Given the dynamism of today's market and the ever increasing degree of Assignment

Given the dynamism of today's market and the ever increasing degree of competition globally, produce a critical assessment of - Assignment Example In regard specifically to the business sector, the involvement of certain business tools and frameworks in the promotion of globalization seems to be extended. Reference can be made, for example, to the information systems, in all their forms. Information systems are highly related to globalization. Moreover, these systems are likely to be used by business worldwide as a tool for acquiring competitive advantage. The above role of information systems is presented in this paper. The Porter Five Forces model is used for explaining the involvement of information systems in the increase of business competitiveness, both locally and globally. Table of contents Executive Summary 2 1. Introduction 4 2. IT and competitive advantage 4 2.1 Effects of globalization on business – information systems and their relationship to globalization 4 2.2 Business processes and their relationship to information systems 7 2.3 Evaluation of the use of information systems as tools for increasing busines s competitiveness – Porter’s Five Forces model 10 3. Conclusion 12 References 14 Appendix 15 1. Introduction Aligning business processes with organizational objects is one of the most critical challenges that organizational leaders worldwide have to face. On the other hand, business processes are not standardized. Rather, they have to be changed continuously so that they can keep the organizational competitiveness high. Information systems can be considered as a tool that help business processes to achieve the above target. In practice, the use of information systems in organizations has been related to globalization. This view can be considered as justified if taking into consideration the following fact: information systems have been expanded across business activities of all sectors mostly because certain businesses have emphasized on the particular systems. Since the role of information systems in enhancing organizational profits and improving businesses processes has been made clear, the popularity of these systems worldwide has been increased. The relationship between information systems and globalization is examined in this paper. Particular emphasis is given on the potential use of information systems for achieving competitive advantage. It is proved that, indeed, information systems can play such role. However, it is necessary for the involvement of these systems in organizational activities to be carefully planned and monitored, otherwise the relevant plan will be led to a failure, either in the short or the long term. 2. IT and competitive advantage 2.1 Effects of globalization on business – information systems and their relationship to globalization. The high value of information systems for the development of business activities cannot be ignored. In order to understand the involvement of information systems in modern organizations it would be necessary to refer primarily to the effects of globalization on businesses; then, th e role of information systems in supporting business activities could be understood. Modern market is characterized by a ‘global integration’ (Walker 2004, p.171). This means that a firm can survive in the global market only if it is able to strengthen its processes so that they can secure the firm’s competitiveness towards its rivals (Walker 2004, p.171). At the same time, Doole and Lowe (2005) that globalization has set a new challenge for all businesses: instead of trying to keep their existing market position,

Comparing Two Artists Essay Example for Free

Comparing Two Artists Essay Magritte uses minimal dull colours though he changes tones within his colours to create shadowy effects and also creates a layered element contributing to line within his artwork; the horizontal layers between the background make the vertical lines of the owls stand out in the foreground of his artwork. Magritte is known to not leave hidden messages within his artwork, cleverly painting the reality he see’s. For this particular symbolic painting Magritte uses oil on canvas, the sharp detail he uses in his brush strokes make the image look real but not real at the same time. His witty version of reality he paints fall into surrealism, although his artwork include symbolic owls his painting is clear, interesting and well defined, he wanted his viewers to look at his painting and appreciate what is right there, not leaving them wondering why or what it means, because everything he wished to portray is right there in the artwork. Owls symbolize wisdom. In many cultures they are believed to be able to see all things that are usually hidden quite possibly fears. Magritte uses these owls to represent as an ancient human fear or the owls are the companions of our ancient fears, the birds growing from the soil may represent the ‘roots’ to our fears. In comparison to Magritte, Peter Booth’s artwork ‘Untitled 1976’ displays an image of apocalyptic shock, at the same time Booth includes his painful personal experiences and his view of humanity. This is evident when he uses harsh and cold colours to represent the apocalyptic vibe he sends through his artwork, the tones are very similar within each colour although when looking at the whole painting the contrast between the different colours is quite prominent leaving a cold feeling for his viewers to feel. Line has most strongly been used to create the strong horizon line and hence fore-middle- and background. The thin repeated lines of the fire and sky create pattern and simulated texture. The texture of the paint Booth uses to illustrate the industrial side of his landscape maybe suggesting he had a rough childhood. The shape of the figures in Booth’s artwork are all out of proportion, implying they could be apart of his hazy memory or hallucination, and this is how he remembers them. Booth uses gouache on paper for this particular artwork his intense brush strokes create perspective on his painting, guiding his viewers to understand and follow where he directs them. His work is characterised by an intense emotional power of often dark narratives, and esoteric symbolism, this artwork also reflecting on his nightmarish dreams which categorise him in surrealism, as he works closely with the element of surprise or shock difference. The colours he uses are symbolic to aspects of his childhood growing up in the industrial surroundings.

The main differences between poems are described by Metaphysical and Classical. :: English Literature

The main differences between poems are described by Metaphysical and Classical. The main differences between poems are described by Metaphysical and Classical. The most famous metaphysical poets would be John Dunn and Marvell, and then the most famous classical poets would be Marlowe and Johnson. Metaphysical being the more interesting makes use of arguments to persuade this can also be described as dialectic. Then Classical is more "Carpe Diem" (Seize the Day) being simpler and with all the verses being the same and in a Starvea (irregular) and an example of this is the poem To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time. The poem, To his coy mistress is very much Carpe Diem but the poet Andrew Marvell who wrote it was influenced by both Metaphysical and Classical types of poetry, the way in the beginning of the poem he seems to talk about things in a very slow way, walking, time slowing down to try to woe the women in a much quicker, the poem also shows a lot of Petrachan influences as when Andrew Marvell says 'Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze' and 'Thy beauty shall no more be found'. The poem is very much more in use of words that show the women in which the poem is talking about as being a goddess as I said earlier; this seems to play a large part in the poem. Another poem which is also very Carpe Diem is, to the virgins, to make much of time, this poem uses irregular (starvea) stress' and unstressed' words, but does have a regular amount of feet throughout the poem. The poem seems to be stating to a woman that she should not wait at all and get married in her youth when she still can, it is speaking as though the women has no other option than to get married in her youthful times. The writer, Robert Herrick, is using the sun also as a use of time saying to hurry before the sun sets and it will be too late for the sun and the women marrying times are gone. The poem The Flea is very different to the other two before, it is a metaphysical poem which is much more interesting, it uses a much more dialectic view of wooing a women. It uses the fact that as a flea has bitten both the poet and the women of whom he is in love with, that it means that there are three lives all together in one and that him and his love almost 'more than maryed are'.

Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter was known from her literary woks that deal with the formation of ideal minds of children. Her children stories made significant prints in the world of literature. Through this, Potter became famous and influential in different parts of the world in terms of her writings and contributions to literature.Potter was born in South Kensington, London on July 28, 1866. She was not able to experience a normal and meaningful life during her childhood. Every action were detailed and numbered. She could not have more time to interact or communicate with other people.Only her pets became her friends as she kept them, studied about them, and draw them. Despite of this, she was luck for she was not a poor child like other authors or writers who seemed to start from rugs to riches. During her teenage years, she was introduced to many prominent personalities that gave her the opportunity to show her talent in writing and painting. Because she was unhappy with her childhood life, she s hared her talent to the children whom she wanted to imagine, to amaze, to laugh, or to simply become happy.Another factor that manifest in her literary works was her love for animals. Her first children story was about an animal. Her story book was filled with animal pictures along with a simple story to make a child happy. This was happen in 1892, when she started to create a children short story. She sent her story to her friends’ son. Soon, this piece became the â€Å"tale of Peter Rabbit† in 1920. This story was her first and major published work that many children used to read until today. After a year, another story was published with the help of her friends and family.Yearly, she publicized one to two stories that became famous and significant in different parts of the world during her time and until today, which can still be seen in the future. Most of her topics in her stories are about animals and vegetables because for her, it can be a way for children to be come more familiar and close to their pets and other animals as well as their eating habit when it comes to eating vegetables. Along with her writing stories, she also paints different kinds of paintings. Though those paintings are simple, they still bring life to the many people.As she started her first story in 1902, she worked for different stories that were published until 1944, a year after her death. However, though she stopped writing stories, she still wrote different letters as well as manuscripts whether personal or career manuscripts were not taken for granted. After her death on December 22 1943 at the age of 77, many authors and chroniclers had their way to give importance to the life and contribution of Potter. Her books have been translated to braille and numerous languages including German, Latin, Welsh, Spanish, French, Japanese and Dutch (Merriman, 2006).As many authors and writers’ way of giving gratitude and respect towards potter, they made her pieces rec ognized in different parts of the world by translating her text in different kinds of languages. Because of her contribution to literature, many authors of children stories patterned their pieces on Potter’s works for it can be seen as a way of nurturing children through the use of animal and vegetable characters. From this sense, many analysts have thought about the deeper sense of Potter’s attack to her writings.According to different analysts, Potter can be perceived as a conservationist for she helped environmentalists to publicize animal and plant affection through her writings. Beatrix Potter was not only an accomplished writer and artist in watercolor; she was also an observant naturalist; a hard-headed but kindly farm manager; above all she was an ardent conservationist (Diaz, 2007). She was also perceived as a potential botanist from her short stories as she transcends the life and essence of animal and plant characterization.Aside from writing and illustratin g children's books, Beatrix Potter created precise, realistic botanical drawings and paintings, which she wished to be used to illustrate scientific books on flora and fauna. (Literary Traveler, 2008). She also discussed the preservation of natural resources in a simpler yet attackable concept that children would understand. For her, because children are easy to educate, they were became her prospect to a further change on the environment. Another significant reason why Beatrix Potter became famous is because she used to writer her stories through coding.She used to write by using her own code that only she as the writer of her stories can understand the meaning of her writings. Through this, many writers, authors, analysts, and critics tried to understand the capabilities and attacks of Potter in her writings by using her code. For her, her code became her secret to provide good writing and classification of manner to formulate for children’s young minds and justifications. Another artistic pursuit for the teenage Potter was writing a journal in a code no-one could read.The Journal of Beatrix Potter 1881-1897 (first published by Frederick Warne in 1966) is part of this document, transcribed from code by Potter scholar Leslie Linder. She kept this type of journal until the age of 30 (Literary Traveler, 2008). It was seen that it was a phenomenon style that few writers or authors could do. it can be said that Potter has her own strategy to formulate her own thoughts to create stories for children. In conclusion to this, Beatrix Potter was not just a simple writer and painter during her lifetime.She made some difference in her period that is significant until today. Her literary pieces brought different light in science as well as humanity. Her secret code was also made to produce her passion for children stories without any proportion of unjustified claims and arguments from other people. It was revealed that by using her own code, Potter had a personali ty that she wanted to be along and would close her door from others. She made her own wall to separate herself from the other.It created positive impact on her writings but not on her personality and being for she remained single until she died. Works Cited Diaz, Rony. 2007. â€Å"Center for Gravity: Miss Potter. † The Manila Times. 3 February 2008. http://www. manilatimes. net/national/2007/apr/15/yehey/opinion/20070415opi2. html Frederick Warne & Co. 2007. â€Å"Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature. † 3 February 2008. http://www. bpotter. com/? v1=BeatrixPotter&v2=Writings Kutzer, Daphne. Beatrix Potter: Writing in Code (Children's Literature and Culture, 27).Routledge Publishing, 2002. Literary Traveler. 2008. â€Å"Beatrix Potter – More Than Just Bunnies: The Legacy of Beatrix Potter. † 3 February 2008. http://www. literarytraveler. com/authors/beatrix_potter. aspx Merriman, C. D. 2006. â€Å"Beatirx Potter. † The Literature Network. 3 February 200 8. http://www. online-literature. com/beatrix-potter/ National Trust. 2008. â€Å"The Story of Beatrix Potter. † 3 February 2008. http://www. nationaltrust. org. uk/main/w-chl/w-places_collections/w-collections-main/w-collections-beatrix_potter/w-collections-feature_1-2. htm

Christian Reflection-Motivation Essay

Being in the box has a negative impact on an individual’s internal and external motivation in the workplace. We lose our â€Å"what-focus and who-focus† because we are too occupied with justifying the characteristics we have created in our minds. (The Arbinger Institute, 2002) For example when I was an intern in the civil rights office, my first rotation was with the only diversity specialist. She had a fairly poor attitude but was excellent at the work that she produced. She insisted that employees should overlook her attitude and focus on the point she was making. Over time I watched as her approach to interacting with her co-workers slowly escalated into arguments and the refusal to work with her. People wanted clear boundaries for what their responsibilities were versus the diversity specialist. Other people in the office lost motivation or developed a very short temper with the diversity specialist. The civil rights office could not work together to accomplish any group tasks if they were paired with this individual. However it was the civil rights division that suffered as a whole. Upper management noticed the internal discord and lost trust in the office. Internally I am positive that each employee blamed someone else for the loss of trust within the office. My office is a very great example of â€Å"collusion,†each person continues to act according to the characteristics they are placing on themselves and co-workers to justify not working as a team. (The Arbinger Institute, 2002) I am also guilty of shying away from working with the diversity specialist. There were times when I could have stepped in to help her out but I refused to volunteer due to some of our interactions, I truly felt justified in my thinking also. Although I know that my Christian beliefs/values should have a positive affect on internal and external motivation in the workplace. I also know that this positive affect is accomplished by ensuring that I behave in a manner that would be pleasing to God. However, that is not always the case. Sometimes a Christian will know the right thing to do but will ignore their inner spirit. It is challenging to offer someone that last bit of advice that will make a difference in their project when they constantly belittle your suggestions or take credit for the work you do. Christians must remind themselves that their rewards will come from God, not man. Motivation has a huge impact on the amount of conflict in the workplace. When people are motivated in a positive manner to interact with co-workers and employees, you have a positive, productive work environment. However when you have a few people â€Å"in the box† it has a negative domino affect on the work environment. (The Arbinger Institute, 2002) People want to leave early and only produce what is required of them. As blame begins to shift to everyone around them, there is a loss of motivation to go the extra mile or be helpful to others. References The Arbinger Institute (2002). Leadership and Self-Deception. Sand Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers