Sunday, January 26, 2020

The Brand Positioning Of The Organization Marketing Essay

The Brand Positioning Of The Organization Marketing Essay Brand equity is the intangible asset that the consumer associates with a product. We can determine it through financial impact of the product, brand extensions and consumer attitude. Zara garments were not designed and manufactured to be highly durable or classic clothes that would always be in style. They are described as clothes to be worn ten times and yet they contributed more than 70% of the Inditex group sales. This is a vital statistic considering that Inditex group owns seven other fashion brands. With regards to brand extensions the Zara brand was successfully used to launch Zara Home in 2003. Zara Home was well received and has grown internationally to have a presence in 23 countries and 250 stores (Matassa, 2008). Additionally Zaras strong brand equity can be manifested through its consumers attitude. This is clearly shown by Zaras global average of 17 visits per customer per year compared to the three visits per year received by its competitors. That is an avowal of huge brand loyalty. Brand positioning refers to the targeted consumers preference to buy your brand instead of others. Zara has been able to carve out its own niche through cost leadership as the high-end fashion product at a reasonable price. If we compare Zaras prices to those of its major competitors such as Benetton, Gap and HM it is far cheaper yet as fashionable. Zara has been able to develop a sustainable competitive advantage through its shortened supply chain response that enables it to consistently move a design from conception through to production then into its distribution centers in as little as three weeks. This has largely contributed in setting Zaras service apart from its competitors. In fact, 75% of the merchandise in an average Zara store is changed over duration of three to four weeks. Zara customers are therefore aware that if they spot a garment they like, they have to go and purchase it on the spot because it might not be there on their next visit. Discuss the brand strategy of the organization From Zara we can identify the broad strategies applied to strengthen the brand being as follows: the marketing mix, its people, short lead times and scarce supply. However, that is not to say that the Zara brands success lay solely on the mentioned factors. The organization as a whole has been able to clearly-define its brand values and allowed them to permeate throughout the entire organization. Zara has a distinct ownership for management of the brand right from the top management level. This has meant that critical activities such as sales, operations, customer service, product development and others are made use of in supporting the whole organizations strategic management process (Kotler Armstrong, 2009). The marketing mix is represented by the traditional 4Ps: product, price, place and promotion. With regards to product, the Zara strategy has been to anticipate the latest fashion in apparel and to produce them before other competitors. Secondly, the garments are manufactured to be non-durable so as to prompt the consumer not to store them in their wardrobes but to wear them and to visit Zara shops frequently for replenishment. Thirdly, the company ensures that its stores have a wide variety of products because each store receives new products at least twice per week. Clothes that have low demand are quickly spotted, removed and replaced by new trendier designs such that customers are always spoilt for choice. This product appeal is increased by the lower price that Zara charges in comparison to competing brands such as Gap, Benetton and HM. Zara has been able to use its low cost leadership as a sustainable competitive advantage to strengthen its brand positioning. The company operates using a vertical supply chain which covers all phases of the fashion process from design to manufacture to logistics to distribution and finally to its own retail stores (Matassa, 2008). The price attribute of Zaras products is lowered here by the fact that the company can minimise its inventory costs through use of just-in-time manufacturing. Also, the fact that Zara owns 90% of its retail stores implies that it is able to make the 50-60% gross margins that retailers make. This increases profitability for the brand which helps to sustain the low prices offered. The other component of the marketing mix that Zara uses well within its brand strategy is place. Here we encounter two very key considerations, the location of its stores and the distribution system being utilised. Zara stores are deliberately located on the best-known streets in a selected citys prime retail district. This is to make the brand visible to as many of its targeted market as possible while lowering the need for traditional advertising. According to Schewe and Hiam (1998) place also covers aspects such as market coverage, logistics and distribution and service levels. Zara has a high-tech distribution system with distribution centers centrally located from its manufacturing plants. Different stores are also supplied with different products depending on their requirements and assessed demand. The efficiency of the distribution system is so high that along the entire Zara supply chain it is difficult to find inventory. Products flow quickly, and without stopping, from fact ories to distribution centers to stores, where they are put immediately on the sales floor. This distribution system is heavily reliant on Zaras effective communications and information technology infrastructure. When it comes to the final P of marketing, promotion we witness one of the biggest differences between Zara and its competitors. Zara spends approximately 0.3% of sales on advertising while its competitors spend on average 3 4% of sales on advertising. The company prefers its marketing promotion to be done by word of mouth and from the appeal of its stores. Word of mouth has proved to be more effective for Zara than advertising or using celebrities has been for its competitors. Zara stores are laid out to dazzle. The store racks, the window displays and store layout are designed and tested at the headquarters in La Coruna before being deployed to all stores. This is done every four to five years. To ensure consistency the team from La Coruna is the one that does the redesigning at all company-owned stores. This is meant to attract customers inside the stores, and once in to display the fabrics, colors and designs to the best effect. The company also has a stylish and modern website from where customers can view or download the latest Zara catalogue. Other factors that we had mentioned earlier that Zara utilizes to enhance its brand equity and positioning are its short lead times and scarce supply of apparel. Small and frequent shipments keep product inventories fresh and scarce thus compelling customers to frequent the store in search of whats new and to buy now because next time they come they will not find that item. This is one of the core reasons why globally Zara has an industry high average of 17 visits per customer per year compared to three visits per customer per year for its competitors. The short lead times for products from factory to store sales floor ensure that Zara is able to react quickly to fashion trends. This differs from the method preferred by its competitors. Most fashion brands prefer predicting fashion to reacting to fashion. Reacting to fashion trends is less likely to fail than predicting if one is able to deliver the products while the demand still exists. Zara has perfected this ability as evidenced by its new products failure rate of 1% which is much lower than the industry average of 10%. Finally, Zara empowers its staff and has established a strong brand culture e.g. decision-making is encouraged among its young designers and bad decisions are not severely punished; store managers, product managers and commercials work together to ensure that stores are supplied with the correct products and quantities etc. Seller-customer intimacy is also encouraged so that the store managers are made aware of the customer preferences and tastes which could be used in coming up with new products. Problem The major problem with Zaras brand strategy would be its persistence with a centralized distribution system especially when we consider that the brand is rapidly expanding across the globe. Though the company has an effective distribution system, this foray into new markets in Asia, Latin America and the United States is bound to add complexity and also increase cost if Zara insists on relying on its original hub in Spain. A centralized distribution system will not effectively cope with the rapid expansion and different needs of the new markets. It would probably be more prudent if Zara establishes new production and distribution centers in these far away markets such as the US, Asia and Latin America. Recommendations The first recommendation is as we have stated above, Zara will need to decentralize its distribution system to these new geographical markets. This will not only increase efficiency in delivery but also aid Zara in maintaining its competitive edge of short product lead times from design to manufacturing to retail sales. Secondly the existing distribution centers in Europe are being overwhelmed by the rapid increase of the number of stores being opened. To prevent these distribution centers from becoming bottlenecks, Zara will have to establish more distribution centers to cater for its expanding European market. Thirdly, a foray into the markets in Asia and America would have to be carefully considered because of the huge cultural differences, especially with regards to Asia. Income levels could be going up within Asia but that does not translate necessarily into a market for fashion.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

A Poison Tree Poem by William Blake

Honors English IV December 11, 2009 The theme of â€Å"A Poison Tree† by William Blake is about wrath and anger. If one were angry with a friend, that wrath would eventually subside; if one were angry with a foe, however, and if left unchecked or left to simmer that anger would not subside and would grow. His poem offers insight into what anger does if one â€Å"watered it in fears, / Night and morning with [their] tears; / and sunned it with smiles, / and with soft deceitful wiles† (547 l. -10 Wood). The poem is appropriate for Songs of Experience and not Songs of Innocence because it portrays something that children do not do: seethe with anger for a long period of time. Children forgive and forget easily, adults do not. Adults tend to hold grudges and seethe with anger until something interrupts it or changes it, but children have simpler minds and thus simpler aspects of anger that may not last a long time.The themes and images of â€Å"Composed upon Westminster Br idge, September 3, 1802† by William Wordsworth classifies him as a typical Romantic poet of his time. Wordsworth shows only the beauty of London and uses simple language to get his point across. The major theme of the poem is nature, and he only shows the beauty of the landscape, not the destitution and filth that truly was London during the Industrial Revolution.Wordsworth transfigures the truth with his imagination, saying that everything was â€Å"all bright and glittering in the smokeless air† (560 l. 8 Wood) when really the city was ridden with pollution and smog. Wordsworth also shows and absolute sense of awe for the beauty of what he is seeing, and turns away everything that is â€Å"ugly† about it. Wordsworth sees only the beauty of looking from a bridge in the morning and turns away all the bad things related to the people of the area, a characteristic of a Romantic.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Organisational System Security Internet Security Issues Essay

Adware – Is a software which you get when you have downloaded a different program or software for free or at a reduced price. Its main purpose is to download adverts to your computer screen when you visit websites. Adware is seen by a developer as away to recover costs of making software. But to the general user adverts on there monitor are annoying because it puts them off of what there doing and they have to close every advert down manually. Blackhat – Is a name given to a hacker whose purpose is to access data with out permission and to damage it or change it. Blackhat hackers can do this for arrange of reasons to make profit or as a hobby. They may also send other users viruses, internet worms or spam them. This type of hacker is known as the bad guy in the computer world. Botnet – Is a software robot, when a spammer sends out viruses to general users a Bot is attached to it. Once the spammer has control of the infected computers then they will have to purchase a Botnet which then lets them operate the controlled computers, then the spammer will send out a message to the computers cause them to send spam to mail servers, resulting in users opening up there mail will have tons of junk. Denial of service – Is an attack which leaves users with out use of the services of a website which they would normally use. The DoS attack does not normally mean the controller of it has stolen information, but has cost the company which it has targeted money and time. This can cause users that use that company’s website to purchase what they want from another website meaning that company’s business rivals are making money from the DoS attack on them. Exploit – Is a software which contains commands that take advantage of a computer system with weak security, the purpose of an exploit is to give a user more privileges on a computer system allowing them to access more data which was previously restricted from them. A weakness in the exploit is that it stops running when a newer version of the software is installed. Keylogger – Is a device which you can get as software or hardware it is connected or installed inside your keyboard. Its function is to log in keystrokes. There are many different reasons why we may use this such as helping fix computer system errors or seeing how an employee users there keyboard to see if there good at there job. You can purchase Keylogger’s off the internet. Malware – Is a software, its task is to damage a computer system such as to give a computer system a virus. Malware gets its name from the beginning of the word malicious and the ending of the word software. Malware’s include arrange of harmful programs such as computer viruses, worms, Trojans, rootkits and sometimes adware. Packet sniffing – Is a software or hardware which is used to analyze traffic that is passing through over a network. The packet sniffer checks each packet then decodes them so that they can be analyzed, to check there content. The analyzing is useful for finding out network problems, monitor network usage from users and debug client and network protocols. This will help maintain a network. Phishing – Is a term given that is a breech of security by a hacker. Such as attempting to acquire sensitive information on other computer users like there usernames, passwords and credit card information. The hackers target popular websites such as eBay, MySpace and PayPal. They get hold of user’s personnel information by sending fake emails pretending to by your bank. Piggybacking – Is a computer word which refers to a user connecting there laptop or computer to another persons internet connection. Then using the internet without the permission of the owner of the internet connection. But if you own a cafà © and have a hotspot this is not considered piggybacking because you have given permission to people to use your hotspot to connect to the internet. Spyware – Is a computer software that is secretly installed on to your computer and can take control over something’s that you do on it. It can install software which you did not want on your computer also it can make you go on websites that you did not click to go on and it could led you to harmful viruses that could affect your computer. When turning off your computer spyware can even change your computer settings. Trojan – A Trojan is a computer virus that appears on your computer designed to cause your computer harm. It has been know to be similar to a worm. Some Trojans may not cause harm to your computer but the six main types of Trojans are ones that cause remote access, data destruction, download, get on to a server, anti – viruses software disabler and denial of service attack. Whitehat – Is the name given to a hacker, who’s purpose is to prevent a breech of security within a company or organization. They are normally employed by a company to protect against there counterparts blackhat hackers who want to hack and steal information and data that does not belong to them. In the computing world the Whitehat hacker is know as the good guy. Worm – Is a computer program which sends copies of its self to networks, designed to cause harm to the network that they have targeted. It likes to eat up the bandwidth used on the network. Worms can also cause serious harm and damage to a computer operating system by attacking the weak parts of the computer. Zero-day Attack – Is a threat to computers, by trying to take control of computer applications that are unknown or patchfree. The attacker that controls the zero-day attack normally sets it up on a public forum because of the number of users that it could affect. Zombie – Is a computer that has been attached to the internet by a computer hacker. The owners of zombie computers do not know that there computers have be compromised. They are normally used as part of a botnet, but while they have been put in zombie mode the hacker can use other user’s computers to send Trojans or other harmful viruses. Resources Adware http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adware Blackhat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hat Botnet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botnet http://www.ibiblio.org/botnet/flora/indexstart.html Denial of service http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid92_gci213591,00.html Exploit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploit_(computer_security) Keylogger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystroke_logging http://www.actualspy.com/ Malware http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/alerts/info/malware.mspx Packet sniffing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packet_sniffer http://netsecurity.about.com/cs/hackertools/a/aa121403.htm Phishing http://www.antiphishing.org/ http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/p/phishing.html Piggybacking http://www.thefreedictionary.com/piggybacking Spyware http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware Trojan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_horse_(computing) Whitehat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_hat Worm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_worm#Protecting_against_dangerous_computer_worms Zero-day Attack http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-Day_Attack http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-zero-day-attack.htm Zombie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_computer

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Descriptive Essay A Watery Escape - 880 Words

A watery escape Homeowners often find themselves in a position where they are happy with the way their home looks, yet, wondering at times if there is something to be added or modified. Many things can come to mind when you find yourself in this predicament, and some may ponder the possibility of their own ideas. I would like to take a moment to inject an idea of improvement to your home that you may not have thought of. My suggestion to you is; a pond. Yes, it sounds extravagant, doesn’t it? Well I’m here to tell you that it is not too far-fetched of an idea. I will use this moment of your time, in six easy steps, to show you just how easy it is to create your very own watery escape. Your first step is to decide the appropriate location to break ground. The pond can be in just about any place within your property lines, and it may be any size you choose. You must remember, however, that the bigger the pond, the more expensive it will be. This is mainly due to the fact that you will need a larger pond liner and a more powerful pump. I recommend using a can of spray paint to sketch an outline on the ground of the general shape and size you want the pond to be. Now that you have decided on a location and how large to build your pond, the second step is to make a selection of construction materials based on these dimensions. You will need to purchase a pond liner that will cover the complete volume of your pond. Use your spray paint outline to measure width, length and depth.Show MoreRelatedessay on dickins journey to niagra3989 Words   |  16 Pagesand, from its unfathomable grave arises that tremendous ghost of spray and mist which is never laid, and has been haunting this place with the same dread solemnity--perhaps from the creation of the world (Letters 3: 210-11). In this essay, I analyze Dickenss reaction to Niagara Falls in the context of other British travel narratives from the previous decade, and examine how Niagara speaks to Dickens of life after death (as he describes it above, the falls die and then rise again inRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesprobable good consequences of each action and the probable bad consequences while weighing the positive and negative impact of each consequence. It’s a kind of cost-benefit analysis. Exercises 1. Columbus Day is an American holiday. Write a short essay that weighs the pros and cons and then comes to a decision about whether there should be more or less public celebration (by Americans and their institutions) on Columbus Day, October 12. Here is some relevant background information to reduce yourRead MoreIgbo Dictionary129408 Words   |  518 Pagesillustrated the meaning and use of words; the great majority of the examples are due to him. Their merit is that they are not translations from English, but natural Igbo sentences elicited only by the stimulus of the word they illustrate. The short essays which appear from time to time (e.g. under otà ¹tà ¹, à ²Ã¯â‚¬ ¤gbanÌ„je) on aspects of culture are also his work, as are the sketches which served as basis for the illustrations, a large number of new words, and various features of the arrangement. When he had

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Modern Day Slavery A Problem That Can t Be Ignored

Modern-day slavery: A problem that can’t be ignored. Child slavery ages starts at the age of four years old boys and girls. Most kids are released around the age of sixteen years old but don t know where their parents are. The kids suffer from starvation at the camps they’re housed in. They also have to get up as early as five o’clock in the morning to start their day. One of the dominant issues containing child slavery is poverty. Several parents sell their children because of their financial problems in the household. Although some parents are convinced by contractors that their children are being presented with better opportunities, that is not always the situation. Child slavery can have different negative developmental†¦show more content†¦The authors also states that children often receive no safety training or protective gear, which results in injury and sickness, including musculoskeletal disorders, sprains, strains, lacerations, fractures, e ye injuries, rashes, and coughing (Mull and Kirkhorn). For children working in the gold mining industry in Western Africa, they are among the worst forms of child labor because of the long-term health consequences from constant exposure to dust, toxic chemicals, and heavy manual labor. A PBS news article states, â€Å" The list of documented ills for child labor in Western Africa includes permanent lung damage caused by inhaling pulverized minerals, muscular and skeletal injuries, hearing loss, accidental blinding, and mercury poisoning with its attendant neurological damage (PBS News). In western Africa while the children are at their work base there’s a possibility of catching permanent lung cancer from inhaling in pulverized minerals. Children health can’t be ignored any longer than it already has been. The next major problem is the physical and psychological effects the children have. Physical injuries and mutilations are caused by badly maintained machinery on farms and in factories, machete accidents in pla ntations, and any number of hazards encountered in industries such as mining, ceramics, fireworks and manufactures. Child slavery they all generally accept that the work for children might harm them in some way and

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Essay about Comparison of Plato and Aristotle’s Philosophies

Antonio Burkes Philosophy 1 June 4, 2001 Comparison of Plato and Aristotle’s Philosophies Plato and Aristotle are both great philosophers in their own regard. Both agree that the world has a purpose, and that it’s not just an accident. Both also hate materialists since in their (materialists’) interpretation of the world, value, choice, and freedom are not plausible outcomes, and so morality and rationality do not make sense. And both ask the same question, what does it take to be a good, moral person? Yet, even though Aristotle was a student of Plato, each philosopher develops his own view on things and a specific way of solving a particular problem. For example, Plato and Aristotle have quite different views regarding life.†¦show more content†¦He believes language is capable of expressing the truth of things, since that truth concerns the sensible world, and our view of it (the world) begins with our senses, hearing, touching, seeing, etc. Although the senses themselves are not sufficient to lead to knowledge, they are the only reliable entities through which we can pursue it. The two philosophers also differ on what human nature is. Plato is convinced that the real person is the soul, not the body. Souls that inhabit our bodies are there, but are not dependent on us for their existence. They have knowledge of the Forms before we are even born and by being virtuous we can enjoy unity with the Forms after death. Aristotle’s main theme on humans is simple man is a rational animal. There is no separate soul from man; a person has a soul that is special, but a person is still one unified creature. Plato seems to be very concerned about relativism and skepticism and devotes a lot of writing to proving those beliefs wrong. He thinks that skepticism and relativism killed Socrates, not the members of the Athenian jury. The views they have come to hold that every opinion is as good as another’s, and that if one thinks something is good for them really is good for them makes the case of Athens thinking it is right to condemn Socrates right for Athens. Plato knows condemning Socrates is wrong; so he knows that there must be standards that are more conventional. The Forms,Show MoreRelatedAristotle: The Pursuit of Happiness1358 Words   |  6 PagesAristotle and Plato both are both well known for their focus on defining the purpose of being human. To them, humans have a particular characteristic that no other living thing possesses. That characteristic is that humans strive to achieve a level of goodness. Although they agree with each other that there is a highest good one must achieve in order to live a fulfilling life, they have different ideas on what that good is. On Aristotle’s search to find the highest good of a human being, he firstRead MoreA Summary Of Plato And Aristotle818 Words   |  4 PagesPhilosophy, the oldest of all academic disciplines, is the study of the fundamental nature of the world. Political philosophy, more specifically, is the study of the function of governments and states, as well as the relationship of individuals to these governments and states. As such, philosophers have often sought to understand politics and political activities, and the role in which individuals play in the public sphere. Throughout history, many philosophers have argued that human beings mustRead MorePlato and Aristotle: An Analysis1175 Words   |  5 Pagesdiscussions of Plato and Aristotle regarding the best political association. Quotes from Politics and the Republic are used to support the author’s thesis. Plato and Aristotle: An Analysis Determining the best form of political association was important to the ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle, and each of them expressed his opinion in important works such as the Republic and Politics. In explaining, comparing, and contrasting the political philosophies of Plato and AristotleRead MorePlato And Aristotle s View On Knowledge Essay1297 Words   |  6 Pagesacquisition, branches, and value. Major role models in the foundation of philosophy - specifically, in this essay, Plato and Aristotle - obsess over the significance of knowledge and its importance to and relationship with the development of human beings and their mindsets. Although Plato’s view on knowledge describes the internal predisposed essence of all Forms and the need for a superior being to extract them from the student, Aristotle’s outlook resides as more reliable and realistic due to his beliefsRead MorePlato s Interpretation Of Utopia1630 Words   |  7 PagesPlato and Aris totle shared many differences despite also sharing a teacher student relationship. This essay will strive to establish their understandings of reason and the role reason plays in their comprehensions of politics, differentiating between the kinds of reason and politics produced as a result. Plato is regarded as the first writer of political philosophy while Aristotle is recognised as the first political scientist. Plato’s interpretation of Utopia is founded upon the existence of threeRead MoreSt. Augustine as the True Heir of Plato Essay1144 Words   |  5 PagesAristotle and St. Augustine have both been influenced by Plato. Their philosophy on morality, politics, and the purpose of life has been platonically influenced. St. Augustine is the true heir of Plato because he has taken Plato’s ideal state, and revealed the implications of the lives that the citizens of the earthly city lead, in the City of God. Plato’s state is an ideal state, that would not function in reality. St. Augustine has taken Plato’s notions, and have furthered the implications of livingRead MoreThoughts Of Aristotle And Plato Essay2222 Words   |  9 Pagesand Plato Neme Affiliate â€Æ' Introduction The three topics that are core themes of these two philosophers i.e. political philosophy, role of woman in society and in family and faith. Origin being similar, there are not so great variation in opinion of both philosophers. Aristotle and Plato, both Greek philosophers, have a pioneering position in Western as well as Ancient philosophy. Plato, born 428/427 BCE Athens Greece-died 348/347 BCE Athens, was the teacher of Aristotle, 384-322 BCE. Plato, beingRead MoreComparison Between Aristotle and Plato on Mimesis4881 Words   |  20 PagesiA comparison between Aristotle and Plato on mimesis 1. Introduction Mimesis, as a controversial concept starting from the 15th century, is among the oldest terms in literature and artistic theory, and is certainly among the most fundamental. Developing centuries, the concept of mimesis has been explored and reinterpreted by scholars in various academic fields. The word â€Å"Mimesis† developed from the root mimos, noun designating both a person who imitates and a specific genre of performance basedRead MorePlato Aristotle Comparison1798 Words   |  8 PagesImitative Art A Comparison of the Philosophies of Plato Aristotle And the Ultimate Beneficial Nature of the Tragic Drama By: Stephanie Cimino In the various discussions of imitative art there has been a notable disagreement between two distinguished philosophers; Plato and Aristotle. Although it was Plato who first discussed the concept of imitative art, it is my belief that Aristotle was justified in his praise and admiration of imitative art, specifically, the tragic dramaRead MoreThe Evolving Role of Poetry and the Poet Essay1751 Words   |  8 Pagesconsists of a series of footnotes to Plato, claimed Alfred North Whitehead in 1929s Process and Reality. Plato studied under Socrates in Athens, Greece, and showed a deep interest for politics. It wasnt until Socrates death that Plato turned from politics to philosophy. He developed Idealism in opposition to the belief of the Sophists and opened a school in Athens. The Academy was one of the first organized schools in Western Civilization it was here that Plato taught his most famous student, Aristotle

Monday, December 9, 2019

Influence of Online Social Networks †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Influence of Online Social Networks. Answer: Introduction UNICEF Child Care is an organization that provides caring and supervision services to children of ages between six and thirteen. For enrolling in their services, the parents of the children need to register their names in the company office and make payments for bearing the expenses of food, toys and residence of their children (Zaglia et al. 2015). However, UNICEF has noticed that this process has a number of issues and problems that is affecting the entire business structure of the company. While some issues are due to manual processing, others are mainly due to lack of proper operation structure that need to be addressed. UNICEF has proposed the development of a new information system including a company business portal that will be able to solve the identified problems at once. The development of the proposed system will require a particular development method that should include a well defined development life cycle. Some of the possible systems development methods include agile, waterfall or prototyping. Analysing the requirement of this system, the best method for the development will be Prototyping. The systems development life cycle will be as follows. Initiation In this phase of the life cycle, the development of the prototype will be initiated. This phase includes preparation of requirement document, collection of resources, planning and others. Prototyping This is the main phase of the development life cycle that can be repeated more than once unless the desired outcome is reached (Bimonte et al. 2017). This phase contains a number of sub-phases including requirement gathering, developing and testing. Production Finally, in this phase, the complete version is developed from the prototype and delivered to the project client. Among all the different development methodologies, prototyping method has been chosen because in this project, the prototype of the system will be first developed and tested. Based on the test results and completion of the entire prototype, the full version will be developed and handed over to UNICEF. Systems Requirements Business Portal A business portal is required where the clients of the organization i.e. the parents of the children will be able to create personal profiles through which they will be able to perform business interactions with UNICEF (Fan and Yang 2015). For instance, while making payments for their children, they will have an online payment option in the portal. Through this gateway, they will be able to pay UNICEF for bearing the costs of their children. Automated Supply Order The business portal of the company will have to option to place orders for supplies once in a while. As per the proposed plan, at the end of a period of 7 days, the number of new requests will be counted and order will be placed automatically by the system. Payment Gateway Client Generally, payment gateways are provided by different organizations for safe transfer of money from the sender to the recipient (Sugianto and Tojib 2015). For the business portal of UNICEF, a suitable client will be needed who will provide a secure payment gateway. Accessibility Requirement The portal should be developed such that it will be accessible through different web browsers and devices. Project Cost Benefit Analysis Project cost benefit analysis is done in order to estimate a possible range of profit to be gained from the project as well as the percentage of benefit gained from these profits in terms of the expenses faced in the course of the project. Gantt chart is an important tool in determining the schedule of a project based on the requirements. On the other hand, a work breakdown structure is generally utilized to break down the work packages for simplifying the overall phases of the project. A work breakdown structure of a project is generally developed from the list of deliverables and it also links various work packages that lie under the same project phase. A work breakdown structure can also be used to develop the Gantt chart for determining an estimated timeline for the project. Task Name Duration Start Finish Development of Online Business Portal for UNICEF 72 days Mon 6/4/18 Tue 9/11/18 Project Starting 5 days Mon 6/4/18 Fri 6/8/18 Issues Identification and Analysis 1 day Mon 6/4/18 Mon 6/4/18 Discussion and Group Meeting 1 day Tue 6/5/18 Tue 6/5/18 Agreement on a Solution 1 day Wed 6/6/18 Wed 6/6/18 Decide on the Development of New System 1 day Thu 6/7/18 Thu 6/7/18 Approval of Project 1 day Fri 6/8/18 Fri 6/8/18 Project Planning 9 days Mon 6/11/18 Thu 6/21/18 Scope Determination during Project 2 days Mon 6/11/18 Tue 6/12/18 Development of Project Plan Document 1 day Wed 6/13/18 Wed 6/13/18 Create Project Schedule Using Gantt Chart 1 day Thu 6/14/18 Thu 6/14/18 Estimate Budget 1 day Fri 6/15/18 Fri 6/15/18 Finalize Budget 1 day Mon 6/18/18 Mon 6/18/18 Procure Budget and Resources 1 day Tue 6/19/18 Tue 6/19/18 Duty Allocation to Stakeholders 1 day Wed 6/20/18 Wed 6/20/18 Go Ahead for Project 1 day Thu 6/21/18 Thu 6/21/18 Project Execution Phase 49 days Fri 6/22/18 Wed 8/29/18 Recruit Team 2 days Fri 6/22/18 Mon 6/25/18 Create System Prototype 8 days Tue 6/26/18 Thu 7/5/18 Add System Features 7 days Fri 7/6/18 Mon 7/16/18 Test the Prototype 2 days Tue 7/17/18 Wed 7/18/18 Develop Full Version 10 days Thu 7/19/18 Wed 8/1/18 Add Coding and Programming 4 days Thu 8/2/18 Tue 8/7/18 Test the System 5 days Wed 8/8/18 Tue 8/14/18 Risk Assessment 5 days Wed 8/15/18 Tue 8/21/18 Risk Management 5 days Wed 8/22/18 Tue 8/28/18 Project Handover 1 day Wed 8/29/18 Wed 8/29/18 Project Closing Phase 9 days Thu 8/30/18 Tue 9/11/18 Post Project Appraisal 5 days Thu 8/30/18 Wed 9/5/18 Completion of System Development Document 2 days Thu 9/6/18 Fri 9/7/18 Sign Off from Stakeholders 1 day Mon 9/10/18 Mon 9/10/18 Closing 1 day Tue 9/11/18 Tue 9/11/18 Table 2: Project Schedule System Information Requirement Investigation Techniques In order to determine the stakeholders of the project, the following table has been developed. Stakeholder Role / Responsibility Project Manager Control and management of the project Finance Manager Control and management of the funds IT Manager Management of IT setup of the organization Systems Developer Development of the Business Portal Tester Testing of the Prototype and Full Version Resource Manager Procurement of necessary resources System investigation techniques will be deployed in order to identify faults and errors in the existing system and address them in due course. Some of the investigation techniques to be deployed in this project are as follows. Survey (Online or Paper Questionnaires) This method can be utilized to gain user feedbacks regarding the use of the system. In these questionnaires, there will be a series of questions with a fixed set of answers that will be chosen by the participants. Personal Interview This is another efficient investigation method and it provides a better dataset as there are no limited sets of answers (Joslin and Mller 2015). The participants can provide any feedback to the interviewer regarding the working of the system. Document Analysis This process is done by studying the system details document developed throughout the course of the project. This document can provide some necessary data sets regarding faults and errors in the system. In this project, I have gathered significant amount of knowledge regarding system design and development. I also learnt to plan a project as well as develop suitable parameters of the project like project schedule and cost benefit analysis. Finally, I learnt the use of work breakdown structure as a tool for determining and linking various work packages in the project. This report is finally concluded by stating that a suitable project plan has been developed for the project based on the feasibility limits of time and budget. A systems development methodology has also been chosen for the development of the system proposed by UNICEF. 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