How Much Is a Database Worth Essay

1) Many small business owners have found it financially advantageous to purchase their own building. As one owner remarked upon his retirement, â€Å"We did well with the business, but we made our real money by buying the building. † Explain why this might be so. There are three reasons why a small business owner might want to own the building in which they operate. First, the cost of moving around is expensive. Some small business might need large equipment to operate and completing a move might take months. This would interrupt the flow of the business and put a dent in profits. FlexTime is a good example. FlexTime, a gym has an array of workout machines that would be impractical to move over night. Most all those machines need to be taken apart and reassembled which is costly. The second reason is that historically, the price of commercial real estate has gone up. Which means while the owner is paying off his mortgage the value of the building will be increasing. Finally there is very little commercial real estate being developed. Due to this fact, vacancy rates have dropped and rents are rising. According to Conerly (2011), Very little new construction has been completed, and what has been built is almost all owner-occupied or build-to-suit. Almost no speculative real estate has been constructed this past year. Thus when the economy improves, rents will rise immediately (p. 1). 2) To what extent does the dynamic you identified in your answer to item 1 pertain to a database? Do you think it likely that in 2050, some small businesspeople will retire and make statements like, â€Å"We did well with the business but we made our real money from the database we generated? † Why or why not? In what ways is real estate different from database data? Are these differences significant in your answer? Three times Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas L.  Friedman wrote a book titled â€Å"The World is Flat. † Friedman maintains that due to the increase in the use of technology â€Å"the global competitive playing field is being leveled† (p. 8). Now, in 2012 it is evident that his theory is true. In 2050, small business owners will make the above statement because like described about real estate in question one, the owner of the business may sell his database upon retirement. Along with real estate, data or information does not depreciate in value. There are some differences. Some databases have been collecting important data, related to customers, for years. This information could prove to be more valuable than real estate to a competitor in one’s respective industry. Information on customers is priceless. A detailed, in depth database is instrumental in finding out customer needs, habits and reactions to discomforts in the market and can contribute immensely to a small business owner’s success. 3) Suppose you had a national database of student data. Assume your database includes the name, email address, university, grade level, and major for each student. Name five companies that would find that data valuable. And explain how they might use it. Corporate gyms like La fitness and Lifetime fitness would find the student records named above useful. Using the name field they could figure out if the student is male or female. From there they could decide whether to offer jazzercise or boxing classes. Based on what university they belong to the gym can figure out if they have a location in that area to pursue the student. Using e-mail address they could send out promotion deals. Chegg. com is an online company that buys, sells and rents student textbooks. Using the fields; name, major and email address Chegg. om could effectively target students in certain majors and therefore rid their textbooks more efficiently. Major hotels would be all over a student database. Though the university field they could figure out what areas to target which universities. For example, hotels in Florida are likely to send information to students in universities on the east coast, where as Mexico and California hotels might stick to universities a li ttle more west. Hotels in Vegas could use student records like grade level to find out if students are of age. It would be hard to sell Vegas to a student under aged. Delta Airlines would find the information equally valuable because they could promote flights based on university’s vacation schedules along with student names and emails. BikesDirect. com is an online company that allows you to buy, sell and rent bikes. A large number of students ride bikes and for a company like this a student database can be instrumental in their success or expansion. Figuring out which university to target is important. For a bike company they might want to target larger campuses. Through the name field they could figure out gender and email is a good place to send promotions and receive rders. 4) Describe a product or service that you could develop that would induce students to provide the data in item 3. Students in need of tutoring would have to supply the relevant data. If one were to set up a tutoring service that connects all the universities to one database would be useful. From a student’s email account they could request a tutoring session. The university the student provides would be relevant data because the online tutoring service would have to contact one of its tutors in that area so they could easily meet. They would have to supply grade level and major so that the database can match them with a relevant tutor. 5) Considering your answers to items 1 through 4, identify two organizations in your community that could generate a database that would potentially be more valuable than the organization itself. Consider business, but also think about social and government offices. If the Department of Motor Vehicles lost its database it would be catastrophic to the department and our community. The DMV’s database is vast and contains all kinds of records that are important to other government agencies as well. The police department collaborates with the DMV on a daily basis when dealing with traffic situations and suspended licenses. Another organization or agency that has an extensive database is the Department of Labor. They store information like the amount of full time and part time employees, average wage. The Department of Labor’s data is instrumental in figuring out the median income, unemployment rates and the overall direction of the economy.

Being a Part of a Team More Important Than Leading It

â€Å"Being part of a team is more important than leading it. † It is too difficult these days during the complexity of business and corporate pressure to build out teams, in order to resolve business challenges situations like service, product renovation, turnaround recovery plans, launch new products, meet the market changes and challenges it’s important to pay attention to building a team.Team, by concept, is a group of members whom could be selected or nominated usually by management; the role is to execute a certain business â€Å"mission† within the organization under a very clear goals and objectives with a defined timeline as well as deliverables. Now a day’s both economy and the business growing very fast and the challenges is continuously increasing.New concepts came up, new technology and new strategies invented ,the world moving very fast ,everything now in a mass, production in a mass ,corporate in a mass ,so all the people they don’t h ave time to work individually to achieve the mission assigned to them ,so now the techniques to work in a group came up with all the challenges we have it, one person can’t solve the problem right from the first time and with required time.Single person doesn’t have the time, the required skills and /or the expertise to accomplish various tasks, task that must be carried out successfully in order to successfully tackle the problem of interest. By wording we are calling it a team not a group, hence there is a big difference between the both, we can’t call the football or basketball team a football group, group not like the team, team usually have one goal, one mission, one task and one problem to solve, but the group is a group of people from different place and different objective but they met together, Like a random sample taken. There is no I in team but there is in win† , team must have a harmony between each other’s and with the team leader they must have the same spirit and the same challenges with different skills /experiences to complete each other’s and reach to the ideal team, â€Å"I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team not the individual is the ultimate champion†, It is not only the matter to form a team and nominate a team leader to let the team working under his/her coaching, but all the team member including the team leader must be an effective member, and to be an effective team member it is must have good people skills and communication skills in addition to a high strong technical skill set, the guidelines for being an effective team member include: ResponsibleA team member must be a proactive ,if they came to know there is a task needs to be solve or done, the team member have the skills to do it ,a team member has to take the initiative to do it and to be dependable to do fair share of the work and strive to accomplish any tasks in a timely manner, doing so will allow the team to meet the dead line, and to be accountable if the team member agreed to take on a specific task. It is also important to deliver his promises and if he faces difficulties in solving the problem he has to communicate to the team at the right time so they can come up with alternatives to solve a problem and meet the dead lines as well as obligations, as a result the team can meet the goal desired. Effectively communicationGood communication skills s important for an effective team member, that’s mean all the team members must be open to each other, talk to each other, listen good and show the respect to the new ideas and take the intuitive to share to add value to the ideas generated by any team member, this is important to reach to the a good guidelines to achieve the team mission at the end, a good communication style involves honesty, friendliness, thoroughness, and high quality in achieving the goals. Respect As a team member, one has to respect other members and understand each member is an expertise in his field and has the enough knowledge to meet the task required from him, the respect attitude has to be shown between all the members and therefore there is no one better than the other, all are equal and complete each other’s. ContributionAll the team members must contribute with each other each member must do the his/her full efforts and contribution to meet the team objectives and goals, this one of the important role for an effective team leader to get all the member share equally the contribution and spread the spirit of working in an effective teal to let the team succeed. Team could suffer heavily from a team member who is not cooperating, or blending, or benefiting the team with his expertise and input. A survey conducted by The American Institutes for Research, showed that one-third of 1,000-plus respondent organizations reported that strong internal resistance and/or sabotage is a sign ificant barrier to be overcome on the road to successful team implementations. Conflict of interestConflict is unavoidable whenever we work in a team, each member has a different views/opinions and sometime stuck on it, as an effective team member one must work on it and show the other member respecting of his/her views and try work with and adapted it slowly to show the positive if we do some alteration or changes for the member views and this one of the most common difficulties meet an effective t eam. Appreciations Not all of the team members do the same efforts, it different from one member to the other, and here the role of the team leader appear to give the credit to the member who do the best efforts and encourage other members to do the same and get the credit and keep up the work, but this tactics must be done by the right way to avoid any bad feelings against the other member. All the above mentioned points rose to reach for an effective team member to achieve the team mis sion, and goals. The way a team plays as a whole determines its success, you may have the greatest bunch ofcindividual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime† , as we covered the guide lines to have an effective team member, now it comes the role of the team leader, the objectives, the goals and the leadership style. The leadership style is simply the patterns of behavior a leader adopts to plan motivate and control, it is the extent to listens, set the goals and standards, develop action plan (long/short term), guide others, gives his/her feedback and reward and punish. Although the leaders face an unlimited range of situations, research has shown that there are six styles or behavior patterns that they apply to the situations they encounter: 1-The coercive styleThis style primary objective is immediate compliance from employees but the downside of it is lack of flexibility, empowerment and responsibility. This style can be used in straight forward tasks and in crisis situation (team needs clear directions and you have relevant information), but it is a least effective in a complex tasks and over the long term. 2-The authoritative style This style primary objective is providing long term direction and vision for the team, the downside is that it’s not good with expert groups, this is can be more effective when a new vision is needed and new team member needs guidance, this style should be avoided when employees are experienced and know as much if no more than the leader. 3- The affiliative styleThis style has the primary objective of creating the harmony among employees and between the leader and the team, the downsides of this style is lack of constructive feedback and direction, this style to be used more effective in a straightforward task and with an adequate performance, this is style should be avoided when employees’ performance is inadequate and corrective performance feedba ck is required. 4-The democratic style This style has the primary objective of building commitment and consensus among employees, the downside of this style is the time consuming, leave team member confused, this style is more effective when the team member are competent and have a knowledge more than the team leader and least effective in crisis situation and there is no time for a meetings or discussions. 5-The pacesetting styleThis style has the primary objective of accomplishing tasks to a high standard of excellence, the downside of this style can lower moral and lead to feelings of being overwhelmed and pressured, this style more effective when team members are also pacesetters and resource or time constraints necessitate the leader involvement. This style is least effective when direction of the team is unclear and team members are unconvinced 6-The coaching style This style has the primary objective of employees long term professional development, this is style is not effect ive when employee lacks motivation, resistant to changing, or leader lacks expertise, this style most effective hen the team member have a clear sense of aspirations and are motivated, this style is least effective if the team members are new and have a lack of experience, it’s important to avoid this style during crisis situation. Before applying any style from the above mentioned leadership styles, the leader has to stimulate his/her thinking about which style to use, and how the style will affects others motivation, the effective manager has to diagnose the demand of the situation, the experience of the team, the strengths and weakness of the team member, another dimension to watch is the complexity of the task, time pressure, resources available, and keep an open mind and watch out for changes in the situation.Leader should avoid using one style as a habit, the style should match the situation as one style does not apply for all ,the team leader has to select a style that best fit the situation and even the leader can as the team member too to assist him/her to select the style matching with the situation and the team goals and objectives ,the team leader must be flexible to switch from one style to another, even the leader can mix two or more styles to meet all required tasks and to assist for achieving the team goals, â€Å" A working relationship that provides influence or support on a regular basis for the most important decisions a has to make† , Form my opinion I think the team must slow down first before speeding up to tasks, most of the teams like to jump right into the task, but relationship building, active development of norms, and goal setting is needed first. The team leader must be more strategic about the first team meeting, he/she must structure team culture first and not to leave it to chance, building a relationship and trust first is a key to avoid long term problems like task conflict and discovering expertise. One of the most crucial components of success is to know how to work productively in a team environment, working well with others and having strong interpersonal skills can take a person far in life, in career settings and beyond.It is a combinations between the team leader and the team member starting from constructed the team till set the team goals and objectives, all parties including team member and team leader have to work together effectively to put the style of work and agreed to spread a good spirit between all the members, the whole team has to work as one person everyone knows his/her responsibilities very well and ready to assist the other to achieve their goals, it’s not about raising the hands and step away from the other member hence the successful of the team depend on all parties not one party , It is the responsibility of the team leader to set everything before starting the task and the responsibilities of the others to believe they are like a stone corner for the tea m no way the team finish the task without the other ,,, Amgad Ali ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Michael Jordan. [ 2 ]. Mia Hamm. [ 3 ]. Case commentary by Ed Mussel white. Ditto. [ 4 ]. Babe Welch. [ 5 ]. Nigel Nicholson.

Inequality of Gender in Sports, Is it warranted Research Paper

Inequality of Gender in Sports, Is it warranted - Research Paper Example Rugby has a legacy of being a violent game, and feminine identities are thought to either subvert this notion (Fields, 2005) or use the violence as a mechanism of enhancing the femininity of the players (Gill, 2007). There are several reasons given within the literature for women enjoying playing such a traditionally masculine sport; one being subverting the traditional notions of femininity, another being that the participants enjoy being part of a game which requires extreme physical strengths. Further reasons include that it gives the women that participate a sense of empowerment and self-confidence. Further interviews suggest that these women simply enjoy the game of rugby and feel it appropriate to play a sport for which they have this affection, gender-roles ignored (Chu et al, 2003). Women participate in rugby for a number of reasons, and the growing interest in the sport helps to suggest that women do not have to resist traditional notions of femininity to be recognized as tr ue rugby players. The history of women’s rugby helps to give some idea of why the sport has developed such controversy. Firstly, the early evolution of the female game is shrouded in mystery, making it hard to define a ‘first female rugby team’ or any other definitive moments (Chandler & Nauright, 1999). Early female rugby players faced challenges about their desires to play such a violent and masculine game (Fields, 2005). One of the most major discrepancies between the female and male games of rugby are the salaries. Not only are there far fewer professional and semi-professional female rugby teams, but the players get paid a significantly lower amount (Chandler & Nauright, 1999). Whilst some female rugby players have suggested that they play simply for a love of the game (Chu et al, 2003), it has been suggested that females should

Strategic Management in IKEA Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Strategic Management in IKEA - Case Study Example Businesses usually define their goals and objectives through mission statement and vision that are imprinted on the organizations product. According to Knapp (1999, p.75)3, mission and vision statements generally represent the purpose of the organization which is evident in the present case study of IKEA where IKEA's mission is to Whereas the vision is to provide better everyday life to all and IKEA formulates its strategies based on the mission and vision which aims to provide better life by offering its products at lower cost than in the market. Austin and Pinkleton (2006, p.19)4 mentions that mission statement sets out strategic focus for accomplishing long term outcome and vision conveys the long term ideal which is evident in IKEA's scenario. Further vision shares the organizations values that are intended to support their mission. The seriousness of offering products at low cost is also seen its corporate values where the organization recruits employees who share the values developed by IKEA of togetherness, cost consciousness, respect and simplicity. The mission, vision and values are interrelated to each other as each one is developed by other and helps the organization the long term goal as in case of IKEA to provide better life to all by providing low cost products in the industry duly integrating w ith the values that promotes the involvement of customers in product designing. IKEA has been able to achieve considerable success strongly because of its values and it is essential that the values imbibed in the market for IKEA should be pampered and the organization should continue to operate in the same way as it has done until now generating good revenue and garnering customer appreciation from all over the world. 1 (b) Difference between company's resources and capabilities According to Grant (2005, p.145) the strategy of any business is concerned with utilizing the firm's resources to improve and increase the capabilities to grab the opportunities arising in the external environment. However both, resources and capabilities play vital role in the development of the organization and to identify their importance, they are distinguished hereunder with special reference to IKEA. Resources Capabilities It is the productive asset owned by the firm like tangible and intangible like financial, infrastructural, knowledge and human resource, etc.

Behavioural Finance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Behavioural Finance - Research Paper Example Montier’s articles and assess them one by one by providing supportive argument. Under this topic, Mr. Montier examined the QWERY keyboards and gave reasons as to why they are still in use today (Shiller 51). It is evident that QWERTY keyboard was established in 1874 by Christopher Sholes who saw the need to reduce the typing speed because the type writer that was in use during those times was jamming of plates in the mechanical arms due to the ease of typing that made people type faster (Thaler 8). Therefore, Mr. Montier clearly explained why the QWERTY keyboard was developed and why it is in use today. He also touched on the concept of Dvorak keyboard which is an alternative keyboard to the QWERTY but it was not adopted because it is efficient than Dvorak and certain studies suggest that the difference in their speed is very low and insignificant. However, Montier’s problem is that with adaptation of QWERTY keyboard up to date clearly implies that the benchmark policy that was used to develop this keyboard limits technological advancement and that, pers onally, he cannot come up with a policy benchmark (Thaler 3). How is technology involved? His reason for not coming up with a policy benchmark is the fact that such policies restrict technological advancements and confine them to one place for a long time (Dopfel 78). The reason as to why I support his argument of rejecting policy portfolios is the fact that they do not interpret investment risks correctly. This is because they concentrate too much on profit making than on the risks involved and the best way to deal with them. Therefore, Mr. Montier’s argument about of typewriters and benchmarks is correct. According to Montier, the notion of investment that was used in earlier times was better than the modernized idea and depiction of investment (Shiller 52). He clearly imply that the main aim of investment in early days was to look for value through purchasing what was

Country (China) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Country (China) - Research Paper Example As a function of seeking to understand and find the current economic situation that China faces today, the following analysis will not only provide a brief historical glimpse into the determinant factors which it helps to define China within the way it can currently be understood, the analysis will also be contingent upon discussing the outlook and ramifications of economic policies that are currently engaged within the People’s Republic of China. Through such a unit of analysis, it is the hope of this author that the reader will gain a more informed understanding with respect to the determinants of Chinese economic policy as well as the threats and potential weaknesses that the nation faces within the immediate and distant future. Firstly, in seeking to answer the question of whether or not the People’s Republic of China can be considered as a triad nation, the reader must understand that triad nations are defined as those nations that only represent 8% of the world's total population – but account for 50% of its gross domestic product. Due to the fact that the Chinese population is currently in excess of 1.3 6 billion individuals, it cannot be assumed or understood that China is in any way indicative of a triad nation. Whereas it is true that the GDP of China is massive, the population differential that is thus far been discussed ultimately convinces the reader that China cannot be considered as such. Currently, China exhibits an unbelievably low unemployment rate of around 4.1%. Before discussing or analyzing this statistic to a further degree, it must be understood and appreciated that many of the statistics that come out the People’s Republic of China are ultimately suspect. Without casting further aspersions upon the way in which the People’s Republic of China is administered, it must be understood that the Communist Party is ultimately the sole power that directs the fiscal and economic policy within the People’s Republic of China. As such, the level and extent to which this entity can be relied upon for verifiable truth and reasonable statistics may well be quite limited. However, notwithstanding this fact, the rate of unemployment that is exhibited within the People’s Republic of China is astoundingly low. By means of comparison, the gross domestic product of the People’s Republic of China is currently in excess of $8.20 trillion dollars. Somewhat surprisingly, the GDP per capita, measured within the same 2012 time period, only stands at $6090. As can relatively be noted, the GDP per capita as compared to the total gross domestic product of the entire nation is quite low; blending a level of understanding with regards to why she labor is so abundantly available within China and helping the reader to come to an understanding of why the People’s Republic of China continues to the a producer of so many consumer goods that require simple and complex levels of application. Many economists and businessmen alike have termed China’s rapid growth as an economic miracle. Part of the reason for this is the fact that the GDP growth rate between the period of 1990 and 2010 averaged approximately 12%. Although the GDP growth rate currently stands at a lower level due to the 2007/2008 economic slowdown,

Economics 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economics 2 - Essay Example The stark contrasts in these unemployment figures reveal causative features in these two diverse European economies. The UK has a rich tradition of work culture resulting in high economic activities and thereby yielding low unemployment figures. The activities comprising employment turnover in UK is generally well coordinated ensuring better chances of employment for the unemployed while moving from one job to another in short period of time within the financial year. The job market is upbeat with healthy prospects for part time and contract employments. The availability of employment, however, does not per se serve as criteria for better quality economy. The parameters for economic excellence extend beyond the precincts of the employment factor. Advancing technologies, changing business practices, communication and information systems, globalization, etc. require adequate qualified and trained manpower. The lack of adequate education and training among significant number of job seekers in UK to meet the growing demands of the industries is the mitigating factor in UK's economy. This factor is problematic for employers on the lookout for candidates possessing the right educational qualification and skills. Nonetheless, organizations such as Learning and Skills Councils (LSCs) have taken up the responsibility of providing ways and means for continually educating young adults over 16 years of age and also providing them with job-specific training. One of the major causes for unemployment in the UK can be attributed to the insufficient availability of prospective candidates possessing the right educational qualifications and skills. Other reasons may comprise job seekers' lack of motivation or disproportionate expectations. Still, other factors may relate to the job market situation of the day necessitating lay off, etc. Also, changing or leaving jobs for better prospects could leave some people without employment for some time. Advancing technologies is another reason for unemployment. Technologies and communication systems are changing the way we work the world over. Job competition in such situation causes employers to seek out hard working, efficient candidates for various posts leaving less efficient or motivated individuals jobless. (Tim Miller) Unemployment in Italy The unemployment scenario in Italy is spread unevenly along the lines of region, gender and age. Unemployment among the female workforce is approximately 14.4%. It is 8% for the male working population. Given the fact that Italy espouses conservative social values, many female young adults choose to stay home if safe and secure jobs are not available. Unemployment among