ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Currently, information technologies are regarded as a valuable tool for improving various processes within an organization. They can greatly benefit both private companies and public organizations. This paper is aimed at discussing the strategies adopted by such a corporation as Wal-Mart since this example can demonstrate how information technologies can contribute to the financial performance of a business and its long-term sustainability. It should be noted that Wal-Mart began to use IT in the early seventies at the time, when these tools were not widely adopted (Odih 161). This policy was supposed to improve the functioning of the supply chain in this corporation, especially the procurement of products. The most important objective was to minimize the levels of inventory and reduce the operational costs of the corporation. One can say that this approach enabled this company to gain competitive advantage of its major rivals. Finally, the initial principles underlying this strategy have not become obsolete. These are the main issues that should be considered during this discussion. The case study of Wall-Mart One should take into account that Wal-Mart had to adopt an alternative approach to their supply change management. They faced a challenge that was encountered by many growing retailers. In particular, some of the products that the customers requested could often be out of stock (Ray 73). In contrast, other goods could be oversupplied, but they were not often requested by buyers. These deficiencies resulted in extra expenses for the company and they prevented the corporation from achieving growth. Moreover, it was evident that the supply management strategies did not enable the organization to respond the changes in clients’ demand. The most important goal was to minimize the levels of inventory while avoiding stockouts (Ray 73). This task was critical for the sustainability of this corporation especially at the point when it was opening new stores in different cities and towns. These were the major rationale for introducing information technologies. There were several actions that the management of Wal-Mart took. First of all, they required the major suppliers to install information technologies that gave them access to the sales data of Wal-Mart stores (Odih 161). These information systems could tell the suppliers when it was necessary to replenish the stores of Wal-Mart (Odih 161). More importantly, Wal-Mart insisted that different suppliers should share information with one another (Ireland and Crum 21). One should note that these organizations could be closely related to one another. Therefore, it was unreasonable for them to conceal information from one another since this approach prevents many businesses from improving their performance (Odih 161). This approach was adopted in the early seventies, and it allowed Wal-Mart to build an extensive network of stores throughout the Unit
Introduction Over recent decades, a more heightened integration of the world economy has been developed. An overall surge in the trade quotient has been realized in most developed countries. This is because of the trade liberalization and a greater willingness to participate in the global economy. According to Shenkar and Luo (2004), the other reason cited is that the production has now largely been affected by trade. This is in the sense that production of goods is done in more than one sequential stage where two or more countries are involved in providing a value added advantage during the production. Hence, both import and export are involved in the process. On a similar note, surging competition in the global economy has compelled producers of some products, to look for alternatives beyond their borders to lower the costs of production. According to Grimwade (2000) perspective, the increasing integration of global markets has compelled the separation of the production process in that service or manufacturing performed abroad have become part of a joint production process, meshing with complementary activities performed in the home country. This has brought about fragmentation of production. Ways in which Fragmentation of Production takes place Hummels and Yi (2001) define fragmentation as a process whereby a previously integrated production procedure or process is sliced and spread over a global network of production sites. Production tasks are synchronized in a fragmented segment. Therefore, this creates additional costs for services such as transport of goods between production locations and quality control, among others. The process in which fragmentation of production takes place globally is varied. Perhaps, this is why the concept has been described using various terms such as outsourcing, delocalization of production and vertical specialization among other terms. However, as Shenkar and Luo (2004) argue, the concept behind fragmentation is that countries are increasingly connected to produce goods. Hence, through this process, goods are produced in more than one sequential stage. And, more than one country may provide a value added during the production process. At some point, the producing country must utilize the imported inputs during the stages of production. Reasons for Fragmentation of Production Fragmentation of production is not a new phenomenon. The practice began during the industrial revolution or even earlier. However, in recent time, the practice has become global. The reasons for its widespread use are varied. According to Arndt and Kierzkowski (2001) fragmentation has not only altered the trade flow quantitatively, but also qualitatively. This has occurred because of various reasons. The first reason is that, goods are produced in two or more sequential stages; second, two or more countries are involved during the process of production. Hence, involving more than one country during the production process strengthens value and quality of the final product. And lastly, in production, at least one country need to import the inputs in the production stage and some of th
During several decades, the countries in North Africa are characterized by the prolonged transformations in relation to maintaining the democratic principles in the political and social spheres within the territories. The orientation to democracy is typical for a lot of countries around the world, but the situation in the Maghreb region is more controversial than within the other territories. Civil wars in the countries of North Africa resulted in the necessity to change the developed political regimes. The discussion of the contemporary situation in Libya can be referred to the arguments presented in the article by John Barger in which the researcher concentrates on predicting the possibilities to build the democratic society in Libya after ceasing the rule of Qadhafi. In spite of the fact the situation of ceasing Qadhafi’s rule provides the political opposition with a lot of opportunities to change the regime in relation to the democratic basics, there are more limits for the process than advantages because of the impossibility to overcome the social and political apathy and consequences of the previous rule immediately. Democracy in Libya could not be reached during a long period of time because of the peculiarities of Qadhafi’s regime known as Jamahiriyya. However, today the situation is changed. What obstacles can prevent the political activists from using the opportunities and building a democracy in the country? According to Barger, the process of democratization can be realized with the help of different organs of civil society used to guarantee the concentration on the people’s rights (Barger 64). These organs can be established only as a result of forming definite political parties as the symbol of the democratic society. From this point, the exiled opposition to Qadhafi can be discussed as the effective force, but the realization of the idea also depends on a lot of particular limiting features. Moreover, Barger focuses on the definite apathy and passivity of the exiled opposition forces in spite of the possibility to establish certain organizations oriented to democracy. Thus, these organizations often showed a high degree of “apathy even for the minor roles allowed them by the Libyan state. After three decades of institutionalized passivity, it is questionable that interest groups will be capable of assuming politically active – or at least effective – roles” (Barger 66). That is why, it is possible to state that in the situation of receiving the opportunity to build a democracy, Libyan political activists can be rather helpless to mobilize their forces and establish the effective political system based on the democratic principles. However, the new approaches to the Libyan politics can be used by the Islamists who can establish the alternative regime. Barger accentuates that “any successful future political settlement in Libya will have to include the Islamists who … have demonstrated their ability to disrupt any political order of which they do not approve” (Barger 71). Nevertheless, the Libyan political system requires significant tran
Transformational Leadership Leadership is a process of putting up a system for people to throw in their efforts to make something happen. The kind of a leader that an organization has will determine the direction it will take in terms of development (Gronn, 2002, 423). Even though the terms charismatic and transformational leadership are normally used interchangeably, some studies have tried to differentiate them, with charismatic leadership being a subset of transformational one (Judge et al., 2002, p. 765). According to Bratton & Gold (2007, p. 13), transformational leadership has four aspects, namely, charismatic influence, personal consideration, rousing motivation, and intellectual stimulation. As an inspiration of change, transformational leaders bring out performance beyond expectancy by inculcating pride, facilitating creativity, offering inspiration, and communicating individual respect (Judge et al., 2002, p. 765). Using charismatic influence, transformational leaders help their followers see what is really important and convey a sense of mission. Through personal consideration, transformational leaders focus on the followers’ developmental needs and delegate duties in a way that encourages learning experience. Through inspirational motivation, they use symbols and emotional appeal to direct followers’ efforts, thereby guiding them to achieve beyond expectation. Lastly, through intellectual stimulation, transformational leaders encourage their followers to adopt new ways of thinking and develop problem solving skills and logical reasoning before taking any action (Bratton& Gold, 2007, p. 13). Examples of transformational leaders include IBM President and CEO, Samuel J. Palmisano, and Walt Disney Company’s CEO, Bob Iger. According to IBM President, company employees must ensure that their actions are driven by the following values: commitment to client success, innovation that is useful for the company and the world at large, trust, and individual responsibility in all forms of relationship. Samuel J. Palmisano was in the forefront to ensure that these values were adhered to (Palmisano, 2007). Bob Iger is among the global leaders who lead by example in advocating for excellence and high integrity in the workplace (The Walt Disney Company, 2007). Leadership Approaches for Today’s Employees The most prominent styles for today’s employees are transformational and transactional leaderships. Transactional leadership entails a series of bargains between the leader and the employees (Judge et al., 2002, p. 766). On the other hand, transformational style is when leaders empower e
Introduction Penned by a famous Minessota native and narrated by Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby is a captivating must-read chef-d’oeuvre. Like Fitzgerald, Nick is a native of Minnesota and an advocate of Midwestern values. The novel’s setting is on the long island dominated by prosperous wealthy and poor communities of East Egg and West Egg. The year 1922 marked the dawn of a period of epochal social alterations and economic prosperity in America. Cultural convections perceived as out of date die ushering in new ones. Women seem granted rights to participate in voting, something that causes them to see themselves as equal to men: they assimilate masculine ways and fashions into their lifestyles. Jingoism and racism rise abundantly as mechanisms to counter the benefits and opportunities acquired by non-white communities and foreigners. Around the same time, the ardent push by religion fundamentalists to the government to prohibit the consumption of alcohol sees bootleg whiskey business greatly hampered with by people. Upon considering the use of symbolism, themes, and characters in the story, it seems evident that the author incorporated substantial elements of the traditional plot for fairy tales. Such a tale has heroes and villains. The villains remain perceived successful at the onset of the tales but turn out as large losers at the end. Therefore one can see Daisy Buchanan as a Fairy Tale Princess. Basing on the several evident parameters, for instance, the character traits, the behavior of prince and princess, and gender distinctions amongst others, Fitzgerald’s masterwork stands out as a variation and sophisticated version of the fairy tale. Character Traits/Prince and Princess Behavior The Great Gatsby characters exhibit traditional fairy tale traits through vividly intertwined with variations and sophistication of purely fairy tale. Daisy Buchanan is a typical princess who never grows. She rejects Gatsby and marries Tom Buchanan (wealthy snobbish West Egg resident) later again to have an affair with Gatsby. In thought, she is shallow and lacks maturity. She says: “I’ve gone everywhere and seen everything and done everything” (Fitzgerald 141), portraying that she is wholly bored with life. In spite of her unhappiness in marriage and the privileges she goes through in life, she is not the likes who give up simply so as not to turn out as being the loser. She had better live with marriage challenges than live without money as Gatsby tells us, “her voice
Healthy food ensures the growth of children, their physical and psychological development. It should be balanced and meet all the needs of the child taking into account his age as well as individual peculiarities. Unfortunately, sometimes it is difficult to make children eat healthy food. In this regard, this paper examines how parents are struggling for the healthy food, tips they could apply, and essential nutrients that their body needs. During the first two years of life, children are developing very quickly. The child begins life as a helpless newborn baby completely depending on his parents. After that, he turns into a person trying to show his parents that he can be very independent. Toddlers could already understand a lot and begin experimenting with words frequently saying the word “no”. By the age of two, the child forms his inclination and rejection of things, especially in relation to food. Therefore, it seems appropriate to consider healthy toddlers’ healthy feeding. First of all, the majority of parents make the following mistake: they pamper their child by means of food. In other words, the child is eating only what he wants. At that time, it does not matter for parents whether it is useful or harmful. As a result, when the child acquires some digestive problems, it becomes challenging to get him switch to healthy food and limit his favorite sweets. A variety of chronic diseases of the digestive system appears in that age (Brown 277). Moreover, junk food influences the overall physical development and reduced learning ability. Therefore, parents should pay the increased attention to the quantity, quality, composition, and diet of their children. Second, parents should try to get the child to eat together with the whole family. It is not always easy to implement, in particular, if the child is active and wayward. However, if parents show the child the example of helpfulness of the healthy nutrition, they do a lot of good as it contributes to child’s awareness at the very beginning of his life. Best of all, if eating with family would be a good tradition. It is the time when everyone gathers to eat and talk, a time when everyone could speak and be heard. Family dinnertime should not leave an unpleasant residue. During the family meal, the child would see what his parents eat and how they act to adopt their demeanor. Children accustomed eating healthy food get a huge benefit. Healthy food provides them with the building blocks of the body, through which they will grow. Proper nutrition helps children to maintain harmony and good health, strengthen their immune system, reduce the risk of different diseases, and even improve their ability to learn (Marotz 516). Therefore, preparation and consumption of healthy food should be
The Indianapolis Museum of Art’s European Gallery features a dramatic portrait of a man, mysteriously meditating on something doubtless deep weighty. This is a 1637 oil painting by the Spanish artist named Jusepe de Ribera, known as Lo Spagnoletto, or the Spaniard. It typifies many aspects of late Renaissance art in its subject matter, and style. Ribera’s painting Aristotle portrays an older man in simple robes, wearing a cap, and holding a book vertically on a surface (de Ribera). He appears out of an intense darkness, with only his face picked out in great portrait detail. His bearded face is lined ascetically slender. On the surface are, in addition to the tattered book, are a single sheet of paper, a right angle, a stylus, and a stack of other books. His sturdy and originally well-made clothing appears torn. The subject matter is part of a series of portraits of philosophers that Ribera completed for the Prince of Lichtenstein (de Ribera) (Indianapolis Museum of Art). The only sources for these ancient Greek thinkers would have been a few busts of uncertain accuracy, since these men lived so many hundreds of years before the Renaissance. A great thrust of the Renaissance was the rehabilitation and revisiting of these Classical philosophers who had been ignored and suppressed by the Medieval Roman Catholic church for a millennium and more. Thus it is logical that Ribera would have been asked to portray these newly important figures, and he would have had little choice about portraying them out of his imagination. This emphasis on topics from Classical Greece and Rome was characteristic of much of the art in the Renaissance. This work was executed in oil paint on canvas… This was typical of Ribera’s series of portraits of philosophers, and not unusual for Renaissance artists, other than the fresco specialists. Although Ribera did many works of art on religious topics, he also did portraits of unnamed individuals identified only by their role or occupation. As is common to see in any group of Renaissance paintings, the dress, setting, and objects depicted are those of Ribera’s surroundings rather than any sort of reconstruction of the ancient environment. Ribera was an admirer of Caravaggio, and his fondness for chiaroscuro may arise from this preference (Indianapolis Museum of Art). What strikes the viewer first in looking at this painting is the color. The reddish browns of the subject’s clothes come forward from the exceedingly dark background, as does the tone of the subject’s skin. This technique is called chiaroscuro. However the color values of his hat, his robe, and the objects on the table are all roughly the same. The only striking contrast arises from the pale paper that Aristotle is considering. Even his face is darker than this nearly white area of color. The space depicted in the picture is uncertain, given the near darkness of the setting. However the viewer automat
The key business challenges facing AtekPC at around 2007 In 2007, AtekPC’s problems were escalating as the PC industry was reaching maturation. This increased price competition among the industry players and, as a result, it decreased the profitability of the organization. At the time also, the industry was undergoing consolidation and the unprofitability exposed AtekPC to the threat of a hostile takeover. To gain a competitive advantage, the company had to come up with strategies that would enhance cost-cutting and increase profitability in the launching of its products. The potential pros and cons of introducing a Project Management Office (PMO) to AtekPC In response to these problems, the introduction of the Project Management Office (PMO) was aimed at ensuring a timely response to the problem of decreased profitability by supporting the cost-cutting agenda of AtekPC. In addition, it would effectively manage the company’s projects to enhance innovation in the production of its new products. This would provide a competitive advantage to the company. Like every other new intervention adopted at a time when challenges are rampant, the introduction of PMO raised several concerns that divided the management. Its purpose, responsibilities, and authority were significant causes of concern. As such, the outcome of the initiative could not be measured at once, and its benefits could not be achieved at once. The key challenges facing the implementation of the PMO at AtekPC The implementation of the PMO at AtekPC was a very challenging venture. Despite that it was introduced towards the end of 2006, as of mid-2007 there was no common understanding among the management at AtekPC regarding the authority, purpose, and responsibilities of the PMO. As such, the office had to be created first and its value to be proven later. Even after it was agreed on its full mandate in the organization, more unique challenges emerged. These included the limited PMO resources and the lack of official authority that was necessary for the functioning of the PMO. Also, the two PMO models (PMO-heavy and PMO-light) presented a new point of disagreement in the management on where in the spectrum to position the AtekPC PMO strategy. What have AtekPC done wrong in the implementation of the PMO? The failure to consider archiving and portfolio management at the inception of the PMO was among the serious errors committed in the implementation of the PMO at AtekPC. The PMO manager had planned to incorporate them later, but due to the lack of the additional resources, this was not implemented in the short-term. The office had scarce resources and depriving other existing departments of these resources was the only way for the office to get them. The PMO-heavy model that was forcibly implemented by the AtekPC PMO manager exerted too much pressure on the company in terms of the resources. As a result, the PMO was unable to prove its worth to get the support it needed. The differences between PMO-heavy and PMO-light in t