Poor Intercultural Communication That Significantly Affected International Commerce or Foreign Policy Essay

In the following paper, I will analyze one of my habits and how the habit was developed. I will discuss whether or not there were role models during the formation of this habit and which, if any, people influenced the adoption of this habit. If I continue this habit and if there has ever been a time when I have attempted to break this habit will be analyzed as well. The behavioral personality theory will be used to explain why I formed this habit. I will describe components of social and cognitive theory and explain why the habit formed. I will also develop a plan that applies operant conditioning to change this habit. In conclusion, I will discuss which theory best explains my personality. When I was an adolescent child I remember absolutely despising three things in life, littering, drunk- people, and smoking, usually in that specified order too, smoking obviously being my least favorite of the three. It seemed like everyone I knew smoked, my entire family, including parents and grandparents, my cousins, even my friend’s parents, I didn’t understand why either. Wherever I went, whosever house, home, or vehicle I was in, friend or family, it was always filled with smoke, I hated that smell! I couldn’t seem to escape it, and whenever they smoked it was constantly in my face and eyes. I vowed then and there to never ever smoke, no matter what life occurrences transpire. When I turned sixteen, I started smoking. At first, I think I just enjoyed the so-called â€Å"buzz† from the nicotine rush when someone first begins smoking, we were young teenagers full of angst and rebelliousness, experimenting and trying new things and experiences. I was still underage so it was still illegal for me to buy or possess cigarettes, but teenagers are resourceful when it comes to these matters. Since everyone else was doing it I never looked-up-to any one person or had any specific role models, it was just normal behavior at that time and place. Within the first six months is when I realized I was probably addicted to the nicotine, and didn’t really find smoking as enjoyable. I didn’t exactly dislike smoking anymore, and I was fully aware or the dangers, but I think the most influential aspect was just my friends, it wasn’t peer-pressure, I just didn’t want to feel left out. I currently smoke, much less now than ever before, but I is still do enjoy the relaxing effects of cigarettes. I have quit several times throughout my life, but not from any gum, patches, or assistance programs, just sheer will power. When I was nineteen, I got so angry at myself for constantly smoking non-stop, I finally threw my packs in the trash and said told myself, â€Å"This is enough! † It was nearly three years later, after being cigarette-free for this entire duration, when I was paying for gas inside a convenience store and noticed my old brand behind the counter, staring me in the face of course, I decided to try it once more, and I have continued smoking ever since. Health psychology looks at the complex array of biological, social and psychological factors that influence our health and illness-related behavior. Smoking is a biological addiction, with nicotine as an additive, there is more likely a chance of being â€Å"hooked† on cigarettes than the physical addiction to nicotine. When people want to quit, they also have a psychological habit to break. Social learning theory describes how we learn by example from others. We are strongly influenced by our parents, and other people we look up to, such as peers, actors, famous people, or athletes. This can lead us to emulate their behavior and try smoking. There is an almost immediate effect on our brains with those first cigarettes, so we keep smoking to get this reward. Later we learn to associate smoking with other activities such as drinking coffee, going to the bar or club, or consuming alcohol etc. We can become conditioned so just the thought of the activity triggers the need for a cigarette, just like Pavlov’s dogs learned to drool at the sound of a bell. These psychological associations remain when smokers try to quit. Finally, you learn to keep smoking, because if you try to quit you are punished by withdrawal symptoms, such as irritability, snappiness, or lack of concentration. Allowing oneself to have a cigarette gets rid of these symptoms, negatively reinforcing the desire to carry on smoking. Such conditioning keeps you hooked on smoking because the reward when you smoke is instant, whereas it takes years before you become aware of the damage in terms of your health. Similarly, when you try to quit, the ‘punishment’ of withdrawal symptoms comes quickly, whereas the benefits of better health take longer to realize. â€Å"Smoking: psychological and social influences,† ). Nearly all of my friends and I were raised in a home with cigarette addicts, we were exposed to the behaviors, values, and beliefs that have supported the addictive behaviors of these parents or caretakers. As a result, these learned addictive behaviors were incorporated into our cognitive processes, they became virtually subconscious thoughts and left us with a distorted sense of normalcy concerning family function and a full repertoire for justifying our own substance abuse and future addictions. Being raised in such environments as we were, I think may have also contributed to us becoming more likely to develop our individual behaviors which allowed us, or deemed us enablers for other substance abusers or addicts. Whether or not cigarettes are legal, they do contain drugs and additives, and in my opinion the addiction to, or use of these products should still be classified as substance abuse. I want to quit smoking before it is too late and I face serious health consequences as a result, so I have devised a few operant conditioning techniques to limit my personal intake. The first technique I used, which did not last long, was a contingency plan between myself, and one of my roommates, where we put a decently reasonable and affordable amount of money into a collective jar throughout a given week, whichever one of us did not smoke that week received all of the money back, providing positive reinforcement. This attempt failed miserably because of actual cost and affordability reasons. Another positive reinforcement technique I used was a self-rewards plan, where I would allow myself to eat or consume something delicious, watch a television program or movie, or perform an activity I thoroughly enjoy if I don’t smoke, and if I slipped up, I had to deny myself these simple pleasures. Another good technique my father taught me, which is negative, is immediate punishment. This is a very effective way to help me unlearn my behavior. I sometimes keep a rubber band on my wrist. Before I start smoking that cigarette, I snap it against my wrist as painfully as possible right after I light it, and again after I finish. This provides an unpleasant consequence to smoking in the form of pain which makes smoking a much less appealing practice. Although it does not cause great pain, which I seem to have a high tolerance to, it seems to work well. There are other pain inducing negative reinforcement techniques I sometimes use, but I chose to explain this one since the others are a bit extreme. Although my habitual behavior coincides and plays an important role with my personality, it is apparent both theories are relevant. I think the social/cognitive theory best explains my habitual behavior and tendencies, in terms of the environment I was raised in and the exposure I had to others and my surroundings, but my personality is still more behavior theory based and related. In writing and researching this paper, I discovered some different yet knowledgeable approaches to forming habits and how one of my own personal habits may have been formed. I have also found some techniques which will hopefully help me break free of this wretched and unhealthy habit in the not too distant future before any health complications arise.

Lord of The Flies Human Allegory Essay

In Lord of the Flies William Golding uses allegories to illustrate the human psyche. Different characters are used to represent different parts of an individual’s mental structure: the impulses of the Id, the rationality of the Ego, and the moral understanding of the Superego. Golding carefully describes each character’s actions to coincide with each part of the psyche. Jack, Piggy, Simon, and Ralph are characters in the story that represent the psyche. According to Sigmun Freud, the Id is the impulsive part of the psyche. Evidence of this is the killing of the sow. To elaborate, the killing of the sow has been deemed a â€Å"symbolic rape,† symbolizing man’s sexual desire. The manner that the boys go about in killing the pigs is based on sexual desire and violence; all parts of the Id. An example of this is the boys chant they recite after the hunt, as well as the lust they receive when chasing the sow. The pig’s head also represents the Id in the boys. The pig’s head becomes evidence of their atrocities brought on by impulsive and animalistic behavior. The boys wanted satisfaction, ultimately achieving it through the brutal murder of the sow. Furthermore, Golding’s Jack has been interpreted to personify the Id. An exemplar is his thirst for blood which gives him gratification. He takes great pride in hunting and killing pigs, eventually smearing the pig’s blood on his face. This is violent and primal, not very productive for the group and is meant as a source of satisfaction. Hunting should be pointless, the boys are on an island surrounded by fruit. Golding states, â€Å"†¦gorging fruit in the forest.†(pg.25). Jack is too busy wanting to hunt that he forgets about being rescued. One instance being early in the novel when a boat appears on the horizon; Jack allows the fire to burn out while hunting; eliminating aspirations of rescue. Moreover, as Jack embodies the Id; Ralph represents the ego. Ralph epitomizes the reasoning among the group. Sine Ralph is the leader, it becomes his responsibility to keep order. The ego makes rational choices while satisfying the Id. For instance, Ralph’s main task is to keep the order and control Jack and his impulses. Ralph delegates jobs: Jack and the choir become hunters and the rest will build the huts. For example, Ralph comes up with the idea the idea that who ever holds the conch gets to talk. Also, Ralph is the one who comes up with the idea to get the boys names. Golding writes,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦If a ship comes near the island†¦We must make a fire.†(pg.35). This quote shows Ralph’s rational thinking on how to get rescued. Ralph thinks of the sensible thing to do for instance, Golding states â€Å"What was the sensible thing to do?†(pg.196). Due to Ralph’s rational thinking, he has  been interpreted to manifest the ego. Furthermore, readers have drawn conclusions that Piggy represents the super ego, Piggy acts like the conscience for the group; for example, Golding inscribes â€Å"What’s grown-ups goin’ to think? Young Simon was murdered.†(pg.157). This quote communicates how Piggy attempts to guilt the boys for the terrible crime they committed. Piggy comprehends moral values and tries to guilt Ralph for participating in the murder of Simon. Throughout the story Piggy constantly reminds Jack and Ralph about the priorities. He nags them incessantly about the fire, as well as; the importance of the conch and assemblies, the proper way to do a task, and how to act properly. Golding writes, â€Å"There was no Piggy to talk sense.†(pg.196). This quote justifies how Piggy acts like the boys conscience. In addition to Piggy, Simon has also been interpreted to represent the super ego based on his actions throughout the novel. For example, when the little kids wanted the fruit Simon got it down for them. Another example is when Simon attempts to warn the others that the beast is them. Golding states, â€Å"‘You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?†(pg.136). Moreover, Simon’s moral values become evident when he gives meat to Piggy. Golding exclaims, â€Å"†¦Shoved the piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy.† Simons moral values on how to treat others, based on his actions in the novel clarifies how readers could draw conclusions that he embodies the super ego. Subsequently, interpretations on the novel have revealed Piggy’s death to represent the Id’s complete take over of the island. Golding exclaims, â€Å"The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow †¦the body of Piggy was gone.†(pg.180). Without Piggy, there is no moral reasoning to help make the right choices. After Piggy dies, Jack attempts to kill Ralph to eradicate rational thinking. This is an example of the Id’s superiority and strength over the ego, without the presence of the super ego. Without the super ego deciding the right from the wrong, the Id will take over. In the novel, had the naval officer not intervene, Jack would have completed the Id’s takeover of the egos by killing Ralph. As a final point, Golding uses Freud’s philosophies regarding the psyche to show human nature in Lord of the Flies. Ralph, Jack and Piggy represent the different parts of the psyche and what happens when one falls. Jack represents the Id with his impulses to kill. Piggy represents the super ego through his moral understanding, while Ralph symbolizes the ego, caught between the Id and super ego. Golding illustrates in â€Å"Lord of the Flies† that the Id is most powerful and comes out when a man is subjected to a primitive mindset. The further into this mindset, the stronger the Id becomes resulting in a loss of the ego and super ego. Works Cited Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 1954.

Types of Organization

LESSON 2: ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS An introductory topic on Management Information System Organizations are formal social units devoted to the attainment of specific goals. The success of any organizations is premise on the efficient use and management of resources which traditionally comprises human, financial, and material resources. Information is now recognized as a crucial resource of an organization. Examples of organizations are business firms, banks, government agencies, hospitals, educational institutions, insurance companies, airlines, and utilities.Organizations and information systems have a mutual influence on each other. The information needs of an organization affect the design of information systems and an organization must be open itself to the influences of information systems in order to more fully benefit from new technologies. [pic] This complex two-way relationship is mediated by many factors, not the least of which are the decisions made—or not made—by managers. Other factors mediating the relationship are the organizational culture, bureaucracy, politics, business fashion, and pure chance. 1. Organizations and environments Organizations reside in environments from which they draw resources and to which they supply goods and services. Organizations and environments have a reciprocal relationship. †¢ Organizations are open to, and dependent on, the social and physical environment that surrounds them. Without financial and human resources—people willing to work reliably and consistently for a set wage or revenue from customers—organizations could not exist. †¢ Organizations must respond to legislative and other requirements imposed by government, as well as the actions of customers and competitors. On the other hand, organizations can influence their environments. Organizations form alliances with others to influence the political process; they advertise to influence customer acceptance of the ir products. Information systems are key instruments for environmental scanning, helping managers identify external changes that might require an organizational response. New technologies, new products, and changing public tastes and values (many of which result in new government regulations) put strains on any organization’s culture, politics, and people. | 2. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) Precise rules, procedures, and practices developed by organizations to cope with virtually all expected situations. These standard operating procedures have a great deal to do with the efficiency that modern organizations attain. 3. Organizational Politics People in organizations occupy different positions with different specialties, concerns, and perspectives.As a result, they naturally have divergent viewpoints about how resources, rewards, and punishments should be distributed. These differences matter to both managers and employees, and they result in political struggle, compet ition, and conflict within every organization. Political resistance is one of the great difficulties of bringing about organizational change—especially the development of new information systems. Virtually all information systems that bring about significant changes in goals, procedures, productivity, and personnel are politically charged and elicit serious political opposition. . Organizational culture Organizational culture describes the psychology, attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values (personal and cultural values) of an organization. It has been defined as â€Å"the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization. †¢ It is the set of fundamental assumptions about what products the organization should produce, how and where it should produce them, and for whom they should be produced. It is a powerful unifying for ce that restrains political conflict and promotes common understanding, agreement on procedures, and common practices †¢ organizational culture is a powerful restraint on change, especially technological change. Most organizations will do almost anything to avoid making changes in basic assumptions. Any technological change that threatens commonly held cultural assumptions usually meets a great deal of resistance.However, there are times when the only sensible way for a firm to move forward is to employ a new technology that directly opposes an existing organizational culture. Types of Organizational Information systems Decision making is often a manager’s most challenging role. Information systems have helped managers communicate and distribute information and provide assistance for management decision making. No single system provides all the information needed by the different organizational levels, functions and business processes.Organizations can be divided into st rategic, management, and operational levels. 1. Operational-level systems support operational managers' needs for current, accurate and easily accessible information primarily used to keep track of the elementary activities and transactions of the organization. Decision making for operational control determines how to carry out the specific tasks set forth by strategic and middle management decisions. 2. Management-level systems are designed to serve the monitoring, controlling, decision-making, and administrative activities of middle managers.Decision making for management control focuses on efficiency and effective use of resources. It requires knowledge of operational decision making and task completion. 3. Strategic- level systems help senior managers with long-range planning needed to meet changes in the external and internal business environment. Strategic decision determines the long-term objectives, resources and policies of the organization. Decisions at every level of the organization can also be classified as unstructured, structured and semi-structured. Unstructured decisions involve judgment, evaluation, and insight into the problem definition. They are novel, important, and nonroutine. †¢ Structured decisions are routine †¢ Semi-structured decisions involve cases where only part of the problem can be answered by an accepted procedure. Modern information systems have been most successful with structured, operational and management control decisions. But now most of the exciting applications are occurring at the management knowledge and strategic levels where problems are either semi-structured or unstructured.TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION SYSTEM Following are the different types on information systems that support the needs of the organization: Executive information systems (EIS), Decision support systems (DSS), Management Information Systems(MIS), and Transaction Processing Systems (TPS). A. Executive information systems (EIS) pro vide top management with ready access to a variety of summarized company data against a background of general information on the industry and the economy at large.ESS provides a generalized computing and communications environment for senior managers at the strategic level of the organization. Top management of any organization need to be able to track the performance of their company and of its various units, assess the opportunities and threats, and develop strategic directions for the company’s future. Executive information systems have these characteristics: 1. EIS provide immediate and easy access to information reflecting the key success factors of the company and of its units. 2. User-seductive† interfaces, such as color graphics and video, allow the EIS user to grasp trends at a glance. Users’ time is at a high premium here. 3. EIS provide access to a variety of databases, both internal and external, through a uniform interface — the fact that the system consults multiple databases should be transparent to the users. 4. Both current status and projections should be available from EIS. It is frequently desirable to investigate different projections; in particular, planned projections may be compared with the projections derived from actual results. . An EIS should allow easy tailoring to the prefaces of the particular user or group of users (such as the chief executive’s cabinet or the corporate board). 6. EIS should offer the capability to â€Å"drill down† into the data: it should be possible to see increasingly detailed the summaries. Critical Success factors for achieving a successful EIS 1. A committed and informed executive sponsor. A top level executive, preferably the CEO, should serve as the executive sponsor of the EIS by encouraging its implementation. 2. An operating sponsor.The executive sponsor will most likely be too busy to devote much time to implementation. That task should be given to another t op-level executive, such as the executive vice-president. The operating sponsor works with both the user executives and the information specialists to ensure that the work gets done. 3. Appropriate information services staff. Information specialists should be available who understand not only the information technology but also how the executive will use the system. 4. Appropriate information technology.EIS implementers should not get carried away and incorporate unnecessary hardware or software. The system must be kept as simple as possible and should give the executive exactly what him or her wants-nothing more and nothing less. 5. Data Management. It is not sufficient to simply display data or information. The executive should have some idea of how current the data is. This can be accomplished by identifying the day and ideally the time of the day the data was entered. The executive should be able to follow data analysis. . A clear link to business objectives. Most successful EIS s are designed to solve specific problems or meet needs that can be addressed with information technology. 7. Management of organizational resistance. When an executive resists the EIS, efforts should be taken to gain support. A good strategy is to identify a single problem that the executive faces and then quickly implement an EIS, using prototyping to address that problem. Care must be taken to select a problem that will enable the EIS to make a good showing. . Management of the spread and evolution of the system. Experience has shown that when upper-level management begins receiving information from the EIS, lower level managers want to receive the same output. Care must be taken to add users only when they can be given the attention they need. B. Management information systems (MIS) – serve the management level of the organization, providing managers with reports and, in some cases, with online access to the organization’s current performance and historical records .Typically, they are oriented almost exclusively to internal, not environmental or external, events. MIS primarily serve the functions of planning, controlling, and decision making at the management level. Generally, they depend on underlying transaction processing systems for their data C. Decision support systems (DSS), is a type of MIS expressly developed to support the decision-making process in non-routine task. DSS assist middle managers with analytical decisions, and able to address semistructured problems drawing on both internal and external sources of data 1.It is an interactive computer-based system intended to help managers retrieve, summarize, analyze decision relevant data and make decisions. 2. DSS facilitate a dialogue between the user, who is considering alternative problem solutions, and the system, with its built-in models and access to the database. 3. DSS are interactive, and in a typical session, the manager using a DSS can evaluate a number of possible â€Å" what if† scenarios by using a model or a simulation of a real life system. Two major categories of DSS 1. Enterprise-wide DSS are linked to large, data warehouse and serve many managers in a company.Enterprise wide DSS can range from fairly simple systems to complex data intensive and analytically sophisticated executive information system. 2. Desk-top DSS such as spreadsheets, accounting and financial models can be implemented in Microsoft Excel. Another DSS tool, simulation, is usually implemented in desktop packages. D. Transaction processing systems (TPS) is the core of IT applications in business since it serves the operational level of the organization by recording the daily transactions required to conduct business.Most mission- critical information systems for both large and small organizations are essentially transaction processing systems for operational data processing that is needed, for example, to register customer orders and to produce invoices and payroll check s. This system keeps track of money paid to employees, generating employee paychecks and other reports. A symbolic representation for a payroll TPS Typical applications of TPS There are five functional categories of TPS: sales/marketing, manufacturing/production, finance/accounting, human resources, and other types of systems specific to a particular industry.Within each of these major functions are subfunctions. For each of these subfunctions (e. g. , sales management) there is a major application system. [pic] The various types of systems in the organization exchange data with one another. TPS are a major source of data for other systems, especially MIS and DSS. ESS is primarily a recipient of data from lower-level systems. Systems from a Functional Perspective There are four major functional areas in an organization: sales and marketing, manufacturing and production, finance and accounting, and human resources. . Sales and Marketing Systems The sales and marketing function is res ponsible for selling the organization’s product or service. Sales function is concerned with contacting customers, selling the products and services, taking orders, and following up on sales. Marketing is concerned with identifying the customers for the firm’s products or services, determining what customers need or want, planning and developing products and services to meet their needs, and advertising and promoting these products and services.Sales and marketing information systems support these activities and help the firm identify customers for the firm’s products or services, develop products and services to meet customers’ needs, promote these products and services, sell the products and services, and provide ongoing customer support. Examples of Sales and Marketing information systems are Order processing, pricing Analysis and sales Trend Forecasting. 2. Manufacturing and Production Systems The manufacturing and production function is responsible f or actually producing the firm’s goods and services.Manufacturing and production systems deal with the planning, development, and maintenance of production facilities; the establishment of production goals; the acquisition, storage, and availability of production materials; and the scheduling of equipment, facilities, materials, and labor required to fashion finished products. Manufacturing and production information systems support these activities, it deal with the planning, development, and production of products and services, and with controlling the flow of production. 3. Finance and Accounting SystemsThe finance function is responsible for managing the firm’s financial assets, such as cash, stocks, bonds, and other investments, in order to maximize the return on these financial assets. The finance function is also in charge of managing the capitalization of the firm (finding new financial assets in stocks, bonds, or other forms of debt). In order to determine whe ther the firm is getting the best return on its investments, the finance function must obtain a considerable amount of information from sources external to the firm.The accounting function is responsible for maintaining and managing the firm’s financial records—receipts, disbursements, depreciation, payroll—to account for the flow of funds in a firm. Finance and accounting share related problems—how to keep track of a firm’s financial assets and fund flows. They provide answers to questions such as these: What is the current inventory of financial assets? What records exist for disbursements, receipts, payroll, and other fund flows? Examples of Finance and Accounting Systems : Accounts receivable, Budgeting, Profit Planning. 4. Human Resources SystemsThe human resources function is responsible for attracting, developing, and maintaining the firm’s workforce. Human resources information systems support activities, such as identifying potentia l employees, maintaining complete records on existing employees, and creating programs to develop employees’ talents and skills Examples of Human resources information systems: training and development, compensation analysis, and Human Resources Planning. Management Challenges Businesses need different types of information systems to support decision making and work activities for various organizational levels and functions.Well-conceived systems linking the entire enterprise typically require a significant amount of organizational and management change and raise the following management challenges: 1. Integration. Although it is necessary to design different systems serving different levels and functions in the firm, more and more firms are finding advantages in integrating systems. However, integrating systems for different organizational levels and functions to freely exchange information can be technologically difficult and costly.Managers need to determine what level of system integration is required and how much it is worth in dollars. 2. Enlarging the scope of management thinking. Most managers are trained to manage a product line, a division, or an office. They are rarely trained to optimize the performance of the organization as a whole and often are not given the means to do so. But enterprise systems and industrial networks require managers to take a much larger view of their own behavior, including other products, divisions, departments, and even outside business firms. ———————- Objectives : At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to: †¢ Illustrate the relationship between organizations and information systems †¢ Explain the factors mediating the relationship between organizations and information systems †¢ Discuss the different types of information systems in the organization. †¢ Explain how information supports the different levels of an organization †¢ Give examples of the information systems that are being used to support business functional areas

PPQ PARTs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PPQ PARTs - Essay Example The company therefore needs to determine how it will provide a safe work environment for its employees, jobs that are rewarding, stable employment, equitable pay in exchange for a positive work attitude and outstanding performance on the job (Heizer & Render 2006, p33). The fact that PPQ wants to increase the number of facilities would indicate that there is an increase in demand for its products in other markets. Whether or not that is the case the company needs to market its products in those areas. In selecting its location the company needs to design and build economical and efficient facilities that will be capable of yielding high value to not only the company but other stakeholders including employees and the community in which the facilities will be located. In order to do carry out its operations effectively the company will require competent and experienced staff that will be able to deal with customers at the various locations. In will be expanding into different countries and therefore different environments. Building a multicultural and diverse labor force is therefore important. Therefore, PPQ need to carry out an assessment of its management staff to determine whether they possess the skills necessary to deal with multiculturalism and diversity. It is important that they understand what diversity means. Munjal and Sharma their paper â€Å"Managing Multiculturalism & Diversity in Organizations † (n.d.) states that: Managers usually see affirmative action and equal employment opportunity as centering on minorities and women; the diversity here includes race, gender, creed, and ethnicity but also age, background, education, function, and personality differences. The objective not to assimilate minorities and women into dominant white male culture but to create a dominant heterogeneous culture. They will be dealing with employees and customers from different parts of the world and it is important that they understand not only the culture but h ow it can lead to competitive advantage. Rick Bobrow, America’s CEO (qtd. in Black Enterprise, 2001) states: Diversity is fundamental to our business. But it is also fundamental to our view of how we do business. To help our clients, and ourselves, achieve success, we have to leverage the different ideas, backgrounds, and values of all our people. When people of all ethnic groups are represented at all levels of the firm, we are better able to perform in a global environment, attract the best talent, and ensure that our clients are served well. Management has to be of the right caliber to be able to do this effectively. It is therefore important that the recruitment exercise is properly carried out so that the right persons (with the necessary skills and talent) are chosen to fill positions. Another of PPQ’s current weakness is its low profit margin. Additionally, its share of the market is very low. Although no information was provided on the market share of

'Memory is all about claims about the past.' Discuss using appropriate Essay

'Memory is all about claims about the past.' Discuss using appropriate ethnography - Essay Example However, some focus on the narratives of experiences of people, which constitute one memory of a certain shared experience that can shed some light on how people see a certain phenomenon. In this paper, I shall argue on the role of memory as an indicator of the following: (1) as a narrative of a social practice, (2) as a projection of ideal view of the self and (3) as an embodiment of a certain feeling about an experience. In accordance to the premises mentioned, there is a need to point the issues that come with each of the premises in terms of ethnography as a practice and as experience. At the same time, there is a critical interrogation of how memories are situated across time and how narratives of it become a valuable source of knowledge. These inquiries shall be able to project a view on culture that is engaging, new, and unbiased. Also, this will become an attempt to challenge biases about memories and generalizations attributed to its culture of origin. Memory as a Narrative of Social Practice â€Å"No real and complete memory every appears in our dreams as it appears in our waking state. Our dreams are composed of fragments of memory too mutilated and mixed up with other to allow us to recognize them† (Halbwachs 1992, p. 41). ... In case of cultural and social experiences, the discourse about dreams can be considered stagnant because â€Å"the dream is based only upon itself, whereas our recollections depend on those of all our fellows, and on the great frameworks of the memory of society† (Halbwachs 1992, p. 42). This would then be a validation that memory also works on the social level, even if the experiences of the phenomenon for each individual are varied. However, experiences become objects of the past, which have a huge impact on how things turn out or happen in the present. Connerton (1989, p. 2) projects that â€Å"experiences of the present very largely depends on our knowledge of the past.† In connection to social memory, the â€Å"images of the past commonly legitimate a present social order† (Connerton 1989, p. 2). Following such a condition, one can take into account that memories of the past become stories or narratives that are passed on from generations to generations, wh ich could impart lessons and predicaments for the contemporary society. This assertion can be considered true since â€Å"different sets of memories, frequently in the shape of implicit background narratives, will encounter each other, so that, although physically present to one another in a particular setting, the different generations may remain mentally and emotionally insulated, the memories of one generation locked irretrievably, as it were, in the brains and bodies of that generation† (Connerton 1989, p. 3). Thus, there is an intergenerational paradigm working whenever social memories and social experiences are dealt with. This kind of phenomenon can be considered present

Infectious disease Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Infectious disease - Research Paper Example Dr. Kai Kliiman has also been an efficient manager for the National Tuberculosis Program. The authors have a biased interest as they tend to incline their article to their point of view. Though there is also some vested interest which is obvious through the biased interest, the article does not tend to show any prejudices. Since the article talks about established facts and has less to do with assumptions, this article shows the biased interest of the authors than the vested interest. This is a peer reviewed article and this can be confirmed by the article itself. The article does attribute the critical revision, provision on study materials, collection and assembly of data and other important aspects of the article just to both the authors and no other source of cross check involved and hence it is obvious that this is a peer reviewed article. The article â€Å"Predictors of extensively drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis† is about the study conducted on several patients in Estonia suffering from culture confirmed pulmonary-tuberculosis. The article educates the readers about the brief study conducted on patients with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis and multi drug but non-extensively drug resistant tuberculosis and the efforts to identify the their causes. ... s and continents in which it is prevailing and is spreading, and also speaks about the number of deaths that are reported every year owing to this infectious disease. The article speaks much about the studies conducted on patients of Estonia, which had the highest number of cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. Initially the reader gets exposed to the details of the spread of the disease in spite of the measures that had been taken and also the effect of NTP (National Tuberculosis Control Program). This in association of HIV virus is spoken about and their combined effect is also talked about. â€Å"In certain African countries and many parts of Southeast Asia, HIV is becoming more and more endemic. Where tuberculosis is also endemic among the population, a weakened immune system will increase the risk of getting tuberculosis. This is an extremely worrying situation and the WHO and the IUATLD are doing all they can to prevent the disease from spreading† (Dr.Pallisgaard, 21). The adoption of several sophisticated methods for this study is also mentioned in the article. The study has taken into consideration factors like sex, age, place of birth, economic status and other factors like drinking habits, marital status and employment and studied their effects too. These tests were conducted dividing the patients into three separate groups, namely the extensively drug resistance tuberculosis, multi drug but non-extensively drug resistant tuberculosis and non- multi drug but non-extensively drug resistant tuberculosis. All the data pertaining to the patients has been collected and stored in a database. Tests have been conducted in highly equipped labs and highly qualified people as per the directions of WHO. In each case susceptibility has been gauged separately and

Business law and ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business law and ethics - Essay Example Moreover, the acceleration speed must be regulated by stating the safety factor. Brake pedal pressure signal plots that the underlying driver normally applies on the brake pedal during the period of its operation on the vehicle stationary. Moreover, the brake pedal pressure goes to zero and there is sharp transition in the accelerator pedal pressure signal. Dynamic of the underlying pressure is also defined as the rate of alteration in the pressure applied on the pedal pressure by the corresponding driver. Thus pressure mainly aids in the apply friction that aids in the stopping of the brake pedals. Problem solving models that is will utilize in making my final decision would be employment of the SWOT analysis and PEST analysis models. SWOT analysis will assist me in examining the underlying potential and corresponding suitability of the Zero Pedal in the Eastern market. The decision making will mainly incorporate appropriate tools and process. The question that I would ask will pert ain to the definition and clarification issue of defects, collecting of all the facts and comprehending causes of the Zero Pedal defects. Moreover, I will brainstorm about the probable alternatives and solutions by comparing those alternatives. I will then choose the best alternative that compromises the decision. Then I will ensure that the designers of the Zero Pedal implement the chosen alternative by following up. A2. I will not recommend my company to pay the special $5,000 fee to have the prevailing Zero Pedal on the underlying shelves of the corresponding sporting goods store. This because the its operation that ought not to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit since the temperature of the store rooms might rise above that thus posing a lot of negative risk. Moreover, the process is not legal since it does follow the outline procedures that Green Move Company has put in place in regard to ordering and stocking its commodities. A3. Green Move can apply the cost/benefit analysis in th e latency stage in regard to the safety concerns while looking for the permanent solution to the problem. Cost benefit analysis will aids them in disposing the present stock and increasing the market base for its products. Nevertheless, the are numerous risks in the undertaking of the cost benefit analysis because they will be exposing the users of the commodities to a lot of risks that might derail their market coverage and consequently spoil the public image of the company in case the explosion of the products occur. Questions B B.1 Robert should try to improve the condition of the Solar Group since the Solar Group manufacturers of the corresponding solar panels are fundamental in the production of the Zero Pedal. Termination the underlying agreements will make the Green Move company to experienced serious problems since solar panels are chief components in the manufacture of the Zero Pedal. Thus, Robert has one option of improving the condition of the Solar Group situated in Bang ladesh to conform to the required standards by employing workers of appropriate ages. He ought to enforce the Solar Group that was stipulates that no children ought to be employed in the Solar Group and the employees must also be treated fairly. Green Move Company interest is at stake since Solar Group produces Solar panels that are fundamental in the production of the Zero Pedal. So they must force the company to conform to the

Can torture ever been acceptable in democratic civilized society Essay

Can torture ever been acceptable in democratic civilized society - Essay Example Thus in the article â€Å"Torture Damages Democracy says expert on Interrogation† the professor Darius Rejali states that torture can’t be costless. The professor discusses different forms of torture emphasizing the fact that torture affects not only those who are tortured but also the initiatives of torture. It is also mentioned in the article that torture is controversial issue and the same idea is reflected in the article by Paul W Kahn â€Å"Torture and Democratic Violence†, the aim of which is to understand what torture means for democratic society: â€Å"torture is no more destructive and no more illiberal than other forms of political violence† (Kahn). The professor Darius Rejali summarized his ideas in the book â€Å"Torture & democracy† that became the most comprehensive study of torture in the modern society. In the article â€Å"Torture State terrorism vs. Democracy† by Orlando Tizon it is stated that the â€Å"war against terrorism† is only an excuse of applying torture. "Only the person who has been tortured can tell how painful it is. The people who torture you dont let you die and they dont let you be alive" (Tison, 2002). The same issue is discussed in the â€Å"Work Open Society Institute: Globalizing Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary Rendition† by Amrit Singh and in the article â€Å"the Use of torture†. In the work â€Å"The Proportionality of  Means and Ends: The Case against  Torture in a Democratic Society? the author Joaquà ­n Jareà ±o- Alarcà ³n raises an important issue discussing the position of torture defenders. Torture defenders in the modern society state that torture should be used as a method to get the necessary information. The author expresses the negative attitude to this approach: â€Å"with terrorist activities becoming an increasingly serious threat to democracy over the past ten years, the morality of torture is now an issue at the forefront of political

Study of Efficient Market Hypothesis 04012 Essay

Study of Efficient Market Hypothesis 04012 - Essay Example ns that the bubbles in prices of assets are not possible nor does EMH deny that behavioural and environmental features cannot have deep influences on the required risk premiums and rates of returns (Timmermann and Granger, 2004). EMH declares that shares are constantly traded at their reasonable value, therefore making it impracticable for the investors to purchase the undervalued shares or sell shares for overstated or inflated prices (Borges, 2010). According to this, it may be impossible for the investors to outperform the entire market through market timing or expert share selection. So, the only means for the investor to receive higher or advanced returns is through buying riskier investments. There are three forms of efficiency i.e. weak-form, strong and semi-strong form of efficiency (Morningstar, 2015). In the efficiency of weak-form, it is not possible to predict the future price by analysing the past prices and the surplus returns cannot be received by employing the investment strategies which is based on the historical data (Gupta and Basu, 2011; Moustafa, 2004). In the semi-strong efficiency, stock prices are adjusted to the publicly accessible new information (Ma, 2004). However, the technical o r fundamental analyses are not able to consistently produce surplus returns. In the efficiency of strong-form, share prices reveal all information, private and public and no individual or company can earn surplus returns (Chau and Vayanos, 2008). The most influential argument against EMH is that the securities markets have frequently experienced excessive bubbles. When the market bubble exploded, internet associated stocks lost almost 90% of their value. The related mispricing of securities which are mortgage-backed had excessive consequences for the financial institutions as well as for the economy of entire world. Critics have deemed these incidents to be evident cases of the market inefficiency. The continuation of bubbles in the prices of assets is

Answer for exam question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Answer for exam question - Essay Example African culture characteristics Edoho (2001) asserts that the African culture is almost opposite to that of America. In his comparison between the two cultures, Edoho found that the Africa culture exhibits the following characteristics; High power distance, Collectivism, Moderately feminine and Moderate to low uncertainty avoidance. According to Edoho, America has an individualism culture, low power distance, masculine and low uncertainty avoidance. Individualism refers to a cultural state of affairs where individuals’ ties between individuals are loose. Although the extent of collectivism varies within countries, Africa countries are generally collectivist in nature. With regards to masculinity v femininity, African countries are moderately feminine. Uncertainty avoidance is the degree to which members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain circumstances. African culture is generally low on uncertainty avoidance. African culture is characterized by high power distance. The high power distance also gives rise to high social inequality, where subordinates highly depend on managers (French, 2010). A person’s standing in the society depends on the age and social status. In addition, hierarchies, formality and titles are highly regarded in African culture. Africans place value on personal connections, trust, friendship and personal relationships. In addition to valuing relationships, Africans value groups such as clans and ethnic group rather than an individual. This results in the prominence of working for the benefit of the whole instead of an individual. Tradition and honor are highly regarded and the culture endeavors to safeguard the loss of honor. In terms of male domination, African societies are male dominated, although most Africans tend to be modest. While dealing with uncertainty, the African culture stresses on harmony rather than conflict. Africans resort to harmony as they do not feel threatened by unknown circumstances. Africans have a more flexible and relaxed attitude towards time. This flexibility of time in the African culture is unofficially referred to as the â€Å"African time†. Finally, the African culture is characterized by high content where decisions depend on the external environment, circumstances and non-verbal signs. Conclusion In conclusion, the African nature exhibits most of the attributes put forward by Hofstede. Among the most prominent features in the African culture are high power distance, low uncertainty avoidance, collectivism and moderate femininity. High distance in African countries considers inequality as essential and that everyone has a place. Organizational values in African countries hold that most people should be dependent on the leader. People holding social positions are perceived as privileged and people work towards protecting their titles and prestige. As such, only related relationships are accepted in organization as subordinates consider themselves as different from their bosses. Q 1 B: how understanding cultural theories can help international managers to decide on the most suitable management style. Introduction The management of human resources is collective with regard to policies, processes and strategies. Managing and developing human resources in an international setting is increasingly acknowledged as a central challenge, especially for

The Declaration of Independence of US Research Paper

The Declaration of Independence of US - Research Paper Example Unfortunately, the words are also almost entirely false as a guide for actual guarantees of the kinds of freedoms espoused in the document, at least as such guarantees might have applied to anyone in the colonial society who was not, like Jefferson, a white, male, wealthy landowner with political and economic connections. In fact, even as Jefferson penned the words, the formal and informal seats of power in the colonies were occupied by men who owned slaves, controlled wealth, and abused the rights of women. How then can Jefferson justify using the words? In this brief essay, the approach of Jefferson and the ruling class that founded the nation to the ideals of political and economic freedoms and equality that they argued for will be reviewed in order to show how they violated the very terms established as reasons for their revolution. Specifically, the ways in which Jefferson and other founding fathers acted against the words of the Declaration in regards to slaves, women and the non-wealthy working classes will be reviewed. Following a review of their actions toward each of these constituent groups, a reevaluation of the language of the Declaration will be conducted and a summary analysis of the ultimate value of the founding principles contained in it will be offered. Although it is difficult to argue against the eloquence of the political principles contained in Jefferson’s words in the Declaration, it is easy to see hypocrisy in his application of those words to the actual realities of his own family and community. In fac t, as Damon Root argues there was a gap between espoused principles and political practices that resulted in an almost perfect paradox as realized in the person and figure of Jefferson. Nowhere was this gap more readily seen than on the issue of slavery. Root claims â€Å"The celebrated author of the Declaration of Independence, which famously declares that ‘all men are created equal’ and are born with the inalienable rights to ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’ †¦ was also a slaveholder, a man whose livelihood was rooted in the subjugation of hundreds of human beings, including members of his wife’s family and his own.† Having penned words which seemed to indicate that he believed in a form of basic equality among all persons, Jefferson lived a life which did not square with those words because he held in his formal possession as a legal and professional matter the actual freedoms of a large number of persons, both men and wom en. He owned them and could do with them as he pleased, including – among other things – utilizing their physical labor for his economic benefit and utilizing their bodies for his sexual enjoyment. That mere fact, without regard to what kind of slave owner Jefferson actually was, whether he was kind or considerate to those who came under his purview, is enough to suggest that Jefferson either did not take his own words seriously or he believed that they had some application to the broader society, such as the international community, but not to himself. Any other conclusion would require one to find Jefferson simply being an outright hypocrite. Of course, this is one possible interpretation for his actions, and there were those, even in his day, who reached for it. Root

Journal on Note Taking Essay Example for Free

Journal on Note Taking Essay Lecture notes play an important role in preparing for examinations, as it may ensure the success of students. Many students do not have adequate note-taking skills, and this contribute a lot to the creation of incomplete and unrelated notes (Kiewra, 2002). Researchers suggest that the act of note-taking can engage students in learning tasks and deepen their understanding and ability to apply new material (Katayama Crooks, 2003). Note-taking offers three important premises for university students. First, the act of note-taking may have an influence on the encoding function of the brain, which engages the learner’s attention and subsequently moves the information into long-term memory. Secondly, note-taking will make the students less dependent on their instructor’s notes, as they contain personally meaningful information that might help in the recall process. Thirdly, it may help students with learning difficulties. To begin with, note-taking is essential to the student’s academic success (Kiewra Benton, 1988; Titsworth, 2001). In taking notes, students relate lecture topics to their own background knowledge, which in turn may increase their comprehension of the topic, and eventually synthesises with the recall of the material presented (Brazeau, 2006; Castello Monereo, 2005; DiVesta Gray, 1972). It has been proven that students that are successful have a predisposition to go back to their lecture notes as an essential part of their preparation for examinations. This, therefore, point to one premise, as noted by Kiewra Benton, 1988 and Titsworth, 2001, that it is very much essential for the academic success of students. Such importance, however, reveals a negative side, which can be founded on the student’s inadequacy in inculcating adequate note-taking skills. This drawback often results in the student coming into possession of incomplete and unrelated notes (Kiewra, 2002). Observations reveal how in lecture settings, they record only between 11-70% of the important information delivered (Anderson Armbruster, 1991; Kiewra, 1985). Such a dismal insight may validate presumption that students with learning difficulties be in worse position, when they record even less information (Boyle, 2007; Kirby, Silvesni, Allingham, Parrila, La Pave, 2008; Suritsky Hughes, 1991; Vogel, 1982). These are the premise which makes note-taking a very important aspect of study life for university students, without which they may be staring at clear and present danger of failure. To remedy this, it is essential for students with disabilities to be truthful to themselves and inform the authorities during the university admission stage. To this end, at least in the United States, such handicap would be addressed through the granting of accommodation under the law, i.e. the Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990 as well as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 1973. Such clauses as entrenched in the laws saw from 2003 to 2004, 11.3% of undergraduates in the U.S. in notifying of their disability or requirement for special learning (Katsiyannis, Zhang, Landmark, Reber, 2009). For students in such categories, their lot would be made much easier through being allowed extra latitude on time during examinations, as well as do their tests distraction-free (Wilhelm, 2003). The idea that underscores this is to help make things easier for the capability-challenged students. However, it has been noted that on paper this may be a good remedy, but since not all students would be honest about their inadequacies in learning, the exact number of students requiring is difficult to determine. Although, at the elementary and secondary level different requirements are applied for different learning abilities, it has been found to be absent in higher education (Scott, McGuire Shaw, 2003). Filling this necessary void at the university level may help a great deal in, which at the core is the inculcation of the all-important note-taking skills ((Einstein, Morris, Smith, 1985; Gettinger Seibert, 2002; Simmons, 2006; Suritsky Hughes, 1991). Also, by addressing this, it may help lecturers to customise according to the needs of the different categories of learners. The review in the journal shows the two phases, which reveals the ability in note taking among university students and the difficulties faced by students with disabilities and its link to proper note-taking.

Imports of French Wine in China

Imports of French Wine in China Report on French wine from France to China France shared about one third of the import wine market in China. And China is now the fifth biggest export destination for French wine. In Figure 1, we briefly describe the main process of French wine from France to China. Figure 1. Main Process of French Wine Supply chain The supplier in the supply chain is the French vineyard. The manufacturer, winery, purchase the grapes from the vineyard and ship the wine to bottling estate. The French wine import company, as the distributor, import different brands of French wine and then distribute all the French wine to retailers in China such as Carrefour and Walmart. At last, Chinese customers can buy French wine from these retailers. Regarding to the organizational network in this case, wineries or agencies of the import companies play the role of shipper. And the import companies play the role of consignee. At port of arrival, the financial flows are from import companies which is the distributor to the forwarder and bank; from forwarder to customs, inspection authorities, on carriers and shipping line agent; from shipping line agents to port authorities, port services, customs and terminal operators. At port of departure, the financial flows are from shipping line agents to port authorities, customs, port s ervices and terminal operator; from forwarders to insurance companies, pre-carriers and shipping line agents; from wineries or agents of import companies, which are the shippers in this case, to the forwarder. And connect the organizational network in ports of departure together with the network in ports of arrival, the financial flow also exists from banks in ports of arrival to banks in ports of departure and from banks in ports of departure to the wineries or agents of import companies. When it comes to the logistics network, the goods flows generally follow the main process of the supply chain. Wines are bottled by bottling estates and stuffed in empty containers and then transported to the export terminals. Containers with wines then collected and loaded on sea vessels and arrive import terminals. At last, after discharged from sea vessels, wines can be collected by import companies and distributed to retailers. If we put the supply chain processes into a cycle view, the procur ement cycle is between wineries/bottling estates and vineyards/bottles suppliers. The manufacturing cycle is between wineries/bottling estates and French wine import companies. The replenishment cycle is between French wine import companies and retailers such as Carrefour and Wal-mart. And the customer order cycle is between retailers and customers such as restaurants and individuals. On the other hand, if restaurants or other customers place orders directly to the import companies, the import companies bypass the retailer such as Carrefour and Wal-mart, then the customer order cycle will be between customers and import companies, and the replenishment and manufacturing cycle will be between import companies and wineries. If we put the supply chain in a push/pull view, retailers execute the process in the customer order cycle after the customer order arrives. All processes that are part of the customer order cycle are pull processes. And other processes from suppliers to retailers a re push processes because they respond to speculated rather than actual demand. If we also take direct order from customers to import companies into consideration, the push/pull boundary will be between import companies and customers, and import companies will be the actual retailers in this situation. There are several transport activities involve in French wine. First, vineyards ship fresh grapes to the wineries. Second, wineries will use the producing process to brew wine. Third, wines will be transported to bottling estates to subpackage them to wine bottles or just handled by bulk in barrels. Meanwhile, empty bottles and corks are transported to bottling estates for bottling French wines. No matter what kind of packages, bottles or bulk, wine will be loaded to containers. The containers which load wine bottles or barrels will be shipped by sea transport or air transports. Figure 2. Sea transport route from France (Paris) to China (Shanghai) The sea transport route from France (Port Rouen) to China (Shanghai) is mainly through the Suez Canal and showed in Figure 2. After wine arrive at the port, they will be stored in warehouse of distributors. When Distributors received orders from retailors, they will ship the wine to retailors’ warehouse and customers are able to purchase French wines from retailors, just like Wal-mart or the shop of vintner. On the other hand, some big customers, for instance, hotels will give orders directly to the distributors to get French wine and they store wines in their cellar. The main packages used to transport wines are barreled or bottled, they will all be loaded into containers for further sea transport or air way which we mentioned above. However, bottled wines are more popular than bulk ones to individual custumers and restaurants. Due to glass bottles are fragile cargo, transport requirements are undoubtedly more higher than normal goods. Reefer containers are requested for several types of wines to maintain the transport temperature at about 10 degree centigrade, which cause transport costs for wines are higher. For French wines, storage and handling procedure happen in all process of supply chain. The storage of fresh grape in vineyards and wineries. The wines stored during manufacturing procedure and warehouses of distributors and retailors. The main handling process of French wines to China is container ship voyage and showed in figure. After arriving at China port, wines will be discharged from containers and sent to distributors’ wareho use. Finally wines will be delivered to final destination that is retailors’ shops according to retailors’ order. This is the main logistics network design of French wine to China. To assess important supply chain characteristics of French wine to China, we have to understand French wines’ characteristics and their customers. The transport requirements of French wines are high due to the frangibility of glass bottles and a constant temperature is requested in the whole supply chain of French wine. On the other hand, French wines are variable and classified to different levels, from Vin de Table to A.O.C so that target customers are totally different. As a result of that, the uncertainty of French wines to China are higher than normal beverage supply chain, such as fruit juice or bears. From the book of Sunil Chopra and Peter Meindl, supply chain responsiveness including the definitions: â€Å"Respond to wide ranges of quantities demanded; Meet short lead times; Handle a large variety of products; Build highly innovative products; Meet a high service level and Handle supply uncertainty†. Based on Chinese custom reportà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’Chinese imports of wines increased from 2.86 hundred million in 2010 to reach 3.95 hundred million in 2012. French wines share about one of third import wine market of China. The quantities and variety of French wines increasingly raised and their characteristics of high value-added than normal beverage require a higher service level. From the question 3, we estimate the transport and warehousing costs of the final product price which we notice the transport cost of French wine to China are higher than normal beverage like Coca-Cola is about 6% of final price. So supply chain efficiency of French wine supply chain is not great due to costs of manufacturing and delivering to customer is not average compared to other beverage supply chain. â€Å"The Great Wall† wine is a famous wine brand in China which manufacture in Hebei Province and all its supplier is from China. It is very clear that the transport cost, labor cost and material cost are obviously lower than French wines that manufactured in France and bottled in France. And the target market of â€Å"The Great Wall† is focus on the low-end market so that the price of â€Å"The Great Wall† is also lower than some brands of French wines. A normal bottle of â€Å"The Great Wall† retail price in 750 ml is about 3 to 5 euro and a French one is about 10 to 15 euro. According to a Chinese wine information website, the profit of French wines in China is about 30%~50% and Chinese wines are only about 11% which is much lower than French wine. From the aspect of supply chain characteristics, Chinese wines are not like French wines, the brand of Chinese wines are much less and manufactured by only several big companies. Due to focal warehouse and m anufacture with headquarter in China, Chinese wines supply chain can use minimize inventory and pursue the lowest cost of transport. â€Å"The Great Wall† can predict the market more accurate than French wine company and the uncertainty of domestic supply chain is lower. The conclusion is that â€Å"The Great Wall† wine compared to French wine supply chain is less responsive. However, its supply chain efficiency is greater than French brands imported from France. After evaluating the supply chain of French wine from France to China and comparing it with local brands, we conclude that the supply chain has some disadvantages as follows. Firstly, due to the sea transportation part, the transportation costs are much higher for French wine than those for local brands. Secondly, a French wine costomer places greater emphasis not on quantity of the product but the product variety and response time than on cost. So that wineries need to base their competitive strategies on costomer priorities. However, also due to the sea transportation part, wineries may fail to response immediately to costomers’ orders of French wines of different year. For example, once a costomer want one bottle of French wine produced in 2004, and he can’t find it in Carrefour and Wal-mart, he will turn to local brands’ products. To solve this problem, our idea is to build a new vineyard and chateau in China. Through this new strategy design of supply chain, wineries are able to transport French wines by road or railway instead of sea transportation, which can dramatically reduce the transportation costs for wineries. Furthermore, wineries don’t need to cooperate with import companies anymore and take over the role of distributor, which can increase the supply chain ownership. Last but not least, this new supply chain strategy also fit the competitive strategy better since wineries can response immediately to costomers’ priority of product variety. On the other hand, it takes time for wineries to build local vineyard and chateau in China, so they have to keep the old supply chain strategy before the local vineyard and chateau are built. Besides, the investment in China also influence the profit of wineries in the short run. But we believe that the new strategy is much better and it worth the investment in a long run. References Searates database (2015), †Sea Route from Paris to Shanghai†, Searates,  http://www.searates.com/services/routes-explorer/?filter-st=1from=alat=48.856614alng=2.3522219000000177to=blat=31.230416blng=121.473701container= derived in 2015.1.10 Chopra S, Meindl P. Supply chain management. Strategy, planning operation [M]. Gabler, 2007. Weining Du, French Wine Importation and distribution in Shanghai [D]. East China University of Science and Technology, 2010. Xudong Pan, A study on China Coca-Cola Supply Chain Model [D]. Xiamen University, 2002. Anonymous (2012), â€Å"Statistics report about 2012 Import wines†, wine.cn,  http://www.wine.cn/html/201302/17560.html derived in 2015.1.11 Great Wall Wine Staff (2015), â€Å" Brand Introduction of Great Wall Wine†, Great Wall Wine,  http://www.greatwallwine.com.cn/pinpaijieshao.html derived in 2015.1.10

Literature review about data warehouse

Literature review about data warehouse CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION Chapter 2 provides literature review about data warehouse, OLAP MDDB and data mining concept. We reviewed concept, characteristics, design and implementation approach of each above mentioned technology to identify a suitable data warehouse framework. This framework will support integration of OLAP MDDB and data mining model. Section 2.2 discussed about the fundamental of data warehouse which includes data warehouse models and data processing techniques such as extract, transform and loading (ETL) processes. A comparative study was done on data warehouse models introduced by William Inmons (Inmon, 1999), Ralph Kimball (Kimball, 1996) and Matthias Nicola (Nicola, 2000) to identify suitable model, design and characteristics. Section 2.3 introduces about OLAP model and architecture. We also discussed concept of processing in OLAP based MDDB, MDDB schema design and implementation. Section 2.4 introduces data mining techniques, methods and processes for OLAP mining (OLAM) which is used to mine MDDB. Section 2.5 provides conclusion on literature review especially pointers on our decision to propose a new data warehouse model. Since we propose to use Microsoft  ® product to implement the propose model, we also discussed a product comparison to justify why Microsoft  ® product is selected. 2.2 DATA WAREHOUSE According to William Inmon, data warehouse is a subject-oriented, integrated, time-variant, and non-volatile collection of data in support of the managements decision-making process (Inmon, 1999). Data warehouse is a database containing data that usually represents the business history of an organization. This historical data is used for analysis that supports business decisions at many levels, from strategic planning to performance evaluation of a discrete organizational unit. It provides an effective integration of operational databases into an environment that enables strategic use of data (Zhou, Hull, King and Franchitti, 1995). These technologies include relational and MDDB management systems, client/server architecture, meta-data modelling and repositories, graphical user interface and much more (Hammer, Garcia-Molina, Labio, Widom, and Zhuge, 1995; Harinarayan, Rajaraman, and Ullman, 1996). The emergence of cross discipline domain such as knowledge management in finance, health and e-commerce have proved that vast amount of data need to be analysed. The evolution of data in data warehouse can provide multiple dataset dimensions to solve various problems. Thus, critical decision making process of this dataset needs suitable data warehouse model (Barquin and Edelstein, 1996). The main proponents of data warehouse are William Inmon (Inmon, 1999) and Ralph Kimball (Kimball, 1996). But they have different perspectives on data warehouse in term of design and architecture. Inmon (Inmon, 1999) defined data warehouse as a dependent data mart structure while Kimball (Kimball, 1996) defined data warehouse as a bus based data mart structure. Table 2.1 discussed the differences in data warehouse structure between William Inmon and Ralph Kimball. A data warehouse is a read-only data source where end-users are not allowed to change the values or data elements. Inmons (Inmon, 1999) data warehouse architecture strategy is different from Kimballs (Kimball, 1996). Inmons data warehouse model splits data marts as a copy and distributed as an interface between data warehouse and end users. Kimballs views data warehouse as a unions of data marts. The data warehouse is the collections of data marts combine into one central repository. Figure 2.1 illustrates the differences between Inmons and Kimballs data warehouse architecture adopted from (Mailvaganam, 2007). Although Inmon and Kimball have a different design view of data warehouse, they do agree on successful implementation of data warehouse that depends on an effective collection of operational data and validation of data mart. The role of database staging and ETL processes on data are inevitable components in both researchers data warehouse design. Both believed that dependant data warehouse architecture is necessary to fulfil the requirement of enterprise end users in term of preciseness, timing and data relevancy 2.2.1 DATA WAREHOUSE ARCHITECTURE Although data warehouse architecture have wide research scope, and it can be viewed in many perspectives. (Thilini and Hugh, 2005) and (Eckerson, 2003) provide some meaningful way to view and analyse data warehouse architecture. Eckerson states that a successful data warehouse system depends on database staging process which derives data from different integrated Online Transactional Processing (OLTP) system. In this case, ETL process plays a crucial role to make database staging process workable. Survey on factors that influenced selection on data warehouse architecture by (Thilini, 2005) indentifies five data warehouse architecture that are common in use as shown in Table 2.2 Independent Data Marts Independent data marts also known as localized or small scale data warehouse. It is mainly used by departments, divisions of company to provide individual operational databases. This type of data mart is simple yet consists of different form that was derived from multiple design structures from various inconsistent database designs. Thus, it complicates cross data mart analysis. Since every organizational units tend to build their own database which operates as independent data mart (Thilini and Hugh, 2005) cited the work of (Winsberg, 1996) and (Hoss, 2002), it is best used as an ad-hoc data warehouse and also to be use as a prototype before building a real data warehouse. Data Mart Bus Architecture (Kimball, 1996) pioneered the design and architecture of data warehouse with unions of data marts which are known as the bus architecture or virtual data warehouse. Bus architecture allows data marts not only located in one server but it can be also being located on different server. This allows the data warehouse to functions more in virtual mode and combined all data marts and process as one data warehouse. Hub-and-spoke architecture (Inmon, 1999) developed hub and spoke architecture. The hub is the central server taking care of information exchange and the spoke handle data transformation for all regional operation data stores. Hub and spoke mainly focused on building a scalable and maintainable infrastructure for data warehouse. Centralized Data Warehouse Architecture Central data warehouse architecture build based on hub-and-spoke architecture but without the dependent data mart component. This architecture copies and stores heterogeneous operational and external data to a single and consistent data warehouse. This architecture has only one data model which are consistent and complete from all data sources. According to (Inmon, 1999) and (Kimball, 1996), central data warehouse should consist of database staging or known as operational data store as an intermediate stage for operational processing of data integration before transform into the data warehouse. Federated Architecture According to (Hackney, 2000), federated data warehouse is an integration of multiple heterogeneous data marts, database staging or operational data store, combination of analytical application and reporting systems. The concept of federated focus on integrated framework to make data warehouse more reliable. (Jindal, 2004) conclude that federated data warehouse are a practical approach as it focus on higher reliability and provide excellent value. (Thilini and Hugh, 2005) conclude that hub and spoke and centralized data warehouse architectures are similar. Hub and spoke is faster and easier to implement because no data mart are required. For centralized data warehouse architecture scored higher than hub and spoke as for urgency needs for relatively fast implementation approach. In this work, it is very important to identify which data warehouse architecture that is robust and scalable in terms of building and deploying enterprise wide systems. (Laney, 2000), states that selection of appropriate data warehouse architecture must incorporate successful characteristic of various data warehouse model. It is evident that two data warehouse architecture prove to be popular as shown by (Thilini and Hugh, 2005), (Eckerson, 2003) and (Mailvaganam, 2007). First hub-and-spoke proposed by (Inmon, 1999) as it is a data warehouse with dependant data marts and secondly is the data mart bus architecture with dimensional data marts proposed by (Kimball, 1996). The selection of the new proposed model will use hub-and-spoke data warehouse architecture which can be used for MDDB modelling. 2.2.2 DATA WAREHOUSE EXTRACT, TRANSFORM, LOADING Data warehouse architecture process begins with ETL process to ensure the data passes the quality threshold. According to Evin (2001), it is essential to have right dataset. ETL are an important component in data warehouse environment to ensure dataset in the data warehouse are cleansed from various OLTP systems. ETLs are also responsible for running scheduled tasks that extract data from OLTP systems. Typically, a data warehouse is populated with historical information from within a particular organization (Bunger, Colby, Cole, McKenna, Mulagund, and Wilhite, 2001). The complete process descriptions of ETL are discussed in table 2.3. Data warehouse database can be populated with a wide variety of data sources from different locations, thus collecting all the different dataset and storing it in one central location is an extremely challenging task (Calvanese, Giacomo, Lenzerini, Nardi, and Rosati, , 2001). However, ETL processes eliminate the complexity of data population via simplified process as depicts in figure 2.2. The ETL process begins with data extract from operational databases where data cleansing and scrubbing are done, to ensure all datas are validated. Then it is transformed to meet the data warehouse standards before it is loaded into data warehouse. (Zhou et al, 1995) states that during data integration process in data warehouse, ETL can assist in import and export of operational data between heterogeneous data sources using Object linking and embedding database (OLE-DB) based architecture where the data are transform to populate all validated data into data warehouse. In (Kimball, 1996) data warehouse architecture as depicted in figure 2.3 focuses on three important modules, which is the back room presentation server and the front room. ETL processes is implemented in the back room process, where the data staging services in charge of gathering all source systems operational databases to perform extraction of data from source systems from different file format from different systems and platforms. The second step is to run the transformation process to ensure all inconsistency is removed to ensure data integrity. Finally, it is loaded into data marts. The ETL processes are commonly executed from a job control via scheduling task. The presentation server is the data warehouse where data marts are stored and process here. Data stored in star schema consist of dimension and fact tables. This is where data are then process of in the front room where it is access by query services such as reporting tools, desktop tools, OLAP and data mining tools. Although ETL processes prove to be an essential component to ensure data integrity in data warehouse, the issue of complexity and scalability plays important role in deciding types of data warehouse architecture. One way to achieve a scalable, non-complex solution is to adopt a hub-and-spoke architecture for the ETL process. According to Evin (2001), ETL best operates in hub-and-spoke architecture because of its flexibility and efficiency. Centralized data warehouse design can influence the maintenance of full access control of ETL processes. ETL processes in hub and spoke data warehouse architecture is recommended in (Inmon, 1999) and (Kimball, 1996). The hub is the data warehouse after processing data from operational database to staging database and the spoke(s) are the data marts for distributing data. Sherman, R (2005) state that hub-and-spoke approach uses one-to-many interfaces from data warehouse to many data marts. One-to-many are simpler to implement, cost effective in a long run and ensure consistent dimensions. Compared to many-to-many approach it is more complicated and costly. 2.2.3 DATA WAREHOUSE FAILURE AND SUCCESS FACTORS Building a data warehouse is indeed a challenging task as data warehouse project inheriting a unique characteristics that may influence the overall reliability and robustness of data warehouse. These factors can be applied during the analysis, design and implementation phases which will ensure a successful data warehouse system. Section 2.2.3.1 focus on factors that influence data warehouse project failure. Section 2.2.3.2 discusses on the success factors which implementing the correct model to support a successful data warehouse project. 2.2.3.1 DATA WAREHOUSE FAILURE FACTORS (Hayen, Rutashobya, and Vetter, 2007) studies shows that implementing a data warehouse project is costly and risky as a data warehouse project can cost over $1 million in the first year. It is estimated that two-thirds of the effort of setting up the data warehouse projects attempt will fail eventually. (Hayen et al, 2007) cited on the work of (Briggs, 2002) and (Vassiliadis, 2004) noticed three factors for the failure of data warehouse project which is environment, project and technical factors as shown in table 2.4. Environment leads to organization changes in term of business, politics, mergers, takeovers and lack of top management support. These include human error, corporate culture, decision making process and poor change management (Watson, 2004) (Hayen et al, 2007). Poor technical knowledge on the requirements of data definitions and data quality from different organization units may cause data warehouse failure. Incompetent and insufficient knowledge on data integration, poor selection on data warehouse model and data warehouse analysis applications may cause huge failure. In spite of heavy investment on hardware, software and people, poor project management factors may lead data warehouse project failure. For example, assigning a project manager that lacks of knowledge and project experience in data warehouse, may cause impediment of quantifying the return on investment (ROI) and achievement of project triple constraint (cost, scope, time). Data ownership and accessibility is a potential factor that may cause data warehouse project failure. This is considered vulnerable issue within the organization that one must not share or acquire someone else data as this considered losing authority on the data (Vassiliadis, 2004). Thus, it emphasis restriction on any departments to declare total ownership of pure clean and error free data that might cause potential problem on ownership of data rights. 2.2.3.2 DATA WAREHOUSE SUCCESS FACTORS (Hwang M.I., 2007) stress that data warehouse implementations are an important area of research and industrial practices but only few researches made an assessment in the critical success factors for data warehouse implementations. He conducted a survey on six data warehouse researchers (Watson Haley, 1997; Chen et al., 2000; Wixom Watson, 2001; Watson et al., 2001; Hwang Cappel, 2002; Shin, 2003) on the success factors in a data warehouse project. He concluded his survey with a list of successful factors which influenced data warehouse implementation as depicted in figure 2.8. He shows eight implementation factors which will directly affect the six selected success variables The above mentioned data warehouse success factors provide an important guideline for implementing a successful data warehouse projects. (Hwang M.I., 2007) studies shows an integrated selection of various factors such as end user participation, top management support, acquisition of quality source data with profound and well-defined business needs plays crucial role in data warehouse implementation. Beside that, other factors that was highlighted by Hayen R.L. (2007) cited on the work of Briggs (2002) and Vassiliadis (2004), Watson (2004) such as project, environment and technical knowledge also influenced data warehouse implementation. Summary In this work on the new proposed model, hub-and-spoke architecture is use as Central repository service, as many scholars including Inmon, Kimball, Evin, Sherman and Nicola adopt to this data warehouse architecture. This approach allows locating the hub (data warehouse) and spokes (data marts) centrally and can be distributed across local or wide area network depending on business requirement. In designing the new proposed model, the hub-and-spoke architecture clearly identifies six important data warehouse components that a data warehouse should have, which includes ETL, Staging Database or operational database store, Data marts, MDDB, OLAP and data mining end users applications such as Data query, reporting, analysis, statistical tools. However, this process may differ from organization to organization. Depending on the ETL setup, some data warehouse may overwrite old data with new data and in some data warehouse may only maintain history and audit trial of all changes of the data. 2.3 ONLINE ANALYTICAL PROCESSING OLAP Council (1997) define OLAP as a group of decision support system that facilitate fast, consistent and interactive access of information that has been reformulate, transformed and summarized from relational dataset mainly from data warehouse into MDDB which allow optimal data retrieval and for performing trend analysis. According to Chaudhuri (1997), Burdick, D. et al. (2006) and Vassiladis, P. (1999), OLAP is important concept for strategic database analysis. OLAP have the ability to analyze large amount of data for the extraction of valuable information. Analytical development can be of business, education or medical sectors. The technologies of data warehouse, OLAP, and analyzing tools support that ability. OLAP enable discovering pattern and relationship contain in business activity by query tons of data from multiple database source systems at one time (Nigel. P., 2008). Processing database information using OLAP required an OLAP server to organize and transformed and builds MDDB. MDDB are then separated by cubes for client OLAP tools to perform data analysis which aim to discover new pattern relationship between the cubes. Some popular OLAP server software programs include Oracle (C), IBM (C) and Microsoft (C). Madeira (2003) supports the fact that OLAP and data warehouse are complementary technology which blends together. Data warehouse stores and manages data while OLAP transforms data warehouse datasets into strategic information. OLAP function ranges from basic navigation and browsing (often known as slice and dice), to calculations and also serious analysis such as time series and complex modelling. As decision-makers implement more advanced OLAP capabilities, they move from basic data access to creation of information and to discovering of new knowledge. 2.3.4 OLAP ARCHITECTURE In comparison to data warehouse which usually based on relational technology, OLAP uses a multidimensional view to aggregate data to provide rapid access to strategic information for analysis. There are three type of OLAP architecture based on the method in which they store multi-dimensional data and perform analysis operations on that dataset (Nigel, P., 2008). The categories are multidimensional OLAP (MOLAP), relational OLAP (ROLAP) and hybrid OLAP (HOLAP). In MOLAP as depicted in Diagram 2.11, datasets are stored and summarized in a multidimensional cube. The MOLAP architecture can perform faster than ROLAP and HOLAP (C). MOLAP cubes designed and build for rapid data retrieval to enhance efficient slicing and dicing operations. MOLAP can perform complex calculations which have been pre-generated after cube creation. MOLAP processing is restricted to initial cube that was created and are not bound to any additional replication of cube. In ROLAP as depict in Diagram 2.12, data and aggregations are stored in relational database tables to provide the OLAP slicing and dicing functionalities. ROLAP are the slowest among the OLAP flavours. ROLAP relies on data manipulating directly in the relational database to give the manifestation of conventional OLAPs slicing and dicing functionality. Basically, each slicing and dicing action is equivalent to adding a WHERE clause in the SQL statement. (C) ROLAP can manage large amounts of data and ROLAP do not have any limitations for data size. ROLAP can influence the intrinsic functionality in a relational database. ROLAP are slow in performance because each ROLAP activity are essentially a SQL query or multiple SQL queries in the relational database. The query time and number of SQL statements executed measures by its complexity of the SQL statements and can be a bottleneck if the underlying dataset size is large. ROLAP essentially depends on SQL statements generation to query the relational database and do not cater all needs which make ROLAP technology conventionally limited by what SQL functionality can offer. (C) HOLAP as depict in Diagram 2.13, combine the technologies of MOLAP and ROLAP. Data are stored in ROLAP relational database tables and the aggregations are stored in MOLAP cube. HOLAP can drill down from multidimensional cube into the underlying relational database data. To acquire summary type of information, HOLAP leverages cube technology for faster performance. Whereas to retrieve detail type of information, HOLAP can drill down from the cube into the underlying relational data. (C) In OLAP architectures (MOLAP, ROLAP and HOLAP), the datasets are stored in a multidimensional format as it involves the creation of multidimensional blocks called data cubes (Harinarayan, 1996). The cube in OLAP architecture may have three axes (dimensions), or more. Each axis (dimension) represents a logical category of data. One axis may for example represent the geographic location of the data, while others may indicate a state of time or a specific school. Each of the categories, which will be described in the following section, can be broken down into successive levels and it is possible to drill up or down between the levels. Cabibo (1997) states that OLAP partitions are normally stored in an OLAP server, with the relational database frequently stored on a separate server from OLAP server. OLAP server must query across the network whenever it needs to access the relational tables to resolve a query. The impact of querying across the network depends on the performance characteristics of the network itself. Even when the relational database is placed on the same server as OLAP server, inter-process calls and the associated context switching are required to retrieve relational data. With a OLAP partition, calls to the relational database, whether local or over the network, do not occur during querying. 2.3.3 OLAP FUNCTIONALITY OLAP functionality offers dynamic multidimensional analysis supporting end users with analytical activities includes calculations and modelling applied across dimensions, trend analysis over time periods, slicing subsets for on-screen viewing, drilling to deeper levels of records (OLAP Council, 1997) OLAP is implemented in a multi-user client/server environment and provide reliably fast response to queries, in spite of database size and complexity. OLAP facilitate the end user integrate enterprise information through relative, customized viewing, analysis of historical and present data in various what-if data model scenario. This is achieved through use of an OLAP Server as depicted in diagram 2.9. OLAP functionality is provided by an OLAP server. OLAP server design and data structure are optimized for fast information retrieval in any course and flexible calculation and transformation of unprocessed data. The OLAP server may either actually carry out the processed multidimensional information to distribute consistent and fast response times to end users, or it may fill its data structures in real time from relational databases, or offer a choice of both. Essentially, OLAP create information in cube form which allows more composite analysis compares to relational database. OLAP analysis techniques employ slice and dice and drilling methods to segregate data into loads of information depending on given parameters. Slice is identifying a single value for one or more variable which is non-subset of multidimensional array. Whereas dice function is application of slice function on more than two dimensions of multidimensional cubes. Drilling function allows end user to traverse between condensed data to most precise data unit as depict in Diagram 2.10. 2.3.5 MULTIDIMENSIONAL DATABASE SCHEMA The base of every data warehouse system is a relational database build using a dimensional model. Dimensional model consists of fact and dimension tables which are described as star schema or snowflake schema (Kimball, 1999). A schema is a collection of database objects, tables, views and indexes (Inmon, 1996). To understand dimensional data modelling, Table 2.10 defines some of the terms commonly used in this type of modelling: In designing data models for data warehouse, the most commonly used schema types are star schema and snowflake schema. In the star schema design, fact table sits in the middle and is connected to other surrounding dimension tables like a star. A star schema can be simple or complex. A simple star consists of one fact table; a complex star can have more than one fact table. Most data warehouses use a star schema to represent the multidimensional data model. The database consists of a single fact table and a single table for each dimension. Each tuple in the fact table consists of a pointer or foreign key to each of the dimensions that provide its multidimensional coordinates, and stores the numeric measures for those coordinates. A tuple consist of a unit of data extracted from cube in a range of member from one or more dimension tables. (C, http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa216769%28SQL.80%29.aspx). Each dimension table consists of columns that correspond to attributes of the dimension. Diagram 2.14 shows an example of a star schema For Medical Informatics System. Star schemas do not explicitly provide support for attribute hierarchies which are not suitable for architecture such as MOLAP which require lots of hierarchies of dimension tables for efficient drilling of datasets. Snowflake schemas provide a refinement of star schemas where the dimensional hierarchy is explicitly represented by normalizing the dimension tables, as shown in Diagram 2.15. The main advantage of the snowflake schema is the improvement in query performance due to minimized disk storage requirements and joining smaller lookup tables. The main disadvantage of the snowflake schema is the additional maintenance efforts needed due to the increase number of lookup tables. (C) Levene. M (2003) stresses that in addition to the fact and dimension tables, data warehouses store selected summary tables containing pre-aggregated data. In the simplest cases, the pre-aggregated data corresponds to aggregating the fact table on one or more selected dimensions. Such pre-aggregated summary data can be represented in the database in at least two ways. Whether to use star or a snowflake mainly depends on business needs. 2.3.2 OLAP Evaluation As OLAP technology taking prominent place in data warehouse industry, there should be a suitable assessment tool to evaluate it. E.F. Codd not only invented OLAP but also provided a set of procedures which are known as the Twelve Rules for OLAP product ability assessment which include data manipulation, unlimited dimensions and aggregation levels and flexible reporting as shown in Table 2.8 (Codd, 1993): Codd twelve rules of OLAP provide us an essential tool to verify the OLAP functions and OLAP models used are able to produce desired result. Berson, A. (2001) stressed that a good OLAP system should also support a complete database management tools as a utility for integrated centralized tool to permit database management to perform distribution of databases within the enterprise. OLAP ability to perform drilling mechanism within the MDDB allows the functionality of drill down right to the source or root of the detail record level. This implies that OLAP tool permit a smooth changeover from the MDDB to the detail record level of the source relational database. OLAP systems also must support incremental database refreshes. This is an important feature as to prevent stability issues on operations and usability problems when the size of the database increases. 2.3.1 OLTP and OLAP The design of OLAP for multidimensional cube is entirely different compare to OLTP for database. OLTP is implemented into relational database to support daily processing in an organization. OLTP system main function is to capture data into computers. OLTP allow effective data manipulation and storage of data for daily operational resulting in huge quantity of transactional data. Organisations build multiple OLTP systems to handle huge quantities of daily operations transactional data can in short period of time. OLAP is designed for data access and analysis to support managerial user strategic decision making process. OLAP technology focuses on aggregating datasets into multidimensional view without hindering the system performance. According to Han, J. (2001), states OLTP systems as Customer oriented and OLAP is a market oriented. He summarized major differences between OLTP and OLAP system based on 17 key criteria as shown in table 2.7. It is complicated to merge OLAP and OLTP into one centralized database system. The dimensional data design model used in OLAP is much more effective for querying than the relational database query used in OLTP system. OLAP may use one central database as data source and OLTP used different data source from different database sites. The dimensional design of OLAP is not suitable for OLTP system, mainly due to redundancy and the loss of referential integrity of the data. Organization chooses to have two separate information systems, one OLTP and one OLAP system (Poe, V., 1997). We can conclude that the purpose of OLTP systems is to get data into computers, whereas the purpose of OLAP is to get data or information out of computers. 2.4 DATA MINING Many data mining scholars (Fayyad, 1998; Freitas, 2002; Han, J. et. al., 1996; Frawley, 1992) have defined data mining as discovering hidden patterns from historical datasets by using pattern recognition as it involves searching for specific, unknown information in a database. Chung, H. (1999) and Fayyad et al (1996) referred data mining as a step of knowledge discovery in database and it is the process of analyzing data and extracts knowledge from a large database also known as data warehouse (Han, J., 2000) and making it into useful information. Freitas (2002) and Fayyad (1996) have recognized the advantageous tool of data mining for extracting knowledge from a da