Evaluate leadership as practiced in the life of Jesus Christ in the Essay

Evaluate leadership as practiced in the life of Jesus Christ in the light of 21st century context - Essay Example The paper will touch on Jesus’ ministry and its application in modern church leadership. The analysis will draw its facts mainly from the Gospels. From the start of his ministry, Jesus set out to mentor leaders that would lead the early church. He selected twelve disciples with different skills, talents, passions and personalities and mentored them to become a team. He taught them to use their varied strengths in order to support each other in the ministry. Christ shaped a leadership structure with a leader who had others supporting him. By the time he ascended to Heaven, he had built a leadership structure comprising Peter as the Head and the other disciples supporting him in a united team that worked together. This team of early church leaders had a unity of purpose to spread the Gospel to all nations. They went out preaching and in their deeds complimented each other’s works. From this early structure, the modern church can draw lessons on how to structure its leadership to attain better results in ministering the Gospel. Traditionally, the church used the hierarchy model of leadership. However, with the growth of the church, there have been changes that have necessitated a shift to an empowered team model of leadership. Many leaders have found they overwhelmed and overworked under the hierarchy model. With the empowered team model, the problem is solved as the leaders work with others in a team. This model emphasizes mentorship of new leaders and the development of a team spirit among the leaders to enhance good working relations to boost delivery of the vision of the church. Empowerment means that leaders drop bureaucratic structures so that people develop a sense of ownership and belonging in the leadership process. It enables them put into use their skills, experiences, energies and ambitions. Active participation by the different members of the team will make them accept the responsibilities that come with the leadership (Maxwell, 2005, p.

Analysis of Cloud Storage In Robotic Environment

Analysis of Cloud Storage In Robotic Environment Cloud Computing: Analysis of Cloud Storage In Robotic Environment Tushar Gupta Sunil Yadav Abstract— Cloud is a well-designed data storage model concerned with the storage of information on the web. Such storage has greatly revolutionized the robotic environment for learning purpose. This paper provides an overview of how databases in cloud deliberate to store knowledge fabricated by both robots and human in a robot-readable open format that will support existing as well as forthcoming robots learn faster. These robots will pick up the aggregate knowledge which will be accumulated in the cloud storage so as to perform a set of tasks including navigation, task information like how to pick up an object as well as object-recognition data such as digital models of real-world objects, to simultaneously confine itself in the unknown environment and to construct a map of the environment without having any knowledge in advance. Keywords—cloud, storage, robotics, robobrain, rapyuta I. Introduction From decades, it has been noticed that robots are mainly empowered with programming embedded in a chip but a small defect could result into malfunctioning of the whole unit and hence affect learning ability of robots. As such certain mechanism is required that will provide guarantee in terms of reliability, security and robustness. Due to great processing power of cloud it paved the way as an appropriate utility in Robotic Environment. Cloud robotics is one such step taken towards, that has evolved idea of leveraging the Internet for robots, and offers extraordinary opportunities for robot learning. Instead of using the World Wide Web for rapid communication or faster reckoning, a key factor is allowed for robots to generate and collaboratively update shared knowledge repositories. Such knowledge bases will power robots to deal with the intricacies of human environments and offer a simple yet powerful way for life-long robot learning. [1] The objective of the European-Commission-fund ed initiative is to evolve proof-of-concept demonstrations that show the way that cloud repositories like RoboEarth’s databases can greatly prompt robot learning and how they may finally allow robots to act well beyond their preprogrammed behaviors. As many AI Researchers are putting effort in establishing a database in cloud which they called â€Å"RoboBrain† that will house all the information which robots have learned till now and help them further their knowledge by sharing that knowledge. On the developer’s hand, they will have access to RoboBrain’s massive database, free of charge and wirelessly. [2] Aditya Jami, from Cornell, who depicted the database for RoboBrain said this about it: â€Å"The RoboBrain will look like a gigantic, branching graph with abilities for multi-dimensional queries.† By sharingparameters, data, files and everythingelse robots have gathered till now, their developers will access and automates the robot’s grasp ing of their ambiances, including speech and voice recognition, grasping, navigating and perception of different objects. Year 2010 was firstly marked as the self-drivingcarscame in our lives which afterwards tracked by RoboEarth (a system that allow the robots to distribute their knowledge wirelessly between each other). II. Literature Review A. Cloud Robotics Cloud Robotics is a specialized application of cloud computing that deals with the study of robots and their environment. Since with the help of cloud all the data will get stored on the web which in turn has greatly boosted the ability of robots to perform all workings by sharing experience with each other in order to provide a precise response. Due to connection with cloud network it is easier for robots to collaborate with other objects, machines and human beings. At the same time, internet has highly augmented the capabilities of robots by providing service on demand and offloads computation. Cloud robotics has greatly overcome the problem of network robotics due to their resource, information and communication constraints. With the arrival of cloud robotics expenditure of maintenance and updates and requirement of custom middleware has solved up to a great extent. Fig 1: Driven by advances in mobile communication technologies, lots of robotics applications can be executed in the cloud environment[3]. Robots are able to perform some computationally heavy tasks such as mapping, planning and probabilistic interference through the accessibility of huge computational infrastructure. RoboEarth is one such attempt that offers a cloud based infrastructure, which can help a robot to send some data to cloud and get the data back from the cloud in some other form. RoboEarth is a kind of database that stores the knowledge generated by either humans or robot but in a machine readable format. RoboEarth knowledge base is supposed to consist of a variety of data including task knowledge (e.g. manipulation strategies, action recipes etc.), several software components, maps for navigation (e.g. world models and location of objects), model that aids in recognition of different objects.(e.g. object models, images). Rapyuta which is also considered as the RoboEarth cloud engine is highly responsible for powerful computations to the robots. It is implemented as Platform-as-a-Service which is open sour ce designed to suit robotics application. It enables the robots to unburden heavy computation to protect cloud’s computing environment with marginal configuration. Rapyuta is considered to provide efficient access to the bandwidth which in turn provides access to the repository of knowledge on cloud enabling robots to learn skills and share experience with other robots. The components of the cloud robotics are so well structured and interconnected that they provide the environment for the deployment of large robotic teams. B. Software Components RoboEarth system is powered with the cloud infrastructure which in turn supported by RoboEarth databases and RoboEarth cloud engine (Rapyuta) in addition with several software components. Such software components are responsible to interact with the RoboEarth database in order to enquiry and accumulate data and can be installed for their execution in cloud engine or locally on the robot. In certain scenario these components can also be used independently. Fig 3: A simple architecture diagram of the integrated RoboEarth system can be used during thefinal demonstrator [4]. Rapyuta: Rapyuta is a framework which is an open source framework for having utility in cloud robotics. The figure below give a simple outlook of the Rapyuta framework: Each robot attached to the Rapyuta is having a reliable computing environment (rectangular boxes) enhancing their efficiency to move their heavy computation in the cloud. Computing environment are interconnected in a well-structured way and have a high bandwidth connectivity to the repository of knowledge as shown in the figure by stacked circular disks. Fig 2: Rapyuta: A Cloud Robotics Framework [5] RoboEarth DB: The Apache Hadoop based WWW- style database used to store essential data for the robots. KnowRob: It is a system involved in the processing of knowledge that groups reasoning methods and knowledge representation with several techniques for acquiring the knowledge in the physical system. It also serves as a framework that gathers knowledge through the various sources and is used in RoboEarth as a local knowledge base for robots. Object Adapter: These are the set of ROS packages that enables both robots and users to build up a small cloud model from an object using a marker pattern, so that the resulting model can be stored in the RoboEarth’s repository of knowledge, and allow downloading the object models later and used them for detecting objects. WIRE: The WIRE stack allows generating and maintaining one stable world state gauze based on object detections. It is highly involved in the data association problem by retaining multiple hypotheses and facilitates following of various object attributes. C2TAM: C2TAM implements a system called visual SLAM which is dependent upon a distributed framework where the storage and expensive map optimization is allocated on an external server, whereas a light camera tracking client executes on the local machine. The robot onboard computers are released from a burden of calculation, the only additional requirement being an internet connection. III. Application of cloud storage in robotics Cloud Based Robotics has proved to have a number of applications and advantages over the traditional networked based robotics. Cloud storage provides a shared knowledge database by which the robots can easily share their information with each other and can aligned them to work collaboratively in order to achieve a common task. Cloud robotics offloads the computing tasks to the cloud which involves heavy computation. Moreover cloud robotics is cheaper, easier to maintain hardware and lighter which results in the long battery life. CPU hardware upgrades are undetectable and hassle free. Cloud Robotics involves skilled and well maintained database. Reusable library of capability or etiquette that map to perceived tasks requirements/complex situations. Data mining keep the history of all cloud which enable robots. Due to these advantages, cloud robotics had a wide range of potential applications in the computation-intensive or data-intensive tasks in the areas of health care, intelligent transportation, environment monitoring, smart home, entertainment, education and defense. In this section, we discuss the opportunity and challenges that cloud robotics bring to traditional robotic applications. Specifically we focus upon three robotic applications: Robotic Surgery, Defense and navigation. A. Robotic Surgery Consider a scenario where a situation demands instant operation of a patient but the problem is doctor is not available. Then to tackle with that situation Robots can help because they can capture the useful knowledge from the cloud regarding the operation tips as mentioned by the other robots who previously have tackled with the same situation who is currently present somewhere else. In this way the whole operation can be executed in a safe and reliable manner. B. Defense Cloud robotics has a huge application in defense where they can sense the area which has the maximum probability of finding enemy by selecting the appropriate map from cloud storage at appropriate time. Cloud storage can be fed with updated maps from time to time with the help of satellites. As such human life can be saved by using robots in place of them at the time of world war or any war happening in the country. C. Navigation Robotic Navigation involves a robot identifying its own position with respect to a certain reference by choosing an appropriate path from there to reach the desired destination from all possible paths available. Such activity involves a collection of tasks such as localization, path planning and mapping. Two types of approaches are available: mapless and map based approach [13]. Mapless approaches are based on the observation and perception of the sensors used in navigation. Due to the limited onboard resources, these approaches usually suffer from reliability issues. Map based robotic navigation is comparatively better then mapless if the map is available. It can either use an unknown map or build a map during navigation. On the other hand building maps requires too much computation and storage requirements. However, if the area is large process of creating map requires access to vast amount of data which is a challenging task. Cloud robotics highly aids cloud based navigation by fa cilitating the following two properties: In addition to provide vast storage space to store the large amount of map data, cloud also provide processing power to facilitate the construction and searching of the map quickly. Secondly, commercially available maps (e.g. Google maps, bing maps) can also be leveraged to develop consistent, active, and high range independent navigation solutions. IV. shortcomings of cloud storage in robotics One of the key issues regarding cloud robotics is threaten to cloud storage which is highly vulnerable to malicious attacks. Moreover the wireless network over which the robot communicates with cloud in order to exchange information can be challenged at any instant of time. As certain security mechanism needs to be provided that will result in the increasing overhead of the overall system. As discussed, previously that a developer has an access over the cloud. In the same manner if an intruder gets access to the cloud somehow then it might be possible the same intruder will replace the existing information in cloud with some other malicious information that will result in the malfunctioning of robots that proves to be highly destructive. Several other limitations of cloud robotics:- 1. As discussed in section II cloud supports the software part of the robot and it doesn’t have to deal with the hardware structure of the robots. So, it offload the hassle and costs of IT management. 2. Cloud robotics relies heavily on the cloud which in turn depends upon internet connection. So, if internet service will get affected from frequent outages or slow speed it fails to help the robots to continue their frequent communication in order to share knowledge from knowledge repository present on the cloud. 3. It is a hard fact to digest that robotics is lacking emotions. Such thing results in a huge impact on the people because of their adjustment with the machinery robots because there is high probability of thinking mismatch between them. Consider havoc where the people are suffering from the local environment conditions. As such if certain robotic team is send there for the rescue operation for their safety it is very hard for the humans to believe upon them. V. Possible Solutions And Future Scope Instead of fetching knowledge every time to perform an operation from cloud. A robot must be able to remember the already done tasks in order to tackle the same situation next time but at faster rate with greater efficiency. Robots can be taught to handle many different tasks through the installation of robotic apps. Very soon, these robots will enhance the real-time by connecting to the cloud and downloading apps from there [9]. An app store for robots – Downloading apps from the app store is one the biggest reality behind smartphones success. In the same way Robot Apps can be used to control the robot and imparting intelligence in them. Some Apps allow you to generate predefined-programmed movement sequences, while others are used for remote control, whereas software development platforms are used to make more sophisticated autonomous control systems. VI. ConClusion We have discussed a scenario where future robotics will rely heavily on cloud storage that will enhance their capability and functionality in terms of learning and sharing information in order to work collaboratively to achieve some goal which was limited earlier due to limited programming. Cloud storage also enabled the developers due to their accessibility to the cloud to control and coordinate the robot activities at any point where the situation demands that may not be favorable to nature. Cloud storage also supports some real time applications like Health Care, Intelligent transportation, Rescue Operation, Assembling of different parts in production of vehicles etc. Cloud Storage in some cases proves to be inadequate due to poor transfer rate and harmful due to security threats on cloud due to wireless networking access technique which could be easily challenged at any time resulting in a huge destruction. References M . Waibel , â€Å"Analysis: Robot learning in the cloud Covic â€Å"RoboBrain† Will Use Cloud to Teach Robots, Available: http://robohub.org/analysis-robot-learning-in-the-cloud/ V. Covic, â€Å"RoboBrain† Will Use Cloud to Teach Robots, Available: http://www.cloudwards.net/news/robobrain-will-use-the-cloud-to-teach-robots-4543/ RoboEarth, What is Cloud Robotics? Available: www.roboearth.org/cloud_robotics, 2013. RoboEarth, What are Software Components in Cloud Robotics? Available: http://roboearth.org/software-components/ Rapyuta: A Cloud Robotics Framework, A Cloud Robotics Platform Available: http://rapyuta.org/ Guoqiang Hu, Wee Peng Tay, and Yonggang Wen, â€Å"Cloud Robotics:Architecture, Challenges and Applications† IEEE NETWORK MAGAZINE S. Jordà ¡n*, T. Haidegger**, L. Kovà ¡cs**, I. Felde** and I. Rudas**, The Rising Prospects of Cloud Robotic Applications, IEEE 9th International Conference on Computational Cybernetics †¢ July 8-10, 2013 †¢ Tihany, Hungary Richard Voyles â€Å"Robotics as a â€Å"Singularity†: The Case for Cloud Robotics and Real-Time Big Data† Available:http://telerobot.cs.tamu.edu/CMA/slides/Voyles.CASECloudMfg.pdf, August 17, 2013 Grishin Robotics â€Å"Future of cloud Robotics† Available: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/278660295665464178/ K. Goldberg. Cloud Robotics. Available: goldberg.berkeley.edu/cloud- robotics, 2013. K. Goldberg and B. Kehoe, Cloud Robotics and Automation: A Survey of Related Work. UC Berkeley Technical Report No. UCB/EECS-2013-5. Available: http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/ 2013/EECS-2013-5.html, 2013. RobotShop, Pioneers Cloud Robotics, Interview With Mario Tremblay. Available: www.robotshop.com/blog/en/myrobots-com F. Bonin-Font, A. Ortiz, and G. Oliver, â€Å"Visual navigation for mobilerobots: A survey,† Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems, vol. 53, pp. 263–296, 2008. `

The CIAs Role Then And Now :: essays research papers fc

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) was created by President Truman as an insurance policy against that kind of surprise, which caught America off guard in World War II. According to the National Security Act of 1947 the CIA’s principal function was to be the correlation and evaluation of intelligence collected by other departments. In other words, the CIA is an All-Source Fusion Agency. The difference involving the direction of the CIA during the cold war and the function that the CIA plays now have changed somewhat, but these roles basically remain the same. During the cold war, global security rested on the shoulders of the two greatest nations: The United States and the Soviet Union. Other nations had capabilities to harm other smaller nations, but none had the world power control of the two greatest nations. The CIA’s mission in the spring of 1948 was â€Å"to collect secret intelligence on the Soviet Union itself, its military intentions, atomic weapons and advanced missiles; on Soviet actions in Eastern Europe, North Korea and North Vietnam.† (Richelson, 217). The mission set forth the guidelines for the CIA to protect the United States from the Soviet’s missiles. Now that the United States is dealing with nations of the former Soviet Union there is still a need to watch those Soviet missiles. The difference is now the CIA must track where the missiles and miscellaneous small arms are being distributed or sold. The mission of watching the missiles remains, but the role the CIA plays has slightly changed. The need for the CIA in today’s global society has increased to a higher level than that of the cold war. Today there is a threat from every corner of the world, instead of only between the major world powers. With the United States being the only world power and the Soviet Union collapsed, weapons of mass destruction have hit the open market. This new over-the-counter missile sale has multiplied America’s potential foes (Bissell, 205). Bin Laden has demonstrated that no activity oversees will be safe. With the horrific act of the attack on the USS Cole in October 2000, the Middle East has shown but one example of how the CIA’s roles of responsibility must change to watch smaller groups or organizations. The evil mix of fanaticism and flexibility that is the mark of today’s terrorist makes the next strike not a question of if, but of when and where.

Lead “Respect-Innovation-Teamwork and Dedication

1. Your using the Internet Internet has long been said to create life-changing impacts on the whole world. And I’m no exception as this worldwide network is an indispensable part of my daily life. First, it opens the global media and communication for me. Currently a student living far away from home, with the efficient help of the Internet, I can write email and have an online talk with my parent's and other family members, at any time we feel convenient. This advancement also grants me access to various mearns of entertainment, from my top-rated movies to the articles on the Times Magazine.On top of that, Internet redefines my way of collecting knowledge. Instead of looking up in huge books or turning through thousands pages of an encyclopedia, just typing the keyword in a search engine and a click is enough to get more than what you expect. As long as you are conscious of some faulty information, doing research online is a great idea. When assigned a paper or an essay on a subject, I don’t have to go through piles of books to collect data. With a computer connected to Internet, I can comfortably complete my research, which saves both my time and effort.And lastly, Internet provides me with the chance to study online inexpensively. Taking online foreign language courses, downloading precious e-books, attending lectures by famous university worldwide are some benefits of this. Overall, it seems to me that going online is advantageous in many ways. 2. A famous company You’ve probably heard of VAIO notebooks and ultrabooks, Walkman MP3 players, Cyber-shot ddigital cameras, PlayStation or Bravia TVs. Yes, I’m talking about Sony Corporation, a famous Japanese firm based right at the heart of Tokyo.Primarily focused on Electronics, Game, Entertainment and Financial Services, the company is one of the leading manufacturers of electronic products for the consumer and professional markets and has historically been notable for  creating it s own in-house standards for new recording and storage technologies, instead of adopting those of others. The name Sony is derived from the Latin word â€Å"sonus† (sound) and a slang word â€Å"sonny,† which connotes smart and presentable young men. First started with only $530 in 1946 as â€Å"Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation,† the company, known as Sony since 1958, has go through many ups and downs.They started doing business in the USA in the 1960s and played a major role in the development of Japan as a powerful exporter during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Their production quality significantly contributed to promoting the â€Å"Made in Japan† brand worldwide. What’s more, it’s Sony that encourages the development of the Compact Disc in the 1980s and the PlayStation in 1990s. Its media presence also greatly expands in this time with the purchase of CBS Records and Columbia Pictures. However, they did experience some problems .Amid the global recession in the 1980s, analysts used to say â€Å"It’s over for Sony,† while the 1990s saw its unrewarding expansion into new businesses. And for the mid-to-late 2000s, it became known for its stagnancy, with a fading brand name. Despite all of the above, Sony with the slogan â€Å"make. believe† still remains my dream future working place. 3. Your health and fitness I really like a healthy lifestyle, and that’s why I take up daily jogging. The place that I go jogging from 5pm to 6pm each day is the Thong Nhat Park, which is only 1km from my house. The main reason why I think this aactivity healthy is because it helps me relaxed.My daily life involves a lot of stress, due to the heavy workload both at school and at my part-time workplace. Usually, the first 15 minutes is spent on my day recap- whether it was a good day filled with great news or a terrible and forgettable day. But gradually all these stress and strains of my life disappea r. The mere thought in my head at this time is all about the beauty of the lakes, the green fields and gusts of wind blowing. As I count every step of mine on the road, I just forget all and feel like I am refreshed, like all the things I’m worry about are eased.By the time I come back, I feel fresh as a daisy and ready to get shined, changed to go back to work. And of course, it also keeps me fit and healthy. In general, it’s an all-round exercise, and I absolutely love it. 4. An unforgettable memory with our class Up to now, college life has been great for me. 5. A modern product you like Some people may think about computer when talking about a favorite modern product of theirs, or they even consider it of utmost importance. But I’d say television. Ever since this wonderful invention, human history has started a new page.First, TV allows us to learn about what’s going on the world and grasp new knowledge inexpensively. Simply by sitting at home in fron t of the screen, an FTU student, for example, still knows that there’s a great tsunami and earthquake in Japan or watches American President Obama’s live speech. Such useful information from around the globe enables us to get a better understanding of the world we are currently living in. Or you can take my friend for another example. Her family couldn’t afford the high tuition fees of preparation courses for the university entrance exam.So she decided to watch and learn from the TV series â€Å"Luyen thi dai hoc. † And she passed the exam with flying colors, thanks to TV. What’s more, TV provides a wide vvariety of interesting programs that many enjoy after a long working day. The visual effects shown in movies, dramas, music shows makes people feel less stressed and relaxed. Imagine how excited you will be when meeting your favorite actor in the latest episode of a Korean drama after completing your assignment, with the help of TV, of course. Plu s, TV offers numerous shows and series which cater for various groups’ taste.This explains why it remains popular regardless of other mearns of communication’s rapid development. For all of the above, television is among my top choices. 6. Vietnamese business culture The recent years have seen a constantly increasing number of foreigners doing business in Vietnam, and it’s vital that they know basic Vietnamese business etiquette. In my opinion, demonstrating proficiency in Vietnamese business culture will certainly impress our partners. The meeting etiquette in Vietnam is generally warm and accepting; so ensuring your success and prosperous collaboration is all about following some simple rules. First, be prepared.Some basic knowledge about the South East Asia region and Vietnam in particular is enough. Second, you should establish trust with your Vietnamese partner, as they consider it of prime importance. It’s the tie building from trust that binds Viet namese society. What’s more, you should learn the language. You can easily communicate with them in English, but as in any other country, local people appreciate foreigners who can speak and use Vietnamese in contexts. It’s the fastest way to get immersed in this Asian culture and customs. Conversational business Vietnamese is in no way difficult compared to some other Asian languages.

Research of Restaraunt for Business Research

Table of Contents Introduction3 Research Objectives3 Research Questions4 Answers to Research Questions5 Answer to Research Question 1. 5 Answer to Question 2. 6 Answer to Question 3. 7 Answer to Question 4. 8 Answer to Question 5. 9 Answer to Question 6. 10 Recommendations for the Remington’s Restaurant11 References14 Introduction The Remington restaurant, located in Tampa Florida, wanted to better understand their customer’s views and opinions of the restaurant by using a survey method.This method would reveal the perception of the customer to see what category the Remington restaurant is in, what performance the customer expects, and how satisfied the customers are when they leave the Remington restaurant. This is the best way for the Remington restaurant to improve their service because it paints a picture of what how the customer views their services. Even though competition is important to any business, the customers are the biggest asset to the company.By research ing the customer’s perception of the restaurant one will see how the customer chooses the restaurant desired, how important performance is to the customer, and what was the overall satisfactory. One can acquire such information by reviewing and discussing the survey, finding out what is most or least important to the customer, seeing what is expected on how the restaurant performs, and discussing the satisfaction of the customer. In order to get this information, different methods will be used such as coefficient of variation, coefficients of determination and other tatistical techniques. There are six main research questions that will be addressed that will help the Remington restaurant see how the customers view the restaurant as a whole, and show the restaurant where and how to improve their business. Research Objectives 1. Discuss the type of survey used by the Remington Restaurant and how effective it is by using a research survey design. Compare effectiveness of the res earch to the other research designs of the subordinate data, experiments or observation in the context of collecting information for this project. . Describe the demographic profile of the average Remington customer. 3. Classify and describe which influence is most important to the customers in selecting a place to eat, and what is the least important factor that influences customers in selecting a restaurant. 4. Examine the Remington Restaurant scores on each of the six perception of portions of food, knowledgeable employees, food quality, swift service, atmosphere, and prices. 5. Justify if the Remington Restaurant is providing the expectations that customers want when choosing a restaurant. 6.Decide if there is a connection between being satisfied with the Remington Restaurant and the service, food portion, smart employees, quality of food and fast service. 7. Review the surveys to see what the Zagat Review Research Questions 1. What kind of survey did the Remington Restaurant us e? What kind of result was found by the research design? Compare the effectiveness of the survey research to the other subordinate data, experimentation or observation in the perspective of gathering information for this project. 2. What is the demographic profile of the average Remington Restaurant customer? . Which is most important to the customer when selecting a restaurant and what is least important when selecting a restaurant? 4. How does the Remington Restaurant score on each of the six perception measures of food portions, smart employees, food quality, fast service, atmosphere and prices? 5. Is the Remington Restaurant producing a good influence when selecting a place to eat? 6. Is there a connection between customer’s satisfaction with the Remington Restaurant with the perception of large food portions, smart employees, food quality and quick service?Answers to Research Questions Answer to Research Question 1. The purpose of this section is to answer the first rese arch question. The first question, which is; what kind of survey did the Remington Restaurant use? What kind of result was found by the research design? Compare the effectiveness of the survey research to the other subordinate data, experimentation or observation in the perspective of gathering information for this project. The type of survey that the Remington Restaurant used was the self-administered Internet survey.This kind of survey is probably the cheapest survey for the person collecting data. It involves minimum personnel and low cost as compared with other methods. Since 73% of American households are actively using the Internet, an Internet survey would be the best idea to cover a large location fact while conserving energy, money, and time (Cooper, Schindler, 2008). Internet survey’s can also give one access to graphs, charts and percentages automatically. Also, the Internet survey will be able to give one an idea of the customer’s attitude and perception of the Remington’s Restaurant.By using secondary information one would be able to see general information such as, what the demographic is of the average family is in the area, what is the general income, and how many times the family eats at restaurant in a week. By shifting the focus off of the Remington’s Restaurant and on to the genre of restaurants the Remington’s Restaurant is associated with would dilute the information the Remington’s Restaurant wanted to know about their customer’s satisfaction with the Remington’s Restaurant. Methods such as observational and experimental research would not be ffective for the Remington’s Restaurant. The observational method would not be effective because it would only tell one the behavior of the people such as body language. The experimental method would require a laboratory setting and would not be practical. The main goal for the research is to find out how the customers perceive the perfo rmance of the restaurant and their satisfaction. Also, the Remington’s Restaurant wants to know how their customers select a restaurant. Answer to Question 2. The purpose for this section is to answer the second question.The second question is; what is the demographic profile of the average Remington Restaurant customer? The main variables are as follows: the children who live at home, viewed advertisements, gender, income, age, and familiar competitors. The questionnaire was simple and easy to understand. The applicant had to answer just one number on each question. On the table below one will see the demographic of people who visit the Remington’s Restaurant most often. In statistics the number (or in this case the persons) that occur most frequently is the mode.The information is from the results from the survey taken by customers. Table 1: Demographic Description of the Remington Restaurant’s customers ——————— —————————- VariableCentral TendencyResultStd. Deviation Age335-491 Gender0Male0 Number of Children11 to None1 Advertisements 0No0 Income235k-50k1 Competitors1Outback1 ————————————————- One can see by looking at the table above that the people who visit the Remington’s Restaurant frequently are males who are between the ages of 35 and 49, and make 35,000 to 50,000 a year.These men also have one child, have not seen advertisements for the Remington Restaurant, Outback, and Longhorn. One can also see that the major competitor is Outback Steakhouse. Answer to Question 3. The purpose for this section is to answer the third question which is; which is most important to the customer when selecting a restaurant and what is least important when selecting a restaurant? The variable for this question are as follows ; large food portions, smart employees, excellent food quality, fast service, good atmosphere, and good prices. The choices for these questions are fixed.The applicant had a choice to rate each variable from 1 to 7, which 1 was strongly disagree and 7 was strongly agree. The answer below includes the mean and standard deviation. Table 2: Remington’s Patron’s Criteria In Restaurant Selection ————————————————- ————————————————- VariableMeanStandard Deviation Large Portions5. 86 Quality of Food61. 02 Speed of Service71 Atmosphere5. 95 Reasonable Prices51. 04 From the information from the table above one can see that anything rated over 5 is important to the customer.The variable competent employees were rated under 5 and therefore not important to the majority of customers. Answer to Question 4. The purpose of this section is to answer the fourth question, which is; how does the Remington Restaurant score on each of the six perception measures of food portions, smart employees, food quality, fast service, atmosphere and prices? One will see what kind of perception the customers have of the variables listed in the question. These questions were asked in the same format as the third section. The questions had fixed answers from 1 to 7 with 1 strongly disagree and 7 strongly agree.The answers in the table include the mean and standard deviation. Table 3: Remington’s Patron’s Perceptions ————————————————- ————————————————- VariableMeanStandard Deviation Has Large Portions3. 91 Has Quality of Food6. 9 6 Has Speed of Service31. 21 Has Atmosphere61. 21 Has Reasonable Prices5. 81 Has Competent Employees41. 35 ————————————————- One can see from the table above that large portions and speed of service is below average. Food quality, atmosphere, and reasonable prices are above average.Competent employees are average. Answer to Question 5. The purpose for this section is to answer the fifth question; is the Remington Restaurant producing a good influence when selecting a place to eat? The variables in this case are similar to the previous question and include large food portions, competent employees, food quality, fast service, atmosphere, and reasonable prices. These variables were rated by the customer and given a choice to choose one number for each question. The numbers that represented the answers for the questions were at a range from 1 to 7.The number 1 represented that the customer strongly disagreed and the number 7 was that the customer strongly agreed. Table 4: Importance and Perceptions ————————————————- ————————————————- VariableWhat Customers Expect (Mean)Actual Performance (Mean) Quality of Food66 ————————————————- Fast Service63 One can see here that the Remington’s Restaurant is performing how the customer expects them to perform as a restaurant. This is almost one of the most important factors of the restaurant.The quality of food as expected, but the fast service needs improving. Answer to Question 6. The purpose of this section is to answer the final question, is there a connection between customer ’s satisfaction with the Remington Restaurant with the perception of large food portions, smart employees, food quality and quick service? From the table below one will find the correlation between the variable and the satisfaction of the customers. Table 4: Importance and Perceptions ————————————————- ————————————————-Variablerr2 Large Portions. 41. 17 ————————————————- Competent Employees. 55. 31 ————————————————- Food Quality. 33. 11 ————————————†”———- Speed of Service. -. 6. 004 ————————————————- Good Atmosphere. 40. 15 ————————————————- Good Prices. 06. 004 One can see here that there is a weak and positive relationship between the large portions and satisfaction. The large portions were 17% of the change in satisfaction.Having competent employees was a modest and positive correlation with satisfaction. If the competence of the employees increases, so does the satisfaction. There was a weak positive relationship with the food quality and satisfaction. Food quality was only 11% of satisfaction. There is also a weak and negative correlation between speed of service and satisfaction. In the end one can see that the competent employees are rated the highest in customer satisfaction. R ecommendations for the Remington’s Restaurant Regarding question one. The Remington’s Restaurant has done a good job in the survey method.The self administered, web based survey is the best way to cover a large geographical area in a short amount of time. The survey method is also a good way to retrieve data fast. One of the most important aspects about the survey method is how one can rate an attitude toward something. Regarding question two. The Remington’s Restaurant main customer was a 35-49 year old male who makes 35,001 to 49,000 dollars a year and has one child. The main customer has never seen an advertisement for the Remington’s Restaurant or any of its competitors.A good recommendation for the Remington’s Restaurant would be to advertise more. Also, the competition has not made an impact in the advertising category and would be in favor of the Remington’s Restaurant to pioneer this field. Regarding question three. The average custo mer held competent employees, atmosphere and quality of food of high importance. Being that the Remington’s Restaurant is in the food business, it should strive to keep the quality of food as a high priority. Having competent employees is an asset to the company but should not be valued over the quality of food.Regarding question four. When one looking at table 3 one can see that the Remington’s Restaurant is doing well with the quality of food, atmosphere and employees, but there are areas that need much improvement. Large portions and the speed of service are below average and must far exceed the customer’s expectations. Any business should not settle for average or below average results. Training the employees on time management and having a smooth flowing system to better serve the customers would be ideal in this situation.Also, if the portions can not expand anymore the restaurant should offer the customers free appetizers that are cheap and filling. Bread and chips would be a good start for this process. Offering the customer cheap food will allow for the portions to stay the same and not lose any money on the main courses. Regarding question five. The food must stay at the top of the priority list. The customers value food the most and should expect the food to always be outstanding. A strict procedure to test the quality of the food must be practiced on a regular schedule to ensure that all customers are receiving the same unique aste of the restaurant. Regarding question six. The employees must know what they are serving. The customer’s rated the employee’s knowledge 31% which is over a third of the satisfaction. It may be just a fraction, but it can also the opening and closing of a sale. When a customer feels like he is being taken care of, the sales will increase and the testimony of the company will prosper. Most people do not eat alone and will bring others with them References Cooper, D. & Schindler, P. (2008) . Business research methods (10th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin

Arthur Anderson LLP

Arthur Anderson LLP Business Model Many conscientious and assiduous business professionals presuppose that success is determined principally by their capacity to offer products and services, meet customer demands and requirements, and run their operations using effective and efficient techniques.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Arthur Anderson LLP specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, in today’s dynamic, networked, and ever changing business environment, the business model has become a central tool of trade since it is inseparable from the product, process and operational approaches of a business enterprise in shaping how success is realized (Chesbrough, 2006, p. 18). More often than not, the difference between success and failure is thinly veiled in the type of business model adopted by an organization. Before its uneventful entry into questionable deals and fraud charges, Arthur Anderson LLP’s business mod el revolved around the concept of ‘thinking straight and talking straight,’ as proposed by its founder, Arthur Andersen (Smith Quirk, 2004, p.93). According to the case, the organization’s business model was founded on three fundamental tenets – honest accounting, elimination of conflicts of interests, and accountability to the investing shareholders rather than the organizations they audit. This rational plan helped the public auditing firm to generate and capture value in terms of increased revenue and clients during its heydays. Strategy A good business model can be enhanced by the right mix of business strategies. A strategy goes beyond a business model to secure an organization’s competitive advantage in the market, hence success (Chesbrough, 2006, p.26).Anderson’s business model had dictated the â€Å"standards for honest and law abiding accounting,† (Smith Quirk, 2004, p. 93).Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This had enabled the firm to gain confidence and trust from the public to a point where it adopted the strategy of diversifying its products through market segmentation by coming up with a management consulting arm of the firm. The organization also utilized an expansionist strategy to keep up with industry trends and beat stiff competition from other firms offering the same products such as Delloitte and KPMG (Squires et al, 2003, p. 43). The strategy of segmenting products worked against the firm, and indeed against the founder’s strategy of a ‘one-firm’ philosophy, after the consulting arm of the organization disembarked from the parent company to form Accenture. Team building, morale raising and yearly training programs forms a cluster of other strategies practiced by Anderson’s to sharpen its focus in the market (Smith Quirk, 2004, p. 93). Strategic Dilemma An organization’s strategic plan is as important as its business model, and is fundamentally important for the organization’s success. The use of ineffective or fraudulent strategies heralds an era of difficulties and legal tussles as it can be witnessed through Anderson’s case. In business terms, the firm’s descent from conscience-oriented and honest accounting maestro to a disgraced organization accused of obstructing justice is not an issue that happened overnight (Squires et al, 2003, p. 67). Rather, it originated from a succession of management misrepresentations and compromises on genuine accounting principles over the decades to limit the stream of professional fees charged on Enron for services rendered from drying up.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Arthur Anderson LLP specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The demand for the auditing partners to boost pro fits became intense after the organization expanded from a closely aggregated partnership of professionals sharing the same values to a global behemoth (Squires et al, 2003, p. 27). The management of the audit firm responded by forcing accounting partners to turn into salesmen, inarguably upsetting the fragile balance between safeguarding the interests of the public investors and satisfying the needs of a client, in this case Enron’s fraudulent needs. Ethically, the firm’s profits over professional services strategy matured into a rather insurmountable situation, where the management was caught in between a rock and a hard place. By turning a blind eye to the happenings at Enron, the auditing firm had committed it self to an ethical dilemma between what its values, business model, and strategies stood for on the one hand and what they were actually doing in practice on the other. The firm was supposed to be guided by a policy of openness and conformity to set rules and guidelines yet it was busy concealing vital information by shredding and deleting important files (Smith Quirk, 2004, p. 103). Also, on numerous occasions, the firm had breached fundamental ethical issues concerning conflicts of interests. The Pros and Cons of the Entire Debacle The failure by Andersen to draw a line between safeguarding the interests of the shareholders and gratifying the whims of its clients marked the departure point for the firm’s legal woes. In taking this line of thinking, the management must have been guided by the desire to generate more profits and kickbacks rather than the aspiration to offer quality auditing services. Consequently, profit was advanced over reputation. In this respect, Andersen stood to gain more profits by turning a blind eye on the fraudulent and corrupt nature of financial transactions and underhand dealings committed at Enron.Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, the firm did not imagine the nature and magnitude of its shady dealings with the energy giant. Its reputation as a credible public auditing firm was at stake, and so was its survival as auditing firms thrives on their ability to gain and maintain public trust and confidence. The firm could not escape the public wrath either due to the fact that it was principally charged with the responsibility of detecting fraud by virtue of being Enron’s auditors for over 16 years (Smith Quirk, 2004, p. 101). The Consequences Andersen suffered irreversible consequences due to its underhand dealings with Enron. The public confidence and trust that the firm enjoyed over the decades was completely swept away within days after the shocking revelations judging by the way its shares price plummeted in just a matter of days. After the deception allegations were made public, the organization suffered yet again through the loss of major clients and key members of staff who felt that the cr edibility of the organization had been compromised by corrupt senior managers. Their insatiable appetite of profit over reputation heralded a major accounting scandal. Due to its unprofessional accounting practices despite being in the know, the firm was found guilty of obstructing justice by a Houston federal court, effectively sounding the death knell of one of most prominent public accounting firms the world has ever witnessed (Smith Quirk, 2004). Indeed, the account of the eventful birth and sad demise of the organization is loaded with critical lessons for managers and auditors – that the policy of openness and equal application of professional standards is the only way to go (Squires et al, 2003, p. 56). Reference List Chesbrough, H. (2006). Open Business Models: How to thrive in the new innovative  landscape. Harvard Business Press. ISBN: 1422104273 Smith, N.C., Quirk, M. (2009). From grace to disgrace: The rise and of Arthur Andersen. Journal of Business Ethics Ed ucation, Vol. 1, Issue 1, pp. 91-130 Squires, S.E., Smith, C.J., McDougall, L., Yeack, W.R. (2003). Inside Arthur Andersen:  Shifting values, unexpected consequences. FT Press. ISBN: 0131408968

I wish I were…

I wish I were†¦ I wish I were I wish I were By Maeve Maddox A reader wonders whether to use was or were in the following examples: I wish I wereorI wish I was If only it wasor If only it were What is the rule?   With these examples, the choice is obvous because the words wish and if only make it clear that the speaker is talking about something that is not so. In such a case the subjunctive is called for: I wish I were If only it were Sometimes the choice whether to use the subjunctive or the indicative is not so clear. To a large extent, English speakers dont pay much attention to the subjunctive. As long ago as 1926 H.W. Fowler called the subjunctive in English moribund. He went further and suggested that it never was possible to draw up a consistent table of uses of the subjunctive in English that would correspond to such tables for Latin. Although the subjunctive is not a big deal in English, some uses of it are still alive and not difficult to master. Depending on context, the choice between indicative and subjunctive can be as obvious as the examples with wish and if only. If I were/if he were/if she were These forms are called for when the statement refers to a state outside reality: If he were Governor he could pardon you. (Hes not the Governor.) If I were you, Id fix that leaky roof. (Im not you.) If she were an animal, shed be an armadillo. (Shes not an animal.) If I was/if he was/if she was These forms are called for when the statement refers to a state of being that existed, or could have existed in actual time: If he was ill, no wonder he left the oysters untouched. If I was unkind to you in those days, please forgive me. If she was lost in the woods, no one can blame her for being late. Sometimes the speaker must decide according to intended meaning: If she were sensible, shed order a background check on him. (I know her and shes not sensible.) If she was sensible, shed order a background check on him. (I dont know if shes sensible or not. She may be.) In his DCBLOG, David Crystal gives this example overheard in conversation: A If Jane was right for the part, Id cast her. B But thats the point. Is she right? A Well if she were, Id cast her, thats all Im saying This example shows an intermingling of indicative and subjunctive to achieve nuances of meaning. Stated rule at OWL DWT article on Mood Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:75 Synonyms for â€Å"Angry†Five Spelling Rules for "Silent Final E"A Yes-and-No Answer About Hyphenating Phrases