Feasibility Study on Childrens Entertainment Centre

Feasibility Study on Childrens Entertainment Centre Background Information As a leading commercial hub, Dubai is bulging with vast world-class business opportunities that have enabled it to become a major business attraction for both established and upcoming entrepreneurs in the world.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Feasibility Study on Children’s Entertainment Centre specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As a matter of fact, the UAE business centre provides vast business opportunities to both local and foreign investors planning to invest in the UAE region (Marchal 2005). As a result of its strong economical platform, the centre enjoys all the advantages that come with highly developed economies around the world. The centre is also known for its well ordered business climate that offers entrepreneurs attractive environments to conduct their businesses. Among other key developments, Dubai enjoys a sophisticated financial sector, modern telecommunications, first cl ass hospitality facilities, highly developed transport and communication infrastructure, and reliable power utilities (Michael et al. 2011). All these opportunities have continued to play a significant role in facilitating quality and efficiency business activities in the UAE region, thus making Dubai a pro-business environment. Based on these reasons, Dubai has emerged as a key business attraction for many investors planning to do business in the Middle East. For the purpose of exposing the vast business opportunities that can be found in Dubai, this paper provides a business strategy guide for an organization that plans to establish a shopping mall in the region. In this regard, I have been hired together with other four people to serve as strategic consultants for the company in its investment plan. Each one of us is expected to handle a specific component of the feasibility study and I am responsible for the kids’ entertainment zone that will feature a Franchise Lego.Adve rtising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This paper will address four key elements of feasibility study in regard with my choice of brand. The four elements are brand analysis and choice, market analysis and segmentation, operating model, and performance measures. Brand Analysis and Choice As it would be observed, entertainment zones for both adults and children in malls are emerging as hotspots for many people across the world today (Keivani, Parsa Younis 2003). These zones provide all sorts of entertainment to different categories of people visiting the malls for various reasons. There is no doubt that children entertainment zones feed off the traffic in the shopping malls and vice versa, thus serving as key attraction for different types of consumers visiting the malls (El-Adly 2007). In this regard, indoor entertainment and gaming for young children act as crowd pullers for other businesses in the malls. This clearly explains the reason why most mall developers have turned to entertainment zones currently. The idea of building malls with entertainment zones for young children has been taking place in many developed countries across the world, and Dubai has now embraced the trend in its development plans (Rashid 2007). The business centre in the UAE has been placing considerable focus on indoor entertainment zones as a core requirement that should be integrated in their state-of-the-art architectural designs and plans (Rehman 2008). As a matter of fact, mall developers in the region will rarely erect a modern business premise without including a one-stop entertainment and recreation zone for children. The brand chosen for this assignment is a Kid’s entertainment zone that will form part of the new shopping mall. As a leading business hub in the world, Dubai offers a wide range of entertainment for all categories of people in the family, inclu ding children and toddlers (Hill Jain 2007).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Feasibility Study on Children’s Entertainment Centre specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Business investors in Dubai understand the many benefits associated with leisure for kids, thus ensuring there are as many modern children entertainment zones as possible to cater for the needs of the young ones in the society. As it would be observed, children in Dubai enjoy all kinds of indoor funfair from various places of interest in the region, with malls forming the largest part of the zones offering these services (Duane Webb 2007). Apart from fun, these entertainment zones also provide excellent and unique children educational activities to the participants in a more engaging manner, thus helping them to master important lessons that will see them through the initial developmental stages of life. Entertainment and gaming for young childre n is gaining much popularity in Dubai nowadays, probably as a result of the many benefits associated with the trend. As a matter of fact, this popularity has attracted the interest of many entrepreneurs planning to invest in the region, who have been setting up entertainment zones in malls and other strategic points of the city (Ong 2011). The choice for the children entertainment centre is an indoor Franchise Lego land that would comprise of various kid activities. Here, toddlers will have access of all activities meant to amuse children of all ages. Among the main areas that will make up the centre is an indoor soft play area where activities such as amusement riding, biking, and driving can take place. There will also a bowling alley and a video game arcade that would feature both motion-gaming and console-gaming.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The facility will also feature a Baby Gym nursery that will enable kids to enjoy maximum fitness from various play materials, a First Aid kid clinic to take care of minor injuries resulting from careless play, and a children’s bookstore from where the youngsters can practice reading. All these gaming activities will provide children with a unique and fascinating learning experience in a number of ways (Grodal 2000). For example, this will enable the kids establish their individual as well as social identities that are essential for perfect child development. Moreover, the activities will play a key role in enhancing the thought processes of the participants, thus stimulating their desire to experience and seek knowledge. Market Analysis and Segmentation We are living in a changing world, and it is therefore important for modern day investors to be familiar with all the aspects that would tend to influence the trends of consumers and competitors so as to maximize their busines s operations in the market. As it would be observed, the gaming and entertainment industry is at its top stage currently, and this provides great business opportunities for the investors in the field. Investment in the gaming and entertainment sector has become a norm for many developing and developed countries in the world, considering the vast economical benefits associated with the trend. As a leading international business centre, Dubai has been making substantial efforts to match other developed regions of the world in providing business opportunities to the people in the industry by promoting the idea of children entertainment centres in malls (Saxena 2011). Just like any other business, Franchise of children’s activity is fetching a lot of income for the investors taking place in the field within the UAE’s business centre. The trend of gaming and entertainment for kids is gripping in Dubai as a result of the centre’s outstanding status as a global busines s hub as well as a pros of additional services may include things such as recreational services, birthday parties, and special treatment for kids. Charges may also vary depending on the nature of the services offered. For example, supervised children engagement in the centre whereby the kids are accompanied by their parents or guardians will not cost the same as unsupervised engagements where a staff aligned to the centre is given the responsibility to take care of the children. Obviously, charges for the latter should be a bit higher compared to the ones in those scenarios where children play under the watch of their parents or guardians. More importantly, the children entertainment centre should operate on both peak and off-peak costs based on the days of operation. There is no doubt that the business will tend to attract varied numbers of customers on different times. For instance, while the number of children visiting the centre may remain constant during weekdays, it is likely to go up on weekends and during public holidays when most parents are free to take their children out for leisure. As it would be observed, the price of commodities and services in the market depends on a number of variables (Mellahi, Demirbag Riddle 2011). For example, the price for both commodities and services are likely to rise when demand increases and fall when the demand falls. On the same note, the cost of charges for different gaming programs in the entertainment centre should be a bit higher on weekends and during public holidays when the number of visitors is high, compared to the weekdays when the number is down. Performance Measures The children entertainment centre should adopt various performance measures that would enable it survive in today’s competitive business environment. There is no doubt that every business in today’s business world is focused on utilizing all available resources to stay ahead of competitors in the market. While offering excelle nt services to customers is likely to offer a strong competitive advantage to the gaming and entertainment business, doing things in a different manner will steer the business to greater heights in the market. This objective can be attained through the provision of gaming concepts that appeal most to children during this era of modern technological advancements. More importantly, the provision of a wide array of customizable entertainment experiences that comprise of friendly and intuitive playing options will play a crucial role in enhancing the performance of the business (Voelpel, Leibold Tekie 2004). Another way through which the business can operate differently and stabilize itself in the market is by offering its entertainment services for children at a lowered cost. This objective can be achieved by offering gaming services at a cost slightly lower than the ones provided by competitors in the market. There are various approaches that can be used to measure the performance of businesses to determine whether they are making a progress in the market (Kochan et al. 2003). For instance, the management of the children entertainment centre can apply the observation method to read the facial expressions of the customers and try to determine their perceptions about the services they have received. This approach can also be used to assess people’s satisfaction based on how frequent they visit the centre. The business can also supply customers and clients with survey templates which they can fill up and return to the company expressing their views about the services their children have received from the entertainment centre. Brief oral interviews can also be carried out randomly on parents to determine their views and suggestions on the services provided. All these interventions will play a significant role in helping the business achieve great success in the UAE business centre. Reference List Acuto, M 2010, ‘High-rise Dubai urban entrepreneurialism and the technology of symbolic power’, Cities, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 272-284. Darby, R, Jones, J Al Madani, G 2003, ‘E-commerce marketing: fad or fiction? Management competency in mastering emerging technology. An international case analysis in the UAE’, Logistics Information Management, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 106-113. Duane, R Webb, J 2007, ‘Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating competitive advantage through streams of innovation’, Business Horizons, vol. 50, no.1, pp. 49-59. El-Adly, M 2007, ‘Shopping malls attractiveness: a segmentation approach’, International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, vol. 35, no. 11, pp. 936-950. Grodal, T 2000, ‘Video games and the pleasures of control’, Media Entertainment: The Psychology of Its Appeal, vol. 35, no. 26, pp. 197-213. Hill, C Jain, A 2007, International business: Competing in the global marketplace, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, New York, NY. Kaplan, R Norton, D 2001, The strateg y-focused organization: How balanced scorecard companies thrive in the new business environment, Harvard Business Press, Boston, USA. Keivani, R, Parsa, A Younis, B 2003, ‘Development of the ICT sector and urban competitiveness: the case of Dubai’, Journal of Urban Technology, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 19-46. Kochan, T, Bezrukova, K, Ely, R, Jackson, S, Joshi, A, Jehn, K Thomas, D 2003, ‘The effects of diversity on business performance: Report of the diversity research network’, Human resource management, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 3-21. Marchal, R 2005, ‘Dubai: global city and transnational hub’, Transnational connections and the Arab Gulf, vol. 16, no. 7, pp. 93. Mellahi, K, Demirbag, M Riddle, L 2011, ‘Multinationals in the Middle East: Challenges and opportunities’, Journal of World Business, vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 406-410. Michael, I., Armstrong, A., Badran, B., King, B 2011, ‘Dubai outbound tourism: An exploratory study of Emiratis and expatriates’, Journal of Vacation Marketing, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 83-91. Noack, S 2007, Doing business in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates, McGraw-Hill, New York. Ong, A 2011, Introduction: worlding cities, or the art of being global, Wiley†Blackwell, New York. Rashid, H 2007, ‘Performing Elegance’, Architectural Design, vol. 77, no. 1, pp. 76-81. Rehman, A 2008, Dubai Co: global strategies for doing business in the Gulf states, McGraw-Hill, New York. Saxena, R 2011, Dubai mall: a multipurpose destination in the Middle East, Wiley†Blackwell, New York. Venaik, S, Midgley, D Devinney, T 2005, ‘Dual paths to performance: The impact of global pressures on MNC subsidiary conduct and performance’, Journal of International Business Studies, vol. 36, no. 6, pp. 655-675. Voelpel, S, Leibold, M Tekie, E 2004, ‘The wheel of business model reinvention: how to reshape your business model to leapfrog competitors, Journal of Change Manage ment, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 259-276. Vogel, H 2010, Entertainment industry economics: A guide for financial analysis, Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom.

Pond Water Essays

Pond Water Essays Pond Water Essay Pond Water Essay Pond Water TITLE: By: Jacob O’Connor November 21, 2011 Jennifer Mertz BIO 101 SEC 3A Mid Michigan Community College HYPOTHESIS: If the pond water is not treated and is good quality water then there will be new organisms and plant life in the pond water ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to observe and understand what occurs in a sample of pond water over the course of six weeks. Over the six weeks there were qualitative and quantitative data found and recorded. The qualitative data recorded entailed: Water color and smell as well as suspended solids ranging from clear, opaque, and turbid. The quantitative data that was recorded regarded: Temperature, pH, Alkalinity, Hardness, Chlorine, as well as, Nitrate, and Nitrite. There were also two views of microscope observations. This report will explain and go into detail regarding the results of the observation of the pond water. INTRODUCTION: MATERIALS: 1. Water 9. Slide covers 2. Soil/Grass 10. Plant grow lights 3. Jar 11. Lab Manuel Books 4. Microscope 12. Nail 5. Thermometer 13. Hammer 6. Water quality test strips 14. Tape 7. Pipette 15. Nitrate/Nitrite strips 8. Slides 16. Lab Manual METHODS: Located in a 16 oz clear glass or plastic jar. Took the lid of the jar off and punctured holes in it metal lids are usually est, because you can use a hammer and a larger nail to puncture holes; where as a plastic lid tends to crack with a hammer and nail. Found a pond that contained water year round. Filled the jar 3/4 full with pond water. Added a 1/2 inch of sediment from the bottom of the pond. Also, added a small amount of dead grass or leaves to the jar. Prevented spillage while traveling, by placing a paper towel or plastic wrap between the top of the jar and then gently screwed the lid on over the plastic. Once in the lab, label the pond water using a stick on label with your name, instructor’s name, class section, and the date of when the pond water was collected which was on 10/05/11. Then each week for 6 weeks this data was recorded, the water color, the smell, suspended solids such as clear opaque, and turbid, the temperature was recorded each week using Celsius, the pH level, total alkalinity, total hardness, total chlorine, and free chlorine.

Human behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Human behavior - Essay Example My family has historically believed ensuring high morality levels. For this reason, they take time to teach us some of the most basic moral principles necessary for enabling us to live a fulfilling life. This makes the day special. Some of the factors that have shaped my personal and family history emanate from high religious values. The family’s social life is based on the creation of an appropriate self-image, which has had an influence on my friendships, thereby determining my identity in society. Traditionally, the meeting we have with our family members in my grandparents’ home essentially enables us to uphold moral values, most importantly providing us with skills that enable us to take care of some of the personal differences we might be having between us. This consideration comprises of one of the aspects that have molded me into being a responsible individual. Conversely, the tradition has made it possible for the family to exercise responsibility over the lives of other members, making it possible for everyone to lead fulfilling

Customer Satisfaction and Demand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Customer Satisfaction and Demand - Essay Example (Macrae 1991) Although there is a strong case for privatization of industry, in many countries the political forces of welfarism were far too strong to turn such public monopolies into private enterprises. Many governments found a via media approach, in deregulation of industries. This is the process by which governments removed restrictions on businesses in order to encourage competition that would not only improve efficiency and lower prices but also protect the rights of the consumers. For instance, the board for public utilities of Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada states its mission as: "ensuring the state's public are well served in a changing environment, achieving an equitable balance between the interests of consumers and service providers in the electric utility, automobile insurance, petroleum products and motor carrier industries." ("Newfoundland & Labrador Board " 2005). Similarly, in its 2006 Handbook, the department of Consumer Affairs - Industry, Canada has given useful tips not only to save money on their utility bills, usage of natural resources responsibly and protecting the environment but also contacts and mechanisms for redressal of grievances in case of problems with public utilities. ("Canadian Consumer Handbook" 2006) The argument for total deregulation was that the regulated industries often influenced the government regulatory bodies tilting the scales in their interests. Although the regulatory bodies might have started functioning independently, many of them have fallen prey to the industries they sought to regulate and were in many cases influenced by them. Ironically the same pattern could be discerned even in the process of deregulation. Some of the perceived failures of deregulation have found favor with the proponents of re-regulation for a calibrated approach for each case separately and in consonance with the winds of change that are sweeping across businesses such as liberalization and globalization of markets. According to the 1989-1992 Electricity Act, British consumers can choose their electricity supplier. Regional electricity companies not only have to meet the standards specified in the act but also face fierce completion from others. It is no different for water companies. They face enhanced pressure for improved customer service, reduced wastage and environmental damage. The standards of service are driven not by the regulator but by the industry and customer expectations. The challenge would be to achieve high levels standards to meet heightened consumer expectations without increasing costs. Public utilities long considered slow and unresponsive to the market are forced into making investments to remedy their shortcomings. (Mansell-Lewis 1994). Customer satisfaction: It is well known that customer satisfaction largely leads to customer loyalty. Loyal customers bring in a higher share of their expenditure, repeat business, referrals and word-of-mouth publicity. As deregulation and liberalization increases the number of players competing in an industry, the net effect for the service providers is heightened customer expectations. According to a national opinion polls (NOP) survey commissioned by Olista, a 'service experience assurance' company, users who encounter problems while using mobile data services would simply give up rather than seek assistance. The report is headlined "impatient mobile data users aren't prepared to give operators a

Social scientific approach Essay Example for Free

Social scientific approach Essay Topic: What according to Whitelam (1998), Dutcher-Walls (2009) and Steinberg (1995) is a social scientific approach to the OT? How does this approach help us understand Judges 9 better? Introduction: The aim of social scientific criticism, as a subfield of biblical exegesis, is to study the biblical materials as a reflection of their cultural setting. The meaning and/or the social background of the text are thus more fully illumined by the exercise of sociological and anthropological methods and theories. The era of modern social-scientific research began in the late 19th century with the work of Karl Marx, Auguste Comte, and Herbert Spencer. Their social theories created an atmosphere of curiosity about the human condition and advanced the evolutionary perspective that had taken hold with the writing of Charles Darwin. As sociology and anthropology emerged as separate sciences. Social scientific criticism is an interpretive method that uses heuristic models from the social sciences to understand the social context of ancient Israel and to interpret texts create within that context. From 1960’s there develops some of the Social groups, cultural relationships, patterns of behaviour, political structures which all of them are under the topic social criticism. As I have stated above that in 19th century many of the scholars were very much interested on the issue of social. In 1970 they were uses of the social criticism methods from variety of situations, and especial the one of sociology , which stress the life between social behavior of the people during the time of the old testament. Which has emerged is how scholars might have access to the ancient past and the multifaceted social world of ancient Palestine and the Mediterranean. The quest of the social world of the bible Those who were travelling from the east they reported about the culture that hey were seeing in different with the one of the western culture. Exactly after the important influence from the Palestine archeology of the nation , when they publish the thing. For the early scholar this things about the quest of the social world became an important thing for them to consider. For them to understand the west text, they reconstruct the history and the social , which is out of the bible. They tried to study in order to understand the social and political from the bronze age from Palestine , of the time of the roman empire. The bible and its social world In order to understand the different directions which now characterize the new quest, it is important to understand the convergence of a series of influential trends whose combined force has transformed biblical studies in the latter part of the twentieth century. It was the result of the convergence of new intellectual currents in psychoanalysis, linguistics and philosophy which helped undermine the authority and the stability of established disciplines and their previously thought assured results. The rise to prominence of newer literary studies within biblical studies was part of this general movement. The publication of Robert Alter;s The Art of Biblical Narrative and David Gunns The Fate of King Saul and The Story of King David had a profound effect on the way in which biblical narratives were read as artful constructions. Thus the books of Samuel, for instance, were increasingly understood as skilful and serious literature rather than primary sources for the monarchy of Saul and David. Many biblical books which had previously been considered to be historical, in the sense that they preserved a reasonably accurate picture of the history of ancient Israel or later communities, became the subject of detailed literary treatments. Furthermore, developments in historical studies in general, allied to increasing archaeological data from the region, raised serious questions about the world of ancient Palestine and the Mediterranean as it had been understood. The result was a general disillusionment with previous historical studies, which were seen to be too limited in scope or theologically motivated. The search for the social world of the Bible since the nineteenth century had been closely identified with the history of Israel through to the first century C E. The gradual and ever-increasing erosion of this history, its increasing divorce from the biblical texts was the catalyst for fresh attempts to explore and reconstruct the social world of ancient Palestine and the Mediterranean world. The appeal to the social sciences was an attempt to recover the many aspects of society which were not mentioned in the texts but which formed an essential element in the social world from which they emerged. The appeal to archaeology, sociology and anthropology, in particular, was seen as addressing some of the deficiencies in the biblical texts as sources for their own social world. This was paralleled by an increasing interest in the social production of the biblical literature, its ideological aspects, the factional disputes which lay behind it and the social and political world it represented or reflected. The trends and directions in current research which constitute the new search for the social world of the Bible are much too varied a phenomenon to be categorized by a single phrase such as the sociological approach. It is ironic that the new search for the social world of the Bible, initiated by Mendenhall and Gottwald, has resulted in a redefinition of the biblical period which has severely restricted its chronological limits. Earlier in the century, it was understood as stretching over two millennia from the early second millennium to the end of the first century CE. The impact of literary studies, which increasingly questioned the relationship of the complex of biblical narratives from Genesis to 2 Kings to history, has undermined confidence in the construction of vast periods of Israelite history. The result has been the loss of the Patriarchal and Conquest periods from many historical accounts and an increasingly fierce debate over the nature of the settlement and early monarchic periods. Ironically, therefore, the very search for the world of the Bible which informed many of these revisionist studies of the history of Israel has resulted in the removal of several centuries previously attributed to that world. The conviction that the Hebrew Bible was the product of the Persian and Hellenistic periods has underpinned this radical shift. R. P. Carroll states baldly what many biblical scholars have been coming to accept for a long time: The Hebrew Bible is the product of the second Temple period. This ought to be an uncontentious statement, but I imagine some unreconstructed biblical scholars may wish to contest it in favour of a First Temple period origin for the Bible with some appendices from the time of the second Temple. While I can see that there may be something to be said for the view that the Bible contains fragments of material from before the collapse of the temple in the sixth century, the claim that the Bible as we know it (i. . the fully redacted final form of the various books constituting it) comes from the Second Temple period seems to me ungainsayable. The implications of this conviction are highlighted by P. R. Davies when he writes of the desire to see the biblical period properly defined as the period in which the Bible was written or, more correctly, when the literature in its biblical form was compo sed, since by its very nature, the Bible, being a collection of scriptures, was not written, but ratified by consent or decree or both (and thus, of course, the term biblical authors is also misleading). The implication of this now widespread conviction, a return to the position of Wellhausen in many ways; is that if the Bible is the product of the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman periods, then the search for the social world of the Bible should be restricted to those periods. The key problem which has emerged, and which dominates all attempts to understand the social world of the Bible, is the complex relationship between texts and their social worlds. The legacy of literary studies has been to undermine confidence in the assumption that the world of the texts coincided with the views of the past they portrayed. However, dating the final form of these texts to the Persian and Hellenistic periods or first-century Roman Palestine does not solve the problem of their relationship to the socio-historical backgrounds or ideological influences which shaped them. The methodological problems have multiplied and sharpened on how to investigate periods where there is insufficient (literary) evidence, particularly for the Late Bronze and Iron Ages, and how to bridge the gap between text and social reality in the Persian to Roman periods. The biblical traditions can no longer be understood as simple reflections of earlier historical reality. Rather they offer a valuable insight into perceptions of that reality from particular points of view at the time of the writers. This is not to suggest that such texts may not preserve some authentic memories and information about the past but these are increasingly difficult to assess. The relationship between the text and society is considerably more complex than the common binary opposition between literature and society, text and context. For example, the social practices presented in a text may not correspond to any such practices in reality: they may be an attempt to subvert current social practices. How far a text subverts the dominant or some other perception of reality or represents a dominant view depends on its relationship to other pieces of literature, monuments, artefacts, etc. that can reveal important comparative information about social attitudes or perceptions of reality. Many New Testament scholars, in particular, have appealed to the social sciences in order to try to understand the implications of key concepts in New Testament literature in terms of its wider social setting. However, Carroll offers an important reminder of the inherent difficulties in such attempts to move from textual levels to social world. It is ironic that as the focal point of the social world of the Bible has shifted from the Iron Age to Persian, it has become evident that very little is known about the social and historical background of the Second Temple period. It is for this reason that scholars appeal to social-scientific studies and data in order to try to make sense of the fragmentary and partial textual and art factual data available. Carroll concludes that the gap between texts and the real world remains as unbridgeable as ever. 16 However, the biblical texts offer access to the privileged conception of reality of a literate stratum of society revealing little or nothing of the sub-literate culture, to use Eric Hobsbawms phrase, or the deep-seated movements of history. As such, the value of these texts as a source for the historian is not so much in terms of the past they purport to describe but as such an insight. They are important, therefore, as much for what they choose to leave out as for what they include. The multi-layered nature of the texts, their adaptability and vitality means that the historian needs to ask how they shaped and were shaped by their different contexts, what audiences they address, and what other possible constructions of the past they deny and thereby silence. The appeal to social scientific models and data drawn from social and cultural anthropology, sociology, economics, politics, archaeology or cultural studies has been instrumental in helping to uncover the social world of ancient Palestine and the Mediterranean. Society and history There are more inclusive history of Palestine, but though it cannot rely on the perspective of the elite. They were people of late bronze age and its transition was very much slow and poor. They were mixing up of the local , Palestine and Egyptian history and the society, were the interpretation of the text and the languages used sometimes were not that easy as they were staying together. The quest for the social world of the Bible has been one of the major goals of biblical scholarship since the early nineteenth century. Travellers reports from the Middle East of a culture radically different from that of the West; along with the increasing excitement of reports in the national press of archaeological discoveries in Palestine; captivated audiences across Europe and the USA. Such developments offered the prospect of revealing the world from which the Bible had emerged in the ancient past. Monumental works such as George Adam Smiths historical geography of Palestine brought alive an ancient landscape on which the biblical events were played out. At the same time; biblical scholars were trying to reconstruct the history and social contexts out of which the Bible arose in order to understand a foundational text for Western culture. The critical methods which emerged were designed to date and locate the biblical texts, or their constituent parts; in specific historical contexts in order to reveal their meaning.

The Global Leadership of Carlos Ghosn at Nissan Essay -- Business Niss

The Global Leadership of Carlos Ghosn at Nissan In 1999, the Nissan was suffering under a decade of decline and unprofitability, in fact the company was on the verge of bankruptcy, with continuous loses for the past eight years resulting in debts of approx. $22 billion. Elements impacting Nissan’s performance prior to the global alliance with Renault Internal factors: Emphasis on short-term market share growth instead of a long term success strategy; Advanced engineering and technology, plant productivity, quality management. However, less attention was given to design and innovation, on the assumption that consumers were looking for quality and safety. This implies a lack of knowledge of the market, consumer’s changing tastes, and showed that Nissan management did not pay too much attention to what competition was doing. External factors: The devaluation of yen from 100 to 90 yen for a US dollar; Moody’s and Standard & Poors’s rating agencies announced in 1999 that Nissan would be lowered from investment grade to junk unless it could not get any financial support. Both formal and informal internal procedural Nissan norms, as well as Japanese cultural norms were holding the company back. Through keiretsu investments Nissan management believed would foster loyalty and cooperation between members of the value chain, hence they invested in real estate and suppliers’ companies. 4 billion US dollars were invested in stock shares of other companies as part of keiretsu philosophy. Nissan Company strategic alliance with French auto car manufacturer Renault was mutually beneficial for both companies, each of them expanding portfolio and becoming more competitive in the context of globalized mature automobile market. With Renault assuming a stake of 36.8% at Nissan, the latter would retain its investment grade status. The alliance enabled Renault to penetrate and expand in international markets that it was looking for - Asia and North America. In turn, Nissan would gain market share in South America. The Japanese car manufacturer agreed to the Global Alliance Agreement in March 1991, provided it would keep the company’s name, the Nissan Board of Directors would select the CEO, and it would also be responsible for implementing the company’s revival plan. The Renault alliance with Nissan injected the needed cash and revolutionized the stagnated ... ...tomakers with an 11.1% operating profit margin and more than 21% ROIC . A future customer-focused plan, Quality 3-3-3 is to be implemented as of 2005, with emphasis on three categories of quality: product attractiveness, product initial quality and reliability, and sales & service quality. The key success factors of the Nissan turnaround were: 1. Vision. The meaningful progress achieved was due to the vision that Ghosn successfully shared at all levels of the company that was clear and adopted. 2. Strategy. Management’s responsibility was to define the business strategy, and make sure it is deployed at every level of the company; everybody knew what was the contribution that was expected from him or from her for the company. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The people committed to the turnaround from the top: personal commitment, team commitment coming from the top down. For sure the changes were not easy to implement, but the clear vision brought that people were motivated to bring to life, and the results that showed off rapidly, gave Ghosn credibility, making people feel safe about the company. The vision, strategy, commitment and results guaranteed the success of Nissan’s turnaround.

Food Article Summary Response

â€Å"Serves Us Right† by Phoebe Damrosch describes the occupation of waiting as overlooked, treated badly, and in need of some change. We pay attention to and adore the rock star chefs, yet we often ignore those who deal with our food most, our waiters. Waiters in America are undertrained and treated poorly. Waiters work unpredictable schedules for unpredictable pay which depends heavily on tipping. They often do not receive work benefits such as health care and paid sick leave(1). As a result the quality of waiting is not great, because it is not a good job to hold, and there is a large turnover of new employees(2). Restaurants can improve the quality of waiting in America if they were to provide training and benefits(2). Damrosch suggests that removing tipping in exchange for a service charge paid by the employers would result in better service. Damrosch states that â€Å"The service charge shifts the focus from the money to the experience†(1). The occupation of waiting in its current state is sub par because the working conditions are sub par; waiter working conditions must be improved before work quality can too. Phoebe Damrosch makes many great points and is correct in her statements about the occupation of waiting and the occupation of waiting needs some changes for the better. Waiters and waitresses have some of the most unpredictable hours and schedules, making it difficult to schedule and lead their lives outside of their occupation. On top of that, they are underpaid; most waiters only make minimum wage and their salary is determined by how much they receive through tipping. Waiting is not a simple occupation either, it takes a lot of work and effort especially when it is busy to try and attend to all their customers. Taking orders, refilling drinks, making sure everything is OK, as well as delivering food from the kitchen requires a lot of multitasking skills and focus. I agree with Damrosch that tipping is instrumental in the failure of good service. With their already low wages, waiters and waitresses rely heavily on tipping, that means getting the customers in and out as fast as possible. This attitude towards working neglects the overall experience of each customer. Damrosch questions whether tipping should be held in practice anymore, and I completely agree. Removing tipping and boosting the base salary of waiters and waitresses would allow them to focus more on doing a good job instead of scrambling around trying to work as fast they can to receive more money from tipping each night. Most waiters and waitresses do not receive health care or other benefits either further adding to the list of negatives. All in all, Damrosch is correct, the occupation of waiting is one that is a lot of work, and hardly worth it. Too many negatives exist to keep people interested in waiting. For those that do practice waiting as their occupation, there is little motivation to do their job well. This job sees a lot of overturn as a result, so training becomes impractical and good service is becoming rare. The existence of tipping shifts the focus from providing quality service to trying to make as much money as possible. Waiting is hard work and improving the conditions of waiting is necessary before any improvement in the quality of work can be expected to be seen. Works Cited Damrosch, Pheobe. â€Å"Serves Us Right†. New York Times  September, 19, 2009: 1-2.