ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Executive Summary This report analyses in detail the overall environment in which the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank operates with a view of identifying particular areas where the management needs to put in measures that can enhance growth and performance. The Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank operates in the banking industry of the United Arab Emirates and is currently one of the leading commercial banks. The bank targets enterprises and individuals who require retail and credit facilities. The bank is positioned as the largest single lender within the UAE. From the environmental analysis, it is apparent that this bank is well positioned and has series of opportunities for expansion. However, the bank is facing the challenge of offering affordable and sustainable electronic banking services in the conservative market of the UAE. Company Background Founded in 1985, the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) following the merger of the Khaleel Commercial bank and Emirates Commercial Bank. The government has a sixty five percent control stake with the private individuals holding the remaining part. The bank has strong interest in funds management, commercial and retail investment financing, and brokerage activities. The bank has 48 branches within the UAE and three branches abroad. The external branches are located in the United Kingdom and India. Currently, the bank has an asset base of 148 billion dollars. The headquarters of the bank is at Abu Dhabi (ADCB, 2013). The ADCB specializes in financing investment projects following the Islamic Sharia. Among the finance models it adopts include the Ijara. Ijara is a contractual agreement in which ADCB purchases an asset from the owner for a defined amount as demanded by the client. Later, this property is rented to the same client on a periodic lease agreement. On the other hand, Murabaha is another finance model practiced by the bank. In this model, the bank enters into a contract with a client following a mutual agreement based on the promise made by the client to honour the pledge. In addition, the Istisna’ finance model operates on an agreement with
Introduction Web usability studies aim to represent how individuals can use websites and determine their effectiveness. In this case, eye tracking is often used as an appropriate research tool to support the usability testing in studies (Lew 2009). The focus on eye tracking is significant to understand the nature of users’ reactions in such forms and dimensions as behaviour, attitude, and attention, as it is noted by Lew (2009):  1. Behaviour. The researcher’s emphasis is on users’ eye movements and actions.  2. Attitude. The investigator’s emphasis is on users’ words or opinions regarding the website.  3. Attention. The researcher’s emphasis is on actual aspects of the site that are interesting for a user because he or she focuses on them. According to Lew (2009), eye tracking is the most effective tool to study all three mentioned aspects, with the particular focus upon the user’s attention important for investigating by researchers. However, Nielsen and Pernice (2009) state that eye tracking for determining and measuring usability of websites is often an expensive procedure, and researchers try to conduct studies using cheaper means. Nevertheless, only eye tracking can be most appropriate to analyse all usability problems and errors identified during tests because of focusing on users’ actual attention (Lew 2009). Eye Tracking Measures Researchers concentrate on two main types of eye tracking measures such as (1) measurements of attraction, and (2) measurements of performance. For the purpo
Introduction The technological advances and achievements have brought people from different parts of the world and diverse cultural backgrounds very close. People having different cultural identities are communicating are working together (Lauring, 2011 ). It is good to be close to one another and know about different cultures, however having cultural diversity at workplaces may also create havoc. There are certain things that are permissible in one culture and some are considered as cultural taboos. Organizational management requires execution of various tasks such as establishing procedures and developing strategies. Besides this, the organizations need to motivate their workforce to accomplish selected tasks. A sound understanding of the cultural diversities is necessary for carrying out these tasks (Kawar, 2012). Cross cultural management is a stream of management that emphasizes on the processes and policies involving the management of workers coming from diverse cultural backgrounds. It also facilitates the implementation of management tasks by regulating the impact of cultural differences (Søderberg & Holden 2002, p.103). The contributions of two pioneers, Adler (International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour 1991) and Hofstede (Culture’s Consequences 1980) is very significant in the field of cross cultural management. In this essay we will focus on the role of culture in international business situations and also the strategies and frameworks that are appropriate in cross-cultural management. Literature Review The concept of culture According to Hofstede Geert, culture is “the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from another” (cited in Kawar 2012, p.105).He studied cultural diversity mainly between the nationalities (Kawar 2012). Similarly Gudykunst and Kim (1992) identified culture as a ‘“systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people” (Jameson, 2007, p.203). By large groups they meant different countries. While interacting with people in an intercultural business situation, it is important to reconceptualise one’s cultural identity in order to understand others’ frame of mind Edward Hall (1959) describes culture as an influential force in casting one’s identity. He defines culture as “a mould in which we all are cast and it controls our lives in many unsuspected ways” (Jameson, 2007, p.199). Cross-cultural relationships are very complex and unique in nature. Hence, there has to be individual consideration for each situation (Gullestrup, 2002). Cross-cultural differences and international business International managers face the challenge of working on different premises at one time including their own culture, culture of the working place or culture of their organization. Every culture has a distinct notion for terms like “authority, accountability, verification, good fellowship, creativity bureaucracy (Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 1998, p.3). It is noteworthy that our cultural prejudices and habituated behaviours may be different. Cultural valu
Introduction In this article, Nir Avieli from the National University of Singapore discusses how traditional and ethnic food are tied to ethnic identity. The author provides deep insight on Chinese and Vietnamese festivals and the ethnic context of dishes served at the feasts. He also points out the greater influence of Chinese culture and the causes of it. Main body Nir describes a certain community festival Le Hoi that takes place in Vietnamese port Hoi An. Five different Chinese communities that reside at that port gather to reunite, worship their ancestors, tell myths about their place of origin and creation as a social group. A notable part of such a festival is a major feast. It is not an ordinary feast because the amount of resources, efforts, and time put in it is rather big. Anthropologists and various researchers usually dismiss festive food and do not take it seriously. However, Nir tries to analyze the ethnic context of dishes and tries to discover the meanings defined by those who make ethnic food. (Avieli 282) It took a lot of work for Nir to observe the influence of ethnic food on identity: he learned a certain Vietnamese dialect, spent time with locals and collected ethnographic data by taking notes and photos. Certain scientists during the last decade grew an interest in food-identity connection. They pointed out, however, that such connection is rather complex. Notably, ethnic and regional food often appear to be imagined. Nir explains that with the example of Indian curry. Despite it being a marker of Indian identity, the truth is that curry powder is nowhere to be found in Indian stores. Instead, Indians use different mixtures of spices called masalas. Therefore, Narayan, who made this analysis of Indian curry, notes that identifying a certain dish with a certain ethnicity could be misleading sometimes. Culinary customs of immigrants have an even stronger connection between food, place and identity. During the post-World War II era, several social scientists discovered that the persisting ethnic foodways of immigrants are an indication of an extremely conservative cultural form. Although the preparations for making ethnic food could be simplified by certain generations, the core idea is that eating habits and ethnic ways of cooking will be maintained as long as possible. The author also shares with readers his impressions of visiting the Phuoc Kien community festival. He describes the local temple where the festival takes place, its decorations, and, of course, all the food that was being prepared for hundreds of people crowded into the temple. One interesting moment, however, was when the chef handled Nir a menu. He asked the chef whether any of the dishes were from Fukien, and the chef replied that only one dish was from Fukien, the rest were Chinese. Logically, in an event celebrating Fukienese origins, one would expect the dishes from Phuoc Kien to be served. After so many years of residence between ethnic Vietnamese, it is natural to expect the influence of Vietnamese foodways. Still, it turns out that the cultural horizons at that festiva
Introduction The act in which a person legally challenges unlawful incarceration is called Habeas Corpus. In the American context, Habeas Corpus is about correcting the violations of human liberty by conducting a judicial inquiry into the legal grounds on which an individual has been detained by a state or federal authority. The American political and social culture revolve around the protection of civil liberties and rights that are manifested in the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution and The Bill of Rights. Origin The Habeas Corpus Act was first used in England as common law. It was to be found in the Magna Carta though in an ambiguous form. Only the king had the authority to convene a jury. However, King Henry never granted this to the private courts. The petitioner had the privileges of withdrawing a case from the common courts to be tried in the royal courts. Further changes occurred on the Act during the reign of King Edward 1(Halliday, 2010). In America, the writ can be traced to the passing of the Judiciary Act of 1879 by the Congress. However, in the American context, Article 1 of the American Constitution withdraws this writ from an individual if the person has been proved to have conspired either in person or by affiliation to engage in a rebellion or invade public safety(Wert &Lawrence, 2011). Wert and Lawrence argue that much as Habeas Corpus is the cornerstone of the American legal system and the principal check on the federal arbitrary power, it has been compromised by the political structures and today it stands out as more of a political tool than a measure of an individual’s legal protection. A possible secession by Maryland from Washington DC had to be averted so as not to expose the nation’s capital to enemies. Subsequent events further led to the House of Representatives’ decision that supported Lincoln for his suspension of the Habeas Corpus. This decision was reversed in 1866. This was due to the absence of any threat to the Confederation. The Supreme Court restored the Habeas Corpus throughout the nation and declared the military courts illegal in areas where civilian courts could operate .In Ex Parte Quirin , a case during World War 2 which involved German saboteurs who disembarked on submarines in New York and Florida, the military commissions in charge of the trials sentenced the saboteurs to death. The Supreme Court used the “enemy combatant’s” bill to justify this. Upon the application of Habeas Corpus by one of the defendants, the court denied him application in the reason that his status of ‘’unlawful combatant’’ did not allow him full citizenship rights on which he had applied for Habeas Corpus. This threw the situation into more controversy as to whom the Habeas Corpus did not apply as Milligan was an American citizen (Wert & Lawrence, 2011 ). In the history of contemporary politics, President Bush suspended the Habeas Corpus using the Military Commission Act of 2006 (Gerald et al, 1997). In the light of the war against terrorism, the question tests the morality of the institutionalization of this act by the regime of Bush. These writs are America’s cornerstones of the rule of
Dante’s “Inferno” is one of the most famous descriptions of the hell created by Christianity. In “Inferno” Dante reveals all human sins and tries to warn people about eternal suffering in their afterlife. It is important to stress that Dante heavily relies on Christianity and regards certain activities as sinful in accordance with Christian dogmas. Dante mainly stresses that indulgence to physical desires often becomes a path to the depicted “Inferno”. However, it is also important to state that the same activities are not regarded similarly in different cultures. More so, Dante’s sinners could enjoy the glory of rightful people in other cultures. Thus, when reading Dante’s “Inferno” one should remember that his hell is “designed” for those who live in western culture, but those who pertain to eastern culture can misinterpret or fail to share the same fears. One of the deadly sins, according to Dante, is gluttony and in the Third Circle of “Inferno” “Gluttons are punished” (Clinton et al. 1230). It is necessary to add that not only those who eat too much come to this unattractive place. “Inferno” is the final stop for those who praise food and drinks too much, those who forget that food is only the way to remain strong to fulfill one’s predestination. Such people or rather “shades” are “mired in filthy muck and are eternally battered by cold and dirty hail, rain and snow” (Clinton et al. 1230). Thus, those who paid too much attention to their physical desires and were too concerned with having pleasure should suffer also physically in “Inferno”. Their shadowy bodies are exposed to non-comfort and physical pain and this is the punishment for eating and drinking nicely with no or little attention to more important spiritual feeding, i.e. following major rules and virtues of Christianity. Admittedly, the majority of cultures share the same principles when it deals with virtues. For instance, early Chinese poetry which is also referred to as Classic of Poetry promulgated the same virtues as Christianity did. Thus, in the poem “She Bore the Folk” Chinese promulgate eternal virtues, such as being hard-working and following the necessary rituals. The woman who “knew the rite and sacrifice” bore a son who became the first of the great folk (Clinton et al. 691). The poem tells a story of a king who is not concern with indulgence of his physical desires, but who works in the name of good. Another example of sharing Dante’s ideas as for virtues is Bhagavad-Gita’s sermon. Just as Dante Bhagavad-Gita states that it is essential to abandon all desires since only such people devoid of filthy longings can attain peace and wisdom (Clinton et al. 770). Admittedly, in Dante’s Third Circle of “Inferno” no person could be regarded as devoid from longings. On the contrary, “inhabitants” of the Third Circle were concerned with obtaining physical pleasures rather than clear their minds and hearts of their unworthy desires. Assuming that gluttons are also heavy drinkers
Abstract Cisco Systems is a corporation that provides networking hardware and telecommunications equipment. The company plans to develop and expand by entering “the Internet of Everything”. In order to do that successfully, the company will need to choose what domains it needs to invest and how it has to be done. The company’s strategic objective is to advance and support “the Internet of Everything”. Introduction Cisco Systems is a corporation that sells networking hardware and telecommunications equipment. The primary areas the company focuses on include cybersecurity, switching, routing, wireless LAN, and others (Piskorski, Malter, & Smith, 2014). The company’s social strategy is based on certifications that are issued to those employees who are qualified enough to pass a specific set of tests. In order to increase the number of certified employees, the company launched the Cisco Learning Network, where employees can communicate and prepare together for a certification test. Since the company plans to transform its services and re-skill the employees to successfully enter the “Internet of Everything” era, the general manager for [email protected] Systems, Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, considered two options how the learning system could be transformed: either employee would be required to post information concerning the new certifications and other important materials for the study or the corporation “would still develop the certifications, but it would refrain from significant investments in content” (Piskorski et al., 2014, p. 1). The main issue is that the company has to choose only one approach, which will be more effective. To understand which of the approaches is more suitable, the strategic management will be considered as a basis for the solution. The Issue The issue discovered in the case study is the following: which of the two approaches would be more suitable for the company and how it could be implemented using the approaches of strategic management? The problem is that the company has a specific framework of how certifications are issued and how students prepare for those, but to enter the “Internet of Everything” era, the company will need skilled workers who can efficiently work with and control the complex networks required for IoE. Furthermore, the company has to choose one of the approaches quickly so that its competitors are not able to begin preparations before Cisco makes any decision. The issue is important because the new skilled workforce will directly influence Cisco’s profitability from the IoE, align with Cisco’s direction to become a supporter of the IoE, increase its competitive advantage in the market (especially compared to those corporations that have not yet begun the preparations), enhance the relationships between employees (if implemented correctly), and improve customers’ satisfaction with their skills and knowledge. Analyzing the Data One of the main capabilities important for a company in strategic management is the ability to remain competitive by combining, prote
Introduction The construction industry is one of the largest and most stable industries in the world, with the overall value of the industry ranging between 2.27 and 7.5 billion USD, or around 13.6% of total global output. The construction industry experiences continued growth even in times such as the economic crisis of 2009, and is expected to increase 1% by 2020 (Kerur and Marshall 2). As such, construction is a highly lucrative and profitable venture. The abundance of professional construction companies has been key to the highly developed infrastructures of Western Europe and the United States. However, as it stands, the demand for large-scale construction projects has diminished in first-world countries due to various budgetary constraints and a lack of government support. At the same time, developing countries offer significant opportunities for construction ventures, since they are interested in developing their own infrastructure to support tourism, sports events, and other activities. Some examples include FIFA- and Formula One-related projects, which both require significant investments by the host countries. Every host is required to provide airports, hotels, roads, stadiums, and entertainment facilities in order for the events to be successful. Despite its size and success, the construction industry has always faced risks. Even in domestic projects, a contractor must deal with issues ranging from project delivery demands to jurisdictional risks. Performing construction outside of one’s country of origin adds to these by including greater transportation, political, cultural, and socio-economic difficulties as well. Risk management is therefore critical to the success or failure of any given construction venture. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the risks existing in international construction, provide mitigation strategies, and offer information regarding construction risk mitigation in the scope of UAE regulations. Risks Faced by International Construction Companies Across the Globe Construction is a complex and dangerous process that involves the efforts of hundreds of people. In order for a construction company to succeed, rigorous planning and execution are required. Due to the inherent danger posed by construction, it is one of the most highly regulated industries in the world. Some of the risks in construction projects include prolonged contract periods, complications with the process, environmental factors, funding issues, and organizational dynamics (Kerur and Marshall 4). Of course, there are many other risks, which will be further elaborated on in the scope of this paper. However, all risks can be split into two large subgroups based on their nature: jurisdictional risks and construction delivery risks (Kerur and Marshall 5). Modern construction risk management generally concerns itself with construction delivery risks, as these issues constitute the majority of situations that can threaten the project. Mechanical failures, supply non-deliveries, lack of coordination, project design flaws, weather, and force majeure situations a