Is Privacy In The 21st Century Possible? Essay

Privacy was once valued and protected. But now with so many new and convenient technological advancements, is privacy in the 21st century possible? To protect our privacy Congress created the Electronics Privacy Acts (ECPA) to protect us from government access to private information that is transmitted and stored on the Internet, such as emails, private photos, or corporate data. Congress has not updated the ECPA on technology since it was created, in 1986. When the ECPA was created there was no â€Å"World Wide Web†, social networking was something in the future, and nothing was stored in what we call the â€Å"cloud.† With all the technological changes in today’s society no one is protected. Privacy is defined as being free from the public eye. Yet we have so many people sharing personal information on social networking websites, and government agencies monitoring emails, and phone calls most of the time without our knowledge. There is no privacy in the 21st century, it is just a nostalgic feeling, and it is no longer practiced. Today’s privacy laws aren’t up to date with today’s technology. Things are rarely sent through the mail, and emails and text messages have replaced written communication. Online messaging and social networking was something of a novelty when lawmakers created the ECPA (Frolik, 2013). A recent article from the Dayton Daily news written by Cornelius Frolik on June 2013 he mentioned, â€Å"The Government can easily access many personal communications and other private information without sufficient probable cause†. Instead of acquiring a warrant that requires more standards and procedures. Government agencies instead obtain subpoena’s to obtain people’s emails, and telephone records (Frolik, 2013). Although, local authorities catch lots of dangerous criminals through information online like emails, photos, and social media sites like Facebook some critics still feel it is an invasion of privacy. Also as our technology advances by leaps, and bounds so does the way Government uses new high tech tools to surveillance law-abiding citizens. Though our Fourth Amendment states to protect the American people from unreasonable searches and seizures. Almost everything is done through  technology in the 21st century. This meaning that government can seize any emails that are 180 days or that has been opened without a warrant; subpoenas have become the most used investigator tool for Government agencies. The reason why is because they can be easily written inside the prosecutors office without any further review from a judge. This means there is an exception to the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, if it satisfies the requirements. The question we should be asking when it comes to Government and our privacy are † Is to explain a clear understanding of the word privacy†? If the Government cannot clarify the term privacy then how can they protect our privacy? The lack of clarity makes it hard for lawmakers to create new policies that will keep our privacy out of harm (Libin, 2012). Two reasons why privacy can be considered threaten in today’s society one being the Government powers are limitless, and two being we the American people expose ourselves digitally (Libin, 2012). The people of America should come together and declare for the Government to protect our privacy rather than participate in warrantless searches (Libin, 2012). The fact that the Government can argue that the Fourth Amendment does not apply because there is no exception to privacy when it comes to prot ecting national security, then that leave the American people in times of calamity, and crisis. Laws like the ECPA is a law that the Government has an obligation to respect (Libin, 2012). The ECPA protect the privacy of the electronic communications, but when law enforcement and prosecutors have to protect and enforce laws, personal information has to be collected to build a case (Libin, 2012). The solution is more complex than simply, and right now the Government is facing difficulties figuring out the best way to protect the American people (Libin, 2012). Given all the information privacy seems to be the problem. It can be portrayed in many ways, one as it’s protecting the public from terrorism, and local crime; and two being if you are innocent, what do you have to hide? In 2014 I find that most American people store their digital lives in what we call â€Å"The Cloud† which included emails, calendar data, photos, and other sensitive information. The ECPA has become obsolete. Technology today leaves the ECPA outdated, the laws have not changed since it was originally created  in 1986. The existing privacy laws only focus on the text-based personal records, and the issues that people face today with this outdated privacy law is gathering of digital multi-media files, and the way this unauthorized data is used (Lipton, 2010). Do you consider video surveillance systems out on the street personal data? Some may say yes and some may say no. According to a case study researched by Jacqueline D. Lipton, if the face of an individual is recognizable, than it is considered personal data. Some people feel protected with the video surveillance capturing their every moment. Then on the other hand some people feel they are being scrutinized being watched by video surveillance. The U.S. has a protection for free speech and for free of a press under the First Amendment. However there is no express constitutional right to privacy (Lipton, 2012). The question that American people should rigorously examine is whether or not Congress should repeal the ECPA and creates new privacy laws to replace it (Kerr, 2014). The ECPA should be considered top priority when it comes to being reformed. If Congress were to start fresh on what changes to make on the ECPA the technologic changes would have to be particularly considered. Being that the cost of stored information has changed it also changes how law enforcements surveillance people, it threatens privacy. In 1986 this all made sense because the internet was designed at this time to only hold limited storage, and wire-tapping was a threat more than stored information (Kerr, 2014). Overall access to stored record has become the greatest privacy threat. Technology has changed enormously, now everything is stored. With everything being stored now in what we call â€Å"The Cloud† like mentioned before stored information begins to reveal the same level of details as real time surveillance or real-time access (Kerr, 2014). Stored information has become more revealing an invasive. (Kerr, 2014). References _Cohen, J. E. (2013). What is Privacy For._ Harvard Law Review Association_,_ 126_(7), 1904,29. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=5& sid=34a7b883-e7a4-45d2-aff3-a25b4e535c3e%40sessionmgr110&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=edsgbe&AN=edsgcl.333333595_ _Kerr, 0. S. (2014). The Next Generation Communications Privacy Act._ University of Pennsylvania Law Review_,_ 162_(2), 373-419. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/command/detail?vid=26&sid=34a7b883-e7a4-45d2-aff3-a25b4e535c3e%40sessionmgr110&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=aph&AN=93917886_ _Libn, N. (2012). PRIVACY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY: Foreword._ Harvard Law and Policy Review_,_ 6_, 263. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=15&sid=34a7b883-e7a4-45d2-aff3-a25b4e535c3e%40sessionmgr110&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=edslex&AN=edslex2F0EC940_ _Lipton, J. D. (2010). Digitlal Multi-Media and The Limits of Privacy Law._ Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law_,_ 42_(3), 551-571. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=24&sid=34a7b883-e7a4-45d2-aff3-a25b4e535c3e%40sessionmgr110&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=bsh&AN=51909959_ _Sutanto, J., Palme, E., Chuan-Hoo, T., & Chee Wei, P. (2013). Addressing The Personalization-Privacy Paradox: An Empirical Assessment From a Field Experiment on Smartphone Users._ MIS Quarterly_,_ 37_(4), 1141-A5. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=29&sid=34a7b883-e7a4-45d2-aff3-a25b4e535c3e%40sessionmgr110&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=bsh&AN=91906295_

A Good Friend Being Essay

Everyone not only wants a good friend in their life, but they need one too. Friendships often face a great number of conflicts that may weaken you, or it may do the opposite, make your relationship stronger. A good friend may also be known as a true friend or a best friend that will always be there for you. Having a good friend will keep you going in life, and make you have a brighter smile on days when you are gloomy. They also help you out when you need them the most, and this will help you accomplish certain goals in your life. I have many good friends that I am extremely fortunate to have in my life and I wouldn’t trade them for anything else. Most people say that friends do not stay good friends for a long period of time, but that is not true and if you have a good friend you know that is incorrect. First and foremost, a good friend has great number of beneficial qualities and one of them is when everyone walks out on you, they stay with you through everything. You can tell them anything and they won’t tell a single soul just to make you feel happy. For instance, I thought I would never be able to explain my secrets to anyone besides my mother, but when I became good friends with a couple of my class mates, I could tell them anything and everything. They do the same back, sometimes we just talk on the phone for ours telling about our days even if we spend these days together. A good friend will always want to talk to you about anything, even if they’re busy, it’s just one of the great numbers of things a good friend does for you. They are a marvelous thing to have, and if you do have a good friend you should be very fortunate to have them. Furthermore, if you need help on anything and no one is around to help you, you can always count on your good friends. Having a good friend by your side will help you accomplish extraordinary life goals that you could never imagine achieving. I know for a fact that this is true mainly because I have had this happen to me. One afternoon I was at the local park and I had just realized that I had a enormous test that I had to take the next day. I knew exactly who to call, my good friend Candy. She came and picked me up and we went to her house. She had all the notes out and ready to study. I knew I could count on her to help me with this test. So we studied for a couple of hours, and then I went home. The next day I was ready for the test and I knew I got every answer correct. I was very thankful to have my good friend to always help me when I need it and no one else is around. I decided I would always study with her.

Hardware and Software Used in Public Bank

Public Bank is currently the largest domestic bank in Malaysia by shareholders’ funds. It is well-known in 1966 by its founder and chairman, Tan Sri Dato Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow. The bank was planned on the Malaysia Stock Exchange in 1967. The Public Bank Group employs more than 14,000 people, with in Hong Kong and China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Sri Lanka. Public Bank is one of the most competent banks as reflected by its low cost to revenue ratio in Malaysia.The Public Bank Group has established a strong potential of delivering remarkably high rates of organic growth in its centre business. Over the years, the Public Bank Group has been part of physically powerful catalysts to support Malaysia economic growth. From the start of this, Public Bank has form itself into a strong and successful financial institution, contribution wide range of competitive and innovative products and solutions to meet its customers’ needs. Public Bank is the most recognized brand in the Mal aysia financial services manufacturing for its strong brand guarantee.Public Bank Berhad is occupied in commercial banking, investment banking, financing and Islamic banking business, stock-broking, provision of related financial services, management of unit trust funds and sale of trust units, underwriting of insurance, and investment holding. Complemented by business banking services, Public Bank is a market leader in consumer banking and retail commercial lending to SMEs in Malaysia. The company operates six segments. Hire purchase operations are focused on the stipulation of passenger vehicle financing to all levels of customers.Retail operations focus on producing products and providing services to each and every customer. The Company operates six segments. Hire purchase operations are focused on the provision of passenger vehicle financing to all levels of customers. Retail operations focus on providing products and services to individual customers and small-and medium-sized e nterprises. Corporate lending operations cater to the funding needs of corporate customers. Treasury and capital market operations is involved in trading in treasury related products and services. Investment banking operations caters to the business needs of corporate customers.Fund management operations consist of sale of trust units and the management of unit trust funds. Others refer to non-core operations, such as property holding. 2. 0 Types of contemporary information systems in Public Bank 2. 1 Customer Relationship Management System Introduction Customer Relationship Management System or usually known as CRM is one of the system used in Pubic Bank Berhad. CRM is a type of software application which used organized customer demographic, account and transactional information to obtain a better understanding of customer’s banking and financing needs, relationships and financial behavior..CRM helps improve the quality of customer relationships and offers opportunities to e xtend and cement the customer’s relationship with the Public Bank Group and improve on the company’s customer cross-selling ratio. Hardware and Software requirements To install the CRM system, there are some requirements need to be fulfill before proceed to the installment of the system. Of course beside of the basic hardware requirement such as mouse, keyboard, and monitor, it still need some more powerful hardware tools.First and the most important it should has a processor which is at least more than dual 1. 8 GHz Pentium Xeon to keep the server is usable. Using a lower-grade of processor with CRM system will caused server to freeze. Then, it should has a Random Access Memory (RAM) with at least 1 GB which gives its CRM program enough extra headroom to operate on its most basic level. For a better stability, run CRM on a system with 2 GB of memory or more. For the disk space requirement, it should have 400MB or more free space on the hard disk before installing CRM. Last one is the operating system and IIS.CRM need Windows Server 2003 SP2 or Windows Server 2008 in order to operate the CRM system. Along with operating system, Internet Information Services(IIS) version 6. 0 or 7. 0 need to be installed. While for software requirement, first it need a network interface card(NIC) to allows a client computer to connect to the central location where the CRM applications is located. Besides that, it need network protocol to allow two or more computers to communicate. The most common protocol is TCP/IP protocol which is also used to connect to the Internet. Functions and Core activities performedThere are several functions of CRM in Public Bank Berhad which may deal with every different department in the company. 1. Significance -CRM should serve as the method used by Public Bank to gain insight into their existing and future customer base. It allows them to measure the amount of customer business that already exists along with the product and service s that need to be offered in order to retain customers. 2. Function -The function contained within the CRM system must allow Public Bank to formulate its overall marketing and business strategy plan.This function is based upon calculations performed by the CRM platform that produces profitability by asset and liability type followed by the complete drill down to all basic components such as profitability from deposits and loans. 3. Features -CRM platform should be available to all marketing staff, management and any other sales related area of Public Bank. The monitor screens for these staff members should indicate customers by bank officer, business transactions, total and itemized profitability, contact information and customer profile data.It should also provide â€Å"what-if† scenarios that allow marketing staff the opportunity to develop personalized business plans for each customer. 4. Considerations -The CRM system of Public Bank must be constantly monitored for proper coding, subiness types; income and cost allocations along with rate analysis. CRM system must be updated and changed for the inclusion of a new business line along with all the associated information necessary for functionality. Advantages and Disadvantages There are a lot of advantages of using CRM in banking industry such as Public Bank Berhad.By using CRM, Public Bank can increase their revenue and profitability where bankers can easily see what products is currently used by customers, what products they are eligible for and what additional benefits should be added into the product or service. Besides, it also can improved customer service when CRM give proactive banks access to technology that helped them improve customer retention by using customer feedback to offer conveniences like ATMs and online banking. Next is the highly target marketing. With the captured data from their customer profile and ransactions, bankers are able to better identify target markets or rank custome rs according to lifetime expected value and then tailor the promotional campaigns to individuals. However, disadvantages of CRM will occurred on the same time. CRM is not always profitable so that Public Bank will need to pay a high cost for the continual maintenance or setup of its server which will takes up company resources. In addition, Public Bank need to hire professionals to train their employees in group in order to provide training for their employees.This may takes away time for productivity because most CRMs have specialized functions for managers and executives. Besides that, implementation of CRM may face overhead problem where Public Bank need to pay an amount of money to the software developers whenever a new version of software was applied to their CRM. Lastly is the integration problem faced by CRM because if a certain CRM system is not compatible with Public Bank’s other system such as email or accounting systems, the CRM system will not be effective. Implem entation ChallengesPublic Bank Berhad should consider of lease the CRM system from outside vendors as it may keep their database organized and updated. Customers trend keeps changing from time to time so they may not captured the trends if their CRM systems is not updated with the latest software or facilities and worse it may lead to lose to compete in the market where many of their customers start on choosing other company. 1. One of the biggest challenges facing by Public Bank to implement CRM is the cost associated with purchasing, installing and training employees to use new software.However, properly implemented of CRM will eventually show a good return on performance of the bank. 2. CRM-centric businesses focus on placing customers and their satisfaction before Public Bank and it is typically very complex and span multiple departments. This means that most employees must go through some sort of training to adopt with the system. 3. In-House CRM software will be more effective than supported system CRM but In-House CRM will be much more difficult to implement.Public Bank should consider supported system which means outsourced to another company in order to help them implement CRM effectively. Supported systems typically less costly to implement because it is not as effective as In-House solutions. Security Issues Possible security attacks in a CRM system are: 1. Denial of service (DOS) is a type of attacked in system where it attacked the system and make it unavailable to customers. Some of the possible attackers are angry customers, script kiddies, formal employees, and the competitors. 2.Intrusion of sales automation systems and customer database. Sales Automation systems normally have numerous information about customer so it may effort risk from potential attackers to break into the systems and steal the customer information. 3. Identity theft is a type of crime where someone uses your personal information without your permission to commit fraud or o ther crimes. 4. Malware attacks. Malware includes viruses and worms where their attacks can cause the damage on DOS, hardware and loss of data. 2. 2 Database Management System IntroductionA Database Management System is also known as DBMS is one of the software application used in Public Bank Berhad. A DBMS is best described as a collection of programs that manage the database structure and that control shared access to the data in the database It is a program that lets one or more computer users in the bank to create and access data from a same database. DBMS may use a variety of database models such as relational model or non-relational model. It also can be thought as a â€Å"file manager† that manages data in databases rather than files in file systems.A DBMS provides facilities for controlling data access, enforcing data integrity and maintaining database security as well. Hardware and Software requirements For hardware requirement of DMBS, it needs a basic 32-bits or a 64-bits operating system in order to implement the software. The minimum CPU speed for a DBMS is 1GHz per server but it is recommended to apply a 2GHz, multi-core for each server. Minimum RAM requirement before implement DBMS is 512MB per server. However, for multiple databases which is more than 100GB,it is recommended to apply 4GB for each server. While in disk ubsystem, it must at least enable SCSI or SATA hard disks or SSD which provides minimum 7200 rpm. For a better or high speed database, a SDD or high-speed HDD arrays will be more suitable for the system. Functions and Core activities performed Generally, there are several functions of DBMS in Public Bank which is:1. Support Concurrent Updates -Concurrent updates occur when multiple users make updates to the database simultaneously. So it is important for Public Bank’s database management to ensures that updates are made correctly and the end result is accurate to avoid lost of data or inaccurate data stored. . Recove ry of data -In the event of catastrophe occurs, DBMS of Public Bank can provide ways to recover a database so that data is not permanently lost. If the database is destroyed or damaged in any way, DBMS will able to recover the correct state of database by making a regular backups of information. So in the event of a disaster occurs, the database can be restored to the state that it was last at prior to backup. 3. Able to update and retrieve data -This is a fundamental component of DBMS and essential to database management.Updating data in database includes adding new records, deleting existing records and changing information within a record. Advantages and Disadvantages There are several advantages of DBMS in Public Bank and the first will be storing lots of data in one place. By using DBMS, Public Bank can store a large amount of important and sometimes some confidential information such as pay records and personal details in a database. Besides that, security of data also a major issue where Public Bank will able to keep confidential information, passwords and restricted that data only available for certain high-level employees.Next is a fast query where employees of Public Bank can searched for data by just key in certain keywords and thus will enable all the relevant information to appear on the screen immediately. Lastly is ability to share by more than 2 users. With DBMS, employees of Public Bank will not faced network jammed because the database or the same data can be accessed by multiple users at the same time. While there are some disadvantages of DBMS too which is complexity and costs. The control and administration of DBMS are challenging and hiring administrators who are specialized database experts is also expensive.Secondly, confidentiality, privacy and security risk is another main issue because when information is accessed remotely, the possibilities of information disclosure and leakage are greater than with conventional data processing syst em. Last disadvantage of DBMS is data quality and data integrity risk where when databases are accessed and used by multiple users, it will increase the risks of potential damage to the data. Users who are not database experts may try to update or append data to the database will caused damage of data too. Implementation challengesPublic Bank Berhad should rent or lease the DBMS system from other vendors or outsourced it since managing or build a internal database is much more complex and it take a lot of costs. So they may hire other vendors especially some professional in managing database system in order to help them in the process. Then, the benefits of rent the database from other vendors is the company just need to pay for the amount they used or some maintenance fees. When there is some latest software published, they also may immediately change for it after their license for the system had expired.In addition, they also may just add on extra space for the storage of data by just pay for some extra costs. There are several issues faced when DBMS is implemented: 1. Primary VS Secondary memory -Before a DBMS is implemented, Public Bank should consider whether which memory they would like to use whether a primary memory or secondary memory for a more effective processing. Primary memory is fast and has a low latency but it is non-persistent and its size may be smaller than data size. Secondary memory is opposite in each case.2. Recovery The transaction in Public Bank may face failure or the system also could fail, so implementation of DBMS must be able to recover as much data as possible and it must never leave a transaction â€Å"half done† so it should restore all the data to consistent state. 3. Query processing -The DBMS must able to translate the query into relational algebra (RA) expressions because it likely to be more efficient and indirectly this will minimize the size of intermediate relations. It also must provide different algorithms for each RA operation.Then cost is estimated using statistical information from the database catalog and the cheapest queries should be chosen. Security Issues After DBMS is implemented in the company, it may face some threats to their database which caused loss of integrity, lost of availability and loss of confidentiality. To protect database against these types of threats, Public Bank may 4 methods to encounter the threats which the first one is access control where user accounts and passwords to control login process by DBMS is created.Next is inference control and it controlled the access to statistical database which is used to provide statistical information or summaries of values based on various criteria. The 3rd is flow control. Flow Control is a type of security way which prevents information from flowing in such a way to reaches unauthorized users. The last security method is encryption used to protect sensitive data that is being transmitted via some type of communication network.The data is encoded using encoding algorithm and only authorized users are given decoding or decrypting algorithm or keys to decipher the data. . 3 Enterprise Resourse Planning System Introduction Enterprise Resource Planning systems or ERP are software modules that handle the core functions of a business enterprise which integrates all department is the business including planning, human resource and finance and marketing. In Public Bank, ERP is used to integrate all networks from different department into a single central database for a better data transfer. Public Bank use ERP systems to maximize resources improve customer and vendor relationships and empower decision made.With the implementation of ERP system, the process of the bank will be faster and more effective. Hardware and Software requirements Hardware requirements to install a ERP is it must has a CPU which is running Intel Pentium III 500 MHz or above and minimum hard disk space needed is 30 GB. For RAM, it mu st at least has 256 MB but 512 MB RAM is recommended for a better performance. The PC must ensure it has a CDROM if the ERP system is installing from a CD and at least it has Intel Compatible Ethernet Card for the NIC. While for software requirements, the PC must has at least Windows NT Server 4. or Windows NT Server Pack 6. 0. Then,it needs a internet browser which is at least Internet Explorer 5. 0 or above.Besides that, it also need at least Microsoft SQL Server which is 7. 0 or above. Functions and Core activities performed There are several functions of ERP in Public Bank: 1. Central Database -A central database is essential for an efficient ERP system because it allow for visibility between operating divisions and help improve business processes in multiple departments. All departments in Public Bank may use the same input format so no time is waste in transferring and translating information. . Human Capital Management -ERP software allows Public Bank to manage their employee s more effectively or track their employee’s progress. This means employees can be better awarded for good performance and employees with potential can be targeted for additional training. It also helps to ensure the goals of employees are in alignment with the goals of Public Bank. 3. Operations Management -The operations management provides managers with the capability to manage procurement and logistics, resulting in efficient flow of materials.Managers of Public Bank use this automated process in real time to control the product development and manufacturing life cycles. Indirectly, this will helps them to cut the costs. 4. Performance Measurement -It provides real-time measurements and metrics that assist managers in understanding the business and making decisions. Business monitors key performance indicators (KPIs) are used to measure against expected performance such as employee turnover rate. Using ERP, it can integrate this with other business process such as plannin g, forecasting and budgeting. Advantages and DisadvantagesThere are some advantages of ERP in Public Bank and the most important is integration. By using ERP, all the business departments can be integrating into a single and cohesive platform. In addition to synchronization of work flow, ERP also provide a clearer overview of enterprise functioning and quicker performance. Secondly, ERP help to reduced operation costs because the system facilitate faster information flow between departments and offices so it will help employees to work faster, save valuable time and reduce operational costs. Another advantage of using ERP is data benefits.ERP has ability to streamline data so it reduces redundancy of similar data from different departments. All data is linked to each other and stored in a database so the data will only updated with accurate information and the data from a central database is accessible to multiple departments so it increased information processing time and allowed m anagers to obtain critical information quicker with a better accuracy. Last advantages is aid strategic planning decisions. ERP systems allow Public Bank to access data in real time and due to this it allow them to become more nimble and align it process and operations with their organization goals.So they can quickly captured the situations and come out with a proper solutions to overcome it. Implementation Challenges For ERP system, Public Bank should just purchased or buy the system once they have confirmed or identified that the system chosen is totally meet their requirement. It is because if the company had purchased an effective ERP system for their company, they do not need to pay large amount of money for the new training of their staff or employees and the costs for the purchase of new system. If the company purchased the system, they will only need to pay a little amount of money for the maintenance of the system.Besides that, if the company choose to implement new ERP sy stem, it will take a long period for their employees to adopt with the new system . Indirectly, this will reduce the productivity of the employees and wasted the resources of the company. Several issues need to be concerned before implementation of ERP: 1. Resistance to change -Adoption with ERP system is a major issue before the system is implemented because many units or divisions in Public Bank may resist to ERP due to insufficient guidelines or explanations from top management.If the benefits of ERP are not explained well, the recipients may resist and slow down the successful adoption of the system or refuse to use it correctly. 2. Training -Usually ERP errors result from improper user training. Public Bank should consider provide adequate time to thoroughly train the users because if without a proper training, they might often find themselves struggling to get proper materials. 3. System selection -There are many types of ERP system from different vendors so Public Bank should choose ERP systems base on functionality, scope, price and ease of use of the ERP.If the company fail to address these issues during selection of ERP system, they may face multiple challenges before, during and after the system was purchased. Security Issues There are a lot of issues about the security in ERP systems which include theft, damage, copying, unauthorized access to information, natural disasters and sabotage. But most common forms of security threat to ERP systems are from computer technology which is tapping or hacking. Public Bank may used security controls where authorized user need to log in with a secure username and password he may use the system.Besides that, they can limit a user’s accessibility into a certain level only so employees are only able to find some data regarding to their departments. Then, data encryption also can be used where it limits someone’s ability to export the database. Audit logs is build in ERP systems to track individual tr ansactions or changes in the system but it only provide a little detail about the relevance of the transaction. However, most of the organizations do not configure their ERP system to maintain audit logs because they are concerned about performance, degradation and they think they don’t need it. . 0 Porter’s Five Forces Analysis The Porter’s Five Forces illustrates how the competitive environment in the industry impacted by five forces.These forces are Threat of potential competitors, the intensity competition among existing firms, the power of suppliers, the power of the customers and the easiness of changing to substitute products. Porter’s five forces tool helps understand where power lies in business situation and it is useful, because helps understand clearly about the strength of current competitive position and the strength of a position that need considering to move into.Public Bank has used this porter’s competitive model to developed comp etitive strategies and enhanced performance by using information systems. Next, information systems that used by Public Bank are Customer Relationship Management System, Enterprise Resource Planning and Database Management System. 3. 1 The Power of Customers The power of customers is one of the forces of Porter’s Five Forces. It’s refers to the ability of customers can exert on businesses to get them to provide higher quality products, better customer service, and lower prices. The power of customers is one of the forces that shape the competitive structure of an industry.For example, Public Bank is one of the banks that faced these forces. Customers switching their loans and investment from one commercial bank to another, because banking industry is provide service and customer does not require to pay any large amount of costs. So, when the number of suppliers of investment banking services increase, the bargaining power of customers also increased. Besides that, cust omer power become high also because substitutes are available, threat of backward integration is high and costs switching are low.Porter’s five forces can solve by using information system. Appendix 1) Information system that can solved bargaining power of customer is Customer Relationship Management System (CRM). CRM is a technology and best tool use to analysis customer desires and needs from the firm, it is also a database created for the different type of customer information which helps to have a competitive advantage with others firm. Based on staff opinion, CRM collected and stored customer information to information and business strategy use. CRM helps Public Bank to attract new customer because they can identify what customer needs and wants.Besides that, they also can help bank having a good relationship with profitable customers because they produces efficiency operation compares to others firm. CRM is a unique strategy use to differentiate with competitors, they u sed by the firm for segmentation customers and to concentrate on retaining profitable and valuable customer. CRM store all the details of the customer what they buy and when they buy, so it’s can help reorganize customer details and help Public Bank to satisfaction customer by availability, quality, presentation, image, value for money and fulfill the expectation of customers.In addition, CRM provide staff with the information and processes necessary to know their customers, understand and identify the customer needs and effectively build relationships between the firm and its customer base as a distribution partners. Public Bank use CRM software to help them manage their customer relationship and build customer loyalty to their bank. Next, Public Bank also use Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) to helps managed the important parts of business. ERP software applications can be used to manage product planning, parts purchasing, inventories, interacting with suppliers, provide customer service and tracking order.ERP application modules help Public bank manage their finance department, human resources department and also including manufacturing, sales and marketing. Based on staff opinion, ERP help to shares the data flow from one department to another department across the organization. Besides that, ERP also manage the information flow from organization to the connection with outsiders. For example, customer may get their money from ATM from one bank to another or they get money from other bank use different debit card or credit card. ERP help manage all the money flow and transfer the data to the organization.In addition, ERP system deal with customers as well as other people, they attempt to cover all the basic operations of any given organization and government. Moreover, ERP is easier to use and enables organization get better understanding their business and standardize business process. ERP help organization to attract customer because they manage all information and data systematically and efficiently, this give a nice impression to customers. Database Management System (DBMS) is software system uses a standard method to cataloging, retrieving, and running queries on data.DBMS manages incoming data, organizes it and provides ways for the data to be modified or extracted by organization. Public Bank use this software system to manage large structure sets of persistent data, offering hoc query facilities to customers. DBMS help Public Bank manage their customer data and make staff easier to find the information when they needed. This saved a lot of time and cost to the organization and customers. Besides that, its gives a good impression to customer and make them more confidence to the organization and build a customer loyalty.DBMS also accept the requests for data from the application program and instructs the operating system to transfer the appropriate data. When DBMS used, information systems can be changed easily as the organization required to change. DBMS is design to help organization record the data into different types and related to each others. This makes transaction processing more efficiently and systematically. 3. 2 The Power of Suppliers A bank has three suppliers of its products; it is depositors, the credit market and the central bank.Suppliers is very important and powerful to an organization, in banking industry they provide bonds, and certificate to sell to the bank and bank will sell those things to customers. Without suppliers, organization can’t function well, when supplier less and they provide limit action to the industry then power of supplier will be high and powerful. Large clients, corporation, government agencies are offered packages of services in market orientation in management. The central bank is effectively resources of last resort, its supply liquidity banking system in virtually unlimited quantities at a reasonable cost.Information system can help bank to en hance their performance and run the process effectively. Public bank used CRM to maintain a good relationship with their potential suppliers. They understand anticipate and respond to the needs of an organization to help grow relationship. CRM ensuring the correct people in place, with the correct skills to deliver outstanding personal service and establishing clear material service that supplier need. Based on staff opinion, CRM help organization having a good relationship with supplier can make all things become easier.Staff can easily prove the document from supplier and also can pass the document to customer in short time. This saved cost and time because shorten transaction processing time. Besides CRM, ERP is also a important system to enhance relationship with suppliers. ERP is a set of software application to the organization, its help standardize business processes necessary effectively plan and control. So, supplier can develop their plan and process about the product thro ugh ERP and ERP and shares the information flow inside the organization.By using ERP, banker and supplier can clearly classify information that they need and use for forecasting for their future plan. Moreover, Public bank also use DBMS to enhance their performance in banking industry. By using DBMS, organization can classify their data one by one because DBMS function is determine all the information from various departments and put in different type of document. In addition, DBMS help organization identify what investment should invest and identify federal investment bonds, bills, and short term federal bonds. DBMS is important for organization to interacting with suppliers and customers. .3 Threat of New Entrants Threat of new entrants is a factor that leads to increase the number of competitors in an industry. New entrants is competitive because they having the same activities and business in same market. Normally when one industry making high profit will attract new entrants to compete, when new entrants keep increasing, it’s will causes some firm lose and they will exit in that industry. So, to keep the organization increase profit steadily, organization must have a unique characteristic to attract customers and also have a good relationship with customers.But in banking industry, probability threat of new entrants is less because want enter bank industry is not a easy way. They need a lot of board of director and required a lot of capital. In addition, opening a bank not only need to check by government and also need having license and fulfill all the federal and state regulations. Opening a new bank also need to face changing of technology, strategic planning and expertise problems. Besides that, opening a new bank need a lot of money to buy advanced information system to help bank make transaction process and keep all the data.For example, bank use CRM to maintain the relationship with customers, ERP help manager to planning and forecast and DB MS help bank manage all the data flow from one department to another department. 3. 4 Threat of Substitute Products In the banking industry, they are no real threat of substitute products because all bank are having the same services such as investment, loan and deposit. But based on other view, threat of substitute like non-financial competitors is one of the reasons that faced by bank.Substitute product are the natural of industry competition, they involved the same function of the product that the industry already produces. For example, loan and mortgage is not much different, both is because customers want money and make an investment. In the banking sector, there have several products at the same time, so it counted as substitutes products. For example if someone is looking for a travelers check and that could not be provided, so it might decide to telegraphic transfer. Information system can help to enhance their performance to the threat of substitute products.Information sys tem can help bank solved the threat of substitute. Like CRM, its can help bank have a good relationship and the customers confidence with that bank. With this, banker offer bonds, mutual fund and stock to customer and they will more accept what they prefer because they trust that bank. Main purpose of CRM is help bank to attract new customers, having a good and healthy relationship with profitable customers. Besides that, CRM also increase efficiency process and help to gain competitive advantage over the banking industry. Not only CRM help to solved threat of substitute product, ERP also help a lot in managing the planning.ERP help integrate all departments and functions across a company onto a single computer that can serve all those different department particulars need. ERP help differentiate different type of product and make compare to another products to make a analysis. Its help customer more clear and understand about the product they interest. 3. 5 Competitive Rivalry Amon g An Industry Banking industry is a highly competitive industry. Financial services industry has been around for hundred years and everyone need to save money, make investment and loan the capital.Bank offers lower financing, higher rates, investment services and greater conveniences than their rivals. Rivals always compete by using advertising, introduce new products, more attractive customer services and warranties to enhance their standing and market share in specific industry. Rivalry will causes factors like equally balanced companies, slow growth within an industry, high fixed cost, lack of product differentiation, overcapacity and price-cutting, diverse competitors, high-stakes investment, and the high risk of industry exit.So, bank need to use information system to solve the rivalry problems. Same as ention before, CRM, ERP and DBMS can help bank to compete with rivalry. There not only can help bank gain competitive advantage and also help increase profit and process efficie ncy. CRM helps Public Bank to attract new customer because they can identify what customer needs and wants. Besides that, they also can help bank having a good relationship with profitable customers because they produces efficiency operation compares to others firm. CRM is a unique strategy use to differentiate with competitors, they used by the firm for segmentation customers and to concentrate on retaining profitable and valuable customer.ERP help to shares the data flow from one department to another department across the organization. ERP also manage the information flow from organization to the connection with outsiders and help manager planning and forecasting. While DBMS manages incoming data, organizes it and provides ways for the data to be modified or extracted by organization. Public Bank use this software system to manage large structure sets of persistent data, offering hoc query facilities to customers. DBMS help Public Bank manage their customer data and make staff ea sier to find the information when they needed.4. Strategic System Analysis 4. 1 Structure of Industry and firm location The Public Bank is one of the banks that using a lot of technology and also strategy in order to outstanding in the financial industry. Public bank used business strategy like multiple delivery channels to better serve its large customer base of individuals and business enterprises. The Group has also enhanced its internet banking and mobile banking services and they will continue to tap on its large sales and marketing force and strategic alliance with key partners to deliver high value products and services to its customers.This is one of the reasons why the Public Bank can stand a chance to be one of the leaders in financial industry. Nowadays, the customers more prefer choose the bank that offer several types of the loan and facilities in order to fulfill their needs in any financial problem. Nowadays, there many financial institutions on the market and all of them also come out with a lot of excellent services and products in order to retain their position in the market. So, Public Bank eventually cannot be avoided, will with face a lot of rival banks such as Maybank, CIMB, Hong Leong Bank, UOB and others.Public Bank and their competitors are competing with each other in a similar market, similar products and services such as home loan, credit card, insurance and investment funds. The corporate structure of Public Bank is unique in the financial industry since its structure is regionally decentralized. The corporate structure is generally separated into two parts that is Malaysian companies and Overseas & Offshore companies. For Malaysian companies it mainly focus on financial business such as Islamic banking, Family Takaful, Trustee services, investment banking, sales and management of Unit Trust, Leasing & Factoring and Property holding.On the other hand, for Overseas and Offshore Companies they usually handle business like investment & property holding, stock &share broking, deposit-taking & finance, securities dealing and underwriting, offshore banking and last but not least offshore trust company. Public Bank have many branches throughout Malaysia and also overseas such as Hong Kong, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, China and Sri Lanka. The location of Public Bank is headquartered at 27th floor of Menara Public Bank, 146 Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is located at the capital of Malaysia. 4. 2 Value chainsThe idea of value chain was first came up by Michael Porter (1985) to depict how customer value accumulates along a chain of activities that lead to an end product or service. Porter describes the value chain as the internal processes or activities a company perform â€Å"to design, produce, market, deliver and support its product. † He describes the value chain into three categories which are: business, firm and industry. (Appendix 2) In the financial market now, the customer are more prefer to choose buy goods and services from the bank that are more worth trusted and excellent in service and product provide.As a result, Public bank are aiming this kind of behavior and provide much type of products such as loan, deposit, investment, cards, ATM and insurance to fulfill the needs of the customer. Furthermore, Public bank also focuses in adding in more value with the customers by providing nice services to them. Firstly, Public bank had offer a time saving and more convenience way for their customer to do any transaction businesses that is ATM machine and online banking.For example, there many places in Malaysia are full of ATM machines that offer by Public bank, whether in the bank branches, shopping mall and even inside the school. It gives people to either deposit the money or withdraw money in faster way. Besides ATM machine, online banking also helps customer save a lot of time too. Customers no longer need to step out of their house to settle any transaction at the bank anymore. Next, with its strong customer service culture, the Public bank continues to maintain its superior delivery standards which have been benchmarked against international ISO standards.Public Bank also remains the first and the only bank in Malaysia which has attained bank-wide ISO 9001:2000 certifications for customer service at the front office of its branches and bank-wide loan delivery service. Public bank makes sure that whenever there is a customer walks into any of their branches, customer can expect consistent superior delivery standards that match the best in the world. Furthermore, Public bank also valuing by provided the financial management education to their customers. The purpose is to let them learn how to manage their financial future and make money management more interesting and easy to understand.This help in response to consumers struggling to find relevant, easy to understand and trustworthy financial information and advice. Besides that, Public bank also introducing PB Sharelink for customer learn how to invest. It is a product specifically designed to assist clients with their share trading and margin financing needs on the Malaysia Securities Exchange Bhd (MSEB). It offers the maximum purchasing power through leveraging against existing funds or collateral to enable customers to purchase and invest in shares to capitalize on any emerging opportunities in the stock market. 4. 3 Alignment of IT with Business Strategies and GoalsUntil fairly recently, the traditional role reserved for IT has been fairly subservient in business planning. IT was been merely an implementation tool, not only involved in shaping strategy but also created opportunities as well as a market channels to the new business. IT plays an important role in developing the long-term business strategy. So, organization needs to ensure their IT and business strategy functions are completely synchronized towards their business goals. Previously we have mentioned th at Public bank more focus in business strategy and goals in managing the structure and also valuing the relationship with the customer.In addition, Public bank also utilize the technology in the strategy in order to make their strategy can be perform in faster and efficient way. The international goal of Public bank is â€Å"to sustain the position of being the most efficient, profitable and respected premier financial institution in Malaysia. † Therefore, through the product innovation provide by Public bank, the aligned IT with their business strategies and goals is gradually achieved. The use of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) was one of the technology instruments which help to improve the number of Public bank card user.This is because the transactions are processed in less than a single second which is very convenience and time saving to the cardholder. Besides, it also allowed the cardholder make their fund transaction at any time and place since the ATM provides 24 hour s of the transaction service throughout countries. 5. 0 Conclusion As a conclusion, the implementation of IT has successfully driven the global economy by connecting all the cards, acceptance locations, ATMs and financial institutions around the world to help Public bank become one of the successful bank in financial industry.As a leader in financial service industry, Public bank not only need to focus on how to improve their sales of product and services offered by them but they also need to find out what are the changes out of its company, in order to avoid being eliminate by their rivals as well as the world. So, through the Porter five forces analysis, Public bank can enhance their strength so they can create more market opportunity for themselves and be prepared with their weakness and threat, treat those weakness and threat as a challenge for their company.Besides that, the top management needs to hire a strong and experienced project manager to ensure that the implementation of system will run smoothly. By using advance of technologies, the customer feels more confident with the product and services of the ING Insurance Bhd. Finally, Public bank can become a successful leader in the financial service industry because of the 3 system used, that is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Database Management System (DBMS) and Customer Relationship System (CRM).

PE Ratios & Profit Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

PE Ratios & Profit Performance - Essay Example As said by Flamholtz (1986, p655), "The price-earnings (P-E) ratio measures the relationship of the market price of a firm's common stock to its earnings per share", the P/E ratio is a measure of analysing a company's market position and investors trust that is reflected in the market price of its shares. The higher the price-earnings ratio, the higher the growth potential the company has in the view of its investors. It reveals the market worth of a company's shares and explains how expensive the shares are in relation to the earnings obtained on the shares. For instance, two different companies have the same level of net profit but one company has a lower Price-earnings ratio, it would reflect that its shares are cheaper than the other company. From the above chart also, the P/E ratios of five companies can easily be spotted. All these companies are from the same industry and are among the most popular companies in the retail sector. As reflected by above price-earning ratios, these companies have a varying range of ratios as at February 8, 2006. The price-earning ratio is calculated by dividing a company's market price with the earnings per share and therefore, the price-earning ratio of a company depends upon several factors that are responsible to keep it at a lower or higher level. The determinants of a company's P/E ratio force the company's market price to fluctuate, which is followed by a fluctuation in the ratio. Some of the major determinants causing variation in different companies' price-earnings ratios are discussed below: Growth Potential Brealey and Meyers (1984) suggest that a company's high price-earning ratio reflects that the investors have more confidence in the company's future growth potential. It shows that the expectation of a company's future growth also has a great impact on its price-earning ratio. It is true that investors do have a keen eye on various companies' financial position and performance so that they can also benefit with a company who is climbing the high ladders of growth and profitability. If the company is growing, it will have more profit to be forwarded to the shareholders. Therefore when the investors believe in a company's future performance, they will be willing to invest more in the company's shares leading to a significant rise in the stock value followed by an increase in the P/E ratio. The chart displaying the price-earning ratios of the companies from same industry reveals that the company with a high P/E ratio i.e., Morrison plc with a P/E ratio of 47.2, has more future growth prospects in the eyes of its investors and shareholders than the other companies in the industry i.e., Boots, Tesco, Marks and Spencer and JB Sports plc. This is because the investors mostly look for benchmarking a company's performance and potential with the other companies in industry standing at the same level and once they find a company with better prospects, they invest more of their funds in the company's shares. Hence, it can be said that the element of growth potential is one of the major causes underlying the differences between the above companies' price-earning ratios. Net Profit Smith and Skousen (1987) suggest that an increase or decrease in a company's price-earning ratio is the resultant of its profitability. It indicates that more a company is profitable;

Business strategy discussion board Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business strategy discussion board - Essay Example These confused and uninspired thoughts make us lose our initiative to express our thoughts freely and openly. Our confusion and lack of motivation led some of us to actively fail to involve ourselves in the project. Also, because we can't logically express ourselves out, we find it difficult to bind and unify our ideas together. As a result of this, there have been clashes and contradictions of ideas along the way that have just surfaced out as we passed our individual contributions for the group assignment. This even made our group even more difficult to manage. Another problem that we encountered is difficulty in interacting with each other. I admit that the internet makes our lives easy and more productive. But for me face-to-face conversation is still effective in a group project. I believe the atmosphere would be more enthusiastic and more interactive if meetings are done personally. I think this could have been solved if there is someone in the group will stand out and act as a leader. An effective leader streamlines any confusing or contradicting thoughts that the members in the group have. He also gives motivation for each member to eagerly involve themselves and participate in group meetings and discussions that are very vital for the success of the group.

Salama Insurance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Salama Insurance - Research Paper Example The company’s vision is the provision of highest standards Shari’ah-compliant Takaful solutions to customers all around the world. Over the past 33 years, the company’s efforts have enabled it in building a solid reputation for the provision of competitive Takaful solutions of various ranges. The strength and accomplishments of the company are achieved by the competitive strategy of putting more focus on major business areas. According to SALAMA (2012), the insurance paid-up capital is about 330 million USD equivalents to AED1.2 billion. The company is listed in Dubai Financial Market which is abbreviated as IAIC. It is also assigned an excellent performance in its financial strength and issuer credit rating. The Tunis-based operation of the company is the largest in the world, and it operates in about 60 countries. The company deals with issues of individual clients and institutional customers through the global network. Currently, there are about six major Taka ful companies providing their solutions to customers. The six direct Takaful companies are located in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, and Senegal. The company aims at expanding its product portfolio through the size of offers and geographical coverage. This will help to increase the company’s footprint around the region and promote catering for the increased technologies, customers’ needs and legal environment change. Securing the future. UAE is currently at the point of delivering the best of West and East; over the years it has been the hub which was allowing Salama insurance to nurture giving it the ability to access global workforce that is able to operate under international standards. Takaful is dealing with the shift in Muslim attitudes on religious grounds. UAE, therefore, acts as a Shari’ah-compliant platform in offering Takaful solutions. While the country develops both economically and socially, it is essential to keep track of the changes occurring since the Muslims in UAE are stressing on getting Shari’ah-compliant goods and services. These need to enable the company in delivering the best of their best to the Muslims. As UAE’s specialized Takaful company, Salama also deals with offering comprehensive policies in insurance ranging from general, health and family solutions to individuals, companies and families. The company has got its unique position thanks to its credibility, good reputation for quality products, operating under high standards of service provision, and having access to Takaful’s best insurance practices. It is also the best in the provision of both qualitative and affordable solutions. As the company expands its customer base, its aim is to be the number one for Takaful solutions and its customers. The company has also made various promises to its customers, for example, in the provision of personalized services, improved customer commitment, and improvement in Shari’ah- compliant products. Current financial conditions in the insurance industry that affect the availability and affordability of insurance products. According to Raja (2009), the UAE economic development has given many developing countries an excellent choice for overseas expansion, globalization, and foreign direct investment. This region is one of the wealthiest and fastest in development in the world. China, for example, is becoming an economic leader and manufacturer on the world perspective since it is famous for its cheap labor workers. The UAE has also increased wealth

Esaay Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Esaay - Essay Example Motel Burundi is a new business which has never been operation in any country or region. After being established, Motel Burundi will operate as a vacation resort with the intent of attracting tourist and workers employed by different non-governmental organizations. The resort will only be functional during specific seasons of the year. However, the lodging sector will operate fully round the year and will open for locals and visitors throughout the week. Motel Burundi will be designed to accommodate master beds with humble space to allow for three sitter chair to be positioned and a kitchenette. It will also have a fully functional restaurant where different delicacies and meals will be provided at the customer’s request. In addition, Motel Burundi will have an in built bar and dance floor, which will cater for entertainment purposes and an effective, fully functional dating agency to offer hookups for single souls visiting the Motel. Motel Burundi target market strategy is to become a destination choice for both locals and international visitors paying Bujumbura a visit for one reason or another. The motel will expect an increase in sales as currently there is no serious motel which provides stiff competition in the hotel market. The motel Burundi statement mission will be to provide an outstanding hotel and lodging facility for all guests visiting the motel. The Motel will focus on personal businesses and group meetings by putting an emphasis on high quality standards in the rooms, bars, foods and dance floor. In addition, Motel Burundi will provide a fair investment return for the owners and all stakeholders responsible for its daily operations. Motel Burundi will be located in Bujumbura the capital city of Burundi. It will be a corporation owned and operated by the sole owner who will also act as the chief Executive Officer; Motel Burundi will be acquired and

Critically assess the Prime Minister's powers.Review the role of the Essay

Critically assess the Prime Minister's powers.Review the role of the media in British politics.Is the higher civil service a - Essay Example Nevertheless, the individual who is appointed to this position must enjoy the support of the majority in the parliament, especially the lower house of the British legislature, also referred to as the House of Commons. This is because, the House of Commons is charged with the responsibility of enacting the necessary legislations that runs the government and the whole country. Therefore, the prime minister must enjoy the support of the majority in the House of Commons, so that he can be supported in enacting the necessary legislations and policies, which runs the government (Hennessy, 2001 p17). The most important aspect of the position of the British Prime Minister is the fact that; this position is not established by the British constitutional laws, but is just guided by the conventions, which have been in place for a long-term. The British Prime Minister plays various roles. First, he is the head of the political party or the coalition of parties that have the majority members of pa rliament in the House of Commons, and thus plays a legislative role (Kavanagh & Seldon, 2008 p87). He is responsible for guiding the legislation of the policies that favors the running of the government, as well as those necessary to execute the objectives and manifestos of the party or coalition enjoying the majority in the parliament. This position evolved as a result of the long term historical struggle to shift power from the sovereign to the parliament. However, constitutionally and legally, the monarch still remains the head of government, who enjoys the prerogative powers and is thus responsible for the whole running of the country. Therefore, the position of the British Prime Minister is political, which occurs as a result of the monarch sharing his/her powers to head the government with an individual of his/her choice, who enjoys the confidence of many members of parliament (Blick & Jones, 2010 p62). Despite the immense political authority that the position of the British P rime Minister holds, it is merely an extension of the powers of the Sovereign, who is the legal and constitutional leader of the government (King, 1985 p257). As the head of the party of the majority in parliament, the British Prime Minister is responsible to oversee the formulation and passing of the necessary legislations, which are essential to see the government operate effectively. In this sense therefore, the British Prime Minister heads the policy and law formulation process, to ensure that the laws and the policies that are formulated are in line with the government intentions and objectives, thus serves to facilitate the performance of the government (Hennessy, 2001 p21). This remains the reason as to why the British Prime Minister must be the leader of the party or coalition that enjoys majority support. The other role of the British Prime Minister is the executive role. The British Prime Minister is the head of the cabinet, which is the executive arm of the government (Ka vanagh & Seldon, 2008 p84). The power of the British Prime Minister as the head of the executive arm of the government includes the powers to constitute the cabinet. Therefore, he is responsible for appointing the cabinet ministers, who in turn heads different departments of the government

Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Government - Essay Example In spite of the deliberate effort to keep political parties out, the United States was the first nation to have formally recognized political parties as far back as in 1800. These political parties gained executive powers through elections, and in thirty years political parties were an indispensable part of the American political system. A political party has been defined as â€Å"an autonomous group of citizens having the purpose of making nominations and contesting elections in hope of gaining control over governmental power through the capture of public offices and the organization of the government† (Hukshorn, 1984). Presently, there are two main political parties in the United States -- the Republican and Democratic parties. All elected representatives, whether they be president, congressional representative, state governor or state legislator have to members of either of these two parties. There is no denying the fact that the two-party system in the United States has emerged as a result or reflection of the desire of the electorate that is the people. In other nations of the world which have a two-party system, each party represents conflicting ideological perspectives. In the United States, however, the two parties have tended not to adhere strictly to any one ideology or policy objectives. â€Å"Generally, Republicans have tended to support limiting federal powers and protecting the authority of state and local governments, to take a conservative approach to taxation and spending, and to oppose government interference with free enterprise. In contrast, Democrats have tended to take a more expansive view of the powers of the federal government, to support raising and spending money to address social ills on a national basis, and to favour federal regulation as a tool to improve business practices† (Bibby, 2004). The problem

Vedio analyze Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Vedio analyze - Essay Example The challenge to change an idea into reality is also a factor that drives people into entrepreneurship (Gasparski, 2011). The video case breaks down some of the different types of entrepreneurship. Micropreneurship refers to the entrepreneurship whereby a person starts a business venture with a goal of having a balanced lifestyle and not to grow big. The second type of entrepreneurship is â€Å"entrepreneurial teams†, where a group of two or more people begin a business with a view of pursuing their passion and making profits. The last type of entrepreneurship is intrapreneurship, which occurs when large companies create opportunities for their employees to grow in business. These companies can offer the training for their employees and give them the necessary recipe for great business ventures (Hatten, 2012). Pillow Pets is a company in the United States of America that was created by Jennifer Telfer and her husband Clint. This company operates under another company, called C J Products. This is an entrepreneurial team type of entrepreneurship since it was a formation by two people. Through the story that the video case narrates about the inception and progress of the Pillow Pets Company, we learn several lessons about the traits that a person should have to be a successful entrepreneur. A successful entrepreneur must naturally possess certain traits that will make their business venture to boom. There is the ability to persevere through failure and still be determined to make it. This is important since the world of business is replete with risks and a soft heart can never have the perseverance to see a business grow to its greatest heights of success. An entrepreneur must also be action-oriented to ensure that he or she is not afraid to test the waters of the business they venture into for better results. There are also acquired skills that an entrepreneur can learn in the quest to achieve good results in business. These include management skills that are essential in the organization and running of the business enterprise. A business with poor management is always bound to fail since there are no proper mechanisms to control the inflow and outflow of finances. This can easily collapse a good business as a result of lost revenues resulting from poor allocation of funds in the various departments of production in the business (Gasparski, 2011). In relation to the video case, the couple was determined to make supernormal profits reason for their good management. They were determined to succeed despite their various failures, which included the designs that did not impress customers in the market. The designs were poorly made and not appealing to customers. Moreover, the competition in the market was rife but the couple induced more creativity in the business, a move which enabled them to broaden their market (Stokes et al., 2010). Entrepreneurship is mostly started as a small business that blossoms into a mega company. In the US, t here are over 20 million small businesses, with 750,000 small businesses being started each year. These small businesses are important in the improvement of the US economy since they make 50% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In addition, approximately 80% of Americans find employment in the small businesses, making the businesses the backbone of the economy. Mega companies just make a smaller part of the country’

Examine the Characteristics of Mystical and Conversion Experiences Essay Example for Free

Examine the Characteristics of Mystical and Conversion Experiences Essay wo well-known categories of religious experience are Conversion and Mystical experiences. Throughout history there have been many reports of people having these religious experiences, and not all of the recipients are necessarily Christian in belief. Famous examples of conversion experiences include St Paul on the road to Damascus, and an example of a mystical experience could be the story of Theresa of Avila. Firstly I am going to look at the characteristics of mystical experiences, followed by an example of a mystical experience that I shall analyse before moving on to doing the same for conversion experiences. A philosopher called William James has designed a series of tests to see if a mystical experience conforms to a pattern that has arisen through the history of these experiences. William James said that the receiver of the religious experience should be passive, i.e. does not go out of his or her way to trigger the experience, it happens to them without their provoking it. The experience should be ineffable in that in the aftermath the receiver finds it very difficult to describe what had happened and how they had felt in normal communication, thirdly that there is a noetic quality to these experiences, meaning that some truth or great fact is revealed to the recipient of the experience. Finally the experience should be transient, this means that the actual experience should not take very long at all, perhaps a few hours, but afterwards it has a very long, if not lifelong impact on the person who had the experience. Mystical experiences often have an example of the defying of the laws of nature and physics, for example the hearing of voices or seeing of visions, or receiving of the wounds of Christ, the Stigmata, that came from nowhere and have no rational explanation. An example of a mystical experience, as I mentioned earlier, is the story of Theresa of Avila. Theresa was a Carmelite nun who had been raised as being deeply religious; when her mother died she turned to the Virgin Mary and became a nun. Throughout her life she was often seriously ill and during these bouts of illness she claimed to have experienced religious ecstasy, in which she saw a cherub repeatedly stabbing her in the stomach with a fiery spear, and where he stabbed her she felt bliss and pain equally. In one bout of sickness she lost the use of her legs for three years, and during this time she stopped praying until she was convinced by a priest to start again. Not long after she began praying again she experienced holy delights from God, which were moments when her senses were overwhelmed by the presence of God. Alongside this she experienced the levitation, meaning that she claimed to have had her body raised off of the ground by the Holy Spirit. The levitation is the main mystical experience of Theresa’s life; this is a very clear example of how the laws of nature are defied by the power of God. The experience is passive as she was ill in bed at the time, it wasn’t ineffable however as she could clearly explain what had happened, however the experiences of having her senses overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit that accompany the levitation certainly were ineffable. There was no great truth revealed directly but there is a lesson in her story. And that is that the Lord will watch over and take care of us when we are sick. It is hard to tell whether or not the experience was transient, as while the levitation took place over just a few minutes, we cannot know how deep an impact it had on Theresa, as she was already deeply religious, we cannot easily see how she changed as a person. Now we move onto conversion experiences, the most key characteristic of a conversion experience is that the recipient of the experience has a complete switch around of their religious beliefs, they are converted. This conversion stays in place for the rest of the experiencer’s life, the religious experience is transient. Conversion experiences can be either gradual or sudden, meaning that a person’s beliefs can change over time due to different stimuli or events, or they can change swiftly as a result of an undeniably holy action. An important fact to remember when discussing conversion experiences is that they can occur not just in regards to an individual’s religious beliefs, they can also impact on political and social ideals as well, and these kinds of conversions follow the same pattern as that of religious experiences. The example of a conversion experience I am going to talk about is the conversion of St Paul on the road to Damascus. Before his conversion Paul, or Saul as he was known, was a Pharisee who harshly persecuted the early Christians and was not in any way inclined to believe in the teachings of Jesus. One day Paul was riding down the road to Damascus, as he drew near to the city a light shone down from heaven and Paul was cast down to the ground, then he heard a voice saying â€Å"Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me†? The voice identified itself as Jesus and instructed Paul to go to the city where he will be instructed further. The men accompanying Paul were amazed, as they had heard the voice, but had seen no man or any vision as Paul had. Paul opened his eyes, but found that he had been blinded, perhaps by the brilliant light, his men led him to the city and there he stayed, blind, not eating or drinking for three days. After the three days his sight returned, and he was convinced that he had seen the resurrected Christ. After the experience Paul could be found in the company of the disciples that were in Damascus, which shows a very large turn around in his ideals, because before the experience he would have arrested and persecuted those men. This story is a good example of a conversion experience as it shows a very big contrast in the subject before and after the experience, which is as I said previously, the main characteristic of a religious experience. To conclude the essay I would just like to summarise the characteristics of both mystical and conversion experiences, mystical experiences are most easily identified when evidence of supernatural even ts take place, such as the levitation, while conversion experiences are clearly shown in the change of the recipients religious or political ideals.

International Trade and Globalization Essay Example for Free

International Trade and Globalization Essay According to Hill, globalization refers to the shift toward a more integrated and interdependent world economy (2009). Globalization has several facets, including the globalization of markets and the globalization of production. Globalization of markets is to the merging of historically distinct and separate national markets into one huge global marketplace. Globalization of production is to the sourcing of goods and services from locations around the globe to take advantage of national differences in the cost and quality of factors of production (such as labor, energy, land, and capital) (Hill, 2009). There are several traditional international trade theories that would support the concept of globalization. The first theory is free trade that refers to a situation in which a government does not attempt to influence through quotas or duties what its citizens can buy from another country or what they can produce and sell to another country. Another theory is mercantilism, which is an economic philosophy advocating that countries should simultaneously encourage exports and discourage imports. The final theory is the theories of Smith, Ricardo, and Heckscher-Ohlin. Smith, Ricardo, and Heckscher-Ohlin show why it is beneficial for a country to engage in international trade even for products it can produce for itself. According to Adam Smith, â€Å"countries should specialize in the production of goods for which they have an absolute advantage and then trade these good for the goods produced by other countries† (2009). Heckscher-Ohlin theory predicts that countries will export goods that make intensive use of those factors that are locally abundant; while importing goods that make intensive use of factors that are locally scare (2009). Finally, Ricardo’s theory suggest that countries should specialize in the production of those goods they produce most efficiently and buy goods that they produce less efficiently from other countries (2009). There are two major factors that drive globalization. The first driver is the decline in barriers that allow the free flow of goods, services, and capital that has occurred since the end of World War II (2009). For example with the decline in barriers, countries can export merchandise freely without any disruptions in hipments. During the 1920s, many of the world’s nation-states erected formidable barriers to international trade and foreign direct investment (2009). Many of the barriers to international trade took the form of high tariffs on imports of manufactured goods (2009). The second driver of globalization is technology change (2009). For example, the constant change in technology allows companies the ability to produce more, which in turn allows other countries to participate the building of developments. Another example is throughout time, the progress in technology permits communication to be more advanced by allowing people to access the Internet and the World Wide Web. The final example of technology change is the change in transportation. The change in technology such as commercial aircrafts and freighters that are tractor trucks and cargo ships that allows shipments to be packed in containers and shipped across the world. The effects of globalization have impact to the military, especially during a time of war. Armed Forces Network (AFN) is the main source of television communications throughout Europe. AFN supplies network to the military in Afghanistan and Iraq so the troops can unwind and watch television. AFN provides cross-border flow of television services. Another effect of globalization that impacts the military while being deployed is food services. Food that the local nationals transport to different military posts in Afghanistan is shipped in from other countries and cross through Iran. The third effect on the military of globalization on the military is the acts of violence against the military overseas. A poor country such as Afghanistan, rely on their local grown produce but instead is being taken over by products foreign product verses using the locals products. The final effect of globalization that impacts the community is the problem of outsourcing jobs. American’s have a high unemployment rate due to the lack of jobs in the market. The military is over strength because of citizens not able to find work. In the deployment zone, many civilians are risking their own lives to work as a contractor for the government because they cannot find work.

The culture in Barcelona

The culture in Barcelona The culture of Spain today is highly linked to the modern bullfight since it has been influenced by those who conquered and fought for control of Liberian pensile, also those artists who flourished during the golden age greatly, contributed to the development of the Spanish culture. The culture of Spain depends much on its historical past. In these modern days, Spanish culture portrays a picture of frames and hierarchies. In Spain, culture and education are mainly viewed as the main weapons which helps in fighting against fascism and also culture gives room for republican government and revolutionary parties where they can add both elites and unknown whites into their enterprise (Thatcher, 1999, Pg 16). Due to its advanced cultural statures Barcelona attracted so many people into the city which mainly contributed to good economic growth within the city. Some of their cultural practices such as games, sports and other sought of entertainments within the city made it to appear unique f rom the rest of the cities in Spain and thus why it was ranked the second city in Spain. Since time in memorial till to date, Barcelona has been ranked as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Due to its overwhelming beauty, Barcelona has attracted so many tourists in the city which has consequently raised the standards of the city and has improved it marketability through out the world. Its basic over view has various attractive things which includes even its city centre since it has maintained its medieval street plan and other stunning modernist architectures and various beautiful building the city and has also many museums such as those which were dedicated to various important persons like Picasso, Miro and Barca. It’s also known of its famous Barcelona Olympics game. This enabled the Barcelona Olympics to be held in the city of Barcelona which made so many people to come to the city and appreciate its potentiality and other good aspects that the city processed. The cultural aspects of Barcelona city were appreciated by many during that time which pr omoted their culture a great deal. Barcelona city is one of the cities which attracts tourists and leave them with unforgettable experiences since it’s so lively. Its rights are equally active as days which enable citizens and visitors to have a 24 hours operating time. The tourists were mainly attracted due to the physical features within the city such as sand beach which the tourists could go and relax. The city also and many industries and carvings which made them to appreciate the city since they could purchase many valuables within the city and those carvings which portrayed the culture of the city and its people (Wright pg 20). The climatic condition of Barcelona is quite good all the year round which make people to enjoy visiting the city at any time of the year. The city has also sandy beach which enable visitors and citizens to have good places for relaxing while on holidays or over the weekends. Its geographically situated in a good geographical background which enables good accessibility of the Spanish city from the rest of the cities in the Europe. Barcelona is the capital and most popular city of Catalonia and it’s the second largest city in Spain. Barcelona city is the one that houses the seat of Catalonia government and various leaders dwell within this city. Since it’s the capital of Catalonia many activities take place within the city which keeps it lively through out the day and night. Business within the city are carried out thru out since its experienced good security because most of the administrative bodies were housed within the city. The city of Barcelona as a capital of Catalonia had a great role, to play and they needed agreement between the government and the council in order to maintain these roles. Barcelona with the help of Catalonia government established infrastructures in the city which enables good social cohesion of the capital city of Catalonia. There good and improved infrastructure facilitated good social interaction and attracted many tourists which consequently lead to a rapid growth of the Catalonia. The city council of Barcelona worked hand in hand with Catalonia government to improve social services and education. http://waytoownstate.blogspot.com/2008/02/558-pro-independence-in-catalonia.html as retrieved on 1 Mar 2008 08:29:16 GMT Barcelona had a good industrial elite and therefore they wanted Catalonia to stay as part of Spain since its industrial market basically relied very much on consumption from the other Spanish regions. Therefore due to its good industrial market it has enabled it to serve as national market Catalonia was established by the state of autonomy in 1979. It’s an autonomous community which mainly covers most of the North eastern Spanish provinces such as Barcelona, Lenda Gerona and Tarragona. Barcelona being the capital city of Catalonia was formerly the principality of the crown of Aragon which played a very important role in the history of Iberian Peninsula. It was also a centre of Separatist Movement which many of he times dominated Spanish affairs. The city of Barcelona boosted Catalonia economy since most of the industries are situated within the city such as metal working, textile industry, food processing industries, chemical industries. Some of the main industries which were concentrated in Barcelona were textile, paper making and graphics, chemicals and metal working. Due to the growing demand of petroleum in Catalonia they expanded one of the oil refineries in Barcelona. Therefore, the city of Barcelona enabled the economy of Catalonia to grow which consequently enabled it to strengthen its political status. The court Ramon Bevenguer IV of Barcelona was betrothed by the queen of Aragon Petronila, Catalonia and Aragon became united under the same rulers. After their union, Catalonia dominated trade in all the aspects and their interest dominated the union of Aragon this was achieved when the male line of court of Barcelona became extinct. Catalonia gained autonomy and enjoyed its autonomy and cultural freedom. This was backed by the losing cause, Barcelona by that time was a republican which held strongly the antifascist sentiments and Catalan nationalism the time of Spanish civil war. During this time the Catalan lost their language and identity. Catalonia war autonomy which was granted to it by the Spanish Cortes. Its efforts to revolutionize complete independence jailed but the restoration of autonomy was enabled in 1936. Catalonia’s loyalist supported the republic but unfortunately he suffered a lot of opposition from Franco. Barcelona by then was the loyalist capital and by 1939, Catalonia fell in the lands of Franco dictatorship, they were banned from using Catalans in public life. By 1980 Catalonia had elected the first parliament as an autonomous region. Increased autonomy for Catalonia was approved in the year 2006 together with its recognition as a nation within Spain (Snyder pg 51). Barcelona being the capital city of Catalonia had contributed a lot to the growth of Catalonia as an autonomous independent country of Spain. It made various contributions in political, economic, social, and cultural aspects towards the build up of Catalonia. Barcelona was the central post for most of the activities taking place in Barcelona since it was the capital city and the centre of all the operations. Economically Barcelona uplifted the standards of living within Catalonia since most of the businesses were carried out in this big city. The city operated for 24 hours daily which enabled many activities to proceed on well. Many businesses were set up within the city which facilitated trade. The population of people living in these areas had grown adversely which also boosted trade within the city. The city had unique and admirable scenes such as the carvings, sand beach and many other interesting places which attracted so many tourists in the region and this in return boosted the economy of Catalonia. There tourist could trade within the city which due to its diverse goods and other cultural aspects which attracted them such as carvings. The city also hosted major industries which had great contribution to the economic status of Catalonia since it had good economic status which was mainly contributed by Barcelona city as a result of its good economic growth. Therefore, due to their good economic growth they enabled the Catalonia to grain its independence and to support itself fully. Barcelona also hosted various cultural practices and ceremonies since it was the capital city of Catalonia. This attracted so many people to the region and consequently boosted its good relationship with other regions and this enabled them to come together and fight for their independence. Culturally they also intermarried with other regions which brought the different regions together and enabled them to fight for the independence of their region which made them to be declared a state within the Spanish government ( http://www.indymedia.ie/article/83637 as retrieved on 1 Mar 2008 15:21:38 GMT). Barcelona basically acted like beehive of activities where most of the activities are organized. These activities brought various people together including leaders to discuss various issues which regards to fighting for Barcelona’s independence so that it can stand on its own. Many activities such as veteran meetings, demonstrations to fight for their independence, social gatherings were carried out in this capital city of Barcelona. These activities made people from different tribes who made up the Catalan government to come together so that they could organize themselves to fight for their autonomous independence. Barcelona city acted as seat of Catalan government and this enabled most of the governmental activities to be carried out within the Barcelona city since it was situated in a good geographical region. Many government leaders could come to the city to attend meetings and conferences which enabled good ruling of the government. Catalonia fights very hard to attain their independence from the federal government of Madrid. The hosting of Olympic Games in Barcelona paved way for many Catalans to fight for their independence. Few of the Barcelonans working class were able to attend the Olympics since a non working class could not have access to Olympic due to the high prices for buying tickets and other seats were reserved for multinational sponsors (Simonis, pg 29). In this Catalans viewed the Olympic Games as a perfect opportunity that they could use to plead for their independence from the federal government of Madrid. Many Catalans but not all had gathered where Olympic Games were carried out at Badalona some few meters from Barcelona town so that they could argue and protest for their independence from Spain during the meeting of multinational corporate Olympics. Catalan language was also used in Olympic due to strong political presence of Catalonian independence movement. Therefore, the city of Barcelona contributed greatly to the independence of Catalan since it hosted the Olympic Games which facilitated the struggle and fight for independence by the Catalans. Barcelona had various places where Catalans can gather so that they can discuss their political strength. For example, coffee shops acted as stopover places where by local residents can gather to talk about the politics of Catalan and to socialize with each other. These gatherings sphere headed the struggle for independence for the Catalonia independence. These coffee shops also acted as prime sites for working class political discourse and serves as an awareness area for the local residents. In the city of Barcelona, there was a school which was located near the sand beach politically students from these schools were used to transport the production staff around the city. Some of the opposition of the Catalonia were in the boxing screw by the time the venue was assigned to three students to transport the staffs around the city. Some of these opposes were sympathetic to Catalonia independence movement and had their relatives who fought against the Franco force. Therefore location of this school within the city of Barcelona enabled them to sue students in their fighting for their noble independence rights. The economic status of Barcelona also enabled the Catalonia to fight for their independence since the money that they gained could be used to fund the veterans who were used to fight for the independence of the Catalonia government. Due to the good economy of Barcelona they could fund and strengthen their own government either than relying on the federal government of the Spain. Olympic Games can stimulate symbols of national unity and ceremonials like the ones which applied to Barcelonan Olympics since they were facilitate by the language and symbolism of Catalonian nationalism (Hargreaves, 2000, Pg 17) Catalonia basically is not a sovereign body because its only a constitute of the Spanish nation since the Spanish state was created taking into consideration the national sovereignty of Spanish people to start with. Catalonian have developed quite a strong tool which helps them to defend their national character language and culture and at the same time it aims at improving the living standards of its citizens. Its aim is to establish good relationship with the national sphere which would encourage corporation within the Catalonia so that they can be able to come together as a nation to fight for their independence. Through corporation and good governance of the Catalonia people they can be able to come up with along lasting solution on how they can strive to be an independent. This corporation is the main one which facilitated them to gain their independence. The status of autonomy mainly referred to Catalonian territory, history, language symbols and projects which are meant to be shared in future. It also refers to direct Catalan consciousness which is meant to form a differentiated community. According to statute, all Spanish citizens who according to the general law of the state are legal residents in he municipality of the Catalonia are the ones who should be regarded to as Catalan. (Montserrat, 2004, Pg 79). Catalonia Independence from Spain and France is greatly supported by the Catalan independentism which is a political movement. The main pro-independence party of the Catalan was Catalunya which was established after the Spanish Civil War. Therefore, Barcelona as the capital city of Catalonia and a very popular city in Spain has greatly triggers the attainment and growth of Catalonia independence. Since its the city whereby major activities took place which helped in triggering the achievement of an independence state. Since Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain, it had quite an influential role to Catalan nation which were the main occupants of the city. Barcelona also being the major economic centre, it could be able to fund Catalunya party which was the pro-independence party of the Catalan which was meant to trigger the independent of the Catalonia. Barcelona is the main city in Catalonia government which houses the seats of Catalan government. In this the executive branches of the government, the parliament and the Supreme Court of the Catalonia. Due to these facts there leaders who are housed within the city come up with strategies which could enable them to attain independence. Barcelona city also acts as the capital of the country of the Barcelonese. Due to the many roles that the city of Barcelona played, it proved that indeed it had great contribution towards the attainment of the Catalonian independence. Therefore, the city of Barcelona due to its good cultural, climatic, political and social background enabled the people of Catalonia to come up together for them to fight for the Catalonia independence. Work Cited David Thatcher, 1999, Cambridge Companion to Modern Spanish Culture, Cambridge University: United State. John Hargreaves, 2000, Freedom for Catalan? Catalan Nationalism, Spanish Identity, Cambridge University Press: United State. Maria Montserrat, 2004, Catalan Nationalism, Francoism, Transition and Democracy, Routledge: New York, Pg 35-37 http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:pG6mBb4BShoJ:www.indymedia.ie/article/83637+catalan+independencehl=enct=clnkcd=7gl=ke Sue Wright, 1999, Language Democracy and Devolution in Catalan, Multilingual Matters: Canada, pg 20-23 Louis Snyder, 1990, Encyclopaedia of Nationalism, Paragon House, pg 51-55 Damien Simonis, 2006, Barcelona, Lonely Planet pg 29-33. http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:V_oldiCoC8UJ:waytoownstate.blogspot.com/2008/02/558-pro-independence-in-catalonia.html+catalan+independencehl=enct=clnkcd=16gl=ke