buy custom Procurement Process essay

buy custom Procurement Process essay It is widely acknowledged by buyers that reverse auctions have led to significant cost savings for various buying requirements. This can be attributed to the reverse auction tool that inexpensively connects buyers and sellers worldwide and supports competitive bidding while driving the price of an item to its true market value (Monczka, Handfield, Giunipero, 2009). But unlike other procurement methods, the suppliers can review their bids depending on the prices stated by other market suppliers. Procurement refers to a process of obtaining goods and services. It involves the process of preparation and processing of a requisition through to receipt and approval of the invoice to the payment. Its involves purchase planning, standards determination, specifications development, supplier research and selection, value analysis, financing, price negotiation, making the purchase, supply contract administration, inventory control and store , disposals and other related functions (WebFinaance,Inc., 2011). In any regular auctions, there are single sellers and many potential buyers bidding for the item being sold. Reverse auction is used for e-purchasing using the internet (an e-auction) but on the contrary, it involves one buyer and many sellers. Reverse auction are electronic processes where multiple sellers of a product are vying for the business of a single buyer. This results to the price of the products being driven down. Its very important for the reverse auction tool to be well integrated within the strategic sourcing process to harness its full potential. It should therefore have the ability to adapt to new changes in the market, to incorporate financial controls in driving down the costs and in the elimination of waste. It should therefore continue until a pre-established bidding period ends or until no seller is willing to bid any lower, whichever comes first (Monczka, Handfield, Giunipero, 2009). In regular reverse auctions, prices are revealed to all sellers, however, the identity of the competitors remains anonymous. On the other hand, in rank reverse auction, sellers are only told their relative rank and thus are not aware of their competitors prices (Monczka, Handfield, Giunipero, 2009). The general idea is that the buyer specifies what they want to purchase and offers it to many suppliers who do their bidding to be awarded the contracts to supply the goods (OECD). Generally the main purp ose for the reverse auction is to allow the buyer to get the best quality service or product for the company. A typical internet reverse auction is conducted by large national-account end users and the participating suppliers are generally the major producers. The buyer generally issues invitations to suppliers to participate. In most cases, these invitations tend to be sent to the major producers of the service or the product needed. Normally, the purchaser should not specify where the product to be supplied should originate, or should be produced so as to allow as many suppliers as possible and also increase the chances of a best competitive bidding (United States International Trade Commission) Before the purchase of any product or service through the online auction, a price performance measure needs to be conducted first. The most common price performance measure includes actual price versus the planned purchase price comparisons, actual purchase price(s) compared to a market index, comparisons of actual price to actual purchase prices for individual and aggregated items between operating plants or divisions within an organization, and target prices achieved (Monczka, Handfield, Giunipero, 2009). The highly priced law materials are the major products that can be purchased through online auctions. These materials are vital for any manufacturing industries and therefore they have many reliable suppliers all over the world and especially the developed countries. Online auction brings together the buyers and the sellers of different products and services and therefore the company can also identify the suppliers for different ypes and options for the same product based on the background and the general financial position of the company. I addition the manufacturing company uses the machinery that require regular servicing and occasional parts change. Its therefore important for the company to evaluate the products being given in the market and also the benefits accrued on them. For example during the purchase of new machinery then the company should check for the efficiency of the machine, its durability, availability of the parts for the machine or if the company offers any after sale services like installation and maintenance and if so, for how long. The choice of the product should also incorporate the cost of upgrading it if the need arises (in that it should easily adapt to the new technological advances in the global economy). The most important factor to consider while making the choice of the product to purchase through an online auction is the consumer. Normally the consumer dictates what will sell or not and therefore the consumer altitude should be assessed before the purchase of any material intended to be used in the manufacturing company. This is mainly in form of tastes and preferences. Its therefore crucial for any company to do a market research to identify the preferences of its market (the consumer). This way the products being bought over the online auction will have the greatest effect on the final product the company is willing to produce. In this case the research company can be contracted to do the research on the consumer in terms of economic status, tastes and preferences that will guide the online auction process. After the conversion of the requirements or requisitions into purchase orders or contracts, the company needs to decide on which method of procurement to use. There exist several methods of procurement they include: competitive bidding, direct negotiations and single source acquisition. A successful e-auction requires the development of a preauction strategy, which sets goals, targets specific potential partners, and clearly lay out the applicable rules to be followed throughout the process (Pearcy, Glunipero, Wilson, 2007). The list of the suppliers contains companies formally accepted through quality and performance criteria, along with potential suppliers that have been involved in the similar tendering process before. The process of determining the suppliers normally involves the company deciding which contracts are to benefit from the reverse auction procurement and then the suppliers are initially evaluated and invited to participate in the bidding process. During the selection for the participants for online auction, the general company relation with the suppliers should be put first. Suppliers with a long history with the company should be put first and contacted for them to participate in the online auction (Pearcy, Glunipero, Wilson, 2007). This is meant to maintain the relationship status although its generally affected by the reverse auction method of procurement. The selection of the suppliers the reverse auction should not look at the buyer seller relationship though the whole process threatens it. The research suggest the use of a relational approach when using reverse auction for the relationships that are strategically important for the institutions overall outlook and growth in the long term (Monczka, Handfield, Giunipero, 2009). therefore the execution stages of any reverse auction should be independent.in the offer phase of the reverse auction process, rules should be accurately explained to the parties, prior to the con ducting of the actual R/A event .this increases the chances of a successful reverse auction. Lastly the company needs to embrace the emerging technologies in the supply management in the identification and building of the supplier relation. These emerging technologies include the guided buying, advanced supply planning, win-win sourcing optimization, content enabled analytics and knowledge networking among others. Guided buying refers to an e-tool that combines e-purchasing systems with virtual cataalogs, search engines, and web agents to help guide employees to preferred sources of supply and also to preferred sourcing processes and personnel. Advanced supply planning tools provide a linkage from sales and operations plans to supply planning and back again.it also includes translating demand(volumes and variability) upstream across multiple tiers of the supply chain and improves risk analysis, decisions on hedging tactics, and other tradeoff analysis(e.g. make vs. buy, transportation ,inventory). The win-win sourcing optimization techniques and supporting tools allow suppliers to better match their capabilities with those of the buying firm and create more win-win scenarios and fewer win-lose ones. Rather than the using the winner takes all bidding process geared toward price and cost, or having the buyer guess which lots to create for different suppliers. It allows buyers to open up their m arket baskets to suppliers that can then do their own demand management to flexibly bid in order to harness their best capabilities and put their best foot forward (mitchell, 2007). Another tool that may help in the selection and reduction of the risks involved is the content-enabled analytics. The usage of this tool may help the company to do predictive analysis such as price or cost forecasting, profitability planning, and supplier or market risk analysis. Lastly the use of knowledge networking will help in making vital decisions in awarding of the contracts. Knowledge networking refers to the process of using the internet-based collaboration tools and services to better capture and disseminate supply knowledge both internally and externally (mitchell, 2007). After the completion of the bidding process and the supplier have been selected then their level of cooperation should be assessed. This cooperation is important if the supplier will have continued interaction with the buying firm. Normally, the more cooperative the supplier is then, the greater the relationship with the buyer will be and the probability of being awarded another contract will be. This cooperation is greatly affected by the initial cost of the bid. Price is the most controversial element in the reverse auction phenomenon. Researches have strongly supported that relational contract structures are negatively related to the purchase price reductions (Monczka, Handfield, Giunipero, 2009). Institutions pursuing a more market based (bid and buy) approach have made significant savings in their budgets but have also lost on the suppliers relations. Its inevitable for these firms to assess the tradeoff between obtaining lower prices(that may or may not be sustainable) and the opportunity cost of not choosing suppliers that can provide assistance in vital non price related areas (e.g. product design) when addressing and designing their appropriate reverse auction structure. In conclusion, the main role of procurement in a company is to raise the competitiveness of the company in terms of lowering the cost of doing business, improving the inventory control, improvement of the quality and the durability of its products. Reverse auction helps in the provision of the most competitive prices for the products or the services for the companies that embrace it. This is in terms of the purchase prices and after sales services that come with the products bought. Reverse auction have been criticized of simply looking for price reductions without any regard to the existing or future business relation. The fact is that the use of reverse auction reduces the time associated with the supplier selection and the award process. However, this addition time saving will be mitigated by the increased time required to build and maintain relationships (OECD). In addition the use of reverse auction have been in the forefront in the achievements of the strategic cost management, benchmarking, supplier development and most importantly in the reduction of the prices paid for the products and services. The benefits of the reverse auction outweigh the odds for its use. Its therefore important for the companies involved in procurement to consider the use of reverse auction in their procurement process. Buy custom Procurement Process essay

Understanding The Bretton Woods System

Understanding The Bretton Woods System Nations attempted to revive the gold standard following World War I, but it collapsed entirely during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Some economists said adherence to the gold standard had prevented monetary authorities from expanding the money supply rapidly enough to revive economic activity. In any event, representatives of most of the worlds leading nations met at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in 1944 to create a new international monetary system. Because the United States at the time accounted for over half of the worlds manufacturing capacity and held most of the worlds gold, the leaders decided to tie world currencies to the dollar, which, in turn, they agreed should be convertible into gold at $35 per ounce.​ Under the Bretton Woods system, central banks of countries other than the United States were given the task of maintaining fixed exchange rates between their currencies and the dollar. They did this by intervening in foreign exchange markets. If a countrys currency was too high relative to the dollar, its central bank would sell its currency in exchange for dollars, driving down the value of its currency. Conversely, if the value of a countrys money was too low, the country would buy its own currency, thereby driving up the price. The United States Abandons the Bretton Woods System The Bretton Woods system lasted until 1971. By that time, inflation in the United States and a growing American trade deficit were undermining the value of the dollar. Americans urged Germany and Japan, both of which had favorable payments balances, to appreciate their currencies. But those nations were reluctant to take that step, since raising the value of their currencies would increase prices for their goods and hurt their exports. Finally, the United States abandoned the fixed value of the dollar and allowed it to float- that is, to fluctuate against other currencies. The dollar promptly fell. World leaders sought to revive the Bretton Woods system with the so-called Smithsonian Agreement in 1971, but the effort failed. By 1973, the United States and other nations agreed to allow exchange rates to float. Economists call the resulting system a managed float regime, meaning that even though exchange rates for most currencies float, central banks still intervene to prevent sharp changes. As in 1971, countries with large trade surpluses often sell their own currencies in an effort to prevent them from appreciating (and thereby hurting exports). By the same token, countries with large deficits often buy their own currencies in order to prevent depreciation, which raises domestic prices. But there are limits to what can be accomplished through intervention, especially for countries with large trade deficits. Eventually, a country that intervenes to support its currency may deplete its international reserves, making it unable to continue buttressing the currency and potentially leaving it unable to meet its international obligations. This article is adapted from the book Outline of the U.S. Economy by Conte and Carr and has been adapted with permission from the U.S. Department of State.

George Washington Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

George Washington - Essay Example Whether Gandhi was there or not, India would have won freedom in 1947 because Britain was setting all its colonies free following the Second World War. Even if Nelson Mandela was not there Apartheid would have been abolished in South Africa in the 1990s and indeed it is possible that if George Washington was not there, the United States would still have won independence in 1776. But therein lies the most important part. It is not that one event which defined those countries but numerous actions and inactions which happened since then. Indeed Gandhi may or may not have set the country free but his philosophy of non violence defines India. Nelson Mandela bought tolerance into a country where it did not seem possible that people of different colors could live together. George Washington was offered unlimited power to rule a country which had the potential to be the richest in the World and he turned it down. It is very important to understand what a monumental decision that was. Fidel C astro got power in a small island and hung to it till absolutely close to death. Stalin, Polpot, Idi Amin, This is a long list covered in blood. These people who at least for a time were heroes for their country and then the lust of power took them over. Indeed it is not our ability what defines us, it is our choices. George Washington w George Washington was a man, even in his lifetime, was considered a figure larger than life, and indeed he was credited with supernatural abilities like it was said of him that that bullets could not hit him. There was an aura of invincibility around him. Indeed lot of the legends were most likely made, like the Cherry tree episode which never happened. As a Soldier he was capable of rashness and poor judgment, he was addicted to gambling, indulged in a good deal of wrenching and was said to be a most horrid swearer2. Was this person who would be the commander in chief for the continental army Let us look at the events of the revolutionary war. When the war began, the British Colonists ("Americans") did not have a professional army or navy. Each colony provided for its own defenses through the use of local militia. Militiamen were lightly armed, slightly trained, and usually did not have uniforms. Their units served for only a few weeks or months at a time, were reluctant to go very far from home, and were thus generally unavailable for extended operations. Militia lacked the training and discipline of regular soldiers3. Each colony was its own little country and fiercely independent. To get them together to be one fighting force was a monumental task; But George Washington was able to do that. The Reason was very simple, everybody trusted him and everybody respected him and indeed he himself was very conscious of the responsibility which came with his character. The second reason why he was able to forge a successful army was his adaptability. While his background was of a professional soldier with single minded professional discipline, here he had to deal with a rag tag mixed outfit of varying loyalties and ambitions. George Washington combined all of that because he realized that all of it, the Militias, the army could be one fighting force without necessarily losing their individual identity. This was not easy, and indeed battles were lost because some comm anders would not take George Washington as their leader,

Research Paper Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Paper - Research Proposal Example Emanating from Charles family once being a property it leaves a mark on the existence of specific person and their achievements. Being followed by ownership, ownership of anything claims person superiority over the properly. Music keeps records of historical events and personal records. The piano being a metaphor in the play line music is widely utilized to keep record of historical happening. The piano takes several meaning in the play and its lifetime. As a gift bought via slave exchange it signifies persons worth and interchangeability during slavery era and white kingship network over blacks. Under Boy Willie the piano signifies a symbolic attempt to keep the family together and history. The carving on it wooden parts are a narrative of the present and past historical events of the slaves and family story line. The piano being passed from one generation to another helps keep the past family historical memorials within the family. Ghost in the play were used to associate the play with the African American culture a trait the inherited from their African ancestors. Since the slave’s culture dissolved into white folks Christianity the writer used ghost to remind African American on their origin and reserve their spiritual beliefs. Therefore the ghost reserves historical events of the African American folks (Wilson

Automobile - Opel Essay Example for Free

Automobile Opel Essay Introduction – A museum is an institution that cares for (conserves) a collection of artefacts and other objects of scienti$c, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Museums have varying aims, ranging from serving researchers and specialists to serving the general public. Purpose of study – ?A car represents status. A car is symbol of power. There are many car enthusiast’s in our country. ?There are many rich people that own a antique or a latest high technology car. ? And on other had there are many people who cannot a/ord such an expensive car but have a great interest in them. ?Most of the car museums we see holds only the vintage cars. ?Thus there is a need felt to provide a new building typology which can o/er a range of cars to view, from vintage to the modern, for all the car enthusiast’s to look out. SOURABH SHALGAR FOURTH YEAR (CM) ROLL NO:27 1 An Automobile Museum – Same as an ordinary museum, an Automobile museum is a museum where a range to cars are for display for the people to view. Purpose of an Automobile Museum – ?The main purpose is to provide a stage where people can display there cars. ?Giving people an opportunity to see a wide range of cars under one roof. ?Along with that providing ancillary activities such as a track for drag racing , where various events can be performed. ?Helping the car companies to display there cars which can help them advertising there brand, and giving a chance to people to compare between to companies. ?Along with that to provide all the amenities to ensure the comfort of the visitor. ?To make the Museum a tourist attraction so that it will be a revenue generation place for the city. Aim – ?Attract people to visit the museum. SOURABH SHALGAR FOURTH YEAR (CM) ROLL NO:27 2? To provide display for a variety of cars and companies. ?To knowledge people about history of the car companies. ?To make the museum a tourist attraction point. ?To entertain the visitors. Design Strategies – To achieve the aims , the components which can be used in design are ; ?Granduarness should be created by the structure which can act as the landmark of that place. ?Ambience should be created such that visitors should enjoy. ?Display areas created should keep the Status and luxury of the car companies. ?Metal Innovative Architecture must be used to give the structure the iconic look. SOURABH SHALGAR FOURTH YEAR (CM) ROLL NO:27 3.

Ernest Hemingway :: essays research papers

Ernest (Miller) Hemingway 1899-1961 Entry Updated : 08/01/2001 Birth Place: Oak Park, Illinois, United States Death Place: Ketchum, Idaho, United States Personal Information Career Writings Media Adaptations Sidelights Further Readings About the Author Personal Information: Family: Born July 21, 1899, in Oak Park Illinois, United States; committed suicide, July 2, 1961, in Ketchum, Idaho, United States son of Clarence Edmunds (a physician) and Grace (a music teacher; maiden name, Hall) Hemingway: married Hadley Richardson, September 3, 1921 (divorced March 10, 1927); married Pauline Pfeiffer (a writer), May 10, 1927 (divorced November 4, 1940); married Martha Gellhorn (a writer), November 21, 1940 (divorced December 21, 1945); married Mary Welsh (a writer), March 14, 1946; children: (first marriage) John Hadley Nicanor; (second marriage) Patrick, Gregory. Education: Educated in Oak Park, IL. Career: Writer, 1917-61. Kansas City Star, Kansas City, MO, cub reporter, 1917-18; ambulance driver for Red Cross Ambulance Corps in Italy, 1918-19; Co-operative Commonwealth, Chicago, writer, 1920-21; Toronto Star, Toronto, Ontario, covered Greco-Turkish War, 1920, European correspondent, 1921-24; covered Spanish Civil War for North American Newspaper Alliance, 1937-38; war correspondent in China, 1941; war correspondent in Europe, 1944-45. Awards: Pulitzer Prize, 1953, for The Old Man and the Sea; Nobel Prize for Literature, 1954; Award of Merit from American Academy of Arts & Letters, 1954. WRITINGS BY THE AUTHOR:NOVELS * The Torrents of Spring: A Romantic Novel in Honor of the Passing of a Great Race (parody), Scribner, 1926, published with a new introduction by David Garnett, J. Cape, 1964, reprinted, Scribner, 1972. * The Sun Also Rises, Scribner, 1926, published with a new introduction by Henry Seidel Canby, Modern Library, 1930, reprinted, Scribner, 1969 (published in England as Fiesta, J. Cape, 1959). * A Farewell to Arms, Scribner, 1929, published with new introductions by Ford Madox Ford, Modern Library, 1932, Robert Penn Warren, Scribner, 1949, John C. Schweitzer, Scribner, 1967. * To Have and Have Not, Scribner, 1937, J. Cape, 1970. * For Whom the Bell Tolls, Scribner, 1940, published with a new introduction by Sinclair Lewis, Princeton University Press, 1942, reprinted, Scribner, 1960. * Across the River and Into the Trees, Scribner, 1950, reprinted, Penguin with J. Cape, 1966. * The Old Man and the Sea, Scribner 1952. * Islands in the Stream, Scribner, 1970. * The Garden of Eden, Scribner, 1986. * Patrick Hemingway, editor, True at First Light: A Fictional Memoir, Simon & Schuster, 1999. SHORT STORIES, EXCEPT AS INDICATED * Three Stories & Ten Poems, Contact (Paris), 1923. * In Our Time, Boni & Liveright, 1925, published with additional material and new introduction by Edmund Wilson, Scribner, 1930, reprinted, Bruccoli,

Cornwall

Cornwall is the place I love to be, it is filled with lovely places to see, beautiful beaches of golden sand, which you can just spend hours walking on or looking out across the ocean, there are quaint little villages, sea ports and harbours. I love going to St. Ives this is my favourite place, it is just a small harbour town but packed with interesting things to do.You can have boat rides round the coastline, fishing, seeing the sea life, there is a museum where you can see how people made a living and the tragedies they went through and there is also a recording of the locals talking about how they have seen the changes in their lifetime. There is also a life boat station there which has it's own stories to tell. Driving through St. Ives can be a bit scary as the roads are very narrow, there is just enough room for one car to pass through, so most of the road near the harbour are one way.You also have art galleries, food shops, pubs and restaurants, hotels and holiday homes. As you walk through the back streets you find that the locals occupy the houses and it is less noisy. I like to sit on the harbour front and watch the boats coming and going and local fishermen selling their catch, also watching the sea rippling in and out, at night it is lit up lovely and is packed full of locals and holiday makers all enjoying themselves. There are other places to visit like the Eden Project at St.Austell which has the worlds largest greenhouse, two massive conservatories one of which is a rain forest and the is for fruits and flowers from different countries. The grounds are landscaped and produce tea, lavender, sun flowers and I think a desert conservatory is going to be built there too. The national trust owns and protects over 220 miles of the Cornish coastline, there are loads of coastal walks from just a gentle pace to hard hiking, oh that's not for me though.I have visited the lost gardens of Heligan and was totally blown away by what I saw, it was truly wonderfu l and to think it could have been lost for every would have been very sad, but to explore the whole of it would take at least two or three days. I was only there for one day and really I didn't see it all I was taken back with the plants and ponds and to think this was all made possible by the Tremayne family and now their descendants have found it and stated about restoring it with help from other sources, this is well worth a visit.Other places to visit is Porthleven another harbour town, the Minack theatre which was the inspiration of just one lady Rowena Gade, Charlestown Heritage, Shipwrecks and China Clay, well worth a look you also have Bodmin Moor which is one of the last unspoilt areas in the south west and I have also seen some beautiful church's driving through some of the Cornish towns.Across the coast you will find surfers trying to catch the perfect wave, they make it look so easy. You can also so some crabbing in the crab pools in Perrinporth. Newquay is a buslin town with loads of shops, arcades, pubs, beaches and night life. And now what I don't like about Cornwall, well that's easy to answer,it's leaving

The Conflicts Between Siblings

English 102 10/29/2012 The Conflicts between Siblings In the story â€Å"Sonny’s blues†, the Sonny’s brother is the narrator and main character; his name is never mentioned throughout the story. He and Sonny are the two brothers with a big difference of their ages. They don’t spend too much time with each other since they grow up. They have different world. The narrator is a high school algebra teacher and family man. Sunny is through his brother’s eyes, as a quiet, introspective person with a tendency to withdraw inside himself. Sonny is also described by the narrator as wild, but not crazy.He takes drugs which led him to jail. He wants to be a musician because of his passion for jazz. The narrator wishes his brother to have a regular and stable job as himself, but doesn’t work unsteadily as a musician. Sunny doesn’t finish school, so he is hard to find a job which is same as his brother’s thought. He doesn’t have too ma ny work choices like other black youths during the years. Sunny and his brother have different life styles. The narrator promises their mother to take care of Sunny, but he thinks he does not do it well. They have different philosophy and different understanding of career paths.After the narrator’s daughter dies, the narrator and Sunny talk to each other. The narrator finally understands of Sonny’s pursuit of music. In the story â€Å"Everyday use†, Dee is oldest daughter of â€Å"Mama† and sister to Maggie. She is a educated, worldly, and deeply determined girl; she gets everything what she wants. Maggie is the younger daughter who stays with Mama while Dee goes to school. She wants to stay with her mother because she is an unintelligent and unattractive girl. Dee wants to escape from the village, and she always dresses herself attractively.Dee is successfully to have better education and opportunity to see the world. Maggie gets stuck because of her shy character. Dee is an independent girl, and Maggie is a dependent girl. They have different understandings of the life. Dee feels embracing about Maggie and their mother by different attitudes to the world, physical appearance, and their education. The conflicts between two sisters are not solved in the story. In both of the stories, sibling rivalry, conflicts of their relation and burden responsibility of one to the other are the similarities, and solution to their conflicts is the difference.Sibling rivalry through out of both stories. In â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†, the narrator wishes his brother have consistent life same as his. He thinks he is older than Sonny, so he has more life experiences. He should take care of his brother because Sonny has dealing with drugs. â€Å"That last conversation between Baldwin's narrator and his mother suggests that he should be his brother's keeper, but the narrator has failed miserably at that duty, which is apparent in the telling op ening sentence of â€Å"Sonny's Blues†: â€Å"I read about it [Sonny's arrest] in the paper, in the subway, on my way to work†.If the narrator had to rely on a newspaper report to become aware of Sonny's trouble, he could not have been keeping his promise to his mother to care for his younger brother. Sonny did not even bother to call his older brother after the arrest. † (THE BIBLICAL FOUNDATION OF JAMES BALDWIN'S â€Å"SONNY'S BLUES† Page6 by James Tackach) The narrator doesn’t know sonny is not a kid anymore. Sonny chooses to be a jazz musician is not an impulsive decision since he has grown up. Sonny wants to escape from the Harlem, so he is not the young man who messes up his own life.In the â€Å"Everyday Use†, the sibling rivalry still exists. Even though, Maggie is a compliant girl, Dee still wants to beat her from everywhere. She is a strong-minded girl and leads Maggie around by the nose. In their family, Dee represents educational, fashionable, self-confident person, but Maggie is a diffident, low-pitched, awkward girl. Maggie values the family quilts for their sentiment and usefulness. She learned how to quilt from her grandmother and aunt who made the quilts. Her mother has been saving the quilts for Maggie to use after she is married.The quilts are meant to be used and appreciated every day. Maggie hints that she sees the quilts as a reminder of her grandmother and aunt when she says, â€Å"I can’t remember them without the quilts†. The conflicts of brothers and sisters relationships are the major points in both of the stories. In the â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†, Sonny always against his older brother, he gives up from the school, he takes drugs like other black youth around the neighborhood. When he decides to be a musician, his brother thinks he will be the same as their father who is a drunken corrupt man died when Sonny was fifteen years old.There is a big gap between two brothers. Sonny leaves their house, drops out of school, and joins the navy. They both get back from the war and live in New York for a while. They would see each other intermittently, and whenever they meet they would fight. Because of these fights, they do not talk to each other for a very long time. After the narrator talks about Gracie and her polio affliction, the narrator decided to write to Sonny. It seems that the narrator could better understand his brother now. In the â€Å"Everyday use†, Maggie and Dee have unique personalities. Dee values the family quilts.She thinks the quilts as priceless objects to own and display. Dee believes that she can appreciate the value of the quilts more than Maggie. Maggie is nervous about her sister’s visit. In fact, Dee's arrival makes Maggie so uncomfortable that she tries to flee to the safety of the house. When Maggie is unable to confront Dee about the quilts, she gives them to Dee because she used to never winning anything, or ha ving anything reserved for her sister. In both stories, the older siblings burden responsibility to the youngers. Sonny’s brother thinks he has responsibility because of the promise to her mother.He tries to talk to Sonny about the life style and career choices. He asks Sonny what he wants to do, and Sonny replies that he wants to be a jazz musician and play the piano. The narrator does not understand this dream and doesn’t think it is good enough for Sonny. They also try to figure out his living arrangement for the remainder of his high school career. The subject leads to an argument. Sonny calls his brother ignorant because the narrator doesn’t know who Charlie Parker is. Sonny argues that he does not want to finish high school or live at Isabel’s parents' house.However, they find a compromise. Isabel’s parents have a piano, which Sonny can play whenever he wants, provided he goes to school. Sonny agrees with the idea. He stays at Isabel’s house and goes to school sometimes. When he gets home, he constantly plays the piano. He goes to Greenwich Village, and hanging with his jazz friends who are most likely doing drugs. Once Isabel’s parents find this out, Sonny leaves their house, drops out of school, and joins the navy. The narrator objects to his brother to be a jazz musician because he loves his brother.He doesn’t want Sonny waste time to an unstable job and stay with druggies. Even though he misunderstands Sonny’s choice, he performs the responsibility by his thought exactly. Dee is a progressive model for her younger sister. She wants to increase the life quality of the family. â€Å"She washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn’t necessarily need to know. Pressed us to her with the serious way she read, to shove us away at just the moment, like dimwits, we seemed about to understand. †(page279) Dee tries to make the family better.She wants her mother and sister to have more education. She knows her younger sister’s personality. She tries to stimulate her sister, and led Maggie escape from the village to the city, but Maggie wants to stay. Dee is done the best she can in her knowledge. In contrast, the solutions of their conflicts are different. Sonny and his brother get closer at the end of the story. By playing jazz, Sonny is able to ease or relieve his suffering from the childhood. They go to the jazz club in Greenwich Village. He hears Sonny play the piano. It makes him understand that Sonny has the soul of the music.The narrator realizes how revered Sonny is there. The narrator sends a cup of scotch and milk up to the piano for Sonny, and they share a brief connecting moment. His brother finally understands that Sonny is able to turn his suffering into something worthwhile by playing the piano. Dee and Maggie are not lucky like the two brothers. Dee still keeps her own style and Maggie too. There is no sol ution for the conflicts of their sibling relationships. Maggie is content with her simple life, while Dee wants to have fine things. Maggie is nervous and intimidated by Dee, who is bold and selfish.Maggie values the emotion of the family quilts, while Dee wants to display them as a symbol of her heritage. The case is solved by their mother, but the contradictions between two sisters are still there. In the two stories, the conflicts of siblings are the most attractive events. The narrator and Sonny don’t have too much conversation because they have really different ages. When the narrator has a job, Sonny is still a kid. Sonny is not old enough to understand the things which his brother worries about. Since Sonny grows up, he knows what kind of job he wants.Unfortunately, his brother still thinks Sonny just wants to play but not to work. Finally, they solve the problems by the communication and understanding. The two sisters’ conflicts come from their opposite charact er. Dee looks forward to a rich life and gains attention from other people. She doesn’t want to stay at an old house without a real window. Maggie is afraid to leave her mother and where she used to live. She decides to be a house girl. In conclusion, the problems from siblings are because of the less understanding to each other. If they build up more connections and trust each other, those problems are easily to get rid of.

Online Public and Charter Schools for Illinois Students

Online Public and Charter Schools for Illinois Students Illinois offers resident students the opportunity to take online public school courses for free. Below is a list of no-cost online schools currently serving elementary and high school students in Illinois. To qualify for the list, schools must meet the following qualifications: classes must be available completely online, they must offer services to state residents, and they must be funded by the government. Virtual schools listed may be charter schools, state-wide public programs, or private programs that receive government funding. List of Illinois Online Charter Schools and Online Public Schools Chicago Virtual Charter School About Online Charter Schools and Online Public Schools Many states now offer tuition-free online schools for resident students under a certain age (often 21). Most virtual schools are charter schools; they receive government funding and are run by a private organization. Online charter schools are subject to fewer restrictions than traditional schools. However, they are reviewed regularly and must continue to meet state standards. Some states also offer their own online public schools. These virtual programs generally operate from a state office or a school district. State-wide public school programs vary. Some online public schools offer a limited number of remedial or advanced courses not available in brick-and-mortar public school campuses. Others offer full online diploma programs. A few states choose to fund â€Å"seats† for students in private online schools. The number of available seats may be limited, and students are usually asked to apply through their public school guidance counselor. Choosing an Illinois Online Public School When choosing an online public school, look for an established program that is  regionally accredited and has a track record of success. Be wary of new schools that are disorganized, are unaccredited, or have been the subject of public scrutiny.

How To Get More Followers On Social Media With 30 Awesome Tips

How To Get More Followers On Social Media With 30 Awesome Tips How on earth do they do it? How do your favorite brands, bloggers, and personalities get more followers that seem to be raging, shout-it-from-the-rooftops fans? It feels like social media  followers  just flock to these people, naturally, with no effort from them whatsoever. And all the  while, you’re here, working your backside off, just to pick up a follow or a like or a mention from someone. It’s frustrating, isn’t it? But today, that frustration is going to melt away. You’re about to learn how to get more followers on  your social networks in a very scientific way. And youre going to unlock those industry secrets that are going to skyrocket you to more people, better conversions, and better customer experiences. Here we go How To Get More Followers With 21 Ways That Will Boost Your #SocialMedia Traffic 1. Post After Lunch To Reach More People Research from Chartbeat shows 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. is the optimal time to share on social media, with social traffic being at its highest in the late afternoon: While there is still mileage in posting through the morning (more on that next), schedule the updates you want to convert most with, like blog posts, in this time window. 2. Find The Best Times For You To Share To Social Media It's a generality to say that posting in the afternoon is the best way to grow your audience. But there are better times to post on social media than others. To find out  when your own audience is active on social networks, grab this Google Analytics custom report  we custom-built for you with love from . :) It'll tell you when your  current audience is clicking through to read your content. That  will help you understand what your most popular social networks are so you can use your time more effectively. You'll be able to share your content even  smarter. So let's use your own data to strategically choose the best times to share.  First, choose the blog you'd like to apply the report to: That report  doesn't look like much at first, but right off the bat you'll see which networks are your most popular ones: When you click through to see the data for each network, you'll see the best days to post on that network. Take it one step further and click through on those days, you'll see the best times to post on that network, too. That Google Analytics custom report  will work with your own data that comes directly from your audience. Use it to schedule your social messages at the best times to increase your traffic and opportunity  to get more  re-shares that could help you get more followers. 3.  Share More Often To Get More Followers The folks  over at Beevolve recently posed the question: If you tweet more, will you get  more followers? And, well, the short answer is yes: The more you share, the more followers you will get. But as the boffins over at Buffer noted, this could be for a few reasons: You become more practiced and effective at tweeting. You’re more active and can interact with more people. You have a larger volume of valuable tweets for people to interact with. But while it’s not clear whether this is correlation or causation, it doesn’t really matter. Tweeting more will increase the amount of followers you have in one way or another. Just be sure you’re not only updating about yourself†¦ 4. Inform For 2x More Followers In the world of social media, you’re unknowingly categorized into two separate camps: Meformers: People who talk only about themselves. Like your friend Dan and his incessant lunch updates. Informers: People who bring value to the table. The updates of a meformer are inward looking and have more of the feel of a broadcast: While an informer shares outward-looking, valuable information- a little like this: Now there is nothing wrong with being a meformer. It’s fine to do that for your friends and family on your personal accounts, like the other 80% of meformers out there. However, if you do want to get more followers, Rutgers university found that informers have 2x more followers because their updates and content are of value to the reader. Think of it a little in the terms of blogging. You wouldn’t write a post where you only say, I  or me  all the way through it. And you’re probably not going to tell them about your cousin's latest drunken mishap either. So focus on curating valuable, outward-facing social messages  with a personal touch. Those who inform get 2x more followers. #blogging #smm5. Be Positive, Always Being quintessentially British, this is a bitter pill for me to swallow. But, the data doesn’t lie. Dan Zarrella’s research found that the more negative remarks you make, the fewer  followers you'll get: Not only does positivity help you get more followers, Neil Patel also analyzed data that suggests people are much more likely  to share positive content, especially when it connects to these emotions: Curiosity Amazement Interest Astonishment Uncertainty Get the followers and shares your content deserves by sharing positive social messages. 6. You Have One Hour To Keep A Follower According to Lithium, 52% of people who Tweet your brand  expect you to respond within one hour (even if you're a solo blogger, you're a brand). And, if that’s a complaint, it jumps right up to 72%. If you don’t respond, they’re likely to punish you by either negative word-of-mouth, unfollowing, or other means. While if you do respond in a timely manner: 34% are likely to buy more from you. 43% are likely to spread positive word of mouth. 38% will be more open to your advertisements. 42% will share your good work with their friends. That means  not only is responding quickly good for your business now, it’s good for lead generation and the future of getting more followers. 7. Cash In On Daily Trends While it might not be fitting for your business to share your Man Crush Monday (David Beckham, always), it turns out there is actually an optimal day for everything on social media: Pinterest research found that different days of the week had different connotations for people. For example, starting the week off on a positive high with fitness and ending with chilled food and crafts. Your feed might not fit all of these categories. But, there are specifics like quotes or humor you can use no matter your industry: 8. Take Care Of The Little Guy You want power users to interact with your content. I know every time Jeff Goins likes or comments me on Facebook, I do a little fan-boy giggle. But the truth, as confirmed by Mention, is that 91% of the people who talk about your brand will have less than 500 followers: You’ve just seen that responding to the people who mention you can have a big impact on your business and conversion success. So, no matter who gets in touch with you, be sure to acknowledge them. 9. Use Large Twitter Cards For 3x More Interactions Research from Canva and BuzzSumo found that large Twitter summary cards create 3x more interactions than any other form of card: While you may not  be able to use these for every update because it’s code that has to be embedded into your page, it’s beneficial for: Blog posts Promotions Surveys Generation tools Sales pages Where you can display them in a larger, more informative manner, like this one: To get this card, simply head to this developer page and copy this  code: Head over to your post in WordPress, hit the Text tab, and paste  it in at the bottom of your post: Then edit the sections inside the quotation marks. So, for this post, the code would look like: meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" meta name="twitter:site" content="@" meta name="twitter:creator" content="@j4meswrites" meta name="twitter:title" content="Boost Your Followers Using Science" meta name="twitter:description" content="Want a scientific way to boost the amount of Social Media followers you have? Look no further..." meta name="twitter:image" content="http://.com/image-for-this-post-example-only" Reaching more people will inevitably help you get more followers. 10. Add Images To Facebook Updates For 2.3x More Engagement The decline in Facebook organic page reach has thrown a big wrench  in the engine  for social marketers. But, there are still some real glimmers of hope out there. That same research from Canva and BuzzSumo also found that adding images to your Facebook updates will give you 2.3x more engagement. Be sure to do this by uploading the image on its own, too. That way,  it goes into your Facebook post through the add photo’s function as opposed  to being pulled from the code on your post: 11. Use Video To Reach More People While photo posts are great for engagement, Facebook is slowly taking away the ability to reach more followers. In fact, it now has the lowest organic reach of any type of update, with video getting more than double that reach. You don’t have to be the one who  created that video content, either. You just need to upload it. Facebook might have been the start, but you can now experiment with video on tons of networks: Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google+ (well, YouTube) all have ways to use video to reach your audience. 12. Images Are Still King On Twitter, Though In a study of over 4,000,000 tweets, Stone Temple Consulting found that tweets with images had more than double the retweets  and almost double the likes  of those that didn’t contain images: More retweets equals more exposure. More exposure means more engaged followers. That’s a win/win right there. 13. Keep More Followers By Not Bulk Posting A big part of getting more  followers is keeping the ones you’ve already got; but if you’re guilty of bulk posting (I am), that could be problematic. Research from KAIST university in South Korea found that a big factor for people unfollowing is leaving too many posts at any one time: The survey participants unfollowed those who left many tweets within a short time, created tweets about uninteresting topics, or tweeted about the mundane details of their lives. So, take advantage of social scheduling  tools like   to space out your (exciting) posts across days, weeks, or even months instead of posting multiples at once. 14. Freebies + Offers = Fans + Followers A survey from Nielsen noted that... 52% of people who follow brands do it to learn about offers 38% follow to take part in competitions 33% do so to get access to freebies ...which is a lot of your follower base. In fact, more than  half of them are primed and ready to buy from or engage with you. So take advantage and let them spread the word for you at the same time. Create a competition or offer that involves retweets and shares, and you’ve got a campaign that will draw attention. 15. The 5 Essential Emotions Of Any Social Campaign There’s no way around it. The more shares, mentions, likes, and retweets your social campaign gets, the more followers you’re going to pick up along the way. But, what most social campaigns miss out on is emotion. And by doing that, you miss out on a huge opportunity to get more  followers. The big-wigs at Harvard studied marketing campaigns and the emotions that make them go viral. The results? Each campaign evoked at least one of these five: Admiration Interest Serenity Amazement Astonishment You’ll normally find you can combine two or three of these into any social media message. At the least, your headlines or content should create interest. If you want to see almost all of these encompassed in one sentence, look at this excellent piece of copy from Slavery Footprint: 16. Use The 3 Most Shareable Colors On The Internet I recently researched what makes the most shareable images on social media, and there  was some fascinating research in there. One of the standouts was this: Researchers at Georgia Tech studied over 1,000,000 images on Pinterest and discovered that using red, pink and purple in your graphics got you the most shares and interactions. Because, well, they’re deep visceral colours that create emotions like sexual arousal and failure in people. Try incorporating these colors into your next social media image by making them the focal point of your text, or the main image. The results could shock you. 17. Analyze Your Competitors (And Steal Their Followers) KissMetrics ran an interesting study about how to steal your competitor's followers. One of the most interesting aspects of that study- that you can use right now- is approaching their neglected fans. By running a competitor's Facebook page through FanPage Karma, you can see an analysis of Facebook trends, habits, and posting schedules. But, more importantly, you can see how that competitor  interacts with their audience. And, you’ll see that a lot of pages neglect their fans: And you’ll find that most of these pages are in the 60%+ for neglecting their fans' comments. So, you can swoop in by: Interacting with these people. Providing insights or answers the company  isn't. Building a community presence. Then you can  usher them back to your page without having to be all comment-link-spammy about it. 18. Be Authoritative About Who You Are Most people like authority, it’s just built into them. And, that’s been proven time and time again throughout history. But now it’s also come to the realm of social media. Dan Zarrella found that people who identify themselves as an authority have many more followers than people who don’t. So, don’t be humble in your profile. Identify yourself as who you are in the best possible light, just like you would on your resume. Knowing what you know now about meformers and informers, which of these sounds more appealing? Daydreamer, coffee enthusiast and author Writer, speaker, and the official author of the Blog The second one, of course. Because while the other is nice and accessible, the latter lets you make an instant decision on whether someone is worth following. 19. That Being Said, It’s Appearances That Really Matter†¦ OKCupid discovered that what you write about yourself on their dating site is less than 10% of what someone thinks about you. The other 90% is your profile pictures. And, that’s not just a stat that applies to dating sites either. It works for social media too. As Rand Fishkin found, having a brightly colored background  on your profile picture can make a big impact on the amount of followers you will get. Buffer’s extensive research into the psychology of profile pictures also validates that,  too. But you might be thinking, â€Å"I can’t have a profile picture like that; I’m a business†. For you, a simple logo picture will still be effective. And you can get creative with it, too, like KLM have done here: 20. Jump On The #Hashtag Bandwagon As much as you might think hashtags are a little silly, especially when you see them for toothpaste or toilet paper, they’re actually an incredible marketing tool. And, they can help you get more  followers much more effectively. Hashtags are  not only a big part of how we use social media; they’ve even started to become part of how you speak. Or, at least those up-to-date on popular lingo. More importantly, as Linchpin SEO shows, using hashtags  can help you get 2x  more engagement among other benefits: And, if you want to take a leaf from Marsha Collier's book, you can join in the conversation other people are having on your hashtag, like she does with the hashtag #custserv. Tuesday Customer Service Chat 9pET Is social customer service faster and better than other channels?#custserv pic.twitter.com/Eq4EnjbY9H Marsha Collier (@MarshaCollier) February 1, 2016 21. Post Milestones To Boost Your Organic Reach Post Planner picked up on a piece of information from Business Insider and Facebook that could seriously help you boost the amount of people you can reach there. Apparently, when you use the word, congratulations, more people pick up on your post. But this also appears to have carried on over to other milestones, too, such as: Weddings Graduations Landmark trips Babies or birthdays Awards And it doesn’t appear to just be speculation, either. When I posted a recent update about visiting Machu Picchu, a milestone event in my life, the engagement I got was huge: That  is much more engagement than my standard post at 12 to  20 likes a time. Some of these likes and comments came from people I hadn’t interacted with in years on Facebook, too. Other travelers, I was with reported getting 200 to 300 more interactions than normal on their Machu Picchu posts also. Post Planner also saw similar results from landmark posts when they looked at the most viral posts from Facebook’s top 50 brands, too. BONUS: 9 New Tips From The Team 22. Write Super-Catch Social Media Copy What you write on social media matters. So does how you write on social media. It's common to see social media copywriting faux pas. Brands, in particular, have a tendency to write sales-driven posts that simply aren't engaging. So, what's a marketer to do? Get good at writing exceptional post copy. Spend time crafting your posts. Don't just slap the first thing you think of on your social channels and call it a day. Here are a few pointers: Avoid anything that sounds like SPAM or includes a hard call-to-action (especially on Facebook). Try to keep your post lengths reasonable. Make use of image text. Best practices for this vary by network. However, using images to tell more of the story can make it easier to write clear, crisp, and concise posts. Here's a great example of this last point from Gary Vaynerchuk: This post does two things well: His post copy is short and catchy ... ... and it ties in nicely with the image text. The social sharing stats are proof this resonated with his audience too. 23. Reach Out To New And Interesting People It's easy to forget that social media is about being, well, social. That seems weird when you say it out loud. If social media is about connecting with others, then why do  so many brands seem so self-absorbed? The answer is because they often place sales first and conversation second. What they fail to realize, however, is they have that equation backwards. The solution here is simple: talk to people. Respond to all your Facebook comments. Tweet a shout-out to someone you think is crushing it out there. Whatever you do, don't just talk about yourself. This gets back to being an informer instead of a me-former. TIP: You don't have to wait for someone to talk to you first. Go out there and strike up a conversation. Twitter is a particularly great network for this. 24. Follow Others Everyone wants an enormous tribe of loyal social media followers. However, you have to give a little too here. Follow other accounts in your industry and people who follow your brand. This accomplishes two things: It makes it easier to monitor what your followers are talking about on social media (so you can create content that addresses those interests). It prevents you from looking anti-social. This is especially true on Twitter.  Just be sure to stay within Twitter's best practices. The more accounts you're following, the more opportunity you have to make connections with others. Stay within reason  and follow accounts you genuinely find interesting, and  you'll attract more and similar followers. 25. Add Shareable Content To Blog Posts This simply means incorporating graphics that can easily be shared socially on their own. For example, consider adding infographics or quote graphics that add context to your blog post, but can also tell a complete story on their own. This is a tactic we use at all the time. It's a great way to get more mileage from your efforts, and also provides you with the kind of easily shareable content that can attract more followers. 26. Be Consistent This should be a no-brainer. However, posting consistently is often tough for overworked content marketers and social media managers. Using a tool (such as or others) can help you maintain  a consistent  posting schedule across all your social channels. This is essential for engaging, retaining, and growing an audience. However, that's not all it means to be consistent. It's also important that your messaging remain consistent across networks too.   If you're building a cross-channel campaign, it's also important to ensure all messages on all networks  support  the same  overarching campaign theme.  If you say one thing on Facebook, you don't want to say something contradictory on Twitter (for example). Once again, we'll let Gary Vaynerchuk demonstrate this point: 27. Include Social Sharing Buttons On Your Blog And Website It's frustrating to read a great article, only to find there are no convenient social media buttons to share it with your followers. Including social sharing buttons in optimal locations on your pages makes it easier for readers to share your content. That, in turn, increases your ability to reach more people and grow your following. 28. Sometimes, You Gotta Pay To Play Paid promotion works well on social media when done correctly. In fact, Twitter even provides guidelines on how to build campaigns specifically to gain followers. 29. Use A Plugin Click-to-tweet plugins add attractive tweet boxes into blog posts for easy sharing. If you've been following our blog for a while, you've probably seen these in each post we publish (including this one). Here's an example of what they look like: Build your social media following with these 30 tips:Including click-to-tweet buttons makes it easy for readers to share your posts effortlessly. Here are two WordPress plugin options to consider: by (hey, we made this!)   by Warfare Plugins  (another excellent option from our friends) Both of these plugins are easy to use and can help attract Twitter followers (provided your posts are worth sharing). 30. Include Social Media Links In Your Email Signature You're probably sending plenty of emails to folks in your industry. Why not give them an easy way to find your company on social media? Drop some links to your brand's social profiles in your email signature for a quick win. If you use Outlook, it's even possible to add actual social media icons to your signature. Now You Know How To Get More Followers To Grow Your Traffic Okay, you’ve been hit with a lot of data there. But all of it is easy to do and super  valuable to help you get more followers on any social media channel. It doesn’t matter if you’re starting from scratch, or trying to increase your six-figure audience base, all of this data when applied will help you: Reach more people. Convert more people to your content or site. Get more social shares and authority. Now, the only question that remains is, which one are you going to start with to get more followers? Let me know in the comments!

International OB Managing Across Cultures Essay

International OB Managing Across Cultures - Essay Example A Japanese businessman will always consult within his group before making a decision. Because of their intense loyalty, one's identity is subsumed into the group. It is important to never single out a Japanese counterpart, even for praise or encouragement. Contrarily, the Spaniards have a hierarchy style of management and it is best to deal with "el jefe" or "el pardon"-the one who will be making the decision. Spaniards also will expect whomever they are dealing with to have decisions-making authority. When dealing with Spain or most Asian cultures, it is also critical to understand the concept of "saving face". Any loss of control of emotions or embarrassment is considered disastrous in business negotiations in these cultures. Honor and personal pride mean everything and they must not be insulted. Because of this attitude it is very important to carefully prepare presentations so that they are easy for the audience to understand. Paying close attention to determine if anything is misunderstood during the presentation is also a must. Because of this concept of "saving face" the presenter will not know if they are having difficulties. Close attention must be paid to conversations in order to discern the sincerity of what is being said. In Japan, a deal is never refused directly, and any dealings with Japanese business culture should remain indirect. In Business Cards In nearly all countries, it is important that business cards be printed one side in English, and the other in their language. When presenting the card, it should be presented with their language facing the recipient. In Japan, the exchange of business cards is not to be taken lightly. When you receive the card of a Japanese businessman, be sure to make a show of examining it carefully and then making a remark about the card. Ask any questions about anything on the card which is difficult to pronounce or understand. The card should then be placed in a case or on a near by table. A card shouldn't be shoved into a pocket or be written on. Concepts of Time Time orientation is an important cultural difference that Americans must pay close attention to. In America, time is viewed as a precious commodity. Time is related with productivity, efficiency, and money. Many other countries have a much more relaxed perception of time. They take their time, and enjoy it. In Mexico you can ask if a scheduled appointment is "en punto" (the precise time), or "mas o menos". "Mas o menos" appointments are often scheduled a half an hour to an hour before the actual time. With both Mexican and Japanese cultures it is also important not to expect instant results. Plenty of time should be allowed for contemplation and decision making. In Mexico it is important to adjust any expectations regarding deadlines and efficiency. Doing business over borders and through time zones has become commonplace in the twenty-first century. Technological advancements in communication and travel make it possible to do business across the globe almost instantaneously. Doing business with multiple cultures can be a challenging venture. International communication skills of an organization can determine success or failure. In order to interact with different cultures, it is necessary to understand the basic characteristics of the culture. This type of understanding helps to make

The Attempt to Improve Unilevers Business Essay

The Attempt to Improve Unilevers Business - Essay Example For a business to be green it should satisfy the following threshold: The aim of this report is to analyze critically the attempts to improve the sustainability of Unilever’s business, the hindrances to achieving a sustainable business. The report will then recommend changes that Unilever can take up and be able to achieve business sustainability. Unilever is an Anglo-Dutch multinational company which specializes in consumer goods. Its headquarters are situated in two cities which are London, England, and Rotterdam, Netherlands. Its products mainly comprise of personal care products, beverages, food, and cleaning products. Unilever is the third largest consumer goods company this is measured by the revenue received in 2012 after Proctor and Gamble and Nestle. Unilever has over 400 brands, with sales surpassing the 1 billion Euros mark (History of Unilever 2014). Over the recent past, Unilever has won a host of environmental sustainability or â€Å"green† awards which include; in 2013 Unilever earned position five in Carbon clear’s annual ranking of carbon measurement and reporting practices of FTSE companies gaining a score of 77%. In November 2013 Unilever won the Best Sustainability and Stakeholder Disclosure FTSE 100 Award received from the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA). In 2013 CDP’s Forests programme recognized Unilever’s work with suppliers to increase capacity in providing sustainable commodities. For the third year in a row, Unilever retained its top ranking in 2013’s survey of sustainability leaders by GlobeScan/Sustainability. Unilever received position two overall in the first Access to Nutrition Index (ATNI) Global index, receiving top rankings for undernutrition and also the products, lifestyles and engagement categories.