Foreign Currency Debt at Vodafone Group plc Case Study

Foreign Currency Debt at Vodafone Group plc - Case Study Example 2-3; Lustgarten, 2006, p. F-22). The aim of management is to give investors the highest possible return on their investment (Jensen and Meckling, 1976). A common strategy is to bring up the stock price if the company, like Vodafone, is listed. Since stock price is based on net present value of all future cash flows of the company, and cash flow depends on profits, the price goes up if profits go up. Profits go up if turnover increases or expenses go down, or both. The stock price reflects the value of the company, so an increase in the price results in the growth of the stock's value to its shareholders. This is known as shareholder value. The growth in shareholder value and the increase in the stock price depend on the growth of profits, which in turn depends on how well the management raises turnover or controls costs. Since Vodafone does business all over the world, it earns and spends money in different currencies. This exposes it to several risks that can bring down revenues or bring up expenses: political, ma rket, interest, or currency risks. Each risk can affect the firm's finances. Political risk can lead to changing firm ownership and loss of investment and value, as when government takes over the firm. Market risk can collapse the stock price and shareholder value when investors lose confidence in the stock market. Interest risk can raise expenses if interest rates on the firm's debts go up; financial income can also decrease if interest rates go down. Currency risk can raise (or bring down) expenses or sales if exchange rates change: if the home currency (sterling) weakens relative to the host (or foreign) currency (dollar), dollar loans would be more expensive and increase expenses in sterling. Of these four types of risk, the last two - interest and currency risks - can be minimised by using foreign currency debt (Allayannis et al., 2001; Keloharju et al., 2001). How does this happen If a firm is well-managed, its assets produce a stream cash flow that goes to shareholders if the firm is financed entirely by common stock. But if it issues debt securities, which is borrowing money from lenders, the firm would divide the cash flows between holders of debt and the stockholders or holders of equity securities. The firm's mix of securities is known as its capital structure. Since the most important task of managers is to maximise the firm's market value, is there a combination of debt and equity securities that would

Art Fund Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Art Fund Proposal - Essay Example Impressionists did not use color black but rather used dark greens, blues and purples to convey shadows and darkness. The impressionists included Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, August Renoir, and Edgar Degas. They painted en Plein air, meaning that the painting was outdoors and that it tried to capture those fleeting moments of beauty as well as the vivid colors that sunlight illuminated. They were less fascinated in symbolism and in a form. However the main characteristics include relatively thin, small but visible brush strokes, it involves open composition, emphasizes on accuracy in the depiction of lights in its changing qualities, ordinary subject matter, common, visual angles that are unusual and inclusion of movement. I chose to fund on impressionist mostly because of the artists in the group. I feel they were focused and dedicated to painting. For instance Claude, Monate prioritized on the mixing of colors and then afterwards he would think of which image to paint. I also like this category of artwork due to the fact that it was motivated by photography which had started to gain popularity by then and it went on to represent momentary action in the fleeting lights of landscape and day to day lives of people. Examples of artworks Some of the examples of impressionism artworks that would be amusing for acquisition by the fund include Port of Dieppe, evening, 1882, water lilies, 1916 both by Claude Monet, the visitor, about 1880 by Mary Cassatt, at the cafe, about 1879, still life, 1869 by Henry Fantin-Latour Market analysis In determining the marketability of impressionist art, the price indices must be computed. Impressionist art is not a homogeneous commodity and therefore not traded in well organized markets such as stocks and bonds. It has special features which include reputation and reliability which make it be characterized by a hierarchy of sub-markets. The primary market normally involves the artist taking the artwork for sale at local exhibitions, galleries and also taking directly to the customer. This normally serves to give artists an opportunity to signal their abilities mostly to the secondary market. Selling is normally by auctioning (Agnello, 1986, 446). However, auction does not capture the f luctuations in the prices of low demand and paintings that are out of fashion. Factors that may affect demand and supply include external factors such as those characteristics that surround the sale and end up affecting prices as well as returns, sale of out-of-fashion paintings, repeat sales, selling of works that have got a low public interest. The supply is affected by the demand factor and also the availability of funds (Agnello, 1986, 447). The relationship between demand and supply for the impressionism art is similar to that of luxury goods. There is a limited supply, making art have a higher value. Also, exclusivity associated with the art normally leads to higher prices thus affecting the demand curve. The indicators that may point towards the inelastic demand curve include change in taste, threat of substitutes, pricing and accessibility and changes in income (Mamarbachi & Favato, 2013, 4) Performance of the market The vogue to invest in the art has received a large boost from the availability of the art price data (Campbell, 2013, 2). However there are a number of inefficiencies in this market art as an investment has remained risky (Ralevski, 2008, 2)The art market has lead to much stronger economic expansion in some countries including brazil, India, China, Russia and South Africa. China particularly has modified profoundly the geographical structure of the global art market. In Beijing Hong Kong and Singapore their governments support strongly major cultural

D2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

D2 - Assignment Example These parents are mostly aggressive while treating their children and instead of being obedient, they prefer using punishment to discipline their child. These parents become very aggressive if their children take a stand against them and punish their children for questioning their authority. Another form of parenting style researched by Baumrind is authoritative parenting style, parents following this style expect their children to be mature and act maturely at all times, these parents are high in emotional intelligence and can guide their children so they can easily control their emotions. These parents contribute a lot to their children’s upbringing and help them develop problem solving skills, these parents allow their children to gain independency but they even prefer certain amount of restrictions and limitations. These parents appreciate two way communications and are ready to answer all the questions of their children and hold a very warm and affectionate attitude towards their

Art Fund Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Art Fund Proposal - Essay Example Impressionists did not use color black but rather used dark greens, blues and purples to convey shadows and darkness. The impressionists included Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, August Renoir, and Edgar Degas. They painted en Plein air, meaning that the painting was outdoors and that it tried to capture those fleeting moments of beauty as well as the vivid colors that sunlight illuminated. They were less fascinated in symbolism and in a form. However the main characteristics include relatively thin, small but visible brush strokes, it involves open composition, emphasizes on accuracy in the depiction of lights in its changing qualities, ordinary subject matter, common, visual angles that are unusual and inclusion of movement. I chose to fund on impressionist mostly because of the artists in the group. I feel they were focused and dedicated to painting. For instance Claude, Monate prioritized on the mixing of colors and then afterwards he would think of which image to paint. I also like this category of artwork due to the fact that it was motivated by photography which had started to gain popularity by then and it went on to represent momentary action in the fleeting lights of landscape and day to day lives of people. Examples of artworks Some of the examples of impressionism artworks that would be amusing for acquisition by the fund include Port of Dieppe, evening, 1882, water lilies, 1916 both by Claude Monet, the visitor, about 1880 by Mary Cassatt, at the cafe, about 1879, still life, 1869 by Henry Fantin-Latour Market analysis In determining the marketability of impressionist art, the price indices must be computed. Impressionist art is not a homogeneous commodity and therefore not traded in well organized markets such as stocks and bonds. It has special features which include reputation and reliability which make it be characterized by a hierarchy of sub-markets. The primary market normally involves the artist taking the artwork for sale at local exhibitions, galleries and also taking directly to the customer. This normally serves to give artists an opportunity to signal their abilities mostly to the secondary market. Selling is normally by auctioning (Agnello, 1986, 446). However, auction does not capture the f luctuations in the prices of low demand and paintings that are out of fashion. Factors that may affect demand and supply include external factors such as those characteristics that surround the sale and end up affecting prices as well as returns, sale of out-of-fashion paintings, repeat sales, selling of works that have got a low public interest. The supply is affected by the demand factor and also the availability of funds (Agnello, 1986, 447). The relationship between demand and supply for the impressionism art is similar to that of luxury goods. There is a limited supply, making art have a higher value. Also, exclusivity associated with the art normally leads to higher prices thus affecting the demand curve. The indicators that may point towards the inelastic demand curve include change in taste, threat of substitutes, pricing and accessibility and changes in income (Mamarbachi & Favato, 2013, 4) Performance of the market The vogue to invest in the art has received a large boost from the availability of the art price data (Campbell, 2013, 2). However there are a number of inefficiencies in this market art as an investment has remained risky (Ralevski, 2008, 2)The art market has lead to much stronger economic expansion in some countries including brazil, India, China, Russia and South Africa. China particularly has modified profoundly the geographical structure of the global art market. In Beijing Hong Kong and Singapore their governments support strongly major cultural

Ode on a Grecian Urn Essay Example for Free

Ode on a Grecian Urn Essay In the poem Ode on a Grecian Urn, Keats took inspiration from a visit to a museum exhibiting artifacts, one of which is an urn with figures on its surface. The urn depicts scenes taken from ancient Greek life. Intrigued by the Urns beauty and the figures depicted on its sides, Keats was moved to write a poem expressing wonder, admiration, questions and criticisms. Without knowing who these figures are, what they are meant to reflect and to what purpose were they made for, the poet revels in the mystery they represent. The Odes first stanza is filled with wonder and questions; the last stanza has none. Being a piece of art, the urn can speak to its viewers in whatever way it chooses to communicate. In the first stanza of the poem, the writer addresses an ancient urn and reflects on its beauty and what story it can tell. He calls the urn a historian possessing secret knowledge. The writer looks at one group of pictures that seem to be of men pursuing women. He wonders if it was a pursuit among lovers, a struggle between sexes, or a playful episode among the young on a beautiful day. In the next stanza, the poet focuses on another figure on the vase. This time, it portrays a man with his lover, both lying beneath a tree while he plays his pipe. The writer declares that the pipes silent music is sweeter than a mortals music because the former lives through time. While the man and woman cannot kiss because they are frozen in time, they should not despair because their beauty and youth will forever remain. In one stanza, the poet is able to present two contrasting realities. One is that of unfilled longing through eternity, while the other speaks of unfading glory. The odes third stanza reflects the poets general feeling of happiness for the things he observed about the couple described in the previous stanza, as well as the trees surrounding them. The poet is glad for the trees leaves, which will forever be green and remain attached to the branches. The poet is also happy that the man with the pipe will have his songs forever new. He is also happy that the lovers love will last until eternity. Here, the poet laments that mortal love is just the passing of passion. By the time it passes, which it eventually will, there is nothing left. In the fourth stanza of the Ode, the poet turns to examine another picture. This time, it represents villagers leading a young cow, which seems to be a sacrificial offering. He imagines where they have come from and where they are headed for. The poet visualizes empty streets because the citizens have all left to witness the sacrifice. And the streets will forever remain empty for those who have left the town are frozen on their way to the sacrificial place. For the fifth and final stanza, the poet goes back to addressing the urn. He tells the ornamental vase that while it lives and remain forever, the poets generation would have long passed. He ends it with the famous quote that equates beauty with truth. By doing this, the author seems to criticize and admire the urn at the same time. While the poet thinks the urn beautiful, he thinks that that is the only thing it will ever possess. This is the same manner of admiration and criticisms that the poet has vested on the characters found on the urn.

Impact of Information Technology Outsourcing

Impact of Information Technology Outsourcing Introduction Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) will continue to have a major impact on all organizations and will over time increasingly becomes an integral part of the organizations strategy. Various aspects within the metamorphosis of ITO will be covered but not necessarily detailed. ITO has become a global phenomenon. Globalization with some distinct drivers in technology evolution has reshaped the market place and given rise to the advent of the digital age. Sustainable competitive business strategy will need to embrace this opportunity and will need to seek enablers to exploit it. IT, by virtue of the web and broadband communications in particular, allows an organization to fulfill this need. Further decrease in costs communication, increase in broadband capacity and web collaborations accelerates the process. Definitions Outsourcing has variously been defined by scholars in the Information Systems (IS) literature as follows: â€Å"The significant contribution of external suppliers in the physical and/or human resources associated with the entire or specific component of the IT infrastructure in the user organization.†(Loh and Venkataraman,1997) Outsourcing occurs when third party vendors are responsible for managing the Information Technology components on behalf of their clients. IT Outsourcing means handing over the management of some or all of an organization’s information technology (IT), systems (IS) and related services to a third party.†(Willcocks et al.,1998) †¦business practice in which a company contracts all or part of its information systems operations to one or more outside information service suppliers (Hu et al., 1997, p. 288) â€Å"Outsourcing is the handover of an activity to an external supplier. It is an alternative to internal production†(Aubert et al.,2003) â€Å"IS sourcing† is the organizational arrangement instituted for obtaining IS services and the management of resources and activities required for producing these services (Dibbern et al., 2004 , p. 11). Therefore outsourcing involves the transfer of the responsibility for carrying out an activity (previously carried on internally) to an external service provider against agreed service levels at an agreed charge. History ITO has received great attention for scholars and researchers since the mid 1990’s but it’s been around for a while as per the examples below: 1963 – Electronic Data Systems (EDS under Ross Perot) signs an agreement with Blue Cross for handling of its data processing services. Mid-1980s EDS signed contracts with Continental Airlines, First City Bank and Enron. 1989 – Kodak outsources its IS function to IBM, DEC Businessland (â€Å"Kodak Effect†) being the most notable example. More recent developments (Kern and Willcocks 2000, Ross and Westerman 2004, Kishore 2003, Kaiser 2004, Lander 2004, IBM 2004, Smith and McKeen 2004), suggests motivation is more strategic in nature with the goal of improving the business’ competitive advantage. It’s clear that ITO is not quite a new phenomenon but increasingly more prominent in this era where it is prevalent in almost every facet of business. The industry evolved from monolithic mainframe to pervasive computing. A survey of the London Stock Exchange FTSE Index over a period of three years found a generally positive relationship between high levels of outsourcing and enhanced stock market performance. Reasons for outsourcing Organizations adopt ITO for various reasons (Turban et al, 2006). The ever dynamic evolution within the IT sector grants great opportunity to business. The following reasons were invariably most common as per numerous surveys done and researched globally: Cost reduction This has been the foremost reason to outsource as senior executives’ only views the IT function as a noncore activity and a necessary cost to be minimized. Economic pressures are also external factors that lead to advent of ITO. Lacity and Willcocks(2001) explains that cost savings are no longer a major reason for outsourcing. Focus on core competency Business deems IT as a cost centre and excludes it from its core strategy. With increased shareholder demands organisations feel they need to refocus on broader business issues other than technology. Organizations places more focus on their â€Å"core competency† business (Field, 1999). Access to specialist expertise and technology Highly skilled labour comes at a cost and also the technology and is also not readily available. ITO is not only for cost savings but as a tool for utilizing state of the art expertise and technology through their service providers (Field, 1999). However of late, the companies with strong IT capabilities, such as IBM, Microsoft and SUN, are also outsourcing some of their IT functions to concentrate on their core-responsibilities and reduce costs to the economies of scale. Decision Making In the past, organizations used frameworks and models as guidelines for assessing their current state and determining future strategic actions (Gorry and Scott-Morton 1971, Nolan 1973, Luftman 1999, Venkatraman and Henderson 1993). More organizations are considering ITO as part of their strategic thinking. Organizations use ITO as a method to reduce costs, achieve efficiency and flexibility but many don’t realize the benefits due to bad decision making. ITO decision-making is a process and requires careful scrutiny before being finalized. ITO decision making process addresses a wide range of issues, such as economical (eg., financial feasibility), technological and political .This process starts with an in-house assessment of the IT capabilities which should highlight to management activities that can potentially be outsourced. SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunity, Threats) analysis could be used to substantiate the need whether ITO can possibly be used to negate those threats and weaknesses or whether at all necessary to explore ITO. The facts gathered should include a baseline and evaluation of the current environment which should be made available for executive management approval. Knowledge within the strategic decision at this higher level can thus be descriptive (know-what), procedural (know-how) or reasoning (know-why) (Fahey et al., 2001; Holsapple Singh, 2000). Case studies within surveys conducted by M.C.Lacity,L.P.Willcocks and D.F.Feeny published in the Sloan Management Review(Spring 1996) summarizes the ITO process. The abovementioned reasons were most common in their samples. Scope of sourcing Sourcing is often referred to in IT literature as outsourcing. The research delineates four categories of sourcing: Total outsourcing is where all IT activities including assets and management become the responsibility of a third-party vendor. Total insourcing refers to the in-house management of IT activities where external or internal staff is used with the buying in of the vendor resources to meet a temporary need. Vendor resources are only used to supplement the internally managed teams. Selective sourcing locates selected IT activities to vendors while the customer remained responsible for delivering the result and will be held accountable. De facto insourcing uses internal IT departments to provide products and services that arise from historical precedent, rather than from a reasoned evaluation of the IT service market. Considerations of sourcing Critical review of above categories found that the all-or-nothing approach ( total outsourcing) characterized by long-term(5 years or more) deals can lead to trouble after a few years as exemplified in the case studies due to: Senior Management approach ITO like any other make-or-buy decision where ubiquitous IT applications across business functions complicate matters. Lost alignment between business and IT strategies. Failed promises to access new technologies. Processing power cost depreciates at an average of 20 percent annually due the IT capabilities evolvement. And contractual costs soared greater than market prices. Termination of such contracts was found to be prohibitively expense. Research found that those who approach ITO in all-or-nothing terms either incur great risks or forego the potential benefits of selective sourcing. Reasons for ITO can be categorized as two dimensional and based on: Purchasing style refers to contracts to either be once off or an expectation of business for many years. Purchasing focus refers to companies buying resources from vendors, such as hardware,etc, and manage the delivery of IT themselves or vendors manage the IT activity and the organization expect the specified results. The result is four distinct categories will be representative of whether ITO is required as figure 1 represents. The figure also represents a decision matrix for business and guide for an effective strategy. A decision in selecting what can be outsourced usually distinguish between the contribution that IT makes to the business operations and it’s impact on competitive advantage. ITO was primarily domestic but has now evolved due to globalization and can also be categorized now by variance of service provider distance. The same reasons apply globally for ITO. On-shoring refers to the outsource vendor located in the same country of the customer. Near-shoring refers to the outsource vendor located geographically close but not in the same country. Off-shoring refers to the outsource vendor located offshore and possibly on a different continent and time-zone. Managing ITO Once the scope and type has been identified,the vendor selection process will be initiated by soliciting via Request for Proposal(RFP). Not all service providers are equal as all offer different types of services like: IS consultancies/solutions providers services in all IS functions Systems houses system integration Hardware vendors – hardware platform Ex-IS departments industry specific sourcing Development houses – develop software Generic outsourcers manage functions, especially infrastructure Freelancers There are also important criteria to look for in your service provider. Appropriate outsourcing experience and proven customer satisfaction track record. Accredited in application of best practices such as ITIL with the necessary evidence. Adequate numbers of skilled labor. Scale and geography to fulfill the organizations needs. Prepared to be flexible to you organizations needs, ie plan with current staff. Upon selection of the ITO partner, an outsourcing contract provides a legally bound, institutional framework in which each party’s rights, duties and responsibilities are codified and the goals, policies, and strategies underlying the arrangement are specified. Selective sourcing allows for flexibility within the short contracts. While some organizations realized their benefits in ITO, others have not been able to achieve benefits due to poor staffing of the IT function, poorly written service level agreements (SLA), lack of outsourcing experience on the client side, poor project management skill, poor technical infrastructure (especially in some offshore cases), and lack of trust (Jennex and Adelakum 2003, Lacity and Willcocks 2001). A contract alone is insufficient to guide outsourcing evolution and performance since it involves repeated inter-organizational exchanges that become socially embedded over time.This is why ICT outsourcing is very challenging and often a painful process!! Governance is fundamental to outsourcing relationships. Tracking SLAs and ensuring compliance to contracts are critical to controlling costs and setting minimum performance requirements. It is therefore important to ensure that the ITIL framework,starting with support management, are implemented to ensure that the IT aligns with business with the necessary metrics in place. Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT) framework will ensure that all policies should be enforced, especially adherence to security. Critical Success Factors in an outsourcing relationship that should mitigate risk: Define a strategy with measurable goals within your SLA to ensure the relationship don’t lose momentum over time. Exercise due diligence to establish a baseline for the relationship. With the adoption of the ITIL Framework,adopt a comprehensive change management strategy. Always keep senior management involved to ensure that adherence to policies and procedures. The right metrics and regular reporting build confidence and help sustain relations. As per the Tuckman’s stage model the relationship should grow like a team and evolve in stages. Stage one is the Insourcing stage where organizations buy only a few IT functions or services from external vendors on short term contractual agreements. Only a few IT activities are bought from outside parties, generally less than 5% of the entire IT operation. Stage two is the Forming, or experimenting, stage. In this stage organizations engage in sporadic outsourcing of IT activities. Sourcing activities may be between 10-20% of the entire IT needs in the organization. Stage three is the Storming stage; it is regarded as a transition stage. At stage three organizations need to make a decision either to pursue outsourcing actively or to keep on experimenting. Stage four is the Norming stage. At this stage organization have already made a decision to pursue IT outsourcing actively and have established some norms, methods or processes for IT outsourcing within the organization. The reason for outsourcing could be either cost focus or desire to improve internal efficiency. Outsourcing could account for up to 40% of IT activities. The last stage is the strategic focus stage. In this stage IT outsourcing is part of the corporate strategy and it is not based just on cost reduction or IT improvement but is a strategic decision to use IT outsourcing within the entire organization as part of corporate strategy. Benefits from ITO Offshore outsourcing holds more advantages than disadvantages with: IT outsourcing to India helps to leverage from immensely intelligent, skilled and dedicated resources at reduced labor. Opportunity to expand service levels beyond ordinary. 24/7 Productivity has given rise to the â€Å"global delivery system† where development in particular could be done around the clock or â€Å"overnight† in a collaborative model. Choice of accredited vendors indicates that best practices are applied which should result in increase quality of service. Best-of-breed technologies accompanied by best practices should decrease the latency on time-to-market. Conclusion All factors for outsourcing was highlighted in would thus mitigate risks and highlight benefits.The future of outsourcing include service-oriented architecture (SOA), green IT, the changing role of practitioners and what the future holds for convergence of technology and business process. The ITO market would thus become more specialized and modular. Offshore ITO has also grown due to the bandwagon effect where other organizations just take advantage of the options prompted by others. Numerous surveys in outsourcing indicates that Offshore Leaders are Canada, India, Ireland, Israel, Philippines Up-and-comers are Brazil, China, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa. Rookies are Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Thailand, Ukraine Reverse sourcing is a new trend in global business where offshore outsourcing is reversed to near-shore outsourcing but not primarily for cost factors. This trend is more evident in call-centers as customers prefer dealing with agents proficient in their language and culture. References Apte, U. M., Sobol, M. G., Hanaoka, S., Shimada, T., Saarinen, T., Salmela, T. and Vepsalainen, A. P. J. (1997). IS Outsourcing Practices in the USA, Japan and Finland: A Comparative Study, Journal of Information Technology, Vol. 12, pp. 289-304. Bansal, V. and Pandey, V. (2003). A decision-making framework for IT Outsourcing using Analytical Hierarchy Process, Kampur, Indian Institute of Technology Buchanan, Steven (2006). â€Å"A framework for business continuity management† International Journal of Information Management, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 128-141, Apr 2006 Corbett MF (2004)- The outsourcing revolution, Dearborn Trade Pub Dibbern, J, Goles,T, Hirschheim, R, Jayatilaka, B (2004). Information Systems Outsourcing: A Survey and Analysis of the Literature. The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems – 2004 (Vol. 35, No. 4). Felton JD (2008)- The Art of Outsourcing Information Technology,AuthorHouse Gallivan, M. J. and Oh, W. (1999). Analyzing IT Outsourcing Relationships as Alliances among Multiple Clients and Vendors, Proceedings of the 32nd Annual International Conference on System Sciences, Hawaii. Gottschalk P (2006)- Knowledge Management Systems: Value Shop Creation,Idea Group Inc (IGI) Greaver MF (1999)- Strategic outsourcing: a structured approach to outsourcing decisions and initiatives,AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn Gupta A (2008)- Outsourcing and Offshoring of Professional Services,Idea Group Inc (IGI) http://is2.lse.ac.uk/asp/aspecis/20040001.pdf http://sloanreview.mit.edu/the-magazine/articles/1997/spring/3834/beyond-outsourcing-managing-it-resources-as-a-value-center/ http://www.eds.com/about/history/timeline.aspx http://www.iitk.ac.in/ime/veena/PAPERS/icsci04.pdf Hu, Q., Saunders, C. and Gebelt, M. (1997). Research Report: Diffusion of Information Systems Outsourcing: A Re-evaluation of Influence Sources, Information Systems Research, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 288-301. Khosrowpour M(2003)-Advanced Topics in Information Resources Management,Idea Group Inc (IGI) MC Lacity, LP Willcocks, DF Feeny (1996)- Sloan Management Review http://hickeyj.googlepages.com/p5.pdf Mcivor R (2005)- The Outsourcing Process,Cambridge University Press Michaelides P -Reasons Leading to the Ineffectiveness of Information Systems Outsourcing in Minimising Costs,Universal-Publishers Schniederjans AM,Schniederjans DG(2007) Outsourcing management information systems,Idea Group Inc (IGI)

Self-employment in Do the Right Thing Essay -- Working Films Movies Ca

Self-employment in Do the Right Thing Self-employment is often confused with capitalism. This is because the word capitalism has come to mean "free markets" and "free enterprise," rather than a specific type of economic system. However, the conflation of the term capitalism with these other terms reduces the concepts available for doing social scientific analysis. We need to be able to identify the traditional capitalist system: a system based on free wage labor creating products that are owned by capitalist directors who are distinct from these original wage laborers. Self-employment is then distinct from this capitalist economic system precisely because it is based on free independent labor creating products that are owned by the individual direct producers. In other words, a self-employed laborer is very different from a capitalist laborer. This difference is, without question, of great consequence and worthy of social scientific analysis. Most past conceptions of the self-employed direct producers have regarded this unique economic system as of only minor importance (if even that) in a world dominated by feudalism and/or capitalism. However, historically self-employment has played an important role in many societies, including the United States, and continues to do so today. The relative prevalence and particular types of self-employment in society influences other social processes, including political processes, cultural processes, and individual psychology. In a society where self-employment exists, it is simply not possible to adequately understand and explain social change in the absence of a concept of self-employment (and a concept that is clearly distinct from other types of production and distributio... ... way that is very different from the relationship between producer and product in other class processes. It is, therefore, all the more tragic in the film when the pizzeria is destroyed. It is not simply the destruction of a work place, but the destruction of Sal's identity as a self-employed producer (although this identity can, persumably, be resurrected in a new structure). For Mookie this is better than harm having been done to Sal, the person, and this is why he redirects the hatred of the crowd away from Sal and his sons to the building. But for Sal, it is difficult to take a great deal of solace in this diversion (although in the end, he seems to harbor no ill will towards Mookie, perhaps because he understands the context in which Mookie threw the garbage can through the pizzeria window) because some essential aspect of his identity has been destroyed.