Video Club Database Project Essay Example

Video Club Database Project Essay Example Video Club Database Project Essay Video Club Database Project Essay Oceanic Video Club is a private business, run by its owner Mr. Michael Coleman. Oceanic is a video club which is in the selling of films. The owner Mr. Michael has built up a large customer base and this is increasing year by year. The business is going well as the amount of clients is increasing. As Mr. Michael hold a list of customers on a paper-based filling system, so Mr. Michael does not worry about the client as they are being informed automatically. Consequently, he has decided to make an investment on a comprehensive customer information system so that he can hold details on his customers, who have been purchasing films in the last few years and now. Also to take their opinions about the video club so that he can offer his customers a better service.. An interview with Mr. Michael was arranged. These included: The objectives of the business. The precise objectives of the new system. The method currently used to record data. The information that needs to be kept on each customer. Any hardware or software constraints. The required output. The volume of data to be processed. The problems with the new and manual system. 1. How many employees do you have? 2. Do you sell on credit or cash? 3. Do you have any problems with debtors? 4. What are the expenses which you make each year? 5. What types of music do you sell? 6. Do you own or rent this place? 7. What problems do you get with the manual system? 8. How much money are you ready to invest in the computerization? An interview with Mr. Michael was arranged and a lists of topics for discussion drawn up prior to the interview. These included: Self: How many copies do you have in your stock? Mr. Michael: I have about 1500 copies. Self: Do you sell on credit or cash? Mr. Michael: I work with both systems. Self: Do you have any problems with debtors? Mr. Michael: Yes as it is usually the case everywhere. Self: What are the expenses which you make each year? Mr. Michael: When films are damaged I incurred a loss. Self: What types of films do you sells? Mr. Michael: I sell all types of films. Self: Do you own or rent this place? Mr. I own this place. Self: What problems do you get with the manual system? Mr. Michael It is time consuming to fill records on paper and sometimes important documents are loss. Self: How much are you ready to invest in the computerization? Mr. Michael would invest about Rs30 000 in the new system. Summary of the interview A lots of problems with the new system has been revealed during the interviews, and the new objectives recommended was done but it was time consuming to take data from the old paper-based system and put it in the new system as their was more than 300 regular customer in the old system and with 50 new customers being added every year. Problems to current system 1. Loss of records. Solution A. Use of a cupboard. Advantage All the records will be arranged in the cupboard drawers. Disadvantage It takes a lot of place Solution B. Used of a computerised database. Advantage Access to the information is rapid and there is less likelihood of the data becoming lost. Disadvantage Training is needed to use the system and this takes time and cost a lot of money. 2. Contacting customers about new items. Solution A. By sending letter to customers. The objectives may be stated in both quantitative and qualitative terms. 1. It should take less than 30 seconds to establish whether a customer is already on file and to fill in new films records. 2. It should be possible to go directly to the main menu screen to the entry of a transaction, without having to re-enter the customers name, etc 3. Data entry should be as fast and easy as possible, particularly as there are several hundred existing customers and music to be entered when the system is first installed. 4. It should take less than one minute to trace music for a customer. 5. The new system is required to provide the following information; a) A list of all available music. b) A list of all customers. 6. The main menu should be displayed automatically when the database is loaded, and the whole system should be menu-driven. The following is the data flow of the proposed system. The system to be developed is a customer information system, and is intended to enhance rather than replace the current system of recording music and customers records. If this proves successful, it will be possible at a future date to replace the current methods of recording records so that the details are typed directly into the computer and the required copies printed out. This could then be extended to link into a computerized accounts system. Software The customer has requested that the system be developed using Ms Access, so useless a good reason transpired for using an alternative program or package Ms Access will be the first choice of software. Hardware In order to run Ms Access and be able to perform a mail merge using word, a PC 486 or Pentium with a minimum of 8 MB, and preferably 16 MB, will be required. A fast processor such as a P4 will be needed if the system is not going to appear slow in switching between screens. Mr. Ah-Young is familiar with word and has a good keyboard skill, so should have no problem entering data and learning how to use the system. He would like to improve his knowledge of basic so that he can in the future perform new queries and reports as the need arises. A database package will be ideal for implementing the system for Power Music Shop, and as Mr. Ah-Young has requested that it should be done in Ms Access. This is the package that must be used. It would probably be possible to implement the system using Ms Access or another programming language but it would take longer time and would involve the owner having to buy more software which is not really necessary, as Ms Access has all the capabilities required. I already have some experience of Ms Access and it is available both at home and at college for development. Using this package it will be possible to * Set up the necessary tables and relationships. * Produced customized input screens, using Ms Access to automate data entry wherever possible and to perform various validations. * Use Ms Access modules to enable fast searches for a particular Customer and past stay. * Design reports as needed. The database contains two entities, which are CUSTOMER and MUSIC. Tables will be created for each of the entities. Tables will be created for each of these entities. The tables will contain the following data. Attribute Name Data type and length Validation Film code Text (4) Unique primary key Title Text (50) Actor Text (50) Actress Text (50) Type Text (20) Number of copies Numeric (2) Duration Text (6) Attribute Name Data type and length Validation Code Text (4) Unique primary key Name Text (20) Other Names Text (20) Date Of Birth Text (8) Sex Text (6) Address Text (50) Tel number Text (7) ID Card Number Text (16) Two data entry form are needed. This form will be used for several purposes so it needs facilities to * Check to see whether a Customer is already on the database. * Add a new Customer. * Look though all the existing records for the current Customer and bring up more details if necessary. The Customer details form will be as shown on the next page. This form will be used for several purposes so it needs facilities to * Check to see whether music is already on the database. * Add a new music * Look though all the existing records for the current music and bring up more details if necessary. The music details form will be as shown on the next page. Customer File FILM File The format of all the reports will be similar. The layout of the Customer report is shown below. The menu structure is as follows: A password will be attached to the database so that it is only accessible to someone who knows the password. Different access levels are not needed as Mr. Pascal is the only person who will be using the database. 9. Test Strategy The test strategy will include five different types of testing as described below: LOGICAL TESTING This will be used to test every aspect of each form, report and query as soon as it is implemented, using valid, invalid and extreme data. Test data will be added to test each code module and results compared with expected results. Sufficient data will be added to ensure that there is at least one customer in each category. The test data that will be added initially is shown in Appendix. Subsequent test will often involve adding new data, which will then be deleted when the test works satisfactorily. FUNCTIONAL TESTING Each menu item will be tested in turn to ensure that no function has been missed out. SYSTEM TESTING When the system is complete, the whole range of tests will be carried out again to ensure that no errors have been introduced. RECOVERY TESTING The computer will be re-booted while the database is open to ensure that data is not lost or corrupted in the event of a power of a power failure. ACCEPTANCE TESTING The user will then be involved and asked to test all the capabilities of the program to ensure that all request functions are presented and working in the manner expected. This testing may result in further refinements. SECTION 3 TESTING TEST PLAN Module: Password Menu TEST NO. TEST EXPECTED RESULT REMARKS 1 Insert correct password and click on Login Main Menu should appear on the screen. OK 2 Insert incorrect password and click on Login A message saying wrong password should appear on the screen. OK Module: Main Menu TEST NO. TEST EXPECTED RESULT REMARKS 1 Click on Customer File command button. Item File must appear on the screen. OK 2 Click on Film File command button. Customer File must appear on the screen. OK Module: Film File TEST NO. TEST EXPECTED RESULT REMARKS 1 Click on Add command button. Must be able to add a record. OK 2 Click on Save command button Must be able to save a record. OK 3 Click on Delete command button. Must be able to delete a record. OK 4 Click on Back to Main Menu command button. Main Menu must appear on the screen. OK Module: Customer File TEST NO. TEST EXPECTED RESULT REMARKS 1 Click on Add command button. Must be able to add a record. OK 2 Click on Save command button Must be able to save a record. OK 3 Click on Delete command button. Must be able to delete a record. OK 4 Click on Back to Main Menu command button. Main Menu must appear on the screen. OK SECTION 4 SYSTEM MAINTENANCE 1. SYSTEM OVERVIEW This Customer information system is designed to keep records of Customer profiles and their past purchases. It is designed to run alongside the current manual system of recording purchases, rather than replacing it. The computer will be in the reception and the owner can use it to check whether a customer who comes in is already on the database, or to check on past purchases. New data will be added to the database at a convenient time, possibly at the end of the week. The procedure that the user will fellow is described in the design section. 2. TABLES AND RELATIONSHIPS Tables and relationships were set up as specified in the design section. 3. FORMS The menu structure was set up as specified in the design section. Forms were used as follows: Main Menu This is specified as the start-up form and loads automatically when database is opened. All buttons either opening other form or reports, or quitting the database, were placed using wizards. Report Menu All buttons placed using wizards. Maximise macro runs on opening form. Input Forms The Customer details form has a combo box displaying Customer codes so that the user can look up the record for any Customer. The record source for this box is the database. 4. REPORTS These are as described in the user manual. All reports were created using wizards and then tailored to produce a more appropriate layout. SECTION 5 USER DOCUMENTATION Initial set up Password Menu The Password menu is automatically started when the database is loaded. The password is case sensitive but it will only accept OCEANIC. Main Menu The Main Menu will automatically appear when you enter the password. Film File Add a new record In order to add a new record, click on Add new and after adding all the information, click on Save Record. Viewing a record To view a record, find it using the Find record list box. Deleting a record To delete a record, first find it using the Find record list box, change the information and click on Delete record. View a report In order to view a report, click on Film Report. Customer File Add a new record In order to add a new record, click on Add new and after adding all the information, click on Save Record. Viewing a record To view a record, find it using the Find record list box. Deleting a record To delete a record, first find it using the Find record list box, change the information and click on Delete record. View a report In order to view a report, click on Customer Report. SECTION 6 APPRAISAL The system has been completed and installed on the users PC. It was completed in the manner originally designed and agreed with the user, and is straightforward to use. Referring to the original objectives listed in the Analysis section: 1. It should take less than 30 seconds to establish whether a film or a customer is already in the database. 2. It should be possible to go directly from the film files screen to the entry of a new film. 3. Data entry is as fast and easy as possible. 4. The new system provides the following information. a) List of all films. b) List of all customers. 5. The main menu should be displayed automatically when the program is loaded and the whole system should be menu driven 6. Mr. Pascal had some problems initially with data entry, confusing Items and customers, as this aspect works a little differently from the manual system. However he has now entered data for over 100 items and has no problems to report. 7. All reports are implemented as specified. 8. The menus work as planned. SECTION 7 APPENDIX Password Menu Private Sub Login_Click() On Error GoTo Err_Login_Click Dim stDocName As String Dim stLinkCriteria As String Text1.SetFocus If Text1.Text = OCEANIC Then stDocName = Mainmenu DoCmd.OpenForm stDocName, , , stLinkCriteria Else MsgBox (Wrong Password) End If Exit_Login_Click: Exit Sub Err_Login_Click: MsgBox Err.Description Resume Exit_Login_Click End Sub Private Sub Exit_Click() On Error GoTo Err_Exit_Click DoCmd.Close Exit_Exit_Click: Exit Sub Err_Exit_Click: MsgBox Err.Description Resume Exit_Exit_Click End Sub Main Menu Private Sub Exit_Click() On Error GoTo Err_Exit_Click DoCmd.Close Exit_Exit_Click: Exit Sub Err_Exit_Click: MsgBox Err.Description Resume Exit_Exit_Click End Sub FilmFile Private Sub Add_Record_Click() On Error GoTo Err_Add_Record_Click DoCmd.GoToRecord , , acNewRec Exit_Add_Record_Click: Exit Sub Err_Add_Record_Click: MsgBox Err.Description Resume Exit_Add_Record_Click End Sub Private Sub Delete_Record_Click() On Error GoTo Err_Delete_Record_Click DoCmd.DoMenuItem acFormBar, acEditMenu, 8, , acMenuVer70 DoCmd.DoMenuItem acFormBar, acEditMenu, 6, , acMenuVer70 Exit_Delete_Record_Click: Exit Sub Err_Delete_Record_Click: MsgBox Err.Description Resume Exit_Delete_Record_Click End Sub Private Sub Save_Record_Click() On Error GoTo Err_Save_Record_Click DoCmd.DoMenuItem acFormBar, acRecordsMenu, acSaveRecord, , acMenuVer70 Exit_Save_Record_Click: Exit Sub Err_Save_Record_Click: MsgBox Err.Description Resume Exit_Save_Record_Click End Sub Private Sub Film_Report_Click() On Error GoTo Err_Film_Report_Click Dim stDocName As String stDocName = Film Report DoCmd.OpenReport stDocName, acPreview Exit_Film_Report_Click: Exit Sub Err_Film_Report_Click: MsgBox Err.Description Resume Exit_Film_Report_Click End Sub Private Sub Back_Click() On Error GoTo Err_Back_Click Dim stDocName As String Dim stLinkCriteria As String stDocName = Main Menu DoCmd.OpenForm stDocName, , , stLinkCriteria Exit_Back_Click: Exit Sub Err_Back_Click: MsgBox Err.Description Resume Exit_Back_Click End Sub Customer File Private Sub Add_Record_Click() On Error GoTo Err_Add_Record_Click DoCmd.GoToRecord , , acNewRec Exit_Add_Record_Click: Exit Sub Err_Add_Record_Click: MsgBox Err.Description Resume Exit_Add_Record_Click End Sub Private Sub Delete_Record_Click() On Error GoTo Err_Delete_Record_Click DoCmd.DoMenuItem acFormBar, acEditMenu, 8, , acMenuVer70 DoCmd.DoMenuItem acFormBar, acEditMenu, 6, , acMenuVer70 Exit_Delete_Record_Click: Exit Sub Err_Delete_Record_Click: MsgBox Err.Description Resume Exit_Delete_Record_Click End Sub Private Sub Save_Record_Click() On Error GoTo Err_Save_Record_Click DoCmd.DoMenuItem acFormBar, acRecordsMenu, acSaveRecord, , acMenuVer70 Exit_Save_Record_Click: Exit Sub Err_Save_Record_Click: MsgBox Err.Description Resume Exit_Save_Record_Click End Sub Private Sub Customer_Report_Click() On Error GoTo Err_Customer_Report_Click Dim stDocName As String stDocName = Customer Report DoCmd.OpenReport stDocName, acPreview Exit_Customer_Report_Click: Exit Sub Err_Customer_Report_Click: MsgBox Err.Description Resume Exit_Customer_Report_Click End Sub Private Sub Back_Click() On Error GoTo Err_Back_Click Dim stDocName As String Dim stLinkCriteria As String stDocName = Main Menu DoCmd.OpenForm stDocName, , , stLinkCriteria Exit_Back_Click: Exit Sub Err_Back_Click: MsgBox Err.Description Resume Exit_Back_Click End Sub

Automatic teller machine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Automatic teller machine - Essay Example The second question deals with, if you were to take the $500 out of one machine and then go to another, what would happen? You would most likely get a message that your daily limit had been exceeded. You would most likely have to wait until 24 hours had passed to withdraw money. The third question asks what is on my card. There is my name, the Visa logo, my 16-digit card number, and the three-letter code on the back. In addition, there is a background I chose. The fourth question asks how the information is used. The name is used to verify identity, the 16-digit card number is used to access the account, and the three-digit code is sometimes used for further verification. The fifth question asks what happens when the wrong card number is used. If the wrong card number is used, the transaction is canceled. If it is the wrong pin number, the machine will ask you to re-enter the pin number. The sixth question asks why there are pauses between the steps of a transaction. This could be for a number of reasons. To name a few, the machine could be counting money or verifying information from the card. Pauses do not just happen with people at the realm.

Week 7 discussion questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 7 discussion questions - Essay Example , our inquisitive car owner can safely assume that he/she can (at least for a very brief period of time) pack approximately 20 students into his/her Volkswagen. The number is slightly lower than the equation yields because of the fact that unusable space such as headroom and foot space will be unusable. 2. Most useful and interesting to me of the different activities we performed were the probability games. I found these interesting because seemingly simple probability problems had unexpected and unique twists that left the problem solver at times baffled as to how something so simple could be so complex. Specifically, wrapping my head around the Monty Hall problem was a bit of a stretch. Mathematics and probability are not at all times fascinating or captivating; however, when what seems like common sense and logic proves wrong it helped to make a memorable and lasting impression on me. Additionally working with the tessellation patterns in MS Paint also helped to break down the notion of volume and size to the content of their respective

Oligopolistic Market Structures And Management Of Them Economics Essay

Oligopolistic Market Structures And Management Of Them Economics Essay One constructive approach of categorizing a market is by dividing it in terms of the number of firms on the supply side of the market and the buyers concentration on the demand side. Oligopoly represents one of the market structure where there are a very few firms on the supply side and a huge concentration of buyers on the demand side. As the buyers cannot affect the market conditions, they are going to adopt it as such and the supplier will be busy in anticipating the rival behavior. Oligopoly looms large in industries of steel, petroleum, automobiles etc. Many industries can operate geographically as oligopolies. For example banking in a small town operate as oligopoly since there will be one or two banks in the area and the residents will be forced to take their business to the local banks.( Friedman, 1983) Oligopoly a complex market structure Oligopoly is virtually a big business. Under this market structure, the rivalry takes on its worst form. Product innovations, aggressive advertising and innovative marketing tactics are frequently applied to outweigh each other. Oligopolistic market structures are the most difficult to analyze as they are highly interdependent and interwoven, where moves and countermoves are taken rapidly. For example a simple action by Ford may lead to a reaction by General Motors, which in turn cause a readjustment in Fords plan, thereby modifying GMs response and so on. So anything can happen anytime in oligopoly. There are few models that highlight oligopolistic behavior. They are: Cartels A case arises in monopoly when all the firms attempt to promote interdependence and they all mutually agree to set price and output. The firms through their mutual coordination try to create a giant monopoly. OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) is an example of a cartel platform. Price leadership and Tacit Collusion It is an arrangement in which one or two firms make an arrangement of the pricing for the entire firm. Other firms are forced to follow the same price pattern although no such agreement exists in the industry. For example: In the infant formula industry, Abbot laboratories, Bristol Myers Squibb and American Home Products deliberately set their prices closer to each other to dominate the industry. The Kinked Demand Curve This model elaborates the stickiness in pricing in an oligopolistic structure. It has been hypothesized in this model that if for example, a firm X lowers its price in an oligopolistic market, the rival will be forced to lower its price to in order to avoid the loss of its market base. The demand curve dd is thus the relevant curve in case of a price reduction. dHowever, if the firm X goes for a price increase, then the case wont be the same. The rivals will not imitate this time, and would continue to enjoy the customer support as they would flee the firm X products. In this case the demand curve would be DD. The firm then tries to remain in a segment of the elastic demand curve between dd and DD. The true demand curve is represented by DAd, known as the kinked demand curve which silently points out the fact heads you lose, tails you lose (Baumol and Blinder, 2009) D A Price 8 (Competitors prices are fixed) 7 D d (Competitors respond to price changes) 0 Quantity per year 1,400 1,100 1,000 Game theory and the Oligopoly Game theory has been formulated to understand the behavior of the firms in an oligopolistic market structure that do not work on a collaborated output and pricing. The underlying assumption is that the large bossy firms are like players in a game of poker. They make the moves of lowering or increasing the price, to advertise or not to advertise, to discount and so on, based on their rivals move. Understanding the payoffs can put a firm in a better position to compete with its rival and be in a profit maximizing and rational position. For example the game between two coffee shops is illustrated as below: C:Documents and SettingsAnumDesktop4th assignmentUnderstanding Oligopoly Behavior a Game Theory overview Economics in Plain English_filesgame-theory-1.jpeg Source: Welker, J. (2009).Understanding oligopoly behavior-A game theory overview. Available from: http://welkerswikinomics.com/blog/2009/12/15/understanding-oligopoly-behavior-a-game-theory-overview// According to the above figure, both San Francisco coffee and Starbucks is following a dominant strategy. They are working up to maximize their outcome through advertising, ignoring what their competitor does. If S.F advertises, Starbucks earns profit ($12 vs. $10) through advertising. This means the pay offs are the same. Since both firms are enjoying profit through advertising they will do so, though the total profits are less in case when both are advertising, as compared to when they are not advertising. But such a condition would be a condition of instability, as to advertise is likely to be beneficial for both. So we say that advertise/advertise is Nash equilibrium, as at this stage none of the firm is going to change its strategy since it is bringing incentives to both (Jason Welker, 2009). Market failure due to Oligopoly Keeping in view the above theories that try to explain oligopolistic behavior, the market failure due to oligopoly can be attributed to various causes. Inefficiency, instability and indeterminacy brought about by oligopoly may result in a market crash. The firms supremacy is established as the capacity is established more and more, but little is produced in order to create artificial barrier to entry. The competitors compete on the basis of non pricing factors such as heavy advertising, which gives more hold up to the artificial barrier to entry. Prices are well above cost and price discrimination prevails. Some of the firms also engage in self-regulation to preserve their own profits and market share that further detoriate the situation (Grewal and Kumnick, 2006). Oligopolistic firms output and prices substantially differ from what is socially accepted from them. It is also believed that the misleading advertisement by the large firms also deludes the consumers and compels them to b uy products that they do not want. They impose political and economic power and hover over the mind of the consumers working like an invisible hand. Market Form Number of firms in the market Frequency in Reality Entry Barriers Public Interest Results Long Run Profit Equilibrium Conditions Oligopoly Few Produces Large share of GDP Varies Varies Varies Varies Source: Economics: Principles and Policy By William J. Baumol, Alan S. Blinder MC=MR applies for a profit maximizing firm, under equilibrium. However, in oligopoly, MC is usually unequal to MR mainly because in oligopoly the firms are seeking to adopt strategies in accordance with the game theory, or they look for techniques such as increasing sales for profit maximization as their ultimate goal. Conclusion In a perfectly competitive market place the behavior of the firms automatically lead to a maximization of consumer benefits through an efficient allocation of resources. In oligopoly however, resource allocation is usually is not well set, more focused is paid on restricting output in an attempt to maneuver prices and profits. In an oligopoly everything is possible, can happen anytime anywhere, so the economists are still unable to clearly predict its behavior. Besides, its ability to lead the market down, some economists are of the belief that oligopoly has made a significant contribution towards the economic growth in the past two decades resulting in an increase in the average income of the rich countries.(Baumol and Blinder, 2009). Question two What are the implications for management of businesses in such structures? Introduction Oligopoly is a market characterized by a few firms. Managers of a firm in such a structure know that their firm enjoys a market power. But the other players have their share of power too. If the managers take the right course of action, properly assessing the behavior of their rivals in the industry, they are likely to make a profit. Strategic behavior Strategic behavior refers to the firms ability of proper consideration of their market power and awareness of their rivals move. Strategic behavior occurs in oligopolistic structures where there is less product differentiation and a competitive industry exists (Taylor and Weerapana, 2009) Implication for the managers The most important implication for the managers regarding oligopoly is the pricing practice on the basis of mutual interdependence. In case of monopoly, the absence of competition enables the managers to follow the MR=MC role to maximize its profit. However in Oligopoly, simply following the MR=MC isnt just enough. Example Consider, for example the case of Proctor and Gamble, where the manager hires a consultant for the thorough analysis of the cost, structure and demand. After a detailed analysis of the structure of the body soap products, the manager follows the MC=MR rule and set the retail price at $1.99.In a sudden move, the competitors Colgate-Palmolive , Lever brothers etc set the price of the comparable product 10 to 15 below to that of proctor and gamble. What the manager is likely to do? Either he can go for advertising and heavy promotion to compete against the lower prices of the competitors or can lower its prices down. Or he can simple do nothing if he is confident enough of the strong loyalty that his brand enjoys among consumers. The point is that, that pricing in oligopolistic structure cannot be done without taking into account your competitor. This is the essence of mutual interdependence (Young and McAuley,1994) The second implication for the managers is to understand that it can be extremely difficult to make money in a competitive market. Firms are required to be as much cost efficient as possible because they cannot control the prices. The managers are supposed to be vigilant enough to be able to spot opportunities and enter the market before the others could enter. They should be able to make their place before the demand gets high enough to support an above normal price. A situation could arise in oligopoly, where the managers in a firm become so successful in beating up the competition that the firm turns into a monopoly, or the one that can exercise monopolistic power. Such a case happened with IBM when In 1969, the firm dominated the computer market so much so, that the department of Justice had to issue an antitrust suit against it (Keat, Young and Benerjee, 2009) Global implication for managers The managers should keep in mind that the process of benchmarking in an oligopolistic structure strategy formulation should be done keeping in view both domestic as well as the global competitors. For example AT T communications not only took into account Northern telecom but also Siemens, Ericsson and NEC and Fujitsu. Many of the firms that refuse to take challenge from the foreign firms are likely to face consequences. Like many American firms got a serious blow from their Japanese competitors in the past 20 years. Companies like IBM and Caterpillar enjoys success because they established a strong hold in the Japanese market well before time. The oligopolistic structure also highlighted the importance of alliance for the managers. Alliances enable the firm to acquire technology from the rival firm. Whilst the acquisition of the technology can be a source of benefit for the firm, the firm giving up the technology can face causalities ( Yoffie,1993) Conclusion The managers of an oligopolistic market structure have to take into account several aspects in their decision making. The managers are plunged into complex pricing decision. They take into consideration the three Cs of Cost, customers and competition in their decision making. Price wars were common in an oligopolistic market, but they are becoming less frequent with the passage of time, mainly due to the realization of the managers. Managers have understood, through their bitter experiences, that the price wars are costly and do not bring any benefits. They chose to compete on the advertising and on product variations. So they have chosen not to compete on prices and have found for themselves a path of mutual advantage.

Invention of the Internet Essay

Technology has also been a part of our daily lives. The implementation of technology influences the values of a society by changing expectations and realities. New inventions of technology are usually created to simplify life somehow. One of the greatest inventions in the last hundred years is the internet. The ever expanding internet has revolutionized the way Americans live their lives. The internet has a major impact on society and our culture. The internet has completely broken down the borders that our ancestors had. With the internet, everything that we could possibly want is at the click of a button. People can instantly instant message and video chat will people half way across the world. People now work from home, shop from home, do everything they possible want from home. But if people do not have access to the internet they cannot compete is this new global market place of unending ideas. In the beginning, when the internet first came into play America’s were startled and amazed by the possibilities of communication that the World Wide Web brought. He web is mainly a way that brings people together to communicate. The web is a layer of system upon system (Bowell). The Web is a continual ongoing process. It has never stopped replicating itself or processing since the first day it began. However, even though there many different systems on the web, no website is subject to special rules. The internet has become a sensation all over the world and more people use the internet than in other time in history. The internet has been a huge economic boom to our country. We now live in a global market. With the help of the internet, businesses can reach customers worldwide. Many businesses now have websites where customers do not even have to visit the store to buy their products and these companies want your business. The internet has a huge selection of items to purchase online. More people use the web to shop than ever before in history (bowell). Online shopping is the process whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time over the internet. (wiki re) A majority of consumers choose online shopping for a faster and more efficient shopping experience. For customers, shopping online can mean less time traveling and lower cost. Many stores offer special sales and discounts to customers who order online. Also, traveling to the store means that customers can only go during business hours whereby ordering online is more convenient for their schedules. Conveniently, many stores online are available 24 hours a day. Online retailers have seen tremendous jumps in their online earning potential (bowell). Of course there is also disadvantages to online buying. One big disadvantage is the customers concern of how unease it would be to return the item. The customer is not absolutely positive that the item they are buying will satisfy and meet their expectations. Sometimes, returning an item can become a hassle and have to wait long periods of time to actually get the item in hand. Since the customer cannot see the merchandise they wish to purchase customers are at higher risk of fraud buy ordering online. Of course, a major concern of consumers is identity fraud. There have been many cases where hackers break into a web site and can steal a customers personal information. One unexpected disadvantage that comes with online shopping is the amount of trash that consumers produce. The more items that people purchase online, the more boxes and packaging they have to throw away. This past Christmas, New York show a 20 percent increase in paper recyclables with a parallel increase of 25 percent of online sales. The biggest buzz about the internet is social networking. One of the main uses of the internet is for relationships. The internet has revolutionized the way that people communicate with our friends and the world. People used to write letters and sent them off then waited even weeks to get a reply. Now a days, people communicating instantly through instant messaging, video chat, face book and e-mails. We can communicate instantly with people all the way across the world. Social networking sites have people set up their own personalizes profile that is just about them. (These sites help fill in the gap) These sites help everyone stay more in touch with their friends and family. Social networking seems to make the world smaller by bringing everyone together. It helps us realized the way other people live and the cultures that they have (elliot). The social networking that is in place now more closely mimics face-to-face conversation than e-mail. We are no longer restricted to rely on people in our neighborhood, church, or workplace to provide the interaction we desire (Hoover all). Social networking services expand the pool of people we have the opportunity to meet to near limitless possibilities (Hoover all). A very new popular fad that has become normal to Americans is online dating. More and more people these days are finding their partners online through dating websites.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Globalization Essay

Globalization is â€Å"the integration of states through increasing contact, communication and trade to create a single global system in which the process of change increasingly binds people together in a common fate.† Some economists see globalization as being in the best interest of all states involved, while others believe that increasing modern trade and global economic relations is harmful in many ways. While globalization marks a move in the direction of a more open world-trading government, it can also be connected to damages on independence, making countries lose the ability to be totally independent. As a result, issues of globalization and free trade are surrounded by an excited debate and controversy. The economic demands of globalization have made countries less independent, making them incapable of taking care of their own issues, economies, and governments, with out the help of foreign aid. The more the weaker countries take from the more fortified countries, the greater their dependence and inability to take care of themselves they will become. While they depend on other countries for financial and political support, they do not learn how to be more self sufficient. They do not create enough revenue or have enough political power to stand on their own with out the threat of a financially or governmentally crashing. The more self-reliant countries therefore have to use their own resources to support these nations and therefore there will is less money and goods available to support their own societies and economies. Globalization slowly drains capital and commodities from the stronger, more independent countries. The resources go to countries that will probably never be able to thrive with out aid, but with out it would dissolve and disrupt the balance of the political and economic scales. To make global or worldwide in scope or application of trade, communication, and resources is what is known as globalization. The idea of unifying the world markets, the infinite numbers of ways to correspond, and the limited resources of humankind sounds like an intelligent idea. Many have come to realize however that by helping countries by giving them financial aid and the resources they need makes them dependent, not any stronger or self- sufficient. Advantages: Productivity increases faster when countries produce goods and services in which they have a competitive advantage. Living standards can increase more rapidly. Global competition and cheap imports keep a constraint on prices, so inflation is less likely to disrupt economic growth. An open economy promotes technological development and innovation, with fresh ideas from abroad. Jobs in export industry tend to pay about 15% more than jobs in import-competing industries. Unfettered capital movements provide the United States access to foreign investment and maintain the low interest rates. Disadvantages: Millions of Americans have lost jobs because of imports or shifts in production abroad. Most find new jobs that pay less. Millions of other Americans fear of getting laid-off, especially at those firms operating in import-competing industries. Workers face demands of wage concessions from their employers, which often threaten to export jobs abroad if wage concessions are not agreed to. Besides blue-collar jobs, service and white-collar jobs are increasingly vulnerable to operations being sent overseas. American employees can lose their competitiveness when companies build state-of-the-art factories in low-wage countries, making them as productive as those in the United States.

Read 180 Intervention At Allen - 1232 Words

Read 180 Intervention at Allen READ 180 Next Generation is a reading intervention program created by Scholastic in 1999 (â€Å"Scholastic launches†, 2011). This program was created to provide strategic reading intervention to meet the needs of struggling readings including English language learners (ELL) and students with disabilities, with age-appropriate and unique content for students in grades 4-12+. (Scholastic, 2014). READ 180 is a carefully researched reading intervention program with hundreds of Scholastic generated studies and third party studies for the last fifteen years. Marion Community Schools adopted the program in the early millennium to use as a Tier II intervention for grades third through eighth. READ 180 Next Generation is designed around common core and the rigor that comes with the Common Core initiative (Scholastic, 2014). In 2011 READ 180 was used by more than one million students every day, largely students from schools who have written in READ 180 to their school improvement documents (â€Å"Scholastic launches†, 2011). The program’s recommendations are to use READ 180 during a 90 minute reading block (Scholastic, 2014). According to Scholastic the program begins with whole group instruction for twenty minutes. Teachers are to begin the class using reading skills and strategies, academic vocabulary, writing, and grammar to the whole class. Students then work on the READ 180 software on computers where they follow a learning path, which allows them to workShow MoreRelatedAboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Histories And Cultures Into Classroom Curriculum2443 Words   |  10 PagesAustralia has 150 artists on its registry and provides significant benefi ts to the community, with approximately $5000000 turnover per year and a range of social welfare outcomes. 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