Managing Quality within the Vale of Glamorgan Council Essay

Managing Quality within the Vale of Glamorgan Council - Essay Example vices, including Housing, Community safety, Community care and health, Economic, development, Leisure and tourism, Planning and transportation, Building Control, Waste management and cleansing, Parks and grounds maintenance, Environmental Health, Trading standards, Emergency planning, Lifelong learning and development, Libraries etc., the Vale of Glamorgan Council has been successfully functioning from past many years. Vale of Glamorgan Council, has proved itself, by providing good services, and has been able to maintain its rapport with good Operational Management Strategies. The Quality of services provided by the Council has been highly appreciable, which has been achieved by its logical thinking and efficient management The Council has 47 elected members, each of whom represents  an electoral division, or ward, and is led by a Leader and Cabinet, a body of 10 Councillors that makes key decisions about policy and budget. Its services are led by a Corporate Management Team, made up of the Chief Executive and five directors.   These directors each head one of the Councils five Directorates. There is a Leader and Cabinet, a body of 10 Councillors that makes key decisions about policy and budget. However, since  May 2008  the council has been controlled by a  Conservative Cabinet. Understand how quality can be achieved and maintained in its operations and services. Quality is the first and perhaps the foremost attribute of the five ingredients of performance objectives prescribed by Slack N. Quality. Vale of Glamorgan Council has two different faces. One is the quality of the final offerings of the council that is the services, which are provided to the public. The other is the quality of the operational activities that the staffs of the council goes through in order to provide any particular service. Both these qualities are interconnected so that one has almost a complete effect on the other. This is the reason for taking quality as the attribute for

Organic Chemistry Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Organic Chemistry - Lab Report Example The extraction of compounds from these natural products is an example of solid/ liquid extraction-the solid being the natural product and the liquid being the solvent into which the compounds are extracted. In research, a Soxhlet extractor is often used for solid/liquid extraction. Although solid/liquid extraction is the most common technique for brewing beverages and isolating compounds from natural products, liquid/liquid extraction is a very common method used in the organic laboratory, specifically when isolating reaction products. Reactions are typically homogeneous liquid mixtures and can therefore be extracted with either an organic or aqueous solvent. Organic reactions often yield a number of by products-some inorganic and some organic. Also, because some organic reactions do not go to 100% completion, a small amount of starting material is present at the end of the reaction. When a reaction is complete, it is necessary to do a workup, that is, separate and purify the desired product from the mixture of byproducts and residual starting material. Liquid/liquid extraction is a common separation step in this workup, which is then followed by purification of the product. There are two types of liquid/liquid extractions: neutral and acid/base. ... 2 CH3CH2CH2CH2OH +2NaBr +H2S042CH3CH2CH2CH2Br +2H20 +Na2S04 The 1-bromobutane is isolated from the reaction mixture by extraction with t-butyl methyl ether, an organic solvent in which 1-bromobutane is soluble and in which water and sodium sulfate are insoluble. The extraction is accomplished by simply adding t-butyl methyl ether to the aqueous mixture and shaking it. Two layers will result: an organic layer and an aqueous layer. The t-butyl methyl ether is less dense than water and floats on top; it is easily removed/drained away from the water layer and evaporated to leave the bromo product free of inorganic substances, which reside in the aqueous layer. Partition Coefficient The extraction of a compound such as 1-butanol, which is slightly soluble in water as well as very soluble in ether, is an equilibrium process governed by the solubilities of the alcohol in the two solvents. The ratio of the solubilities is known as the distribution coeeficient, also called the partition coefficient (k), and is an equilibirium constant with a certain value for a given substance, pair of solvents, and temperature The concentration of the solute in each solvent can be well correlated with the solubility of the solute in the pure solvent, a figure that is readily found in solubility tables in reference books. For substance C K = concentration of C in t-butyl methyl ether Concentration of C in water >solubility of C in t-butyl methyl ether (g/100mL) Solubility of C in water (g/100mL) Consider compound A that dissolves in t-butyl methyl ether to the extent of 12 g/100mLand dissolves in water to the extent of 6g/100mL. K = 12g/100mL

Influence And Persuasion Are Important Leadership Tools Psychology Essay

Influence And Persuasion Are Important Leadership Tools Psychology Essay Influence can have a major impact on a persons life by how well one is able to influence others and how others influence the individual. By using specific techniques and methods one can greatly increase their level of influence on others. The first step is to assess ones own level of influence to identify personal areas of weakness. The second step is learning and understanding the roots of power in the workplace. The third is learning the strategies of influence and learn the methods of influence and persuasion. The final step is implementing these strategies in life and work to influence others and avoid being influenced. This report is intended to motivate individual(s) to perfect a better understanding of influence and persuasion and be able to implement these facets in life. Influence and persuasion are two of the most important skills required by successful leaders in the workplace today. A good working knowledge of influence and persuasion can help one person to change anothers attitude, beliefs, or actions. This knowledge can also help one to avoid being influenced or persuaded by another. Influence and persuasion can be used in almost all aspects of daily life, whether dealing with family, buying something at a store, or performing tasks at work. Social influence can be found in any environment where multiple people exist or anywhere there is interaction between people. Understanding it is essential for prosperity. In many situations, social influence and persuasion can represent the difference between success and failure. To be successful, one must also understand the relationship between power and influence and how to use power and self-empowerment. What is influence and persuasion? Influence investigates the causes of human changewhether that change is an attitude, behavior, or a belief. Inducing a change in behavior is called compliance. Inducing a change in attitude is called persuasion. Inducing a change in belief is called either education or propagandadepending on ones perspective3. Persuasion attempts to win the heart and mind of the target. Thus persuasion must induce attitude change, which entails affective (emotion-based) change. Although persuasion is more difficult to induce, its affects last longer because the target actually accepts and internalizes the advocacy3. Knowing these definitions create a foundation for learning and implementing tactics for both influence and persuasion. An effective leader must be able to influence and persuade others. This can be done by understanding how to assess ones own level of influence, finding sources of personal power, learning strategies of influencing and persuading people, and learning how to implement those strategies. Assessing Your Level of Influence: When accessing ones ability to influence and persuade, a collection of data must be gathered about the different areas involved with both topics. The collection of data is typically through questionnaires, surveys, or quizzes regarding the subject matter. These methods garner the opinions and ideas of the individual. In order to practice these ideas a person must know and understand the tactics, strategies, and how to implement both into the workplace. The information gathered consists of four main topics related to influence and persuasion. First, the individual needs to display information pertaining to gaining power. Gaining power can be in two forms: personal characteristics or positional characteristics. Personal characteristics explore topics like an individuals appearance, hygiene, or charisma in the workplace. Positional characteristics explore how an individual is perceived throughout the corporation. After gaining power in the workplace it is essential to evaluate how well does one exercise influence in the workplace. Implementing influence in the workplace is crucial. It is vital to evaluate how well an individual avoids using threats and manipulation when trying to influence others. When influencing or persuading does the leader emphasize reason and factual information in their approach, instead of tactics that are opinioned based? Another related topic that would be helpful in assessing is, how well the leader uses rewards when implementing influence. Does the individual reward where needed, do they never use the reward system, or do they reward when its not warranted? Finally, the assessment chain of thought deals with the idea of increasing authority. When one tries to increase authority does the individual try to convince upper management that the idea or issue at hand will benefit or hinder the entire organization if its not focused upon? While on the job how well is the person at stepping out of the normal realm of problems that deal with and taking on job tasks that go beyond their typical scope of work? The four areas of assessment are valuable to determine what level an individual is able to persuade and influence others in the workplace. During the assessment phase, an individual is examined about what their thoughts and ideas are on topics like gaining power, resisting influence, and how they exercise influence in the workplace. Power in the Workplace: Power in the workplace is the ability to influence others to do what you want them to do, when you want them to do it, and in the manner that is required. Power is directly related to control, especially in the work environment. For example, power can stem from an individuals charisma and skill set or the individuals position, can be exercised or not and directly or indirectly at a persons will. There are two types of power: positional power (formal authority) and personal power (acquired authority). Sources of positional power are divided into four categories, formal authority, centrality, flexibility, and visibility. Formal authority is the power directly given to you by your position; reward and penalties: having the ability to give rewards or penalties to other people in an organization. Centrality is where everyone needs you to get their job done because you are central to the organization. Flexibility is having the ability to improvise and innovate in a position and visibility always visiting other members of the organization and always being seen. Sources of personal power are also divided into categories of attraction, effort, expertise, and legitimacy. Attraction is having charisma or behavior that attracts other people to you. Effort describes when one constantly works to get ahead; giving consistent and hard work to do whatever it takes to get a task done. Expertise works related knowledge and through education or other means that other people in the organization may not have. Lastly, legitimacy is having the work done be accepted by others so that everything the person does and the person himself is legitimate to the organization. By following a few steps, a leader can greatly increase his/her power. These steps include: align your goals, ideals, and values, with that of the organization, develop a sense of obligation and accountability, encourage open communication with your co-workers, nurture creativity and innovation in your work environment, provide and welcome opportunities for personal development, demonstrate a high level of working knowledge and expertise, demonstrate trust and confidence in your co-workers, and give recognition to others for their work. Another aspect of power that a leader should remember is the ethics involved in the implementation of power. It is crucial to remember that the goals of the organization come before individual goals. Also, power should not be used to intimidate or coerce people into doing tasks. Strategies for Influence and Persuasion: Many scientists and psychologists have studied the areas of influence and persuasion and have found many sections, disciplines, tactics, clusters, and other descriptive words for the different items people have found. The strategies of discussion are the three types of influence, techniques for handling people, and lastly the continuum of influence. Across the board, there are three generally accepted types of persuasion. The first is Retribution, or command, which is forcing others to do what one says by means of intimidation or coercion1. Retribution is usually based around formal authority. A manager can threaten his/her employee directly to do a task or be fired. He/She can also indirectly force an employee to do something because of consequences at work by not following a superior. Advantages include quick and direct action by subordinates. Disadvantages include loss of creativity, resentment, and need for greater threats in the future. The second is Reciprocity, which is helping others want to do what one says through bargaining or ingratiation1. In this method, the main object is to satisfy the interests of both parties, even if you have to give something up. This is usually used when both parties have the same level of power. Advantages include low resentment and no requirement for justification. Disadvantages of this method include expectations of rewards or gifts to do work and it makes people feel that anything is open for negotiation. The third is Reason, which is showing others that it makes sense to do what you say though presenting facts or appealing to values and goals1. This method is the most powerful used most frequently in the work place. Leaders use this by trying to suggest and convince the other party they are right. Advantages includes the need for surveillance being enhanced. Disadvantages include the time it takes to develop trust and requires both parties having similar values and goals. Another strategy for gaining power and influencing people is described in Dale Carnegies, How to Win Friends and Influence People. He discusses the fundamental techniques in handling people. The first technique is to not criticize, condemn, or complain to the person. For example, if a manager wants an employee to perform a particular task he/ she should not condemn the subordinate for doing the task incorrectly, perhaps the instructions were unclear. According to Carnegie, instead of condemning people, try to understand them. Try to figure out why the employee does what he/ she do. The second technique described is to give sincere appreciation. People want to feel appreciated and recognized for what they accomplish. There are several ways to recognize a person through rewards whether monetary or non-monetary, verbal affirmation, or perhaps, find out how the employee prefers to be rewarded. Carnegie states that the big secret in dealing with people is to make them want to do what you ask. This concept is easier said then done because people have a tendency to forget the power of influence and appreciation. The influence of an alliance is often greater than the sum of the influence of individual allies. In building an alliance, you strengthen your power base and increase the force of your proposals through a network of supporters. Discreetly build the alliance through a series of one-on-one contacts, letting prospective allies know that you need their support and possibly mentioning who else is on board. Ensure that prospective allies agree with your purpose or at least have something to gain by helping to achieve it. Alliance can be hard to form. They require time and energy to maintain. However, members of successful alliances tend to be more receptive to future alliances. Appealing to Friendship Appealing to friendship (asking for assistance based on friendship or membership in a group) relies on the natural human tendency to help friends. We are inclined to grant the request of people we feel similar to. This tactic is powerful but it is hard for some people to use and can damage relationship if overused. Appealing to values Appealing to values is a way to influence people based on their values, feelings, and emotions. You make such an appeal by conveying a strong vision (of excellence, achievement, etc.) or by presenting your case with enthusiasm and conviction: We can achieve our goals if we believe in ourselves and set our own standards higher than anyone expects us to. This tactic can be highly influential and it can reach a large number of people at once. Its good for stimulating extraordinary efforts. However, it takes great skill to do it. Consulting Consulting is influencing through collaboration- inviting the prospective participants to contribute to the approach, concept, proposal, or strategy. When people contribute to the plan, they feel some ownership of it and are more committed to it. You can use consulting by asking for someones advice on solving a problem and then asking or encouraging them to implement their recommendations. This form of consulting is especially effective when senior people use it with more junior people. Exchanging is trading something of value for the support or cooperation of others. In other words, it is negotiating as a form of influence. You ask a person to do something for you and offer an incentive: If you will support my reorganization proposal during the next meeting, I will work over the weekend on your financial analysis and have the figures for you on Monday. Legitimizing is using authority to influence. Authority includes customs, laws, organizational rules and procedures, regulations, traditions, and various symbols of authority (uniforms and badges as well as formal dress). You can also legitimize by citing higher authorities. Legitimizing is the easiest form of influence if you have role power. It can result in quick compliance. But it can also appear heavy-handed and will not work with people who resist authority. Stating is possibly the simplest influence tactics of all. It means, simply, saying what you want or what you think. Gain cooperation by making polite but a direct statement of what you want or what while asserting your position with confidence. Please review and sign this travel request. Remember to leave no room for negotiation or refusal. Avoid tentative phrases like I think, I feel, I was hoping you would, if you dont mind, etc. dont phrase your statement as a question (would you mind, dont you agree, can I ask you, etc.). Resist the urge to be overly polite or apologetic. Clearly stating your needs, wishes or intentions helps to eliminate misunderstanding.

Nonfiction Literacy and Current Events Essays -- science, Sony, Microso

Technology is not only a computer it’s making something better. Technology has been advancing everything and making it better. Technology doesn’t even have to be an object it can be something that has to do with science. That’s why I think that technology is good because it is making everything advanced and better than it was before. Technology is good. Technology is good because it makes our lives a whole lot easier. One reason why technology is good is because sony and Microsoft both have good systems but they are battling and seeing who’s system is better and that’s just making the systems better for us to use. In the article it says â€Å"Video games used to be seen as something for teenage boys who didn't have a lot of friends. But now a video game customer can be just about anyone. People spend nearly $63 billion worldwide on games. Almost half of those who play games are women and one-third are older than 36.† that is a good thing that more people are enjoying the video games since they came out with better technology. Now there are more people buying it because of the new technology. Another reason why technology is good is because now there is a way that doctors can find out if a baby has autism within 2 months of birth and that’s a good thing because now they can find out early and treat them wh en they are little. In the article it proves that, â€Å"Doctors usually cannot determine if a child has an autism spectrum disorder until age 2 at least. But, a new study finds that signs of it can be seen as early as two months after birth.† Since the doctors can find autism that early they can try to treat them as soon as possible. That way it won’t get too serious. The last reason why technology is good is for medical reasons is becau... ...hy people that say technology is bad are wrong. Technology is good for these reasons, sony and Microsoft both have good systems but they are battling and seeing who’s system is better and that’s just making the systems better for us to use, there is a way that doctors can find out if a baby has autism within 2 months of birth and that’s a good thing because now they can find out early and treat them when they are little, and for medical reasons is because scientists and doctors are trying to train the special need kids to make eye contact with the person that is talking to them early in their lives so they will have experience later in their lives while talking to people. That is why technology is good. Works Cited "Newsela | Nonfiction Literacy and Current Events." Newsela | Nonfiction Literacy and Current Events. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.

TCS FInancial Statement analysis

Major Sources of Revenue: a) Revenue from operations: accounts for 98% of the total revenue of the firm and consists of the revenues from the below categories Information technology and consultancy services: contributes 97% of the total revenue from operations Sale of equipment and software lilicenses contributes 3% of the total revenue from operations b) Other Income: accounts for approximately 2% of the total revenue of the firm and consists of the revenues from the below major categories Interest Income: Contributes to 81. 0% of the total revenue from other income 73% of the Interest income comes from Interest on Bank & Interest on long term Bonds & Debentures. 25% of the Interest income comes from Inter-Corporate deposits. Profit from Sale of mutual funds and other current Investments Contributes to 0. 57% of the total revenue from other income Major Expenses a) Employee benefit expenses: consumes 35. 78% of the total operations revenue and consists of the below categories Salari es and incentives: accounts for 87. 57% of the total employee benefits expense Contributions to Provident fund & pension [Superannuation/Gratuity etc.Staff welfare expenses. b)BOperations and other Expenses: consumes 32. 11% of the total operations revenue and consists of the below major categories Overseas business expenses: – accounts for 43. 4 % of the total Operations and other Expenses Services rendered y business associates and others: – accounts for 18. 42% of the total Operations and other Expenses hardware and material costs: Software, – accounts for 1 1 the total Operations and other Expenses (c) Tax expenses: consume 7. 27% of the total operations revenue (d) Dividend on equity shares and tax thereon for Fiscal 2014 accounts increased by 40% Year on Year (7058. 2 crscoresiscal 2014) Major Uses of funds: a) Cash And Bank Balances: accounts for 21. 51% of the total Non-Current Investments and Current assets. Company has increased the Cash and Bank balan ces significantly in fiscal 2014. Horizontal analysis on the Balance Sheet for Cash and Bank Balances shows a Year on Year growth of 113. 34% for fiscal 2014. b)BPurchase of Fixed Assets: The Company has been investing in infrastructure development across various locations in India to meet its growing business needs. Additions to the gross block in fiscal 2014 amounted to 2,284. 7 crscoresHorizontal analysis on the Balance Sheet for fixed assets shows a Year on Year growth of 28. 27% for fiscal 2014. c)CNon-Current Investments: Company has increased the Non-Current Investments significantly in fiscal 2014. Horizontal analysis on the Balance Sheet for Non-Current Investments shows Year on Year growth of 134. 97% for fiscal 2014. d)DLong Term Loans & Advances: accounts for 10. 85% of the total Non-Current Investments and Current assets. e)EShort-term loans and advances: accounts for 6. 2% of the total Non-Current Question 2: Perform a horizontal and vertical analysis on the Balance Sh eet and Profit and Loss Account and comment on any significant changes that you observe over the last 2 years. AnNASPlease refer the attached excel sheet for arriving at the below conclusions a) Profit & Loss statement: Significant observations on Horizontal analysis. Net Profit After tax for Fiscal 2014 shows a Year on Year growth of 37. 70%. Net Profit After tax nearly doubled when compared with Fiscal 2012. EPPEPSEarnings per Share) also show consistent growth in the last few Fiscal years.EPPEPShows a Year on Year increase by 37. 58% in Fiscal 2014 Finance Cost for Fiscal 2014 has decreased significantly by 20%. Tax for Fiscal 2014 has increased significantly by 51% Year on Year. Profit & Loss statement: Significant observations on Vertical analysis. Despite a significant increase in the Employee base we find that Employee Expenses s a % of revenue remained constant around 35% in the last few Fiscal years Total Expenses as a % of revenue remained constant around 70% in the last f ew Fiscal years Total Tax as percentage of revenue, increased from 6. 37% in fiscal 2013 to 7. 2% b) Balance Sheet: Significant observations on Horizontal analysis. Non- Current liabilities shows a Year on Year growth of ofof4. 64% in Fiscal 2014. Fixed assets shows a Year on Year growth of 28. 27% in Fiscal 2014 Current liabilities shows a Year on Year growth of 34. 33% in Fiscal 2014. Reserves and Surplus shows a Year on Year growth of 27. 76% in Fiscal 2014. Share Capital shows a Year on Year negative growth of 33. 76% in Fiscal 2014. Current assets shows a Year on Year growth of 36. 62% in Fiscal 2014. Long Term borrowings shows a Year on Year negative growth of 2. 4% in Fiscal 2014. Balance Sheet: Significant observations on Vertical analysis. Cash and bank balances as a % of the total Assets excluding fixed assets increased from 12. 97% Fiscal 2013 to 21. 51% Fiscal 2014. Non-Current Investments as a % of the total Assets excluding fixed assets has been increasing steadily in the last few Fiscals. Short-term loans and advances as a % of the total Assets excluding fixed assets eccreasedrom 10. 81% in Fiscal 2013 to 6. 42% in Fiscal 2014. Goodwill as a % of the total Assets excluding fixed assets decreased from 6. 86% in Fiscal 2013 to 3. 7% Fiscal 2014. Question 3: Scrutinize the Notes to Accounts and Statement on Significant Accounting Policies and check for any deviations in accounting policy over the last year with respect to major items. AnNASThere were no deviations with respect to significant accounting policies. However TCTTSdopted a new hedge accounting principle under the below category. a)AForeign currency forward, option and futures contracts: TCTTSnters into foreign currency forward, option and futures contracts to manage its exposure to exchange rate fluctuations, in accordance with its risk management policies.With effect from January 1, 2014, the Company has adopted hedge accounting principles in line with International Financial Reporting Standard 9 (referred to as IFFIRS), which align more closely with the Company's risk management policy. The change has resulted in a reduction of ‘ 4. 76 crscoresn profit before tax in fiscal 2014. Question 4: Examine the Statement of Cash Flows for the last 2 years and point out the following: ) Major sources and Uses of cash: Sources: -Operations: Cash generated from operations, post adjustments to profit before tax, has gone up from 16,436. 77 crscoresn fiscal 2013 to ‘ 21,795. 4 crscoresn fiscal 2014, registering a growth of 32. 60% over the previous fiscal. -Income from Interest InInterestn funds invested went up by 71. 22%, from 798. 80 crscoresn fiscal 2013 to 1367. 72 Uses: crscoresn fiscal 2014. During fiscal 2014, the significant uses of cash were Acquisition of French Company AlAlit. A. foFor52. 41 crscoresPayment of Dividend & dividend tax for 5,489. 54 CrScoresurchase of fixed assets Increase in inter-corporate deposits Investment in fixed deposit. Pay Taxes amounting to 7,043. 63 CrScoresover Working Capital expenditures (b) Were the cash flows from operations greater than or less than net income?Explain in detail the major reason for the differences in these 2 figures. For Fiscal 2014, by referring to the Consolidated financial statements we get the below fgfiguresNet Cash provided by from Operating activities = 14751. 41 CrScoreset Profit for the year = 19163. 87 crscoresnNASNet Cash provided by from operating activities is less the net income. Explanation: Working Capital fgfiguresnder the categories below are the major reasons for reducing the Net Cash value provided by from operating activities below the net income. ) Unbilled Revenue – (811. 60) CrScores) Trade Receivables – (4015. 80) CrScoresc) Was the firm able to generate enough cash from its operations to be able to pay for all its capital expenditures? For Fiscal 2014, by referring to the Consolidated financial statements we can arrive at the below table. Net Cash provided by/Used in Fiscal 2014 Fiscal 2013 Operating activities 14,751. 41 11,614. 96 Investing activities (9,667. 08) (6,085. 66) Financing activities 5,673. 24) (5,729. 48) Exchange difference on translation of foreign currency 21 5. 41 48. 5 Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents after translation (373. 50) (152. 13) Purchase of fixed assets accounted for (3126. 15) CrScoresf the Net Cash of (9,667. 08) crscoressed in investing activities. From the above table we can clearly infer that the company generated enough cash from Operating activities to fund the capital expenditures on its own. (d) Did the cash flow from operations cover both the capital expenditures and payment of dividend, if any? AnNASDividend paid accounted for (5480. 7) CrScoresf the Net Cash of (5673. 24) crscoressed in financing activities.From the above table we can clearly infer that the company generated enough cash from Operating activities to fund both capital expenditures & payment of dividends on its own. (e) How did your firm invest its excess cash (if any)? Cash flow statement from Investing Activities indicate that the excess cash that remains after investing and financing is mamajoraintained in Short-term bank deposits. From the Cash Flow Statements we can see that Short Term deposits increased from 4911. 46 crscoresn Fiscal 2013 to 12948. 9 CrScoresn Fiscal 2014. This accounts for a significant growth of 163%. g)GAre there any other unusual / extraordinary items of cash inflow / outflow? AnNASCash outflow due to Taxes: Cash Flow Statements indicate a significant increase in Taxes for Tax for Fiscal 2014. Taxes have increased significantly by 46% Year on Year. By referring to Management Discussion & Analysis & Notes forming consolidated statements we can infer that company has paid (1) Additional tax of 2,129. 82 crscoresaid by TCTTStd on its higher income for the year and (2) 92. 00 crscoresf higher tax on dividend received y TCTTStd from its overseas subsi diaries.

Saving Private Ryan Descriptive Writing Piece

The cold breeze ran down my spine. Fear flooded my veins. Freezing water hitting me like a thousand knives penetrating my body. We were all hoping, praying that we would get out of this alive. The unbarring pain in my legs was slowly moving up my body. Not knowing how much longer could with stand it. The repulsing stench of sick slowly traveled around in the air. Cold sweat ran down my face, my heart was thumping louder and louder I could barely hear myself think.As the landing craft drew closer towards Omaha beach I could barely breathe. I quietly prayed, knowing it was my only prospect of getting out of this alive. The craft came to a halt. I took what could be my last surviving breathes. Although the barrier between me and my fate was still up I knew was not safe. The ramp dropped. My heart beats slowly sped up, as started to see more of the beach knew what was to come was not good. Swiftly jumped from the landing craft into the sea.The scene on the beach was catastrophic. My lip was quivering from the cold. The distance to the beach slowly drew closer. My clothes were dripping with the blood red water. I felt hands pulling at my legs from underneath me. There was nothing I could do to help them. My heart was racing as drew further towards the beach. As the water got shallower I felt a sense of relief as it was a struggle to walk, even though I knew the worst was yet to come. A huge wave carried me closer to the shore.The tangy taste of salt was lingering in my mouth. Gasping for breath, I reached the surface only to see the battle continuing. But this time closer. The sky was a depressing shade of grey. The smoke filled air occupied my lungs. Smoke covered the whole battle field. When finally reached the beach I had a shear moment of panic. My legs went numb and it felt like was going to faint at any moment. The sound of screaming soldiers only made me and my men want to stay alive longer.

Free Essays on The Laramie Project

On Saturday, October 5th, I attended the play, â€Å"The Laramie Project†. At first, I was not really excited to see this play. It was a Saturday night and I hate going to any kind of theatre, including movie theatres. However, I thought this play was well done and I actually enjoyed the play. The play begins as a research group first descends on the small town of Laramie Wyoming. This western town of about 26,000 people had been rock by the beating of a gay man by two other heterosexual men. The man that was beaten savagely, Mathew Sheppard, was still in the hospital in critical condition. The group was in the town researching the town people and their feelings towns this crime. As the play progresses, the interviewees begin to realize that this town is like many towns in America. They begin to see that this savage beating could have happened anywhere. Towards the end of the after Matthew Sheppard has died, the two men accused of the crime went to two separate trials. One of the men pleads guilty in return for life imprisonment. The other man went to trial and was convicted, however, Mathew Sheppard’s father emotionally pleaded in behave of his son that the man not be sentenced to death. By the end of the play, the research group had realizes that this murder was not because of the town that Mathew Sheppard grew up in, but because of the views and prejudices of an entire country. I personally think that entire was very impressive. What I was impressive with was the actual pace of this play. It seemed to me that this play never stopped and it was very continuous. I’m not just saying this because my instructor contributed to the play; I’m saying this because the way the play was done seemed to be very difficult to me. I’m not a real theatre buff, but I do think that this was not an easy play for the actors to act. It was a long play and I think that it takes highly skilled actor to perform a play with so many characters at t... Free Essays on The Laramie Project Free Essays on The Laramie Project On Saturday, October 5th, I attended the play, â€Å"The Laramie Project†. At first, I was not really excited to see this play. It was a Saturday night and I hate going to any kind of theatre, including movie theatres. However, I thought this play was well done and I actually enjoyed the play. The play begins as a research group first descends on the small town of Laramie Wyoming. This western town of about 26,000 people had been rock by the beating of a gay man by two other heterosexual men. The man that was beaten savagely, Mathew Sheppard, was still in the hospital in critical condition. The group was in the town researching the town people and their feelings towns this crime. As the play progresses, the interviewees begin to realize that this town is like many towns in America. They begin to see that this savage beating could have happened anywhere. Towards the end of the after Matthew Sheppard has died, the two men accused of the crime went to two separate trials. One of the men pleads guilty in return for life imprisonment. The other man went to trial and was convicted, however, Mathew Sheppard’s father emotionally pleaded in behave of his son that the man not be sentenced to death. By the end of the play, the research group had realizes that this murder was not because of the town that Mathew Sheppard grew up in, but because of the views and prejudices of an entire country. I personally think that entire was very impressive. What I was impressive with was the actual pace of this play. It seemed to me that this play never stopped and it was very continuous. I’m not just saying this because my instructor contributed to the play; I’m saying this because the way the play was done seemed to be very difficult to me. I’m not a real theatre buff, but I do think that this was not an easy play for the actors to act. It was a long play and I think that it takes highly skilled actor to perform a play with so many characters at t...

An Unavoidable War essays

An Unavoidable War essays America, with excellent economical bases and a strong government, is a place where golden opportunities are flowing everywhere in the air, and a country where everyone dreams to live. But the most important of all, America has offered a different life style, the life style where other countries do not provide. Not only that America has the freedom given to all persons, but also it is the only land that marks all men are created equal, an eminent phrase from the famous Declaration of Independence that our third US President Thomas Jefferson had written two-hundred-twenty-three years ago, which guarantees the equality and unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness for all humans. Since the freedom and the equality, that avail in America, are what most humans have been searched for, therefore these advantages are also the reasons why so many people have desired to live on this land called America. Nowadays, love of liberty is the predominant feeling of many people. It is of paramount importance that humans should fight for their liberty because all men are created equal, therefore all humans deserve freedom, liberty, and equality. That was what our forefathers did, they fought for their liberty and freedom against the Red Coat British soldiers. This was one of the most glorious and important wars in American history, the Revolutionary War. The American colonies declared their independence from Britain; and the very first time of working together, trying to achieve the same goal, the thirteen colonies, with France on their side aiding during the war, defeated British and received their freedom and liberty. The American Revolution is the central event in American history, it marks also the beginning of the distinctively modern period in world history. Many historians declared that the Revolutionary War was an unavoidable war because there we...

Barn Burning Essay -- Literary Analysis, William Faulkner

The conflictions of the Snopes family in this story are of anger, fear, and despair. Abner Snopes, the father, is an angry man. He believes that he is always right, he is abusive, and is always being short-changed by life. Even though his wife is impartial to his actions, she looks at him with an â€Å"anxious face at his shoulder,† which describes how weary she is when in the presence of her husband (Faulkner 1961). Sarty’s whole family lives under a blanket of fear and anxiety due to his father’s insecurities, and resentment for people who belittle him. Sarty’s older brother is easily impressed, and follows their father’s manipulative ways of dysfunction: the brother said â€Å"Better tie him to the bedpost† (Faulkner 1965). Abner uses manipulations and violence to keep them in a sense of hopelessness and fear, never feeling safe. Sarty is too immature to put his young thoughts into words, thinking â€Å"They are safe from him. People wh ose lives are a part of this peace and dignity are beyond pain’s rifle. He cries out for his dead father as a young child would, but makes an adult decision to run away from everything and his family. Sarty ran into the woods for safety. He never knew how long he kept running away from the despair and fear of the choices that he and his father made that day. Little did Sarty recognize that running through that door at the de Spain mansion led to freedom for himself and his family: â€Å"Perhaps, it will take a Sarty Snopes to enter through another front door and, though promptly sent away, learn that he has the capacity and the willingness to make moral decisions that will lead him, not to death, but to life† (Samway 103). Sarty, knowing he would never feel the terror and despair of his father actions again, he chose to grieve, and made an adult decision to move forward to a new beginning in life with his integrity intact.

Viruses are living organisms Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Viruses are living organisms - Research Proposal Example Viruses are not as alive as bacteria because bacteria are proven to contain DNA which is missing in Viruses. However Viruses are not dead. They may lie dormant for certain period of time and then become active when they find a host. Thus we can say that viruses are very close to life and are only looking for a suitable host. Once the host is found, viruses can multiply rapidly just like bacteria. Mahy (1998) explains, "Outside a living cell, viruses are unable to multiply; they must enter a living cell - called the host cell - to reproduce. Thus, viruses exist at the threshold of life, and their multiplication is intricately bound up with cellular processes of the host. For this reason, antibiotics, which stop the multiplication of bacteria, cannot be used against viruses, since most substances that stop virus multiplication will also kill the host cells." As mentioned above, another important distinction lies in the presence or absence of DNA that distinguishes viruses from other living organisms like plants and bacteria. For an organism to qualify as living, it must contain both DNA and RNA. DNA is responsible for heredity while RNA aids in cellular functions. In most viruses, only RNA is found while DNA is missing. But interestingly scientists have found some viruses that contain DNA and no RNA. In other words, viruses are still not living organisms in the way bacteria are because to qualify as a living thing, they must have both RNA and DNA. Absence of either one can mean sub-life existence. Viruses are also different on account of the genes present in them. It must be argued that living organisms need a large number of genes to qualify as living things. Based on this presumption, we can say that even the smallest of bacteria are more alive than viruses. This is explained by Oldstone (2000) in these words: "Viruses have relatively few genes compared with other organisms. Measles virus, yellow fever virus, poliomyelitis virus, Lassa fever virus, Ebola virus, Hantavirus, as well as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), have fewer than ten genes each, whereas a smallpox virus may contain between 200 and 400 genes. These numbers compare with 5,000 to 10,000 genes for the smallest bacteria and approximately 80,000 to 100,000 genes for a human." (p. 9) These are the reasons why Viruses are neither called dead nor alive. They however qualify for a near-alive status because once they find a host; they can multiply with amazing rapidity and can suddenly become very active. In their dormant state however, they are nothing more than a speck of nucleic acid material. It must then be concluded that viruses cannot be called alive in the true sense of the word though they are almost-alive and act like parasites waiting for a suitable host. It must also be mentioned here that a living organism is one that is not dependent on other organism for its survival. Viruses meet this requirement to an extent because while they depend on a host for multiplication and activity, they do not exactly die when they are left alone. Instead they stay dormant till they find an organism to live upon. "Viruses never really die. If viruses are not actively reproducing, they can indefinitely maintain an inert state." (Goudsmit, p. 5) It would thus not be wrong to say that viruses maintain an almost-alive state but are not as living as bacteria or some other organisms capable of reproduction. They do not both DNA

Macroeconomics and Microeconomics - Fair Taxes Essay

Macroeconomics and Microeconomics - Fair Taxes - Essay Example The people of US are fully aware of the deductions made in the name of federal government taxes; they are now facing a new & unique kind of tax, which is being sponsored by 21 members from the house. This unique & novel specie of tax was proposed in the house of Republic of Georgia by John Linder & Rob Woodall by the name of FairTax Act of 2003, which states that the Americans are gifted with a single â€Å"national retail sales tax† in place of all other federal government taxes which include income taxes, capital gains taxes, death taxes, payroll taxes like social security & Medicare taxes etc. This sales tax comes with an amount of 23% of the original cost on all products in their final sale. Thus every American has to pay a 23% more of the original cost of any product in which way they simply get rid of every other sort of tax (FairTax official website 2011). Every American has his/her own reservations & concerns against this bill. None of them is very sure that this act i s actually going to change their lives in terms of betterment or not. They are under the concept of a single but huge kind of tax which is going to cover the rest of all other taxes. On the other hand, Rep. John Linder named it FairTax as according to him, other federally administered taxes were not fairly distributed among the high earners & low earners, while FairTax emphasizes that the more one spends, the more he/she pay the tax (the more one spends the more he/she has to pay in terms of taxation). Hence he made his point clear that high earners will surely spend more as compared to low earners, so the imposed tax will become â€Å"Fair† corresponding to everyone. According to a survey in the year 2009, 43% Americans are in favor of this bill, while 38% of them wanted to settle for the ongoing taxes. Hence overall less than a half population is in favor of the bill which clearly indicates its low level of appreciation & acceptance among the general public. (Boortz & Linde r. 2005). However, for this bill to become a permanent act in US constitution, it has to go a long way. It must be passed by the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means, both the House and the Senate and then finally signed by the President. In the year 2005, an advisor committee made by President George W. Bush indicated severe concerns regarding this bill. The most important issue was that the federally administered funds like retirement funds or gratuities etc have to be paid from the revenue gained by FairTax, which is very difficult to administer. Many critics also say that this bill would have harmful effects on the economy of the country as the revenue collected by it would be very less than currently enforced taxes, thus the government will either have to reduce its own expenses or else would face a great deficit in budget. Since the investments like exports, business transactions, savings or education tuition expenses would not be taxed as they are not considered to be a fin al consumption; there will be a huge setback for the economy. Hence many economists & advisory & advocacy groups strongly disagree with the idea of implementing FairTax bill as a revenue-neutral act for the government. (Hoagland. 2010). On the other hand, there are economists who are in a great support of this bill as according to them; it will boost US economy in the coming years. By doing some calculations with the rate of FairTax, The Beacon Hill Institute estimated that

Legal Environment and Business Decisions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Legal Environment and Business Decisions - Essay Example The Law of tort is used to punish people mishandling their rights carelessly or deliberately. The 14th century French word â€Å"Tortum† translating to ‘twisted’ is the base of the legal word â€Å"tort† (Smellie, 2002). Negligence is an unintentional irresponsible act considered as a breach of legal duty which any rational person would not do under normal circumstance. Any breach of duty which harmed the victim due to defendant’s fault can fetch the victim proper compensation for the injury or damage caused, under the negligence of tort law (Winfield, 2006). According to the Law of Tort, the prima facie case requirements for the victim to file a case are as follows 1. As strong evidence for breach in duty of care 2. Proof that the plaintiff’s damage is caused in connection to the defendant’s negligence 3. Proof that the foreseeable nature of the harm or damage was ignored by the defendant due to their negligence (Cooke, 2005). Analysis There are five important elements of consideration in this case. (1) Did the defendant Michael owe Anna duty of care? (2) If so, how did Michael breach his duty of care? (3) What damages have Anna suffered due to his Negligence? (4) Room for contributory negligence and voluntary assumption of risk in the case (5) Sort of compensation Anna is seeking and the chances for reduction Anna will be compensated only if the first three elements are proved to the satisfaction of the court. Tort law will provide the required remedy as compensation to the plaintiff based on the next two elements. The compensation may be of any form ranging from injunction to monetary rewards (Harowood, 2003, p.5). Duty of Care A person shall be subjected to trial if they fail to fulfill their â€Å"Duty of care†. Donoghue v Stevenson case, states Michael was supposed to help Anna according to the â€Å"Neighbor principle† in a vulnerable situation. Michael did so, but was not able to fulfill his â€Å"Duty of Care† completely as he did not foresee an accident. Breach in Duty of Care Michael was drunk and had difficulty in driving when Anna approached him for lift. He offered to help Anna considering her risky situation. But did not take enough care to drive safely. The defendant did and did not offer reasonable care in this case. â€Å"Reasonable care when dealing with others† is the most emphasized point in duty of care. Each case has a different level of reasonable care in accordance with the people and the situation dealt. The tort law determines what is reasonable care based on the explicit situation defined in each case (Atiyah, 1972). Anna’s Damages Anna suffered severe physical injuries along with Michael when the vehicle slipped off. She suffered monetary losses due to absence from work. The physical pain and monetary loss caused her great mental agony leaving her in a state of depression. Can Michael be held responsible for Anna’s loses? According to Anna, Michael was committing a legally wrong act by driving drunk. His decision to take Anna along with him when he himself had difficulty driving safely was a breach in duty of care. Contributory Negligence Anna noticed Michael smelled strongly of alcohol before parching on his vehicle. Since it was raining, late night and the plaintiff did not see any other means of transport

Russias Foreign Policy towards Georgia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Russias Foreign Policy towards Georgia - Essay Example If we should choose just one word that would most accurately describe Russian foreign policy, it would definetely be the word "pragmatic". In April 2005 while visiting Israel, Putin was asked if Russia is attempting to regain its status of global superpower, as it was as Soviet union during the Cold war era. Putin answered in a quite evasive manner, that the expenses required by such ambition would most certainly exceed the possible benefits from acquiring such position on the world scene, and he added that Russia already is a "great country" with important influence on the countries of the North and South hemisphere. The aspiration of becoming superpower again is not even explicitly declared in the basic foreign policy document we have already mentioned. Not only does it recede from such foreign aspirations, it also lacks the term "superpower" in its provisions, as this is not being used at all. In particular, it states almost the opposite that Russia attempts to become part of the multipolar system of international relations that truly reflects the diversity of modern world and the multiplicity of interest within its policies and needs (Arbatov 311). Still, it is evident that what is Russia really trying the achieve is the status of world superpower, different from the type of superpower Soviet union once was and achieved by different means. Soviet union was the superpower based on ideological antagonism to its Cold war rival the USA, or the West in general. On the contrary, modern Russian federation is certainly not interested in polarizing the world ideologically. Putins answer he provided during his Israel visit referred to the fact, that the role of superpower in effect paradoxically contributed to the fall of Soviet empire, which had global political influence, but paid a great price for only a little political or military gains, with no allies worth and efficiently strong. Russia chose a different way of declaring such ambitions that have always been an integral and essential part of its foreign policy. The foreign policy objective currently manifested by Russia, especially after events in Georgia in summer of 2008, is to resist the hegemony of the West, especially USA and EU, and the way they use, or even abuse, their post-Cold war power in the international political system and relations. The key instrument for the erosion the the Western hegemony (as Russia understands the situation in international relations) is not the composition of a solid "pact" of the states uncompromisingly opposing the West, but rather some coalition of states based on the pragmatic and nonideological relations, primarily on economic and military ties (Bobo Lo 163). This is undoubtedly the main reason why Russia preserves a very good relations with "potential superpowers" such as China, India and Brasil. Simultaneously, Russia is building a close ties

What are causes and effects of not conforming to social pressure Essay

What are causes and effects of not conforming to social pressure - Essay Example According to Asch’s research, most subjects tend to trust their own decisions even though they are under pressures that the confederates try to force subjects into changing their opinion. As a result, conformity is not totally necessary for people in order to stay in the group. Having a fashionable high technology product is what most people want today, especially the iPhone from the Apple Company. It is built with the latest technology and with elegant looks. Many people are conforming to buy it because of the advertising and existing users’ pressure. Their envy makes them follow others’ behavior. I was once asked by my friends to replace my phone with the iPhone because they are all using it. However, I refused to buy it because I feel I do not need it. It is not necessary to have such an expensive cell phone that I may not use the full functions of. I always ask myself the question of why I have to be like everyone else. Indeed, there is certain conformity such as traditional culture that people should follow, but it doesn’t mean that I should behave like some of those people buying pointless, fancy products. Even though I do not conform to social pressure, there is nothing changing in my life. I am still part of my social group, where my friends do not judge me as an outsider. Actually, there is nothing wrong with nonconformity. At least I have my own value to analyze anything. My mind and behavior are not controlled by someone else. So, I can have my own principle to do what I want. Similar to Asch’s experiment, only people who trust their own judgment will get the correct answer. However, people who conform to the group pressure are just for their self-complacence. They think it is the only way the group can accept them and have the same place in the conversation. In fact, it is how social groups make people think they are in the top trend and control their

Innovation and Regulation of Information and Communication Essay

Innovation and Regulation of Information and Communication Technologies - Essay Example Economic and Regulatory Factors responsible for the Success of Digital Terrestrial TV after 2001 According to a new global report on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) published together by Digital Technology Consulting and Screen Digest, long-term success of the DTT depended on whether broadcasters were successful in developing specific revenue streams from the DTT broadcasts and also how they adapted their business models to local market conditions. If the business models of DTT are studied in the different European countries, three distinct business models can be noticed. The first model includes the Pay – TV Platform where the DTT services were offered as the premium content in direct competition to cable and direct-to-home (DTH) satellite services. UK, Spain and Sweden adopted this as the original business model of DTT. The second model consists of the FTA Platform where DTT was offered as a variety of free-to-air (FTA) channels. Italy, France and Germany adopted this a s their business model. This also happens to be the business model of UK since 2002. The third model comprises of the Hybrid Platform where the DTT service combines a number of FTA channels within a limited payment. UK, Sweden, France and Finland have migrated to a hybrid DTT model (Oberst, Obradors & Garcia 2005, p 5; Starks 2007 p 168-172). Further analyses help to infer that the FTA Platform has contributed mainly towards expansion of the DTT services among the major European countries. The United Kingdom first operated on the Pay-TV Platform from which it switched to the FTA Platform. It now operates on a hybrid of Pay-TV and FTA Platform. Germany previously operated on the FTA Platform from which it now operates on a Pay TV using DVB-H trials. France used to operate on the FTA Platform from which it has now switched to combination of the FTA Platform and Pay-TV. Previously, Finland operated on the FTA Platform and now it operates in the FTA Platform and the Pay Channels. Sweden was on the Pay-TV Platform from which it has switched to a combination of Pay-TV Platform and FTA Channels. Italy used to operate on the FTA Platform from which it migrated to a combination of FTA and PPV (Oberst, Obradors & Garcia 2005, p 6). A Successful DTT Launch There have been four factors identified as necessary to a successful DTT launch: Firstly, there should be the availability of low Cost Set Top Boxes. These are widely available over an attractive range. Secondly, there must be co-operation between the various key and DTT stakeholders. Development of the DTT service requires the amalgamation of the interests of a range of stakeholders which includes policy makers, regulators, content owners and also multiples and network owners. Thirdly, there must be strong communication of DTT offerings and benefits to the potential customers. It has been found that consumers are not aware of the value of DTT. So a successful implementation of a DTT service requires a strong campaign of market communication informing the potential buyers about the presence and content of the DTT offering, the subscriber benefits, the technical issues including coverage, set top boxes etc. and exact switch-over dates of the service. Fourthly, there has to be an attractive offering of tangible and affordable benefits to the subscribers (Oberst Obradors & Garcia

What are causes and effects of not conforming to social pressure Essay

What are causes and effects of not conforming to social pressure - Essay Example According to Asch’s research, most subjects tend to trust their own decisions even though they are under pressures that the confederates try to force subjects into changing their opinion. As a result, conformity is not totally necessary for people in order to stay in the group. Having a fashionable high technology product is what most people want today, especially the iPhone from the Apple Company. It is built with the latest technology and with elegant looks. Many people are conforming to buy it because of the advertising and existing users’ pressure. Their envy makes them follow others’ behavior. I was once asked by my friends to replace my phone with the iPhone because they are all using it. However, I refused to buy it because I feel I do not need it. It is not necessary to have such an expensive cell phone that I may not use the full functions of. I always ask myself the question of why I have to be like everyone else. Indeed, there is certain conformity such as traditional culture that people should follow, but it doesn’t mean that I should behave like some of those people buying pointless, fancy products. Even though I do not conform to social pressure, there is nothing changing in my life. I am still part of my social group, where my friends do not judge me as an outsider. Actually, there is nothing wrong with nonconformity. At least I have my own value to analyze anything. My mind and behavior are not controlled by someone else. So, I can have my own principle to do what I want. Similar to Asch’s experiment, only people who trust their own judgment will get the correct answer. However, people who conform to the group pressure are just for their self-complacence. They think it is the only way the group can accept them and have the same place in the conversation. In fact, it is how social groups make people think they are in the top trend and control their

Causes of Great Depression Essay Example for Free

Causes of Great Depression Essay The economists and historians have not been able to reach an agreement regarding the causes of the depression. Most of them argue that the extensive stock market speculation was the major cause of depression. However they differ in the magnitude of effect of stock-market crash on the great depression. Milton Friedman says in this regard; I dont doubt for a moment that the collapse of the stock market in 1929 played a role in the initial recession (Parker, 49) Another economic historian Temin (1976) only attribute a minor role to the speculation and stock market crash as the cause of great depression. Other economists speculate that stock market crash set an impetus for great depression and was the primary cause of this economic devastation. For example, the research studies by Romer (1990) and Flacco and Parker (1992) provides verified and verifiable evidence that speculation and stock market collapse were the primary source of consumers uncertainty in the economic activity that finally led to great depression. As usual the period of depression was preceded by a long period of speculation. The prosperity of the 1920s has benefited only a small group of people who owned great businesses. These people made huge profits in the form of dividends. No doubt in these big businesses hundred and thousands of stockholders had also shares but their investments were purely of marginal nature. The major share in these concerns was in the hands of comparatively small number of people. It is estimated that in 1929 almost 78% of the dividends from the great industries, railroads, oil companies and other combines went to 0.3% population, headed by a handful of multi-millionaires. Gusmorino (1996) says in this regard; According to a study done by the Brookings Institute, in 1929 the top 0.1% of Americans had a combined income equal to the bottom 42%2. That same top 0.1% of Americans in 1929 controlled 34% of all savings, while 80% of Americans had no savings at all3. Automotive industry mogul Henry Ford provides a striking example of the unequal distribution of wealth between the rich and the middle-class. Henry Ford reported a personal income of $14 million4 in the same year that the average personal income was $750. As a result of speculation wave which swept the country during the years 1928-1929, the stock market reached new heights. This boom was caused by a large number of people speculating in shares of stock ‘on margin’. Under this system speculator deposited only as much money with their brokers as was sufficient to cover the probable range of fluctuations. Speculation in shares is resorted to because the price of the shares is rising and seems likely to rise. Tempted by the possibility of an easy fortune and wealth, in the late 1920s, people from different walks of life and professions freely indulged in stock speculation. For some time the prices of the shares showed a steady rise and reached an all time record in 1928-1929. Hall and Ferguson states that: The Federal Reserve began expressing concern in early 1928 and at that time began a policy of monetary restriction in an effort to stem the stock market advance. This policy continued through May 1929. The monetary restriction was carried out by selling $405 million in government securities and raising the discount rate in three stages from 3.5 percent to 5 percent at all Federal Reserve banks. But it was a late move as in October 1929, the stock market collapsed following Britain decision to raise the rate of interest to six and a half percent, with a view to attract back the capital that had been invested in United States. As a result many European holdings were thrown on the market and the prices of the shares began to sag. Once the process fell, the speculator started selling their stock-shares to avoid bigger losses. Once selling on larger scale started, this affected the confidence of the others who also fell in line. As a result of this stock market collapse, an unparalleled depression overtook United States. The prices started falling sharply, foreign trade declined, factories curtailed production, real-estate declined, new construction practically ceased, wages were cut and unemployment began to increase. Over-production of agricultural products is considered as another cause of great depression. As the farmers produced more wheat, cotton, corn and other cash crops than could be consumed, as a result there was sharp decline in the prices and purchase of farm products. This affected the purchasing power of the farmers, Furthermore, the farmers had assumed heavy mortgage during the prosperous times, which further curtailed their purchasing capacity. This inevitably cut down the market for the manufactured goods and prevented the factories from producing to their full capacity and stood in the ways of the workers getting employment. So it was cause and effect phenomenon. Over-production in the industrial sector also augmented the depression. In the years of boom which followed by World War I, the American manufacturers, encouraged and captivated by huge profits had made too many goods which could not be consumed by the home market. Ultimately these manufacturers were compelled to cut down the production which meant dismissing a number of workers. The unemployed workers had very little or no capacity to spend which meant further reduction in the production of goods. As the depression grew, this process continued. For sometime the production of these merchants was consumed by the domestic consumers due to system of installment buying. However, carried to extreme, this plan of installment buying was dangerous and completely dried up the future purchasing power and increased the load of private debts. The introduction of the labor-saving devices also led to greater production with less labor. As a result of introduction of the machines, a large number of men were thrown out of jobs and usually they failed to secure alternative jobs. This meant diminishing capacity of the labor to purchase. The Gold standard and money hoarding also contributed toward the increase of depression. Due to economic unrest caused initially by bathed stock market crash compelled the people to hoard large amounts of money. As America had a 100% gold standard at that time, so circulation of money became a major dilemma for the Federal Reserve Board. Money supply dropped radically. However Professor Richard Timberlake (2005) negates this preposition and holds that the gold standard could not held accountable for the Great Depression, because Federal Reserve Board was not pursuing a austere gold standard even earlier. As a result of the war, the economies of the European powers were badly shattered and they owed huge debts to United States. Most of these debtor nations made an effort to buy as little as possible and sell more to United States. For sometime the American investor kept the international trade machinery working by providing huge loans to the foreign powers. But once the borrowers reached a point where their capacity to repay ceased, the loans were stopped. This greatly affected the American trade. Gusmorino (1996) holds the view; A last major instability of the American economy had to do with large-scale international wealth distribution problems. While America was prospering in the 1920s, European nations were struggling to rebuild themselves after the damage of war. During World War I the U.S. government lent its European allies $7 billion, and then another $3.3 billion by 1920. By the Dawes Plan of 1924 the U.S. started lending to Axis Germany. American foreign lending continued in the 1920s climbing to $900 million in 1924, and $1.25 billion in 1927 and 1928. Further, the American government adopted huge tariffs (Fordney-McCumber Tariff 1922 and Hawley Smooth Tariff of 1930) which checked the inflow of European goods into United States. The European powers retaliated by erecting tariff barriers against American goods. As a result the American exports to overseas markets fell considerably. Randall Parker add another psychological dimension to these material and monetary causes of great depression. He analyzes that pessimistic expectation of the investors and the consumers also contributed greatly toward solidifying depression. He further says; †¦the behavior of expectations should also be added. As explained by James Tobin, there was another reason for a â€Å"change in the character of the contraction† in 1931. Although Friedman and Schwartz attribute this â€Å"change† to the bank panics that occurred, Tobin points out that change also took place because of the emergence of pessimistic expectations. If it was thought that the early stages of the Depression were symptomatic of a recession that was not different in kind from similar episodes in our economic history, and that recovery was a real possibility, the public need not have had pessimistic expectations. Instead the public may have anticipated things would get better. However, after the British left the gold standard, expectations changed in a very pessimistic way. The public may very well have believed that the business cycle downturn was not going to be reversed, but rather was going to get worse than it was. When households and business investors begin to make plans based on the economy getting worse instead of making plans based on anticipations of recovery, the depressing economic effects on consumption and investment of this switch in expectations are common knowledge in the modern macroeconomic literature. In addition to these above factors, certain other factors also operated either o cause the depression or to make it worse once it had come. These included (i) the increase in population rate was much less than the production rate, which reduced the consumers.; (ii) the disappearance of the western frontier, which meant that America could no lo9nger move in that direction during bad times and (iii) political unrest in Europe, Asia and South America, due to inter-governmental debts, also aggravated the great depression in United States. References Gusmorino, Paul A., III. `Main Causes of the Great Depression.` Gusmorino World (May 13, 1996). http://www.gusmorino.com/pag3/great_depression/index.html Flacco, Paul R. and Randall E. Parker. â€Å"Income Uncertainty and the Onset of the Great Depression.† Economic Inquiry 30, no. 1 (1992): 154-71. Hall, Thomas Ferguson, David. The Great Depression: an international disaster of perverse economic policies. Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, 1998. Kaiser, David E. Economic diplomacy and the origins of the Second World War: Germany, Britain, France and Eastern Europe, 1930-1939 (1980) Parker, Randall E. Reflections on the Great Depression. Northampton, MA, USA : Edward Elgar. 2002. Parker, Randall E. An Overview of the Great Depression. Economic History Association. http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/parker.depression Temin, Peter. Did Monetary Forces Cause the Great Depression? New York: W.W. Norton, 1976. Timberlake, Richard. Gold Standards And the Real Bills Doctrine in U.S. Monetary Policy. Economic Journal Watch. VOL.2. No. 2. (August 2005). 196-233.

Progress On E Commerce In Pakistan

Progress On E Commerce In Pakistan Electronic commerce e-commerce was often thought simply to refer to buying and selling using the Internet; people immediately think of consumer retail purchases from companies such as Amazon. But e-commerce involves much more than electronically mediated financial transactions between organizations and customers. Now it is broadally defined as all types of electronic transactions between organizations and stakeholders whether they are financial transactions or exchanges of informaion or other services. (Cheffey, 2009). The Internet is a force for change, creating new business economies (Lambert, 2002) and altering considerably the worlds economies (Rayport and Jaworski, 2001). The literature stresses the importance of such new technologies to the economy as a whole and to SMEs in particular. Although, Martin and Matlay (2003) contend that such wide-ranging beliefs over the Internet have yet to be supported by any empirical evidence. Tidd et al. (2001) consider the Internet to be one of the defining symbols of twenty-first century innovation that has transformed our conceptual notions of how we value knowledge to new economy. E-commerce has become well over 100 billion dollars market with a growth rate of almost seventy percent per year (Aamir Atta 2008). It is not very costly investment to do business on internet. It is estimated that in near future, almost 25% of the traditional business will be converted into internet business. The business and the corporate world, suitably supported by the IT industry, already stands shifted, which is estimated to exceed $400 billion this year (Dr. Mushtaq A. Sajid 2003). At the end of 2008 nearly 1,596 million people or 23.8 % of total populations of the world had access to the Internet. This represents an increase of 342.2% over the year 2000. Asian countries account for 474.9 % growth while rest of the world grew by nearly 280.7 % in the same period (The Internet Coaching Library, 2009). This is a departure from the post-industrial business age that is typified by physical goods, towards a knowledge led economy where service, information and intelligence are the main currencies (Rayport and Jaworski, 2001). There have always been new economies (Clayton, 2002). What makes this innovation different are four distinct characteristics: immediate access to world-wide markets of information; better speed to market; the transformation of business processes; and the shift in the balance of power between suppliers and customers as information becomes more widely available. It is suggested by most studies that e-commerce runs through four steps. The first step is to let the world know about your existence through building your own website. The website contains useful information about your company, the product/services you sell and other related information, which certainly increases the chance to of your success. The second step involves convincing customers to loose their pockets and buy your product/services online. Adoption of advance level of software capable of handling orders is required in this step. In the third step, the business is managed by improving inventory management and last but the most important step is to provide payments facility through online banking partnership between buyers and sellers, which is the most difficult and complex part of e-commerce (Nissanoff, Daniel 2006). The most widespread and admired forms of e-commerce are business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumers (B2C). Government-to-citizens (G2C) and Business-to-government (B2G) and are other forms, running on the internet but with low steam. However, the use of earlier two still dominates the internet (Chaudhury, Abijit; Jean-Pierre Kuilboer 2002). E-commerce in Pakistan In the underdeveloped societies only a few businesses have attempted e-commerce and most have failed to identify economic benefits considering it a waste of time and resources. There is no convincing and detailed study of e-commerce opportunities in poor societies. Most of the parameters, which have contributed to the growth of e-commerce in developed countries, are missing in these underdeveloped societies (Shahid Mahmood 2008). According to International Telecommunication Union (ITU), internet access has been available in Pakistan since the mid-1990s. PCTL started offering access via the nationwide local call network in 1995. By early 2006 Internet penetration remained low. There are 18.5 million internet users in Pakistan as of June 2009, which is 10.4% of total population. It was 0.1% in 2000 with total internet users of just 134,000 (Internet World Stat 2009). Since we are now promoting global e-commerce in Pakistan, it should be known to us that almost 78% of the e-commerce activity takes place in the USA. This is obviously not possible without the use of internet in that country (Attock News 2010). Pakistan can make good use of this opportunity with proper planning and execution. To begin with, let us focus on the domestic front before going all out for the global market. Currently the growth of c-commerce in Pakistan is vulnerable by various factors. The pace of growth is slow due to some barriers. It is therefore inevitable to remove these barriers for E-commerce to grow in the country (Business Recorder 2008). A survey about e-commerce in Pakistan was conducted by propakistani that found some hard realities about current status (Teabreak 2008). However, in contrary to my findings, Mr. Abdul Quayyum Khan Kundi, CEO of a US based firm get Pakistan.com in an interview says that he sees a lot of activities of e-commerce in the country these days. Committees are formed to discuss various issues and educational institutes are doing seminars. All this may look good on the surface but I still feel for successful adoption of e-commerce we need a greater commitment from regulators and private sector. The key is not identifying the need the key lies in the speed of execution. Unfortunately we are lagging behind other economies in the region in this regard (Getpakistan.com). Progress on E-commerce in Pakistan Pakistan is one of the fifteen members of Asia Pacific Council for the Facilitation of Procedures and Practices for Administration, Commerce and Transport aiming to support the United Nations Centre, a non-governmental organization that promotes trade facilitation, electronic business policies and activities in the Asia-Pacific region (Ecommerce Journal 2009). Global Technology Forum identifies some developments made so far made in this area by the government (Ebusinessforum 2006): Almost 4,000 bank branches are computerised, many of them offer online funds transfers from overseas. E-merchant accounts were permitted by State Bank of Pakistan in February 2001 but due to inadequate infrastructure and security concerns, only Citibank offered these accounts to a limited number of business sectors. In December 2005, the Central Board of Revenue (CBR), the tax authority, started online tax facilities including online tax returns. The Information Technology and Telecommunications Division was established in July 2000. The purpose was to provide various e-commerce related incentives to industry and the provision of resources for educational and infrastructure building. The National Information Technology Policy was launched by the Ministry of Science and Technology in August 2000. As per latest information, the total spending (by the government and private sector) on information, communications and technology in Pakistan was US$10bn during 2005/06. Various e-commerce projects and programs were started in both public and private sectors in August 2006. The government had planned new IT and e-commerce projects worth well over PKR 4.5bn up to 2007. The government further aimed to produce 100,000 graduates a year in IT studies from the seven new IT universities it has already set up (Global Technology Forum 2006). The Lahore Chamber of Commerce Industry (LCCI) has recently signed a Memorandum of Undersanding (MoU) with Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) to improve productivity by providing tailor-made IT solutions to Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country. PITB will arrange IT Workshops for the staff of the companies in SME sector to develop human resource and businesses in accordance with global IT advancement. Both partners has further agreed to promote awareness about IT parks among business community to explore potential for joint ventures related to technology with foreign computer firms (Aamir Attaa 2010). They have further agreed to improve the strategy to integrate IT into businesses. This will no doubt pave the way of e-commerce for SMEs. The book entitled Secrets of Electronic Commerce (ITC 2009) addresses issues such as understanding of various technical terms, devising electronic commerce strategies, protecting consumer privacy and intellectual property, sending electronic signatures and generating traffic for small/new web sites. SMEs in Pakistan Martin and Matlay (2003) suggest SMEs are a heterogeneous and complex mix of economically active units. Most working definitions of SMEs emanate from the Bolton Committee report of 1971, which defines a small firm as independent, owner managed and with a small market share. The Bolton report offered a variety of statistical definitions, namely that the size of the firm was relevant to the sector it was in and that in certain sectors it was more suitable to classify the size of the firm by the number of employees. The use of so many definitions has its critics who argue that it impedes statistical analysis. Such criticism is often dismissed by claiming that these definitions all have their different uses (Beaver, 2002). Pakistan is more closed to Germany to define the limits of company to fit under SME; with maximum 250 employees, paid up capital of Rs.25 million (USD 0.3 million) and annual sales of up to Rs.250 million (USD 3 million). The Federal Government, in line with the econom ic development of Pakistan may, from time to time modify the eligibility criteria as it sees fit. All providers of services receiving funding from the Government may define more narrow scopes for specific targeting purposes. Moreover, different institutions have set their own criteria to define SME. In Pakistan, SMEDA (Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority), established in October 1998, is a premier institution of the Govt. of Pakistan under Ministry of Industries and Production, to take on the challenge of developing Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan. It thrives to provide an enabling environment and business development services to small and medium enterprises. SMEDA is not only an SME policy-advisory body for the government of Pakistan but also facilitates other stakeholders in addressing their SME development agendas (SMEDA 2009). In a survey report arranged by Asian Development Bank (ADB), it has been revealed that Pakistan has become the slowest-growing country in South Asia during the last decade. Large scale manufacturing has recovered significantly in the last couple of days, but there are still concern about its sustainability, spread and robustness. Small and medium scale industry has not made a corresponding recovery yet (Bari, Cheema, Haque 20 05). They have mentioned seven constraints in the growth of SME in the country but none of them covers e-commerce. SME growth in not inhibited by technological barriers to entry (Kemal 1993). E-commerce for SME Issues Challenges E-commerce is an issue-driven field. The issues that concern us are those with the potential to throw weighty spanners in the works of ecommerce players. They form aspects of a climate that affects all players equally. Open legal, technical, and cultural issues have the power to flex the architectures of the best-prepared ecommerce player (May P. 2000). The author in his book has identified some issues e.g. (1) Legal issues such as Intellectual Property, Responsibility Privacy, Regulation Taxation, (2) Technical issues such as Platform risk, Communication disconnect, Skills and (3) Market issues. In this context, we will therefore, try to find issues being faced by SME in Pakistan to adopt e-commerce. Numerous studies into the use of e-commerce in SMEs recently have been of an exploratory and qualitative nature (Drew 2002). While there is rapid growth and development of dot-coms and the new economy, SMEs in developing countries have been slower to adopt e-commerce than their developed countries (Intrapairot and Srivihok 2003). Moreover, there are several issues that have been raised in recent SME literatures, which include: Exploring the advantage and disadvantage of e-commerce in Thai SMEs (Intrapairot and Srivihok, 2003) The importance of e-commerce infrastructure in facilitating the e-commerce adoption initiatives for SMEs in developing countries (Jennex et al. 2004, Stylianou et al. 2003). The use of e-commerce by manufacturing sector of Italian SMEs (Santarelli and DAltri, 2003). Adoption attributes that may affect e-commerce use in Brunei SMEs (Seyal and Rahman 2003) Factors influencing e-commerce adoption decisions in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand (Lertwongsatien and Wongpinunwatana 2003) The use of e-commerce in Australian SMEs (MacGregor et al. 1998). In addition, the business press and trade journals have also given coverage to many of the issues faced by SMEs in moving into e-commerce (Matlay and Addis 2003, Phillips 1998, Schlenker and Crocker 2003). However, there are some issues that have received very little attention in research to date, such as: Framework that helps SMEs evaluate the strategic use of e-commerce as well as guiding the adoption process. Assessment of e-commerce application and post adoption experiences in different sectors of Pakistans SMEs. There is limited research on how businesses have integrated e-commerce strategy into existing business strategy, although authors (such as Doherty and McAulay 2002) have suggested it is important that e-commerce investments be driven by corporate strategies. Strategy Developing an e-commerce strategy requires a fusion of existing approaches to business, marketing, supply chain management and information systems strategy development. In addition to traditional strategy approaches, commentators have exhorted companies to apply innovative techniques to achieve competitive advantage. Around the start of the new millennium, many articles, fuelled by the dot-com hype of the time, urged CEOs to innovate or die (Chaffey 2009). Strategy defines the future direction and actions of an organization or part of an organization. (Johnson and Scholes 2006) define corporate strategy as: the direction and scope of an organization over the long-term: which achieves advantage for the organization through its configuration of resources within a changing environment to meet the needs of markets and to fulfill stakeholder expectations. It can also be described as an organizations sense of purpose. However, he notes that purpose alone is not strategy; plans or actions are also needed (Lynch 2000). E-commerce strategy share much in common with corporate, business and marketing strategies. The organizations have different levels of strategy, particularly for larger or global organizations (Johnson and Scholes 2006). They have not expressly stated about strategy for SMEs but since they have mentioned that larger orgnizations do have different strategy, therefore, we can assume that strategy of SMEs must be different. However, the difference in strategies is not the core of our debate here. We should be familiar with the integeration of e-commerce strategy into existing strategy. One might question why the presence of e-commerce has expanded very rapidly in recent years. The answer is simply because of the opportunities and benefits that are evident from the current implementation by many organisations. The concept of strategic use e-commerce through the utilisation of Internet software and services also endeavours to link Internet use with opportunities it offers to the firm (Sadowski et al. 2002). It further recognises that the strategic potential Internet use allows exercising the control over the bounds of relationships and interfaces used in relationships between customers and the business, which are also related to the firms strategies. E-commerce has offered a variety of potential benefits both to SMEs and large business. Numerous studies claim their findings on the benefit and impact of e-commerce. Those findings are summarised into the following points (Chan 2001, Schneider 2002): E-commerce offers unmatched savings in terms of transaction costs The reduction of cost in advertising and promotion Speed communication between buyer and seller Companies can shorten their traditional supply chains, minimise transport obstacles, and reduce delivery costs. Physical limitations of time and space are removed. Despite the attractive benefits that SMEs may obtain from adopting e-commerce into their business, SMEs possess significant problems in identifying the appropriate application of e-commerce and its strategy due to the lack of knowledge and planning. Consequently, it is hardly surprising to witness that most of the SMEs owner/managers will finally develop their strategy through a trial-and-error method. An assessment of success factors for e-commerce strategy implementation in SMEs has been produced by Jeffcoate et al. (2002). They suggest 11 critical success factors, which can also be usefully applied to larger organizations: 1. Content: The effective presentation of a product or services 2. Convenience: The usability of the web site 3. Control: The extent to which organizations have defined processes that they can manage. 4. Interaction: The means of relationship building with individual customers. 5. Community: The means of relationship building with groups of like-minded individuals or organizations. 6. Price sensitivity: The sensitivity of a product or service to price competition on the Internet. 7. Brand image: The ability to build up a credible brand name for e-commerce 8. Commitment: A strong Motivation for using the Internet and the will to innovate 9. Partnership: The extent to which an e-commerce venture uses partnerships (value chain relationships) to leverage Internet presence and expand its business. 10. Process improvement: The extent to which companies can change and automate business processes. 11. Integration The provision of links between underlying iT systems in support of partnership and process improvement. Adoption E-commerce has introduced new opportunities for small and large organizations to compete in the global marketplace. Many experts have noted that one of the biggest changes introduced by electronic communications is how approaches to transmitting and transforming information can be used for competative advantage. The electronic commerce provides significatn opportunities for many businesses to build closer relationships with their existing customers and suppliers online to help achieve customer retntion. Its usage by stakeholders can significantly reduce costs while providing a new, convenient channel for purchase and customer service. Organizations can build lasting relationships with their stakeholders by providing high-quality online services. We should assess the impact of e-commere on our market place and organizations (Cheffey 2009). Business adoption of e-commerce and e-business is driven by benefits to different parts of their organization. First and foremost, they are concerned how the benefits of e-commerce will impact on profitbility or generating value to an organization. The two main ways in which this can be achieved are: Potential for increased revenue due to extended reach to a large number of customers, repeat transactions among existing customers and encouraging loyality. Reduction in cost achieved by delivering services electronically. This includes staff clost, transport and material cost such as stationery, etc (Cheffey 2009). Until a few years ago, the academic literature was giving very little information on why SMEs adopt e-commerce. However, now rather more information could be found on the broader aspects of information and communication technology (ICT) adoption and the use of the Internet in general. Thus, the reasons for ICT, Internet and e-commerce adoption by SMEs are complex and often interrelated. It is thought that much of this early adoption of the Internet was motivated by a mixture of management eagerness, the need for better communications and that for most businesses it presented an affordable admission price to world markets prior to establishing more important business relationships (Simpson and Docherty 2004). Although Dixon et al. (2002) found a lack of any empirical research on the effect of ICT on SMEs and of the modest amount that there was much of it involved cross-sectional studies rather than longitudinal comparisons. The comparative wealth of research in the area of ICT adoption (compared to e-commerce) suggests that an SMEs inherent qualities of size and flatter organisational structure make them more predisposed to facilitating innovation. According to Tidd et al. (2001) the major factors for successful innovation are a mixture of having a dedicated and motivated individual, usually the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and paying attention to a multitude of good management activities and attitudes. This includes the ability to predict and respond to the business environment and industry changes. In part this concurs with Cragg et al.s (2001) view that SMEs with a CEO with a penchant for Information Technology (IT) and innovation would be more likely to adopt IT. Cragg et al. (2001) concluded that three issues that were likely to have an effect on the take up of the Internet by SMEs was the perceived benefits, organisational readiness and external pressures. However, Dongen et al. (2002) argue that much of the literature supposes that ICT adoption is for opportunistic reasons, based on cost, rather than for strategic reasons. Van Beveren and Thomson (2002) point out that the most cited reasons for e-commerce adoption tend to be those based upon the companys size and their perceived importance of e-commerce to their business purpose. While Daniel and Myers (2002) found that as a company grows in size it becomes more difficult to communicate with customers and this leads to the adoption of e-commerce. Although the work of Bodorick et al. (2002) did not focus specifically on SMEs they suggest that e-commerce readiness and adoption are likely to vary by industry sector. Martin and Matlay (2003) found that micro-businesses that focus on providing business services w ere more likely to adopt ICT than similar sized manufacturing firms while Daniel and Myers (2002) found that the older the SME the less likely they were to use e-commerce. Kalakota and Robinson (2001) see the adoption of e-commerce as more of an external pressure brought about by a new type of customer value proposition of what they want, when and how they want it and at the lowest cost. Daniel and Myers (2002) and Dongen et al. (2002) found that responding to competitors was also likely to be an important driver towards the adoption of e-commerce. Timmers (1999) uses Michael Porters five forces model to argue that e-commerce creates almost perfect competition as barriers to entry are reduced, transaction costs lowered, customers are able to obtain better access to information, customer driven pricing is possible and all with the minimum of legislation and regulation. In addition, low entry costs leading to an early return on investment whilst safeguarding such investment was seen as a major attraction of e-commerce (Timmers, 1999). Daniel and Myers (2002) found that the overall reason for the adoption of e-commerce by SMEs was to enhance c ustomer relationships either through improving customer services, developing the brand, seeking out new customers or to allow for discourse with customers. The notion was that these businesses better understand how competitive differentiation can be achieved by developing superior customer relationships. Kalakota and Robinson (2001) have similar views claiming that through the use of e-commerce companies can become the best, most recognisable and also the cheapest. That is, e-commerce can create opportunities for a combination of differentiation and cost leadership strategies to be employed (Campbell-Hunt, 2000). Cragg et al. (2001) found three types of perceived benefits namely, relative advantage, communication (over more traditional methods such as the telephone) and as a business tool i.e. something that is a part of everyday business. Cragg et al. (2001, p. 172) argue that: Those that have not adopted the Internet must seek a business benefit, for example they may pursue advant ages over traditional methods of advertising. More pragmatic advice can be found in the literature targeted at small businesses and which praises the benefits of e-commerce from both the business and customer perspectives (Bradshaw, 2001). For example, e-commerce allows businesses to trade and receive payments online non-stop and leaves customers satisfied because the business is always open. In addition, e-commerce has other benefits such as lowering the running costs of the business, allowing access to a wider market and saves time for the customer who will also feel in control (Bradshaw, 2001). It has been suggested that some small businesses only exist because of moving onto the Internet and the notion of the Internet as a salvation for some businesses appears to be a relatively new idea (Wroe, 2002). Barriers Cheffey (2009) explains about a DTI study conducted in 2002 evaluating some of the barriers to e-commerce, specially to B2B, which remain valid today. The reason of cost is the most important factor, following by some other factors, eighteen in total, which can cause hurdles in the growth of e-commerce in the industry. Adoption of e-business by established SMEs is generally less han that in larger businesses. This is principally a consequence of he negative attitude of managing directors and CEOs o the business benefits of information and communication technology. Our study will highlight the barriers to e-commerce, if there are any, in the country hurdling in the adoption by SMEs. Tunyo (2008) highlights some barriers to the e-commerce in the country. He says that the size of e-commerce in the country is small and also uncertain at the moment and the growth of e-commerce is hampered by a number of factors and it is inevitable to remove these hurdles for e-commerce to grow in the country. The major barriers are; Misconception about e-commerce Mistruct Traditional nature of society Literacy rate Access to internet services Lack of e-transportation services Poor distribution channels The study will conclude with an overall assessment of the current status of the adoption of e-commerce by SMEs and forecast of the future of e-commerce in this sector.