Architects Using Math - What You Need to Know

Architects Using Math - What You Need to Know Architects arent the only professionals using math. As a student you may wonder how important mathematics is to the field of architecture. How much math do architecture students study in college? French architect Odile Decq has said that its not obligatory to be good at math or science. But if you take a look at the college curricula at several universities, youll find that a basic knowledge of mathematics is required for most degrees - and for most college majors. When you earn a four-year Bachelors Degree, the world knows that youve studied a variety of subjects, including mathematics. A college education is a little different than a more simplified training program. And todays registered architect is indeed educated. Architecture Schools at the Program Level When considering a school of architecture, first remember that in the United States, architecture programs are accredited by NAAB, the National Architectural Accrediting Board. NAAB does NOT accredit the university, so examine the program level of the college catalog. Choose the school that is best for you by looking at the courses in the program youll be buying into. One way to start your research is to use a web browser and search for architecture curriculum. A curriculum is a course of study, or the classes youll need to take in order to get an architecture degree. Comparing the course descriptions of several colleges will give you an idea of how a school integrates mathematics into practicing architecture - universities that are strong in engineering may have an approach that is different from a school within a university known for its liberal arts. Here are a few examples, direct from the college catelog. For The Cooper Union school in New York City, the Program Description sounds more inspiring than the Degree Requirements, but read both. The curriculum stresses the importance of architecture as a humanistic discipline, they say in describing their architecture program. But then in the first two years youll take courses such as Computer Applications and Descriptive Geometry and Calculus and Analytic Geometry and Concepts of Physics, along with Structures I, Structures II, Structures III, and Structures IV. At The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, they want you to know the science and the art. A West Coast school like the University of Southern California (USC) School of Architecture may take another approach. A 160-Unit Sample Curriculum includes Contemporary Precalculus your first semester and Physics for Architects the second semester, but it also includes Fundamentals of Design Communication and Writing and Critical Reasoning in those same semesters. Communicating a vision  -   putting a visual idea into words  - might be the most difficult task faced by a professional architect, and USC wants to help you learn that, too. Also remember that a California school more than a school in another state may focus more on building to withstand earthquakes. In fact, USC offers Building Structures and Seismic Design right in the second year of study, and the course description is this: Structure defines form and space and supports gravity, lateral, and thermal loads. The course introduces the four S’s required for architectural structures: Synergy, Strength, Stiffness, and Stability. Synergy, a system greater the sum of its parts, reinforces architectural objectives; strength resists breaking; stiffness resists deformation; and stability resists collapse. Structures must also resist bending, shear, tension, compression, thermal stress and strain. Learn the historic evolution, material, and system of structures, as well as the basic design and analysis tools for conceptual design. This course is practical architecture, right? If it interests you, watch out for the Prerequisites, which are courses you have to take before you can even sign up to take this one. What is the basic knowledge the professor wants you to know? Contemporary Precalculus and Physics for Architects are the prerequisites. Passing the ARE ® All of the projects and tests in college are not the end to becoming a registered architect. You also have to pass the Architect Registration Examination. ® ARE 5.0 has six topic areas to pass before you can call yourself an architect. In the Practice Management part of the test youll be asked to do some business math, to Evaluate the financial well-being of the practice. In the Project Management area, youll have to answer questions about a projects budget. This is math, too, but maybe not the kind that scares you out of architecture.   Becoming a licensed architect can be intimidating. Its important to remember that tests are not given to punish students and professionals, but to maintain educational and professional standards. The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), administrators of ARE, state: The ARE is designed to assess aspects of architectural practice that affect the integrity, soundness, and health impact of a building. The exam also assesses an architect’s responsibilities within firms, such as managing projects and coordinating the work of other professionals. - NCARB The Bottom Line Do professional architects really use all those formulas from Algebra 101? Well, maybe not. But they certainly do use math. But, you know what? So do toddlers playing with blocks, teenagers learning to drive, and anyone betting on a horse race or a football game. Math is a tool for making decisions. Math is a language used to communicate ideas and validate assumptions. Critical thinking, analysis, and problem solving are all skills that may be related to mathematics. I have found that people who like to solve puzzles can do well in architecture, architect Nathan Kipnis told author Lee Waldrep. Other architects continually suggest that people skills are most important for the successful professional architect. Communication, listening, and collaboration are often cited as essential. A big part of communication is writing clearly - Maya Lins winning entry for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was mostly words - no math and no detailed sketch. The most important thing to remember is that everyone wants you to succeed. Professors will help you. Why would they want you to fail? If youre interested in architecture as a career, youre already interested in mathematics. The built environment is created with geometric forms, and geometry is mathematics. Dont be afraid of mathematics. Embrace it. Use it. Design with it. Sources Odile Decq Interview, January 22, 2011, designboom, July 5, 2011, designboom.com/interviews/odile-decq-interview/ [accessed July 14, 2013]Becoming an Architect by Lee W. Waldrep, Wiley, 2006, pp. 33-41Pass the ARE, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, https://www.ncarb.org/pass-the-are [accessed May 8, 2018]Practice Management, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, https://www.ncarb.org/pass-are/are5/prepare/practice-management [accessed May 28, 2018]Project Management, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, https://www.ncarb.org/pass-are/are5/prepare/project-management [accessed Nat 28m 2018]Program Description, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, http://cooper.edu/architecture/the-school/bachelor-architecture [accessed May 28, 2018]Degree Requirements: Bachelor of Architecture, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, http://cooper.edu/architecture/curriculum/bachelor [accessed May 28, 2018] Bachelor of Architecture (5 year) Curriculum, USC School of Architecture, https://arch.usc.edu/programs/bachelor-architecture [accessed May 28, 2018]Building Structures and Seismic Design, Overview, USC School of Architecture, https://arch.usc.edu/courses/213ag [accessed May 28, 2018]

Main Steps in the Writing Process

Main Steps in the Writing Process Those pesky essays and papers they never stop coming! And, as busy as you are, it is so tempting just to fire them off just to get something in on time. This is not a good idea, because those poor grades accumulate and all of a sudden you are at the end of the semester and looking at course grade that you will not want to share with your parents, for sure. If you do not really remember the writing process steps, heres a quick run-down with an easy and simple explanation of how to get through them. The 5 Steps of the Writing Process There are actually 6 steps if you count the decision on a topic and a thesis. But we will assume that you have at least that much taken care of. If not, there are some tips for that at the end of this post. Brainstorm or conduct research: If you are writing a basic essay that will not involve outside research, you need to list all of the possible things that might be included in the essay. Then you combine those that are related until you have 3-4 main ideas that will make up your body paragraphs. If you are writing an essay or paper that involves research, you know the drill. Find some good resources, read them and take notes. Organize your ideas or notes. Depending on the purpose for your essay or paper, there are a variety of organizers you can use. You may prefer just a basic outline or list of the order in which you are going to cover your sub-topics. If you are writing a comparison/contrast, on the other hand, you may want to use a Venn diagram; if you are writing a narrative, you will want to make a timeline. Write your rough draft: Write the body paragraphs first, then add your introduction and conclusion. Follow your organizer as you do this so that you leave nothing out that is important to your thesis statement. Revise, revise, and revise: This cannot be stressed enough it is one of the most important writing process steps, if you want a decent grade. There are several methods for this. If you are checking sentence structure and grammar, read the thing out loud to yourself you will catch most of those types of errors. If you are not a skilled writer, then get someone who is to review and edit it. Type up your final draft and be certain that your format is in accord with the instructors requirements, including both in-text and end-of text citations. Things Have Not Changed Over the Years Even in elementary school, the writing process for kids is very much like what it is for high school and college students. It is tried and tested and really does work, if you will follow each step carefully. Again, if you leave out a step, you end up with a piece of writing that can lack logical flow and/or have many structural and grammatical errors. A Word on Topic Selection Whether you have complete freedom to choose any topic you wish or whether you can select from among options, if you have any choice at all, pick a topic that interest you. If you do not, the whole process will just be drudgery. Once you have your topic, you do have to come up with a thesis statement. In a persuasive or argumentative piece, your thesis is your opinion. For other types, you will need to ask yourself some questions. Why is this topic important? What do I want others to take away from this? Answering these will help you get to your thesis.

Comparative Perspectives in Social Work Practice and Law Essay

Comparative Perspectives in Social Work Practice and Law - Essay Example According to Morgan (2011), globalization forces social workers to think globally as the service users become more diverse and as social work continue to be guided by international laws. Individualization of problems is also a global trend impacting on social work as communities shift the burden on individuals. Social care and social work is also influenced by political and structural forces that range freely across national borders as well as international social trends. UK and Germany are two different countries with different welfare provision regimes but as time passesby and due to globalization effect, there seems to be a convergence in social work practice between the two countries with Germany emulating most of the features of the UK welfare state (Clasen, 2011). The two states have different political economies and have different historical experiences which shape the welfare state. The UK welfare system is based on beveridgean ideologies while that of Germany was influenced by Bismarckian ideologies. The paper will critically discuss the impact of globalization on social work practice bases on comparative perspectives between UK and Germany which are two European countries. The UK has an institutional model of welfare characterised by social protection, service provision on basis of rights as well as guaranteed minimum standards and minimum income (Alcock, 2008). The welfare state began with provision of services to the poor in the society based on the Elizabethan poor law of 1601. This law set a compulsory poor rate, created overseers of relief and was aimed at punishing beggars. Those provided with relief resided in workhouses and individuals could only get relief from their parish of birth. This led to stigmatization of those who relied on relief for as Spicker (2012) puts it, they were marked with town’s mark. The poor law was criticized for encouraging laziness and undermining wages of independent workers. Elementary education was

Airport Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Airport - Article Example The website shows the importance of a realistic airport design for purposes of safety, emergency and coordination of operations. The website insists on the importance of development as a measure of stability and growth (Federal Aviation Administration, 2009). The development of any small airport lies greatly on how it aligns its operations. This is with due respect to the overall management of finances through efficient public relations. The relations result in the trickling in of clients who have become regular’s as a result of the reliable service. It is clear that there is need to carefully foresee current and future problems in all airports. This is one sure way of ensuring that the operations run as smoothly as they are expected. The reality of how finances are applied in the airport is also defined as a crucial point. This is because if current finances are put to maximum use, then airport operations are enhanced. The website highlights the need to form a budget, and how to channel all the existing revenues to internal and external projects (Federal Aviation Administration, 2009). As a result of the nature of airport operations, the website also goes ahead to educate on aspects that should come into play when dealing with liabilities and insurance. In conclusion, the website greatly advocates for the need to ensure that airport designs, operations, developments and finances are in order for any airport which has a clearly set objective. Federal Aviation Administration (2009). Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP 16): Guidebook for managing small airports. Washington: Trb.org. Retrieved from

What impact have successful women made in the U.S. hospitality Thesis

What impact have successful women made in the U.S. hospitality industry as leaders - Thesis Example This paper discusses the impact successful women leaders have made in the U.S Hospitality industry especially in the last five years. The paper starts with a brief history of women’s position two decades ago and the changes that took place over the time. The various reasons leading to the advancement of women in the hospitality industry and the consequences have been discussed in details. This paper also provides examples of different successful women leaders and organizations who have contributed in the up gradation of the women in this industry. Although women have progressed immensely in the hospitality industry holding key managerial positions but still there are a few challenges which they are facing today and this has been discussed later on. The paper has been concluded by providing solutions for the existing challenges so as to make the future a better place for women to work in. In 1984, Nora Frenkiel had quoted â€Å"there is a ‘glass ceiling’ in the mi ddle of the ladder leading to the top, and it cannot be seen. ‘But when women run into it they bump their heads and cannot move beyond it without the women’s movement.† ‘Glass ceiling’ is a term given by the US government in 1970 to define the artificial barriers that restricts a women from taking top managerial jobs (as cited in Dass, A.Singh & R.Singh, 2011). Women have always been forced to stay behind men in all the industries whether it is business, medicine, politics or hospitality. Although they have been marching ahead in all the fields but still men continue to hold the key managerial positions. The women’s continued struggle to occupy major leadership roles has seen many hurdles and barriers basically due to the traditional culture and history of hospitality industry. However, the last decade has seen a lot of changes and growth prospects for women in this industry. Due to sheer hard work and the inherent qualities a women possesses t hey have started occupying key management roles and positions in many places like restaurants, hotels, catering firms, and resorts among others. Industry experts have predicted that women’s role in key positions will continue to rise as hospitality industry is struggling to match its steps with the growth and demand in this field (â€Å"Women in hospitality†, n.d). In this paper we shall discuss the various factors that have brought a significant impact on the role of women as leaders in the hospitality industry. The main factors that have broken the ‘glass ceiling’ has been the change in the perception of people about women, the education and advancement of women, globalization and advancement of technology, formation of various women coaching institutes, the government and so on. There are many examples of successful women and companies who have helped in bringing about the change in the status of women in the hospitality industry and set an example for others to follow. Before we discuss about them, a brief history about women’s position in the last few decades will help explain what has brought about the changes. If we trace back to history we will find that women have been working only in the role of defacto leadership such as supervising or managing, a family owned business or performing additional responsibilities in the absence of their bosses (â€Å"Women in hospitality†, n.d). However, there was an upheaval in the US in the 1970’s by the feminists. Women fought for their rights to gain importance in work places and the allowance to climb the ladder of key roles in management. The hospitality industry also faced similar drawbacks- there were no female chefs, only few female restaurateurs and women were not even given the opportunity to serve as waiting staffs in fine dining places. There was an era when women were not considered for managerial positions and if they attained any such status their pay was much less than men (Les Damed d’ Escoffier International [LDEI], 2011). Although, the beginning

E Business Analysis In Retail Industry

E Business Analysis In Retail Industry E-Business has brought revolution in the traditional value chain structure of the firms. Intermediaries are changing, not disappearing. Companies are found reluctant to bypass their traditional intermediaries. Instead, companies are searching for new ways of working with the middleman. For example, some companies are attempting to turn their retailers into customer-service agents. For online distribution, companies are developing a portfolio of options rather than drive customers to a single sales channel. The main obstacles to e-business are internal. The greatest barriers to e-business lie within the corporation: a need to re-engineer business processes, a lack of e-business skills and a lack of integration between front- and back-end systems (KPMG, 2005). Companies are using e-business to expand products and services to meet escalating customer demands and to keep products and services from becoming commodities. Companies are using the Internet to provide value-added products and services. The Internet is turning out to be an effective way of reaching new customers beyond geographic boundaries. E-BUSINESS IN RETAIL SECTOR Retail industry, on a global scenario, has become highly competitive due to increasing consumer preferences and the growing need of differentiation in terms of product with respect to the diverse markets across the globe. Introduction of E-business in retail sector has helped in creating new activities and features for retailing. It includes shopping 247, seven days a week, from the comfort of your home; gathering information to be a more informed consumer; creating the appearance of a relationship with the customer; and stream lining business to business ordering to reduce prices for the consumer. This focus on cost reduction throughout the value chain has become the prime element for gaining competitive advantage in this business landscape. This is due to accelerating pace with which new products have been introduced in the market day after day, which put tremendous pressure on firms to optimise their value chains. In the retail sector, companies use Information and Communications Technology to facilitate e-business processes for a broad range of applications along the value chain including procurement, warehouse management and logistics, and for marketing, sales and customer services activities. The basic goals of e-business identified are highly relevant in this sector: reducing costs by increasing the efficiency of processes, optimally serving customer by innovative means of information provision and communication and enabling growth by increasing market reach. As competition in the retail industry is strong and barriers to entry are low, ebusiness can take important roles in this industry. Retail firms trade goods and service and retail customers are end-consumers of the goods and services. Hence, while the retail industry is not a goods-producing industry, opportunities for improving business processes through e-business are numerous (Empirica GmbH, 04/2008). In retail sector, Focus on companies supply chain management is of imminent importance to realize above mentioned e-business goals. Following are some of the vital elements of supply chain: E-procurement: It improves performance of routine tasks like transaction processing, monitoring and enforcement of regulatory compliance. It increases transparency, eliminates middlemen overhead cost, improves competition amongst suppliers and eases management reporting (Vivekanand B Khanapuri et al., March 2011). With the implementation of e-procurement solutions, automation of buying and selling over the internet has been accomplished There are many types of e-procurement: Web-based ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning): In this type they can generate recommended purchasing schedules in order to achieve an ideal just in time production cycle. E-MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operating Supplies) E-sourcing: This is used to identify new suppliers for a specific category of purchasing requirements using Internet technology E-informing: this is used to gather and exchange purchasing information between buyer and seller (BPC, Article and glossary; 2012) E-procurement also has some disadvantages. There are financial costs, from computers to extra phone lines to learning the technology. Privacy of the information is one critical issue. Another disadvantage is that e-procurement is often conducted using credit card facilities for payments, so as a result very small and very large transactions tend not to be conducted online. If e-procurement system is implemented appropriately, it will benefit both buyer and seller. The in-house supply chain: As retailers do not transform goods, operation is not concerned with organising a production process but with arranging the in-house processes of receiving, distributing, and selling goods. Computerised systems that mainly serve processes inside a company are considered as internal electronic operations. These are valuable for making internal business processes more effective. (Abend, J. Penny, G, 2000) An e-business allows manufacturers and other members of the supply chain that do not have direct contact with customers in traditional channels to enhance revenues by bypassing intermediaries and selling directly to customers. SCM systems: These are the software systems specifically developed for supply chain management. SCM systems provide an overview of the flows of products/materials, information and finances (Claudia-Maria Wagner et al, 2010). In the most advanced form, they cover the whole process and value chain from suppliers/manufacturers to wholesalers, retailers and to consumer. In an effective e-business, the following SCM independent processes must be highly integrated. Demand management: These are shared functions including demand planning, supply planning, manufacturing planning, and sales and operations planning. Supply management: These include products and services for customer order fulfilment. Inbound/outbound logistics: These include transportation management, distribution management and warehouse management Success of the firm highly depends upon to what extent it has successfully integrated above processes using SCM systems. ERP (Enterprise resource planning: It helps to integrate and cover all major business activities within a company, including product planning, parts purchasing, inventory management, order tracking, human resources and finance.(Simchi-Levi,et al. 2003). The ability to access information from various parts of the organization has helped  ¬Ã‚ rms to streamline their business processes and reduce in ef ¬Ã‚ ciencies. Although ERP systems were implemented before the boom in e-business, their potential could not be explored and expanded due to lack of common standards and cost of access. The growth of e-business allows and requires that the information made available from the ERP systems be shared with other  ¬Ã‚ rms in the extended supply chain through the Internet. Advantages of such real time information sharing system are as follows: Inventory requirements for buffer stocks are likely to be lower, because the uncertainty in forecasts and demand can be reduced across the supply chain. As more supply chain execution information becomes available, firms can plan for future operations using advanced planning and optimization tools. The ability to share information creates an opportunity for firms to have collaborative planning and design, which removes the inefficiencies in these processes. CRM (Customer relationship management): It is a concept that enables an organization to tailor specific products or services to each individual customer. In the most advanced scenario, CRM may be used to create a personalized, one-to-one experience that will give the individual customer a sense of being cared for, thus opening up new marketing opportunities based on the preferences and history of the customer (Wilson et al., 2002). It seeks to maximise competitiveness, revenues, and customer satisfaction. These are the very same areas on which most e-business firms concentrate heavily (Tim Coltman et al., 2010). Reasons for CRM e-Business growing to such enormous heights are many. Some of the important points are: Traditional business methods have proved tiresome, costly and very time consuming due to lack of integration across supply chain elements. CRM e-Business increases the chances of building sales and increasing the sales revenue by increasing the area of operation, reducing operating costs, increasing productivity and thereby improving the efficiency of the supply chain. CRM solutions give companies a well-planned and easily integrated e-Business strategy that caters to both the customer needs as well as the corporate needs. Both these need to be appropriately catered to in order that company objectives be fulfilled. E-selling and e-marketing: Sales side business activities consist of three aspects. The first focus is on actual sales, i.e. transactions, and on related customer support activities, a second one on marketing activities. The diffusion of internet technologies among consumers enables retailers to sell their products via the internet to consumers. Online sales are normally done through an own company or through a portal hosted by a different company (Empirica GmbH, 04/2008). Also, e-selling enables retailers to go beyond geographic boundaries as far as customer base is concerned. it appears that online sales helps to extend the geographic focus slightly from regional to national sales while the international focus remains on the same low level. Because of the low barriers to entry of competitors, the perceived first mover advantage and the feeling that any competitor was only a click away from your customers, the internet generated an intense need for marketing and brand awareness. Internet changes the way of mixing 4Ps of Marketing- Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Requisite actions for e-business firm include creating awareness of their website, engaging customers through the same and effectively closing the sale by consistent follow up with the customer. Viral Marketing is one of the powerful forces extensively used by e-business. The product is spread by word of mouth or by passing on a copy or a URL to friends and colleagues. Success in e-business depends upon first mover advantage, obtaining customer lock-in, and network externalities. Barriers to entry by competitors are low. Brand recognition is important. These have combined to create a sense of desperation for new dot-com companies as they enter markets crowde d with competitors. This has also generated a surge in print, billboard, and media advertising to establish brand awareness (Empirica GmbH, 04/2008). E-support for Logistics and Distribution: logistics are a core issue for mail order retailers and for retailers selling goods online that need to be shipped to customers. Efficient customer-facing logistics are crucially important to lower the costs of goods sold in the internet and to satisfy customers who want to receive their orders swiftly, safely and at low shipping costs (Virpi Kristiina et al., 2005).Logistics management in e-business is mostly driven by e-logistics. E-logistics is the mechanism of automating logistics processes and providing an integrated, end-to-end fulfilment and supply chain management services to the players of logistics processes. Those logistics processes that are automated by e-logistics provide supply chain visibility. A particular challenge in logistics is to manage fluctuations in demand which may be considerable. Further challenges are reverse logistics. Current Scenario: Some Transport service providers give retailers the opportunity to check the current status of shipping on the internet. Online shops themselves may offer their customers the opportunity to check the delivery status online. Another trend is an increase in outsourcing of services to specialised logistics providers to benefit from their specialised services. CASE: AMAZON.COM; THE PIONEER OF E-BUSINESS IN RETAIL (Pankaj Ghemawat, 1998) Amazon.com is an American multinational electronic commerce company. It is worlds largest online retailer. Jeff Bezos incorporated the company (as Cadabra) in July 1994, and the site went online as amazon.com in 1995.Amazon began by selling books online through a bulletin board service in 1992 and now offers a huge variety of books and other merchandise through their own website, mostly to members. Following is the analysis of its value chain on the basis of three aspects: Procurement and Logistics: While Amazon offers more than million titles to its customers, it carries only fraction of it t its own warehouse. Amazon depended more on wholesalers than publishers, to stock its books. This helps Amazon to ship the book within 4 to 7 business days resulting in faster deliveries and cost reductions. Advantages: multiplied inventory turns and reduced working capital requirements and risk of obsolescence. Store Operations: Amazon.coms business model revolved around virtual storefront. But Amazon had its office located in Seattle, Washington. Choosing this location had four advantages: Close to the largest book distribution warehouse in the world, owned by Ingram Large pool of high tech talent Relatively relaxed tax system, allowing Amazon to provide customers from other states, tax free purchase of books. West Coast location permitted more (in-stock) books to be shipped the same day to the East Coast than would have been possible the other way around (Bacheldor, Beth; 2004). Amazon had a cost reduction approach while setting up its offices. Half of the manpower was involved in packing, shipping, customer service and other half in computer programming, marketing, accounting, and management. Top managers background was mostly computer related. Amazons investment in computer technology was focused on software rather than hardware. Marketing: By 1995, for Amazon, repeat customers accounted for more than 50% of orders. Amazon was the largest discounter in the world market. Some of the features of Amazon: Customers were able to shop at Amazon any time of the day, any day of the week Catalogue, with wide range of variety of items Easy process for membership and secure payment transfers Customers were instantly informed of the prices and inventory status of the items they had ordered. Customers were informed in timely manner, when their order was shipped from Amazons warehouse. Range of value added customer services like- Interviews with book authors Book reviews and recommendations by other customers and media Links to other sites, new release data Two personalized services, Eyes and Editors, which helped build traffic by emailing customers when books by selected authors, on selected subjects in selected categories became available. INDIAN E-RETAIL SCENARIO Indian online retail market, also known as e-tail market, is one of the fastest growing in the world. according to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAIMA), the Indian online retail market has grown from US$250 million in 2008 to US$300 million in 2009, US$400 million in 2010 and US$600 million in 2011. In 2012 it is expected to more than double to US$1.3 billion and by 2015 to US$6.7 billion (Have Global E-tailers Missed the Bus in India?, 2012). Some of the prominent players in Indian market right now are Flipkart.com and Infibeam.com. Several new players with ambitious growth targets Firstandsecond, Librarywala and Tradusbooks, to name a few are also hoping to gain a foothold in the market. Growing evidence suggests that book e-tailing will eventually surpass retailing. The many advantages are seen: Potentially infinite shelf space: can post number of listings online for sale No real estate costs: firm need not invest in physical shop. As for the stocking inventory, maximum inventory can be managed at vendors location itself minimising the cost incurred in warehousing locations. An absence of the personnel and infrastructure expenses involved with running a physical store Lower prices and no inter-state taxes Global players entering Indian market: Many e-tail global players are gearing up to enter this growing market with future profit prospects. Some have already started making their moves despite the restrictions. Amazon, the worlds largest online retailer, entered the India market through Junglee.com which is a comparison site it bought more than a decade ago. eBay also entered India in a small way in 2004 with the acquisition of Baazee.com. eBay does not stock the products, but provides a platform for third-party merchants to sell to registered users. The firm recently also launched its own shipping service, PowerShip, which enables sellers to deliver their products to the buyers. Another foreign firm that has entered India is LuxeYard from the U.S. known for flash sale i.e. heavy discounts on items that are available for limited periods (Have Global E-tailers Missed the Bus in India?, 2012). LuxeYard has partnered with serial entrepreneur Sashi Chimala, who will launch a local venture that LuxeYard plans to buy after two years. ISSUES FACED AND CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR INDIAN E-RETAIL LANDSCAPE: Low levels of Internet penetration: According to an I-Cube (Internet in India) study conducted annually by IMRB International and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), India had 52 million active internet users as of September 2009. But only 10% of those users indulge in e-commerce (Indias Online Booksellers Try to Write a New Chapter, 2010). But recently the government has shown keen interest in developing an IT mandate for India, the reflections of which we find in the actions of regulators and policy making bodies. Examples: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ TRAI Recommendations on a National Broadband Plan-December, 2010 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Budget 2011-12, Ministry of Finance Delivery Delays: Locally available books take three to five days to arrive, and those that have to be ordered from international suppliers can take anywhere from two to six weeks (Indias Online Booksellers Try to Write a New Chapter, 2010). Factors causing this are mostly beyond companies control, since they deal with poor technological infrastructure at airports, inefficient transport connectivity.Global players typically use third-party logistics. But in India, this sector is not adequately developed. Another reason for concern is many of the companies are offering their own branded delivery. These companies have been investing heavily in creating their own delivery networks for a country like India, which has poor infrastructure and high diversity. Thus it also failed to achieve economies of scale. Supplier Relations: This is directly related to the inventory management. The amount of inventory the companies carry is dependent on supplier lead times. If the lead time is 24 hours, the business will carry only one days worth of inventory in its warehouse. That makes optimization of the existing supplier-inventory-shipping network a priority. These Retailers are always dependent on third-party information about the availability of products, which at very best is modest. Global players tend to deal with a few large suppliers (Indias Online Booksellers Try to Write a New Chapter, 2010). In India, e-retail firms have relationships with thousands of suppliers of all sizes. Psychological barriers: Indians are reluctant to use their credit cards online, and Indias banking regulator, the Reserve Bank of India, only recently introduced fraud checks on credit card misuse. More than 80% of payments are made as cash-on-delivery, in line with the traditional Indian consumer behavior of paying for goods only after receiving them (Indias Online Booksellers Try to Write a New Chapter, 2010). Cash-on-delivery model has its own issues: cash gets blocked, inventories are high and returns have to be managed. This model is contrary to the typical e-commerce model, and global players will find it challenging. Difficulties in e-procurement: Companys faces lot of issues in e-procurement process due to following reasons: High initial investment: E-procurement requires new IT systems that are often a significant financial investment. Also problems like technical issues hinder implementation for both buyer and supplier Suppliers Resistance to Changes: Buyers have to deal with the technological immaturity and unpreparedness from the suppliers side during the course of implementing e-purchasing initiatives (Rebecca Angeles and Ravi Nath, 2007). Limited Knowledge Pool: The consultant expertise on e-procurement initiatives is still not at par with global standards because of typical differences among industries in its procurement strategies. Weakness of IT Act: The present IT Act in India is weak and a sound legal framework is vital for the success of e-retailing in India. Hence, there is a strong need to introduce separate law for e-retailing in India as the existing laws are incapable to deal with the various issues that are emerging with the increasing implementation of e-retailing in India. CONCLUSION E-Business has indeed brought revolution in the traditional value chain structure of the firms. An e-retailer can gain a competitive advantage if they implement IT that enables them to have more effective and efficient supply chains. But to sustain that in ever increasing competition e-retailer has to implement innovative solution for continuous improvement of its value chain. Indian retail sector is growing fast. The retail scene is changing really fast. But still Indian consumers feel more secure transacting with a retailer who is present in online as well as physical format, so a clicks-and-bricks hybrid model can be a way forward for Indian e-retailers. India needs to invest in infrastructure to improve transportation and distribution capabilities of e-retailers. As more and more firms begin to integrate their online and traditional operations and share more information over the Internet, real-time supply chain management and ability to create value for customers using e-value ch ain on consistent basis are going to become all the more important.

George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four :: 1984 Essays

George Orwell is the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, a British writer with political conscience. He was born in India but educated in England at Eton College. He served the Indian Imperial Police in Burma from 1922 to 1927. In sick health, he returned to Europe to live in poverty as a struggling writer. Orwell joined the Republican forces in the Spanish civil war, and wrote a chilling account of this experience. He went on to write many books, mostly autobiographical, and achieved successes as a brilliant writer. 2. SynopsisThe novel takes place in a theoretical and fictional dystopian totalitarian society. The story begins in London on April 4, 1984 after an atomic world war divides the world into three states. London is the capital of Oceania which is run by INGSOC(English Socialism). The controllers are called "The Party." The Party is divided into two sections, The Inner Party, and The Outer Party which are the "Rich" and the "middle-class." There is a third group of people called "The Proles," or "The Proletariat" which are the poor, and considered to be animals by the party. The main leader of this government is Big Brother. The novel is told in third person and partly first person, and is also divided into three parts. In the first part the main character and his conflicts with the world he lives in are revealed. Winston Smith is a bureaucrat who works for the government by altering history at the Ministry of Truth. He begins to ponder the reason things are so bad and commits a terrible crime. In the second part, he falls in love with Julia, and is taken in by a man named O'Brien, a member of the anti-party society called the Brotherhood. O'Brien turns out to be a true member of The Inner Party. Winston and Julia are captured and hauled off to the Ministry of Love (Minilove in Newspeak). Here, during the final part of the story, Winston is incarcerated and rehabilitated by The Party. O'Brien constantly tel ls Winston that Winston is crazy, and that he is trying to help him. During these sessions he reveals the true purposes of INGSOC. The party's goals can be summed up in their mottoes. "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, and IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH(Orwell, 7)."3. ThemeUnder the rule of INGSOC, members of The Party are engrossed in their work. It is essential that the government keeps its people happy in order to avoid rebellions and "thought crimes.