Discussion 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Discussion 4 - Essay Example Hence, it might be stated that the introduction of cloud computing came into limelight mainly to fulfil the requirements or utilities of the individual in this advanced age. As a result of which, the process of attainment of varied essential information became extremely faster and quicker than before (Jamsa, 2011). However, it also includes varied types of issues such as control or managing problems, performance or reliability trouble, security, cost of bandwidth, vendor lock-In, transparency, reliability and final thoughts. But among all these above mentioned issues, the most note-worthy challenges are security and performance among others (Furht & Escalante, 2010). After reading the paragraph and watching the video, I totally agree that, utility is the main driving force that fascinated the customers towards the concept of cloud computing or advanced technology. This is surely a revolutionary move that fuelled the utilities of the customers or business enterprises. As a result of this technological change, the business entrepreneurs may very easily cope-up with the changing requirements of the customers that might enhance the reputation and reliability of the brand to a certain extent. Not only this, cloud computing also enabled the facility of accessing various information or facts at any time from their office locations thereby reducing their work-load. Therefore, due to all these facilities, the concept of cloud computing became extremely popular and eminent in this rapidly changing market among other techniques. In spite of various advantages, cloud computing also comprises of numerous pitfalls or issues such as control problem, performance or reliability issue, security, cost of bandwidth, vendor lock-In issue, transparency and reliability problems. However, among all these issues, the most challenging one is the trouble of security. This is because, in case the valuable data or information about the total sale of the

Marketing Spotlight on HSBC Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing Spotlight on HSBC - Case Study Example A deeper insight into this strategy reveals that the efforts are directed towards becoming the consumer's expert on cultural knowledge of the nation thus getting deep visibility into financial opportunities in the country hidden in the personality & motivation of the end consumers that is normally invisible to other outsiders (Montgomery. 2008). The localization model of HSBC is supported strongly by their global technology system called Hexagon Infrastructure having foundations laid way back in 1983 and subsequently key enhancements implemented in 1987, 1989, and 1994 (Peffers and Tuunainen. 1999). HSBC owns one of the most sophisticated & efficient banking transactions & customer service management systems of the world. As defined by Hamid and Amin et al. (2007), Internet Banking is a powerful mean of enhancing competitive advantages that should be informative, communicative & transactional as per the local customer needs. As reported by these researchers, HSBC is one of the few foreign banks that are able to compete effectively with the local banks at Malaysia & Thailand pertaining to Internet Banking. Also, this is the only bank in the world that offers secure ID tokens to the customers for Internet Banking (Goodwin. 2006). Another key success factor of HSBC is their focus on some specific customer needs through niche marketing like the example of pet insurance offering in the spotlight document. Lemon and Seiders (2007) presented another niche focus of HSBC servicing fund transfers for immigrants back into their respective countries through HSBC website. This service is specifically very popular in markets like Mexico and Philippines that are not core targets of many multinational banks. As a result of such offerings, HSBC customers perceive the bank to be socially responsible and innovative which adds to the brand equity of the organization. Sirkeci (2008) presented another niche positioning by HSBC whereby they target the needs of ethnic population of developed countries and offer customized products for them. To serve this segment, they have hired frontline staff from the target communities to ensure better customer friendliness. In nutshell the primary competitive advantages of localization competencies and ability to target niche segments has ensured the current global positioning of HSBC as such. Where is HSBC vulnerable and what should they watch for McDonald and Chernatony (2001) reported that while the competency of localization is evident very strongly in the parent brand, the same is not reflected adequately in promotion of individual products like Meridian, Vector, Orchard, etc. Moreover, the benefits of individual products of HSBC are not communicated adequately through product branding exercise. This leads to tight correlation of individual product lines with the parent brand thus risking the HSBC brand equity in a location due to failure of a product line. This is a serious vulnerability that HSBC should watch for. Another vulnerability HSBC might face is pertaining to their sheer size and the

Factors That Have Shaped Bahamian Culture Essay

Factors That Have Shaped Bahamian Culture - Essay Example The essay "Factors That Have Shaped Bahamian Culture" discusses a number of factors that have shaped the Bahamian culture and identity since a large number of Haitian migration to the Bahamas at the end of the 18th century have been instrumental in constant tension between the Bahamians and Haitians. However, the Haitian retention of African based beliefs and customs, its music, folklore, and gambling habits, has had some effect on the Bahamas. Since 1967, there have been developments in music, dance, festivals, literature, painting crafts, and architectural preservation, which have helped define a Bahamian identity. The Department of Archives plays a dominant role in preserving the rich island architectural heritage and takes care of the antiquities, monuments, and museums. However, the lack of recognition by other Caribbean countries has been a great stumbling block for the nation to establish its own identity and many outsiders viewed the Bahamas as an offshoot of the United State s and a tourist Mecca with sun, sand, sea, and sex, and a society devoid of serious writers. Analysing the Bahamian culture one can understand that it is the Bahamian African culture that has shaped the Bahamian identity and that factors such as the tourism industry, the changed political scenario, and the oral tradition and newspapers have been instrumental in developing the Bahamian culture and identity. Yinna points out three elements that contributed to the formation of a ‘collective self-image’ among the Bahamians after 1973.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW - Essay Example p570) . A letter of credit instrument is generally issued by a bank against two types of bills, they are demand bills and usance bills (Massood, A. 2008).To decrease the credit risk to sellers in both domestic as well as foreign trade practice is the most important purpose of letter of credit.. When a bank issues a letter of credit in favor of a customer, it surrogates its creditworthiness for that customer (Borcky. R. 1999). There are two types of letter of credit; they are standby letter of credit and documentary letter of credit. Documentary letter of credits can again be categorized into revocable and irrevocable. The revocable letter of credit is particularly rare in usage. Irrevocable letter of credit can be confirmed or unconfirmed letter of credit. Every type of letter of credits has its advantages as well as its disadvantages for the buyers and sellers. The charges of each type of letter of credit may vary according to its characteristics. The more the bank assures payment, higher will be the charges of it (Borcky. R. 1999). Without an agreement between the concerned parties, an irrevocable letter of credit cannot be cancelled before a particular date. A revocable letter of credit can be changed anytime without previous discussions by the bank which issues it. A confirmed letter of credit includes backing by the issuing bank and its correspondents promising payments of all drafts. At the same time an unconfirmed letter of credit will not have any guarantee that the bank will make payments on drafts in case of non payment from the buyer. A stand by letter of credit is a conditional obligation by the issuing bank that it will make payment to the chosen beneficiary if the banks client fails to execute as per the terms of the contract (Letter of credit. 2009). Letters of credit are more or less separate transactions. They are totally different from bank guarantees. The

Contingency leadership theories and contemporary leadership Essay

Contingency leadership theories and contemporary leadership - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the general definition of contingency theories is that it is a class of behavioral theory. More so, contingency theory is a process of trying to identify and measure the conditions under which things or circumstances are likely to occur. These behavioral theories claim that there is no perfect way of organizing a corporation and the organizational structure of the company. An organizational or leadership style that is effective in some situations may differ from other organizations. This is so because organizations are different in structure and size. Therefore, the best way of having an organized organization is contingently depending on the external and internal situation of the company. This is the case because; external environments have numerous impacts on an organization in numerous ways. Critical external factors include the size of the organization, availability, labor markets, cost of capital, competitors, strategies, governme ntal laws and policies, managerial assumptions about employees, technologies used, and other diverse situations. Traditional leadership theories elaborated on leadership as nature borne of individual and established on the impossibility to create such attributes on a grown individual as illuminated by the great man theory, whilst a contrasting theory of the behavioral implicates on the possibility of an individual to be a leader as shown through traits.... Commonly, the contingency, transformational, and transactional approaches derive the best results whenever forecasting on the capabilities of an individual (CDR Associates, 2007:7). However, changes in leadership are continuously emerging because of the dynamics in the environment and acquisition of skill. Authenticity, building of trust and relationships are the modern approaches to effective organizational leadership. The cognitive perspective approach assigns that follower’s posses shared beliefs about a leader’s behaviors and beliefs about their leaders’ behaviors and traits (Gilbert, 2003:443). This influences how the followers encode information about their leaders by targeting the quality of ideas, quantity of speech and leaders ability to open up for friendliness. This means that the leader’s behavior influences his follower’s behaviors who perceive the reflection that leadership offers. Therefore, a leader should have the capability of buil ding up healthy and ethical relationships that would interconnect the personnel to a single group targeting to deliver performances to enhance organizational performances (Gill, 2010:50). The leader should remain emphatic to employees and avoid biases that would divide the employees. In order to ensure that the company performs obligations to the fullest, the leader should bear motivational characteristics and avoid any act that would seem to induce pressure on the personnel (Collins & O'Rourke, 2009:16). Though scholars had their own perspective of leadership, the bottom line of each of them was that every organization despite the size should have an efficient and outstanding leader. This is the case because efficient managerial leadership influences

Foster Care for Children Speech or Presentation

Foster Care for Children - Speech or Presentation Example A5.Independent former foster youth between the ages 18 and 21 are eligible to receive certain medical benefits to which they are legally entitled and desperately need. Research has shown that independent former foster youth have acute health care needs. I strongly feel that given these health care needs, it is appropriate that under current law, these youth are eligible for Medi-Cal by virtue of their status as former foster youth. Despite their eligibility, however, these former foster youth are required to fill out Medi-Cal eligibility forms as a prerequisite to getting the health care services to which they are entitled. It does not make moral or fiscal sense for the state to spend scarce dollars and staff hours making these former foster youth fill out Medi-Cal paperwork since they cannot, by law, be refused eligibility. As a result of this current practice, these foster youth risk losing their medical care when they incorrectly fill out their forms, forms are sent to the wrong a ddresses, or where there are other paperwork delays. A6. According to the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care, courts are responsible for the safety and well-being of children who have been removed from their homes as a result of abuse or neglect. In 2007, there were nearly 80,000 children in foster care, more than 75 percent of whom entered placement as a result of neglect. Half of the children entering foster care in California are age five or under. Domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental illness are factors that contribute to the removal of children from their homes. Q7. What is the cultural background of the majority of the children under foster care What percentage of the children in the State belongs to this category A.7. African-American children constitute seven percent of the state's child population but are more than 30 percent of the children in foster care. Native American children are 0.84 percent of the state's child population but represent 1.41 percent of the children in foster care. Youth who "age out" of foster care often leave the system ill-prepared to live as adults, and face a significantly increased risk of unemployment, homelessness, mental illness, and involvement with the criminal justice system. Q8. Why would the former foster children have special medical needs A 8. While the children are moved out of their own homes to avoid exposure to unpleasant conditions, there is

Intercultural communication (Porter, Samovar, and Penington) Essay

Intercultural communication (Porter, Samovar, and Penington) - Essay Example It was a friendly dig at each other's culture. Culture is the way we live, the air we breathe, the thoughts we think, the clothes we put on, the glasses we wear and look through (Monippally 2001, p 44-45). Culture is what shapes our perception. It is defined as the complex system of values, traits, morals and customs shared by a society. From 1967 to 1973, while working at IBM as a psychologist, collected and analyzed data from over 100,000 individuals from 50 countries and 3 regions. From the initial results, Hofstede developed a model that identifies four primary dimensions to assist in differentiating cultures: Power Distance1, Individualism2, Masculinity3 and Uncertainty Avoidance4. Hofstede added a fifth Dimension after conducting an additional international study with a survey instrument developed with Chinese employees and managers. That dimension, based on Confucian dynamism, is Long-Term Orientation5 and was applied to 23 countries. These five Hofstede Dimensions can also be found to correlate with other country (See figure 1) and cultural paradigms (Geert Hofstede, 2003). people communicate varies widely between, and even within, cultures. One aspect of communication style is language usage. Across cultures, some words and phrases are used in different ways. For example, even in countries that share the English language, the meaning of "yes" varies from "maybe, I'll consider it" to "definitely so," with many shades in between. Another major aspect of communication style is the degree of importance given to non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication includes not only facial expressions and gestures; it also involves seating arrangements, personal distance, and sense of time. In addition, different norms regarding the appropriate degree of assertiveness in communicating can add to cultural misunderstandings. For instance, some white Americans typically consider raised voices to be a sign that a fight has begun, while some black, Jewish and Italian Americans often feel that an increase in volume is a sign of an exciting conversation among friend s. Thus, some white Americans may react with greater alarm to a loud discussion than would members of some American ethnic or non-white racial groups. 2. Different Attitudes Towards Conflict: Some cultures view conflict as a positive thing, while others view it as something to be avoided. In the U.S., conflict is not usually desirable; but people often are encouraged to