Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 288

Assignment Example Most companies, therefore, are willing to provide funds for NGO’s that conduct human causes. Such profit organizations also participate in marketing for their NGO partners. 3. Social media is an effective marketing strategy for young people since they spend a great deal of their time in such platforms. These privileged children are able to connect with the emotions of other children experiencing problems in other parts of the world. Using social media to reach older people is ineffective because older individuals prefer traditional modes of communication such as face-to-face conversations. 4. Invisible children’s impact should not be understated based on the funds they use on marketing as compared to the funds they use on actual groundwork. This is because the primary purpose of such an organization concerns with raising awareness about the ills in the society. In this sense, the organization attracts more funds than it would have, if it committed more time and resources to actual funding of ground activities. 5. In the films, the directors utilize different techniques in carrying out their stories. For instance, they involve music in narrating the horrendous stories (Invisible children Inc 1). The directors employ their own voice in projecting the emotions of war. The use of documentaries is an effective way of reaching most audiences because they articulate reality through vision and immediate

Enlightenment Artwork Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Enlightenment Artwork - Essay Example For example, a little blood is seen on Watson’s right leg beneath the translucent green waves and a small amount is also shown on the shark’s teeth. Watson is also painted as bare and completely naked, meticulously highlighting his gleaming muscular body outstretched in stark contrast to the shark’s dark and leering form. He is literally shown as emerging and being rescued from the jaws of death, symbolizing his rebirth and entry into life. Copley produced this painting around the time of great political conflict and it also immediately brings to mind the Revolutionary War, skillfully highlighting a strong political message. For example, Watson, a British Tory, is heroically rescued and salvaged from the watery depths. Similarly, the two countries, America and Britain, had also recently emerged from a bloody war. Watson’s resurrection both physically and spiritually along with his political ascension, symbolizes the renewal and restoration of Britain and i ts power.

Jewelery Market in UK and EU Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Jewelery Market in UK and EU - Essay Example This was at a time when Princess Victoria was getting married to Prince Albert. Most of the jewelry worn in that period contained pictures of loved ones and engraved messages as a show of commitment to loved ones. This era was also greatly influenced by new fashions from the East popularly known as Japonaiserie. The fashion was characterized by use of flora and fauna images on jewelry. Shakudo jewelry and styles like Etruscan became famous in that period. Shakudo jewelry was a technique of gold coloring developed Japanese. Etruscan style of jewelry is common today and these jewels have pictures of the eras from the ancient Greeks to the Egyptian periods. A remarkable change in jewelry style occurred when Prince Albert died. The Queen began wearing mourning jewelry and black dresses. Everyone in the nation followed the same trend and dark gemstones gained popularity. Gemstones such as Jet, Onyx and blood red Pyrope Garnet were used to make ‘dark jewelry’. The end of this era is known as the Aesthetic Period and was marked by new styles such as stud earring and bar brooches. Art Nouveau Period which started from 1890 to 1915 was based on craftsmanship and design of jewelry. The era emerged towards the end of Victorian Period. The jewelers were more interested in coming up with new designs. The worth of the materials used did not matter. The era featured designs such as Rene Lalique, Louis C Tiffany and Emile Gaffe. These designs were inspired by nature, wildlife, insect life and mythical forms such as chimeras, serpents, dragons and griffons. Anything that was inspiring was captured in their designs. Japonaiserie style was greatly embraced during this period and influences from Europe and Far East were captured in their designs. Edwardian Period began in 1901 and ended in 1915. The period was also referred to as ‘La Belle Epoque’ which means beautiful era. Wealth was abundant because movie and motor industries were flourishing at this time. It was a

Health, Disability and Long Term Care Insurance Essay

Health, Disability and Long Term Care Insurance - Essay Example This crisis is a fact and statistics are good enough to prove its validity. USA spends twice more on its annual healthcare then does 19 of the developed countries in North America and Europe. The percentage of GDP allotted to health seems to be at a rise since 1997 when it reached to 15.7% in the year 2005, and as projected by the agencies of Medicare and Mediaid this percentage would further increase in the next 10 years to a figure of almost 17.5% of the GDP. Yet 15.6% of the American population is still uninsured. (services, april,2005) For a country that has the highest expenditure rates on healthcare, it is quite shocking that the public gets to face the crisis of high rising prices for healthcare. The two major problems faced by the healthcare system of USA include rapid increase in the expenditures made on health and disabilities and high costs for administration of health care issues which account for at least 26% of the total money in healthcare. The reasons for the rising c osts are many including the dependence on the high costs of new medical technologies, drugs and tests, the rising population of the elderly, the rising frequencies of road traffic accidence and criminal activities requiring medical attention, intensive work hours and rising pays of health care professionals and doctors, high awareness of medical problems requiring immediate and most of the times unnecessary medical attention, untoward issues like fraud and issues causing waste of administrative money, the internal situation and inflation rates of the health care system and many more reasons. TYPES OF MEDICAL COVERAGE Broadly speaking, health insurance can be of two types. First is the group health insurance in which an employee and his immediate family are covered by an insurance company that is either partially or mostly paid by the employer. This type of insurance comprises as high as 90% of the total insurance issued by the insurance companies. (DeNavas-Walt, 2008) Sometimes this type of insurance may not provide the necessary protection that an individual requires; in that case an additional aid with the help of individual insurance can be purchased. Second type is the individual insurance plan. This type of plan, as the name suggests, is individually tailored to anyone’s needs. This type of insurance is usually acquired when the group insurance is not enough or requires certain addition. In that case one can choose their own preference of insurance company and select as much coverage as they require. This means an extensive browsing of the options available in the market as the mark ups and premiums on different plans by different companies vary to a great extent. The group and individual insurance plans provide different types of coverage. These policies further include the following types of coverage: 1) MAJOR MEDICAL EXPENSE INSURANCE Major medical expense insurance is a type of insurance which covers the excess medical expenses incurred due to sudden accidents, injuries or severe illnesses. It is usually in relation to the basic individual or group insurance that would provide the baseline insurance for the regular medical expenses. This type of insurance only covers the excess and high bills that are often faced after an accidental situation or a severe illness. Usually the amount that can be paid through this type of insurance is quite high which requires the premium to be covered by the individual through various ways.

Coffee Processing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Coffee Processing - Essay Example However, you will enjoy coffee more if you learn how to process it. It is even a good idea to process your own coffee at home and indulge in your coffee creation. Though the process is requires a lot of time, effort and complicacies, it might be worth it. The basic steps in home coffee processing are picking, pulping, fermentation, drying, hulling, and roasting. The first step in coffee processing is picking the ripe cherries. Before embarking on this task, you need to know to be able to identify and differentiate the ripe from the unripe berries. Ripe berries are deep red in color. The rationale in picking coffee cherries when they are ripe is their relatively higher aromatic oil, lower organic acid content, more fragrant, smooth, and mellow. You must manually hand pick the fruit in order to choose only the ripe ones. This is an essential step in coffee processing as classification of the handpicked fruit often determines the quality of the end product. The next step is known as defruiting or pulping which is done immediately after picking the cherries in order to preserve quality. In this stage, you now separate the coffee bean from the coffee cherry. This can be done in two ways: first, you can individually squeeze the berry by hand or you can use you can use a piece of wood to compress the berries in the container until all the seeds are removed. Afterwards, you need to fill the container with water for the seeds and the removed skin to float. The skin and the seed should be removed before they settle. You then repeat the process until the all the seeds and skin are eliminated. In order to ferment the coffee beans, they should be put in a plastic bucket filled with water. Fermentation is done in around 18-48 hours depending on the temperature of the surrounding. To test if the fermentation is complete, you should take a handful of beans and wash them with water. If the beans are already clean and not slippery, enough fermentation has already bean achieved. You can now wash the beans in running water and drain, repeating the process until the water becomes clear. Drying is the process wherein the coffee beans are spread out on a wide concrete or rock and is exposed to air or sunlight to eliminate excess moisture. You can either sun dry or use a home food dehydrator to adequately remove the moisture. To enhance effectiveness, you should see to it that the beans are stirred three times a day in the entire process. Before roasting, hulling should be done in order to remove the tough thin parchment from the beans. You can do this by placing the beans, a small quantity at a time, in a food processor with plastic blades. You need to blend the coffee beans at slow speed for about thirty minutes. A hair dryer can also be utilized to blow away the unwanted lighter parchment from the beans. After hulling, you can now store in the store the beans in jars as they are now ready for roasting. Roasting is one integral step in attaining a savory coffee. You can roast the coffee beans by baking them in the oven. Spread the coffee beans thinly in a large baking, ensuring to stir frequently to prevent burning and facilitate an even roast. It is estimated that a single layer of beans will roast in 12 minutes at 230-250C. Your personal preference should be your guide in coffee roasting. Stronger flavor is achieved by roasting a little longer than usual. After the aforementioned processes, the coffee is now ready for grinding, brewing, and

Theme in Hamlet Essay Example for Free

Theme in Hamlet Essay B.) Through sharp contrast, a character foil enhances certain traits of a central character. Analyze how secondary characters operate as foils and are employed to develop theme in Hamlet. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, it is proven that secondary characters help develop the understanding of the main character as foils. Foils help the reader make comparisons between the major and minor characters through parallels. During the play we see many of Hamlet’s strengths and weaknesses through characters like Laertes and Fortinbras. Other minor characters include Ophelia, Polonius, and Gertrude who contributes to Hamlets so called madness, which helps develop the theme of a hero’s fatal flaw of overthinking leading to tragedy. In this essay I will explain the similarities, differences and relationships between each foil and how their behaviors affect Hamlet personally. Throughout the play Hamlet displays a difficulty in making final decisions due to his overthinking unlike Laertes and Fortinbras who tends to make rash decisions based upon feelings. Firstly, Hamlet’s inability to kill Claudius is foiled by Fortinbras’ willingness to avenge his father’s lost kingdom over a small piece of land. Secondly, Hamlet and Laertes have different types relationships with their fathers, Hamlet despises Claudius where as Laertes loved Polonius. These relationships cause both Laertes and Hamlet wanting to avenge the murders of their fathers but for different reasons. While Laertes is determined to instantly retaliate, Hamlet on the other hand prolongs his revenge due to his natural flaw of overanalyzing. Thirdly, both Laertes and Hamlet have similar obsessions towards their women and the preservation of sanctity. Hamlet is confused and enraged about his mother’s incestuous marriage to his uncle and Laertes is anxious about his sister’s relationship with Hamlet. The parallels between the secondary foils help the audiences gain a better understanding of Hamlet’s fatal flaw of over-processing throughout the play. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Fortinbras the prince of Norway and Hamlet the prince of Denmark share many similarities and differences thus making Fortinbras an important secondary character and a foil to Hamlet. Fortinbras’ father was slain by Hamlet’s father and Hamlet’s father, Hamlet Sr was poisoned his brother Claudius who is now the king of Denmark. Fortinbras wishes to attack Denmark to avenge his father’s honor and Hamlet wishes to someday kill Claudius as revenge for his father. â€Å"This is th’impostume of much wealth and peace, that inward breaks and shows no cause without why the man dies† (A.4.s4, 26-28). Hamlet remarks on Fortinbras invasion and views it as unnecessary but Fortinbras tells the captain to lie to the king assuring him that his only intentions were to travel through Denmark to get to Poland. This is the first time Fortinbras is shown as a real and imminent threat to the state of Denmark. â€Å"Why yet I live to say this thing’s to do, Sith I have cause and will and strength and means to do’t.† (A.4.s4, 43-44). Hamlet contemplates his purpose of living and questions why he cannot go through with murdering Claudius. He is coming to a realization that his plan is taking a long time to execute and every single advantage is on his side except the act itself. â€Å"Witness this army of such mass and charge led by a delicate and tender prince, whose spirit divine ambition puffed makes mouths at the invisible event, exposing what is moral and unsure to all that fortune, death, and danger dare, even for an eggshell† (A.4.s4, 46-52). Hamlet shows admiration for the prince’s ambition to fight for no good reason but is aware of the severity of war. In this scene we see Hamlet succumbing to his over analytic thought process while Fortinbras is planning to defeat the king with little judgment. Fortinbras ability to act foils Hamlet’s inability to act, while Fortinbras is attacking without regard towards himself, his men or his country Hamlet complies with reason to not attack. This reveals Fortinbras hunger for not only revenge but also power like Hamlet both are only crowned as only princes and not kings after the death of their fathers. Hamlet and Fortinbras share related backgrounds of being raised among the wealthy, both princes had the opportunity of being king and both are seeking revenge for their slain fathers. Although sharing many similarities appearances do not match reality and signifies the contradiction of great minds think alike. Ultimately, Hamlet’s overthinking leads to his downfall and Fortinbras successfully conquers Denmark and becomes king. Laertes is another important secondary foil to Hamlet also sharing many similarities and differences that highlights Hamlet’s weaknesses. Laertes and Hamlet share the similarity of quick irrational passion. Hamlet stabs Polonius during the heat of an argument and Laertes threatens to kill the king without remorse after the death of Polonius. Hamlet’s father, Hamlet Sr. was secretly poisoned by king Claudius, which was revealed to Hamlet by the ghost of his father. Since, Hamlet has become obsessed with the idea of avenging his father’s death but delays because of his natural flaw of overthinking. Hamlet hesitates to kill Claudius during his confession because he believed that he would spare him of his crime, he wants to catch Claudius during sin because he would be eternally damned. He wants Claudius to suffer the consequences and decides to wait meanwhile Claudius wants to eliminate Hamlet because of his madness but does not want appear responsible for doing so. â€Å"Of impious stubbornness. ‘Tis unmanly grief. It shows a will most incorrect to heaven, a heart unfortified, a mind impatient, an understanding simple and unschooled† (A.1.s2, 94-97). Claudius scolds Hamlet on his incapability to forget about his father, he views it as unmanly and immature. He also considers Hamlet’s mourning useless and long overdue, if the state of Denmark can get over it so can Hamlet. â€Å"Neither a borrower nor lender be, for loan oft loses both itself and a friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night they day, though canst not be false to any man. Farewell. My blessing season this in thee† (A1.s3, 75-81). Before parting ways Polonius offers Laertes a few words of wisdom about friendships, self control, appearance and judgment. Overall he advises his son to remain true to himself as you can see Polonius shows a strong love and bond for his son. After embarking on his trip to Paris Polonius sends Reynaldo to spy on Laertes although his intentions are good, he wants to ensure that Laertes remains studying and not misbehaving. â€Å"Something have you heard of Hamlet’s transformation- so call it, since nor th’ exterior nor inward man resembles what it was. What it should be, more than his father’s death, that hath put him so much from th’understanding of himself, I cannot dream of† (A.2.s2, 5-10). Claudius discusses his stepson’s madness with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern who are longtime friends of Hamlet, during the discussion he asks them to spy on Hamlet and keep a constant eye on his unpredictable behavior. Claudius and Hamlet’s relationship also depicts an absence of trust between the two. To understand the relationships between the two fathers and sons we must juxtapose the character traits of each individual. Claudius is conniving and scheming; his motive of achieving absolute power is made clear throughout the play. He manipulates the state of Denmark to believing that his disorder of murder and incest within the country is acceptable. Claudius wants everyone to believe that he worries for Hamlet but truly thinks of Hamlet as a threat, so much so he strategizes a plan to do away with him for good. Polonius unlike Claudius has good intentions overall but often wounds up making false conclusions throughout the play. As the king’s trusted Lord of Chamberlain Polonius cares a great deal about his reputation and like the king views Hamlet as a threat. Throughout the play Polonius helps the king spy on Hamlet and advises his daughter Ophelia to stay away from his madness. Polonius genuinely adores his children and is often showing that through words of wisdom. Laertes models many of Polonius’s traits except the fact that he quick tempered. After hearing about the death his father Laertes immediately assumes Claudius as the murderer. Laertes makes it very clear to Claudius that he cares less about his reputation and is willing to do anything as long as it means revenge. Hamlet is also quick tempered although he overthinks many little details, he wasn’t thinking at all when he accidentally killed Polonius. During an argument with Gertrude he sensed someone behind the curtain and instantly assumed it was Claudius. Hamlet wants to kill his uncle during sin, throughout the play we see Hamlet trying to prove his uncle’s guilt before planning any type of retaliation. Both families resemble many distinguishable traits that resulted to their tragic downfalls such as lying, spying and over processing. Both relationships foil each other in a sense because both are different and highlights not only Hamlet’s weakness but Laertes weakness as well. In the end Laertes forgave Hamlet for the death of his father but was killed by Hamlet during fencing duel and Hamlet poisoned Claudius. Hamlet was wounded and killed by Laertes sword that was previously poisoned. Another example of Laertes being a significant secondary foil to Hamlet is shown through the different obsessions with women. Hamlet’s reacts violently towards Gertrude and Ophelia sexuality as opposed to Laertes who takes a calmer approach. Gertrude is Hamlet’s mother and the widow to Hamlet Sr. after the death of her husband she marries Hamlet’s uncle Claudius. Ophelia is the daughter of Polonius and Laertes younger sister; she is also Hamlets old lover. Hamlet makes it no secret that he is disgusted with his mother’s marriage to his uncle Claudius. He is angry with his mother Gertrude for reconciling her love for his father and settling for Claudius. Laertes on the other hand is very protective over his sister’s abstinence, like most Elizabethan men he highly values purity and is disgusted with anything less. â€Å"She married- O, most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets† (A.1.s2.156-157). Hamlet believes that his mother’s marriage is incestuous and believes that his mother did not take time to fully mourn the death of the previous king. The thought of Gertrude’s sexual relationship with Claudius consumes Hamlet, comparing it to an unattended garden he says,â€Å"tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature merely possesses it† (A.1.s2.135-137) Gertrude’s sexual relationship leaves Hamlet with a sense of a contaminated world, his disgust is so great that he eventually feels this way towards all women including Ophelia. â€Å"Get thee to a nunnery! Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better mother had not borne me. I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious; with more offences at my beck than thoughts I put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in† (A.3.s1.121-127). Hamlet believes that women are the roots of evil; he accuses Ophelia of being promiscuous and insists she is dishonest. Ophelia is distancing herself from Hamlet because her father advises her that he is mad and to not associate herself with him for the sake of a good reputation. Laertes also agrees with Polonius on this matter of a good reputation as he is trying hard to preserve Ophelia’s purity. â€Å"Fear it, my dear sister and keep you in the rear of your affection, out of the shot and danger of desire. The chariest maid is prodigal enough, if she unmask her beauty to the moon. Virtue itself’ scapes not calumnious strokes. The canker galls the infants to the spring, too oft before their buttons be disclosed. And in the morn and liquid dew of youth†(A.1.s3.33-42). In this quote Laertes reinforces his father’s advice to Ophelia to not let her love for Hamlet become a target of lust. He also advises her to guard her good reputation because even worms ruin flowers before they blossom. Laertes does not want Hamlet to interfere with his sister’s good reputation and does not want his false pretenses to interfere with her morals. In the Elizabethan times a â€Å"deflowered† woman was considered to be damaged goods that no man would marry, Laertes fears Hamlet taking advantage of his little sister and he wants to keep her chaste until marriage. Both Hamlet and Laertes struggle to come to terms with their loved ones sexuality but they go about it differently. Hamlet is more aggressive towards Gertrude after murdering Polonius as opposed to Laertes who takes a more understanding approach and offers his advice. This brings out Hamlet’s trait of being more forward and harshly enthusiastic towards his mother’s relationship, which is caused by his flaw of overthinking. In conclusion in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, secondary foils highlight Hamlet’s flaw of overthinking. Foils help the reader compare and contrast major characters from secondary characters. We see Hamlet strengths and weaknesses through characters like Fortinbras and Laertes; other secondary characters include Polonius, Ophelia and Gertrude. Firstly, Hamlet’s inability to act upon revenge is foiled by Fortinbras ability to conquer. Secondly, Hamlet’s and Laertes have different relationships with their fathers. Through these relationships we see Hamlet’s struggle of revenge foiled by Laertes rash decision-making. Thirdly, Laertes and Hamlet share a similar obsession towards women but for different reasons. Hamlet is a complex individual who lets his fatal flaw lead to his tragedy.

Discussing The Challenges Faced In Business

Discussing The Challenges Faced In Business Most top management executive today are faced with challenge of creating better ways of doing business in doing this , the customers have becomes the direct focused .In fact ,most organisation today, opine that a companys success depend effectively on managing relationship with customers . In achieving this companies have adopted distinct electronic business application that would generally suit its mission and objective, E-business OBrien state is the use of the internet and other network application, to process data of customers and business partner within a new worked enterprise (OBrien, 2005) .Customer relationship management application has becomes a key element within e-business system which most organisation have already adopted. The Customer relationship management application has been developed by most software companies like oracle, Sales force ,SAP and Seibel .The focused of this paper though is greatly on CRM application called SAPCO developed by SAP and how a UK top home improvement companies ,BQ has been able to use it to develop that relationship with customers . 1.1 AIM AND OBJECTIVES The analysis is this paper will show amongst other thing, how this application has accounted in many ways for the success and grow of customers loyalty of BQ over the years ,it will also look at the business challenge associated with the use of the system within BQ and by extension, the use of similar Customer relationship management systems supports by SAP in other organisation and importantly too, analyzing the ethical issues associated with technology. 1.2 METHODOLOGY A lot of recent articles and text books played a significant role in this work .Internet sources too ,cannot be underestimated alongside comments ,by way of interview conducted with some with some BQ staff who were there when the system was introduced and other who have been using the system for years now. 2.0 CRM TECHNOLOGY AND SAP Customer relationship management technology can up in the mid twentieth century as a result of the most management executive identifying the need to improved relationship with customer and in that way improve business efficiency. The general maxim that the customers are always right seemed to take a more descriptive place as companies were now committed on doing whatever it takes to deliver the promise made (Nguyen et al 2007) .This is where technology comes into pay to create this needs business value. This is also where to business executive brainstorming on aborting the best application that would enhance better control over their operation. Customer relationship management application help organisation assess customers loyalty and profitability on measures such as repeat purchase, dollars spent and longevity (Popovice et al 2003) It is important to note that Customer relationship management is like other E-commerce application, a combination of people, process and technology that seek to understand a companys customers . (Chen et al 2003) SAP happens to be one of the leading vendors for enterprise resource planning system, ERP. ERP systems are software package that permit companies to have more actual control over their operation. A typical CRM application will encompass the entire element in the diagram in figure 1 below Sale Market and fulfillment -Cross sell -Up-sell Customer Service and support Contact and Account Management Fax e-mail Telephone web Prospect or customer sales (OBrien, 2005) The diagram in figure 1 above show clearly that indeed ,the customer is the focus and all other aspect revolved around it ,aimed at marking the customer happy and by extension the business gaining repeat visit through customer loyalty . Now, in this SAP major strength in this application, includes the extensive capability of the softwares functional these and many other reason may have formed that reason why a large organisation like BQ picked sap to provide application . 2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1.1 NEED FOR CRM As the power of the seller shifts to the buyer (Watson, 2002) organizations are realizing that competing with cheaper, better or different products is not sufficient, and competitive advantage cannot be achieved by purely differentiating products alone, but through enhanced customer relationships .At the same time, customers are experiencing low switching costs and could easily redirect their loyalty from one company to another (Holcom, 2001). Their expectations have also risen in recent years, making Customer relationship management a necessity in todays customer-driven business environment (S.L. Pan, J.N. Lee, 2003). Previous research has shown that it costs more to attract new customers than retain customers because of advertising and marketing costs .This means that, instead of differentiating products, organizations should differentiate customers (M. Nykamp, 2001) and they should shift their emphasis on market share to customer share (M. Rogers, 1993). Research has also indicated that organizations must not only retain their customers but also expand the useful lifespan of customers with the organization ( Zeithaml, 2002 ) by means of IT. Through such technologies, one-to-one relationships (D. Peppers and M. Roger, 1993).Value creation (Barnes, 2001) customer value analysis, product and website customization are possible on a scale that was not possible in the past (M. Nykamp, 2001). According to the 80/20 rule, 20% of customers provide organizations with 80% of sales (Ryals and Knox, 2001). This further emphasizes the need for organizations to retain and engage in long-term relationships with profitable customers to maximize profits (J. Galbreath, 1998). SAP IN BQ. SAPCO is an acronym in BQ that stands from SAP Custer ordering system .it is a system being used by BQ to process customers orders, monitor customer transaction and enhance better customer relationship. BQ China, part of Kingfisher Group plc, is one of the top three global decorations and building materials groups. The group employs the equivalent of more than 10,000 full-time staff, serving a marketplace worth around $40 billion. Just like all customer relationship system, SAPCO enable BQ to answer question around: what product or service are customer? How should we communicate with our customers? What are my customers favourite colours or what is my customers size? (Popovvich, 2003). With SAPCO these question would be answered within minutes from customers transaction histories and processes. Businesses and individuals working on refurbishment projects are prime sales opportunities for the Decoration Centers service at BQ China. However, the workflow designed to track these opportunities relied on paper-based notes of project requirements, status, sales and value, and staff kept diaries to make follow-up calls. Total contract sales data was collected and collated manually, a process that took months, before central departments could analyze the results of marketing campaigns (http://www-01.ibm.com). Before BQ introduced SAPCO, orders where made via paper and ink .And when I interviewed BQ staff they confirmed that it was and herculean task. Mistake and long queues were that order of the day the employees found it very difficult with the stress associated with manual way of taking order from customers. The introduction of SAPCO has made all this problem history, customer can now go any of B Q store through to the UK and have their orders complete within a few minutes. 3.1 THE SAPCO PROCESS A potential customer who wants to buy goods from any BQ stores across the UK come in to the shop and meet with a customer adviser who will help the customer to look for what hi want and help the customer to process the order in the system .before the can be done the customer must have a user name and password unique to the individual alone this what the employer will us in logging into the SAPCO application .in the case of the first time customer the customer adviser with request the customer to provide some personal details like name in full, house address, postcode, phone number these information will be keyed into the system after that ,the item number or the barcode number is keyed into the system and an order places . SAPCO will run through the system and identify where the item is, if it is in stock or needs to be ordered from outside the store and if so this process begins immediately. At this point again, the customer is asked about the quantity of goods to be ordered which i s entered into the system. A quotation is also prepared by SAPCO if required by customer. Once the order has been done successfully, the order is checked by both the BQ staff and the customer to make sure the order is correct. The place of delivery of the item is then confirmed from the customer. The charges of delivery are automatically calculated by SAPCO. Then after the customer is issued a sales advice note which he takes to the checkout stand to make payment. If the item is not in store, SAPCO automatically orders the item and also states the date of delivery. This most times takes between four to six weeks (www.diy.com). It also uses the sales confirmation to control its finances effectively. This is done by clients payment for items in BQ can automatically and payments to supplies are included in the central cash flow furcating reports generated by the SAPCO financial application. Again, if the customer had done business with BQ before then and wants information about his earlier order or make a new one the staff need just ask for the postcode and customer number which would be used in locating the transaction history of the customer. Queries if any are spotted and sorted. Another angle to this system is once the order has been picked up, the BQ staff must go back to the system, click on the item across the individuals name. He then goes to the collection section and confirms after which he prints two copies of the collection note. A copy of the collection note is kept by BQ and the other unsigned is given to the customer. This affirms to both BQ and the customer that item has been picked and transaction completed. One of the key benefits of SAPCO is that it links up all the departments in BQ so a customer can walk to any sales advisor and ask about an order. The necessary information is taken off the customer at the nearest computer system available and the order is immediately displayed. 3.2 BENEFIT OF SAPCO AS A CRM TOOL It has greatly improved the ordering system in BQ. The ordering of products is done faster thereby enhancing business. It has also enabled BQ to measure its customers loyalty better through the awareness of the history of customer transaction. It also manages customers documents better as it is fully integrated in the companys business system. Prior to the use of SAPCO customer details were held on paper records, with key project milestones used as the triggers to remind customers to return to the stores. It was difficult to share information between different departments, such as keeping a record of product recommendations and noting project status, and potential opportunities are not always pursued. Angela Dong, Senior Project Manager, comments, A customer usually spends some time consulting with BQ staff, and may visit other shops to compare prices or consider alternatives. With customer information held on paper, it was all too easy to miss the follow-up sales opportunity to invi te them to select BQ. Through this system and via the internet, customers have 24 hours access to their account. This enables them easily assess their account anytime. This has also helped reduced cost for the company. The usual logistics of making orders manually has been greatly reduced. Delivery of items and tracking of goods has improved greatly improved. This system works in a way that staffs handling delivery immediately see an order has been made and paid for; hence they are aware that there is another order waiting to be delivered. With all customer and project data captured electronically, BQ is able to identify the right time to follow up with customers and maximize sales opportunities. BQ central management is able to adjust marketing campaigns in response to actual sales made, respond to demand for specific products, and monitor payments and cash flow. The result is that BQ is able to tailor its business more closely to the needs of customers, creating a genuine competitive advantage. It also a solution that that would serve customers better by providing detailed knowledge of stock levels and replenishment times, and, of course, accurate pricing, across all our stores. Customers are the most valuable assets of any company especially during this present economic situation and which SAPCO helps improves the volume of customers. According to Ian Anthony, Technical Infrastructure Programme Manager, BQ the customer ordering system in particular we have seen a huge increase in the volume of customer orders going through since the systems been implemented. The data gathered from SAPCO helps BQ to track projects status and ensure high quality which ultimately helps to improve customer satisfaction level. Due to the implementation of SAPCO information is completely transparent and managers are able to adjust sales and marketing strategies depending on actual data from current purchasing trends rather than having to wait for data to be complied by hand at the store level and later sent to the head office which normally take up to three months. (http://www-01.ibm.com). There is also an immediate visibility of the number of orders or contract which in other words means that SAPCO has improved both management and customer efficiency. 3.3 CHALLENGES OF SAPCO IN BQ The challenges of SAPCO differ from staff to staff. While some staffs believe is to be a total disaster others feel that there are ups and downs associated with its effective use. Some of which are listed below: The speed of the internet which mainly depends on the network providing the connection as been identified as one of the major challenges. There are some times a completion of order could prove a difficult task as it could take up to ten minutes to move from one page to another. This customer is made in this instance to wait for an undue period of time. For the system to work efficiently a stable and secure internet network must be available. Another big issue is the human side associated with it. Most have not come to properly appreciate the system so sometimes information is incorrectly entered. This is properly due to lack of enough training on the system or the staffs personal decision not to imbibe proper procedure. Data Collection And Processing Management Perspective Business management most times is centred on decision making. However, this aspect within most organisations is the central role of managers. Managers are faced daily with the challenges of coming up with processes that would enhance the effective running of the business. The use of information systems like the CRM technology has formed a critical role of this responsibility and to a large extend has improved this role. Most of the decisions managers have to make now have become web based either through the internet or networking applications which foster the information processing. According to Loudon, managers can now automate certain decision procedure (for example , determining the highest price that can be charged for a product to maintain market share or the highest amount of materials to maintain in inventory to maximise efficient customer response and product profitability). Loudon Loudon 2002 pg. 404). Organisations have a hierarchy of decision makers. This hierarchy in many ways enhances the smooth running of companies. Within the organisation there are the following: Strategic Management The manager here are concerned with decision around the long time value of the company and most times described as unstructured (George Steiner). Tactical Management- Managers here are concerned with medium term planning. They monitor the performance of the organisation, control budget, allocate resources and set budget (Bocij 2003 pg.18). Operational Management- Manager here directly handles the running of the business. Decisions here are highly structured as they affect the business directly and are felt at the moment it is taken. Managers here implements budget and apply them to business. For instance the decision by BQ to adopt SAPCO as a customer relationship management tool for such a large organisation would have been exclusively strategic. However, setting out the budget and planning ahead for the system would have been tactical and implementation would have been by the operation managers. Most CRM application has failed due to poor business management. However, BQs SAPCO has been in use for more than seven years and it is still recording success on a daily basis. Managers can now ascertain the items that are in great need and hence proactively stock them. SAPCO greatly supports operational and tactical decisions in BQ. This SAP enabled system also provides report, giving managers a comprehensive view of the firms performance. It also features corporate performance metrics, simulations and planning tools. (Loudon Loudon 2002 pg 423). Through this system, management can easily view their performance level and also the areas that need to be improved upon. As an enterprise resource planning system, SAPCO brings all the units together into one entity and thereby having a better control of operation. This ultimately provides a better link with their supplier and distributors hence the main goal of servicing the customer is achieved. The integration of business systems has enabled management reach beyond their own corporate walls to better connect with suppliers, distributors and end customers. (Gupta 2000). Sales are better managed especially with the use of the internet although this could also be a shortcoming since it means the system is dependent on the internet connection which it has no power over. However, the internet greatly supports the application. Managers at different levels can track sales at different locations and this gives them a better understanding of the business irrespective of how large the organisation maybe. The rewards of an effective CRM technology like SAPCO are indeed enormous. Steve Gilman, BQI director and BQ UK board director BQI has described the benefits of adopting SAP Retail as better customer availability and cost reductions. Gilman says, We can record sales and margin accurately and as a result have boosted our margins. We have given ourselves a lead over our competitors.(www.ciber.com.au/). Business chief executives can now stay ahead of the competition with greater focus on the customer than the competitors. On the management side cost are reduces and more revenue is made from increased sales. Ethical Challenges In Customer Relationship Management When a new technology is introduced into a business, it comes with its challenges. Its use even creates more challenges which in many ways affect its users. Ethics is one area of great concern to effective business management and information technology most effectively. Ethics refers to the principles of right and wrong that individual, acting as free moral agents, can use to make choice to guide their behaviour. (Laudon Laudon 2002 pg 468) Business ethics is crucial especially to management. It is something managers confront with everyday and have to deal with as the situation presents itself. OBrien speaks of a situation in which he states that as a business professional, you have a responsibility to promote ethical uses of information technology in the workplace. (2005 pg.380). In todays business world, issues of ethics range around privacy, intellectual property, security and even safety issues. Managers must make sure that its stakeholders interests are well protected when issues of this sort arise. 5.1 Information Systems And Ethics 5.1.1 Privacy- The issues of privacy have become one of growing concern as regards information systems in todays business environment. Alter identifies two crucial areas in this: personal privacy, which talks about the ability of an individual to avoid unwanted instructions into personal time. Space and property (2002, pg.287), and the information privacy which deals with the the ability of the individual to determined when, how and to what extent personal information is communicated to others (2007, pg 287). Privacy issues generally can be spotted in a lot of areas, today organisations, through use of the intranet within offices, can monitors mails that staff send across the organisation and also find out the sites they are visiting. This in a lot of ways infringes on their rights of privacy as individuals. That is why most individuals how prefer to send all private mails from their homes. However, the CRM technology is one area that this becomes very crucial. Companies in the process of conduction business with customers, gather a lot of personal information of its customers, for instance BQ, with its SAPCO system. Most of customers personal details are taken by the system. It now dwells on managers and staffs alike to make sure that this information of customers are well protected from abuse. However, over the years there had been codes like the code of fair information practices (Alter 2002, pg.290) created in the US to ensure that customers are to large extent in control of information released from being used for other things without their consent. 5.1.2 Health Issues- This is a very critical issue especially as information technology in the work place raises a variety of health issues. Heavy use of computer is reportedly causing health problems like job stress, damaged arm and neck muscles, eye strain radiation exposure and even death by computerised caused death. O Brien 2005, pg 395). There are times when placing an order for customers on the system can take ages and these in cases are linked to a slow system of internet and how voluminous the order is. In tackling this issue, what BQ has done is making sure that staffs have at least two breaks within a particular working day to ease of the stress that could be associated with this. A day off in the week is also given to staff. In this way, they probably foreseen the issues greatly minimised. 5.1.3 Property Issue- In information technology, this is often referred to as intellectual property which literally links to ownership of an idea or a product. This is very important in business. However, the internet raises some new challenges (Rowley 2002, pg. 244). Issues to be considered in terms of this include trade secrets, copyright and patents. a. Trade secrets- These are very crucial corporate issues as most times. They are associated with companys brand image and identity. They are often regarded as assets that if infringed upon can be sued in the court of law. In 2007, Oracle sued and accused SAP of hacking into its computer networks and stealing vital product information (BBC News 2007). Prevention this now, companies who own products must find ways of making sure that employees protect these from competitors and public generally. b. Copyright- These refer to a law or statutory grant that protects creators of intellectual property from having their works copied by others for any purpose for a period of 28 years. Laudon Laudon 2002, pg. 479). Despite the fact that companies like Oracle, Siebel, Sap, Salesforce all developed CRM. However, there are particular areas which are unique to this companies that cannot be taken from them. Also companies that use SAP products like BQ (SAPCO) and Virgin cosmetics (MYSAP) all have customised products which are peculiar to their companies which must be protected. 6.0 Security Management In Information System It is not enough to create systems within organisation, management must put certain measures in place to ensure that these information are well secured.