Monday, January 27, 2020

Role of Information Systems in Business

Role of Information Systems in Business A. Information system is very essential for running and managing a business today. Information technology is helpful in managing important production data and based on the data it helps the production, management, and owners of the company to better run their business and earn maximum profits. The six reasons are operational excellence; business models; customer/supplier intimacy; improved decision-making; competitive advantage, and day-to-day survival. What exactly is an information system? How does it work? What are its people, organization, and technology components? A. Information system is a way to collect, store and share data related to your business. This can be related to financial planning, purchasing, manufacturing, and finally sale. With the help of various programs such as SAP (System, Application, Products). The SAP system allows different areas of business to view and share pertaining information that is stored in one centralized location using its various components, such as material management-primarily used by warehouse functions related to purchasing, finance-primarily used by the finance department etc. From my readings, I have learned that the people component relates to solving issues such as training, management behavior, and job attitudes. I have also learned that the organization component relates to the specialty of functions that individuals perform business procedures, business culture, and the organizations hierarchy. Technology component relates to the companys computer system, data management, telecommunicating, intern et, and intranet. Information system literacy helps employees store data and information that relates to their job performance. Computer literacy is important to understand the various programs that are used in the information system. Internet is a service that helps stay connected with the world, your customers, and your stockholders. With a World Wide Web address, which is generally accessible via the internet, you can sell products that your company produces, with only one centralized warehousing facility, eliminating multiple warehousing costs. How will information systems affect business careers and what information system skills and knowledge are essential? A. The role of information systems is very important for careers in accounting, finance, marketing management, and operations management. An information system helps each career in different ways to achieve one common company goal, which is to be profitable. New technologies in the information systems are helping businesses be more productive, cut operating costs, manage efficiently, and earn maximum profit. However, countries like, India, Japan, and China who have developed their information systems and have a large highly qualified work force that is much cheaper in labor costs are causing local businesses to outsource some part of their business and its functions to those countries. How do information systems support the major business functions: sales and marketing, manufacturing and production, finance and accounting, and human resources? A. Sales and marking systems are helpful in indentifying customer base for your products that your company sales. The data related to demand helps market appropriate products to their respective markets. This helps achieving maximum sales and profit from the sales. Manufacturing and production system deals with planning, development, and production part of the product your company manufactures. This system also helps plan and maintain the flow of production to avoid over or under production to meet consumer demands on a consistent basis. Finance and accounting systems help keep track of funds and the use of funds related to manufacturing and sale of products produced. It also helps track the profits and losses. Human resource system helps maintaining employee personal and professional records, track their skill levels, job performance, and any required training to keep your staff up to date with the latest technology. This system is also used to employee compensation and their career development. How do systems serve the various levels of management in a business and how are these systems related? A. Operational management level uses the system for transaction processing system (TPS), for example, payroll, and order processing. Middle management uses the decision-support systems, this helps take decisions related to production, workforce etc. These are not a very complex or analytical. However, executive support systems are very analytical. They are generally in the forms of graphs and charts that are delivered by presentations to senior management to make executive level decisions. How do enterprise applications, collaboration and communication systems, and intranets improve organizational performance? A. There are multiple applications in the enterprise. I am going to define each of them individually. Enterprise applications are a group of functions tied into one software system to help improve synchronizing, efficiency, and decision-making. These applications are designed to coordinate multiple functions that are used in a business. Supply chain management system is helpful for material management, resource planning, manufacturing, and delivering final products and services to the sales channel or in some cases directly to the customers. Customer relationship management is a part of information system, and is used to plan and communicate business processes to its customers to help obtain maximum revenue and customer satisfaction. Collaboration and communications systems are a part of knowledge management system. They help enable companies to optimize their product creation, sharing, and distribution of product knowledge. Intranet is a part of web page that is only available for i nternal company use. The company can also have an Internet site, which is available to access for anyone with World Wide Web access. Often times companies that sale their products directly to the consumers, use Internet as a major part of their sales system. Companies also have Extranets that are available for use to the companies vendors for the access related to material management, ordering raw material etc. What is a role of the information systems function in a business? A. Information systems function in a business is usually the technology department in a business. This department is also known as Information Technology (IT). These groups of professionals are responsible for maintaining the hardware, software, data storage, network that the company uses for its infrastructure.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Lennie and George in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Essay

Lennie and George are considerably different from the other ranch workers mainly unlike the workers who are all shown to be lonely, George and Lennie have each other. They relay on each other and their dreams together. There is a bond of trust and friendship between the two main characters which is tragically highlighted in the closing lines of the novel. The novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck is set in the early 1930’s following the collapse of the New York wall street market known as the depression years. In this time there was heavy unemployment; migrant workers from all over America came to California where the novel is set in the Salinas valley in search of prospects of work. The ranch itself is a microcosm of the life for migrant workers in that time, their insecurities are shown through the characters such as Curley, Candy, Curley’s wife and also the life of Black people through Crooks. All the characters are lonely except for Lennie and George who have each other and this is shown through their hopes and dreams. Lennie and Georges history together opens up when George talks to Slim a character that everyone respects, even Curley. George openly speaks to Slim about the incident when George tells Lennie to jump into the river jokingly, but to everyone’s surprise Lennie jumps in without questioning George not realising he cannot swim and almost drowns if George didn’t rescue him, even then Lennie thanks George for saving him even though it was George who told him to do it in the first place. At this point George’s fear is shown at Leannie’s inability to comprehend logical and illogical things, George realises at that moment that if he is not careful Lennie could do the wrong thing again. George’s other fears are also shown in the incident at weed, while talking about it to slim he describes Lennie being ‘slow’ as he likes to touch everything he likes, just wants to feel it. So he reaches to feel a girls red dress and the girl screams, Lennie gets scared all he can think to do is hold on and that George had to hit him with a fence picket to make him let go. Again Lennie’s strength becomes an issue and the writer almost foretelling the future. George is afraid of Lennie not understanding right from wrong and his strength scares George making him think that he might to  what he did at weed again. Lennie is shown to be a child in a mans body . throughout the book he wants to be told their dream almost like a bed time story and doesn’t feel closure until he has been told it. And again like a child he likes soft and fury things relating to the reason why he likes to touch dresses. Lennie’s greatest fear of the all is that he won’t be able to tend the rabbits if he did something wrong like the incident at weed again, he is also afraid of his own strength and not being able to let go. Lennie and George’s dream of having a place of their own ‘living of the fat of the land’ and Lennie and his alfalfa patch and tending the rabbits, keep’s them going and hoping that they won’t have to worry about Lennie doing the wrong things again, and George being able to do what he wants do and not think about what will happen to Lennie. Their dreams create hope for other characters like Candy and Crooks even for a short while. On the face of it, it appears that Lennie, because of his mental immaturity, is totally reliant upon George for his survival and for obtaining work at various ranches. Equally important however, is the extent to which George relies on Lennie for companionship in the generally unfriendly and lonely environment of the migrant labourer. As George admits to Slim when discussing himself and Lennie ‘it’s a lot nicer to go around with a guy you know’. It can be seen; therefore that George might not be with Lennie purely out of a sense of pity or duty to Lennie’s aunt Clara. From the start of the novel Steinbeck raises the questions in the minds of the reader about why these characters should be involved in such an unlikely partnership: George is short of stature, intelligent and projects self-confidence, Lennie on the other hand, is a giant of a man, ponderous in his gait and his mind of a young child. The course of events that unfold are tragic, most of it starts with Curley and his insecurity about his height and his always willing to pick a fight with bigger men to prove he is not weak. Steinbeck calls him calculating and  pugnacious and gives him reptilian animal like qualities representing his behaviour to a crocodile while Lennie is shown to have bear and horse like qualities compared to animals with admirable traits. Ch 3 begins when Curley busts in looking for Slim who he thinks is with his wife. When Slim re-enters the room telling Curley that he’s sick of Curley asking him about his wife. Curley can’t fight with Slim so he moves to Carlson who warns him not to pick a fight with him, as they all join in Curley feels defenceless and so turns on to Lennie given any excuse to fight with him. As Curley begins to fight him, Lennie gives out a cry of terror and turns to George for help as he was too frightened to defend himself. George immediately gets onto his feet yelling ‘Give it to him Lennie, don’t let him do it’. George was afraid of Lennie’s strength but he wouldn’t let Lennie go down like that he was protective over him. As Curley goes for another blow to the blood covered face, Lennie grabs his fist. Curley is described to be flopping as a fish. Then just like in weed Lennie held on to the closed fist being crushed by Lennie’s hand. It took both George and Slim to make Lennie let go. Curley was warned not to say a word about what happened. After this Curley’s wife became very interested in what happened actually happened to Curley’s hand but nobody spoke to her. When Lennie kills the pup in the barn, while wondering what to do Curley’s wife comes in. even though he shouldn’t talk to her he does, she tells him how she is lonely and just wants someone to talk too, also how unhappy she is in her marriage to Curley, this is the only point in the novel where her story comes out, how she was never loved at home, how she married Curley to get away from her life, her dreams of becoming famous in movies. As Lennie feels her hair vents repeat themselves he can’t let go and in her struggle to get free and Lennie’s fear that she will call George he breaks her neck in attempt to silence her again his inability to control his strength has taken a turn for the worst. He realises what he has done and remembers that if he did anything bad George said to go to the brush where he’d find him there, so Lennie quickly and quietly leaves. Candy is the first to find her in the barn and gets George who knows instantly what has  happened he tells candy to let him go to the bunk house first then tell the rest of them so he doesn’t look involved. There dream is destroyed and candy blames Curley’s wife, when he tells the rest of them Curley shows no sign of remorse all he can do is think about getting Lennie back. As they all take off to find Lennie, George manages to find him first by the lake; even now he is still afraid he won’t be able to tend the rabbits. George knows that there is no way out for them, knowing Curley he would just want to kill him he wouldn’t put him in jail, and if he let him go the Lennie couldn’t look after himself he would die without food, shelter and someone to look after him. George knew that he would have to kill him when he found Lennie. Just like Candy’s dog to put him out of his misery for the sake of Lennie. Also he couldn’t let someone else do it he told Lennie about their dream one last time as he told it he quietly put the gun to the back of Lennie’s head without him realising and shot him, it was a sympathy kill. At the end it is Slim who comforts him in telling George that he had to do it. Bibliography: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Themes There are a few themes in the novel, Journey to the Centre of the Earth. The first theme is achieving one’s dream. Professor Lidenbrock shows that with determination, one can achieve one’s dream. So when he got an opportunity to do so in making the  journey to the centre of the Earth, he seized it immediately. At the end of this novel, he successfully completed the journey. Second theme is facing challengers with perseverance and courage. Many times during the journey, the travelers faced challengers.For example, Axel wanted to turn back but the Professor and Hans persevered till Hans courageously explored the cave to look for a stream. Third theme is facing difficulties with optimism. Axel lost hope many times and wanted to give up. Fortunately, his uncle was full of optimism throughout the journey. For example, when they went through the chasm of fire, his uncle believed they were on their way back to the surface. He was right. His optimism kept them going ti ll they completed the  journey. Moral ValuesIn the novel, Journey to the Centre of the earth, the moral value I have learned is we should practice co-operation, obedience and loyalty when doing work as a group. Professor Otto Lidenbrock, Axel and Hans undertook the journey to the centre of the earth. They were unsure of  what they would see and the dangers they would face. To make sure they were safe, they worked together and looked after each other. Hans saved Axel when he almost fell into the pit from a tunnel. Hans made the effort to look for water to save them.He made the raft for them to sail across the sea. Axel did everything his uncle expected of him. There was co-operation, obedience and loyalty. Synopsis In the novel, Journey to the Centre of the earth, Professor Lidenbrock discovers a coded message in an ancient  manuscript about a way to get into the centre of the Earth through a mountain in Iceland. After decoding the message, Lidenbrock and Axel set off to Icelan d to begin their journey to the centre of the Earth. They hire an Icelandic guide, Hans Bjelke to help them on their journey.When they enter the volcanic crater, they face several difficulties and see a lot of strange things, including prehistoric life. They build a raft and set sail on the ocean and reach a coastline. They are swept into a large vent filling with water and magma and are ejected onto the surface. When they regain consciousness, they find out that they are on the island of Stromboli in Italy. They return home to Germany. In Germany they are treated like heroes and Professor Lidenbrock's achievements are recognized. Axel marries Gretchen, and Hans eventually returns to Iceland.Charaters Professor Otto Lidenbrock Professor Otto Lidenbrock is a middle aged eccentric dedicated scientist. He had an intense scientific curiosity. After reading the runic script, he was decided to make the journey to the centre of the Earth. Once he had decided to do it, he pursued it till it was accomplished. He was concerned for Axel through the journey. When Axel wanted to give up and turn back, hepersevered Axel to continue the journey. At the end of this novel, He succeeded in making the journey and returned to Hamburg a hero.Professor Otto Lidenbrock became a well-known scientist internationally acclaimed. Axel Lidenbrock Axel Lidenbrock was Professor Lidenbrock’s young nephew. He had a girlfriend by the name of Gretchen. At times, he was helpful to his uncle. It was him who found the secret to decode the message in the script. Later, he found the message on the back of the paper he was holding. Though he had misgivings about the journey his uncle wanted to embark, his loyalty to him made him go with his uncle.However, he could not endure the hardships of  discovery. Many time he wanted to give up and return home. Hans Bjelke Hans Bjelke was an Icelandic guide who was reliable and brave. He was a strong and reliable man, he spoke few words. He was good at his job as a guide. Being resourceful, he always had the things needed. When they had to climb down the cave, he had the ropes ready for them to do it. Through his help, Axel and his uncle succeeded in completing the journey.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Maps In The Renaissance Period - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 878 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/06/14 Category Art Essay Level High school Tags: Renaissance Essay Did you like this example? When one takes 3d objects and transforms them to 2d representation, choices always have to be made. Information is transformed, distorted, or left out. These choices tell a story about what is important to the curator of this information. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Maps In The Renaissance Period" essay for you Create order In maps, this inherent bias is sometimes subconscious, and other times is used and abused to sell certain ideals to viewers. Michael Wintle says in his article Renaissance Maps and the Construction of the Idea of Europe that It is no longer controversial to maintain that maps are a form of discourse, that they represent viewpoints, opinions, aspirations and statements to their readers, who in turn interpret the data which maps present. Maps are interpretations of ?facts, and often contain ideological and rhetorical devices. In this sense, they can document a social history of power, especially power over space. This dynamic emerged as maps developed in and through the Renaissance and beyond. In the 1320s, Fra Paolino Veneto created one of the first maps of Rome. He shows the city with a number of faintly recognizable and often labeled monuments (like the colosseum, towers, aqueducts, and St. Peterrs Basilica) as well as geographical features (Romers famed hills, the Tiber River), all contained within a regularized oblong circuit of crenellated walls. It was not scaled and had no references to measured data, and the monuments and roads only had a slight resemblance to the actual layout and architecture of the city. It was portrayed in an ideogrammatic view, which presented the town as a collection of isolated monuments within a schematic rendering of the walls. Through this vague representation, these maps could become up to varying interpretations. Around 1485, Rosselli created a large pictorial view of Rome that became the foremost map of Rome for almost century. The original is only known through copies, but some aspects can be gathered. It portrayed Rome in a dense cityscape, giving a sense of life, as contrary to the ideogrammatic view that Veneto had created. The view is from the Northwest and features many prominent landmarks, quite a few of which are emphasized by being much larger than actual size. This created a bias towards these landmarks in a bid to bring in more visitors to the capitol through showing off the culture and grand history of the city. One of the successors of Rossellirs engraving was the Mantua Canvas. The painting favored ancient monuments by highlighting them in white and making them larger than more recent Renaissance construction, with much more detail. While this emphasis in Rossellirs engraving was for the purposes of promoting Rome as a grand cultured city, the emphasis of old monuments in the Mantua Canvas was twisted for a political message. An inscription on the map reads How great Rome once was, now only the ruins show. This portrait of the city was created to hang in the Mantuan Palace. Maier states In the context of a hall of state like the Ducal Palace in Mantua, this city portrait was carefully tailored to make a political statement. Although the Gonzaga court had no claims to Rome, the view shows their emblem, the eagle, emblazoned next to the flag of Rome In this way, the rulers of Mantua took symbolic possession of the Eternal City. A few years later, Bufalini created a plan that was the most accurate since ancient times. The map was a unique combination and synthesis of the physical fabric of modern Rome and a glorious specter of ancient ?caput mundi. Caput mundi meant Rome as capital of the world. This sentiment was often echoed in art of the Renaissance as it heavily romanticised Rome. Bufalini was following numerous architects and artists who were, according to Claudio Tolomei, trying to draw from the grave the Rome that is already dead, and give her new life. Through his portrayal, Bufalini looked to unite the past and the present, and his map took pictoralism from his portrayal. In inscriptions on his map, he said his image offered viewers the true essence of Rome. He wrote in the lower left margin that The city which today is inhabited, he [Bufalini] has placed before your eyes, except that he has also added the old, once mistress of the whole world, brought back as if from the grave. The map not only included the present and past buildings, but also others that hadnt been built, therefore collapsing past, present, and future cityscapes. The map was more accurate in the abiato, or urban center, and it looks like Bufalini had measured major streets before sketching in the positions of smaller roads. In the farther out parts of Rome, the disabiato, it was less accurate. The buildings of Bufalinirs time, in the process of renewal, were hidden and instead exaggerated and restored ruins were rebuilt in a bid for nostalgia, much like other maps. Though the disabiators rhetoric was more clear, there was also a message in the abiato. The center of the map held a largely exaggerated statue of Emperor Constantine, a symbol of Romers victory and Christian identity. Maier describes this as a visual summation of Renaissance Romers self-definition as the Christian revival and culmination of antiquity. This is reinforced by the way that St. Peterrs Basilica was depicted on the map.