Ethics Goes To Hollywood Essay

When we think of ethics with regards to Hollywood, some people might even question if there really are any left? With the growing number of moralists and critics that easily target Hollywood, ethics has become an important factor that seems to be set aside. Many of the movies that are being shown today presents violence, nudity and lack of values incorporated with the film. But there can always be an argument about how is ethics really perceived through the movie industry? Some might doubt but actually when we look pass through over-all violence and those unacceptable factors to moralists, some movies do posses ethics in them. Most of the time, those ethics are just overlooked by the over-all presence of the movie. When we analyze and breakdown a movie and study the characters there is a great opportunity to realize the moral fiber of the film. In recent memory, there are only a few movies that have produced an unusual style of presentation in the silver screen. One of those movies showed up during 2007 through a film titled â€Å"300†. It was based from Frank Miller’s graphic novel also named â€Å"300†. This movie adaptation of the novel is also based from the Battle of Thermopylae that was retold in a fictional sense. To further analyze the movie, the following paragraph will showcase the movie’s summary. Beginning with the presentation on a how a Spartan boy grows up and how he emerges to be king of Sparta, the movie was narrated by Dilios, a spartan soldier who was able to live and tell the tale. After years of being Sparta’s king, Leonidas received a messenger who was sent by the Persian ruler Xerxes. The messenger presented an offer that enraged king Leonidas, leading the messenger kicked down a seemingly bottomless pit. The message was sent clear, the Persian army is about to come, to invade Sparta and add it up to their growing territory. King Leonidas then consulted the Ephors, priests who consult the oracle for answers from the gods. Proposing a plan to block the Persian army by defending the Hot Gates of Thermopylae, King Leonidas was furious by the Ephors’ advice of not to fight because the oracle said that it was forbidden and the gods will get enraged if they do. Despite all of this, Leonidas stood strong with his firm decision to defend the Hot Gates. He gathered 300 of the greatest Spartan soldiers and assembled a party that would hold off thousands of Persians. As they have reached the Hot Gates, they defended it for days just to protect Sparta. King Leonidas courageously led the way by standing strong to his principles until the end. The number of the Persian army was too much for the 300 Spartans and eventually led to their deaths. Only one soldier was tasked to return to Sparta to tell the tale, Dilios, who forever made Leonidas and the 300 Spartans, remembered. LEONIDAS AND HIS VIRTUES The whole essence of the story evolved in Leonidas’ answer to his ethical dilemma that concerned with his decision to push through despite a number of people prohibiting him. One example was when he was discouraged by the Ephors or priests to pursue his plan because it was the time of the Carneian festival. His ethical dilemma would be is that if he pushes through with his plan, he would be disrespecting the Carneian but he would be able to salvage some time to defend Sparta. Despite the senate’s disapproval of sending the whole Spartan army, Leonidas faced his dilemma by standing strong with his beliefs and forming an army of 300 to continue his plan. Another example would be seen during the scene where the Persians were negotiating with Leonidas. First was during the arrival of the Persian messenger who offered Leonidas salvation of the Spartans from the Persian army if he yields. Another was during their stay at the Hot Gates, when King Xerxes himself talked to Leonidas personally and again proposed to have them spared if he yields to the Persians. Both of these instances presented a same result, Leonidas refusing to give up and standing strong to his principles. Choosing the side of what’s right than what’s wrong, suggests Leonidas’ firm ethical correctness and proper morality virtues. OTHER ETHICAL THEORIES PRESENTED Egoism is also depicted in the movie as seen in Xerxes’ motivation to rule and conquer the world. His actions towards self-interests boost his drive to invade and gain territories. In one instance, he even called himself the king and ruler of the world. A little bit of Egoism can also be attributed to Leonidas. His strong desire to win and his confidence to bring only 300 soldiers despite knowing that his enemy would be thousands in number suggests a showing of Egoism. CONCLUSION When we analyze the definition of ethics we easily incorporate it with what’s write and what’s wrong. Most of it solely depends on how we make that decision. The movie â€Å"300† despite its over-all violent nature still possessed that essential factor of morality and the integration of ethics through the characters, most especially Leonidas. Being the Spartan king, his decision to protect his kingdom by defending the Hot Gates despite disagreements by the senate and the priests caused his ethical dilemma. By overcoming this dilemma and choosing what he knows is right, it created a chain of events that lead to his popularity and immortality through the help of the story that’s still known up to today. Despite Xerxes’ tempting offers in order for him to surrender, Leonidas’ strong principles carried him all the way to legendary proportions. Driven by a king’s instincts, Leonidas died for the people of Sparta which caused them to be more inspired and more driven to defeat the Persian army that arrived pass the Hot Gates. All in all, despite Hollywood’s descending reputation in accordance with moralists, people can still find ethics in movies. People just need to look pass through and analyze the details to get the even bigger picture. References Mackie, J L. (1977). Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong. New York: Penguin Books. Simpson, R. H. (1972). Leonidas’ Decision. Phoenix (Vol 26, pp. 1-11).

Macroeconomics and its study with relevance to china

SummaryIn accordance to the formulation of latest economic data juxtaposed with macroeconomic principals and theories it can be stated that at the start of 2006, the People's Republic of China officially proclaimed itself as the fourth largest economy, determined by USD-exchange rate leaving behind France and the United Kingdom. The People's Republic of China has an economy, which is graded as the fourth largest economy in the world, when measured by nominal GDP. According to the records of 2005, about 70% of China's GDP is in the private sector.IntroductionAccording to The Star Business, it is estimated by the financial specialists of Pricewaterhouse Coopers that, â€Å"China could overtake the United States by 2025 to be the world’s largest economy and is anticipated to grow to about 130% the size of the United States by 2050†.[1] (The Star, 2008) it can well be stated that the basis of this statement is completely dependent on the microeconomic theories related to fi nance and particularly the quantity theory of money.In general, it can be stated that Macroeconomics is a subdivision of economics that has its transactions with the behavior, structure and performance in terms of regional or national economy. Aggregated indicators price indices, unemployment rates and GDP are the prime factors of this subject along with several other variables such as international finance, international trade, investment, savings, inflation, unemployment, consumption, output and national income.The current article analyzes the trends of Chinese finance market and applies the quantity theory of money and the momentum or velocity of its circulation in Chinese market and beyond. The equation of exchange i.e. M. V=P.Y is applied in this case to yield the forecast. In accordance to the formulation it can be stated that China's National Bureau of Statistics in December 2005 recalculated its 2004 nominal GDP raised by 16.8% or Rmb2, 336.3 billion (US$281.9 billion), maki ng China the 6th largest economy in the world, leave behind Italy, with a GDP of almost $2 trillion USD. At the start of 2006, the People's Republic of China officially proclaimed itself as the fourth largest economy, determined by USD-exchange rate leaving behind France and the United Kingdom. (Edelman, 2005)DiscussionAt the beginning of 2006 China arises as the second largest economy in the world determined by domestic PPP (purchasing power) measure, at about $10 trillion USD, although such approximation must be taken with a great deal of warn as PPP estimation is very vague, more than ever in a huge country like China, Chinese acquiring capacity varies radically between Shanghai and Sichuan, and PPP is immaterial for imported products and overseas acquisitions. By the end of 2008, China foresee (determined by exchange rate) to go beyond Germany as the third largest economy, and to overtake Japan by the year 2015. (IMF, 2007) Thus, it is certain that China is fast becoming a globa l super power, at least economically as the quantity theory of money suggests and as calculated by the financial specialists of Pricewaterhouse based on this theory.The People's Republic of China has an economy, which is graded as the fourth largest economy in the world, when measured by nominal GDP. Its cost-effective productivity for 2006 was $2.68 trillion USD.   Its per capita GDP is rising rapidly. According to the records of 2005, about 70% of China's GDP is in the private sector. The less significant public sector is occupied by about two hundred large state enterprises concerted mainly in utilities, energy resources, and heavy industries.Since 1978 the People's Republic of China (PRC) government has been restructuring its economy from a Soviet-style centrally planned economy, where the state or government have the sole power over the issue of production and takes all decisions about their utilization and about the dissemination of income, to a new market-oriented economy, in which the manufacture and dissemination of goods and services is done through the system of free markets directed by a gratis price system.Within the political skeleton, given by the Communist Party of China this economic system has been termed as Socialism with Chinese characteristics and is a category of mixed economy. Since 1978 after the implementation of these reforms, millions of people have been elevated out of poverty, bringing down the poverty rate from 53% of populace in 1981 to 8% by 2001. (Kar, 2006)Thus it is clearly seen that the velocity of money is fast gaining momentum and when the equation of M. V=P.Y is applied it is clear that growth is tangible and constant.The record of China’s progress over the past two decades has demonstrated naysayer wrong and optimists not positive enough. Upon close assessment, China’s record loses some of its sheen. China’s economic presentation since 1979, for example, is in fact less imposing than that of its Ea st Asian competitors. Regardless of China's distinguished economic progress, its per capita and total GDP growth has been over taken by some nations.From 1999 to 2006, Russia's minimal per capita GDP increased from $1334 to $6879 (515 percent), while that in People's Republic China increased from $870 to $2000 (229 percent). Similarly impressive are some oil producing nations of Middle Eastern, such as Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Brunei. Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Angola had outpaced China in utilizing huge energy coffers in the same time.On the other hand, Equatorial Guinea, an African country recorded 79% percent real GDP augmentation in 2004. Even some countries in Asia such as Vietnam have made GDP triple between 1999 and 2006 in ostensible per capita dollar basis, astonishingly more than China. The strength of overall economy is a major determinant of political significance in the present time and China is doing quite well in this prospect. (King, 2006)In adjunct, it must be kept in mind that per capita income in absolute dollars (not percentage) GDP per capita is ascending much rapidly in most of the developed nations of the world than China, on account of China's very low foundation of   income. The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party a short time ago permitted the draft for the 11th 5-year plan for 2006 – 2010. The plan is intended to achieve a comparatively conventional 45% increase in GDP and 20% decline in energy intensity by 2010.Intriguingly enough, due to its vast population, China's per capita share of world GDP can by no means accomplish the levels of the USA or Japan or some European countries in the 1990's by economic progress alone. Avowed in another way, an average Chinese can never posses the same comparative economic power that possessed by average Americans, Western Europeans, and some Japanese in 1990's. This is demonstrated as Japan had 20% of world GDP in April 1995, with not more than 2% of its population. (Lamb, 2004)ConclusionAs China contains approximately 20% of the world's population, it would require 200% of world GDP to compete with Japan's level by this evaluation in April 1995, which is next to impossible. China’s share of total population of the world would have to reduce in size to well below 10% for this to happen. (Fletcher, 2005) Thus, it is quite clear that microeconomic theories like the quantity theory of money is very relevant in the modern context of financial analysis and forecast and the formulation of the national and economic variables are always dependable. Thus, it is obvious that economic commentaries or economic reports, like the one by The Star, can always be used for the fundamental understanding of macroeconomics and its principals.References:Edelman, S; (2005); Evaluation Techniques in International Business Management; Bloemfontein: ABP LtdFletcher, R; (2005); Principals: Beliefs and Knowledge; Believing and Knowin g; Dunedin: Howard & PriceIMF; 2007; Reports: 2006-2007; Paris: ADM PressKar, P; (2006); History of Industrial Economics and Related Applications; Kolkata: Dasgupta & ChatterjeeKing, H; (2006); Economic Principals Today; Auckland: HBT & Brooks LtdLamb, D; (2004); Cult to Culture: The Development of Civilization on the Strategic Strata; Wellington: National Book Trust[1] The Star; (March 2008); China to be world’s largest economy in 2025; KUALA LUMPUR: thestaronline

The killing of U.S resident Anwar al-Alwaki Research Paper

The killing of U.S resident Anwar al-Alwaki - Research Paper Example The American government tried to keep the matter a secret but the choice to hunt and murder Anwar became an issue of public debate and scrutiny. Some American wondered the limitation of the powers of the president if he can order the killing of Americans abroad based on secret intelligence. It is significant to note that the killings of Anwar in Yemen brought in new information about the intelligence, military and legal challenges that the U.S government faced. This is because it shows the risks or perils of war, depending on missile strike from drone rarely recognized by the U.S citizens and intricate justifications written for only a selected few officials to read (The New Times, 2013). Â  It is believed that Anwar al-Alwaki and Samir Khan who killed in the drone strike were al-Qaeda operational leader in Yemen. The two were U.S citizens who had never been accused by the American government nor indicted with any crime. The secrecy behind such drone strikes emerged as major issue b ecause of the legal and ethical issues involved in the killings (Wilson Center, 2012). Â  Information from the U.S department of Justice asserted that the drone missile strike that killed Anwar, an Al-Qaeda affiliate whose death was justified by the government, also murdered Samir Khan, who the officials had asserted was a real danger capable to warrant being specifically aimed or targeted. The killing of Anwar in Yemen was justified and ethical because Anwar was an evolving danger or threat in that by the moment the U.S. and Yemen intelligence found him, he had been under the watch list of the C.I.A for more than ten years. For instance, in 1999, he was the first to appear on the F.B.I list because of his link with militants and in 2001, after the attacks in the U.S, he interrogated by U.S officials about his association with the hijackers at his mosque in Virginia and San Diego. In addition, when Anwar left the U.S in 2001, he supported the idea that the United States was officia lly at war with the Muslim community. In Yemen and Britain where he was jailed for eighteen months, Anwar hinted closer to a full support of terrorist activities and the use of violence (Mazetti & Scott, 2013). In 2008, the F.B.I asserted that their investigations have revealed that Anwar al-Alwaki was growing up as a radicalizer. In 2009, when Nidal Malik Hasan serving as a psychiatrist in the U.S army opened fire, murdering thirteen people in Texas, Anwar found his popularity when investigators found out that he been occasionally communicating with Anwar al-Alwaki. After four days,

Arguementative Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Arguementative - Research Paper Example THESIS According the American Heritage Dictionary (2011), abortion is defined as the induced termination of a pregnancy, achieved via destruction of embryo or fetus. Abortion therefore refers to ceasing the process of child birth before the child is born. Opting for an abortion is not an easy decision, but there are many unfortunate circumstances where women find themselves with no other choice. Several reasons for opting for an abortion may include: rape pregnancies, accidental pregnancies, divorce, illness of the mother or the mother being underage etc. Abortion has for long been viewed unfavorably by most societies. In America, abortion was legalized only in five states in 1970 and in all states in 1973 (Levitt & Donohue, 2001). Women who do opt for abortion to avoid giving birth to unwanted babies face many difficulties in areas where abortion has not been legalized. If a woman is too young or unhealthy to bear a child, or if the baby is unwanted, she should have the right to ter minate her pregnancy before bringing the child to life. This will not only save an unwanted or abandoned baby from being born but will also give the woman a chance to live a healthy life and make a career after attaining whatever education she may seek chances of which would be rare if she gave birth to a baby while being in her teens. Unprepared couples or those not wanting another baby do not prove to be good parents and it is not fair for any child to be born in a home where he or she is not welcome and where his or her parents cannot support the baby. In worse cases where abortion is not an opportunity and the baby is not given for adoption either, the baby is either abandoned, or is brought up very poorly by the parents or parent. There are cases where pregnant women are murdered by their partners who are unwilling to have a baby and share the responsibility or in some extreme cases; even the newly born infants are murdered by one of the parents. All this can be avoided by taki ng a timely step namely that of abortion if contraception did not work. Even if given a chance to live, unwanted babies are deprived of normal lives where parents care for children and support them. Unwanted children often have abusive, frustrated parents who do not care for the children, resulting in unhappy lives for such children. ANTI-THESIS There are always two sides of a picture and it is pointless to prove an argument while ignoring the counter arguments available. There is some available research and literature in favor of not legalizing abortion as well. Lott and Whitley (2010), cited in UFI (2010) conducted one study to find the relationship between abortion and crime rates. They concluded that contrary to what Levitt and colleagues (2005) previously found, crime rate specially that of murders had actually increased with legalizing abortion. The researchers supporting this finding explain that with legalized abortion, pre marital and extra marital unprotected sex has also become a more encouraging option which has therefore elevated the rate of related crimes. Some people who oppose legalized abortion claim that abortion is another form of discrimination. Dr. Garton in her book ‘Who broke the baby?, cited in Murti (2006) says that we have actually conveniently excluded

Israel and the Teva Company Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Israel and the Teva Company - Assignment Example Israel played a supportive role in Teva development. The government of Israel invested heavily in the education system. Therefore, over the years, I think that the country was able to equip its population with high technical skills which enabled them to work in different manufacturing companies. As a result, the company had qualified personnel at its disposal. These were people who had the necessary skills to steer growth and development of the company. In addition, the employees were well versed in different aspects that they need to consider in order for the business to penetrate the global market. Therefore, through little training by the US professors especially on the American culture, they were able to use the business models that were taught in school in order to penetrate the US market. Israel played a comforting role towards the growth of Teva Company. Although the expansion of any company in the overseas market is important in order to reduce the risks and uncertainties ass ociated with concentrating on a single market, every company must dominate a specific market before trying to capture other markets. Personally, I believe that Teva was able to gain comfort after segmenting the local market. The country gave support to the company’s products through ensuring that many of the prescribed drugs came from the company. The company received numerous contracts with government hospitals. This gave the firm confidence to explore the external market as it was assured of local support.

Intro to Criminal Justice Module 5 Writing Coursework

Intro to Criminal Justice Module 5 Writing - Coursework Example ct, 1789 created the federal court system through four federal circuit courts with 13 federal district courts with general trial and appellate jurisdiction. This paved way for the current 94 District Courts, 12 regional Courts of Appeal and a single Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Each state has its own court structure with trial courts, appellate courts and a Supreme Court. Courts of limited jurisdictions, the lower or inferior courts deal with cases involving misdemeanors, civil and domestic disputes, juvenile offenses and local ordinance violations account for most of the remaining filings. They handle the defendant’s initial appearance and are not courts of record. Courts of general jurisdictions can hear any criminal or civil cases at first instance and are often divided into criminal, civil, probate, juvenile and domestic courts. They hear appeal cases on denial of due process. Intermediate appellate courts hear cases from decisions of general trial courts. They examine the transcript of the case, read written briefs and hear oral arguments. Courts of last resort as the final appellate courts wait for certification of cases before them. There are lower trial courts, appellate courts and a court of last resort. The 94 general trial courts, District Courts have both original and exclusive jurisdiction in all cases involving federal law or dispute over treaties. They have concurrent jurisdiction with state trial courts in certain criminal matters violating state and federal laws and in civil disputes between people of different states where damages exceed a certain amount. The Courts of Appeals for the Federal Circuit have jurisdiction to hear appeals from the district courts arising from cases involving patent law violations, suits against the federal government and cases appealed from the court of International Trade and Claims Court. The U.S. Supreme Court is the court of last resort and has jurisdiction to review any federal appellate court

Developing Marketing Communication Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Developing Marketing Communication - Coursework Example The flagship concept of marketing involves the communication and product promotion for products considered top of the art used to drive sales in international markets (Samsung Mobile, 2014). Using marketing concepts and theories such as the theory of the firm, marketing mix, and retention marketing mix, this paper seeks to analyze SE’s use of GUC as a product promotion campaign. In addition, the applicability of the media and promotion tools is assessed and compared with theoretical best practice. For instance, using the theory of the firm, it is considered best practice for companies to mitigate their spending and increase returns such that product promotion is both beneficial to the company and directly influencing sales positively (Luo, & Donthu, 2006). The paper concludes with recommendations regarding areas in product promotion where Samsung should adapt different or improve on the current approach. For instance, international campaigns featuring products that do not make it to the international market burden promotional campaigns with extra costs. Samsung Electronics (SE), is a technology company that competes in the mainstream international smartphone industry. To address the threat of surging sales following the entry of alternative cheaper phones such as Xiaomi Note targeting the Chinese market, Samsung developed the GUC to familiarize customers with the ‘Next Big Thing’ (Extreme Tech, 2014). Samsung trades all its flagship smartphones with the tagline, ‘The Next Big Thing’ which serves the purpose of communicating to customers about the currently released premium products (Samsung Mobile, 2014). SE’s 2014-GUC makes use the DRIP (Different, Reinforce, Inform, and Persuade) Model aiming at: In SE, GUC targets the international middle-to-upper class customers (Extreme Tech, 2014). Although Samsung products are sizably cheaper than those of competitors such as Apple, the company’s

How do various societies construct gender identities,sexual practices Essay

How do various societies construct gender identities,sexual practices and gendered bodies - Essay Example Anthropologists are primarily concerned with finding solutions to human problems. They eventually have to create a body of knowledge so as to be better placed to tackle human problems and devise appropriate solutions. Anthropologists are usually trained in one of four areas, one of which is socio-cultural anthropology. This area of interest explores social patterns coupled with cultural practices. When one dives into the mechanics of society workings, certain features are common to each and every community. In connection to this, there also exist differences in characteristics, traditions and customs. This article will endeavor to expound on such differences, however, the focus will be on gender identities, sexual practices and gendered bodies. With this goal in mind, five articles will be analyzed so as to quench the thirst on these three factors. Analysis Gender identity is the classification of one as either male or female. It is how an individual sees himself or herself. It is th e apparent manifestations that result from the personality of an individual. It has the ability to reflect on ones gender identity. Gender identity is self identified and results from intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Many at times gender identity can be confused with gender roles. The latter denotes behavior manifested by factors acquired through observation; this can be exemplified by behavior and appearance. Thus, the gender role is often an outward expression of a person’s gender identity.... Many physical sports are considered the bed play for men. As such, men view sports as a male’s only endeavor. This ought to be regarded as male chauvinism (Eugenides, n.p.). The American society best exemplifies this by aligning sports with the male sex. Society has accepted the notion that the brazen nature of male dominated sports is proof enough that it should not be associated with women in any sense. This stereotypical approach has also been adopted by advertisers. A close look at the transformation of the advertisement from a decade ago gives elaboration on this issue. Society has, since the dawn of time, associated sports with the consumption of alcohol. There apparently seems to be something about the adrenalin that comes out of watching contact sports that stimulate the consumption of alcohol. To give assumptions why this is the case will be to indulge into the creation of conjectures without content. As such, this writer will refrain from such endeavors such wild end eavors. Advertisements created in the 1950s to 1960s depicted the consumption of alcohol to be a non bias activity, meaning that both male and female population was expected to partake in it equally. However, as time goes by it has emerged that sports and alcohol is now synonymous with the male gender. This clear alienation of women from the picture is quite a fact that the American society has adopted. Since the 1970s, alcohol has been regarded as the end reward of a day’s work (Messner 484). Apparently, women never perform a hard day’s work since men are the only ones who are worthy of this reward. The American male population seems to source their gender identity from the consumption of alcohol and watching of contact sports. To cement this fact, the men have and are

The paper should be presented as a Journal opinion article and address Essay

The paper should be presented as a Journal opinion article and address an economic issue of current interest to Wall Street Journal readers - Essay Example The expedition in launching the mars exploration spacecraft has triggered a heated debate on the wall street journal in the past with many arguments being centered on the economics of launching the mars orbiter at an exorbitant cost while many of the Indian citizens continue to languish in poverty and living at absolute wanton. However, before such criticisms, people should be aware that governments are responsible of management of a country’s resources for the best interest of the inhabitants of the countries. Economic viability of projects informs the government in the most profitable investments to undertake. Proper evaluation of such a projects economic viability would help in advising a government on investing in the right investments or otherwise. In an article, dated 5 Nov 2013, one WSJ staff makes a collection of many of the comments that circulated among social media platforms in the wall street journal concerning the $73 million mission in undertaking mars exploration by India (Anon, para 1-3). According to many of the comments was that this was a huge undertaking that was spending so much amount of public funds, which would be otherwise spent, on improving the livelihoods of majority of the Indians through provision of food, water, improved sanitation and such other measures that would improve on their livelihoods. Nevertheless, there were also a number of comments who would reason in support of the expedition and reason that the long-term benefits to be realized through the exploration outweighed the capital investment devoted to the exploration exercise. While all opinions are justifiable, this paper chooses to object to the opinions of those who would question the investment through supporting the undertaking by the Indian government. Economic advancement and development within any economy has its roots embedded in research and development. Space exploration is therefore very essential especially within the 21st century as we

Comment (critique) on the essay of contemporary utopia titled pico

Comment (critique) on the of contemporary utopia titled pico union - Essay Example Grube and Reeve (328b-331b), in their analysis of Plato’s Republic exert further emphasis on egalitarianism, as a crucial aspect of an ideal community. Based on both authors’ perspectives, it is rather apparent that the principal features of an ideal human community include: prevalence of peace, social equality and diligent service to the community, among other positive attributes. The Magnolia Place, located in LA’s Pico Union is indubitably one of the modern models of utopia. The establishment brings together volunteers from the community including regional and administrative organizations, who aim at increasing access, utilization as well as the quality of local resources, utility services, and support for the underprivileged in the area. The Magnolia Place, therefore, strengthens social relations among community members and improves economic development and opportunities. Even though, the neighborhood within which the organization is located was in the past r egarded as the most insecure in Los Angeles, it has developed into a refuge for the people in the region (N.A 1-2). The transformation is a confirmation of More’s ideology that a Utopian society consists of flawed individuals, who choose to make a positive change in their environs. The establishment depicts volunteers’ effort to foster equality, security and peace, through enabling the disadvantaged to get work, healthcare and reasonably priced housing, in addition to other fundamental

Ethics of Peer to Peer downloading and Sharing Essay Example for Free

Ethics of Peer to Peer downloading and Sharing Essay Abstract In the short time that computers and internet have existed in the modern era, the world has seen a complete 360 degree turn and in the various forms of electronic entertainment that people all over the world are now using. In the days before CD’s, DVD’s and the internet, not much was said if a vinyl album (remember these?), VHS cassette (or these?) or an audio cassette was loaned to a friend for their listening / viewing pleasure, but today with the availability of sending an email with three or four megabytes (mb) of information, one can enjoy a borrowed song but is assumed that it is piracy or stealing. Is this a fair assumption? This Author will not give his opinion but rather discuss both sides of the Peer to Peer (P2P) downloading and sharing issues and let the reader form their own opinions. Peer downloading and Sharing: Definition and History â€Å"Peer-to-Peer† technology, what is meant when this phrase is mentioned in the world of electronic entertainment or computers? Usually in today’s environment, this phrase has a negative connotation assigned to it, but this phrase deserves a deeper investigation into all aspects of the concept. Peer-to-Peer technology is defined by the textbook of this class as â€Å"technology which permits easy transfer of files over the Internet by large numbers of strangers without a centralized system or service.† (Baase, 2008) When this definition is read, does it imply an impartial connotation or is the definition insinuating that this technology is wrong without some form of centralized system or service? Who knows? This is up to the reader to decide, but much probably depends on the readers personal opinion on the matter. With the textbook’s definition stated, what is actually meant by P2P technology? In Basic English, P2P technology is the ability share / loan / give an electronic file of any sort, be it music, software, video or documents, with anyone that is logged onto to the same server or network as the person in possession of the file. Another important definition that needs to be stated is that of â€Å"Copyrights.† Copyrights are defined by the Merriam-Webster online dictionary as â€Å": the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something (as a literary, musical, or artistic work)† (Merriam-Webster 2011) Again in Basic English this translates to that the original owner of a product has all rights to make profits from their product or service. But, there is always a but, as this definition does not state, do these legal rights apply to the sharing of a product or service and thereby not making a profit from the product? There seems to be two main questions that need to be answered and they are: 1) What is the legal definition of â€Å"sharing?† and 2) What is the legal definition of â€Å"making a profit?† It would seem that until someone legally defines these, this will be the never ending question that will continue plague the electronic world of entertainment. These two questions will be discussed later in this document. As with many things in life and technology, when these ideas and concepts were initially invented or designed, apparently these people did not look to the future and what may become of these ideas or designs. When the initial copyright law was passed in 1790, computers, MP3’s and various other forms of electronic technology did not exist and this law only covered books, maps and charts and protected them for 14 years. (Baas, 2008) It wasn’t for almost 130 years that the US Congress updated the law to include photos, sound recording, and movies but again nothing is done to define profit or sharing as it relates to this topic of conversation. As time has passed, various countries, including the USA, have passed and enforced stricter laws, mostly in favor of the entertainment industry. i.e. copyright infringement, illegal sharing of copyrighted material, and profiting from copyrighted material. All of these examples seem very similar but in reality they have some very fine differences that if you ask any judge to define, you may end up with as many different answers from each different judge asked. This is where the dilemma starts. As time has passed and technologies have become available to the average people of the world, including those with lesser amounts of disposable money, the ability to â€Å"share or loan† electronic material has become increasingly popular. The question still remains in the mind of this author; what is the difference between sharing and audio cassette with a friend and sharing an MP3 that has been legally copied from disk or downloaded from Itunes? In the eyes of many people, there is not a difference in these two concepts. In the eyes of many, the concept of sharing a MP3 is that same as sharing a cassette but has followed the theory of evolution and grown from the era of physical items, like cassettes, and evolved to the electronic media market. This sharing concept brings forth another question. Why did music industry and other various media companies not try to enforce the existing laws when it was only video and audio cassettes? Could it be that â€Å"back in the day†, the number of cassettes / albums being shared were not near the numbers of electronic media being shared today? This seems to be the probable answer because to share a cassette or album there needs to be some form of physical contact between the two participants and to share electronic media the two participants can be miles apart and only need a computer with internet or email access. Back in the day, the amounts of profits lost were not worth the legal fees to fight the practice of â€Å"Sharing. Present Day Operations So now let’s jump to the present day and discuss the practice of Sharing as it is being practiced today. By present day, it is to include the modern era of computers and the Internet. With the invention of the Internet, CD’S, DVD’s and other forms of electronic technologies came to associated people that would eventually try to use these inventions to their fullest extent. This too included the sharing of files, music and software. Napster was one of the first agencies to openly advertise that you could â€Å"share† files with their P2P software. What happened? According to History.com, Napster began operation in 2000 and by later in the year, some 60 million users were freely â€Å"sharing electronic media of various forms. This is where the modern practice of enforcing the existing versions of copyright laws was being challenged in court. Napster, as it originally operated, only lasted for about a year and a half before the legal eagles of the media industry came at them with a vengeance and essentially shut them down. These lawyers, representing just about all aspects of the music industry, â€Å"filed suit against the company, alleging vicarious copyright infringement under the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1996.† (history.com) Although Napster continued to exist in various forms since 2000, after going legit, they just have not had the same impact on the P2P world that they had back then. As of 30 Nov 2011 Napster, who was owned by Best Buy, has been sold to Rhapsody in an effort to increase Rhapsody leading music subscriber database. (cnnmoney.com. 2011) Along the same time as the Napster rise and fall, other P2P companies were trying to find every legal loop hole to be able to continue operating without worry of legal action from these media moguls. These companies included, but were not limited to Grokster, Kazaa and the nearly legal Limewire. Throughout the years that followed, these companies tried every possible exception to the laws to circumvent the laws but in the end even Limewire was shut down by the US Gov’t. In the past, when you loaded Limewire’s website, their page was loaded with ads, software download links and various other stuff, but now all you get is the official seal of the US Justice department and a warning that you are trying to access a seized webpage and/or to stop distributing their P2P software. What is interesting now is that the P2P software industry and music / movie are not the only ones trying to stop the use of computers and the internet to share files, now TV moguls are also trying to jump on this bandwagon. In recent years, websites and various users have been streaming live sporting events to the internet via their personal paid cable TV services such as Comcast or DirectTV. The websites included rojadirecta and ahdte, but again if you visit these sites you will be met with the justice department seal and a disclaimer saying they have been seized and shutdown for illegal operations such as copyright infringement. The question now is what is considered ownership of the pay per view service? For example, if customer A uses the pay per view option on his/her cable box, does he/she now own the program and therefore has the right to reproduce the item as they see fit? Or, do they still have to obey the original reproduction laws. Another concept is this. If Customer A purchases the right to view a program and then puts said program available for viewing by friends that visit his/her house, is this copyright infringement? The list of questions goes on and on. If customer A purchases the right to view the program and then chooses to stream the program to a free and public website, can others log onto this website, view the program and not be guilty of breaking any laws. Although there may be some ethical and moral questions to answer for, these do not affect the legality of this arena. Customer A did not make a profit by streaming the program to a free website. Customer A did allow friends to view a program that by legal intention of the law was for the viewing of customer A only. Viewing live streaming is not the exact same as that of P2P sharing of files but does have the same implications. Someone is receiving a product or service that was not paid for, At least this is what the media industry would like the legal system to believe. In the 2011 it would appear that the media industry is winning the legal battles, albeit they are having much more success within the USA than other parts of the world. This is especially true in the more disadvantaged countries. This author will use his current country of Colombia, South America as an example. Here it is very common place to purchase or download shared versions of music, movies and computer software. Why is this? Quite frankly this is a poor country and without these shared versions of these products, people here could not afford any of these products at regular corporate pricing. After experiencing the technological environment here, one can understand why the â€Å"shared† file industry is so important. Ethical Questions So! Many views and examples have been shown for both sides of the P2P and file sharing argument. Now the questions need to be presented as to what laws are actually being violated. The media industry would have you believe that by sending a legally purchased MP3, for example, to a friend for their listening pleasure, that both parties are now breaking the copyright laws for that artist. Furthermore, the media industry wants you to think that if you would not have shared this MP3 with your friend, then this friend would have to go to a store and purchase this same song on a disk. The general public counters these arguments with these answers. The persons sharing the MP3, would argue that they are not violating the law because they are only sharing the music with each other and neither party is making a profit off the item and that by sharing the item first, one can make an informed decision on whether to spend more money for the entire disk or possibly only purchase the single. These same arguments apply to almost all portions of the P2P file sharing industry and live streaming of television events as well. Conclusion Basically it comes down to this. The media industries want to continue receiving and growing their profits and the general public would things for the lowest possible price. Whether or not to use P2P file sharing technology or view live event streaming on computers will always be a moral and ethical question that only one person can answer. That person is, the person that is deciding whether to use the P2P technology or not and will always be a personal issue that each and every one that uses these technologies will have live with. Everyone will have to answer this for themselves. References Baase, S. (2008). A gift of fire. (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.Microsoft Server and Cloud Platform (N.D.). Windows Server 2008 R2, Retrieved Merriam-webster online dictionary (2011) Definition of copyright. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/copyright History channel (N. D.). The death spiral of Napster begins Retrieved from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-death-spiral-of-napster-begins CNN Money(N.D.), Today is Napsters last day of existence, Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/30/technology/napster_rhapsody/index.htm

Porters Five Analysis: Advantages and Disadvantages

Porters Five Analysis: Advantages and Disadvantages Usefulness of the strategic models Why are models commonly used in strategic management what model are, provides, usefulness, strategy making, Strategy Johnson et al. (2005, p. 9): Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term which achieve advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectation. Uvod Strategic decisions are long term decision based on scope of companys activities made in order to obtain advantage over competition. Johnson et al (2005, p. 10) says that such decision have certain characteristics. They are complex in nature, are made in condition of uncertainty. These decisions have impact on operation decisions. They require integrated approach from managers to deal with strategic problems. Strategic decisions which are made without previous analysis but as some kind of individual notions or wishful thinking are consider to be vulnerable issue. Identifying the root of strategic analysis is difficult. It does not provide us with prescription of what strategy to implement. Companys strategic decisions are too complex for programming. Thus, author says that helping to understand issues is the aim of strategic analysis not to give answers. Model is the framework for recognizing, understanding and categorising factors applicable to strategic decisions (Grant, 2008, p. 27). Models were developed in order to solve usual problems and challenges in business. The general advantage of model is that they smooth differences between abstraction and real practise. They pose a new way of seeing a particular situation and resolving this situation. The common use of the model can be explained by their characteristic. They are projected to solve exact problems and increase efficiency. On the other hand no model can secure that by their implication solving the problem will be hundred percents successful. They are just framework which gives understanding and options for making right decision and diminish uncertainties (Assen et al, 2009). Theories, analytical tools were not made in order to replace inventiveness or experience. Their significance lies in managing discussion, processing information and opinions and supporting communication and agreements. Managers are more confident and effective in reacting on new circumstances and issues as they use models (Grant, 2008, p. 27). There are many models in strategic management which were developed on different bases in order to solve different needs. Every model focuses on various factors some are made to look at eternal surrounding of businesses as industry and market. Some models analyse inner capabilities or structure of organisation. Company chooses the models according its specific needs and what problem wants to solve. If the organisation wants to analyse its external environment it can use PESTE analysis. Industry analysis enables managers to understand how external issues influence companys performance and operations. When managers want to look better on companys product range in order to take right step to the future it can use the Boston Matrix for it. This model helps company in situation as decision making about investments to products portfolio. It guides the company what steps to take if the product is in particular stage e.g. if it star company should keep it and invest to its promotion (Keler-Si lver, 1997, p. 40). In the case of core competencies model it is advised that company should switch from portfolio planning and evaluation of individual businesses to exploring the collective capacity the whole company has. The model encourages company to stop doing activities which are not its core competencies. The confirmatory activities can be e.g. outsourced. By using this model an organisation can identify and improve the cross-company competencies. Thus it can bring new opportunities for success in the market (Keler-Silver, 1997, p. 50). Scenario planning is strategy model based on exposing various possibilities which might happen in the future. Thus it represents a context in which managers can make decisions. As they can see a scope of possibilities they are better informed and decision are more likely to be successful. The scenario planning is mostly used for understanding the dynamics of environment, identifying new openings, evaluating strategic alternatives and for taking long-term decisions. Managers can discover and consider the unsure aspects of future (Assen et al, 2009). One of the models which consider the root of competitive advantage in business is the Kays distinctive capabilities model. The model presents resource-based theory and sees a company as set of asses and capabilities. The model helps to identify distinctive capabilities which are the core of companys success. This model provides a useful tool when company make decision about redefining its strategy. It is used to widen awareness of the sources which made company competitive and to sustain these sources (Assen et al, 2009, p. 30). On the other hand Kare-Silver (1997) argues that the competitive environment has changed and the models are insufficient and shortcoming todays management. He says most of them are too theoretical, superficial and confusing and they are not enough helpful in todays environment. Further he gives the seventh criteria according to which models should be developed to meet current needs. The criteria are reflecting the business realities, starting with customers, rooted and immersed in market understanding, practical, specific, encouraging a long-term view and measurable. Author adds that it is crucial for organisation in current changing conditions to rediscover and redefine its strategy. Organisation needs to know direction in which to go and relying on strategy model is not a response. In conclusion we can say that decision making process is very challenging and requires complex view. Model provide useful tool for simplifying and mainly for making it more effective. However they do not ensure the real effect will be same. Description of Porters Five Forces Model of Competitive Strategy Formulating competitive strategy necessarily needs to analyse the company within its environment. The model is based on analysis of companys external environment. However the relevant environment is wide, the model is focus on organisations surrounding as industry in which it operates. Industry structure has powerful impact on competitive direction thus it is inevitable to analyse it. Five basic competitive forces determine the competition in an industry. The strength of the forces is to drive profit in industry in way of long term return on invested capital (Porter, 1980 p.3, 4). Next Porter says: The goal of competitive strategy for a business unit in an industry is to find a position where it can best defend itself against these competitive forces or can influence them in its flavour. Johnson et al. (2005, p. 78) refer to five forces as sources of competition which evaluate the attractiveness of industry. Authors give several points which company should take into account when using this model. When organisation has varied activities the framework needs to be used at the level of strategic business unit as for each of unit can be the impact of forces different. Next, it is inevitable to understand relations between five forces as well as macro-environment factors. As forces are not separate changes within one force influence other forces. It is a dynamic process of shifting source of competition. According to Luffman et al. (1996) the power of Industry competitor is consider to be the most important force of the model. Industry is in permanent change as every firm wants to success and it looks for opportunities to achieve it. Obviously, not all decisions lead to getting advantages some remain failure. There are many issues which influence the competition between companies as size of the company, industry structure and concentration, product differentiation and variety of rivals. Competitive rivalry is also determined by numbers and qualities of competitors. In situation of many companies in the industry which sell nearly equal product, the firm has a low level of power. Conversely if companys product is unique, it is an enormous strength (Kilde, 2005). Buyer power poses the rate of influences of costumer on pushing price down. The size or number and concentration of buyers are the most significant determinants of buyer power. Other factors include the level of information or differentiation of competitors (Karagianno et al, 2005). There are situation in which buyer power tent to grow as a low switching cost for buyer to move to another seller, when the product is not differentiated or product failure to perform its primary function. In case of trading with small number of strong buyers they tend to dictate conditions to sellers (Luffman et al, 1996). The extent to which supplier drive price up, is reflected in Supplier power. The numbers of input suppliers, product specificity or switching cost determine supplier strength. When company has few suppliers or choice of suppliers is narrow, the supplier power is high. Question here is how easy company can change its suppliers. Grant (2005, p. 83) says that suppliers of raw materials or components are mostly small companies so their bargaining power is low while suppliers of commodities enhance their power through cartelization. Same it is with labour union. If there is a high percentage of a unionised employee within an industry their supplier power is high and companys profitability is lowered. Substitutes are alternatives of product so they decrease demand for product. According to the value they give to consumer their power can be higher or lover. Johnson et al. (2005, p. 78) indicate these forms of substitution; product-for-product substitution, substitution of need when new product or service make previous unneeded and generic substitution means that product competes among others for consumer income to be spent on it. It reduces companys power when its product can be easily substituted. An attractive industry tempts other companies to enter. Threat of new entry represents the capability of new companies to enter and be able to compete in industry. The process of entering is easier for new companies and consequently it becomes a greater threat for existing companies when there are no economies of scale, industry is not capital intensive, access to distribution channels is open or there is a little protection of technology. On the other hand when there are strong barriers existing companies can keep their position. Difference between new entrants and substitutes is that new entrants when successfully enter industry will offer nearly same product. Thus, it is a bigger threat to company (Luffman et al, 1996). Thompson et al (2007, p.54) describe the way of using the model for identifying the essence and strength of competitive pressures within an industry. They divided it into three steps. The first step is to recognise particular competitive strengths related to every force from the model. Secondly, evaluation of the pressures takes place. It is essential to find out how strong they are i.e. strong, moderate, and weak. The last step is to decide the contribution of strengths on achieving profits. Evaluation of strengths and weaknesses of the model Porter (2008, p.80) says this importance of the model: Understanding the competitive forces and their underlying causes reveals the roots of an industrys current profitability while providing a framework for anticipating and influencing competition over time. He adds that effective strategic positioning can not be made without knowing industry structures. To avoid a subjective position for evaluation of the model we look at other authors views. The most significant strength of Michael Porter Five Forces model is that it remains best known and commonly used model in strategic management even after twenty years of it introduction. The simplicity is also consider to be a strength of the Five Forces model as it is easy to use and provides understandable way of market forces analysis (Kare-Silver, 1997, p. 46). According to Brandenburger (2002), the Porters Five Forces model remains to affect the scope of business strategy both in the education field and also in practise of organisations. He emphasises that the model is certainly the most known and used from competitive strategies. The reason is that it provides an obvious picture of important activities of firms. The model describes all movements from suppliers of resources through company to consumer. The role of company is stressed as it is the unit where value is created. On the other hand, suppliers and customers are consider to be necessary in such chain. The model provides useful information for three issues of companys planning, according to Recklies (2001). Firstly, it enables to determine the attractiveness of an industry. Consequently the model helps to make decision about entering or leaving industry. Further, its usefulness lies in comparison the impact of the competitive forces on the organization with the impact on rivals. Secondly, when company knows about the power and intensity of models forces it is able to come up with possibilities for improving its competitive position e.g. differentiation, strategic partnership. Thirdly, the author says that the model with combination with PESTE analysis which influences changes in the industries, the Five Forces model can indicates the trends within the industry. Hill and Jones (2007, p. 66) also talk about importance of microenvironment. Forces in the model are not constant because they are determined by wider macro-environment as economic, politic, social and technological forces. These have evident impact on the model forces and consecutively on the whole industry. The role of macro environment is important but it is the subject of the PESTE analysis and we will not discuss it closer. According Lynch (2000, p.131) the model presents effective way of analysing the environment and it is recommended to use it as the firs step of company strategy development. He points out its real relevance as results are presented in logical and structured way. Hill and Jones (2001, p.97) see the model as very useful as it can be used to analyse character of competition within industry and for recognising opportunities and threats. Opportunities and treats represent the external part of SWOT analysis so we can see the clear connection of Five Forces model with another model. Another advantage of the model is that it looks on organization and industry through a wide range of aspects which are included in the models five forces. Thus, it is systematic approach for analysing the current situation of business and plan strategy (Oliva, 2002). For better picture of the model and to underline its strengths we look at an example of bank sector and examine the impact of launching the Internet banking in Five Forces model context (Siaw, Yu, 2004). In the terms of threat of entry force, the Internet banking enables small banks to enter the industry. Scale benefits are removed and network of branch is less important as there is direct access to customer in more suitable way. Bargaining power of buyers increases as they have more choices. Switching cost decrease because product has become more undifferentiated and standardised. As far as rivalry is concern, the differences between banks are smoothed as size of a bank is less important. Further providing services through the Internet is cheaper than using traditional distribution channels. Internet banking increased supplier power. Banks acted as supplier before. Now they pose intermediaries which enables access to range of products and delivery channels. Switching costs are high for bank if it is dealing with big customers. Such analysis helps manager to understand how the Internet influences five competitive forces. Existing banks using the analysis periodically can evaluate changes within the industry. Potential entrants can assess if the enter into industry will be profitable for them. Overall the analysis is useful in competitive strategy formulating (Siaw, Yu, 2004). Besides numbers of advantages the model is subject of many critiques. According Grant (2002, p. 89), the theoretical bases of the Porters Five Forces model are the most criticised by economists. Furthermore doubtful theoretical foundation, there are limitations because of static character of the model. Industry structures are considered to be stable and determinate by external forces. Grant (2002, p. 89) says that: Industry structure drives intensity of competition, which in returns determines the level of industry profitability. Therefore industry structures cannot remain unchanged in dynamic process of competition. Another issue which Grant points out is missing empirical evidence of importance of industry environment for company profitability. Faulkner and Campbell (2003, p. 249) also criticise static character of the Five Forces model saying that industry structures are continuously changing because of competition between firms and strategies adoped by companies within the indust ry. Static character of the model is also pointed out by Lynch (2000, p. 131), he says that forces are constantly changing and the moves could be more rapid than the model explain. Next critic which Lynch expresses is about the buyer power. The model assumes that this aspect is as equal as others factors while he argues that buyers should be got greater importance. According to the model, the environment is viewed as a threat to a company however some organisations see co-operation with others, especially with suppliers, very beneficial. Faulkner and Campbell (2003, p. 249) express their view to this question, too. They criticise Porters view on rivalry and competition between companies to be more essential than possible interaction as joint ventures or alliances. Lynch also questions the fact if it is sufficient for company to create its corporate strategy just after applying the Five Forces model. Further critics of model presented by Lynch consider its ignorance of human aspect o f strategy. The model overlooks features as country cultures or management skills. The presumption that companys own interests are primary might not be correct for some charitable and government institutions. Hill and Jones (2001, p. 97) reveal two weaknesses of the five forces model. The first is, as the other authors say, about its static character however they enhance their critique to disregarding the role of innovation. Innovations represent driven force of competition within the industry. As any company comes up with new product, technology or process it can gain great competitive advantage and earn profit. Another function of innovation lies in converting industry competition. As the production costs could be cut down due to e.g. new technologies, the barriers to entering the industry are removed and small companies can also access the competition. They provide example of the steel industry where after introducing technology as electric arc furnaces, the characteristic oligop oly industry became more price competitive and fragmented industry and smaller companies can also compete. Porter (2008, p.86) does not see innovation itself as a strong factor which can make industry profitable. He argues that often industries with low technology, high switching costs or price intensive buyers are more profitably than attractive software or information technologies ones. Because the model is static, all changes, which arise in the industry, cannot be recorded. Hill and Jones (2007, p. 66) conclude: The Five Forces model is of limited value because it represents no more than snapshots of a constantly changing situation. Thus, managers must constantly repeat industry analysis and pay attention to changes in the forces of competition. As far as the second critic is consider, same as Grant (2002, p. 89), Hill and Jones (2001, p. 97) talk about overrating the role of industry. Industry is given too much importance as the determinant of organisation profit while the differences between individual companies are neglected. Companies profit within industry varies and it has been detected that only 10% to 20% of differences is explained by industry structure. Consequently, we can say that companys own capacity and resources are more significant for profitability than industry in which it operates. None of company will be successful just because it is in the at tractive industry. Companys strategic resources as intangible assets, brand name are critical for analysis and strategy making (Crook at all, 2003). Other authors who agree that the Porters model is completely focus on external environment rather than internal resources of a company are Faulkner and Campbell (2003, p. 249). They criticise Porters view on outside environment as a root of firms success. Their another critique consider the application of industry analysis to individual company. This might not be as successful as first thought. In spite of critics authors admit that the Porters model of industry analysis stays as one of the most significant model of strategic management even though it has been introduced twenty years ago. Further shortcoming of the Porters model is that it was meant for industrial companies g.e. Coca-Cola, Ford Motors or Dell, not for knowledge based firms in field of advertising, consulting or legal. Manager of these companies bear some risk by using this tool and it is recommended to alter the model according to needs of such firms (Sheehan, 2005). Recklies in her article Porters 5 Forces (2001) indicates various criticisms. Besides acknowledgement that the model is static and it does not take into account co-operation between companies, the author gives also other critiques. As the model supposes perfect market, it has limited application in more regulated industries. The model fits the best to analyse simple market structures. In the case of complex industries with numbers of interrelations it is very complicated to analyse all five forces. On the other hand the author alerts that too narrow look on one segment in such industry can cause oversight of important factors. She concludes, as well as others authors, that the Five Forces model present a tool for managers to view the current situation of the industry in easy and understandable way and it is a good beginning for additional analysis. Recklies in her another article (2001) says that one of the reason for critics are todays changed economic circumstances. The model is found on the situation in the eighties. Cyclical developments, steady market structures and strong competition are typical for this time. Nowadays, technologies, the Internet and e-business application are seen in all industries and it transforms industry structures. This is the reason why the model cannot be used to explicate today dynamic changes and she adds: It is not advisable, if not to say impossible, to develop strategy solely on basis of Porters model. Downes realised the same trend and in the article Beyond Porter (1997) he introduces three new forces digitalization, globalization and deregulation as current issues which influence businesses. The new forces are seen in business activities as they are moving from physical world to computerised networks. According to Downes new strategic framework and analytical tools are essential to apply. Digitalization enables firms to gain access to greatly more information than before on the other hand it pose the treat of unfamiliar and unpredictable competition. Due to Globalization even local companies are able to become global as logistic and communication improved. Deregulation also opens up new possibility for company e.g. restructuring, more open international market. More others authors argue that the model should be extended about another force. They have various views on what it should be. Hill and Jones (2007, p. 57) see the sixth force as complementors. Complements are considered to be determinant of demand for products thus having a satisfactory supplier affects companys profit. Attractive complementary products create value and opportunity for company within an industry. On the other hand inefficient complementors pose threat and they are cause of slow industry development and low profitability. Also Grant (2005, p. 103) see complementors as significant impact on companies competitiveness and refer to them as to the sixth force. In the case of close complements of products, products have low value separately as consumer wants the whole. Question is how the value is divided between producers. The most common the supplier with stronger market position who is able to lower the value of other complements, gets much of profits. Karen-Silver (1997, p. 46) argues while current competitive environment calls for new forces to be consider, the original core i.e. five forces stays the most powerful. Porter (2008, p. 86) agrees that there are other important issue within an industry but he refers to them as to factors not forces. He presents factors like industry growth rate, technology and innovation, Government, complementary products and services. In addition he says: It is especially important to avoid the common pitfall of mistaking certain visible attributes of an industry for its underlying structure. In summary, Michael Porters models do not have the influence they used to have any more. New economic laws came up and other drivers stared to transform markets. Nevertheless, that does not mean that Porters theories became invalid. All we have to do is to apply them with the knowledge of their limitations in mind and to use them as a part of a larger framework of management tools, techniques and theories. This approach, however, is advisable for the application of every business model brand-new or old, from Porter or from somebody else, and in every economy Bibliography Assen, M., Berg, G., Pietersma, P., (2009) Key Management Models: The 60+ models every manager needs to know. Essex: Pearson Education, UK 2nd ed. Brandenburger, A., (2002) Crook, T.R., Ketchen, D.J., Snow, C.C., (2003) Competitive Edge: A Strategic Mnagement Model, .pp. 44-53 Downes, L., (1997) Beyond Porter, The Context Magazine. Available at: http://www.contextmag.com/setFrameRedirect.asp?src=/current/archive.asp Faulkner, D., Campbell, A., (2003) The Oxford Handbook of Strategy: Strategy overview and competitive strategy. Oxford (New York): Oxford University Press, USA, pp. 248-250 Grant M, R., (2002) Contemporary Strategy Analysis: concepts, techniques, application. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, UK, pp. 89 Grant (2005) p. 83 Hill, C.W.L, Jones, G.R., (2007) Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach. 7th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, USA pp. 46-67 Hill, C.W.L, Jones, G.R., (2001) Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach. 5th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, USA pp. 97-98 Johnson, G., Scholes, K., Whittington, R., (2005) Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and cases. 7th ed. Essex: Pearson Education, UK Kare-Silver, M., (1997) Strategy in Crisis: Why business urgently needs a completely new approach. London: Macmillan Press, UK pp.45-47 Karragiannopoulos, Luffman, G., Lea, E., Sanderson, S., Kenny, B., (1996) Strategic Management: An Analytical Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers UK, pp. 48-55 Lynch, R., (2000) Corporate Strategy. 2nd ed. Essex: Pearson Education, UK, pp. 124-132 Oliva, A.R., (2002) A Framework for Success, Marketing Management jan/feb. pp.39 42 Porter, M., (2008) the Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy, Harvard Business Review. Recklies, D. (2001) Porter 5 forces, Recklies Management Project GmbH, Available at: http://www.techba.com/training/course2/LinkedDocuments/Porters%205f.pdf Recklies, D. (2001) Beyond Porter ACritique of the Critique of Porter, Recklies Management Project GmbH, Available at: http://www.themanager.org/Strategy/BeyondPorter.htm Sheehan, N.T., (2005) Why old tools wont work in the new knowledge economy, .. . 26 (4), pp. 53 60 Available at: Siaw, Yu Thompson The Introduction and History of Dabur Nepal Pvt Ltd: The Introduction and History of Dabur Nepal Pvt Ltd: Dr. S.K. Burman set up Dabur in 1884 to produce and dispense Ayurvedic medicines reaching out to a wide mass of people who had no access to proper treatment. Dr. S.K. Burmans commitment and ceaseless efforts resulted in the company growing from a fledgling medicine manufacturing in a small Calcutta house, to household name that at once evokes trust and reliability. There are many stores in different region and country. As a reflection of its constant efforts at achieving superior quality standards, Dabur became the first Ayurvedic products company to get ISO 9002 certification. Reinforcing its commitment to nature and its conservation, Dabur Nepal, a subsidiary of Dabur India, has set up fully automated greenhouses in Nepal. This scientific landmark helps to produce saplings of rare medicinal plants that are under threat of extinction due to ecological degradation. There are various product manufactured by this company in Nepal. Daburs Health care range brings for you a wide selection of Ayurvedic and natural products that offer complete care for varying individual needs. Our product are derived from the time-tested heritage of Ayurveda and backed by the most modern scientific test and trials that ensure no failing quality and safety in anything you pick. The guiding force behind Daburs growth and success has been the wealth of nature and its limitless capacity to support life. And we have constantly taken care to preserve and protect this natural bounty with this overall vision of and to eco-sustenance, expand Daburs resource and production base, Dabur Nepal Private Limited was set up as an independent Group company in 1992. This new company, set amidst the verdant greens and towering mountains of the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal, has established a unique bond of technology and preservation. 2. Introduction to Financial Ratio: A financial ratio is a relative magnitude of two selected numerical values taken from an enterprises financial statements. Often used in accounting there are many standard ratios used to try to evaluate the overall financial condition of a corporation or other organization. Ratio may be expressed as a decimal value, such as 0.10 or given as an equivalent percent value such as 30%. Some ratio is usually quoted as percentages. Different ratio measures different thing Liquidity ratios measure the availability of cash to pay debt. Active ratios measures how quickly a firm converts non cash assets to cash assets. Debt ratios measure the firms ability to repay long-term debt. Profitability ratios measure the firms use of its assets and control of its expenses to generate an acceptable rate of return. Liquid Ratios: Liquidity reflects the ability of a company to meet its short-term obligations using assets that are most readily converted into cash. Assets that may be converted into cash in a short period of time are referred to as liquid assets; they are listed in financial statement as current assets. Current assets are used to satisfy short-term obligations, or current liabilities. The amount by which current assets exceed current liabilities is referred to as the net working capital. Current Ratio: It is used to calculate that how many short term assets a company has to meet its short term obligations. Current ratio= current assets / current liabilities a) 1.6:1 for year 2005 b) 1.8:1 for year 2004 As we know that higher the ratio better the company has more liquid assets to meet its short term liabilities. There were sufficient amounts of assets available to meet short term liabilities in the year 2005 which was 1.6:1 so there were 1.6 current assets available to meet its short term liabilities and in the year 2004 the ratio was increased to 1.8:1 which was much better than in the year 2005. So the company had good financial status in the year 2004 than in the year 2005. Acid Test Ratio: The acid test ratio is also known as the liquid or quick ratio. The idea behind this ratio is that stocks are sometimes a problem because they can be difficult to sell or use. Acid Test Ratio: Current assets- closing stock/ current liabilities 0.8:1 for year 2005 1.1:1 for year 2004 As we know that higher the acid ratio, is comparatively better. So the acid test ratio in 2005 was not sufficient to meet its current liabilities but the ratio was about 1.1:1 in the year 2004 which was sufficient to meet its liabilities and hence the liquid ratio in year 2004 was much better than 2005. 2.2. Profitability Ratios: profitability ratio compares components of income with sales. They gives us an idea of what makes up a companys income and are usually expressed as a portion of each unit of sales. Primary Ratio Return on Capital Employed: It is used in finance as a measure of the returns that a company is realising from its capital employed. It is commonly used as a reassure for comparing the performance between businesses and for assessing whether a business generates enough returns to pay for its cost of capital. ROCE compares earning with capital invested in the company. ROCE= [PBIT/ Capital Employed]*100% a)14.58% for year 2005 b) 18.79% for year 2004 This shows that ROCE in the year 2004 has more profit gained than in the year 2005. Return on Total Assets (ROTA): A ratio that measures a companys profit before interest and taxes (PBIT) against its total net assets. The ratio is considered an indicator of how effectively a company is using its assets to generate earning before contractual obligations must be paid. Return on Total Assets (ROTA) = PBIT/ Total Assets a)0.097 for year 2005 b) 0.14 for year 2004 The rate of return on total assets was better in the year 2004 in comparison with the ratio 0.097 in the year 2005 because there was more profit before interest and tax with total assets. Secondary Ratio: Gross Profit Margin: this ratio is the percentage of sales left after subtracting the cost of goods sold from net sales. It measures the percentage of sales remaining available to pay the overhead expenses of the company. Gross profit margin=Gross profit/ Net sales a) 22.1% for year 2005 b) 23.9% for year 2004 It was seen form the above data that the gross profit margin in the year 2004 was better than in the year 2005 so the company had better profit margin in the year 2004. Net Profit Margin: This ratio is the percentage of sales dollars left after subtracting the cost if goods sold and all expenses, except income taxes. It provides a good opportunity to compare your companys return on sales with the performance of other companies in your industry. It is calculated before income taxes because tax rates and tax liabilities vary from company to company for a wide variety of reasons. Net profit margin: Net profit Before Tax/ Net sales 4.7% for year 2005 6.5% for year 2004 The ratio measure average profit on sales. The percentage net profit to sales for Dabur Nepal Pvt. Ltd was 6.5% in 2004 and 4.7% in 2005 which mean that each Rs1 sales made an average profit of 6.5 Rs in 2004 and 4.7 Rs in 2005. This shows the Net Profit margin was better in the year 2004. Assets Turnover: It is used to calculate revenue generated per amount of long term capital invested in the business. It is used to see how effectively the long term assets are being utilized to generate the revenue. It is given by Assets Turnover= Turnover/ Capital Employed 3.87 times for 2005 3.68 times for 2004 We see the result of 3.68 times for 2004 this means that turnover is 3.68 times bigger than total assets. For the year 2005, it was even higher at 3.87 times. So the total asset turnover ratio was better in 2005 than in 2004. Activity Ratio Inventory Turnover: Inventory turnover is a measure of the number of times is sold or used in a time period such as a year. The equation for inventory turnover is equals the cost of goods sold divided by the average inventory, inventory turnover is also known as an inventory turns, stock turns, turns. A lower turnover ratio defines overstocking a company and a higher turnover ratio indicates inadequate inventory level or less in business. A lower turnover of inventory is somehow beneficial for a production company like Dabur Nepal Pvt. Ltd. Inventory Turnover=cost of goods sold/ average Inventory a)3.51 for year 2005 b) 7.65 for year 2004 Unit inventory turnover is better for the company, which excludes the over stocking and under stocking/ deficiency. It can be possible when cost of goods sold and turnover inventory are equal. As the year 2005 shows 3.51 times turnover inventories which were better because less amount of stock was there in this year but in the year 2004 the inventory turnover was more which was 7.65. As form definition we know less the turnover ratio better the profit gain by the company. So the companys financial status was better in 2005. Debtors Turnover: It indicates the velocity of debt collection of a firm. In simple words it indicates the number of times average debtors are turned over during a year. Debtors Turnover= [Debtors/ Sales]*365 The two basic components of accounts receivable turnover ratio are net credit annual sales and average trade debtors. The trade debtors for the purpose of this ratio include the amount of Trade debtors Bill Receivables. The average receivables are found by adding the opening receivables and closing balance of receivable and dividing the total by two. a)20.50 days for year 2005 b) 22.17 days for year 2004 Accounts receivable turnover ratio or debtors turnover ratio indicates the number of times the debtors are turned over a year. The higher the value of debtors turnover the more efficient is the management of debtors. In the year The debtors turnover was 22.17 days in the year 2004 in comparison with this there was 20.50 days in the year 2005 so, the company took less days to collect its debt in the year 2005 than in the year 2004. As a result the company had better financial state in 2005. Conclusion: The turnover of the company has increased by 4.69% over the previous year. The net profit after tax has reduced by 2.28% over the previous year due to lower contribution margin. During the year company has invested Rs 24.65 crore on account of fixed assets. Out of which, major amount is spent towards installing a new packing machine in juice plant in flex pack and increasing cold store capacity. It has deposited off its fixed assets amounting Rs 4.51 crore during the year. Hence as a whole Dabur Nepal Pvt. Ltd has well financial status in year 2004 but all the ratios were affected by the political instability of politic in Nepal as well as by other effect of the company. References: http://www.dabur.com/EN/Investors1/Annual_reports/2004-05/Dabur-Nepal-fina-05.pdf http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/ratios/ Course Work Managing Financial Principles and Techniques Level 7 Advanced Professional Diploma in Management Studies Submitted to: Course Tutor/ Assessor Muhammad Atif Majeed Submitted by: Kabindra Simkhada Id: 201093 London College of Business Information Technology Contents Net present Value 1 Pay Back Period 1 Internal Rate of Return 1 Post completion Audit 1 Methods of finance available for company A 2 Scatter diagram 3 Advantage of Scatter Diagram 4 Disadvantage of Scatter Diagram 4 Appendix 5 Forecasting total cost Net present value: Both incoming and outgoing of a time series of cash flows is defined as the sum of the present values of the initial investment. The NPV is similar to PV of future cash flows minus the purchase price. This is a central tool for discounted cash flow analysis and is a standard method for using the time value of money to appraise long term project. It is used for capital budgeting, economics, finance and accounting. It measures the excess or shortfall of cash flows. The net present value of the company A is $76,990. this means in an initial investment of $260,000 in a project for 5 years of period the profit gain in the project is $76,990. Pay Back Period In capital budgeting refers to the period of time required for the return on an investment to repay the sum of the original investment is payback period. The time value of money is not taken in account. It measures how long something takes to pay for itself. This term is also widely used in other types of investment areas, often with respect to energy efficiency technologies, maintenance, upgrades, or other change. Payback period is a tool of analysis is often used because it is easy to apply and easy to understand for mist individuals. It is useful for comparing similar investment. According to the project A we earn or get back our initial investment in 3 years 6 month of period and after that period all the money gained is profit. Internal Rate of Return (IRR) It is also called discount cash flow rate of return or simply the rate of return. The internal rate of return on an investment or project is the annualized effective compounded return rate of discount rate that makes the net present value of all cash flow form a particular investment equal to zero. It is commonly used to evaluate the desirability of investment or projects. The higher a projects IRR the more desirable it is to undertake the project. Assuming all other factors are equal among the various projects, the project with the higher IRR would probably be considered the best and undertaken first. At the discount rate of 7.10% the NPV of project is equal to 0. Post Completion Audit Post completion audit is a key example of an internal audit. In this process technical details are discussed briefly. The purpose of post-auditing is to examine how well or badly a project has performed after it has been implemented. This process may be taken at any stage after a project has been started and need not wait until after the project has been completed. It is important for the project to perform post completion audit. Following are the benefit of post completion audit. Improved quality of decision making: after feedback and suggesting changes that need to be made to the process of decision making Improved realism of project appraisals: this is to attempt to prevent biasing upward of cash flow in proposals. Identification of key variables: This after the event knowledge can help to identify what the actual key variables were compared with the ones that were thought to be the case before implementation More frequent project termination: although firms are often unwilling to stop unsuccessfully projects, it may be the logical thing to do. Performing post audit actually gives the information to make that decision. Following things are checked in post completion audit. Check whether the required quality has been achieved. The efficiency of the solution during operation compared with the agreed performance and standards. The actual cost of the project compared with the budgeted expenditure and the reasons for over or under expenditure identified The time taken to develop the solution compared with the targeted date for completion and reasons for a variance identified The effectiveness of any problems encountered and the effectiveness of the solutions generated to deal with them. If the project objectives have been stated in terms of learning outcomes, the extent to which these have been achieved would also be investigated. The audit would lead to the production of a report to the management, structured around the above points. Post completion is one of the important part of the project with the help of which we can verify whether the project meet the requirements, whether the project is completed or not. This is the basic requirements of the project now a days. Methods of finance available for company A Public limited Company is the company which gives services to the public. This company is non profitable organisation whose goal is to provide better and efficient services to the customer or public. A plc is a company that is able to offer its shares to the public which means it share its profit and public also take part or public are also the owner of the company. For long term sustain of the company finance are those that are needed over a longer period of time generally over a year. This company should give services to the public for long time. The methods of finance available for this company are as follows Shares: Shares relate to companies set up as plc. If a company want to expand the business then they can sell shares to the general public. This means any one can buy the shares in the business. Venture capital: Venture capital is becoming an increasingly source of finance for growing companies. Venture capitals are on the lookout for companies with potential. They are prepared to offer capital to help the business grow. In return the venture capital gets some say in the running of the company as well as a share in the profit made. Bank loan: as with short term finance, banks are an important source of longer term finance. Banks may lend sums over long period of time possibly up to 25 years or even more in some cases. The loans have a rate of interest attached to them. Using bank loan might be relatively easy but the cost of servicing the loan can be high. If interest rates rise then it can add to a business costs and this has to be taken into account in the planning stage before the loan is taken out. Government grant: some of the company get funds from the government. This could be medical sector, security sector etc which get its most of the funds from the government. Retained profit Owners Capital: some people are in a fortunate position of having some money which they can use to help set up their business. The money may be the result of savings, money left to them by a relative in a will or money received as the result of a redundancy payment. This is not enough sums to finance the business fully but will be one of the contributions to the overall finance of the business. Selling assets: By selling the assets like property, machine, equipment, other companies or even logos. In some cases it may be appropriate for a business to sell off some of these assets to finance other projects. Lottery funding: in UK the National Lottery might be a possible source of funds for some types of business. These businesses will mostly be charities or charitable trusts. The company that are not for profit business so any surplus they make is put back into the business to help develop and improve it. Scatter diagram A scatter diagram or scatter graph is a type of mathematical diagram using Cartesian coordinates to display values for two variable for a set of data. The data is displayed as a collection of points, each having the value of on variable determining the position on the horizontal axis and the value of the other variable determining the vertical axis. This kind of graph is called scatter diagram. This diagram mostly used for the experimental purpose. Different data collected from the experiment is plotted in the graph. If data exist that is systematically incremented or decremented by other, it is called the control parameter or independent variable and is customarily plotted along the horizontal axis. The measured or dependent variable is customarily plotted along the vertical axis. If no dependent variable exists, either type of variable can be plotted on both axis and a scatter plot will illustrate only the degree of correlation between tow variables. A scatter plot can suggest various kinds of correlation between variables with a certain confidence interval. Correlations may be positive, negative, of null. If the pattern of dots slopes form lover left to upper right, it suggests a positive correlation between the variables being studied. If the pattern of dot slopes form lower left to upper right. It suggests a negative correlation. A line of best fit can be drawn in order to study the correlation between the variable. An equation for the correlation between the variable can be determined by established best fit procedures. For a linear correlation, the best fit procedure is known as linear regression and is guaranteed to generate a correct solution for arbitrary relationships. The scatter diagram is one of the basic tools of quality control. Benefits of scatter plot are as follows The diagram shows the relationship between two variables where one variable is drawn at horizontal axis and other is plotted at vertical axis. This scatter plot is best method to illustrate the non linear pattern. This is the best method used for finding results in experiment. Disadvantages of scatter plot It is difficult to find exact value of the variables. To get the exact value we need more experimental values because of which this method is time consuming. It is difficult to get accurate result from more scattered data.

Technical Writing in Computer Hardware Electronics

Technical Writing in Computer Hardware Electronics What is Technical Writing? Technical writing is a style of formal writing used in various fields as diverse as computer hardware and software, chemistry, aerospace industry, robotics, finance, consumer electronics and biotechnology. In short it is conveying specific information about a technical subject to a specific audience for a specific purpose. Presentation of information is indeed very important as it helps the reader in solving a particular problem or in understanding a particular technology or product. The words and graphics of technical writing are meant to be practical i.e., they should be able aid in communicating in simple terms; a body of factual information that will help the audience understand a subject or carry out a task. DDLC DDLC stands for document development life cycle; it is a linear collection of several phases that are used by a technical writer to create a clear, concise, informative and well structured technical document. Conceptual knowledge of DDLC is crucial in creating good technical documents and thereby in achieving success in the field of technical writing. Various phases of DDLC are: Requirement Specification The Requirement specification phase is all about content collection and content representation. It involves determining Audience who is going to benefit from this document or who is going to use the document? Time The time frame and various deadlines to be followed through the entire project Quantity/Number of pages The size or number of pages in the document. Tools The tools to be used for creating the document. Document type whether the doc is a user manual or help guide etc. Templates The templates and style guides to be used in preparing the document Reference Documents The reference documents client might provide to aid in the creation of the document. A lot of times the, thewriter must usually interview the user as well as a subject matter expert (SME) to get detailed information and to find out what is needed or required. In the case of writing software documents the writer is supposed to interview or talk to the programmers and whereas to write about hardware, the writer talks to an engineer, technician or manager. The method of conducting the interview may vary from just talking with the person and taking down notes to tape recording the conversation. It is a good practice to have a list of questions on hand during the interviews with the SMEs or other technicians. Other sources include the internet, reference documents etc. The tools that are to be used in making the document are decided on the basis of the document type. For example, RoboHelp is used for creating online user guides and MS-Word is used in creating user manuals. Audience Analysis The complexity of a document is decided by the audience it caters to. Audience analysis phase involves determining the audience level. This can be done by either talking to the developers of the particular product or technology or through the SME. Also we can learn more about the audience level by talking to those the product is intended for. Formally, audience can be categorized into three levels based on how much they already know about the product or the technology. Novice A novice user is completely new to the technology or product the document is about and usually has very little or no knowledge about it. Documents intended for these kinds of audience need to contain everything about the technology starting from the very basics. Mediocre A mediocre user has a general knowledge about what the product is all about but need to Technical / Experts An expert or technical user has an in depth knowledge of the product , technology or software and is usually looking for only particular information. Product Analysis Product analysis phase involves deciding which of the two approaches presented below is more appropriate in writing about the technology / software. Menu driven Thematic approach Document Flow The purpose of this phase is creating an outline for the required document i.e., creating the skeletal framework of the document. A skeletal framework usually includes Preface or introduction, Table of Contents and figures, Chapter information and sequence, bibliography, index etc. All the elements of the document are ordered serially to prepare the Table of Contents (TOC) . The output of this phase is to produce a clear view of how the document will be structured. Gathering Information Now that the technical writer has a skeletal framework, he needs to gather the information required to fill in the blanks. For this purpose he needs to again communicate with the developers, SMEs and also find some of his own resources through the internet or the reference documents he is provided with. First Draft This phase involves preparing the first draft of the required document following the pre approved document plan and time schedule. Review The purpose of this phase is to review (self, peer, technical, and final) the completed document against the requirements specification document, style guide and template determined during the requirements specification page. Peer review Peer reviewing is subjecting the authors work to the scrutiny of other employees who are experts in the same field. Peer reviews usually need a community of experts in the same field given field, who are qualified and can perform an impartial review. Even though there are a lot of speculations about peer reviewing, it actually encourages authors to meet the accepted standards of their discipline and also prevents the dissemination of irrelevant findings, unacceptable interpretations, personal views and unwarranted claims. Technical review Technical reviewing aids in creating a technically superior version of the work product that is reviewed, which is done either by correction of defects or by recommendation or introduction of alternative approaches. Technical reviews are also a form of peer reviews but in which a team of qualified personnel examines the appropriateness of the document for its intended use and also identifies deviations from the mandatory specifications and standards. Technical reviews sometimes provide recommendations and examination of various alternatives. Editorial review Editorial reviewing aims at improving the readability of a manuscript. The reviewer parses through the manuscript to find whether it can be further simplified or clarified. The reviewer either makes changes or makes marginal notes and a written report and then returns the manuscript to the writer for further revision. Second draft The second and the final draft of the technical paper is out only after a final review. Once the document is free of any grammatical or technical related errors and follows all the guidelines, it is ready for publication.