The Development of Amazon.com in Europe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Development of Amazon.com in Europe - Essay Example They expanded their Seattle distribution center, and added a center in Maryland. This allowed them to offer speedy delivery to customers in the east and in the west. In 1997 they added additional product lines, music and DVDs, but in 1998 it was evident that other online companies such as Buy.com, BarnesandNoble.com and CDNow were offering serious competition. Amazon.com chose to expand quickly to offset competition, adding several product lines. By 1999 in addition to books and music, the company offered video, drugstore, auctions, electronics and toys, software and video games, home improvement, lawn, patio, health, beauty, kitchen, and in 2000 partnered with ToysRUs and launched a computer category (Hammond & Chiron). By that time, their distribution centers had been increased throughout the country. The addition of cell phones, used products, and e-book store increased their volume. The company utilized Six Sigma (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) to improve their i nventory and record accuracy, finding their errors reduced by 50% in a year. With global marketing the way of the future, however, Amazon chose to expand into the European market and found it necessary to meet different challenges. Challenges Addressed in Amazon.eu It was quickly evident that methods that were successful in the United States would not work in Europe. The first challenge was to standardize and improve supply chain processes across Europe in the areas of vendor management, sales and operations planning, customer backlogs, and inventory management. Tom Taylor, Director of European Supply Chain Operations managed to meet these challenges by 2003 (Hammond & Chiron 209). In the meantime, other challenges had to be addressed beyond their acquisition of major online companies in Germany and the UK. For one thing, Germany had only one wholesaler and France had none so different acquisition methods had to be found. Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de offered only books in 1998, adding music in October 1999 and auctions and zshops in November 1999. Amazon quickly became a leading online bookstore in UK and Germany. In September 2000 Amazon entered the French market with Amazon.fr built from scratch and offering books, music, video, and DVD produc t lines all at the same time. Amazon Japan was launched in November 2000 and the international segment of Amazon was beginning to represent a significant portion of Amazon's total revenue. Europeans, however, were less likely to have credit cards, less experience with mail-order shopping, and were more conservative in their shopping habits. In 2000 German retailers were not allowed to discount the price of books, and some online privacy issues were more sensitive in Europe than in the U.S., necessitating an agreement between EU and US government on treatment of personal and confidential data.

The Greek Debt Crisis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Greek Debt Crisis - Assignment Example This paper is inclined towards analyzing the debt crisis of Greek. The debt crisis is considered as an important point for discussion. The countries have to encounter various financial constraints due to the debt crisis. The main reason for the Greek crisis is the weakening of the economic assistance and support. The Greek debt crisis has captured the attention of the people across the world. The main cause of the sovereign Greek debt crisis is due to the failure of the government in repaying of the debt to other countries. Debt has become a burden for Greek. The increase in debt is not only due to the failure of the government in repaying of its debt but also due to the low interest rate that prevailed in the country. The crisis has adversely affected the economy with the decrease in the employment opportunities. The low rate of interest has risen the domestic spending and has increased the rate of inflation. The reliance on borrowing by the Greek government on the international mar ket has led to the emergence of crisis. The crisis has impacted negatively. Since the failure to repay the debt has affected the confidence of the consumers to a large extent. As a result of which the investors will hesitate in investing in this countries and the countries of the world will restrict them from lending to Greece. The rate of debt has rose during the period of 2008 to 2009 as a result of which it has adversely affected the financial performance of the country. The financial debt crisis has affected the country in 2007 and the crisis has continued till the period of 2011. The Greek debt crisis is considered as one of the largest debt crisis of the world as compared to the debt crisis that is encountered by the other countries of the world. The debt crisis has affected all the sectors and segments of the economy to a large extent. The banking sector has been adversely affected (Bitzenis, 2014). The main reason behind

Introduce About Myself Essay Example for Free

Introduce About Myself Essay About Myself, My Hobbies – Interests and My Future Plans My name is Long. I am 25 years old. I just got married about 3 months. Now my wife and I are living with my parent, my young brother, my young sister and my gran in my parent’s house at Tan Binh district. I was born in Ho Chi Minh city, but my hometown is Quang Nam, because my parents were born in there. I have worked as import export assistant in 4 years at an Indian company. Regarding my hobbies, although I’m 25 years old, but I really like reading comics, I read it on the book, on the internet, on the magazine, and I read it anywhere, at home, at office, at coffee shop and at class. Moreover I also like playing games; it likes computer games and video games. I don’t only like playing games but also I like playing toys, some toys likes models kits of mechanics, cars, battle ships, planes†¦ In addition I like traveling also, specially, I very love sea, I like going anywhere, where has sea, and I can swim in there all day. Beside, earning lot of money is my hobbies too. In future, I want to become a successful businessman, I will open a series coffee shop, it like Gloria Jean’s Coffees, but I think I just can make it with small scale, honestly, I also like drinking coffee. Moreover I want to open a flower shop for my wife, she really love flower. In addition, I’m going to live abroad, because my father and mother in law are living in US, and they want my wife and me to live with them.

Social Media In Education English Language Essay

Social Media In Education English Language Essay In todays technological environment, it is important that teachers try their best to make use of this innovative technology. As explained by Thaker, this technology can be used to facilitate communication between the students and the teachers. However, this new form of communication can also help parents in getting involved in the learning of their children. One way of enhancing this communication is through the use of social media (Bienstock, 2012) (Thaker, 2011). There are a number of social networking sites that can be used. Facebook  [1]  , Twitter  [2]  , Edmodo  [3]  , LinkedIn  [4]  , Twiducate  [5]  , Classroom 2.0  [6]  and Google+  [7]  are just few of the existent social media that one can make use of in education. These media are being constantly used by almost everyone on everyday basis. The results obtained from Pingdom (2012) on the demographics of 24 different social media sites show that these media are being used by different persons in different age groups. In fact, the study shows that even teenagers are making use of such media (Pingdom, 2012). However, one might argue, should we use such media in education, even though we know of the problems and issues related to such media? However others might reason that we cannot just eliminate the use of such a valuable and easily accessible resource. Bienstock (2012) makes reference to the New York Times article in which Ms. Pust states I think that we would do more good keeping kids safe by teaching them how to use these tools and navigate this online world rather than locking it down and pretending that it is not in our realm. (Preston, 2011 in Bienstock, 2012) In the following sections, we will discuss the advantages that social media offers in the area of education. However, we are also going to point out the problems that these media might present and how to cope and manage them. Social Media Benefits in Education Students (Parent Further, 2012) Develop communication skills students can gain social confidence from online interaction, which may help them feel more secure in new situations Increase skill in technology students become more familiar with new and emerging technologies, as well as increase their media literacy through exposure to many different types of online media Such technology is already common with students and this will surely engage them even more if it is utilized. Online communities can be very diverse and expose students to many new view points, ideas, and opinions Social media can also be a source to increase talent to work on group projects Students can develop an optimistic image of themselves by putting best qualities out there Enhanced Collaboration acquiring information can be accomplished by students alone. But a collaborative environment certainly helps students to work together in trying to achieve their aims. Teachers and Schools (Parent Further, 2012) Increased access to resources since learning materials can be shared Collaboration amongst teachers and exchanging of lesson plans and information Can reach parents who are incapable to come to school in a cheap and effective way Can form partnerships with schools in other states or countries Enhanced Flipping The teachers role is that of a tutor. The students access the coursework material outside the classroom, and then within the classroom the teacher helps the students with any problems. In this situation social media can be used to boost the relationship between the teacher and the student. Modernize Discussions through social media teacher can credit students for in-class participation. Communicate Between Classes Teachers can send out announcements, share ideas or pose questions to pupils, especially when classes are spaced several days apart. How well are schools using social media? (Harrison, 2012) Successes Challenges Making safe communities some sites allow teachers to control online environments thus reducing dangers associated with social media Lack of knowledge a schools social media account should be managed by someone who understands social media Encouraging collaboration students can critique and comment on each others assignments. They can easily work in teams online and asking teachers questions or starting a discussion is easy Lack of features lack of engagement for students can make them feel as if the school doesnt care. Features should include one-on-one connection Invitation to produce content social media can invite students and schools to produce content for both enrolled and prospective students. This can show the schools personality More than a presence a social media profile requires daily maintenance and interaction with students The NCF (Ministry of Education, Employment and Family 2011) argues that literacy, numeracy and digital literacy are the foundations for further learning. (Ministry of Education, Employment and the Family, 2011). Our students are digital natives whether we like it or not. For us as teachers we have to accept this and exploit it to deliver the subject content to our students. Students and Social Media Our students are continuously communicating through social media, in Malta the most popular one being Facebook. Can we stop this? No we can not as out students are equipped with laptops, tablets, iPads, smartphones all providing easier access to social networks. Introducing social media in education is not an easy step, as mentioned before students are continuously using it with most of them ignoring the possible consequences. When the topic is approached only on a theoretical level students think that it will never happen to them, for them there is nothing wrong uploading any kind of photos to appear cool with their friends. They can not perceive that once a photo is available on the Internet is available to anybody even though they select the Only Friends option. Social Media Problems and How to Minimise Them? The only way to deal with this problem is through educational videos that illustrate various situations which teenagers found themselves in because they didnt know it could happen to them. A teacher can start by showing these two videos http://viewpure.com/nOUu1fldBbI and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK5OeGeudBMfeature=channel and discuss a set of questions with the students to elicit important points from both videos; the uploading of photos, anyone can watch your photos without you being aware of it. Students need to be educated towards social media. They have a tool in their hands, they think of knowing how to use it but most of them dont. Teachers and parents have to understand we cannot stop the social media hype. We as teachers have to educate about this tool. What can go wrong? Many students ask the questions: What can go wrong? These are some of the answers that we as educators need to provide: Cyberbullying (CEOP, 2007): This kind of bullying is different from the school bullying we are accustomed to. Our students are constantly using mobiles, the internet, so bullying can affect someone at home as well. Since cyberbullying takes place in the virtual world, it has a 24/7 effect and can make someone feel depressed or threatened in their own home. Students should be educated that this kind of bullying can be evidenced. With cyber bullying they can save text/emails/WebPages, print them and used as a proof to catch the bully. Sexting: Sexting occurs when someone takes an innapropriate photo of themselves, and sending it to their friends via a mobile phone, computer, tablet and so on. The problem is that students do not realise that once these images have been uploaded on the Internet they can end up anywhere.   They could be seen by friends and family, schoolmates who can make fun of them or worse in the hands of pedopheles. This also puts that person who originally sent the images in a vulnerable position (CEOP, 2007):, as somebody they may or may not know now has these images and could use technology to bully, harass or threaten students with these photos. Students have to be educated to think Do I want my schoolmates to see these photos, my family? Hacking: Students should always choose the Log Out option so their account can not be hacked. False Identity: It is very easy to lie on the Internet because there is not difrect face to face communication, hence people can lie about their age and appearance. Students have to be sure of whom they are confirming as a friend and moreover they have to be educated not to meet people they encountered over the Internet. Addiction: One has to be aware of the time and effort spent in establishing connections. It is very easy to become addicted, for some, these sites become one of the major concerns (CEOP, 2007). This can have adverse effects on a persons ability to work efficiently and affects ones health as well. Sometimes the best lesson to educate our students is not through theory but providing them with actual facts. For example this article http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2201064/Man-murders-girl-16-testify-raping-years-agolured-death-posing-teen-Facebook.html narrates the story of a girl killed by her rapist before she could testify against him. He posed as a teenage boy on Facebook and told Shania Gray (the victim) he had a crush on her and they agreed to meet. He took her to a secluded park and shot her (Pullman, 2012). Everyone has a Facebook account why shouldnt I? Our society, educators, parents cannot hide from the reality that social media are part of our culture. The future generation are approaching their lives differently as they integrate digital technologies- such as computers, the Internet, instant messaging, cell phones and e-mail throughout their daily activities. As educators we can propose the following simple but effective SMART Rules (UK Safer Internet Centre, 2012): Keep your personal information like address, mobile number safe. Make students think this question If I meet a stranger on the street would I give him my mobile number? The same reasoning has to be applied to a stranger met on the Internet. Dont Meet Up. Social networks can be a place to encounter with new people. Students must always know who you are talking to. If an adult they do not know asks them to meet up, they have to be educated to say no. Accepting (UK Safer Internet Centre, 2012): Educate students to think before they accept something from someone over the Internet as it might contain viruses with the sole purpose to steal information from someones computer used by a hacker to keep data on people perhaps engaged by paedophiles. If students do not know from whom it is and it has an attachment, they have to delete it. Reliable (UK Safer Internet Centre, 2012): Not everyone online can be trusted. Older men tend to lie about their age and who they are to meet female adolescents. This is a point we as educators need to stress onto; students have to know who they are talking to. Tell (UK Safer Internet Centre, 2012): Students should not be afraid of talking if someone is harassing or stalking them over the Internet. They have to talk with their parents, or a guidance teacher or any other trusted adult if someone makes them worried or uncomfortable online. Moreover if a student knows about a friend who has these kinds of problems he/she has to tell someone. It is not betraying him/her friends trust, it is helping and in some cases saving his/her friend. The Issue of No Physical Interaction Social media is a medium that enables communication between people from all over the world through the use of technology. Such interaction can be done from the comfort of your own home and this can facilitate the process tremendously. Some may argue that social media may present a challenge since the students are unable to socialise properly. This may be due to the fact that the interaction between peers is not presented in a physical manner. On the other hand, social media allows people to meet in ways that otherwise would have not been possible. Social media not only allows easier communication but eliminates the issue of geographical barriers. It allows students to form and (Tomaszewski, 2012) (Connolly, 2011) (Williams, 2011)maintain friendships, that otherwise would have been difficult or impossible. Such friendships allow students to learn and interact with other cultures other than their own. It allows wider knowledge sharing from people all over the world. Such interaction would not have been possible or would have been difficult and more costly if it had to be done physically. Therefore, when used with properly and with caution, social media allows not only learning to occur, but also friendships and knowledge sharing to take place. Avoid these when using Social Media We do not want more rules but as any other important tool Social Media should be used responsibly. We are in the day and age, were Social Media is used all the time by everyone and this is the main reason why we should be careful of what we do. We should educate our students how to use Social Media sites responsibly. Stephanie Buck on Mashable gives us a few rules to follow, which if applied, help us appreciate the power of Social Media when used in the classroom. Post Illegal Activities (Buck, 2012) Although your profile may be set to private there are other ways and means how this content can become public and be view by anyone on the web. Once public, it will be impossible to remove that content from the internet. Trash Your Teachers (Buck, 2012) Bullying can also include interactions done on posts where teachers or school administration are mentioned. This can be a grave offence even if certain things may seem harmless to who posted them. Post Objectionable Content from School Computers or Networks (Buck, 2012) Do not use the school computers to post objectionable information. Some school networks can track this activity. Post Confidential Information (Buck, 2012) This is very important as already mentioned before everyone can see the information you post so be careful not to post any personal information where people can track you. Overly Specific Location Check-Ins (Buck, 2012) Do not use Social Media to say that you are home alone or in a remote location this will help even persons who are not willing to help to find you. Lie/Cheat/Plagiarize (Buck, 2012) If a lie is shared on Social Media it is most probably that everyone will get to know. There can also be investigations regarding cheating and plagiarism. Threaten Violence (Buck, 2012) When a threat is posted online even if anonymous, there will be investigations by the police and eventually will trace the offender. Ignore School-Specific Policies (Buck, 2012) Always abide by the policy of your school regarding Social Media. Unprofessional Public Profiles (Buck, 2012) Students should be thoughtful of what to post online. Certain content might not be acceptable for an employer, who in the near future might go through ones profile. Do not say or put anything on your profile which you do not want a future employer to see. Never Rely on Privacy Settings 100% (Buck, 2012)- Students should never rely on privacy settings over good judgment, (Buck, 2012) says social media specialist, Andrew Moravick in (Buck, 2012). Some Social Media networks have very good privacy settings but some are updated very often and not everyone can keep track. Post Emotionally (Buck, 2012) Do not post anything on Social Media when feeling emotional about something. Thing may seem very different when analyzing the same scenario when feeling calm. As we can see, these are very simple rules students and everyone using Social Media can follow. We just have to keep in mind that anything posted irresponsibly on Social Media networks can have very negative effects. Conclusion So far experts remind us that there are clear dos and donts for integrating social media in the classroom. Social technologies are here to stay and it is import to help students learn how to used social media. Guide students in how to think deliberately about their use and consider the outcomes of proper and improper use of social media. This goal can be appropriately reached when teacher have received appropriate training on the use of social media. Full backing and support of the school administration is mandatory to fulfill this objective. Turning social media into an educational tool can be used to further a students education and enrich it.

columbia :: essays research papers

I would love to visit Columbia, but I would not like to live there. I wouldn’t want to live there because must of Columbia is poverty. One US dollar would equal 2,504.24. So, that means there money isn’t worth a lot. There literacy rate is 91% so they are educated. I would love to visit Colombia because Shakira was born there and she is really hot. I also want to experience a different culture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One reason I will never live in Colombia is because most of it is poverty. Population below poverty line is 55%. Maybe that's why they have drug cartel. One of the major drugs coming from there is cocaine. So the poor people have nothing to lose and everything to gain. One reason I would love to live there is because if you too $125,000 US dollars that would equal $62,606,000 Colombian pesos. So you would be rich over there. With that kind of money you could buy a mansion and impress a lot of beautiful women.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One reason I would love to visit Colombia is they have really good coffee. Also Shakira was native there; so that means there are more beautiful women over there. I also want to learn some Colombian boxing or other kind of fighting. So that I could have experience when I join UFDC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). It’s no holds bared fighting, I wold also like to take a picture in front of Shakiras old house.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The last reason I want to go visit Colombia is I want to engage in a different culture. Not so much the religion part, but their way of living. I would also love to eat some of their native foods. I want to dress like them because they look funny in the clothes, but they always have a smile on their face. While I’m there why not get some Colombian rum in use, right. I wouldn’t mind boxing and making money to pay for the rum I’ll be drinking.

The Theatre of Orson Welles :: Essays Papers

The Theatre of Orson Welles "I would have been more successful if I'd left movies immediately, stayed in the theater, gone into politics, written, anything†(Cramer). This quote from Orson Welles during an interview in 1982 produces questions about the career of one of the most celebrated filmmakers of the twentieth century. How could the director of Citizen Kane, the movie cherished as the best movie of last century, wished for his life to be void of the cinema? How could he wish to have continued in theater when most of the critical acclaim he experienced in that medium has been long forgotten? Most people do not even realize that Welles was an acclaimed director of theatre before Citizen Kane because Citizen Kane overshadows all of the rest of this genius’ work. Yet, Orson Welles’ theatre is just as important as his filmmaking because in all that he did, Welles exhibited the same artistic tendencies. His theatre was a unique experience and a creative achievement, but it also inspired his later work in films. The theatre of Orson Welles provides significant insight for an understanding of his films and what went wrong with his career in Hollywood. Orson Welles was born on May 6, 1915 to Richard and Beatrice Welles. His father was in the lamp trade, but Orson often referred to him as an inventor, needing to romanticize the role of his father. His mother was a beautiful woman who gave music lessons for a living. Welles was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a city settled right next to the great Lake Michigan. Kenosha is an ordinary small Mid-West city, the kind that seems to mock the very idea of aspiration in its occupants. Orson Welles was frightened of being thought of as ordinary and was intensely annoyed with his parents for bringing him into the world in Kenosha, Wisconsin. However, in regards to this idea, Welles states, â€Å"I never blamed my folks for Kenosha- Kenosha has always blamed my folks for me†(Callow 3). Whichever way one looks at it, Welles did not belong in Kenosha with his intense opposite qualities to typical Mid-West life. When Welles was four, his parents moved him to Chicago. Chicago, which was still in the Mid-West, was worlds away from his life in Kenosha.

System Description Case Study

The beginning step in studying a productive system is to develop a description of the system. Once the system is described, we can better determine why the system works well or poorly and recommend production-related improvements. Since we are all familiar with fast-food restaurants, try your hand at describing the production system employed at, say, a McDonald's. In doing so, answer the following questions:a. What are the important aspects of the service package?The key aspects of the service package are: waiting time, quality food, delivery time, billing time, courtesy of the service personnelb. Which skills and attitudes are needed by the service personnel?The service personnel should have the following skills and attitudes: empathy with the customer (understand customer’s preferences), proactively approaching customers and greeting them, expertise with all the menu items (contents of each item), relationship building capability with customers etc.c. How can customer demand be altered?The customer demand may be altered through use of special pricing and promotional schemes. For example; a new meal comprising (burger, French fries, cold drinks, dessert etc) can be offered at a discount during launch phase so that customers can try it out. Also, customers ordering items worth more than $40 (or any other amount) might be offered a free meal (take home).d. Describe the process flow of the production/delivery system.The process flow of the production/delivery system would be as follows:Customer enters the McDonald Outlet -> Occupies the seat after waiting -> Orders the items from the menu to the Front staff -> Front Staff passes on the orders to the kitchen staff -> Orders is prepared by the kitchen staff -> Food item delivered to the customer -> Customer takes the food -> Customer asks for check -> Front staff gets the check -> Customer makes the payment -> Customer leaves the outlete. Can the customer/provider interface be changed to include more Technol ogy? More self-serve?Yes, the customer/provider interface can be changed to include more technology. For example: customer can enter into McDonald and order their food through a kiosk and pay the amount through a credit card on the kiosk itself. The ordered items are automatically passed on to the back staff for delivery within a stipulated time frame. The customer takes the food and leave the outlet without any interface with the front or back staff.f. Which measures are being used to evaluate and measure the service? Which could be used?Measures that are being used to evaluate the service are: speed of delivery, quality of food, efficiency of the back-staff, etc. are used to evaluate and measure the service. Some other measures that could be used are: waiting time (before ordering, for food and for the check) would be critical for evaluating the service.How does it measure up on the seven characteristics of a well-designed service?The seven characteristics of the service design ar e:CharacteristicMatch with current evaluation measures for McDonald case Operating FocusFocuses on speed of deliveryUser friendlyFocuses on courtesy, relationship management of staff RobustNot considered as staff is directly interfacing with the customer. However, if we assume kiosk based ordering and payment; then back up of staff should be there for any unforeseen problem in kioskConsistentPerformanceAll the staff are trained on different processes so the services are replicated Effective links between back office and front officeLinkage between front staff (taking orders) and back staff (preparing food) is establishedEvidence of serviceFeedback about the changes in the outlet and any other product changes need to be highlighted to the customer through Point of Display Cost-effectiveMore than being cost effective it should provide value to the customer. The quality of food (+speed of delivery, ambience etc) against the amount paid measures the value to the client