Sales and Markup

Student Name: __________________________________________ID ___________ Worksheet: Metric 5 Mark-up & Margin 1) A computer software retailer uses a markup rate of 40%. If the retailer pays $25 each for computer games sold in its stores, how much do the games sell for? Answer: The markup is 40% of the $25 cost, so the markup is: (0. 40) * ($25) = $10 Then the selling price, being the cost plus markup, is: $25 + $10 = $35 Therefore the games sell for $35. 2) A golf pro shop pays its wholesaler $40 for a certain club, and then sells that club to golfers for $75.What is the retail markup rate? Answer: The gross profit in dollars is calculated as sales price less cost: $75 – $40 = $35 The markup rate is then calculated: Markup (%) = Gross Profit / Cost *100 = $35 / $40 *100 = 87. 5% 3) A shoe store uses a 40% markup on cost. Find the cost of a pair of shoes that sells for $63. Answer: The cost of the shoes is calculated as follows: Selling Price = Cost + Markup ($) = Cost + (Markup (%) * Cost) $63 = Cost + (40% * Cost) $63 = Cost + (0. 4 * Cost) $63 = (1 + 0. 4) * Cost $63 = 1. 4 * Cost Cost = $63 / 1. 4 = $45 ) In 2009, Donna Manufacturing sold 100,000 widgets for $5 each, with a cost of goods sold of $2. What is the company’s margin %? Identify a way that Donna Manufacturing can increase its profit margin? Answer: First we have to calculate the gross profit: Gross Profit = Selling Price – Cost of Goods Sold = $5 – $2 = $3 Now we can calculate the margin: Margin (%) = Gross Profit / Sales * 100 = $3 / $5 * 100 = 60% Ways to increase the profit margin: – Decrease cost of material – Decrease cost of manufacturing – Increase sales price per unit – Decrease COGS ) If a product costs $100 and is sold with a 25% markup at a retail store, what would be the retailer’s margin on the product? What should be the markup and selling price if the retailer desires a 25% margin? Why might the retailer be seeking to incr ease their margin? Answer: a) To calculate the margin, we first have to determine the sales price: Markup ($) = Markup (%) * Cost = 25% * $100 = $25 Selling Price = Cost + Markup ($) = $100 + $25 = $125 Margin (%) = Markup / Price * 100 = $25 / $125 * 100 = 20% Therefore the retailer’s margin would be 20% when the product is sold at a 25% markup. ) To calculate the markup and selling price at a 25% margin: Selling Price = Cost / (1 – Margin (%)) = $100 / (1 – 25%) = $100 / (1 – 0. 25) = $133. 33 Markup ($) = Selling Price – Cost = $133. 33 – $100 = $33. 33 Markup (%) = Markup ($) / Cost * 100 = $33. 33 / $100 * 100 = 33. 33% Therefore to obtain 25% margins, the product would have to be sold at $133. 33 with a markup of 33. 33%. c) Reasons for increase include: – Increase in fixed costs (rent, tax, commission, wages, etc. ) – Increase in demand and/or decrease in supply Other competitors/retailers charge more for the product and the higher margin is a result of increasing sales price to match 6) The following is a Distribution Chain for a Pair of designer Jeans: The manufacturer in China produces the Jeans for $5. 00 a pair and sell them to the importer for $7. 00. The importer sell them to the brand distributor for $10. 00 a pair The Retail store buys them for $50. 00 from the brand distributor. The Retail Store markups them up 150%. What is the Retail Price? What is the Margin % and Markup % for each of the Channel partners in the Distribution Chain? |Retail Price = $125. 0 | | | | | | | | | |Manufacturer | |Importer | |Distributor | |Retail | | | |Mark-up % | | | |40. 00% | |42. 86% | |400. 00% | |150. 0% | | | |Margin % | | | |28. 57% | |30. 00% | |80. 00% | |60. 00% | | | |Selling Price | |$ 5. 00 | |$ 7. 0 | |$ 10. 00 | |$ 50. 00 | |$ 125. 00 | | | |Channel Margin | | | |$ 2. 00 | |$ 3. 0 | |$ 40. 00 | |$ 75. 00 | | | |Channel Markup | | | |$ 2. 00 | |$ 3. 0 | |$ 40. 00 | |$ 75. 00 | | | | | | | | | | | | |

Modern Day Fairytale Essay

Once upon a time there were three brothers that lived with their parents in a big house for their first 22 years of their lives. Their names were Peter, a rocker, Jax, a pretty boy who only wanted to party, wear expensive clothes and drive fast cars and Brian, the big, responsible brother. Only Brian went to college to study and get his degree. Brian was the only one to get a good job. Peter just preferred to sing in his heavy metal’s band and Jax preferred to go out to parties, buy designer clothes he couldn’t afford and sleep around. When was the Peter’s Birthday, their parents went to buy a guitar-shaped cake as a surprise. Unfortunately, they were hit by a drunk driver and they died in the car accident. So, the 3 â€Å"little† boys decided to sell the house, and with the money they went to a lot of parties and clubs. Two months later they came to the realization that they really needed a house. So, with the money that they still had left over, they went to buy materials to build their own. They decided to build their three new homes in the local village. The village was peaceful with nice neighbors, very quiet with large parks and fountains. The village was perfect, but with one exception†¦in the forest next to the village lived a local politician who was incredibly greedy and very harsh with the restrictions and taxes. Peter decided to build a cabin, because he was very lazy. The cabin only took him a week to finish it. When Peter finished his cabin, he started to play his electric guitar, to scream and to shake the head jumping. Meanwhile Jax decided to build a designer ski cabin (even though it never snowed in their village). Since he too was very lazy, he hired a group of builders to build his house for him. Two weeks later, the group of builders finished the house, and Jax started to celebrate by throwing parties every night in his house. Brian on the other hand wasn’t lazy at all! He started to build his house on the weekends and in his spare time when he wasn’t working. He finished in 3 years. Meanwhile, his brothers visited him in a lot of occasions, telling him â€Å"Yo Brian! Stop working so hard. Come out and party with us!† But, Brian always said, â€Å"No, stupid, a house takes time and effort. Since I am taking my time, my house will be the best!† A few weeks later when Brian finished his house, Peter and Jax had already spent all their money on parties, food and clothes. So, when the property tax was due, they couldn’t pay it. The local politician visited the Peter’s house first for the payment. Peter said: â€Å"I didn’t have money to pay you, go away and give me a bit of time!† But the Politician said: â€Å"Too bad for you! Pay me or I am going to seize your house!† Peter was evicted the next day and his house was seized. When Peter came to Jax’s house, the Politician was visiting him already, too, demanding the property tax payment. Big brother, Brian showed up just in the nick of time carrying a large bag full of money and he gave it to the politician. When the agent grabbed the bag and looked into it, he smiled a big smile and left! Peter and Jax were totally confused. They asked to their big brother, Brian, â€Å"How is possible that you still had all that money?† Brian replied â€Å"because I know that two would end up wasting all of the money. So, I took the bulk of the inheritance from our parents and invested it over the past couple of years. The stock market has been performing well and we got lucky. I had a feeling that I would have to bail both of your sorry, lazy butts out of a jam one of these days!† So, Peter and Jax learned their lesson. They decided to buckled down and go back to school for their degrees. Now, Peter is a music teacher at the local junior college. Even though he still plays in a heavy metal band, he has a nice savings and 401k saved for a rainy day. Jax went back to the school to study to be a fashion designer. He is now well know around the world for his â€Å"club inspired† clothing designs. He still parties with the top super models, but does it responsibly and all while giving his big brother, Brian, the credit for his success.

Crisis Communication in oil & gas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words - 1

Crisis Communication in oil & gas - Essay Example 3.The main focus of the company at this stage needs to be to incorporate a crisis communication department into their system. The Director General will head the department. It will include a Manager of communication, with supporting junior staff. There will be a spokesperson, who will directly report to the Director General but will work in collaboration with Manager of communication. The other directorates will access the communication department through the Manager. 20 Crises are inevitable realities in business organisations for which the organisation management must learn to prepare. This research paper discusses the role of public relations units, with a specific focus on the oil and gas industry which plays a crucial role in the economic development of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Traditionally, most organisations use public relations at the forefront to control, manage and minimise the damage of crises to their business operations. Previous crises such as the BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill in 2010 and the Exxon oil spill of 1989 have demonstrated that Oil and Gas companies are not always transparent and they often experience great communication difficulties when crises occur. This study examines the significance of public relations activities in crisis management in the Oil & Gas industry in general and in the UAE in particular. It reviews four major Oil & Gas operators in the UAE that have faced crises recently. Those companies engage over 3000 employees, excluding contractors, and operate in more than 20 fields across the country. Using structured interviews and data analysis this study research discusses their crisis management philosophy, their systems and procedures, and how these are communicated and makes recommendations for improvements. According to the Webster New Collegiate Dictionary, a crisis is defined as ‘an unstable or crucial state or state of affairs whose outcome will make a decisive

Individual Case Study - Managing under uncertainty

Individual - Managing under uncertainty - Case Study Example Another major difference identified is the way by which the companies want to cater to their target segment. Boeing emphasized on the use of point-to-point system whereas Airbus authorities judged hub-and-spoke system to be more effective for the company and deemed it as the future of the airline industry. 1.0 INTRODUCTION This report attempts to investigate the decision making agenda of the two multinational Aerospace and Defence Corporations namely Airbus and Boeing Airlines Company. The case made it evident that the aerospace industry has been witnessing colossal growths since the last few decades as a result of that rivalry among the established players of the industry also reached an intense state. Despite that, the concern of both the companies was associated with the ways by which they can satisfy the rapidly growing market of aerospace. It has been observed that till the late 1990s, the size of aircrafts grew at an even rate, but since then trend begun to shift drastically an d companies started to manufacture both smaller and jumbo aircrafts (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson, 2009; Ward and Tripp, 2013). The motive of the companies operating in the aircraft industry also shifted from enhancing market share to increase the profit. The companies are now apprehensive over the decision pertaining to the way they can capitalize on the opportunities provided by the industry and market. There were clear indications of the differences between the two companies pertaining to the area of concern. According to the authorities of Airbus, the hub-and-spoke system is the future of the airline industry and is probably the most viable option for successfully catering to the needs of the customers. On the contrary, Boeing emphasized on the use of point-to-point system, which they consider to be the pragmatic approach to satisfy the multi dimensional needs of the consumers. Therefore, a great deal of divergence among the decision making parameter exists between the two establ ishments. This report will make use of the sociological perspective to discover the challenges faced by the companies and on the basis of that companies will be subsequently recommended about the line of attack they should undertake to confront the issues. 2. THE DECISION MAKING FRAMEWORK AT BOEING The history of Boeing goes back to the year 1916, when the company begun its operation in Seattle, Washington, U.S. The company was founded by William Boeing and it is currently headquartered at Chicago, Illinois, United States (Pasiuk, 2005). The company was initially incorporated under the name of Pacific Aero products Company, but within one year of operation the name was changed to Boeing Airplane Company. Due to the previous experience of working in timber industry and knowledge on wooden structure, the designing and manufacturing of airplanes was not at all a complicated task for him. Some of the products manufactured by the company include commercial airlines, military aircrafts, s pace systems, and computer systems. 2a. A sociological perspective The parameters on the basis of which the decisions are made have an insightful impact on the efficacy of the decision (Bryant, 2011; Gates, 1999). Scholars have even mentioned that a number of paradigm have profound impact on the decision

Organization Behaviour Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Organization Behaviour - Research Paper Example Correspondingly, studies have revealed that various factors are associated with the theory of OB, which makes it a multidimensional approach to contemporary management, constituting the perceptions of job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job attitudes among others. Among its various dimensions, this research paper will mainly discuss the topic of job attitudes with the focus on investigating the level of both job satisfaction and organizational commitment within a specific business organization, i.e. Kaiser Permanente Northwest. Notably, it is the employees involved in the operational process of any business organization, responsible for the determination of organizational culture. Hence, job attitude amid employees, determined by their job satisfaction degree, can be apparently observed as a crucial facet to enhance their organizational commitment and subsequently, outline the organizational culture (Saari and Judge 396-407). With this concern, the research paper intends to conduct an OB audit of an American healthcare organization, i.e. Kaiser Permanente Northwest. The outline of this research paper has accordingly been structured with a brief overview of this healthcare organization, followed by the analysis of data gathered, to conclude the findings as well as the results obtained from the interviewees. Subsequently, certain recommendations, based on the analysis about how the healthcare organization might address its weaknesses or deficiencies, with respect to the above stated topic and a solid conclusion have also been incorporated in the outline. Kaiser Permanente (KP) is a health care company and America’s leader in formulating effective nonprofit health plans. Established in the year 1945, KP was created to help provide Americans medical care during the situations of Great Depression as well as World War II when health care was unaffordable. As of December 31, 2013, KP has a network of 38 hospitals, approximately 190,000

Peachtree summize Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Peachtree summize - Essay Example The current pressure stems from standardization in other sectors such as banking that cannot be fully afforded to more critical areas like healthcare without great thought. Moreover, recent failures at new Peachtree Healthcare acquisitions are pressuring management to go for an overhaul of the current IT infrastructure. Change of Opinion Before looking into the commentaries, I was more focused on the technical aspect of the problem with regards to implementing either SOA or a monolithic system. The human aspect of the problem as advocated by Kastor was not under consideration while framing recommendations. Moreover, my approach to problem solving for Peachtree Healthcare was more dependent on deriving a fitting monolithic, SOA or hybrid monolithic SOA framework for Peachtree Healthcare but as advocated by Halvorson, such a resolution would not be possible without considering the objectives that require achievement. Creating and maintaining an effective corporate strategy requires tha t objectives are taken into primary focus before any other implementations are considered (Johnson, Scholes, & Whittington, 2008). Ranking Commentator Opinions George C. Halvorson Paul Lefler’s standardization approach will not be able to deliver results for all parts of the healthcare sector in the case of Peachtree Healthcare. ... Another notable aspect of Halvorson’s approach is his critique on trying to use tools without realizing what objectives require achievement. In this respect, Halvorson is totally justified in commenting that Peachtree Healthcare should tabulate its needs and requirements and should then proceed to procure fitting tools. Monte Ford Ford essentially raises an important point and then fails to see through it – risk management. Ford suggests that Peachtree Healthcare should tabulate the available risk but this is not really possible given the eclectic nature of operations at any healthcare institution. He further suggests that Peachtree Healthcare should follow Candace’s opinion of implementing a â€Å"modular SOA† structure (Glaser, 2007) while keeping in mind areas where such a solution would work and where it would not. Again, the recommendation provided by Ford is largely vague and unrealizable since risk tabulation for what would work and what would not w ork requires taking risks that might entail patient’s lives. Providing analogies for an airline reservation system and a clinic’s basic systems is also illogical since clinical operations are too varied to be standardized this simply. For example, a patient requiring treatment for a common cold would differ significantly from a patient requiring treatment for tuberculosis. Randy Heffner Randy Heffner’s ideas are best summarized by his last line in the commentary when he states that Candace should â€Å"redo her decision analysis and strategy planning, looking at SOA through a business lens† (Glaser, 2007). Heffner is right at declaring the rising popularity and efficacy of SOA but

Final Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Final Exam - Essay Example Through examining an understanding these externalities, the reader can come to a more warmed understanding with respect to the ways in which it integrates with the needs of the respective stakeholders in question. Firstly, in seeking to understand the means through which organizational design. Impact upon the stakeholders, it is necessary to consider scientific management and the means through which this theory represents both positive and negative externalities (Knox & Walsh, 2005). Firstly, even though scientific management has been widely criticized by those seeking to understand different approaches to organizational design and theory within the past several decades, it nonetheless bears useful levels of understanding with respect to the way in which stakeholders can integrate with one another and maximize the level of efficiency that they ultimately are responsible for providing to the firm. As such, scientific management is oftentimes been defined as the following, the provisio n of a direct incentive system, a scientific training of workers, the creation of science or individual responsibilities, the division of work duties between managers and workers, and ensure that work is done in a timely and efficient manner (Perrow, 1979). However, even though each of these determinants is useful in helping to maximize efficiency of the given entity/firm, it is ultimately impossible to engage the personal realities of the individual stakeholders based upon these previously mentioned determinants. In short, even though the scientific approach is effective in helping to promote an integrated understanding of the way in which work should be delineated between stakeholders of the organization, it is so completely incapable of dealing with the dynamics of interpersonal communication, diversity, and a litany of other factors that it is widely discredited and unable to speak to all of the needs of a given organization. Further compounding the level of quantitative analysi s and the overall paucity of qualitative measurement, Taylor’s theory of scientific management is focused upon maximization of output while diminishing the overall quantity of input. Naturally, this is oftentimes done as a means of affecting a positive level of profitability within the firm/entity. However, such an approach does not factor in the way in which any type of employee need it might be represented that would require an alternate approach be engaged * Breton & Wintrobe, 1986). As can quickly be realized from a brief analysis of industry within the past, scientific management has been utilized as a means of taking advantage of workers, providing horrific working conditions, and losing sight of the fact that a given firm or business entity is ultimately responsible for ethical standards in the treatment of its employees and its consumers. As such, the reforms of the progressive era further underscore the fact that even though scientific management, and the approaches that engages, can be useful in certain situations, following this wholeheartedly and applying it strictly throughout the entire business environment is ultimately harmful to the level of growth, profitability, and success that a given firm might hope to exhibit. Similarly, even though the issues that have thus far been elaborated upon with regards to scientific manage

Competences for Nurse Educators Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Competences for Nurse Educators - Assignment Example From this discussion it is clear that the ways in which nurse educators are prepared vary depending on the roles and site of teaching. Master’s prepared nurses take the role of instruction in practice environments, in staff development programs, associates in faculties and as clinical preceptors. Those who want to take up long term faculty teaching positions in educational institutions need doctorate qualifications. Nurse educators with master’s qualification are also advised to have certifications in their areas of specialization inside the entire discipline.  This study declares that  nurse educators are expected to combine competences in clinical expertise and strong passion for teaching. They have a role to prepare new nurses and advance developments in the practice of healthcare. As such, nurse educators have a strong background in the clinical settings, desirable communication skills and are culturally competent. They must be flexible to fast adapt new curricu la and developments as a result of innovations in their field as well as evolutions in the environment of practice. As a nurse educator the reporter will be conducting research, publishing, shaping public policy, engaging in service to the community and preparing grant proposals.  The field presents a bright career outlook given there is significant shortage of nurses hence a huge demand for persons to teach in nursing schools, public health organisations and other healthcare settings such as hospitals.

Unemployment in Brazil after the Financial crisis of 2008 Essay

Unemployment in Brazil after the Financial crisis of 2008 - Essay Example The tax cuts made the corporations use the money to keep already employed and even hire new ones despite the harsh economic times. The actions though not much helped to lower the unemployment thereby saving the economy from collapsing. The trends witnessed in the year 2009 and 2010 shows unemployment lower in 2010 was lower than in 2009, on average it showed a decrease of 61% between the two years. Unemployment has a direct bearing on Brazil’s debt, at the time unemployment began to improve in 2009 – 2010 fiscal year, the country debt was on the decline, and trade increased and thus exports were up due to favorable climate to conduct business (Turner, 2012). Unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons divided by the total labor force, where the labor force is the number of unemployed plus the number of employed persons. Employment rate measures the percentage of employable people in a country’s’ workforce who are aged 18 years and have either los t their job, or unsuccessfully sought jobs during the last month. This workforce is supposed to be actively seeking employment. Unemployment Rate =Number of Unemployed/ Total Labor Force. Unemployment rate in Brazil is averaged 8.84% from 2001 to 2013, reaching an all time high of 13% in 2004 and record low of 4.60% in December 2012 (OECD, 2013). In Brazil, unemployment measures the number of people actively seeking employment as a percentage of the labor force. This is measured monthly in the major metropolitan cities of Brazil. The  summary is as represented below: Table 1 Brazil metropolitan areas 2003 -2009 Unemployment Rate in Percentage points Year Recife Salvador Belo Horizonte Rio de Janeiro Sao Paulo Porto Alegre Curitiba Total 2003 13.8 16.7 10.8 9.2 14.1 9.5... This essay offers a modern analysis of the issue of unemployment in the Brazilian economy and reviews federal measures, introduced by the government to fight this problem. The international financial crisis after the 2008 September had a considerably negative impact on Brazilian economy, leading to a significant increase in the unemployment level. Unemployment is the situation arising from a willing and able person to undertake paid work responsibilities, being unable to get a job. There are several classifications of unemployment. Demand Deficient Unemployment occurs in recession or a period of low growth. Voluntary Unemployment happens when workers prefer not to work. Frictional Unemployment occurs when workers are in between jobs. Structural unemployment occurs as a result in inefficiencies in the labor market resulting from a mismatch of skills or geographical location. Classical unemployment occurs when wages are artificially kept high above the equilibrium leading to excess supply of labor Employment and economy are directly related in any country. Any change in the economy whether positive or negative, has an implication in employment. Brazil’s unemployment rate is seen on the decline thanks to federal measures introduced by the government. Programs meant to protect workers such as the expanded unemployment insurance were of great significance during the period of economic recession. Additional efforts were put in place aiming towards the sustained supply of credit and recovery of the growth trajectory of the economy.

Planning for examinations Essay Example for Free

Planning for examinations Essay I decided not to revise anything for the essay part of the exam paper. This was because I felt that I had done enough research for my specialist modules and would be able to recall it when needed. In the weeks leading up to the exam I spent about 30 minutes a day going over various chapters in my study skills folder, and if there was a particular item I had trouble with I would make a note of it and go over it again the next day. Finding time at home to revise was a bit of a problem and I found that the best time was in the evening when the children had gone to bed. This meant that I was sometimes quite tired when I tried to revise and wasted some sessions simply because I could not absorb any information. In future I may choose to do my revision somewhere other that at home, for example, the library. This means I will be away from the distractions of children and phone calls. I will also give my friends and family a copy of my revision time-table so that they know not to bother me. I felt that we were given enough information before the exam to know what to expect though I would have liked to have seen a copy of an old paper and perhaps given the opportunity to have a go at completing one. When we were allowed to look at our paper I read it through once before answering any questions. Once I had done this I first answered the questions I did not need to think about too much before going on to the others, and if there were any I did not know then I left them blank. I then went onto the essay question and decided which to do, though I found making a choice difficult as I did not know how I would get on once I had started. Once I got started on the essay I realised the mistake I had made by not revising my specialist modules. I wanted to be able to include examples, statistics or case studies in my essay by could not remember any. Once I had completed the essay I went back to the questions and any that I did not know the answer to I guessed. I then proof read the whole paper and corrected some errors which I had missed. If I could have done thing differently I would have planned my revision better to avoid distractions. I found that spending 30 minutes a day trying to revise while cooking dinner and running around after the children does not work. Before the exam I was not nervous but I think this was to do with the fact I did not have time to think about it too much. I also think that I did not take it as seriously as I should have and therefore did not revise enough. While waiting outside the exam hall I seemed to catch nervousness from other people but cannot see any way to avoid this. During the exam I was more nervous than I expected and was really aware of how quickly the time was passing. I wanted to work out how much time I could spend on each section, but this seemed to make me feel worse as I could not remember how many points would be awarded for each. After the exam I felt a bit disappointed as I feel my lack of revision meant I could not do my best. Dealing with stress during my revision sometimes helped. It made feel more awake sometimes, though this was often short lived and I usually ended up feeling worn out. Stress often meant I could not concentrate properly and I would try to do too much in one session. In future I will try to avoid the negative affects of stress by taking regular breaks, planning my revision better, finding a better location for my revision, not revising when I am tired and taking revision more seriously. I also think that revision is something that should be a continuous process not only used just before an exam. Reviewing work monthly or termly is something that I will try in the future.

Distinctions Between Whats True, Whats False

Distinctions Between Whats True, Whats False The statement There are no absolute distinctions between what is true and what is false is both correct and incorrect when examining certain areas of knowledge and ways of knowing. To evaluate the statements accuracy we must understand the meaning of the words true, false and absolute. In my opinion something that has been proven as correct or real is true. On the other hand, something which has failed to be proven true is false, yet this definition itself may be incorrect as others might argue that a claim which has not been credited as true does not necessarily mean it is false. Lastly, the term absolute is something perfect or unlimited. However, how can something be proven true, and if it has, then who determines when there is enough proof to make it true? Normally we rely on evidence to help us prove the validity of a claim, particularly for historical and scientific claims. On the other hand, evidence used could contain problems of knowledge due to bias which could be associate d with it. Therefore, what kind of evidence is needed to have a justified truth in the different areas of knowledge? In my opinion, perception is one of the most important ways of knowing, since we often depend on it to determine whether a claim is true or false. For example, the existence of light is considered a fact due to perceptionyet to a person who has been blind their whole life, light would be considered a myth since they have never perceived it. On the other hand, perception can deceive us and lead us away from the truth. Take for instance a schizophrenic patient. Science has proven that people who suffer schizophrenia are delusional.  [1]  The people they interact with are true to them but their existence to us is false. What gives us the right to deny their existence? Perhaps we are the ones who have a barrier to our senses that stops us from seeing what schizophrenic patients see. Therefore perception could be considered relative as it creates different truths to different individuals and is therefore subjective. Nevertheless it is not just perception alone which leads us to the tr uth. Science is a discipline that is based on hard, objective and systematic evidence before truths can be reached. Through tests and observations possible explanations or hypotheses are formed and later developed into scientific claims which could be regarded as true or false. For example, the cell theory, which states that all living organisms are composed of cells, that cells are the smallest units of life and that they come from pre-existing cells, was derived from several similar hypotheses and then confirmed after many scientists experiments and observations.  [2]  The cell theory is considered true by a large number of scientists yet it can be argued that we cannot claim that the theory is an absolute truth since new evidence can appear and contradict explanations to the theory which could lead, after further experimentation, to new and improved knowledge and a more accurate truth. This is apparent when examining the induced-fit model by Koshland which was discovered after the lock and key model was developed to describe the mechanism of enzyme action.  [3]  The induced model highlighted that certain enzymes could catalyse several similar reactions contradicting the belief that enzymes were as rigid as previously proposed by the lock and key model. From the above examples we can see that scientists are able to distinguish between a true claim and a false one, to a certain extent, and that new truths are built from previous claims which were/are believed to be true but, that it is almost impossible to state that a claim is the absolute truth. I believe the problem with scientific claims is that most scientists have not tested the validity of the previous scientific truths on which they build their new scientific claim. This makes the previous scientific truths, subjective truths, but scientists use these subjective truths in the hope of finding objective truth. Meanwhile, not all scientific claims which have been proven true remain true. Science has witnessed paradigm shifts such as the shift in the belief that stress and spicy food were the causes to stomach ulcers. This was thought because the idea of bacterium surviving in the acidic environment of a stomach was not a possibility, yet it was later proven that the true cause of ulcers was a bacterium known as Helicobacter pylori which lives in the mucus layer near the stomach wall cells.  [4]  This example shows that science has its limitations at certain points of time and that what we believe is true today may not be true tomorrow, therefore embracing Karl Poppers idea of falsification. These paradigm shifts also lead to the idea that there may be no absolute proof in science that can verify nor falsify the validity of a scientific hypothesis. Therefore, should science embrace the concept of relativism, the idea that some claims are true for some people but not necessarily true for all?  [5]  If we deny the concept of relativism, would it prevent us from moving forward and gaining new knowledge since scientific knowledge comes from known truths? I believe that we should bear in mind the chance that any scientific claim known now could be altered or changed at any moment, but as knowers ourselves we should avoid gullibility by continuing to question these scientific claims especially during classes such as the sciences where we as students are exposed to these claims through secondary sources. History is an area of knowledge where determining true historical claims is very different from in science since knowers cannot directly observe the past.  [6]  It is up to historians and the evidence left behind to develop historical claims and prove their validity. During a History class, I was asked to evaluate a few sources of evidence in relation to the Vietnam War. Each source showed different aspects of the war. Here, I was introduced to propaganda and how far off from the truth it can lead people. Certain evidence such as photographs can deceive us again due to our perception as each person may conclude something different. The media is often accused of using certain photographs which appear to convey a certain message leading to biases. Reasoning, one of the ways of knowing, is used in order to conclude on past events. However, how reliable is the historical evidence? Is it all correct, or does it consist of fabricated facts? I once gave a seminar on the Arab-Israeli conflict, the central conflict in the novel One More River, by Lynne Reid Banks. Countries such as the US have failed to solve this conflict due to the two stories of each nation. For both Palestinians and Israelis, most of the evidence they have is based on their beliefs and stories. However stories in history are often not considered as legitimate evidence, for the truth to be determined. Where does the truth really lie with the assumption that previous generations of both sides may have tried to hide the truth in order to insure that future generations could continue to claim the land as their own? Other nations are involved in trying to resolve this conflict, and emotions can play a major part in determining whose side you take through religious or linguistic affinity. The media play on emotion and help shape peoples opinions towards certain topics through the very language, tone and imagery that are used. Language and emotions can either mask the truth or make it clearer. The media are full of news stories that project their own biases, often negatively influencing the perception of the readers/viewers. In such instances, it is almost impossible to establish what is true and what is really false. Mathematics is an area of knowledge which begins logically from a set of axioms (assumptions)  [7]  from which objective truth is stereotypically claimed to be present. For example, 1+1 will always equal 2 yet this example faces counter-claims such as the fact that 1+1= from an artistic perspective forms a window. It could also be argued that when looking at a real life situation where 1 man and 1 woman enter a house we should have 2 people in the house according to the definition, but what if the woman is in the early stages of pregnancy? Therefore in contrary to perception, there would be more than two living human beings in the house, disproving the mathematical definition. An example of objective truth in mathematics is the fact that parallel lines never meet. If they meet, then they would no longer be parallel. In my opinion, math is the not the strongest area of knowledge which agrees with the statement at hand since distinctions between true and false mathematical claims i s possible. However, some areas in mathematics remain subjective. For instance, it could be argued that in order to solve a mathematical equation, mathematical theories and laws must be accepted, making the truth in maths subjective. Over all, after examining three of the six main areas of knowledge, mathematics seems to least support the claim that There are no absolute distinctions between what is true and what is false, as there is much objective truth in mathematics. We see that different areas of knowledge use different ways of knowing as evidence to distinguish between true and false statements in addition to the problems associated with them. Lastly we see how difficult it is to state that absolute truths exist as well as form an absolute distinction between what is true and what is false. Word count: 1598

Beatrix Potter: Not Just an Author of Childrens Stories Essay

Beatrix Potter: Not Just an Author of Children's Stories Helen Beatrix Potter was born at No 2, Bolton Gardens, South Kensington, Middlesex (now in Greater London), England on July 28, 1866. She was the only daughter of a well-to-do London family, and her parents were heirs to a cotton fortune [4]. Her family was a typical Victorian family, living in a large house with several servants. Beatrix's younger brother, Bertram, was born when she was six years old, and the children were schooled at home by a governess until Bertram was old enough to attend school. Beatrix stayed home and was cared for by a string of governesses who encouraged her to read and write, and introduced her to music and art [3]. Beatrix spent much of her childhood in solitude, only seeing her parents at bedtime and on special occasions. From a young age, Beatrix was fascinated by nature. Her family went on annual summer holidays in Scotland and the Lake District. It was here that she and Bertram collected animals, skeletons, and fossils together. They sketched and painted pictures of the plants and animals they saw, and often went to the Natural History Museum to learn more. As they traveled the countryside, Beatrix gained not only first-hand experience, but also a deep love and knowledge of the countryside. It was this combination that makes her books so special [2]. Although her parents were a bit overprotective and discouraged her from forming friendships with other children, Beatrix always had her brother for company, not to mention a whole menagerie of pets. The children kept the pets in their schoolroom, and carefully studied and drew them. Almost all of Beatrix's famous characters from her books are based on pets she had. For example, Benjamin... ... prize sheep, and a philanthropist. She is immortalized both through her books, which continue to bring delight to children, and through the lovely Lake District in England, which she helped to preserve [2]. The picture of Beatrix Potter came from http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/0/0,5716,62630+1+61079,00.html?query=beatrix%20 Works Cited and Consulted 1. "Beatrix Potter and the Lake District." http://shoga.wwa.com/~cfox/fire/bp/bpld.htm (23 Sept. 2000). 2. "Beatrix Potter - More Than Just a Rabbit's Tale!" http://www.wwwebguides.com/authors/society/potter/beatr.html (23 Sept. 2000). 3. "Beatrix Potter's Life." http://www.peterrabbit.co.uk/uk/biography/printresource.cfm (23 Sept. 2000). 4. "Potter, (Helen) Beatrix." http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/0/0,5716,62630+1+61079,00.html?query=beatrix%20potter (23 Sept. 2000).

A Character Analysis of Macbeth in Shakespeares Macbeth :: Free Macbeth Essays

A Character Analysis of Macbeth in Shakespeare's Macbeth By the end of Act V scene v it is clear that Macbeth is not going to rule his kingdom much longer. He is to be killed by a "man none of woman born" (IV,i,80) who we find out latter in the play is Macduff. Before Macbeth is to be killed we find out that he is a great warrior, a sane man, and a superstitious man. In Act I scene ii we find out that Macbeth is a great warrior. We start the scene off from a sergeants account of the fighting against the enemy's of the king and Macbeth. For brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name,-disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel, which smok'd with bloody execution. (I,ii,16-18) From this we can tell that Macbeth fought bravely and through unbeatable odds against Macdonwald's army. It also tells us that Macbeth can handle a sword like it was an extension of his own body. The sergeant also tells us: As cannons overcharg'd with double cracks; So they doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe: (I,ii,37-39) From this we can tell that he was a relentless and courageous fighter and would not stop until he had won. He is such a fearless fighter that the day would be remembered for centuries to come the sergeant says: "Or memorize another Golgotha," this tells us that Macbeth would have gone down in the books as Scotland's heroic warrior. Macbeth had two glorious battles both of which he had won. from these battles and the sergeants words we can truly say that Macbeth was a great warrior. Macbeth is also to be portrayed as an insane man, but I think that this is not to be true. An insane man is supposed to be delirious, make no sense what-so-ever, and to enjoy the killing and deaths of others. On the contrary Macbeth is none of these, he in my opinion is a very sane man. Macbeth says to lady Macbeth that "we will proceed no further in this business" (I,vii,31) in this scene Macbeth is showing hesitation in killing Ducan, which tells us that Macbeth like any other normal man does not like killing. In Act II scene I Macbeth has his first major Soliloquy where he seems to be delirious by seeing a dagger floating around him "A dagger of the mind, a false creation" (II,i,38). I think that this in fact is just his imagination telling him that it is a mistake to kill Ducan. Macbeth has a very stressful decision on his mind whether to compel to the

Tom Daschle :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  TOM DASCHLE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tom Daschle was born into a working class family on December 9, 1947 in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Tom was the eldest of four brothers and became the first to graduate from college in 1969 with a political science degree form South Dakota State University. After graduating college, Tom joined the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command. Tom served three years as an intelligence officer. After the Air Force, Tom became an aide to then South Dakota Senator James Abourezk.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1978 Tom was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served four terms and soon became part of the Democratic Leadership. In 1979 he was elected Rocky Mountain Regional Whip and from 1982-1986, Tom remained Whip-at-large. Tom quickly gained a reputation for humility and a willingness to compromise. He also became known to his critics as a wolfish partisan, whose strong opinions were only partially disguised by a lamb’s demeanor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1986, Tom ran for the U.S. Senate where he won a tough contest against the incumbent James Abnor. After being elected, Tom received the honor of being appointed to the Senate Finance Committee. Tom became the first South Dakota Senator to be appointed a leadership position when in 1988, Senate Democratic Leader George Mitchell selected Tom the first ever co-chair of the Democratic Policy Committee. Tom Daschle was the first U.S. Senator to hire a full-time economic development director and he also made it easier for South Dakotans to reach him by establishing a toll-free telephone line to his office.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  South Dakotans re-elected Tom to the Senate in 1992 and 1998. In addition to his leadership duties, Tom also serves as a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Veterans Committee, Indian Affairs Committee, Finance Committee, and the Ethic Committee. Senator Daschle has insisted on fiscal responsibility and discipline from both Congress and the White House. Urging his policy of fiscal responsibility, Senator Daschle has advised Congress to use the unprecedented budget surpluses to pay down the national debt, lock up Social Security and Medicare for future generations, cut taxes for working families and invest in other important priorities such as agriculture, education, crime fighting and healthcare. Tom has pushed for fair competition for family farmers and ranchers and worked to make certain that quality education and healthcare are made available to rural communities. Senator Daschle constantly fights for Veterans to get them the benefits they deserve for their dedication to our country.

The duty and role of the producer

As far as the market is concerned, there is the existence of a diverse range of products that are meant for the purposes of human consumption. The duty and role of the producer is to come up with a product to be disposed through the process of marketing to the ultimate consumer. By so doing the goals as well as the objectives of the producer is the generation of profit.It therefore applies that the question of the safety as well as the health issues of the product is not the concern of the producer but a matter of personal issue of the determination of the side effect as well as the harm that may be associated with the consumption of the product.Majority of the products in the market that are meant for consumption are generally unhealthy as well as a cause of death to the human beings. In the consideration of the range of the products that poses health risk to the consumer from the range of fast foods to the tobacco products, the list can only be considered to be endless.However, all these products are usually promoted in the market through the process of advertising, highlighting the best side of the product while the knowledge about the harmful effects is in most cases concealed. However the consequent actions of the consumer are entirely blamed on the advertisement.Advertising is generally understood as the act as well as the practice of creating the awareness of the product to the consumer in view of influencing the behavior of the consumer in favor of the product. It is purely wrong to place the blame of the actions of the consumer on advertising.This kind of situation can be equated to blaming an individual who is entitled to his or her own views. The advertising agencies and the product owners should instead, take the blame. Across the majority of cultures and especially the United States the responsibility of the personal choice has been eroded and people otherwise point fingers in alternative directions (Fox 98).The concept of advertising forms a major segment in as far as the society is concerned. Through advertising, the public attention with regard to the existing products, the needs as well as the services is sensitized. There exists no boundary as to the effects aroused by the practice of advertisement with regard to the potential harm inflicted on the body of the individual.The advertising companies push the harmful products to the disposal of the user. It should however be remembered that the ultimate use reserves the final judgment with regard to the use or abstinence from the use of the product. In contrast to this fact, it has been evident that majority of the people have laid the poor choices made by the consumers on the advertising companies.The tobacco as well as the alcohol industries is among the most notable industries that have been the target in as far as the blames of this category are concerned. The concept of personal responsibilities among the majority of people have been eroded, a situation that has resulte d to the consideration of the advertising industry as a scapegoat for the poor associated with the consumers (Goodrum 145).It is an obvious fact that the majority of the individuals will be adamant in as far as the issue of admitting to the reality is concerned but all in all connecting advertisement to the wrong judgment of the consumer is not justified.This can only be taken as the absence of the potential capacity of the individual to exercise personal responsibility with regard to the choices that the individual is in a position to take as well as implement. To exonerate themselves, the poor choice of the consumer is pegged on advertising as the scapegoat.It is a common practice for people with weak willpower to blame others for the poor judgments that they make. The process of making coherent decisions is rooted in the potential capacity for the people to shoulder their personal responsibilities.The fact that an advertisement has been aired is not an implication that it should be wholly embraced but rather the individual is at liberty to enjoy or disdain the product targeted by the advertisement (Fox 158).

The American Influence in the post-Cold War Era: a Critical Perspective

Introduction The post-Cold War era saw the end of the simple bipolarity in international affairs, and the redistribution of power in the international system resulted in the revision of classic concepts of war, power, security and conflict. The new agenda for economic development of the poorest regions and their political integration in a globalizing world, led to an increased role of non-governmental organisations in foreign affairs (Cox, 2003; 2008; Baylis & Smith, 2007; Brown, 2005; Strange, 2002). With globalization, the capacity of the state was undermined, and transnational corporations and global firms became the landmarks of a new world order, which some labelled as post-democracy (Crouch, 2004). In the age of post-democracy, the debate around the reorganization of power in the international system and the sustainability of the main continuities in US foreign policy such as trade liberalization and democratization became a question of new debate (Nye, 1990; Strange, 2002; Cox, 2003; 2008). The question whether the United States was going to preserve its economic and political primacy in a much more complex world divided experts, and existing theories of imperialism clashed with newly emerged visions of a multilateral world, where influence and resources are shared among a relatively strong America, and emerging Asian powers. This short essay will critically examine the influence of the United States in the post Cold War world, and will explore whether the demise of the American dream for political and economic freedom is really on its way. This will be observed in the context of US foreign policy. Research question This essay will explore whether the American dream and its replications in foreign policy is in its demise in the post-Cold War era. It will defend the view, that despite the rising powers from Asia and the political and military capabilities of Russia, Israel and Iran, the American continuities in foreign policy remain resilient and to a large extent – sustainable in a multi-polar world. In order to do this, the author has decided to look at two specific tenets of US foreign policy and their sustainability as factors in global politics – economic trade liberalism and democratization. Both of them will be discussed separately. First, the author will briefly mention the replications of the American dream in foreign policy. The American dream re-examined – the foreign policy dimension The American dream largely reflects the American values, embedded in the ideas of social equality for all people and economic freedom. Its replications in foreign policy have had two shapes – one is economic trade liberalization, and the other one is the spread of democracy. In the post Cold War era, theories related to the contested powers of the United States permeated the political discourse, and the ubiquity of the American influence in the world became a topic of discussion. According to Gowan (2008), one of the characteristic traits of American foreign policy has been the preservation of its capitalist policies, through the spread of liberal values all over the world. He argues that despite the rise of Asian powers, the US has managed to maintain its â€Å"world empire image† (347) through the sustainability of American dominated free market and institutions. The result of this post-Cold War strategy is the increasing political influence of the US in military and security issues. In sum, the American dream in foreign policy in the post-Cold War period can be looked at on two levels – one is economic and is related with the ever expanding policies of trade liberalism. The other one is related to growing political power, stemming from t he preservation of American controlled markets. For the purposes of this essay, both will be examined. The American economic liberalism in the new era In this section, it will not be sufficient to explore only the American macroeconomic performance after the end of the post Cold War. First, we need to briefly highlight the ideological tenets, on which this performance rests. The ideology, which has shaped the US performance since WWII is related to economic liberalism, free trade and cooperation, for the purposes of sustaining a capitalist model of production (Gowan, 2008; Brown, 2005 Cox, 2003; 2008). It rests on the image of liberal values and openness, which the US embraced during its expansion in Latin America in the 19th century. This image, described by some as American exceptionalism (Hunt, 1987; Levy, 2001) has remained continuity in US foreign policy, despite the changing conditions of the external political environment. The idea of open trade, dynamic industries and multi-lateral trade relations are all tenets of the perpetuating image of the United States as a key player in trade and economics, and a proponent of capital ism. Although it is argued whether this consistency has revolved around economic multilateralism, mercantilism or neo-imperialism (Wallerstein, 2003; Gowan, 2008), its perpetuation in international affairs is undisputed. Despite the global recession and the rising Asian powers, the US has preserved its position as one of the leading powers in the global economy. Official figures for American gross domestic product show that since 1994, the American economy has grown at a significantly faster rate than other main advanced economies such as the Eurozone and Japan (Gowan, 2008). Growth declined sharply in 2001 and 2002 but recovered shortly after, and before the recession, figures show that the US total share in the global economic output has grown to 49.6 per cent (Gowan, 2008:351). With the global recession, the American economic ideology was challenged, and the supremacy of the dollar as the world currency – put to question because of issues related with mounting trade deficits and foreign debt. However, at present America remains one of the largest actors in the global economy, because of its ascending productivity, increasing competitiveness and domineering trade relations. Undisputedly and despite the global economic conditions, the American market will always be attractive for capitalisms from the rest of the world, because of its enormous size (Gowan, 2008; Dam, 2004; Verdier, 1994). This would perpetually encourage other economic powers from Asia and Latin America for example, to accept â€Å"American-centred economic regimes† (Gowan, 2008: 353). Also, the tangible American presence in the international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, makes the US a dominant power in terms of development economics and recovery. In this sense, the ideology and the structural characteristics of American capitalism have succeeded in a post-Cold war world, and despite the challenges ahead, at present the US remains a leading economic power. Democratization and the United States As the previous section briefly outlined, despite the formidable challenges on the global horizon, which the US faces, it has managed to preserve its economic position in the world. This economic position, however, is not simply the result of the rise of American capitalism within the world economy, but also of the political rise of the American values and the ability of the US to use its political power and influence in a globalizing world (Gowan, 2008). Authors such as Wallerstein (2003) and Gowan (2008) suggest that the US has managed to reshape the ideas of world peace and cooperation, through the historic preservation of its capitalist ideal. Also, the attempts to export democracy (Chua, 2004) and democratic values in many parts of the developing world have led to the widespread influence of the United States. Some are willing to speculate, that this was a devised strategy, designed to sustain the position of the United States as a leading political power (Cox, 2003). What was l abelled as neo-imperialism or the spread of American values through the use of â€Å"soft power† (Cox, 2003; Nye, 1990) is one of the main reasons, why the United States is likely to keep its place in the international system in the decades to come. The American democratic model has been exported to Africa, the Middle East and Latin America and despite the criticisms related to its implementation, it has served as a means for the preservation of the American position in foreign affairs. Conclusion This essay has attempted to show, that despite the challenges on the US foreign policy agenda, its influence in the international system remains significant. Therefore it would be exaggerated to say that the American dream is a reminiscence of the political past. The most powerful manifestations of the perpetuating American presence in foreign affairs are related to economic liberalism and political exports, such as democracy, human rights, and social equality. In the post-Cold war period, the United States has continued to spread its influence, and has largely remained at the centre of international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. In terms of political governance, the American formula remains uncontested. America’s greatest export commodity – democracy – has established a sphere of influence in the developing world, where the American presence will remain strong, at least for several decades to come. Whether one will take the mercanlitist, multilateralist or imperialist approach to understanding America’s future role in the world is less relevant compared to the fact that the United States remains an important element in a shared world leadership, where the swing of China and Russia towards capitalism, and the rise of a global civil society, have already shifted the balance of power in a totally different direction. Bibliography: Baylis, J. & Smith, S. (2007) eds, The Globalization of World Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press Brown, C., (2005) Understanding International Relations, Palgrave: Macmillan, Ch. 6, pp. 106-123 Chua, A. (2004) â€Å"Our Most Dangerous export†, Guardian, Saturday, February 28 Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/feb/28/globalisation.iraq Cox, M. (2003) â€Å"Empire’s Back in Town. Or America’s Imperial Temptation – Again†. Millennium: Journal of International Studies. ISSN 0305-8298. Vol.32, No.1, pp. 1-27 Cox, M. & Stokes, D. (2008) â€Å"Introduction: US Foreign Policy- Past, Present and Future†, in US Foreign Policy, Cox, M. and Stokes, D. (eds), Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 3-23 Crouch, C. (2004) Post – Democracy, Polity Press Dam, K.W. (2004) The Rules of the Global Game: A New Look at US International Economic Policymaking, Chicago: University of Chicago Press Gowan, P. (2008) â€Å"Global Economy†, in US Foreign Policy, Michael Cox & Doug Stokes (eds), Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 336-350 Hunt, M. (1987) Ideology and US Foreign Policy. Yale University Press Levy, S.M. (2001). American Exceptionalism and US Foreign Policy. Palgrave, New York Nye, J. S. (1990) ‘Soft power’, Foreign Policy (electronic source), issue 80 (Fall), pp.153-71. Strange, S. (2002) The Declining Authority of States, in The Global Transformations Reader: an Introduction to the Globalization Debate, 2nd edition, Held and McGrew (eds) Cambridge: Polity Press, pp.127-134 Verdier, D. (1994) Democracy and International Trade, Princeton: Princeton University Press Wallerstein, I. (2003) Historical Capitalism with Capitalist Civilization London: Verso

A Case Study of the EWAN technology Supply Chain Management

In today's competitive environment, it is important for any business to focus on the customer and to provide unique value in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Without virtual integration, competitive advantage is lost. Successful implementation of virtual integration initiatives allows supplier companies, which are performing only certain processes, to work together as one entity. There fore, operations become more efficient by reducing inventory, assuring quality, and reducing delivery time. More importantly, the organisation maintains the ability to thrive in a competitive market place by achieving increased customer satisfaction through unique and strategic core competencies. Virtual integration will redefine corporations and, eventually, entire industries as supply chains evolve into a new business model of cooperation and sharing. EWAN technology has made recent attempts to transform its dated vertical integration service model into a maneuverable, efficient supply chain. Emphasizing methods Just – In -Time (JIT) inventory. Total quality Management (TQM) and Synchronous Material Flow (SMF), EWAN technology has derived a multi – tiered system of supply. The tier system consists of numerous generic suppliers. 2. BACKGROUND: EWAN Technology Solutions Inc. is the leading information and communication Technology Company in Eritrea. EWAN Technology is a privately held Eritrean company dedicated to providing full-scale in Technology solutions to medium and large sized corporations, and private sector. In its six years history, it has grown to become the largest private sector company of its kind. EWAN Technology provides a full range of service including Internet services, technical and corporate solutions and they specialize in providing local, Metropolitan and Wide Area Networking Services with full-scale end -to -end technology solutions at virtually any level of complexity. The capabilities of EWAN Technology Solutions are: * Network Design and Installation, * Software Development Service, * Internet Service, * Telecommunications, * Satellite Multi-access TV, * Computers and Accessories Retail, * Computer Maintenance Service, * Access Control. EWAN Technology is the largest Internet service provider and support more than 1,500 clients. EWAN also provides high speed Internet Service, Web Hosting Service, Web Page Design and Maintenance, and many other special related services. EWAN Technology Solutions team has expertise and dedication to provide customized end-to-end solutions for even the most complex needs. 3. EWAN TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS SUPPLY CHAIN MNAGEMENT 3.1 Introduction Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a network of multiple business and relationship. SCM offers the opportunity to capture the synergy of intra and the inter company integration and management and the integration of key business processes from end users through original suppliers that provides products, services and information that add value for customers and other stakeholders. Supply chain management in many ways formerly was known as logistics management, but the name change has been worthwhile in that there have been so many additional aspects of logistics management incorporated in recent years. Whereas logistics was the poor relation of the organisation – necessary but highly unglamorous – supply chain management today is the one area in which much operational efficiency can be gained. Thereby reducing organisations' costs and enhancing customer service. The Internet is playing an increasingly important role in the evolution of supply chain management. Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a major topic of conversation in many organizations today. A rapidly changing global competitive market coupled with the heightened expectations of increasingly sophisticated customers have forced firms to critically evaluate the performance of their supply chain and it ensures delivery of the right product, to the right location, at the right time, in the most profitable manner possible. Supply Chain Management can help to achieve faster time – to – market for products and services, global growth and migration to Web – enabled systems. Some of the benefits are: * Enhancing organizational value by reducing costs and increasing profitability, improved operational efficiency, and global inventory management. * Reducing overall supply chain risk by optimizing information flows and taking full advantage of investment. * Delivering products to market faster by gaining better control of the entire product life cycle. A supply chain is a network of facilities and distribution options that performs the functions of procurement of material, transformation of these materials into intermediate and finished products, and the distribution of this finished products to customers. Supply chain exist in both service and manufacturing organizations, also the complexity of the chain may vary greatly from industry to industry and from firm to firm. Traditionally, marketing, distribution, planning, manufacturing, in the purchasing organizations along the supply chain operated independently. These organizations have their own objectives and these are often conflicting. Marketing objective of high customer service and maximum sales dollars conflict with manufacturing and distribution goals. 3.2 EWAN technology solutions Supply Chain Decisions EWAN technology solutions classify the decisions for supply chain management in to two broad categories. These are strategic and operational. Strategic decisions are made typically over a longer time horizon. These are closely linked to the corporate strategy, and guide supply chain policies from a design perspective. While operational decisions are short term, and focus on activities over a day-to-day basis. Its four major decision areas in supply chain management are: A. Location Decisions – The geographic placement of production/service facilities, stocking points, and sourcing points. B. Production Decisions – The strategic decisions include what products to produce and which plants to produce them in, allocation of suppliers to plants, plants to decisions, and decisions to customer markets. Operational decisions focus on detailed production scheduling. C. Inventory Decisions – This refer to means by which inventories are managed. Inventories exist at every stage of the supply chain as either raw materials, semi finished or finished goods. These include deployment strategies (push versus pull), control policies the determination of the optimal levels of order quantities and re-order points, and setting safety stock levels, at each stocking location. D. Transportation (Distribution) – These are closely linked to the inventory decisions. For example air shipments may be fast, reliable and warrant lesser safety stocks, they are expensive. Meanwhile shipping by sea or rail may be much cheaper, but they necessitate holding relatively large amounts of inventory to buffer against the inherent uncertainty associated with them. 3.3 EWAN technology Supply Chain Network Structure One key element of managing the supply chain is to have an explicit knowledge and understanding of how the supply chain is configured. It is found that the three primary structural aspects of a company's network structure are: The members of the supply chain The members of a supply chain include all companies/organizations with whom the focal company interacts directly or indirectly through its suppliers or customers, from point of origin to point of consumption. EWAN technology defines primary members of a supply chain to be: All those autonomous companies or strategic business units who actually perform operational and/or managerial activities in the business processes designed to produce a specific output for a particular customer or market. The structural dimensions of the supply network Three dimensions of the network are essential when describing, analyzing and managing the supply chain. These dimensions are the horizontal structure, the vertical structure and the horizontal position of the focal company within the end points of the supply chain. The horizontal structure refers to the number of tiers across the supply chain. The vertical structure refers to the number of suppliers/customers represented within each tier. A company can be positioned at or near the initial source of supply, be at or near to the ultimate customer, or somewhere between these end points of the supply chain. The different types of process links across the supply chain Integrating and managing all business processes throughout the entire supply chain is likely not appropriate. Thus some links are more critical than others. EWAN' S Technology Solutions Inc. Supply – Chain Source: The International Center for Competitive Excellence, University of North Florida. Supply Chain Strategy EWAN technology solution's has over six years of experience in IT solutions and information technology with a special focus on using IT as a catalyst for new business models and process optimization. EWAN technology solutions have skilled personnel in information technology and they have been in business for more than six years in various activities such as network operation, software development, Internet connectivity, marketing, sales, and training. Supply chain management strategy is important to the overall success of the development of EWAN Technology Solutions Inc., as there is currently low awareness of the information technology in the region. In its supply chain management, the marketing strategy of EWAN technology is to provide information communication technology solution locally and regionally in the introduction of computer technology solutions and mobile telephones. In addition the firm has short-term plan of introduction training and development for information technology solution (IT). Besides the mission of the organization is to make the firm sustainable and to provide a reliable and standardized quality service, which is verified by ISO (International Standard Organization), which enable them to complete the international market. 4. EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT OPERATIONS OF EWAN TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS EWAN technology serves as a regional and national outsourcing partner to leading companies in the technology solutions. They execute critical elements of the supply chain including materials management, customized complex kitting, and distribution and fulfillment services. EWAN technology creates value by helping customers increase their supply chain efficiencies and deliver products more cost effectively on the country. Within their business objectives, EWAN technology helps a variety of companies improve the overall performance of their network design and installation programs. They identify opportunities to reduce total costs, accelerate information to market and increase sales by better managing the steps involved in the production and fulfillment processes for items ranging from information kits and enrollment packages to promotional items for a nation wide sales force or channel partners. Reach out across the country EWAN technology solutions centers are strategically located in the most active and profitable markets throughout the country. Supporting this national and regional presence is an electronic network infrastructure that enables their products to reach customers as quickly as possible. They manage all aspects of services and distribution resulting in consistent processes and procedures. Regional Supply Chain Management EWAN technology serves as a regional supply chain management partner to many of the regions leading technology companies. They manage physical product flow and provide technology-enabled business and information management. Physical services include such activities as product assembly, packaging, order fulfillment, warehousing and distribution, while information systems provide an infrastructure and common process for managing and tracking component sources, product quality, inventories, and distribution status and product life cycles. Service Offerings EWAN technology services can help organization meet ever-increasing customer demand from order to delivery. Their product fulfillment services include: > Product-order management > Remittance processing, data entry and billing > Database and analytics > Customer care support > Reporting Internet and e-commerce support EWAN helps customer to meet their ultimate goal to deliver the right product into customers' hands on-time, every time while providing the high degree of service that consumers have come to expect. Orientation towards marketing EWAN technology is trying to carry out the organizations all effort at satisfying its customers. Instead of just trying to get customers to buy what the firm has produced, a marketing-oriented firm in its supply chain management tries to offer customers what they need. Three basic ideas are included in the process of the supply chain concept: 1. Customer satisfaction, 2. A total company effort, and 3. Profit – not just sales- as an objective EWAN Technology is a market-oriented organization, and we analyze the supply chain management through the following points: 1. Attitude toward customers – the company plan determines by the customers needs like providing network design and installation, Software development services, telecommunication service, and satellite multi access TV service. 2. Product service offering – EWAN Technology gives service based on orders requested by its customers. 3. Interest in innovation – the organization focuses on locating of new opportunities, such as, installation of telephone lines, introduction of modern mobile telephones, and up-to-date software development services. 4. Importance of profit – the critical objective of the organization is to maximize profit. In comparison to other information and communication providers, EWAN technology charges the highest price. Despite of the high price they charge, they have enough customers because of their reliable and quality services. 5. Relationship with customers – EWAN technology aims at customer satisfaction by giving 18 hours of services, after sales service, they give advice and consultancy to customers to procure computers and its accessories according to their needs aiming to avoid unnecessary costs. Competitive Advantage: – Competitive advantage means that a firm has a better supply chain mix that the target market sees as better than its competitors. A competitive advantage may result from efforts in different areas of the firm – cost cutting in production, innovative research and development (R&D), more effective purchasing of need components, or financing for a new distribution facility. Similarly, a strong sales force, a well known brand name, or good dealer may give it a competitive advantage in pursuing an opportunity what ever resource, and advantage succeeds if it allows the firm to provide superior value and satisfy customers better than some competitors. The firm provides complete Information Technology solution, which the other competitors do not have. The overall management of the firm is well equipped in Information Technology (IT) knowledge and most of its employees are skilled. 5. AREA OF QUALITY CONCERN EWAN Technology Solutions has six years of experience in the business. In this case the firms success factors are many, such as: * Adaptation of product design, * Continuous market research undertakings, * Expanding services to satisfy the potential customers, The areas of quality concern of EWAN technology solutions depend on the following major factors. * Providing complete information and communication technology Solution (ICT) to customers * Focused, serious – minded, experienced and devoted personnel to product growth, and * Institutionalized team building management with high caliber engineers, †¦etc, 5.1 Performance Indicators of Quality Concern The concept of operations at high-technology companies is changing. No longer does it apply simply to the manufacturing of products. Rather, it applies to the concept of managing a supply chain spanning from suppliers' suppliers to customers' customers. In fact, effectively configuring supply chain can be a source of sustainable competitive advantage. EWAN technology benchmarking studies show that superior performance is attainable when a company can integrate the Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, and Return processes of its supply chain operations. EWAN technology supply chain performance indicator is a comprehensive service designed to assess performance by benchmarking customers against companies within the same industry. In addition to measuring their performance, they will also receive guidance on how to interpret customers benchmark results, identify improvement opportunities, and take the next steps toward achieving excellence. EWAN technology is in business to bridge the gap between strategic business issues and tactical technology solutions. Their Supply Chain Management services provide everything needed to extract maximum value from their supply chain: These are also the issues that EWAN technology works with everyday. * Supply Chain Consulting and Transformation * Supply Chain Optimization (Product Fulfillment and Distribution) * Procurement Outsourcing * Procurement Services * Data Registry and Synchronization Services Using powerful Web-centric solutions, EWAN technology Supply Chain Management creates, optimizes, and powers trading nets for clients. Along with their ability to leverage, EWAN technology broad range of strengths and capabilities, their solutions are based around key concepts and technologies such as e-business portals, key performance indicators, business intelligence, integration, advanced planning and scheduling, enterprise resource planning (ERP), e-engineering, and electronic business networks. 6. CONCLUSION Information has become the primary commodity of the global market. Some of the causes of poverty can be related to environmental and resource factors. Information development has been a critical element to the perpetuation of poverty in third world countries. The idea that a society's ability to develop is determined by its ability to access information. In modern society, information technologies are no longer a luxury, but a human need, and by inference is a basic human right. Countries with low levels of information will have low levels of development, low level of stability, and high levels of dependency. In the case of Eritrea, there is a growing government recognition of the importance of information and communication to the over all development of the nation. Indeed, the lack of access to relevant information is acknowledging as a major factor affecting the success and quality of research and development activities. In Eritrea, EWAN technology is a market leader in computer technology solutions in their supply-chain management. EWAN technology provides a comprehensive combination of computer technology solutions and digital imaging solutions to leading publishers and direct marketers, including advanced digital content management and e-business services. EWAN technology supply-chain management businesses provide a wide range of outsourcing capabilities to the country's customers. Services range from component procurement, product assembly and packaging to inventory control to regional and national distribution. 7. RECOMMENDATION Although there are key differences between companies EWAN technology solutions Inc. direct business approach can be applied to every facet of the organization's operation. Special care should be taken to address the unique dependency of EWAN's custom â€Å"tier one† suppliers. A variation of virtual integration could be applied to EWAN's dependent supplier base, while the management of lower tier suppliers of generic components would be, more effectively, suited by the standard procedures used. In regard to supply channel communication and procurement EWAN can make substantial gains by standardizing all B2B transactions. By offering an incentive program through out the tier network. EWAN can encourage all partners to make the necessary technological capital improvements in order to utilize an organisation wide extra net that will aid in fault – free procurement, real time inventory and speedy on time delivery. Bottlenecking channels would be averted, as synchronous information will flow up and down the supply chain via one, standard medium. Cost savings derived from this direct working relationship should be apple enough to subsidize the development of the extranet project as well as to reward the suppliers who successfully upgrade and integrate into the system. EWAN's of Total Quality Management (TQM) could be easily met by implementing a variation of the already existing virtual integration business model. Fostering cooperation through incentives is key since complains of supply chain partners is necessary to gain first mover advantage.

Ethical Issues with Sweatshops

Ethical issues regarding Sweatshops Michelle Rice Business Ethics Jacqueline Newkirk Remember when you were at the mall the last time and saw a pair of Nike shoes that you just couldn’t live without? You had to buy them, for a pricey cost, and just loved them, right? We all have owned a pair or two of Nike shoes in our life. They were the â€Å"cool† shoes to have back when I was in school. The thing that we may not have known is that Nike has been using â€Å"children as young as fifteen years old† (Jennings, 2012) as employees to make these shoes.In the following report I am going to go over some major ethical issues regarding using underage children and women in foreign countries for labor. I will tell about what the conditions that these people have to work in to get paid barely enough to survive from one day to the next. The first topic that I would like to talk about is a quote coming from Nike when questioned about the conditions of their facilities and th e employees that they had working in them. The quote was â€Å"We’re damned if we do because we exploit.We’re damned if we don’t because these foreign economies don’t develop. Who’s to know what’s right? † (Jennings, 2012) Well, let’s answer that question. First of all you are not damned if you make your product out of the country. Sure, as Americans we would like the opportunity to have the business be here where we could benefit from the jobs that it would create, but we also understand the need to help these other countries build and grow. Second, how is it helping these other countries if you are taking their children out of school at the age that they are able to work in a factory? Jennings, 2012) Wouldn’t the better way to help these countries be to pay them a fair wage and help their children get a good education so that they can grow up to help build their country the way that we are wanting them to? And finally, I don’t know who to say is right in this case, but I do know that Nike was found to â€Å"make women run laps around the factory for wearing no regulation shoes to work; payment of subminimum wages; physical beatings, including with shoes, by factory supervisors; and most employees were women between the ages of fifteen and twenty eight years old. (Jennings, 2012) After having that information, I think I can safely say that Nike cannot possibly think that they should be the ones that people think are right in this situation. Now, let’s go over child labor in general and if it should be allowed. I personally could never employ a child that was under the age of 15 whether it was legal or not. By making these children work in the conditions that they make them work in, for the pay that they give them for this work is not an ethical decision that I could ever live with.In a story about child labor that I found it stated that â€Å"In the 1990s, child labour has found a new niche in the rapidly expanding export industries of some developing countries. In one small carpet factory in Asia, children as young as five were found to work from 6 in the morning until 7 at night for less than 20 cents a day. † (Child Rights, 1995) Can you imagine you five year old child going to work and working for 13 hours? These children have absolutely no childhood and are giving up their education to work so that their families can survive.I think that it is important to have a limit to the hours that a person is allowed to work in one week and that there should be a required minimum wage. Even if it were not a law, if I owned my own company I would have these standards in place for every employee that I hired. While it is important for a company to make a profit, I believe that it is also important for their employees to be healthy and safe in their working environment. When it comes to the wages that are being paid, if you are not up to a standard of income tha t is expected or needed from employees, they are going to go and try to find work somewhere else.If this happens the turnover rate at the company would be incredibly high, therefore causing the company to lose money in the long run. If you are constantly having to hire and train more people you are taking time away from the product that should be being made. So, if you want to keep happy employees that are devoted to the company that they are working for and making a product that is up to standards that are wanted by the company then they should pay them a respectable wage and keep the hours at the amount that you would expect to work yourself.One of the things that I have stated a few times in this report already is that children are not getting the education that they should be getting because they are being taken out of school to work in these factories or they are just not being sent to a school to begin with. I would make it a top priority to make educational opportunities for these children in these countries if I had a business there. I think that it is important that these countries continue to grow and prosper to get as close to the conditions that we live in here in the United States.There is no way that this can happen if we are not sending their children to school. They will have no way to know what to do to run a successful business, only to work nonstop in them. How are they ever going to learn the necessities this way? In today’s businesses they are not thinking about this. They are thinking that they can continue to send the employees here from the United States over there to run the businesses. In which case they will never be an independent society able to function on their own.I think that the reason that society focused so much on the Kathi Lee Gifford and Nike issues are because of the fame that they already have and the popularity of the products that they are selling. We see Kathy Lee Gifford as a wholesome all American Actress th at we all love. We all loved the fact that she made a clothing line, and then sold it in an affordable place such as Wal-Mart. Then we realize that the clothes that we love and are finding affordable are being made in sweatshops in Guatemala. Of course this is going to upset people because it is something that no one would have suspected.When it comes to Nike, it is the company that every athlete endorsed and wears most of the time. It is probably one of the most recognizable shoe companies in the United Stated today. I think that the thing that upsets people the most is that it is such an â€Å"American† known shoe, that people feel that it should being produced in America. So as we have learned in this report is that if you want happy, healthy employees, you need to treat them right and pay them the wages that they are actually earning.Also, children are our future and if we want our future to be prosperous and continue that way we need to make sure that they are getting th e education that they need to run things when we are no longer here. Bibliography Child Rights. (1995). Retrieved 4 1, 2012, from Children pay high price for cheap labour: http://www. unicef. org/pon95/chil0016. html Jennings, M. M. (2012). Business Ethics. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Are Cell Phones Hazardous to Human Health Essay

Are Cell Phones Hazardous to Human Health - Essay Example In today’s world mobile phones has become a necessity. It is an inevitable truth that the mobile phone industry has taken everyone by a storm. The cell phones technology has been around for a long period of time, but it has only been the last fifteen years or so that it has been completely integrated into our lives to change the way we communicate with each other forever. The advancement of cell phones changed the entire social rules of human interactions. It has become so much a part of our lives that it is now impossible to live without a cell phone. It has indeed revolutionized the way we communicate with each other as talking to loved ones is now just a touch of our finger tips. Cell phone users increase rapidly and as of 2010, there were more than 303 million subscribers to cell phone service in the United States according to Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association. It is beyond doubt that cell phones make our life more convenient, but behind these impressive gadgets we have a negative health impact which could be harmful for human beings. The issue of cell phones has been a long debated one and the phone radiation is still being questioned today. The effect of cell phone radiations and other related hazardous disease is the subject of hot topic debates these days due to the enormous increase in cell phone usage all over the world. Even though cell phones are very useful in today’s global world, several studies have suggested that continued usage of cell phones exposed human to electromagnetic fields which are associated with an elevated risks of cancer and other diseases. The issue of the harmfulness of cell phones is still questioned and many people also claimed that cell phones are not harmful to humans. People, who are of the view that cell phones are not dangerous to human beings, emphasized the fact that the negative impact of cell phones is just a myth created by the media. Many researchers have also claimed that cell phon es are not linked to cancer and that it is not dangerous to human health. â€Å"Using cell phones doesn't increase children's cancer risk, according to a new study, the latest in a series of papers that find no link between the phones and brain tumors† (Szabo, 2011). According to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, children who used cell phones were not more vulnerable to develop brain tumor as compared to children who do not used cell phones. "Scientific evidence has overwhelmingly indicated that wireless devices do not pose a public health risk for adults or children," (Szabo, 2011). Many scientist are of the view that if cell phones are responsible for brain tumors, researchers would find the tumors on the side of the head where children hold their cell phones. But, this is not the case and moreover, scientist also noted that there has been no increase in brain tumors since cell phones were introduced to the mass population in the 1990. However, despite these cla ims, many researchers and scientists are still not convinced that there are no direct link to cell phones and other diseases. Despite the claim that cell phones are not dangerous to human beings, several researchers and scientist are of the view that cell phone are indeed dangerous for human beings. According to a research done by Lionel Bercovitch, cell phones are dangerous to human beings as the surface contains some metals such as nickel which can cause skin dermatitis on the users face. Nickel is considered to be the most common contact allergen. It is used by most of the cell phones manufacturer for accessorizing the phone. According to a research, nickel allergy affects up to 17 percent of women and 3 percent of men. This may be because of the fact that women talked more on cell phones and are likely to purchased more accessorized phones.

Learned Lessons from Completing the Project on Royal Tires & More Assignment

Learned Lessons from Completing the Project on Royal Tires & More Systems Upgrade - Assignment Example While completing the project it was evident that it involved change and therefore, it meant that the project manager was equally tasked with change management of which according to the writings by Marshak (2005), the project managers or managers’ in-charge of a change programme are also required to manage people as part of their roles. Being that the project manager did not have any background knowledge on human resource management there were few cases whereby some employees of the company showed resistance to the implementation of the project because of fear of job loss due to the system upgrade that seemingly made some of them redundant. Part of the lesson that the project manager learned from the resistance that was attributed to change, was that he should adopt a humanistic approach to projects that involve change. The humanistic approach according to Kotter (2011) is built on the premise that there has to be an interpersonal relationship between managers and employees, an d therefore managers have to consider the opinions or views of every party affected by the change. Secondly, while completing the project another key lesson that was learned is that the project budget is highly prone to changes that are beyond the control of the project manager. These changes are attributed to economic factors that are external and they may cause an influx of the budget beyond the original estimates or they may cause a reduction in the original estimates of the project budget. The first lesson that was learned while completing the project was that projects that involves change, should be integrated change or people management to eradicate cases of resistance from employees.  

Effect of Ocean acidification upon ability to genetically adapt in Essay - 3

Effect of Ocean acidification upon ability to genetically adapt in Nereis species - Essay Example As such the project will examine how environmental stress manifest itself upon regulation of reproduction, and ultimately, reproductive success. To study the adaptive capacity and resilience in worms, the project will evaluate variations, which are observed in worms that are moved between various pH conditions. This evaluation can also serve as a measure for biomarkers that indicate effects of such pH stress. Studies of specimens that stem from volcanic vents, where release of carbon dioxide occurs, provide an opportunity to learn about the natural ecosystems (Fabry, et al., 2008) that have a low pH. It also provides a potential model to study the likelihood of species acclimatising and living in low pH habitats. The study should reveal more about the mechanisms that allow these worms to survive in these harsh environments. The main aim of this project is to evaluate the molecular and biochemical basis of pH acclimatisation, and the role of environmental factors such as temperature and carbon dioxide levels, which define the vent environment. Ocean acidification involves lowering the pH of ocean water, resulting from an increase in the uptake of CO2. Oceanic CO2 levels have increased over the past centuries, and they continue to rise at higher rates than ever. This has the effect of reducing the natural buffering capacity of the ocean, as well as lowering the pH of the water (Fabry, et al., 2008). Existing in natural CO2 vents, P. dumerilii has exhibited its ability to survive in such extremely low pH levels (Davidson, 2013), as compared to related Nereid species such as Nereis succinea, Nereis diversicolor and Nereis zonata. These pH levels range from 6.6-7.3 in the CO2 vents that exist in Ischia (Calosi, et al., 2013) and P. dumerilii is known to thrive in these vents whilst N. zonata co-occurs in the Ischia area but is not known to inhabit the low pH vents (VodÄÆ', 2015).