John Chrysostom Is an Excellent Example of Antiochene Exegesis

Can You Retake AP Exams Expert Guide

Can You Retake AP Exams Expert Guide SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Most AP tests are very challenging, and scores don't always turn out the way you imagined they would. If you're concerned that you've forfeited any chance of getting college credit, can you retake an AP exam?In this article, I'll show you how you can bounce back from a low AP score to end up with college credits and AP Scholar Awards. Can You Retake AP Exams If You Do Poorly? First off, can you retake an AP exam? The answer is yes! If you don’t do well on an AP exam, you can retake it the next time it’s offered the following May. However, you should consider this decision carefully before committing.If you score a 3 or above on an AP test, I wouldn’t recommend going for a retake unless you’re absolutely set on earning college credit for your work. Ultimately, your AP score will have minimal impact on your admission chances unless you’re applying to the most selective colleges with 1s and 2s. According to theCollege Board FAQ, "When we surveyed admission officers, more than 75 percent indicated that a low score on an AP Exam would NOT harm an applicant’s admission prospects"(emphasis mine).In other words, the grade you earn in the year-long AP class is more important than areyour AP score for admissions purposes. Retaking AP tests is expensive; it will cost you an extra $94!It's also a pretty big time commitment to take on additional studying on top of a full course load. Really think about whether it's worth it before you settle on your decision. If you still feel sure that you want to retake the exam, speak to your school’s AP Coordinator about registering.You cansign up through your school, just like you did the first time you took the test, except now your teacher won't be helping you through the process. It’s completely up to you to track down the coordinator and make arrangements to take the test. If you want to retake an AP test, you gotta shed the training wheels and ride your big-girl bike over to the guidance office. If you really want to impress them, ride a unicycle. Do Both AP Scores Show Up? Which One Counts for AP Scholar Awards? Your score report will include all your AP scores (including repeats of the same test) unless you choose to withhold or cancel scores.The difference between withholding and canceling scores is that when you cancel your score, it is permanently deleted, as if you never even took the test.There is no fee for canceling a score. Here's theScore Cancellation Formyou would need to send to the College Board. On the other hand, if you choose to withhold your AP score, it won’t be seen by colleges, but it will stay on record in case you want to send it later.It costs $10 per score to withhold scores from colleges that you originally indicated on your answer sheet.Here’s theScore Withholding Formyou’d need to send to the College Board. The deadline for both withholding and canceling AP scores for tests you took is June 15.If you miss the deadline, all your scores will be sent to the colleges you indicated on your answer sheet. If you choose to retake an AP test, only your highest score will count toward AP Scholar Awards, even if you don’t cancel or withhold your lower score.That means you don’t have to worry about your initial score ruining your chances at becoming an AP scholar if you show improvement on your second try. Never fear, you can still become a scholar with a sweet beard even if you get a low AP score the first time around. Study Tips for Retaking AP Exams Here are a few important tips to keep in mind as you prepare to retake an AP test. To be successful in improving your score, you'll need to assess your weaknesses critically and study strategically. #1: Understand Where You Went Wrong Last Time Your primary goal is to avoid repeating the mistakes you made on your first AP test.Think about why you did poorly and what you can do to prevent those pitfalls this time.Did you wait too long to start studying? Did you take unofficial practice tests that gave you an unrealistic idea of the test’s content or difficulty level? Did you rely completely on your class to carry you through the test and find your knowledge lacking?Whatever the case may be, do some reflection to figure out how you can fix these problems and redeem your score a second time around. You might consider tutoring if you think you did poorly because the subject as a whole was not your strong point or your teacher didn't do a good job of explaining the material.You could even ask one of your peers who did well on the test to give you some studying advice or tutor you on concepts you’re having trouble mastering on your own. #2: Get a High-Quality Review Book If you’re going to retake an AP test, you won’t be just finishing up a year of studying the subject in class. As a result, notes and study materials might not be as readily available to you, and it will be harder to structure your time without a teacher and class schedule to guide you. You should get a review book that covers all the concepts in the course thoroughly so that you have an easy way to study content, plan out your time, and do practice questions.Think of it as a lighter version of self-studying.Usually, Barron’s books are a good option for more in-depth surveys of AP courses. #3: Start Studying Early One of your problems the first time around might have been that you ended up waiting until the last minute to study.Cramming is a bad idea for AP testssince they cover so much information and expect you to answer questions that require high-level critical thinking. You won't do yourself any favors by skimming the surface. Start studying at least a couple of months before you take the test.Ideally, you should review concepts throughout the year so that your memory stays fresh and you have time to correct whatever issues you had with the material originally. You should also take plenty of practice tests so you can keep tabs on your performance and make sure you're improving. Be the early bird. Get out there and catch your AP worm. Summary: Can You Retake AP Exams? You can choose to retake an AP test when it’s offered again the following year.If you really need college credit or are concerned about how a low score will look on your application, you might consider this option. Assuming you retake an AP test and get a better score, that score will be the one that counts toward AP Scholar awards.You can even choose to withhold or cancel your lower score if you don’t want it to show up on your record. Taking an AP test a second time is an expensive commitment, so you should make sure you put some serious effort into studying for it.Try to learn from whatever problems you had the first time around, and avoid cramming or glossing over content areas you don’t quite understand. What's Next? Ideally, you'll get a high score on your test the first time around. To make sure that happens, read our five-step plan detailing the best way to study for AP exams. Practice tests are super important when preparing for AP exams. Learn more about where to find the best AP practice tests to use in your studying. It might be tough to take new AP classes on top of preparing for a retake. Find out how many AP classes you should take in high school and whether it's worth it to load up your schedule. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

The effectiveness of dowel bars in concrete pavements Literature review

The effectiveness of dowel bars in concrete pavements - Literature review Example Dowel bars are popularly used in load transfer system over joints. This research paper critical examines various aspects of dowel bars from the theory behind these bars to how they ought to their proper placement in the joints. Stresses in Concrete Pavement A concrete pavement is generally referred to as a rigid pavement. It is multilayered with layers being placed on top of each. The strength of the layers decreases downwards. Figure 1 (Pavement Analysis and Design n.d) The major factors that subject concrete pavements to stresses are â€Å"the action of traffic wheel loads, the expansion and contraction of the concrete due to temperature changes, yielding of the subbase or subgrade supporting the concrete pavement, and volumetric changes† (Garber & Hoel 2009, p. 1085). In studying how concrete pavements are subjected to stresses, some basic assumptions have to be made. 1. Concrete pavement slabs are viewed as unreinforced concrete beams. This therefore means that even if the re is some reinforcement made, for instance by including steel, it is ignored (Garber & Hoel 2009, p. 1085). 2. Flexural and direct tensile stresses significantly contribute to creation of transverse and longitudinal cracks (Garber & Hoel 2009, p. 1085). 3. The subbase or subgrade layer below the concrete pavement is an elastic material. ... Temperature changes lead to expansion and contraction of concrete pavement and this may in turn subject concrete pavement to tensile and compressive stresses. Tensile and compressive stresses will depend on how wide the range of change in temperature is (Garber & Hoel 2009, p. 1085). If the range of the temperature between the top and the bottom of a concrete pavement is big enough then curling is likely to take place. If the upper surface has a higher temperature than the lower surface then the then a compressive stress at the upper surface will be experienced while the lower surface experiences tensile stress. The reverse occurs when there is change in temperature such that the top is cooler than the bottom of the concrete pavement. Freeze-thaw damage can also result to stressing concrete pavements. This often occurs when sedimentary aggregate is used and is often exposed to freeze-thaw cycles. These cycles often lead to durability cracking (Pierce 2009 p. 20). Wheel load stresses It has been noted that traffic wheel loads induce flexural stresses. Flexural stresses induced in this manner are dependent on the position of the line of action of the load, simply the location of the wheels, with respect to the pavement edge. Joint seal damage stresses Damages which may occur at the joints often exposes concrete pavement to a lot of stresses. The five damages which are likely to occur at the joints are: Adhesive failure when joint seal material debonds from the concrete surface; cohesive failure which may occur when the joint sealant material splits within the sealant; extrusion occurs when the joint sealant is pushed or pulled out of the joint due to slab movement and/or traffic; oxidation occurs due to exposure to the elements; and infiltration occurs when

Karma-Yoga Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Karma-Yoga - Essay Example The action path proposed in Bhagavad-Gita teaches someone how to remain in the world, doing their duties and still get qualification for the spiritual life. It is in contrary to the common opinion that people should go to the forest, renounce their worldly belongings, away from the community like a cave and do meditation or tapas to achieve self-realization. According to Hindu, Karma operates both in a lifetime and across lifetimes; the actions results may only get experienced after the life in the present. Virtuous or good actions, harmony actions with dharma, will get good responses or reactions while bad actions, those that are against dharma will get the opposite consequences. Krishna explains that actions bind people to their subject and impact them to their karma. Though, it does not mean that non-action or inaction is a solution to karma problem. It is clear that none of the actions, non-action, wrong action and right action, give individuals freedom by renouncing work or abstaining from work. It is because one cannot remain inactive as the gunas drive each one helplessly in performing actions physically and mentally. Right action is when one who know the truth about functions and qualities of their functions, understanding gunas as senses and tend to move between them as the sense-objects. A wrong action is when a person deluded by egoism describes the Self with the mind, body, the senses, and life-forces, ascribing to the Self every body’s attributes and the senses (Sargeant 5).

Pizza Hut Data analysis

Pizza Hut Data analysis Introduction Earlier chapters have set the stage for carrying out of this research. This chapter builds on the previous ones by reporting the results of the data analysis. The primary data collected through interviews and questionnaire is presented in graphs along with analysis and findings. From these analysis researchers will be able to proceed towards conclusion and recommendation. Qualitative Data analysis This part of chapter will analyse the interviews conducted with pizza hut management. Strategy Importance To find out and analyse strategy planning and its importance researcher asked questions from Pizza hut management ‘What was the strategic planning behind ERP (MICROS)’ and ‘What were the main objectives behind ERP (MICROS), and Is Pizza hut as an organisation able to achieve those objectives?’. In reply to these questions Operational support manager replied. Strategic plan behind ERP system was to be a market leader in fast food market and to provide excellent customer service through ERP implementation. According to Operational support manager and area managers of pizza hut the objectives behind ERP were to run the business more efficiently, better product quality and customer service, enhanced financial procedures through real time figures and effective marketing through customer information. (Hammer champy, 1993) presented theory of business process reengineering, in their theory they explained that very basic rethinking and essential reforming of business processes to obtain remarkable improvements in current performance is called business process reengineering. Hammer further described information technology is the important factor to help BPR. Pizza hut management identified ERP systems are very expensive to install. The hard work not only finished after installation but organisation have to do more to manage them. So to do all this Pizza hut needed a firm strong strategy. According to (Porter, 1996) simply we have no idea what is strategy and how we can build a good strong strategy. But on the other hand Whittington and Mintzberg helped to give the tools for strategy making. Pizza hut operational support managers answer showed that pizza hut strategy is pre-planned where as an organisation pizza hut management consider not only to install ERP but they also had looked after installation phase and ERP management. Beside this some particular objectives demands for a strong and firm strategy. (Bendoly, 2005) Informed that every time organisations handling ERP projects they should have corporate level strategy for ERP. Unlike Mintzberg emergent school of thought where he highlighted that in organisation normally people don’t know about strategy and certain procedure developed into strategy. (Robert Norton, 2008) made intereting point he said both strategy and opertional approachs helps to minimize risk and manage risk. Operational manager, area manager and store managers all are agree that the basic strategy is growth in sale like earliar Operational support manager said the strategy planning behind ERP was to get maximum share in fast food market and customer service through ERP. (Porter and Millar, 1985) explained corporate level strategy means to make entire organisatin ready for growth and information systems plays vital role in this process that is why ERP are very critical for competitive advantage. According to pizza hut management they are able to achieve their target and as an organisation they are growing. Area manager revleas that pizza hut in 2007 sold 35.4 million pizzas in the UK and pizza hut serve over 97,000 pizzas and 171,000 customers a day at pizza hut UK. Overall sale of Pizza hut is more than  £600 million after installing MICROS. Cheshunt store manager informed that the customer complaints are dropped to 2 to 4 complaints per quarter where before MICROS figures were 10 to 12. Reseacher also tried to find out the challenges faced by pizza hut management. So the main purpose of this question was to findout the difficulties and challenges faced by pizza hut management during implementation. ‘What problems did you encounter during implementation’. In reply to this question operations support manager said, although they had pre plans for ERP(MICROS) still they faced lots of challenges and problems. The first big challenge was cost, MICROS entire package was very expensive to buy and implement. After installing MICROS the second biggest challenage was to change employees mind set and organisation culture. (Bendoly, 2005) made interesting points in ERP implementation, he explained after installation most of the time emplyoee do not have believe on information which ERP system provide. Employees do not have importance of information, that how important it is to put accurate information into the system. Bendloy argued employee play important role in successful implementation. Pizza hut area managers also explained that to over come employees behaviour and to tell them how important it is to put accurate information for better analysis and knowledge pizza hut ran a dominanting training program. Which helped to overcome this problem. Store managers agrees that the training imporved employees performance and staff start to take proper phone no, customer information and order information and support managers start performing daily check according to the procedures. (Kling Iacono, 1984) argued that introduction of technology to organisation often produces opportunities for managers to change the way they control workers. Cheshunt store manager told in start the MICROS help desk was not helpful enough. (Kalling, 2003) also pointed out ERP systems are more than installing software programs. He clarified ERP system implementation trigger change in entire organisation. So managers have to think differently to manage change. He further argued that ERP and business process re engineering is linked with each other. Southgate store manager responded it was not easy to manage change in store. It is difficult to change employees mind set and to convience them on new procedures. Training plays important role but it is time taking process. (Frenzel, 1992) also identified that change management is not a easy process. It is a big challenge in management area. Reseacher found Strategy making plays important role in organisation growth. It helps to estimate risk and to look forward in future. ERP plays important role to achieve strategy objectives by improving organisation efficency and customer knowledge. ERP implementation is not only software implementations but it triggers change in organisation.Proper planning and strategy to manage change helps to overcome different change problems. Impact on operations Researcher asked this question from pizza hut management to find out ERP impact on organisation operations and this also was core question of interview. ‘What is the impact of ERP (MICROS) on operation management after implementation?’ In respond to this question Operation support manager explained after implementing MICROS pizza hut communication is improved via intranet and managers are able to have real time figures in quick time. This helps them to improve speed, decision making process, quality of product and customer service. After installing ERP (MICROS) pizza hut is able to store customer information. Operation support manager explained about new term in pizza hut â€Å"Every second counts† thanks to MICROS. (Mintzberg, 1991) also speak in favour of this according to him the most important thing in these days an organisation can have is its knowledge. Organisations always keep moving from one direction to another for better efficiency and innovation. North Area manager identified MICROS helps to forecast for future in the light of customer’s previous order behaviour. MICROS took last 6 weeks sales and customer pattern to provide forecast with such a detail where managers can find out peak and off peak times even on hourly basis. It help managers to improve scheduling, cost of sales. (Mata, Fuerst, barney, 1995) illustrated that resource base theory demands organisation I.T resources should have broad scope in organisation departments. Area manager descried through MICROS pizza hut management is able to control on waste. Because intelligent forecasting allow managers to prepare according to demand this helps to cut cost of sales. Southgate store manager further explained that scheduling is more accurate this leads towards better cost of labour. According to pizza hut area manger MICROS assist to have â€Å"Right people at right place†. By cutting cost of sales and cost of labour through efficient procedures we are a ble to maximize profit. (Porter, 1996) defines operational efficiency as performing organisational functions better than competitors. He further explained operational efficiency leads towards low cost. South gate store managers answer was continuation of porter theory. He also identified MICROS help to give under 3, under 14, under 30 figures which help managers to check the order processing at different levels so they can find out the problem area. Grays store manager revealed that after implementation they have better pre-prep plan. This saves time and increase speed. Customers get better product and service. (Deming, 1986) presented a system where he said to improve quality (Plan, do, check, act). He believes by following this sequence we can improve quality. Operational support manager Operational support manager identified the big step towards online ordering system MICROS]offer pizza hut customers online ordering facility. It is major achievements to enhance customer service, bring accuracy and speed in order processing. (Jashapara, 2004) pointed out that organisations prime objective is to give products and services which can fulfil customers changing demands. Questionnaire figures make Jashapara point more valid where most of the customers like to place order online. Cheshunt store manager told online ordering system save time and cost of labour. When customer order through online it save order taking time and help to cut hours which used to take order on phone. One of Pizza hut Area manager explained since pizza hut introduced online order service pizza hut‘s North area is saving round 2 % labour per week. (Porter, 1985) argued that organisation willing to achieve competitive advantage needs to create value chain. Value chain refers to increase in margin. In order to achieve this margin all the resources of organisation have to perform. Primary data shows that most of the customers like ordering online due to many reasons such as online ordering system allow them to order more accuratly, provide more information about required product and delivery speed is fast. Primary data shows that most of the customers like ordering online due to many reasons such as online ordering system allow them to order more accuratly, provide more information about required product and delivery speed is fast. Researcher found ERP systems have a huge impact on operational management. ERP systems help to make operations efficient and effective. ERP systems help to cut cost and to maximize profit. At the same time assists to improve customer service directly and indirectly. Impact on Decision Making This question was asked from pizza hut management to find out impact of ERP (MICROS) on decision making and what they do different now. ‘Do you think Pizza hut’s over all decision making ability is improved’. In respond to this question all the managers were agreed and their answer was positive. Operation support manager tells MICROS produce real time figures which mean we can see even 10 sec progress from different point of views. This precise information allows managers to act fast, analyse to make accurate and efficient decisions. Communications between different managers are easy and secure. (Liebowitz, 2000) pointed out that in knowledge management major problem is distribution and organising of knowledge. He further explained data mining tool helpful to overcome this problem. Area manager explained managers can reschedule the staff according to business need. If the sale is low and nothing happening manager can check on MICROS how many team member required and can adjust according to that information. (Bacij, Chaffey, Greasley, 2002) explained that organisations want to work effectively their all the activities must be arranged and monitored by managers according to well informed decisions. Operation manager explained MICROS helped to sort delivery area decision making process through drive time reports. These drive time reports provide time to grid delivery area. (senge, 2006) thinks differently and he argued that a person can have a more information because of technical advancement but it create no difference if the person have not appropriate skills to relate this specific information in a functional way. Marketing decision making is improved because of customer order records. Profit and loss accounts are available online. Overall financial decision making is improved. (Howard Dresner, 1989) first time introduced the thought of business intelligence. He explained it as a set of thoughts and methodologies arranged to enhance decision-making in business through the use of information and information-based systems. Store managers were agree that decision making is improved through MICROS. They can have a look on different reports. Decisions about ordering stock are improved. (Davenport Prusak, 1998) thinks oppositely according to them two third of managers information and knowledge came from face to face meeting or through phone discussion. One third information can be gettable through documents. (Rainey, 2006) argued that the main responsibility of executives and corporate management systems is to produce a well designed business model that can provide enhanced strategic direction, control and governance to the organisation. Researcher found ERP provide information distribution to different managers of different departments. Information availability assists to improve decision making process. Through available and real time figures managers are able to take in time and accurate decisions to react accordingly. Customer service and impact on marketing Researcher asked this question to enquire from Pizza hut management which department of pizza hut as an organisation tool most of the advantage from ERP. ‘What is the most improved area in whole organisation processes, e.g. HR, operations or finance.’ The answer was consists on operation, finance, marketing and customer service. Researcher has done detail analysis on operation and finance in this part researcher is analysing marketing department to look ERP impact on marketing. According to Operations support manager ERP facilitate to store customer information and from this customer information different analysis can be done to find out customer trend, their ordering behaviour and spending capacity. This helps to provide more knowledge about customer. (Sveiby, 1996) explained difference between information and knowledge he argued information is not equal to knowledge. Southgate store manager also speaks in favour of this he said customer information helps to build customer knowledge after some analysis. In analysis of customer information we need some particular information to build knowledge. For example customers order frequency and last order. (Polanyi, 1967) presented a theory about knowledge where he identified knowledge is an activity defined as process of knowing. For (Devanport and Prusak, 1998) knowledge is mixture of experience and information. This gives base to develop new skill and information. Pizza hut area manager thinks according to these theories and explained MICROS database store customer contact information, their last order record. Marketing department is using this information to make new deals, special deals to encourage differentcustomers. MICROS’s online ordering systems introduced new marketing procedures which are low in cost and have high effect in outcome. For example through online systems MICROS data base store email of customers and marketing department use this email information to advertise new deals or products. Grays store manager compared before MICROS customer information was only available in store. This means only store management can access that information and store manager do not have the capacity to organise entire marketing department. MICROS enabled share and centralised database which helps to access customer information of all stores from anywhere. (Fiol Lyles, 1985) presented a theory that rapid change in technology and competition bring new way of thinking in organisations and learning improves organisations performance. (Hubber, 1991) also identified the importance of information he said organisation learns the way of information processing is changed. ‘How new customer related knowledge and information is utilised.’ This question was asked to find out how pizza hut as an organisation is using customer knowledge. Operation support manager identified in his answer new customer information helps to keep customer record. This gives great knowledge about customer behaviour. MICROS help to store customer’s experiences with pizza hut. Their ordering pattern helps to analyse peak and off peak time. MICROS online ordering system helps to do effective marketing through website and emails. Marketing department is encouraging customers to order online because online order save time, improve accuracy and customer service and enhance speed. Area manager pointed out new customer knowledge helps to differentiate the regular customers. And pizza hut management is able to introduce special offers to regular customers and more attractive offers for new customers. Overall MICROS provide knowledge to make an effective marketing strategy to compete. Cheshunt store manager gave example of introducing new business deals only for Cheshunt store this helped to increase sales. Questionnaire answers figures shows that overall more than 70 % like online ordering and special offers. Researcher found ERP systems helps to create knowledge about customer and organisation. And have positive impact on marketing and customer service. ERP systems provide new marketing procedures, ERP systems also help to cut marketing budget through new procedures and facilitate even to do person to person marketing. Researcher also found knowledge is more than information. Financial Impact ‘How much pizza hut spent on ERP and what is the expected time to recover this investment’ and’ Do you think so far investing in ERP was worth to pizza hut as an organisation?’ These questions were asked to have idea about return on investment. Operation supportmanager replied it is difficult to disclose exact figure of MICROS implementations. However he briefly explained MICROS systems were very expensive to implement just to have an idea one MICROS’s enable touch screen system cost  £2200. A small delivery unit at least have 6 touch screens. Pizza hut entire management were agreed that ERP systems implementation investment was worth. It helped to enhance operations, increase sale, managers have better ability to perform and to deliver. (Gattikar Goodhue, 2000) identified benefits of ERP, he explained ERP systems improve administrator role such as finance and human resource. Questionnaire results shows more than 60 % customers agree that they have better accuracyand speed with new online ordering system. They also agreed that online ordering system provide easier and faster way to order. (Hossain, Jon Rashid, 2002) also described ERP benefits they gave explanation that Enterprise resource planning systems are implement to enhance and improve performance of organisation and these systems have impact on entire organisation. Pizza hut management is agreed although MICROS are expensive but their benefits are worth to spend on MICROS. Researcher found even though ERP systems are expensive for an organisation but they are worth for investment. Accuracy This question was designed to ask from interviewers what is the difference after ERP implementation. ‘What do you do differently now’. In reply to this question Operation support manager identify now pizza hut management have secure and easy availability of information. Online ordering system is step towards differentiation. Most of pizza hut competitors do not have online ordering facility. (Porter, 1996) explained organisation want to have competitive advantage have to produce a strategy either to execute different actions or similar actions with different technique. Area manager identified that MICROS produced improved reporting regarding different departments such as inventory report, more powerful sales report. Prevent fraud and more secure communication between customer and organisation. (O’Brien Marakas, 2008) described ERP software based and related to manufacturing, distribution, sales , accounting and human resource reporting software. This allows ERP s ystems to provide analysis and planning reports of different departments. Grays store manager reveals now because of better and precise forecasting they are able to pre-prep more accurately. This makes us able to reduce order making time and improve speed. In questionnaire figures shows 98% customers agree that online ordering system improved speed and order accuracy. Operation support manager identified MICROS provide more accurate accountability and fraud prevention because MICROS record every single transaction between customer and organisation and it also store discounts records. Store managers informed MICROS helped to improve CHAMPS. CHAMPS is Pizza hut standards for individual store performance where they look at Cleanliness, Hospitality, Accuracy, Maintenance, Product and Speed. Researcher found ERP systems help to enhance accuracy in different departments of organisation for better performance and accountability. Quantitative analysis Customers respond regarding ERP system This section of chapter based on data analysis of questionnaire survey to find out customers responds for online ordering service and pizza hut management reply on this questionnaire survey. Survey was completed in one week. Survey respond was 100 %. Pizza Hut online Service system Survey Statistics Started 100 Completed 100 Completion Rate 100% Drop Outs (do not use Pizza hut service) 3 1. Do you use Pizza Hut service in the area? Yes. No. In respond to this question 97 % customers answer was YES and they order food from pizza hut. 3 % said no. The figure shows there is high percentage of people who likes to order food from pizza hut. It gives Pizza hut great advantage in fast food market and shows have great brand name impact in fast food market. Pizza hut management told in interview it is their prime objective to be a fast food market leader. 2. How often do you use Pizza Hut Service? 1. Once a week 2. Twice a week or more 3. Once a month 4. Once a year Question two was designed to get the ordering frequency of customer that how often customer order pizza.51 % customers answered once a week. 40 % said twice a week or more. 7 % said once a month. And 2 % said once a year. Researcher found that pizza hut has good loyal customers. As there are more than 50 % customers who order at least once a week. According to Area manager customer order frequency information helps to improve marketing strategy and forecasting. L.R analysis Order frequency 3. What is your preferred way for ordering food? 1. Calling at Pizza hut 2. Walk in 3. Online This question was asked to identify what is the convenient way to place an order. In reply to this question 43% said they prefer order online 40 % peoples likes to order via phone and 17% customers likes to place order in person at pizza hut. Figures clearly show the different trends in customers. Customers have mixed approach towards ordering service but there are 43% customers as compare to 40% and 17 % who use other services. Researcher can withdraw result in the light of above figures that peoples have more trends to order through online service. Operations support manager also told that MICROS helped them to take one step forward it allow pizza hut to introduce online ordering service. Online ordering system is accurate and faster way to place order. (Shanks, Peter B, Leslie P, 2003) pointed out organisations plan to install ERP when they found it is their requirement to upgrade their active operational procedures 4. How you get more information about your required food? 1. Calling at Pizza hut 2. Printed Leaflet 3. Online product description The main purpose of this question was to find out does online ordering service provide enough information regarding product of pizza hut as compare to printed leaflet and calling at pizza hut. So researcher can determine about customer reaction about product information through online system. 67 % people voted that they will get more information via online. 29 % customers said they find more information on printed leaflets. Only 4 % customers agreed that they get more information about product when they call at pizza hut. After collecting primary data it is easy to identify the findings that 67 % customers are agreed that online system provide more information as compare to other product descriptions. Area manager explained in interview that Online system provide product information in detail because it iseasy to update and give product detail information on website as compare to printed brochure. 5. The information on the website is clearly written and easy to understand 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Undecided 4. Agree 5. Strongly Agree This question was designed to understand customer’s respond about information that is available on website regarding product and order. In respond to this question 82% customers strongly agreed. 11 % customers said they are agreed and 7 % customer replied they are undecided. After analysing the primary data researcher found that high percentage of customer 82 % strongly agreed and 11 % are happy that information on the online ordering system website is clearly understandable. This clearly shows that online ordering system is playing good role in pizza hut product understanding. 6. The content of the website is up-to-date? 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Undecided 4. Agree 5. Strongly Agree The aim behind this question was to calculate the accuracy of website offering products as compare to advertising offers and new printed menu. 82% customer strongly agreed that pizza hut website is up to date, 10 % people said they are agree that pizza hut is up to date , 6 % people said they are undecided 2 % people said they are disagree with this statement. Above figures describing that most of the time customers find website up to date. Researcherfinds still 2 % of people are there who said they are not agreed. This is area of concern being a multinational company Pizza hut have to resolve this and the website content should be up to dated for better impact and this is necessary for online system success that all the part of ERP systems in working condition and capable to play their role in organisation services. Southgate Store manager explained this problem as online website is for National level, whilesometimes pizza hut run special offers for local area, and customer find conflict in deals. Area managers described they are working to solve this problem by allowing special discounts for customers. 7. Please rate the ease of navigation of Pizza hut online service 1. Excellent 2. Good 3. Average 4. Poor 5. Very Poor This question was designed to find out the ease of navigation when customers are ordering their food or in between their order and change mind to other product. 61 % customers said the navigation of website is excellent, 31 % said it is good and 6 % said it is average and 2 % said it is poor. There is mixed ratio of answers regarding ease of navigation. Area managers and store managers identified ERP installation helped to improve visuals and navigation through providing intelligent order taking program. Researcher found that online system can be more user friendly to encourage customer for online ordering service. 8. How easy was it to find a particular item you were looking for? 1. Very Easy 2. Somewhat Easy 3. Easy 4. Somewhat Difficult 5. Very Difficult This question is supporting above question and focused particularly on specific item or product.68 % people voted very easy for this question, 21 % said somewhat easy, 9 % said easy and 2 % said somewhat difficult. Pizza hut management explained because of user friendly layout and product detail help to find and select product. Researcher found that 68 % respondent said it is easy to find their required items this shows that online ordering system is really helpful for finding their required product and good for search of items. 9. Please rate the overall content of Pizza hut website. 1. Excellent 2. Good 3. Average 4. Poor 5. Very Poor This question covers generally about accuracy and easiness of the online ordering system. In respond to this question 61 % customer said excellent, 25 % said it is good ,11 % said it is average and 3 % replied it is poor. The statistics illustrate that there is high volume of customers who are satisfied with overall content online ordering website. Pizza hut management identified MICROS online ordering system is on step forward towards better customer service. (Gattiker Goodhue, 2000) Pointed out ERP implementation provides benefits from many angles. 10. How easy was it to modify items in your shopping cart? e.g to change pizza base, 1. Very Easy 2. Somewhat Easy 3. Easy 4. Somewhat Difficult 5. Very Difficult This question was designed to find out the ease of changing order, if a customer wants to change order after deciding final order is it easy to change the final order as compare to other service.37 % customers said very easy, 35 % said somewhat easy and 22 % said it is easy and 4 % said somewhat difficult and 2 % said very difficult. Researcher found that 37 % people found it very easy to change final product this figure is low as compare to above customer’s respond towards online ordering system. This is the area of improvement for online service. In respond to these figures operations support manager told MICROS support team is working to fix problems as they are logged. They always try to provide best possible and user friendly interface to customers and order takers. 11. Was your order complete when you received it? Yes No The main objective of this question was to find out accuracy when order received at pizza hut and processed how accurately it delivered when place through online ordering system. 96 % said yes to this question‘s answer and only 4 % said no. Findings show the accuracy level for online ordering service is good. Where 96% of people said they find complete order. Cheshunt store manager revealed that since they have MICROS online ordering service their store d

Compare and contrast two articles Essay

The articles that I am going to analyse are on the issue of a group of hippies wanting to celebrate the Summer Solstice Festival in June 1986 in Hampshire and how determined police officers were trying to stop them from doing so. Whilst both articles are based on the same issue, their use of language presents two very different viewpoints. Article 3 has a very negative bias against the hippies, describing them as ‘harpies’ and giving biased examples of their attitude towards the police and other people’s property. In the article they are portrayed as ‘harpies’ that spit at policemen. The reader is given the view that the hippies are not civilised and behave like wild animals. Article 4 shows great support towards the hippies and sympathises with them. This is done by using emotive language to create an image of the hippies as victims in society and they are treated badly by an uncaring police force. Both articles use persuasive language to draw the reader’s attention. The clever use of personal pronouns: ‘our’ and ‘we’ in article 3 gives the reader no option but to involve himself in the issue, therefore taking the side of the journalist. In contrast, article 4 does not use negative bias towards the hippies and regards them as poor and lonely people who should be given a chance in human society. The journalist writes his opening word: ‘HUNCHED’ in capital letters and starts the article off with a very strong word, which creates a strong dramatic effect, implying that the hippies are a lower creed of human society who deserve pity and understanding. In article 3 the journalist uses words such as ‘spoiled,’ ‘layabouts’ to produce a very negative bias against the hippies, who, as the sarcastic journalist believes, use and abuse other people’s property. The phrase ‘all at our expense, of course’ is also used to imply that the readers and writer are law-abiding citizens who pay the bill for the situation created. The sympathetic descriptive language used in article 4 such as, ‘child stumbled’ and ‘burrowed deeper into the blanket’ immediately draws the reader into a sympathetic frame of mind. The powerful use of the rhetorical question and the even more moving sub-heading, ‘confusion’ start the article and shows how the writer has opted to persuade the reader’s views to give the hippies a chance. Emotive language in the last sentence reinforces the journalist’s argument that the hippies are on a ‘road of rejection’ because no one has a care in the world towards them. The use of capital letters in the phrase ‘the Child and The Man With Nowhere to Go’ emphasizes the course that the hippies are forced to take and draws the reader’s attention to the fact that these people are nameless makes us aware that they don’t even have the same sense of identity that a name offers to a reader. Article 3 is full of opinions that include the reader, eg. ‘We continue to dole out state benefits to lawbreakers’. The use of ‘dole out’ makes the reader aware of how much money is actually used, or in the view of the writer: wasted on ‘lawbreakers’ these hippies who continue to go against the law but still receive benefits. This creates an image of people who don’t work and still can live, because of their money. This persuades the readers to agree with the journalist’s comments. The article is a follow-on article; it follows an article written earlier on in the week on the same issue. It goes as far as to refer to a newspaper report that social security employs special staff to wander around the country servicing these vagabonds (trampy style robbers who are homeless). This reinforces the opinion that people are needed just to look after these hippies because of their uncertain behaviour. In the fifth paragraph the journalist takes it into his own hands to reply for the policeman, but he does this unfairly (in my opinion) and uses a lot of opinion rather than being fair and using facts. The writers use of ‘resisted the provocation’ implies that the policeman would have intentionally chosen to provoke the hippies but had to resist the temptation to do so. His use of the rhetorical question to end his article invites the reader to give his/her opinion on the issue. Article 4 uses extremely descriptive words to create a vivid image in the mind of the reader. The story about the hippie and the boy only being able to find a dog to generate some form of love and care, immediately implies the saying ‘a dog is a man’s best friend’ the writer intends for the reader to feel guilty. The emotive language draws the reader into the article. The use of the phrase ‘hunched against the wind’ implies not only that the hippies are vulnerable and homeless, but even a natural source like the wind is against them. The involvement of a child in the article immediately produces a sympathetic response from the readers. ‘Land that had briefly been his home’ informs us that they’re homeless and live wherever they can survive. The journalist of article 4 doesn’t give any evidence or use any media sources, as article 3 did. This is probably because of the sympathetic view he has opted to take. Use of ‘confusion’ and ’empty pockets’ tells us that poverty does occur and people around us do struggle to survive the harsh real world. The policeman’s image is defined as ‘impassive’ and implies that he does not care. The use of the word ‘towering’ says that the policeman is of more importance than the hippie and has authority. This is a very sharp contrast to the ‘HUNCHED’ image of the child at the start of the article and shows there is a massive leap from a hippie to a policeman. In paragraph five the repetition of ‘the only’ implies that the hippies value any sort of affection or care shown towards them. A Labrador, a dog, which is regarded as a man’s best friend, insults the adults of society because adults who are supposed to be a mature and sensible group within society can’t help each other and a pet can be better than people sometimes. ‘A confused child, a ragged, hope-crushed man and a friendly old dog,’ the poor and scared descriptions given to the hippies in this sentence reinforces the lifestyles they lead. The final statement ‘All on the Road of Rejection’ reinforces the whole article. These two articles differ and take opposing, but valid views on the issue at stake. Both journalists have used persuasive techniques to manipulate and influence their readers. Both their techniques vary and both journalists write to get a point across. I would like to end my analysis by giving my opinion on this issue. In general I feel both journalists have given valid views on the issue. The journalists make it clear that they have different attitudes and feelings towards the hippies. They are two very well thought-out and clever articles that involve the reader. I thought the techniques used by the journalists are quite clever. I think one of the reasons that the articles were written was to get the readers involved in this particular argument. This was the aim, and I think that both the journalists succeeded in doing so.

Haefren Baum Essay

Haefren Baum is an independent home furnishings retailer associated with Wiegandt that sells high quality furniture. The company began as a partnership in 1965. Haefren Baum became a retailer for Wiegandt in 1968. Two years later, it became a corporate entity. Haefren Baum is located in Cologne, which is one of the most populated and rich cities in Germany. Haefren retails home furnishing from a location downtown Cologne, and three recently constructed stores in Rhineland. Marketing Analysis Located in downtown Cologne Haefren Baum is a high quality retailer, which recently expanded its operations by opening three retail outlet stores in nearby Rhineland suburban areas. The company carries Wiegandt’s high quality furniture whose furniture is heavily advertised. Since the economic condition has not been steady and new competitors are entering the market Haefren Baum had to decrease its prices in order to maintain sales volume, these challenges (competition, economy) caused a decrease in sales by (-21%) between 93,94, a decrease of( -1.24% )between 94,95. Haefren Baum’s products reflect cyclical demand because others seasons did not cause a decline in sales, but instead the economy and competition. The German recession has slowly been improving, but it has not helped the furniture market, and the future does not look very promising for Haefren since they will need to adapt to the growing competition also. Overall, Haefren market position seems to be improving , sales growth will get better but I cannot say that the company will be successful in the future. Operations Analysis Wiegandt provided its retails distributors’ credit on 2% 10 net 30 terms, which is consistent with competitors in the industry. Haefren Baum upper limit on outstanding balances were established on historical furniture order, and they had a limits of DM 60,000. Although the sales of the company have declined significantly their cost of goods sold has remained really high, between 94, 95. There was decline in sales and an increase in cost of  goods sold from $8,189 to $8,237. This is evidence the company is having problems making profit. Haefren needs to address is the delinquency of their customers’ accounts, from 93 to 95, days sales outstanding have increased to 77 days, which is a lot higher than the 30-day monthly installment terms. The company is not stringent in collection efforts but this can be because of the economic condition in Germany. The company does not manage its assets very well. Its decrease in fix asset turnover from 6.98 in 1993 to 5.39 in 1995 can be because of their decrease in sales, but the low total asset turnover which is also decreasing from 2.1 to 1.5 prove that their assets are not being used very efficiently. Since sales are decreasing and competition increases their inventory days has also increased from 103 to 129 which again could cause low price. The company is already experiencing a loss of revenue due to the fact they lowered price because of economic condition. Financial Analysis The company have generated very low operating cash flows, which is caused by a negative net income(16, 55) in 94,95, again with sales going down and cost of goods sold increasing. The company current ratio (2.3, 2.1, 2.5) in 93, 94, 95 are indicating satisfactory but when analyze quick ratio (1.1, 1.1, 1.3), and we also know that sales are down which mean more inventories. Now the account payable days has been increasing (49, 62, and 66). They have been delaying there payment which mean more cash on hand but cost of goods sold is also increasing from $8,189 to $8,237 meaning the cost of increasing APD may be less than the cost of paying that cash earlier and having to borrow the shortfall to continue operations. The gross profit margin is decreasing (36% to 34, 33) and we also know sales been dropping significantly from 93 to 95 this shows that the company cannot control cost inventories and to pass along price increase through sales to customers. The operating profit margin is also dropping significantly from (5.1%, 1.8, and 1.5) we can definitely see that the firm is not efficient. The company has not improved its operating margin; apparently the company was not able to control the growth of operating expenses while sale is decreasing. Net profit margin is decreasing and negative this is because of decreasing sales, poor customer experience, inadequate expense management and also  because of the hardship in German economy. If we analyses cash flow margin it is (-0.01, 0.02), the company is not able to translate sales into cash. The company’s ROE is declining (-1.4 ), it signals that customers are no longer willing to pay for its products as they were in the past. It could be because new competition or economic condition. ROA is also declining (1.6, -1.5 ) again this mean profitability is deteriorating, with cash flow from operating activities declining and total asset increasing, the company is not showing any sign of cash generating abilities. With total liabilities going up for years 93 to 95 (6914, 7786, and 7887) and equity with negative retained earnings, the company is financing with debt, specifically with account payable, note payable. The company takes longer to pay their creditor, paying high interest rates. Since operating earnings are not more than sufficient to cover the fixed charges associated with debt, the company relies on financial leverage. The company is showing a riskier capital structure since debt equity ratio is (5.8, 9, and 8). Both the profit margin and the asset turnover are lower in (93, 94, and 95). The combination of increased debt (financial leverage) and the improvement in profitability did not occur and asset utilization has not produced an improved overall return in 94 relative to the previous years. Specifically, the firm has added debt to finance capital asset. Debt carries more risk and added cost in the form of interest expense, it also has the positive benefit of financial leverage when employed successfully, which is could be the case for Haefren. There was no improvement in inventory management and has impacted the firm negatively and showing no improvement to total asset turnover ratio. The company’s ability to control operating costs while sales decrease during economic condition has not improved the net profit margin. The overall return on investment is not improving as a result of these combined factors. Summary The findings from the analysis of Haefren financial statements can be summarized from an industry outlook; company’s well-positioned geographically but economy hardship make it difficult to benefit from expected economic and industry growth. The company has aggressive marketing and expansion strategies. There was no recent improvement in management of accounts receivable and inventory. The company did not successfully use of  financial leverage and solid coverage of debt service requirements. Substantially sales dropped significantly, partially resulting from market competition and economic condition. The company did not increased profitability in 1994 or positive generation of cash flow from operations. In general, the outlook for the company could be promising. Haefren appears to be in credit risk with attractive investment potential. The management of inventories, cost controls, and receivable will play an important to the company future success.