ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction The last decade has experienced enormous innovations that have led to a swift revolution of the mobile and wearable devices industry. As a result, the mobile device market has significantly expanded. The development of telecommunication technology has compelled many firms such as Lenovo to manufacture high-tech mobile and wearable devices such as Bluetooth headsets, blood pressure monitors, and smart watches among others. The mobile industry consists of manufacturers and distributors of smart phones, mobile accessories, and tablets among other electronics. Nonetheless, the industry has been faced with a variety of issues that affect its operations. This report provides an analysis of the key trends and industry issues that affect the mobile and wearable devices industry. Key Trends and Industry Issues Consumer Services The trend of consumer services has significantly shaped the mobile and wearable devices industry. According to Taylor, the key players in the industry have significantly increased consumer services over the past decade (par. 4). Dramatic development of mobile device technologies has also affected the roles of operators and vendors. In the wake of the expanding mobile and wearable devices industry, some companies such as the Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. have failed to meet the needs of consumers. As a result, Google has sold a unit of the US based mobile company to Lenovo, a Chinese computer company, for approximately 3 billion dollars (Kelion par.1). This acquisition is one of Lenovo’s strategic plans to become a global icon in the consumer market through delivery of smartphones and Think-Pads. According to Kelion, this purchase will make Lenovo the third largest smart device manufacturer in the international arena (par. 6). Scott advances that operators in the mobile industry need to re-evaluate the effects of producer environment on consumer services (par. 2). In addition, manufacturers such as Lenovo have to capitalize on espousal of smartphones to maximize profitability. Moreover, the consumer market has experienced dramatic price structures. The current pricing structures have been confined to certain customer segments. Therefore, operators in the mobile industry should re-examine the existing pricing models to determine their validity in a vibrant technology environment. The consumer market requires pricing strategies that cover wide-ranging customer segments. For instance, Lenovo’s acquisition will lead to establishment of new markets in areas such as North America, Latin America, and Western Europe (Kelion par. 8). As a result, Lenovo’s pricing strategies should favour diversification of mobile devices to offer consumers a vast range of choices (Scott par. 3). Lastly, the emergence of new devices has enormously affected consumer services. Consequently, there is a need for Lenovo to assess both the purchasing power and usage patterns to improve the experiences of consumers. Digitisation of the Employee Mobile and wearable devices manufacturers such as Lenovo should target digitisation of employees to increase motivation and maxim
Personality Tests According to Krilowicz and Lowery (1996), “the determining force behind the effectiveness of an organization is the quality of its human resources” (p. 55). The personality tests are the techniques that enable organizations to make a reasonable decision regarding the employee selection and, therefore, they are beneficial to a significant extent. According to research findings, personality affects the job performance and work productivity significantly (Krilowicz & Lowery, 1996, p. 55). The interest towards the pre-employment personality testing is continuously growing. By uncovering the personal traits of a potential employee, the organizations attempt to increase the overall organizational performance and achieve the long-term positive financial results. Any job implies the individual’s ability to fulfill particular tasks and duties both physically and mentally. In this way, the individual differences make some people more appropriate for working in the position of the security guard than others. Along with the job interviews, the organizations commonly implement various instruments for assessment of personal skills and knowledge of the future employees. Personality testing provides evidence supporting or disapproving individual’s self-presentation and makes managerial decision-making more valid. It may be regarded as the main strength of the personality testing in the employee selection process. According to Bouton and Moore (2011), “the most ominous business concern of using the wrong assessment is the risk of discrimination litigation” (p. 144). First of all, the testing and personality assessment instruments must meet the legal regulations, and they must ensure that the choice is made in correspondence with the principles of equality and ethics. The limitations of personality testing are also related to the fact that testing allows analyzing the personal traits on the surface level and doesn’t necessarily help to predict the patterns of the individual’s behavior development in the future (Goffin et al., 2011, p. 646). The development of the personality testing criteria is essential to the receiving of reliable and valid testing results. The employee selection criteria are usually based on organizational values, missions, and visions, and the traditional job requirements (Bouton & Moore, 2011, p. 145). A potential employee is expected to be able to execute the job-related tasks and fulfill the necessary responsibilities. In their research, Bouton and Moore (2011) recommend using “a suite o
In this article, Leigh Thompson discusses the ways of improving creativity of organizational workgroups. In particular, the author examines various barriers preventing teams from developing original ideas such as conformism or lack of motivation. Furthermore, the writer offers recommendations that can help managers create an environment that fosters creativity. This article should be considered by business administrators who must encourage divergent thinking in their organizations. Overall, the recommendations provided by Leigh Thompson are relevant to various organizations. One of the arguments that Leigh Thompson makes is that creative ideas should be considered wild or unrealistic. Such an assumption is not quite justified, because creative environment can help people find innovative and useful solutions. However, teams and individuals can cope with this task, only in those cases, when they are engaged in divergent, rather than thinking. In other words, they should be able to look at the same problem or question from different viewpoints. They should consider paradoxes and conflicting ideas. The main problem is that in many cases, individuals, who work in groups, are more likely to think in a conformist way. Moreover, they can be afraid of expressing their own views. In the article, Leigh Thompson identifies various barriers preventing people from acting creatively within a team. In particular, the author mentions such a phenomenon as social loafing or people’s unwillingness to work in a group in those cases, their individual contribution cannot be identified or measured. Additionally, the writer points out that people tend to conform to the ideas of other team member even when they do not agree with them. Leigh Thompson also speaks about such a phenomenon as downward norm setting. Very often, employees do not try to demonstrate their skills or abilities when they see that there are other people who underperform during brainstorming sessions. These are the most important issues that should be addressed by executives or managers. This article gives several important recommendations or lessons that business administrators should consider. They need to diversify their work groups; in other words, these teams should be represented by people who have different educational or professionals backgrounds. These people can better evaluate the strengths or weaknesses of plans, recommendations, or solutions. These professionals can bring knowledge from various areas of study, and
The Constitution The article of confederation had problems that limited the functioning of the new government. The major weakness was the amount of power it gave the individual states leaving the federal government to be weak. A weak central government meant that the states could not effectively operate as a union. The article gave states the power to make their own currency and come up with their own foreign policies. The federal government could not be allowed to put regulatory measures on commerce. It was also not allowed to collect taxes, but it could seek aid from a state. The article also restricted congress in many ways. It did not allow Congress to raise taxes or to create a court system that can be used to ensure trade among the states. Evidence of government weakness resulting from the limitations of the article was seen during Shay’s rebellion. Farmers from New England wanted to be paid for their role in the war, but the government had no means to pay them. They, therefore, revolted against the federal government attacking the federal armory in Massachusetts. The rebellion was, therefore, an indication of the government’s inability to raise money. Figure 1: Article of Confederation, the document that formed the republic. The need for a strong central government became inevitable. Several issues were debated at the constitutional convention. The issue discussed led to the adoption of a new constitution. The main argument was obviously the need to strengthen the central government. In addition, the Virginia delegate proposed the creation of a national government that exercises authority over all the states in the confederation. According to the proposal, the national government was to have two strong arms, including the executive and the judiciary. Legislative representation into the congress was based on the size of individual states. The idea of a strong federal government was not liked by everyone, especially delegates from small states. They felt that they would not benefit from the deal because of their size. According to the proposal made by the Virginia delegate, the size of a state determined the number of votes it would have in congress. They refused to vote for the proposed constitution, and this created a deadlock. It took the compromise of both sides for the constitution to pass. The Early Republic The main challenge faced by the first few presidents was that of keeping the nation united. During the early years after independence, many countries, including England, had planned against the US. George Washington knew that the country would o
The greatest expense that a restaurant can experience is the increased number of empty chairs, which can drain the business to closure. Meaning that the top priority as manager assigned to a restaurant that is facing financial issues, should consider maintaining the existing customers and work on attracting others. The incessant assignment for this restaurant just like any other, even the most successful ones is to increase the sales (Guthrie, 2009). Among many other dining establishments vying for customers, effective marketing measures based on the launching your restaurant identity by enhancing customer loyalty goes a long way in maintaining existing customers. While the profit revenue margin in a catering industry is comparatively important, administering a profitable restaurant dose not only involve offering good food, but it’s the marketing strategy that is used to consistently attract and also keep the customers (Miner, 2007). Determining a comprehensive marketing and advertising plan is the most essential key point in emergent and maintaining a continuous profitable restaurant business. The advertisements will need to segregate apart from the other restaurant and pique a personal interest to pull through (Miner, 2007). The marketing efforts should be recognized both internally and externally through promotions and incentives. Having a presence in the community activities will help promote the name of your business thus having a large number of people being informed about your industry. Networking through meetings with other businesses and trade groups will also back up the marketing process due to the exposure you give the business. The more visibility and publicity you give
Introduction Marxism refers to a socioeconomic inquiry that uses a materialist approach to interpret history, economics, and capitalism. This interpretation is based on the use of a dialectical perspective. This paper provides answers to the question: Why Marxism is Scientific. It is divided into various sections that examine the scientific basis of Marxism. The first section provides answers to aspects of Marxism that make it scientific. Within this section it is evident that scientific knowledge develops from a foundation of claims, which are guarded by theories. The development of scientific knowledge and methods is progressive as opposed to having a degenerative approach and is consistent with the theories. Just like the theories depicted in Marxism, some of the claims and theories in science have come to pass. The second section illustrates that the history of the development of Marxism is scientific and it conforms to the progressive development common to the development of scientific knowledge. The last section illustrates various aspects of Marxism related to science. Why is Marxism Scientific The postulation that Marxism is scientific is based on the claim by modern day economists who strongly defend the scientific status of Marxism. However, the failure of modern day economics to find solutions to the current economic crisis tends to disregard its scientific basis. The failure of the current discipline of economists to find solutions to the ongoing economic crisis despite the availability of powerful computer technologies and numerous theories of classical economics is a likely indication that Marxism is relatively stronger and possibly more scientific. Marxism has the ability to predict solutions to future problems (Gasper 1998). The scientific nature of Marxism is best explained with regard to the concepts of the Darwinian evolution. According to Marxism, the evolution of the human society is very similar to the evolution of biological life characterized by changes over time. These changes occur in adaptive patterns induced by random events. This implies that Marxism exhibits a scientific model of transformation, which makes it scientific. Marxism is scientific because Marxists, such as Karl Marx strongly believed that the concepts of the evolutionary theory as depicted by Darwin could be used to provide answers to questions related to the nature of the human society. In his writing, Marx believed that the human society exhibits an evolutionary process, which should go on until the emergence of s
David Frost, a TV presenter and a renowned comedian made attempts to get into the books of history in 1977. To accomplish his mission, he dissuaded his producer john Burt to support him financially to start a new project. The project involved conducting numerous interviews with Richard Nixon. The interviews commenced after the preliminary diplomacies but Frost being inexperienced, he does not measure up to the standards to interview Nixon. This essay explores why Morgan describes the film as a battle rather than a trial. Between 1972 and 1974, a famous scandal dubbed the Watergate scandal which was regarded as a conspiracy of the president rocked America leading to the resignation of President Nixon. After the resignation of Nixon, the new president, Gerald Ford gave Nixon pardon to the displeasure of the American people. Three years following this event, Nixon agreed to be involved in a series of interviews with Frost who was a comedian and television presenter. The reason why Morgan terms this interview as a battle rather than a trial is because Frost was anticipating outwitting Nixon in the interviews to remain an honorable person. However, this is not what happened since Nixon proved to be witty and difficult than Frost had expected. The film starts by frantic efforts by Nixon and his colleagues to conduct the interviews with Nixon. This stage presents the first hurdle as Nixon demands a fee of $600000 causing Frost to solicit funds from his friends (Guardian 3). The film is really a battle as exhibited by Frost and his team as they do an intensive research in preparation of the upcoming interviews. The interviews are similar to a boxing competition that requires high intellectual capacity between Frost and Nixon. The film is characterized by emotional moments as the interviews progress. Frost and his team seem to be dissatisfied and unhappy with the apparent success that Nixon is achieving during the interviews. Frost and his team had hopes of exposing the corrupt dealings of Nixon during his reign in power but he seems to avoid all the attacks from Frost. In three sessions of two hours each, Frost was not making any success in a bid to achieve his goal while Nixon had managed to ward off all the attacks from Frost (Guardian 3). The greatest battle that is evident in this film is the value attached to reputation. Right from the onset of the film, the reputation of Nixon is tainted by the infamous Watergate scandal. Nixon is put to task to explain how America would keep its reputation if he ascended to presidency and behaved badly then no legal action was taken against him. Nixon at some point backs this idea by saying that he was also concerned about the reputation of America among other countries. However, when asked about his reactions during the Vietnam War, he outwits Frost and his colleagues by telling them that the war was intended at testing the credibility of America. He says that the world was watching carefully to see if America had the character of fighting to the end. Nixon is not happy with the fact that the American people had discarded all his other good deeds and used this scandal to
Introduction Being the world’s leading superpower, it is quite likely that the United States will use every tactic to establish its presence in many places across the world. It is thus no wonder that they are involved in various peace and humanitarian initiatives globally. This notwithstanding, the interest of the United States in the Middle East is questionable. Although the world has been made to believe that the involvement of the US in Middle East was purely for security reasons, there is a very high possibility that it was for the United States’ economic interests. This paper presents various arguments pointing to the fact that the United States’ presence in the Middle East was for their own economic benefits. Why the US was in the Middle East for their Economic Interests As has already been mentioned, there is a price to being a superpower. One strategy used by most leading nations is to ensure that they can stay ahead of the rest. Owing to the fact that a close association between America’s competitors and those in the Middle East could be a threat to its operations, it is quite obvious that the United States would want to be in control of most activities in the Middle East as well as in other states that export gas and oil. This led to United States entering the Middle East region as a friend with good intentions. The United States is also known for its prowess in manufacturing weapons. To ensure a steady market and great profits for weapon manufacturers, it is clear that the United States had to be heavily involved in the militarizing the Middle East region (Day, 2000). Apparently, most weapons imported into the Middle East region come from the United States. As a result, the US weapon industry continues to grow and weapon manufacturers keep on enjoying hefty profits from their involvement in the oil and gas business. In the process, the economy of the United States also grew and jobs were created for the American citizens (Sullivan, 2009). This explains why the United States has on several occasions been opposed to the determination by the Middle East states in coming up with their own weapons of mass destruction. Most of the world’s oil reserves are found in the Middle East (Habibi & Woertz, 2009). Given that the oil reserves in other regions may soon be depleted, the intention of the United States has been to maintain a steady supply of gas and oil by establishing a strong presence in the Middle East (Snider, 2011). Consequently, the security of the Middle East region remains a matter of national importance to the US and other interested nations (Ewane, 2010). Major attempts have thus been made by the United States to create and keep close alliances with oil monarchies of the Middle East. Apparently, the US also benefits from providing transport services for gas and oil products within the region (Fund, 2006). A number of oil firms in the United States have also benefited through involvement in partnerships with major oil companies in the Middle East (Dobson & Marsh, 2007). However, wh
IKEA was established in 1943 by its founder, Ingvar Kampard when he was just 17 years old. During its early days, the company mainly supplied fish, Christmas magazines and a variety of farm seeds. In 1948, Kampard started to sell household furniture (Back 2). During this era, elegant furniture was expensive. Therefore, young individuals usually inherited old furniture from their relatives since it was expensive to buy new ones given their minimal salaries. As a result, Kampard focused on selling high quality furniture that meets the needs, desires, and expectations of his target market at an affordable price. This strategy proved to be effective in the business operations as IKEA increased its market share in Sweden. Due to the viability of the business, the firm expanded its operations in Western Europe, America, and Asia (Back 2). At the present moment, IKEA is the leading furniture retailer in the world. It has over 300 outlets in 35 countries in the world. However, to achieve all this success, the company’s operations have been based on basic plans and strategies that have ensured that its operations are sustainable and profitable in the short run and in the long run. IKEA’s operations are based on its basic principle that aims at producing high quality furniture at the lowest price possible (Back 3). With this strategy, IKEA has been able to st