Computer Science and Information Technology in HR Department of an Research Paper

Computer Science and Information Technology in HR Department of an Organization - Research Paper Example This paper illustrates that computer science designates the mathematical, as well as scientific, approach in computing. There has been an increasing acknowledgment that the power of information technology and computing should be, and can be, enlarged beyond its conventional user base, to reach out to citizens, who up till now have not had admittance to such technology. At the present time business world is enduring a vast change. So, the use of Computer science and Information technology in the organizations department helps to solve the problems, as well as to improve the better communication skill of the various departments. Here the research proposal talks about Computer Science and Information Technology in HR department of an organization. Computer science and Information technology are expected to develop the overall performance of HRM by shifting its focus from management or personnel management to strategic HRM. HR information technology is fundamental for organizations to ad minister their benefits plans and their worker information. It will help to solve the problems and improve communication skill in the particular department. â€Å"Computer Science† is the mixture and application of â€Å"Applied Mathematics†, â€Å"Electrical Engineering†, and â€Å"Complexity Theory/Algorithms† to understand and/or model information. In other words, it is the â€Å"field of computation† â€Å"Information Technology† is the mixture and application of â€Å"Programming†, â€Å"Hardware Administration†, â€Å"Software Administration†, â€Å"Networking†, â€Å"Network Security† and â€Å"Technical Support†. ... In other words, it is the â€Å"management of computers† (Abhishek 2012). Computer science and Information technology in the HR department of the organization must be reasonable, available, and significant. The quick and extensive use of information technology and computers has created a need for extremely trained employees, proficient in different job functions. The most considerable alteration is that the professionals in the HR department at the present focus more on company strategic question from a â€Å"human resource† facet through the top level managers of the organizations rather than only dealing with personnel management. So, the use of Computer science and Information technology in HR department of the organization is extremely helpful to solve the various problems, as well as improve the communication in overall departments. Meanwhile, division of the HR jobs, such as routine management and management performance, are decentralized to line managers. In cont rast, these days, organizations are thirsty for the Computer sciences and IT to decrease cost, develop service, and accomplish effectiveness. To make known the adding value of Computer sciences and IT application in HR department of the organization, it is essential to elucidate how IT can advocate the various functions of the HR department, for example, communication/problem solving. Critical Review of Relevant Literature/Review of Current Systems: The application of IT and computer science in human resource department has been built up since 1990s, the influence of IT on HRM are lengthening over years (Florkowski, Lujan 2006). Its capability of contributing to the whole performance of company, as well as

Land Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 4

Land Law - Essay Example both personal and proprietary rights to land exist and an individual may not technically own land but a series of rights related to the use of the land1. From a jurisprudential standpoint, the distinction between personal rights and proprietary rights to use land is critically important today as it was in the past. This is particularly because land leases remain personal property in the contemporary English property laws. As such a clear distinction between personal rights and proprietary rights may be required in solving a wide range of land use disputes and other legal issues pertaining to land ownership, inheritance, leasing, and contractual agreements. However, despite some of the clear legal benefits of drawing the distinction between personal rights and proprietary rights to use land, there have been a number of opposing arguments questioning the necessity of distinguishing the two rights. For example, many critics argue that the distinction may not be necessary due to the diminishing divide between personal rights and property rights in the contemporary English laws. According to this argument, the collapsing boundary between the proprietary rights and personal rights are mostly attributed to the current persistent commercial pressure. This paper argues that it is both necessary and possible to draw a clear distinction between personal and property rights to land use. The conceptual distinction between the property rights and the personal rights in the English law can best be seen in the fundamental differences between a land lease and a license. Firstly, whereas a lease usually confers exclusive possession and greater protection of the tenant (proprietary rights to the land), a license only confers personal permission with no exclusive possession rights and the licensee cannot enforce any of its rights against third parties. In this regard, a license does not qualify as a proprietary right. In the case of Errington v Errington Woods  [1952], Lord

Managing Change in Difficult Times

Managing Change in Difficult Times Summary and Introduction Roles and functions of HR in the Organizational change Responsibility of HRM Attract and retain best staff Alternatives of Downsizing HR Perspective and Sustaining Role Conclusion Summary and Introduction This assignment context recognizes the potential challenge of human resource management roles in the difficult period. Managing the change in difficult time is the techniques, process and tools that manage the people (office employees) in recession to accomplish the required business results. The main focus is on the change in organization from how employees do their jobs today and how they will do their jobs after the change is put into practice. Today, Human Resource Management (HRM) is emphasizing on adding value in the organization as a key player. The most significant challenge for organization in difficult time (recession) is transforming of the human resource to recognize, sustain, enlarge and exploit talents in the whole organization to their fullest capacities than organization can claim that it has the best of the systems to identify talents across the organization. The management professionals and employees might undergo through the anxiety and other issues during recessio n and economic downturn, so organization must make plan for economic crisis. Starting with the explanation of HRM and its functions in an organization by analyzing how the HR actions are contributing and adding value to the organizations overall effectiveness. Roles and functions of HR in the Organizational change HR can and ought to play a key role in creating and executing organizational change and transition. HR can give help and direction in investigation and determination, highlighting the employee’s problems that will essentially influence the success of the organization. HR might recommend on resourcing programs and planning and executing the key learning, reward, aspects of involvement and communications process. HR can foresee individual’s issues and manage them before they get serious. If the program does include rebuilding and downsizing, HR can recommend on how this ought to be carried out empathetically and with the base interruption to individuals live. HR needs to assume a dynamic part in refrain the top gifts, go about as an issue mother while top entertainers rebuffed with being remunerated for their exhibitions, get individuals adjusted and created to battle with this basic circumstance, create individuals on cross useful aptitudes to adjust the surplus and deficiency of workforce, help the corporate to raise the individuals execution bar, guarantee the reasonable assessment of individuals execution, assume a dynamic part in control of communication flow, pass the onus of making the corporate lean, audit its minor low cost benefits and help upgrade the worth expansion for every worker by augmenting workers inputs. When the business is in turbulence zone, HR can put its straight out best in guaranteeing that he directs the corporate effectively. HR needs to be capable in such circumstances in light of the fact that they not just need to keep up the individuals inspiration level however needs to expand it utilizing non-money related apparatuses. There are sure focuses that HR can choose in such a circumstance where individuals are unstable about their employment. HR can give careful consideration to create the individuals on key aptitudes and upgrade skills. Responsibility of HRM HR ought to be engaged in more positive side, making and helping employees to reorganization, execute and change which will eventually make a solid influence on business. In todays economic down turn and recession when job cuts, pay reduction, loss, uncertainty of employment atmosphere overcome, HR has special responsibility to establish ease environment to the exaggerated by counseling, showing care and apprehension preparing them for different skillfulness, linking and deploying in other required areas of functions like crisis management team and security. Attract and retain best staff HR needs to be proactive and think of right on time mediations with respect to any association to get by amid subsidence; the capacity to hold its best individuals is must. Amid nowadays, HR individual at times even take the cruel decision of diminishing the numbers and land up at downsizing. The expression downsizing is even taken as rightsizing and upgrading yet we may not know or disregard the way that not the terrible circumstance or the great conditions keeps going long. The organization needs to put resources into learning and improvement by giving proper learning open doors and offices, however the prime obligation regarding learning and advancement rests with people, who will be given the direction and backing of their directors and, as fundamental parts of the HR department. Create and offer the vision, belief in a craved and developing future. Furnish workers with a strong learning environment where learning capacities can be found and implemented for instance, associate systems, steady arrangements and frameworks, ensured time for learning. When the going is intense, HR and supervisors to test the difficulties and the cure is to downsizing the noble way. Besides, this is the time to execute new thoughts; change the HRM procedures and change the methodology. This must be carried out in a manner that it cuts expenses and propels individuals. Alternatives of Downsizing To avoiding potential downsizing problems, organization might take the following actions as alternatives: Outsource Employees: Employees can work on other company projects as organization can provide outsourcing services is specialized domain. Part Time Job: Pay employee on hourly basis or cut the number of job hours to engage employee with the organization, and during his free time he can do any other work for earnings. Shift of Department: Association can move the staffs to other business component if the one business unit of the organization is not performing well Work at Home: People can work remotely in their homes and result in saving of operations cost. Amid these questionable times, corporate will understand the imperativeness of having skilled gifted workforce which will guarantee that center stays on trainings yet there may be a real lessening in preparing plan. In this time any choice taken by the organization affects every individual generally bits of gossip buoy around. Its top administrations obligation as human asset to guarantee that the correspondence channels are kept open, straightforwardness is kept up. We likewise need to guarantee that precise correspondence happens on time in full, rather than workers listening to things with points of interest from the grapevine first. Sufficient backing from pioneers and administrators as far as individuals administration methods to discover approaches to keep up the inspiration levels of workers. On the off chance that the corporate arrangements are to conserve an allotment of the workforce, advising ought to be given to those both workers who will be staying back additionally the representatives who have been asked to leave, be reasonable with them. HR Perspective and Sustaining Role The present challenges for HRM are corporate reorganization, changing demographic workforce, sustaining companys position and growth, changing mindset of workforce, knowledgeable and multi skill workforce, new industrial relation approach and CSR (corporate social responsibility). There are a lot of people more potential outcomes of sustaining human resources expanding part as development impetus as well as sustaining business through more noteworthy worker engagement. Subsequently, HR experts need to reduce their expenditures and get prepared for some difficult yet significant exercises which will help to change the view of HR for eternity. The monetary emergency is compelling to divide some worker and there is no chance to get around. Do it, however abstain from making frenzy around, in workers, in speculators, in business sector and in nation by shouting boisterous about the subsidence. HRs undertaking is additionally extraordinary, if the human asset administrator makes helpful environment through his or her expert approach in attaining benefit, with the backing of all groups which is the need of great importance. Business has encountered diverse elements that posture numerous difficulties. Human asset and requirement powers together strive for accomplishing the normal objectives like consistence and adherence. HR tries all deliberations to make and sustain an employer and representative benevolent environment and reacting to the current needs and difficulties. Conclusion HRM must be capable to address the right kind of demands related to HR roles or functions during the difficult period and economic downturn. HRM must play a very practical role in managing the problems of global economic downturn by serving organization to improve their skills to learn and work together, moreover manage ambiguity, diversity and complication. HRM is responsible to manage the human resource of the organization to maximize profit at minimal cost and exploit the productivity.

Techniques to Curb Dental Anxiety Essay -- Dentist Dentistry Papers

Techniques to Curb Dental Anxiety The distinctive sound in the dentist's office coupled with its slightly sweet antiseptic smell has long been a source of anxiety for many people. Ask almost anyone and they will tell you stories much like the one of my grandmother, who was never given treatment for her pain. Instead, she was treated only with silver nitrate on the decayed areas to deaden the nerve endings. However this did not heal the decay. Perhaps instead they would tell of a time when their dentist, who had just received his new high-speed drill, insisted that there was no need for Novocaine. Along with new problems such as dentists infecting their patients with HIV, the negative side of dentistry has increasingly been in the public eye. Upon hearing stories similar to these, the public has been calling for their dental visits to become safe, painless, and carefree ones. In a study done by USA Today (1999), it was found that "dentists are trying to coax forty million frightened Americans back into the [dentist's] chair" (p. 1). Of these forty million persons, many of them are so afraid of the dentist that they chronically schedule and postpone dental care until their level of pain is so high, they must go regardless of fear. Forty million Americans are not wrong. There is a serious problem with the way they have been, or are being treated in the dentist's chair. While there are many very good compassionate dentists in the United States, there are a number of dentists whose philosophy is to "treat only the tooth and make their money" (Dr. Knight, personal conversation, March 28, 1999). Many dentists today are concerned with treating dental anxiety and there are three basic areas these dentists are improving to redu... ... (1992). Practical clinical hypnosis: Techniques and applications. New York: Lexington Books. Millenniumâ„ ¢. (1999, March 28). Biolase Technology [Online product info]. Available: http://www.biolase.com/htmls/products/millennium.html Morrison, C. and Netting, J. (1999, March). What's new. Popular Science, 24. Quarnstrom, F. (1996, December). Sedation of phobic dental patients with an emphasis on the use of oral triazloam [58 paragraphs]. Priory Lodge Education Limited [Online]. Available: http://www.priory.com/den/halcion1.htm Rogers, F. (1989). Going to the dentist. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Rom, M. C. (1997). Fatal extraction. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Stevenson, R. B. (1998). Ethics and patient initiative. JADA, 129, 414. Wynbrandt, J. (1998). The excruciating history of dentistry. New York: St. Martin's Press. Techniques to Curb Dental Anxiety Essay -- Dentist Dentistry Papers Techniques to Curb Dental Anxiety The distinctive sound in the dentist's office coupled with its slightly sweet antiseptic smell has long been a source of anxiety for many people. Ask almost anyone and they will tell you stories much like the one of my grandmother, who was never given treatment for her pain. Instead, she was treated only with silver nitrate on the decayed areas to deaden the nerve endings. However this did not heal the decay. Perhaps instead they would tell of a time when their dentist, who had just received his new high-speed drill, insisted that there was no need for Novocaine. Along with new problems such as dentists infecting their patients with HIV, the negative side of dentistry has increasingly been in the public eye. Upon hearing stories similar to these, the public has been calling for their dental visits to become safe, painless, and carefree ones. In a study done by USA Today (1999), it was found that "dentists are trying to coax forty million frightened Americans back into the [dentist's] chair" (p. 1). Of these forty million persons, many of them are so afraid of the dentist that they chronically schedule and postpone dental care until their level of pain is so high, they must go regardless of fear. Forty million Americans are not wrong. There is a serious problem with the way they have been, or are being treated in the dentist's chair. While there are many very good compassionate dentists in the United States, there are a number of dentists whose philosophy is to "treat only the tooth and make their money" (Dr. Knight, personal conversation, March 28, 1999). Many dentists today are concerned with treating dental anxiety and there are three basic areas these dentists are improving to redu... ... (1992). Practical clinical hypnosis: Techniques and applications. New York: Lexington Books. Millenniumâ„ ¢. (1999, March 28). Biolase Technology [Online product info]. Available: http://www.biolase.com/htmls/products/millennium.html Morrison, C. and Netting, J. (1999, March). What's new. Popular Science, 24. Quarnstrom, F. (1996, December). Sedation of phobic dental patients with an emphasis on the use of oral triazloam [58 paragraphs]. Priory Lodge Education Limited [Online]. Available: http://www.priory.com/den/halcion1.htm Rogers, F. (1989). Going to the dentist. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Rom, M. C. (1997). Fatal extraction. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Stevenson, R. B. (1998). Ethics and patient initiative. JADA, 129, 414. Wynbrandt, J. (1998). The excruciating history of dentistry. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Business Plan on Indoor Sports Complex

[Type the document title] [Type the document subtitle] [Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. ] 2013 3/28/2013 TabTable of Contents 1. 1 Business Model7 1. 1. 1 Company Overview7 1. 1. 3 Objectives8 1. 1. 4 Mission8 1. 1. 5 Vision8 What is Futsal? 8 1. 1. 6 Facilities9 1. 1. 7 SERVICES10 1. 1. 8 Pitch10 1. 1. 9 Sports Store10 1. 1. 10 Food Court10 1. 2. 1 Concept:11 1. 2. 2 Location11 1. 2. Management12 Company Ownership12 1. 2. 4 Personnel12 2 The marketing Plan13 2. 1 Market Analysis Summary13 2. 2 Market Segmentation14 Consumer Profile15 2. 3 Competition16 2. 3. 1 Competitive Edge16 2. 4 Sales Strategy17 2. 5 Pricing18 2. 6 Sales Strategy18 2. 7 Sales Forecast18 2. 8 Advertising Strategies19 Advertising and promotion:19 2. 9 Timeline20 3 Financials20 3. 1 Financing20 Start-up Funding21 3. 2 S tartup Cost23 Start-up Requirements23 Pro Forma Cash Flow23 4 Conclusions25 5 Bibliographies25 5. 1 Experiences25 LETTER of TRANSMITTAL March 29, 2013 Taufique Hossain (TmT)Lecturer, School of Business North South University Subject: Submission of Group Report. Dear Sir, It is a great pleasure for us to submit this group report on â€Å"Indoor Futsal†. We, Group SHOWTIME worked as a team to prepare the report as you instructed in the class. We are pleased to inform you that we have thoroughly enjoyed working through this group report. It has enabled us to gain valuable knowledge and experience that would help us in our career development. Therefore, we would like to take this opportunity to convey our deep regard for your valuable guidance and sincere inspiration. Also you can read  Business Ethics ComprisesWe hope you will enjoy reading this paper. In presenting this report, we have tried our level best to include all the relevant ideas and the explanations to make the report informative and comprehensive. If you have any query regarding the interpretation of this project feel free to contact us. Thank you for believing in us and giving us this wonderful opportunity. Yours Sincerely, Name – ID – Contact Number ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Our first acknowledge goes to the almighty Allah for giving us the patience and courage to finish this task within its deadline.Then, we cordially thank our respected course instructor, Mr. Taufique Hossain for his continuous guidance and support to make this report possible. He assisted us whenever we needed any help. His generosity and liberality aid us to go further with this report without any hazardous situation. We are deeply indebted to the people who helped us in coming up with this authentic repo rt by taking part in the survey. It was crucial in the preparation of this report. We would like to thank each individual group member. Last but not the least we are very thankful to our family.Without their help this report would not be done so successfully, specially our mothers. We thank them all for their love and trust. Executive Summary This would be an ideal opportunity to paraphrase that philosophy about life and death, and explain why taken in context, rather than flippantly flung down beside a crime of humanity or a human tragedy, that there is both truth and beauty in what Football  is  more than just a game. It is more important than life and death, because it’s purely about life, which is eminently more important than death.But that is to disrobe the sentiment of its context, to be irresponsible with the words. Football is about what you are and how you meet the world, and nothing at all to do with the futility of wasting time considering death. Football is a bout doing all that you can, irrespective of what happens beyond your control. In this city, scarcely do we get the chance to exercise our passion, and even more scarcely do office goers get to get their passion for football alight. That’s where the beauty of indoor futsal comes in. Recognized by the FIFA as the official form of indoor football, it a star in its own rights.It is attractive for youth and middle aged corporate officials, who can exercise their passion for football long after the sun has gone down. After many arranged tournaments in the impromptu indoor sports complexes, there begs to be an organized solution for enthusiasts in this sport. That’s where â€Å"Sportsvana† comes in. It blends virtues of traditional football with an unprecedented package. We will offer a fully functioning sport store, sports rental, and food court and foosball table at our premises. Of those who are just about crazy for football, we offer an immersive experience bar an y other.Even if you like a game in your playstation better, we dare to convert you. On the other side, it functions in its legal form as a partnership business, and its marketing channels, promotions and financial projections are shown in the proposal. We blend innovative marketing technique with a truly unique USP, and our strong suit is being able bond with people, being enthusiasts and players as well. That said, there is a need to upgrade the market to suit women’s needs as well, and we will see to regularly hosting women’s futsal tournament, and make it as popular as women basketball or handball in this country.With the mission and vision on our sight, we cannot but be hopeful of our future, building a greater tomorrow with this harmonious sport. 1. 1 Organizational Plan 1. 1 Business Model After a hard day at the University or Office, many regard an even harder push in the field bliss. Football releases energy and revitalizes the young souls, by completely tiring them out. Or 30 something office goers, who have kept their passion for football alight. Dhaka city is not a place people can enjoy open fields. There are too many people and too less fields.In a random day, chances are you won’t even get a place in the field. That’s where the need of an organized platform comes, the need of a sports complex, that will organize the matches for you, book a place in the field, maybe provide food and relaxation, all in a nice and friendly package. That’s where the need of Sportsvana comes. 1. 1. 1 Company Overview Sportsvana Indoor Futsal is the only indoor futsal facility in the Dhaka City area. The population of Dhaka City is 240,000 residents. Sportsvana has two professional-style, lighted fields, (73†² x 140†²) featuring Field Turf ®, for fast-action, fun futsal.No matter what the weather conditions is, day or night, futsal players will find a safe, clean, and friendly atmosphere for futsal enjoyment. Several divis ions for youth, men, women, and coed provide all players–from beginners to highly skilled–the right environment for recreational yet competitive futsal. League play is continuous year round. All league participants are required to become members of Sportsvana Indoor Futsal. The annual fee is 3000 BDT. Team registration per session is 3500 BDT per hour. Each session has 10 games with championship awards being given to the first place team.In addition, skills clinics are available for beginning adults and those wishing to polish their skills. The two fields can also be rented for practices, preseason and post-season team parties, camps, clinics, school grad nights, fund raising tournaments, organized leagues and more. A futsal store is on site to provide leading futsal brands to players, teams, leagues and schools. The facility will also have a small cafe that will serve drinks, sandwiches, and pastry. Sportsvana is a fully integrated sports company that offers our clien ts, young or old, a full range of sports management services from conceptualization stages to execution.We are well equipped with experience and trained staffs in ensuring that all of our clients’ needs are met to a standard of excellence. We have the equipment to undertake all projects. Our experience encompasses; events designed to appeal to specific targeted participants, events with appeal to the general public, events with corporate appeal such as sponsorship and hospitality and events which we manage for clients. Often our management skills have to incorporate one or more of these elements which are; event creation, design and management, sponsorship, marketing and public relations and personality management.We offer corporations a solution to these problems. We are able to handle all the sporting needs Sportsvana Indoor Futsal projects that the center will have more than 800 members, 30 adult teams and 30 youth teams by the end of year one. 1. 1. 3 Objectives The objec tives for Sportsvana Indoor Futsal are the following: * Build facility membership to more than 800. * Register 30 adult and 25 youth teams by the end of first year of operation. * Develop facility potential * Expand to Bashundhara by year 3 * Break-even by year 3 * Open new facility in Uttara by year 5 1. 1. 4 MissionThe mission of Sportsvana Indoor Futsal is to provide Dhaka Ciyt residents with a state-of-the-art Futsal facility that will enable both youth and adults to enjoy the sport of Futsal year round. We hope to evoke sense of bonding and competitiveness among students and even office-goers, who will find nirvana through the game of Futsal and other sports, thus Sportsvana. 1. 1. 5 Vision Our vision is to build a harmonious platform for youth and thirty something’s for a better future. What is Futsal? Futsal is a variant of Futsal that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors.Its name is derived from the Portuguese futebol de salao and the Spanish futbol de salon (colloquially futbol sala), which can be translated as â€Å"hall Futsal† or â€Å"indoor Futsal†. During the sport’s second world championships held in Madrid in 1985, the name futbol Sala was used. Since then, all other names have been officially and internationally changed to futsal. Futsal ® (Five-a-Side Futsal) is â€Å"The Way the World Plays Indoor Futsal† and is the international form of indoor Futsal approved by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).It is played in all continents of the world by over 100 countries with 12 million players. The pitch is made up of wood or artificial material, Yinghui Court, or similar surface, although any flat, smooth and non-abrasive material may be used. The length of the pitch is in the range of 38–42 m (42–46 yd), and the width is in the range of 18–25 m in international matches. For other matches, it can be 25–42 m (27–46 yd)in length, while the width can be 15–25 m (16–27 yd), as long as the length of the longer boundary lines (touchlines) are greater than the shorter boundaries where the goals are placed (goal lines).The ceiling must be at least 4 m (4 yd) high. A rectangular goal is positioned at the middle of each goal line. The inner edges of the vertical goal posts must be 3 m (3 yd) apart, and the lower edge of the horizontal crossbar supported xx by the goal posts must be 2 m (2. 2 yd) above the ground. Nets made of hemp, jute or nylon is attached to the back of the goalposts and crossbar. The lower part of the nets is attached to curved tubing or another suitable means of support. The depth of the goal is 80 cm at the top and 1 m at the bottom.Because the sport is a great skill developer, demanding quick reflexes, fast thinking and pin point passing, it is an exciting game for children as well as adults. The game is very economical and safe, simple and fun to play. Just by playing with the ball d evelops precise ball control and technical skill, agility, lightening reflexes and decision making. As the balls have less bounce they tend to stay in play longer and promote close ball control. After playing in enclosed areas and learning to think and react quickly, players find when they play to the full game they react well under pressure.Playing in enclosed areas develops creativity; players are also constantly placed in demanding decision making situations in enclosed areas which is a major reason why Futsal is one of the finest teachers of the quick pass and move. In Futsal it is very hard to defend against a team that is adept at this type of play. Playing the beautiful game of Futsal is developed through Futsal. 1. 1. 6 Facilities Sportsvana is an indoor court built to provide futsal addicts and players to enjoy real time playing futsal with friends and family.We provide all the amneties for them in order to enjoy their futsal time. * We provide most importantly futsal court which is the turf, futsal balls, food services place to relax and rest, and futsal equipments. * On top of that, we take jersey orders for teams which is interested to do when there is any tournament organized by us * We provide stalls for sporting goods related to futsal and excercising gear * We take on the spot orders for custom-made jerseys, team jerseys, sports memorabilia and other items related to other sports s well * A stacked food court EPL matches on projector and 5:1 music system * Shower and changing room * 2 foosball tables * Membership cards, which provide a discount at match prices and an sms derived SMART system which allows to book matches and see timetables. It will also allow you to be listed as a player, reviewing you lifetime scores, passes made, assists and miles run. * Games videography assists and many more to come†¦.. 1. 1. 7 SERVICES 4 Futsal Pitches (Turf, Decoflex, Herculan & Parquet Pitches on the built facility) . 2 International Size Basketball Courts converted Parquet Pitches.We provide only the best Futsal Balls, Excellent pitch conditions, Spectator Galleries, Lounge Area with Tables,Shower / Changing & Restrooms (Male & Female),Fans/Mist Fans, Sports Shop, Well stocked Food/Snacks/Ice Cream & Drinks, Booking services, EPL on Astro & Projectors. 1. 1. 8 Pitch Our pitch is converted from basketball court to futsal field. The lines and dimension of a futsal field is roughly the same of a basketball court. But additional measures will be taken in case of tournament, as white powder will be applied to create an international standard pitch.There are no walls around the Abahani facility. There is a wall along the Gymnasium Field, but as per game rules, rebound on walls is not allowed. The pitch will feature 5:1 music system with songs on request. 1. 1. 9 Sports Store There will be a small sport store on the facility for impulse buyers. It will feature * Latest jerseys of international and national teams * Futsal equipment su ch as turf shoes, balls, shorts and socks * Football memorabilia * Small selection of boots * Custom T-shirts Also the store will feature an area where you can order your custom jerseys and order sports equipment to specification 1. . 10 Food Court On the surroundings of the courts there will be a food and beverage area where users of the facility can replenish their bodies. This area has been placed so the users may have a bird's-eye view of the happenings on the courts while enjoying their favorite non-alcoholic beverage and/or snack. Included in this area will be a big screen TV that will show sporting events, sports news, or appropriate programs those users’ wishes to watch. This aspect of the facility will be crucial in providing the desired atmosphere The Supreme Courts hopes to create. A qualified, experienced person will be hired to run this aspect of the facility. He/she will have the responsibility to meet necessary standards and to report to, and work directly with the general partners to make sure the needs of the users in this area are met. If additional staff are required, this person will hire and train those people in accordance with The Supreme Courts policies. * A fast-food menu featuring subs, rolls, burgers and egg based products. There is also a counter for health drinks and protein bars. * EPL matches in projectors on selected days * 2 Foosball tables 1. 2 Administrative Plan . 2. 1 Concept: This indoor sports facility will be equipped with 2 full international-sized Futsal courts converted from concrete basketball ground. This facility will also be equipped with lighting poles to enable evening and night play. Many value-added facilities will be provided to our customers such as, lockers, female and male changing rooms with showers amenities, a small cafe, parking and free Wi-fi access. As a social trend today, the atmosphere that we are trying to create is towards a greener and healthier environment and lifestyle with eco-friendl y facilities (energy saving lights and water).In the tight and congested space of Dhaka City, few places remain which can provide this sort of facility session basis or at a rent. We have chosen the following areas for our base of operations. 1. 2. 2 Location * Our first and primary location will be the Abahani Indoor Basketball ground, fully equipped with light poles, bars and equipment to be made into a futsal pitch. The Abahani is also equipped with spectator stands, changing room, space for stalls and parking. * This location can be had for rent or lease if it doesn’t serve any other primary purpose. For example, if it doesn’t have any Basketball matches on that very particular time. For our secondary base, we have chosen the Dhaka University indoor games facility, with its basketball ground which can be converted into a futsal pitch. It lacks spectator stands, but it makes up in terms of practice space. * The outdoor futsal facility of the Abahani Stadium will als o be used. Initial plans are to turn to the Abahani Indoor Sports facility, in Dhanmondi. The facility will be taken on daily rent basis. The dates will be flexible according to the basketball timetable the facility has. It also has an outdoor futsal facility which will be used in turns. The Dhaka University Indoor games field will also be used simultaneously.We have future plans to expand to Bashundhara and build our own facility in Uttara. 1. 2. 3 Management Company Ownership Our business will be fully owned by the partners. The business will maintain a multiple proprietorship status for at least the first two years of operation. The initial management team for The Supreme Courts depends mainly on the general partners. Will stay within their expertise in running the day-to-day operations of the facility such as scheduling, marketing, and promotions, along with running and developing various leagues and programs for the community.Back-up for the general partners will include staff members who will compensate for the founders lack of experience in each area. The business projects that the Abahani facility will be so popular that a second indoor operation will be established in the nearby Bashundhara. At that time the business will reorganize to become an S Corporation. The ownership model will be based on partnership, and a rotational basis â€Å"Managing Partner† will be selected for overseeing administrative duties. Our organizational structure is as follows Financial Officer (outsourced) 1. 2. 4 PersonnelThe personnel of Sportsvana Indoor Futsal are as follows: * Manager (managing partner) * Asst manager (2 other partners) * Senior staff (2); * Staff (2); * Store staff person (1); * Cafe staff (2). A janitorial service will be contracted to clean the facility. But most of the maintenance work will be done by the Abahani field staff. A chart of their expected salary and qualification is given below Post| Salary (expected)| Qualification| Managing Part ner| Subjective to Profit/Loss| | Asst. Manager (partner)| Subjective to Profit/Loss| | Senior Staff| 16,000| H. S. C| Staff| 13,000| H.S. C| Store staff| 8,000| H. S. C| Cafeteria Staff| 7,000| H. S. C| The minimum working hours will be 3 hours to a maximum of 8 hours. The facility will run from prior schedules. 2 The marketing Plan 2. 1 Market Analysis Summary Futsal is a popular sport in Dhaka. Currently there are 6,000 children participating in the youth Futsal leagues, and 3,000 adults participating in the  adult league. The number of players is growing dramatically. There are two factors that are impacting the popularity of Futsal. * The first is the large number of children in the county under the age of 12.There are approximately 30,000 children in the city under the age of 12. The projection is that the percentage of children under the age of 12 will continue to grow for the next five years. The most popular sport with this age group is football. * The second factor is th e growing number of young people between the ages of 24 – 35 that are participating in team sports. Participation in  coed football has increased by 20% each year for the past three years. The demand for fields has led to the city building 2 new playing fields this year. Adult outdoor football league has grown by 50% over the past two years.Currently, there are  12 adult league teams participating in the outdoor city Futsal league. * The rise in the scene of â€Å"UNDERGROUND FOOTBALL† scene is a sign of the rising popularity of football. There has been a significant increase in the underground tournaments held each year. There hasn’t been any organized attempt to blend the events from all localities to a single mega event. * There has been a significant increase in football among office workers and corporate players. 2. 2 Market Segmentation 1. Weekend Warriors: an important market segment for The Sportsvanawill is the weekend warriors.These people don't li ke to be locked into long-term commitments but like the freedom to come and go when the opportunity presents itself. These people will be a target market for special promotions and periodic activities. These people may include corporate players and tournament teams. 2. Families: this is a smaller, but important market segment for our facility. We have â€Å"something for everyone† and that will attract families that want to become members of the facility as well as families who simply want a few hours of fun every now and again.These people will also be the main target for summer camps and activities that allow for fun and education for the children while the parents enjoy some relatively cheap babysitting. 3. Senior Citizens: this market segment will be our fastest growing market as more senior citizens are retiring to Henderson than any other group. When provided with health promoting programs, senior citizens are willing to participate due to the new focus on physical acti vity and the constant encouragement from family and physicians. In fact, this group was the fastest growing club membership segment over the last 10 years according to **.It grew up to four times faster than other segments. 4. Students: Another small market segment, students will be attracted to use this facility for various purposes without the pressure or hassle of a required membership. The simple daily walk-in fee will make The Sportsvana a very attractive place for these people. We have made an age chart to better understand our target customers. Consumer Profile Provided the data we have accumulated and psychological profiling of our customers, we have done a consumer profiling of our customers. We will focus on the following target customers: * Youths, ages 6-14 years of age. Adults, ages 24-35 years of age. 2. 3 Competition The competition of Sportsvana is not through direct competitors, but through means of other organizers of the sport. They are: 1. The Abahani Field: The vast Abahani Field, in which you can play for free, is one of our biggest competitors. But they lack in space and you might often struggle to find a place. 2. Organizers of events: These people satisfy our main target customers, the weekend warriors. This might be a tough call to attract players who are committed to a tournament. WE can analyze the market with Porters Five forces 2. 3. 1 Competitive EdgeThe Sportsvana’s competitive edge is twofold. First, The Supreme Courts is the only complex that offers 2 full-size basketball courts that are available for the members and the community to use and/or rent. On top of this, the scope and variation of the programs that will be run from this facility are unmatched by any other club in the area. The second part of our competitive edge is the location, size, and appearance of the facility that will attract many people into the complex. By maintaining our focus in our strategy, marketing, program development, and fulfillment, The Sp ortsvana will  be known as the top sports club in Dhaka.We should be aware; however, that our competitive edge may be diluted if we become complacent in our program development and implementation. It will be important for us to keep up with the current trends in both sport and fitness programs. 2. 4 Sales Strategy Sales in the sport and are based on the services and amenities provided by the facility. The â€Å"something for everyone† slogan fits perfectly with us. All of the users of our facility must feel like they are getting the best possible value for their money. If there is a better value, for equal services, we will match or beat that value for our customers.Each person desiring a membership at Sportsvana will be able to sit down with a representative and be notified of all of their membership options. During this brief discussion, the person will be also being informed of all of the services, programs, and amenities we have to offer. It will be important to establi sh a relationship of trust with our members as membership retention is an important aspect in our business. 2. 5 Pricing Sportsvana   is  an indoor Futsal facility that offers league play, Futsal training and a Futsal shop. The facility is also available to be rented out for special events.The following is the fee schedule: * Annual Facility Membership: 3000 BDT * Team Registration per Session: 15000 BDT * Facility Rental Fee: Member  300 BDT/hr, Non-Member 450 BDT/hr * Skill Clinic Fees: Range from 3000 BDT (per week)  for children, to 12000 BDT for groups They are  led by Futsal skill instructors with â€Å"A† Level Coaching Certification. The skill clinics are geared toward the novice who wants to improve their Futsal skills. The facility also has a  Futsal shop that sells the very best in Futsal gear, indoor and outdoor. The shop  has  the best selection of turf shoes available in the city.Membership * Membership Fee: Sportsvana Indoor Futsal will offer a 25% discount on membership fees for the first six months. * Team Fee: The team fee will be reduced by 1000 BDT if the team registers before the early sign-up deadline. In addition, we will sell the facility rental potential to local schools, corporate, and civic organizations. 2. 6 Sales Strategy Sportsvana Indoor Futsal will sell the indoor facility to the current outdoor Futsal teams. We will operate a booth at the city's Futsal fields on the weekends for the two months before Sportsvana opens.In addition, we will call the team captains and coaches directly and sell the quality and convenience of the facility. Sportsvana Indoor Futsal will offer membership rates for field rental to these teams to get them in the facility. Spring is notorious for poor field conditions prior to the beginning of the Futsal season. During the first two weekends in April, Sportsvana Indoor Futsal will offer free indoor Futsal clinics for children and adults. 2. 7 Sales Forecast The following is the sal es forecast for the next three years. The clinics, cafe,  and the Futsal shop  will have direct cost of sales.The clinics will be hiring the coaches to lead the clinics. The Futsal shop's direct cost will be the wholesale price of the shop's inventory. Sportsvana Indoor Futsal will make a strong push to expand league play in the summer. The summer is usually softball and baseball season and  only competitive Futsal teams play during the summer months. These competitive teams represent only 10% of young Futsal players. The outdoor adults Futsal leagues also don't operate during the summer months, leaving a large number of recreational Futsal players with opportunity to play.The only slow period for sales will be in November and December. Though league sessions end in mid-November, December has proven to be a poor month to begin a new league session. 2. 8 Advertising Strategies Channel 3 is called a â€Å"direct-marketing† channel, since it has no intermediary levels. In this case the manufacturer sells directly to customers. An example of a direct marketing channel would be a factory outlet store. Many holiday companies also market direct to consumers, bypassing a traditional retail intermediary – the travel agent. Advertising and promotion:A mixture of advertisements and networking will be used to increase visibility for Sportsvana. In first we will be focused on introducing the product. The advertisement will be done on different media e. g. television, newspaper and billboard to make people aware of the product. Our promotional activity will be focused on timing. We have devised the following timeframes: We will use these following channels of marketing, to be elaborated on the presentation * Guerilla Marketing: we will use graffiti, flyers and subliminal messaging * Posters: it will be our bulk promotional activity Flyers: To accompany the posters * Facebook Page: It will help us create a direct relationship with our members. 2. 9 Timeli ne We have etched out a specific time line for our objectives. 3 Financials 3. 1 Financing Our total capitalization from the 3 partners will be 70 lakhs. We will raise another 50 lakhs through loans and angel investors. Start-up Funding| Start-up Expenses to Fund| 7,845,000| Start-up Assets to Fund| 336,500| Total Funding Required| 8181500| Assets| | Non-cash Assets from Start-up| $0| Cash Requirements from Start-up| 336,500| Additional Cash Raised| $0|Cash Balance on Starting Date| 336,500| Total Assets| 336,500| Liabilities and Capital| | Liabilities| | Current Borrowing| $0| Long-term Liabilities| 5,000,000| Accounts Payable (Outstanding Bills)| $0| Other Current Liabilities (interest-free)| $0| Total Liabilities| 5,000,000| Capital| | Planned Investment| | Investor 1| 100,000| Investor 2| 100,000| Investor 3| 100,000| Other| 200,000| Additional Investment Requirement| $0| Total Planned Investment| 5,000,000| Loss at Start-up (Start-up Expenses)| 7,845,000| Total Capital| (913,50 0)| Total Capital and Liabilities| 336,500|Total Funding| 12,000,000| | | General AssumptionsYear 1 Year 2 Year 3Plan Month 1 2 3Current Interest Rate 10. 00%10. 00 10. 00%Long-term Interest Rate 10. 00%10. 00 10. 00%Tax Rate 16. 25%15. 00 16. 25%Other 0003. 2 Startup Cost| | Start-up Requirements Start-up Expenses| | Legal(Including business understanding with Abahani)| 545,000| Brochures| 50,000| Insurance| 500,000|Rent | 4,000,000| Soccer Shop Setup| 1,500,000| Field Installation| 45,000| Cafe| 800,000| Total Start-up Expenses| 7,845,000| Start-up Assets| 150,000| Cash Required| 336,500| Start-up Inventory| 25,000| Other Current Assets| 25,000| Long-term Assets| 100,000| Total Assets| 336,500| Total Requirements| 8181500| Pro Forma Cash Flow | Year 1| Year 2| Year 3| Cash ReceivedCash from Operations| | | | Cash Sales| | | | Cash from Receivables| | | | Subtotal Cash from Operations| | | | Additional Cash Received| | | | Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Received| | | | New Current Borrowi ng| | | |Sales of Other Current Assets| | | | Sales of Long-term Assets| | | | New Long-term Liabilities| | | | New Investment Received| | | | Subtotal Cash Received| | | | Expenditures from Operations| | | | Cash Spending| | | | Bill Payments| | | | Subtotal Spent on Operations| | | | Additional Cash Spent| | | | Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Paid Out| | | | Principal Repayment of Current Borrowing| | | | Other Liabilities Principal Repayment| | | | Long-term Liabilities Principal Repayment| | | | Purchase Other Current Assets| | | | Purchase Long-term Assets| | | | Subtotal Cash Spent| | | |Net Cash Flow| | | | Cash Balance| | | | 4 Conclusions Sportsvana in an idea pitched by a group of late-teens. It was implemented in some tournaments. It hasn’t yet caught on, the idea of playing any kind of â€Å"football† indoors. But those who have played the tournaments can vouch that it was the one of the most action packed, fun and tiring game of their life. We can proudly say tha t we will cater to a group, who will be sports buffs, and hold football to their hearts. So, in essence, our USP not lies in our proposition or uniqueness, it is how we DELIVER everything in a delightful package.Whether you are a high school teen, or a battle hardened corporate officer, deliverance is something we hand out in spades. 5 Bibliographies 1. http://www. startupbizhub. com/How-to-Start-a-Sporting-Goods-Store. htm 2. http://playersindoornaperville. com/facility/ 3. http://www. socceramerica. com/article/49102/a-plan-to-spur-pick-up-play. html 4. http://www. smallbusinessbrief. com/forum/showthread. php? t=15420 5. http://www. freebie-articles. com/Art/74396/9/Start-up-your-own-indoor-soccer-business. html 5. 1 Experiences An indoor futsal tournament organized in the Dhaka University Indoor Stadium

Road congestion

The underlying causes of congestion are far more complicated than many traditional interests have historically been willing to admit. The ability of available roadway space-the most traditional method of measuring supply or capacity to meet traffic demand, is just one of a set of several underlying factors that research has found contribute to traffic congestion. Whereas more than half of all children walked or bicycled to school in the 1950s, that number has now fallen below 10 percent as streets have become more dangerous due to traffic. Combined with the loss of school bus service, the resulting trend has been an overwhelming increase in parents driving their children to school, clogging local roadways during critical peak hours. An estimated 20-25 percent of rush hour traffic on local streets and roads is now attributable to the school commute. To make matters worse, not only does the typical suburban development model characterized by low-density cul-de-sacs, wide, high-speed arterials, and massive intersections make traffic management difficult, it also makes it less cost-effective for public transport to serve scattered destinations and makes walking or bicycling both inconvenient and dangerous. Many experts believe that widening motorways and main roads is only a temporary solution at best to the complex problem of traffic congestion. Indeed, research has pointed to a result known as â€Å"induced traffic† that suggests new and wider roads actually create additional traffic, above and beyond what can be attributed to rapid population increases and economic growth. In larger areas, drivers will often abandon carpools and public transport when additional roadway space is made available, thus creating additional trips and more traffic. In the longer term, the promise of more convenient transportation access allows commuters to live further from work, increasing development pressures and thus fuelling even more traffic demand. The lack of affordable and mixed-income housing near employment centres, and the imbalance between jobs and housing, creates the notorious commutes between the countryside and city areas. Also, with many people losing their confidence in public transport due to long delays, strikes and many rail crashes it seems much easier to take the car. It is important to note that the skewed pricing signals given to travellers appear to make road travel, even at the most congested periods of the day, entirely free, while public transport is often perceived as too expensive. Market failure is the inability of an unregulated market to achieve allocative efficiency in certain circumstances and we see a severe re-allocation of resources. There are various reasons why allocative efficiency may not be achieved, one of these is externalities. An externality is said to exist when the production or consumption of a good directly affects businesses or consumers not involved in the buying or selling of it and when those spill over effects are not reflected in market prices. The spill over effects are known as external costs or benefits. When people use their cars other people suffer from exhaust fumes, congestion and noise. These negative externalities make the marginal social benefit of using cars less than the marginal private benefit (i.e. marginal utility). The optimum equilibrium for society would be where the marginal social cost is equal to the marginal social benefit (Q!). However, a free market left to itself will produce where the marginal private cost is equal to the marginal private benefit (Q^). If there are negative externalities in consumption, a private market will therefore tend to over-provide a good. Congestion in urban areas can be seen as a form of market failure because the socially efficient output is not produced. The social optimum amount of vehicles on the road must be exceeded if congestion results. The marginal cost to the consumer is the only cost really considered when a driver makes the decision to use the car. What is not taken into account are the costs to other road users, the cost to society collectively; the social cost or themselves to some extent. The marginal cost to other road users is the added congestion caused by the extra car on the road. The marginal costs to society collectively are the increase in emissions produced by the extra journey made, the follow on effects from this are large, rising asthma levels in the local area, decaying buildings and collapsing roads could be caused because of the high congestion rates. The marginal cost to the individual could be the opportunity cost of the time spent in congestion. If the more space efficient bus made the journey, the traveller would be able to read the newspaper, play on a hand held computer or even do some work, this is not possible if the car is chosen to make the journey. The marginal utility of existing users of the congested roads would decrease with the addition of an extra motorist, an extra 10 or even 100 motorists would lower the marginal utility levels dramatically. But each individual's marginal cost wouldn't be affected, which explains why the marginal cost and marginal social cost diverge. Congestion is not the only cost that occurs from a large number of cars on Britain's roads. We must also consider, road damage costs, accidental externalities and of course environmental costs. Heavy vehicles basically cause Road damaging as the damage to the road pavement increases to the fourth power of the axle load. Accident externalities arise when extra vehicles on the road increase the probability that the other road users will be involved in an accident. Accident probability depends to a large extend on distance, driving time and particularly the other traffic. This is why accident costs will be treated like congestion costs. Environmental damage comes in various forms, such as local: emission of CO, NC, NO2, global: emission of CO2, CFC, water pollution and noise and vibrations. Congestion is inefficient, polluting and dangerous. Removing just 5% of traffic at peak times could substantially reduce or even eliminate rush hour congestion from many cities. One approach that is starting to stoke interest among municipal leaders is road pricing. The theory seems sound enough: introduce a price on bringing cars into congested areas that incite drivers either not to travel unnecessarily or to vary their times of travel or, indeed, to try public transport, walking or cycling. With the right approach, drivers who incur higher prices during rush hour periods would benefit from reduced congestion and travel time, while nonessential travel would take place at less congested and cheaper times. Road pricing has been debated in political circles for many years. The main debate was about the difficulties that would occur in trying to impose a system in order to toll drivers. These problems no longer exist, and advances in electronic devices have made sophisticated road pricing schemes more feasible. The new technology of electronic tolls no longer requires motorists to halt at tollbooths. Therefore, it prevents additional congestion. Drivers would be given an electronic number plate, which signals to the recording computer the presence of a vehicle. This would be the most direct way to charge the amount specific to the road and the time of the day. The devise could charge users via bank account or monthly bill. This would also allow a central computer to monitor roads with the greatest amount of use. Also, another method that has been put forward is for drivers to buy a travel card (similar to those on London Transport) and display these on their dashboards when driving in and out of priced roads. However, the political will is often lacking, perhaps because of uncertainty about voter reaction. I believe there are both advantages and disadvantages to the proposed road pricing theory. ADVANTAGES OF ROAD PRICING Road pricing is a good instrument to use to internalise most of the external effects mentioned earlier, especially in the case of congestion costs, it appears to be the optimal method of internalisation because a price mechanism would replace the present queuing mechanism, which is allocatively inefficient. Because road prices would be primarily connected with congestion costs, some distributional and locational effects could arise. Costs of driving in non-urban areas would probably fall whereas urban driving costs would increase so that in the medium run, the quality of the public urban transport system would improve. In the case of pricing highways on the continent, road pricing is a good instrument to overcome the free rider problem of foreign carriers using â€Å"home country† highways. This is especially interesting against the background that current ways of financing highways are very different. It is fair to say that foreign carriers buy their petrol abroad, which is cheaper, and they do not contribute to business in the UK. For that reason actual competition between international carriers is not neutral. With the proposed electronic system, there seems to be 2 benefits. The first of these is the business generated from the insertion of the microchips and the second is the ease of use i.e. simply driving past a scanner. Furthermore, Ken Livingston has stated that he believes traffic will reduce by 15% with the implementation of the system and he says money generated from the implementation of such a scheme will be used not only on the maintenance of our roads but also into investment of our public transport which again reduce the number of cars on the road leading to a better environment for all. A recent survey suggested that 70% of the public would not mind paying fuel tax if it was invested in public transport. The system is already used in Singapore and the immediate reaction was a reduction of 24,700 cars during the peak time and also, traffic speed increased by 22% at this time. And also, in Trondheim in Norway the toll was not introduced in order to make people leave their cars at home but soon, it was noticed that congestion was reduced and political consensus was that some of the money generated could be used for public transport within the city. DISADVANTAGES OF ROAD PRICING The cost of implementing electronic toll system is very high. The UK government estimates that the implementation of the system will cost à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2 bn for only a small area such as London. Plus individual costs for every vehicle of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½40 each, not including additional costs of controlling the system. Also, we are likely to see a lagged response and it would take time to raise revenue. The initial costs are high thus; they would have to pay off in the long run. Ken Livingston, has suggested a charge of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 for entering London, many believe that when we consider, fuel taxes, road tax, and maintenance of a car, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 to enter London is extortionate. It is important to consider those on lower incomes, who may find it difficult to pay a regular à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 charge. This could lead to the displacement of traffic, in the way that people will try to avoid the tolls and take other routes down side roads- this is likely to cause congestion in quieter streets not to mention accidents because the streets are so narrow. The introduction will be hard and people will object to it. They believe it affects their rights of passage and with an estimated 230 cameras per zone it compared to the big brother phenomenon. Tax on roads may have damaging effects on the economy. Because the cost to firms will be greater and it may also serve to make London a less desirable centre, there will be a reduction in Aggregate Supply. There will be growth in unemployment as firms will not be able to afford workers, this will cause a slowdown in economic growth and could even cause an inflationary threat. In terms of negative environmental externalities, road pricing is (with the exception of noise) probably not the optimal instrument for internalisation. Taxes on fuel or emission fees, for instance, charge vehicle emissions in a more direct way and they are very simple to design. Some believe that there should be different taxes for those people who do not have public transport available to them easily and those who do but choose not to use it. Furthermore it must be mentioned that the effect of road pricing depends to a large extent on the authority that receives the revenues and its way of using the money. Economists would argue that the profits made should be reinvested into the transportation system to generate an efficient outcome rather than cross-subsidising other traffic modes or other state activities. CONCLUSION In conclusion I believe that road pricing is the best instrument to internalise the costs of congestion and road damage. Although the initial costs of installation are high, these costs would probably quickly be exceeded by the efficiency gains of corrected prices. Nevertheless, road pricing cannot perfectly internalise external environmental costs. That is why instruments like â€Å"fuel taxation† or â€Å"emission fees† will still be necessary to design an optimal price mechanism in the transportation sector that sets the correct incentives. I believe pricing could be the trick to remove that 5-10% of traffic that causes congestion in peak periods in our cities. If that means picking up the children on time and being able to drive into city centres to shop, then surely that would be a price worth paying. Finally, what's perhaps most important is a recognition that solving these problems will require strong leadership from a government level in addition to management, planning and eventual implementation at the regional and local levels. Traffic congestion must thus be tackled within a broader context of economic, environmental and social goals and its solutions must be compatible and work in support of solutions for a broader range of issues.

PC vs. Mac essays

PC vs. Mac essays In the late 20th Century, the mighty invention was completed. Our first Computer ENIAC had been developed. It was a basic calculating device that contained about 17,000 vacuum tubes. Because of its huge body, only the military built it and used it. However, as we always sought better technology to expand our digital world, ENIAC had been modernized to be a smaller and faster computer using IC (integrated circuit). Two major computer companies, IBM and Apple both developed their own computer systems originated from IC-computers, and the competition between these two companies had not been put to an end yet. There is still an immense controversy over which system is greater. I admit that Apple Macintoshes have more stable operating systems and are easier to use, but, in my opinion, people should get IBM compatible PCs because of their variety of software choice, better performance, and relatively cheaper price. First of all, IBM compatibles have more various selection of software. Despite the popularity of Apple Macintoshes in the 80 ¡Ã‚ ¯s, people chose to use IBM compatibles after Microsoft released Windows, and IBM compatibles became the industry standard. Program developers began to write programs compatible only with Windows, which was the major operating system of IBM PCs. Since IBM dominated the market, it is rare to see a program only compatible with Mac in the market. Now, there are millions of software from games to business tools working with Windows. Nonetheless, some Mac users still say that there are unique programs only compatible with Macs and programs that work better with Macs. For example, some graphic designers say Adobe Photoshop CS on Mac OS (an unique operation system for Macintoshes) performs better than Windows version of Photoshop. However, IBM computers have many more graphic designing programs that work great with Windows. The broader selection of so ftware enables people to find ...

Isys104 Tutorial -Week4 Essay Example

Isys104 Tutorial Isys104 Tutorial -Week4 Essay Isys104 Tutorial -Week4 Essay ISYS104 Tutorial – week 4 Review Questions 1. Which features of organizations do managers need to know about to build and use information systems successfully? What is the impact of information systems on organizations? Define an organization and compare the technical definition of organizations with the behavioral definition. Students can make use of Figures 3–2 and Figure 3–3 in answering this question. The technical definition for an organization defines an organization as a stable, formal social structure that takes resources from the environment and processes them to produce outputs. This definition of an organization focuses on three elements: capital, labor, and production and products for consumption. The technical definition also implies that organizations are more stable than an informal group, are formal legal entities, and are social structures. The behavioral definition states that an organization is a collection of rights, privileges, obligations, and responsibilities that are delicately balanced over a period of time through conflict and conflict resolution. This definition highlights the people within the organization, their ways of working, and their relationships. The technical definition shows us how a firm combines capital, labor, and information technology. The behavioral definition examines how information technology impacts the inner workings of the organization. Identify and describe the features of organizations that help explain differences in organizations’ use of information systems. Common features for organizations include formal structure, standard operating procedures, politics, and culture. Organizations can differ in their organizational type, environment, goals, power, constituencies, function, leadership, tasks, technology, and business processes. Describe the major economic theories that help explain how information systems affect organizations. The two economic theories discussed in the book are transaction cost theory and agency theory. The transaction cost theory is based on the notion that a firm incurs transaction costs when it buys goods in the marketplace rather than making products for itself. Traditionally, firms sought to reduce transaction costs by getting bigger, hiring more employees, vertical and horizontal integration, and small-company takeovers. Information technology helps firms lower the cost of market participation (transaction costs) and helps firms shrink in size while producing the same or greater amount of output. The agency theory views the firm as a nexus of contracts among interested individuals. The owner employs agents (employees) to perform work on his or her behalf and delegates some decision-making authority to the agents. Agents need constant supervision and management, which introduces management costs. As firms grow, management costs rise. Information technology reduces agency costs by providing information more easily so that managers can supervise a larger number of people with fewer resources. Describe the major behavioral theories that help explain how information systems affect organizations. Behavioral theories, from sociology, psychology, and political science, are useful for describing the behavior of individual firms. Behavioral researchers theorize that information technology could change the decision-making hierarchy by lowering the costs of information acquisition and distribution. IT could eliminate middle managers and their clerical support by sending information from operating units directly to senior management and by enabling information to be sent directly to lower-level operating units. It even enables some organizations to act as virtual organizations because they are no longer limited by geographic locations. One behavioral approach views information systems as the outcome of political competition between organizational subgroups. IT becomes very involved with this competition because it controls who has access to what information, and information systems can control who does what, when, where, and how. Explain why there is considerable organizational resistance to the introduction of information systems. There is considerable organizational resistance to new information systems because they change many important organizational dimensions, such as culture, structure, politics, and work. Leavitt puts forth a model that says that changes in technology are absorbed, deflected, and defeated by organizational task arrangements, structures, and people. In this model the only way to bring about change is to change the technology, tasks, structure, and people simultaneously. In a second model, the authors speak of the need to unfreeze organizations before introducing an innovation, quickly implementing the new system, and then refreezing or institutionalizing the change. Describe the impact of the Internet and disruptive technologies on organizations. The Internet increases the accessibility, storage, and distribution of information and knowledge for organizations; nearly any information can be available anywhere at any time. The Internet increases the scope, depth, and range of information and knowledge storage. It lowers the cost and raises the quality of information and knowledge distribution. That is, it lowers transaction costs and information acquisition costs. By using the Internet, organizations may reduce several levels of management, enabling closer and quicker communication between upper levels of management and the lower levels. The Internet also lowers agency costs. Disruptive technologies caused by technological changes can have different effects on different companies depending on how they handle the changes. Some companies create the disruptions and succeed very well. Other companies learn about the disruption and successfully adopt it. Other companies are obliterated by the changes because they are very efficient at doing what no longer needs to be done. Some disruptions mostly benefit the firm. Other disruptions mostly benefit consumers. 2. How does Porter’s competitive forces model help companies develop competitive strategies using information systems? Define Porter’s competitive forces model and explain how it works. This model provides a general view of the firm, its competitors, and the firm’s environment. Porter’s model is all about the firm’s general business environment. In this model, five competitive forces shape the fate of the firm: traditional competitors new market entrants substitute products and services customers suppliers Describe what the competitive forces model explains about competitive advantage. Some firms do better than other because they either have access to special resources that others do not, or they are able to use commonly available resource more efficiently. It could be because of superior knowledge and information assets. Regardless, they excel in revenue growth, profitability, or productivity growth, ultimately increasing their stock market valuations compared to their competitors. List and describe four competitive strategies enabled by information systems that firms can pursue. Table 3. 2 can be used to help answer this question. The four generic strategies, each of which often is enabled by using information technology and systems include: Low-cost leadership: lowest operational costs and the lowest prices. Product differentiation: enable new products and services, or greatly change the customer convenience in using existing products and services. Focus on market niche: enable a specific market focus and serve this narrow target market better than competitors. Strengthen customer and suppliers: tighten linkages with suppliers and develop intimacy with customers. Describe how information systems can support each of these competitive strategies and give examples. Low-cost leadership: use informa tion systems to improve inventory management, supply management, and create efficient customer response systems. Example: Wal: Google, eBay, Apple, Lands’ End. Focus on market niche: use information systems to produce and analyze data for finely tuned sales and marketing techniques. Analyze customer buying patterns, tastes, and preferences closely in order to efficiently pitch advertising and marketing campaigns to smaller target markets. Example: Hilton Hotels, Harrah’s. Strengthen customer and supplier intimacies: use information systems to facilitate direct access from suppliers to information within the company. Increase switching costs and loyalty to the company. Example: IBM, Amazon. com Explain why aligning IT with business objectives is essential for strategic use of systems. The basic principle of IT strategy for a business is to ensure the technology serves the business and not the other way around. The more successfully a firm can align its IT with its business goals, the more profitable it will be. Business people must take an active role in shaping IT to the enterpri se. They cannot ignore IT issues. They cannot tolerate failure in the IT area as just a nuisance to work around. They must understand what IT can do, how it works, and measure its impact on revenues and profits. 3. How do the value chain and value web models help businesses identify opportunities for strategic information system applications? Define and describe the value chain model. The value chain model highlights specific activities in the business where competitive strategies can best be applied and where information systems will most likely have a strategic impact. The model identifies specific, critical leverage points where a firm can use information technology most effectively to enhance its competitive position. The value chain model views the firm as a series of basic activities that add a margin of value to a firm’s products or services. The activities are categorized as either primary or support activities. Primary activities are most directly related to production and distribution of the firm’s products and services, which create value for the customer. Support activities make the delivery of primary activities possible and consist of organization infrastructure. A firm’s value chain can be linked to the value chains of its suppliers, distributors, and customers. Explain how the value chain model can be used to identify opportunities for information systems. Information systems can be used at each stage of the value chain to improve operational efficiency, lower costs, improve profit margins, and forge a closer relationship with customers and suppliers. Define the value web and show how it is related to the value chain. A value web is a collection of independent firms that use information technology to coordinate their value chains to collectively produce a product or service. It is more customer driven and operates in a less linear fashion than the traditional value chain. The value web is a networked system that can synchronize the business processes of customers, suppliers, and trading partners among different companies in an industry or in related industries. Explain how the value web helps businesses identify opportunities for strategic information systems. Information systems enable value webs that are flexible and adaptive to changes in supply and demand. Relationships can be bundled or unbundled in response to changing market conditions. Firms will accelerate time to market and to customers by optimizing their value web relationships to make quick decisions on who can deliver the required products or services at the right price and location. Information systems make it possible for companies to establish and operate value webs. Describe how the Internet has changed competitive forces and competitive advantage. The Internet has nearly destroyed some industries and severely threatened others. The Internet has also created entirely new markets and formed the basis of thousands of new businesses. The Internet has enabled new products and services, new business models, and new industries to rapidly develop. Because of the Internet, competitive rivalry has become much more intense. Internet technology is based on universal standards that any company can use, making it easy for rivals to compete on price alone and for new competitors to enter the market. Because information is available to everyone, the Internet raises the bargaining power of customers, who can quickly find the lowest-cost provider on the Web. 4. How do information systems help businesses use synergies, core competencies and network-based strategies to achieve competitive advantage? Explain how information systems promote synergies and core competencies. A large corporation is typically a collection of businesses that are organized as a collection of strategic business units. Information systems can improve the overall performance of these business units by promoting synergies and core competencies. Describe how promoting synergies and core competencies enhances competitive advantages. The concept of synergy is that when the output of some units can be used as inputs to other units, or two organizations can pool markets and expertise, these relationships lower costs and generate profits. In applying synergy to situations, information systems are used to tie together the operations of disparate business units so that they can act as a whole. A core competency is an activity for which a firm is a world-class leader. In general, a core competency relies on knowledge that is gained over many years of experience and a first-class research organization or simply key people who stay abreast of new external knowledge. Any information system that encourages the sharing of knowledge across business units enhances competency. Explain how businesses benefit by using network economics. In a network, the marginal costs of adding another participant are almost zero, whereas the marginal gain is much larger. The larger the number of participants in a network, the greater the value to all participants because each user can interact with more people. The availability of Internet and networking technology has inspired strategies that take advantage of the abilities of the firm to create networks or network with each other. In a network economy, information systems facilitate business models based on large networks of users or subscribers that take advantage of network economies. Internet sites can be used by firms to build communities of users that can result in building customer loyalty and enjoyment and build unique ties to customers, suppliers, and business partners. Define and describe a virtual company and the benefits of pursuing a virtual company strategy. A virtual company uses networks to link people, assets, and ideas, enabling it to ally with other companies to create and distribute products and services without being limited by traditional organizational boundaries or physical locations. One company can use the capabilities of another company without being physically tied to that company. The virtual company model is useful when a company finds it cheaper to acquire products, services, or capabilities from an external vendor or when it needs to move quickly to exploit new market opportunities and lacks the time and resources to respond on its own. . What are the challenges posed by strategic information systems and how should they be addressed? List and describe the management challenges posed by strategic information systems. Information systems are closely intertwined with an organization’s structure, culture, and business processes. New systems disrupt established patterns of work and power relationships, so there is oft en considerable resistance to them when they are introduced. Implementing strategic systems often requires extensive organizational change and a transition from one sociotechnical level to another. Such changes are called strategic transitions and are often difficult and painful to achieve. Moreover, not all strategic systems are profitable. They are expensive and difficult to build because they entail massive sociotechnical changes within the organization. Many strategic information systems are easily copied by other firms so that strategic advantage is not always sustainable. The complex relationship between information systems, organizational performance, and decision making must be carefully managed. Explain how to perform a strategic systems analysis. Managers should ask the following questions to help them identify the types of systems that may provide them with a strategic advantage. 1. What is the structure of the industry in which the firm is located? Analyze the competitive forces at work in the industry; determine the basis of competition; determine the direction and nature of change within the industry; and analyze how the industry is currently using information technology. 2. What are the business, firm, and industry value chains for this particular firm? Decide how the company creates value for its customers; determine how the firm uses best practices to manage its business processes; analyze how the firm leverages its core competencies; verify how the industry supply chain and customer base are changing; establish the benefit of strategic partnerships and value webs; clarify where information systems will provide the greatest value in the firm’s value chain. 3. Have we aligned IT with our business strategy and goals? Articulate the firm’s business strategy and goals; decide if IT is improving the right business processes and activities in accordance with the firm’s strategy; agree on the right metrics to measure progress toward the goals. Discussion Questions 1. It has been said that there is no such thing as a sustainable competitive advantage. Do you agree? Why or why not? Students will argue both sides, and there is no definite answer to the question. There is little that a company can do that cannot be duplicated over time. Citibank and its ATM machines and American Airlines and its reservation systems are good examples. Think about companies that had strategic advantages in the 1920s or 1940s that no longer exist. In contrast, some companies, such as Wal-Mart, maintain a strategic advantage for a long time. Wal-Mart maintains its lead by striving to advance even further. Gary Hamel, whom some call the leading strategy expert in business today, says there is no such thing as sustainable strategic advantage. Hamel is founder and chairman of Strategos and a research fellow at Harvard Business School. He believes that, in the past, most companies were built to do one thing exceedingly well for an exceedingly long period of time. In today’s marketplace, companies built for scale, replication, diligence, and exactitude must learn to change, adapt, and experiment at the speed that you see in the new economy. New economy companies must master some virtues of the old economy. These companies are learning that scale, operational excellence, and global infrastructure are important. They can constitute hard-to-duplicate competitive advantages that allow them to capture the rents on their innovation. Many have been trained to think that there is no such a thing as sustainable competitive advantage. They have been trained to think about innovation in products and technology, not innovation in business models. They assume that being radical is risky and being incremental is safe. We have to rewire people with new thinking skills. 2. It has been said that the advantage that leading-edge retailers such as Dell and Wal-Mart have over their competition isn’t technology; it’s their management. Do you agree? Why or why not? Student answers will vary but here are some points their answers should include: How well has each company, Dell and Wal-Mart, used information systems to reduce transaction costs and agency costs? How well has each company used information systems to take advantage of Porter’s Competitive Forces model: o Keeping new market entrants out o Either preventing substitute products and services that may compete with their own, or introducing substitute products and services that pull customers away from their competitors o Holding onto customers by c ompeting on prices alone when there is very little product differentiation o Exercising more control over suppliers How well has each company’s management used information systems to enhance o Low-cost leadership – Wal-Mart is the king at this; Dell sometimes uses this strategy o Product differentiation – Dell uses this strategy against Apple and HP (the two leading computer sellers) o Focusing on market niche – neither company uses this much o Strengthening customer and supplier intimacy – Wal-Mart wrote the book on this one; Dell uses this strategy extensively. Business Problem-Solving Case: YouTube, the Internet, and the Future of Movies 1. What competitive forces have challenged the movie industry? What problems have these forces created? What changes have these problems caused the movie and television studios to make? New market entrants and substitute products are the two main competitive forces challenging the movie industry. The traditional outlets for viewing movies – theatres, cable television, and movie rental businesses – are all challenged by new ways for customers to obtain products. The traditional outlets were very easy to control and ensured that the movie producers received compensation for their products. The distribution system was created, not necessarily for the customer’s convenience, but to provide an orderly process for all the players to make money. With the advent of downloadable movies, the system is changing to more of a viewer-centric process. The main problem is that movie studios and producers, outlets for selling the movies, and the myriad of people involved in the old system, have no way of controlling downloads from all the different Web sites that make them available. With no controls in place, the industry cannot ensure its receiving just payments and rewards for the work they produce. Several distributors have tried to squelch the download outlets but its virtually impossible to monitor all the Web sites and all their content. As NBC Universal’s general counsel, Rick Cotton admitted, â€Å"There is only so much we can do. † Some of the major studios entered into negotiations with YouTube and established licensing agreements. Other solutions follow the music industry trends of taking advantage of movie downloads and view them as another source of revenue. YouTube is helping build a revenue-sharing model with content creators and developing a filtering and digital fingerprinting technology that will help it control the unauthorized use of copyright protected material. 2. Describe the impact of disruptive technology on the companies discussed in this case? YouTube is to the motion picture industry what Napster was to the music industry. That is, it’s a conduit to new processes that are more customer-driven than the old ones. YouTube has become the most popular video-sharing Web site because it gives users what they want when they want it. People wanted an outlet for the creative video diaries and amateur films that they created using inexpensive digital video equipment. Disruptive technologies continually displace old technologies that, while they are still good products, no longer serve a customer base. That explains what is causing the changes in how customers want to receive motion pictures. Basically, once the cat is out of the bag, it’s very difficult to get it back in. 3. How have the movie studios responded to YouTube? What is the goal of the response? What can the movie studios learn from music industry’s dealings with online digital music and copyright infringement? If you want to lay blame for all that’s happening in the movie industry you could almost point your finger at hardware and software video-related manufacturers who provided cheap, easy-to-use tools for the average person. Originally the movie industry tried to fight the thousands of illegal uses of their copyrighted material- much as the music industry tried to fight their battle years ago. It was and is a losing battle- both in protecting their copyrighted content and in the public relations fight for loyal customers. Many producers have chosen to not fight their customers but are trying to find ways to meet the needs and demands of both sides- the producers and the customers. It’s a wise decision. 4. Should motion picture companies continue to use YouTube to promote their new films? Why or why not? The answers obviously will vary. It’s important to understand that YouTube continues to be the most popular video sharing Web site. With Google’s clout behind it, it will continue to be a force to reckon with. The movie industry should continue to work with YouTube to find ways to use the site, if for nothing else than promotional reasons. By putting their own short videos and film clips on the site, before others do, movie studios can thwart some of the illegal use of their films. The average person would rather see a well-produced video than a second- or third-rate clip. By taking proactive measures rather than being reactive, the industry can control (to a greater extent) what appears on YouTube’s site. 5. Go to YouTube. com and search for videos from your favorite movie or television show. What do you find on the site? Do you see any advertisements attached to the video? Do you feel this way of advertising is effective? Why or why not? Answers will vary to most of this question but it should provoke some good classroom discussions or discussions in a chat forum. Key elements students should understand is that all artists, producers, and distributors deserve some compensation for their talent, time, investments, and labor. Illegally using copyrighted material is an act of theft. Both users and video- and audio-sharing Web sites are equally and legally responsible for properly using someone else’s property. Advertising is becoming a major source of revenue for many Web sites and YouTube is no different. That’s especially true since Google, a company very dependent on advertising dollars, purchased YouTube. It’s probably true that YouTube ads help get customers excited about seeing the actual movie. Note: Demonstrating the use of Michael Porter’s competitive forces model would be a good exercise in this discussion.

Engage Students with Songs to Teach Metaphor and Simile

Engage Students with Songs to Teach Metaphor and Simile One way to engage students in the study of figurative language-specifically similes and metaphors- is to use examples from the songs they like. Teachers in grades 7-12 can point out how the  metaphors and similes in song lyrics allow  songwriters to communicate their innermost feelings. The metaphors and similes in songs help students to visualize comparisons that are  purposefully placed to convey attitude- Sad? Tears of a Clown. Happy? Walking on Sunshine. Dependable? Solid like a Rock.   If a teacher wants to teach similes and call attention to the  characteristic comparison word like, there is probably nothing more iconic then the song Like a Rolling Stone, the 1965  folk rock anthem by Nobel  laureate Bob Dylan. A more contemporary song example is   Let It Go from the Disney film Frozen where the Princess Elsa (voiced by  Idina Menzel) laments that The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside. Teachers can show how the songwriters chose similes to help listeners visualize the emotions of the singer, and both of these examples  use the word like in their poetic comparisons. For the explicit instruction of metaphors, there is  the 2015 country music hit by Keith Urban titled  John Cougar,  John Deere,  John 3:16  Ã‚  that  begins with a series of rapid-fire metaphors: Im a forty-five spinning on an old Victrola;  Im a two strike swinger, Im a Pepsi cola... There is also the classic rock and roll hit  Hound Dog, covered by Elvis Presley (1956) with its unflattering comparison to someone who is crying all the time... Here the metaphors are comparisons are direct but unusual: a singer to a record, a friend to a dog. These metaphors help the listener better understand the relationships in the songs. Caution: PG Language Only: While teachers can engage students by having them find similes and metaphors in the music they enjoy, the sharing of these songs in school must include high degrees of caution. There are several song lyrics that are explicit in their use of improper language, vulgarity, or profanity. There are also song lyrics that intentionally use metaphors and similes as coded language to send an implicit message that could be inappropriate for a middle school or high school class. If students will be allowed to share songs and lyrics in class, they must be prepared to share only those verses that are appropriate for use in class. In other words, PG lyrics only!   Here are two linked articles with songs that are already previewed for use in class that can be used to provide additional examples of both similes and metaphors in songs. Several of these song lyrics have already been analyzed to help teach about these key figures of speech: Article #1:Songs With Metaphors This article features 13 songs that can be used as models  for mini-lessons. The examples of metaphors in the lyrics are already analyzed for use in class. Songs include: ​Cant Stop the Feeling- by Justin TimberlakeH.O.L.Y. -Florida Georgia Line​Im Already There,  by LonestarThis is What You Came For -Rhianna Article #2:Songs With Similes This article features eight songs that can be used as models   or mini-lessons. The examples of similes in the lyrics are already analyzed for use in class. Songs include: Just Like Fire  -PinkStiches by  Shawn MendesExs Ohs by Elle King Common Core Connection Teachers still meet the literacy anchor standard in the Common Core for  English Language Arts when they use   song lyrics to address metaphors and similes: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.4Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. Finally, using song lyrics is one way teachers can move away from the worksheet and show students the importance of metaphors and similes in their everyday lives. Research on motivating students also suggests that when students are given the opportunity to make a choice, their level of engagement increases. Increasing student engagement through choice and allowing them to  share how  songwriters from every musical genre use similes and metaphors may give students the practice they need to become  proficient in interpreting and analyzing figurative language in other kinds of texts.