Can a Company Eliminate Inventory Essay

Irrespective of the type of business that a company engages in, whether manufacturing, distribution or services, maintaining a certain quantity of inventory is inevitable. The quantum will depend on the operations of the company as well its policies relating to inventory storage and accounting. However advances in technology and new techniques of production have made it possible for companies to reduce inventory, albeit not eliminate it completely. Technological innovations and developments including barcode readers, asset tracking devices, inventory management software and Point of Sales (POS) systems, among others, aid greatly in reducing excess inventory. With the help of these devices a company is made aware of the exact quantity and type of stock it possesses. Sales, purchases and stock-in-progress are readily recorded and the resulting final stock value can be determined immediately. As a result, the company can identify the excess stock present and choose to either reduce production or increase deliveries to customers. This will decrease the inventory. Moreover, with the use of inventory management software, a company can plan and schedule the production process in a manner so as to manufacture the quantity of goods that will match the demand for the same. Various new techniques of production that reduce inventory, and thereby costs, have also been developed. The most popular one is the Just-in-Time (JIT) method of production or the Toyota Production System. The JIT system integrates various areas of production and management to reduce inventory and the costs associated with its storage and supervision. It relies on signals called â€Å"Kanban† that notify when the next part of the process must be implemented. Production is driven by demand and the system stresses upon such inventory-reducing methods as reducing lot-sizes, ensuring frequent deliveries and reduction of number of parts. Thus, advances in technology have allowed companies to significantly reduce their inventory. With the use of these innovations, a company can discern the actual need for inventory and plan its production and other operations accordingly. Wastage of stock as well as money will be diminished. Nonetheless it must be noted that no company can survive with zero inventory. Every company will have to maintain a certain amount of stock to continue operations without interruption. Thus, advancements in technology can help a company to reduce inventory to a large extent, but not to eliminate it completely.

Gothic conventions in ‘The Others’ Essay

The film ‘The Others’ made by Alejandro Amenabar in 2011 is a film about a woman who lives with her two photosensitive children in their large, old home which she believes is haunted by ghosts. This film uses a large range of techniques and ideas to emphasise and contribute to its gothic themes. These techniques include dark and light imagery, symbolism and setting. The Others also uses traditional gothic ideas to develop these themes throughout the movie, including suffering, fixation of death and supernatural elements. Over all these ideas and techniques contribute to the eerie feel and suspense which makes this movie so captivating and gothic. The first technique used in ‘The Others’ is dark and light imagery, throughout the entire film there is a battle between truth and how it is perceived and Amenabar uses this light and darkness as a symbol of this. An obvious example is the curtains which as used to block out all light and ‘protect’ the children. They create a haunting darkness throughout the entire house for the most part of the movie, this is contrasted by the candles the mother walks around with showing how she is the key to the truth. At the end of the movie when the children become aware of the truth- that their mother killed them and they’re ghosts the curtains are removed allowing light or the truth to flood into the house. The use of dark and light imagery helps enhance the gothic themes by creating the mood and setting of the film. Another technique used to create a gothic feeling in the film is symbolism. Symbolism is used to make subtle hints to what the ‘truth’ is and to make you feel like things aren’t what they seem. Some examples are the clothing used in ‘The Others’ where Grace (the main character) wore dark, long dresses which covered up the majority of her body. These outfit choices were not only used to set the time period of the movie but it was also used a symbol. Her clothing was symbolic of the dark, repressive nature of her society and her internal suffering shown in the dark reds of her dresses. One more example is the constant looking of doors which is resemblant of entrapment of the mind and physically. This symbol also is used to depict the hidden secret which the family keeps throughout the film and the doors  are only unlocked when the secret is released. The setting was used in the film ‘The Others’ as the key stepping stone to making the movie have a gothic feeling to it. The main characters live in a large home with many different secret areas and rooms which are made more secretive by the darkness that the curtains create. These rooms are used to foreshadow for the hidden secrets which are contained in their home. The house is surrounded by a large forest which cuts them off from the rest of civilisation, this is used in gothic stories to create a feeling of isolation and to physically represent the psychological separation which the family has from the world. Beyond the forest is covered in fog which emphasises the isolation and secrecy which was a key idea which was repeatedly brought up in the film. A common gothic idea which was used in the film ‘The Others’ was the idea of suffering both physically and psychologically and how they are linked together. Suffering is very often used in gothic stories because it shows the inner darkness of the mind and the evilness of humans. Shown in the film through Grace (the main character) who has been waiting since the war finished for her husband to come home. After years the stress of raising two children on her own and potentially losing her husband weighs on her and causes a psychological suffering which she can’t show in front of her children or staff. Eventually Grace can no longer live with the pressure of her psychological suffering and she snaps which shows the link between psychological and physical suffering and she kills her children and then herself as she can no longer bare living with the thought of what she had done. This traditional gothic idea was used in the movie to show that every day people are capab le of evil and dark things when pushed. A recurring theme throughout the entire film is a fixation with death. This is an idea used in gothic texts because of its darkness and mystery as no one really knows about what happens when one dies but we know it is the ultimate payment in life. Most gothic writers are fascinated with it and have a preoccupation with it in stories as it creates a feeling of eeriness and shows that something is not quite right. This is also linked in with  supernatural elements which work as a symbol for death. In ‘The Others’ supernatural themes and a preoccupation with death are used throughout the entire film from the lingering death of the husband in the war, the book of the dead, the cemetery which surrounds the house and the constant idea of ghosts. All of these examples were used by the director to create suspense and to slowly build up and lead to the ending of the film. Over all the film ‘The Others’ used a large range of techniques and gothic conventions in order to captivate the audience and contribute to a scary and unsettling feel over the course of the movie. These techniques are dark and light imagery which emphasises the perception of truth, Symbolism which uncovers the secret themes and ideas of the film and setting which was used to create the idea of isolation. This movie also uses many gothic ideas in order to communicate the gothic themes, these ideas include psychological and physical suffering, preoccupation with death and supernatural elements. All of these conventions were used effectively in order to create the movie’s gothic feeling.

Cog. Psyc wk2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cog. Psyc wk2 - Essay Example List the factors that influence attention when performing this task and why they are of influence. There will be several factors which will influence an individual undertaking writing and reading at the same time. The first of these is how effectively an individual can divide his conscious attention between these two demanding tasks (Spelke, Hirst & Neisser, 1976). This factor greatly influences the multitasking ability of an individual as it is central to his ability to perform. Another factor in terms of dual-task interference results because of the presence of a single channel bottleneck which will frequently cause a delay in the response. This influences the individuals’ performance because supposing we ask them a question while they are performing it will lead to a possible pause, delay or error in their work as they strive to respond to your question (Mei-Ching, Ruthruff, and Johnston). In terms of attention the locus of this bottleneck (asking a question) in a personâ⠂¬â„¢s information processing system can either translate into a perceptual limitation ( it takes them time to formulate a response) or response limitation ( it delays the time it takes for them to respond or they respond in a limited way by nodding or shaking their head). Then, describe three things that can be done to increase attention when engaged in the situation. The first thing that can be done to increase attention when engaged in multi tasking is by practicing the tasks in a routine. Because the brain cannot fully focus when multitasking, people take longer to complete tasks and are predisposed to error. The essence of multi tasking through practice hence unconsciously induces an element of becoming automatized in their behavior. That is, when people attempt to complete many tasks at one time they are in fact rapidly going between them (Meyer 2003). Second by extensive undertaking of the task one can bypass the central bottleneck (distracters). Studies by Spelke, Hirst, and Neisser (1976) prove that due to the formulation of a pattern in their reading while accurately transcribing spoken words subjects were able to clump the activity as if it were a single unit. Take driving for example; by the formulation of a pattern (driving the car) the individual reaches a level of automatization which enables him to multi task (drive as well at perhaps talk on the phone). Initially for a new driver the aspect of driving itself was the combination of a number of processes (shifting gears, using the brakes etc) (like a conjunctive search) until through practice he was able to see it as one unit ( kind of like a feature search). This brings us to the third aspect of the visual-search ?ndings which aim to increase attention by suggesting that certain perceptual processes can operate in parallel after practice (Spelke et al, 1976). An implantation of this visual search aspect strives to improve our ability to multitask by utilizing the aspect of task familiarity. Ref erences Mei-Ching, Ruthruff, and Johnston. Attentional Limitations in Doing Two Tasks at Once. Oregon State University, University of New Mexico, and NASA Ames Research Centre. Retrieved form: http://www.unm.edu/~ruthruff/Lien%20Ruthruff%20Johnston%20CDPS%202006.pdf Spelke, Hirst & Neisser. 1976. Learning to Multitask. Retrieved from:

Synthesis paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Synthesis paper - Essay Example On the other hand, where justice is not present, then the laws cannot be followed by men who wish to live by such higher moral laws, and they have a duty to resist them without violence, even if it leads to personal suffering and jail. There is the sense in both King and Thoreau of making use of this higher inner moral compass to subvert what they see as the evils of their time, slavery and an unjust war campaign on the part of Thoreau, and the discrimination and systematic marginalization of African Americans suffering from centuries of slavery on the part of King. In both men the vision is that human laws are only to be followed where they conform to universal moral laws. The individual too and the respect given to the individual’s human rights and dignity are the proper starting points of any government crafting laws. Where society, government and the law disrespect human rights and debase individual liberties, then men have no obligation to follow those laws at all, but ar e free within their own individual capacities to resist the law and to go against society. This paper asserts therefore that one can read into the works of the two men the intention to lay out the foundations of moral action in society: people being able to immediately live with integrity and totally within their own individual capacities to live according to those higher moral laws. This is regardless of what is happening on the outside- regardless of whether governments and societies are enlightened or unenlightened in moral terms. The rest of the paper integrates the two writings in the context of this latter thesis (Thoreau; King). King notes that during the time of Hitler in Germany, all of his actions were legal, but his actions were not just. The plight of the Jews in Germany has become a clichà ©, but worth mentioning here, in that the Jews were victims of massive

Kennedy Administrations Successful Handling of the Cuban Crisis Essay - 7

Kennedy Administrations Successful Handling of the Cuban Crisis - Essay Example The involvement of the USSR forced the USA to contemplate attacking Cuba through air and water strikes, but for legal reasons, decide to blockade further supply of the missiles by the USSR to Cuba. In response, the USSR argued that the blockade amounted to an act of aggression against another country, which would propel a nuclear war. This resulted to a negotiation talk being held between President John F. Kennedy and the Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999). Thus, these are the reasons that indicate that the negotiations by John Kennedy’s administration were successful: The negotiations in Cuban crisis were perceived as successful since they ended up creating a scenario where the USA was the winner. This is because; the USSR removed its missiles from Cuba, while the prestige of the USA military was preserved (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999). This occurred because; the world finally saw the USSR back down and withdraw its missiles from Cuba, while the removal of the USA missiles from Turkey was not made a publicly accepted demand, but was rather agreed upon silently between the Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the USSR ambassador (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999). This served to preserve the image of the military might of the USA. The negotiations reached a deal, where the USA was to stop any attempt to attack Cuba and remove its missiles from Turkey, in return for having the USSR remove its missiles from Cuba (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999). This was an act of mutual agreement that established equal treatment of all parties, through having both the USA and the USSR return all offensive weapons to their countries, and thus avoid involving other countries in their contest for supremacy, which would have ended up destroying the whole world through, a nuclear war. The negotiations are also considered successful since they helped the USA to adopt a safer option; that of a blockade, as opposed to the highly championed  military action that would have left the world devastated (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999).  

Bullying in Nursing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Bullying in Nursing - Research Paper Example Bullying in nursing manifests in different ways including false accusations aimed tainting someone’s reputation and competency, personal attacks, allocation of roles beyond one’s skills and lack of assistance from the seniors, and lastly intimidation among other ways. The bullying behavior translates into psychological and physiological effects on the victims, poor bedside patient outcomes as well as compromise in the organizational effectiveness and efficiency. The menace can be controlled through cognitive rehearsal training programs, implementation of code of conduct, creation of awareness and zero tolerance on bullying in all health care organizations. Keywords (Bullying, interpersonal relationships, intimidation, reputation, competency, code of conduct, cognitive rehearsal) Review of the Literature of a Researchable Problem Workplace bullying has emerged as global issue in healthcare organization, particularly affecting the nursing practitioners. Owing to the serio usness of this problem and its effects on the performance of nurses, several studies have been conducted with the aim of understanding and establishing strategies to avert or control its occurrence. Despite the existence of aggression and harassment behaviors in almost health care organization, bullying is viewed as form of repeated behaviors resulting in creation of a hostile working environment (Hutchinson, Wilkes, Vickers & Jackson, 2008). Researchers have proposed numerous strategies of dealing with bullying in nursing including training programs, establishment of stringent measure to protect nurses, and counseling programs. This paper entails review of literature from different scholarly articles on bullying in nursing. Simons, S. (2010). Bullying in the workplace-a qualitative study of new licensed registered nurses. American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, 58 (7), 305-311. This article entails a qualitative study of bullying among nurses to establish the different ways in which bullying manifests in the field of nursing. Simons (2010) examined the individual experiences of nurses as well as incidences of bullying witnessed during their practice. The study applied a descriptive qualitative research design to examine bullying behavior among newly licensed nurse. A survey study was conducted in the State of Massachusetts targeting nurses registered between 2001 and 2003 and about 511 responses were obtained through the email survey (Simons, 2010). The results of study revealed that about 139 nurses had been bullied and 14 others witnessed bullying incidences. Several themes describing the bullying behavior were identified including feeling out of the group, structural bullying, senior or old nurses exploiting newly registered nurses and the feeling of quitting the occupation (Simons, 2010). The phrase ‘nurses eat their young’ was particularly used to describe the hostility subjected to new nurses by their seniors. Senior nurses prop agated bullying in the working area through subjecting the newly registered nurses to ridicule, lack of information sharing and lack of assistance from the experienced nurses. Bullying in nursing accounted for a significant percentage of the employee turnover in the nursing field. Some of the respondents reported having left their jobs due to unbearable bullying in their working environments. Most of the bullying beha

Buddhism' s Success in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Buddhism' s Success in China - Essay Example To support this answer, this paper will compare and contrast Buddhism to Confucianism/Legalism and Daoism. Buddhism was originated in northern India, near the Himalayan Mountains, by Prince Gautama, during the sixth century B.C. Stearns summarized that the system advocated by the prince taught that enlightenment - and therefore contentment and peace in life - was achievable only through abstinence from things that promoted misery, such as sensations, perceptions, thinking, reasoning and desire for things which men find agreeable - anything that appealed to the delight of men (75-77). Because of this abstinence and its reflection on Buddhist priests and adherents, Buddhism at its early stages could be seen as emblematic of the simplicity of the Four Truths, and how each and every individual, from the lowly workers to the exalted royals, could hold to its precepts. According to Stearns, the 'Divine Sage' Confucius (Kong Fuzi) proposed a system of harmony and keeping to the Way as "a social and political ethos derived from idealized values of the past" (36). As a system it was rooted in morality and ethics, providing reason and regulations, down to the smallest measure of a 'gentleman's' conduct in a very systematic, measured and precise way. Comparing Confucianism to Buddhism puts two things into perspective: one, Confucianism focused on conduct and propriety, a worldlier set of functions, whereas Buddhism focused on abstaining from worldly matters in general. Two, Confucianism was seen as something of an appointment, an elevation to and reward of power above the rest, and therefore not suited to the common people. This level of classism was not apparent in Buddhism. Legalism The primary advocate of Legalism was Han Feizi, who advanced Confucianism into a more pragmatic viewpoint. As Stearns stated, "this harsh but effective solution for resolving the chaotic conditions that plagued the Zhou dynasty included the introduction of new managerial techniques, improved bureaucracy, enhanced communication, land reforms and standardization of weights, measures and coinage" (43). Legalism was a law-driven approach to government, and as such dealt mostly with an ancient notion of cause and effect and consequently dealing effectively with the criteria that drove and defined such polarities. Again, in the contrast of Legalism with Buddhism, we draw the conclusion that Legalism was a more restrictive approach to government, focusing on controlling and compelling the masses rather than catering to the individual's needs. Legalism can be equated to a top-down method, whereas Buddhism could be seen as a bottom-up method; individual contentment begets collective contentme nt, as opposed to informed manipulation by a few to drive the collective towards restrictive unity. Legalism was more a political system rather than a religious one. Daoism Like Confucianism, Daoism proposed adherence to a 'Way', holding a similarity to Confucianism in this. Proposed by

Different Types of Technology used in Criminal Justice Essay

Different Types of Technology used in Criminal Justice - Essay Example Drug testing technology has become a common factor in the American criminal society. Drug testing’s application is far-reaching in many fields such as police forces, airline pilots, federal employees and even participants in school sports. Also, prospective executives of the National Institute of Justice have to go through drug tests as regulations of employment. In the field of criminal justice, the moderately inexpensive and considerably powerful drug test to determine drug use has opened a broad range of issues that reach into unfamiliar territories of policy, law and practice. Criminal fighting agencies use this technology to fight drug abuse in America mostly the police force and anti drug agencies. Another influential technology is the DNA technology. DNA allows criminal fighting agencies to match a genetic sample to a person at a mathematical level that has total assurance. DNA tests are frequently used in roughly all jurisdictions across the country. DNA testing is use d in connecting a suspect to a crime (Lazer, 2004). A key agency that uses this technology in the U.S. is the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Concealed weapons detection technology is a technology that permits criminal fighting agencies to locate hidden weapons. Police officers, court security officers plus other enforcement officials can now predict whether or not a person is carrying a firearm (Gibbons, 1988). This helps to maintain law and order in the society since people carrying firearms could easily be tracked (Gibbons, 1988). Information technology helps criminal fighting agencies to locate information regarding crime or a location that is prone to criminal activities. Police officers can verify the history of a suspect through fingerprints, fill in paperwork in the squad car through using a hand-sized laptop, and go back to patrol. This technology is mostly used by the police force such as probation officers to track the activities of probationers

Key Performance Indicators Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Key Performance Indicators - Essay Example According to the research findings, efficiency is about deploying the most optimal number of staff and serving the most number of customers at the least amount of time. while customer service is about being able to deliver on important customer service metrics like the order to fulfillment lead times, waiting times between customers, maximizing the size of the queue for both cars and dine-in customers, payment queues, the number of people served per table. Â  These twin concerns are of course of paramount concern for the firm, given that both impact profitability. Customer service affects the top-line revenues, in that the greatest number of people served results in the greatest amount of revenues for the firm, while efficiency metrics relating to the most efficient use of staff to serve the greatest amount of customers impact costs. When both costs and revenues are optimized, this results in the greatest possible bottom line results for the firm. In the case at hand, the KPIs are a rguably those that capture best the kind of efficiency and customer service gains that are optimal for the restaurant, and for these chosen KPIs the different shifts are measured. The simulation results detail many different KPIs that can potentially capture the most important data that serve the purpose of optimizing both revenues and costs as discussed above, and given the kinds of data collected for the different shifts, the choices were made based on what kind of metrics will yield the most in terms of optimizing both customer service levels and staffing levels. In the ideal case, the best shift to be chosen is one that employs the least amount of staff while at the same time maximizing customer service metrics that relate to the five KPIs chosen for this analysis. Without the KPIs, one would be inclined to choose that shift that employs the least amount of staff. Going the other extreme, the best shift would be the one that achieves the greatest customer service levels in terms of queue sizes and waiting times. Obviously, the latter impacts costs, while the former impacts customer service and therefore revenues. It is, therefore, a balance, and that balance is a function of the five KPIs chosen on the one hand and the staffing levels on the other.

Self awareness and career development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Self awareness and career development - Essay Example This theory explains the need of self awareness and how it will be useful in leading a better life. According to this theory, one can develop interpersonal skills. A person should co-operate with his team members and must be a good team player. If a person following Holland's theory will have a strong career and will find it easy to develop his skills. This will help in minimizing the problems with in colleagues. This theory will guide in enhancing one's personality in terms of his behavior, skills and growth in career. Without self awareness, a person cannot progress in career, as they find it difficult to move well with others and unable to carve a niche for himself. Holland's theory of career development comprises of two categories that helps in achieving careers that are stable. Aim of his theory is to enhance people's interests and help them pursue in their career which leads to success. According to Daniel Goleman(1995), emotional intelligence plays a vital role in self awareness and career development. Emotional intelligence sharpens one's attitude of analyzing others. (Goleman 1995). This theory Emotional intelligence helps a complete organizational process, right from the selecting a candidate, conducting test and interviews and appointing him in a correct job. It takes care of client's service and the client's relationship with the manufacturer. Almost all the organizational activities can be done in a perfect manner by following this theory. Theory on emotional intelligence can be used to know the abilities and capacity of an employee. This paves the way to a successful career. Major disadvantage is, this theory fails to concentrate on the behavior and elements like a person's character. Possessing a good emotional intelligence and not having interpersonal skills will not help in getting a good career. Instead a person must have both these skills to be sure of his career development. As mentioned by Goleman (1995), there are two categories of emotional intelligence. One deals with self understanding in terms of behavior, realization of one's goals. The second category emphasizes on knowing other's feelings and behavior. The important concept of this theory is self motivation, managing and understanding own emotions. Relationship management and managing other's emotions are also a part of emotional intelligence theory. All this in turn leads to self awareness and enhances social skills too. By increasing the emotional intelligence one can be more successful in his career. I personally feel that, Goleman's theory concentrates only on emotional aspects, but in lacks in describing the situational aspects. Though behavior is an important part, knowing only that is not sufficient in developing self awareness. This theory is useful only to understand our own behavior. As mentioned by Albert Bandura (1995), self efficacy is one of the major qualities one should definitely possess. Efficacy is, having a trust in oneself and faith in his abilities to control and manage. One should believe in his talent so that he can excel in his life. (Bandura 1995). In a problematic situation, how a person reacts and behaves also comes under efficacy. One can have a control on his behavior and is responsible for his normal

E-Commerce Infrastructure Essay Example for Free

E-Commerce Infrastructure Essay EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Globalization has primarily made it possible for international trade and business connection between neighboring countries as a trend of the present society exist. Certainly, the aim of the human society to remain within the scope of economic progress and continue aiming for better results for the sake of profitable advancements in the society, the emergence of different types of businesses has been much possible to occur. Business enthusiasts became braver than they usually are in facing the challenges of establishing new wave business entities, which they believe, would bring change to the human society and how they view the modern living.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hence, business organizations who are particularly trying to make it within the industry of the global trade must be able to realize that the idea of globalization is affecting the major companies worldwide. To be able to implement the changes needed by a certain organization with regards the implementation of the new progressive procedures towards a more technologically-coping organization; the company wanting the change needs to attend to several areas of consideration. As for this matter, it is first important to discuss several elemental factors that could actually affect a certain organization’s capability of facing the changes that it ought to engage with within the global scene.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The growing developments that technology and communications have taken so far have been an essential part of the growing system of technological applications. Along with the technological advancements, the social living of humans also is further enhanced. Both economic and social lifestyles were advancing but there was no rest in incurring the best possible progress that the developers of technological systems wanted. With the introduction of computers to the society, the easier way of living and completing everyday tasks has become a trend for many industrial workers. (Deitel, et al, 2004, 15)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, as mentioned earlier, the development in the eyes of the ones who are in charge of the enhancement of the operating systems is never ending. Hence, although there were already some great achievements in terms of the developed operating systems, things got better each time there are new innovations introduced (Warford, 2005, 41). Most of the sectors of the entire society actually depended on technology ever since the time it was first introduced to the human civilization. It could not be denied then that among the said sectors are business entities.    The internet and World Wide Web: E-commerce infrastructure Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     The e-marketing system is practically an approach that is developed using the present technological advancement particularly in the information technology field. This strategy utilizes primarily the communication elements of the information technology such as through interactive advertising, search engine marketing, blog marketing, display advertising, viral marketing, web postings, and others to promote the products, services and image of the business organization towards the public. In analyzing the e-marketing strategy of an online organization, it is important to intricately study the primarily the website of the said organization and the marketing principles embedded on it. By looking into their main website, one can critically know the structure, goals, operational approach, and other relevant facts of the organization, which are relevant facts for the development of the personal perception and image of the business for the public awareness. This website offers vast informations about the organization from their ideal goals, organizational nature, and even their business conditions, which can be derived from their downloadable annual and social responsibility report. In addition, the e-marketing approach of this website not only caters to the sale nature but also to the information campaign and human capital sourcing of the organization as offered by their options of fact sheets, employment opportunity awareness, and other services. In general, this website primarily becomes an effective marketing tool for the organization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The e-marketing approach of the different organizations range from various strategies such as through their main website which promotes display advertising of their products, interactive marketing where the consumers can contact the organization for significant sales and business concerns, search engine marketing which offer the service of easing the browsing activity of the viewing public. As such, the website becomes both a promotional approach and a business related interactive medium for the business organizations wherein the latter can relate further to the needs and concerns of their target consumers. With regards the issue being noted herein, the questions that could be considered are as follows: How important is e-marketing and online shopping when it comes to the convenience of the consumers today? How effective are the approaches of the current e-marketing systems to the people of the current society? Are there possible ways to further the comfort of the people being serviced through online shopping? BUSINESS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Everything starts with a vision. From a vision comes plans, and from plans come fulfillment of the vision. Vision and plans are the primary elements for starting any business. An entrepreneur must posses the vision and determination needed for an individual to become successful within the business industry; however, these elements are not solely the needed requirements. Vision and plans are the abstract elements that contribute to business proceedings hence empowering the entrepreneur to continue whatever it is that he has started. The other elements include capital, land [place of business headquarters] and the people force.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The elements that were mentioned primarily give essence to the business itself. The capital is more on the monetary resource needed to start the business. At times, this particular resource comes from a group of entrepreneurs who decide to work together for a certain organization, or on the other hand, it is sourced out from loaning or from the pocket of the entrepreneur himself. At some point, the capital actually determines the scale of the business. Land or the area intended for the business headquarters is depending on what type of business is planned to be established. If the business is supposed to cater to several clients, there should be a place intended for them that would be much convenient for business transactions. However, if the business is online [which is at trend right now] or other home based businesses, the area of business branch would not be much of a problem since the transactions are to be done at any convenient place possible. The people force also depends on the scale of business that is being established.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Whatever type of business is being established, it is necessary that the entrepreneurs see to it that the different sections of the business, especially that of the people force are well taken care of. The success of the business naturally depends on the ability of the entrepreneurs to balance the idealistic mission as well as the activities of the organization as a business entity. This as well includes the legalities of the organization and its close connection with the existing laws for business organizations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It could be noted that opening or establishing a business organization is not that easy to deal with. The first months of operation towards the first year usually deals with the different challenges of effective strategies created to put the organization within the existing competition. Entering a certain business organization and trying to make it within the business industry is a great challenge to everyone wanting to create a considerable reputation in the society. However, once these particular challenges have been successfully met by the new entrepreneurs, the continuous progress of the said new established organization could be assured. This though does not mean that developments are already to stop once the business has been established. As for a fact, the establishment should simply mark the beginning of the progressive developments intended to help the whole organization remain within competition as long as it exists within the business industry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From this particular section of the study, it could be observed that the primary reasons for establishing a business should not only be lead by the need or the want of the entrepreneurs in gaining profitable results form the business. It should be clear to the business entrepreneurs that the said operational act needs to receive ample time for planning and attention on the pros and cons of the situation. From this particular assessment of business opportunities, the possibility of creating a successful source of profit could be identified in a positive point of view.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It has been certainly stressed out that the different elements of business should be given careful attention within the planning procedures. Carefully giving the said elements ample time of observation shall give the entrepreneurs to make amends on the possible weak links that could cause the failure of the business in the future. Identifying the Marketing Approach to be Used Marketing is one particular branch of business that deals with all the promotional aspects of a certain business organization. At some point, this particular sector of the organization is perceived to have a certain group of experts attending to the said needs of the organization with regards promotion and advertising. Every kind of organization have their own marketing branch. This is specifically because of the fact that the incoming profit that the company expects from its clients is particularly empowered by the marketing strategies created by the marketing group.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Whatever it is that the Marketing group plans shall determine the organization’s success in the industry. The ability of the said in-charged group in making amends for the organization’s ability to make it within the industrial competition in the business world shall make it possible for the business to make a considerable reputation that could attract the clients who are being targeted by the said organization. This is particularly the reason why business organizations both large-scale and small-scale make it a point that the marketing procedures that they carry on for the sake of business progression is given careful attention and as well as an ample amount of investment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Particularly, marketing is a business branch that sets the path for the organization as to how they are supposed to trod the journey of success in the industry that they are dealing with. The intensity of the procedures taken by marketing experts particularly pertains to the quality of the advertising procedures that the organization ought to take into consideration for actual operational purposes. It is in this particular sector of the organization that the fast release or distribution of the services or the products offered by the organization towards the clients could be determined.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Today, the level of competition that each business organization deals with in the human society is clearly identified by the progressive procedures taken by the marketing team of each business company. According to Website Marketing: â€Å"Marketing is a broad topic that covers a range of aspects, including advertising, public relations, sales, and promotions. People often confuse sales with marketing, when in fact the two are very different. The former involves getting a product or service into the market, promoting it, influencing behavior, and encouraging sales. Sales are the actual transaction of getting a product or service into the hands of your customers.† (http://tools.devshed.com/c/a/Website-Marketing/Importance-of-Marketing/). The strategies of marketing that each organization adapts into is primarily defined by the financial capabilities of the said business entity t o provide the services need by the clients that pertain to promotional operations. The strong impact of the marketing strategies also usually brings about the thought that the main target of the promotional presentations is the group of people in the society who are assumed by the organization to be the primary clients of the organization. It is their interest that should be the focus of the promotional interpretations and presentations. The strategies are indeed strongly differed through the identification of the target consumers or clients of the organization. The Website Marketing also adds: â€Å"Strategies in marketing have changed enormously since Jay Conrad Levinson introduced the guerrilla concept over 20 years ago. Tactics that were considered radical then are almost main stream now. With so many messages bombarding the consumer in the marketplace today, it is now more difficult than ever to get your product noticed, so marketers have learned to be creative.† (http://tools.devshed.com/c/a/Website-Marketing/Importance-of-Marketing/). Overall, marketing could then be noted as a source of established foundation for every business organization. The impact that it has on every established business group is a primary concern that brings about possible profitable sources to the different business organizations. Indeed, marketing and the operations that are made under this particular sector of the organization assure the whole business entity of the competitive standing of the entire organization within the business industries.   This is particularly the reason why it has been commented that: â€Å"Companies without a marketing mindset are at a disadvantage in todays business world. Those who are still centered around their products, rather than their customers, are doomed to fail.† The clients are the main target of marketing procedures, companies who are still starting and those who are already established who give lesser care in this aspect of business operations are indeed assured to have a hard time coping up with the existing competition within the industry. Getting through with all the RISKS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Planning the business and setting the marketing strategy to be used by the organization are simply the basic elements needed to create an organization that is intended to set sail in the journey towards global business engagements. TO be able to completely scale the capability of the organization to face the different challenges of dealing with the international market, it is necessary that the business entrepreneurs become aware of the impending issues needed to be dealt with during international business operations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What are the risks being referred to herein? According to Fredrick Wilcox â€Å"Progress always involves risk; you cannot steal second base and keep your foot on the first base†. This primarily implies the fact that there are several elements of success in business, especially concerning international relations that could not be met unless the entrepreneur meets the risks that come along with the primary developments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The elements of risks could be discussed as follows: Business Risks: Cost of Structure- The establishment of a certain business entity especially one that is made to face international transactions should and must be based on the financial capabilities of the owner. This particularly pertains to the available capital that is supposed to be the basis of how large or how small the scale of the business would be. It could be observed that through several organizations’ ability of identifying the costs that may affect their operations in the new venture of business that they would want to engage with would naturally identify the possible progress that they are hoping to meet in the future. Competition- Being ready for the already existing companies within the country that goes with the same industry is necessary for an international entrepreneur to be prepared about. In the internet technology, it could not be denied that there are already companies who are able to meet the challenges that are needed to have the needed and expected success on the said business venture. It is indeed necessary that several business organizations face the said competition with ample reputation and business strength that would allow them to undergo the challenges of the new business venture that they aim to engage with. Product Liability- the procedures of getting through with the laws in placing the products within the boarders of the other country should be one of the primary concerns of business entrepreneurs. Human Resource Management- Since the business would involve international engagements; it is simply reasonable to expect that the employees would be coming form international races as well. Managing this type of human resource group should then be carefully given attention by the organizational authorities. Clients or Customers- The demographics of the consumers, their interests and their product preferences should be among the main concerns of the business organization. Their culture and their wants basing on their traditions should be carefully noted by entrepreneurs to ensure their products of the market appreciation that it needs to be able to remain in business. Environmental Risks Economic- The economic situation of the neighboring country where a branch or a trade engagement is prepared to be conducted should be set in balance with the economic status of the original branch of the business. The balance shall help the business operators to set some standard procedures in dealing with the finances of the organization. Weather- The weather that is currently controlling the activities of the civilians of a certain country should be carefully given attention. This shall also determine the activities that are supposed to be taken in consideration by the business organization. Legalities and the Government- this particular element should be closely given clear attention as it is among the most important factors as well as the most crucial one as it primarily determines if the organization is to remain in a certain country or not, based on the ability of the organization to become connected with the laws of the said neighboring country. Considering all these elements of risk and being able to understand on how each one affects the business engagements of a certain organization in an International picture shall then help the entrepreneurs create the possibilities and the probabilities of the organization’s success in the multicultural market of consumers. The Internet Service Provision’s Business ABC’s   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The company that is to be observed at this point is the organization of Info Inc. which is a start up company wanting to venture in providing its major clients with internet based services that could be used as a source of informative materials in terms of accounting procedures, medical assistance and budget-wise programs that both business enthusiasts and the general public could use in their daily business and household needs and activities. As a company that is still starting in venturing within the said field, it is necessary for Info Inc to carry on the informations that were further discussed in this paper earlier. It could be noticed that the discussions point out the fact that establishing a new business operation for a certain existing business organization is indeed challenging especially when the business is supposed to handle a global market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As the organization aims to venture in a new business operation that they have not been used to in engaging, it is much beneficial to take notice of the fact that the organization needs to take into consideration several factors that would involve the adjustments of the whole body of employee of the said company. The shifting of the priority and the opening of the new arena of service that the company would provide its clients should then be identified as a primary factor that should be carried in constant addressing during the whole procedure of adjusting the organization’s focus. First to consider then is the type of internet servicing that the company should be involved into. This shall be discussed within the paragraphs that follow. Choosing the Type of Service   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To be able to reach the widest scope of market, Info Inc should invest in creating internet networked branches from different areas of the world. The company may not be required in creating an actual physical branch in the different parts of the world, but it is required to subscribe at a certain internet website host such as Google or yahoo, that would make their company much more accessible by the target market that they ought to serve. Choosing the right type of server or website support is very important. This is the reason why ample research on this matter should be carefully considered by the ones who are to establish the company’s website. The scope of the network should also be closely attended to as this would indicate the expected scope of audience or market that the company could reach out to. As mentioned earlier, marketing is an important way of regenerating a prospect market to get involved within a certain business company; however, lacking the needed access to reach the said clients may make this particular procedure of business operation impossible. Hence, being able to scale on which type of website support could give the best services to the company basing from its mission in connection with the market that it targets is very important to take into consideration. By doing so, the creators of the said business service-provision branch does not only introduces the company to a wider scope of market, but it also gives it a chance in gaining the peak rate of revenue that it could reach in an annual calculation. Creating the Website   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since the organization aims to attract business enthusiasts and household members, the presentation of the website should cater to what they are actually interested in. This is where the art of marketing begins o enter the scene. Moat likely, it could be observed that the more attractive and interesting the website looks like, the more it is being viewed by Internet surfers. This is [particularly the reason why the website of the company should highlight the strength of the company and the idealisms that it has that may attract the concerns of the market. Constant attendance to what the target market wants to know about the company and about their services shall help the creators and programmers of the website have an idea on what they should actually set as features to the said website.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It must also occur among the creators that the insistence of the website’s becoming a user-friendly system is an important part of the feature of the said internet address. This would certainly allow the users, whether they are computer literate or not to have an easy access on what is actually being offered by the organization through their online network. Counting the Benefits   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Having a company’s own website in the internet is like having a legitimate virtual address that would cater to mostly different people from around the world. As globalization opens its doorways to major new waves of business engagements, it could be observed that there are different benefits that the Internet operations bring the different business organizations that use the services provided by the said virtual community. Most of the company’s which do not even have physical establishments are already known because o their internet-based operations. This fact shall help Info Inc in realizing the fact that opening their doors to a more liberated procedure of operating within the business transactions that they want to offer their clients is an important part of their company’s growth as a major business entity. Counting the Costs   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To be able to understand the plan further, it is important to lay the finances and budgeting procedures needed to support that project that is being proposed for Info Inc to take into consideration. What are the particular elements of financing that needs to be considered? Creating the Website   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is a need to hire an expert to at least program the website. The fact that there are different features of presentations that are planned to be embedded within the presentation of the website primarily to attract the clients, there needs to be the existence of professional help for this matter. This then requires a minimal yet reasonable payment for labor. Funding the Website   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Usually, the fees for website maintenance are paid annually. The company should then prepare itself in facing responsibilities such as this. Advertising through Search Engines   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The more exposure the site gets, the more surfers it could invite. From this particular fact, it could be noted that funding the site’s fees is indeed worthwhile, as that particular fee shall allow the link to the website to appear several times with the utilization of several key words encoded by the internet surfers when they are seeking the help of major search engines in the internet. Training the Operators of the Web   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There should always be a standing support specialist that is ready to assist customers in their issues about the services offered by the company. Once the company ventures to this particular type of business operation, it should then occur to them that the importance of placing expert support technicians as well as product or service specialists should constantly be available incase interested client needs assistance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If the values of the cost-causing elements mentioned herein shall be examined, it could be observed that the fees are all reasonable enough of paying on the part of the company’s financing group. Most likely, this is because of the much reasonable returns that the said fees are expected to return to the entire company’s business system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Handling such responsibilities in a much more positive outlook shall indeed help the administration of the organization realize of their importance as major player within the worldwide economy. The operations that they are expected to handle through inline communications shall not only increase their capabilities of handling challenges but could also help them grow as a business entity that is able to face the challenges of the globalization era. CLIENTS AND ONLINE CONSUMERISM Online consumerism is one of today’s major innovative leaps in terms of commercialism. The use of the Internet as a major medium for trading and monetary transactions has been among the major advancements of technology and real life in the human society. Each business organization relies on their respective aspects to promote their services and products in the market. Each marketing aspect range from various strategies and approaches to entice, promote and imply an ideal nature of their products and services to the consuming public to generate a business transaction between the two parties. Each business transaction in turn will generate the desire income by the organization, which is relevant for their operation development and profit generation. As such, each organization must create an effective and efficient marketing tool towards their target public, which will address the important communication and business elements in their economic transaction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most effective marketing approaches in the present are the strategies that address the key communication elements of the public. These strategies manifests to be reliable marketing medium that inform, relates and considers the consuming public to be significant part of the organizational structure and their subsequent operations. On the practical sense, these strategies are characterized to be publicly open for the society wherein they are easily and readily accessible for the interesting consumers. In part, these marketing strategies not only cater to the marketing nature but also to the other relevant part of the organizational structure such as human resources, customer service and public relations. On this field of effective marketing approaches, the e-marketing system manifests to be both an effective and efficient strategy for contemporary business organization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the analysis of the e-marketing strategies, it is strongly concluded that marketing and promotional activities utilizing the advancement of the field of information technology is an effective approach for contemporary business organization. Through the use of this significant medium, organization can promote further their products and services and developing their ideal business nature in the social aspect which in turn, has a significant impact upon the organization’s success. Indeed, marketing using online or internet technology relates further the business organization to the global audience for more effective and efficient business operation for the economic success of the organization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although the past have already placed a strong impact on how the people viewed business operations done through the Internet, several business enthusiasts never ceased finding ways by which they would be able to attain success within the said industry. Many among the business owners around the world still believe in the benefits that investing in online business ventures would naturally bring their organizations. As for a fact, the said situation is quickly becoming a trend both among organizations that are already established and the business and even those business entities that are just starting to join the said competitive industry. Most of the benefits that the said system of business transacting has mainly attracted investors as well as stockholders in making a great decision of joining in the process of industrial change though the innovative integration of technology within the system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To understand this claim further, a diagrammatic presentation shall be shown herein:    Diagram 1: Efects of Information Technology in the relationship between clients and business organizations Diagram Analysis:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the presentation made above, it could be observed that the reason behind the business entities joining the band wagon of taking advantage of the provisions of science and technology in the modern society is indeed worthwhile. As it could be seen, the five major effects that have been presented through the diagram actually directly affect the growth rate of the organizations in a modern society. This is indeed an attractive provision that IT could ever offer business entities.    Chapter 5:DISCUSSION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Today many people once bewildered by the stock market are investing in stocks. Why? For one thing, the Internet has enabled investors to access in moment’s financial news, investment advice, and stockbrokers. Paul Farrell, editor in chief of Wall Street News, writes: â€Å"For [individual investors], cyberspace investing is the new frontier, the new gold rush, the freedom to be yourself, with the opportunity to become financially independent while working at home.† Along with the blooming of the Internet systems, commerce also took the chance to be a part of a very promising source of profit for many business firms. To do this, there existed a birth to the Dot.com business arena. Many people who would rather invest on a business than to be employed in a company took chances on investing in this kind of business. But as years passed, the hoped to be â€Å"tiger† market that would hit sky high revenues for the firms taking part on it fell apart. How is this possible? And how could this kind of market have been saved? The following paragraphs shall discuss the said topic further.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During the earlier times of the introduction of Internet, it was seen that this kind of communication could enable many people to connect to each other from far places in the world. The said idea on worldwide interconnection gave many businessmen the thought that using the worldwide web would help their companies and other business firms to reach their potential revenues and income at a very minimal time or better yet, even double or triple the income they have expected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With this, the dot.com business arena was given birth. It is more likely that the investors who invested in this kind of economic environment were the ones who realized that new business models would soon arise based on the possibilities of Internet commerce or more popularly known as E-commerce. As a result of wanting to be the first ones to gain profit from the said provisions of this new technology, they risked thousands of dollars to invest in the said Internet market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first years of the operation of the dot.com market paved way to many sellers of products and services to be connected to many consumers worldwide. Obviously though, among the three major gainers of profit in this kind of market are several internet-help companies. The said technology groups are the Internet and Network Infrastructure which hosts the construction of official websites posted through the net, the Internet Tools such as Netsacape which assists on the navigation process in the Internet, and the Internet-direct consumer websites such as Yahoo! which allows numerous ads to be posted through their website.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Between the years 1998-1999, the interest rates on putting up e-commerce firms were way affordable for many investors. This is the reason why many inexperienced businessmen chose to loin this market as a beginning of joining the business industry. Although many of the said investors had concrete and realistic plans regarding a business, most of them lacked administrative abilities. On the other hand, inviting investors to join the Internet market had been easier through the use of offering great promises and benefits that the web hosts post to attract the prospect businessmen (Warford, 2005, 45). True, this way of luring investors worked pretty well. As proved by the many growing e-commerce members during the years 1998-1999, the dot.com industry continued to flourish. To recognize the best Internet websites that are present in the e-commerce industry, there had been an annual awarding of the top websites of the year. It started on the year 1995, which was characterized by extravagant programs and undeniably expensive presentations. It was annually held in San Francisco California near the heart of the Silicon Valley. The said event has peaked during the year 2001 when thousands of attendance joined the lucrative awarding. When the year 2003 came in, the celebration became somber due to lower attendance not to mention that some of the nominees are not able to attend the event because of company belt-tightening and the fear of loosing their jobs. This is more likely because of the high interest rates that the Internet web hosts are already putting on the investors to continuously operate in the system (Silberschatz, 2004, 15). This event showed that the dot.com industry is not as productive as it was before anymore. As a fact, many of its members already lost on the investments they preempted to be bringing them great profits. Chapter 6: Conclusion and Summary Entering the arena of international business venture is indeed not an easy task for business entrepreneurs. However, because of the main focus of globalization in empowering dreamers of the said industry helps much in assisting entrepreneurs in seeing the possibilities of enlarging the scope of their territories of profitable areas through stretching their business activities towards the other countries around the globe.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It could not be denied though that the procedure of international business looks much inviting, it should not be forgotten that the risks are highly challenging, hence encouraging the entrepreneurs to apply clear control of the situation through applying the needed skills to face the challenges of the international business transactions. Expanding the business in this procedure is indeed promising; however, careful consideration on the elements of risk should be given clear attention by the hopeful business entrepreneurs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the discussion and the presentations made in this paper, it could be observed that there is indeed a need for business entities to take the risks in making it within the industry of virtual business. Making their business services and products available through the Internet for the sake of advertising or even selling as it is would surely offer the organizations a progressive future in the fields that they are joined with. Certainly, the innovations brought about by information technology actually radically changed the economic trade of the entire global state of business industries. This is the reason why a particular entrepreneur trying to make the business scene in the current era of globalization needs to know the basic of computer applications and internet system operations for their business organization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Certainly, because of the more improved system of consumerism featured through online business operations, click businesses become highly effective in affecting the human society today. It could still not be denied though that there are still some satisfactions that brick or physically established systems of business today give its consumers. Through this conclusion, it should be understood that both brick and click businesses should exist in balance to allow consumer satisfaction all over the world in accordance with the different elements contributing to modern globalization. References: Internet Sources: BBC News. (2000). Dot.com to Dot.bomb.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/business/2000/review/1069169.stm. (May 31, 2008) Bock, Wally. (2001). From Dot-Com to Dot-Bomb.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.mondaymemo.net/010409feature.htm. (May 31, 2008). Msdn. Microsoft Corporation. (2007). Technology Overview. http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/aa497336.aspx. (May 31, 2008). Nut, Gary. (2004). Operating Systems: A Modern Perspective, Third Edition. http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~nutt/osamp.html. (May 31, 2008). Website Marketing. (2001). Importance of Marketing. http://tools.devshed.com/c/a/Website-Marketing/Importance-of-Marketing/. (May 31, 2008) Books: Brown, Stephen (1993), „Postmodern Marketing?â€Å", European Journal of Marketing Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 19-34 Brown, Stephen (1998), „Post-Modern Marketing 2 – Telling Talesâ€Å", Thomson Business Press. Deitel, Harvey M.; Deitel, Paul; Choffnes, David (2004). Operating Systems. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-182827-4. Ensor, Jim . (2006). Future Net: The Essential Guide to Internet and Technology Megatrends. Trafford Publishing; 1st edition. ISBN-10: 1553957245. Folsom, Ralph H. . (2005). Principles of International Business Transactions (The Concise Hornbook Series). West Publishing. Fitzgerald, Peter L. . (2005). International Business Transactions: A Problem-oriented Coursebook. West Publishing. Harris, J. Archer. (2001).  Ã‚   Schaums Outline of Operating Systems. McGraw-Hill; 1 edition. ISBN-10: 0071364358. Hanson, Ward Kalyanam, Kirthi (2006). Internet Marketing and e-Commerce. South-Western College Publication. 1st Edition. ISBN-10: 0324074778. Rajagopal, Raj . (1999). Multi-Operating System Networking: Living with UNIX, NetWare, and NT. AUERBACH; 1 edition. ISBN-10: 0849398312. Silberschatz, Abraham . (2004). Operating System Concepts. John Wiley Sons; 7 edition. ISBN-10: 0471694665. Strauss, Judy El-Ansary, Adel Frost, Raymond (2005). E-Marketing.   Prentice Hall Publication. 4th Edition. ISBN-10: 0131485199. Tanenbaum, Andrew S.; Woodhull, Albert S. (2006). Operating Systems. Design and Implementation. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-142938-8. Warford, J. Stanley. (2005).  Ã‚   Computer Systems. Jones Bartlett Publishers; 3rd edition. ISBN-10: 0763732397.

Development of Management Programme for Nurses

Development of Management Programme for Nurses An advancement from a clinical role to a leadership role is one of the most challenging transformations for professional nurses in their career development. Nurses must be prepared as leaders who are competent, flexible, and able to energize others to adapt to change (Grohar-Murray Langan, 2011). Effective nurse leaders must communicate with their staff, manage stress, make decisions and handle power wisely. Additionally, managers must acquire and cultivate skills such as financial and change management, cultural literacy and personnel development and evaluation. The new nurse managers should acquire the qualities of management and leadership and need good mentors and orientation program in the transition. The purpose of this paper is to present a proposal for the development of a new manager orientation program. Effective nurse managers are crucial in achieving the hospital’s patient care mission and its financial viability (Cathcart, 2010). New nurse managers should be aware of problems that affect todays health care. Since the nursing job is getting more and more stressful and the health care is getting more expensive day by day, the nurse manager orientation program should include the ways to do good budgeting and safe staffing and retention of staff which helps in delivering safe and effective patient care. Nurse manager has great responsibility in maintaining a safe and quality patient care in the unit. Formal orientation programs are essential in retaining and motivating employees, lowering turnover, increasing productivity, improving employee morale, facilitating learning, and reducing the anxiety of new employees (Ragsdale, 2005). New nurse managers should be given enough time to know about the facility and the staff of the hired unit. New nurse managers should be aware of the expectations of them in the department and organizational level. Topic Rationale for Inclusion Objectives Possible Resources Necessary time and good orientation program A nurse manager should be given time to know the staff and the unit she/he is going to work with. Necessary time for orientation help the nurse manager to know the problems on the unit and the expectation of the staff about the new nurse manager. A well-designed orientation program can reduce turnover, shorten the period of adjustment, and lay the groundwork for a long successful career (Ragsdale, 2005). After getting enough time for orientation, a nurse manager will be able to plan herself for the job. The new nurse manager should use her mentor, all the staff and auxiliary staff in the unit as resources. Effective communication Effective communication is necessary to clear the ideas and gain confidence with the staff members. Communication has been identified as an essential component of team functioning within the nursing and inter-professional teams (Kilpatrick, 2013). After the nurse manager practice to do clear communication, they will be able to share the ideas and commands appropriately. A nurse manager should observe the mentor and can read books and discussions and should adapt his/her own way for effective and clear communication. Conflict resolution Conflict resolution skills are very important for the nurse manager to run the unit smoothly and improve the quality and increased productivity in a team which helps to bring better patient outcomes. The nurse executive must train or select nurse managers with effective conflict resolution skills (Baker, 1995). The focus of the nurse manager must shift from managing the behaviors used by staff to resolve the conflict (Baker, 1995). After learning the conflict resolution skills, the nurse manager will be able to recognize the issues and behaviors that causing the conflicts and analyze and solve the problems with the unit. A nurse manager should look into the mentor and others and also brainstorm possible resolutions to gather ideas to solve the conflict. Decision making Decision making is a difficult process sometimes for the nurse managers because they have to make fast decisions in times of evacuations, disasters and all affects the patient and their families and the staff. The degree of stress depends on their management and organizational factors, their work experience etc.. Throughout each 24-hour day, nurse managers make countless rapid fire decisions that impact patient, staff and organizational outcomes (Shirey, 2013). After getting enough time of orientation, nurse manager will able to know about the organization, unit and the staff which helps in better decision making. Nurse manager should learn from the mentor and also he/she should ask the staff with one on one or group meetings and get the opinions and ideas of different staff before the decision making. Motivation of staff Nurse managers can motivate the staff by creating a healthy work environment, participating the staff in the decision making process and complimenting the staff for their achievements. A transformational leadership approach can help nurse managers to increase or maintain a motivating work environment (Curtis, 2011). Motivating the staff is very much necessary for staff retention for this stressful and hectic job. Most nurse managers use a transformational leadership style which can increase motivation, enabling participation in decision- making, creating a healthy work environment, increasing worker empowerment, and offering a better quality of work-life balance (Curtis, 2011). After learning the necessary skills for motivating, the staff the nurse manager is able to create a healthy working environment which helps to increase the staff satisfaction and improve better patient outcomes. The nurse manager can learn from the mentor and from other excellent approachable senior leaders. Good budgeting Nurse manager has responsibility in maintaining the budget allowed for the unit. Nurse manager has to notify the staff of the budget allowed for the year and expenses of the unit and to decrease the unnecessary wastage of supplies. Nurse manager has to maintain the schedule in a way to decrease the unnecessary overtime on the unit and maintain the vacation time without affecting the staff and the patient care. Nurse leaders must make it their responsibility to provide nurses with increased exposure to quality, safety, and financial data, thereby allowing nurses to translate data while achieving and sustaining successful outcomes (Talley, 2013). After learning the budget allowed for the unit, the nurse manager is able to notify the staff about the patient safety priorities, quality outcomes, and financial accountability of each staff. The nurse manager should ask the mentor and other approachable nurse leaders of the organization and she can read materials on the financial management in the nursing field as resources. Safe staffing and staff retention Nursing job is a demanding at the same time a stressful job. Nurse manager should provide safe staffing and has to motivate and encourage the staff for better patient outcomes. Increase turnover of nurses will result in the economic burden, negative patient outcomes and decreased continuity of care. Increase turnover results in increased stress on the existing staff to cover the vacant shifts and also to orient new staff to the unit. So the nurse manager has to ask frequently to the staff for the feedbacks about the management and also for any problems with the unit. Improved retention will lead to savings of the organization, which may be allocated to activities such as training and mentorship to assist nurse leaders in developing these critical leadership skills (Duffield, 2011). Nurse manager has to appreciate the staff for their help on the unit and better patient outcomes and their achievements for certifications or attaining a degree. After learning how to do safe staffing and staff retention nurse manager is better able to increase patient outcomes and to save money on a tight budget. Nurse manager should ask the mentor and also should use her existing skills and experience to do safe staffing. Nurse manager should always ask feedbacks from the unit and can use all the employees in the unit as resources to solve the problem with the unit. Good nurse managers always try to make a positive and healthy working environment. The positive working environment will increase the job satisfaction. The skillful nurse manager always listens to the problems and feedbacks of the staff in the unit. This helps the nurse manager to find out the problems in the unit and manage the unit well with co-operation from all the staff in the unit. By managing the unit well, the nurse manager is able to do safe staffing, improve the retention and better budgeting, which all leads to better staff and patient satisfaction and better patient outcomes. References Baker, K. (1995). Improving staff nurse conflict resolution skills. Nursing Economic$, 13(5), 295. Cathcart, E., Greenspan, M., Quin, M. (2010). The making of a nurse manager: the role of experiential learning in leadership development. Journal Of Nursing Management, 18(4), 440-447. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2834.2010.01082.x Curtis, E., OÂÂ ¿Connell, R. (2011). Essential leadership skills for motivating and developing staff. Nursing Management UK, 18(5), 32-35. Duffield, C., Roche, M., Blay, N., Stasa, H. (2011). Nursing unit managers, staff retention and the work environment. Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 20(1/2), 23-33. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03478.x Grohar-Murray, M. E., Langan, J. (2011). Leadership and management in nursing (4th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Health Science. Kilpatrick, K. (2013). Understanding acute care nurse practitioner communication and decision-making in healthcare teams. Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 22(1/2), 168-179. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2012.04119.x Ragsdale, M., Mueller, J. (2005). Plan, do, study, act model to improve an orientation program. Journal Of Nursing Care Quality, 20(3), 268-272. Shirey, M. R., Ebright, P. R., McDANIEL, A. M. (2013). Nurse manager cognitive decision-making amidst stress and work complexity. Journal Of Nursing Management, 21(1), 17-30. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2834.2012.01380.x Talley, L. B., Thorgrimson, D. H., Robinson, N. C. (2013). Financial Literacy as an Essential Element in Nursing Management Practice. Nursing Economic$, 31(2), 77-82.

The Emergence Of Education For Sustainable Development Education Essay

The Emergence Of Education For Sustainable Development Education Essay Education is an essential component of achieving sustainability. All over the world, societies are coming to recognize that current development trends are not sustainable, and that public awareness through education and training is a key element to moving our increasingly globalized society towards achieving sustainability. Education for sustainable development (ESD), education for sustainability (ES), and sustainability education (SE) are three terms often used synonymously and interchangeably in referencing sustainability educational programmes. ESD efforts may be named or described in a variety of ways because of language and/or cultural differences, but ESD is the terminology used most frequently at the international level and within UN documents, and is therefore the term used most throughout this document (UNESCO, 2006). All education must serve some purpose or else societies would not invest in it. ESD has the capacity to secure a more liveable world for present and future generations. The nature of ESD is oriented to giving people knowledge and skills for lifelong learning they need to help them find effective solutions to their environmental, economic, and social issues, and the effective use of technology is an essential element to increasing the efficiency of education institutions to achieve these aims (UNESCO, 2006). Diverse perspectives help societies worldwide to determine how individual issues of ESD are dealt with in individual cultures. These perspectives have significant influences on the way people live, behave, and relate to one another; and relationships to outside cultures are in a constant state of change. ESD should help us to understand ourselves as well as others better and how local sustainability issues link to the wider, global environmental view. Everyone is a stakeholder in Education for Sustainable Development; we all share in the long-term effects, both good and bad, of environmental decisions (UNESCO, 2006). Though the benefits of environment sustainability may be relatively well defined, the effective implementation of plans of action for education programmes need to take into account specific local, regional, and national contexts (Scoullos, 1998). The practise of tailoring of ESD training programmes to individual cultures is common, yet there are specific common elements that are essential to all sustainability training programmes regardless of where they are administered. Key elements of ESD programmes include the following (Tilbury and Wortman, 2004) : ESD is the primary agent of transformation towards sustainable development. The promotion of increasing the capacities of people to transform their visions for society into reality. Education fosters the values, behaviours, and lifestyles that are required for a sustainable future. Education for sustainable development is a process of learning how to make decisions that consider the long-term future of the equity, economy, and ecology of all communities. Education builds the capacity for such futures-oriented thinking. 1.4.3 Definitions Sustainable development is a challenging concept to define, especially since the field is continually evolving. The Brundtland Commission is often credited with one of the first and most commonly cited descriptions of sustainable development: Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). Sustainable development was at one time generally believed to have three main elements: environment, society, and economy. However, in recent years, an additional culture pillar has emerged, complimentary to the social pillar, yet a distinct consideration. These four pillars are closely interrelated with one another and are therefore not completely separate elements. The sustainability paradigm challenges the argument that environmental and social problems are an inevitable and acceptable consequence of economic development. The perspective that advocates the concept that human development and the quality of the environment are not compatible with one another is in direct opposition to the basic the principles of sustainable development (Pace, 2009). Dr A. Ghafoor Ghaznaw, former chief of UNESCOs Environmental Education Section, defined environmental education at a UNESCO consultation meeting held in Malta in 1989 as, the educational process through which is imparted to its target groups the sensitivity, awareness, knowledge, skills, attitudes, commitment for actions and ethical responsibilities for the rational use of the environment and its resources and for the protection and improvement of the environment for the present and future generations (Schembri, Ventura, Calleja, 1989) . 1.4.4 Application Regardless of how life affirming the high ideals of sustainability education objectives may be, and despite the significant support and many years of effort behind the work to achieve environmental sustainability ideals, the long-term record of accomplishment in achieving any significant progress in these efforts has been reported to be disappointingly less than expected by many. Although environmental education has frequently been proposed during numerous international conferences as a key element to major strategies intended to promote environmental objectives, there has nonetheless been a significant discrepancy between the efforts spent on education and the results that have be achieved to date (Pace, 2009). Some feel that most of what needed to be said about environmental education was said in the Tbilisi Conference in 1977, and that any new elaborations are really just a repeat of the same principles under a new guise (Pace, 2010). The characteristics of and commitment towards sustainable development were reconfirmed 10 years after the Tbilisi conference at the International Congress on Environmental Education and Training in 1987 in Moscow, and again 10 years later at the International Conference on Environment and Society: Education and Public Awareness for Sustainability in 1997 at Thessaloniki. Although the recommendations and action plans proposed by the aforementioned conferences were still valid, the question arose as to whether the framework originally developed to support environmental education initiatives had instead become an standalone of irrelevant academic exercises (Pace, 2010). Part of the problem may lie in the fact that environmental education, much like the concept of sustainable development, can never arrive at a precise definition of the concept due to its evolving nature (Pace, 2010). The issue of how best to approach environmental education has been unclear. Although it has been well established that learning is not normally a linear experience, a significant number of educational programmes have adopted linear approaches. Linear approaches fail to acknowledge the fact that individuals learn in different ways and through different experiences (Pace, 2010). Moreover, although it is widely acknowledged that degradation of the environmental is firstly due t o the results of unsustainable lifestyles. Environmental education also recognises this fact and espouses the concept that the environment it is every citizens responsibility, and therefore in order to be effective, environmental education programmes should target individuals with learner centred learning. Environmental education programmes committed to promoting sustainable development require the transformation of principle theories into actions. Learner centred programmes, based on competency development prepare learners to take concrete steps towards discovering their own sustainable life patterns. Development of learner centred pedagogies designed to transform passive individuals into independent, critical-thinking lifelong learners committed to taking action is the next phase in the evolution of environmental education (Pace, 2010). 1.4.1 Historical Context The origins of Education for Sustainable Development lie in two distinct areas of interest in the United Nations: education and sustainable development. The Declaration of Human Rights stated in 1948 that, Everyone has the right to education. This right to an education was later reinforced in 1989 by the Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC), which declared that primary education should be compulsory and available free to all. In 1990, the Jomtien Declaration on Education for All (EFA) declared, Basic education should be provided to all children, youth, and adults. International Development Targets (IDT) related to quality education have been also developed. The Dakar Framework for Action lists as one of its six important educational goals as the Improving all aspects of the quality of education so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved, especially, in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) also address educat ion. MDG 2 is designed to Achieve universal primary education. Furthermore, the UNGA declared the years 2003 to 2012 to be the United Nations Decade of Literacy (UNLD).The importance of education for all has clearly been repeatedly emphasised by the United Nations repeatedly over the course of its long history. Several milestones have marked the progress of sustainable development, including the landmark 1972 United Nations Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm, which led to the establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and many other environmental protection agencies. Nations came to realize that the widespread growth of environmental degradation required international attention and collaboration rather than isolated national approaches and solutions. Within 10 years after Stockholm, the world began to realize that addressing environmental concerns separately from development needs was not an effective means to managing the welfare of the environment for human society, and by the mid 1980s the United Nations began to search for a larger strategy to address the needs of both society and the environment. This resulted in now well-known report on sustainable development from the Brundtland Commission in 1987, entitled Our Common Future. This report was endorsed a t all levels of government as an overarching framework for future development policy. During this time, the United Nations General Assembly concurrently explored a parallel concept of utilising education to support sustainable development (UNESCO, 2005). The concepts of sustainable development continued to progress with committees discussing and negotiating the terms of the 40 chapters that eventually came to know as the Agenda 21, where it was presented to the public in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The link between education and sustainability was first conceptualised in Chapter 36 of Agenda 21. Entitled Promoting Education, Public Awareness, and Training, the chapter was an enabling and implementation strategy for Education for Sustainable Development and stressed the importance of integrating education into every one of the other 40 chapters that also comprised of the Agenda 21, which was reaffirmed in each of the subsequent conventions that arose from the initial Earth Summit as (UNESCO, 2005). All nine of the major United Nations Conferences that convened in the 1990s to further address and refine sustainability issues also correspondingly identified education as a crucial elemen t to implementation (UNESCO, 2005). The Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), convened in 2002, helped to deepen international commitments towards sustainable development at all levels, and it was at this the Decade of Education for Sustainable development (DESD) was proposed, thereby reaffirming education as an important and central principle to effective approaches for sustainable development strategies. That same year the Rio+20 Conference 2012 was held in Rio de Janeiro. Otherwise known as the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, and Earth Summit 2012, a draft resolution entitled The Future We Want was presented, which reaffirmed prior commitments to education by strengthening international cooperation to achieve universal access to primary education, which is considered an essential condition for achieving sustainable development, as well for the achieving internationally agreed upon development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. This draft resolution also re solved to improve the capacity of education systems to prepare students to pursue sustainable development careers, which included enhanced teacher training, curricula developed around sound sustainability principles, and more effective use of information and communication technologies to enhance learning outcomes. The document further resolved to promote Education for Sustainable Development and to integrate it more actively into education beyond the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development plans, and strongly encouraged educational institutions to teach sustainable development as an integrated component across disciplines. The importance of environmental concerns first gained international recognition with the Stockholm Declaration in 1972. It consisted of 7 proclamations and 26 principles to inspire people of the world to preserve and enhance the worlds and enhancement of the human environment. The International Workshop on Environmental Education was held shortly after Stockholm Convention at Belgrade, Serbia in 1975. The resulting Belgrade charter was the outcome of the event and built upon the Stockholm Declaration, with additional goals, objectives, and guiding principles for environmental education programmes. An important aspect to this work was the inclusion of the public as part of the defined target audience for environmental education. The worlds first intergovernmental conference on environmental education was organized by the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in cooperation with the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1977, and was convened in Tbilisi, Georgia (USSR).The Tbilisi Declaration was a result of this conference, with the declaration updating and clarifying the Stockholm Declaration and the Belgrade Charter. The Tbilisi Declaration recommended that environmental education develops the necessary skills for societies to deal with environmental challenges, and promotes the attitudes and commitments required to make the most informed decisions and responsible actions towards the environment. The declaration emphasised the important roles of education to preserving the planets environment and balanced development of communities, and declared that, by its very nature, environmental education can make a powerful contribution to the renovation of the educational process. The document also recommended that environmental education should be integrated into the entire system of formal education at all levels to provide the necessary knowledge, understanding, values, and skills needed for participation in devising solutions to environmental questions. Ten years after the Tbilisi Conference, a follow-up conference was convened in Moscow, otherwise known as the Moscow Conference, to determine a specific international plan of action for environmental education and training. The Moscow Conference report was based upon input from international studies and surveys, and outlined an international strategy of action to develop environmental education and training programmes for the 1990s. The plan defined requirements for education and training programmes, and reaffirmed the Tbilisi Conferences declaration that environmental education should be made an integral part of the entire educational process and aimed at every category of the population in member states. The Rio+5 or Earth Summit+5 Conference was convened in 1997 to appraise the progress the Agenda 21 plans over the five years that had passed since its initial approval. It was determined by the assembly that progress was thus far uneven, and identified several key negative trends affecting the environment, which included continuing globalisation, widening of gaps in economic incomes, and a continuing deterioration of the global environment. This conference brought to light a new international consensus with a new vision of education that involved more public awareness and training, and conceptualised education as an essential element of sustainable development, with the support of advances in other related areas such as science, technology, and policy (UNESCO, 1997b). Twenty years after the Tbilisi Declaration and five years after the Rio Conference, a third environmental education conference was also held in 1997 at Thessaloniki, Greece. The purpose of this conference was to reiterate the important role of education and public awareness to achieving the aims of sustainability. The declaration of Thessaloniki reaffirmed commitments, recommendations, and action plans from previous conferences, yet at the same time also recognized that insufficient progress had been made in the five years since the Rio conference had concluded. Despite this disappointment however, there was a recommitment to involving national governments, civil society, the United Nations, and other international organisations to working towards the intentions of sustainability, and established a global agenda for upcoming Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) as declared by the UN. In the conference, they reaffirmed that sufficient education and public awareness should be recognised as one of the main pillars of sustainability, together with legislation, technology, and the economy. It was also recommended that special emphasis should be given to strengthen teacher training programmes and the identification and sharing of innovative practices. Support was also recommended for research in interdisciplinary teaching methodologies and assessments of the impact of relevant educational programmes (UNESCO, 1997a). 1.4.2 The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) Following the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, and based upon recommendations from chapter 36 of the Agenda 21 document, the United Nations declared 2005 to 2014 the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) in 2002. During the decade declared by the UN, many goals have been set forth in conjunction with strategies towards outcomes that are intended affect millions of people from communities all over the world for many years to come through inspiring all individuals at all levels of society to contribute to helping to make sustainable development a realistic reality. Planned outcomes during the Decade include raising public awareness, updating educational systems, and the integration of ESD into all elements of developmental planning (The United Nations, 2010). The DESD is also linked to other international educational priorities as well. The United Nations has launched four global initiatives since 2000, all of which focus on education. The four initiatives are the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), Education for All (EFA), the United Nations Literacy Decade, and the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. UNESCO is the coordinating agency for three of the four goals. While the initiatives are unique in certain respects, what they all have in common is a commitment to education and an emphasis on the importance of the participatory role of each individual in education and sustainable development (UNESCO, 2009). The Fourth International Conference on Environmental Education, also referred to as the Tbilisi+30, was held at the Centre for Environment Education (CEE) in Ahmedabad, India in 2007. During the conference, several work group sessions were convened, along with special sessions for solely for government agencies. The conference was intended to promote a vision that education that prevents and resolves conflicts, and to provide assistance in building partnerships and facilitating shared experiences and a collective knowledgebase required to refine a vision of sustainability that expands its practice globally, and reaffirm that education is a crucial element to bringing about the global transitions required to make sustainability a realistic reality (UNESCO, UNEP Govt. of India, 2007) . Environmental education supports education for sustainable development, and encourages a shift from viewing education as a delivery mechanism, to a lifelong, holistic, and all-inclusive process (UNESCO, UNEP Govt. of India, 2007) . The following is a list of Working Group Session Reports Recommendations and Workshop Presentations available from the Tbilisi+30 Conference: Reorienting Formal Education towards ESD (Strategies, Pedagogy, and Assessment). Teacher Education: A crucial contribution to the UNDESD. Supporting Sustainable Development through Open and Distance Learning, including Technology Mediated Open and Distance Education (TechMODE). Education for Innovation and Technology. Integrating Values of Sustainability into education. Monitoring and Evaluating Progress during the UN DESD. Education for Sustainable Consumption through the DESD. The World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development was held in Bonn, Germany, in 2009. The conference was organised by UNESCO, the German Ministry of Education and Research, and the German Commission for UNESCO. The World Conference on ESD marked the beginning of the second half of the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development. The purpose of the conference was to discuss and exchange best practices on Education for Sustainable Development from all world regions. The conference had four objectives: To highlight the relevance of ESD to all of education. To promote international exchange on ESD, especially between the North and the South. To carry out a stocktaking of the implementation of the UN Decade. To develop strategies for the way ahead. Strategies were developed during the conference to highlight key focus areas in order to put knowledge into action and promote further progress of ESD in the following five years remaining of the Decade. Post-conference strategies included: Re-orienting education and training to address sustainability concerns. Building and sharing knowledge, and generating new knowledge through research. Advocating for ESD through increasing awareness and understanding of sustainability, and reinforcing/enhancing synergies between different education and development initiatives. Extending and strengthening ESD partnerships. As the global coordinator of the DESD, UNESCOs role is to facilitate new partnerships and encourage exchange between Member States on ESD, share best practices, encourage monitoring and evaluation efforts, encourage development of ESD research agendas, and provide strategic guidance. Many activities have been undertaken by a broad range of stakeholders since the start of the DESD, including setting up National Committees, establishing networks, developing and disseminating education materials, identifying and highlighting good practices, and arranging meetings to encourage international exchange (UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development, 2009). Although much work remains to be done before ESD completely occupies a central place in educational and learning processes in order to realise its full potential to improve the quality of education as a whole, there has been notable progress since the beginning of the Decade in 2005. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) was a key outcome from the Rio Earth Summit held in 1992. A review halfway through the DESD indicated that the need for ESD had become well established in national policy frameworks and that national ESD coordinating agencies had been created almost 100 countries across all UN regions (UNESCO DESD Monitoring Evaluation, 2012) . Networks and organisations both within and outside the UN system have been established globally to encourage and support increasing ESD in schools, universities, and communities, and in the process, ESD has gained international recognition as an education relevant to addressing todays Sustainable Development challenges, (UNESCO DESD Monitoring Evaluation, 2012) . More recent reports indicated that there is been an increased recognition that environmental challenges cannot be solved exclusively through technological advances and new policy frameworks, in order to achieve sustainable success efforts must be accompanied by changes in mind-sets, values, and lifestyles of societies (UNESCO DESD Monitoring Evaluation, 2012) . ESD is being increasingly viewed as a means to renew teaching and learning in ways that allow schools and communities to more effectively address the challenges sustainable development and the environment. In some parts of the world, ESD has been a part of a co-evolution of teaching methods and has arguably become a catalyst for educational change and innovation (UNESCO DESD Monitoring Evaluation, 2012) . There has been a shift from viewing ESD as something to add-on to education to ESD as a mechanism for rethinking education and learning (UNESCO DESD Monitoring Evaluation, 2012). Sustainability challenges require more integrative and exploratory forms of learning. As a result, the boundaries between schools, universities, and communities are increasingly blurring in many areas of the world now due to a number of recent trends, including increased focuses on lifelong learning; globalization; and ICT facilitated social networking education. These boundary-crossing phenomena are resulting in a reconfiguration of formal, informal, and non-formal learning processes, and changing the roles and relationships stakeholders Earlier in the Decade the emphasis was on finding a niche among education institutions, whereas today ESD is viewed more as a potential umbrella for all educations (including global citizenship education) concerned with the well-being of the planet and its inhabitants (UNE SCO DESD Monitoring Evaluation, 2012). Despite all the positive progress being made however, there are new challenges to resolve. For instance, the E in ESD is conceptualized in different ways depending on the availability of individual societies for participation, self-determination, and autonomous thinking (UNESCO DESD Monitoring Evaluation, 2012). Local situations may vary in these respects globally, which often leads to different interpretations and implementations of ESD. Within more restrictive environments, more transmission-oriented pedagogies are more likely, with a strong emphasis forms of instruction centred around knowledge transfer, and in more open environments, ESD is more typically characterized by higher levels of participation, self-determination, autonomous thinking, and knowledge co-creation. The latter versions of ESD require alternative forms of teaching and learning, and higher levels of stakeholder interaction. 1.5 Applying TEL Concepts in ESD Contexts 1.5.1 Uptake Extent of Use The eMerge One-to-One Laptop Learning Project was initiated by the Government of Albertas Ministry of Education to explore the effectiveness of wireless computing for learning and teaching. The project was anticipated to affect 2,502 students, 173 teachers, and 47 administrators within 50 schools in the 20 Alberta jurisdictions. Data collected during the course of the research period supported the following findings (Government of Alberta, 2010): By the end of Year Three there was a significant shift in participating classrooms toward 21st Century Learning skills, with students in the project significantly increasing their readiness to thrive in a complex, global, high-tech society. The educators involved in the progress have made steady progress over the course of three year in their proficiency with technology and 21st Century Learning, and in the process, increased the frequency at which technology was used to keep students engaged in deep, complex, authentic, and relevant learning activities. The eMerge project included a range of professional development models. One of the most highly valued by teachers was the community of practice that linked teachers to one another. There were also key shifts with students in their independence in learning and increased collaboration with other students. Teachers and administrators developed a deeper understanding of and commitment to the vision for 21st Century learning. Over the course of the first three years of the eMerge, the perception of teachers on the relevance of the 21st Century Skills shifted from valuing productivity to placing more value on the use of skills in critical thinking, creativity, and ethical use. European Schoolnet is a not-for-profit organisation comprised of 30 Ministries of Education in Europe. The organisation is dedicated to supporting collaboration and networking among schools in Europe using new technologies, and contributing to the development of technology-enhanced learning in schools. In 15 years since its founding, European Schoolnet has become one of the key organisations involved in transforming teaching and learning at schools in Europe using the integration of ICT into learning and teaching (European Schoolnet, 2011). European Schoolnet provides services through its partnerships with ministries of Education and the European Commission. The services offered to schools provide opportunities for teachers to become actively involved in exploring how ICT can enhance the teaching and learning experience. Recent initiatives have focused on raising awareness among teachers of the benefits of school collaboration activities for both the pupils learning and the teachers own professional development (European Schoolnet, 2011). European Schoolnet is currently facilitating several project initiatives. The Scientix project is a European Schoolnet initiative that provides a web-based information platform for science education in Europe to disseminate knowledge and share best practices in science education. The Scientix web portal is available in six European languages and targets anyone involved in science and maths education, from policy-makers to science education teachers. The Spice project, funded by the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning programme, collects, analyses, shares innovative pedagogical practices focused on inquiry-based learning and improving student interest in the sciences (European Schoolnet, 2011). eTwinning is an online community for schools in Europe that provides a host of online educational tools for teachers from participating countries to locate potential school partnerships, arrange virtual meetings, exchange best practice ideas, and opportunities learn together with on line-based projects. An eTwinning project allows at least two schools from at least two different European countries create a project and use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to carry out their work (eTwinning, 2011). The We teach together eTwinning project is a partnership between schools in the Czech Republic and Portugal that incorporated the integration of the school subjects of Chemistry, Biology, and Environmental Education. This project brought teachers and classrooms together to teach topic of photosynthesis. The primary objective of the project was to facilitate a teaching practice in an unusual way that would enhance the motivation of students to learn otherwise less popular