Individual report based on an observation of an establishment Essay

Individual report based on an observation of an establishment - Essay Example Observation of the Hawthorn effect In order to examine the Hawthorne effect specific tests are performed. These tests mainly included examining the efficiency level of the employees. The employees and staff were informed beforehand that their actions will be kept under observation for the purpose of conducting successful experiments (Abratt, Beffon and For, 2011). Two different sets of experiments are performed one without the acknowledgement of the participants and one with the acknowledgement of the participants. The experiment indicated that the there is marked difference between e two experiments. So it can be concluded that Hawthorn effect was present in the observations. Details of the Hyatt Regency Different kinds of accommodations are available at Hyatt. Some of the types of rooms are standard rooms, triple or family rooms and suite. The hotel is present in 7 different international countries. Altogether there are about more than 500 plus bedrooms in Hyatt. Some of the well k nown brands are Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency and many more. The hotel offers a diverse range of facilities starting from plush services like room services, online hotel and resort booking services, bag drops and pulls, dining and cuisine, baby sitting services, bell services, business centre services, concierge services, and currency exchange services (Aiken and West, 2001). The other kinds of services are engineering services, exhibit halls, food and beverage services, gift certificates. The different types of clubs, lounges and restaurants are Regency Club, Peppercorn Duck Club, Skies Restaurant, the Terrace restaurant, Coffee Express, Market segment of Hyatt Regency Table 1: Market segment of Hyatt Amerisuites Corporate business and family weekend leisure traveller, 30 to 59 years of age, 50% male/50% female, Household income $85,000+ Park Hyatt High income, Professionals, high level executives, celebrities Grand Hyatt Upper to high level income, Professionals, s enior and mid-level executives, upscale meetings, Hyatt Regency Middle to upper income, Professional, managerial, convention groups, Hyatt resorts Middle to upper income depending on branding, Professionals, mid to senior level executives, meetings and incentive groups Spa Hyatt Culturally sensitive acknowledging deep local customs and traditions Hyatt vacation club Middle to upper income, University educated with post-graduate degree courses Source: (Anderson and Mittal, 2002) Details of the information gathering process The resorts and hotels of Hyatt are connected to a central server of each hotel. The central servers are connected to each other in a network of interlinked and interconnected system. All the hotels and resorts of Hyatt use as single source software which helps to create an inter link between the various departments as well as between hotels and resorts (Berman and Evans, 2007). The implementation of the central reservation system at Hyatt has led to a record incre ase in the number of rooms sold (almost 31%). Whereas the industry average indicates that the number of rooms sold increased by only 20% to 25% (Craig and Douglas, 2005). The central reservation system is used for collecting information like the operational efficiency and revenue generation. The diagram given below gives an indication of the grading system of restaurant. Fig 2: Auditing process of restaurants Source: (Anderson and Sullivan, 2002) B Details of the administrative and accommodation departments The different typ

Drugs in the world today Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Drugs in the world today - Essay Example Economic constraints on countries and regions, following unfavorable world economic situations, are among the escalators of cocaine sales in certain parts of the world. The emergence of the growth of the illegal opium in Asia contributed, considerably, to the global spread of cocaine that has occurred over a century. There were trade restrictions on the Chinese empire, by Britain in the 1850s, as part of strategies to end the production and spread of opium. Instead of achieving its goals, the restriction triggered a massive production of illicit opium in the Chinese Empire. The British had placed economic barriers on the Chinese Empire, a move that saw the empire resort to the production of the unwanted opium and subsequently the formation of the Golden Triangle. In the 1910s, there was an increase in the production of illegal opium in China. Restrictions, on trade and other economic acidities, placed on countries producing opium is among the triggers of its production of illegal opi um. Afghanistan produced an estimated ninety tones of opium in 1971, for instance. With intensive restrictions coming from other trade partners of the country because of the production of opium, Afghanistan resorted to dependence on the drug economy. This triggered production to an estimated five hundred tones of opium in 1978 (Chouvy, 2010). Unstable global economic conditions have close relationship with political instability. The drug economy has played a great role in financing the operations of warlords during notable wars of international and local interests. The economic reasons for the rejuvenated growth of the illicit opium were to fund the operations of the warlords on China, which experienced political instability in the 1910s. ... The demand for funds by warlords in the Cold War also triggered an increase in the production of the illegal opium to for financial support of operations of the war. Central America and the Northern Andes are among the most notable areas where the illicit substance trafficking is a serious business and remains an intimidation to the strategies to end illegal drugs (Marcy, 2010). In the Latin America, for instance, narcotics play a great economic role that renders it a challenge to wage war on drugs. The world economy has serious influence in the high spread of narcotic drugs sales in countries as Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. The 1979 change in the cost of oil, globally, triggered the three countries to depend on the sales of narcotics, for instance. The sales of coca and cocaine remained one of the activities that would support the countries because of the reduced income from other sources as export of agricultural products. Because of the significant reduction of the cost of exports of these countries, there was an escalation in their foreign debt amount. To compensate, the countries resorted to sale of narcotics. This elaborates the role of the world economy in triggering the spread of cocaine and posing a challenge to the various anti-drug policies. Question two Cocaine and heroin are the top most addictive drug substances. However, the two drugs display certain extent of pharmacological differences as well as distinctions in their social effects. They have different tastes with cocaine containing a rather unique flavor when consumed while heroin has high level of bitterness upon consumption. The effects of cocaine have no antidotes for suppressions, as

Womens Advertisements Negative Effects

Womens Advertisements Negative Effects Advertisements in fashion have a significantly negative affect on womens self-esteem and body image. Women, especially young women take a second look at themselves and may feel insecure about their appearance when flipping through a magazine filled with advertisements. When we look at advertisements today, we see models that are perfectly thin. There are two companies whose ads stand out especially for the thinness of the models. Versace advertisements stand out because the models are so skinny that it becomes more than just a product. Victorias Secret models in their advertisements are also too perfect that it sets a standard for being sexy and beautiful. In one particular Versace ad, there is a model wearing a white dress that is standing in a way that makes her appear ultra thin. She is standing in front of a sea blue background that makes her white dress pop even more. She is also holding a Versace bag and wearing a ring. She looks distressed but as a high fashion model, this is the standard for Versace. She looks extremely tall, wearing very high heels, and her body appears almost deformed. This is a trend in Versace ads because thats what the company considers beauty. This may be just an advertisement, but it also does so much more. It sends a message to young girls that looking like a model is the ideal way to e considered beautiful. When it comes to advertising, women are portrayed in a way that makes the public feel less perfect. Media set a standard for beauty that is beyond natural or even attainable to most young women. Being surrounded by all these advertisements makes young women emotionally and physically confused about their bodies. Young girls are usually told it matters who you are on the inside, not the outside. This notion has less value as time goes on because media says otherwise. There is no way of escaping what media considers beautiful. Advertisements are found everywhere you turn, magazines, newspapers, bus-stops, billboards and especially on television. Advertisements for make-up and other beauty products contain the most artificial concept of beauty. In Victorias Secret advertisements, the models are not as odd as Versaces, but they are extremely thin. They have what most would consider perfect bodies. Since they are known for advertising lingerie, there are standards for how a model should look. Many young women compare themselves to these models even though they dont get the special beauty treatments that models usually get. Even though pictures are perfected on the computer, women still try to picture themselves as models. It is especially hard because of the amount of ads distributed in all directions. Even though these advertisements may be entertaining for men to look at, women take so much more from advertising. Women get the idea that if they look like a model, men will find them more attractive. The main message of these ads is if you want to be beautiful, buy this product. But the hidden messages are within the ad itself; companies see these models as just objects of advertising. The public sees these models as a reflection of the self that they dream to become. The idea is when you buy lingerie from Victorias Secret, you feel as sexy as the models appear. Even though this may motivate women to buy the products, it may still make them feel insecure. According to a study done by researcher Gayle Bessenoff, Ph.D., women became less confident about their bodies after viewing ads containing skinny models. Half of the women got ads of skinny female models advertising clothing. The other half of women got ads for everything else besides clothing that contained no female models. After viewing the ads, the women completed surveys rating various emotions. As a result, the women who viewed the ads of skinny models performed worse on all the surveys. Bessenoff said that women who already have low opinions of their physical appearance are at an even greater risk for negative effects from media images. The article goes on to say that these images of women arent as original as they appear according to a website called girlpower.gov. Images showed especially in magazines are touched up and the models are airbrushed to flawlessness which results in a perfect depiction of the female body. An article done by Body Image and Advertising on the healthy place website states that skinny women in advertising can lead to unhealthy behavior in women and young girls. According to the article, The average woman sees 400 to 600 advertisements per day, and by the time she is 17 years old, she has received over 250,000 commercial messages through the media. This is a lot of ads aiming at one person. According to the article, 69 percent of girls in a study say that magazine models influence their idea of the perfect body shape. It is very unrealistic to think that every woman has the same body type and that every woman can look like the models if they work hard enough. The article also goes on to say that girls who already have body image problems and low self esteem are even more significantly effected by constantly be surrounded by advertisements in fashion and beauty. It states that males are also affected by the images in advertising and also go through body issues to meet up to the standards of what is depicted in advertising. Advertising is very powerful and even though many women know that it is unrealistic, others get caught up in the idea of perfection. Even though advertising has negative effects on women, some say that it also has some good sides to it. According to an article by Mike Howard, women prefer to buy products advertised by thin models. Howard talks about a research done by business professor Jeremy Kees. Kees research team came up with a conclusion that women who viewed ads done by skinny women felt bad about their bodies. Even though these women felt bad about their physical appearances, they considered the brands more highly. The second set of women viewed ads done by regular sized women, even though they didnt feel bad about themselves, they considered these products having a lower value. After the study was completed, women were offered cookies as a thank you for their participation. Surprisingly, the women who viewed skinny models were four times less likely to accept the cookies. The main point of this article depicts that women regard products pitched by thin women more highly and are more likely to purchase the m. Another benefit of thin models in advertising was proven by a research done by the University of Bath in the U.K. The researchers found that two-thirds of the women they interviewed preferred skinny models portrayed in print advertisements over larger sized women. The researchers interviewed 470 female undergraduates. They found that 67 percent of women favored thinner models while only 29 percent favored models of a larger size. The women who favored thin models were also slightly thin themselves and believed that weight can be controlled by dieting or exercise. They tended to think the thinner models were more elegant, interesting, likeable and pleasant according to the study. The study resulted in regular women favoring thin models because they can relate to them in some way and think that weight can be controlled. The larger women tended to think that the thinness is a result of the skinny models genetics and their weight cannot be controlled. The size of models also didnt matter to the larger women. The responses to some of these articles mostly support the idea that women should be aware of what is presented to them. They should have more knowledge about what s depicted in media. Although it is proven by some studies that women prefer to see skinny women advertising a product, it doesnt make them feel better about their bodies. The women may regard the product highly because of a thin woman, but this only benefits the product be advertised. It benefits the companies more than it does the women who are being exposed to such artificial beauty. Advertising promotes the idea that you have to look a certain way to be beautiful. It may not be obvious at first glance, but it sparks something in women that targets their self-esteem, this drives them to purchase these products. Insecurity about womens bodies lead to depression, eating disorders and other emotional problems. Young women face these problems as a result of this idea of beauty portrayed by media. It may be surprising to see that women admire the perfect bodies being shown in the media, but the main point is that it hurts them in the end. Insecurity leads to consumption, thats what drives companies to advertise. It may be seen that companies benefit from the insecurities of women by manipulating their minds to think that they need to look like that so they should purchase that product. It is sad to see that beauty is being defined by media. Women should know that perfection in created on a computer. By accepting this, they can feel better about their bodies and be beautiful through their eyes and not those of the media.

Is Abortion the Best Option? Essay -- essays research papers

LIFE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many people talk about many issues. Some are more heated than others are. Abortion is an issue that divides are nation like no other. Religions, sexes, and even political parties take opposite sides on the issue. The question is, which opinion is morally permissible? What is abortion you might ask? In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, abortion was defined as induced termination of pregnancy and expulsion of embryo or fetus: cessation of normal growth, prior to full development or maturation. In simple terms, the killing of an embryo and extracting it. Where did all this rage and brewing arguments come from? Well, in 1973 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jane Roe in a 7-2 decision. This decision allowed abortions to be legal in all 50 states that were performed within the first trimester of pregnancy. Prior to this decision, an abortion was only performed to save a mother’s life. Since this controversial decision was made, the issue of abortion rings throughout American society everyday (Goldman, Jerry). As soon after the decision in 1973, the American people quickly jumped to one side or another. These two sides were pro-life and pro-choice. A pro-choice person believes that this developing embryo is merely a mass of tissue just as developing skin cells or liver cells. This person believes that it is the woman’s choice whether to have the baby or not. The baby is being carried within her body and being provided nutrients by her, and stopping the development of this fetus for any reason is not wrong. This group strongly agrees with the 1973 Supreme Court decision and pushes for more abortion rights. A pro-lifer believes that the unborn child is a human being and has the right to live. Aborting this unborn child is considered an act of murder to this group. John Noonan is a professor of law at the University of Berkeley. Noonan is a Roman Catholic philosopher who argues abortion is morally wrong. He defends the conservative view (pro-life) by stating, â€Å"an entity becomes a person at conception and that abortion, except to save the mother’s life, is morally wrong.† He believes that fetuses are innocent human beings, and since it is wrong to kill innocent human beings, which fetuses are innocent humans, it is wrong to kill fetuses. (Abortion) Noonan asks the question: How do you determine the humanity of a being? He goes o... ...hich 390 are ovulated. Once spermatozoon and ovum meet, studies show that only about 20 percent have a chance at spontaneous abortion. In simple terms, the chance of a fetus developing is 1 out of 5 times. This seems to be outstanding odds. (Biology Book)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next issue to be discussed is experience. Pro-choice would argue that one who has experienced, lived and suffered, one who possess memories, is more human than one who has not. This distinction is not serviceable. An embryo after eight weeks is experiencing, as it is responsive to touch and sensation. Furthermore, if a human has lost his memory due to say aphasia, then is he not human? Based on this issue he would not be. Nor would the man who has never loved or learned, for these are certainly human experiences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finally, I must sum everything up with some biblical reasoning, being a strong believer in God. The word of God states, â€Å"do not injure your fellow man without reason.† In these terms, once the humanity of a fetus is perceived.(Abortion Facts) Abortion simply violates the equality of human life. So I end with a question, are abortions wrong? You decide.

Pros and Cons Erp

Akhilesh Nair Deepesh Chatterjee Mithun Vishnu Nikhil Kumar OPEN SOURCE ERP PROS and CONS Contents Introduction3 Commercial and Open Source ERP Software6 Open Source ERP Solution Pros8 Open Source ERP Solution Cons10 Open Source ERP Success Story11 Company Overview11 Issue At Hand11 The Solution11 Results12 The Bottom Line12 Top Open Source ERP Applications to Look Out for13 ?Goodness of Open Source ERP Packages13 ?Open Source ERP Packages13 ?Java-Based Open Source Finance Apps13 ?Latest Developments13 ?GnuCash: The Ultimate Free Open Source Accounting Software14Introduction Open source ERP is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software system whose  source code  is made publicly available. The  open source  model allows companies to access the ERP system's code and customize it using their own IT department instead of paying extra for vendor customization services and licensing, as is typically the case with closed source programs. Open source ERP can be particularly attr active to small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) that want to upgrade or customize their ERP systems without paying large licensing and support fees.Open source brings an alternative which addresses many of the key problems of both custom and commercial enterprise software. It begins by offering the user a freely available code base as a starting point. The user can try it for free to see if it meets his needs. There is no risk of upfront licensing fees for software that may not work. If no modifications are required, open source software can be implemented with the same rapid time-to-market as commercial packages.If customizations are required, the user has a head start with an existing code base. Furthermore, he can leverage the expertise of both in-house and open source community developers. An open source project brings with it the domain knowledge and business requirements of many contributing organizations, significantly reducing the specification risk typical of custom software . Open source communities also offer user-developers collaborative help in developing and debugging of his software. The net result is better software in less time.Longer term, open source offers the user the control of custom software and the external resources previously available only with commercial software. With the source code in hand, the user can decide on future support and upgrades. There is no one to â€Å"discontinue† the software for him. At the same time, because the software shares the common roots with open source, he can obtain support and upgrades from the open source community or purchase professional-quality support from a range of vendors in the community.Thus, the risks of becoming â€Å"stranded† due to the loss of vendor support or key employees are significantly reduced with open source. Selection of ERP system Ease/Speed  of  Implementation There exist a sentiment that implementation takes too long. It is hard to state whether proprietary or open source ERP systems are faster and easier to implement. On one hand, open source solutions are, in general, believed to be less user-friendly. On the other hand, ERP vendors (or their partners) implement proprietary ERPs, so there is no clear need for them to make ERP systems easy to install.However, it can be stated that if the ERP system is easier to implement then it would be possible for the ERP vendor to sell more licenses, since it can be assumed that there is a lack of  implementing consultants. Moreover, ease and speed of implementation does not depend only on the graphical user interface and number of settings one needs to select from but  mainly on the amount of required customizations. Further development does not depend only programmer’s speed of writing code but also on requirements collection, their analysis and correct understanding PriceUnless the company has the capabilities to implement an open source ERP system and program all the necessary cust omizations, open source ERP is not really for free. Consultants for open source ERP systems may charge significantly more than e. g. consultants for MS EPR systems, since there are rather only a few of them. On the other hand, an open source ERP system can be a perfect solution for a starting company, which has no established business processes – the company can adapt to the system, i. e. it does not require customization, so consultants need to be hired only to install the system.Another advantage is that an open source ERP system can be adjusted directly to the intended business processes in case at least one of the employees has a good  computer science background Vendor  Support Though this criterion seems to be more important for proprietary ERP systems, since it is customers of proprietary ERP systems, who are locked in with the vendors but on the other hand, they have security that the support exists. In the open source world, this criterion can be interpreted as h aving a large enough community, which could support the organization implementing a particular open source ERP system.Reliability Vendors providing proprietary ERP systems try to achieve as high reliability as possible but community using an open source ERP system might be able to find errors faster, since it is larger in numbers and each of them tries to make sense of code. While in proprietary ERP system vendor organization, it is always the same people looking into the code, so it is much harder for them to spot a mistake, especially in the code, which was written by them. Ease  of  Use It is unclear whether proprietary or open source ERP systems are easier to use.On one hand, ERP system vendors try to achieve competitive advantage providing ERP systems that are easier to use. On the other hand, open source solutions are, in general, believed to be less user-friendly [51, 52]. But the community of users (with programming skills) is likely to improve the system to the level th at is more-or-less acceptable for most of the users. Customization Proprietary ERP systems are often programmed in vendor-specific languages. Companies can be sure that vendors (or their partners) will customize and set up their ERP systems.But it also means that they are locked to the vendor (or its partners). Since open source ERP systems are programmed in widely known programming languages, there is a greater pool of potential programmers, who can do it. Openness of code is not a domain of OSS ERPs anymore. E. g. MS Dynamics AX allows users to change a significant percentage of the code. Integration Customers are often searching for means of integration of their systems/data. Many proprietary ERP systems inherently allow for usage of data warehouses.It is possible that there fewer proprietary than open source ERP systems, which allow for communication to other systems through API. On the other hand, this communication can be solved even by less standard means (through customizati on). Organizational  Fit Existing ERP systems try to focus on business processes, however it can be suggested that they do not explicitly describe the business processes that are supported. Besides that, ERP systems are not easily adjustable to changes in business processes. Unfortunately, it seems that this is a problem of both open source and proprietary ERP systems.Flexibility Flexibility is required because of rapidly changing environment, which is likely to lead to new business models, which need to be supported without disturbing the end-users and on-going business. This requires an ERP system to have a robust architecture, which would allow for these requirements. Many existing proprietary ERP systems arose from MRP systems through small iterations. So systems, which were created more recently and do not carry this burden, are more likely to be more flexible, which could be the case ith open source ERP systems. Training First, it can be said that the amount of training requ ired depends on the ERP systems  Ã¢â‚¬â€œhow self-explanatory it is and how many functions it offers. Secondly, users of  proprietary ERP systems are more-or-less dependent on the vendor or partner’s related to the specific ERP system. On  the other hand, users of open source ERP  systems may have a hard time to find a consultancy company offering training for a particular system. Latest  TechnologiesThere is no reason why proprietary ERP systems should be better in using latest technology but it is mostly vendors of proprietary ERP systems, who claim that their competitive advance (over other (regardless whether open source or proprietary) ERP systems) is usage of latest technology. Proprietary vendors may promote them more but similar solutions may exist  in the open source world. OpenERP is a full suite of business software, including the following modules: Accounting: Record your operations in a few clicks and manage all your financial activities in one place. Application Builder:   The OpenERP application builder lets you customize every module of OpenERP directly from the web interface without any development required. CRM: Track leads and opportunities customized your sales cycle, controls statistics and forecasts and marketing campaign automation to improve your sales performance. Human Resources:   The module is for personnel information management, leave, time tracking, attendance‚ expenses, payroll, periodic evaluations and recruitment. Invoicing:  Create and supervise your entire supplier and customer invoices.Manufacturing:  Plan and control your supply chain through different applications in the Manufacturing module. Marketing:  Marketing campaigns can help you automate email and email sending, qualify leads and encourage customers to contact the right department. Point of Sale:  The OpenERP touch screen point of sale allows you to manage your shop sales. It's fully web-based so you don't need to install or dep loy any software. Project Management: Keep track and manage your projects using tasks for short term project execution or plan phases for long term planning.Purchase:  Create and track your purchase orders, manage your suppliers' info, control your products reception process and check suppliers' invoices. Warehouse Management:  An inventory management system to easily manage complex needs: tracking stocks of suppliers/customers, full traceability, accounting links, and more. OpenERP supports multi-warehouse management based on hierarchical location structure. Because OpenERP is open source and backed by a large community, you can take advantage of more than 700 OpenERP modules on the  OpenERP Apps website.These applications extend functionality of the ERP software and provide more business apps for things like manufacturing, localization, project management and more. The other benefit to users is that you do not need to use all the business apps. You can choose only the module s that you need for your business from the suite (e. g. just CRM or CRM and invoicing). This keeps your OpenERP tidy and less overwhelming if you do not need all the business apps. You can add additional modules (at no cost) as you need them. ArchitectureCompiere and ERP5 are two of the top notch open source ERP systems that are widely accepted and implemented. The architecture of an Open Source ERP can be explained using the structured architectural design of compere and a comparison with ERP5. ERP5 offers powerful ERP solution for small businesses. ERP5 was originally developed as apparel industry solution for an organization with more than 300 employees on 5 internationally distributed sites. The special requirements of the apparel industry are mass customization of products and hence the need for handling unstructured and multimedia data.Mass customization means that many variants of a product are possible. The original modules are now generalized as business templates. It has t he exact features that include customer relationship management (CRM), production management (MRP), supply chain management (SCM), product design management (PDM), accounting, human resources and e-commerce. For the small businesses, ERP5 has an Express edition which integrates ERP, CRM and KM funtionality. ERP5 uses the open source Python based ZOPE (Z Object Publishing Environment) application server and content management framework as its foundation.The web based Zope Management Interface is used as IDE for developing ERP5 modules. The application server also supports multiple languages, provides a security model, object persistence, and remote object access trough HTTP, XML-RPC and SOAP. ERP5 uses, extends or provides 5 important Zope components: Page Templates implement the web user interface and presentation logic. Workflows are used for the development of various types of decision workflows ERP5Form49 is used for web form development.XMLObjects add synchronization capabilitie s and autonomous activity (timed, pre- and postcondition triggers) to ERP5- Zope objects. The synchronization of distributed sites is carried out through XML export and import and also supports unreliable communication channels, which are allowed to fail. The duplication of reporting data to a relational database allows simple SQL querying. Compiere is uniquely designed to avoid the duplication of information and the need for synchronization. The design of Compiere allows customization of the application done easily.Modules in compiere include CRM, Quote to Cash, Requisition-to-Pay, Partner Relations Management, Warehouse, Supply Chain Management, Performance Analysis, Double-entry Book-keeping, Work-flow-Management and Web Store. Compiere's architecture uses a fat Java Client (Java Webstart). The accounting engine is on the application server (JBOSS J2EE container). Thin Web clients are used for web store and some CRM functionality. There is also a beta thin client serving all form s, but it needs further work to be equivalent to the fat client.The used application server supports clustering. No cluster installation is documented. Emails can be sent and files can be attached to documents. Compiere has a built-in reporting engine. A Sourceforge side project provides Jasper Report77 integration. CSV export and import of data is provided by the commercially available migration tool. Other interfaces can be developed in Java using the briefly (Javadoc) documented APIs (application programming interfaces). The database abstraction layer is SQL-centric which was initially developed for Oracle.Commercial and Open Source ERP Software Pricing: – Most open source software is freely distributed with no up-front licensing fees. Further savings come from ease of deployment, training and integration. Companies that implement open source ERP solutions often report a 50% savings over proprietary systems. With free systematic  open source ERP training methodology like SOSE! Site you can own your software for no cost. Commercial ERP is an expensive package and suitable only for bigger corporations.The prices do vary significantly but according to the size of the company and volume of business. In any cases they have been found to be extremely costly irrespective of the quantum in which they are purchased. These packages are not subject to flexibility and molding. Their usage modalities are rarely liberal and cause troubles when they are modified. Hence the deployments also turn out to be costly and inconvenient due to the procedures involved, in the future. Another major allegation against the package is that they consist of lot of  hidden costs.Flexibility: – When you compare commercial and open source ERP, commercial systems are not flexible in nature. They let business with no other choice but to change their way of business. However when it comes to open source ERP everything was decided by the code . Therefore companies can do the n ecessary modifications in code and without much support from the vendor. Another advantage of open source is that it does not interfere with the regular schedule of the company during the implementation stage. This is a major difference between commercial and open source ERP applications.You should use business software for your needs, you should not change the way of your business to fit into software needs. Duration:- When you study commercial and open source ERP,The time allotted for implementing open source ERP is very less when compared with commercial ERP. The innumerable number of complexions in commercial ERP calls for longer time span. It consumes a lot of time not only during implementation but in every stage of ERP process due to the nature of work involved. With use of SITE  ERP implementation methodology  you can reduce time required for open source ERP to the minimum.Dependence: – When it comes to the question of relying on the vendor the open source ERP own ers enjoys a considerable edge than the commercial ERP. Since open source are license free users having full freedom for taking care of needs by themselves. The productivity is also high in open source ERP systems and the failure rates are very low. Results: – Success rate of open source ERP are considerably more compare to proprietary ERP software’s. Read  open source ERP success stories  for more details. Training: – Lots of training is required for using commercial ERP.It calls for lots of investments in terms of time and money. If they don't give the necessary impetus the results will be poor. Similarly validity of training sessions designed and handled exclusively by the ERP vendor is also debatable. On the other hand Open Source ERP does not require much training. The results are also bound to be effective because the user gets to learn through the process of self training. The company need not spend much on training and makes a minimal utilization of the resources. This is another way of reducing the level of dependence on the ERP vendor.You can get free  online ERP training  with SOSE!. Security: – On comparing commercial and open source ERP applications, Commercial ERP systems are less secure. They are by and large prone to the traps and pitfalls of hackers. Even though open source ERP makes everything transparent and available in the public domain it bring into the notice of user whenever something goes wrong. Visibility: – Few end users change the underlying code of an open source application. But when the need arises, open source provides access to the code to make changes to suit each distributor’s unique business needs.Open source customers enjoy a refreshing level of transparency from their vendors around activities such as bug reporting and fixing and road map planning. Longevity: – Virtually any ERP solution will work well when initially deployed, but time is the true test of every ERP s olution and vendor. Unforeseen opportunities will likely drive changes to a business’ objectives and necessitate changes to its ERP solution. Independently, a vendor’s commitment to supporting a solution could change over time. An open source solution with a flexible foundation addresses today’s needs and safeguards the solution’s future.Because the user has the source code, a solution can never be bought or merged out of existence, meaning the investment lasts as long as needed. Independent services for  ERP implementation support  is also available for free with open source ERP. | Conclusion: – Functionality is the top consideration when reviewing ERP solutions, but it should be closely linked with evaluating open source and proprietary options. The demonstrable benefits of open source products reach deep into a company’s infrastructure. You can evaluate and  select business ERP software  which give functionality you need.The diffe rences between  commercial and open source ERP  show the Edge enjoyed by open source ERP players. And independent free ERP trainer likes SOSE! Will help open source ERP to reach people. Open Source ERP Solution Pros * Negligible Investment and Maintenance Costs – Open source ERP solutions hold a big pro in the fact that there are no huge un-front licensing fees, pre-sales cost associated with them, thus, the initial cost of an Open Source ERP solution is usually far less than a comparable proprietary program. There’s minimal dependency on the ERP vendor in most cases.In a study done by Meta Group, where it surveyed 63 companies – including small, medium and large enterprises in a range of industries – it was found that the average cost of implementation of ERP was $15 million, with the highest as $300 million and lowest as $400,000. Commercial ERP also has pre-sales cost associated with them. * Widely customizable – Open Source ERP solutions ar e highly customizable allowing for companies to mold them to meet specific business process requirements. It is possible because it comes with two versions of code; the compiled version and the un-compiled version.There are a few reasons to do customizations, which are; functionality needed for core competencies, your front or back office systems require the customizations, you want more or less fields, or you have regulatory requirements that require the customization. So, if you need customizations, then by all means you must have them with a clear eye on the who's who of the support of customizations and financials needed. But, commercial ERP does not provide an easy and inexpensive customization of the ERP software to fit the business model changes whatsoever. Flexibility – Open source ERP gives lots of freedom like free redistribution, freedom to access and modify the source code and freedom for the end user to use it for any purpose they wish to. GPL licensing of Open S ource Software enables developer community to rapidly contribute to the software development and enhance features. * Total Cost of Ownership – TCO of Open Source ERP solution may be less given the option of virtually free operating systems (Linux)and databases (MySQL) and potentially lower maintenance fees. Independent Integrations – Open Source ERP solutions typically have a wide range of integration formats so that they are employable well with other software components. * Ease of Training – Open source ERP packages come with complete licenses, comprehensive documentation and user manuals, helping the users to learn and understand their usage. No special trainings or consultants may be hired. * Ease with implementation – The implementation can also be carried out separately without disturbing the regular operation of the business.Also, with open source ERP, the customers can do any sort of experimentations even while in production without losing the bas e or 100% availability. * Shorter implementation timings -The open source ERP packages require considerably shorter implementation time, which is another big positive aspect whereas in case of commercial ERPs , even six months are considered to be short period for implementation * Reduced or no Dependency on ERP Vendor – As the open source ERP packages have proper documentation and user manuals, there is no or reduced dependency on ERP vendor to come and fix the issue.A good programmer can handle the issue in considerably less time. * High Accuracy and Quality – The productivity and accuracy is high in the case of open source ERP systems. Also, the failure rates are often discovered to be on the lower side in comparison to commercial ERP packages. All open software has strong user community which is also very responsive and very knowledgeable. * Open source testing – The open source users in the process of development are able to thoroughly test and 99% of the b ugs are reported and highly secure.Except a very few, most of the commercial ERP systems are tested to a decent extent, but still are many security flaws, traps, pitfalls and loop holes, which can be easily harnessed by the hackers. * Handling security – With the ever evolving nature of technology, security has become a problem of the past. And, there are many open source security applications on the market today which can be easily used with open-source ERP, which include; Nessus, Snort, Nagios, SpamAssassin, ClamAV, Open SSL, OpenSSH, Nmap, Ossec HIDS, and Wireshark.Open Source ERP Solution Cons * Risk of over-customization – Delivering customized codes could prove troublesome for some organizations just in case you get into over-done customization and you can’t get out of it. Too many customizations can be a definite issue. * Difficulty in finding implementation and support resources – Open Source ERP solutions also calls for the best and finest progra mmers of open source  ERP solutions on the code. This may be difficult and may cause higher support costs at times. Compatibility Issues with Proprietary Packages – Some of the open source ERP packages are incompatible with the proprietary products of certain corporations like Microsoft, Oracle, or IBM etc (sometime due to variation in platform used for implementation). * Lack of Dedicated Support from a Specific Vendor – Despite all of the benefits of open source ERP packages, the fear of the failure of open source ERP package during crucial stages of a project is considerable driving forces for commercial ERPs where vendors provide dedicate support in lieu of big bucks on licensing costs. Unstructured approach to issue resolution – There are no proper defined product roadmaps and time line as most of the enhancements and bug fixes are done by freelancers and independent consulting companies and developers based on their requirements. * Devoid of feature- ric hness – Proprietary software are feature-lade and have more features that are not found in the case of open source ERP packages mostly and may be cited helpful by commercial ERP vendors as a tool of ease and productivity. Open Source ERP Success StoryOpen source ERP has had its own share of successful implementations. There is no better argument for the use of an ERP solution than a testimonial by and organization which has used the system and reaped benefits from what the software has to offer. Let us take a look at a successful implementation that happened at a Danish pharmaceutical firm named Pharma Nord. The implementation was done by a firm by the name Compiere Company Overview Denmark-based Pharma Nord is one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of preventive dietary supplements and herbal remedies.The 500-person company, founded in 1981, develops, manufactures and markets scientifically well-founded dietary supplements, herbal remedies and medical drugs with optima l bio-availability. Pharma Nord’s products are available in 50 countries throughout Europe, Asia and North America. Issue At Hand Due to market success with its initial line of dietary supplements, Pharma Nord was continually expanding its product line and markets served. Growth in the regulated pharmaceutical industry, however, requires precise inventory management to address business and regulatory complexity.Pharma Nord’s ERP solution requirements extended well beyond the standard set of distribution and accounting functionality that performs at a global scale. They viewed the selection of an ERP solution as having a 15-20 year life. For a solution to succeed for more than 15 years, product licensing, ease of customization and confidence in the vendor were as important as out-of-the-box functionality The Solution Pharma Nord uses Compiere to manage its sales orders, invoicing, cash collections, purchasing and accounting for its sales subsidiaries and also to manage receipts and shipments in its warehouses.Pharma Nord liked what they saw in the earliest versions of Compiere in 2001. Using knowledge gained at a Compiere training class, Jacob Pedersen, Compiere Project Manager, completed an initial Compiere deployment in early 2002 focused on a single subsidiary. â€Å"We did it on the basis that we would probably find things that need to change along the way. And we have. It’s been with us, it’s been upgraded and we’ve changed quite a few things. We’ve been able to migrate to new versions of Compiere all the way from 2002 and now we’re here at 2008. I find that quite impressive. Before selecting an ERP solution, Pharma Nord assessed a number of offerings, notably Compiere and Navision. Midway through the evaluation, Navision was acquired by Microsoft. A few months later, the Linux version of Navision was discontinued. These events were eyeopening for Pharma Nord’s information technology and executive te ams. The result was an even stronger requirement for the kind of open source licensing offered by Compiere to ensure Pharma Nord’s long-term ERP success. Services from the Compiere Partner Network and Compiere helped Pharma Nord succeed.For example, the 2001 version of Compiere lacked support for tracking lot/batch numbers and expiry dates—essential functionality for the pharmaceutical industry. Pharma Nord’s sponsorship accelerated the development of this general use functionality. â€Å"We wrote the specification of exactly what the software should be able to do and it was developed by the Compiere team. † – Pedersen Results Seven years after initial deployment, Pharma Nord is still going strong with Compiere. Their database has grown over the years as they’ve added business partners, products and transactions.Having transaction history available for analysis and reporting is a nice benefit from using a single product continuously over tim e. â€Å"What’s great about Compiere is that everything is stored at the most detailed level,† explained Pedersen. â€Å"So whenever you need to do reporting, you have a number of dimensions to work with. You can combine each product, different sizes, and different countries. All of those will be dimensions. Since you can report and group on these dimensions, you can get the answer you’re looking for by grouping and merging these data afterwards. With its sales and distribution operations productive with Compiere, Pedersen is looking toward the future: â€Å"Pharma Nord is also a manufacturing company. We manufacture all of our products ourselves. We know that Compiere is also working on manufacturing capabilities. † The Bottom Line Several unbelievably productive, efficient and highly secure open source ERP packages are not yet well recognized in the market, most of the customers are still prepared to shell out big bucks on custom commercial ERP package s.This might be due to the credibility that the big ERP producing organizations like SAP and Oracle. In times that are proving increasingly tough for organizations the world over; organizations are taking measures to tighten their operations and keeping stock of each and every penny that is spent; open source ERP packages provide a very robust and cost effective alternative for midsize companies who might not have a big budget allocated to cover their IT requirements. Even the large corporations can cut maintenance costs by making use of these brilliant packages.However, lack of support from a particular vendor is something that the open source ERP packages badly lack, and compatibility issues with other custom third party apps are one of their biggest turn-offs. Open source ERP scores higher than commercial ERP on many aspects. Yet, commercial ERP still have major share in ERP markets. This is because open source products are quite new and people are a bit conservative about choosi ng ERP software, because if implemented ERP software does not work, then there is serious business trouble.The first adopters of open source ERP were in Latin America, Europe, and Asian countries because of economic reasons. Now, open source ERP is gaining popularity even in US markets and one day, it will be able to challenge the domination of commercial ERP in ERP markets of USA Top Open Source ERP Applications to Look Out for The finance applications, especially the custom ERPs, can be extremely costly and burn big holes in the pockets of business owners, and as such the demand for open source apps in the field of finance has been increasing dramatically.So, let us take a look at the top open source finance applications * Goodness of Open Source ERP Packages Not only do the open source finance packages come totally free of cost, but they are also not dependant on a particular platform. However, the proprietary programs work well on only specific platforms, as they're designed onl y for specific needs. As such, even after paying a lot of money on licenses, the proprietary financial packages don’t allow you to work with all platforms and require additional licenses based upon the number of machines on which, the software is used.On the contrary, the open source packages can be used on as many systems as needed, and they work well on all open source platforms like FreeBSD, UNIX, Linux, Solaris etc. * Open Source ERP Packages To cater to the needs of small business owners, countless open source finance packages were developed, such as Adempiere (an ERP Business Suite), GnuCash (a double-entry book-keeping system), ERP5 (a Zope/Python based ERP solution), and the likes of them.Turning the focus towards other popular open source ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) packages, Compiere, an ERP solution that automates processes like accounting, managing sales orders, inventory, and supply chain is also quite popular, while packages like Grisbi, a single-entry an d KMyMoney — a double-entry book-keeping program, have also gained significant levels of popularity. * FriFinans is yet another impressive open source finance application that offers facilities like taking orders, generating invoices, ordering products and doing a lot more.It is still under final stages of development, and isn’t tested completely yet, but even at this stage it looks quite promising. * Java-Based Open Source Finance Apps jFin, JGnash (double-entry book-keeping), JQuantLib (Quantitative Finance API framework), and JStock (stock market software) are some of the popular Java-based open source finance packages that have become extremely popular these days. * Latest DevelopmentsLooking at the latest developments,  n21 eBusiness Suite, a web-based ERP/CRM package is quite a powerful open source finance package that has emerged in the market, while  Mifos  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Microfinance Institution management software, Openbravo, and OpenERP have also been recent ly developed and gained high popularity soon enough. TurboCASH  is a popular double-entry book-keeping for Windows environment, while  GnuCash  is a treat for Linux/Unix/FreeBSD lovers.HomeBank  is an open source application for personal use, and  Marketceterais an open source trading platform for those who're interested in stock trading, but don't want to spend any money on using paid tools. Note:  All Linux financial tools are not necessarily free — there are some proprietary packages that require licenses, and don't come under the GNU/GPL free distribution license, but majority of Linux/UNIX based finance packages are totally free for personal and commercial usage. GnuCash: The Ultimate Free Open Source Accounting Software Primarily coded in C,  GnuCash  is a free open source accounting software, and happens to be a part of the GNU Project. It runs on platforms such as OpenBSD, Solaris, UNIX, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, and the likes of them. Looking at the f eatures of GnuCash, you’ll discover that the package allows you to perform double-entry bookkeeping, maintenance of Stock/Mutual Fund Portfolios, Scheduled Transactions, and Mortgage and Loan Repayment Druid.It also offers support to HBCI and Multi-Currency Transaction Handling. GnuCash also comes with Transaction-Import Matching Support, OFX, QIF Import facilities, Small Business Accounting Features and even Multi-User SQL Support, making it an extensive open source finance application. What’s more, GnuCash can also export data to TXF format and can be used in tandem with the tax preparation programs with great ease. You can virtually perform all kinds of finance related tasks with the help of GnuCash.

Mythology the Past and Present Essay

Nike is the winged goddess of victory according to Greek mythology. She sat at the side of Zeus, the ruler of the Olympic pantheon, in Olympus. A mystical presence, symbolizing victorious encounters, Nike presided over history’s earliest battlefields. A Greek would say, â€Å"When we go to battle and win, we say it is Nike. † Synonymous with honored conquest, Nike is the twentieth century footwear that lifts the world’s greatest athletes to new levels of mastery and achievement. The Nike ‘swoosh’ embodies the spirit of the winged goddess who inspired the most courageous and chivalrous warriors at the dawn of civilization. In Greek mythology, Nike was a goddess who personified victory, also known as the Winged Goddess of Victory. The Roman equivalent was Victoria. Depending upon the time of various myths, she was described as the daughter of Pallas (Titan) and Styx (Water), and the sister of Kratos (Strength), Bia (Force), and Zelus (Zeal). Nike and her siblings were close companions of Zeus, the dominant deity of the Greek pantheon. According to classical (later) myth, Styx brought them to Zeus when the god was assembling allies for the Titan War against the older deities. Nike assumed the role of the divine charioteer, a role in which she often is portrayed in Classical Greek art. Nike flew around battlefields rewarding the victors with glory and fame. Nike is seen with wings in most statues and paintings. Most other winged deities in the Greek pantheon had shed their wings by Classical times. Nike is the goddess of strength, speed, and victory. Nike was a very close acquaintance of Athena, and is thought to have stood in Athena’s outstretched hand in the statue of Athena located in the Parthenon. Nike is one of the most commonly portrayed figures on Greek coins. Nike has a legacy that lives on today, not through the field of battle but through clothing, shoes, and apparel. Nike paints the perfect portrait of what the goddess set out to do, and that was to turn out victorious in the end no matter how grueling the battle may be. When people hear the word Mercury they might think of a nice care or even the planet. Hear I will explain the origin of this Greek god. Mercury was a messenger, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx (â€Å"merchandise†; compare merchant, commerce, etc. ), mercari (to trade), and merces (wages). In his earliest forms, he appears to have been related to the Etruscan deity Turms, but most of his characteristics and mythology were borrowed from the analogous Greek deity, Hermes. Latin writers rewrote Hermes’ myths and substituted his name with that of Mercury. However there are at least two myths that involve Mercury that are Roman in origin. In Virgil’s Aeneid, Mercury reminds Aeneas of his mission to found the city of Rome. In Ovid’s Fasti, Mercury is assigned to escort the nymph Larunda to the underworld. Mercury, however, fell in love with Larunda and made love to her on the way; this act has also been interpreted as a rape. Lara thereby became mother to two children, referred to as the Lares, invisible household gods. Mercury has influenced the name of many things in a variety of scientific fields, such as the planet Mercury, and the element mercury, which it was formally associated. The word mercurial is commonly used to refer to something or someone erratic, volatile or unstable, derived from Mercury’s swift flights from place to place. Zeus is probably one of the most well know mythological god out there. People may not know but he inspired a very interesting logo that we all know today as Gatorade. It works out good because Gatorade is often used in competition, and Zeus was a competitive and powerful god. In Greek mythology Zeus is the â€Å"Father of Gods and men†, according to Hesiod’s Theogony, who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family; he was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. As Walter Burkert points out in his book, Greek Religion, â€Å"Even the gods who are not his natural children address him as Father, and all the gods rise in his presence. † For the Greeks, he was the King of the Gods, who oversaw the universe. As Pausanias observed, â€Å"That Zeus is king in heaven is a saying common to all men†. In Hesiod’s Theogony, Zeus assigns the various gods their roles. In the Homeric Hymns he is referred to as the chieftain of the gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull, and oak. In addition to his Indo-European inheritance, the classical â€Å"cloud-gatherer† also derives certain iconographic traits from the cultures of the Ancient Near East, such as the scepter. Zeus is frequently depicted by Greek artists in one of two poses: standing, striding forward, with a thunderbolt leveled in his raised right hand, or seated in majesty. His Roman counterpart was Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart Tinia. Zeus was the child of Cronus and Rhea, and the youngest of his siblings. In most traditions he was married to Hera, although, at the oracle of Dodona, his consort was Dione: according to the Iliad, he is the father of Aphrodite by Dione. He is known for his erotic escapades. These resulted in many godly and heroic offspring, including Athena, Apollo and Artemis, Hermes, Persephone (by Demeter), Dionysus, Perseus, Heracles, Helen, Minos, and the Muses (by Mnemosyne); by Hera, he is usually said to have fathered Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus.