Computer

Promotional campaigns. Recommending the use of the products at micro level would result in increasing productivity of the input and thereby increasing the image and the sales of the product can raise the input demand for rural markets. Joint or co-operative promotion A personalised approach is required under this strategy of rural marketing. Under this approach there is a greater scope for private sector and farmer organisation to get into input supply and especially into retail distribution, as it is a low risk activity.

Bundling of inputs In order to reap the benefits of, the economies of the scale a rural marketer has to esort to bundling of inputs. ‘Bundling of Inputs’ is the process by which the marketer would provide a bundle of products to the retailer so that he can meet the requirements of the farmers in one place. The village level co-operatives and other agencies can play an effective role in the distribution of inputs. Establishing linkages with financial agencies and other input sellers can help greatly as the bank credit plays an important role by making the purchase possible.

Management of Demand A marketer apart from maintaining good supplies in terms of quality and quantity also has to focus on the demand side of the operations also. Continuous January 2006 | www. i4d. csdms. in market research should be undertaken to assess the buyer’s needs and problems so that continuous improvements and innovations can be undertaken for a sustainable market performance. Developmental marketing Developmental marketing refers to taking up marketing programmes keeping the development objective in mind and using various managerial and other inputs of marketing to achieve these objectives.

A prerequisite for developmental marketing is Development Market Research, which can be termed as the application of marketing research tools and techniques to the problems of development. The research tools of marketing like product testing tests marketing, concept testing and media testing or message test and focus groups are used in this work. Developmental marketing has started to find its roots in India where researchers are using focus groups and products tests to learn more about rural markets and products needs and USPs (Unique Selling Proposition) can be tried out.

Media rural marketing uses both kinds of media i. e. the traditional media as well as the modern media. The traditional media includes puppetry, drama, folk theatre e. g. tamsaha (role play of different characters by one or two persons), nautanki (short kits with songs and poetry), street plays, folk songs, wall paintings and proverbs. Marketer uses traditional media as it is more accessible, personalised, familiar and carries a high potential for change. The modern media includes the print media, the television and the radio USPs. 21 Some ot the USPs ot the companies engaged in rural marketing are given below.

Mahindra Tractors- ‘Mera Desh Mera Gaon’ (My country my village) Tafe Tractors-‘Grameen Bharat ki Dhadkan’ Tafe ka Massey Ferguson(The heart beat of rural India its Tafe’s Massey Ferguson) SwaraJ Tractors- ‘Pragati aur Khush-hali ke iye’ (For development and happiness) Escorts- ‘Nay’ technique ke sath, Bharosa Jeevan bhar Ka’ (A life long trust with new techniques) Eicher-‘Ghazab ki takat, ghazab ki shaan’ (Incredible strength, Incredible pride) Sun Seeds- ‘Grow with Sun’ ICl Karate Insecticide’Keedon ka Maha-kaal, Phasal Ka Pehredaar’ (Insects enemy protector of the crops).

Pesticide India- ‘Desh ke liye Phasal Anek, Keedon ke Naash ke liye Foratox Sirf Ek (Numerous crops for the country but only for destroying pests i. e. Foratox). Thus the companies use different formats to influence the target audience in order to produce the desired results. Extension Services. There are several limitations of rural marketing in the Indian context, this leads to the need for extension services to supplement the efforts of the firms engaged in rural marketing.

The various extension services could include credit facilities, competitions among the farmers, educating the farmers regarding the appropriate agricultural practices, etc. Extension services would thus play a crucial role in the development of rural marketing in India. Ethics in Business Ethics occupies a special place in rural marketing, and has been at the heart of all the transactions whether cash or kind. In order to make a lasting impact on the rural clients, the firms need to built a trustful relationship and that is possible by no other means but only by ethical conduct.

Partnership for sustainability There is a need to build partnership with rural clients for a sustainable business relationship and sustainable marketing relationship. There should be a long-term relationship between the firms and farmers for agro business projects, which are risky, long drawn and technical in nature. Partnership is required in rural marketing business so as to award distributorship to local groups and individuals employing ocals, staff secondment in local projects, preferential purchase of local product, training to locals and discount on product supplies in some areas.

Rural marketing firms can work with NGOs also because NGOs have better linkages and understanding of the local communities and their problems. NagarJuna fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd has set up an agro output division which is known as FMS (Farm Management Service) which provides packages to the farmers right form soil testing to post harvest stage of the crop system. The FMS aims at enhancing farm productivity optimising cost of production, improving conomic returns to farmers and enhancing the cost of production and enhancing the produce quality.

Conclusion Rural marketing in India nas still a long way to go, rural marketers nave to understand the fact that rural marketing in India has a tremendous potential in our country. Rural marketers should understand this fact and try to tap the huge untapped potential in our country. NepaLinux NepaLinux is a Debian and Morphix based GNU/Linux distribution focused for Desktop usage in Nepali language computing. It contains applications for Desktop users like: OpenOffice. org, Nepali Gnome Desktop, Nepali input systems tc.

Since January 2004, Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya, the principal archive of books and periodicals in the Nepali language, undertook the Nepal component of the 30- month long PAN Localisation Project (www. PANLIOn. net), a multi-nation localisation project being conducted in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, with the support of International Development and Research Centre (IDRC), Canada. This project includes a Nepali GNU/Linux distribution ‘NepaLinux’ comprising of localised GNOME, OpenOffice. org, Mozilla suite, and other utilities that nclude Nepali Spellchecker, Thesaurus, Nepali Unicode support, etc.

This distribution can be used in Nepali as well in English environment. Though NepaLinux is basically a live CD it can also be installed in the computer. The work for the installation process has been facilitated through the European Commission supported Bhasha Sanchar Project (www. bhashasanchar. org) which is led by the Open University (I-JK). NepaLinux is a Free/Open Source Software (FOSS), in which the source code is open and the users have the freedom to use, study, modify according to one’s needs and redistribute it. NepaLinux, being a Free/

This survey aims at placing the jobs faced by school in Jada local Government Area ( LGA ) . The quality of instruction in schools in the rural country is less compared to the quality of instruction in the urban centres. A study and an interview were conducted in order to, place what the jobs are. From the consequences, the undermentioned jobs were identified ; deficiency of substructure, low quality of instruction, unqualified instructors and deficiency of financess to keep the school. As consequences of these jobs the pupils in such schools are neglecting there external scrutinies therefore they do n’t acquire admittances into universities conveying a halt to their instruction. This paper suggests the execution of information and communicating engineering ( ICT ) to work out the jobs faced by the School in Jada with the aid of the authorities and private organisations.

Introduction

Education is a really of import facet in the development of a state. An educated person can carry through so much for himself and his state. Education empowers people to follow their dreams, to do alterations in their lives and the lives of others. In an article published in Onlinenigeria the missionaries foremost introduced instruction to Nigeria in the fiftiess. The first instruction section established was in the southern Nigeria in the twelvemonth 1887 ( Education, 2010 ) . Ibadin a professor in University of Benin mentioned that “ between 1960 and 1998, primary and secondary school registration increased from 2,912,619 to 17,942,000 or 516 per centum rate addition ” ( 2010, p.87 ) . This shows the fast turning figure of educational institutes in Nigeria. Both rural and urban countries have turning Numberss of educational institute. Despite the addition, the educational position in rural countries is much less compared to that in urban centres, it is just to state that instruction in rural countries have non yet run into the needed educational criterion. For illustration, the quality of instruction in urban topographic points like Jimeta in Adamawa province is more than that of rural topographic points like Jada Local Government Area. The public presentation of school in Nigeria is measured by how good they do in external scrutinies. Schools in Jimeta are executing much more than schools in Jada.

The schools in the rural countries have unqualified instructors. Furthermore, the authorities merely concentrates on the urban countries while pretermiting the rural countries. Because of this carelessness, the rural schools do non hold the necessary substructure in making a good acquisition and healthy environment. The execution of information engineering would assist in developing the educational criterion in rural countries.

Methodology

The range of this research was based on Jada Local Government Area and Jimeta in Adamawa province. The methods used in garnering information were, interviews, studies and internet research. Thirty people answered the study, 15 from Jimeta and 15 from Jada Local Government Area. Two people were interviewed ; the local authorities president of Jada and a instructor from Jada secondary school.

Consequences of Findingss

The study was in two subdivisions. The first subdivision focused on the condition/state of the school, while the other subdivision focused on how many people have entree to computing machine and in what ways has the computing machine affected them. Most of the people in Jimeta agreed with the fact that there are good qualified instructors and the acquisition environment is a healthy 1. The entire antonym was the consequence in Jada, from the study it showed that the schools in Jada local Government do non hold adequate tabular arraies and chairs, text editions are out dated and they lack other learning stuffs.

From the consequence above it did non come as a daze that merely 5 per centum of the people who took the study knew what a computing machine was. In add-on, from that 5 per centum none of them own or have used a computing machine before. They have no thought, that the usage of computing machine can help them to be more efficient in their work. The contrary was the instance for the people surveyed in Jimeta ; 85 per centum have used a computing machine before and 60 per centum have entree to a computing machine. From the 60 per centum that have entree to the computing machine all agreed that it has made their work less feverish and it has besides made them more efficient.

In an Interview with the Chairman of Jada ; Alhaji Usman Bamanga mentioned that the ratio of instructors to pupils is 1 to 70, which is really bad. In add-on to that, he besides stated that the instructors are largely unqualified. The Chairman besides stated that most of the times you would happen pupils seated on the floor because there are no tabular arraies and chairs in the schoolrooms. Furthermore, some of the text editions available are outdated and the instructors are the lone people who have entree to them. When asked if there are any computing machines available in the school, the president said “ In a topographic point where there are no chairs for the pupils to sit on, do you anticipate them to hold computing machines. The merely available computing machine in this topographic point is in my office. ”

Harmonizing to the president, the ground why the school is in a really bad status is because the authorities do non supply plenty support to instruction in rural countries. The sum of money provided by the authorities merely helps pay the wages of the instructors and the school can non afford to purchase other larning stuffs needed for learning. In add-on, the sum paid by the pupils for their tuition fees is really undistinguished compared to the financess need to upgrade the criterion of the school.

Interview with the instructor ; a instructor from the school was picked because he would cognize more about the jobs traveling on in the school. One of his major concerns among few others was, the pupils do non like coming to school and that the parents are non making anything about the state of affairs. In add-on, even if they are in school the pupil happen it difficult to concentrate in category because of the conditions of the schoolroom. The instructors besides complained that the figure of pupils in the category, he pointed out that he can non separate the chopper pupils and those that need excess attending. Those that needed the excess attending would stop up non larning anything at the terminal of the session. He besides complained that most of the clip the school does non supply them with larning stuff. For illustration, sometimes the instructors use their ain money to purchase chalks and other composing stuffs in order to learn their category while in some state of affairs when the instructors do non purchase the stuffs larning does non happen.

Problems Faced by Classrooms in Jada Local Government Area

From the study and interviews conducted, it is clear that schools in the rural country are confronting so many jobs. These jobs are:

Low figure of schools in the country ; as motioned above, there is merely one school in Jada available to the population of 1000 pupils in the country. Because of that, the categories are overcrowded doing it impossible for the instructor to command the pupils. If there are excessively many people in a room with hapless hygiene, this makes it easier for the spread of diseases. In add-on, in a category where there are about 70 people in a room, would do it easier for the spread of diseases. In an article published by the World Resources Institute it stated that “ Overcrowding and insanitary family conditions favor the transmittal of the disease, which is spread by droplets from a cough or a sneezing or common custodies ( Airborne, 1999, P. 4 ) . ”

Furthermore, excessively many pupils to a instructor, causes larning to be limited to little figure of pupils. The higher the figure of pupils in a category the more hard it would be for the instructor to command the category. With a crowded schoolroom, it would be hard for the pupils to be attentive. The crowd would besides increase noise doing deflecting other pupils ready to larn.

Another, job faced by this school is the quality of instruction given to them. Most of the instructors in the school are unqualified ; they can non be accepted by other urban school so they come to the rural countries where they have no pick but to use them. The rural schools such as the one in Jada have no pick because they do non hold the money to pay for qualified instructors. The deficiency of qualified instructors has affected the public presentation of the school in external scrutinies such as Western African Examinations Council ( WAEC ) , and the National Examinations Council ( NECO ) .

Supporting this statement is Vincent.O.Ibadin saying that

aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦the ultimate quality of instruction is determined by the instructor, as he transmits the value of instruction to the pupil. In line with this, Merton ( 1957 ) in a paper titled “ The Self Fulfilling Prophecy ” , pointed out that, “ a instructor ‘s outlook can and does rather literally affect a pupil ‘s academic public presentation. ” Similarly, Aghenta ( 1998:44 ) emphasized that, “ what the instructor does and how he does it are of import in the finding of quality of instruction. The instructor is every bit of import in the finding of measure of instruction. ” Hence, possibly the National Policy on Education ( FGN, 2004:39 ) . ( 2010, p.89 )

The quotation mark above shows how the making of a instructor has a batch to make with the public presentation of their pupils.

As a consequence of unqualified instructors, the pupils do highly hapless in external scrutinies, and because of their public presentation, they do n’t acquire admittances into third establishments. The pupils therefore end up remaining at place making what their grandparents have been making, taking them back to where they started. This discourages the parent from seting their kids into schools and it encourages the figure of dropouts in schools. They feel that instruction is a waste of clip ; they instead send their kids to work and lend to the household income.

In add-on to all the jobs, the school does non acquire adequate money to run the schools. The environment in which the pupils survey is really bad, the school does non hold adequate money to purchase up-to-date text editions and other substructures such as tabular arraies.

How ICT Can Help Solve the Problem.

The execution of computing machines and the proviso of cyberspace installation would assist work out some of the jobs faced by Jada secondary school.

The job of outdate information and text edition: With computing machines and the cyberspace, the instructors and pupils can hold entree to information they need. The demand to purchase a text edition is non necessary. There are so many e-books, e-libraries and so much more out at that place that are free and unfastened for the populace to utilize.

Distraction doing larning to be limited to few Numberss of pupils: The computing machine can assist pull the attending of the pupils. For illustration, in a category where there are three people to a computing machine, their attending would be on what is on the computing machine, ( the computing machine here is like a mini instructor to them ) . The computing machine provides a fun manner of acquisition, through educational games and multimedia, this makes the pupils to be excited and willing to larn more. The article Computers in the Classroom: How Information Technology can Better Conversation Education, it acknowledged that “ It is possible to do a talk more piquant and entertaining by utilizing the presentation tools available to us with computing machines and associated package ( 2003, P. 2 ) . ”

Unqualified instructors: The instructors can foster their instruction by inscribing in universities that offer on-line grades. They can besides educate themselves with resources out at that place and happen out what is new and learning techniques that would assist them in their instruction.

Problem of pupils dropping out: When ICT is implemented in the school it would function as a incentive for larning to the pupils. The pupils would be willing to come to school and larn about what is go oning in the universe. Implementing ICT can assist upgrade their external scrutiny consequences, which would acquire them admittance into the university. This would in bend encourage parent to set their kids in school, because they can now see advancement.

Quality of instruction: To sum up how information and communicating engineering can work out the jobs of Jada secondary school, it would in the procedure addition the quality of instruction of the school. Harmonizing to the curate of instruction he stated that vitamin E acquisition could assist work out, the job the state ‘s instruction is confronting ( Sam ) .

Government Roles in Solving the Problems

For the job of unqualified instructors, authorities policies should be implemented to guarantee that merely qualified staffs are employed to learn. In add-on, those instructors that are already in the school system should travel back to school to foster their instruction to the criterion required. Government can besides put a policy to turn to the issue of overcrowding. A policy can be created that states “ A instructor should hold non more than 40 pupils in a schoolroom. ” When the execution of these policies is successful, it would turn to the issues of overcrowding and unqualified instructors learning in rural schools.

The last and the most of import job is the issue of money, which generated most of the jobs. As identified by the president of Jada Local Government, the fund given by the authorities does non supply the basic demands needed to run the school. The authorities should concentrate on instruction in the rural countries as they do the urban countries. The authorities can non be the lone beginning of financess for the school ; there are other private persons and organisations that are willing to supply the aid. An illustration of a non-profit organisation aimed at assisting schools in Nigeria is “ SchoolNet Nigeria is a non-profit administration created to turn to the usage of ICT in Nigerian secondary schools with the support of several authorities ministries. ( Agyeman, 2007, p.6 ) ”

Decision

In decision, when ICT is implemented in Jada secondary school it would upgrade the criterion of instruction in that country. The alterations would non merely be limited to the school and its pupils but to the hereafter of Jada Local Government Area. The pupils would come out with consequences that would take them to any university in the state and compete with other schools in the urban countries. The kids Jada Local Area would hold control of what they want to be in the hereafter. As instruction makes you who are and what you ne’er believing you can go. If this is excessively be successful in every rural country in Nigeria so the jobs of Nigeria are solved

The bulk of pupils in universities fail to recognize merely how many people struggle with disablements that affect so many facets of their day-to-day lives. When it comes to a pupil ‘s instruction, larning disablements are normally what come to mind, but the truth is that disablements can run from physical, to mental, emotional, and/or psychological damages. Although it is hard to achieve the exact figure of university-level pupils with disablements, a recent survey in the United States showed that “ about nine per centum of all undergraduates in higher instruction study holding a disablement, a per centum that has tripled in the last two decennaries. ” ( Clark-McClendon, and Grant ) While that may non look like much of the undergraduate population, it is merely just that a university has resources available to them. The University of California, Riverside, has a section called the Academic Support Center ( ASC ) , which is devoted to assisting pupils with disablements, so that they can hold an equal chance in their instruction as any other pupil. I think the Academic Support Center is an highly helpful and of import resource for pupils with impermanent and lasting disablements. Not merely does it diminish the limitations that are imposed by a pupils ‘ disablement, but it provides them an equal chance to larn.

Although the ASC is where most of the services are offered, the first topographic point to travel for any pupil who is looking for the available services is the Services for Students with Disabilities Office ( SSD ) . The SSD staff is at that place to help pupils and explicate to them the general information about all the services that the ASC provides, every bit good as the needed paperwork and certification that is needed in order to be accommodated by the ASC. The ground that the SSD is the first halt is because the staff there are trained professionals, who after a audience with the pupil, will find what academic adjustments will let the pupil to entree UCR ‘s educational chances. All the adjustments are specifically modified to run into each pupil ‘s disability-related demands. Students are required to make full out the “ Student Data Sheet & A ; Request for Accommodations ” signifier, where they must supply information about their disablement and the list of adjustments that they are bespeaking. Along with that, the pupil must supply the SSD with authorised certification of their disablement which has to be certified by a accredited doctor, psychologist, or larning disablements specializer. Although this is a slightly long and boring procedure, it is highly of import because the disablement must be legitimate and the SSD staff must do certain that the information given to them is valid and non something that is made up. Besides, even though there is a batch of paperwork required, a positive facet is that it is normally merely a erstwhile process that is typically done a hebdomad or two before a pupil ‘s initial one-fourth starts.

One of the grounds the ASC is every bit successful as it has been is due to the experient staff that are organized and are ever at that place to assist with the demands of the pupils. The staff is made up of the manager, Marcia Schiffer, who has her maestro ‘s in instruction, Rebecca Aguiar, the ASC Coordinator, and Sharon Kasner, the ASC Assistant, who does the clerical work. They are really helpful with organizing pupils ‘ agendas in footings of test-taking, work outing any struggles that may happen between any category times, and puting up assignments with pupils so that they can discourse anything that is needed for the adjustment for each pupil. All of their services call for utmost organisational accomplishments because there are a big figure of pupils and the ASC offers many services that need speckless coordination. In an interview with Sharon Kasner, she tells me that “ the academic support centres occupation is to level the playing field for pupils and we are non here to set anyone in more of an advantage. ” When asked if her occupation was nerve-racking, she said, “ it is nerve-racking at extremums, but every bit long as we stay organized and hold pupils up to certain deadlines, like passing in signifiers a hebdomad in progress, it is non as feverish. ” In my sentiment, the staff is making a great occupation in esteeming the demands of the pupils and supplying a comfy, contributing environment where there is equal privateness for each pupil and everything is unbroken really confidential.

Many may inquire why the handiness of these services is critical to those with disablements, which is why there have been many Torahs that apply to pupils of all ages. The American ‘s with Disabilities Act ( ADA ) of 1990 and subdivision 504 of the 1973 Vocational Rehabilitation Act explain in item why it is necessary to hold such Torahs to enable the rights of pupils with disablements. Harmonizing to these Torahs, “ University academic adjustments and support services are non intended to rectify, but instead to supply pupils equal entree by cut downing the negative impact of their disablements. ” ( “ Student Special Services ” ) The services at university degree are available to give pupils equal entree to an instruction, every bit good as giving pupil ‘s entree to larn and/or achieve success. Although the ASC provides many services while assisting do up for the effects of a pupils ‘ disablement, the university itself does non alter any academic demands to suit a pupil.

The ASC provides a broad scope of services depending on the disablement type. Test taking adjustments, note-sharing services, Communication Access Real-time Translation ( CART ) , the usage of a computing machine with altered package, and gestural linguistic communication translators are the most widely used services that the ASC offers. What each pupil is accommodated with has to make with the type of disablement. Learning disablements, for illustration, frequently affect treating information, memory, reading, and ciphering. Examples of adjustments that the ASC provides for pupil who have specific larning disablements include, note-sharing, audio taped categories, excess test times, computing machine ‘s that read inquiries, spelling and grammar draughtss. Mobility damages can be the consequence of many different things including intellectual paralysis, scoliosis, spinal cord hurt, or amputation of a certain limb. The most common adjustments for pupils with mobility damages include trials in electronic formats, a note-taker, or even computing machines that are equipped with particular devices like address input, an alternate keyboard, or even Morse codification. Students with mental disablements frequently struggle with psychological upsets such as, major depressive upset, multiple personality upset, generalized anxiousness upset, or station traumatic emphasis upset. Very frequently, these upsets affect the day-to-day life of pupils and interfere with their academic advancement, therefore pupils with these conditions frequently require note-taking services, a recording of talks, extended clip on assignments and trials, and a non-distracting, quiet puting for assignments and trials.

For pupils who are deaf or difficult of hearing, the usage of a comparatively new engineering called the Communication Access Real-time Translation ( CART ) is available and arranged through the ASC. CART is an instant interlingual rendition of the spoken word into English text, which is performed by a captionist ( the CART newsman ) , utilizing a stenotype machine, a laptop, and real-time package. The text is displayed on the proctor of the computing machine or other device for the pupil. The captionist sits beside the pupil, during category, and types out the professor ‘s talk for word, while the pupil reads it on a laptop computing machine. For pupils who prefer gestural linguistic communication translators over the CART service, the ASC can set up that every bit good, every bit long as the pupil gives the staff at least a hebdomad ‘s notice.

Through experience and observation of the services provided by the ASC, I believe that most pupils greatly benefit from what is available to them. Not merely are the services up to day of the month with the engineering that is out to suit each pupils needs, but the service is easy accessible as good. The testing suites are broad and are set-up to suit a upper limit of three pupils at a clip, but it is really rare that more than one pupil is in there at one time. The testing suites are comfy and are really contributing to a proving environment as there are seldom of all time any distractions.

It may non be easy for some pupil without disablements to understand why it is highly of import for the services of the ASC to be available to those who do hold disablements. Since there are many different disablements, there are many different factors that affect a peculiar pupil. The force per unit area of timed, in-class, tests/exams could show troubles to some pupils. The clip force per unit area in a testing state of affairs, for illustration, otherwise impacts pupils with certain larning disablements and/or pupils who have a difficult clip treating information because they frequently need more clip to understand the inquiries and come up with the replies. Besides, to pupils with sight damages, pen and paper proving turn out to be about impossible to take. Last, composing an essay or taging a scantron on an test is frequently non possible for those who are physically handicapped. For illustration, pupils with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder ( ADHD ) have trouble prolonging attending in certain undertakings and frequently fail to complete school assignment. Although one may believe that this is due to oppositional behaviour or failure to understand stuff, it is non. Therefore, extended clip during trials and drawn-out deadlines for certain assignments would merely be just to them.

It is apparent that the ASC is really good to many pupils, professors, every bit good as the community and universe in general. We all know and recognize that people with disablements and disabilities need to foster their instruction every bit much as possible and the ASC makes that possible. This makes more chances for people with disablements to acquire better occupations out in the “ existent universe. ”

No marks will be awarded for the entire assignment if any part of it is found to be pied directly from printed materials or from another student. All submissions should be made on or before the due date. Any late submissions after the deadline will not be entertained. Zero mark will be awarded for late submission, unless extenuating circumstances are upheld. Scenario Computer everywhere Computers are everywhere. Watching television. Driving a car, using a credit card, even ordering fast food all involve computers, not to mention browsing the Web on your personal computer.

Your car computer is an embedded computer that can be ascribed a special-purpose, because it only accepts input and performs limited functions. Your personal computer, on the other hand, Is general-purpose, meaning It accepts a wide range of input and can perform a variety of tasks. For one day, make a list of each computer you encounter (be careful not to limit yourself Just to the computers you see). How is the computer used? Is the computer special-purpose or general-purpose? Why? How was the task the computer performs accomplished before computers? Write a detail report your finding.

The Assessment This assignment will contribute 50% towards the module marks, as mentioned In the student Assessment & Information sheet. This assignment will be evaluated based on the following criteria. Marks will be awarded based on: Criteria Weight In Package understanding Demonstrating a sound knowledge and understanding of the scenario study in I OFF 25 . Discussion and analysis of the process that takes place based on the scenario given. Critical thinking and Applicability This includes analysis and evaluation of facts followed by results of evaluation.

Displayed evidence of critical appraisal. A proper documentation and references, adhering to the academic writing format as required by the university.  Prepare a document describing your analysis with appropriate diagrams, the report should be fully researched and referenced. Document the results of your work in a professional and systematic manner. Your report must be typed using wordiness’s with Times New Roman font size 12, with 1. 5 spaces. Expected length is 3,000 words and you need to include a word count at the end of the report. The report has to be well presented and should be typed. Submission of report that is unprofessional in its outlook (dirty, disorganized, inconsistent look, varying colored paper and size) will not fare well when marks are allocated.  The report should have a one margin all around the page as illustrated below:

Every report must have a front cover. A transparent plastic sheet can be placed in front of the report to protect the front cover. The front cover should have the following details:

• Name
• Subject
• Project Title
• Date Assigned (the date the report was handed out)
• Date Completed (the date the report is due to be handed in).

All information, figures and diagrams obtained from external sources must be referenced using the Harvard referencing system accordingly. Assignment marking criteria: Distinction (75%+) Demonstrated comprehensive research with detailed evidence.

High level of analysis performed, exceptional and thorough knowledge and understanding displayed with regard to the application. This includes analysis and evaluation of facts followed by results of evaluation. Documentation presented in a professional manner, following proper sequencing and flow. Displayed evidence of critical appraisal. Credit (65-74%) Adequate research conducted with fair detail of evidence presented. Moderate level of understanding, analysis and knowledge displayed. Some level of relevance included in terms of application.

Moderate level of analysis and evaluation of facts followed by results comparison. Good level of documentation presented. Some level of reflection was evident in the documentation. Moderate level of critical appraisal. Pass (50-64%) Low level research conducted. Some evidence of research displayed. Basic level of understanding and knowledge analysis displayed. Satisfactory level of documentation. No evaluation and analysis of facts, no results comparison performed Satisfactory or low level of reflection displayed. No level of critical appraisal demonstrated.

Introduction

HP-Hewlett Packard originated in just a garage near a place called Palo Alto. It was established by two Stanford university electrical engineering graduates William Bill Hewlett and David Dave Packard hence the coined name Hewlett Packard. This company has been the world’s the largest technology offer. It has branches in almost all countries. (HP Company, 2009).

Company background

Hewlett Packard HP is a company operating in the computer industry; its key activities are to manufacture storage devices, computing, and software networking hardware services. HP main products are:  personal computers, servers, related storage devices, as well as a diverse range of imaging products and printers. The other product, comprise medical electronic devices, electronic test systems, instrumentation for chemical analysis and solid state components were established as proprietary software (HP Company) .

Porter generic strategies

Porter generic strategies, this is a strategy on the dimensions of the strategic scope meaning the market penetration and strategic strength referring to the company. For porter a company is impacted by five forces. (Porter, 1985)

Rivalry

In a normal economic setup, competition among rival companies reduces profits of the companies to zero (Porter, 1985). Nonetheless, competition can not be perfect and companies are so sophisticated to counter competition by gaining competitive advantage over their rivals. Competition varies depending on the different industries. In the computer industry, competition is high as there are many companies offering the same services. In pursing the competitive advantage in the industry, HP have continued to improve products, by providing more cost effective products as in line of providing low end computers, printers, scanners and their accessories.

Threat of substitutes

Substitutes in an industry according to Porter (1985) are products from other industries. A threat of a substitute will occur when the demand of the product is affected by changing of price of a substitute product. Computer industry is a wide industry that face various substitutes products from other industries, however, the industry is not under threat as many of its products are essential and also lack competitive substitutes.

Buyer power

This is the impact that buyers have on a specific industry. Generally if there is a strong buyer power, the relation between the industry and the buyer is termed as “monopsony” such a condition happens when there is one buyer and many suppliers (Porter, 1985).  Other printers manufacturing companies have a weak buyer’s power, HP has taken advantage of this by setting prices of its products which are customer friendly and offering more products on the market to satisfy the demands of various customer segments.

Supplier power

Each industry needs raw material, components and labor and other provisions. This need creates supplier-buyer relationships between the companies which provide the raw material and the industry. In the computer industry, suppliers are many and the industry is not impacted by the suppliers (Porter, 1985). HP is a smaller buyer in the industry and does not benefit from  economic of scale, however it tries to  source for better deals to ensure that it gets the best quality of raw material at the best prices.

Barriers to entry

Apart from rivals posing threat to existing companies, new entries in the industry also pose a threat the existing companies and increases competition in the industry. In practice any company should be able to enter and leave the market. The computer and Printer industry has remained open for any player to enter as the there is free and liberal market. (Porter, 1985) However, HP has protected its market share through trying to be innovative and opening more branches so that it can reach more customers in order to keep its market share. In this analysis we shall look at two of the system that HP produces; these include: A HP Compaq computer and DeskJet printer.

Alignment with the Organization’s Business Strategy and Management of Innovation

HP Compaq computers have according to Malone (2007) been one of the best selling computers. Some of the attribute to this is the way their products are aligned to organization business strategy and management of future and current innovation. This is done through

1. A good user interface: The user interface consists of WIMP (Windows, Icons, mouse and pointers) environment. This shows that HP computers were designed to suit busy organization rendering services such as desktop publishing. The icons are designed to emulate the real physical items such as recycle bin is in the form of a basket. This enables one to easily identify icons from the context. The easy with which arbitration is done enables the user interface to be flexible. This enables change of the interface design without affecting the inner structure a situation called “black box”. (HP Company, 2009).
2. All in one: The Helward Packard printer is all in one. This means that both printing, scanning, photocopying is integrated within one package. This enables one to save time and money since these processes are done within the system. Furthermore, the total price of a typical HP printer is a half the price of each independent item hence HP printers are very cheap(HP Company, 2009).
3. Speed of integration: HP promotes large scale integration of circuits. According to Malone (2007) the speed of integration in a typical computer system is rising at a rate of 10000 per year. This means that by the year 2030 integrated parts will be 30000 times this year in a single circuit. This enables computers to be fast in processing and hence adapt to the modern advancement in technology.
4. Increased speed on PC: The possibility of upgrading memory in both HP printers and PCs has enhanced processing speed. This will easily cater for high memory demands for multimedia systems, parallel processing, networking and server demands. This explains why it is very easy to network HP computers. The increase in speed of these computers is attributed to flexibility in design of their microprocessors. Since installation is easy to enable several customers to like HP products.
5. Faster printing and scanning: The speed of printing for typical HP printer can be increased by using 72-pin SIMMS (PS/2 SIMMS). The speed can be 70ns or faster. Their memory size is 4MB to 8MB.The SIMM do not need parity checking (error changing) hence they are           full secure.
6.  Print larger files: Hp printers can print almost any size of paper since its paper feed mechanics can easily be adjusted. The maximum number of papers to be printed is 200 per cycle. They can allow for application processing to run faster since the memory size can be upgraded.
7. Increased overall productivity: Productivity according to Malone (2007) should be the goal of any firm that is competing to attain a competitive edge over similar firms.

Overall these characteristics of HP printers, Computers memory size speed and intergration aim at increasing productivity. HP focuses to enhance a high productivity and technologically innovative products. Read also Business and Society Relationship

Contribution to Attainment of Competitive Advantage

Hp marketers have this advantage that enables them to gain an edge over others. There general managers seat and discuss the way forward for there marketing and strategies to put in place to gain popularity over other firms producing similar products. This process ensures continuous viability of their products.

HP Values: Malone (2007) stated that HP values should be the centerpiece of its performance; these values are not unique from other companies. The different is in the seriousness which these values are treated as a tool of management.

Integrating Critical Opposites: To gain a competitive advantage Malone (2007)  stated that a company should base its productivity on integration and reinforcement of critical opposites. This is what HP has capitalized on in its products. It tries to analyze the weakness of competitor’s products and produces there products by utilizing these weakness which became known as the Hewlett-Packard Way of life. The Compaq computer was designed by capitalizing on the weakness of windows XP professional Its easy of crashing and security breaches. The DeskJet printer was improved on the original DeskJet after realizing customers needed a cheap intergraded all in one printer.

Supporting Teamwork: Malone (2007) stated that when the Japanese view Hp it is like Japanese company. It is because HP focuses on team work a culture of Japanese companies. The design of the Compaq computer was done when HP amalgamated with Compaq computer and jointly they came up with the system. Hp also focuses on innovations research which focuses on individual basis. This allows easy discovery of new production methods. This culture practiced in America and USA where an individual is given the freedom to discover is called dualism.

Enhancing Cross functional Individuals: Maundy (2001) argues that most firms tend to train, recruit and promote employees within their firms. But HP (Hewlett-Packard) breaks the boundaries, in which it create a career framework that commences with employing a wide range of people based on there skills together with personality and they are promoted horizontally and vertically within the company. “In reality, the employees of HP are supposed to move from within four to six areas in their jobs.

Reducing the Barrier to Communication: The common saying in HP is “Only HP knows what HP does!” It is common that the knowledge and wisdom to solve a problem exists in other places. HP keeps trustees on its knowledge asset at the same time realizing the need for sharing ideas. It is until an idea has been born into finished product that it is worth releasing. Therefore most HP technologies are patented to prevent infringement by other companies.

Structural and Cultural Impact on the Organization

1. All in one: With the coming in of HP printers (All in one) it has real improved the speed with which the organization can process its documents. It has also advanced the work organization such that both the scanning printing and photocopying can be done by one man. This has drastically reduced the companies expenditure both initial and operational expenses. (HP Company, 2009)
2. Brain drain: The advent in technology where a document can be scanned at the same time be edited in Microsoft word has caused brain drain such that typing masters have been replaced. Thomson and Rampton (2003) stated that the degree of brain drain in computers is increasing at a high rate and firms need to check this monster. People are being replaced by computing power. DeskJet printers replaced typists; Desktop computers replaced the need for postal services where emails are common.
3. Effect of internet services: Because of the adequate power of Compaq computers internet services especially its speed is now not a nightmare. But though internet a source of information both for research and academic fields, it has enhanced addiction. Most employees connected to the internet are no longer but browsing their emails instead of utilizing this time for beneficial work
4. Noise: DeskJet printers are known to be noisy when printing. Noise affect the working condition since communication between employees might be inaudible. For effective operation of these printers, there is need to provide noise absorbers which is expensive.
5. Untidiness: One of the reason as to why DeskJet printers are not easily admired is because of their easy of spilling ink. The operator working on these printers has to accept chances of being spilled by ink. Such stains are hard to remove when washed hence it might not motivate employees attitude towards work.
6. Home office networking: Home networking has promoted people to be at home while attending to duties in the office. Though these enhance productivity, it leads to chances of idleness and fatigue towards work since the employee has no colloquies to keep him busy.
7. Centralized processing: The PCs have also enhanced centralized processing where all activities within an organization are done under one roof. A company can have all its work processes such as data entry accounting decision making done using integrated software such enterprise resource Planning (ERP).
8. Acceptance of computers: According to News – CIO.com, computers and computer systems are not necessarily accepted within an organization because of fear unemployment. There is need to focus on creation of jobs when designing systems other than reduction in human power.
9. Effects of internet: Thomson and Rampton (2003) agued that moral character is diminishing in today’s culture because of effects of the internet. Phonorgraphical sites terrorist attack production of harmful weapons and malicious attacks has been enhanced by the coming in of internet.
10. Browsing Addiction: Most of the times spend by employees in an organization is on browsing. Internet services enhanced in HP Compaq computers have easen this ability. Though networking has its uttermost significance but if not controlled in an organization can pose a threat to precious time spend on browsing

Conclusion

The current business environment has turned to be competitive than ever, companies are being faced with challenges or remaining competitive, they can only be competitive if they have competitive advantage. As seen one of the major analysis of an industry is through using Porter’s five forces, accordingly, the computer industry is a very competitive industry and companies within the industry have to be innovative to compete well. HP as a company has remained competitive because of its innovative strategies.

Reference:

1. HP Company (2009): about us: Accessed on 17/5/09; from: www.hp.com
2. Johnson, G and Scholes, K. (2002): Exploring Corporate Strategy; Text and Cases sixth edition; Prentice Hall
3. Malone, M (2007): Bill & Dave: How Hewlett and Packard Built the World’s Greatest Company; Portfolio Hardcover. pp. 39
4. Maundy, L. (2001): An Introduction to Human Resource Management: Theory And Practice: Macmillan, Pal grave
5. News – CIO.com : Business Technology Leadership: Accessed on 17/5/09; from: www.cio.com
6. Porter, M.E. (1985): Competitive Advantage: The Free Press, New York,
7. Thomson, C. and Rampton, L. (2003): Human Resource Management. Melbourne press, New York

DELL’s Working Capital

1. How was Dell’s working capital policy a competitive advantage? Dell has achieved low working capital by keeping its work-in-process and finished goods inventory very low. The competitive advantage Dell achieves from this is that its inventory is significantly lower than its competitors, it does not require large warehouses for stocking the inventories and Dell is also able to adapt the fastest to technology changes in the components. The competitors would find it difficult to adapt to technology changes in a short time because they have larger inventories than Dell does. In short, Dell builds computers only when ordered and thus does not spend much capital as a result. The declining DSI means that Dell takes increasingly shorter days to sell its inventory.

2. How did Dell fund its 52% growth in 1996? Dell needed the following amount to fund its 52% growth in 1996 (using exhibit 4&5): Operating assets (OA) = total assets – short term investment OA in 1995 = 1594 – 484 = 1110 Mil USD Operating Asset to Sales ratio = 1110/3457 = 32% Sales increased from 3457 to 5296 Mil USD in 1996. Multiplying the operating asset to sales ratio by the increase in sales 0. 2 x (5296 – 3457) = 582 mil USD, which is the operating assets that Dell needed to fund its 52% growth. This increase in assets meant an increase in liabilities too, proportional to the sales.

The increase in liabilities would be: Liabilities in 1995 = 942 Mil USD Liabilities to Sales ratio = 942/3475 = 27. 1% Increase in liabilities = 0. 271 x (5296 – 3475) = 494 mil USD So, Dell would have an increase in operating assets of 582 mil USD and an increase in liabilities of 494 mil USD. The short investments would remain the same as it is not related to operations.

Operational profit would increase with the Operating Profit to Sales ratio: (net profit/sales) x (5296 – 3457) = (149/3457) x (5296 – 3457) = 227 mil USD In all, we see that a sales increase of 52% has to be funded by 582 mil USD operating assets. The sales increase would also bring an additional 494 mil USD in liabilities, while generating 227 mil USD of operating profit, with short term investments remaining the same at 484 mil USD. As a result, any two combinations of liabilities, operational profit, or short term investments would be sufficient to offset the 582 mil USD operating assets needed to sustain the 52% sales growth.

In 1995, as shown earlier, the operating asset to sales ratio was 32%. Similarly, the ratio in 1996 was (2148 – 591)/5296 = 29. 4%. The difference in the percentages is 2. 54%. This decrease in operating assets in the year 1996 suggests that operating efficiency was improved by the same amount. Multiplying this difference in a ratio by total sales in 1996: 5296 x 0. 0254 = 134. 5 mil USD, this amount can be reduced from the originally forecasted 582 mil USD to give the actual additional operating asset required to fund the 52% growth: 582 – 134. 5 = 447. 5 mil USD. The net margin in 1995, as shown earlier was 4. % (149/3457). In 1996 it increased to 272/5296 = 5. 14%. This net profit is an increase from the forecasted 227 mil USD (calculation shown earlier) and can be attributed to improved net margins. Also, we see an increase in current liabilities of 187 mil USD between 1995 and 1996. We also see that the sum of the increase in current liability and the net profit, of 1996, is higher than the actual additional operating asset requirement: 272 + 187 = 459 mil USD > 447. 5 mil USD. Therefore, Dell funded its 1996 sales growth through internal resources, i. e. reducing its current assets and increasing its net margin. Assuming Dell’s sales will grow 50% in 1997, how might the company fund this growth internally? How much would working capital need to be reduced and/or profit margin increased? What steps do you recommend the company take? For the year 1996, Operating Assets = Total Assets – Short term Investments = 2148 – 591 = 1557 Mil USD When the sales increases by 50% in 1997, operating assets are also expected to increase by 50%. So for 1997, Dell requires an operating asset of 1557 x 1. 5 = 2336 Mil USD. We should also assume that the net profit as a percentage of sales will increase proportionally by 50% for 1997.

For 1996, Net profit as a percentage of sales = 272/5296 = 5. 14% For 1997, Net profit = 5296 x 0. 0514 * 1. 5 = 408 Mil USD For 1997, additional operating asset required = 2336 – 1557 = 779 Mil USD How could this be funded by Dell? Let us assume two scenarios Scenario 1: Let us assume the liabilities remain the same for the year 1997 even when sales increases by 50%, i. e. DELL would not go for any additional liability to fund the increase in operating assets and it would try to do it internally. As per the calculation shown in the attached exhibit, Dell would need 371 Mil USD to fund the increase in sales. The following are the ways DELL could fund this increase in operating asset 1. They could liquidate the short term investments of 591 Mil USD which would cover all of the additional funds required.

3. They could reduce inventories, account receivables, and increase the account payables. They could bring down the working capital substantially by having a very low cash cycle. They could negotiate with their suppliers for a higher DPO. With the Just In Time (JIT) concept, they could receive payments immediately from their customers. Average daily sales in 1997 = 7944/365 = 21. 8 Mil USD Cost of sales in 1997 = (4229/5296) x 7944 = 6343. 5 Mil USD Average daily cost of sales in 1997 = 6343. 5/365 = 17. 4 Mil USD For the year 1997, savings due to improved cash cycle. Savings due to reduced inventory days = 11 x 17. 4 = 191. 4 Mil USD Savings due to reduced receivable days = 17 x 21. 8 = 370. 6 Mil USD Savings due to increased payable days = 17 x 17. 4 = 295. 8 Mil USD Total saving from cash cycle improvements = 857. 8 Mil USD.

Scenario 2: Let us assume liabilities for 1997 increase proportionally (50%) with the increase in sales, i. e. Dell would look for external funding for the increase in the operating assets. As per the calculation shown in the attached exhibit, Dell would have enough money to fund the increase in sales with the corresponding increase in liabilities. In fact, they will have an excess of 161 Mil USD assuming the long term debt remains unchanged. Dell could use this excess money to repay the long term debt or it could buy back some common stocks.

4. How would your answers to Question 3 change if Dell also repurchased $500 mil USD of common stock in 1997 and repaid its long-term debt? Let us assume Dell repurchased 500 Mil USD of common stock in 1997 and it also repaid its long term debt. In such a scenario, as per the calculation shown in the attached exhibit, Dell would need 452 Mil USD to fund the increase in sales. The points discussed in scenario 1 of Q3 holds good here as well.

Bill Gates has proven himself to be the wealthiest man alive. He initiated the monster computer software business called Microsoft and has produced the most widely used computer software programs to date. Bill Gates is a transgressive person meaning he has both helped society progressively and regressively.

Bill Gates has progressively helped our society by introducing the basic operating system DOS in 1983. This basic operating system consisted of a single prompt, which allowed the user to complete tasks by typing in the right command line. When the press asked Gates what it took to create the Dos operating system, he replied, “Well, to create a new standard, it takes something that”s not just a little bit different. It takes something that”s really new and really captures people”s imagination.” (Microsoft Conference on Dos, 1984)

When people saw the operating system, they were awestruck. Over ten million copies of Dos where sold during the first two years of sales. Society benefited from this operating system. By using it to run programs easily and efficiently, the Dos network allowed a whole new frontier of micro-management for businesses. Transactions could be saved to hard drives and easily located for later use. The average home computer user would have to take computer courses to learn the basic operations of the interfaces, which were available at the time. Dos offers a short instruction manual and also a set of easily understood operations.

After Microsoft had gained control of the market with the Dos operating system, Bill Gates and his company Microsoft started on a new program that again would change the market. This alteration would not be in the home computer region, but the programming industry. The program was called the OS/2.

“I believe Os/2 is destined to be the most important operating system, and possibly program, of all time. As the successor to Dos, which has over 10,000,000 system in use, it creates opportunities for everyone involved in Pc”s.” (Bill Gates, Os/2 Programmer”s guide).

The program was a simple interface which made creating programs efficient and easy. Low-level programmers could write unthinkable programs in a fraction of the time it would take a team of programmers to complete programs. With this technology, programs that would help our society where brought to our reach faster.

After setting up these two major projects, Bill Gates and Microsoft released windows 1.0. This version of Microsoft”s operating system was the first of many steps in the evolution of Microsoft being the monopoly it is today. The windows operating system allowed non-computer lingual people to manipulate a computer with ease. The progressive program allowed families to use their home computers to educate and entertain themselves. The major flaw with the windows operating system was that Bill gates and Microsoft produced windows with the basic drop-down menu. Macintosh had already copyrighted this, later; they brought Microsoft to court over the matter and won their settlement. With Microsoft windows being run on most PC”s, Bill Gates and Microsoft began work for upgrades.

Through the evolution of technology, Microsoft has made four new version of the windows operating system, each one bettering the last. The interface has gotten more and more user-friendly. With the most recent version, windows 2000, you can actually learn all of the operations through the program”s tutorial. This self-education application allows easy understanding and use for the users. The Internet has attracted many people to buy a computer and with the windows operating system, users will have no problem adapting to the computer environment.

One of the more recent programs that Microsoft has initiated is the Internet explorer. This program has progressively helped many businesses start web pages and has also allowed families get connected to the Internet. While the Internet explorer does help our society progressively, at the same time, it regressively helped the workers of Netscape Navigator. Microsoft included the Internet explorer free with every windows operating system package, starting from Windows 95 and up. Microsoft single handedly took control of the Internet browsing business. This made Netscape, the makers of Netscape navigator; make cutbacks in regards to their employees. Netscape brought Microsoft to court and won. Although the courts decision was guilty, it has not affected direct sales of their product.

Bill Gates has also affected our society in regressive or negative ways. Over the course of Bill Gate”s working career with Microsoft, he has accumulated a wealth of $119.704 billion dollars. The U.S, population is only 274,231,556 as of Thursday, February 10, 2000. This means that each person has contributed $436.507 dollars toward his wealth, whether or not they are buying Microsoft products or not. While many people do not even own a computer, they have contributed to Microsoft through taxes and other means of financial

Microsoft in itself is a regressive business when looked at through the eyes of a computer software business. Bill Gates almost ruined Macintosh Computer, but decided that it would be better to own them, rather then end the business. He now has turned them into an even larger corporation then before. ” The next generation of interesting software will be made on a Macintosh, not on an IBM PC.” (Bill Gates, 1996) Bill Gates meant that he believes that the Macintosh will be the computer for tomorrow, not an IBM PC. By owning a large chunk of the Computer software industry, Microsoft has become a national monopoly. Most small time businesses cannot offer competition to a corporation such as Microsoft.

Finally, Bill Gates has had a transgressive hold on society ever since the Microsoft Corporation began. He has helped our society by making the operating systems made by Microsoft and the other programs offered, available to us. Through the operating systems: stocks have risen, people are becoming open to the world through the Internet, and important medical research can be accomplished as well as hundreds of other useful task.