World Regional GeographyCentral America

Map comparison As portrayed by the map of Central America characterized by varied climatic conditions, it is apparent that the physical geography of this region has played a big role responsible in modifying the climatic conditions of the same. As such, the climatic conditions of specific regions offset each other displaying unique climatic conditions to totally unique regions.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on World Regional Geography:Central America specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Basically, the Northern part of Central America is characterized by arid and semiarid climatic conditions with precipitation not exceeding 50 mm. However, with the presence of Plateau of Mexico that cut across this region the climatic conditions has greatly been modified. As such, just on the plateau the region is typified by highland climate that receives rainfall not exceeding 200 mm (Schaefer 302). Generally, with the presence of a plateau we expect the immediate, adjacent land masses to experience distinct climatic conditions on either side of the same. To this end, one side i.e. the windward side is expected to receive considerable precipitation relative to the other side. However, for the Plateau of Mexico a totally different climate is observed; it is bordered by arid and semiarid climates even though there is a presence of a water body (Pacific Ocean) on its left. As the land mass narrows down to the South the presence of ocean currents on either side of the land is the reason behind the climatic conditions. This region is characterized by humid equatorial climate receiving rainfall above 200 mm. From figures 4-5 and 4-6 of the map of Central American geographical region, one can clearly distinguish between the Mainland and Rimland regions. In essence, these two regions are distinct in both cultural and economic fronts. As regards cultural composition, the Mainland is composed Euro-Amerindian cultura l group of Spanish origin that stretches along the western coastal strip to the larger Mexican state. In the contrary, the eastern costal strip stretching to the coastal strip of Costa Rica and, the Caribbean islands are mostly dominated by Euro-Africans mainly of British, French and Dutch origin. Basically, the population composition is a consequence of slave trade that characterized the region in the early 18th century owing to a dwindling Amerindian population.Advertising Looking for assessment on geography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As regards economic front these regions exhibit utterly dissimilar characteristics. In particular, the agricultural sector is totally different. The Rimland region is distinguished by plantations that grow one type of crop while the Mainland is distinguished by hacienda. Moreover, as opposed to the Rimland the Mainland produce is meant for export and hence largely affected by fluctuating world market prices (MacLeod 678). The eastern coast just like the Caribbean islands which is typified by plantations (sugarcane and bananas) was initially inhabited by Britons and as such it is distinctively a Rimland region. As regards the origin of the current cultural composition of Central America most of them trace back to their respective colonialists. For instance the Jamaicans speak English and owe much of their culture to Britons their former colonialist. The same goes to Haiti nationals who share a lot with French. Also, the Mexicans share a lot with Spaniards, and the descendants of a cultural fusion between the Spaniards and Amerindians- the Mestizo are common in Mexico. The majority of Cuban nationals are Hispanics, and Cuba as an area is almost equal to the entire total area of Caribbean islands. On a closer look at the maquiladoras (multiple factories) as portrayed by figure 4-11 most of them are located on the northern states of Mexico bordering the US. Strategicall y located are maquiladoras which are closely located to the raw materials, and closer to the US border. The essence of having the factories closer to the US border is because the finished products are exported back to the US and Canada. The owners of these factories are foreigners and hence benefit from Mexicans’ cheap labor. On the other hand the Mexicans benefit through job creation, new technology and foreign investment (Kimble 606). Map 1: Physical geography of Central America Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on World Regional Geography:Central America specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Map 2: Names of Republics Map 3: urban-economic information Works Cited Kimble, Hebert. â€Å"The Inadequacy of the Regional Concept† London Essays in Geography 2.17 (1951): 601-617. Print. MacLeod, George, and Jones Mother. â€Å"Renewing The Geography of Regions.† Environment and Planning 16.9 (2001) : 669-800. Print.Advertising Looking for assessment on geography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Schaefer, Frankline. â€Å"Exceptionalism in Geography: A Methodological Examination.† Annals of the Association of American Geographers 43.3 (1953): 298-305. Print. This assessment on World Regional Geography:Central America was written and submitted by user IronMonger to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Contingency Theories of Leadership

Contingency Theories of Leadership The contingency theory, as applied in leadership, considers various factors that contribute to a leader’s effectiveness by interaction with his or her leadership behaviour. According to contingency theories, there is not any particular leadership style suited for all the situations (Betts 2011, p.123).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Contingency Theories of Leadership specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A leadership style effective in particular situations may be unsuccessful in others. The evaluation of particular variables in a given environment such as the quality of followers, establishes the most appropriate style in a particular situation. This phenomenon explains the observation of an effective leader becoming considerably unproductive when transferred to a different working environment or the prevailing factors in the old environment changes. Fiedler’s, Hersey and Blanchard’s, and the path-g oal theories provide the three major approaches of isolating situational variables in leadership. Fiedler’s contingency theory identifies the subordinates’ personality and attitude, task structure and the leader’s position in terms of power as the variables that influence leadership effectiveness. This model asses the performance of a leader by evaluating the output of the work group under the leader’s supervision (Brock 2012, p.1). Moreover, the theory assumes that the level of favourability of a situation to a leader is dependent on the degree to which the situation permits the leader’s influence on the group members’ behaviour. This aspect of the theory defines effective leadership as the ability to influence others in the aim of achieving organizational goals. According to this model, there are two categories of leaders. These are the task-oriented and person-oriented leaders. The task-oriented leaders’ main concern is the accompl ishment of tasks with desirable outputs (Jarvis 2006, p. 106). In this regard, they fail to attain their results because they are less concern with the group members and thus cannot appropriately deal with ineffective teamwork. The person-oriented leaders considerably value their team members, and this hampers their accomplishment of tasks due to minimal contribution of some members to the task achievement. These two types of leaders are effective under different conditions. The task-oriented leader achieves better results in both the extreme cases of favourable or unfavourable circumstances. On the other hand, the person-oriented leader achieves better results under moderately favourable conditions.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to Fiedler’s theory, effective leadership is factor of the personality and style of a leader and the working environme nt. These aspects considerably determine the success of leadership. While Fiedler’s theory assumes that leadership styles are consistent and difficult to change, and thus leaders must be placed in an environment that fits their leadership style, the Hersey and Blanchard model and the Path-goal theory assume that any leader is capable of adapting to new environments and display the required effectiveness in any given situation. He or she can adjust the leadership style to work efficiently in diverse situations (Williams 2011, p. 407). Furthermore, Fiedler’s model stipulates that if the situation is not optimal for a particular leader, the situation require change or the leader should undergo a replacement in order to improve leadership effectiveness. The situation can undergo change to fit the leader through such means as task restructuring or minimising the leader’s power over various control factors. The Hersey and Blanchard situational leadership model focuses on three major leadership aspects. These are the task behaviour, relationship behaviour, and maturity. According to this model, leaders have to vary their emphasis on tasks and relationship behaviours in order to deal with different levels of maturity among team members. Concerning the task behaviour, the leader engages in a one-way communication by outlining each worker’s task. In this aspect, the workers cannot give feedback to their leader. The relationship behaviour examines a two-way communication between the leader and the workers. In this aspect, there are channels for feedback and the leader can offer support and guidance to the subordinates and act as a facilitator. Maturity describes the readiness of an individual to take control of his or her behaviour considering that there are varying degrees of maturity among people about a specific task or objective in question. Under situational leadership model, an effective leader should identify the different levels of rea diness among followers concerning the performance of particular tasks and apply the most suitable style. This will enable the leader to respond with more flexibility and thus enhance followers’ maturity (Borkowski 2009, p.201). When the leader establishes a high level of a follower’s maturity, he or she can adopt the delegation style, which requires minimal interventions. On the other hand, the identification of low levels of maturity in a follower requires the adoption of a style that emphasis on the particular task. Among other things, an effective leader will give instructions in scenarios where followers lack the capability or are unwilling to effectively accomplish the allocate tasks.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Contingency Theories of Leadership specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The leader should adopt styles that encourage followers to share ideas and thus gain more understanding and confiden ce regarding the task in question. This model enables leaders to acknowledge the need for continual followers’ skills improvement through training and other development measures (DeRue et al. 2010, p. 640). The path-Goal Theory discusses the effects of four types of leadership styles on the subordinates attitudes and expectations. These are the supportive, directive, achievement-oriented, and participative styles. By analysing various situational factors, an effective leader opts for the style that provides strong Path-goal indications and incentives. The leader should avoid a style that induces redundancy and aggravations within the environmental structure sources or is not congruent with the employee characteristic (Kotlyar Karakowsky 2006, p.400). The directive style ensures that followers adhere to the stipulated rules and regulations regarding tasks. Although this style facilitates better results concerning ambiguous tasks, it is ineffective in well-structured and clear ly defined tasks as it introduces redundancy. The supportive style entails a friendly and supportive leader to the employees (Gutpa 2009, p.1). It creates a supportive environment in structured tasks, but is inappropriate when there are already other sources of encouragement such as the organization. The participative styles are appropriate for ambiguous tasks as they allow employee selection of tasks and influence of decisions. The achievement-oriented behaviours are suitable for ambiguously structured tasks. The Path-goal theory postulates that the subordinates’ behaviour and environmental characteristics determine the leadership style used, and the performance pertaining to various assigned tasks. The Path-goal theory differs from the Fiedler’s model in that it considers the individual leadership styles to vary as situations within an organization change (Chance Chance, 2002, p. 114). In addition, the Path-goal theory definition of the effectiveness of a leader, wh ich entails the followers’ satisfaction and motivation, differs from Fielders’ definition in this regard. According to this theory, effective leaders increase their subordinates’’ motivation and satisfaction by supporting them in their pursuance of important goals.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They should demonstrate to them the value of various outcomes under their control and clarify the paths to these outcomes. An effective leader will embark on the eradication of barriers that may arise during the pursuance of crucial goals. All the three theories focus on the extent to which the leader emphasizes on tasks and structuring issues while considering the relationship-relevant supportive and participative behaviours. However, the leadership variable in the Fielder’s model is a motivational orientation rather than a set of behaviours despite the assumptions that the orientations relate to the behaviours (Schermerhorn 2011, p. 267). From a leadership perspective, Fiedler’s model and the Path-goal theory offer some insight into variable that affect the effectiveness of a leader. The two theories are considerably aligned concerning the conditions under which task-oriented or directive style of leadership are desirable. Both models concur on the use of the task-or iented style of leadership in cases where there are no clear guidelines regarding tasks. Although the Fiedler’s model failed to address the processes, by which the leader’s motivational orientation affects group processes and outcomes, the Path-goal theory has identifies the specific variables that need address in defining the followers’ motivation (Chemers 1997, p. 45). The Path-goal and the Heresy and Blanchard models shared a lot as they attempt to describe the appropriate leadership behaviour using similar parameters such as various leadership styles applicable in different situations. Both models consider how well the subordinate understand the relevant actions in the accomplishment of their tasks. Fiedler’s model disregards the followers’ aspect of the ability and willingness to take responsibility concerning a particular task as an important aspect of effective leadership. The Path-goal model has made numerous assumptions in this aspect. How ever, the situational leadership theory considers various behaviours of a follower that might affect the expected outcome and outlined the most appropriate leader’s response in order to facilitate the realization of organizational goals. References Betts, S. C. (2011). Contingency Theory: Science Or Technology?. Journal of Business Economic Research, 1(8), 123-130. Borkowski, N. (2009). Organizational behavior in health care (2nd ed.). Jones and Bartlett Publishers: Sudbury, Mass. Brock, D. M. (2012). Toward a contingency theory of planning. Journal of Management Organization, 1, 1. Chance, P. L., Chance, E. W. (2002). Introduction to educational leadership organizational behavior: theory into practice. Eye On Education: Larchmont, N.Y. Chemers, M. M. (1997). An Integrative Theory of Leadership. Routledge: London. DeRue, D. S., Barnes, C. M., Morgeson, F. P. (2010). Understanding the Motivational Contingencies of Team Leadership. Small Group Research, 41(5), 621-651. Gut pa, A. (2009). Path-Goal Leadership. Leadership and Development , 1, 1. Jarvis, M. (2006). Sport Psychology: A Students Handbook, Volume 10. Psychology Pres: Hove. Kotlyar, I., Karakowsky, L. (2006). Leading Conflict? Linkages Between Leader Behaviors and Group Conflict. Small Group Research, 37(4), 377-403. Schermerhorn, J. R. (2011). Exploring management (3rd ed.). John Wiley Sons: Hoboken, N.J. Williams, C. (2011). Effective Management: A Multimedia Approach. Cengage Learning: Detroit.

Project Three - Information Security White Paper Research

Project Three - Information Security White - Research Paper Example It is essential to define a solid network defense for handling cyber-attacks. We have divided security into two aspects i.e. technical and formal security. Technical System Security After identifying the purpose, there is a requirement of identify weaknesses or vulnerabilities along with impact and types. Organizations have to consider the backdoors and the week points that may allow or trigger any threats to disrupt business operations by compromising an asset or information system. Moreover, a holistic approach is required to address all risks and vulnerabilities, as every minor vulnerability can expand by cascading other risks in the system. At a technical standpoint, what needs to be protected hardware, applications or data? That is a question that must be addressed by organization itself (Royal Canadian, 1992). The summary of this question can only be encountered by identifying and categorizing threats. As per (Dhillon, 2007) threats are categorized as Modification, Destruction, Disclosure, Interception, Interruption and fabrication and implies on hardware security, data security and software security. Effective change management and configuration management procedures along with documentation are the most effective controls for minimize security vulnerabilities that may arise from incompatible modules or hardware modification from the system (Prin of computer security 2E2010). Destruction is associated with physical damage to a hardware device, network device or software. Whereas, software destruction can be from a malicious code, Trojan or unintentional deletion of a kernel of any application etc. Similarly, data can also be deleted intentionally or unintentionally and can also be cause by malfunctioning device. Disclosure of data is proportional to confidentiality i.e. need to know basis. Data is easy to be stolen because the original copy still seems intact, in spite of the data theft. Data types can be classified in to many types, again depending on o rganizational requirements. For instance, trade secrets, upcoming financial results or long term strategic plans of the organization can be classified as top secret, whereas, customer information can be classified as confidential. Organizations conducting business online collect customer information via websites. Data can also be intercepted by unauthorized access to computing and electronic resources. Moreover, unauthorized remote can also result in accessing information from a remote location. Interruption can also cause system availability that may result from malfunctioned hardware or power outage. Moreover, interruption of services can also be caused from broadcast storm or network congestion that may cause denial of service. Lastly, fabrication refers to a penetration of transactions to a database. Fabrication is often conducted by unauthorized parties in a way that is difficult to identify the authentic and forged transaction. One of the examples of fabrication is called as à ¢â‚¬ËœPhishing’. Moreover, asymmetric and symmetric encryption techniques are considered as per requirements. Moreover, non-repudiation can be prevented by third party certificate authorities. Formal System Security Management of information system security requires a development of organizational structure and processes for ensuring adequate protection and integrity. Likewise, for maintaining adequate security, an appropriate relationship organization is required for maintaining integrity of

Business plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Business plan - Assignment Example Halifax is an ideal location to open this venture, given the vibrant nature of the summer months. The long term vision for SW&D is to expand as an outlet chain across Canada and the Municipality of Halifax will offer the ideal expansion grounds initially. c. Norva Scotia region where Halifax is located is one of the most promising of Canadian tourism attractions with over 2 million visitors in recent years. Halifax tourism and own population are growing steadily (398,000 in year 2009), providing an expanding customer base. Ice-cream industry in Canada has experienced slow yet steady growth, despite its non operational nature during winter months. The Canadian production of ice cream is 400 million liters of hard and approximately 20 million liters of soft ice creams (Sector Profile, 2006) Other items as sundaes and shakes account for 175 million liters. Out of this production Canada also exports around 15 thousand tones over the previous year, mainly to USA and Arab countries (Consumption of Dairy Products, 2010). Total ice cream sales in Canada reached almost $2.1 billion in sales value. The industry is not fragmented and two giants, Nestle and Unilever holds over 60% of the market share (Euromonitor, 2006). Rest of the market is fragmented with regional chains, vendor franchises and chart sales. Direct competition for SW&D will come from the other ice cream parlors in the region such as Dairy Queen, Black Bear Ice Cream Parlor, Cows Homemade Ice Cream, Kendales Ice, Cows Halifax, Cold Stone Creamery to name a few. In addition to these well known outlets, there is a host of other outlets which capitalize on the growth of impulse purchases (Dairy market.com, 2008). Indirect competition to ice creams comes from other deserts and confectionaries that will compete for customers’ share of spend on impulse indulgent foods. However, in this business scenario, SW&D is planning to counter this by incorporating a wide desert

Who am I in Nursing Leadership - Discussion Essay

Who am I in Nursing Leadership - Discussion - Essay Example Through different seminar that I attended I learned how to become an exceptional charge nurse with good conflict management styles. This paper tries to evaluate the role of leaders in nursing as a profession. The biggest challenge the leaders in the field of nursing face in line with their duties is staffing challenges (Hagler, 2015). This follows the fact that as the economy recover, more of the nurses leave the job markets. The available data supports this current concern and that we need to find nurses who have critical thinking and are moving away from being oriented towards their earning but to be oriented toward their tasks. There should be health care reforms on the revamped functions of the nurses that give the nurses an opportunity to be prepared to deal with the very complex issues relating to health care and even issues dealing with the comprehensive patients in their homes and even within the community level. A lot of the nurse leaders expect that all the nurses to be greatly involved in shaping the health care debate were they establish more interest on the health care legislations. The leaders are encouraging the associations to speak to the law and policy makers about the greater issues affecting nursing. How effective leadership contributes to the proposed improvement remains the central

A Socio Cultural Analysis of Singapore

A Socio Cultural Analysis of Singapore 1. Introduction 1.1 Singapore Singapore is an island country which is one of the four Asian tiger countries. Singapore is regarded as one of the worlds most prosperous countries with strong international trading links and its per capita GDP is equal to leading nations of Europe. (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sn.html). According to the singstat.gov.sg, Singapore had the population of 4,987,600 people in 2009 and 3,200,700 were Singapore citizen. The rest 2 million were other nationalities. These nationalities are Chinese, Indonesians, Indians, Malays, Vietnamese, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodians and so forth. These nationalities settle in Singapore for various purposes. Thus, Singapore is regarded as the multicultural country. 1.2 Socio-Cultural Analysis of Singapore According to Geert Hofstedes five cultural dimensions, following cultural dimension indexes are indentified. Power distance index 74 Individualism index 20 Masculinity index 48 Uncertainty avoidance index 8 Long-term orientation index 48 Table1. Five cultural dimensions of Singapore Therefore, Singapore is collectivism country due to the individualism index of 20. As it is a high collectivism society, less powerful number of people accepts the unequal power distribution among the family or organization which is common in high collectivism society. Masculinity index of 48 proves both female and males in Singapore have equal opportunity for their lives. The most interesting index is uncertainty avoidance index which is 8. Therefore, Singaporeans are regarded as risk takers who prefer changes and challenges. As for the long term orientation index, Singapore has the index of 48 which is normal, neither long-term nor short-term oriented. In order to relate, Geert Hofstede five cultural dimension indexes and the impact on marketing, following facts are indentified. Firstly, as power distance index of Singapore is 74 which is high, therefore, marketing luxury items, global brands, high quality and innovative products works in Singapore as in high power distance culture, one social status must be clear to be respected by others. Marketing products in Singapore should focus on needs of a society, family and group rather than individual due to the individualism index of 20. Moreover, products in Singapore should be continuously innovative, value added and features are to be improved as the uncertainty avoidance is very low, 8. As Singapore is normal in long/short term orientation index, products can be either long term or short term purposes. Similarly, masculinity index of Singapore is 48 that mean balance in values of both masculinity and femininity. From the marketing perspective, products that are marketed to masculin e culture should be status products as masculinity refers to achievement, success and recognition. 1.3 Economic Analysis Economy of Singapore depends heavily on exports, which are consumer electronics and information technology products. Singapore practised successful free market economy with corruption free environment. Per-capita GDP of Singapore is equivalent to that of four largest West-European countries (www.nationmaster.com). GDP per capita of Singapore in 2009 was approximately 50,300 USD. In 2008 and 2007, it was 52,200 USD and 52,300 USD respectively according to CIA world facts book. Based on the World Banks doing business 2010 and 2009 report, Singapore is ranked #1 in ease of doing business. Moreover, Singapore is also ranked #1 in employing workers and trading across borders. As for the closing business Singapore is ranked #2. As for the low corruption rate, Singapore is ranked #1 in Asia and #4 in the world. In order to increase the growth of Singapores economy, government decided to create the two integrated resorts with casino licenses. Marina Bay Sands was awarded the first license which is a more business focused integrated resort. Second license was awarded to Resorts world at Sentosa, a family oriented integrated resort. These integrated resorts are expected to produce 35,000 jobs. The Singapore government attracts large scale of foreign investment by enforcing two policies which are pro-foreign investment and export-oriented. According to economywatch.com, United States is the leading investor in Singapore. There are a number of factors influences the economic development of Singapore. The main reason is due to the increasing demand of electronic products around the world which benefits the Singapore as it is the major producer of electronic goods. Other industries contributed in economic growth of Singapore are pharmaceuticals, financial services and manufacturing.The 2. Product According to socio-cultural analysis using by Geert Hofstede five cultural dimension model, furniture products made of teak are decided to market Singapore. These products are manufactured by Myanmar Teak Company limited is using precious teaks from Myanmar. Most of the furniture in Singapore is made of leathers, fibre, iron, plastics, recycled woods and so forth. Although there is some furniture made from wood, it is very difficult to find furniture made of teak. 2.1 Relative Advantage Furniture made from teak is usually expensive and regarded as luxury furniture because teaks are expensive as it takes decades to get teak trees and its advantages. Furniture made from teak is durable, strong, and resistant to moisture, fire, acid and alkalis. Moreover, it is highly resistant from rotting, sun, rain, frost or snow. Once it is bought, it can be used for many decades. Furniture made of teak is easy to clean from spilled drinks and food while others are hard to remove the stains. Although the natural colour of the teak is golden brown, it can be changed to reddish brown or dark brown. Therefore, the colour of the teak is easy to alter and colour will sustain for a long time. Another advantage of teak is producing natural oils that prevent termites and wood damaging insects. This natural oil maintains the solidness of the wood, life span and strength which therefore unnecessary for the user to apply chemicals. Resistant to weathers, rotting and wood damaging insects make teak furniture to be ageless. Teak is easy to shape and craft. 2.2 Compatibility Teak furniture is compatible for Singapore, according to high power distance index (74) of Hofstede. Having teak furniture show the high status and wealth of that person comparing to other furniture made of fibre, plastic, and recycled woods. In Singapore, decorating home with arts, sculptures, furniture, lighting and latest electronic products are found in house of wealthy people. Teak furniture is mainly used in International hotels, high-class restaurants, and furniture of international companies especially for meeting tables. International hotels and high-class restaurants have furniture made of teak because westerners and Europeans value teak furniture and handicraft products. 2.3 Trialability Furniture showrooms in Singapore allow customers to try before purchase. For example, customer can sit on the couch or sofa to test the comfort of the products. In Singapore, furniture showrooms are decorated with its product. Decorating furniture show rooms with its products enable customers to test the product, understand the convenience of the product, and get the idea how products can be designed in particular location. For example, in IKEA all furniture is shown to try and test before the purchase. Customers are allowed to use the tables, sit on chairs and sofa and lie on bed. 3. The Market 3.1 Geographical Region Singapore is located at the South East Asia which is surrounded by Malaysia and Indonesia. Singapore is also known as an island Nation which is 3.5 times size of the Washington DC according to nationmaster.com. It has total area of 692.7 km that had a population of 4,987,600 people in 2009. Singapore has smaller islands which are Jurong, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin, and Sentosa. Among them, Sentosa is the largest one. Highest point of Singapore is Bukit Timah which is 166m above sea level whereas the lowest point is Singapore Strait 0m which is a major shipping route of South East Asia. In Singapore, climate is hot, tropical, humid and rainy. There are two distinct monsoon seasons which are North-eastern monsoon starting from December to March and South-western monsoon takes June to September. 3.2 Transportation Public transportation is the major source of transportation heavily used by people for daily purposes. Public transportation includes MRT, LRT, and Buses. SMRT Corporation Ltd (SMRT) is Singapores multi-modal transport service provider offering integrated island-wide transport services including trains, buses, and taxis. SBS transit started its operation in 2003 which is North East Line, a highly advanced fully automated new underground heavy rail system. This NEL had a daily user of 325,433 in 2009 which is 20 kilometers long and include 16 stations from punggol to Harborfront. According to data of Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Changi Airport Group Pte Ltd, number of aircraft arrivals and departures were 120,184 and 120176 respectively for both passengers and parcel/mail. Aircraft is major transportation for arriving and departing Singapore, according to data of passenger arrival/departure by using aircraft. In year 2009, passenger data of arrival and departure was recorded as 18,026,000 passengers arrival and 18,063,000 departures. As for the parcel/mail incoming and outgoing by aircraft in 2009 were 12113 and 14945 tonnes. By looking at the Data of Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, ships are the major source of transporting cargos and containers. According to data, in 2009, 130575 vessels arrived in Singapore by shipping 1784669(000) giga tonne. Air cargos were mainly used by North East Asian Countries due to discharged tonnes of 377,184 in year 2009. These North East Asian Countries include China, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea and Taiwan. Total air cargo discharged tonnes by various countries and regions in 2009 were 846,671. Table1. Describes the number of population using vehicles in 2007-2009 Table.1 the number population used of vehicles in year 2007, 2008 and 2009 were as follows 2007 2008 2009 Car 505,987 540,455 566,608 Rental Cars 11,054 12,391 12,763 Taxis 24,446 24,300 24,702 Buses 14,530 15,327 16,023 Motor Cycles Scooter 144,340 146,120 147,215 Goods Other Vehicles 150,979 156,089 158,207 Total 851,336 894,682 925,518 Adopted from Land transport Authority 3.3 Communication There were 1.857 million fixed telephone users in 2008 whereas 6.375 million users were mobile cellular users. Presently, there are three communication service providers that are SingTel, Star hub and M1. 3G wireless service was launched in February 2005. As for the internet service, most of the people use broad band internet service provided by three internet service providers. According to data of Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, Media Development Authority and Singapore Post which were collected at April 2010, there were 2046.7(000) of broadband internet users including xDSL, cable modems, leased line internet and other broadband internet access methods. Dial-up internet users were only 75.1(000) users. As for the mobile phone users for both 3G and 2G, there were 6920.2(000) users while the fixed mobile users were unknown. There is Sing post postal service which delivers mails and parcels to most of the countries around the world. 4. Consumer Buying Habits 4.1 Product use pattern In Singapore, furniture is one of the essential products for buildings. People use furniture for daily purposes. Furniture is essentially indeed products in Singapore due to the increasing number of residents, international students, employees from around the world, Singapore requires more housings, schools and universities, hotels and restaurants. Therefore, furniture is required for those housings, universities, schools, hotels and restaurants. In Singapore, 76.8% are Chinese according to nationmaster.com. Chinese usually value arts and handicraft. Moreover, Chinese buy new furniture for their houses after Chinese new-year because Chinese belief that if they can buy new products in this New Year and they believe that they will enable to buy in next New Year. 4.2 Product preference In general, Singapore prefers light, small and cheap furniture because most of the Singaporean lives in condominium and flats. As for the restaurants and international hotels, teak furniture is preferred most, in order to show their status and position. Tastes and preferences can vary among customers. 4.3 Shopping Habits According to the study of (Neilson, 2009) Singapore had changed shopping habits due to current financial crisis. This study shows that 70 percent of the consumer spent only on essential products. However, latest Nielsen Global consumer index shows that Global consumer index of Singapore in second quarter of 2010 increased to index of 112 that is nearly as 114 in third-quarter of 2007. Therefore, percentage of consumers who believed that Singapore was in recession had declined from 28 percent to 17 percent in Q2 2010. According to the survey conducted in 2006 to 22,000 internet users in 42 markets, it was revealed that 74% of consumers admitted that shopping as form of entertainment. Similarly, in Singapore shopping was considered as a form of entertainment due to nine out of 10 respondents replies. 7% of Singaporean went shopping twice a week or more often although others went shopping with lesser extent. 22% of Singaporeans did it weekly while 32 percent shopped once a month. 29% sh opped more than once a month and 10 percent never shopped. Moreover, Singapore was the only Asian country which made it through to the global top 10 which agreed with the therapeutic effect of clothes shopping. According to the data, following pie chart is identified. Source: adopted form www.acnielsen.com.sg/news/20060719.shtml 5. Distribution of the product In Singapore, furniture can be bought from either from retailers or manufacturers. Some Furniture manufacturers place products both on retail shop while others sell by own showrooms. Furthermore, there are countless of small furniture shops and showrooms in Singapore. The largest furniture retail store in Singapore is IKEA which is followed by Courts. 6. Advertising and promotion As for the advertising, if it is to reach international hotels and restaurants, sending product catalog is the best way to get attention. Advertising on television by targeting on restaurants and international hotel is also considered effective way of advertising. In advertising on television by showing elegant and modernized teak furniture can attract the attention of high-class customer. Similarly, as for the advertising high class society, same media can be used to attract customers. Direct marketing can be also used to for both high-class society and hotels and restaurants. Moreover, participating in furniture shows held by Singapore Furniture Industry Council will also draw the attention of respective customer. According to (Russell, 2006) Singapore market drew 17,838 visitors from 112 countries which was the largest ever. Additionally, according to the press release of international furniture fair Singapore, the fair held in March 2010 attracted the 17,277 visitors from 112 countries. This fair was held for 4days from 9 to 12 March 2010. In Singapore, furniture is discounted by percentage in some seasons. Sales discount depends on furniture. Some furniture may be discounted 20% while others are discounted 10% only. 7. Compare and contrast with competitors products 7.1 competitors products Mozaic is a Singapore brand that is integrated by successful Singapore furniture companies which satisfy the needs and wants of customers by providing specially crafted products. Combination of West and East business practices, designs, availability of resources, Singapore Mozaic fulfils the satisfaction of customer around the world. Wholesale Teak Company manufactures furniture with highest quality. Wholesale teak company furniture includes teak furniture, resort furniture and antique furniture of Chinese, Tibetan, Mongolian, classic French, classic English, Italy sofa and Italy furniture. Wholesale Teak Company have achieved the following reputations, the best whole sale teak furniture, antique furniture, classic furniture, Italy sofa and Italy furniture specialist. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8189661.stm http://www.warc.com/news/topnews.asp?ID=25256 http://www.furnituresingapore.com/ http://www.acnielsen.com.sg/news/NewsReleaseJuly212010.shtml http://www.acnielsen.com.sg/news/20060719.shtml http://www.iffs.com.sg/press_20012010.asp http://www.asiaone.com/Business/News/SME%2BCentral/Story/A1Story20080310-53515.html http://www.singaporemozaic.com/mozaic_cms/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=4Itemid=4 http://www.wholesaleteakcompany.com/html/about_us__teak_furniture.html

Where Is Atlantis :: essays research papers

ATLANTIS Where is it?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Atlantis was an ancient civilization which was destroyed in one massive explosion. Many people have searched for Atlantis but it has still not been found. According to Plato, a Greek philosopher, Atlantis was located in the Atlantic Ocean past the pillars of Hercules, the Strait of Gibraltar. Plato has been credited with many scientific discoveries, but Atlantis’s existence is still unproved. â€Å"Plato, one of the fathers of western thought, is out sole direct source for the legend of Atlantis. His fragmentary account of the continent that was swallowed up by the sea still excited the modern mind.† (Reader’s Digest)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story of Atlantis began about 11,000 years ago. Atlantis was the dwelling of Poseidon, the sea god in Greek mythology. Poseidon fell in love with a mortal woman, Cleito. He built an island, Atlantis, and he constructed a elaborate house in the center of the island. Poseidon built rings of land and water surrounding his house with walls on either side of them. Poseidon and Cleito had five sets of twin boys who would become the rulers of the island. Once the boys were old enough to rule each was given a section of the island to rule. Atlantis had a huge plain and very high mountains. Many exotic animals and plants inhabited the island. As the story goes the highly advanced inhabitants slowly became corrupt. The gods called a meeting and discussed what should be done. They decided to destroy the island to punish the Atlanteans. In one massive explosion beautiful Atlantis was gone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Atlantis has been mentioned in hundreds of readings, but none give the exact location of the destroyed island if it really once existed. Even though the Atlanteans were advanced in technology they lost contact with their religion (Edgar Cayce)surrounding countries. Even though Atlantis was destroyed the survivors probably fled to nearby advance civilizations. Egypt did become one of the most advance civilizations in the World.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Plato gives a vivid description of what Atlantis looked like in his wrightings. There was a 300 foot wide, 100 foot deep canal on Atlantis. 5.5 miles from the ocean was where the rings of water and land were located. there were three sets of rings. Each of the land rings were surrounded by walls which were coated in precious metals. On the continent of Atlantis there was a huge plain 330 miles long and 110 miles wide.