LeTourneau is known for his earth moving equipment, but will be remembered as â€Å"God’s Businessman†.

Exhibition Learning Essay

Art is controversy. Even with words and visuals, it cannot be explained in its full essence. It can be felt, it can be understood, but it cannot be explained by anyone. It can be explained by the artworks themselves and for each individual, the meaning is different. One of the most common ways to showcase different forms or kinds of art is through exhibitions. An exhibition is a display, a presentation of something for the public. For an artist to have a solo exhibition, or to be included in a major exhibition, it is already an honor. However, in putting up or organizing an exhibition, many things have to be taken into consideration. Exhibitions may focus on one artist, one group, one genre, or one theme and they may include anything from paintings, drawings, sculptures, videos, or interactive pieces. Usually, when exhibitions feature different artists, the works have the same theme or the genre. For example, one exhibition which Chen Quilin participated in centered around the effect on Chinese culture by urban development. Now, there are major reminders on how to put up a good and effective exhibition. One technique is to use only one size for print art, and also putting captions on the artworks. The size is important so that the appearance is consistent and organized. The grouping of the artworks must be according to artist or to theme. Another factor is the use of leaflets, brochures or pamphlets. This is very helpful so the visitors will have something to take home and perhaps use as future references. These may contain facts about the artists, their works, and schedules for exhibitions. The equipment to be used is also a major factor. Every small detail concerning the materials must be well planned out and thought of. Tables, decorations, technical equipment must be organized and placed in the area in such a way that it is not distracting. For example, some use panel boards to mount the photographs. Some exhibitions also prefer to hang paintings on the walls. For sculptures, where to place them is indeed very tricky. The venue must have an artistic feel, and yet, still look organized. The placing of the artworks must be creative, not crowded, and yet in such a way that the audience will be able to see everything in the exhibition and not miss a single artwork. Another tricky part in exhibition is the promotion and the publicity associated with it. The target audience must be decided, as well as how to invite the public to come and view the exhibition. The effect of the publicity is mostly due to an attention-grabbing and effective display, or banner. It is also recommended that the hosts entertain the visitors and encourage them to ask questions and to look at the other pieces. Planning an exhibition is definitely not an easy task. There are more factors to remember, aside from the ones stated previously. The process of planning must not be rushed, or else the quality of the exhibition might suffer. It is important to understand every single detail as to ensure the success of the exhibition. It is also fulfilling to plan exhibitions because of the privilege to show the public the different pieces and interpretations of art that the artists have created. Works Cited Stenning, A. â€Å"How to Put Up the Best Exhibition Display. † 18 August 2008 Articlesbase. 6 May 2010 â€Å"How to set up an exhibition† May 1999 Protetch, M. â€Å"Chen Quilin 2007† 5 April 2007-5 May 2007 One Art World. Your Dictionary.

A Proposal of Metrics for Botnet Detection based on its Cooperative Behavior

The primary contribution of the paper is the proposal of three metrics that can help identify the presence of botnets in a wide area network (WAN). The proposed metrics, namely relationship, response and synchronization are measured with respect to the traffic over a WAN. It is assumed that the behavior of botnets will recurrently exhibit these metrics. The authors define relationship as the connection that exists between the bots and bot master of a botnet over one protocol. This metric tries to detect the structure of a botnet’s relationship by analyzing the network traffic.It is observed that the response time to commands received by a legitimate host varies significantly while that of botnets is comparatively constant. The response time as a metric can thus help detect botnets. As the bots present in a botnet are programmed to carry out instructions from the bot master on a predetermined basis, it is assumed that their activities will synchronize. An analysis of the networ k traffic can possible help identify synchronized activity between hosts, thus detecting botnets.The metrics are evaluated by analyzing traffic measured in the Asian Internet Interconnection Initiatives (AIII) infrastructure over a period of 24 hours. The analysis validates the metrics proposed as a dense topology relationship, short range of response times and synchronization of activities are detected in the presence of a botnet. The authors propose that a combination of all the metrics be used for detecting a botnet. The design of an algorithm to detect botnets based on a combination of the three metrics has been identified as future work. Summary of â€Å"IRC Traffic Analysis for Botnet Detection†The paper addresses the problem of detecting botnets by modeling the behavior of botnets. The main idea of the paper is to analyze network traffic, model the behavior of botnets based on the analysis and use pattern recognition techniques to identify a particular behavior model a s belonging to a botnet. The proposed model for detecting botnets analyses traffic that uses the IRC protocol. A traffic sniffer is used to analyze packets in the promiscuous mode. The protocol detector detects traffic using the protocol of interest to the analysis, in this case IRC.The packets are decoded using the IRC decoder and the behavior models are built. The detection engine detects a botnet based on the behavior model. The features used to build a behavior model include features related to a linguistic analysis of the data that passes through an IRC channel in addition to the rate of activity in the channel. It is observed that the language used by bots has a limited vocabulary and uses many punctuation marks. The language used by humans is observed to have a wider mean and variance with respect to the words used in a sentence. The features used to model the behavior of botnets hare listed.The experiments have been conducted with clean data collected from chat rooms and bot net data collected at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Pattern recognition is performed using support vector machines (SVMs) and J48 decision trees and the results are reported in terms of confusion matrices. Though the botnets are detected using the above methods, the authors report that a further analysis of the data is necessary. Unsupervised testing of the model and expansion of the model for adaptation to other scenarios is proposed as future work. Summary of â€Å"The Automatic Discovery, Identification and Measurement of Botnets†The paper proposes a technique for identifying and measuring the botnets used to deliver malicious email such as spam. The implementation and performance of the proposed technique has been presented. The authors are of the opinion that the existing methods for detecting botnets used to send spam use significant amount of resources and are often applicable only after a botnet has been operational over a period of time. The authors propose a passive method for identifying botnets by classifying the email content. The headers present in the emails are used to group the mails.The authors assume that a botnet has a central center for control and that the same program is used by a botnet for creating and sending spam emails. Based on these the authors propose to classify emails by a passive analysis of the header content present in them. The Plato algorithm is proposed to identify the sender and the program used to send the email. The performance of the Plato algorithm is analyzed based on the following factors: clustering, durability, isolation and conflicts. The analysis is performed on a sample data containing 2. 3 million emails. In the dataset 96% emails are identified as having a probability of being spam.The algorithm is observed to successfully reflect the features associated with spam email. It helps group the emails based on the characteristics of the sender and the sending program. This grouping of emails can hel p identify a botnet and thus enable the membership and size of the botnet. The authors propose that the algorithm can be further used for classifying bulk emails, to understand the relationship between spam and viruses and as a replacement for spam filters using statistical methods. Summary of â€Å"Towards Practical Framework for Collecting and Analyzing Network-Centric Attacks†The paper proposes a network-centric framework based on an awareness of risk to help detect attacks from a botnet and prevent these attacks. The authors state that the bots follow certain network traffic patterns and these patterns can be used to identify a bot. The proposed framework consists of three main components, namely bot detection, bot characteristics and bot risks. The first component, bot detection, is used to detect known and unknown bots that try to penetrate the system. A honeypot based malware collection system component is used to attract bots to the honeypot and thus help detect bots. After the bots have been detected the characteristics of the bots are analyzed. The behavior of bots and their characteristics are identified by analyzing known malware, network traffic patterns and detecting the existence of any correlation between various instances of a malware. Various components are used to perform each of the tasks involved in bot characterization. To determine the risks posed by bots, the vulnerabilities present in the existing system are identified. The risk posed by a host with certain characteristics is calculated based on the vulnerabilities associated with the system. Thus the risk factor can be modified on demand.A combination of the identified characteristics and the associated risks is evaluated when a decision regarding the blocking of traffic is made. The authors present results that demonstrate the ability of the proposed framework to detect different types of bots. The feasibility of the proposed framework has been demonstrated. Enhancing of the co rrelation system and integration of the risk aware system with the architecture are proposed as future work. Summary of â€Å"Wide-Scale Botnet Detection and Characterization† The paper proposes a methodology based on passive analysis of the traffic flow data to detect and characterize botnets.A scalable algorithm that gives information about controllers of botnets is proposed based on analysis of data from the transport layer. Four steps have been identified in the process of detecting botnet controllers. Suspicious behavior of hosts is identified and the conversations pertaining to this host are isolated for further evaluation. These are identified as suspected bots. Based on the records of suspected bots, the records that possible represent connections with a controller are isolated. This is referred to as candidate controller conversations in the paper.These candidate controller conversations are further analyzed to identify suspected controllers of botnets. The analysis is based on calculating the following: the number of unique suspected bots, distance between model traffic and the remote server ports, heuristics that gives a score for candidates that are possible bot controllers. The suspected controllers are validated in three possible ways: correlation with other available data sources, coordination with a customer for validation and validation of domain names associated with services (Karasaridis, Rexroad, & Hoeflin, 2007).The botnets are classified based on their characteristics using a similarity function. An algorithm is proposed for the same. The authors report the discovery of a large number of botnet controllers on using the proposed system. A false positive of less than 2% is reported based on correlation of the detected controllers with other sources. Also the proposed algorithm is reported to successfully identify and malicious bots. The future work is identified as the need to expand the algorithm for other protocols and analysis of the evolution of botnets.References Akiyama, M. , Kawamoto, T. , Shimamura, M. , Yokoyama, T. , Kadobayashi Y. , & Yamaguchi, S. (2007). A proposal of metrics for botnet detection based on its cooperative behavior. Proceedings of the 2007 International Symposium on Applications and the Internet Workshops. 82-85. Castle, I. , & Buckley, E. (2008). The automatic discovery, identification and measurement of botnets. Proceedings of Second International Conference on Emerging Security Information, Systems and Technologies. 127-132. Karasaridis, A. , Rexroad, B., & Hoeflin, D. (2007). Wide-scale botnet detection and characterization. Proceedings of the First Conference on First Workshop on Hot Topics in Understanding Botnets. 7-14. Mazzariello, C. (2008). IRC traffic analysis for botnet detection. Proceedings of Fourth International Conference on Information Assurance and Security. 318-323. Paxton, N. , Ahn, G-J. , Chu, B. (2007). Towards practical framework for collecting and analyzing n etwork-centric attacks. Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Information Reuse and Integration. 73-78.