Monday, September 30, 2019

Money Transfer in Ghana Case Study

The introduction of mobile money service is taking place in isolation but in parallel with the advent and expansion of other financial electronic payments services. One of these is E-Zwich, an electronic platform that enables the loading and spending of electronic cash and also allows the settlement of inter-bank claims in addition to online transactions. Others are being made available over the Internet and through SMS-text messages. The government regards these services as banking. They are strictly regulated and licensed by the Central Bank- Bank of Ghana under its branchless banking policy. Both MTN and ZAIN SIM cards are enabled to utilize the service but each new subscriber needs to register for the service at before it is activated. Upon activation, the user is provided with a secure electronic â€Å"wallet† where funds can be disbursed or uploaded. The users can either exchange electronic money for physical cash (cash out) at shops, partner banks and accredited agents or make use of it in making purchases or transfers. Enabling a Cash Flow to Rural Areas In general, the most popular mobile money service is money transfer. The trend is for users in urban areas to transfer funds to recipients in rural areas. Traditionally in Ghana, city dwellers often send money to members of their extended family living in rural areas. Other typical services include the purchase of mobile phone airtime, goods and services through electronic transfer of money from user's wallet to the merchant's account. Commenting on money transfer via mobile phones, Carl NiikoiAshie, an mcommerce (mobile commerce) specialist at Zain who works on ZAP, said: â€Å"The customers can ‘cash in' by loading money onto their ZAP wallet, then send the money to someone else on their phone in a simple process. The person receiving the money can ‘cash out' by going to any of our outlets and exchanging the evalue for physical cash. We're seeing tremendous growth in the service across the country, with more cash-in done in the major cities while cash-outs are seen predominantly in the smaller towns. † Ashie sees a lot of evidence that his product is reaching Ghana's unbanked. â€Å"Users do not need to have a bank account to use the service. Currently, there are a lot of monetary transactions that take place outside the confines of the banks and it will take a product like ZAP to fill the void while providing a secure, convenient and trustworthy channel of transaction,† said Ashie. â€Å"Some customers have also requested products that will allow them to use their ZAP wallets for savings and hence enjoy interest on their savings, just as pertains in the traditional bank setting. † Today, consumers have a variety of ways to send and receive funds or money transfers. Although using cash to send a money transfer is the most popular method for most people, more and more people want additional options: to send and/or receive funds on the internet, over the phone, and now, on their mobile phones. Mobile money transfer is simply another way to send money. It is a transfer of money to a receiver in which the funds are deposited into a mobile or â€Å"virtual† wallet. As the number of mobile phone subscribers in Ghana increases, so does the market for mobile money services. The majority of Ghanaians lack any formal bank account. mobile money could change the shape of financial transactions in the country. An estimated 80 percent of Ghanaians are â€Å"unbanked† – meaning they conduct their transactions outside the banking sector with no access to financial services. Products like â€Å"mobile money,† that enable safe and secure money transfers without the use of a bank account, could have a major impact on this unserved segment of the population. Mobile money gives anyone with a mobile phone the ability to transfer money, make cash payments and conduct other financial transactions over the phone. Mobile money is a relatively new phenomenon in Ghana. It was first introduced by the telecom company MTN some years ago. MTN Mobile Money operates in partnership with nine banks. Currently, more than 2 million Ghanaians are registered as active users. MTN expects this number to grow as a result of the resources they have committed to educating subscribers about switching from the traditional mode of cash payments to electronic payments. Earlier this year, Zain became the second mobile operator to provide mobile money services through the introduction of ZAP, working with three banks. The coverage and accessibility that mobile services provide is of increasing interest to the financial services sector. Countries are considering mobile technology to reduce the cost of delivering financial services to clients beyond the reach of traditional financial services. ECONOMIC BENEFITS Mobile money transfer has some socio-economic benefits in Ghana, some these are Firstly Improved Financial Access, consider a situation whereby a given business has to carry out a common payment operation, such as bill payment or funds transfer, and that operation demands transportation with all inconveniences attached to it. If the same transportation cost were paid to a service that would effect the same payment on behalf of the company over the mobile phone instead, this more convenient method brings about saving time and energy for other activities, in so doing increasing productivity by performing two tasks instead of one at the end of the day. It appears, therefore, that using your mobile phone to make payments represents to a very large extent convenience taken to another level. By exploiting the extensive reach of mobile networks, the mobile industry has the opportunity to complement and extend remittance channels, make transferring money significantly more convenient and also bring many people into the formal banking system. With more than 15,000,000 mobile phone subscribers in Ghana, the potential market for these new services is significant. Mobile money presents certain advantages for Ghanaians without access to banks. Penetration of mobile services across the world is increasing rapidly. In 1990 there were just over 11m mobile phone users worldwide. Today, over 3 billion consumers own mobile phones. At the same time, the possibility to technically integrate mobile and financial services is becoming increasingly apparent. A recent survey conducted by Edgar Dunn & Company and the GSM Association (GSMA) predicts that, given an improved regulatory environment, in 2012 7% of the subscriber base in developed countries and 4% in developing countries will initiate at least one cross-border remittance. This equates to just over 248 million consumers in 2012 using mobile money transfer services. Financial access for the poor is still an issue in many developing countries. There are currently approximately only 0. 5 million bank branches globally with only 1. 4 million ATM's compared to over 3 billion mobile customers worldwide. The mobile device has the potential to extend access to financial services for the banked, but also for the under-served and unbanked parts of the population. This improved, financial access can be achieved by exploiting the extensive reach of mobile networks. Traditional remittance channels can be complemented and extended with mobile money transfer services. Thus making mobile money transfers significantly more convenient, bringing many remittances from informal channels into the formal system. Secondly it reduces the transaction cost of money transfers. Bank transfers and specialist remittance companies can be prohibitively expensive for small denomination transfers, limiting the ability of individual workers to distribute funds to a larger number of people and penalizing those sending small amounts. Retail premises and staff costs increase overheads, leading to high commissions, especially for remittances below ghc100. It drastically cuts down the cost of providing service to customers. A study carried out proved that there is a substantial cut in customer care cost. This results from the fact that mobile money transfer eliminates the need for costly call centers and frees up customer service help desk. In addition real-time information is provided to customers and employees. Using a mobile platform such as SMS fro simple task as payment reminders and funds transfer can reduce the burden on IT and personal resources. This has also been found to reduce cost and errors associated with paper-base operations. Significant reduction in operational costs means additional revenues can be invested in other areas of the business. Mobile technology can lower the cost of remittances as it removes the need for physical points of presence and ensures a timely and secure method of transaction. This concept of ‘mobile money' is extremely attractive to low income users in particular Mobile money transfer services can make remittances more affordable. Mobile technology lowers the cost of remittances as it removes the need for physical points of presence by banks and ensures a timely and secure method of transaction. This concept of ‘mobile money' is extremely attractive to low income users in particular. It reduces the transaction costs of financial services for the poor, especially those in rural areas where financial services seldom exist. Mobile money saves the cost of travel and time spent visiting the nearest town to access financial services. As noted in AudienceScapes research, mobile money provides people with a way to transfer money safely and keep (or even increase) their savings. From the customers’ perspective, mobile banking is relatively easy to use, and this is another advantage compared to traditional means of banking as well as electronic banking, given the fact that text messaging has become a common application of mobile phones. Thirdly mobile money transfers drive growth and development. Mobile money has the potential to create jobs directly through hiring in the mobile phone companies, partner banks and the more than 4,000 merchants involved in Ghana's mobile money system. Key partners in the provision of mobile money services include commercial banks, mobile phone operator's shops, distributor shops and accredited agents. Jobs may be created indirectly as mobile money contributes to growth in Ghana's business and trade. If deployed successfully, mobile money could help individuals harness funds outside the banking system and channel them into the formal financial sector, thus making it easier to gather funds for investments. Not surprisingly, the general manager of Mobile Money-MTN, Bruno Akpaka, sees many benefits for Ghana as it continues adopting this service. Akpaka believes mobile money will â€Å"help trade activities within the country and foster strong business partnerships. † â€Å"The creation of wide merchant footprints in places where traditional banks cannot go also contributes to bringing people into this new model of financial transactions,† said Akpaka. â€Å"MTN Mobile Money is bridging this existing huge gap between the unbanked and the financial sector. † Mobile-financial convergence creates socio-economic benefits. It is widely accepted, that increased access to mobile telephony in developing countries brings considerable benefits to the economies of the respective countries. It is estimated that an extra 10 mobile phones per 100 people in a typical developing country lead to an extra 0. 89 – 1. 210 percentage points of growth in GDP per person. In addition, remittances are an important engine for growth and development in developing countries. The World Bank estimates that reducing remittance commission charges by 2-5% could increase the flow of formal remittances by 50-70%, boosting local economies. Reducing the cost of sending each individual remittance would encourage the delivery of lower value remittances, at smaller values than today's average transfer of ghc200. Financial regulators have the opportunity to use the development of mobilefinancial convergence to achieve their aims: ? ? ? ? New services offered to consumers, i. e. mobile money transfer services (innovation) Cheaper prices through more efficient use of the mobile infrastructure (competition) Across all consumer groups (banked, under-banked, unbanked) Transition remittances from informal to formal remittance channels (more visibility of money flows) Both the mobile and the financial industry benefit from this opportunity to cooperate in new ways providing innovative services to an increased customer base. The challenges facing the market. Access Access to the facilities to receive money is often limited, particularly for the poorest people in more rural areas where the banking sector is under represented and a largely cash-based economy exists. There are currently approximately only 0. 5 million bank branches globally with only 1. 4 million ATM's compared to almost 2 billion mobile customers worldwide. Those who would benefit the most are therefore the least likely to benefit from remittances from migrant workers, locked out of their market through their social, economic and geographical position. Cost Bank transfers and specialist remittance companies are prohibitively expensive for small denomination transfers, limiting the ability of individual workers to distribute funds to a larger number of people and penalising the poor who can only afford to send small amounts. Retail premises and staff costs increase overheads, leading to a high fixed commission cost per remittance with industry revenues estimated at an average 15% per transaction, increasing to over 25% for remittances below ghc100. Handset operability There are a large number of different mobile phone devices and it is a big challenge for banks to offer mobile banking solution on any type of device. Some of these devices support Java ME and others support SIM Application Toolkit, a WAP browser, or only SMS. Initial interoperability issues however have been localized, with countries like Ghana using portals like R-World to enable the limitations of low end java based phones, while focus on areas such as South Africa have defaulted to the USSD as a basis of communication achievable with any phone. The desire for interoperability is largely dependent on the banks themselves, where installed applications (Java based or native) provide better security, are easier to use and allow development of more complex capabilities similar to those of internet banking while SMS can provide the basics but becomes difficult to operate with more complex transactions. There is a myth that there is a challenge of interoperability between mobile banking applications due to perceived lack of common technology standards for mobile banking. In practice it is too early in the service lifecycle for interoperability to be addressed within an individual country, as very few countries have more than one mobile banking service provider. In practice, banking interfaces are well defined and money movements between banks follow the IS0-8583 standard. As mobile banking matures, money movements between service providers will naturally adopt the same standards as in the banking world. Security Security of financial transactions, being executed from some remote location and transmission of financial information over the air, are the most complicated challenges that need to be addressed jointly by mobile application developers, wireless network service providers and the banks' IT departments. The following aspects need to be addressed to offer a secure infrastructure for financial transaction over wireless network: 1. Physical part of the hand-held device. If the bank is offering smart-card based security, the physical security of the device is more important. 2. Security of any thick-client application running on the device. In case the device is stolen, the hacker should require at least an ID/Password to access the application. 3. Authentication of the device with service provider before initiating a transaction. This would ensure that unauthorized devices are not connected to perform financial transactions. 4. User ID / Password authenticationof bank’s customer. 5. Encryptionof the data being transmitted over the air. 6. Encryption of the data that will be stored in device for later / off-line analysis by the customer. One-time password(OTPs) are the latest tool used by financial and banking service providers in the fight againstcyber fraud . Instead of relying on traditional memorized passwords, OTPs are requested by consumers each time they want to perform transactions using the online or mobile banking interface. When the request is received the password is sent to the consumer’s phone via SMS. The password is expired once it has been used or once its scheduled life-cycle has expired. Because of the concerns made explicit above, it is extremely important that SMS gateway providers can provide a decent quality of service for banks and financial institutions in regards to SMS services. Therefore, the provision of service level agreements (SLAs) is a requirement for this industry; it is necessary to give the bank customer delivery guarantees of all messages, as well as measurements on he speed of delivery, throughput, etc. SLAs give the service parameters in which a messaging solution is guaranteed to perform. Scalability & Reliability Another challenge for the CIOs and CTOs of the banks is to scale-up the mobile banking infrastructure to handle exponential growth of the customer base. With mobile banking, the customer may be sitting in any part of the world (true anytime, anywhere banking) and hence banks need to ensure that the systems are up and running in a true 24 x 7 fas hion. As customers will find mobile banking more and more useful, their expectations from the solution will increase. Banks unable to meet the performance and reliability expectations may lose customer confidence. There are systems such as Mobile Transaction Platform which allow quick and secure mobile enabling of various banking services. Recently in India there has been a phenomenal growth in the use of Mobile Banking applications, with leading banks adopting Mobile Transaction Platform and the Central Bank publishing guidelines for mobile banking operations. Application distribution Due to the nature of the connectivity between bank and its customers, it would be impractical to expect customers to regularly visit banks or connect to a web site for regular upgrade of their mobile banking application. It will be expected that the mobile application itself check the upgrades and updates and download necessary patches (so called â€Å"Over The Air† updates). However, there could be many issues to implement this approach such as upgrade / synchronization of other dependent components. Conclusion. For customers and businesses in the country, it is a unique platform to bring convenience in financial transactions to customers, an area which before this period had been beyond our domain and reach for those of us in Ghana and most of Africa. For the customer, its time and cost saving elements cannot be over emphasized and the earlier we adopt electronic ways of financial transactions, the better it will be for a whole society that would see a transformation, resulting from the ability to cut down on time lost accessing basic services like funds transfer amongst businesses and individuals.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Marketing Research- Starbucks vs. Coffee Beans Essay

Market segmentation is defined as the process of dividing a market into distinct subsets of consumers with common needs or characteristics and selecting one or more segments to target with a distinct marketing mix (Schiffman, Bednall, Cowley, O’Cass, Watson and Kanuk, 2001). Different companies have different abilities that enable them to serve their target market better, which is why some companies choose to focus much of their attention to specific segments. Starbucks primarily chooses to focus on the demographics, psychographics and lifestyle of their customers. It is with the information gathered regarding these segments that Starbucks can better serve its customers. Demographics are things such as age, sex, marital status, education, occupation and income. Starbucks targets both males and females, mainly 18-30 year olds, but really does cater for everybody’s needs. And because young children don’t usually drink coffee, Starbucks offers a range of non-coffee beverages to cater for the whole family. Hanging out in Starbucks gives the impression of being very with it and most of the people you see sitting in the stores exude a certain coolness and give off the image of having some sort of social status, with lots of money to spare. Starbucks customers are mainly in their final years of high school, in university or just starting to work. But whatever it is, they all have had a good education, and if they do have a job, it almost certainly includes a big income as well. Demographics help to locate a target market and this information is often the most accessible and cost effective way to identify a target market (Schiffman et al, 2001). Even though factors such as personality and behaviour are often first used to define a market segment, the consumer’s demographic characteristics must be known in order to assess the size of the target market and to reach it efficiently (Schiffman et al, 2001). Psychographics are based on the consumer’s activities, interests and opinions, so it’s basically how they spend their time, what their preferences and priorities are and how they feel about events and issues. Psychographic research is closely related to psychological research, and  especially when it comes to personality and attitude measurement. This form of applied consumer research has proved to be a valuable marketing tool that helps identify consumer segments that are likely to be responsive to specific marketing messages (Schiffman et al, 2001). Starbucks is very heavily involved in charity and the arts, and is making significant efforts to be a socially and environmentally responsible company. For example, Starbucks actively participates in AIDS benefits, and for every city that has a store, Starbucks sets up at least one shelter for the underprivileged children and donates money as well. By participating in various different positive causes and events, Starbucks gains a lot of favourable exposure. Starbucks has sponsored the Special Olympics, the hip Lilith Fair music festival, the Chicago Jazz Festival, the International Film Festival in Washington DC and the Museum of Contemporary Art in LA. Just by looking at these examples, we can see that Starbucks aims to target and reach people who are generous and charitable, as well as people who like to have fun and enjoy the creative and entertaining side of life. Starbucks also has a strong commitment to the environment and the company’s policy to recycle and conserve wherever possible is exemplified by the 10% discount it provides to customers who reduce waste by using their own mugs or refillable coffee bags. Starbucks offers these discounts to help stimulate environmental responsibility amongst its customers. As Starbucks grows and reaches new markets, the company has made a commitment to continue to be a strong supporter of non-profit organisations and events in all communities. Consumer research has found evidence that within each of the social classes there is a constellation of specific lifestyle factors (shared beliefs, attitudes, activities and behaviours) that tend to distinguish the members of each class from the members of each class from the members of all other social classes (Schiffman et al, 2001). Starbucks sells a lifestyle, to both customers and employees, and has followed the successful examples of other big corporations such as Coke, Nike and Sony by linking its brand with all things â€Å"cool† and â€Å"in†. Starbucks has created a style and ambience that has infused a certain new  chic and appeal into coffee, an age-old beverage, making it the hippest drink of today. Starbucks chooses to associate itself with all things bustling, active and vigourous. That is why locations of all the stores are carefully selected for convenience and Starbucks specifically targets places that are heavy with pedestrian street traffic. Some of the places that you would find a Starbucks, either in the form of a large store or a just a small kiosk (both ideal for just popping in for a quick take away coffee or for a nice light lunch break) would be at shopping centres, airport terminals and supermarket foyers, which are all places that are always hectic and filled to the brim with people who have busy lifestyles and are always on the go. Starbucks competes directly against specialty coffees sold at retail through supermarkets, specialty retails, and a growing number of other specialty coffee stores. In addition, Starbucks competes for whole bean coffee sales with franchise operators and independent specialty coffee stores. In virtually every major metropolitan area were Starbucks operates and expects to expand there are local or regional competitors with substantial market presence in the specialty coffee business. But Starbucks’ biggest competitor in the coffee industry is the Coffee Bean. Coffee Bean was started by Herbert B. Hyman in 1963 in California and became the pioneers in retailing whole bean coffee and loose tea leaves. Coffee Bean are the oldest importers, roasters and multi retailers of specialty coffee and tea in the United States. Like Starbucks, Coffee Bean offers a diverse range of original coffee, ice blends and roast styles as well as four varieties of daily brews including flavoured pre-ground coffee. Another similarity with Starbucks is that Coffee Bean also has a large offering of food and beverages that appeal to all age groups from all walks of life. In terms of needs, motivation and personality, Coffee Bean is all about building meaningful and respectful relationships with customers by finding or concocting a flavour for them. Coffee Bean will also toast your bagels, heat your pastries and personalise and custom make the drink or blend just  the way you would like it. With perception, Coffee Bean is a big believer in teamwork (just like Starbucks) as they feel that success is achieved by working together. Coffee Bean staff are friendly, and maintain amicable relationships between customers and each other. The employees have respect for each other’s values, opinions and individual personalities and are honest and truthful to themselves and each other. Another similarity with Starbucks is that Coffee Bean is actively involved with helping communities and make it their mission to develop the most complete community based programs around. As well as donating gift baskets, gift certificates, coupons, coffees and teas, Coffee Bean will gladly consider a donation to any organisation for various charitable events that directly benefit local community programs and local schools. Due to the phenomenal growth of the international coffee market, Coffee Bean has decided to solely concentrate on international franchises at the moment. Unlike Starbucks, who have a target mass market being the United States, most of the Coffee Bean outlets are in Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Taiwan etc.) and the Middle East (Israel, United Arab Emirates, Dubai etc.) Unlike Coffee Bean, Starbucks does not personalise their coffees or have different products to suit different countries’ tastes. Coffee Bean offers more food meals (pastas, soups,) and not only light meals (sandwiches, pastries, desserts) like Starbucks. Starbucks allows other distributors to sell its coffee, but Coffee Bean does not and Starbucks is affiliated with things such as the Herald Sun Newspaper and Hear Music. And the main advantage that Starbucks has over Coffee Bean is it’s effective use of celebrity appeal, which is a form of reference group

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Data Collection Relating to Personal Information and Purchase Behaviours †a Consumer Perspective

Data collection relating to personal information and purchase behaviours – a consumer perspective. Every individual to a certain percentage values their privacy. Differentiating factors amongst various individuals could be their cultural background, social environment, literacy and general awareness amongst others. Advancements in technology leading to development of secret cameras for instantaneous photographs, discount cards that store your purchase information, and scanners, have also contributed to this invasion of privacy. Database marketing assist marketers to record actual purchase behaviours of customers and hence help them monitor and tailor their promotions towards the customer’s interests. Also on the internet a customer is required to fill in certain information before they can make their purchases online. This in turn forms the basis of data capturing by the retailers; these information could be sold to marketers for their promotion purposes. Sheehan and Hoy, (2000) suggests that if customers are compensated for the use of their data, it could make them see the infringement in another way, and they may not likely term it as a privacy invasion. Such is in the case of discount cards which are data capturing instruments, but give customer a certain percentage of discount to compensate for their unknowing loss of anonymity. Consumer demography and correlation with privacy concerns Many researches carried out on this topic, though limited has shown some interesting views. The findings of Wang and Petrison (1993) for example and some other researchers are summarised below: – older people showed more concern about financial privacy than younger ones; – younger people were more aware that their data were being collected than older people – younger ones were more concerned about the benefits they would derive from giving out such information; – coloured people were less concerned; – inner city residents were less concerned; lower than average income earners were less concerned about their privacy information, but paid more attention to the compensation attached; – high income earners have more awareness and are more concerned about their privacy; – females exhibit more concern than males about their consumer privacy issues. (Graeff & Harmon, 2002). Many people find it quite easier to produce many demographic data such as age, marital status, occupation and education than to produce that which deals with the ir finances, health and criminal records. But this also depends on to whom the information is revealed and how it would be used. For example, if you are opening a checking/loan account with BankPHB plc where I work, you may be required to give details of your financial statement, personal income/pay slip, a utility bill showing evidence of your residence, your social security number or national identification number as the case may be, your health/life insurance policy and so many more in case you want access to a loan. Data of such private information could be given out to law enforcement agencies should the individual be suspected of having any involvement in money laundering or other criminal offences. Usually medical records are produced by job applicants at the point of entry for screening purposes. Consumer behaviour as regards online purchases and privacy. On internet purchases many people do not feel comfortable giving out their credit card details online, while some are just not bothered about it, but research has shown that less than a quarter of internet users feel insecure with credit card online purchases and more people prefer to use it in stores, or for telephone purchases (Graeff & Harmon, 2002). Most people do not know how their data is used and even when they do know, it seldom influences their purchasing behaviour, especially if they are high income earners, such that they still go about their normal purchasing. Consumers feel they ought to be informed and have control on how marketers use information about their buying habits; some also feel that government should regulate such uses (Graeff & Harmon, 2002). Although legal sanctions for misuse of consumer information are now in place, many marketers still ignore this and continue the practise. But it is inevitable that marketers must put a balance between their quest for information from market researches and making their customers feel comfortable doing business with them. Thearling (1998) in his work on data mining technology condemns the violation of the customer’s right to privacy of his information. For instance if you give your details solely for the purpose of making a credit card purchase and it is used for any other secondary purpose such as data mining, then it is a serious offence. The primary purpose of data collection must be clearly understood by the customer, with an option to opt out of the disclosure of such data in place. He gave an example of the CVS drug store who continually called customers up when their subscription was due for the use of Elensys. Obviously they got the data through data mining of patients’ medical data from hospitals or previous purchases. Personally, I feel this issue should be deeply addressed and should be sanctionable to make consumers more comfortable doing their businesses without fear of losing their privacy. References: Graeff, T. R. and Harmon S. (2002) Collecting and using personal data: Consumers’ awareness and concerns. Journal of Consumer Marketing. Vol. 19 No. 4 pp302-318. Available from: http://www. emeraldinsight. com. ezproxy. liv. c. uk/0736-3761. htm Accessed: September 10, 2009. Thearling, K. (1998) Data Mining and Piracy: A conflict in the making? Available online from: http://www. thearling. com/text/dsstar/privacy. htm/ Accessed 16th September 2009. Sheehan, K. B. and Hoy, M. G. (2000), â€Å"Dimensions of privacy concern among online consumers†. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. Vol. 19 No. 1. pp 62-73. Wang, P. and Petrison, L. A. (1993), â€Å"Direct marketi ng activities and personal privacy†. Journal of Direct Marketing. Vol. 7 No. 1, pp 7-19.

Friday, September 27, 2019

ABC at Scotty Accents Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

ABC at Scotty Accents Company - Case Study Example This has been proven in the case of Scotty Accents where one costing system - absorption costing indicates that the production of Brass was not as profitable as Chrome while the other – activity based costing (ABC) indicates that it is the other way around. Therefore, different costing methods provide different results and can lead to different decisions being taken in terms of pricing and product mix. This problem is known as product-cost cross-subsidization where the over-costing of one product in Scotty Accents case leads to under-costing of the other product (Horngren et al 136). 2.0 IDENTIFICATION OF KEY BACKGROUND INFORMATION The income statement that has been generated at November 2011 indicates that the Chrome model kitchen taps which was just introduced generates a higher net income than the Brass model which the company has been manufacturing for over seven years. However, the decision to concentrate marketing resources on the Chrome model and begin the process of ph asing out the Brass model should not be taken at this time. The reason is that a calculation produced by the controller Jimmy Nader who proposes another costing system (ABC) indicates that the Chrome model is less profitable. While I understand the concern expressed by the president, decisions on what to produce and the quantities to produce should be based on a system that generates reliable information. Not all activities are driven by volume and so it is easier to identify costs based on activities associated with a product. This method identifies activities such as soldering, shipments, quality control, purchase orders, machine power and machine set-ups. The cost objects – Brass and Chrome are then assigned costs based on the activities that relate to their production. Each activity has its own cost allocation base and in this case the cost allocation base for soldering is the number of solder points; for shipments – number of shipments; quality control – nu mber of inspections; purchase orders – number of orders; machine power – machine hours; and machine set-ups – number of set-ups. Although, Nader admits that there are shortcomings with the allocation base for some of the activities that is the best that could be done at this time. ABC is a very objective measure but Mason wants some subjectivity to be introduced in order to suit her desires. However, this is the first time that Chrome has been introduced and the process can be refined to gain efficiency improvements in the production of this model. ABC is a widely recommended approach that has the advantage of identifying causally related cost drivers. In fact, some of the advantages include: ABC places emphasis on individual activities as main cost objects – each activity having a specific purpose (Horngren et al. 140) Higher levels of accuracy can be achieved using ABC since the method involves calculating the cost of each activity and assigning costs b ased on the activity which led to the production of the item (Horngren et al. 140) ABC systems facilitate more favorable pricing and product-mix decisions (Horngren et al 136) Process improvement and product design can be facilitated so that decisions relating to cost control can be made

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Summarizing for the exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Summarizing for the exam - Essay Example Similarly the case study conducted by the Carlo, Lyyntines and Boland suggest that the organizations when view the IT systems as socio-technical systems, they tend to mitigate the risks of change through the combination of social/technical actors. This change process can be described through various models which take on to define how change in the organization takes place. For example, Kurt Lewin suggested a 3 stage model which comprehend the process of change into three stages whereas the model by Gleciher suggest that strong organizational dissatisfaction, vision for the future and taking immediate and tactical actions when exceed the amount of resistance for change than there will be a meaningful change within the organization. The five cognitive processes defined in the case study by Carlo, Lyyntines and Boland also suggest the same proximity with this model as the preoccupation with the failure and underspecificaion of the structure suggest the change process to tackle the risks . It must also be noted that the changes within the organizations take place mostly due to the internal and external risks faced by the organization. While changes take place within the organizations due to external and internal risks however these risks arise due to certain drivers which bring change in the organizations. These key drivers of change can vary accordingly however technology remains one of the key variables in the process of brining in change. It is through the so called disruptive technology that the change is comprehended which necessitate the paradigm shift for the organizations. Business Process re-engineering is therefore a planned and readymade response from the organizations to embarrass the change. Through Business Process Re-engineering, there occurs a fundamental re-think of the organizational processes and other systems and procedures including people. The case study by the Carlo, Lyyntines

Managing Physical and Mental Health Challenges Essay

Managing Physical and Mental Health Challenges - Essay Example According to the report  cognitive disabilities basically affect one’s intellectual capacity and     affects performance in education. Mental health in simple terms is absence of a mental disorder and physical health is the general wellbeing of the body. Cognitive disability is detected by intellectual capacity, academic ability and adaptive conduct. To measure the intellectual capacity, an intelligence test is run. An intelligence test is any of a number of tests designed to measure a person’s mental skills Academic performance can be measured by communication skills and academic readiness of the person.From this study it is clear that mental health and physical wellbeing can be affected by cognitive disability. When one is confirmed to have cognitive disability, then they end up having a difficult time interacting socially which in turn affects them psychologically. Psychological effects end up causing anxiety and depression which in turn makes people to seek di fferent ways to cope. Stacey deals with her problems by self mutilation which causes physical problems. If Stacey is confirmed to have cognitive disability, then the choice on the way forward is left to the parents but if she doesn’t have any cognitive disability, then she can make sober decisions on her own .This is according to the Nursing and Midwifery code of conduct.  Stacey needs to go through a series of counseling and psychiatric treatment to make her learn how to open up and also to stop her from inflicting injury on herself.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

SLP - 5 ENTRY INTERNATIONAL MARKET SELECTION AND MARKET Essay

SLP - 5 ENTRY INTERNATIONAL MARKET SELECTION AND MARKET - Essay Example This study looks into the entry strategies that the company employs in new markets, especially the strategies that the company used in selecting the Chinese market. According to Wang (2008), coco cola entered the Chinese market in 1979 and ever since has been one of the most trusted brands in China China is one of the largest economies in the world, with its market dominating in the world market system. Every company would like to have a link with Chinese economy due to various economic factors. Coca cola in this case has used its internationalization approach to thrust its brands into the Chinese market with a characteristic transitional organization that integrated a responsive framework with the global entry strategy. It is important to note that the major strategy that the company used, as described by Wang (2008), is that achieving high expansion using the economies of scale principle and adopting to the needs of the Chinese. In the end of every marketing program, the company is known to establish an independently owned foreign subsidiary. One of the major experiences of the company in China is that, as stated by Piercy (2009), at some point, the transaction costs of executing, enforcing and writing contracts in a foreign country through the market may be higher than the cost of internationalizing the market. In this case, therefore, the company has opted to use its internationalization approach to expand its product niches to the extreme regions of Chinese market. Based on the company’s long history in China, the company has experienced myriad competition from like-companies in the highly versatile Chinese local market environment (Wang, 2008). The company has gained many experiences and marketing ability that does exceeds external circumstances hence its survival in the Chinese market thereby capturing the largest beverage market share among the multinational

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

FIN 300 - Principles of Finance for the Private Sector 1-8 Essay

FIN 300 - Principles of Finance for the Private Sector 1-8 - Essay Example 2009). Current ratio is obtained by dividing current assets by current liabilities while quick ratio is obtained the same way only that inventory is eliminated from current assets since it takes time to convert to cash. The two ratios indicate the level of liquidity and hence they help to maintain the required liquidity for retailers (Phillips et al. 2009). The higher the ratios the stronger liquidity is. Phillips, M. D., Volker, J. X., Anderson, S. J. (2009). A behavioral comparison of financial ratios for different size privately-held retail and service businesses. Journal of Behavioral Studies in Business, 1(1), 1-7. Residual value estimated is normally the amount that can be realized if the asset was to be sold after its useful life. However, most organizations take the estimated residual value to be zero. This method allocates equal amount to each year. Present value is the current value of a given future value of money or cash flow streams (Chiu2010). Compounding is process of finding the future value when the present value is given while discounting if the process of finding the present value when the future value is given. Gollier (2010) discusses the following differences. Future value of a lump sum is higher than future value of an annuity given similar factors. This is because the lump sum amount earns interest in all the periods while not all the annuities earn interest for the entire period. Long term bonds are those ones that have a longer maturity period. Interest rates are used as discounting rates in calculating the value of a bond. An increase in interest rate therefore reduces the value of a bond and this is a risk called interest rate risk. Short term bonds have a shorter maturity period and a fluctuation in interest affects income hence reinvestment risk. The value of a corporate bond is determined through the fundamental theory, where the value is the present value of the

Monday, September 23, 2019

Contemporary Issues in Financial Services Essay

Contemporary Issues in Financial Services - Essay Example These factors can be consumed in the present time or utilized with an aim of producing in the future. Economic activity is taken as real because real resources are utilized to come up with new products that can be bought and used. On the other hand, the financial system mainly focuses on either circulating funds around to enable people buy goods and services or assist people exchange ownership of resources vital for production purposes. It is worth mentioning that activities of the real economy are vital for human survival. The real economy is responsible for the production of consumer goods, food, lighting, heating, and entertainment to mention but a few (Mankiw 2008, p.162). The role of the financial system is to facilitate the production of such goods by ensuring that funds are available when needed. Therefore, the structure of the financial system comes to the fore since it would offer alternative financing windows. These institutions provide an avenue through which large or smal l manufacturing sectors can access finance, which would boost production. The role undertaken by the financial system in coordinating economic activities, which includes the cost of finance, profitable investment outlets, and availability of investment funds, has a direct relationship with the structure of the financial system. ... However, it appears that most economists are in agreement that a link exists between the financial system and the real economy (Burton & Brown 2009, p317). The structure and role of the financial system The financial system is made of financial institutions and financial markets. Examples of the financial institutions include the banking system (banking institutions and the central bank), and non-bank financial institutions (insurance and pension funds). The financial markets are made of foreign exchange markets and money markets, capital markets, which include bond markets, private debt securities, public debt securities, and equity markets, and the derivatives markets. The current literature work has not fully addressed the issue of the role and structure of the financial system essential in facilitating and sustaining growth. There are two general agreements in relation to the role and structure of financial systems; first, countries with good working banks and financial markets c an increase their growth pace. Secondly, better functioning financial systems reduce the burden on external financing, which hinder firm and industrial expansion (Mordi 2010, p.8). Role played by the financial sector in the economy A crucial role that the financial sector plays within an economy in the facilitation of growth is the reduction of enforcement, information, and transaction costs. This function is achieved through a number of unique functions performed by the financial sector. Therefore, the financial sector has some basic functions that include provision of efficient modes of payment for the whole economy, and intermediary between lenders and borrowers. The

Sunday, September 22, 2019

John D. Rockefeller Essay Example for Free

John D. Rockefeller Essay John D. Rockefeller was born July 8th, 1893, in New York. Even from an early stage in John’s life, he had a great understandment of how money worked. According to a biography from PBS, â€Å"He loaned a local farmer $50 at 7% interest payable in one year, at the age of 12.† During the late 1800’s John D. Rockefeller monopolized the oil industry. Rockefeller then became a multimillionaire. As Rockefeller started to leave the industry of oil, he then began to refine the city he loved, Manhattan. During the early to middle 1900’s Rockefeller decided to give back to his beloved city, by creating the Rockefeller center. Completed in 1933, the center was open for business, and ready to revamp the city of Manhattan. According to TopOFTheRockernyc.com, â€Å"Rockefeller Center and the observation deck were his gifts to Manhattan- a place for locals and visitors to marvel at the city he loved.† During the 1950’s many things were going on at the Rockefeller center, the starting of the soon to be hit talk show The Today Show, broadcasted live from the 30 rock, one of four of the plazas in the Rockefeller center. Also during the construction of the first of four developed-office buildings, the Time life building in 1957, Marilyn Monroe Dedicated the â€Å"sidewalk superintendents’ club† to oversee the construction site. According to RockefellerCenter.com, â€Å"The entertainment facet of Rockefeller Center was definitely making a name for itself.† Through all the money and power John. D. Rockefeller had, he never lost his humble start. As Rockefeller once said â€Å"If your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it.†

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Advantages of On The Job Training

Advantages of On The Job Training This paper discusses an important topic of human resource management and that is training of the employees. This caries great importance as it serves twin purposes which are that it helps in the career development of individuals and simultaneously is really healthy for the growth of an organization. First of all training is defined with preciseness yet with clarity. Then an overview is given about the need, importance and finally the sequence of events followed during the process of training. An exceptional stress is laid upon the evaluation of the training that has been given to the employees to measure its effectiveness. Later in the paper on-the-job training, the most popular method of training is discussed in detail. This method of training is critically analyzed also arguing for and against for the use of this technique in most organizations for training employees. By keeping the entire debate in focus finally the paper concludes that, by following a simple system, managers responsible for on-the-job training can greatly improve the effectiveness of their training efforts. TRAINING Training is the process of increasing the knowledge and skills for doing a particular job. It is an structured method by which people acquire knowledge and skills for a definite purpose. It basically bridges gap between job requirement and present competence of an employee. Need of Training Training is required on account of the following reasons: Job requirement: Employee selected for a job might lack the qualifications required to perform the job effectiveness. Technological changes: Technology is changing very fast. Now automation and mechanization have are being increasingly applied. Organization viability: In order to survive and grow an organization must continually adopt itself to the changing environment. Internal mobility: Training becomes necessary when an employee moves from one job to another due to promotion and transfer. Importance of Training Training is the process of imparting knowledge, skills and aptitude to perform desired job. A well planned and well executed training program can provide the following advantages: It helps in improving the level of performance and hence results in higher productivity. Uniformity of work methods and procedures helps to improve the quality of product or service A systematic training program reduces the cost and time drawn in learning. Good training helps in economical use of materials and machinery. It reduces supervision. It lowers the rate of accidents. It boosts the morale of employees to perform the task/job efficiently. Process of Training Identifying training needs: Process of training starts with identifying the need of training. Training objectives: the next step is to set training objectives in concrete terms and to decide the strategies to be adopted to achieve these objectives. Designing training program: An appropriate training policy is very important to meet the objectives. It consists of rules and procedures concerning training. Imparting training: Here employees are given training as per their requirements. Evaluating: Here the effectiveness of training is evaluated. Assessment of the usefulness of training is done to make sure that it is gainful, to identify needs to modify what is being provided, to discover new needs and redefine priorities and most importantly to ensure that the objectives of the exercise are being met. There are various methods employers use to actually deliver the training. The most popular method is on-the-job training. ON THE JOB TRAINING On-the-job training (OJT) is one of the paramount training methods because it is planned, organized, and conducted at the employees workplace. On-the-job training is usually the principal method used for augmenting employee skills and escalating output and efficiency. It is mainly suitable for developing expertise distinctive to an employees job, chiefly those positions whose work is relatively easy to learn and require locally-owned equipment and facilities. Self-esteem, high yield, and professionalism are always high in those organizations that employ a logical and reasonable on-the-job training program. On analyzing the most important requirements that are highlighted in job descriptions and specifications form the basis for setting up an on-the-job training plan. To be most effective, an on-the-job training plan should include: The area under discussion; Allocation of time to it each day; anticipated closing date; and Evaluation will be conducted in what manner. A coach should be assigned to each employee involved in on-the-job training to make it successful. All coaches are accountable and responsible for carefully planning the training and also conducting it effectively. On-the-job training is one of numerous ways by which a company might opt to impart the knowledge and skills its employees require. Every company has its own employment needs. These are dependant on the size of the company, diverse skills and information necessary to carry out particular jobs. Companies use a mixture of strategies to have a labor force which has the essential job training. This helps them to carry out all the required job functions. Structured academic learning or vocational training is the few methods usually used. On-the-job training inevitably forms some part of all teaching programs, no matter which of the tactic is used to train the employees. It is said that on the job training is an important example of an investment in human capital. Like any other investment it has initial costs and returns to these expenditures occur in future periods. These future returns are measured by increased productivity of the worker during subsequent periods of employment. (Baron.J., 1997, On the Job Training, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Kalamazoo, MI.) ON THE JOB TRAINING ADVANTAGES Conducting training in an external environment is being avoided by many companies. An inclination towards training employees within their own working environment can be seen clearly. This way they use those tools and equipment which they will be using in future to carry out their specific role in the organization. This preference is proved by Walter who introduced the Task analytical training system (TATS) model is a performance-based approach to develop, implement, and evaluate a structured on-the-job training program that can be applied to a variety of manufacturing settings. (1996, October, pg:1) The employee is given specific job training and they practice under the administration of more qualified staff. This way they gain confidence in their work. The trainer directs them how to perform the task appropriately and gives feedback immediately by pointing out any errors. This allows a new trainee to be incorporated simply and quickly into the company, in addition to the job training being modified to distinctively suit the needs of the company. Furthermore, on-the-job training makes sure that the employee is actually working as it is learning. This leads them to being further dynamic and proficient. From a financial perspective, for the company its a very cost effective method of imparting knowledge and skills that are according to the companys wants. ON THE JOB TRAINING DISADVANTAGES On-the-job training isnt always as effectual as it should be. There are many reasons to it. Firstly, its not sufficient that the employee just passes on the skills and knowledge required for the particular job. A major fact is that teaching and training is also a skill which people should have to be qualified. If they are not and are still giving training to the workforce, then this will be ill-planned and would be delivered in a way that will confuse the trainee. He wont be able to grasp the concepts, therefore revealing the poor standard of the training. To both the company and to the trainee themselves this will be counter-productive. Often, on the job training is given in a hasty manner, so that employees start working up to the mark early and to save companys money. This also does not give time to the trainer to establish the skills injected in plus doesnt allow sufficient time for feedback. Consequently on the job training turns into a waste of time. One of the pivotal mistakes a trainer can make is trying to get too much information absorbed in a short period of time. One aspect should be kept in mind that trainees are going to take long time to be able to perform the tasks as the company expects. The trainers can do the job blindfolded because this also has come due to many years of experience and unending hard work. If a company brings in an external trainer who is well equipped with all necessary tools but is completely unfamiliar with the companys operations and equipment then it has made a big mistake. Though from a financial point of view it might be cost effective but external hiring isnt always necessarily helpful. An external trainer sometimes hands over bad habits to the trainee without realizing what they are doing. This should be avoided by strict vigilance. CONCLUSION So all that we have found out by this research is, that training is an essential part of human resource management. Moreover, on-the-job training is the best method as it is economical, simple and effective and everybody can do it. It doesnt need wide-ranging budgets, complex training courses, devoted training staffs or absence from the workplace. Its effectiveness can be significantly enhanced by applying a methodical approach. Importantly, each on-the-job model has its own merits and weaknesses but they all serve the same purpose of providing the trainees with the opportunity to practice and learn by doing. If all I do is hear, I will forget If I hear and see, I will remember If I hear, see and do, I will understand. (Confucius,. 2005, April 17)

Friday, September 20, 2019

Test case prioritization and regression test selection

Test case prioritization and regression test selection 1. introduction The significance of software testing process and its affects on software quality cannot be taken too lightly. Software testing is a fundamental component of software quality assurance and represents a review of specification, design and coding. The greater visibility of software systems and the cost associated with software failure are motivating factors for planning, through testing. A number of rules that act as testing objectives are: * Testing is a process of executing a program with the aim of finding errors. * A good test case will have a good chance of finding an undiscovered error. * A successful test case uncovers a new error. Software maintenance is an activity, which includes enhancements, error corrections, optimization and deletion of obsolete capabilities. These modifications in the software may cause the software to work incorrectly and may affect the other parts of the software, as developers maintain a software system, they periodically regression test it, hoping to find errors caused by their changes. To do this, developers often create an initial test suite, and then reuse it for regression testing. Regression testing is an expensive maintenance process directed at validating modified software. Regression Test Selection techniques attempt to reduce the cost of regression testing by selecting tests from a programs existing test suite. The simplest regression testing method, retest all, it is one of the conventional methods for regression testing in which all the tests in the existing test suite are re-run. This method, however, is very expensive and may require an unacceptable amount of time to execute all tests in test suite. An alternative method, regression test selection, reruns only a subset of the initial test suite. In this technique instead of rerunning the whole test suite, we select a part of test suite to rerun if the cost of selecting a part of test suite is less than the cost of running the tests that regression test selection allows us to exclude. Of course, this approach is unsatisfactory as well test selection techniques can have significant costs, and can abandon tests that could disclose faults, possibly reducing fault detection effectiveness. [1] To reduce the time and cost during on testing process, another approach, Test Cases Prioritization in a testing procedure can be favorable for engineers and customers. In Test Case Prioritization techniques, test cases are executed in such a way, that maximum objective function like rate of fault detection can be achieved. In section 2 of this paper, we have described different types of Regression Test Selection techniques and we discussed various categories of these types point out by various authors then moving into the details of selective and prioritizing test cases for regression testing. In this section, we also describe several techniques for prioritizing test cases and we evaluate their ability to improve rate of fault detection, according to various authors. In the next section, we in particular describe the Regression Test Selection techniques and Test Case Prioritization problems. Subsequent sections present our analysis and conclusions 2. Regression testing During a software development life cycle, regression testing may start in development phase of system after the detection and correction of errors in a program. Many modifications may occur during the maintenance phase where the software system is corrected, updated and fine-tuned. There are three types of modifications, each arising from different types of maintenance. According to [2], corrective maintenance, commonly called fixes, involves correcting software failures, performance failures, and implementation failures in order to keep the system working properly. Adapting the system in response to changing data requirements or processing environments constitutes adaptive maintenance. Finally, perfective maintenance covers any enhancements to improve the system processing efficiency or maintainability. Based on of modification of specification authors identify two type of regression testing, Progressive regression testing involves a modified specification. In corrective regression testing, the specification does not change. Corrective regression testing Progressive regression testing * Specification is not changed * Involves minor modification to code (e.g., adding and deleting statements) * Usually done during development and corrective maintenance * Many test cases can be reused * Invoked at irregular intervals * Specification is changed * Involves major modification (e.g., adding and deleting modules) * Usually done during adaptive and perfective maintenance * Fewer test cases can be reused * Invoked at regular intervals Table 1: Differences between Corrective and Progressive Regression Testing According to [2], table 1 lists the major differences between corrective and progressive regression testing. Regression testing is defined [3] as the process of retesting the modified parts of the software and ensuring that no new errors have been introduced into previously tested code. There are various regression testing techniques as given by various researchers are: (I) Retest all, (II) Regression Test Selection and (III) Test Case Prioritization. Retest-All Technique reuses all tests existing in test suite. It is very expensive as compared to other techniques. In this report our main focus on Regression Test Selection and Test Case Prioritization. Let P be a procedure or program, let P be a modified version of P, and let T be a test suite for P. A typical regression test proceeds as follows: 1. Select T C T, a set of tests to execute on P. 2. Test P with T, establishing Ps correctness with respect to T. 3. If necessary, create T, a set of new functional or structural tests for P. 4. Test P with T, establishing Ps correctness with respect to T. 5. Create T, a new test suite and test history for P, from T, T, and T. Although each of these steps involves important problems, in this report we restrict our attention to step 1 which involves the Regression Test Selection problem. 2.1. REGRESSION TEST SELECTION Regression Test Selection technique is less expensive as compare to retest all technique. Regression Test Selection techniques reduce the cost of regression testing by selecting a subset of an existing test suite to use in retesting a modified program. A variety of regression test selection techniques have been describing in the research literature. Authors [1] describe several families of techniques; we consider five most common approaches often used in practice. 1) Minimization Techniques: These techniques attempt to select minimal sets of tests from T that yield coverage of modified or affected portions of P. One such technique requires that every program statement added to or modified for P be executed (if possible) by at least one test in T. 2) Safe Techniques: These techniques select, under certain conditions, every test in T that can expose one or more faults in P. One such technique selects every test in T that, when executed on P, exercised at least one statement that has been deleted from P, or at least one statement that is new in or modified for P. 3) Dataflow-Coverage-Based Techniques: These techniques select tests that exercise data interactions that have been affected by modifications. One such technique selects every test in T that, when executed on P, exercised at least one definition use pair that has been deleted from P, or at least one definition-use pair that has been modified for P. 4) Ad Hoc / Random Techniques: When time constraints prohibit the use of a retest-all approach, but no test selection tool is available, developers often select tests based on hunches, or loose associations of tests with functionality. One simple technique randomly selects a predetermined number of tests from T. 5) Retest-All Technique: This technique reuses all existing tests. To test P, the technique selects all tests in T. According to [3], Test Selection techniques are broadly classified into three categories. 1) Coverage techniques: These consider the test coverage criteria. These find coverable program parts that have been modified and select test cases that work on these parts. 2) Minimization techniques: These are similar to coverage techniques except that they select minimum set of test cases. 3) Safe techniques: These do not focus on criteria of coverage, in contrast they select all those test cases that produce different output with a modified program as compared to its original version. Regression test selection identifies the negative impact of modifications applied to software artifacts throughout their life cycle. In traditional approaches, code is modified directly, so code-based selective regression testing is used to identify negative impact of modifications. In model-centric approaches, modifications are first done to models, rather than to code. Consequently, the negative impact to software quality should be identified by means of selective model-based regression testing. To date, most automated model based testing approaches focus primarily on automating test generation, execution, and evaluation, while support for model-based regression test selection is limited [4]. Code-based regression test selection techniques assume specification immutability, while model-based techniques select abstract test cases based on models modifications. Thus, in model based Regression Test Selection techniques, the existing test suite can be classified into following three main types: 1) Reusable test cases: Reusable test cases are test cases from the original test suite that are not obsolete or re-testable. Hence, these test cases do not need to be re-executed. 2) Re-testable test cases: Test cases are re-testable if they are non-obsolete (model-based) test case and they traverse modified model elements. 3) Obsolete test cases: Test cases are obsolete if their input had been modified. Regression Test Selection techniques may create new test cases that test the program for areas which are not covered by the existing test cases. Model based Regression test suite selection that utilizes Unified Modeling Language (UML) based Use Case Activity Diagrams (UCAD). The activity diagrams are commonly employed as a graphical representation of the behavioral activities of a software system. It represents the functional behavior of a given use case. With behavior slicing we can built our activity diagram. This diagram gives us qualitative regression tests. Using behavior slicing each use case divided into a set of unit of behavior where each unit of behavior represents a user action.[5] An activity diagram has mostly six nodes: 1. Initial node 2. User Action node 3. System Processing node 4. System Output node 5. Condition node 6. Final node 2.3. TEST CASE PRIORITIZATION The main purpose of test case prioritization is to rank test cases execution order to detect fault as early as possible. There are two benefits brought by prioritization technique. First, it provides a way to find more bugs under resource constraint condition and thus improves the revealed earlier; engineers have more time to fix these bugs [6]. Zengkai Ma and Jianjun Zhao [6] propose a new prioritization index called testing-importance of module (TIM), which combines two prioritization factors: fault proneness and importance of module. The main advantages of this prioritization approach are twofold. First, the TIM value can be evaluated by analyzing program structure (e.g., call graph) alone and it also can be evaluated by incorporating program structure information and other available data (e.g., source code changes). Therefore, this approach can be applied to not only regression testing but also non-regression testing. Second, through analyzing program structure, we can build a mapping between fault severity and fault location. Those test cases covering important part of system will be assigned high priority and executed first. As a result, the severe faults are revealed earlier and the system becomes reliable at fast rate. The main contributions of authors [6] are: * They propose a new approach to evaluate the testing importance for modules in system by combining analysis of fault proneness and module importance. * They develop a test case prioritization technique, which can provide test cases priority result by handling multiple information (e.g., program structure information, source code changes) and can be applied to both new developed software testing and regression testing. * They implement Apros, a tool for test case prioritization based on the proposed technique, and perform an experimental study on their approach. The result suggests that Apros is a promising solution to improve the rate of severe faults detection. Authors consider a sample system, which consists of six modules: M1-M6 and there exist some call relationships between each module. A test suite includes six test cases T1-T6 that covers the M1-M6 respectively. Some modules are dependent on each other. They are finding fault proneness and fault severity by using TIM from this system. They conclude the prioritization result (T3, T6, T4, T2, T5, and T1) on the bases of analyzing structure of system. For calculating this result they had developed some formulas and equation. [6] They also did some experiment with two Java programs along JUnit test cases: xml-security and jtopas. They select three sequential versions of the two java programs and apply newly developed software testing and the regression testing. They perform some experiment for finding fault proneness and severe fault. They also introduce the importance of any module using weight fact. Authors [7] explore value-driven approach to prioritizing software system test with the objective of improving user-perceived software quality. Software testing is a strenuous and expensive process. Research has shown that at least 50% of the total software cost is comprised of testing activities.They conclude that, their approach of prioritization of test cases is work effectively with regression and non-regression testing by analyzing the program structure. They make a reach on prior TCP which have two goals: (1) to improve customer confidence on software quality in a cost effective way and (2) to improve the rate of detection of severe faults during system-level testing of new code and regression testing of existing code. They present a value-driven approach to system-level test case prioritization called the Prioritization of Requirements for Test (PORT). PORT based on following four factors. 1) Requirements volatility Is based on the number of times a requirement has been changed during the development cycle. 2) Customer priority Is a measure of the importance of a requirement to the customer? 3) Implementation complexity Is a subjective measure of how difficult the development team perceives the implementation of requirement to be. 4) Fault proneness Of requirements (FP) allows the development team to identify the requirements which have had customer-reported failures. They claim in research paper, Prioritization of Requirement Test (PORT) has great impact on finding severe fault at system level. They are emphasis on Customer priority in TCP for improve the fault detection. Today software industries are working on neutral manner. They set neutral value to all requirements use cases, test cases and defects. To improve the customer satisfactions in software engineering world they are presenting a value-driven approach for system level testing. In these days Regression Test Case Prioritization techniques use structural coverage criteria to select the test cases. They are leading their ideas from structure level to code level TCP for both new and Regression tests. This Paper has two main objectives: 1). Find severe faults earlier 2). Improve customer confidence on particular system. Researchers describe several techniques [8] for prioritizing test cases and they empirically evaluate their ability to improve rate of fault detectionà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬a measure of how quickly faults are detected within the testing process. An improved rate of fault detection during regression testing can provide earlier feedback on a system under regression test and let developers begin debugging and correcting faults earlier than might otherwise is possible. Their results indicate that test case prioritization can significantly improve the rate of fault detection of test suites. Furthermore, their results highlight tradeoffs between various prioritization techniques. Test case prioritization can address a wide variety of objectives. In practice, and depending upon the choice of objective, the test case prioritization problem may be intractable: objectives, an efficient solution to the problem would provide an efficient solution to the knapsack problem [8]. Authors consider nine different test case prioritization techniques. T1: No prioritization One prioritization technique that authors consider is simply the application of no technique; this lets us consider untreated test suites. T2: Random prioritization Random prioritization in which authors randomly order the tests in a test suite. T3: Optimal prioritization An optimal ordering of test cases in a test suite for maximizing that suites rate of fault detection. In practice, of course, this is not a practical technique, as it requires knowledge of which test cases will expose which faults. T4: Total branch coverage prioritization We can determine, for any test case, the number of decisions (branches) in that program that were exercised by that test case. We can prioritize these test cases according to the total number of branches they cover simply by sorting them in order of total branch coverage achieved. T5: Additional branch coverage prioritization Total branch coverage prioritization schedules test cases in the order of total coverage achieved. However, having executed a test case and covered certain branches, more may be gained in subsequent test cases by covering branches that have not yet been covered. Additional branch coverage prioritization iteratively selects a test case that yields the greatest branch coverage. T6: Total fault-exposing-potential prioritization Statement- and branch-coverage-based prioritization consider only whether a statement or branch has been exercised by a test case. This consideration may mask a fact about test cases and faults: the ability of a fault to be exposed by a test case depends not only on whether the test case reaches (executes) a faulty statement, but also, on the probability that a fault in that statement will cause a failure for that test case. Although any practical determination of this probability must be an approximation, we wished to determine whether the use of such an approximation could yield a prioritization technique superior in terms of rate of fault detection than techniques based on simple code coverage. T7:Additional fault-exposing-potential (FEP) prioritization Analogous to the extensions made to total branch (or statement) coverage prioritization to additional branch (or statement) coverage prioritization, we extend total FEP prioritization to create additional fault-exposing-potential (FEP) prioritization. This lets us account for the fact that additional executions of a statement may be less valuable than initial executions. In additional FEP prioritization, after selecting a test case t, we lower the award values for all other test cases that exercise statements exercised by t. T8: Total statement coverage prioritization Total statement coverage prioritization is the same as total branch coverage prioritization, except that test coverage is measured in terms of program statements rather than decisions. T9: Additional statement coverage prioritization Additional statement coverage prioritization is the same as additional branch coverage prioritization, except that test coverage is measured in terms of program statements rather than decisions. With this technique too, we require a method for prioritizing the remaining test cases after complete coverage has been achieved, and in this work, we do this using total statement coverage prioritization. 2.3.1. Search Algorithms for Test Case Prioritization There are many search techniques for test case prioritization, which are being developed and unfolded by various researchers in the field. 1) Greedy algorithm: Works on the next best search philosophy. It [9] minimizes the estimated cost to reach a particular goal. Its advantage is that it is cheap in both execution time and implementation. The cost of this prioritization is O(mn) for program containing m statements and test suite containing n test cases. 2) Additional Greedy algorithm: This algorithm [9] uses the feedback from previous selections. It selects the maximum weight element from the part that is not already consumed by previously selected elements. Once the complete coverage is achieved, the remaining test cases are prioritized by reapplying the Additional Greedy algorithm. The cost of this prioritization is O(mn2) for program containing m statements and test suite containing n test cases. 3) Hill Climbing: It is one of the popular local search algorithms with two variations; steepest ascent and next best ascent. It is very easy and inexpensive to execute. However, this has cons of dividing O(n2) neighbors and is unlikely to scale. Steps of algorithm are explained in [9]. 4) Genetic Algorithms (GAs): Is a search technique [9] based on the Darwins theory of survival of the fit test? The population is a set of randomly generated individuals. Each individual is representing by variables/parameters called genes or chromosomes. The basic steps of Genetic Algorithm are (1) Encoding (2) Selection (3) Cross over (4) Mutation. 3. CONCLUSION In this paper we discussed about Regression test selection and Test Case Prioritization Selection. Regression testing is a style of testing that focuses on retesting after changes are made. In traditional regression testing, we reuse the same tests (the regression tests). In risk-oriented regression testing, we check the same module functionality as before, but we use different tests. Any test can be reused, and so any test can become a regression test. Regression testing naturally combines with all other test techniques. Therefore we use Test Case Prioritization technique inside Regression Testing. Test prioritization makes strengthen our regression testing for finding more severe fault in earlier stages. In this paper we discussed about different factor of prioritization. Customer priority has a great impact on PORT. Our view about both test case selection is, First version of test suite which developed by developer should have concrete test cases. Also at the same stage we should perform some prioritization. With earlier prioritization of test cases we can reduce our cost, time, effort and maximize customer satisfaction 4. References [1] Todd L. Graves, Mary Jean Harrold, Jung-Min Kim, Adam Porters, Gregg Rothermel, An Empirical Study of Regression Test Selection Techniques, Proceedings of the 1998 (20th) International Conference on Software Engineering, 19-25 April 1998 Page(s):188 197. [2] Leung, H.K.N., White, L., Insights into Regression Testing, Proceedings., Conference on Software Maintenance, 16-19 Oct. 1989 Page(s):60 69. [3] K.K.Aggarwal Yogesh Singh, Software Engineering Programs Documentation, Operating Procedures, New Age International Publishers, Revised Second Edition 2005. [4] Naslavsky L., Ziv H., Richardson D.J., A Model-Based Regression Test Selection Technique, ICSM 2009. IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance, 20-26 Sept. 2009 Page(s):515 518. [5] Gorthi R.P., Pasala A., Chanduka K.K.P., Leong, B., Specification-Based Approach to Select Regression Test Suite to Validate [6] Changed Software, APSEC 08. 15th Asia-Pacific Software Engineering Conference, 3-5 Dec. 2008, Page(s):153 160 [7] Zengkai Ma, Jianjun Zhao, Test Case Prioritization based on Analysis of Program Structure, APSEC 08. 15th Asia-Pacific Software Engineering Conference, 3-5 Dec. 2008, Page(s):471 478 [8] Srikanth H., Williams L., Osborne J., System Test Case Prioritization of New and Regression Test Cases, 2005 International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering, 17-18 Nov. 2005, Page(s):10 pp. [9] Rothermel G., Untch R.H., Chengyun Chu, Harrold M.J., Test Case Prioritization: An Empirical Study, (ICSM 99) Proceedings. IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance, 30 Aug.-3 Sept. 1999, Page(s):179 188 [10] Zheng Li, Mark Harman, and Robert M. Hierons, Search algorithms for regression test case prioritization, IEEE Trans. On Software Engineering, vol 33, no.4, April 2007.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Educational Goals and Philosophy :: Teaching Teachers Education Careers Essays

Educational Goals and Philosophy Every student is unique. Each one has a different personality, cultural and socioeconomic background, and individual way of learning. Some children may learn by listening, and others by seeing. As a teacher, I must determine how to teach to reach every student. Knowledge is gained through experience. Students relate life experiences to things that they learn. Children must be given the opportunity to explore. They get more satisfaction by doing for themselves than having things done for them. This satisfaction is the driving force for many students. I hope to encourage eagerness in my students. The overall purpose for education is to provide students with information to broaden their knowledge. In today’s society education is essential. Without an education, a good job is unobtainable. I intend to provide my students with the best possible education that I can provide. I want each student to acquire the insight to achieve any goal they set for themselves. I want my students to be able to have the understanding and knowledge to do well in school. I intend for them to leave my classroom with an immense enthusiasm for learning. I hope to make learning fun for my students. Allowing my students to do cooperative and hands on learning could be some possible ways to achieve this. Above all want to build high self-esteem in each child. I feel that this is an important aspect of teaching. If a child feels highly about themselves, they are more likely to do well in school and in life. I feel that I must reach the whole child. Children are special, and deserve all that I can give to them. I tend to agree with John Dewey in his progressive education movement. I think that learning should be based on my students’ interests. Dewey also felt that students needed to be involved in activities that have significance to them. I am in favor of this because a child will learn what is important to them.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Spearfisherman :: Fishing Sports Papers

Spearfisherman As a student in the scuba certification class here at State, I have been taught that if you would like to keep all of your limbs, it is best to keep your hands to yourself under the water. This means that if I saw a 52 pound fish, I probably would not try to stab it with a spear, or play a game of cat and mouse. So what makes a spearfisherman? How does one go about spending their recreational time chasing after fish as big as them? Since the 1940’s, spearfishing, the art of hunting prey without a line, in its own environment, has been a popular sporting activity. How do you learn to spearfish? You must first decide what type of a fisherperson you would like to be. Would you want to hunt with scuba equipment making it easier to dive to greater depths? Or would you like to stay close to the surface without the heavy gear? There are two types of spear fishermen, the people that are freedivers, who dive without the gear, and people that require an air supply, otherwise known as scuba method. The freedive has very little equipment; a mask, optional snorkel, fins, and the speargun of your choice. It is the simplest form of spearfishing, and yet it is said to be the most challenging (Allen Patrick 6). A diver must hold his breath on the surface, â€Å"pike dive† and descend, while trying to clear his ears and equalize pressure(6). The ears must also be cleared with the scuba method, so this is no t only for freedivers. The scuba method, much more gear intensive, first and foremost requires that you have a recreational diving license. Diving by in itself requires skill and education, so it is advisable for a aspiring spearfisherman to obtain a diving license before heading down to the local speargun shop. You must have a mask that properly fits their face, fins, an air cylinder with a regulator that makes it possible to breath, the appropriate weight belt to decrease and increase buoyancy, along with the buoyancy compensator, that holds you cylinder in place (Patrick 11-13). Now that you are in the water and have your gear, you need a weapon.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Having A Required GPA For Extra Curricular Activities Essay

â€Å"I am going to get through college on a football scholarship!† How many times have you heard that statement claimed by the average teenage boy? In all actuality getting a full ride football scholarship to a university is extremely difficult. Instead people trying to obtain scholarships through extra curricular sport activities should focus more on their academics. Some students are only doing extra curricular activities so that their college application will look better to administrators. However, a 4.0 grade point average is going to fare more impressive to the administrators then below average grades and a large quantity of extra curricular activities. By requiring a â€Å"C† grade point average we could stop a lot of the stereotyping occurring in most high schools. Also, great amounts of responsibility will be earned for people juggling both the â€Å"C† grade average and extra curricular activities. This additional experience and responsibility will help the person succeed to a greater level in their adult life. If you are a cheerleader, then you must be idiotic. If you get above 90% in almost any class, then you must be a nerd. Stereotyping is a horrible thing occurring all over the nation today. The worst case of this is in high school. What is the cause for these stereotypes? The activities you partake in and how well you are doing outside of these activities. Students with good grades that are in many clubs are more of thought as the nerds and goody-goods of the school population. The students on the football, basketball, cheerleading, and almost any other sport related team are thought of as idiotic. If students were required to have a certain grade point average to be on those teams they wouldn’t be thought of as nerdy or idiotic. The school wide population, while not completely stereotype free, would have calmed down with a lot of that stereotyping. We would be bridging the gap between the athletic and the academic. The more responsible you are the better you are going to be at succeeding at your desired profession. People that know how to cope with both academic and athletic fields will progress more then people that do not. If the person who is looking to hire a new employee sees that you can manage both of these fields they will think you are more responsible and choose you over a lot of the other applicants. Responsibility varies into many different forms, but  it usually matters most in your profession. Education is important in every aspect of life. More than any amount of athleticism you will need an education to survive in everyday life. Many people think they can get into a nationally ranked university if they have a lot of extracurricular activities. Although these look good on an application, maintained above average grades will look better. Even if you do not have perfect grades, a â€Å"C† average and some extra curricular activities will give you more chance of being accepted into the University of your Choice. Although you could argue that many students pride on their ability to do these extra curricular activities and their talent could most likely get them a scholarship it is not always so. For example, you could be working on a football scholarship, but, only an average of seventeen football scholarships are given out from a school per year. Being talented at a certain sport will usually not put you through college. Someone who has the talents and a better maintained grade point average will have an even better chance at getting that scholarship. In summation, it is my belief that a â€Å"C† grade point average should be required to participate in extracurricular activities. It will greatly reduce the amount of stereotyping happening in most high schools. More responsibility will be earned, therefore making your succession in a profession easier. Also, the more education you have, the easier it is going to be for acceptance into most universities. The better your application looks the better your profession will be.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Judicial Study Guide

Name: Period: Date: AP Government Unit 2 (Judicial Branch) Study Guide Directions: Using your notes and Chapter 16 reading, answer the following questions. 16. 2 Outline the structure of the federal court system and the major responsibilities of each component How is the federal judicial system organized? What role does the federal judicial system play in contemporary American government? What limits are there on the interpretation of the law and the Constitution by federal judges? What powers do judges have to ensure that their rulings are enforced? 16. 3 Explain the process by which judges and justices are nominated and confirmed Do politics play a role in judicial appointments? How are federal judges selected? Should senatorial courtesy be abandoned—why, or why not? 16. 5 Outline the judicial process at the Supreme Court level and assess the major factors influencing decisions and their implementation Do dissenting opinions matter? Why is the doctrine of stare decisis important in our judicial system? How do court justices evaluate cases based on original intent of the Founders? 16. 6 Trace the Supreme Court’s use of judicial review in major policy battles in various eras of American history Explain the development of judicial review. 16. 7 Assess the role of unelected courts and the scope of judicial power in American democracy How well does the Supreme Court conform to the criteria for democracy? What changes would need to be made to make the Court more democratic? Would these changes have any impact on the effectiveness of the Court? DIRECTIONS: Look at the Chapter Test on pg. 498-499 of the textbook. Circle your choice for the correct answer on the questions listed below. 1. a b c d e2. a b c d e 3. True False5. a b c d e 6. a b c d e7. True False 9. a b c d e11. a b c d e 12. True False14. a b c d e 15. True False16. True False 19. a b c d e20. True False

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Cari’s Story Essay

How could an infection in Cari’s nasal passages and pharynx spread into her sinuses? An infection will spread because the pharynx, larynx and sinuses are all connected, so the infection is going to spread to the sinuses and the surrounding areas. What is the cough reflex? Describe the process that Cari’s respiratory system is using to clear her lungs by coughing? The cough reflex is a deep and long inhalation that is followed by the closing the glottis, this causes a strong exhalation that will push the glottis open and sends the air through the respiratory passage. The coughing occurs when a foreign body is in the larynx, trachea or the epiglottis. Cari is coughing because the mucous and fluid buildup in her lungs and her body is to get rid of it. Which structures found in the terminal bronchioles and alveoli normally would protect Cari’s lungs from infectious pathogens and particulate matter? The alveolar macrophage protects her lungs because they wonder around the alveoli space and it collects dust, particles and debris. Cari does smoke and it has caused the cilia in her respiratory passage way to become paralyzed and then it secretes the excess amounts of mucus. The macrophages are sent to the lungs and it gets stuck in the mucus and it can’t fight off the pathogens. How would the resistance of Cari’s airways be affected by excess mucus and fluid in her lung? Cari isn’t getting adequate oxygen because the pressure of fluid and the mucus buildup in her lungs. This is not allowing her lungs to expand so she can get the breath her body needs. The fluid buildup and the pressure are not allowing her oxygen to disperse to the areas it needs. How would Cari’s lung compliance (the effort required to expand the lungs) be altered as her alveoli fill with fluid due to pneumonia? The fluid in her lungs makes it hard to expand because the fluid makes the alveoli sticky and it can’t expand and open. How would fluid in Cari’s lungs affect her total lung capacity? Cari’s lung capacity would go down due to the fact that the air space is being taken up by the fluid in her lungs. How does the elevation of Cari’s respiratory rate alter her minute ventilation? Cari’s respiratory rate will increase her minute ven tilation. Normal blood oxygen saturation levels are greater than 94 percent; Cari’s blood oxygen saturation levels are greater 90 percent at the time of her exam and an initial arterial blood gas analysis done when  she was admitted to the hospital revealed her arterial Po2 was 54mmHg. How do these clinical findings relate to the internal respiration in Cari’s body? Cari’s oxygen saturation level was 90% and the Po2 of mmHg would show that her arteries are having too much oxygen. A normal resting mmHg is 40% and exercises lower Po2level. A normal resting oxygen level is 94%. Which of the symptoms Cari has described are due to the lack of oxygen and reduced oxygen exchange at her tissues? Cari said she is â€Å"panting like a dog† is due from the lack of oxygen and t reduces her oxygen exchange. As Cari’s Pco2 rose, how was the oxygen-carrying capacity of hemoglobin affected? The oxygen carrying of hemoglobin volume with the rise of Pco2 will decrease since the Co2 will take O2’s seat. How would you have expected Cari’s decreased Pco2 and alkaline blood pH to have affected her breathing? Cari’s pH and Pco2 will decrease and her rate of breathing will also be decreasing. How would administration of oxygen enhance Cari’s central drive to breathe? Cari would be able to breathe better when oxygen was administered to her. Which anatomical structures in Cari’s respiratory system were initially involved? The structures involved are the trachea, nasal, pharynx, and larynx, and the lungs. Why was Cari plagued with a chronic smoker’s cough? Cari is plagued with a chronic smoker’s cough because she has a 20 year history of smoking. Which damaging effects of tobacco smoke led to Cari’s impaired respiratory defense mechanisms? There are damages to the epithelial with those damages comes the body’s repair process. How did the pneumonia affect Cari’s lung function? Cari’s was having problems getting adequate oxygen, because of the fluid in her lungs. The pneumonia is an infection from bacteria that can affect the body, because of her smoking it made it hard for her lungs to get air.