THE GLOBAL CAR INDUSTRY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

THE GLOBAL CAR INDUSTRY - Essay Example A major change in the iron and steel industry will make great changes in the prices of cars. The market is greatly impacted by the reputation and quality of the product. A car company with good reputation that provides higher quality products and good after sales service will definitely capture more markets. But above all the primary factor that drives the industry is the usage of latest technology for the product as well as for production. This report studies clearly the competitive position of the car market. The report is based on Daimler Chrysler, one of the biggest car makers of the world. The company has its presence in almost all parts of the world either through production plants or through distribution channels. The company has many competitors which are equally potential and competitive to Daimler Chrysler. Therefore, the company is running through a highly competitive environment and is in a process of framing new strategies for its betterment. The report critically analyses the current position of the company as a car manufacturer. The current strategies of the company and its future plans are also referred in the report. The industry is highly influenced by the economic condition of the country. Daimler Chrysler was founded in the year 1998 by the merger of two old and giant company’s Daimler Benz of Germany and Chrysler Corporation of US. German based Daimler Benz has been in the industry since 1926. US based Chrysler Corporation was formed in the year 1925. Daimler Chrysler is one of the leading manufacturers and distributors of passenger cars and commercial vehicles in the world. â€Å"Today, the company is a leading supplier of premium passenger cars as well as the world‘s largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles† (Corporate Profile-overview. 2008). The company operates in the various sectors of automobiles through its various brands. The different brands of the company

Porter Five Analysis of the European Airline Industry Essay Example for Free

Porter Five Analysis of the European Airline Industry Essay While the business model existed for some time (first such in 1973 US), the appearance of these in the European market needed the liberalization brought forth by the EU, implementing the „Freedoms of the air† in three stages. In 1997 the first LCC (Low Cost Carrier), the Ryanair began its operation, and in a few years a few more followed, which gave the national and network airlines a new problem to the existing economic problem, shrinking market and others such as 9/11. By today the changes in the past two decades have shifted and diversified the industry, which was once a mature and to some level declining in structure. The new regulations, companies, investors and consumers have brought new life, the industry once again mature with fragmented characteristics. The ideal tool for the assessment of the airlines industry is Michael Porter’s five force model. It aims to find and demonstrate the forces in the microenvironment which influence the industry, internal and external as well. Threat of new entrants (barriers to entry) †¢High capital investment ? †¢Capital intensive ? †¢Airport slot availability ? †¢Predatory pricing ? †¢Brand loyalty/frequent flyer ? †¢Economies of scale ? Limited number of routes ^ The threat of new entrants, due to the barriers mostly set by the nature of the industry and by the existing companies, are very low. Yet sometimes when the possibility arises, new companies start: in the past few years many national companies went bankrupt leaving a market to take by the existing companies or new upstarts. Bargaining power of suppliers †¢Ai rcraft manufacturers †¢Relatively low number of suppliers ^ †¢Suppliers are concentrated ^ †¢Airlines are valued customers ? †¢Airports †¢Slot availability ^ †¢Alternatives to the primary airports ? The bargaining power of suppliers is mostly two-legged, and both have a medium threat. For both parties it is best to find a mutually working solution on a long term, because it is a industry with relatively small number of players loosing even one can have an impact on both sides. Threat of substitutes †¢Alternative transport (bus, car, train) ^ †¢Videoconferencing ^ †¢Global environmental awareness ^ The threat of substitutes includes a broad variety for the different needs. All-in-all it still only gives a medium threat, since the quick transport to a distance has no alternative. Bargaining power of customers †¢Price ? †¢Internet/social media ^ †¢Customer orientation ? †¢Choice ^ With the first LCCs the customers had no bargaining power: if you choose to go with this low price, accept the services as it is. However, nowadays with more alternatives and the ever-reaching internet and social media a bad customer satisfaction can be a disaster. This can however be mitigated with customer orientation, but still customer had the choice, it is a medium high level. Rivalry within the industry †¢Between LCC and national/network airlines ^ †¢Between LCCs ^ The rivalry within the industry is high due to the high number of big and medium sized companies. The airlines industry is highly competitive, with very high barriers and medium to high threats within. While there is a relatively low threat from a new market entree, the existing international competition is fighting over all the resources: more and better airports possibly with mutually excluding contracts, picking up the customers fed up with their previous carrier or starting a price war on a selected destination, binding the newly aquired flyers with brand loyalty programmes. Unless there is an opportunity, it is not an attractive industry to enter due to the high number of barriers. However, once established a foot, it is a very interesting and very intensive industry with good possibilities. The major LCCs depending on how low cost they are making good profit and there is still room for growth. The key factors for success should include: †¢Efficiently utilizing the resources (financial, time, human resources) †¢Utilizing a network of business partners (complementary) †¢Timely expansion (trying new destinations, increasing frequency) †¢Customer orientation (with following trends eg. ocial media) These above should be observed by both LCCs and traditional airlines. The industry standards are given, those companies will become successful which can effectively utilize them.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail and The Declaration of Individualism :: Letter from Birmingham Jail

Letter from a Birmingham Jail and The Declaration of Individualism Although the time periods and goals may be different the method for bringing about change is usually the same, this method is protest. This method is supported by two different people, in two different time periods, with two different goals; these two people are Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King Junior. Martin Luther King Junior's letter from a Birmingham Jail was an expression of his encouragement for protest against tradition and established laws and a justification for his actions. King, a leader of a civil-rights group that supported protest against traditional views, encouraged protesting against tradition and established laws that are unjust. In his letter from Birmingham Jail King states: "It was illegal to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country's anti-religious laws." This excerpt shows that King encourages protest because in some situations he deems it necessary, be it in Hitler's Germany, a Communist country, or any situation in which injustices are occurring. In the last sentence of the excerpt King openly admits that he would protest against established laws or traditions. King was against the traditional views and unjust laws, which discriminated against him and his fellow people. He felt that the only way that these unjust laws and traditional beliefs would ever change would be by means of protest. He felt that without protest the laws and traditions would remain the same forever. Along with encouraging protest, King's letter was also a justification of his actions. The letter was written to his fellow clergymen to explain his prior actions and to attempt to justify them. In the letter he tried to explain to the clergy that his actions although illegal were justified and appropriate for the situation. He expressed that he exhausted every other option possible and direct action was the only available option left, which could make a difference. Similarly to King's letter from Birmingham Jail, The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson to encourage the protest of established laws and justify possible actions. But unlike King, Jefferson also encouraged individualism in his declaration. His views are distinctly stated in the first sentence of The Declaration of Independence: "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to

Rating Othello Essay example -- Othello essays

Rating Othello  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Is this Shakespearean tragedy Othello at the top of the rating chart, or is it just near the top? And why? This essay intends to examine various aspects of this subject, along with critical opinion.    This play ranks near the top. The Bard’s presentation of emotions, character, of good and evil actions that are down-to-earth – these are sometimes seen as the main reasons for the high ranking of Othello. Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar in â€Å"The Engaging Qualities of Othello† maintain that the popularity of this play has been consistent for about 400 years because    it treats emotions that are universal and persistent in human nature. Its characters do not exist on a plane far removed from ordinary life; we are not asked to witness the conflict of kings and conspirators beyond the experience of everyday people; we are not involved in the consequences of disasters on a cosmic scale; what we witness is a struggle between good and evil, the demonstration of love, tenderness, jealousy, and hate in terms that are humanly plausible. (126)    The realistic aspect of the play presents a full range of characters, a full range of emotions, a full range of motivations, a full range of actions – just as are present in real society. The down-to-earth, realistic consideration is very important to Othello’s enduring popularity.    Francis Ferguson in â€Å"Two Worldviews Echo Each Other† ranks the play Othello quite high among the Bard’s tragedies:    Othello, written in 1604, is one of the masterpieces of Shakespeare’s â€Å"tragic period.† In splendor of language, and in the sheer power of the story, it belongs with the greatest. But some of its admirers find it too savage [. . .]. (1... ...d Nothing.† Essays on Shakespeare. Ed. Gerald Chapman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965.    Heilman, Robert B. â€Å"The Role We Give Shakespeare.† Essays on Shakespeare. Ed. Gerald Chapman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965.    Levin, Harry. General Introduction. The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1974.    Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.    Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. â€Å"The Engaging Qualities of Othello.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Rpt. from Introduction to The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare. N. p.: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1957.      

Negotiation in Action

Negotiation in Action One of my most substantial accomplishments is that I learned significant concepts and principles of negotiation during the course. Negotiation process and a variety of tactics that I learned in class or through the textbook, Getting to Yes, were definitely helpful for improving my understanding of negotiation and its strategy. Another important accomplishment is that I have learned what I couldn’t have learned from lectures or textbooks through negotiation simulations.I prepared a lot for each negotiation and tried to follow the strategy that I had set up in advance. After negotiations, I tried to identify what worked, what didn’t and how I could improve next time. I have kept a list of successes and mistakes and I have eventually become more confident in a variety of negotiation situations. While negotiating, I have been more like a soft positional negotiator who emphasizes the importance of building and maintaining a better relationship, trying n ot to hurt other’s feelings.My unique set of negotiation skills are : ? polite, positive and active attitude, ? a good listener and ? thinking of the other’s position. During the process of negotiation simulations, I have always tried to listen more actively and acknowledge more carefully what is being said by the partner. If I pay attention more, the partner will also feel the satisfaction of being heard and understood. However, I realized that I need to balance my position better according to different situations.I have learned that constructively initiating positional bargaining is essential and approaching to solutions according to my position is more effective in negotiation process. In addition, I have learned not only that negotiating with partners cooperatively and competitively is one of the most significant factors for successful negotiation but that cultivating good relationships for the future is very important as well. To do so, I need to effectively manag e emotions in disputes and favorably understand cultural differences.I would like to set two top priority goals for my future negotiation. One is that, thinking about a variety of tactics such as â€Å"BATNA†, ZOPA, and etc. , I will always try to find an optimal solution, which is â€Å"win-win† for both sides, instead of arguing over my position and pursuing only my own interests. The other priority is that I will establish healthy personal and professional relationships in my life, having a positive and active attitude, understanding people, appreciating their wants, identifying their needs and learning about their background and what makes them who they are.Recommendation Letter I strongly recommend this course. This course is designed to cover the range of negotiation situations and issues faced by managers and decision makers. This course explores negotiations in many contexts: simple personal transactions, public and private sector collective bargaining, resolvi ng disputes. I was able to develop tactics and strategies for becoming an effective negotiator and have confidence in the ability to analyze negotiations in a variety of contexts and to conduct successful negotiations.

Comparative Essays

Comparative Essays Comparative Essay Comparative Essay Comparative Essay BY alexa1724 What is a comparative essay? A comparative essay asks that you compare at least two (possibly more) items. These items will differ depending on the assignment. You might be asked to compare positions on an issue (e. g. , responses to midwifery in Canada and the United States) theories (e. g. , capitalism and communism) figures (e. g. , GDP in the United States and Britain) texts (e. g. , Shakespeares Hamletand Macbeth) events (e. g. the Great Depression and the global financial crisis of 2008-9) Although the assignment may say compare, the assumption is that you will consider both the imilarities and differences; in other words, you will compare and contrast. Make sure you know the basis for comparison The assignment sheet may say exactly what you need to compare, or it may ask you to come up with a basis for comparison yourself. Provided by the essay question: The essay question may ask that you consider the figure of the gentle man in Charles Dickenss Great Expectations and Anne Brontes The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. The basis for comparison will be the fgure of the gentleman. Developed by you: The question may simply ask that you compare the two novels. If so, you will need to develop a basis for comparison, that is, a theme, concern, or device common to both works from which you can draw similarities and differences. Develop a list of similarities and differences Once you know your basis for comparison, think critically about the similarities and differences between the items you are comparing, and compile a list of them. For example, you might decide that in Great Expectations, being a true gentleman is not a matter of manners or position but morality, whereas in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, being a true gentleman is not about luxury and self-indulgence but hard work nd productivity. The list you have generated is not yet your outline for the essay, but it should provide you with enough similarities and differences to construct an initial plan. Develop a thesis based on the relative weight of similarities and differences Once you have listed similarities and differences, decide whether the similarities on the whole outweigh the differences or vice versa. Create a thesis statement that reflects their relative weights. A more complex thesis will usually include both similarities and differences. Here are examples o t the two main cases: Differences outweigh similarities: While Callaghans All the Years of Her Life and Mistrys Of White Hairs and Cricket both follow the conventions of the coming-of-age narrative, Callaghans story adheres more closely to these conventions by allowing its central protagonist to mature. In Mistrys story, by contrast, no real growth occurs. Similarities outweigh differences: Although Darwin and Lamarck came to different conclusions about whether acquired traits can be inherited, they shared the key distinction of recognizing that species evolve over time. Come up with a structure for your essay Alternating method: Point-by-point pattern In the alternating method, you find related points common to your central subjects A and B, and alternate between A and B on the basis of these points (ABABAB . For instance, a comparative essay on the French and Russian revolutions might examine how both revolutions either encouraged or thwarted innovation in terms of new technology, military strategy, and the administrative system. A Paragraph 1 in body new technology and the French Revolution BParagraph 2 in body new technology and the Russian Revolution A Paragraph 3 in body military strategy and the French Revolution B Paragraph 4 in body military strategy and the Russian Revolution A Paragraph 5 in body administrative system and the French Revolution B Paragraph 6 in body administrative system and the Russian Revolution Note that the French and Russian revolutions (A and B) may be dissimilar rather than similar in the way they affected innovation in any of the three areas of technology, military strategy, and administration. To use the alternating method, you Just need to have something noteworthy to say about both A and B in each area. Finally, you may certainly include more than three pairs of alternating points: allow the subject matter o determine the number of points you choose to develop in the body of your essay. When do I use the alternating method? Professors often like the alternating system because it generally does a better Job of highlighting similarities and differences by Juxtaposing your points about A and B. It also tends to produce a more tightly integrated and analytical paper. Consider the alternating method if you are able to identify clearly related points between A and B. Otherwise, if you attempt to impose the alternating method, you will probably find it counterproductive. Block meth d Subject-by-subject pattern In the block method (AS), you discuss all of A, then all of B. For example, a comparative essay using the block method on the French and Russian revolutions would address the French Revolution in the first half of the essay and the Russian Revolution in the second half. If you choose the block method, however, do not simply append two disconnected essays to an introductory thesis. The B block, or second half of your essay, should refer to the A block, or first half, and make clear points of comparison whenever comparisons are relevant. (Unlike A, B .. or Like A, B .. This technique will allow for a higher level of critical engagement, continuity, and cohesion. A Paragraphs 1-3 in body How the French Revolution encouraged or thwarted innovation B Paragraphs 4-6 in body How the Russian Revolution encouraged or thwarted innovation When do I use the block method? The block method is particularly useful in the following cases: You are unable to find points about A and B that are closely related to each other. Your ideas about B build upon or extend your ideas about A. You are comparing three or more subjects as opposed to the traditional two.

Caesar, Act I essays

Caesar, Act I essays The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, tells of Caesar, his rise to power, and his tragic demise. Shakespeare tells the story in five acts, what is now called the Shakespearian Triangle. Act I sets the stage for the rest of the play, by using characters, telling of conflicts and plot, and by expressing foreshadowing and tone. The play introduces several important characters in Act I. First, is Caesar. Caesar, revered by the population, is seen as a hero to many. However, to the senators, he is a dreaded enemy, who will possibly put them out of power when he is crowned Emperor. Next, Brutus, is Caesars best friend. However, as a senator, Brutus also does not wish Caesar to become Emperor. Cassius is the main leader of the faction against Caesar. He wishes that Caesar not come into power, as Cassius will lose his. In such, Cassius then attempts to convince the senators to go against Caesar. The final important character in Act I is Casca. Casca at the end of the play, joins in the faction against Caesar, when he is speaking of the prodigies that happen on that night to Cicero. Then leaves Cicero and enters Cassius, and they discuss how the tokens might be a sign of Caesars coming to power. Shakespeare introduces several conflicts into the story of Julius Caesar in the first act. The first conflict expressed is one between Brutus and Cassius. Cassius attempts to convince Brutus that Caesar is an enemy. Cassius know that Brutus will not want to lose his noble power and will not interact with the common people , and says so when he states Thy honorable mettle may be wrought From that it is disposed; there fore it is meet That noble minds keep ever with their likes; Caesars conflict is with Cassius, though he does not express it to Cassius himself. Caesar states Let me have men about me that are fat, Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep a-nights. Yond Cassius has a lean an...

How to turn stress into motivation using paper a guide for “negative thinkers”

How to turn stress into motivation using paper a guide for â€Å"negative thinkers† Teach your mind to recognize good things, as our brain does exactly what we tell it. Being distressed is no big deal in the US or any other country. We get so used to high demands and time pressure that we take this discomfort as given. On top of that, we overestimate â€Å"disaster† in our college life, pushing ourselves further into anxiety and depression. In most cases, we blame negative thinking. If not for this wicked mindset, we could be as happy as many bright and carefree people around us. But we are not. At least, we believe we cannot change our way of thinking. In this article, we are going to give you a few tips on how to recognize positive ideas in your mind and how to turn them into everyday motivation. You can do all of that using an ordinary piece of paper. When you try implementing these strategies, you will be impressed by how many beautiful things you used to ignore in your head. Create a memory mailbox In the 21st century, we have an inbox that operates perfectly without any paper. However, we propose you to create a real cardboard mailbox where you will regularly put hand-written paper letters. It is important that you write these letters to yourself. Back to our mailbox, however. Though it requires more than just a piece of paper, you probably have a box of a suitable size around. Keep in mind that it will be filled with beautiful memories, even if you do not know what they are yet. Use only colors and materials you like most to decorate your mailbox. Write a letter to yourself As your nice memory mailbox is ready, it’s time to start writing letters. Take a piece of paper and note down all the good things that happened to you in the past couple of days. You can describe positive events to the best of your inspiration if you like writing. If you don’t, just jot down some positive events that look remarkable to you. Try to write these letters once or twice a week. If you start procrastinating, take a letter out of your mailbox and look through it. Remind yourself of your recent success, good feelings, or pleasant people. Tell your brain that your life is not full of work, classes, and desperation in between. Grow a beautiful tree of wishes If you like the idea of decorating your living space, make a colorful tree, where every leaf carries a wish. Besides usual paper, you will need a tree branch. You can find a suitable one while walking in a park or you can buy an artificial branch from a florist. Getting started, think of the good things you dream or what you plan to implement. Create leaves of colorful paper, foil, or use pages from an old magazine. Write your wishes on leaves and attach them to the branch. Use your imagination. Decorate your tree with other small details. Every time you feel down, look at your tree. You have so much to strive for. There is no time for moping when good things are ahead. Put positive memos all over your home Do you have a habit of placing sticky notes everywhere you can see so you don’t forget important things? You can do the same with your positive memories and achievements. It is no wonder that your brain is stuck in negative thinking if you only overwhelm it with problems. This time, we offer to remind yourself of good moments that happened to you. Write short notes with emojis or print out small pictures from delightful events that make you smile. Make a collage of your favorite movie quotes Everyone loves movies. We bet you have a couple of favorites that boost your spirits, motivate you to move on, or provide you with a sincere laugh. You can use them as food for positive thinking. Print out your favorite movie scenes, lines, or actors’ quotes and place them on a collage. Taking a glance at your personal exposition of movies, you will feel more confident and comfortable. The main idea behind each part of this advice is to teach your brain to think positively about your life. Negative thinking is not a disease, but it considerably undermines your mood and ruins performance. Having started to think positively, you will act more productively. And current distress can become an incentive to change your life for the better.

Free Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Free Writing - Essay Example Hence, prompting the photographer end up interested in taking the image, which is also the case it has remained to date in libraries to show utter human desperation. I think the 32 year old mother in this case is pondering the next move in her quest to find how she will feed her family of 7 children, which was not an easy given the then deplorable conditions she was then. The most interesting thing in this image is how the joyful dancers seem to try the then style while singing along the song. Style in this case refers to both dressing and dancing, which stand out in this image as evident event in the background men’s pants being of the same fashion. The image gives a bit of realities of the American African juke point where people used to enjoy themselves and forget the then period’s bigotry. Therefore, I think the image though taken many years ago to date acts as a reminder of how the then people’s social life used to be. This is despite in the current political arena many terming the period being characterized by

A Region in Europe Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

A Region in Europe - Term Paper Example 2. Location 3. 3. Sicily’s Physical Geography Sicily is famous for its unique geographical features such as its topography, rivers, climate and vegetation that distinguish it from any other European region. 3.1. Topography and Landscape Figure 3 – Contrasting Landscapes in Sicily 3.2. Rivers and Catchments The longest river in Sicily is the Salso. Its tributaries start in the Madonie Mountains in Central Sicily, and flow southwards through the providences of Enna and Caltanissetta into the Mediterranean near the sea port of Licata. It’s Sicily’s longest river at 89 miles, and its drainage basin covers an area of 819? miles (Wikipedia: Salso, 2010). Sicily’s rivers are usually fast flowing with irregular volumes of water. Flash flooding in the winter months contrasts with the drying up of rivers in summer. Figure 5 – The River Salso Other notable rivers include the Simeto, Sicily’s second longest river at 68 miles, which channels waters from the Caltagirone, Gornalunga and Dittaino catchments (Wikipedia: Simeto, 2010). It flows into the Ionian Sea, on Sicily’s eastern coastline, south of the populated region of Catania. It’s regarded as Sicily’s most important river in terms of its watershed and the number of people who rely on it for domestic, industrial and agricultural uses. 3.3. Sicily’s Climate Sicily’s weather is dominated by its Mediterranean climate, consisting of hot dry summers and mild wet winters. The city of Catania is the ‘sunniest’ place in Europe, with 2492 hours of sunshine per year (6.8 per day) (Peter Sommer Travels). 3.3.1. Temperature June to September are Sicily’s hottest months, were temperatures regularly exceed 25Â °c (World Reviewer). Sicily’s coolest months are December to February were temperatures range from 10Â °c-16Â °c (Peter Sommer Travels). Despite Sicily’s small geographical size, there are also climatic diff erences between locations of the island, ranging from an annual average of 19Â °c on the coastline, to 13Â °c in mountainous regions (Sicily: Italian Marina). Figure 6 – Sicily’s Average Annual Air Temperatures (Cited from Worldreviewer.com) 3.3.2. Precipitation Sicily has an annual mean precipitation rate of 24 inches (611mm), in which 75% of rainfall occurs from October-March. Less than an inches worth of rain falls between June – August (World Reviewer). Figure 7 also highlights that Sicily’s rainfall is not evenly distributed, and low lying ground such as the plains of Catania receive far less rainfall than mountainous regions. Figure 7 – Precipitation Rates in Sicily (Cited from BestofSicily.com) 3.3.3. Sea Temperatures As an island, the temperature of the sea surrounding Sicily has a bigger effect on its climate than inland regions in mainland Europe. Sicily’s average sea temperatures are hottest during the summer (24Â °c) and coole st from January-March (14Â °c) (Peter Sommer Travels). 3.3.4. Vegetation Sicily’s temperate Mediterranean climate has played a major role in determining its vegetation. The typical evergreen Mediterranean shrub is widespread in coastal areas and much of Sicily’s wild vegetation consists of papyrus, palm trees and stone pines. Numerous trees, shrubs and flowers are native to Sicily, including wild olive trees and manna ash (a medium size deciduous tree, which contains a sugary extract in its bark used as a natural sweetener). Citrus and fruit orchards, grape vines and

Risk Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Risk Management - Research Paper Example It is vital to define the term â€Å"risk† before embarking on a discussion about managing risk. Generally, risk can be termed as the uncertainty over possible future deviations from the objectives of a given organization. Such deviation may be caused by certain events or circumstances whose consequences may be positive or negative (Hopkin, 2012 pp.14). Simply put, risk is anything that can potentially cause negative or positive effects on the implementation of established business objectives (Longenecker et.al, 2006 pp.463). Since corporate objectives are diverse in nature, there are many types of risks that a business may be forced to tackle. Types of risks There are different types of risks facing an organization, depending on the operations of the specific organization. Nonetheless, the following are a number of general risks that each and every business has to deal with in its normal operations: Hazard risks Hazard risks are the types of risks that only result in negative outcomes for the business. According to Hopkin (2012, pp.15) these are the types of risks that an organization faces during daily operations. ... Such risks are deliberate and the business invests in such risks in order to gain in future. Although opportunity risks are intended to bring about positive results, there is no guarantee that such results will always be positive. Most opportunity risks involve the financial aspects of the business and may entail; invest in equity shares, opening up new branches, producing new products, and moving to new locations (Sadgrove, 2005 pp.211). Control risks There are those types of risks that can be generalized as neither negative nor positive, in terms of the outcomes they give. Such risks give the business a certain level of uncertainty about the future and are mostly associated with the profit a certain project may bring to the business. Hopkin (2012, pp.17) states that an organization is forced to deal with the tentative effects of projected results versus the actual results. For example, an organization may start a project and somewhere in the middle, the project collapses or data an d records appertaining to such a project may get lost. Such events bring about negative outcomes, as opposed to what was expected of the project. Risk management Risk management involves identifying and analyzing the possible outcomes of future events to ensure that their impact will be favorable on the business. Accordingly, the impacts of negative events are minimized, while the potential positive events are maximized. In order to ensure the control over risk, any business needs to have clear goals for risk management. Goals of risk management Risk management aims at minimizing operational uncertainties and losses (Steinberg, 2011 pp.75). Risk management aims to protect the business from liability by focusing on

Nantucket Nectars Case Study Memo structure Essay - 1

Nantucket Nectars Case Study Memo structure - Essay Example The analysis will be carried out by the use of the net present value method. The reason as to why the method has been used is the fact that the method makes use of discounted cash flows and there is a clearly decision criteria that should be used in the making of a decision. The present value for the future projected incomes for the company is equivalent to $20,662.79. That will mean that the decision that will be made by Nantucket Nectar should bear into mind the net present value obtained. That means if the company decides to float shares, the income should be greater than $ 20662.79, if the managers decide to sell the company, the best price should be greater than $20662.79. Nantucket Nectar should consider the bids that are been offered and the company should also calculate the amount of money that will arise from the initial public offer. The value that should be considered should be greater than $ 20662.79 and that will form the basis for making the decision since the best offer should be taken by the company. If none of the offers turn out to be more profitable, then the company should be maintained at its current state (Gerald et al,

Travel report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Travel report - Essay Example Kilometers (Madeline 6). Summers are scorching and dry, and winters are trivial. Most of the rain falls during November-February. Temperatures rise to 30 C in midsummer, but the brisk breeze cools the air. The sunny and warm coastal are ideal for tourists. Most of the fruits, cotton, vegetables, tobacco and grain are grown on the coast (Madeline 7-8). Turkey’s population is about 65 million. Majority of the population is extremely young with 30 percent of the population under 15 years. 40 per cent of the citizens live in the state side though there have been a move to town in large numbers lately. Population density is premier on the business, industrial and tourist areas of the Aegean, Marmara and the Mediterranean regions and lowest on the rural areas of the southwest Turkey (Madeline 11). The first chief empire was built by Hittites which came to an end when Turkish people dominated Anatolia which saw the development and growth of the Ottoman Empire. During World War 1, the empire entered into alliance with Germany, and it was defeated and occupied. This transformed the politics of the country. It prompted the beginning of a nationalist movement which repelled the occupying armies and liberated the country. During World War II, it became a chartered member of United Nations. It political system is based on separation of powers among the Constitution, Executive and Parliament. The president is elected by the Grand National Assembly every seven years (Madeline 13-15). Turkey has a varied culture resulting from various elements of Ottoman Empire, European and Islamic traditions. Turkish culture has significantly changed from the religion driven Ottoman Empire to the modern nation state with an extremely stout separation amongst state and religion. Because of diverse historical features playing domineering role in defining Turkish Identity, it culture is an indispensable amalgamation of clear struggles to be modern and Western,

Nantucket Nectars Case Study Memo structure Essay - 1

Nantucket Nectars Case Study Memo structure - Essay Example The analysis will be carried out by the use of the net present value method. The reason as to why the method has been used is the fact that the method makes use of discounted cash flows and there is a clearly decision criteria that should be used in the making of a decision. The present value for the future projected incomes for the company is equivalent to $20,662.79. That will mean that the decision that will be made by Nantucket Nectar should bear into mind the net present value obtained. That means if the company decides to float shares, the income should be greater than $ 20662.79, if the managers decide to sell the company, the best price should be greater than $20662.79. Nantucket Nectar should consider the bids that are been offered and the company should also calculate the amount of money that will arise from the initial public offer. The value that should be considered should be greater than $ 20662.79 and that will form the basis for making the decision since the best offer should be taken by the company. If none of the offers turn out to be more profitable, then the company should be maintained at its current state (Gerald et al,

Budget Proposal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Budget Proposal - Assignment Example Though the economy has witnessed decrease in unemployment, there is still a large proportion who has failed to find full time jobs. Corporate profits have risen dramatically, but the wage rate and income level has failed to witness the same growth. It should focus more on adding value to the rising middle class and create a hub for jobs. It should work for many and not for few. US should try to attract more high tech jobs for its middle class. A growing middle class is a key indicator of a growing economy. Bringing jobs will not solve the problem, but its people should be educated, trained and better equipped to meet the requirement of the jobs. This will not only improve the per capita income of US, but will also create high revenue for the government through large base of tax payers (Mankiw, 2008). They key areas that should be the main focus towards a balanced budget would include sectors like, infrastructure and development, education, clean energy, small business, manufacturing, health and defense. These are the critical areas of government expenditure that are to be increased while the other sectors should be decreased. The other sectors include justice, transportation, SSA, Science foundation, treasury, interior, veteran affairs, agriculture, etc. From the revenue the budgeted tax collection should be increased. The sources include income tax, corporate tax, social security tax, excise and customs. Estate and gift tax to be reduced. The specific target areas include the sectors that will help augment the revenue for the government and significantly reduce the budget deficit. Though it is totally not possible to eliminate the deficit in the short run, but it can be reduced to a sustainable level. All the sectors are critical to the growth of the economy, yet there are cert ain sectors as mentioned above that needs government aid to complement the vision of developing the middle class and creating jobs. Health and

Corporate Culture is Core Competitiveness Essay Example for Free

Corporate Culture is Core Competitiveness Essay Placed in rough sea, survival of the fittest, many companies are still competitive through the development of hundreds of years; the root of the reason is that they have their own corporate culture. Well, what’s the corporate culture? Corporate culture refers to the shared values, attitudes, standards, and beliefs that characterize members of an organization and define its nature. Corporate culture is rooted in an organizations goals, strategies, structure, and approaches to labor. Not only does the corporate culture have its own characteristics, but most importantly that corporate culture is their core value which is the first core competitiveness. The corporate culture itself is kind of wisdom, it can’t be copied; it has deep historical accumulation and precipitation. Such as that â€Å"Respect and best service† is one of IBM’s core values that are why we call IBM as â€Å"Big Blue†. If we mention blue and everybody knows it is IBM, which culture influences those people’s thinking and doing, even wherever they go, they feel proud of that they are or they were in the Big Blue. The corporate culture just likes blood in the body, can’t be seen but can feel it and envision it. Regardless of the size of enterprises, large or small, they have their own management mode. However, experience management or system management, even other kind of management, all of them will definitely rise to the cultural management in the end. Corporate culture is the source of core competitiveness, which can create the enormous amount of cohesion, drive and creativity. The business leaders are also the best founders of corporate culture and implementers. They setup the suitable culture which can give employees a great sense of satisfaction in the spirit level and cause a strong sense of belonging. With similar thinking and shared goals, creativity can flourish and create a strong and powerful source of competitiveness. Economic globalization is a trend; the competition is no longer just in products but in who has a stronger corporate culture, which can cover in the market, all aspects of the talents and customers. Once the clients accept your culture and would like to do the business with you, and then we can say that corporate culture plays the role and changed to be a strong competitiveness. So I think corporate culture will be the necessity of the enterprise management in the future.

Theories for Optimistic Personality Traits: A Reflection

Theories for Optimistic Personality Traits: A Reflection Eunice Khong Ee Thian Question 2 (a) I am an optimistic person. Optimism is an individual variable. It embodies the extent to which individuals hold generalized expectancies for their future. Persons with high level of optimism have better subjective well-being when facing adversity. Researches also pointed that optimism has been associated to higher levels of engagement coping and lower level of avoidance. Optimism also linked with health-protective behaviors (Carver, Scheier, Segerstrom, 2010). I always believe that there are always good thing waiting for me ahead. I always look thing in the bright side. No doubt that disappointments and sadness will happen sometimes but I prefer to face challenges and difficulties positively and believe all the problems can be solved one day instead blamed on the problems and others. I always find ways and take actions to solve problems rather than avoid facing them. For instance, during exam, I believe myself can do well in the papers instead of failing them. As optimism also highly associated with resilience which is bouncing back power when facing adversity, I found that the intensity of my optimistic behavior is high and this lead me to have high level of resilience because I do not easily bow to difficulties. (b) I have born in a positive family environment. My parents are also very optimistic. No matter how difficult the situations were, they always showed me and taught me to face adversity positively when I small until now. I am the only child in my family; no doubt my parents will put the most care and attention on me. However, they do not too pamper me. They like my friends and let me make my own decisions. They respect my decisions and also will give me suggestions when I’m making decisions as some guidelines for me. The respect that they gave me made me have confident to face all the challenges positively. As an example, they let me to choose the course that I want to study and which university I want to go to further my study. They do not restrict my freedom but encourage me to pursue my own dreams. Thus, my optimistic behavior has to thank for my parents as they made me have the courage to enrich my life. Besides that, the environment I join is supportive. I like to join with persons who have positive thinking because they make me feel active, fresh and energetic. When in school, I prefer to join friends with positive behaviors. The supports and encouragements that they gave me also is one of the reasons that made me have optimistic behavior. For instance, I have a group of friends who I used to organize events with them in secondary school. I enjoyed the moment when we organized events because no matter how tired we were, we will support each other to across the difficulties together happily but not blame on each other. This also influenced me to be optimistic. (c) Biopsychosocial model integrates biological, psychological and sociocultural factors for explaining a behavior. Optimistic behavior can affect a person biologically. Plenty of researches figured out that optimists have higher survival rate from illness than pessimists. Optimists tend to have better physical health and mental health compare to pessimists. This may because of optimists have greater persistent goal pursuit and active coping with stressors while confronting adversity (Carver, Scheier, Segerstrom, 2010). According to the study of Schou, Ekeberg, Ruland (2005), optimists have greater fighting spirit when facing illness hence they may have better quality of life compare to pessimists (as cited in Carver, Scheier, Segerstrom, 2010). I have skin allergies since I am 9 years old. It is very itchy and irritated when it started. Optimistic behavior braces me up to fight with this disease bravely as I realized that I should not tie by this issue since I have other more signifi cant things are waiting for me to complete rather than always depress on this disease. I feel more relax and less burden when I started to view the disease from the bright side. Besides that, optimistic behavior also helps in coping stress. Individuals with optimistic behavior can cope with stress better and less depresses and has less adverse impact on their physical health (Carver, Scheier, Segerstrom, 2010). For instance, optimistic behavior helps me to survive through many exams. Exams are stressful event. I can cope with the stress during exams with optimistic behavior such as learn to relax instead of nervously prepare for exams. Optimistic behavior also will affect a person psychologically. People will have different feelings and reactions when encountering problems such as enthusiasm or anxiety. How a person feels is related to the differences level of optimism. Optimists expect good outcomes while pessimists expect bad outcomes (Carver, Scheier, Segerstrom, 2010). This will influence a person attitude and behavior. Optimists will have positive attitude and behavior such as hopeful, helpful, enthusiasm and persistent. However, pessimists will have negative attitude and behavior such as hopelessness, easily give up and fragile. Optimistic behavior has helping me a lots in shaping me to become positive. According to my friends, I am the kind of happy-go-lucky and cheerful person. This behavior has helped me earn a lot of precious friendships. Furthermore, according to the study of Sdberg Ness and Segerstrom (2006), optimists are using various types of coping strategies in confronting adversity such as problem- focused coping and engagement coping to solve problems. However, pessimists are always using avoidance coping and disengagement coping while facing challenges (as cited in Carver, Scheier, Segerstrom, 2010). Optimists always learn how to solve problems while pessismists always avoid to face problems and prefer to stay in their comfort zone. For example, me and my parents tried a lot of ways to cure my allergies problem rather than doing nothing and keep on depress. From sociocultural perspective, optimistic behavior is associated with the social environment and culture around an individual. Optimists have better social connections and easier be accepted by others than pessismists as people like someone who express positive thinkings rather than negative expectations (Carver, Scheier, Segerstrom, 2010). Optimists gain more social support from the surrounding. I accepted by my frirends as I always express positive thinkings and feelings to them hence I gain supports from them. Culture will also influence a person’s behavior, believe and thought. Individuals who in a culture which full of negative thoughts, anxiey and sadess are easily become pessimists. In the other hand, if a culture always promote positve, enthusiasm and hopeful atmosphere, individuals are more optimistic. For instance, in my family culture, my parents always encourage me to view thing from the positive side. Therefore, I learn to be optimistic after be edified by my parents. In conclusion, my optimistic behavior is not caused by only one factor. Parents, peers and the people surroundings play an important role in helping me to build optimistic behavior. Hence, people should work together and take in every aspect such as biological, psychological and sociocultural factors as consideration in building children positive characteristics. References Carver, C., Scheier, M., Segerstrom, S. (2010). Optimism. Clinical Psychology Review, 879-889.

A Feminist Perspective of Measure for Measure and The Merchant of Venic

A Feminist Perspective of Measure for Measure and The Merchant of Venice      Ã‚  Ã‚   Isabella's only power could be in saying 'no', her 'no' to Angelo that she would not leave the world despoiled and soulless, 'no' to Claudio that she would sacrifice herself, 'no' to the nunnery that she had wished to enter or 'no' to the Duke's offer of marriage. Isabella's role ability to be self-determining was quite different from Portia's advocacy in The Merchant of Venice, for Isabella was the tool of the Duke, fulfilling his scripting. Her nun's garb should have ensured a neuter role, and she intended her pity and love for her brother to involve her in this world only so far as to counsel him in honour. Despite her self concept, two men of the world with power over her saw her as a beautiful sexual object to be acquired. Against this, Isabella's strength was in theological purity, going straight to the sense of the Gospels. We cannot cast the first stone. We must have mercy for others, because "he which is the top of judgement" had mercy on us. Because the censors usually eliminated the word 'God', references were oblique, but there could be no real substitution of 'Jove' or 'the gods' here where the sense was so very New Testament. Isabella was preaching to a society which had gone far in condemnation and execution in the name of religion; she was a beacon of clear light. Portia actively sought mercy as the greatest response and carefully gave Shylock every option to release the bond which held him when she stage-managed the last-minute dramatic revelation, showing that he too could be forfeit. Significantly, the advocacy of both Portia and Isabella was the same: mercy must be applied to the law. Could a Duke's one gateway denouement be... ...d expanded, and the whole prospered on the servitude and devotion of women. Petruchio did his bit, as did Isabella's Duke, so that protectionism was the right end and repository for women's identity and role. Yet in the next section Benedick will meet his match, and that paragon, Portia, will tactfully remain within the rhetorical framework of male supremacy, costuming her more able endeavours.... i Jill Bavin-Mizzi, Ravished (Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 1995). ii Margaret Thornton, "Women as fringe dwellers of the jurisprudential community", in Sex, Power and Justice (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), p. 190. iii Charlotte Lennox (nà ©e Ramsay), 1729 -1804, actress and poet, Women Reading Shakespeare 1660-1900, An anthology of criticism, ed. Ann Thompson and Sasha Roberts (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997), pp. 17-18.

Character Sketch on Jack Merridew from Lord of the Flies :: essays research papers

Jack first appears in Chapter 1 on page 15 after Ralph had blown the conch. He appears at first to be a terrifying and haunting figure in the way he dresses, a long sweeping black cloak, from a distance looking like a fictional character. Jack is introduced as darkness and shadow, â€Å"Within the diamond haze of the beach something dark was fumbling along... the creature stepped from mirage on to clear sand, and then they saw that the darkness was not all shadow but mostly clothing.† The image Ralph sees is actually Jack and his choir boys. When they are first introduced, â€Å"the heat of the tropics, the descent, the search for food, and now this sweaty march along the blazing beach had given them the complexions of newly washed plums.† Jack wore â€Å"a long black cloak which bore a long silver cross on the left breast and each neck was finished off with hambone frill.† Each choir boy also wore a square black cap with a silver badge on it but Jack’s badge was golden. Jack is â€Å"tall, thin, and bony: his hair was red beneath the black cap. His face was...freckled, and ugly without silliness... .â€Å" His eyes were bright blue and were ready turned to anger if necessary. He held himself upright and moved athletically and with authority. The first thing Jack says when he meets up with Ralph, Piggy and the other crowd of boys is, â€Å"Where’s the man with the trumpet?† The way in which he says this shows his contempt for the other children on the island. At this point he only cares about himself, his own reactions to changes and his own feelings. This is visible through his none existent interest towards the boys. He disagrees with some of what is said, â€Å"This was the voice of one who knew his own mind.† He has a disdainful attitude towards the other boys including the choir but shows a grudging respect and a shy liking for Ralph once Ralph is elected as leader and offers him continued control of the choir to be given which ever job Jack chooses. At first Jack doesn’t seem satisfied that there isn’t a man and wonders why Ralph has summoned everyone if there is no ship. He is put out because he isn’t chief. He believes that Ralph isn’t able to control the boys and thinks that he has his priorities all wrong- Ralph should be ordering people to go out hunting instead of building huts and keeping fires going.

Facebook Versus Friendster and Myspace

Stealing Success & Leaving the Unsuccessful Behind: Facebook Facebook, one of the most successful social networking sites up to date, has 500,000,000-users. Facebook found phenomenal success through the mistakes and downfall of fellow competitors, Friendster and MySpace. However, was Facebook’s success due to the downfall of its predecessors? In this paper, we will discuss what makes a social networking website successful, and reveal what Facebook did and what other social networking websites such as Friendster and MySpace, did not do.There are certain properties that will be highlighted later on in the paper that will distinguish the successful social networking websites such as Facebook from the unsuccessful, such as Friendster and MySpace. Social networking websites have five main characteristics. First, social networking websites are user-based where they are built and directed by users themselves. Second, social networking websites are interactive, meaning that they are n ot just a collection of chat rooms and forums anymore. Such websites are filled with network-based gaming applications, allowing individuals to play with one another online.Third, social networking websites are community-driven allowing members to join a group where they all hold common beliefs or hobbies. People are able to find sub-communities of people who share commonalities, such as alumni of a particular high school, or part of a charity organization, or who are just interested in the same things. Fourth, unlike other websites, social networks thrive on relationships. It allows people to build connections, links to one another and allows people to establish themselves toward the center of a network.These websites are also another way for individuals to discover new friends, but it also allows them to reconnect with old friends lost along the way, allowing them access to possible friendships out there. The last characteristic of social networks is the emotional factor. While we bsites are usually designed with the primary function of providing information to the visitor, social networks â€Å"provide users with emotional security and a sense that no matter what happens, their friends are within reach. †To start off, let’s beg the question of what exactly went wrong with Friendster? There isn’t a single reason that explains why Friendster failed, but merely actions Friendster did not take to secure their position as the number one social networking website. First, the more popular Friendster became, the longer it took to load the webpage, sometimes taking as long as 40 seconds. Such technical problems were not issues that could not be solved; however, they felt that such â€Å"technical difficulties proved too pedestrian† for them.Instead of spending hours fixing such problems, the team of Friendster devoted most of its time talking about future investors, potential competitors and new features that would give Friendster a distin ct look. They focused more on the future or rather than the problems of the present; they wanted to run before they could even walk. Secondly, Friendster was a closed system that allowed users to only view the profiles of those on a relatively short chain of acquaintances.As a dating website, it was imperative to be able to find people whom may be suitable for you, but if the viewing of their profile was limited, then the possibility of finding a possible date would be much lower than if Friendster took on a open system approach. As mentioned, most of the problems Friendster faced were technical, but it was their decision to only focus on the next big thing, rather than the simple mechanics that made Friendster possible in the first place.If the team had solved these minor problems, Friendster today could still be a leading social networking website, and possibly have prevented MySpace and/or Facebook from emerging. On these accounts, Friendster is an example of an unsuccessful soci al networking website. Next, MySpace saw phenomenal traffics growth starting in early 2004 and it continued all the way to 2007 even as Facebook entered the scene, but what happened along the way? Similar to Friendster, MySpace faced several technical problems.Firstly, MySpace pages are designed mostly by individuals with little HTML experience causing HTML code to be rarely met leading to accessibility problems for users and freezing up web browsers. Secondly, security is another major problems. There are advertisements that provide links to fake login screens tricking users into entering their information, allowing people access to their page. Another security issue would be of our personal information. There is no privacy setting; therefore f anyone wants to know more about an individual, there are no restrictions on the amount of information they could attain on the individual via MySpace. Lastly, MySpace lost to Facebook simply because there is no sense of privacy with MySpace. MySpace took an opposite approach from Friendster, allowing everyone and anyone to see their profile. Any individual keen on viewing a certain page would be given access whether or not the owner approved or not, rendering owners of MySpace account vulnerable to outside criticism and viewing.The open system caused a lot of security and personal issues creating stalking incidents, violent fights, and gate crashing of parties. These problems were due to the fact that anyone had access to people’s MySpace page, and nothing could be done to prevent limited viewership. Unlike Friendster, MySpace was able to see more success, however, that success was short-lived. And similarly to Friendster, MySpace did not respond to requests to fix their problems, causing them to fall into the category of an unsuccessful social networking website.First Friendster, second MySpace, and lastly Facebook? What makes Facebook a fad, and why has it survived longer than its predecessors? A normal routin e for a majority of the population would be, wake up, check facebook, go to school/work, check facebook again, do work/listen to lecture while checking facebook, and then go home and check facebook once again. On average, it’s been found that people check their Facebook an average of 4 to 5 times a day. There are many reasons why Facebook is so successful, and why Friendster and MySpace failed to see the kind of success Facebook is seeing today.In the next part of the paper, we will see how Facebook overcame the problems Friendster and MySpace encountered, turning what could have been unsuccessful into something immensely successful. As mentioned previously, Friendster and Myspace encountered issues such as technical problems such as the webpage taking up to 40 seconds to load or where it would sometime just fail to load altogether, and additionally, that Friendster was a closed system. Facebook knew these reasons and made sure these were not to be problems.Mark Zuckerberg st ates, â€Å"if the website is even down for a few minutes, people will leave. † As such, till this day, users around the world have not seen Facebook down. Admittedly, there still are a few small technical problems, but users never had to wait more than 10 seconds for a page to load, and if there were problems, they were fixed shortly after. Having downtime would mean that the rate of infection for social networking sites would decrease causing less people to firstly know about the website, and secondly, to be able to spread the ‘infection’ even further.This was a problem that caused the rapid reduction usage rate for Friendster because not only did the rate of infection die down, but also people just simply got annoyed causing the susceptibility of new individuals rather low. Therefore, Facebook made sure there was no downtime and in doing so not only made the rate of infection high, but satisfied million users worldwide causing many to be susceptible to the ide a of being part of the new fad, Facebook. Next, Facebook did not enforce a closed or open system policy.Instead, they allowed users to choose whether they wanted their page visible to people, and allowed users to adjust their security settings. It gave people an option to reveal as much or as little information about themselves, and allowed people to choose who to allow access to their information. This system not only solved Friendster’s closed system, but at the same time, MySpace’s open system and privacy problems. Security was never a real issue for Facebook until they started allowing more applications to be a part of the system.Inevitably, people created software that stole users’ sensitive information. However, shortly after, Facebook reacted by introducing new technology to limit the security breach. Facebook developer Mike Vernal stated, â€Å"We take user privacy seriously. We are dedicated to protecting private user data. † Shortly after the in cident, Facebook rendered all applications that broke such security inactive. Lastly, as with all companies, talent is a major issue.We can talk about how user friendly, or how the technical bits are better in Facebook when compared to Friendster or MySpace, but the truth is that it all boils down to who is in charge. Facebook brought in better viral experts, more efficient programmers, stronger usability coders, more influential public relations teams and faster HR Personal. For instance, Facebook recruited Sheryl Sandberg, the head of sales at Google, Jonathan Helliger, the former engineering head at Walmart, for former CFO and VP of Genetech and Elliot Schrage, the former PR head at Google.After talking about the properties that made Facebook successful, I’d like to talk about the receptivity of Facebook and how it responded to the population because a population can only go crazy for a fad if people are receptive of it. First, we will look at Friendster and how the popula tion responded to it and what made Friendster successful at times. In 2002, Friendster was originally created as a dating website, four years later, Friendster was changed to cater to young teenagers. In 2006, Friendster became very popular in the Philippines because of their games and fun applications that were marketed.Along with that, Friendster started incorporating advertisements on their websites, but more importantly, advertisements that had to do with games. Second, MySpace became popular because it was a means to hear about what was happening to others, keep track of the whereabouts of friends and celebrities and to create and attend parties, all on one page. MySpace was not just a blog, but it was an area for friends to congregate and communicate with one another. Next we will see how Facebook made use of Friendster and MySpace’s strengths, turning it into their success.Facebook made use of the successes of both Friendster and MySpace, and combined everything that w as successful into one platform. Friendster and MySpace were both marketed differently to different kinds of people, and because of this, Facebook knew how to make people more receptive to this new social networking site. Facebook did not just want to target people who wanted to find new friends or dates, or people who wanted to communicate with friends and keep in contact, or simply play games- Facebook wanted it all.And that was exactly what Facebook did, ensuring that people who joined would get the benefits from both Friendster and MySpace altogether. In doing this, Facebook made their website more appealing to a larger population, allowing two things to happen. First, by increasing the number of things an individual can do on the website would make more people susceptible to wanting to be a part of it. Second, a larger population being susceptible would eventually mean a faster rate of infection causing more people to join and be a part of the increasing fad. Facebook was the n ew generation social etworking website that incorporated all the successful elements of its predecessors, and neglected all the unsuccessful elements. In conclusion, we have established that Facebook has attained a successful status due to its 500,000,000 users worldwide. Facebook is successful because of two main reasons. First, the failures of Friendster and MySpace gave Facebook an opening into the market and the opportunity to fix those mistakes caused by the two. Second, Facebook fed off the successes of both Friendster and MySpace, incorporating all the ideas into one website.Therefore, to be successful one must remember to firstly attend to the problems at hand, secondly, find out what makes things work, and lastly, make sure the population is receptive. With this, Facebook not only overtook its predecessors, but conquered their failures, and fed off their successes, becoming the number one social networking website of all time. Citations: Chung, J. (2010) How Facebook won th e battle of the social networks. Innoblog. Retrieved from http://www. innosight. com/blog/564-how-facebook-won-the-battle-of-the-social-networks. tml Dykes, B. (2010) Another day, another instance of Facebook breaching user privacy. Yahoo News. Retrieved from http://news. yahoo. com/s/yblog_upshot/20101018/tc_yblog_upshot/another-day-another-instance-of-facebook-breaching-user-privacy Gary, R. (2006). Wall Flower at the Web Party. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. com/2006/10/15/business/yourmoney/15friend. html? pagewanted=all Rdube. (2010). Characteristics of Social Networks. Retrieved from http://socialnetworking. lovetoknow. com/Characteristics_of_Social_Networks

Cybercrime Awarness Essay

In today’s cyber world in which everyone is dependent on computers and Internet cybercrime is a growing concern since it costs individuals and companies billions of dollars each year. This paper is researching the awareness of people regarding cybercrime and its effects. It is being researched because the awareness itself and the knowledge on the matter are requirements for stopping cybercrime, considering the effects of no action. Research showed that although the majority is aware of the dangers that cybercrime poses they are mostly not willing to do much, except the basic steps, to protect themselves from it. They are leaving the door open for cybercriminals to step in. Introduction This project focuses on the dangers of cybercrime and the awareness and knowledge of individuals regarding it. In addition to finding out how much and what people know about cybercrime raw data regarding cybercrime subtypes is presented. Cybercrime Cybercrime is most commonly defined as crime in which computers and Internet are used for illegal activities such as fraud, trafficking, stealing of identities, violating privacy and many others (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010). Due to the widespread use of computers and Internet in today’s society, cybercrime has become largest growing type of criminal activity around the world (British Broadcasting Corporation, n. d. ). According to the Computer Crime Research Center (2004) cybercrime is most commonly divided into three categories (a) cybercrime against persons, (b) cybercrime against property or (c) cybercrime against government. First type of cybercrime, the one done to people consists of crimes such as different kinds of harassments, child pornography distribution, basically everything done to people with the use of computers and Internet (Parishat, 2004). One of many examples of cybercrime against persons was the famous â€Å"Melissa Virus† (CERT, 1999) which attacked over 1 million computers in the United States and Europe through Microsoft Word program. Melissa was engineered as a macro virus that attacks Microsoft Word 97 and 2000 and Microsoft Outlook and then sending the virus to other people through the outlook address book (tech target, 2011). Furthermore, it has the possibility to cripple mailing systems of corporations as it did with Microsoft. Second type of cybercrime named above is the one against any and all types of property (Parishat, 2004). Furthermore, property cybercrime is most often the destruction of other people’s property either through damaging programs or through acts of vandalism, sabotage and industrial espionage. Third and the last category are crimes towards government (Parishat, 2004). According to Parishat, Internet is often used to wage threats towards governments and citizens. Furthermore, most common type of cybercrime against government is hacking government or military websites. Types of cybercrime acts will be explained in more detail in the following pages. Spam. Usual definition of spam (iskon, n. d. ) would be that it is an unwanted and unasked electronic mail, which is usually sent to large number of recipients. Increasing numbers of internet users report spam problems on their email accounts, which is why more and more online internet providers offer protection against spam in form of spam filters and various features that can block unwanted mail (Spamlaws, 2009). Spam is so annoying that a survey in Australia showed that spam mail is on 15th place of things that annoy Australians the most (Anonymous, 2010). A study conducted by joint forces of University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, San Diego show that spammers can earn millions of dollars per year just by sending spam mail (British Broadcasting Corporation, 2008). Moreover, they concluded that although spammers receive answer on approximately every 12th million mail they send they still earn a significant amount depending on the size of their spam network. Spam has risen to such levels that individuals now pose as companies and send out spam mail that can damage the company’s reputation (HT Media, 2010). Most spam mail is just advertising and as such is harmless, but some spam messages are part of more severe internet frauds such as identity theft or any other common internet fraud (Microsoft, n. d. ) File sharing and piracy. The word piracy has greatly changed its meaning compared to what it used to stand for in the past. Today when we say piracy we do not mean on pirates who attack other ships and settlements, rather we think of people who are duplicating the work of others and selling it for their personal gain without the permission of the owner (The Indian Music Industry, 2010). Companies and governments are trying to fight the piracy by encouraging consumers to use legal means of acquisition of movies, music and other work typically targeted by pirates (Pichevin, 2010). Moreover, they are implementing laws that are supposed to prevent piracy, but people have started taking piracy for granted and do not hesitate to do it on daily basis thinking it is not a crime, and this costing the industry millions of dollars. Internet fraud. According to Australian Federal Police, â€Å"the term ‘online fraud’ refers to any type of fraud scheme that uses email, websites, chat rooms or message boards to present fraudulent solicitations to prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent transactions† (Australian Federal Police, 2010). In today’s time of computers and internet many scams are circling the World Wide Web (National Fraud Information Ceneter, n. d. ). Moreover, old phone and mail frauds that used to circle the world are doing the same again, but this time on the internet, and to such extent that it is becoming hard to tell the difference between genuine online sellers and scammers, who just want to take our money. Child pornography. One of the first applications of the internet that strived for profit was pornography (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010). Although legal, pornography has a criminal element to its name and that is child pornography. That element has grown to such extent that experts say it has became a business that earns around 3 billion dollars a year. Also as such child pornography is hard to track on the internet due to the fact that there are still many countries with inadequate cybercrime laws in place. Providers of child pornography use the internet to sell it to pedophiles, who in addition of buying child pornography also use the internet to lure children into ngaging in illegal sexual activities (Law Library, 2010). Moreover, one of the difficulties in stopping child pornography is that it is done over the internet, meaning it is on global scale, and law enforcement officials all around the world have to cooperate in stopping the offenders. Hacking. In the early days of the internet hacking was no more than a practical joke, but today hacking has completely other meaning and it is considered a severe transgress ion of the law (British Broadcasting Corporation, n. d. ). Furthermore, hackers today prove their worth and skills to other hackers by attacking computer systems of big multinational corporations and even governments. Moreover, they plant their viruses which can then cause severe damage, for example the â€Å"love-bug† virus which hit over forty million computers in the world and managed to cause billions of dollars in damages. Today hackers often compromise computer systems of banks and other business in order to steal money or some valuable information which they can later sell on the black market (British Broadcasting Corporation, n. . ). Furthermore, in a survey taken by the Computer Security Institute 90% of companies in the survey said that they have experienced security breaches in their systems in the last year, while 74% claimed to lose money because of these security breaches. The total bill was over 260 millions of dollars. Moreover, almost 80% of the companies know that their employees tend to exploit the internet for pers onal gain, during their working hours, and approximately the same percentage of companies has detected signs of viruses in their systems I the last year. Today there are even websites where people can learn how to become a hacker and improve their hacking skills (hackthissite. org, 2010). Identity theft. Probably the most famous type of cybercrime is the identity theft or the theft of personal information of people (techterms, 2011). Identity theft doesn’t only refer to theft over internet, but on any type of illegal obtaining of personal data (department of justice, n. d. ). There are two ways of gathering information over the internet and they are phishing and pharming (techterms, 2011). Phishing is a type of internet fraud in which fake emails are used to gather information. Furthermore, it is important to say that people fall on this kind of scams because they appear to be legitimate and from legitimate websites. While phishing lures users to fake sites, pharming redirects internet users to fake websites without their knowledge. Moreover, unlike phishing pharming has the possibility to hit more users at the same time. Furthermore, when users are redirected to fake websites either by phishing or pharming they are asked for their personal information which criminals can use to steal their identity. Through identity theft criminals can severely damage people whose identity they have taken (department of justice, n. d. ). Furthermore, they do financial damage through credit card debt, loans, etc. in addition to the reputation of the victims that suffers as well. It is important to mention that first offenders who ruined many lives usually walked free due to lack of laws against identity theft. First laws against identity theft were not made until 1998. According to Federal Trade Commission approximately 9 million Americans become victims of identity theft, and that is just on yearly basis (Federal Trade Commission, n. . ) Intellectual property. According to World Intellectual Property Organization (n. d. ) intellectual property is work of mind including literary and art work, different inventions, names, symbols images and designs. According to Law Library America (2010) intellectual property theft is a theft of copyrighted materials and other company’s trade secrets. Most common intellectual properties that are stolen online are software, movies and music, and games. Furthermore, trade secrets such as plans, designs, different kind of policies and procedures, even recopies are also stolen. Moreover, companies or individuals counterfeit brands of products and sell them as the real deal which they are not. Intellectual property theft can affect the entire economy, because hackers and pirates contribute to losses of millions of dollars. Furthermore, with appearance of computers intellectual property theft has become easier than ever since companies have everything on computer files which are easy to break in. Moreover, pirated secrets are sold to other companies that use them to stay in the race or to get insight on how their competition operates etc. dditionally article states that that intellectual property criminals have very low cost of operation due to the fact they do not make any sales in person, they don’t have to travel anywhere outside their homes and their profits are rather high. According to Mills (2009) theft of information and other cybercrimes have cost businesses on global level around $1 trillion just in last year. Furthermore, she claims that bus iness in developing countries and third world countries spend more money on protecting their intellectual property then western countries do. Industrial espionage. Industrial espionage appeared as a by-product of the fast technological progress, it reflects the attempts of businesses to acquire secrets of the trade from their competition and use it for their personal gain (Encyclopedia Britannica, n. d. ) Moreover, industrial espionage is not always as dramatic as it sounds; it can be as simple as checking prices of competition. Furthermore, trade secrets could e exposed through disgruntle employees who might seek revenge against their company and give away sensible information to its competitors. In addition some employees are lured by other companies with promises of better salary and work conditions just so that employee gives them secrets of their competition. A very recent example of industrial espionage happened in Renault, where their project with Nissan in developing a battery-powered car was involved in industrial espionage affair (Haase, 2011). Furthermore, the article states that top Renault managers might be involved in the case, but Renault is still unsure as to who might had breached their security protocols and gained access to the information. Another example of industrial espionage, but on more global level, is the WikiLeaks, who published great number of secret documents on the Afghan and Iraq war to the general public (Greenberg, 2010) Furthermore, that breach of secret information is the biggest one in military history and according to the founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange it is just the beginning. Moreover, he claims that he possess a trove of yet to be published documents about private sector in the US that could bring down major US bank. However, he says that this information will be published in 2011 upon gathering more information, so it remains to be seen what will happen. According to Smole (2004) industrial espionage is becoming easier with technological progress. It is relatively easy to listen in and record someone’s mobile phone records; all you need to do is switch phone batteries. Furthermore, technology is so advanced today that eavesdropping and theft are growing problem for companies today. Further in the article it is stated that 60% of members of the Institute of Directors (IOD) have been victims of theft. Every medal has two sides, so does this one, it provides handful of opportunities for security companies to step in and offer their services in protecting other companies. According to Smole’s article listening devices were found at around 5% of companies, in UK, that seek protection and security checks. Moreover, another commercial advantage of industrial espionage is that in the UK alone ? 10milion worth of listening devices has been sold, so that is nice business for companies selling those devices. It is important to add that nowadays information is vital to success on the market and brings companies needed edge over competition. However, article also states that there are even some partially legal companies in the business of providing espionage services for other companies. Companies who manage to discover that their confidential information has been compromised usually take legal efforts to stop further loss of trade secrets (Encyclopedia Britannica, n. d. ). Furthermore, law regulated consequences for companies responsible of industrial espionage range from injunctions for use of knowledge acquired through illegal ways to fining for damages, depending on the severances of the crime. Today industrial espionage is so widespread it is not just in the movies we watch, but it is a real threat to ethics of business (Smale, 2004). According to Symantec Company (2010), one of the leading world companies in protection against cybercrime, around two thirds of Internet users in the world have been victims of cybercrime. Furthermore, they claim that majority of people who become victims of cybercrime blame themselves for becoming victims of such act. Moreover, majority of victims state that they do not plan on changing their behavior and large portion never even reports the crime to the authorities. Researching awareness is very important, because awareness directly influences prevention of cybercrime. Methods Primary research part of this project consists of a survey, which was administrated online with the use of survey monkey an online survey tool. According to Trochim (2006) survey is one of the most valuable research methods. In this case survey was chosen due to time constraints and the fact it can give the needed information from greater number of respondents. Survey targeted all ACMT students and faculty total of them 500, of which ne hundred responded to the survey. Respondents were all literate and educated enough, with no language barrier and surprisingly cooperative. The survey was created on January 21, 2011 and it consisted of sixteen closed-ended questions that would take no more than five minutes to answer. Goal behind such short survey was for the respondents not to lose interest towards the end and answer all questions. Survey was designed to test the general k nowledge and awareness of the audience. A sample of the self-administrated online survey can be seen in Appendix B. Survey Questions Question 1. Please identify your gender. This first question was posed in order to gather background information about the sample audience, to see what percentages of respondents were male and what percentage were female. Question 2. Please select your age group. This question also served to gather additional data about the sample audience, to see what percentages of respondents belong to which of the four offered age groups. Question 3. How much time do you spend in front of a computer on daily basis? This question was designed to see how much time respondents spend in front of their computers in order to investigate if there are any connections between the amount of time spent in such manner and knowledge about cybercrime issues. Question 4. For what purposes do you use computers and Internet? This question was designed to see for what purposes respondents use computers and the Internet, is it purely for business and education or they use it for personal purposes as well. Question 5. Do you use Internet for any of the following? This question is closely related to the previous question. It was designed to check for exactly what personal or business purposes the sample audience uses Internet. From the data gathered it was possible to draw conclusions on how advanced is their usage of Internet possibilities and do they use it to full potential or just capture small portion of its possibilities. Question 6. Have you ever experienced problems with any of the following? This question was designed to see with what kind of Internet attacks respondents most often suffer from. Whether they are from viruses, spyware or hackers themselves. Question 7. What types of cybercrime can you name? This was the only question that was open-ended, but the respondents were required to name only cybercrime types they know. Regrettably the survey tool used is such that it is possible for respondents to skip questions and this question might be skipped by some. Question 8. Do you feel that you are protected enough against cybercrime? This question was designed to detect the general level of protection of respondents against cybercrime. To test if they feel vulnerable against cybercrime or they think they are protected enough against it. Question 9. Do you use any program to protect your Internet browsing? This question was posed to see if the sample audience is aware of the Internet threats and use programs specifically designed to protect them while they are online. It doesn’t test what program exactly they use but it just tests the general usage of such programs that protect its users from unwanted viruses and spyware. Question 10. Has your PC ever been infected by a virus that damaged its components or stored data? This question is somewhat connected to the previous question. It was designed to test if the sample audience ever came under attack from viruses that damaged their computers hardware or software and corrupted data. It does not measure what was damaged in the process or excess of the damages, just the occurrence of the attack; did it ever happen or not. Question 11. Have you ever been a victim of identity theft? This question was designed to see if any of the sample audience has ever been a victim of an identity theft fraud. It does not test the severity of the fraud or its depth and damages to the respondent only the occurrence of such action. Question 12. Do you know anyone who suffered from identity theft? This question completes the previous one; it provides additional information about identity theft. It was presumed that only few respondents suffered from identity theft I used this additional question to gather more information. Reasoning behind this was that some of the respondents at least know someone who suffered from identity theft. Question 13. Have you ever downloaded any material from the Internet without paying for it? This question was used as a control question, posed in order to check validity of answers to other related items. Reasoning was that everyone has at some point in time downloaded something from the Internet without paying for it, especially in this time when downloading torrents are all present. Question 14. Have you ever felt that your computer has been hacked? Hacking is one of more serious types of cybercrimes and it causes billions of dollars in damages each year. This question serves the purpose of gathering information on hacking attacks on any of the respondents in the survey. Although it is highly probable that a lot of the answers will be negative, since hackers rarely attack individuals due to low profit possibilities, it is possible to get relevant feedback from the data gathered Question 15. Have you ever sent spam mail? This item is a pretty straightforward question regarding spam mail. It was designed to test if anyone from sample audience sent some spam mail, e. g. if they forward popular junk mail on social networks, company mails etc. Question 16. Have you ever stolen someone else’s work? (Intellectual property) This question was posed as another control question, to check validity of answers to other related items. Did they ever steal someone else’s work, or take credit for something they did not do. Results Due to the limitations of the online tool used for the survey only one hundred people could respond to the internet survey. The survey was available online from January 21, 2011 until the February 3, 2011. This means that about 20% of all ACMT students and faculty responded to the online survey. Only ACMT members and staff had the opportunity to take part in the survey. For questions consult the Methods part of this project. Graphical representation of the results can be seen in Figures 1 through 15. Survey Results Response to question 1. Data gathered by the first item shows that 59 respondents or 59 % of the respondents were female and 41 respondents or 41% of the respondents were male. It needs to be noted that one must assume, when gathering the data by an internet-administered survey, that none of the respondents would feel the need to misrepresent themselves since they were given the option to remain completely anonymous. Response to question 2. As was to be expected, due to the fact that most of the population was consisted of students attending ACMT 83 people or 83% of respondents answered that they are between ages of 18 to 25. On the same question nine other people or 9% of respondents answered that they are between ages of 26 to 35, additionally four people or 4% of respondents answered that they are between ages of 36 to 45. Last four respondents or 4% of respondents answered that they are between ages of 46 to 70. Response to question 3. On this question none of the respondents answered that they spend less than 30 minutes on their computers on daily basis. On the other hand five people or 5% of respondents said that they spend somewhere between 30 and 59 minutes on their computers on daily basis; 22 people or 22% of respondents said that they spend one to two hours in front of their computers on daily basis. Majority of respondents or 37 of them or 37% of respondents claims that they spend somewhere between two to four hours on their computers on daily basis. Large portion of respondents or 36 of them or 36% of total sample audience answered that they spend more than four hours in front of their computers on daily basis. Response to question 4. When answering this question three respondents or 3% of respondents claimed that they use Internet only for personal purposes; five of them or 5% of respondents answered that they use Internet for business and educational purposes. Majority of respondents 92 of them or 92% of respondents say that they use Internet for both personal and business/education purposes. Response to question 5. On this multiple choice question 38 respondents or 38 % of respondents answered that online banking is one of the things they use Internet for; 40 respondents or 40% of respondents answered that they use Internet for online shopping. Almost all of them or 98 or more precisely 98% of respondents use Internet for research and information gathering. E-mailing is another thing for which 98 people from the survey or 98% of respondents uses Internet for; 65 respondents or 65% of sample audience claim that they use Internet for work. This question also had the option â€Å"other† providing the respondents with the possibility to write down additional things that they use the Internet for, which were not available among the offered options. Response to question 6. This was also a multiple choice question on which 95 people or 95% of respondents answered that they had problems with viruses; on the same question 53 people or 53% of respondents answered that they had problems with spyware. Only 20 people or 20% of respondents answered that they had problems with hackers. Response to question 7. This open-ended question offered a possibility for the respondents to name any of the cybercrime types they know or heard of. Some of the examples they named were spam, identity theft, hacking, data theft, piracy, financial fraud, child pornography, credit card frauds etc. Some people, not few of them, listed Trojan as cybercrime which is just a type of virus. Response to question 8. The data gathered shows that only 33 respondents or 33% of the sample feels protected enough against cybercrime. Majority of the respondents, 67 or 67% don’t feel protected enough against cybercrime. Response to question 9. Majority of respondents 83 of them or 83% of total sample respondents answered that they use some kind of a program to protect them while they browse the Internet. Much smaller number or only 17 of them or 17% of total sample respondents don’t use any program to protect their Internet browsing and thus are exposed to cybercrime. Response to question 10. The data gathered shows that 66 respondents or 66% of the sample stated that they have experienced a virus that either damaged their computer’s components or data stored on it. On the other hand 34 people or 34% of the sample audience claims that they never experienced situation such as that. Response to question 11. Only six people or 6% of the sample responded positively on this question and answered that they have been victim of some sort of identity theft. Majority of people 94 of them or 94% of the sample have never been victims of identity theft. Response to question 12. Data gathered shows that 50 respondents or 50% of the sample said that they know someone who has been a victim of identity theft. Same number of respondents answered that they didn’t know anyone who has been a victim of identity theft. Response to question 13. A vast majority of respondents 94 of them or 94% of the sample audience responded positively and said that they have downloaded materials from Internet without paying for it. Only small portion of six people or 6% of respondents said that they have never downloaded any material from the Internet without paying for it. Response to question 14. In this question 31 people or 31% of respondents said that they have felt hacked at some point in time; 69 people or 69% of respondents said that they have never felt hacked before. Response to question 15. Only 16 people or 16% of respondents answered that they have sent spam mail at some point in time. Majority of respondents 84 of them or 84% of respondents answered that they have never sent any spam mail. Response to question 16. On this question 12 people or 12% of all respondents answered positively and admitted of stealing someone else’s work. Majority of respondents 88 of them or 88% of respondents said that they have never stolen someone else’s work. Discussion The goal behind the research was to test the hypothesis that most of the people, although they spend a great deal of time on their computers, are not aware of the dangers of cybercrime which often makes them victims and offenders as well when they download material. Research was conducted on sample group consisting of students, faculty and staff members at ACMT. Data gathered through survey administration confirmed the thesis based on literature review, that public is not aware of all the dangers that cybercrime poses and the general lack of effort in dealing with it. Research conducted proved that in academic settings people are bound to spend more and more time on the Internet, often unaware of the dangers. Majority of respondents, while using the Internet for either personal or business needs, have at some point in time, encountered viruses or spyware that attacked their computer and put their data at risk. Whether they know any specific details of those cybercrimes or not, the survey did not test, rather it tested only if the sample audience is familiar with any cybercrime type. They could have experienced some of those cybercrimes on their own skin or just hear about them somewhere. To test their specific knowledge on each cybercrime subgroup more time was need and possibly another primary research type such as and in depth interview which could give more data but would also take much more time to answer, which was not possible with current time constraints. Even though one could doubt the depth of their knowledge of cybercrime issues, based on the survey results analysis, they obviously are aware of the fact that is stressed throughout professional literature reviewed for the purposes of this project, the fact that there is no program r measure that could completely protect against all types of cybercrime. Only thing that might protect us is raising awareness about cybercrime and the ways it works and the prevention strategies. To inform people about scams cybercriminals use, to help companies defend their data and accounts from intrusions, whether they are from an outside or an inside source. As it was previously mentioned one way to help protect your data and Internet browsing are antivirus and antispyware programs. Those programs detect intrusions in the system and block or delete them and report back to the user. As research showed many individuals and companies use not only those programs but also seek additional ways of protection in form of firewalls etc. Firewalls in big companies are commonly built by IT experts who design the whole systems for companies trying to make the system unbreakable for all kind of intrusions, since today everything is stored on company servers. This is additionally confirmed by survey results – even though more than 50% of respondents claimed to have antivirus protection their computer was attacked by viruses that corrupted their data. Like mentioned before cybercrime has far worse aspects to it than just viruses and spyware. Some types of cybercrime such as identity theft can completely ruin lives of individuals and all around them. People can get completely ruined by it. Someone else passing as you is always terrible, let alone when that person has all of your personal information from social security number to access to all of your bank accounts etc. Luckily survey results showed that it is a rare occurrence in the academic settings in this part of the world, but one should be aware of the problems faced by people elsewhere. Increasing number of people is getting targeted by cybercriminals who are trying to steal their identities for their financial gain. Still, in analyzing survey results, it is quite important to stress possible factors that might influence the response rates, e. g. without knowing the extent of their knowledge on what identity theft is, there are two possible ways to interpret the low number of affirmative answers. On the one hand, it might be interpreted by the lack of knowledge of all the subcategories concerned, on the other it might simply be the fact that the target audience has not encountered with identity theft. As stated in the research many people today tend to use internet to download data without paying for it. Research shows that industries such as movie or music industry are losing millions of dollars because of illegal downloads of their products from torrents which do not pay royalties to authors for usage of their material (Pichevin, 2010). Vast majority of respondents to the survey said that they tend to download material from the internet without paying for it. Like in every question so in this one there is a margin for error. Respondents might have thought that this question relates to any material they download from the internet so that fact might influenced on such majority of affirmative answers. On the other hand this is Croatia where laws against piracy exist, but implementation of such is difficult so people feel free to download material from the internet without being afraid of any legal action or consequence (Ministry of Economy, Labor and entrepreneurship, 2009). Another subtype of cybercrime in which cybercriminals get into is intellectual property theft. From companies coping brands to individuals taking credit for something that is not their own work. As stated in research intellectual property theft has cost companies around the world around $1 trillion in 2008 a number that is growing with each coming year. Research showed that very small percentage of the sample audience admits committing identity theft. That fact might be due to some irrational fear of being made, which is absurd since it is an anonymous survey with no names. Also they might have misunderstood the question, or are not sure in what exactly falls under the category of intellectual property. Academic dishonesty, which is monitored and punished, is another view of intellectual property that ACMT has. Maybe the procedure implemented in academic honesty policy on ACMT influenced the answers given by the survey population. Examining the results of the online survey showed that the respondents, ACMT students and staff, are, to some extent, aware of the dangers of cybercrime. Although the sample audience that responded to the survey might not all be IT experts, although some might, or legal advisors for that matter they have showed an understanding of cybercrime. The background of their knowledge is unknown and untested, but nonetheless it’s there. Whether it is due to their high education or self education on the matter through the internet they have shown they know a thing or two about cybercrime. Although they show some knowledge about cybercrime it is superficial and that they do not completely comprehend the dangers and some of them as research showed think they are untouchable by cybercrime. Research states that general public needs to be more educated on the matter to create awareness and thus increase the level of protection. Education is especially important in business/educational surroundings.