British Satellite Broadcasting: the Beginning of the End

Entrepreneur Research Paper Adriel McBride DeVry University December 17, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 3 Abstract 3 History behind BSB 4Reasons for Failure 5 Analysis 7 Works Cited 10 British Satellite Broadcasting: The beginning of the end IntroductionMany companies fail within the first two years of opening, according to small business administration which is seven out of ten, and 51 percent last at least five years. Starting a business is not an easy task, there are tons of things that have to done in order for it to be around for more than a couple of months or years. Unfortunately, that’s the case with the company I chose, British Satellite Broadcasting. Abstract British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) set out to establish a television company that provided direct airing to television services from a satellite to the United Kingdom.Which it did from 1977-1990 and had its first broadcast on March 25, 1990, most of the time was used towards creating a policy to hav e British be able to broadcast via satellite (Holden, 1998). The company had to merge with Sky Television in November of 1990 to form the British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB’s). History behind BSB In 1977 the development of British satellite broadcasting policy started, a meeting was held at the World Administration Radio Conference for a hearing for the division of broadcasting frequencies.During the meeting the administration assigned each country five high-powered channels for direct broadcast by satellite for domestic use. In 1982 BSB was awarded with two channels through the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and in 1983 it started to negotiate with the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) to join a joint-venture with other countries and start a joint satellite service but failed in 1985 (Holden, 1998). It was said that the government insisted that the BBC should pay for the cost of constructing and launching a dedicated satellite. The hearing concluding in 1992, whi ch followed the Conservative Party’s fourth consecutive election victory and BSkyB’s successful, momentous bid for the rights to screen live English Premier League football matches† (Holden, 1998). The BSB had one main competitor which was Sky broadcasting, it had an advantage over BSB and proved that its system gave sufficient picture quality and many viewers didn’t want to wait on a promise that was vowed by BSB for excellent programming. Many customers compared the competition between the rival satellite companies to the format war between VHS and Betamax home video recorders and chose to wait and see which company would win outright as opposed to buying potentially outdated equipment† (Holden, 1998). BSB mission was to create a satellite dish to broadcast high quality television programming for the British and hopefully expand to other countries. The reason BSB failed can be related to a lot of things but mostly money. Before BSB and Sky merged, Sky debuted first which hurt BSB, Sky provide a cheaper dish, which made it even more difficult for BSB.In January 1989 BSB experienced higher than expected cost that were required to achieve their planned air date. That caused them to push back their fall launch date. This resulted in delays for developing a new semiconductor chip required for its satellite dish receivers, which raised their cost to ? 131 million (Holden, 1998). Many say that if BSB would have launched first they could possibly still be around. Sky and BSB were in financial trouble and after BSB collapsed in November 1990, they were forced to merge.That is how the BSkyB came about, no more BSB it was over and a new company had begun which was marketed as Sky TV. Reasons for Failure British Satellite Broadcast failed for a number of reasons one was the lack of financial stability and commitment. BSB was spending millions of dollars on equipment for receivers so they can be available for purchase. But they were slack ing in the production department because they needed more money to make sure they had quality programming but missed their deadline. By the time they finally launched people had already turned to the competition because they were tired of waiting.When a promise is made to consumers it’s best for the company to do everything in their power to oblige them or otherwise they will lose their support and money. That’s exactly what happened with BSB they were focused on quality which was great but couldn’t provide it in a timely matter. Their competition offered a cheaper product and adequate quality which was better than nothing. The merge only helped Sky stay alive and killed BSB because they took all of BSB quality equipment and satellites and created something great.But if BSB would have kept their commitment/ launch date it could have been a different outcome today. So it kind of boils down to customer satisfaction, which is always a big part of a business success . When BSB couldn’t make good on their promise it reflected badly on the company and made their consumers wonder if they were really up for the challenge. For example take a gamer that is anxiously waiting for a new Xbox game console to come out and is schedule for release in May but is pushed back to August, a lot of loyal customers will be let down and possibly turn to PlayStation which new console came out when vowed.They may not lose a lot of of customers but it could cause a ripple effect for the ones that did chose to get a PlayStation instead. That is what happened with BSB, they had satisfied customers when they finally launched but not enough to keep them in business. Another thing that caused them to fail was not having the sufficient operating funds. The owners didn’t estimate how much money they would need to accomplish what they set out to do. It is always important to know how much money your business will necessitate, that includes the starting cost and staying a business.That was not well executed when the owners of BSB started the company which was a major cause of why it failed. Too much money being put into the company but not enough coming in. They had major financial issues they caused them to basically turn over their business to their competitor. That is never how an entrepreneur plans their business to turn out especially a few years after starting. While a lot of people were still happy with the 5 channels that they had globally, a lot of people were also tired of having only 5 possible things to watch and so they got Sky as soon as it was available.As it turned out, hundreds of thousands of people got Sky before BSB even launched (William, 2011). Most of the people who were interested in having a greater choice of channels had already opted for Sky. There was hardly anyone who still wanted a DBS system left for BSB to sell their service to. As a result, BSB launched with only a few hundred systems installed, and never re ally increased beyond that. The real cause of their failure can probably be laid at the door of the IBA.While they never intended for BSB to fail, they locked BSB into a contract to build and launch satellites, implement new picture systems which were not standard in the UK (and still aren't today) and do other things which Sky were not required to do (Holden, 1998). This resulted in severe hold ups which allowed Sky to eat up almost all of the market that BSB was aimed at. While BSB were busy launching satellites and awaiting delivery of MAC equipment, Sky had launched and was building up a growing customer base (Holden, 1998).Analysis BSB could still be around if it wasn’t for the IBA contract and making unrealistic goals. If BSB would have started out with a less expensive product they could probably still be in business. They wanted too much too fast, the best quality and products that cost some big bucks that they did not have. Therefore it hurt them, a better plan and t eam would have set them above the rest. Better planning in general could have prevented the business from failing. They could have cut out every unnecessary expense and reduce the expenses. Became a saver with cash and collect every dime owed to them.Finally they could have started selling their products and service at a discounted price until they built up a loyal customer base. If the entrepreneur would have recognized the company was failing before it was too late, he could have taken actions to turn around the business. The business owners and leaders should have taken every action necessary to first preserve their own interests and salvage/protect personal assets associated with the company. Protecting the business assets is critical for survival of any company. The idea of satellite broadcasting was great but not well implemented nor calculated.BSB wanted to give customers better than what they were receiving from the competitor but didn’t go about it the right way. The y started off spending way too much money and still coming up short. When developing a new product it takes lots of inputs such as money, skills, energy etc. that is supposed to add value to their product output (Hatten, 2009). The four major functions of managing a business is planning, organizing, leading, and controlling (Hatten, 2009). Within those four boundaries BSB went wrong with at least three which were planning, organizing, and leading.I didn’t choose controlling because they really had no control of their project because of the IBA. If they would have never signed the contract with IBA and stayed with the BBC things could have turned out differently. IBA demanded services that BSB just couldn’t provide. Even with that being the case, if the entrepreneur was better at leading he could have had a strategic plan to keep his company alive while pleasing the IBA as well. That could have been done by trying to develop one of the requirements at a time. The best t hing to do would have been to get working satellite receivers on the market.Then see how well they do by getting feedback from the consumers and find out what could be done to improve the service and products. After they obtained enough information on what was wrong with the â€Å"prototypes† that was first released they could start improving the devices and making it available for sale and send an upgrade device to the customers that already had a receiver. Sometimes it’s about taking a chance with a bad product versus failing as company altogether and putting out a few bad receivers. There are tons of companies that started off horribly but still made a profit and are now at the top.For instance Sprint Wireless, everyone including myself hated their phones and service back in the 1990’s but now in 2012 they are one of the top cellphone providers. They accomplished that by staying afloat during the rough patches and critiquing there services and products. BSB s imply wanted to be the best and provide excellent programming and quality but didn’t plan accordingly. Having a great plan and knowing how to execute it can be what makes a business succeed. BSB had a great plan but just couldn’t meet the expectations.Sometimes less is more, if they would have started a little smaller and worked its way up I believe Britain’s would be watching British Satellite Broadcasting instead of Sky TV. Works Cited Brown, M. (2009). Sky tv's launch: ‘a wing and a prayer' . Blog, Retrieved from http://www. guardian. co. uk/media/organgrinder/2009/feb/04/sky-tv-early-years Pnakaj, G. (1997). Entry and deterrence in british satellite broadcasting. The mitt press. Retrieved from http://people. stern. nyu. edu/abranden/EntryAndDeterrenceBritishSatellite. pdf Hatten, T. (2009). Small business management. (4 ed. , p. 460; 536).Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. Holden, W. (1998). The history and development of british satellite broadcast ing policy, 1977-1992. (Master's thesis)Retrieved from http://etheses. whiterose. ac. uk/552/2/holden_1998. pdf Feder, B. (1990, December 20). Murdoch's time of reckoning. New york times. Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. com/1990/12/20/business/murdoch-s-time-of-reckoning. html Williams, G. (2011, March 2). News corporation and bskyb: What price remedies? Campaign for press and broadcasting freedom. Retrieved from http://www. cpbf. org. uk/body. php? id=2462&selpanel=1

Free Essays on Mother Archetype

The Always Present Mother â€Å"This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man† (Gen. 2:23). History has shown us that the â€Å"Great Mother† archetype has been with society since the beginning of time. Through stories, songs, poems and thoughts, man has always found the need for the â€Å"Mother† and the women that make this archetype possible. Some are consider myths and legends, while others have been documented in history. Regardless of what they have done or thought to have done, they have made an impact on the way man foresees woman. I will discuss three women characters that play a role in the mother archetype, and explain why these rolls are important to their culture. Demeter will be the first goddess in this examination on the mother archetype, followed by Isis. These women are man made stories, to try and help explain why certain things are the way they are. The last mother archetype I w ill discuss was a woman that is still worshipped today, and with the help of man made stories, she has become immortal. This woman is the Virgin Mary. Before this is discussed, I will explain what an archetype is and what traits and similarities one must have to become a â€Å"Mother Archetype†. The mother archetype is a term derived from a man by the name of Carl Gustav Jung. Jung was a predecessor of Sigmund Freud. â€Å"According to Jungian psychology the archetypes of the collective unconscious are manifested in similar mythological motifs which are universal†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Trachy and Hopkins 166). Jung defines a archetype in many ways. Archetypes appear in conscious as a universal and recurring image, pattern or motif representing a typical human experience. Archetypal images come from the collective unconscious and are the basic concepts of religions, mythologies, legends and Arts†¦they emerge through dreams and visions†¦they convey a sense of transpersonal power which transcend th... Free Essays on Mother Archetype Free Essays on Mother Archetype The Always Present Mother â€Å"This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man† (Gen. 2:23). History has shown us that the â€Å"Great Mother† archetype has been with society since the beginning of time. Through stories, songs, poems and thoughts, man has always found the need for the â€Å"Mother† and the women that make this archetype possible. Some are consider myths and legends, while others have been documented in history. Regardless of what they have done or thought to have done, they have made an impact on the way man foresees woman. I will discuss three women characters that play a role in the mother archetype, and explain why these rolls are important to their culture. Demeter will be the first goddess in this examination on the mother archetype, followed by Isis. These women are man made stories, to try and help explain why certain things are the way they are. The last mother archetype I w ill discuss was a woman that is still worshipped today, and with the help of man made stories, she has become immortal. This woman is the Virgin Mary. Before this is discussed, I will explain what an archetype is and what traits and similarities one must have to become a â€Å"Mother Archetype†. The mother archetype is a term derived from a man by the name of Carl Gustav Jung. Jung was a predecessor of Sigmund Freud. â€Å"According to Jungian psychology the archetypes of the collective unconscious are manifested in similar mythological motifs which are universal†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Trachy and Hopkins 166). Jung defines a archetype in many ways. Archetypes appear in conscious as a universal and recurring image, pattern or motif representing a typical human experience. Archetypal images come from the collective unconscious and are the basic concepts of religions, mythologies, legends and Arts†¦they emerge through dreams and visions†¦they convey a sense of transpersonal power which transcend th...

485 Forensic Law Midterm Exam

The most important fact that makes forensic evidence circumstantial is because science cannot be clearly defined by law. The legal system have created standards and written legal rules regarding the admissibility of forensic evidence. When forensic evidence that is presented in court is rarely unaccompanied by an expert witness to provide the court room with a professional explanation backing the reliability of the forensic process used to collect the relevant evidence. This is one the major obstacles in the modern courtroom. Expert witnesses are intended to provide the court with a detailed description of the forensic evidence being presented and how that evidence was analyzed through the use of forensic science. This makes an expert witness’s testimony a testimony to probability and circumstance, rather than actual fact. Consequently, the forensic evidence that is presented is ruled as circumstantial. The primary reason that science cannot be clearly defined by law is the rate of change and new theory that occurs regularly in science. There have been numerous cases where scientific evidence is found to be incorrect or inconclusive when it is admitted into evidence. This is a major concern for the courtroom as false convictions are detrimental to the integrity of the judicial system. Admissible forensic evidence is most always considered circumstantial so that there must be other forms of evidence to support the conclusion made from the forensic evidence to make a ruling. 2. Explain ways in which an opposing attorney can challenge an expert’s testimony in court. The primary goal of an attorney during cross examination is to destroy the credibility of a witness’s testimony. Expert witnesses are held to a different standard during trial and are considered professional witnesses as they speak on the behalf of a professional opinion and understanding of the information being presented; rather than the account or an experience. Regardless of who they witness is, it is important the Federal Rules of Evidence are upheld during cross examination. There are multiple rules against the presentation of past history of witness and attack of their personal character. That being said, an attorney may reference background and qualifications of an expert witness disprove the creditably of the witness as a professional in the field they are giving testimony to. An attorney may do this by researching the expert or the field that they practice and present them question that may cause they to refute their previous testimony or have no answer to a question. Causing an expert witness to look confused or untruthful on the stand shows the jury that jury that their testimony may not be credible or the judge has the authority to dismiss the witness completely. Another approach that is commonly executed during cross examination by an attorney is challenging of the validity and probativity of the expert witnesses testimony. Attorneys may focus on the limitations of the testimony and attempt to show the jury that the testimony is insignificant and inconclusive to show any benefit in proving or disproving any evidence or a fact at trial. An attorney may also challenge the purpose of the testimony. If the attorney can ask questions that show the testimony is insignificant and is not being used to prove or disprove evidence. Then the attorney may be able to have the judge dismiss the testimony. 3. Explain exactly what makes a witness an expert witness and provide an example of a specific forensic science expert witness. Also, explain what scientific expert opinion is and what is required before a court will allow this type of special testimony. An expert witness is considered an expert according to their credentials in the professional field that they are testifying in accordance with. Expert witnesses are used by attorneys to give professional opinion and explanation of information that the common individual would otherwise have no understanding of. Searching the web I discovered SEAK a website devoted to compiling information on expert witness. All of the expert witnesses listed on the site have been previously used in cases to provide testimony to specific evidence that is within the parameters of their expertise and professional credentials. Jill Kessler Miller is a great example of a specific expert witness. Jill resides in Southern California and is an expert in forensic science and dogs. She has testified in nine trials over the past four years. She has had over twenty-five years of experience with training dogs. She has a college degree in English and a graduate certification in Animal Policy Advocacy. The site also lists the multiple specific topics she gives testimony to. This is a great example of an expert witness because she lists are her professional credentials and specific fields that she will testify about in court. Dog bites and veterinary forensics are her direct links to forensic evidence. An expert witness’s expertise, training and special knowledge of a subject allows them to be give opinion is court. There is an exception to the rule against witnesses presenting anything but fact. Regardless, an expert witness’s opinion must be unbiased and bases solely on their special knowledge, train, and expertise in the field. The opposing attorney also has the right to confrontation to this opinion. 4. Explain in general how forensic evidence and analysis of this evidence can aid investigators in determining what took place at a crime scene. How would this information be helpful to an investigation? There are multiple different disciplines of forensic evidence and each different of discipline of forensic evidence can assist investigators to analysis specific evidence to identify its significance in the investigation. When a crime occurs an investigator arrive at the scene of the crime there first set it collect and document all the evidence found at the scene of the crime that looks like it make be out of place or help draw connections to the culprits of the crime. If hair, fibers, fingerprints, tire tracks, bite marks, etc. are found at a crime scene those materials or makes are correct and examined through the use of forensic evidence. The goal of forensic evidence is to analysis the materials collected and draw connections through science to link specific individuals or objects to the crime scene by matching the scientific components. This information is helpful to an investigator because it can provide time estimates of when the crime occurred, if the crime occurred at the location, who may be involved, what may have been used to commit the crime, etc. , but overall what caused the crime to occur. 5. Identify ten separate areas of forensic science that would commonly be utilized at a crime scene investigation and give a brief explanation of each. Hair analysis is the examination of human or animal hair. Forensic science is able to distinguish the difference between the two. Depending on the sample and if the follicle is still attached, science can recover DNA from the hair. Difference can also be made between what area of the body hair originated from. Fiber analysis is the examination of man-made fibers. Forensic science is able to identify through different processes the origination object a fiber may have come from and also may be able to identify what action cause the final location of the fiber. Fiber location can be a good indicator of a struggle or specific actions during a crime. Tread analysis is the examination of treads or tire marks. Upon discovery treads or tire marks are photographed and sometimes casted for examination. These photographs or casts are analyzed to determine the type of vehicle the treads could have come from. Ballistic analysis is the examination or firearms and ammunition. When cases involve firearms and ammunition, ballistic science is used to identify the characteristics of the ammunition discovered and link it to the type of firearm or exact firearm through the identification or rifling in the barrel or the firearm. Glass analysis is the examination of glass. Forensic science can examine glass to identify its refractive characteristics or composition to connect it to other samples of glass collected. There are numerous types of glass and forensic science is able to assist in identifying and matching samples. Paint analysis is the examination of paint samples. Forensic science is used to link paint samples recovered and link those samples to a source of origin. Paint analysis is common to link vehicles and weapons to a crime. Soil analysis is the examination or soil particles. Forensic science can identify even minute traces of soil particles and identify its characteristics, possibly origin. Footprint analysis examines the foot or shoe impressions. Forensic science can indicate through photographs or castings the size of foot, if it is human or animal in origin, if the speed of the individual, type of shoe the individual was wearing. Fingerprint analysis examines human fingerprints. Each individual person has different fingerprints and forensic science can examine one fingerprint and link it to a specific individual. Blood spatter analysis is the examination of blood and how it arrived at its discovered location. Forensic science can analysis blood spatter to indicate the origin of the blood and what may have taken place in what direction and matter to cause the specific patterns of blood discovered. 6. What can a forensic scientist/expert ascertain from hair samples located at a crime scene or on a victim? What would the expert be able to testify to upon analysis of these samples? Hair evidence is commonly discovered at the crime scene because both humans and animal are always shedding hair. The important job or hair forensic analysis is to discover the origins of the sample collected. If a hair sample still have a follicle attach it is possible for a forensic scientist is acquire a DNA pattern from the hair. The characteristics of a hair sample will also indicated the type of hair and location of the body where the hair would have originated from. Examination of the hair root can indicate whether the hair was removed through force or naturally shed by the body. At trial the expert may testify to the all the characteristics able that are possible to discover through a hair sample. Also, an expert may testify to the location of hair and how the characteristics of the hair sample may indicate a certain type of behavior for that hair to be found in the location it was. For example, if a male pubic hair is found in the location or a female genital area then that may be an indication of sexually deviancy. All of this testimony would be circumstantial and only a presentation of possible reasoning for hair characteristics and location. 7. How was fiber evidence utilized to convict Wayne Williams in the Atlanta Child Killing murders? Williams was convicted using seven different fiber and hair associations to the victim Jimmy Ray Payne. Payne was found in a river, but his cloths still retained fibers that were left on the body from his contact with Williams. The medical examiner was able to recover these fibers and sent them in for forensic testing. Through forensic testing it was found that two different fiber strands were consistent with the characteristics of Williams’ bed spread and bedroom carpet. Other fibers retrieved from Payne were consistent with William’s car. Other fibers where connected to various fibers throughout Williams’ home. Once the fibers were from Payne were linked to Williams, the FBI examined the fiber evidence from eleven other victims and through consistencies between all the fibers that were collected where able to link Williams is some way to all twelve murders through the fibers evidence. 8. How can certain marks located on a bullet be analyzed and used to help determine the exact gun from which the bullet was fired? Each individual firearm is created baring its own rifling. Rifling is the groves located within the barrel of a gun that assist the bullet to spin while exiting the gun and pierce through the air without wavering or tumbling. The rifling of the gun leaves distinct marks on the bullets that allow the bullet to be traces the specific rifling of the gun that shot the bullet. If there is no gun present to be directly compared to the bullet, rifling can also being used to identify the specific caliber or mark of the firearm used to fire the bullet. 9. How could glass or paint evidence be used to help solve a hit-and-run motor vehicle accident? What would the forensic expert be able to testify to when comparing glass or paint located at the scene in order to trace paint or glass evidence located on a suspect’s vehicle? Paint and glass evidence can be crucial in linking suspects and vehicles used in hit-and-run crimes. In most hit and run cases, when a vehicle strikes an individual or object traces of paint and glass may be transferred from the vehicle to the individual or object that was struck. Paint evidence is limited to the size or the sample and amount of paint transferred during contact. If the paint characteristics are identified, then those characteristics can be used to link the sample to the type or paint and color. If paint and color can be found and glass samples are left at the scene of a hit and run it is likely that the type of vehicle can be identified. Different types make, models, and types of vehicles utilize different types of glass in the construction of the vehicle. Glass forensic evidence can use glass sample taken from the scene to identify the type of glass and compare it to other samples to indicate possible origins of the sample. An expert witness cannot directly implicate a suspect in a crime by the glass or paint evidence from the scene of the crime and sample taken from the suspect vehicle. However, the expert witness can testify that the samples from the suspect’s car and the evidence collected from the scene have the sample characteristics. Also, an expert may be able to show that the damage or striations found at the scene could indicate that the car’s damage could have been directly caused by striking the individual or object involved in the hit-and-run.

Islamic and conventional credit cards Assignment - 1

Islamic and conventional credit cards - Assignment Example The increased demand is not only from clients need for differentiated products but also from corporations who want to carry out all financial dealings in conformity with Sharia laws. The increasing populations of Muslim countries will additionally propel the demand for Sharia - compliant financial services. Many Muslim nations have young populaces, with more than 60% of the citizens under the age of 21 years, in addition to annual population growth rates of more than 5%. Many conservative banks currently are also engaging in the Islamic Banking market due to its intrinsic feature of minimal exposure to operational risk. Islamic banking, because of its strict Sharia submission norms, can help clients decrease the risks related to interest based debt bankrolling that plagued conservative banks especially during the recent financial crisis that hit the mortgage market. In terms of supply, the main underlying principle of development in Islamic banking is the swelling amount of financial services establishments giving Sharia compliant business solutions. Along with the new Islamic banking institutions that are being designed, there is a developing tendency among current conventional banking institutions to transform their processes to become compliant with Sharia laws. With mounting business rivalries in their home markets, some Islamic banking institutions in the Middle East have begun to multiply globally, with a preliminary attention to Africa and Asia. This amplified rivalry was leading to fresh advanced products being availed to the markets, therefore, rendering Islamic banking more enticing. The initial phases of growth in Islamic banking contend with the concept construction where Sharia specialists examined whether the interest those banks charged was similar to riba. Before 1950s, Muslims were not officially engaging the banking services; so, they did not have any information about bank interest (Shaikh n.d). A few years

Computer Networks and Operating systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Computer Networks and Operating systems - Essay Example RFC-1305 specifies the NTP Version 3 protocol machine in terms of events, states, transition unctions and actions and, in addition, engineered algorithms to improve the timekeeping quality and mitigate among several synchronization sources, some of which may be faulty. To achieve accuracies in the low milliseconds over paths spanning major portions of the Internet of today, these intricate algorithms, or their functional equivalents, are necessary. However, in many cases accuracies in the order of significant fractions of a second are acceptable. In such cases, simpler protocols such as the Time Protocol, have been used for this purpose. These protocols SNTP has been described by Network Working Group in their Request for Comments: 1305 specifications. It is a simplified version of Network Time Protocol for servers and clients. It is particularly useful for the client and server machines which were using NTP version 3 to shift over internet and World Wide Web. SNTP is designed to operate in a dedicated server configuration including an integrated radio clock. SNTP protocols can be used to fetch time from NTP server to synchronize client subnet machines. They can not be used to synchronize time between their peer client machines of the network. The first reply received by the SNTP client is used for subsequent unicast requests from designated server and client stops responding to other server replies. Other than the selection of address in the request, the operations of anycast and unicast clients are identical. Requests are normally sent at intervals from 64 s to 1024 s, depending on the frequency tolerance of the client clock and the required accuracy. A unicast or anycast client initializes the NTP message header, sends the request to the server and strips the time of day from the Transmit Timestamp field of the reply. For this purpose, all of the NTP header fields shown above can be set to 0, except the first octet and (optional) Transmit Timestamp

Strategic HRM and how it is identified Case Study

Strategic HRM and how it is identified - Case Study Example External drivers have a direct impact on the internal needs of the company. It should be mentioned that the external and internal factors such as structure, people, technology and task are all interdependent. In Lafarge, planned organizational change is triggered by the need to respond to new challenges and opportunities of the external environment, and in anticipation of the need to cope with potential future problems. The external drivers for organizational changes involved international expansion and globalization of the industry. To some extent, external change drivers are caused by innovation rapid technological changes and innovations proposed by competitors within the industry. "The industry is also investing in alternative activities in order to protect itself from the economic impacts of business cycles" (Case Study). For Lafarge, the planned change represents an intentional attempt to improve, in some important way, the operational effectiveness of the company. The basic underlying objectives can be seen in general terms as: modifying the behavioral patterns of members of Lafarge; and improving the ability of Lafarge to cope with continuous changes in its environment. External drivers include new industry and customers demands including "greater safety, comfort, and quality" (Case Study), internalization of business, consolidation of industries, a global supply chain and the Internet solutions. One of the major changes deals with the specification of goods which may be considered in terms of their design features and performance characteristics. Increased competition and market demands create a new business environment and force Lafarge to accommodate to changing economic and business conditions. Internal change drivers are caused by company's mission and strategic objectives, new policies and new vision of the company. The internal forces involve the policy of acquisition and development and need to improve labor skills, attitudes of employees and need to improve organizational performance. Workforce diversity creates a great challenge for Lafarge to accommodate its structure to new business environment. "The work environment was driven by a demand for operational excellence. The organization was restructured and streamlined, and over 100% more employees were added to the group through new acquisitions" (Case study). For Lafarge, it is important to have technically competent staff able to cope with complex tasks and work under pressure. External drivers cause a continual need for the process of staff development, and training. The usual methods of boosting performance - process rationalization and automation - haven't yielded the dramatic improvements for Lafarge need. In pa rticular, heavy investments in information technology have delivered disappointing results - largely because companies tend to use technology to mechanize old ways of doing business. The acquisition strategy forces the company to introduce a shared culture and values based on unique cultural traditions and international HR practices (Reed, 2001). Competitive Strategies The competitive positioning school of thought, based primarily on the work of Michael Porter (1980, 1985), stresses the importance of how the organization is positioned with respect to its competitive environment or

Cap And Trade Policy Economics Essay

Cap And Trade Policy Economics Essay The aim of this paper is to take a deeper look into the functioning of the European Unions emission trading system with the emphasis on economic and political facts and by analizing major problematic issues linked to it. The papers research question is focusing on the possible ways of amelioration of effectiveness of the European Unions present-day emission trading system. So that Which areas of the European Unions emission trading system are appearing to be the most problematic and hindering ones?. In this paper I am attempting to review both basic facts and problematic issues in order to conclude in a reasonable overview. 1.2. Introduction Today the European Union is one of the most environmental conscious actors on the international stage. By its cap-and-trade policy, which has reached serious CO2 and greenhouse gas emission reductions in most of the member states throughout the previous years, it has risen to be one of the most successful emission regulators. In both Phase I ( January 2005-December 2007) and Phase II (January 2008 December 2012) there have been serious carbon emission reductions in the European Unions area. In Phase I. only on the lower prise of 40 euros per tonne of carbon gases, and in Phase II. on the higher price of 100 euros per tonne.  [1]  By giving a price to carbon emissions (tCO2e) the governments since the Kyoto Protocol (1997) are able to check their emissions and air pollution even on the balance sheet. Nonetheless, giving a price to emissions is also helping to give air pollution a kind of value and also interest in the reduction of it. Nevertheless, there are still major unsolved and doubted issues on todays Phase II.s effectiveness and on the future success of Phase III. being launched in the very beginning of 2013. These doubts are created by serious problems within the European Unions cap-and-trade policy, and the problems are mostly depending on wrong economic models and practices used, moreover on the lack of monitoring of the emission trading market. Basically it is the European Commission, monitoring all emission credit trading processes is attempting to ensure all member states, that all transfers are legal and that there are no abuses on the European carbon trading markets. 1.3. Arguements on the Europen Unions carbon trading scheme As having a classical cap-and-trade system, the European Union is basically focusing on the reduction of CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions. Most likely by its cap-and trade policy now affecting about 45% of CO2 and less than 40% of greenhouse gas emissions of the European Union. Within the CAT transportation, agriculture and public services are not included, yet. And most possibly will not be included in the near future.  [2]  The system of carbon trading is quite simple. Installations are receiving emission credits -where 1 credit is equal to 1 metric-tone of CO2 from their member states government. If the installations run out of their emission credits, they can purchase it from other governments of companies. On the contrary, if they have more emission credits than as much they need, they can sell their credits for other installations. By buying emission credits, the installations are trying to reduce their ecological footprint, however this is only a theoretical reduction and not a real one. The stock exchange of carbon credits is a system where these credits can be sold privately or on the international market on a market price. By giving a market price to carbon credits, the sellings and buyings can appear on the balance sheet. Right now it is highly critisised that the European Unions emission trading system gives a price to CO2 and greenhouse gases making it a simple matter of economic interest instead of giving to it an environmental emphasis.  [3]   The European Unions energy policy is now focusing on the major issues of climate change, global warning and higher energy prices. Its objective is to eliminate CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions in order to reduce the possibility of temperature rise above 2 C.  [4]  However, this aim of reducing the possibility of temperature rise seems more or less an impossible mission as the European Union is not the only polluter of air in the world. China and the United States of America mean a very serious threatment of emissions the USA havent even ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and so the reduction of European CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions seems more to be like pouring water into a leaky bucket, making it very difficult for the European Union to work for a cleaner environment. Looking further, by the Action Plan, the European Union is now willing to eliminate even more its emissions. The objective is to reduce todays greenhouse gas emissions by 30 % by 2020 throughout its new strategy within the Energy Policy.  [5]  After the crisis of 2008 in my opinion such serious and enormous objectives can be reached on a very hard way or cannot be reached at all, as right now the economic development is much more important for the member states than the cut of further emissions. The European Union has a tradition using economic instruments to treat external costs as inner ones in order to prepare the market to answer with limited costs. So, in the future the emission trading system of the European Union remains a crucial part within the Energy Policy as it is highly contributing to stimulate chnages in the usage and generation of energy.  [6]  As a single economic explanation, we can state that in general in a small open market  [7]  firms are looking for the minimalisation of their costs throughout production. In a market like this, emission taxes or other regulations like emission intensity restrictions are forcing firms to pollute by counting and paying the fee per unit or purchase pollution rights. By this practice the governments target of emission can be realizable.  [8]   The European Unions green taxation, or so-called Pigou taxation process is the most market-friendly way in order to eliminate the member states CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions. As I have mentioned it earlier, it is crucial to internalize externalities to solve major market failures. The Pigou tax  [9]  serves as a main external cost integrated into market prices.  [10]   Main advantages of the carbon taxation are: 1. Average price for all member states, helping firms to fix their prices of emission 2. Giving a price for emissions develops low-emission technologies 3. Carbon taxation can seriously eliminate emissions by supporting shift towards greener technologies Main disadvantages of the carbon taxation are: 1. Carbon taxation makes it difficult to follow emission reductions 2. Carbon taxes can generate high administartive and implementational costs.  [11]   It is very important to highlight, that carbon taxation and the selling of carbon credits are not equal. they are both forming an important role within the reduction of emission, however the cap-and-trade system of the European Union is using carbon credits since the Kyoto protocol in 1997. Taxes can be set by the governments and so they can regulate taxes by their preferences and needs and so it is very difficult to get a clear picture of carbon reductions. Nevertheless carbon creditscannot be regulated on such a strick way like taxes and so emission trading is able to become a single market operation. OECD in its paper, called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is focusing ont he combination of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Combining cap-and-trade policies with other instruments and policy fields could seem as a solution in order to achieve additional serious emission reductions. On the contrary, this would result in increase of emisssions from the other given areas, too. Moreover, within cap-and-trade policy more sources would be availabe for further emissions. So, when a cap-and-trade system comes to life, the combination of this policy with other instruments is useless, as further reductions in the emission of CO2 and greenhouse gases will not occur.  [12]   A very well designed cap-and-trade system could solve both environmental and economic problems within the member states of the European Union. Nevertheless, as a major mistake, those policy makers of the member states combining emission trading policies with other instruments in order to reduce costs and emission, may concentrate too much on todays environmental outcomes, without focusing on future reductions.  [13]   It is very important to note, that the European Union had a significant role in the set up of both the Kyoto Protocol and the Rio+20 Conference. At Kyoto, the member states have agreed to cut their emissions with comparing to the 1990 levels by 2012.  [14]  These are also representing the environmental consciousness of the European Union which is ready to eliminate emissions by signing international environmental treaties. However, sadly in practice the European unions cap-and-trade practice. State intervention is a major problem. Basicly those are the governments getting the possibility to mandate end-of-pipe technologies in order to help the reduction of the cost of the emission reduction processes. Nevertheless, this method has a lack of information towards the states, and additionally the intake of new technologies can be super expensive for firms and enterprises. Moreover, many times the state enforces the adaption of low-cost emission technologies even if those are found too pricy by the enterprises. As the price of the shift to the new technologies, it would be more pricy than profitable, the firms are counting competitveness and would deny to use the technologies. However, in this case innovation is found much more important, than competitiveness for the state.  [15]   1.4. Conclusion à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Unfortunately, the European emissions trading scheme designed to help member states meet their commitments turned out to be a washout.  [16]   So far, it is clear that the European Union is exporting Co2 and greenhouse gases and importing land and water. We are consuming much more, than what we have and this results in mass pollution of the entire environment. Most possibly we are already late in order to prevent the effects of climate-change within the European Union, and emission trading policies, especially in this form, where member states can easily trade their emission rights will not be enough effective. There shouldnt be hesitation within the decision making forums about the reform of the European Unions cap-and-trade policy, as in this form it is untenable. à ¶sszefoglalà ¡s a problà ©mà ¡knak christina kritikusan, sajà ¡t và ©lemà ©ny indoklà ¡ssal