All About Comment Clauses in English

About Comment Clauses in English A remark provision, normally heard in regular discourse and utilized in exchange toâ give it a characteristic tone, is a short word gathering, for example, you see and I think, that adds an incidental comment to another word gathering. Its likewise called aâ comment tag, a remarking tag or an enclosure. You probably won't have known its name, however its promised you utilize and hear it pretty much consistently. Models and Observations of a Comment Clause Ordinarily happening models [of remark clauses] are Im certain, Im apprehensive, I concede, I accumulate, I dare say and you see, you know, mind you, you should concede. Many remark provisos are generalized fillers which are embedded into running discourse so as to build up casual contact with the listener. At the point when the subject is acknowledged by I, their capacity is to advise the listener regarding the speakers level of sureness (I know/I assume) or of her passionate mentality to the substance of the lattice condition. - Carl Bache, Essentials of Mastering English (2000)As you know, the idea of the attractions siphon is hundreds of years old. Truly that is this is with the exception of that as opposed to sucking water, Im sucking life. - Christopher Guest as Count Rugen in The Princess Bride (1987)The introduction went very well, I believe.All time is untouched. It doesn't change. It doesn't fit alerts or clarifications. It just is. Take it second by second, and you will fi nd that we are all, as Ive said previously, bugs in golden. - Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Fiveâ (1969) They [comment clauses] are supposed in light of the fact that they don't such a great amount of add to the data in a sentence as remark on its reality, the way of saying it or the mentality of the speaker. - Gunther Kaltenbock, Spoken Parenthetical Clauses in English: A Taxonomy (2007)Fly high over the cloudsOn the wings of a dreamI hear your murmur boisterous Or so it appears. - Jackie Lomax, Or So It Seems Signals in Conversation The remark statements you know and you see require a reaction from the audience members, which, in a story turn, are bound to be paralinguistic than vocal. Gestures of the head, direct eye to eye connection and insignificant vocalizations like mm will fulfill the speaker that he despite everything has the crowds agree to keep ruling the turn-taking. - Sara Thorne, Mastering Advanced English Language (2008) Remark Clauses and Relative Clauses In a model like Margaret Thatcher is currently an actual existence Baroness, which everybody knows, we can supplant which with as with practically no difference in significance. In any case, in contrast to which, as isn't commonly utilized as a family member yet as a combination. Note additionally that as everybody knows is positionally less limited than which everybody knows: It could likewise be set at first or medially. We, in this manner, don't order such an as-condition as a sentential relative statement yet as a remark proviso. - C. Bache and N. Davidsen-Nielsen, Mastering Englishâ (1997)

Fun Family History Activities for Family Reunions

Fun Family History Activities for Family Reunions In the same way as other families, you and your family members may have made arrangements to get together this late spring. What an extraordinary open door for sharing stories and family history. Give one of these 10 fun family ancestry exercises an attempt at your next family gathering to get individuals talking, sharing and having some good times. Memory T-Shirts On the off chance that you have more than one part of a more distant family going to your gathering, think about recognizing each branch with an alternate hued shirt. To additionally fuse the family ancestry subject, filter in a photograph of the branchs ancestor and print it out on an iron-on move with identifiers, for example, Joes Kid or Joes Grandkid. These shading coded photograph shirts make it simple to tell initially who is identified with who. Shading coded family tree informal IDs offer a progressively reasonable variety. Photograph Swap Welcome participants to bring their old, notable family photographs to the gathering, including pictures of individuals (extraordinary, incredible grandpa), places (temples, graveyard, the old estate) and even past reunions. Urge everybody to mark their photographs with the names of the individuals in the photo, the date of the photograph, and their own name and an ID number (an alternate number to distinguish every photograph). In the event that you can get a volunteer to carry a scanner and PC a CD copier, at that point set up an examining table and make a CD of everyones photographs. You can even urge individuals to bring more photographs by offering a free CD for each 10 photographs contributed. The remainder of the CDs you can offer to intrigued relatives to help settle expenses of the filtering and CD copying. In the event that your family isnt very technically knowledgeable, at that point set up a table with the photographs and incorporate information exchange sheets where ind ividuals can arrange duplicates of their top choices (by name and ID number). Family Scavenger Hunt A good time for all ages, yet a particularly decent approach to get the children in question, a family forager chase guarantees a lot of association between various ages. Make a structure or booklet with family-related inquiries, for example, What was incredible granddad Powell’s first name? Which Aunt had twins? Where and when were Grandma and Grandpa Bishop hitched? Is there somebody conceived in a similar state as you? Set a cutoff time, and afterward assemble the family to pass judgment on the outcomes. On the off chance that you wish, you can grant prizes to the individuals who find the most solutions right, and the booklets themselves make pleasant get-together gifts. Family Tree Wall Chart Make an enormous family tree graph to show on a divider, including whatever number ages of the family as could be expected under the circumstances. Relatives can utilize it to fill in the spaces and right any off base data. Divider outlines are well known with get-together participants as they assist individuals with picturing their place inside the family. The completed item additionally gives an extraordinary wellspring of genealogical data. Legacy Cookbook Welcome participants to submit most loved family plans from their own family or one went down from a far off progenitor. Request that they remember subtleties for, recollections of and a photograph (when accessible) of the relative most popular for the dish. The gathered plans would then be able to be transformed into an awesome family cookbook. This additionally makes an incredible gathering pledges venture for the next years get-together. A world of fond memories Storytime An uncommon chance to hear intriguing and interesting tales about your family, a narrating hour can truly empower family recollections. In the event that everybody concurs, have somebody audiotape or tape this meeting. Voyage through the Past In the event that your family get-together is held close to where the family began, at that point plan an excursion to the old family property, church or burial ground. You can utilize this as a chance to share family recollections, or go above and beyond and enlist the faction to tidy up the familial burial ground plots or research the family in old church records (make certain to plan with the minister ahead of time). This is an especially uncommon movement when numerous individuals are going to from away. Family ancestry Skits and Reenactments Utilizing stories from your own family ancestry, have gatherings of participants create productions or plays that will retell the stories at your family get-together. You can even stage these reenactments at places that are of significance to your family, for example, homes, schools, holy places, and stops (see Tour into the Past above). Non-on-screen characters can get into the fun by demonstrating vintage apparel or familial outfits. Oral History Odyssey Discover somebody with a camcorder who is happy to talk with individuals from the family. In the event that the get-together is out of appreciation for an exceptional occasion, (for example, Grandma and Grandpas 50th Anniversary), get some information about the guest(s) of respect. Or then again, pose inquiries on other select recollections, for example, experiencing childhood with the old residence. Youll be astonished how contrastingly individuals recall a similar spot or occasion. Memorabilia Table Set up a table for participants to bring and show prized family memorabilia-notable photographs, military awards, old gems, family books of scriptures, and so forth. Be certain all things are deliberately named and the table is constantly facilitated.

#DiversifyAgentCarter A Tweet Roundup

#DiversifyAgentCarter A Tweet Roundup Anyone whos regularly on social media, and Twitter specifically, knows that it can be an ugly place. Trolls, hate speech, and getting into arguments with people you dont even know and will never meet can suck the joy out of Twitter. But sometimes the community can come together and create something awesome, and that happened last week. With the VERY WELCOME news that  Agent Carter had received a season 2 pickup, Mikki Kendall (who has a kick-ass essay in the back of  Bitch Planet  #4, if you havent read it yet) sent out a simple tweet calling for more diversity in the show. Someone should create a #DiversifyAgentCarter tag fill it with facts about the 40s in New York so the writers have no excuse. Mikki Kendall (@Karnythia) May 8, 2015 And oh boy, did Twitter respond. In the best way possible. These are just a few of the amazing tweets that came from the hashtag #DiversifyAgentCarter. Check out the full list of tweets, if you have a sec! 1940s superspy Senorita Rio, the first Latina lead character in US comics. #DiversifyAgentCarter pic.twitter.com/xsQQX5lb1G Saladin Ahmed (@saladinahmed) May 9, 2015 #DiversifyAgentCarter because privileged white guys like me blindly assume the 40s were all white because of how media always portrays it Brett White (@brettwhite) May 8, 2015 #DiversifyAgentCarter because bad-ass Native American women, like Minnie Spotted Wolf, served during WWII too pic.twitter.com/dZzMuqKFqT ?clara mae? (@ubeempress) May 8, 2015 #DiversifyAgentCarter because black people other POC existed outside of Harlem outside of service roles: http://t.co/mjzt7FCOlu K Tempest Bradford (@tinytempest) May 8, 2015 Agent Carter at its core is about awesome people being overlooked. So a black agent (black female, even) fits. #DiversifyAgentCarter Justin (@GigawattConduit) May 8, 2015 A Woman and Her Dog in Harlem New York, 1943. #DiversifyAgentCarter pic.twitter.com/tBbIYZrkra Red Wedge Magazine (@RedWedgeMag) May 8, 2015 Help #DiversifyAgentCarter by pointing out that the first Black FBI agent James Wormley Jones was appointed in 1919 http://t.co/XMdcj50jjd Mikki Kendall (@Karnythia) May 8, 2015 #DiversifyAgentCarter because the lengths people will go to to whitewash and justify whitewashing a fictional universe are considerable. Alina (@LJmysticowl) May 11, 2015 Carmen Contreras-Bozak was the 1st Latina to serve in WAAC in the first unit to go overseas #DiversifyAgentCarter pic.twitter.com/vbOcnSnh39 Cielo (@ohsweetgoodness) May 11, 2015 #DiversifyAgentCarter People only treat minorities like a recent invention because period pieces often act like they are. Buck that trend! Jon Erik Christian?? (@HonestlyJon) May 8, 2015 ____________________ Follow us on Twitter for more comics goodness! Sign up to The Stack to receive  Book Riot Comic's best posts, picked for you. Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.

Alzheimers Disease Compromises Cognitive and Memory Skills

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease of the brain wherein a person afflicted with the said disease would have compromised cognition and memory skills, and eventual deterioration of the skill to execute uncomplicated activities. According to experts, most individuals do not manifest the symptoms for Alzheimer’s disease until they are over the age of 60. This disease affects more than 5.1 million Americans. Alzheimer’s disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer who first discovered deviations from normal tissues of healthy individuals in the brain tissue of a lady in 1906. The woman, who showed symptoms of erratic behavior, loss of memory, and problems with communication, died of a then unfamiliar mental disorder. This led Dr. Alzheimer to investigate the cause of her unusual death. He assessed the brain of the woman and found that there were many anomalous masses (amyloid plaques) and intertwined bundles of fiber (neurofibrillary tangles). Scientists today have pinpointed the qualities of Alzheimer’s to be a) tangles in the brain (neurofibrillary tangles), b) plaque in the brain (amyloid plaques), and c) loss of connections among nerve cells. Experts know little about the true causes of AD (Alzheimer’s disease), however they have proposed the amyloid hypothesis to explain how the disease begins. In people afflicted with AD, lethal transformations are happening in the brain. A buildup of amyloid plaque (ÃŽ ²-amyloid clumps), caused by theShow MoreRelatedA Patient With Alzheimer s Patients1374 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"One in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another Dementia†(â€Å"What is Alzheimer’s?). More than five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s(â€Å"What is Alzheimer’s?). Alzheimer’s is a disease that progessively worsens and eventually kills brain cells. The damaged brain cells lead to memory loss and trouble with cognitive thinking. Alzheimer’s deteriorates the brain slowly. 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Human Rights and Communication Essay - 853 Words

CU2650 Support Individuals with Specific Communication Needs 1 1.1 Every individual has a right to communication and we are governed by standards and codes of practice to ensure that these needs are met. Communication is a basic human right, without communication the individual is unable to realise or exercise their rights. Under the human rights act 1998 all people have the right to ‘freedom of expression’. 1.2 When working with service users who have specific communication needs it is important to have a good understanding of what their needs are, so they can be supported and encouraged in everyday activities. If I didn’t understand their specific communication needs, I would not be able to communicate fully with the†¦show more content†¦Some forms of communication aids are listed below:- Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) most of us use this form one way or another every day without thinking about it. Objects, photographs, symbols Hearing aids British sign language (BSL) Makaton, which is used to help those who have difficulty in forming words Braille Picture exchange communication systems (PECS) Pen and paper Touch Translator Interpreters 1.6 When having difficulties in expressing yourself it can lead to becoming distressed and agitated, without the right communication aids to help their needs they may become depressed, isolated and withdrawn, which can change their behaviour to frustration, violence and acts of anger. Some people may give up trying to communicate altogether which can end up having their rights denied as they weren’t given the right communication aids, support or listened to in the first place. 2 2.3 It is important to access information for specific communication needs so that you can support the person in the best possible way. 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Tesco Advertisement Analysis Free Essays

Advertisement analysis –Tesco’s 1097 We humans are programmed or born with the inherent desire to satiate our needs. Freud talked of this primitive libido, this innate need of humanity to want (perhaps for self-preservation ultimately. ) Freud argued about the importance of the unconscious mind in understanding conscious thought and behaviour . We will write a custom essay sample on Tesco Advertisement Analysis or any similar topic only for you Order Now Advertising has tapped into this primitive human libido or want desire. Advertisers use the unconscious mind to foist implicit and explicit signs and signifiers, applying cultural connotations, employing exclusion as much as inclusion, the advertiser’s intention is to gain a proliferation of positive attention for their product. I have selected an advertisement made for Tesco’s ‘Fair-trade fortnight’, found in The Guardian’s weekend supplement. We read adverts as a whole, unconsciously absorbing all of the elements, signs, implicit and explicit, that are designed to work in unison. The mental short-hand we use for deciphering pictures and words to decode them, which is especially pertinent to advertising, immediately informs us that the advertisement is not for pleasure, but for our attention; to encourage us to choose one brand over another, and to consume. Tesco’s advert implicitly implies nature’s bounty with its visual choice of hessian and wicker staging, the use of cardboard for the pricing tickets suggestive of company ethics imbued with moral high-ground. The foreground is awash with pictorial suggestions of far-off fields and farming, with healthy, working age, seemingly relaxed workers, enjoying their tasks in the sun. The advert presents what we in the West would consider every day luxuries. The visual signifiers of consumable pleasure: bananas, coffee, chocolate, nuts; these are all food stuffs that cannot be produced in Britain. Freud’s theory of the Id would tap into our want of these luxuries. The future consumer, having seen the product, may acknowledge the want, and convert it into a reality, quenching (Freud’s theory of) the Ego. Utilising this want the advert infers that via fair-trade, the consumer is able to go further afield for this produce, enabling the want without moral reproach; not only can the human have what it desires, but it can achieve it without guilt, assuaging (Freud’s theory of) the Superego and its connotations of the punitive. Tesco’s advert plays on this wish-fulfilment that drives the human in its quest for quelling desire. In very large type, mimicking handwriting, he title of the advert shrieks Every little helps, playing on the loyal fan bases need to spend little, but likely, (with the fair-trade theme of the advert) to be an explicit enticement for a more affluent customer experiencing financial strain, to switch from the more high end supermarkets to a more basic and affordable one. The main body of the advert is fairly utilitarian; implicitly signifying that this is a necessity buy, an advert with a more glamorous look is often aimed at the encouragement or stimulat ion of consumption of a luxury purchase. A secondary heading of Fair-trade fortnight uses alliteration to make it a memorable tag-line. The advert has a (relatively small) label icon, imploring the consumer to show off their label. This provides the function of anchoring the implied ethic with imagery, suggests that whilst indulging in wish fulfilment we can improve the plight of our third world neighbours. This is secondary to the advertisers aim though, the intention is to sell. This advertisement seems aimed at a predominantly white population, it almost romanticises the areas of food production that have, until recently, been visually and consciously concealed. Tesco’s original ‘pile it high and sell it cheap’ stance had affects elsewhere on food producers further down the chain, but of course these were silent until relatively recently and the public are now beginning to recognise that a small monetary cost to buy, leads to exploitation in unseen societies elsewhere. Tesco’s has chosen a very natural packaging style for this advert, eschewing its usual cheaper less environmental counterpart. Aspiration is represented within the advert and the packaging, as the ethics of food is seen to be grounded in the middle-classes, (a non necessity, therefore first taking hold within the wealthier citizens). It’s notable that emblazoned in red, 20% off in a disproportionally large circle, the advertiser’s ace card, utilising the subliminal; humans notice red for obvious physiological reasons. Beneath it also swathed in scarlet a loyalty device, Keep earning club points, promoting a new buying habit for residual customers, and hoping to retain new and more affluent consumers. As food production awareness gathers momentum the company has to redirect its approach to continue to flourish. To replace Tesco’s old persona with a new more ethically aware substitute, maybe a much needed new PR strategy. Openly presenting their increasing awareness and support for fair-trade, but veiling the capitalist strategy, behind the promotion must surely be statistical evidence that fair-trade purchases in Britain are on the increase. Tesco’s may be watching these changing retail trends and thinking it is a very good time indeed to promote a more ethical persona. Tesco’s has recently been dragged through the politicisation and higher public awareness of the food industry, its origins and ethics. This heightened awareness culminated in a tactic by protestors, mocking the Tesco’s logo, reproducing it onto t-shirts, but replacing Tesco with Fiasco. In the public domain there exists such proselysatizations as a Face Book group, actively encouraging the public to boycott Tesco’s stores. Gillian Rose says that ‘the rendering [of an image] is never innocent. She discusses whether the meanings of an image may be presented ‘explicitly or implicitly, consciously or consciously’ . Our reaction to an image is likely to be informed by the cultural implications associated with that image, and the connotation it conjures within our understanding. In Fyfe and Law’s work they state that we must enquire into a visualisation’s provenance, and note its principles of inclusion and exclusion in order understand it. Therefore I end my piece about Tesco’s campaign with this fact from Tesco’s PLC (website). In the five year summary report the graph clearly shows that each employee generates ? 14,303 million pounds, (2010). This fact is not advertised by Tesco’s, and is as inexplicit as possible. It would be a fair appraisal to state, should Tesco’s customers be consciously aware of the profit margins they may be less comfortable shopping there. Bibliography Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams Gillian Rose, Visual Methodologies Jonathan Bignell, Media semiotics http://www. tescoplc. com/plc/ir/, accessed 20-03-11 8 June 2010 20. 13 BST, accessed 10-03-11 , accessed 16-03-11 How to cite Tesco Advertisement Analysis, Essay examples

Richard Li Essays - Physics, Albert Einstein, Determinists, Sigma Xi

Richard Li Communication Albert Einstein- informative speech "some people wonder how does Physicists think. We would look out the window with a block of equation and just think, until these equations fit together." Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879. Ever since Einstein was young, he was very curious with the invisible force behind the compass. Albert Einstein wanted to find "God's thought"; in one equation- the beauty, power and majesty of the worlds laws into one single equation. However, Einstein felt victimized by the Prussian style of education, which did not promote creativity. Professors thought he was a goofball and gave him bad marks. Even Einstein thought of him as a loser eventually. He was unable to find a job, even his father tried to beg the school to give him a position as an assistant, but to no effect. 1902 was Einstein's worst year. He wanted to marry his love, Maric, but he did not have a job and would not be able to support the family. His father's business also found no success and things are looking desperate. Luckily, in the following year Einstein's good friend Marcel Grossmann recommended him to work as a clerk in a swiss patent office. This not only meant a steady income for him, but he also became confident enough to marry Maric, which he did in 1903. Einstein worked 6 days a week at his new job. There he analyzed patents quickly and had a lot of time thinking about visions he had since he was young. Einstein was able to piece together from his daydreams that relativity is an universal law of nature, which he published as a paper. His theories was only noticed after receiving the attention of Max Planck, the founder of the quantum theory. After Planck confirmed the validity of his proposals, Einstein was invited to speak a international conference and rose in the academic world. Many prestigious universities offered him positions, including the university of Berlin, where he would serve as a director of physics institute from 1913 to 1933. With fame comes a price. Einstein's marriage was falling apart, as he was always traveling to speak at conferences. Einstein and his wife argued very frequently. Convinced that their marriage is doomed, they divorced and agreed to give the money to her if he ever won the Nobel Prize. November 4th, 1915 Einstein completed general theory of relativity, his masterpiece. There is much mathematical beauty. It can predict Mercury's orbit around the sun, as well as predicting deflection of light around the sun. His work was interrupted by World War 1. He was among the few intellectuals in Germany who signed a manifesto opposing the war. Following the war, expeditions where sent out to test Einstein's theory of deflected light near the sun. The results put Einstein on the headlines of many big papers, portraying him as the successor of Isaac Newton. On his way to speak across the world, he received word that he have received the Nobel Prize for physics, but for Photoelectric effect. During his acceptance speech, he spoke all about relativity and startled the audience. Once he was asked to appear alongside Charlie Chaplin, and Chaplin remarked "The people applaud me because everybody understands me. They Applaud you because no one understands you." When the Nazi's rose to power, they targeted relativity as "Jewish Physics." Nazi's enlisted many scientists to denounce his theory of relativity. Einstein in return simply said that defeating relativity does not take the words of 100 scientists. Rather just one fact. In 1932 Einstein decided to leave Germany, as his life was in danger. There has been a bounty placed on his head. Einstein moved to Princeton, New Jersey, which is a soon to be gather place for physicist from all around the world. Some newspaper articles declared that the "pope of physics had left Germany and Princeton is now the new Vatican." In the late 1930s, many physicists began to wonder if E = mc squared might make an atomic bomb possible, which was later shown that vast amounts of energy can be unleashed from the splitting of uranium atom, electrifying the physics community. Einstein wrote a letter to

Commodification and Globalisation in Dubai

Commodification and Globalisation in Dubai Dubai, one of the seven United Arabs Emirates (UAE), has captured the attention of the world as global city with a globally competitive economy. The city is has been known for oil industry but this has been replaced by its comprehensive tourism industry, hosting of events and construction projects. It is therefore evidenced that development of Dubai is line with concepts of globalisation and commodification. Globalisation is a function of Economy, Environment, Culture, Society and Politics, and effect on one result in effect on the other.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Commodification and Globalisation in Dubai specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Commodification is the process by which formerly non- economic things and relationships like institutions, objects, attributes, signs and even people are turned into commercial things whose prime purpose is sale in the market place, as Blunden (1975) explains. According to Mar xist political economy it refers to the extension of market trade to formerly non-market areas, and to the handling of things as if they were a tradable commodity (Blunden,1975) A commodity is typically associated with 3 types of values: use value referring to the design of commodities to meet certain need either physically or psychologically; Exchange value as they can be bought and sold in the market with money, and finally commodities have sign value as they act as mode of self-expression in a battle for social position. (Gottdiener, 2000, 26) In Dubai the global media has influenced the society by laying emphasis on the three value of a commodity. The use value of commodities implies that for every need there a product claiming to satisfy it. This has lead to continue product differentiation to meet the arising needs. Labour in Dubai has been heavily commodified with the growth of the fashion industry. The socialisation of women to do domestic work such as dressmaking, cooking, cleaning and caring for the children among others for free has changed. The Dubai shopping mall is a classic example of how the otherwise non-economic dressmaking has been commodified and the fashioners are making lots of money. The Dubai shopping mall travelhouseuk.co.uk/travelGallery/var/albums/General/festival/dubai_shopping_mall.jpg?m=1296818763 (p5)Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Leisure has been largely commodified in Dubai with distancing from work being perceived as prestigious and a symbol of honour. This is in agreement with Veblen’s observation that, conspicuous leisure; which means distancing oneself from industrial work attracts admiration. (Veblen, 1899). Commodification of labour, education, government service like education among others have been accelerated by globalisation, whose prime aim is to reduce people’s diversity by restric ting individuals’ freedom with the promise of economic gains. Another issue to consider is the increasing commoditization of the city and its impact in the eyes of tourists. According to what Galdauskas (2008) says, commoditization is a two-part complicated process which requires certain efforts and time. However, it must be kept in mind that the process allows to promote the place so that it could bring more profit and attract more tourists. However, Galdauskas (2008) warns that to achieve this goal, one will have to make sufficient alterations concerning the way the place looks and the facilities it can suggest to the newcomers (38). Thus, the question of national identity rises against the idea economical profit. To ensure the balanced correlation between the two, considerable efforts must be made. It is evident that both the part involving â€Å"dramatization of life on the stage† (38), as Galdauskas (2008) put it, and the one concerning the preservation of nationa l identity are leveled in Dubai. However, it does not mean that the process of commoditization must run uncontrolled in the city. Since one of the main concerns of the space regeneration is the idea of keeping the national identity, as Universidad de Barselona (1977) claims (77), it becomes clear that the key priority of Dubai citizen at present is to ensure that tourism can coexist with their national identity – otherwise they will be forced to abandon the former to preserve their sense of national dignity. Still, taking into account the culture of Dubai, it can be considered that its citizen can cope with preserving their national identity. Since people flood Dubai to indulge into sightseeing and all kinds of attractions, they bring certain misbalance into its established structure. Foreign elements in the clockwork of Dubai, they slowly make the city dissolve. To prevent Dubai from being gobbled by another culture, people have to undertake certain measures.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Commodification and Globalisation in Dubai specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Another aspect of the problem, the space regeneration, deals with the economical issues. In this case, the principle of mutual recoupment can be put into practice: thus, certain spaces can be restored using the tourism incomes. According to what Universidad de Barselona (1977) suggests, the balance between tourism and the space and place maintenance can be achieved once the â€Å"appropriateness to the work in relationship to the place† (133) has been achieved. However, to achieve this goal, the dwellers of Dubai will have to follow the main principles of the Consumption Theory. Thus, one of the first challenges which the dwellers of Dubai are going to face is how to level the supply and the demand. Utilizing the principle of rationality, as Sherman (2008) suggests (332), it will be possible to achieve the desirable r esult. However, there are certain issues which require special attention of the entrepreneurs and the government of Dubai. For instance, it is crucial for the city to take into account the principle of rationality. Thus, the chief goal of Dubai is to suggest its guests the necessary attractions and entertainments which they suppose to encounter in here. An advancement of an integration agenda between nations and it entails the widening of economic markets (Mittelman, 1997. pp. 2) globalisation has brought various benefits such as: growth of tourism industry through the movement freedom, enhanced trade widen access to information, rapid diffusion of creative and innovations, specialisation of work and benefit from large scale of production where countries produce what they can better and cheaply produce for local and export while they import what they cannot produce, enabling international relations and this has resulted to rapid economic growths as well as improved living standards. The immense impact of globalisation is felt in Dubai from all aspects of life i.e. Economy, Environment, Culture, Society and Politics. The great extent of globalisation in Dubai is demonstrated by its rapidly growing tourism industry with such baits for tourists as: Burj Al-Arab the only seven-star hotel in the world and an international icon of Dubai and Palm Jumeirah- an on-going project of the largest artificial island in the Arabian Gulf. The Dubai’s special features have been a major focus for the global media. (Elsheshtawy, 2004). The hosting of international sports has had immense gains for the Dubai’s economy. Although these prizes are won by the foreigners, they spend some of the money in Dubai. Also the fans of sport come in large numbers to watch the sports further contributing to the growth of tourism industry in Dubai. The city has become well-known for hosting famous tennis and golf tournaments, with Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Tiger Woods promotin g Dubai. (Student Personal World Wide Web Pages.2) Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More †Golfer Tiger Woods tees off the Burj Al-Arab helipad nearly 1,000 feet above the ground† http://www-scf.usc.edu/~jhorowit/globalization.htm. The integration of Dubai with other emirates to form United Arab Emirate and a further collaboration between the UAE and other countries has opened its market to the foreign investors. â€Å"Dubai attracts foreign investors and corporations because of the considerable economic opportunities offered to businesses there.† (Hollis, 2000, 52) Off shoring is a classic example which entails transfer of commodities from one country to another. Globalisation results in the free movement of people from one region to another. Dubai continues to create global job opportunities for low waged workers. According to Lang LaSalle the employment rate in Dubai has grown to 8.3 percent per annum while the population is growing at 5.8 per cent per annum (2004). This means the economy will continue to get more workforces locally and from interna tional market. The high level of globalisation has had negative effects on Dubai society. Some of the negative impacts of globalisation include: the freedom of movement of people from one country to another has made it difficult for the natives to preserve their culture and religion. Islamic had been the predominant religion in Dubai but with globalisation, other religions come up. This resulted in change of weekend from Saturday –Sunday to Friday-Saturday in a bid to accommodate both Muslims who emphasis on holiness of Friday and Christians who respects Saturday-Sunday. There is a conflict between the native’s culture and the western. In a global market an economic recession affect the whole world with the poor and middle income population being hit harder. As Hari (2009) emphasized, because of the economical crisis in Dubai a number of workers suffered great losses; many of them were not paid and thus could not leave the countries. Hari observed that policemen intimi dated the workers who complained or left their stations. (2009, pp6). Other negative effects of globalisation in Dubai include the increase in the prostitution which is as a result of the rapid growth in tourism. Globalisation enhances capitalism resulting in poor getting poorer thus the poor population of Dubai has turned to illegal business like prostitution, drugs and arms smuggling and also terrorism, as Davidson (2009) mentioned (p. 247). Commodification and globalisation have had both positive and negative impact in Dubai with the former outweighing the later. It is important for Dubai government to come up with policies that will enhance globalisation and commodification for Dubai to be consistent with the national development goals. Government should try to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich and reduce instances of crime and prostitution as this will not only devalue humankind but it also increases disease transmissions. If Dubai has to remain a world class city, i t has to deal with social problems of its citizens. Reference List Blunden, A., ed. Commodification, Encyclopedia of Marxism. [Online] marxists.org/glossary/terms/c/o.htm. Davidson, Christopher M., 2009. Dubai: the vulnerability of Success. New York, Columbia University Press. Elsheshtawy, Y., 2004. Planning Middle Eastern cities, an urban kaleidoscope in a globalizing world, Stamford, CN, Cengage Learning. Galdauskas, K. et al., 2008. Serving culture: tourists, lobsters and restaurants of  Ogunquit, Maine. Ann Arbor, MI, Pro-Quest, Gottdiener, M, 2000. New forms of consumption. Oxford, Blackwell Hari, J., 2009. The dark side of Dubai. The Independent (London). [Online] independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html. Hollis, R. 2000. Managing new developments in the Gulf. Washington, DC.Brookings Institution LaSalle, J. L., 2004 Winning cities of the decade [Online] Available at: www-scf.usc.edu/~jhorowit/profile.htm. Sherman, H. J., et al ., 2008 Economics: An Introduction to Traditional and Progressive Views. Armonk, NY, M. E. Sharpe, Inc. Student Personal World Wide Web, n.d. The effect of globalization on Dubai’s economic development: Available at: http://www-scf.usc.edu/~jhorowit/globalization.htm- . [Online] Universidad de Barcelona, 1977 Urban Generation: A Challenge for Public Art. Barcelona, Edicions Universitat Barcelona. Veblen, T. (1899). The Theory of the Leisure Class New York, NY, New America Library

Simple Explanation What Is FAFSA

Simple Explanation What Is FAFSA SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Have you heard your high school counselor or other students reference the FAFSA, and you didn't know what they were talking about? What is FAFSA, and what do you have to know about it?Well, if you're hoping to get financial aid for college, then it's criticalthat you know about the FAFSA. In this article, I will explain what the FAFSA is, why it's important, and the information you need to fill it out. What Is the FAFSA? FAFSA is an acronym that stands for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Colleges and universities use this form to determine your eligibility for federal, state, and college-sponsored financial aid, including grants, educational loans, and work-study programs. Therefore, even though the FAFSA is technically the application for federal aid, you have to fill it out to receive state and college-sponsored financial aid as well. If you're hoping for any government or school financial aid for college, you should file a FAFSA. How does the FAFSA determine your eligibility for financial aid? The FAFSA is used by the US Department of Education to calculate your Expected Family Contribution, or EFC, for college. Your EFC is a dollar amount that reflects how much you can afford to pay for college for the following academic year. The lower your EFC, the more aid you're eligible to receive. Your EFC is determined based on income, assets, and other household information you'll be asked to provide on the FAFSA. What Information Is Required on the FAFSA? You can check out the FAFSA worksheet to see all of the information you need to properly fill out the FAFSA. Now, I'll explain the information you need to enter on the form. Citizenship Status/Alien Number You need to be a legal resident of the United States or a US citizen to submit a FAFSA. However, if you're an undocumented immigrant, you have other options to get financial aid for college. Dependency Status For FAFSA purposes, most of you will be considered dependents, meaning that you're under the care of your parents. All dependents have to answer questions about their parents on the FAFSA. Due to varying family situations, this is the FAFSA definition of a "parent" for the purposes of filling out this form: "Parent" refers to a biological or adoptive parent or a person determined by the state to be a parent (for example, if the parent is listed on the birth certificate). Grandparents, foster parents, legal guardians, older siblings, and uncles or aunts are not considered parents on the FAFSA unless they have legally adopted you. If your legal parents are living and married to each other, answer the questions on the FAFSA about both of them. If your legal parents are not married and live together, answer the questions about both of them. In case of divorce or separation, give information about the parent you lived with most in the last 12 months. If you did not live with one parent more than the other, give information about the parent who provided you the most financial support during the last 12 months or during the most recent year you received support. If your divorced or widowed parent has remarried, also provide information about your stepparent. Financial Information Dependents have to report information from their parents, including their parents' previous year's adjusted gross income, government aid, untaxed income, and any other financial benefits. Your parents may be able to use the IRS Retrieval Tool to transfer their tax return information to your online FAFSA. Also, you have to report any financial benefits you received in the previous year, even if you're a dependent. What Happens After You File Your FAFSA? Student Aid Report After you file your FAFSA, if you provide a valid e-mail address, you'll receive your Student Aid Report, or SAR, in 3-5 days. Without a valid e-mail address, you'll receive your SAR via mail in 7-10 days. Your SAR will have a summary of the information you submitted on your FAFSA along with your EFC. Remember that your EFC does not determine the amount of aid you will receive from colleges; it determines the amount of aid you're eligible to receive. The EFC that displays on your SAR is a calculation based on the information you provided on your FAFSA. If there are any errors in your SAR, you can correct the information online. If your application is incomplete, your SAR will not include an EFC, but it will display text that specifies any issues that need to be resolved. In this situation, you'll also be able to complete your FAFSA online. Financial Aid Award Letters The colleges you list on your FAFSA will have access to your information electronically one day after it's processed. Colleges will use the information from your FAFSA to help determine what financial aid they offer you. Shortly after you receive your college acceptances, or even with college acceptance letters, you'll receive financialaid award letters from the colleges that accepted you. However, if you apply early decision or early action, you may have to wait until those who applied for regular decision receive their acceptance notices to get your financial aid award letter. The financial aid award letter outlines your financial aid package, including the amount of aid you'll be offered in grants, government loans, and scholarships. Subtract the amount of financial aid you're offered from the cost of attendance, and you can determine your out-of-pocket expenses for the upcoming academic year. Typically, you'll receive your aid award letters in March or April and have to commit to a college by May 1. Is the FAFSA Required? The FAFSA is only required if you want to be eligible for federal financial aid. Remember that most states and colleges also require the FAFSA to receive state or college-sponsored aid. If you or your parents can afford to pay the full cost of attendance to the colleges you apply to, then you don't have to file a FAFSA. If, based on your EFC, colleges determine that you can afford to pay the full cost of attending, you're unlikely to receive any need-based aid, even if you do file a FAFSA. Also, if you have received a scholarship that makes additional financial aid unnecessary, then you don't have to file a FAFSA. Keep in mind that regardless of whether or not you file a FAFSA, you or your parents can still take out loans to cover your college costs. What's Next? You need to submit a FAFSA to be eligible for valuable financial aid like the Pell Grant and work-study programs. Now that you understand the importance of the FAFSA, learn about how much college really costs. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

HR and performance, High-performance work system and big data Assignment

HR and performance, High-performance work system and big data - Assignment Example Many top organisational behaviour specialists believe that it can be relied on to provide companies that adopt it with a reliable and sustainable competitive edge. Given the popularity and endurance of the concept, it is understandable that it should be seen as a revolutionary method of handling human resources. In addition, quite a number or retrospective and contemporary studies posit that the effect of HRM on job satisfaction and, by extension, organisational performance is positive. However, this is not universal; some studies have portrayed job satisfaction as a primary mediator between HRM practices and organisational performance. On the other hand, others postulate that the implementation of HR practices is associated with increased levels of work intensity, which can translate into better performance but not necessarily higher job satisfaction (Green, 2004). There have also been claims that HRM practices that are adopted as part of high performance work system are not either designed to increase job satisfaction or tend not to have that effect (Appelbaum, 2002). However, some scholars have speculated that HRM tends to impact on separate components of job satisfaction such as a sense of achievement or contentment with ones pay (Green, 2006). However, what cannot be disputed is the fact that, despite the common assumption that HPWS are good for business, many organisations have failed to apply or implement them. This begs the question: If it is that good, why do more people not use it? A great deal has been written about the HPWS in HMR literature, however, despite this, little attention is given to it individually even though it concerns organisational economic; critical area in general economics. High performance work systems can be defined as high involvement or commitment organisations; these use a distinctive managerial approach to facilitate performance

Global strategy MBA market in UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global strategy MBA market in UK - Essay Example This report is a business plan for setting up the proposed business school, International Business School. The main purpose of the business plan is to put forward the business idea in a detailed manner in order to communicate the business opportunity to the potential investors.There is a great demand for highly qualified management students in today’s competitive corporate world. Even though there are numerous management schools around the globe only very few of them are capable of producing job ready candidates. A business plan is a written statement that describes and analyses the business concept and explains in detail the future projections (McKeever, 2008). Recipients The recipients of the business plan are the potential investors of the company who can be national and private banks, venture capitals, private organizations or businesses willing to invest, companies who will benefit from the talent pool (Management students) and other prospective investors (shareholders mo del). International Business School Overview There is a great demand for highly qualified management students in today’s competitive corporate world. Even though there are numerous management schools around the globe only very few of them are capable of producing job ready candidates. That is, there is a vacuum in required skills of the graduating candidates and that required by the industry. Companies indulge in various training and orientation programs after hiring the candidates to fill in this vacuum. This is highly visible in third world countries and emerging markets. It is to fulfill this need for highly qualified, industry ready management students that the International Business School (IBS) is proposed. IBS will be initially set up at Charing Cross in central London, UK. The school will then expand to two other countries, Nigeria and Thailand. To start with all the major operations of the school will completely be in UK, and only study centers and admission offices will be opened in Nigeria and Thailand. Masters in Business Management is the primary product IBS. IBS will impart not just theoretical knowledge to its students but will primarily aim at giving them practical experience and exposure to real world scenarios. Unlike many management schools, the main purpose here is not to produce students with high marks and certificates. IBS will be established with the view that marks and certificates can get students well paid jobs but it is the innovativeness, creativeness, ability to think out of the box and make crucial decisions that will help them to keep and grow in the careers. IBS will try to impart the above mentioned characteristics and attitudes into its students. It will not just give them any opportunity to succeed but will teach them to create their own opportunities. The main purpose of education at IBS is not just to prepare students for a challenging job but to prepare them to face the challenges of life. In doing so, the school w ill succeed in both, filling in the vacuum between the graduating candidates and job ready employees, and produce highly qualified and competent individuals who can make a positive contribution to the society. Vision Statement To impart in its students theoretical and practical knowledge along with skills and attributes that will help them to succeed in both their professional and personal. As a result of the above, IBS will present the world with highly talented and responsible individuals who will make a positive contribution to the society as a whole. Market Analysis Market analysis is an essential part of a business plan. Market analysis

Compare And Contrast The Star And The Necklace :: essays research papers

The story â€Å"The Star†, which was written in 1970’s, is trying to say that we need to understand the truth of our fate rather than put on blinders and quit refusing everything else that we don’t want to see. In the story â€Å"The Necklace† written by Guy De Maupassant the woman worked herself to the bone for ten years trying to pay off the debt used to pay for the necklace she lost at the ball. The woman in this story is a poor pretty woman who thought she deserved a better life than one that she already had. The main character in this story is a woman named Louis, the daughter of simple working class man. Both stories include a sub theme of a hope for a better life, in which all men were created equal and all the ugly injustices in the world would cease to exist. But the cold hard fact is that we humans have this innate sense of optimism, which blocks our thinking for reality, because without it we would have no reason for living. In the case of the woman in the story "The necklace" the object being the necklace which she eventually loses and tries to replace. Instead of hiding the truth and facing the music, which was harder, to take than when she lied. The old adage which says," What a tangled web weave when we first start to deceive." We humans can't handle the truth. We think we know what is the truth. What that really is just bullshit. It's arrogance-playing tricks on our minds making us think we are in control of our lives. If we really were in control of our lives then why can't we control every little aspect of it that gives discomfort? Because we can't, because we don't know how, and eventually the truth will show that is we don't what the truth really is. Using the slippery slope logic one can conclude that the two stories are more similar than they are different but because the assignment at hand requires for me to compare and contrast in an illustrative manner then I guess I sho uld start. In the story the Star the setting is on a rocket ship with astronauts and the setting in the necklace is old France in the late 1970's. The Star is a science fiction story while the necklace is an illustrative story.

Pch International

CASE: GS-61 DATE: 04/01/08 PCH INTERNATIONAL: MANAGING THE FLOWS OF INFORMATION, GOODS, AND FINANCE Liam Casey, CEO of PCH International Limited (PCH), was in every way an adventurer. Born and having spent most of his youth in Cork, Ireland, Casey had never lived in China until he started traveling and working in the country in his late twenties. Yet, without speaking much Chinese, Casey managed to establish an innovative supply chain solutions company in China’s factory city of Shenzhen and grew it to almost 700 employees in just ten years.By 2007, PCH had become a global company; it had customers in Western Europe and North America and its IT operations, manufacturing and warehousing support was located in Ireland, China, Singapore, Taiwan, South Africa and Brazil. In fact, so successful was Casey’s business that the â€Å"mildmannered and extremely diligent entrepreneur won the Ireland 2007 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the year award. †1 Collecting business c ompetition accolades was not what Casey had in mind when he first started PCH.When Casey went to Taiwan in 1996 to attend a computer and electronics fair, he saw an opportunity to help global technology companies take advantage of Asia and China’s low-cost supplier base and manufacturing capabilities. Although PCH started out in the mid-1990s as a sourcing agent of low-priced electronic components from Taiwan and China to the Western world, by 2007 it had evolved into a provider of comprehensive supply chain solutions to global technology companies. PCH was designed to address the needs of a complex global technology supply chain landscape. Arthur Beesley, â€Å"Casey Picks Up Overall Award,† Irish Times, October 26, 2007, p. 12 Jennie Tung prepared this case under the supervision of Professor Hau Lee as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright  © 2008 by the Board of T rustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, e-mail the Case Writing Office at: [email  protected] stanford. du or write: Case Writing Office, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 518 Memorial Way, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5015. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means –– electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise –– without the permission of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 2 STATE OF THE TECHNOLOGY SUPPLY CHAINThe Maturing Supply Chain By the twenty-first century, technology products of all sorts became ubiquitous and profoundly transformed the way people lived and worked. However, in the 1990s, in comparison to other global supply chains such as garments and toys, which had over some 50 years of outsourcing experience, the technology supply chain was still in its early development. For example, by the mid-1990s, the digital camera, the mobile phone, and the laptop computer had only just become a mainstream consumer category.As such, in addition to focusing on designing cutting edge products, technology companies were trying figure out the most efficient ways to deliver their products to end consumers. On the consumer technology supply chain timeline, the 1970s and 1980s showed only a small number of global brands, such as the large technology conglomerates Sony and Siemens, who were industry leaders in many product categories. These industry leaders relied on their vertically integrated supply chains and their ability to lock in suppliers to keep new competitors from entering the market. However, as venture capital funding became more available in the 1990s, the technology market saw continuous waves of innovation, shorter product lifecycles, new products and brands. At the same time, the 1990s also saw a drastic increase in independent manufacturers and suppliers, particularly in Asia. These businesses had developed sophisticated technical capabilities after serving the global brands for a number of years. The confluence of these factors changed what it took to win in the technology space. Vertically integrated players of the past were replaced with engineering-savvy, asset-light marketing and design companies. As such, both large and small technology companies had the opportunity to bring products to market through the use of sub-contracting. By the late 1990s, consumers not only had more product choices but also multiple channels to buy from, including online stores, which were becoming popular. Within the world of technology products, the supply chain systems for the wide-ranging product types were not uniform. For example, the more complex large systems, such as telecom base stations, had a diffe rent supply chain model from the smaller consumer electronics products, such as personal MP3 players and laptop computers.This case focuses on the small consumer electronics supply chain, whose characteristics included having many component suppliers, with assembly sites doing the final assembly and testing. The modular structure of technology products meant that the brand owners had to manage a large network of suppliers. To stay competitive, large and small technology companies began to outsource a significant part of their supply chain to third party vendors in order to focus their resources on brand differentiating activities, such as product design and marketing. This outsourcing trend in the 2 3PCH International Limited (PCH), â€Å"Information Memorandum for Potential Investors,† November 2007, pp. 3-5. Ibid. 4 www. Alibaba. com was an online directory of suppliers in China 5 PCH, op. cit. pp. 3-5. PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-6 1 p. 3 1980s created a new industry known as Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS). By the 1990s, the EMS industry had a number of global scale players, notably Hon Hai Precision Industries (Foxconn), Flextronics, Celestica, Sanmina-SCI, Jabil, Elcoteq, and a few dozen others.In addition, several thousand smaller companies continued to occupy EMS niches and served a wide range of consumer electronics brands. The business model for the EMS industry was based on large economies of scale in manufacturing, raw materials procurement, pooling of resources, and industrial design expertise, in addition to other value-added services such as warranty and repairs. Products manufactured by EMS companies were labeled with the brand owner’s brand and corporate identity.As price competition intensified in the consumer electronics industry in the late 1990s, EMS players gradually shifted their manufacturing assets to lower cost areas, such as cities in Southern China. While the leaner over head structure provided numerous operational and financial benefits, the technology companies faced enormously complex challenges in dealing with procurement, manufacturing, and logistics vendors. Fragmented Supplier Base Many technology companies looked to Asia as an outsourcing location, given the number of low- cost manufacturing and component suppliers in the region.By 2007, China became a major sourcing and production hub for many technology companies. However, to take full advantage of China’s low cost supplier base was not always straightforward. As China was rapidly developing into the factory of the world, many companies strove to achieve low cost while maintaining quality. Low cost technology goods suppliers were abundantly available in the coastal regions of China, in particular in the southern city of Shenzhen, just a 50-minute train ride from Hong Kong. As a procurement officer for a technology company, trying to identify the most suitable supplier could be a hug e headache.For example, for every cable connector, printer circuit board, and MP3 player accessory item, there were literally hundreds of suppliers to choose from in China. 4 For many technology companies, many of these components were not core or strategic. However, poor management of component parts could impact every aspect of the supply chain, leaving behind many unsatisfied customers. Therefore, to take full advantage of China’s wealth of suppliers, technology companies needed to filter through numerous vendors to find ones that optimized cost, speed to market, and quality.Working Capital Constraints While independent manufacturers and component suppliers benefited from global outsourcing trends in the late 1990s, they also had to face increasing financing challenges. Casey, who had worked with hundreds of factory owners, learned of the challenges in raising working capital: [In the earlier days of outsourcing,] suppliers were able to take a purchase order of a guarantee d volume from a well-known company to the bank and, upon verification, would be able to obtain working capital inancing. Letters of Credit (LCs) were issued by the purchaser. However, guaranteed longer term product volumes have been replaced by rolling short term product guidelines forecasts. The reason is as a technology company faces tough competition and declining PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 4 margins, it needs to manage costs aggressively by minimizing inventory build-up. This is necessary given the need to match the ebb and flow of customer taste and requirements.They in turn demand ‘just-in-time’ delivery from their suppliers— which shifted some of the inventory holding costs upstream to its vendors, further increasing its need for working capital. In addition, sometimes the purchasing company may not be one of the blue-chip globally recognizable brands; banks sometimes perceived this as an additional credit r isk. This trend resulted in substantial volatility and pressure on some suppliers as banks were not as willing to provide trade financing given the perceived increased risk levels.This meant some suppliers found it tremendously difficult, if not extremely expensive to obtain financing. Increasingly Demanding Customers Consumer technology products of the twenty-first century were about superior functionalities, seamless ordering process (both in-store and online), timely and accurate product delivery, and a memorable out-of-box experience—referring to how consumers felt when they opened the box and reacted to the overall product presentation. Of course, it was critical that the products themselves be â€Å"trendy† and â€Å"cool,† and accompanied by a whole host of accessories to jazz up the products.For many consumers, technology products were perceived in the same vein as fashion goods. Brands, therefore, needed to meet constantly changing tastes and extremely short and tight product development cycles. While professional technology products generally placed more emphasis on product functionalities, they still required support services, such as regional configuration (e. g. , language differences and pre-loaded software) and just-in-time delivery of products, in order to minimize inventory costs. Finally, technology companies needed to provide their customers these highly customized products and purchasing experiences at a competitive price, while achieving all of the above. These were just some of the characteristics that made the technology supply chain much more challenging than the supply chain of more traditional industries. EMS companies, as discussed above, while able to deliver manufacturing savings to brand owners, were unable to adequately address these pain points, given that their business model focused on large scale production.The end consumer’s increasing demand for low price and customized products made it challengi ng for EMS companies to address these evolving market trends. TECHNOLOGY SUPPLY CHAIN FLOWS AND CHALLENGES An insightful entrepreneur, Casey saw the pain points described above as opportunities. Over the years, Casey had thought a comprehensive solution addressing the market and customer challenges would provide extraordinary value for technology companies. In PCH’s menu of services, the over-arching theme was to help clients better manage the three distinctive flows in the technology supply chain: information, goods, and financial.These flows essentially addressed every element required to take a product from concept to being retail ready, including the key steps of manufacturing, packaging, product customization, logistics and supplier financing. (See Exhibit 1 for an overview of the three flows in the technology supply chain. ) PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 5 The Virtual Supply Chain The virtual supply chain referred to informa tion flow that occurred in the supply chain as goods moved through the various stages.The information requirement might be for a unique customer, such as, â€Å"when will my goods arrive at my door step;† or for the planning department in a company, â€Å"how much inventory should I order given existing inventory levels in different parts of the supply chain? † When a company outsourced each portion of the supply chain to different vendors, disbursing and piecing information back together from disparate sources could be extremely challenging. The Physical Supply Chain The physical supply chain referred to he steps by which physical goods went from product concept to their final customers; it dealt with the movement of goods from various physical locations, such as procurement of components, manufacturing, and logistics. 6 As discussed in the section on challenges facing the technology supply chain, the large number of suppliers and manufacturers in Asia made it extreme ly cumbersome for companies to identify the most appropriate vendors for their needs. In addition to price negotiation, service quality also required significant due diligence.For example, incidences of delinquent delivery and product quality issues were commonplace. Given the myriad of choices that consumers had for any given technology product, the margin of error allowed was very small. Another challenge in the physical supply chain was customization of products. A question often asked by supply chain executives at technology companies was, â€Å"how should I best take advantage of economies of scale by producing in volume while achieving the customization for each local market, and sometimes for each individual customer? This question highlighted the challenge of managing market-level customization since most technology products needed to reach multiple countries around the world. The challenge could be as simple as placing different language labels on products, to more complex tasks such as first consolidating product shipments from different manufacturing sites and then assembling various units for unique customer orders. Finally, logistics and shipment also needed to be managed in an efficient and cost effective manner.The Financial Supply Chain Tied very closely to the physical flow of goods, the financial supply chain referred to the financing required for each step of the supply chain. For example, a manufacturing contractor would need financing to buy components and pay its workers to make the products, before shipping them to the technology company to collect the revenue. Established vendors may have had enough cash to last through a collection cycle but smaller or newer vendors could be strapped for cash when a large order came through.While commercial banks could provide financing for some vendors, new or smaller vendors ended up paying extremely high interest First Capital Presentation at the Zhejiang University Innovation Institute’s Su pply Chain Forum, Zhejiang, China, November 13-14, 2007. 6 PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 6 costs, at least in the initial years of operations—until they had developed a stronger track record to borrow at more favorable rates from banks. THE PCH SOLUTIONBy 2007, PCH counted a number of global clients as customers. Among its clients were three of the top five personal computer companies, three of the top five telecom and networking companies, and the top five leading contract electronics manufacturers. 7 According to Casey, â€Å"PCH offers customized solutions for each client. PCH helps to manage the various communication, culture and geographic barriers that often create operational friction between the [technology company] and its suppliers in the supply chain. In Casey’s framework, each PCH solution could be mapped to the various challenges in the three flows of the supply chain, thereby addressing the various gaps in co ordinating these flows. For example, PCH manufacturing services addressed the needs in the flow of goods, while PCH Capital addressed the needs in the financial flow in the supply chain (See Exhibit 2 on PCH services categories). Like PCH’s technology customers, Casey believed an asset-light approach in managing his business worked the best and, therefore, he had no ownership in any of the vendors that PCH worked with.PCH was neither a supplier of goods nor an importer for global technology companies. PCH was a service provider—a coordinator that helped orchestrate and maximize the benefits of an outsourced supply chain for all parties involved. Addressing the Needs of the Virtual Supply Chain Information transparency was a highly valued feature for technology companies given the many moving pieces involved. Casey explained why its software services division was core to PCH’s offering to clients and why developing these tools was important to PCH in the long ter m: Transparency of process is a central PCH offering.This is why we’ve developed a series of online software tools that drive internal PCH activities and to provide a portal for clients to oversee and participate in the process. These systems enabled PCH, customers and third-party suppliers to view and share the same data. [As all parties] are working with the same data on the same platform, confusion is reduced, the need for status communication is reduced and clients can have full visibility to PCH’s activities even [though] they may be half a world away. By 2007, PCH had developed a set of software visibility tools that consolidated relevant information for each individual customer.Examples included StatusFlo, which showed inventory levels of goods in the various locations of the supply chain; and TransFlo, which housed all information relevant to billing and shipping documents in one central location for each order. Given the myriad of suppliers, ChinaFlo provided a database of background data on over 900 factories evaluated by PCH. Each factory profile contained detailed information ranging from basic background information, to factory qualification reports, and to capabilities case studies. Customers also had the ability to view pictures of their products and even search 7 Beesley, loc. it. PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 7 for hotels in the vicinity of the factories, as the factory profiles had GPS coordinates associated with them. Resolving the chaos and lack of data transparency in the virtual supply chain was one key value-add that PCH offered. (See Exhibit 3 for a screenshot of different sections of PCH’s information portal. ) Addressing the Needs of the Physical Supply Chain Casey reflected on the path that PCH took: The historical success of PCH was in manufacturing services where goods were sourced and manufactured for our clients.This was how the company got started. Over time, PCH had moved deeper into the product life cycle where solutions were replacing entire distribution systems; for some of our clients, [PCH] took over warehousing, inventory management, and retail preparation functions. We wanted to move to higher value services as opposed to being just a sourcing agent. With this strategy, PCH developed three core services that addressed the complexity and confusion of sourcing and manufacturing in Asia, in particular in China. As of 2007, these services were manufacturing, postponement, and fulfillment services.Manufacturing Services PCH offered its manufacturing services to clients as early as the product development phase. Technology companies would approach PCH with ideas for products and PCH’s design team then developed prototypes for manufacturing. Casey proudly mentioned how PCH’s differentiated services created benefits for the entire supply chain. Even if our clients just ask for product quotes, we would put the product through i ndustrial design optimization that yields the best cost for the customer while minimizing potential quality issues.Many of our clients did not expect this but this is the level of services that we aim for. We do not tie [the product design] to the capabilities of any specific factory group but act independently on behalf of our clients†¦This level of services also compares favorably to just a [company to outsource manufacturer] relationship where the focus is on landing the contract and meeting minimum quantities; [this also meant] final product quality and the end user experience being far down the outsource manufactures’ list of priorities.The other part of PCH manufacturing services entailed factory identification, qualification, and ongoing monitoring. For this set of services, PCH also leveraged its software services (see information supply chain in previous section) to differentiate itself from other competitors. Casey said, â€Å"Rather than just identifying the factories for manufacturing, we would map out the locations of the various potential manufacturing sites and how that would fit in the overall supply chain. This strategy ensured that the entire supply chain was optimized, taking into consideration the later steps in the process, such as warehousing and shipment consolidation. PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 8 Postponement and Fulfillment Services Traditionally, once the technology products were produced and quality checked in the approved outsourced factories, they were shipped to warehouse facilities before going to the various retail destinations.A potential downside to this model was that when the bulk shipment arrived at the retail destination, which might be in a high cost country such as the U. S. or Europe, the products still needed to be further customized for each local market; whether it was adding country appropriate labeling or putting on UPC labels. This meant that even thoug h a company had saved by manufacturing its goods in Asia, this last mile customization could bring the total product costs back up. The other downside was that a technology company also needed to pay for inventory holding costs.And, this inventory had limited flexibility; a company could not move it to other geographies, even if a particular product was running a shortage in other locations. To address these challenges, PCH offered postponement services—the act of holding goods in the supply chain (often in bulk format pending final assembly or packaging) for delivery to a warehouse, retail store or the end consumer. 8 In Casey’s words, â€Å"What we are doing is bringing a vanilla product to a stage in a process and then flavor in the last minute. So you're postponing the flavoring. The final steps would only be carried out once the demand was clearly visible. Most of PCH’s clients’ products were manufactured around the coastal areas of China, so PCH st rategically located its postponement processing facilities in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, and in Singapore. These locations were selected for their relatively low labor costs (some of the final packaging was quite labor intensive) and the availability of favorable tax-free trade zones. For example, one of PCH’s clients was a global personal computer (PC) company.When its PCs arrived in Shenzhen’s postponement processing facility in bulk, the machines had no software. Given these computers could be destined for different locations around the world, PCH would wait for the final order before it preloaded the different language operating systems into these computers for the various markets. These computers were held in Shenzhen’s Futian Tax Free Trade zone; which yielded lower inventory holding costs, as compared to having them sit at the warehouses in a higher cost country location.As PCH’s goal was to help customers fully manage the physical supp ly chain, its fulfillment services addressed the â€Å"handling of product orders from clients, their distribution chains or directly from end consumers over the Internet. †9 This meant that after products had gone through final assembly and packaging in the postponement phase, PCH could have them delivered directly to retail stores, ready for sale or to the end consumers’ doorstep. Working with third party logistics providers, PCH had several options for pickup and shipment to overseas locations.Even though PCH provided postponement in China, technology products were often transported by air, so this did not mean PCH’s response time was much worse than the conventional approach of having postponement at the retail distribution center in the U. S. Casey explained why the combination of postponement and fulfillment services worked well for PCH’s technology clients and how it addressed challenges in the broader market environment: 8 9 PCH, op. cit. pp. 9-13 Ibid. PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 9The constantly shifting consumer tastes and trends make forecast volume for any [technology] product difficult. When Internet sales direct to a customer’s home are added into the array of distribution possibilities, the processing needs become even more complex. With postponement and fulfillment services located close to the manufacturing sites, it drastically shortens time to market. By offering a variety of packaging and shipment options, PCH is able to both manage fast and slow moving inventory in a manner that reduces the overall supply chain costs to [technology companies].This approach provides clients with substantial leverage in their operations: total factory commitments remain somewhat unchanged, product inventory quantities shrink, warehouse networks shrink, if not disappearing all together, and the cost of operating the supply chain falls. PCH’s Unique Position In summarizin g PCH’s value proposition, Casey believed PCH’s role as the coordinator in the supply chain was beneficial for all parties involved: Our purpose as a company is developing partnerships, delivering peace of mind.None of our customers have ever gone direct to a factory. Some customers have made phone calls to factories, but the factories will call us immediately because [those factories also made products for five of our other clients. ] So we bring a very big book of business to these component suppliers and that's why they like to work with us. The factories are getting a steady flow of business through our volume consolidation. At the same time our customers also benefit from economies of scale by consolidating their orders with their competitors, which are nonproprietary stuff.Casey believed that in the 1990s, global companies operating in China were all about the knowledge challenge and everyone was just trying to learn about the landscape. By 2000, â€Å"it was al l about the execution challenge; that is, how do you actually do it and benefit from what China has to offer,† said Casey. Client Case Example10: Managing the Physical and Information Supply Chain PCH worked with a wide range of technology clients; but perhaps its partnership with one global consumer technology company provided the best example to illustrate the principles behind technology supply chain outsourcing.Situation The client was a global consumer electronics company and, since the early 2000s, had produced a number of blockbuster products that were sold worldwide. Sales revenue was growing rapidly and most of its products were manufactured in Taiwan and China. These products were sold over the Internet, in addition to a variety of retail outlets, and were often sold with accessories such as protective carrying cases, spare parts, and alternative configurations of the products. PCH operated under a confidentiality agreement with most of its clients; hence, actual cli ent names have been disguised.Some of the company data provided was fictitious to preserve anonymity. 10 PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 10 Playing in the extremely competitive consumer technology space, this client had introduced new products every year or so—sometimes with an entirely new product line and sometimes with upgrades to existing models. Complication In the initial years, this client worked with a global logistics provider to operate its more than five North American and European warehouse facilities; inventories from Asia arrived in bulk and were stored in these locations.Its products were delivered to end consumers or retail locations upon ordering. Its accessory parts were produced by different factories in Asia and were then shipped separately to various destination markets. For example, when customers ordered four accessories, they might receive four different shipments on four different dates, leaving them sometim es confused and unable to track the status of their orders. This arrangement was also expensive for the technology company, given the high cost of inventory storage and the multiple airfreight bills for each customer.More importantly, the client promised its end consumers more than just beautifully designed products, it also promised a superior consumer experience—from placing the order on the Internet to actually receiving the product. The order status had to be available real-time and visible to consumers at each stage of execution; the delivery commitment to its end consumers was two to three days to the doorstep, which was often half a world away from where the goods were produced.Finally, considerable care and attention were given to the packaging and presentation of the products to ensure that end consumers were truly delighted when opening the box. Solution In serving this client, PCH set up an on-site real-time data transfer between client’s and PCH’s sy stem in Shenzhen, China. As customers place orders in North America, the orders were consolidated and fed live to PCH’s processing facilities.PCH had already stored bulk inventories of various accessory parts in its facilities; once information for each orders were received, the PCH teams in Shenzhen then go and grab the various parts and assemble them into one single package for each customer order. Customized and country appropriate packaging, including items such as usual manuals and in-country product support, were added to these parts. Finally, product codes were added to products in case the consumer wanted to a return or obtain customer services in their local customer service centers.This solution brought all product handling (post manufacturing) into China and all orders were shipped directly from one location to the final destination. This translated into savings on logistics as customers were now receiving only one shipment as opposed to multiple shipments. Address ing the Needs of the Financial Supply Chain As discussed in the state of the technology supply chain section, component suppliers and factories sometimes ran into a working capital crunch when unable to obtain feasible financing from commercial banks.On the opposite side of the table, the commercial banks generally appreciated the opportunity to help finance the components suppliers and factories, thereby gaining more visibility into the operations of these small to medium size operations. Casey drew insights from observing these challenges and decided that PCH was actually in a great position to help de-risk the entire supply chain—for the technology companies, banks, and the factories. Casey described how PCH’s services were different from those of other global PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 . 11 logistics providers: â€Å"The FedExes and DHLs know where the boxes are, but PCH knows what’s inside the boxes. † Gi ven its span of participation in the supply chain, PCH gained a wealth of knowledge about the factories, the products, and the ultimate client. This knowledge became extremely valuable in doing risk assessment. For example, PCH staff (including Casey) had personally visited the factories and had worked with the owners and the technology companies for months. This level of understanding far exceeded what could be accomplished by lending officers.This unique position enabled PCH to effectively play the trade finance role in the supply chain cycle. By 2008, Casey envisioned the ways in which PCH could play a broader role in the financial supply chain as it saw pain points in the retailer to factory relationship. In the past, U. S. retailers (customers of PCH) placed purchase orders (POs) with outsourcing factories in China. The U. S. retailers would then apply for a Letter of Credit (LC) with a bank that would provide the required financing to the factory. Once the orders had been manu factured, the factories would then ship the goods directly to the retailers.As the consumer electronics industry evolved, retailers were no longer willing to place large purchase orders, given the uncertainty of the market. In order to protect their margins and to minimize inventory costs, retailers changed payment terms on the factories. The factories were required to obtain financing on their own and would only be paid 90 days after the retailers received the products. This put a tremendous amount of pressure on the factories. PCH saw this as an opportunity for another value-added service.Casey envisioned that PCH could play the role of an intermediary to facilitate the financial flow from the moment the retailers placed their orders to the delivery of goods. The new model was such that retailers would place orders with PCH and PCH would then place the orders with the factories. Given PCH’s size and its relationship with global technology firms, banks would be willing to le nd funds to PCH. At the same time, PCH could then lend funds back to its factories and suppliers at a higher interest rate, but still lower than what the factories and suppliers would have gotten on their own.PCH effectively made the interest spread between the banks and the factories and suppliers. JOURNEY TO-DATE AND PATH GOING FORWARD Casey, the business adventurer from Ireland seemed to have demystified the often chaotic Chinese manufacturing landscape. Casey recalled the tremendous difficulty in initially setting up the business in 1996: I found companies in Ireland that were buying cables, connectors and audio accessories through British distributors†¦ who were actually sourcing them from Asia anyway.It took a long time to convince these Irish companies to go source directly from Asia because their perception was that you couldn't get quality or the right products in Asia, plus they were worried about dealing with the time difference. With only $20,000 in start-up capital and unable to afford staff, Casey worked alone for two years, getting to know factories in China, opportunities, and the business. Just ten years into the PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 12 ame, Casey disclosed that by 2007, PCH generated over $100 million in annual revenue, not a small feat for someone who still claimed to â€Å"not speak much Mandarin. † As the company grew into a much larger company since its start-up days, Casey believed one of the most important things to preserve in the company culture was the sense of urgency. In the initial years, he remembered that every single customer contract determined the survival of the company. â€Å"That sense of urgency, to get things done, to exceed customer expectation continued to stay in the company even after all these years.This sense of urgency was a trait of PCH—the speed and the can-do attitude,† said Casey. (See Exhibit 4 and 5 for revenue breakdown. ) A lo ng-time customer of PCH was Better Energy Systems (BES), the brand owner of Solio portable solar power. PCH had been managing BES’s end-to-end supply chain. â€Å"Put simply, PCH understands the business and quality requirements of the West, while at the same time can effectively manage the day to day complexities of a Chinese supply chain,† said Christopher Hornor, chief executive of BES. 1 While Casey believed PCH’s end-to-end solution provided a unique value proposition to technology companies, he also humbly admitted: â€Å"there’s nothing that would prevent our customers from going directly to the suppliers in the future. † In trying to chart out the growth plan for his company in the years to come, he was contemplating several options: expanding service options or obtaining strategic investors. Regardless of the growth strategy, Casey had always believed in â€Å"building PCH one client at a time. You do a good job, they give you more work,à ¢â‚¬  he said. It's all about service—making sure they get what they want, when they want it. â€Å"12 And such was the truism in operating any supply chain. 11 12 Clifford Coonan, â€Å"Understanding the Rules Is Key to Success in China,† Irish Times, September 25, 2006. Anna Healy Fenton, â€Å"Irish Rover Now Fluent in Solutions-Speak,† South China Morning Post, March 26, 2005. PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 13 Exhibit 1: PCH Integrated Supply Chain Approach Technol ogy Suppl y Chain Sol uti on V i rtual Supply Chai n †¢ Flow of inf ormation Physi cal Suppl y Chain †¢ Fl ow of productsFi nancial Supply Chai n †¢ Fl ow of f unds Source: Company Internal Information Exhibit 2: PCH Services Categories PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 14 Exhibit 3: PCH Information Portal Source: Company Internal Document Exhibit 4: Revenue Breakdown by Category 2005 49% 19% 13 % 10% 10% 2006 42% 32% 12% 6% 7% 2007 45% 29% 14% 5% 6% Electronics Telecom Medical PC Other Source: Company Internal Document Exhibit 5: Revenue Breakdown by Geography 2005 51% 23% 9% 17% 0% 2006 46% 26. 5% 0. 4% 27% 0. 1% 2007 48% 22% 3% 25% 1% USA Ireland Europe Asia Brazil Source: Company Internal Document