Major Assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 12500 words

Major Assignment - Research Paper Example His horsemen using bows and arrows conquered vast stretches of land in Asia from the present day Beijing in China in the east to parts of present day Iran in the west. Genghis Khan is also credited with establishing an administrative structure based on laws and regulations which enabled his nomadic people to administer the vast empire. Genghis Khan is also reviled in history for the brutality he inflicted on his opponents in war (Jarus). Since the mid-seventeenth century until the end of the cold war era in the early 1990s, Mongolia was cut off from the rest of the world. It was under the control of various Chinese ruling dynasties until the early 1900s. From the time of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia in 1917, Mongolia became a communist country and a part of the Soviet bloc. From the early 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mongolia is transitioning into a multi-party democracy. In recent times, Mongolia has caught the world’s attention due to the discovery of an estimated $ 1.3 trillion value of mineral wealth in the country. The minerals include coal, copper, oil, gold, silver, iron ore, tin and uranium. Foreign mining companies have started investing vast sums in the mining industry causing the GDP to rise at over 14% a year, the fastest in the world (Eurasianet). Mongolia is aiming to use its mineral wealth to attract interest from the United States and other countries as the means of balancing the dominance of its large neighbors, China and Russia. This has been enunciated by the Mongolian parliament as â€Å" the third neighbor policy†. The US and other countries see an opportunity in Mongolia to create a strategic zone of influence in the neighborhood of China and Russia (Wachman). This research paper would help serve as an introduction to Mongolia which shapes to be a country that would frequently be in the news in the United States and around the world in the near

The thought Police Essay Example for Free

The thought Police Essay For centrys writers in literature have written about about their ideal world their utopia. This ideal world is a place were every thing is as your heart desires it to be. This is somethig all human beings can relate to , every person has their own vision of how the world should. But what if this eutopia turned into a living nightmare, world full fear,misery,depression and doubt. This would become the criteria of a dystpian worlld. A place far from the fantasys of utopia. In the oxford dictionary of litercy terms Dystopia is defined as an imaginary place or condition in which everything is as bad possible. The opposite of utopia. This exactly the case in the novel nineteen eighty four by George Orwell and the handmaids ale by Margaret Attwood. In both these novels the autos have created worlds which are dark, suppressed and painful for the characters involved. They have created these worlds to such a great effect that the reader is left thinking about how it would be to live in these dystopia. The critic Bernard Richards once said dystopias are useful; they warn us about what might happen. This is one of the many strengths about working with the dystopian genre. Though the novels are depressing which may not be what a reader wants initially from a book, the dystopian genre is extremely thought provoking. It allows the reader to reflect and appreciate the world we have at present. The novels dismal tones make the reader realise that maybe their lives arent so bad when in comparison to character involved in these dystpoipian nightmares. Another more positive side to the dystopian genre is that there is generally an important message behind the darkness whether it is political religious etc Both authors have a similar messages within their books, and these message aer mainly religeous and political ones. Atwood and orwell looked at the world and societys of their times and wrote novels warnings of the dire consequences of fundemental ideal and dictatorship can lead to. In the the handmaids tale a grooup of fundamentalist christians establishes the state of gilead in new england. Imeadiatly all womens rights, such as votin, owwing propewry or making any type of descisions are revoked. The constant civil war in the background of the book has left a majority of women infertile. Inspired by the biblical tale of rachel and billah, gileiad decres that all fertile women are to act as handmaids. Surrogate mothers who will bear the children of the infertile couples. Atwood weaeves many elements into her book:hatred of feminism, religious bigotry, rascism, enviromental destrution and of course atwood explores the consequences ofa reversal of womens rights. in this totaliterarian society, womens bodys serve purly serve as political tool. Atwoods novel is clearly inspired by the ideals of christian fundametalism and her visit to afganistan in 1978. A country with a distorted view of islam and led by fundamentalist muslims. This is very much present in the red dress of the handmaid which is very simililar to the chador worn by afgan women. In george orwells 1984, he has constructed a dystopian world in which every individual can be monitoed. There thoughts and actions can be controled by the government. 1984 is said to be one of orwells best crafted novels as it gives an incredibly powerful warning against the dangers of a toterian society. In spain germany, germany and the soviet union orwell had witnessed the danger of absolute political authority in an age of advanced technology. He illistrated this in 1984 harshly. He portrays the perfect totliterian society, the most extrem realisatioin imaginable of a modern day government with absolute power. Both orwell and atwood have main character by which the story is told to the reader. These two characters have many similartys and differences. In the handmaids tale tale the entire story is told directly from the point of view of ofred . she is narrator and prtagnist of the novel. In 1984 the entre novel is narrated in the third person, through the main character winston. Both characters are rebels within theier socity and completely against the ideals of their leaders. Winston is very thoughtful in nature and his main attributes are his rebeliousnes and fatalism. Winston hates the party pationatlyand wants to test the limits of its power, he comits a numerous amount amounts of crimethroughout the novel ranging from writing DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER in his diary to his illegal love affair with julia( another character within the book) to secretly getting himself into the anti party brotherhood. The effert winston puts into his atempt at feedom ultimatly underscores the the partys devstating power. And By the end of the novel winsto is a loyal servent to big brother. The main reason for winstons rebelion and eventual down fall is his imense sense of fatalism. He is intensly paranoid about the party and his belief that the party will eventualy capture him and punish him. whether he went on with the diary, or whether he did not go on with it, made no difference. The thought police would get him all the same. As soon as he writes into his diary he is positive that the thought police are coming for him. Winston is so sur of his doom that this causes him to take unnessary risks, such as trusting o birian , renting a room above the shop and continuing to rebel because of his belief that he will be caught any way. In handmaid tale ofred like winston is a rebel, but unlike winston who rebel externaly, she rebels internaly. Ofred is by no means the heroin of the novel, she resist giliads concepts and ideal but does not act in a physyicaky open way on them. On the outside she submitts to gileads rules and her role as a handmaid once her attempt at escape fails. She is hardly a feminist champion; she always felt uncomfortable with her mothers activism, and her pre-Gilead relationship with Luke began when she became his mistress. Although she is friends with Ofglen, who is a member of the resistance, she never makes the move to join up herself. After she begins her affair with Nick, she seems to lose sight of escape and begins to feels that life in Gilead is almost bearable. If she does finally escape, it is because of Nick, not because of anything she has phisicaly done herself. Offred is a mostly passive character, good-hearted but complacent. Like her peers, she took for granted the freedoms feminism won and now pays the price. Like most of the women in Gilead, she is an ordinary woman placed in an extraordinary situation Another subject or theme which both these dystopian novels share is th esubject of gender. The reprsenttation of male and females especialy in 1984 is very stricking. In 1984 orwell has given women in the novel a very negative light. Winston who can be said to reflect the voice of orwell has extreamly sexist views towards women. The only women in the novel that can be said to have a more positive oulook is winstons mother. He sees her pure safricial women and constantly reminises about her in the novel. 19984 is a very male dominated novel, there are few females character in it. Julia is the main female charater in the novel, and winstons attidude to her at times is extremly negative he would flog her to death with a rubber truncheon. he would tie to a stake and shoot her full of arrows. he would ravish her and cut her throat at the moment of climax winston applys this vulgar attidude not just to julia but to other female with in the novel her thick arms reaching up fo the line , her powerful mare like buttocks protruded this qote is where winston observes a prole women hanging out her washing and basicaly comparing her to a horse. Julias purpose in the novel is to serve as the male fantasy, she has sex with winston and is very promiscuous in that she has slept with may party men,she brings him forbidden food, she dresses up for him. The critic and feminist beatrix campbell sees the portralel of women in 1984 as very negative- women are akin to the proletarian man in orwells work, they are rendered natural rather than skillful, almost infantile in their unconsciousness rather then alert and organised. I agree with her views, women are cleary given a dismal outlook, and julias character also a very unrealsistic one. The handmaids tale can be said to be a feminist update of 984, this could also be because of the fact that the author is female. The whole tone to the novel is completely different to the cold, dreary, masculine tones of 1984.

The Ethics of Gene Therapy Essay -- Genetics Science Papers

The Ethics of Gene Therapy Francis Crick was quoted as saying, "We used to think that our fate was in our stars. Now we know that, in large measure, our fate is in our genes." Over 40 years ago, James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). From this a new technique has evolved called gene therapy. Gene therapy was discovered in the 1980’s a few years after researchers were already able to isolate specific genes from DNA. These techniques matured from the massive surge of ideas generated during the Recombinant DNA (rDNA) era. Gene therapy is basically the repairing of genes to correct for diseases that result from a loss or change in our genetic material. It is hard to comprehend the total effects of gene therapy, because we do not know if it should really be used? Who does it really benefit? And ultimately people can easily contemplate how it affects him or herself and their family. Therefore, to understand gene therapy some technical aspects need to be discuss ed. Technical aspects DNA is present in the nucleus of cells and is the genetic information of all organisms. The information of a human genome could be thought of in terms as an "encyclopedia", the 23 chromosome pairs would be "chapters", each gene a "sentence", three letter words "codons", which are spelled by each letter a "molecular nucleotide"--adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T) (Elmer-Dewitt, 1994). A gene acts as a blueprint and if these were blueprints for a house and the measurements were off by a foot, it has a huge influence on its total structure. This is the same for our bodies, if a slight alteration in our genetic information occurs like a mutation this could lead to a disease. D... ...tad. 1991. Principles of genetics. 8th ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Gorman, C. 9 Oct 1995. Has gene therapy stalled? Time p. 62-63. Henderson, C.W. 5 May 1997. Researchers use gene therapy to protect human cell from HIV. AIDS Weekly Plus p. 16-17. Henderson, C.W. 5 May 1997. Hopkins researchers complete human gene therapy trial of kidney cancer vaccine. Cancer Weekly p. 29-30. Keenan, J.F. 20 Oct 1990. Human gene therapy: and ethical advance? America p. 262-263. Macer, D.R.J. Shaping genes: ethics, law and science of using new genetic technology in medicine and agriculture. Obtained from the WWW:http://www.biol.tsukuba.ac.jp/~macer/SG14.html Meiser, C. Medical ethics symposium on gene therapy. Obtained from the WWW:http://shsaa.org/Spectator/94n5/5gene.html Mulligan, R.C. 1993. The basic science of gene therapy. Science 260:926-932.

Educating Rita essay :: English Literature

Educating Rita essay "I've been realizing for ages that I was you know slightly out of step, I'm twenty six, I should have had a baby by now, everyone expects it, I'm sure me husband thinks I'm sterile. He was moaning all the time you know come off the pills, lets have a baby. I told him I'd come off the pills, just to shut him up. But I'm still on it, see I don't want to baby yet. See, I want to discover myself first, do you understand that? Changes take place in every one through our lives everyday; In this essay I will be exploring the changes that have happened in Franks and Rita relationship in the play Educating Rita by Willy Russell. I will be mainly focusing upon the attitudes of the two main characters towards each other and towards themselves. Rita is a mature woman seeking an education, as she didn't take the opportunity to learn when she was an amateur student because of the environment she lived around in and the fact she didn't want to learn because of her popularity and her working class culture. Frank: Rita why didn't you become what you call a proper student? Rita: you know, boring, ripped-up books, broken glass everywhere, knives and fights and that was just in the staffroom. Nah, they tried their best I suppose, but studying was just for the whimps, wasn't it? See, if I'd started taking school seriously I would have had to become different from me mates and that's not allowed. In reflected, Rita has come to realise how the law expectations surrounding her and her working class culture held her back from her real potential. She wants to change now and break this cycle. Frank, the other main character, is a teacher at the university where she has applied to do her course. He is around his 50's and is Rita's tutor. He is a lazy man, bored and frustrated by his life he too does not feel like he belongs anywhere. Frank does not like his job very much; he does not have any respect for himself at all. FRANK: my dear I actually an appalling teacher, most of the time, you see, you see it most of the time, you see it doesn't matter appalling teaching is quite in order for most of the appalling students. And the others manage to get by despite me. They expect us to teach when the pubs are open. The relation ship between frank and Rita at the beginning of the play is not strong, frank doesn't really want to tutor Rita because he

Lims

LIMS In the typical scientific laboratory there is a large amount of data that must be tracked and analysed. In my current work setting we collect data from outside laboratories, analyse the data, and then return the data. We process thousands of samples per week. This makes tracking and sorting the data very cumbersome. We basically serve as a clearinghouse for data to be batched out to our customers, the independent researcher. Our laboratory considers itself a high-throughput sequencing centre. Our daily objective is to make the lab more automated. We are continually striving to use more robots or automated data entry.For automated data entry we use bar codes. Bar coding tends to have fewer errors in data entry. It also allows us to generate a greater amount of information for any given sample. The more we can automate the process the more samples we are able to put through the system. Each of the independent researchers in the company is looking for a particular disease by identi fying the disease-causing gene. Once the gene has been located the researcher must get the DNA sequence from the gene. That is our job. We at the sequencing centre take the DNA sample, with the gene, and run the sample on our automated machines.Once the sample has been analysed we put the analysed sample, also known as the DNA sequence, into a database that the researcher can access. This is a very general idea of what the Sequencing Centre does. The role of the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is to keep track of this data. The accuracy of the LIMS is crucial for an efficient and effective workflow. The analysed sample must be coordinated with the correct sample name that the researcher gives to the Sequencing Centre. This means that everything must be entered into the database correctly. The data must also exist in a safe and accessible database.The data flow can be characterized in the following context diagram. We have just begun the implementation of a new LIMS s ystem. Hopefully this analysis will help to guide our laboratory as we move towards its implementation. LIMS Functionality Different LIMS systems offer a variety of functionality. The systems have developed from simple data entry and record storage to complex relational database driven tools. They now offer enhanced functionality often provided over the wireless networks and company intranet, allowing greater flexibility for inspections in remote and difficult environments Regulations and ComplianceThe functionality of the LIMS system is far greater than just tracking and reporting on samples. LIMS systems must often comply with regulations that affect the user, for example a manufacturer of pharmaceuticals is obliged to operate under the cGMP 21 CFR Part 210 – Current Good Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Processing, Packing, or Holding of Drugs. Other regulations that LIMS systems must operate under include HIPAA, ISO 9001, and ISO 15189. It is important for systems to have the ability to accept e-signatures, as well as offer audit trails and chain of custody.These types of functionality are required to ensure that the correct persons have access to the sample and the results of the sample inspection Equipment Calibration and Maintenance When inspections are carried out the equipment used to extract the sample and to test the sample must be maintained correctly and calibrated so that there are no errors introduced into the test results. The LIMS system should contain maintenance records of the equipment used in testing so that notifications can be generated to perform regular preventive maintenance.With some instruments and equipment, the requirement may include calibration after a certain number of uses, for example the use of a depth micrometre may require that it is calibrated after 50 uses or every month, whichever comes first. LIMS systems can also contain the calibration instructions so that a notification and a calibration instruction s heet can be sent to the maintenance department or a specialty outside vendor. LIMS Expansion Pre-1982 Laboratory notebooks and handwritten reports/charts were used to track and report information.In-house information systems were configured by a few laboratories. Custom-built LIMS became available from third-party vendors. 1982 The first commercial LIMS, known as first generation (1G) LIMS, are introduced. These 1G LIMS placed laboratory functions onto a single minicomputer, providing greater lab productivity and functionality as well as the first automated reporting capabilities. 1988 Second generation (2G) LIMS become available. 2G LIMS used the available market technology of third-party commercial relational databases (RDB) to provide application-specific solutions.Most 2G LIMS relied on minicomputers, but PC-based solutions were beginning to emerge. 1991 The move toward open systems ushered in third generation (3G) LIMS, which combined the PC's easy to use interface and standard ized desktop tools with the power and security of minicomputer servers in a client/server configuration. 1995 Fourth generation (4G) LIMS decentralize the architecture further. Processing can be performed anywhere on the network. Thus, all clients and servers can operate in either capacity depending upon the data load at any particular instance Pros and ConsMost LIMS products allow the laboratory to; register work requests; print analytical worksheets; monitor and communicate sample/technique backlogs; schedule work; acquire and store analytical data; monitor the quality of all analytical work; approve analytical data for client release; print and store analytical reports and invoices; protect the security of all data; track and locate samples in storage; track and communicate all quality control in the laboratory; provide laboratory management with production and financial statistics and with client information, e. . , names, addresses, sales figures, etc. An appropriately designed and installed LIMS can quickly bring accuracy and accessibility to the flow of samples and data in any laboratory. The real value of a LIMS is the ability to maximize sample throughput and minimize labour costs. Laboratory throughput is improved in a number of different ways. The most obvious gain in productivity occurs through the elimination of data entry via on-line instruments. Also, there will be a significant decrease in data entry errors.Finally, the up-to-date sample in-flow data available from a typical LIMS allows laboratory supervisors and bench personnel to better schedule analytical work, minimize â€Å"downtime† and maximize batch size. Some other effects are that there are better visible quality control checks and centralized data. The ability to monitor, track and communicate data and quality control information gives the laboratory the tools to improve methods and work practices. The end result is that people in the lab able to process more samples per hour worked. The problems Rushed or Incomplete InstallationLIMS installation can be expensive. As a result laboratory management has a tendency to reduce costs by shortening the time spent on-site by the design team. In addition, several installation phases may be required in order to allow laboratory personnel time to learn and apply each LIMS feature before adding the next. Effective communication between the bench personnel and the design team is key to ensuring a successful project. The best way to facilitate this communication is by extending and phasing the installation. Lack of Technician Access to the LIMSA problem that arises in some organizations as laboratory and support staff begin to use the system is a failure to recognize and remove access bottlenecks. For a LIMS to function smoothly all personnel must have their own access point. Access expansion can usually be spread over six to eighteen months as the laboratory assimilates the LIMS and usage increases. Design/Scoping Pr ocedure The design/scoping stage prior to acquiring our LIMS has involved the review and analysis of available software/hardware packages as well as the definition and documentation of our laboratory’s requirements.The error here is could be that bench personnel are excluded from the process. To resolve this problem we have had frequent meetings with the personnel in our lab. Some laboratories might go into a LIMS program believing that future requirements for bench level supervision will be reduced or eliminated. It has been recognized by many that LIMS is simply a tool and as such cannot manage the laboratory or take the place of personnel supervision. A LIMS will effectively provide current, reliable and complete operational data.The easy access to accurate data allows management to significantly enhance the quality and speed of decision making. Decision making becomes based more on fact rather than instincts. Many LIMS products tend to function more like accounting or fin ancial databases. This could be related to the educational and work experience of most software professionals. The demand for financial and accounting database packages means that the software industry is more familiar with this type of requirement than with a highly technical application like a LIMS.Thus, the average software professional does not usually have the background to effectively interpret a laboratory’s requirements. This communication problem can manifest itself in LIMS systems that do not easily fit into laboratory operations. Often the laboratory must significantly alter procedures and work flow in order to conform to the LIMS. This requirement for wholesale change significantly complicates LIMS installations and it might have poor acceptance and commitment support personnel to the project. A similar problem often occurs in large organizations with dedicated Information System (IS), departments.Significant conflict and problems can arise when IS personnel recom mend the most up-to-date hardware or software architecture regardless of the functionality, fit or overall cost to the laboratory. The end result of this process is that the laboratory must undergo significant change in order to conform to the product purchased. In the extreme case laboratories can wind-up having to increase overhead, e. g. , more data handling, in order to use LIMS systems that have been designed not for the laboratory but for the accounting or production departments.The keys to success are flexibility, adaptability, ease of evolution and support, and most importantly overall system speed. The speed issue is very critical as bench personnel will not use something that is slow or awkward. If the system saves bench personnel time they will quickly â€Å"buy into† the project and aggressively move the process forward. The key in any LIMS development should be to achieve a majority of the desired functionality without compromising system speed. Most laboratories need time to assimilate a LIMS before being able to take full advantage of all of its features.As a result of this ‘break-in period’ the more complex features can usually be postponed a year or two without affecting the success of the program. [17] This implementation delay may also allow laboratory personnel the chance to provide more input into the critical final stages of system optimization. Installation Stage The goal of any LIMS installation must be to acquire a system that will make the jobs of bench personnel easier and thus increase the efficiency of the organization. In order to be successful, the LIMS system must be accepted and welcomed by the bench personnel.Often the first contact front-line personnel have with the new system is during installation, long after all decisions have been made. This situation often leads to significant software and LIMS configuration problems that require major software re-writes, hardware retro-fits and/or disruptive organiza tional changes. In addition, analytical and support staff are more likely to resist the new system if they have had little input into its design and operational characteristics. The installation phase of a LIMS program is critical to the overall success of the project.It is during LIMS installation that personnel must be taught how to use the product and where the software designers get their first view of how the LIMS will fit into and function in the laboratory. The installation phase of a LIMS project can take from weeks to months depending on the size of the laboratory and the complexity of the project. No Staff Training Bench personnel must be taught how to use the LIMS. As with any subject laboratory staff must be taught progressively so that personnel have a chance to use and apply what they learn.In laboratories where the LIMS training has been available and sustained the staff will be using the LIMS at a similar level. This consistency of approach builds team work and staff efficiency increases. In laboratories where training has not been a priority, staff will be using the LIMS at different levels. This situation can create a great deal of competition in the laboratory as turf wars erupt over the adoption of new or unused LIMS features. Poorly trained staff fears the new features and as a result delay or resist their implementation.Poor Feedback Mechanism As noted above communication is a key component of any successful LIMS project. It is important that laboratories make sure that a well-developed feedback mechanism is put in place during the installation of a LIMS so that laboratory personnel can bring forward problems and see quick resolution. Staff often hesitate to bring forward complaints and will instead work around the problem. One successful approach that has been used by organizations to solve this problem has been regular procedural audits.The process required to perform an audit usually brings to light LIMS defects or problems that staff have been coping with. This is has already been implemented for other laboratory procedures in our lab. Conclusion Companies require that quality is part of every link in the supply chain, whether it is raw material at a vendor’s facility or finished goods delivered to a customer. To ensure that the quality personnel are able to achieve the optimum results, a Laboratory Information Management System is vital to that success.

buy custom Value Added essay

buy custom Value Added essay Value added is an important element in a company since it is instrumental in measuring the wealth created by a company which can in turn be used to analyze the contribution of the company to the economy of its country. According to Cox (1979), value added is defined as the wealth the reporting entity has been able to create by its own and its employees efforts. In Simple terms, value added is the difference between sales and the cost of purchasing goods or bought-in-goods and services. Two approaches are used to calculate value added. The first methodology is by simply subtracting the purchases from the sales or turnover based on the definition of value added. This means that Value Added = Sales Purchases or Bought-in-good. Furthermore, value added can be looked at as a net figure that presents the value an individual, industry or company and contributes to the goods it has purchased. Therefore, value added can be calculated through the method of addition. This means that Value Added = Operating Profit + Labor Costs + Depreciation. It can be calculated through the addition of employee costs, operating profit, amortization/impairment of charges and depreciation even though company accounts do not always provide the cost of boght-in-items. The above quantities that cumulatively constitute value added are calculated and defined as follows (Department for Business Innovation and Skills, 2010): Employee costs- This is the total amount of money paid to an employee including social security, death benefit plans, pension wages and salaries. Operating profit- This is the measuring of a companys ability to earn from day-today operations and is equal to pre-deduction of income taxes and interest payments of earnings. Amortization/impairment- This is the impairment of goodwill, depreciation of capitalized development and impairment/amortization of other intangibles. Depreciation- This is the impairment charges on assets held under finance leases and owned assets. Link between value added, profit and cash flow As much as value added is the best indicator of a companys wealth, the success of the company may also be contingent to the profitability of the business entity. A strong correlation between the performance of a companys sales and its profit exist. For instannce, a company making profit may be recording a good sales performance in that they are selling the quantity of goods that they intended to or even surpassing their prospects. However, it is imperative to note that the profitability of the company in question does not translate to an increase in the sales. A wholesalers pricing of goods to the company may be very good. The company will in turn gives the goods a market value that ensures profit but does but not sell the expected quantity of goods. On the other hand, the inability of a company to make profit would result into a loss thus affecting the performance of sales. This loss may be contributed by a lack of a company selling the intended quantity of goods thus interfering with the prospects of value added. Moreover, cash flow is another aspect that is correlated with the sales performance. It is defined as a record of a companys income and expenditure. Cash flow is vital for the success of business in that the if a company had a good sales performance, their cash inflow will be higher thus boosting the sales performance. This may eventually result into the value addition of the company. On the contrary, a company that records a low amount of sales will add little money to the cash flow hence limiting the chances of profitability and value addition Buy custom Value Added essay

Benefits of Solar-Powered Water Heaters

Benefits of Solar-Powered Water Heaters Dear EarthTalk: I heard that using a solar powered water heater in my home would reduce my CO2 emissions significantly. Is this true? And what are the costs? Anthony Gerst, Wapello, IA Conventional Water Heaters Use Energy According to mechanical engineers at the University of Wisconsin’s Solar Energy Laboratory, an average four-person household with an electric water heater needs about 6,400 kilowatt hours of electricity per year to heat their water. Assuming the electricity is generated by a typical power plant with an efficiency of around 30 percent, it means that the average electric water heater is responsible for about eight tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, which is almost double that emitted by a typical modern automobile. The same family of four using either a natural gas or oil-fired water heater will contribute about two tons of CO2  emissions annually in heating their water. And as we know, carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas responsible for climate change. Conventional Water Heaters Pollute Surprising as it may seem, analysts believe that the annual total CO2 produced by residential water heaters throughout North America is roughly equal to that produced by all of the cars and light trucks driving around the continent. Another way of looking at it is: If half of all households used solar water heaters, the reduction in CO2  emissions would be the same as doubling the fuel-efficiency of all cars. Solar Water Heaters Gaining Popularity Having half of all households use solar water heaters might not be such a tall order. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), there are 1.5 million solar water heaters already in use in U.S. homes and businesses. Solar water heater systems can work in any climate and EESI estimates that 40 percent of all U.S. homes have sufficient access to sunlight such that 29 million additional solar water heaters could be installed right now. Solar Water Heaters: The Economical Choice Another great reason to switch to a solar water heater is financial. According to the EESI, residential solar water heater systems cost between $1,500 and $3,500, compared to $150 to $450 for electric and gas heaters. With savings in electricity or natural gas, solar water heaters pay for themselves within four to eight years. And solar water heaters last between 15 and 40 yearsthe same as conventional systemsso after that initial payback period is up, zero energy cost essentially means having free hot water for years to come. What’s more, in the U.S. federal government offers homeowners tax credits of up to 30 percent of the cost of installing a solar water heater. The credit is not available for swimming pool or hot tub heaters, and the system must be certified by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation. What to Know Before You Install a Solar Water Heater According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s â€Å"Consumer’s Guide to Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency,† zoning and building codes relating to the installation of solar water heaters usually reside at the local level, so consumers should be sure to research the standards for their own communities and hire a certified installer familiar with local requirements. Homeowners beware: Most municipalities require a building permit for the installation of a solar hot water heater onto an existing house. For Canadians looking to get into solar water heating, the Canadian Solar Industries Association maintains a list of certified solar water heater installers, and Natural Resources Canada makes its informative booklet, â€Å"Solar Water Heating Systems: A Buyer’s Guide,† available as a free download on their website. EarthTalk is a regular feature of E/The Environmental Magazine. Selected EarthTalk columns are reprinted on About Environmental Issues by permission of the editors of E. Edited by Frederic Beaudry.

Forensics Team Essays

Forensics Team Essays Forensics Team Essay Forensics Team Essay Essay Topic: Investigative Forensics Team Name: Course: Instructor: : Date: Forensics Team The Computer Forensics Team The term forensics is associated with the use of technology and science in criminal investigations. Therefore, computer forensics refers to computer related evidence. To have a computer forensics department in an organization, a computer forensics team is a mandatory factor. The size of such teams varies proportionately with that of the organization size and the roles that the groups are expected to carry out in the organization. A small organization may require more than two specialists while larger ones may entail a bigger team to meet diverse requirements. A forensic team cannot be created and trained within a short period and therefore a lot of patience needs to be observed before effectual role execution is noted. Skilled specialists are hard to find and organizations need to develop in-house specialists or outsource specific service. The process of nurturing in-house talent can be difficult because it mandates at least one specialist to train the other team players regarding handling information technology in the organization as related to criminal issues. Therefore, specialists need to be outsourced. Caution has to be taken not to incorporate in-house information technology professionals in the creation of a forensic department. This is because the company may think it is acting on cost efficiency by averting the training overheads to other company activities; it may mean incurring further losses due to lack of impartiality on the part of the information technology staff. A computer forensic agent or specialist should not have access to any of the organizations departments, especially the IT section. An eligible candidate for the post of a forensic specialist should have a strong IT background, investigative knowledge and skills. Additionally, one should also possess a vast knowledge of a variety of forensic tec hniques, tools and arising situations. Forensics Lab Various lab tools and equipment are required to perform assorted forensic examinations. Acquisition of these tools requires a great deal of resources as well as planning time. After the team is successfully established, it shall deliberate and identify types of hardware, operating systems, software and environments they would like to analyze. Subsequently, this will enable them to determine required tools for the different roles. The laboratory should be located in a secure location away from any threat like theft of tools and equipment since the equipping factor is usually quite costly. Lab security should also be sufficient to provide less distractions and privacy during operation sessions owing to the sensitive nature of the work. A forensic workstation or two are also necessary for the lab, with the inclusion of portable equipment to support fieldwork and field exercises. As the equipment may be costly, proper comparison of prices and a cost benefit analysis should be completed to determine the best tools for desired roles. Proper licenses need to be obtained for software to avoid inconveniences. The organization should also deliberate on the need to purchase lab tools or to outsource required services from other companies, for instance by offering tenders or seeking several quotations. Regardless of the firm being an information technology organization, it is highly impossible to possess all the desired forensic tools. Tools that may prove to be too costly for the firm maybe outsourced in specific periods while affordable tools are easily purchased. Most tools require specialized operators who understand and this factor should be outsourced for cost effectuality. The organization needs to understand that the acquisition processes and analysis of computer-based evidence is hard thereby necessitating numerous amounts of resources, planning and technical expertise. Subsequently, the organization would need proper needs assessment towards determining whether to nurture in-house information technology talent or outsourcing fully qualified specialists. References Bunting, S. (2007). EnCase Computer Forensics, Includes DVD: The Official EnCE: EnCase Certified Examiner Study Guide. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons. Solomon, M.G., Rudolph, K., Tittel, E., Broom, N., Barrett, D. (2011). Computer Forensics Jumpstart. New York, NY: John Wiley Sons.

Network Security Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Network Security - Case Study Example The Internet has become a staple of the business world today It is because of this that a company should remain continually up to date with the latest security measures. Vulnerabilities due to designs flaws, poor security management, incorrect implementation, and malicious intent can all contribute to the loss of company assets. Therefore, it is paramount to implement a comprehensive security plan urgently. With carefully planned countermeasures and strict security, the odds of a successful intrusion can be minimized greatly. Overview of Network Security Fundamentals, Security Threats, and Issues Whenever a network is connected to the Internet it is potentially subjected to attacks from malicious programs such as viruses, Trojans, and spyware. Network security is not only about the WAN (Wide Area Network) but also the LAN (Local Area Network), as the two go hand in hand. It is possible to not only have an external attack but also an internal one too. The moment any form of computer d evice becomes network capable or dependent of some form of network function, there is a given need for protection to safeguard the flow of information to and from the said device on a given network whether public or private or from a trusted to non-trusted source. The problem with locking down a network tightly is the administrative overhead it creates. The more secure the network becomes the greater the need is for a team to administrate this. There has to be a fine balance between the two whilst still safeguarding the network and the information it contains. Attackers generally have motives or goals—for example, to disrupt normal business operations or steal information. To achieve these motives or goals, they use various methods, tools, and techniques to exploit vulnerabilities in a computer system, or security policy and controls. Threats can originate from two primary sources: humans and nature. Human threats subsequently can be broken into two categories: malicious and non-malicious. The non-malicious â€Å"attacks† usually come from users and employees who are not trained on computers or are not aware of various computer security threats. Malicious attacks, however, usually come from non-employees or disgruntled employees who have a specific goal or objective to achieve. Due to the harmful nature and repercussions on malicious attacks, security should be specifically focused on this area. The most prevalent and common forms of malicious attack are viruses, Trojan horses, worms, password cracking, denial-of-service attacks, e-mail hacking, impersonation, eavesdropping, and intrusion attacks. Using up-to-date equipment and technology and enforcing a comprehensive security plan, attacks such as those mentioned above can be prevented and denied. (Bhatnagar, 2009). Proper equipment and maintenance are vital to the consistency of the network security. In a continually advanced technological landscape, security measures need to adapt to threats a ccordingly. Methods such as the use of firewalls and Virtual Private Networks will help keep a network stable and secure. Detailed Network Security Recommendations A firewall is the first line of defense for your network. A firewall can be a hardware device or a software application and generally is placed at the perimeter of the network to act as the gatekeeper. There are four mechanism used by firewalls to restrict traffic. One device or application may use more than one of these in conjunction with each other to provide more in-depth protection. The four mechanisms are packet filtering, circuit level, gateway proxy server, and application gateway. An established internal network should

The Pencil of Nature by William Henry Fox Talbot Essay

The Pencil of Nature by William Henry Fox Talbot - Essay Example He was also a fellow of the Astronomical, Linnean, and Royal Societies. His literary works include four books and twenty-seven scholarly articles on diverse subjects. Although Talbot did not invent photography, he discovered the process of making negatives and developed the three primary elements of photography developing, fixing and printing. From this technical milestone modern photography is derived. He patented his process in 1841, and the following year was rewarded with a medal from the Royal Society for this achievement (Historic Figures). Throughout 1839-40, he conducted rigorous photographic research and in 1841 decided to patent his discovery that he called the calotype and later the talbotype process. In this, the negative paper direct image was printed onto a sensitized sheet placed underneath. Though it was advancement from the daguerreotype, the process formerly used that produced only a single copy, it had its drawback. The image was not sharp like the daguerreotype as the paper fibers degraded its quality. After further experimenting with this new finding, making it more refined he thought it's high time that prints should be produced for sale. Taking the assistance of his valet and confidante Nicolaas Henneman, he erected a processing studio called Reading Establishment. Since Lacock had a high market for photographs, the studio was between London and Lacock, so both can be easily reached. The first few days were mundane but with the passage of time demand and production increased with 10,400 prints made in just seven months most of which were portraits and copies of paintings, in addition to prints from Fox Talbot's own stock of negatives. (Maley). It was in these years that the priceless treasure The Pencil of Nature was produced. It is a series of engaging books with twenty-four plates that keep the reader or even the one who is just flipping through the pages, engrossed. In it, Talbot included pictures of sculpture, lithographs and drawings to show how photography could be of use in the study of art. He published a facsimile of a printed page to demonstrate how writing could be duplicated. His images of a piece of lace, each one unique, were made by using the lace itself as a negative (Grundberg). The images tell a story in themselves and even appeal a layman who is not familiar with the medium of photography. Some of the plates though being plain and simple are sheer evidence of Talbot's artistic sense such as 'The Haystack' that pictures a leaning ladder, 'The Open Door,' with its askew broom and a still life called 'A Fruit Piece'. They depict the modern day painting style (Grundberg). The interest in the series is further developed with the introduction and accompanying text, written in conversational style for each plate and Talbot's strong artistic sense that made the piece aesthetically appealing. The complete list of plates is as follows (The Pencil of Nature): - Part 1 I. Part of Queen's College, Oxford II. View of the Boulevards at Paris III. Articles of China IV. Articles of Glass V. Bust of Patroclus - Part 2 VI. The Open Door VII. Leaf of a Plant VIII. A Scene in a Library IX. Fac-simile of an Old Printed Page X. The Haystack XI. Copy of a

Immunology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Immunology - Essay Example The fourth fraction, F4, has a low concentration of protein. This is because in this fraction, serum was not diluted. Therefore, aggregation of proteins could not occur because of lack of hydration of protein. Protein concentration of F1 was 5.90mg. This increased till 14.56mg protein concentration for F3. Fraction F5, which is a mixture of F2 and F3 had a protein concentration of 16.00mg – the highest. Purification by ammonium suphate precipitation is useful for large protein samples. It is a cheaper process. However, the resulting protein obtained is not very pure. Moreover, this technique requires additional purification steps. The results of purification through ion exchange chromatography (IEX) are shown in section 3 of the results. The purification of IgG was performed. IgG accounts for only 10% of the serum proteins. Yet, the concentrations of IgG in fraction F2, F3 and F5 were 2.08, 1.42 and 2.80 mg/ml respectively, which are relatively high. IEX is a cost effective process and results in higher protein recovery. It has high resolving power. The percentage yield of protein for all fractions is given in section 4. A higher yield of IgG is seen in fractions F2 and F5 compared to fraction F3. A machine error may be the reason behind this. This is because the reading for F2/F3 and F5 was taken on different spectrophotometers. The results of the Single Radial Immunodiffusion assay and precipitin arcs are shown in section 5. In figure 1, purple precipitin arcs confirm the presence of IgG. Multiple arcs for F3 and F4 indicate the presence of contamination in these protein fractions. In figure 2, the precipitation ring is observed. It is seen that as the diameter of the ring increases, there is a decrease in the protein (antigen) concentration. Moving further away from the center, IgG concentration

The Trojan women Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

The Trojan women - Assignment Example His brave abduction of the beautiful Helen, wife of Menelaus, sparked off the Trojan War .â€Å"†¦..Athens was a city ostensibly at peace but feverishly preparing a massive military expedition to far-off Sicily, a war of choice whose purpose†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Euripides, et al pg. 4). Paris is self-centered person and portrays significant egocentrism and often unmanly. He fights effectively with a bow and arrow and never with the more manly sword or spear but rather often lacks the spirit of going to the battle and prefers to sit in his room making love to Helen while others fight for him. This rare romantic indulgence by a man during war earns Paris scorn from both Hector and Helen. Paris is significant in the storyline since his craving desire and eventual sexual relationship with Helen is the cause of the war and surrounding conflicting political interests in troy. He finally died from the same war he contributed in its flare up and his wife was later married by his brother Deiphobus (Euripides, et al.34-7). Paris represents the stereotype that historical prophesies hold as his marriage to Helen went in line with the earlier Aphrodite, the Goddess of love. The moral lesson that can be learnt from this case humility and chastity which Paris lacked and led to a series of bloody atrocities as indicated by Trojan

Personal Statement for Transfer to UC Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

For Transfer to UC - Personal Statement Example As a result of this inclination, I worked at a trade fair and realized the relevance of accounting practices and processes at an even greater level. The global financial recession magnified my interest in accounting as I began reading and researching about the probable causes of the financial downturn. The research activities revealed the essence of accounting in terms of accounts and amounts, alongside the level of responsibility that resides on the shoulders of the accountants. Upon realizing the role of accounting in the progress and development of any establishment, I had made the decision of pursuing my career in the field of accounting. I made this decision after starting my college in China which is the right time to choose a professional direction. After reading about different accounting practices and standards, I have been able to comprehend the relevance of ethics in accounting. Ethics bear relevance in the field of accounting, just as the other fields of medicine, compute r technology etc. The compliance to ethical conduct is important in accounting since people who opt for availing the accounting services tend to trust the accounting professional for his commendable level of competence, as well as the adoption of ethical processes. Integrity and fairness are very important words in the field of accounting. ... It would not be wrong to consider accounting as one of the pillars of any organization in the modern world since the expansion, revenue generation, downsizing etc are all structured on the basis of accounting processes. It is vital for all organizations to maintain competent accounting professionals in the accounting departments to ensure smooth functioning and success. This profession can never lose its appeal and significance for businesses. I would be highly obliged if you allow me to transfer my credits to your esteemed institution so I can fulfill my dream of becoming an accounting professional. I shall try to contribute my share in the progression of the field of accounting and earn even a greater name for your reputable institution. Part 2 Life is a challenge and only those succeed who know how to excel under pressure. I consider myself among such people who strive for the achievement of their goals and objectives and find every new problem as a challenge in life. I entered th e land of opportunities, known as USA, when I was 20 years old. I did not have any accompanying soul with me and was faced with the mission of facing life on my own. The exit from a protected roof of my childhood residence made me realize the worth of life and money, which are usually taken for granted by youngsters. The everlasting advice that has stuck with me ever since my childhood was given by my parents who said that sustained success can only be achieved if it is supported by education and knowledge. It is due to this moral value that I never stopped to study, even if it met working endlessly to acquire this blessing. My first year in US was spent working and saving money for my education expenses since I found the tuition fees and other costs to be very high for my status. With the

The Trojan women Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

The Trojan women - Assignment Example His brave abduction of the beautiful Helen, wife of Menelaus, sparked off the Trojan War .â€Å"†¦..Athens was a city ostensibly at peace but feverishly preparing a massive military expedition to far-off Sicily, a war of choice whose purpose†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Euripides, et al pg. 4). Paris is self-centered person and portrays significant egocentrism and often unmanly. He fights effectively with a bow and arrow and never with the more manly sword or spear but rather often lacks the spirit of going to the battle and prefers to sit in his room making love to Helen while others fight for him. This rare romantic indulgence by a man during war earns Paris scorn from both Hector and Helen. Paris is significant in the storyline since his craving desire and eventual sexual relationship with Helen is the cause of the war and surrounding conflicting political interests in troy. He finally died from the same war he contributed in its flare up and his wife was later married by his brother Deiphobus (Euripides, et al.34-7). Paris represents the stereotype that historical prophesies hold as his marriage to Helen went in line with the earlier Aphrodite, the Goddess of love. The moral lesson that can be learnt from this case humility and chastity which Paris lacked and led to a series of bloody atrocities as indicated by Trojan

Food- Steroids. Anitbiotics. Sprays. Are food manufacturers killing us Research Paper

Food- Steroids. Anitbiotics. Sprays. Are food manufacturers killing us Annotated Bibliography - Research Paper Example olic disruptor ingredients like hydrogenated oil, sodium nitrite, aspartame, homogenized milk fats, monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrite and the like that can cause brain damage, cancer, and diabetes. Third, processed foods barely resemble the nature given food that they are due to over processing, overcooking, preserving with chemicals, pasteurizing, homogenizing and even irradiating. Simply put they are dead food that the human body no longer needs. This article presents two arguments: from the farmers and from the advocates of public health. The farmers insist that they have to feed the animals with antibiotics to keep them healthy and in order to keep pace with the demands of the U.S. consumers for cheap animal meat. Public health advocates on the other hand argue that such practice of farmers is giving breed to germs in animals that are resistant to antibiotic which causes deadly diseases to the consumers. The intervention of the U.S. government in banning the use of antibiotic in animals in the 1970s did not materialize. The FDA has outlined plans to phase out the use antibiotics for non-medical purposes in animals in the coming years has yet to be seen. The author showed why the use of antibiotics in farm animals was approved in the 1950s as well as the research conducted in the 1970s showing the bad effects of antibiotics especially on E. coli bacteria. The strong lobby from farmers and drug makers for the continuance of use of antibiotics such as tetracycline and penicillin after the result of the research was released forced the ruling of the FDA to ban these antibiotics to be ruled out. It will take some time before FDA will take its final stand on banning the use of antibiotics on farm animals. More statistics perhaps showing human deaths related to antibiotic-fed animals? In this article, the author presents the research on antimicrobial coating for liquid and film containers being conducted by Tony Jin at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Jin is

Assessment and Development Essay Example for Free

Assessment and Development Essay 1. What is a competency? What are its characteristics? How is it different from Job Description? Competency: Competencies refer to skills or knowledge that leads to superior performance. These are formed through an individual/organization’s knowledge, skills and abilities and provide a framework for distinguishing between poor performances through to exceptional performance. Competencies can apply at organizational, individual, team, and occupational and functional levels. Competencies are individual abilities or characteristics that are key to effectiveness in work. Some examples of competencies required by the employees are: 1. Adaptability 2. Commitment 3. Creativity 4. Motivation 5. Foresight 6. Leadership 7. Independence 8. Emotional Stability 9. Analytical Reasoning and 10. Communication Skills Characteristics of Competencies ? ? ? ? ? ? Competencies are the characteristics of a manager that lead to the demonstration of skills and abilities, which result in effective performance within an organizational area. The best way to understand performance is to observe what people actually do to be successful rather than relying on assumptions pertaining to trait and intelligence. The best way to measure and predict performance is to assess whether people have key competencies. Competencies can be learnt and developed. They should be made visible/accessible. They should be linked to meaningful life outcomes that describe how people should perform in the real world 3|P a ge Common difference Competencies Job Description. Competencies †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Underlying characteristic of a person’s inputs. Clusters of knowledge, attitudes and skills. Generic knowledge motive, trait, social role or a skill. Personal characteristics. Set of skills, related knowledge and attributes. On the other hand, Job Description †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Superior performance in a given job, role or a situation. Individual’s ability to perform. Linked to superior performance on the job. Contribute to effective managerial performance. Successfully perform a task or an activity within a specific function or job. 4|P a ge 2. What are the different types of competencies? What is their relevance? 1. Behavioral Competency: Behaviors, knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that contribute to individual success in the organization ? ? ? Can apply to all (or most) jobs in an organization or be specific to a job family, career level or position For example:- teamwork and cooperation, communication Focus on the person 2. Technical or functional Competency: Specific knowledge and skills needed to be able to perform one’s job effectively ? ? ? Job specific and relate to success in a given job or job family For example:- knowledge of accounting principles, knowledge of human resource law and practice Focus on the job A trainer requires a different set of competencies than an accountant, and a teller requires a different set than a maintenance worker. If there are different levels within the same position, then each job level might also have its own set of vertically derived competencies 3. Core Competency: ? ? A core competency is defined as an internal capability that is critical to the success of business. These are organizational competencies that all individuals are expected to possess. These competencies define what the organization values the most in people. For example:- an organization might want each individual to possess teamwork, flexibility and communication skills. 5|P a ge 4. Threshold competency: ? ? The characteristics required by a jobholder to perform a job effectively are called threshold competencies. For the position of a typist it is necessary to have primary knowledge about typing, which is a threshold competency. 5. Differentiating competency: ? ? The characteristics, which differentiate superior performers from average performers, come under this category; such characteristics are not found in average performers. Knowledge of formatting is a competency that makes a typist to superior to others in performance, which is a differentiating competency. 6|P a ge 3. What is the difference between Assessment Centre and Development Centre? Differences between Assessment and Development centers Assessment centers usually ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Have a pass/fail criteria are geared towards filing a job vacancy address an immediate organizational need have fewer assessors and more participants involve line managers as assessors have less emphasis placed on self-assessment focus on what the candidate can do now are geared to meet the needs of the organization assign the role of judge to assessors place emphasis on selection with little or no developmental feedback and follow up give feedback at a later date involve the organization having control over the information obtained have very little pre-centre briefing tend to be used with external candidates. Development centers usually ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? do not have a pass/fail criteria are geared towards developing the individual address a longer term need have a 1:1 ratio of assessor to participant do not have line managers as assessors have a greater emphasis placed on self-assessment focus on potential are geared to meet needs of the individual as well as the organization assign the role of facilitator to assessors place emphasis on developmental feedback and follow up with little or no selection function 7|P a ge ? ? ? ? give feedback immediately involve the individual having control over the information obtained have a substantial pre-centre briefing tend to be used with internal candidates 8|P a ge 4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Assessment Centre and Development Centre? Assessment Centers: Assessment centers consist of a number of exercises designed to assess the full range of skills and personal attributes required for the job. Advantages: ? Assessment centers map the next level challenges and simulate them in exercises. This raises the validity of the assessment tool. The old way of evaluating the person based on past performance does not work many times, as the challenges of the next level are different from the challenges in the existing position. Assessment centers not only help the organization in placing the right candidate for the right job/assignment but also help in developing the participants. When participants see others handling the same exercise differently, it gives them an insight into their own performance thereby raises the credibility of the selection procedure. It appeals to the lay person’s logic and therefore is regarded as a fair means of assessment by the participants. Assessment Centers can be customized for different kinds of jobs, competencies and organizational requirements. They are far more accurate than a standard recruitment process as they allow a broader range of selection methods to be used during the process. They enable interviewers to assess existing performance as well as predict future job performance. They give the opportunity to assess and differentiate between candidates who seem very similar in terms of quality on paper. They give the candidates a better insight into the role as they are tested on exercises, which are typical for the role they have applied for. They help employers build an employer brand. Candidates who attend assessment centers which genuinely reflect the job and the organization are often impressed by that company, even if they are rejected. The cost of an assessment centre is usually cheaper compared with the potential cost of many recruitment phases and the cost of recruitment errors. 9|P a ge ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? They are a fair process – they complement an organization’s diversity agenda and ensure that people are selected on the basis of merit alone. Disadvantages: ? ? ? ? ? Assessment Centers are very costly and time consuming. Assessment Centers requires highly skilled observers as the observers may bring in their own perceptions and biases while evaluating. Those who receive poor assessment might become de-motivated and might lose confidence in their abilities. New recruits with high expectations can feel disappointed if the assessment centre has encouraged them to believe the job or organization fits their values if, in fact, it does not. If you haven’t defined the key competencies prior to the event and a way to measure these competencies you will only be able to compare candidates on anecdotal details.

SWOT Analysis of Fischertechnik

SWOT Analysis of Fischertechnik ABOUT THE COMPANY The name fischertechnik comes from an original construction toy brand, which was invented by Artur Fischer in 1964. Initially, this brand was intended to be a Christmas novelty gift in Germany for industrial client level engineers and buyers.It proved to be a massive success and thus, the company introduced its first building block construction toy in 1965. From there on, there has been no looking back. The official name of the whole group of companies is fischerwerke GmbH Co. KG. It is based in Waldachtal near Stuggart Germany and started operations officially from 1965. Fans usually refer to the company as FT or ft. The total turnover of the entire fischer group of companies is over 545 million Euros with over 3,800 employees worldwide. fischertechnik is one of the divisions in the group of companies, concerned with the design and manufacturing of innovative engineering based construction toys. The company has its operations spread over many countries in the world, 33 to be precise, in which the most significant ones in terms of presence therein, are United States of America (USA), Japan, and of course, the home country Germany. The company has production centers in 16 countries and distribution in over 100 countries. It is currently headed by Klaus Fischer (59), who is the owner and CEO of the entire fisher group. fischertechnik claims to produce world-renowned engineering-based construction toys, so as to foster interest in these subjects among the young which is why it is no surprise that the companys tag line is building blocks for life. Building blocks refer to the pieces or parts of the complete toy, which are usually marketed in a disconnected form. Such toys are called construction toys, since the purchaser of the product is expected to connect the parts in a logical manner so as to construct the complete model. This sort of marketing is very attractive, especially for young kids, who derive a sense of accomplishment from constructing such toys. And it definitely does kindle a scientific interest and encourage creativity in the minds of youngsters. In the following paragraphs, only the fischertechnik division of the fischer group of companies is discussed, and all the facts, figures, strategies and suggestions provided in the text are related only to this division. Product History and Present Scenario As mentioned earlier, the basic line of fischertechnik is the creation of construction toys, which consists of building blocks that can be connected together to form a certain toy model. However, this is a grossly incomplete description of the gigantic range and types of products that the company produces. Initially, the company started off with the basic construction toy model, invented by Artur Fischer. However, in the 1970s, the company started manufacturing on a large scale, models with large number of pieces or building blocks, of channel and groove design, in which pegs protruding from the sides of the blocks could be used to connect to other blocks and construct the complete model. Of course, original models were completely of a mechanical nature, with no electrical or electronic elements to perform any automatic control tasks. Soon, the company started producing sophisticated mechanical models such as trains and bridges, and even included relatively simple measurement devices to calculate various relevant parameters related to the toys such as angles and distances. These toys used mostly hard nylon as material for the pieces or building blocks. As time moved on, the company started manufacturing automotive vehicle models such as tower cranes, and included electric motors, power sources and gears to mobilize the same. These products were used primarily by engineers to simulate and teach industrial robotics. These products were further advanced by the incorporation of electrical and electronic components of the likes of micro-switches and photocells for the purpose of position sensing and feedback control. Later, the company launched its first basic electronic block called the Grundbaustein, which consisted of Op-Amps and Schmitt Triggers, so that Delay Line circuits could be built. In the later part of 1970s, electronic binary-logic modules such as OR, NOR, AND, NAND, Flip-Flops were also included so as to provide means for making elementary branching decisions. Around the late 1980s, CPU modules that could perform process-control were also included so that sequential movements could be pre-programmed. This was first execute d using the Lucky-Logic (LLWIN) software, developed by the company. Today, the company uses all state of the art technologies that the engineering and scientific world has produced in the fields of process control and automation, in a variety of its products. These products include ROBO TX Explorer kit and Robo-pro software (which is the successor to LLWIN), amongst many others. COMPETITION The major world-wide competitor of fischertechnik is Lego, which is far more popular and easily available in USA and even Europe. Although initially in the three major lines, namely Expert, Technic and Mindstorm, Lego was unable to match the technical and flexibility level of fischertechnik, but soon after the launch of Lego Mindstorms NXT in 2006, the former surpassed the latter in a number of technical areas such as color sensing. After this, Lego overtook fischertechnik in the production of the most advanced construction toy models in the world and the latter moved down to the production of less technical, simplified and fun toys, primary for educational purposes. However, on its own, fischertechnik is a huge brand and has a strong presence in the construction toy market all over the world and is much bigger than any other brand apart from Lego. ENTERING UAE: ADVANTAGES It is well known that UAE is one of the most prosperous countries of the world, and for the past few years, has been developing at a lightening pace. This pace continues to increase by the day. In general, the people in UAE are wealthy and have tremendous monetary resources, ready to be tapped and mobilized. Not only is the wealth tremendous, but the total population especially in the metropolitan cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi is also very large. Thus, demand for all sorts of products in UAE is huge. This makes UAE an attractive market for a number of multinational corporations. A number of world famous brands have set up operations of production as well as distribution all over UAE, to tap this huge demand. And as time passes, more and more companies would continue to enter. Due to this huge monetary reserve in the hands of the common people, and a ready demand for all kinds of products, as mentioned earlier, a new trend amongst corporations working in all spheres of business has come about. This is, to start a new enterprise (for new entrepreneurs) or to launch a brand (for existing corporations) in UAE. This is no surprise, since the early sales figures of products of such is very large, and creates an impression in the minds of consumers everywhere in the world. Thus, UAE has become an extremely attractive location for the launch of new companies or products of existing ones. The aforementioned reasons are enough to imply that a brand, especially one as big as fischertechnik does not need to think twice before entering UAE. Of course, there are a number of pre-requisites and formalities that need to be fulfilled before business can be setup in the country. This is discussed in the next section. In the present section, we limit our discussion to the specific advantages and constraints attached to entering UAE. Regarding this, we discuss the kind of demand that is likely to be there in UAE by analyzing the present demand and import scenario in the toy industry, the kinds of consumers that can be targeted, and the kind of problems that the company would be likely to face. Due to the huge amount of developmental activities, migration has been tremendous in the UAE. Thus, there has been a population explosion in the UAE in the past decade or so. This is particularly true in the case of bigger cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The growing economy of the country has led to a fast increasing population rate, which has in-turn led to a huge increase in the demand for all kinds of products, which is the case with construction toy products as well. The total import of toys, which includes baby accessories in Dubai alone, was valued over 603 million Dirham in 2009. There has been an increasing demand for toys, as mentioned earlier, due to the great population in the country for the past few years, and this has led to a corresponding steady increase in the total import of toys in the country. It is interesting to note that in 2007 alone, the total rise in the import of toys was 16%. Another important indicator of the increase in demand for toys in UAE is the rapid decrease in the re-export of toys. However, what is significant to note here is that a major part of the demand for toys is met from import only, as there are hardly any local toy manufacturers in UAE. Companies like Lego and Toys R Us, have been selling their products in UAE, to take advantage of this deficit in local demand and supply. Thus there is great scope for foreign companies exporting into UAE. A smarter exercise, however, for such foreign companies would be to set up local production facilities, such as industrial plants, so that products could be produced domestically to avoid extra costs incurred during export of goods. This applies most appropriately to fischertechnik, because it is a very progressive company with a good financial standing and also because it has very little presence or popularity presently in the UAE. This lack of presence could be used as an advantage by fischertechnik, through, say for instance, a mega initial launch. However, a discussion of the implementation of this strategy is presented in detail later. Another very important point to be noted here is that presently most of the toys are imported by UAE from Asian countries like China, and a small portion is from Europe, USA and Canada. The total share in terms of import is approximately 90% from Asia and 10% from others. On top of this, there is presently, a great deal of diffidence in the minds of consumers towards purchasing Asian goods, since the quality and safety of such goods has been in question in the recent days. This further provides a good opportunity for foreign companies especially from Europe such as fischertechnik to enter the UAE markets, to establish themselves and beat a dying, or at least falling competition from their Asian counterparts. An analysis of the type of consumers who are most likely to purchase products of companies like fischertechnik is an extremely important pre-requisite for beginning or expanding operations into a new country. As mentioned earlier, the high population of UAE provides a huge pool of kids who are potential consumers of toys. However, there is a specific advantage connected to UAE in this regard. UAE is at the zenith of its development, and in the days to come, there will be a huge requirement of engineers and scientists in the country. Of course, it is best for any developing country, if this requirement is fulfilled domestically itself. Most parents in UAE, along with the government understand this present and future need, which is clearly exemplified from the fact that a number of excellent centers of technical education are have been set up over the years in the country. However, it is well known that simply providing good higher education is not enough. Kids have to be nurtured from a very young age, if this demand has to be met. For most parents, it is a dream to see their child become an engineer or a scientist because, and this is particularly true in UAE, they know that it would prove to be a prosperous career. This emotion can be utilized by fischertechnik for its expansion, the strategy for which is discussed later. Thus, to reach the ultimate consumers, i.e., young children, a route through their parents needs to be exploited. Thus, strategies have to be devised so that parents can be induced into buying the toys for their children. Another class of consumer consists of industrial level engineers and teachers who can use high-tech simulation type toy models, to provide for their employees and students respectively, better insight into the working of practical machines. For instance, teachers in a mechanical engineering class could use vehicle simulation toy models for showing the students the real working of such machines. This would make learning more effective and at the same time more enjoyable. Even for big companies, project relate discussions can be made more effective through simulation as well as modelling of the final project, for instance a model of a building when a construction project is being discussed. The existence of Free Trade Zones is a great advantage for any foreign company to setup operations in UAE. Many companies in various sectors such as networking, communications etc have already setup their business centers in UAE. These Free Trade Zones provide access to over 1.5 billion consumers in various countries of Africa, Asia and Europe, since ports in UAE are big trading centers and lie on many of the important trade routes of the world. This allows a great scope of future expansion of companies to nearby nations. However, this is just a secondary advantage of setting up operations in UAE. The Free Trade Zones have one hundred percent corporate tax exemption, zero taxes applicable on personal income, whether domestic or foreign, and no commercial levies. For a company having 51% domestic ownership there is no import duty applicable, however, companies having full foreign ownership are subjected to a 4% import duty. But this can be avoided through a collaborative setup or even through the setup of production centers within the country itself. There are no foreign exchange control or currency restrictions either. Apart from this, there is one hundred percent repatriation of capital as well as profit for foreign investors, which allows them to transfer their entire funds without any hassles. Such great incentives have been provided to foreign investors to speed up the process of development of the country through entry of huge amount of foreign capital. All these can be easily exploited by fischertechnik for its businesses in UAE. The legislative framework within the country is also very favorable for foreign investors. So, setting up of new businesses becomes an extremely simple process for most people. The laws regarding formal aspects of business setup or even expansion are very client friendly, which makes UAE an attractive location for new entrepreneurs since they do not have to face any obstacles. An example of the favorable laws is that companies can operate 24 hours a day, unlike those in most other countries. Plus, the regulation of businesses is extremely efficient which aims to protect the interests of all investors. Apart from the above, another huge advantage of expanding business into UAE is that the banking sector is very sophisticated and provides state of the art services and schemes to their clients. Such an ultra-modern and progressive banking sector has developed due to easing of laws are regulations for speeding up developmental activities in the country. The banking sector is highly confidential which ensures that all high risk financial matters are private. Also, the financial sector of UAE is extremely modern and provides all the best available products for corporations to use. For instance, corporations have easy access to modern financial instruments such as futures and options that can be used to hedge any risks arising in business. On top of this, a number of top financial consultancy firms and hedge funds have setup their offices in UAE, and provide services to other corporations. Thus, financial services of the best possible kind are easily available to companies. The stock mar kets in UAE are also extremely developed and provide easy access to all financial instruments and cheap and effective trading. Moving on to the infrastructure facilities available to companies, it is well known that UAE provides excellent and most diverse infrastructure available anywhere in the world. There are extremely sophisticated communication facilities available to companies. Apart from this, the security related services provided to corporate firms are also very advanced. All of the aforementioned advantages of expanding into UAE make it obvious that fischertechnik must enter the UAE markets as soon as possible, seeing the great benefits that it offers and the fact that till now these advantages have not been fully exploited by similar countries yet. FORMAL PRE-REQUISITES For performing business related activities in the UAE, any company needs to acquire a license. This license can be of three types namely, commercial, which is for all kinds of trading activities, industrial, which is for production or manufacturing activities and lastly, professional, for professional services and craftsmen. However, with regard to fischertechnik, only the first two types are of significance, since a major strategy for expansion would be to setup production and manufacturing activities in UAE, for which trading activities for purposes of hedging etc would be indispensable. Apart from this, the ownership of companies within UAE can be of two types. The first is partnership type of company, in which 51% of the ownership of the company is with a UAE national and the rest 49% is owned by the investor. Thus, for setting up such a company, fischertechnik would have to for a collaborative alliance with a domestic company in UAE. The second type of ownership is called Sole ownership, in which the investor has full control over the company. For this, the company has to setup its business within a Free Trade Zone only. There are, however, some restrictions on the type of business transactions that can be done outside the designated Free Trade Zone. For fischertechnik, a combination of the two ownership types would be most beneficial. For its production activities, it could form a joint venture company with another UAE based corporation, which performs a related business, while for its marketing activities, it could use the Sole Ownership type of company setup, and distribute its products through authorized dealers, since companies having Sole Ownership cannot directly sell their products in domestic markets. This sort of a combination would help fischertechnik in marketing its own brand, while maintaining steady production in collaboration with another company. SWOT ANANLYSIS OF FISCHERTECHNIK The SWOT analysis of fischertechnik is presented as follows: Strengths: fischertechnik has much significant strengths which are presented here one by one. Firstly, it is a huge brand, renowned all over the world, in the field of construction toys and is the best known brand specifically for constructions toys for educational purposes. It has an excellent record of financial performance in the past and has ownership of huge amount of monetary resources, which can be channelized into production and marketing related activities in business in UAE. This financial record gives fischertechnik excellent credit rating, which in-turn can help it to obtain local financing from domestic banks in UAE in the form of loans, very easily. This can help in hastening the start of business by quick setup of industrial and manufacturing plants as well as corporate offices. fischertechnik is the second biggest company in the field of construction toys, second only to Lego, thus it would not face competition from any other company in the area. Since Lego has very l imited operations presently in UAE, it would make fischertechnik an unsurpassable brand once it begins operations. It should be noted that although fischertechnik is next to Lego but the difference between the two is very less and if the former is able to establish a good image in UAE first, then the latter would not be able to overcome this image by entering the UAE market afterwards. Also, it is important to mention that fischertechnik is a very old company, 45 years to be exact, and thus has a pool of experienced and skilled staff possessing excellent technical expertise in the field of process control, which includes aspects of electrical, mechanical, electronics and computer engineering. The company uses the most sophisticated technologies in engineering and specifically in process control in its products, and the technical department, consisting of both experienced engineers as well as innovative minded freshers, who are recruited through an excellent selection process, of fis chertechnik continuously work towards discovering new technologies and incorporating innovative ideas into its products. Apart from these, the company produces a wide range of products for many all age groups including children and adults. Lastly, it is relevant to mention that the company has tremendous managerial expertise and organizational stability. Weaknesses: Although fischertechnik has very few weaknesses, it is relevant to mention them here. Fischertechnik has very small presence in UAE. Its business operations in UAE are very limited and in the inaugural phase. Although its small presence can be used as an advantage, this discussion is presented in the next section. However, limited presence can prove to be disastrous if business operations are not established speedily. This means that if a company like Lego which is the major competitor of fischertechnik senses the slowness in establishment of business operation of the latter, through speedy operation it can surpass and destroy the competitive advantage of the limited presence of the same. Since fischertechnik is a German company, the core employees of the same may not be able to adjust easily to the corporate practices and consumer behavior of the domestic markets of UAE. As a solution to this, the company would probably resort to the recruitment of local staff. Another r eason for recruitment of local staff is that it is mandatory for foreign companies to maintain a certain percentage of local employees within the total workforce. However, this local staff would face difficulty in adjusting to the corporate practices of a foreign company. Of course, this problem would need to be solved through an effective Human Resource Management strategy on the part of the company, which is definitely not an insurmountable task for a company of the likes of fischertechnik. Opportunities: As mentioned earlier, due to the huge amount of developmental activities in UAE, there has been a population explosion in the country. This automatically implies that there is a huge demand for consumer goods such as construction toys, due to the existence of a large number of families. Apart from this, because of setting up of a large number of institutes of higher education in the recent past, the demand for simulation models as educational tools would also be high. This means that fischertechnik has huge scope of revenue generation by supplying this huge demand. Again, setting up of new businesses and expansion thereafter is very simple in UAE, due to the liberal trade policies followed by the government. This is because UAE is a liberal economy and is extremely committed to free trade. Thus, these provide significant opportunities to fischertechnik to begin its operations at an appropriately fast pace. Also, as given in detail in the next section, the limited prese nce of fischertechnik in UAE presently can be used as a significant advantage. Threats: The most important threat is that if fischertechnik is slow in setting up its initial operations, no matter how sound its business plan may be, its rival competitor Lego can detect its main intentions and adopt strategies to work fast and finish the competitive advantage of the former. This is also because Lego already has some presence in UAE and for expansion it would take less time as compared to the time fischertechnik would take to establish itself from scratch. Another major threat that fischertechnik is likely to face is that the core employees of the company, who are mostly German, would find it difficult to adapt to the local conditions and similarly, the local staff would not be able to adapt to the corporate practices of the company. This problem is extremely significant and if an effective Human Resource Management strategy is not adopted, it could destroy all scope of existence of the company in UAE. PESTEL ANALYSIS OF FISCHERTECHNIK The PESTEL analysis of fischertechnik is as given below. It consists of all the macro-economic factors that affect the growth of fischertechnik in UAE. Political Factors: The present political environment of UAE is conducive to the growth of any company, and fischertechnik is no exception to the rule. The company should take full advantage of the liberal regulatory setup, which promotes the development of the economy, which automatically implies the growth of the company as well. As mentioned earlier, various tax exemptions which include exemption on corporate as well as personal earnings, free trade zones etc clearly exemplify this pro-development attitude of the UAE government. Fischertechnik, being a huge company would obviously receive a warm welcome and special treatment from the government of UAE, since its presence in the market would greatly increase the overall development of the country. Economic Factors: The great financial record of fischertechnik would undoubtedly help its initial setup. The overall consumer attitude in UAE is excellent from the point of view of any company, and consumers are always looking to buy products of companies which are reliable and have a good past record. The worldwide brand image of fischertechnik would help it to take advantage of such consumer attitude. If the company pays attention and highlights that it uses local resources, generates employment and works in a manner keeping sustainability, the confidence of consumers is greatly increased. fischertechnik needs to use such a marketing strategy to promote itself so as to strongly setup its business operations in UAE. Social Factors: The population of UAE is diverse, especially due to the great amount of developmental activities going on in the country. Thus, the population consists of all types of consumers. But in general, the populace of UAE is pro-development and if the company keeps in mind not to delve into controversies that affect the religious or spiritual aspects of the life of the people of the country, a rapid growth rate is virtually assured. Technological Factors: Again, due to the tremendous amount of developmental work going on in the country, a number of companies have set themselves up in UAE. This has resulted in a near perfect competition in the domestic markets of UAE. Such competition always promotes the use of latest technology and to an extent, healthy sharing of technologies between companies engaged in the same business. With such a scenario in the market and with the strong technological experience of the fischertechnik, which is known to be a company that perpetually comes out with new and innovative products, there is no doubt that the company would be able to establish itself in UAE within no time. Legal Factors: As mentioned earlier, the pro-development attitude of the UAE government has resulted in a relaxed set of laws and regulations governing the corporate sector. In the past, fischertechnik has not been involved in any controversies that involve legal issues and need to maintain such a record during its operations in UAE. With many Asian toy companies facing legal problems presently, in light of allegations from various entities within UAE that the goods they have exported to UAE are not safe, it is the perfect opportunity for fischertechnik to once and for all destroy its competition by promoting itself as a safe toymaker. Environmental Factors: fischertechnik needs to adopt a pro-environment attitude that promotes sustainability. As a company that promotes science and engineering, it has already established its technological dominance over many companies in the same business. However, a business setup that keeps in mind the environment, which includes green building for its corporate offices and manufacturing facilities that have reduced carbon emissions etc, on the part of fischertechnik can go a long way in the growth of the company in UAE. WAYS TO ENTER: STRATEGIES After the completion of the pre-requisite formalities, the following strategies would be most effective for fischertechnik for its expansion in UAE. fischertechnik should begin its operations by setting up multiple manufacturing facilities and industrial plants at various locations in UAE. The number of corporate offices should be kept low and distributional activity should be outsourced to a large number of authorized dealers and distributors. Such a strategy for the initial setup of business would be very effective because it would remove any scope of import duty and the cost incurred in movement of goods from outside the country would be avoided. This has not been done by any of the toy companies including Lego in their operations in UAE and thus they have to incorporate the extra cost in the prices of their products. Therefore, fischertechnik products would be priced lower compared to others and this would provide a definite competitive advantage to the company. Complete financing should not be from the personal savings of the company and a large part of the financing should be obtained in the form of loans from banks and other financial institutions. This is because corporate savings need to be retained for payment of dividends etc and to take care of any sudden cash payment liabilities that may arise. Also, since UAE has an extremely sophisticated and well established banking system, the loans for setting up business are offered at lower rates, and are usually coupled with attractive and profitable schemes. This should definitely be exploited. The initial target locations should be the metropolitan cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This is because they have the highest population density and thus the biggest pool of prospective consumers. Through multiple authorized dealers for distribution, the volume of products supplied to the cities should be high from the beginning itself. This would generate high revenue from the beginning and would also provide valuable information about the consumer behavior in the domestic market of UAE. After this initial phase, the subsequent targets should be smaller cities which include the capitals of the seven Emirates of UAE amongst others. Next, the strategy to be used to take advantage of the limited presence of fischertechnik in UAE currently is presented. The first aim should be the organization of multiple mega-launch events simultaneously across various parts of the two metropolitan cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This includes large scale exhibitions and sale offers. For such events, special attention needs to be given to the ambience of the same, through the use of attractive banners, posters and pamphlets. This should be coupled with an attractive exhibition of toys, which would include the best products of fischertechnik. Special toys, exclusively for consumers of UAE could also be prepared. A good looking inaugural event is very important to make an impression in the minds of consumers. This effect is much more effective on kids, who would be the ultimate consumers of fischertechnik products. To cater to the special needs and demands of the consumers, a survey should be conducted before these events to find ou t the same, so tha SWOT Analysis of Fischertechnik SWOT Analysis of Fischertechnik ABOUT THE COMPANY The name fischertechnik comes from an original construction toy brand, which was invented by Artur Fischer in 1964. Initially, this brand was intended to be a Christmas novelty gift in Germany for industrial client level engineers and buyers.It proved to be a massive success and thus, the company introduced its first building block construction toy in 1965. From there on, there has been no looking back. The official name of the whole group of companies is fischerwerke GmbH Co. KG. It is based in Waldachtal near Stuggart Germany and started operations officially from 1965. Fans usually refer to the company as FT or ft. The total turnover of the entire fischer group of companies is over 545 million Euros with over 3,800 employees worldwide. fischertechnik is one of the divisions in the group of companies, concerned with the design and manufacturing of innovative engineering based construction toys. The company has its operations spread over many countries in the world, 33 to be precise, in which the most significant ones in terms of presence therein, are United States of America (USA), Japan, and of course, the home country Germany. The company has production centers in 16 countries and distribution in over 100 countries. It is currently headed by Klaus Fischer (59), who is the owner and CEO of the entire fisher group. fischertechnik claims to produce world-renowned engineering-based construction toys, so as to foster interest in these subjects among the young which is why it is no surprise that the companys tag line is building blocks for life. Building blocks refer to the pieces or parts of the complete toy, which are usually marketed in a disconnected form. Such toys are called construction toys, since the purchaser of the product is expected to connect the parts in a logical manner so as to construct the complete model. This sort of marketing is very attractive, especially for young kids, who derive a sense of accomplishment from constructing such toys. And it definitely does kindle a scientific interest and encourage creativity in the minds of youngsters. In the following paragraphs, only the fischertechnik division of the fischer group of companies is discussed, and all the facts, figures, strategies and suggestions provided in the text are related only to this division. Product History and Present Scenario As mentioned earlier, the basic line of fischertechnik is the creation of construction toys, which consists of building blocks that can be connected together to form a certain toy model. However, this is a grossly incomplete description of the gigantic range and types of products that the company produces. Initially, the company started off with the basic construction toy model, invented by Artur Fischer. However, in the 1970s, the company started manufacturing on a large scale, models with large number of pieces or building blocks, of channel and groove design, in which pegs protruding from the sides of the blocks could be used to connect to other blocks and construct the complete model. Of course, original models were completely of a mechanical nature, with no electrical or electronic elements to perform any automatic control tasks. Soon, the company started producing sophisticated mechanical models such as trains and bridges, and even included relatively simple measurement devices to calculate various relevant parameters related to the toys such as angles and distances. These toys used mostly hard nylon as material for the pieces or building blocks. As time moved on, the company started manufacturing automotive vehicle models such as tower cranes, and included electric motors, power sources and gears to mobilize the same. These products were used primarily by engineers to simulate and teach industrial robotics. These products were further advanced by the incorporation of electrical and electronic components of the likes of micro-switches and photocells for the purpose of position sensing and feedback control. Later, the company launched its first basic electronic block called the Grundbaustein, which consisted of Op-Amps and Schmitt Triggers, so that Delay Line circuits could be built. In the later part of 1970s, electronic binary-logic modules such as OR, NOR, AND, NAND, Flip-Flops were also included so as to provide means for making elementary branching decisions. Around the late 1980s, CPU modules that could perform process-control were also included so that sequential movements could be pre-programmed. This was first execute d using the Lucky-Logic (LLWIN) software, developed by the company. Today, the company uses all state of the art technologies that the engineering and scientific world has produced in the fields of process control and automation, in a variety of its products. These products include ROBO TX Explorer kit and Robo-pro software (which is the successor to LLWIN), amongst many others. COMPETITION The major world-wide competitor of fischertechnik is Lego, which is far more popular and easily available in USA and even Europe. Although initially in the three major lines, namely Expert, Technic and Mindstorm, Lego was unable to match the technical and flexibility level of fischertechnik, but soon after the launch of Lego Mindstorms NXT in 2006, the former surpassed the latter in a number of technical areas such as color sensing. After this, Lego overtook fischertechnik in the production of the most advanced construction toy models in the world and the latter moved down to the production of less technical, simplified and fun toys, primary for educational purposes. However, on its own, fischertechnik is a huge brand and has a strong presence in the construction toy market all over the world and is much bigger than any other brand apart from Lego. ENTERING UAE: ADVANTAGES It is well known that UAE is one of the most prosperous countries of the world, and for the past few years, has been developing at a lightening pace. This pace continues to increase by the day. In general, the people in UAE are wealthy and have tremendous monetary resources, ready to be tapped and mobilized. Not only is the wealth tremendous, but the total population especially in the metropolitan cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi is also very large. Thus, demand for all sorts of products in UAE is huge. This makes UAE an attractive market for a number of multinational corporations. A number of world famous brands have set up operations of production as well as distribution all over UAE, to tap this huge demand. And as time passes, more and more companies would continue to enter. Due to this huge monetary reserve in the hands of the common people, and a ready demand for all kinds of products, as mentioned earlier, a new trend amongst corporations working in all spheres of business has come about. This is, to start a new enterprise (for new entrepreneurs) or to launch a brand (for existing corporations) in UAE. This is no surprise, since the early sales figures of products of such is very large, and creates an impression in the minds of consumers everywhere in the world. Thus, UAE has become an extremely attractive location for the launch of new companies or products of existing ones. The aforementioned reasons are enough to imply that a brand, especially one as big as fischertechnik does not need to think twice before entering UAE. Of course, there are a number of pre-requisites and formalities that need to be fulfilled before business can be setup in the country. This is discussed in the next section. In the present section, we limit our discussion to the specific advantages and constraints attached to entering UAE. Regarding this, we discuss the kind of demand that is likely to be there in UAE by analyzing the present demand and import scenario in the toy industry, the kinds of consumers that can be targeted, and the kind of problems that the company would be likely to face. Due to the huge amount of developmental activities, migration has been tremendous in the UAE. Thus, there has been a population explosion in the UAE in the past decade or so. This is particularly true in the case of bigger cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The growing economy of the country has led to a fast increasing population rate, which has in-turn led to a huge increase in the demand for all kinds of products, which is the case with construction toy products as well. The total import of toys, which includes baby accessories in Dubai alone, was valued over 603 million Dirham in 2009. There has been an increasing demand for toys, as mentioned earlier, due to the great population in the country for the past few years, and this has led to a corresponding steady increase in the total import of toys in the country. It is interesting to note that in 2007 alone, the total rise in the import of toys was 16%. Another important indicator of the increase in demand for toys in UAE is the rapid decrease in the re-export of toys. However, what is significant to note here is that a major part of the demand for toys is met from import only, as there are hardly any local toy manufacturers in UAE. Companies like Lego and Toys R Us, have been selling their products in UAE, to take advantage of this deficit in local demand and supply. Thus there is great scope for foreign companies exporting into UAE. A smarter exercise, however, for such foreign companies would be to set up local production facilities, such as industrial plants, so that products could be produced domestically to avoid extra costs incurred during export of goods. This applies most appropriately to fischertechnik, because it is a very progressive company with a good financial standing and also because it has very little presence or popularity presently in the UAE. This lack of presence could be used as an advantage by fischertechnik, through, say for instance, a mega initial launch. However, a discussion of the implementation of this strategy is presented in detail later. Another very important point to be noted here is that presently most of the toys are imported by UAE from Asian countries like China, and a small portion is from Europe, USA and Canada. The total share in terms of import is approximately 90% from Asia and 10% from others. On top of this, there is presently, a great deal of diffidence in the minds of consumers towards purchasing Asian goods, since the quality and safety of such goods has been in question in the recent days. This further provides a good opportunity for foreign companies especially from Europe such as fischertechnik to enter the UAE markets, to establish themselves and beat a dying, or at least falling competition from their Asian counterparts. An analysis of the type of consumers who are most likely to purchase products of companies like fischertechnik is an extremely important pre-requisite for beginning or expanding operations into a new country. As mentioned earlier, the high population of UAE provides a huge pool of kids who are potential consumers of toys. However, there is a specific advantage connected to UAE in this regard. UAE is at the zenith of its development, and in the days to come, there will be a huge requirement of engineers and scientists in the country. Of course, it is best for any developing country, if this requirement is fulfilled domestically itself. Most parents in UAE, along with the government understand this present and future need, which is clearly exemplified from the fact that a number of excellent centers of technical education are have been set up over the years in the country. However, it is well known that simply providing good higher education is not enough. Kids have to be nurtured from a very young age, if this demand has to be met. For most parents, it is a dream to see their child become an engineer or a scientist because, and this is particularly true in UAE, they know that it would prove to be a prosperous career. This emotion can be utilized by fischertechnik for its expansion, the strategy for which is discussed later. Thus, to reach the ultimate consumers, i.e., young children, a route through their parents needs to be exploited. Thus, strategies have to be devised so that parents can be induced into buying the toys for their children. Another class of consumer consists of industrial level engineers and teachers who can use high-tech simulation type toy models, to provide for their employees and students respectively, better insight into the working of practical machines. For instance, teachers in a mechanical engineering class could use vehicle simulation toy models for showing the students the real working of such machines. This would make learning more effective and at the same time more enjoyable. Even for big companies, project relate discussions can be made more effective through simulation as well as modelling of the final project, for instance a model of a building when a construction project is being discussed. The existence of Free Trade Zones is a great advantage for any foreign company to setup operations in UAE. Many companies in various sectors such as networking, communications etc have already setup their business centers in UAE. These Free Trade Zones provide access to over 1.5 billion consumers in various countries of Africa, Asia and Europe, since ports in UAE are big trading centers and lie on many of the important trade routes of the world. This allows a great scope of future expansion of companies to nearby nations. However, this is just a secondary advantage of setting up operations in UAE. The Free Trade Zones have one hundred percent corporate tax exemption, zero taxes applicable on personal income, whether domestic or foreign, and no commercial levies. For a company having 51% domestic ownership there is no import duty applicable, however, companies having full foreign ownership are subjected to a 4% import duty. But this can be avoided through a collaborative setup or even through the setup of production centers within the country itself. There are no foreign exchange control or currency restrictions either. Apart from this, there is one hundred percent repatriation of capital as well as profit for foreign investors, which allows them to transfer their entire funds without any hassles. Such great incentives have been provided to foreign investors to speed up the process of development of the country through entry of huge amount of foreign capital. All these can be easily exploited by fischertechnik for its businesses in UAE. The legislative framework within the country is also very favorable for foreign investors. So, setting up of new businesses becomes an extremely simple process for most people. The laws regarding formal aspects of business setup or even expansion are very client friendly, which makes UAE an attractive location for new entrepreneurs since they do not have to face any obstacles. An example of the favorable laws is that companies can operate 24 hours a day, unlike those in most other countries. Plus, the regulation of businesses is extremely efficient which aims to protect the interests of all investors. Apart from the above, another huge advantage of expanding business into UAE is that the banking sector is very sophisticated and provides state of the art services and schemes to their clients. Such an ultra-modern and progressive banking sector has developed due to easing of laws are regulations for speeding up developmental activities in the country. The banking sector is highly confidential which ensures that all high risk financial matters are private. Also, the financial sector of UAE is extremely modern and provides all the best available products for corporations to use. For instance, corporations have easy access to modern financial instruments such as futures and options that can be used to hedge any risks arising in business. On top of this, a number of top financial consultancy firms and hedge funds have setup their offices in UAE, and provide services to other corporations. Thus, financial services of the best possible kind are easily available to companies. The stock mar kets in UAE are also extremely developed and provide easy access to all financial instruments and cheap and effective trading. Moving on to the infrastructure facilities available to companies, it is well known that UAE provides excellent and most diverse infrastructure available anywhere in the world. There are extremely sophisticated communication facilities available to companies. Apart from this, the security related services provided to corporate firms are also very advanced. All of the aforementioned advantages of expanding into UAE make it obvious that fischertechnik must enter the UAE markets as soon as possible, seeing the great benefits that it offers and the fact that till now these advantages have not been fully exploited by similar countries yet. FORMAL PRE-REQUISITES For performing business related activities in the UAE, any company needs to acquire a license. This license can be of three types namely, commercial, which is for all kinds of trading activities, industrial, which is for production or manufacturing activities and lastly, professional, for professional services and craftsmen. However, with regard to fischertechnik, only the first two types are of significance, since a major strategy for expansion would be to setup production and manufacturing activities in UAE, for which trading activities for purposes of hedging etc would be indispensable. Apart from this, the ownership of companies within UAE can be of two types. The first is partnership type of company, in which 51% of the ownership of the company is with a UAE national and the rest 49% is owned by the investor. Thus, for setting up such a company, fischertechnik would have to for a collaborative alliance with a domestic company in UAE. The second type of ownership is called Sole ownership, in which the investor has full control over the company. For this, the company has to setup its business within a Free Trade Zone only. There are, however, some restrictions on the type of business transactions that can be done outside the designated Free Trade Zone. For fischertechnik, a combination of the two ownership types would be most beneficial. For its production activities, it could form a joint venture company with another UAE based corporation, which performs a related business, while for its marketing activities, it could use the Sole Ownership type of company setup, and distribute its products through authorized dealers, since companies having Sole Ownership cannot directly sell their products in domestic markets. This sort of a combination would help fischertechnik in marketing its own brand, while maintaining steady production in collaboration with another company. SWOT ANANLYSIS OF FISCHERTECHNIK The SWOT analysis of fischertechnik is presented as follows: Strengths: fischertechnik has much significant strengths which are presented here one by one. Firstly, it is a huge brand, renowned all over the world, in the field of construction toys and is the best known brand specifically for constructions toys for educational purposes. It has an excellent record of financial performance in the past and has ownership of huge amount of monetary resources, which can be channelized into production and marketing related activities in business in UAE. This financial record gives fischertechnik excellent credit rating, which in-turn can help it to obtain local financing from domestic banks in UAE in the form of loans, very easily. This can help in hastening the start of business by quick setup of industrial and manufacturing plants as well as corporate offices. fischertechnik is the second biggest company in the field of construction toys, second only to Lego, thus it would not face competition from any other company in the area. Since Lego has very l imited operations presently in UAE, it would make fischertechnik an unsurpassable brand once it begins operations. It should be noted that although fischertechnik is next to Lego but the difference between the two is very less and if the former is able to establish a good image in UAE first, then the latter would not be able to overcome this image by entering the UAE market afterwards. Also, it is important to mention that fischertechnik is a very old company, 45 years to be exact, and thus has a pool of experienced and skilled staff possessing excellent technical expertise in the field of process control, which includes aspects of electrical, mechanical, electronics and computer engineering. The company uses the most sophisticated technologies in engineering and specifically in process control in its products, and the technical department, consisting of both experienced engineers as well as innovative minded freshers, who are recruited through an excellent selection process, of fis chertechnik continuously work towards discovering new technologies and incorporating innovative ideas into its products. Apart from these, the company produces a wide range of products for many all age groups including children and adults. Lastly, it is relevant to mention that the company has tremendous managerial expertise and organizational stability. Weaknesses: Although fischertechnik has very few weaknesses, it is relevant to mention them here. Fischertechnik has very small presence in UAE. Its business operations in UAE are very limited and in the inaugural phase. Although its small presence can be used as an advantage, this discussion is presented in the next section. However, limited presence can prove to be disastrous if business operations are not established speedily. This means that if a company like Lego which is the major competitor of fischertechnik senses the slowness in establishment of business operation of the latter, through speedy operation it can surpass and destroy the competitive advantage of the limited presence of the same. Since fischertechnik is a German company, the core employees of the same may not be able to adjust easily to the corporate practices and consumer behavior of the domestic markets of UAE. As a solution to this, the company would probably resort to the recruitment of local staff. Another r eason for recruitment of local staff is that it is mandatory for foreign companies to maintain a certain percentage of local employees within the total workforce. However, this local staff would face difficulty in adjusting to the corporate practices of a foreign company. Of course, this problem would need to be solved through an effective Human Resource Management strategy on the part of the company, which is definitely not an insurmountable task for a company of the likes of fischertechnik. Opportunities: As mentioned earlier, due to the huge amount of developmental activities in UAE, there has been a population explosion in the country. This automatically implies that there is a huge demand for consumer goods such as construction toys, due to the existence of a large number of families. Apart from this, because of setting up of a large number of institutes of higher education in the recent past, the demand for simulation models as educational tools would also be high. This means that fischertechnik has huge scope of revenue generation by supplying this huge demand. Again, setting up of new businesses and expansion thereafter is very simple in UAE, due to the liberal trade policies followed by the government. This is because UAE is a liberal economy and is extremely committed to free trade. Thus, these provide significant opportunities to fischertechnik to begin its operations at an appropriately fast pace. Also, as given in detail in the next section, the limited prese nce of fischertechnik in UAE presently can be used as a significant advantage. Threats: The most important threat is that if fischertechnik is slow in setting up its initial operations, no matter how sound its business plan may be, its rival competitor Lego can detect its main intentions and adopt strategies to work fast and finish the competitive advantage of the former. This is also because Lego already has some presence in UAE and for expansion it would take less time as compared to the time fischertechnik would take to establish itself from scratch. Another major threat that fischertechnik is likely to face is that the core employees of the company, who are mostly German, would find it difficult to adapt to the local conditions and similarly, the local staff would not be able to adapt to the corporate practices of the company. This problem is extremely significant and if an effective Human Resource Management strategy is not adopted, it could destroy all scope of existence of the company in UAE. PESTEL ANALYSIS OF FISCHERTECHNIK The PESTEL analysis of fischertechnik is as given below. It consists of all the macro-economic factors that affect the growth of fischertechnik in UAE. Political Factors: The present political environment of UAE is conducive to the growth of any company, and fischertechnik is no exception to the rule. The company should take full advantage of the liberal regulatory setup, which promotes the development of the economy, which automatically implies the growth of the company as well. As mentioned earlier, various tax exemptions which include exemption on corporate as well as personal earnings, free trade zones etc clearly exemplify this pro-development attitude of the UAE government. Fischertechnik, being a huge company would obviously receive a warm welcome and special treatment from the government of UAE, since its presence in the market would greatly increase the overall development of the country. Economic Factors: The great financial record of fischertechnik would undoubtedly help its initial setup. The overall consumer attitude in UAE is excellent from the point of view of any company, and consumers are always looking to buy products of companies which are reliable and have a good past record. The worldwide brand image of fischertechnik would help it to take advantage of such consumer attitude. If the company pays attention and highlights that it uses local resources, generates employment and works in a manner keeping sustainability, the confidence of consumers is greatly increased. fischertechnik needs to use such a marketing strategy to promote itself so as to strongly setup its business operations in UAE. Social Factors: The population of UAE is diverse, especially due to the great amount of developmental activities going on in the country. Thus, the population consists of all types of consumers. But in general, the populace of UAE is pro-development and if the company keeps in mind not to delve into controversies that affect the religious or spiritual aspects of the life of the people of the country, a rapid growth rate is virtually assured. Technological Factors: Again, due to the tremendous amount of developmental work going on in the country, a number of companies have set themselves up in UAE. This has resulted in a near perfect competition in the domestic markets of UAE. Such competition always promotes the use of latest technology and to an extent, healthy sharing of technologies between companies engaged in the same business. With such a scenario in the market and with the strong technological experience of the fischertechnik, which is known to be a company that perpetually comes out with new and innovative products, there is no doubt that the company would be able to establish itself in UAE within no time. Legal Factors: As mentioned earlier, the pro-development attitude of the UAE government has resulted in a relaxed set of laws and regulations governing the corporate sector. In the past, fischertechnik has not been involved in any controversies that involve legal issues and need to maintain such a record during its operations in UAE. With many Asian toy companies facing legal problems presently, in light of allegations from various entities within UAE that the goods they have exported to UAE are not safe, it is the perfect opportunity for fischertechnik to once and for all destroy its competition by promoting itself as a safe toymaker. Environmental Factors: fischertechnik needs to adopt a pro-environment attitude that promotes sustainability. As a company that promotes science and engineering, it has already established its technological dominance over many companies in the same business. However, a business setup that keeps in mind the environment, which includes green building for its corporate offices and manufacturing facilities that have reduced carbon emissions etc, on the part of fischertechnik can go a long way in the growth of the company in UAE. WAYS TO ENTER: STRATEGIES After the completion of the pre-requisite formalities, the following strategies would be most effective for fischertechnik for its expansion in UAE. fischertechnik should begin its operations by setting up multiple manufacturing facilities and industrial plants at various locations in UAE. The number of corporate offices should be kept low and distributional activity should be outsourced to a large number of authorized dealers and distributors. Such a strategy for the initial setup of business would be very effective because it would remove any scope of import duty and the cost incurred in movement of goods from outside the country would be avoided. This has not been done by any of the toy companies including Lego in their operations in UAE and thus they have to incorporate the extra cost in the prices of their products. Therefore, fischertechnik products would be priced lower compared to others and this would provide a definite competitive advantage to the company. Complete financing should not be from the personal savings of the company and a large part of the financing should be obtained in the form of loans from banks and other financial institutions. This is because corporate savings need to be retained for payment of dividends etc and to take care of any sudden cash payment liabilities that may arise. Also, since UAE has an extremely sophisticated and well established banking system, the loans for setting up business are offered at lower rates, and are usually coupled with attractive and profitable schemes. This should definitely be exploited. The initial target locations should be the metropolitan cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This is because they have the highest population density and thus the biggest pool of prospective consumers. Through multiple authorized dealers for distribution, the volume of products supplied to the cities should be high from the beginning itself. This would generate high revenue from the beginning and would also provide valuable information about the consumer behavior in the domestic market of UAE. After this initial phase, the subsequent targets should be smaller cities which include the capitals of the seven Emirates of UAE amongst others. Next, the strategy to be used to take advantage of the limited presence of fischertechnik in UAE currently is presented. The first aim should be the organization of multiple mega-launch events simultaneously across various parts of the two metropolitan cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This includes large scale exhibitions and sale offers. For such events, special attention needs to be given to the ambience of the same, through the use of attractive banners, posters and pamphlets. This should be coupled with an attractive exhibition of toys, which would include the best products of fischertechnik. Special toys, exclusively for consumers of UAE could also be prepared. A good looking inaugural event is very important to make an impression in the minds of consumers. This effect is much more effective on kids, who would be the ultimate consumers of fischertechnik products. To cater to the special needs and demands of the consumers, a survey should be conducted before these events to find ou t the same, so tha