Financial Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial - Research Paper Example Although the original focus of Microsoft was on PC development, it later changed its efforts towards the more profitable business side of software and application development. By 1981 Microsoft had created the highly successful MS-DOS operating system which it successfully licensed to IBM and came bundled with all their computers. In 1985 his new GUI (Graphic User Interface) Windows 1.0 operating system was unveiled which Gates viewed as the future of personal computing, but IBM executives did not share the same vision. Contrary to IBMs belief, Windows and its GUI interface became the de-facto standard for all personal computers in the future. Microsoft as a company soon achieved dramatic success and growth by becoming an operational system and personal productivity applications developer marketing giant (Windows, 2012). Microsoft as a company is centered on its customer driven mission of â€Å"Enabling people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential by creating technology that transforms the way people work, play, and communicate.† The company is focused on developing, manufacturing, licensing and providing customer support to its varied software and hardware products. Some of the major software categories that Microsoft competes in are in operating systems, business solutions software applications, server applications, high-performance computing and software development tools, desktop and server management tools, video games, cloud-computing and online advertising. Microsoft also develops and markets hardware products for entertainment such as the Xbox 360 console and accessories, an interactive entertainment console and other Microsoft hardware. The company also provides solutions and product support services, consulting, training and certification to IT professi onals and computer system developers and integrators. Microsofts company structure has a global reach, with

Has our society become excessively materialistic - SAT essay Essay Example for Free

Has our society become excessively materialistic SAT essay Essay Though it cannot be denied that modern society is profoundly materialistic, there is nothing inherently wrong with a society that values the production and consumption of material goods. Ample historical evidence suggests that societies that devalue capital wealth and material gain will be unstable and short-lived. Materialism – whatever value we place upon it – creates a stable societal structure. Just turn on the television, peruse the magazine covers in a supermarket, listen to any one of the top forty radio hits and you will be immediately faced with the rampant materialism of modern society. What do we value? Material wealth and celebrity. Why do we worship Paris Hilton, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos. Steve Jobs? Because they have tremendous buying power and perceived power. What shows do we watch? American Idol, Cribs, Pimp My Ride, My Sweet 16 to name a few. All these shows lift conspicuous consumption and flagrant displays of wealth and hedonism to elevated levels. Our society is very much like the ancient materialistic society of Rome- in which wealth and power were paramount. Thus it cannot be denied that a materialist spirit pervades modern society. But who’s to say that materialism is wrong? Our philosophers praise the virtues of materialism. Our prophets include the venerable John Smith, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Keynes and all the myriad materialistic philosophers. And how the anti-materialist philosophers have waned in influence and been discarded to the waste bin of history: Karl Marx, Lenin, Charles Fourrier all have been relegated to the trash heap. Capitalism is the ethos of the day- the driving force of our world. Just ask the Chinese, the Russians, who have discarded their antiquated philosophies in exchange for a more durable, albeit potentially cynical materialism. Materialism acknowledges our innate desire to have more than our neighbors, to do better than the Jones. Because it caters to an inborn human need, materialism will always provide a more stable structure for a society. Modern society is deeply materialistic. That’s because materialism works. It validates human needs and desires and works with man’s actual structure rather than the same lofty ideal or fantasy. Let us then celebrate our pervasive materialism and acknowledge its efficacy and virtue. Source: http://www.applerouth.com/blog/2009/06/01/in-praise-of-folly-writing-the-sat-essay/

Visiting the Cameron Highlands: Popular places

Visiting the Cameron Highlands: Popular places CAMERON HIGHLANDS Cameron Highlands, in bahasa called Tanah Tinggi Cameron† is one of Malaysia’s most extensive hill stations. The size of Singapore, it occupies an area of 712 square kilometers (275sqmi). To the north, its boundary touches that of Kelantan; to the west, it shares part of its border with Perak. Situated at the northwestern tip of Pahang, the â€Å"Camerons† is approximately 90 kilometers (56mi) from Ipoh or about 200 kilometers (120mi) from Kuala Lumpur. It is the smallest constituency in Pahang. Discovered by Sir William Cameron in 1885, the outpost consists of three districts, namely Ringlet (5,165 hectares), Tanah Rata (2,081 hectares) and Ulu Telom (63,981 hectares). Its eight sub-districts are Ringlet, Tanah Rata (the administrative centre), Brinchang, the Bertam Valley, Kea Farm, Tringkap, Kuala Terla and Kampung Raja. All are at different elevations ranging from 1,100 meters (3,600ft) to 1,600 meters (5,200ft) above sea level. The mean annual temperature of the retreat is about 18 °C (64 °F). During the day, the temperature seldom rises above 25 °C (77 °F); at night, it rarely drops to as low as 9 °C (48 °F) at the higher reaches.[2] The resort has a diverse population of more than 38,000 people. It comprises Bumiputra (Malay (7,321); others (5,668)), Chinese (13,099), Indians (6,988), non-Malaysian citizens (5,193), and other nationalities (202). Most of the residents here are entrepreneurs, service industry employees, farm workers, retirees or government servants. The languages spoken are Malay, Mandarin, Tamil and English. Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Christianity and Sikhism are the main religions of the haven. Developed in the 1930s, the tableland is one of the oldest tourist spots in Malaysia. Apart from its tea estates, the plateau is also noted for its cool weather, orchards, nurseries, farmlands, waterfalls, rivers, lakes, wildlife, mossy forest, golf course, hotels, places of worship, bungalows, Land Rovers, museum and its aborigines (Orang Asli). The Cameron Highlands can be accessed by road via Tapah, Simpang Pulai, Gua Musang or Sungai Koyan. Tapah and Simpang Pulai are the two approaches from Perak. Gua Musang and Sungai Koyan are the entryways from Kelantan and Pahang, respectively. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Highlands There are few places which you need to visit or do when you are at Cameron Highlands. The most attractive place is tea plantations. No trip is call complete without a trip to tea plantations. You can visit the factories to learn about the tea making process and you can also sit down and enjoy a cup of tea at the cafe. The view overlooking the plantations is beautiful and perfect for the picture album. http://superwomanohsem.blogspot.com/ If you like to eat strawberry, don’t forget visit the strawberry farm. The climate in Cameron Highlands is excellent for year-round strawberry production and this has encouraged many farmers to cultivate this fruit. In fact, strawberry production is such a big business over here. The people of Cameron Highlands have associated themselves very closely with this fruit. Hotels are named after strawberries, clothes come in strawberry prints, and there are strawberry toys, strawberry souvenirs, even pillows, strawberry farm visits, strawberry jam, ice cream and a whole range of Malaysian food fashioned with this berry. Most strawberry farms are concentrated at Tanah Rata, Brinchang and Kea Farm. During higher production season from May till August, many of these farms offer strawberry picking by hand to attract visitors. Visitors wishing to indulge in this activity are charged between RM50 to RM60 a kg of fruit plucked. Three of the most popular strawberry farms where visitors can do interactive visits are Big Red Strawberry Farm in Brinchang, Kasimani’s Farm close to the Golf Course and Raju Hill Strawberry Farm near Kea Farm. Meanwhile, there have another attractive places which you can visit – vegetable farm. It’s located throughout the highlands and most of the farms allow visitors in. Drive up to Tringkap or Kuala Terla to get a roadside view of the larger vegetable farms. Due to the increasing tourist arrivals, there have been smaller farms cropping up all over the highlands. These farms produce everything from flowers and vegetables to strawberries. These are primarily for walk in tourists. The other bigger farms which produce vegetables for the nation’s consumptions are usually not on the tourist map and are located in the interiors or Kuala Terla and Bertam Valley. If you want to explore the real Cameron Highlands, then a visit to the Time Tunnel Gallery is a must for you. Take a peek into Cameron Highland’s past through the old photographs and stories that many people do not know about. A lot of the photos depicting the past are from personal collections of the locals who’s been here since the pre-war days. You can also see some of the familiar items from the yesteryears. For those who grew up in the 40†²s to 80†²s, this will be a walk back in memory lane. It is a unforgettable and sweet memories for the visitors. Local produce markets can be found all over the highlands and these are one of the spots tourists flock to get everything under one roof. There are many of these markets sprouting over the past few years and almost all are located along the main road so you can’t miss them. The most popular tourist market is at Kea Farm but you can also find some smaller ones almost everywhere you look. KEA FARM MARKET Kea Farm Market is a highly popular among local tourists for its highland vegetable produce. Kea Farm is a bustling open market in Cameron Highlands, located 3km north of Brinchang town. This vegetable and fruit market along the highland’s main road is located close to the Copthorne Hotel (formerly Equatorial Resort). Here, farmers sell the best of their products throughout the day, offering to buyers cabbages, fresh carrots, an assortment of other highland greens, corn, strawberries, flowers, souvenirs, honey and potted plants. Kea Farm at an altitude of 1610 meters above sea level (5282 feet), is also the highest village in Peninsular Malaysia, and lies close to the popular Sungai Palas Tea Estate and the highest mountain in Cameron Highlands, Gunung Brinchang (2031 m). Some other tourist attractions within its vicinity include Rose Center and the Butterfly Garden. On Saturday nights, the weekly night market comes to life in Brinchang night market. This is where you can find all the produce of Cameron Highlands sold in one place. You can get everything cheap here if you know how to bargain. This is also a place to get some good â€Å"pasar malam† food. The Night Market will be open daily during the school holiday and public holidays. The mossy forest is an amazing nature Cameron Highlands is bestowed with is indeed the main reason for its touristic appeal and top in its natural attraction list must surely be its Mossy Forest. Depending on its location, this forest may also be called Cloud Forest, Elfin Forest, or Upper Mountain Forest with all displaying similar characteristics and vegetation that can only be found in a constantly cool, windy, wet, and misty environment. In Malaysia, the Mossy Forest occupies the ridge and valleys at elevations above 1,800 metres where it is constantly shrouded by mist and lower clouds with temperatures ranging between 10 to 18 degrees Celsius. The Mossy Forest of Cameron Highlands is located at the ridge of the 2032 metre-high Mount Brinchang, the highest mountain in Cameron Highlands. Here, the view of the hills and valleys below and the plains at the distance are magnificent and sunrises and sunsets are amazing. For those who dare venture at night, the sight of the stars and Milky Way above on clear days and the lights of Ipoh city far below, are exhilarating sights. Distance views apart, the forest here is simply enthralling with a thick layer of softspongy moss draping every tree and the ground as well. The trees here are also stunted, rarely above 10 metres tall and mostly of the laurel family with rhododendrons which are showy when in bloom, tiny orchids, pitcher plants and other epiphytes, thriving in this environment. The Mossy Forest of Brinchang is actually one of the easiest spots in world to access a mossy forest with a tarred road reaching right to the peak of the ridge here. There are daily guided tours to the mossy forest organised by various tour operators in Cameron Highlands who will take tourists through the forests using a 400 metre long wooden walkway which was specially built through the forest for a very up, close and personal view of this natural wonder. One of the attractive places are Lavender Garden. Opened in 2013, Lavender Garden which is Cameron Highland’s newest attraction is located just before Tringkap town when travelling from Simpang Pulai. It is a floral themed park with cemented terraced hill slopes where ascending row upon row of flowers are grown, offering a dazzle of colours for visitors to admire and photograph. The lavender itself isn’t as plentiful as one may expect with artificial lavender scent permeating the air at the entrance but live lavender plants can be seen planted in a large plot at the centre of this park. There are also many types of flowers grown here such as gerberas, camellias, roses, peonies and yellow daisies. An apiary and a small gift shop selling lavender products are among the other offerings while potted lavender plants are sold for RM15 each. Visitors can also self-pick daisies for RM2 per stalk or 6 for RM10. There is a gift shop selling lavender products and a cafe offering good strawberry milk shake, and Lavender ice cream for RM5.50 The centre opens daily and charges RM5 per adults and RM3 for children. The star attraction at the Agro Technology Park in MARDI Cameron Highlands must surely be its pergolas of Butterfly Jade Vine and Lady Slipper vine, both displaying spectacular cascading flower trusses. The Lady Slipper vine or also know as Clock Vine or Doll’s Shoes is a native to India and its spectacular yellow and reddish-brown flowers that hang in pendent racemes are exotic indeed. Even more exotic looking are the turquoise claw-shaped flowers of the Butterfly Jade Vine which resembles a butterfly when two flowers are put together. The pendent-like trusses can carry up to 75 or more individual flowers and can reach up to three metres long. Other lovely and showy display of blooms enticing visitors for a photo or two are its colourful busy lilies, roses and dahlias. The centre also grows and displays a variety of other exotic sub-tropical flowering plants, herbs, highland fruits and vegetables including strawberries, and potted plants for sale. MARDI Cameron Highlands was established by the Malayan British administrators in 1925 and was then known as the Federal Experimental Station for agricultural produce. The Agro technology Park is located within the station and was officiated in2003. The park houses some of the oldest tea bushes in the country which was grown here during experimental stages when the plant was introduced in the country in 1925. It also has experimental greenhouses for temperate fruits such as apples and persimmons. The Agro technology Park which is about a kilometre from Tanah Rata also boasts an English Garden, strawberry farm and production centre, vegetable and cut flower production, green house research facility and the sales centre. It even offers accommodation in the form of ‘English Cottage’. Visiting hours are Monday to Thursday from8.00am to 12.45pm / 2.00pm to 5.00pm and Friday 8.00am to 12.30pm / 2.30pm to 5.00pm. Entrance fee to the park is RM3 and can be purchased at its information centre.

Women Entrepreneurs: Challenges and Opportunities

Women Entrepreneurs: Challenges and Opportunities Introduction Increasingly forward thinking organizations, such as ALEAP are recognizing the value and impact that women leaders contribute to families, business and communities. Most of the organizations are formalizing programs and strategies to address the unique challenges that women face in the work place as core components of both retention dn acquisition strategies. Several studies have shown that women bring a special brand of leadership for organizations that translate into superior long term sustainability an financial performance (www.siliconindia.com). The current study is about the entrepreneur competencies in Indian women and its purpose to analyze the status of women entrepreneurs in business with reference to India. The study first draws identities, profiles and addresses operational problems faced by women entrepreneurs in business, draws their inclination for future plans for expansion and growth and for the furtherance of research on women entrepreneurs in India. Women owners of small business are known to be better informed about issues relating to starting their own business compared to their male counterparts. Women spend more time conducting market research and have historically spent more time accessing finance because of gender bias within the lending industry. Due to their previous employment history many women have better administrative skills over men which should translate to women having better basic business management knowledge and a higher level of basic business competencies. So This Research would like to conduct a survey on sample of 40 business owners from (ALEAP) Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad and Vijayawada. The present study A Research on competencies of Women Entrepreneurs main Objective is to reveal the exploratory information of women Entrepreneurs their competencies which impacted to become a Entrepreneur, number of issues, when first started their business, while facing competition, in decision-making and their business active operations etc and comparing these competencies between women entrepreneurs of two areas (Hyderabad and Vijayawada). Entrepreneurs have become the key figure of the economies around the globe as they are essential for the development and foundation of companies and process of job creation as the result. Entrepreneur is the innovator who brings and implements changes within markets through carrying out new combinations of several forms. This can be an introduction to a new product or quality, an introduction to new production technique, opening of a new market, and new source of supply of new parts or material or carrying out a new organization of an industry (Schummpter, 1935 cited in Anderson, 2008). The entrepreneur model of Schummpter (1935) has been increasingly investigated as being the instigator of innovation. In fact, other types of entrepreneur can be mentioned, which are influenced by cultural peculiarities. Many researchers, such as Atamer and Torres wondered whether the mentioned model of Schummpter should be applied to all the countries of the world. Although, entrepreneurship is a wor ld phenomenon, it is not possible to describe as homogeneous (Atamer and Torres, 2007 cited in Anderson, 2008). According to Casson, M. (1982), most of the studies on entrepreneur are relying on a stereotype, which is the swashbuckling adventure of business. The analysis of Casson (1982) tended to explain that the self made entrepreneurs were the figures from the past and now it is possible to define an entrepreneur as a person, specialized in decisions about the scarce resource coordination. Entrepreneur Development Entrepreneurship has been considered to be specific for the great individuals, both in academic view and conventional wisdom. Several articles and books have been written to highlight the virtues of entrepreneurship. However, the story of entrepreneur as a great person missed the fundamental mechanism of economic growth and entrepreneurship. In fact, entrepreneurship is not just an economic process; rather it extends beyond the new business formation process. Entrepreneurship, therefore, is a social process which arises from a vast set of cultural and social conditions (Florida, 2002). In United States, the impulse of entrepreneurship has become part of the social ethos. Its creating forces have been building at least for five decades and longer perhaps. However, its rise at social level or at way of life has recently become apparent. Entrepreneurship is the part of a vast social movement, a change that residents of the country want out of social life. There is increase in interest f or becoming entrepreneur. For instance, 60% of the young adults and teenagers want to become entrepreneurs, according to a survey (Florida, 2002). The development of entrepreneurship is not obvious in US only; the need for employment development around the globe has given rise to entrepreneurship in other countries as well. Reduction in youth unemployment is the big challenge that most of the governments have to face in coming decades. According to a recent study by International Labour Office (ILO), youth is more likely to be unemployed than adults. This likelihood is three and half time more than that of adults. Approximately 660 million young people, in 2015, will be looking for work or working. This challenge has various dimensions and therefore requires a specific response. It is needed to look the entrepreneurship with the perspective of youth. Within the framework of basic efforts and strategies of boosting employment for young people, a valuable addition to job creation is the entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is an innovative approach for improvement of livelihood and job creation among young people. Although, entrepr eneurship has derived job creation and economic development, there has been a very little effort to look at it with the perspective of young people. Current theory of entrepreneurship that explains venture creation is organized generally around three core constructs: (a) market, (b) money and (c) management. These constructs are refereed as 3Ms. An entrepreneur is required to have market access, money and management if he plans to launch a venture. These constructs are having been described as fundamental building blocks for business viability and they derive from the mainstream economy and management driven entrepreneurship view (Bates et al. cited in Brush, Bruinn, Welter, 2009). These building blocks are basic for the development of any business. Women Entrepreneur Development Businesses owned by women are one of the fastest developing entrepreneurial populations of the world. They are making a significant contribution to employment, innovation and wealth creation in almost all economies (Brush et al., 2006). However, the growth in the importance of women entrepreneurship has not increased the number of studies on the subject. There is a gender gap in academic research, compared to a significant business ownership proportion (Brush, Bruinn, Welter, 2009). Women owners of small business are known to be better informed about issues relating to starting their own business compared to their male counterparts. Women spend more time conducting market research and have historically spent more time accessing finance because of gender bias within the lending industry. Due to their previous employment history many women have better administrative skills over men which should translate to women having better basic business management knowledge and a higher level of basic business competencies. So This Research would like to conduct a survey on sample of 40 business owners from (ALEAP) Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad and Vijayawada. The present study A Research on competencies of Women Entrepreneurs main Objective is to reveal the exploratory information of women Entrepreneurs their competencies which impacted to become a Entrepreneur, number of issues, when first started their business, while facing competition, in decision-making and their business active operations etc and comparing these competencies between women entrepreneurs of two areas (Hyderabad and Vijayawada). Small and Medium Enterprises in India India has a vibrant mall and micro enterprise sector which is playing a very important role to sustain the economic growth, with contribution of at least 39% to the manufacturing output and 39% to the exports in 2004-5. After agriculture, it is the largest employer of human jobs that provides employment to more than 29.5 million people, in the rural and urban areas of India. Their importance in terms of developing new entrepreneurship is recognized well. It is because most of the entrepreneurs are starting their business form a small unit that provides them an opportunity of harnessing their talents and skills, in order to innovate, experiment and transform their ideas into goods and services and nurture it into a greater unit (www.business.gov.in). Over the years, Indian small scale sector has progressed from producing only simple consumer goods to the production of many precise and sophisticated products such as microwave components; electronics control systems and electro medical equipments etc. The economic liberalization and process along with market reforms have exposed further the enterprise for increasing global and domestic level of completion. The challenges generated for them have lead towards a novel approach of cluster development of the sector. Private and public sector institutions, as the result have increasingly undertaken initiatives for cluster development (www.business.gov.in). Clusters are defined as the geographical and sectoral concerns of enterprises, particularly small and medium which face common opportunities and threats that give rise o external economies favor the specialized administrative, technical and financial services, create a conducive development ground of inter-firm cooperation for the promotion of local production, collective learning and innovation. Networking and clustering has helped the small and medium entrepreneurs in boosting the competitiveness of their business. There are over 400 SME clusters and about 2000 artisan clusters in India. According to some estimates, these clusters are contributing 60% of the manufactured exports from India. Almost all the gems and jewelry exports are from Surat and Mumbai clusters. Some of Indian small scale enterprises clusters are so big that they export 90% of Indias total production output of selected products. For instance, the clusters of Agra, Chennai and Kolkata are very famous for leather and products of leather (www.business.gov.in). Background to the study This research intended to provide analysis of the status of women entrepreneurs in Business with reference to India. It first draws the profiles, identifies and addresses operational problems faced by women entrepreneurs in business, draws their inclination for future plans for growth and Expansion and also for the furtherance of research on women entrepreneurs in India. Purpose of the study The Scope of this research will focus on the competencies of these women. The listed competencies were researched by the professors of the IGNOU University, India and were stated as the key competencies to be considered. These competencies are as listed below. And the questionnaire is a standard questionnaire collected from the IGNOU material for MBA students MS-93 Management of New and small Entrepreneurs Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship block Entrepreneurs in the following areas: Initiative Acts on opportunities persistence information seeking concern for High Quality of work commitment to work contract Efficiency Orientation Systematic planning Problem solving Self-confident Assertiveness Persuasion Use of influence strategies Overview of the Dissertation Aims and Objectives of the Study a) To draw the Entrepreneurial Competencies profile of women entrepreneurs at ALEAP located in Hyderabad and Vijayawada. b) To know the level of competencies existing with women entrepreneurs in business. c) To analyze the key challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in business. d) To analyze the future plans for expansion and growth of women entrepreneurs in business. e) To compare the level of competencies of women entrepreneurs in ALEAP located at Hyderabad (Urban /Developed Area) and Vijayawada (Rural / Undeveloped Area). Significance of the Study This research is intended to assess multi-dimensional issues and challenges related to women entrepreneurs. Analysis of various variables like age, marital status, education of self, parents and spouse, number of children, self-esteem of women entrepreneurs have been assessed to understand the self concept of women entrepreneurs, the degree of commitment of women entrepreneurs towards their business (entrepreneurial intensity), entrepreneurial challenges in running the business and future plans of women entrepreneurs. Affinity to Research Area The study is chosen majorly because; I would like to start up my own small scale enterprise in India under ALEAP, utilizing my proven abilities developed through my education and experience. And to start a better enterprise with a professional atmosphere, where I can contribute to my maximum ability to uphold the goals as a Lady Entrepreneur and improve my entrepreneurial skills so as to become a successful Small Scale Women Entrepreneur. Literature Review Entrepreneurship Although the entrepreneurship term has been used over 2 hundred years in a business context, there has been a considerable disagreement on its meanings. There have been hundreds of perspectives; the themes which are most prevalent are discussed by Morris, Lewis, Sexton, (1994). The earlier definitions of entrepreneurship that were principally formulated by economists, have been observed for tending to emphasize assumptions of arbitrage, assumption of risk, coordination of factors of production and supply of financial capital. As the entrepreneur was involved clearly in business initiation, the earlier perspectives saw entrepreneurship as companies ongoing function and profit to be a return as the result of facing uncertainty and coordinating resources. Researchers have failed to differentiate the entrepreneurship and management, historically. Rhey failed to distinguish between large and small firms. Such difference had not been established until the 1930s. Even than the there had been tendency to associate it with management and small business start up. As such, an entrepreneur is considered to be a person who assumes psychological, social and financial risks which are crucial for starting and running a small scale business (Hisrich and Peters, 19992 cited in Morris, Lewis, Sexton, 1994). Entrepreneurial competencies are related to managerial competencies, articulated in the works of Boyatzis (1982). The competency approach has become an increasingly popular means of studying entrepreneurial characteristics (For example, Baum, 1994; Bird, 1995; Baron and Markman, 2003; Chandler and Jansen, 1992; Lau, Chan and Man, 1999; Martin and Staines, 1994; McGregor et al, 2000; Schmitt-Rodermund, 2004). According to Bird (1995), competencies are seen as behavioral and observable, and therefore are more closely linked to performance than any other entrepreneurial characteristics such as personality traits, intensions or motivations (Herron and Robinson, 1993; Gartner and Starr, 1993). Moreover, as with attitudes (Robinson at al., 1991), competencies are changeable and so the development of entrepreneurial becomes more feasible. Man, Lau and Chan (2002), identified six major areas of entrepreneurial competencies, are categorized as relating to an SME context, including opportunity , relationship, conceptual, organizing, strategic, and commitment competencies. By making appropriate use of his or her competencies, an entrepreneur can perceive a widened competitive scope such as more opportunities for innovation, business growth, and the provision of new services or products. From available resources, he or she can also develop better organizational capabilities such as the firms innovative capability, cost-saving ability, quality and flexibility. Finally, he or she can plan and work towards a firms long-term performance, along with the available competitive scope and organizational capabilities. Chandler and Jansen (1992) included three distinctive categories of entrepreneurial, managerial, and technical competencies. Baums (1994) measurement of competencies covered a range of instruments measuring traits, skills, experience and knowledge. Man, Lau and Chan (2002) is founded upon a multi-dimensional conceptualization of the competitiveness of SMEs, including the performance dimension, potential dimension and process dimension, developed from earlier studies of competitiveness (Oral, 1986; Feurer and Chaharbaghi, 1994; Buckley, Pass and Prescott, 1998; World Competitiveness Report, 1993). In particular, the influence of the entrepreneur is considered as critical and this is addressed through the competency approach. A detailed coding of 192 competencies in 44 clusters in the six areas of opportunity, relationship, conceptual, organizing, strategic, and commitment competencies as in the original framework, as well as in two new competencies that do not fit into these six prescribed competency areas but seem to play supporting roles to other competencies. They are named as learning competencies and personal strength competencies. Altogether the entrepreneurial competencies are identified by Man, Lau and Chan as 15 they ar e as follows Competitive Scope, Organizational Capability, Opportunity Competencies, Relationship Competencies, Analytical Competencies, Innovative Competencies, Operational Competencies, Human Competencies, Strategic Competencies, Commitment Competencies, Learning Competencies, Personal Strength Competencies, Investment Efficiency, Business Growth and Relative performance. Holmquist (1997) points out that empirical studies of women entrepreneurs and the development of theories about women entrepreneurs is a neglected subject in descriptive perspective research work. Baker et al. (1997) stated that surveys with focus on women entrepreneur still account for only 6-8 percent of international research into entrepreneurship. Brush (1992) concluded from the review of existing research that womens business leadership cannot be understood using traditional (male oriented) framework of business analysis. She writes significant difference have been found in skills, business goals, management styles, business characteristics and growth rates. These variations suggest that women perceive and approach business differently than men. A major expansion of academic interest in women entrepreneurs has occurred since the late 70s, prompted by the perception that businesses owned by women are having an increasing impact on society and the economy. A number of authors in the area of entrepreneurship theory have argued that there is a need to feminize the research on entrepreneurship. (Moore, 1990; Hurley, 1991; Stevenson, 1990; Fischer et al., 1993), since much is still not understood about the ways women contribute to entrepreneurship and the problems they face. The issue is of more than academic interest. As a result of lack of knowledge of womens contribution to entrepreneurship, public policies and programs to assist women to own and run their own businesses are likely to be misdirected (Barret M.A. Mary, 2005). The present research is an attempt to address the dearth in gender studies on entrepreneurship and identify whether there is a difference between men and women entrepreneurs multi-dimensional variables. On one hand it compares the perceptual variable (self-esteem) and intensity of efforts to run business (entrepreneurial intensity) of women and men entrepreneurs and on the other hand it compares the operational problems and future plans of expansion and growth of women and men entrepreneurs in family business. To date there is paucity of research on comparative analysis of women and men entrepreneurs in family business in India. Sources of Small Medium Entrepreneurship Small, micro or medium sized entrepreneurships play a basic role in countries, particularly, European countries. They are the main source of innovation, entrepreneur skill and employment. For example, in enlarged European Union of 25 countries, about 23 million SMEs are providing around 75 million jobs and are representing 99% of all enterprises. However, they have to confront with market imperfection, most of times. SMEs have frequent difficulties to obtain capital and credit, particularly in the earlier phase of their development. Their restricted resources may also access to new innovation and technologies. Therefore, European Commission has priority for job creation, economic growth and social and economic cohesion. Small and medium entrepreneurs (SME0 sector has been recognized as the engine of growth all over the world.SME sector has characteristics of low investment requirements, location wise mobility, operational flexibility and import substitution. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises development (MSMED) Act, 2006 is the first single comprehensive legislation that covers the all three segments. In accordance with the Act, these enterprises can be classified into two categories:- (manufacturing enterprises which are engaged in the production and manufacture of the goods pertaining to an industry which is specified in the first schedule to the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act 1951, they are defined as the investment in machinery and plant; (ii) service enterprise engaged to provide or render the services and are defined in terms of equipment investment (www.business.org.in). Need for Small and Medium Enterprises to access new technology Small and medium enterprises in India with their flexibility, dynamism and innovative drive are focusing increasingly on improved methods of production, strategies of penetrative marketing and capabilities of modern scientific management for sustaining and strengthening their operations. They have been poised for global partnership and have absorbing potential for the latest technologies in the field of diverse industry. Small and medium enterprises in India are more beautiful and efficient and add value to social and economic sphere. As the countries are integrating into the global village, the small and medium sectors will have to respond accordingly. The small and medium enterprise needs special attention as they are playing a crucial role in the socio economic development of the country. The problems being faced by the small and medium enterprises, particularly access to modern technology and maintenance of competitiveness, have been formidable. In order to meet the challenges of modern times, there is need to enable SMEs to access to new technologies to increase their competiveness in international market. There is need to provide them a conducive environment that includes formulation of appropriate programs and policies, build up technological capacity, RD and inter firm linkages and technology database and knowledge flow (Kharbanda, 2001). Proposed Research Methodology The Research design chosen for this research is exploratory and descriptive research designs. After thoroughly considering the problem and the research objectives in this research I would like to select a two stage research design, in stage one exploratory research design, followed by stage two is descriptive research design. There are two types of research, basic and applied. The purpose of basic research is the knowledge for the sake of knowledge. On the other hand, the scholar of knowledge is more concerned about the acquisition of knowledge that satisfy in its respective of the fact that weather is of any practical use or not. The basic purpose of research, in applied research is to put knowledge into practice. A researcher would be interested more, in applied knowledge, in trying to explore some utility from it and to bring improvement is practical human life. Different methods of research are used in research of social sciences as research and problems that are conducted in social sciences are having various natures (isbs.webs.com). The mixed approach of research methodology is used in the current study. Most of researchers use this approach in the field of social sciences. The mixed approach is the combination of qualitative and quantitative research. Here is detailed introduction of both of the research methodologies: Qualitative Research Design Qualitative research is the type of scientific research which seeks answer for a question and uses systematically the predefined set of procedures to answer that question. The evidence is collected in this method and findings are produced that had not been determined in advance. Finally, qualitative research produces findings which are applicable not only for the research in hand, but also beyond its immediate boundaries. In addition to these characteristics, qualitative research seeks to understand the given topic or research problem from the local population perspective that it involves. Qualitative research is particularly effective to obtain specific cultural information about the opinions, values, social context and behaviors of a particular population. The main strength of the qualitative research is the ability of providing complex contextual description about experience of people about that particular research issue. Qualitative research provides information of human side in particular research issues, which are the contradictory beliefs, behaviors, emotions, opinions and relationships among people. Qualitative method of research is also effective to identify the intangible factors, such as socioeconomic status, social norms, and ethnicity, religion and gender roles. The role of these intangible factors may not readily define in the research. Although the findings of qualitative research data can be extended often to people with have similar characteristics as that of study population, to gain a complex and rich complex understanding of a particular phenomenon or context takes precedence on eliciting data which can be generalized to other population or geographical areas. Qualitative research, in this sense is slightly different from general scientific research. There are three common methods of qualitative approach to collect data: in depth interviews, participant observation and focus groups. In-depth interviews are the optimal approach of collecting data on personal histories of individuals, their experiences and perspectives, particularly if sensitive topics needed to be explored. Participant observation approach is appropriate for data collection on behaviors that occur naturally, in their usual context. Focus groups are very effective to elicit data on the groups cultural norms and in generating broad interviews of issues of concern of the cultural groups or represented subgroups. The mentioned above approaches of qualitative data collection collect the data in the form of audio recordings, field notes and transcripts. Quantitative Research Design These experiments sometimes are referred to be a true science as they use traditional statistical and mathematical means for measuring results collectively. Quantitative research design is most commonly used in physical sciences; however education, social science and economics also have been known to use qualitative research design. This approach is opposite to qualitative research design. All quantitative experiments use a standard format, however with some minor interdisciplinary differences of hypothesis generation to be approved or to be disapproved. The hypothesis must be approvable by statistical and mathematical means and must ne based around the whole design of experiment. It is essential in quantitative research design to have a randomized study group and a control group, whenever possible. In addition, a quantitative research design should manipulate one variable at a point of time; otherwise statistical analysis may become open for questioning and cumbersome.TEH quantities research should be conducted in a manner that may allow others to use and repeat the experiment to obtain similar findings. Quantitative research is the excellent way you finalize results and prove or disprove a hypothesis. Quantitative research structure has not faced changes for centuries; therefore it is a standard across various scientific disciplines and fields. A comprehensive answer to the questions is reached after statistical analysis of results. The results can be published and discussed legitimately. It is possible to filter out the external factors in the quantitative research, if properly designed. The results, therefore, can be seen as unbiased and real. There are disadvantages too of using quantitative research design. Quantitative experiments are expensive and difficult sometimes and require a lot of effort and time to perform. There is need to plan quantitative research designs carefully, in order to ensure that there is a correct designing and compete randomization of control group. There is need for an extensive statistical analysis in quantitative studies that is a difficult task as most of the scientists are not statisticians. The statistical study field is a complete scientific discipline that can be very difficult for researchers who are non-mathematicians. In addition t this, the requirements of the successful statistical confirmation of results has been very stringent and very few experiments prove hypothesis comprehensively. There is always some ambiguity that requires refinement and retesting of the design. It means another investment of resources and time should be committed for fine tuning of the results. There is a ve ry little place for uncertainty and grey areas in quantitative research design as it tends to generate results which are proved or unproved. In social sciences, psychology, education and anthropology, human nature is more complex than the simple responses of yes and no (Shuttleworth, 2008). Mixed method Research Design A mixed design for research is a general type research that is including qualitative and quantitative research techniques, data and methods. All of these characteristics are mixed whenever needed in a particular research study. The mixed method design uses the mixed data and additional means, such as text analysis and statistics. Inductive and deductive scientific research methods are used in a mixed approach. It has various forms for data collection and produce pragmatic and eclectic reports. The basic types of mixed approach are mixed method and the mixed model research. In mixed research method, quantitative data is used for one stage of the research study and for the second stage the qualitative data is used. Both, quantitative and qualitative data I used in a mixed model design. This mixing of the two approaches happens at all the stages of research. It is important, in a research, to use the mixed research method to conduct the detailed research. Mixed research has various advantages, such as the research method is very strong, using multiple methods in the research helps in researching a problem or process from its all sides and using the different approaches helps to focus on a single process and helps to confirm the accuracy of data. The mixed research complements the results of one type of research with another type. The mixed approach does not miss any available data.

Copper And Molybdenum Deposits In The United States :: essays research papers

Copper and Molybdenum Deposits in the United States   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Copper and molybdenum resources were not recognized as valuable commodities until economic needs demanded the collection and processing of these minerals in large amounts. The most expansive deposits of copper and molybdenum occur in massive low grade ores and are found in intrusive porphyry formations, although many smaller sized but higher grade ores are located in non-porphyry areas. The nation has abundant domestic copper ore reserves but because of many detrimental economic factors much of the copper used by the U.S. industry is imported. Molybdenum ore is profuse and exports of it are high to fulfill the needs of foreign demand.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Copper was first used by people around 4000 B.C. in the manufacture of tools because of its malleability and later became an important additive in harder, more useful metals such as bronze (copper+tin; 2500 B.C.) and brass (copper+zinc; 0 A.D.). The growth of copper production in the United States has been a relatively recent occurrence. North American French explorers knew of sources of native copper in the region of Lake Superior and the area natives had copper jewelry and ornamentation. Earnest copper mining began in Simsbury, Connecticut about 1709 and copper was actually exported to England after a source was discovered in New Jersey around 1719. In later times domestic copper resources did not satisfy national needs until the discovery of gold in California shifted the focus of mineral exploration westward and strikes of rich copper ores occurred in Tennessee and the Cordilleran base regions. The Civil War caused copper demand to increase greatly in order to manufacture cartridges and canned goods, this resulted in the openings of numerous copper mines of which more than 90% were in the Lake Superior area giving an important advantage to the Union armies. Major copper production districts then shifted to Montana and Arizona in the early 1890's. Production increased to reach peak levels of 900,000 tons a year during World War I and in 1970 1,600,000 tons of copper were produced but recent levels are lower, fluctuating between 1-1.5 million tons a year. Technology has aided in increasing production efficiency wich resulted in spectacular resource development in the U.S. and around the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Molybdenum has been a major mineral since 1898 when it was discovered to harden steel as an additive and useful in compounding chemicals and dyes. Substantial mining began in 1900 in the southwest but the demand was so low that activity ceased in 1900. In 1906 the molybdenum industry boomed and with the dawn of WWI the need for quality steel further increased the necessity for this

Becoming A Better Writer :: Teaching Education Essays

Becoming A Better Writer Why did the chicken cross the road? We all know the answer of course. Yet we continue to ask this question in order to solicit the obvious response, "...to get to the other side." Why do we ask questions or pose problems that have only one solution? We've all heard the excuses: "That's the way I learned how to do it." "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" "I'm only doing what I was told." "I don't know another way." Chances are, if you're perusing the contents of this paper, you have probably used, at one time or another, one or all of the above rationalizations. Don't get me wrong. I'd be the first one to admit that rationalizations are an important part of life. Some, but not many, would argue that rationalizations are more important than sex. I mean, have you ever gone a week without a rationalization? It is your ability to rationalize that allows you to continue to construct themes of generic babble. You know that the mindless banter that it is typical of such endeavors will get you a fair, if not exceptional, mark from the professor whose class for which you wrote it. There is certainly no shame in turning in such regurgitation. After all, you were just, "...doing what you were told," right? You're not alone. This single rationalization allows half of the free world to sleep at night. The other half has a prescription. "I want to change," you cry halfway through what had been a restful night. You've decided to kick the theme-writing habit. "How do I do it?" you ask the faithful rocking chair that you sat in as a child. Incidentally, if the chair answers, you're problems will be addressed in another paper. However, getting back to the task at hand, you can probably deduce that this theme writing vice will be hard to conquer. You get by for a quarter, or semester, without needing one and then BAM! You need a fix. "Briefly outline the Kennedy administration," appears as an essay question on a 20th Century American History exam, for which you haven't thoroughly prepared yourself. You casually glance around the room. No one's looking. "Just one little theme," you say to yourself. But the pointless dribble doesn't stop with this essay. The next week you'll do it again. Soon your up to a theme a day. "Why is it so hard?

Film “Gothika” Essay

In the 2003 film â€Å"Gothika† Halle Berry plays a psychiatrist who loses her memory and wakes up in an insane asylum, the same one where she had previously been a staff physician. She is confused, disoriented and has lost time. Pete, a psychiatrist played by Robert Downey Jr. , is the doctor assigned to her care and Doug, her husband, had been the doctor in charge of the facility. Miranda, Berry’s character, eventually learns that her husband has been killed and that she has been arrested and charged with his murder (Kassovitz, 2003). From the very beginning, the movie pretends to psychology right. But unfortunately, it is largely just pretending. The first problem in the movie occurs with the description of Miranda’s psychotic break and the actions leading to it. The doctors caring for Miranda argue that her mental illness resulted from her accident, not the other way around. At first, they simply explain her illness as a traumatic amnesia brought on by the horror of murdering her husband. Or, they allege, the amnesia might be related to the head injury from the car accident and unrelated to her mental condition. Her doctor also asks her about drugs that she may have taken to cause the violence (killing her husband) or her amnesia. While it is appropriate to be concerned about a drug-related cause for amnesia (Merck, 2007) it is unreasonable to believe that those involved in her treatment would not have conducted blood tests to detect drug use prior to the questioning. The movie tells us Miranda has been out of touch with her mind for three days when she awakens in the asylum, so the mere idea that they would not have conducted blood tests and have the results back by then seems implausible. The next major mistake the movie makes in its portrayal of Miranda’s mental illness and treatment is that Pete is assigned to do her evaluation. While it can be argued that in some areas he might be the only doctor available, as one is dead and another accused of the murder, the story came before the reality of treatment standards in the movie. It seems as though Berry’s character may even recognize this as she tries to get a handle on her relationship with Pete, asking him if they had an affair or wanted to have one (Kassovitz, 2003). This immediately calls into question the ethics of the doctor and the accuracy of any judgment he makes regarding her condition. The film then tries to confuse the viewer with the question of whether Miranda is suffering some sort of psychotic break ro is truly being haunted by ghosts. From a diagnostic perspective, Miranda’s symptoms include the fugue when she was admitted, her loss of memory, and eventually, though she is loathe to admit this to her doctor, seeing and hearing her â€Å"ghost†. (Kassovitz, 2003). The film even goes so far as to have Miranda address her hallucination, saying â€Å": I am a rational person. I believe in science. I don’t believe in the paranormal, and I don’t believe in ghosts. But if you are the ghost of Rachel Parsons, can you let me out of this cell? † (Kassovitz, 2003). The professionals, upon hearing her tale of seeing ghosts, move right from a diagnosis of traumatic amnesia to a diagnosis of schizophrenia, skipping right part delusional. This is not accurate in the least. First, there is Miranda’s statement regarding her interaction with the ghost. She is still logical enough to know that interaction with a ghost is unreasonable and generally accepted as a mental dysfunction. â€Å"Schizophrenia is characterized by psychosis (loss of contact with reality), hallucinations (false perceptions), delusions (false beliefs), disorganized speech and behavior, flattened affect (restricted range of emotions), cognitive deficits (impaired reasoning and problem solving), and occupational and social dysfunction. † (Merck, 2007) If she were schizophrenic, it is unlikely that she would have retained her logical mind enough to realize that she was being illogical. The fact that her educated mind could still identify her behaviors as irrational is one of the clearest indicators that she was not suffering from the cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia. Next, there is the appearance of the ghost herself. If Miranda’s delusions had been limited to fleeting images or auditory hallucinations, her symptoms would have been consistent with schizophrenia. However, the presence of an identifiable visual hallucination makes the illness more in line with the symptoms of delusional disorders than schizophrenia (Allpsych, 2007). â€Å"A delusion is a belief that is clearly false and that indicates an abnormality in the affected person’s content of thought. The false belief is not accounted for by the person’s cultural or religious background or his or her level of intelligence. The key feature of a delusion is the degree to which the person is convinced that the belief is true. A person with a delusion will hold firmly to the belief regardless of evidence to the contrary. Delusions can be difficult to distinguish from overvalued ideas, which are unreasonable ideas that a person holds, but the affected person has at least some level of doubt as to its truthfulness. A person with a delusion is absolutely convinced that the delusion is real. † (Mind Disorders, 2007). The simple truth is that if Miranda had been suffering from either of these mental disorders, her symptoms would have 1) been more extreme in the case of schizophrenia or 2) come with a total belief in her delusion. She would no longer question whether ghosts were real. The final implied diagnosis of the film is that Miranda has been suffering abuse at the hands of a sadistic and manipulative serial killer who also happens to be her husband. Once the ghost leads Miranda to her husband’s torture and abuse chamber, the viewer is left with the impression that Miranda’s mental illness including the delusion of seeing the ghost was her mind’s way of dealing with the threat from her husband and becoming strong enough to deal with his abuse. This is complete and utter Hollywood tripe. While it is possible for battered woman to lose control and kill her husband in a situation where she fears for her life, Miranda’s symptoms are completely out of sync with the typical description of BWS (McElroy, 2002). Most likely, this was an attempt by the writer to draw sympathy for the character that did, in fact, kill her husband. If the movie had intended to portray mental illness in an appropriate fashion, it simply would have to stop with the obvious ghost story. The problem was that the writer wanted to create a story in which a ghost was used to explain away mental illness or a mental illness was sued to explain away an encounter with the supernatural. Either way, they failed. By showing the viewer the ghost, the viewer does not question Miranda’s sanity. After all, we’ve seen it too. To be more in tune with the diagnosis they were most likely going for, schizophrenia, the movie should have relied on an unseen presence and given perfectly reasonable explanations for things that happen, i. e. show Pete leaving her cell unlocked so that she an escape and conduct her investigation. As it is, the film fails as a ghost story and fails as a psychological thriller. Had it been done properly, it could have succeeded at both. WORKS CITED â€Å"Delusions† , November 18, 2007. Kassovitz, Mathieu (Director) and Sebastian Guitierrez (Writer). â€Å"Gothika†. USA:Columbia Pictures, 2003. McElroy, Wendy. â€Å"Battered Women’s Syndrome: Science or Sham? † The Independent Institute, October 28, 2002< http://www. independent. org/aboutus/person_detail. asp? id=488> November 18, 2007. â€Å"Prognosis and Treatment†, November 19, 2007. Psychotic Disorders , < http://allpsych. com/disorders/psychotic/index. html>, November 18, 2007.