Home Burglaries and Forensic Evidence Term Paper

Home Burglaries and Forensic Evidence - Term Paper Example Property crimes make up slightly over 75% of all crimes committed in the United States of America and burglaries constitute approximately 25% of those figures. The average loss of a home burglary is about $ 1,725 and 70% of all burglaries were committed in homes. A curious and perhaps interesting fact is that most burglaries occurred during the daytime, at between 6 am and 6 pm, which is contrary to common belief that burglaries happen at night. Most burglars (34%) entered through the front door (12% of burglaries are due to unlocked doors) because people are careless, too trusting or plainly not security conscious. In the U.S., a burglary happens every 15 seconds and burglars spend on average just 8-12 minutes inside the burgled home (FBI, n.d., p. 1). These crime statistics are certainly very alarming and the next logical question to ask is what is being done about it by the concerned authorities?Burglaries are crimes against property and may merit a lower focus of attention from l aw enforcement authorities who are sometimes stretched to the limit due to constraints to the resources available to them. Nevertheless, most residential burglaries went unsolved with low solution and conviction rates. The figures show only 8.2% of reported cases had resulted in arrests and a dismally 3.2% of referred cases producing a conviction (Baskin and Sommers, 2011, p. 70). These low figures should be a big reason for concern because it affords criminal persons the opportunity to become repeat offenders.

Key Events and Timeline of General Electrics Assignment

Key Events and Timeline of General Electrics - Assignment Example Data collected by State Information Centre for the sales of washing machine from January to October 2010, sales of domestic market shoots up to 25.17%. Increase in urban consumption is also emphasis. Consumption rate is drastically improved and future structures are under planning. Operational profit of GE Consumer &Industrial is 2.1% and revenue is 6.1%. They sell home appliances, industrial equipment and other services related to them (Brooks, 2009). General Electric Company or GE is a multinational company in New York, headquarter is in Fairfield. Company is providing their services in four major sectors. These sectors are Energy, Industry, Technology setup, Capital Finance and last but not least are Consumer. According to Fortune ranking, GE in 2011 is the sixth largest organization is US and also ranked on 14th position for the most profitable setup. The other ranking of 2011 are Interbrand ranked them on 5thfor best global brand, Newsweek gives them 82nd position for green company, Fortune gives them a title of most admired one and kept them on 13th rank and Fast Company rate them as 19th rank in innovative company. In 1890, Edison General Electric Company comes in market by the owner Thomas Edison. In the same year Charles Coffin also host the flag for Thomson-Houston Electric Company. The increase in number of competitor introduces new patterns and strategies. In 1892 the merger of both companies, Thomson-Houston Electric Company and Edison General Electric give the emergence to General Electric. The integration of company takes place in city of New York. Canadian General Electric also came in to being in same era (Shim and Siegel, 2008). The future plans of GE are to introduce new ap pliances and technology which reduce the consumption of energy. Energy refers to electricity. Global Research section of GE makes management strategies to control the use of electricity by consumers in home and industry sectors. Many of the research programs want to help the customers globally and face all the challenges gifted by environment. Researchers of GE are studying the techniques to implement systems that will use smart appliances. The efficiency will increase in grid of power-transmission. We can consider any home having multiple electric appliances like washing machines, microwaves, refrigerators, air conditioners and other are working simultaneously will affect the power consummation on overall basis. Consumer will go to pay less as compared to consummation because of proper management control on out of electricity (Tennent, 2008). The basic aim of GE is to introduce such technology in market which is efficient in electricity usage and reduce the use the emission of gree nhouse gas footprints in air. Key Events-GE Timeline 1876 First laboratory in New Jersey opened by Thomas Addison. 1892 Edison General Electric (formed 1890) and Thomas Houston (formed 1879) merged to for m The General Electric Company 1932 GE Credit corporation formed 1942 First American Jet Engine developed by GE 1981 Jack Welsh becomes CEO 1985 GEnie developed 1989 CNBC Developed 1996 Genie is sold out 2001 Honeywell and GE merger 2003 GE acquires Transamerica finance 2004 Partly acquires Vivendi Universal, and fully, InVision technologies 2006 Acquires IDX and Zenon environmental systems 2007 Acquires Microwave data systems, Smiths Aerospace and Vital Signs 2011 NBC sale to Comcast completed by retaining 48% share. Source: www.ge.com General Electric Company Business Model: General Electric

Analysis of Ethiopia for Business Opportunities

Analysis of Ethiopia for Business Opportunities 1. Introduction 1.1 The Country Ethiopia is almost five times bigger in the size of the United Kingdom and 27 times in the size of the Netherlands, is geographically located in the east of Africa with border line Somalia(1626 km) from east , Eritrea(912km) on north ,Sudan(1606 km) from the west and Kenya (830 km from the south. Ethiopia has geographically importance due to easy access to reach the Middle East and Europe, increase its importance in international trade. Geographically having an area of approximately 1.12 million square kilometers (444,000 square miles) out of which land is on 1,119 million square kilometers and water is on 7444 square meters. Ethiopia is high plateau with central mountain ranges almost over the country is divided by Great Rift Valley. The major rivers in Ethiopia are Blue Nile, Awash, Baro, Omo, Tekezie and Wabe Shebele. Ethiopia has also small amount of natural resources with small reserves of platinum, gold, potash, copper, hydropower and natural gas. 1.2 The People Ethiopia is country with around 80 million people, and in comparison to other country it comes on 14th rank in world. Almost more than 80 percent of the population still lives in the rural areas. The age structure in Ethiopia is 0-14 years are (46.1%),15-64 years are (51.2%) and 65 years and over are (2.7%).Ethiopia has average birth rate of 2.7%. In Ethiopia is total freedom of religious practice, and the Christianity and Islam are the two main religions in Ethiopia with other religions which are in very number most of them are located in south side. Almost two-third of the population used the three main languages Amharic, Oromiffa and Tigrigna the official language of the Ethiopian government is Amharic. In schools, colleges and university teaching and medium of instruction are in English, also used mostly in the banking, insurance and business transactions, Arabic and Italian languages are also widely used in Ethiopia. Almost the 42.7 % of over 15 years old people can read and write mean having basic literacy rate. The Ethiopian government is spending almost 5.5 percent of their GDP in education programs. 1.3 The Government Ethiopia is conventional short form of name, and conventional long form of name is Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The first time election was held in 1995 and country adopted a new constitution and the government there is known as the federal republic government. The government involves in the foreign policy and relations, defense system and common interest benefits. The Federal State divisions are in nine ethnically based states vested with powers for self administration. The FDRE represent the common peoples interest and peoples of the states, the federal government is structured as a lines of bicameral parliament, with the Council of Peoples representatives being the highest authority of the Federal Government the representative of Councils Members are elected democratically for six year term. 1.4 Cities and Towns Addis Ababa, the largest city and capital of the Ethiopia, also is the seat of the Federal Government of Ethiopia. The capital city was founded in 1887 and population of around about 3 million. Addis Ababa is the host city for Organization for African Unity and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; also there is more international organization with their headquarters and branch offices. Addis Ababa I also centre point for business, commerce and industries. In Addis can find different manufacturing plants located in and around the city. There are lots of entertainment and sport facilities in the city, with national parks. The main centre of point are resort centers with hot springs and lake, all of them are easily accessible through road. The other important and big cities in term of trade and industries having potential of expansion are Awassa, Dire Dawa, Gondar, Dessie, Nazareth, Jimma, Harar, Bahir Dar, Mekele, Debre Markos and Nekemte. All of them are interconnected with Addis through road,most of them have their historical importance with good infrastructure facilities. 1.5 THE ECONOMY The Ethiopian economy is totally dependable on agriculture which has 45% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 65 % of total exports and 85% of employment. Coffee is the main export product and its alone having a share of over 85 % of total agricultural exports. In Ethiopia different crops in different area of the country cultivated but the main crops are cereals, pulses, coffee, cotton, tobacco, fruits, sugarcane and oil seeds. The industrial sector plays also big role in economy and having almost 11% of share in total GDP, which provides their product to local and global markets. The most important products in term of local market and export are textiles, foodstuffs, tiles, paper, beverages, cement, semi- processed leather, finished leather products and non-metallic products. In Ethiopia even it is small reserve amount of natural resources and it contribute only 1% to the total GDP, but still there are lots of opportunities in mining to explore and contribute in Ethiopian economy. Communications There is total monopoly of Ethiopian Telecommunications corporations over the telephonic services open-wire, microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2 domestic satellites provide the national trunk service. Ethiopia has only 1 public TV broadcast station which broadcasting it nationally and only 1 public radio broadcaster with stations in each state, there are some commercial and dozens of community radio stations. Transportation Till 2010 in Ethiopia there 61 airports, out of which 17 airports are with paved runways and 44 airports are unpaved. The railway is under joint control of Ethiopia and Djibouti, but most of it is inoperable and need lots of improvement and expansion to improve the transportation. The conditions of Ethiopian roads are also not in very good conditions out of 36469 km long road only 6980 k are in better conditions other are unpaved around about 29849 km. Ethiopia has 9 merchant marine 8 cargo and 1 roll on/ roll off, they are landlocked and uses the ports Djibouti in Djibouti and Berbera in Somalia. In Ethiopia transportation is a big problem and effects also in the business. Ethiopian government takes this problem very seriously and many projects are on progress for improvement and modernization of Ethiopian transportation system. 1 .6 Banking Systems 1.6.1 Introduction In Ethiopia banking system was introduced in 1905 with the coordination of Bank of Egypt and the first name of bank was Bank of Abyssinia which is controlled by private company in Ethiopia. Later in 1931 it was replaced by the Bank of Ethiopia. During the Italian invasion period and subsequent British occupation Ethiopia become one of the important places for East Africa Currency Board. Later again it is renamed as State bank of Ethiopia having two active departments involves in the process of separate function of issuing banks and commercial bank. In 1963 the bank is divided into two parts two new bank national Bank of Ethiopia involves in the process of centralizing and issuing bank and the second one the commercial bank of Ethiopia. In 1974 there was merging of maximum of financial institutes available tat time including state owned also some of them are The Agricultural and Industrial Development Bank The Savings and Mortgage Corporation of Ethiopia The Imperial Savings and Home Ownership Public Association The Addis Ababa Bank The Banco di Napoli The Banco di Roma In 1975 change in government policy and change into Marxist government bring again lots of changes in banking system like nationalization of private financial institutes and insurance companies. The big and important commercial bank of Ethiopia is now known as Addis Ababa bank and the total control of all banks and financial institutes are under supervision of National Bank of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Insurances corporation take all power and control for the all insurance companies and for the home loan and renovation loan is provide by the new Housing and savings bank. 1.6.2 Current Conditions The whole banking system condition is still undeveloped and need lots of improvement and development. In Ethiopia there is also no stock exchange and foreign bank as the banking system is still not globalized, while higher government authorities are afraid of losing control over the economy because of globalizing the banking system. Thats why they have full control over the banking system even they decide the interest rate as per the high inflation rate. Below provided table to have a look on the condition of ease of doing business in Ethiopia. Table 1 Business Climate of Ethiopia As National Bank of Ethiopia is Ethiopian central bank and the state owned Commercial Bank is one of the biggest and largest bank in Ethiopia having approx. control of more than 75% of total banking assets in Ethiopia, tables 2 tried to explain the banking system in Ethiopia. Table 2 Value of Ethiopian Bank Assets Insurance companies and other financial institutions In Ethiopia the Ethiopia Insurance Corporation controls 10 insurance companies performing business in more than 200 branches all over the country Below in the table the number of branches and their capital are explained figures available are from 2007 and till then only nine insurance companies are in business the 10th company (Lion Insurance Company) comes in business after 2007 thats why it is not mention in table. Table 3: Branches and Capital of Insurance Companies in Ethiopia (Capital in Millions of Birr) Stock Market No stock exchange exists Other Types of Finance/Financial Market Micro finance After the establishment of the government in 1994/1995. It started also and supporting for the development of microfinance industry, the purpose of Ethiopian government to developed the microfinance industry to help poor people in both rural and urban area. According to the 2005 microfinance industry report in Ethiopia that there are 23 microfinance industries and around about more than 1 million peoples are connected directly to the industry. As from above it is cleared that government had totally prohibited any kind of foreign company involved in the process of financial or banking services in country. In Ethiopia microfinance industry can be opened by people having Ethiopian nationality and having full 100% share in company or by those organization which are totally settled and have their registration under the law and having their head office in Ethiopia. As in country most of the microfinance initial capital comes from the foreign investors and which leads to the not clear transparency of microfinance industry, normally person investing in the microfinance industry local or foreigner must enlist as a shareholder. As government authorized high authorities decided interest rate according to the high inflation rate, and in microfinance industry there is no fixed interest rate on credit according to law minimum interest on credit is 3%, which is a loss for those people wants to open microfinance industry in rural areas because of added administrative cost in capital of investment. Top ten reasons to do business in Ethiopia Political and social stability; Macro-economic stability and growing economy; Adequate guarantees and protections; Transparent laws and streamlined procedures; Ample investment opportunities; Abundant and trainable labor force; Wide domestic, regional and international market opportunity; Competitive investment incentive packages ; Welcoming attitude of the people to FDI; and Pleasant climate and fertile soils. 2. Foreign Market Entry Strategy 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 Strategy Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. 2.1.2 Strategic Decisions Strategic decisions are likely to be complex in nature. This complexity is a defining feature of strategy and strategic decisions and is especially so in organizations with wide geographical scope, such as multinational firms, or wide ranges of products or services. Strategic decisions may also have to be made in situations of uncertainty about the future. Strategic decisions are likely to affect operational decisions: for example, an increased emphasis on consumer electronics would trigger off a whole series of new operational activities, such as finding new suppliers and building strong new brands. This link between overall strategy and operational aspects of the organization is important for two other reasons. First, if the operational aspects of the organization are not in line with the strategy, then, no matter how well considered the strategy is, it will not succeed. Second, it is at the operational level that real strategic advantage can be achieved. Indeed, competence in particular operational activities might determine which strategic developments might make most sense. Strategic decisions are also likely to demand an integrated approach to managing the organization. Managers have to cross functional and operational boundaries to deal with strategic problems and come to agreements with other managers who, inevitably, have different interests and perhaps different priorities. Managers may also have to sustain relationships and networks outside the organization, for example with suppliers, distributors and customers. Strategic decisions usually involve change in organizations which may prove difficult because of the heritage of resources and because of culture. These cultural issues are heightened following mergers as two very different cultures need to be brought closer together or at least learn how to tolerate each other. Indeed, this often proves difficult to achieve a large percentage of mergers fail to deliver their ‘promise for these reasons. 2.1.3 Levels of Strategy Corporate-level strategy: Itis concerned with the overall purpose and scope of an organization and how value will be added to the different parts (business units) of the organization. Business-level strategy: It is about how to compete successfully in particular markets. Operational strategies: These are concerned with how the component parts of an organization deliver effectively the corporate and business-level strategies in terms of resources, processes and people. 2.1.4 Strategic Management Strategic management includes understanding the strategic position of an organization, strategic choices for the future and turning strategy into action. The strategic position is concerned with the impact on strategy of the external environment, an organizations strategic capability (resources and competences) and the expectations and influence of stakeholders. Strategic choices involve understanding the underlying bases for future strategy at both the business unit and corporate levels and the options for developing strategy in terms of both the directions and methods of development. Strategy into action is concerned with ensuring that strategies are working in practice. Strategy development processes are the ways in which strategy develops in organizations. 2.2 Environment The most general ‘layer of the environment is often referred to as the macro environment. This consists of broad environmental factors that impact to a greater or lesser extent on almost all organizations. It is important to build up an understanding of how changes in the macro-environment are likely to impact on individual organizations. A starting point can be provided by the PESTEL framework which can be used to identify how future trends in the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal environments might impinge on organizations. This provides the broad ‘data from which the key drivers of change can be identified. These will differ from sector to sector and from country to country. Therefore they will have a different impact on one organization from another. If the future environment is likely to be very different from the past it is helpful to construct scenarios of possible futures. This helps managers consider how strategies might need to change depending on the different ways in which the business environment might change. Within this broad general environment the next ‘layer is called an industry or a sector. This is a group of organizations producing the same products or services. The five forces framework and the concept of cycles of competition can be useful in understanding how the competitive dynamics within and around an industry are changing. The most immediate layer of the environment consists of competitors and markets. Within most industries or sectors there will be many different organizations with different characteristics and competing on different bases. The concept of strategic groups can help with the identification of both direct and indirect competitors. Similarly customers expectations are not all the same. They have a range of different requirements the importance of which can be understood through the concepts of market segments and critical success factors. 2.2.1 Key driver of change Key drivers of change are forces likely to affect the structure of an industry, sector or market. There is an increasing trend to market globalization for a variety of reasons. In some markets, customer needs and preferences are becoming more similar. For example, there is increasing homogeneity of consumer tastes in goods such as soft drinks, jeans, electrical items (e.g. audio equipment) and personal computers. The opening of McDonalds outlets in most countries of the world signaled similar tendencies in fast food. As some markets globalize, those operating in such markets become global customers and may search for suppliers who can operate on a global basis. For example, the global clients of the major accountancy firms may expect the accountancy firms to provide global services. The development of global communication and distribution channels may drive globalization the obvious example being the impact of the internet. In turn, this may provide opportunities for transference of marketing (e.g. global brands) across countries. Marketing policies, brand names and identities, and advertising may all be developed globally. This further generates global demand and expectations from customers, and may also provide marketing cost advantages for global operators. Nor is the public sector immune from such forces. Universities are subject to similar trends influenced by changing delivery technologies through the internet. This means, for example, that there is developing a genuinely global market for MBA students particularly where the majority of ‘tuition is done online. Cost globalization may give potential for competitive advantage since some organizations will have greater access to and/or be more aware of these advantages than others. This is especially the case in industries in which large volume; standardized production is required for optimum economies of scale, as in many components for the electronics industry. There might also be cost advantages from the experience built through wider-scale operations. Other cost advantages might be achieved by central sourcing efficiencies from lowest-cost suppliers across the world. Country-specific costs, such as labor or exchange rates, encourage businesses to search globally for low cost in these respects as ways of matching the costs of competitors that have such advantages because of their location. For example, given increased reliability of communication and cost differentials of labor, software companies and call centers are being located in India, where there is highly skilled but low-cost staff. Other businesses face high costs of product development and may see advantages in operating globally with fewer products rather than incurring the costs of wide ranges of products on a more limited geographical scale. The activities and policies of governments have also tended to drive the globalization of industry. Political changes in the 1990s meant that almost all trading nations function with market-based economies and their trade policies have tended to encourage free markets between nations. Globalization has been further encouraged by technical standardization between countries of many products, such as in the automobile, aerospace and computing industries. It may also be that particular host governments actively seek to encourage global operators to base themselves in their countries. However, it is worth noting that in many industries country-specific regulations still persists and reduces the extent to which global strategies are possible. Also, the early 2000s have seen a rise in citizen activism about the impact of globalization on developing countries most notably at meetings of the World Trade Organization Changes in the macro-environment are increasing global competition which, in turn, encourages further globalization. If the levels of exports and imports between countries are high, it increases interaction between competitors on a more global scale. If a business is competing globally, it also tends to place globalization pressures on competitors, especially if customers are also operating on a global basis. It may also be that the interdependence of a companys operations across the world encourages the globalization of its competitors. For example, if a company has sought out low-cost production sites in different countries, these low costs may be used to subsidize competitive activity in high-cost areas against local competitors, thus encouraging them to follow similar strategies. 2.2.2 Industries and sectors The macro-environment might influence the success or failure of an organizations strategies. But the impact of these general factors tends to surface in the more immediate environment through changes in the competitive forces on organizations. An important aspect of this for most organizations will be competition within their industry or sector. Economic theory defines an industry as ‘a group of firms producing the same principal product or, more broadly, ‘a group of firms producing products that are close substitutes for each other. This concept of an industry can be extended into the public services through the idea of a sector. Social services, health care or educations also have many producers of the same kinds of services. From a strategic management perspective it is useful for managers in any organization to understand the competitive forces acting on and between organizations in the same industry or sector since this will determine the attractiveness of that industry and the way in which individual organizations might choose to compete. It may inform important decisions about product/market strategy and whether to leave or enter industries or sectors. It is important to remember that the boundaries of an industry may be changing for example, by convergence of previously separate ‘industries such as between computing, telecommunications and entertainment. Convergence is where previously separate industries begin to overlap in terms of activities, technologies, products and customers. There are two sets of ‘forces that might drive convergence. First, convergence might be supply-led where organizations start to behave as though there are linkages between the separate industries or sectors. This is very common in the public services where sectors seem to be constantly bundled and un-bundled into ministries with ever-changing names (‘Education, ‘Education and Science, ‘Education and Employment, ‘Education and Skills etc.). This type of convergence may be driven by external factors in the business environment. For example, governments can help or hinder convergence through regulation or deregulation a major factor in the financial services sector in many countries. The boundaries of an industry might also be destroyed by other forces in the macro-environment. For example, e-commerce is destroying the boundary of traditional retailing by offering manufacturers new or complementary ways to trade what are now being called new ‘business models12 such as websites or e-auctions. But the real test of these types of changes is the extent to which consumers see benefit to them in any of this supply-side convergence. So, secondly, convergence may also occur through demand-side (market) forces where consumers start to behave as though industries have converged. For example, they start to substitute one product with another (e.g. TVs and PCs). Or they start to see links between complementary products that they want to have ‘bundled. The package holiday is an example of bundling air travel, hotels and entertainment to form a new market segment in the travel industry. 2.2.3 Competitors and market An industry or sector may be a too-general level to provide for a detailed understanding  of competition. For example, Ford and Morgan Cars are in the same industry (automobiles) but are they competitors? The former is a publicly quoted multinational business; the latter is owned by a British family, produces about 500 cars a year and concentrates on a specialist market niche where customers want hand-built cars and are prepared to wait up to four years for one. In a given industry there may be many companies each of which has different capabilities and which compete on different bases. This is the concept of strategic groups. But  competition occurs in markets which are not confined to the boundaries of an industry and there will almost certainly be important differences in the expectations of different customer groups. This is the concept of market segments. What links these two issues is an understanding of what customers value. Strategic groups are organizations within an industry or sector with similar strategic  characteristics, following similar strategies or competing on similar bases. These characteristics are different from those in other strategic groups in the same industry or sector. For example, in grocery retailing, supermarkets, convenience stores and corner shops are three of the strategic groups. There may be many different characteristics that distinguish between strategic groups but these can be grouped into two major categories .First, the scope of an organizations activities (such as product range, geographical coverage and range  of distribution channels used). Second, the resource commitment (such as brands, marketing spend and extent of vertical integration). Which of these characteristics are especially relevant in terms of a given industry needs to be understood in terms of the history and development of that industry and the forces at work in the environment. 2. Market segments The concept of strategic groups discussed above helps with understanding the similarities and differences in the characteristics of ‘producers those organizations that are actual or potential competitors. However, the success or failure of organizations is also concerned with how well they understand customer needs and are able to meet those needs. So an understanding of markets is crucial. In most markets there is a wide diversity of customers needs, so the concept of market segments can be useful in identifying similarities and differences between groups of customers or users. A market segment is a group of customers who have similar needs that are different from customer needs in other parts of the Market 2.2.4 Opportunities and threat The critical issue is the implications that are drawn from this understanding in guiding strategic decisions and choices. There is usually a need to understand in a more detailed way how this collection of environmental factors might influence strategic success or failure. This can be done in more than one way. This identification of opportunities and threats can be extremely valuable when thinking about strategic choices for the future. A strategic gap is an opportunity in the competitive environment that is not being fully exploited by competitors. By using some of the frameworks described in this chapter, managers can begin to identify opportunities to gain competitive advantage in this way: Opportunities in substitute industries Organizations face competition from industries that are producing substitutes. But substitution also provides opportunities. In order to identify gaps a realistic assessment has to be made of the relative merits of the products/technologies (incumbent and potential substitutes) in the eyes of the customer. An example would be software companies substituting electronic versions of reference books and atlases for the traditional paper versions. The paper versions have more advantages than meet the eye: no hardware requirement (hence greater portability) and the ability to browse are two important benefits. This means that software producers need to design features to counter the strengths of the paper versions; for example, the search features in the software. Of course, as computer hardware develops into a new generation of portable handheld devices, this particular shortcoming of electronic versions might be rectified. Opportunities in other strategic groups or strategic spaces It is also possible to identify opportunities by looking across strategic groups particularly if changes in the macro-environment make new market spaces economically viable. For example, deregulation of markets (say in electricity generation and distribution) and advances in IT (say with educational study programs) could both create new market gaps. In the first case, the locally based smaller-scale generation of electricity becomes viable possibly linked to waste incineration plants. In the latter case, geography can be ‘shrunk and educational programs delivered across continents through the internet and teleconferencing (together with local tutorial support). New strategic groups emerge in these industries/sectors. Opportunities in the chain of buyers It was noted that this can be confusing, as there may be several people involved in the overall purchase decision. The user is one party but they may not buy the product themselves. There may be other influencers on the purchase decision too. Importantly, each of these parties may  value different aspects of the product or service. These distinctions are often quite marked in business-to-business transactions, say with the purchase of capital equipment. The purchasing department may be looking for low prices and financial stability of suppliers. The user department (production) may place emphasis on special product features. Others such as the marketing department may be concerned with whether the equipment will speed throughput and reduce delivery times. By considering who is the ‘most profitable buyer an organization  may shift its view of the market and aim its promotion and selling at those ‘buyers with the intention of creating new strategic customers. Opportunities for complementary products and services This involves a consideration of the potential value of complementary products and services. For example, in book retailing the overall ‘ Analysis of Ethiopia for Business Opportunities Analysis of Ethiopia for Business Opportunities 1. Introduction 1.1 The Country Ethiopia is almost five times bigger in the size of the United Kingdom and 27 times in the size of the Netherlands, is geographically located in the east of Africa with border line Somalia(1626 km) from east , Eritrea(912km) on north ,Sudan(1606 km) from the west and Kenya (830 km from the south. Ethiopia has geographically importance due to easy access to reach the Middle East and Europe, increase its importance in international trade. Geographically having an area of approximately 1.12 million square kilometers (444,000 square miles) out of which land is on 1,119 million square kilometers and water is on 7444 square meters. Ethiopia is high plateau with central mountain ranges almost over the country is divided by Great Rift Valley. The major rivers in Ethiopia are Blue Nile, Awash, Baro, Omo, Tekezie and Wabe Shebele. Ethiopia has also small amount of natural resources with small reserves of platinum, gold, potash, copper, hydropower and natural gas. 1.2 The People Ethiopia is country with around 80 million people, and in comparison to other country it comes on 14th rank in world. Almost more than 80 percent of the population still lives in the rural areas. The age structure in Ethiopia is 0-14 years are (46.1%),15-64 years are (51.2%) and 65 years and over are (2.7%).Ethiopia has average birth rate of 2.7%. In Ethiopia is total freedom of religious practice, and the Christianity and Islam are the two main religions in Ethiopia with other religions which are in very number most of them are located in south side. Almost two-third of the population used the three main languages Amharic, Oromiffa and Tigrigna the official language of the Ethiopian government is Amharic. In schools, colleges and university teaching and medium of instruction are in English, also used mostly in the banking, insurance and business transactions, Arabic and Italian languages are also widely used in Ethiopia. Almost the 42.7 % of over 15 years old people can read and write mean having basic literacy rate. The Ethiopian government is spending almost 5.5 percent of their GDP in education programs. 1.3 The Government Ethiopia is conventional short form of name, and conventional long form of name is Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The first time election was held in 1995 and country adopted a new constitution and the government there is known as the federal republic government. The government involves in the foreign policy and relations, defense system and common interest benefits. The Federal State divisions are in nine ethnically based states vested with powers for self administration. The FDRE represent the common peoples interest and peoples of the states, the federal government is structured as a lines of bicameral parliament, with the Council of Peoples representatives being the highest authority of the Federal Government the representative of Councils Members are elected democratically for six year term. 1.4 Cities and Towns Addis Ababa, the largest city and capital of the Ethiopia, also is the seat of the Federal Government of Ethiopia. The capital city was founded in 1887 and population of around about 3 million. Addis Ababa is the host city for Organization for African Unity and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; also there is more international organization with their headquarters and branch offices. Addis Ababa I also centre point for business, commerce and industries. In Addis can find different manufacturing plants located in and around the city. There are lots of entertainment and sport facilities in the city, with national parks. The main centre of point are resort centers with hot springs and lake, all of them are easily accessible through road. The other important and big cities in term of trade and industries having potential of expansion are Awassa, Dire Dawa, Gondar, Dessie, Nazareth, Jimma, Harar, Bahir Dar, Mekele, Debre Markos and Nekemte. All of them are interconnected with Addis through road,most of them have their historical importance with good infrastructure facilities. 1.5 THE ECONOMY The Ethiopian economy is totally dependable on agriculture which has 45% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 65 % of total exports and 85% of employment. Coffee is the main export product and its alone having a share of over 85 % of total agricultural exports. In Ethiopia different crops in different area of the country cultivated but the main crops are cereals, pulses, coffee, cotton, tobacco, fruits, sugarcane and oil seeds. The industrial sector plays also big role in economy and having almost 11% of share in total GDP, which provides their product to local and global markets. The most important products in term of local market and export are textiles, foodstuffs, tiles, paper, beverages, cement, semi- processed leather, finished leather products and non-metallic products. In Ethiopia even it is small reserve amount of natural resources and it contribute only 1% to the total GDP, but still there are lots of opportunities in mining to explore and contribute in Ethiopian economy. Communications There is total monopoly of Ethiopian Telecommunications corporations over the telephonic services open-wire, microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2 domestic satellites provide the national trunk service. Ethiopia has only 1 public TV broadcast station which broadcasting it nationally and only 1 public radio broadcaster with stations in each state, there are some commercial and dozens of community radio stations. Transportation Till 2010 in Ethiopia there 61 airports, out of which 17 airports are with paved runways and 44 airports are unpaved. The railway is under joint control of Ethiopia and Djibouti, but most of it is inoperable and need lots of improvement and expansion to improve the transportation. The conditions of Ethiopian roads are also not in very good conditions out of 36469 km long road only 6980 k are in better conditions other are unpaved around about 29849 km. Ethiopia has 9 merchant marine 8 cargo and 1 roll on/ roll off, they are landlocked and uses the ports Djibouti in Djibouti and Berbera in Somalia. In Ethiopia transportation is a big problem and effects also in the business. Ethiopian government takes this problem very seriously and many projects are on progress for improvement and modernization of Ethiopian transportation system. 1 .6 Banking Systems 1.6.1 Introduction In Ethiopia banking system was introduced in 1905 with the coordination of Bank of Egypt and the first name of bank was Bank of Abyssinia which is controlled by private company in Ethiopia. Later in 1931 it was replaced by the Bank of Ethiopia. During the Italian invasion period and subsequent British occupation Ethiopia become one of the important places for East Africa Currency Board. Later again it is renamed as State bank of Ethiopia having two active departments involves in the process of separate function of issuing banks and commercial bank. In 1963 the bank is divided into two parts two new bank national Bank of Ethiopia involves in the process of centralizing and issuing bank and the second one the commercial bank of Ethiopia. In 1974 there was merging of maximum of financial institutes available tat time including state owned also some of them are The Agricultural and Industrial Development Bank The Savings and Mortgage Corporation of Ethiopia The Imperial Savings and Home Ownership Public Association The Addis Ababa Bank The Banco di Napoli The Banco di Roma In 1975 change in government policy and change into Marxist government bring again lots of changes in banking system like nationalization of private financial institutes and insurance companies. The big and important commercial bank of Ethiopia is now known as Addis Ababa bank and the total control of all banks and financial institutes are under supervision of National Bank of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Insurances corporation take all power and control for the all insurance companies and for the home loan and renovation loan is provide by the new Housing and savings bank. 1.6.2 Current Conditions The whole banking system condition is still undeveloped and need lots of improvement and development. In Ethiopia there is also no stock exchange and foreign bank as the banking system is still not globalized, while higher government authorities are afraid of losing control over the economy because of globalizing the banking system. Thats why they have full control over the banking system even they decide the interest rate as per the high inflation rate. Below provided table to have a look on the condition of ease of doing business in Ethiopia. Table 1 Business Climate of Ethiopia As National Bank of Ethiopia is Ethiopian central bank and the state owned Commercial Bank is one of the biggest and largest bank in Ethiopia having approx. control of more than 75% of total banking assets in Ethiopia, tables 2 tried to explain the banking system in Ethiopia. Table 2 Value of Ethiopian Bank Assets Insurance companies and other financial institutions In Ethiopia the Ethiopia Insurance Corporation controls 10 insurance companies performing business in more than 200 branches all over the country Below in the table the number of branches and their capital are explained figures available are from 2007 and till then only nine insurance companies are in business the 10th company (Lion Insurance Company) comes in business after 2007 thats why it is not mention in table. Table 3: Branches and Capital of Insurance Companies in Ethiopia (Capital in Millions of Birr) Stock Market No stock exchange exists Other Types of Finance/Financial Market Micro finance After the establishment of the government in 1994/1995. It started also and supporting for the development of microfinance industry, the purpose of Ethiopian government to developed the microfinance industry to help poor people in both rural and urban area. According to the 2005 microfinance industry report in Ethiopia that there are 23 microfinance industries and around about more than 1 million peoples are connected directly to the industry. As from above it is cleared that government had totally prohibited any kind of foreign company involved in the process of financial or banking services in country. In Ethiopia microfinance industry can be opened by people having Ethiopian nationality and having full 100% share in company or by those organization which are totally settled and have their registration under the law and having their head office in Ethiopia. As in country most of the microfinance initial capital comes from the foreign investors and which leads to the not clear transparency of microfinance industry, normally person investing in the microfinance industry local or foreigner must enlist as a shareholder. As government authorized high authorities decided interest rate according to the high inflation rate, and in microfinance industry there is no fixed interest rate on credit according to law minimum interest on credit is 3%, which is a loss for those people wants to open microfinance industry in rural areas because of added administrative cost in capital of investment. Top ten reasons to do business in Ethiopia Political and social stability; Macro-economic stability and growing economy; Adequate guarantees and protections; Transparent laws and streamlined procedures; Ample investment opportunities; Abundant and trainable labor force; Wide domestic, regional and international market opportunity; Competitive investment incentive packages ; Welcoming attitude of the people to FDI; and Pleasant climate and fertile soils. 2. Foreign Market Entry Strategy 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 Strategy Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. 2.1.2 Strategic Decisions Strategic decisions are likely to be complex in nature. This complexity is a defining feature of strategy and strategic decisions and is especially so in organizations with wide geographical scope, such as multinational firms, or wide ranges of products or services. Strategic decisions may also have to be made in situations of uncertainty about the future. Strategic decisions are likely to affect operational decisions: for example, an increased emphasis on consumer electronics would trigger off a whole series of new operational activities, such as finding new suppliers and building strong new brands. This link between overall strategy and operational aspects of the organization is important for two other reasons. First, if the operational aspects of the organization are not in line with the strategy, then, no matter how well considered the strategy is, it will not succeed. Second, it is at the operational level that real strategic advantage can be achieved. Indeed, competence in particular operational activities might determine which strategic developments might make most sense. Strategic decisions are also likely to demand an integrated approach to managing the organization. Managers have to cross functional and operational boundaries to deal with strategic problems and come to agreements with other managers who, inevitably, have different interests and perhaps different priorities. Managers may also have to sustain relationships and networks outside the organization, for example with suppliers, distributors and customers. Strategic decisions usually involve change in organizations which may prove difficult because of the heritage of resources and because of culture. These cultural issues are heightened following mergers as two very different cultures need to be brought closer together or at least learn how to tolerate each other. Indeed, this often proves difficult to achieve a large percentage of mergers fail to deliver their ‘promise for these reasons. 2.1.3 Levels of Strategy Corporate-level strategy: Itis concerned with the overall purpose and scope of an organization and how value will be added to the different parts (business units) of the organization. Business-level strategy: It is about how to compete successfully in particular markets. Operational strategies: These are concerned with how the component parts of an organization deliver effectively the corporate and business-level strategies in terms of resources, processes and people. 2.1.4 Strategic Management Strategic management includes understanding the strategic position of an organization, strategic choices for the future and turning strategy into action. The strategic position is concerned with the impact on strategy of the external environment, an organizations strategic capability (resources and competences) and the expectations and influence of stakeholders. Strategic choices involve understanding the underlying bases for future strategy at both the business unit and corporate levels and the options for developing strategy in terms of both the directions and methods of development. Strategy into action is concerned with ensuring that strategies are working in practice. Strategy development processes are the ways in which strategy develops in organizations. 2.2 Environment The most general ‘layer of the environment is often referred to as the macro environment. This consists of broad environmental factors that impact to a greater or lesser extent on almost all organizations. It is important to build up an understanding of how changes in the macro-environment are likely to impact on individual organizations. A starting point can be provided by the PESTEL framework which can be used to identify how future trends in the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal environments might impinge on organizations. This provides the broad ‘data from which the key drivers of change can be identified. These will differ from sector to sector and from country to country. Therefore they will have a different impact on one organization from another. If the future environment is likely to be very different from the past it is helpful to construct scenarios of possible futures. This helps managers consider how strategies might need to change depending on the different ways in which the business environment might change. Within this broad general environment the next ‘layer is called an industry or a sector. This is a group of organizations producing the same products or services. The five forces framework and the concept of cycles of competition can be useful in understanding how the competitive dynamics within and around an industry are changing. The most immediate layer of the environment consists of competitors and markets. Within most industries or sectors there will be many different organizations with different characteristics and competing on different bases. The concept of strategic groups can help with the identification of both direct and indirect competitors. Similarly customers expectations are not all the same. They have a range of different requirements the importance of which can be understood through the concepts of market segments and critical success factors. 2.2.1 Key driver of change Key drivers of change are forces likely to affect the structure of an industry, sector or market. There is an increasing trend to market globalization for a variety of reasons. In some markets, customer needs and preferences are becoming more similar. For example, there is increasing homogeneity of consumer tastes in goods such as soft drinks, jeans, electrical items (e.g. audio equipment) and personal computers. The opening of McDonalds outlets in most countries of the world signaled similar tendencies in fast food. As some markets globalize, those operating in such markets become global customers and may search for suppliers who can operate on a global basis. For example, the global clients of the major accountancy firms may expect the accountancy firms to provide global services. The development of global communication and distribution channels may drive globalization the obvious example being the impact of the internet. In turn, this may provide opportunities for transference of marketing (e.g. global brands) across countries. Marketing policies, brand names and identities, and advertising may all be developed globally. This further generates global demand and expectations from customers, and may also provide marketing cost advantages for global operators. Nor is the public sector immune from such forces. Universities are subject to similar trends influenced by changing delivery technologies through the internet. This means, for example, that there is developing a genuinely global market for MBA students particularly where the majority of ‘tuition is done online. Cost globalization may give potential for competitive advantage since some organizations will have greater access to and/or be more aware of these advantages than others. This is especially the case in industries in which large volume; standardized production is required for optimum economies of scale, as in many components for the electronics industry. There might also be cost advantages from the experience built through wider-scale operations. Other cost advantages might be achieved by central sourcing efficiencies from lowest-cost suppliers across the world. Country-specific costs, such as labor or exchange rates, encourage businesses to search globally for low cost in these respects as ways of matching the costs of competitors that have such advantages because of their location. For example, given increased reliability of communication and cost differentials of labor, software companies and call centers are being located in India, where there is highly skilled but low-cost staff. Other businesses face high costs of product development and may see advantages in operating globally with fewer products rather than incurring the costs of wide ranges of products on a more limited geographical scale. The activities and policies of governments have also tended to drive the globalization of industry. Political changes in the 1990s meant that almost all trading nations function with market-based economies and their trade policies have tended to encourage free markets between nations. Globalization has been further encouraged by technical standardization between countries of many products, such as in the automobile, aerospace and computing industries. It may also be that particular host governments actively seek to encourage global operators to base themselves in their countries. However, it is worth noting that in many industries country-specific regulations still persists and reduces the extent to which global strategies are possible. Also, the early 2000s have seen a rise in citizen activism about the impact of globalization on developing countries most notably at meetings of the World Trade Organization Changes in the macro-environment are increasing global competition which, in turn, encourages further globalization. If the levels of exports and imports between countries are high, it increases interaction between competitors on a more global scale. If a business is competing globally, it also tends to place globalization pressures on competitors, especially if customers are also operating on a global basis. It may also be that the interdependence of a companys operations across the world encourages the globalization of its competitors. For example, if a company has sought out low-cost production sites in different countries, these low costs may be used to subsidize competitive activity in high-cost areas against local competitors, thus encouraging them to follow similar strategies. 2.2.2 Industries and sectors The macro-environment might influence the success or failure of an organizations strategies. But the impact of these general factors tends to surface in the more immediate environment through changes in the competitive forces on organizations. An important aspect of this for most organizations will be competition within their industry or sector. Economic theory defines an industry as ‘a group of firms producing the same principal product or, more broadly, ‘a group of firms producing products that are close substitutes for each other. This concept of an industry can be extended into the public services through the idea of a sector. Social services, health care or educations also have many producers of the same kinds of services. From a strategic management perspective it is useful for managers in any organization to understand the competitive forces acting on and between organizations in the same industry or sector since this will determine the attractiveness of that industry and the way in which individual organizations might choose to compete. It may inform important decisions about product/market strategy and whether to leave or enter industries or sectors. It is important to remember that the boundaries of an industry may be changing for example, by convergence of previously separate ‘industries such as between computing, telecommunications and entertainment. Convergence is where previously separate industries begin to overlap in terms of activities, technologies, products and customers. There are two sets of ‘forces that might drive convergence. First, convergence might be supply-led where organizations start to behave as though there are linkages between the separate industries or sectors. This is very common in the public services where sectors seem to be constantly bundled and un-bundled into ministries with ever-changing names (‘Education, ‘Education and Science, ‘Education and Employment, ‘Education and Skills etc.). This type of convergence may be driven by external factors in the business environment. For example, governments can help or hinder convergence through regulation or deregulation a major factor in the financial services sector in many countries. The boundaries of an industry might also be destroyed by other forces in the macro-environment. For example, e-commerce is destroying the boundary of traditional retailing by offering manufacturers new or complementary ways to trade what are now being called new ‘business models12 such as websites or e-auctions. But the real test of these types of changes is the extent to which consumers see benefit to them in any of this supply-side convergence. So, secondly, convergence may also occur through demand-side (market) forces where consumers start to behave as though industries have converged. For example, they start to substitute one product with another (e.g. TVs and PCs). Or they start to see links between complementary products that they want to have ‘bundled. The package holiday is an example of bundling air travel, hotels and entertainment to form a new market segment in the travel industry. 2.2.3 Competitors and market An industry or sector may be a too-general level to provide for a detailed understanding  of competition. For example, Ford and Morgan Cars are in the same industry (automobiles) but are they competitors? The former is a publicly quoted multinational business; the latter is owned by a British family, produces about 500 cars a year and concentrates on a specialist market niche where customers want hand-built cars and are prepared to wait up to four years for one. In a given industry there may be many companies each of which has different capabilities and which compete on different bases. This is the concept of strategic groups. But  competition occurs in markets which are not confined to the boundaries of an industry and there will almost certainly be important differences in the expectations of different customer groups. This is the concept of market segments. What links these two issues is an understanding of what customers value. Strategic groups are organizations within an industry or sector with similar strategic  characteristics, following similar strategies or competing on similar bases. These characteristics are different from those in other strategic groups in the same industry or sector. For example, in grocery retailing, supermarkets, convenience stores and corner shops are three of the strategic groups. There may be many different characteristics that distinguish between strategic groups but these can be grouped into two major categories .First, the scope of an organizations activities (such as product range, geographical coverage and range  of distribution channels used). Second, the resource commitment (such as brands, marketing spend and extent of vertical integration). Which of these characteristics are especially relevant in terms of a given industry needs to be understood in terms of the history and development of that industry and the forces at work in the environment. 2. Market segments The concept of strategic groups discussed above helps with understanding the similarities and differences in the characteristics of ‘producers those organizations that are actual or potential competitors. However, the success or failure of organizations is also concerned with how well they understand customer needs and are able to meet those needs. So an understanding of markets is crucial. In most markets there is a wide diversity of customers needs, so the concept of market segments can be useful in identifying similarities and differences between groups of customers or users. A market segment is a group of customers who have similar needs that are different from customer needs in other parts of the Market 2.2.4 Opportunities and threat The critical issue is the implications that are drawn from this understanding in guiding strategic decisions and choices. There is usually a need to understand in a more detailed way how this collection of environmental factors might influence strategic success or failure. This can be done in more than one way. This identification of opportunities and threats can be extremely valuable when thinking about strategic choices for the future. A strategic gap is an opportunity in the competitive environment that is not being fully exploited by competitors. By using some of the frameworks described in this chapter, managers can begin to identify opportunities to gain competitive advantage in this way: Opportunities in substitute industries Organizations face competition from industries that are producing substitutes. But substitution also provides opportunities. In order to identify gaps a realistic assessment has to be made of the relative merits of the products/technologies (incumbent and potential substitutes) in the eyes of the customer. An example would be software companies substituting electronic versions of reference books and atlases for the traditional paper versions. The paper versions have more advantages than meet the eye: no hardware requirement (hence greater portability) and the ability to browse are two important benefits. This means that software producers need to design features to counter the strengths of the paper versions; for example, the search features in the software. Of course, as computer hardware develops into a new generation of portable handheld devices, this particular shortcoming of electronic versions might be rectified. Opportunities in other strategic groups or strategic spaces It is also possible to identify opportunities by looking across strategic groups particularly if changes in the macro-environment make new market spaces economically viable. For example, deregulation of markets (say in electricity generation and distribution) and advances in IT (say with educational study programs) could both create new market gaps. In the first case, the locally based smaller-scale generation of electricity becomes viable possibly linked to waste incineration plants. In the latter case, geography can be ‘shrunk and educational programs delivered across continents through the internet and teleconferencing (together with local tutorial support). New strategic groups emerge in these industries/sectors. Opportunities in the chain of buyers It was noted that this can be confusing, as there may be several people involved in the overall purchase decision. The user is one party but they may not buy the product themselves. There may be other influencers on the purchase decision too. Importantly, each of these parties may  value different aspects of the product or service. These distinctions are often quite marked in business-to-business transactions, say with the purchase of capital equipment. The purchasing department may be looking for low prices and financial stability of suppliers. The user department (production) may place emphasis on special product features. Others such as the marketing department may be concerned with whether the equipment will speed throughput and reduce delivery times. By considering who is the ‘most profitable buyer an organization  may shift its view of the market and aim its promotion and selling at those ‘buyers with the intention of creating new strategic customers. Opportunities for complementary products and services This involves a consideration of the potential value of complementary products and services. For example, in book retailing the overall ‘

Physical Layer Of Osi Model :: Networks Telecommunications

Abstract The Physical Layer is the lowest layer of the Open Source Interconnect Model (OSI). It is the layer that deals with all the measurable, physical entities associated with the network. At this layer it is specified how much bandwidth (Baseband or Broadband) will be used in the transmission of data on the network. This layer also includes the physical topology (physical lay out) of the network such as: Bus, Star, Ring or Mesh. The Physical Layer includes these devices: Network Interface Cards (NICs), Transceivers, Hubs, Multistation Access Units (MAUs), Repeaters and Cables. It is at this layer that frames received from the Data Link layer are converted to bits for transmission over the network media to the receiving machines Physical Layer. The Physical Layer defines all electrical and physical specifications for devices. This includes the layout of pins, voltages, and cable specifications. The major functions and services performed by the Physical Layer are: establishment and termination of a connection to a communications medium, participation in the process whereby the communication resources are effectively shared among multiple users, modulation, or conversion between the representation of digital data in user equipment and the corresponding signals transmitted over a communications channel. These are signals operating over the physical cabling copper and fiber optic. ("OSI Model", 2005) "The Physical Layer is special compared to the other layers of the model, because it is the only one where data is physically moved across the network interface. All of the other layers perform useful functions to create messages to be sent, but they must all be transmitted down the protocol stack to the Physical Layer, where they are actually sent out over the network."(Kozierok, 2004) Physical Layer also specifies how much of the media will be used during the data transmission referred to as Baseband or Broadband signaling. 1. Baseband Signaling: Technology in which a network uses all available signal frequencies or the entire bandwidth i.e., Most LAN technologies like Ethernet. 2. Broadband Signaling: Technology in which a network uses only one frequency or a part of the entire bandwidth i.e., multiple signals can be transmitted over a media simultaneously like TV signals, where you have various channels like CNBC, MTV, BBC, each on a different frequency and hence each occupies a part of the bandwidth. (Chandrasekaran, 2002) The Physical Layer also deals with the way a network is laid out which is referred to as the topology of a network.

Foundation and Empire 25. Death Of A Psychologist

After that there were only two weeks left to the life of Ebling Mis. And in those two weeks, Bayta was with him three times. The first time was on the night after the evening upon which they saw Colonel Pritcher. The second was one week later. And the third was again a week later – on the last day – the day Mis died. First, there was the night of Colonel Pritcher's evening, the first hour of which was spent by a stricken pair in a brooding, unmerry merry-go-round. Bayta said, â€Å"Torie, let's tell Ebling.† Toran said dully, â€Å"Think he can help?† â€Å"We're only two. We've got to take some of the weight off. Maybe he can help.† Toran said, â€Å"He's changed. He's lost weight. He's a little feathery; a little woolly.† His fingers groped in air, metaphorically. â€Å"Sometimes, I don't think he'll help us muchever. Sometimes, I don't think anything will help.† â€Å"Don't!† Bayta's voice caught and escaped a break, â€Å"Torie, don't! When you say that, I think the Mule's getting us. Let's tell Ebling, Torie – now!† Ebling Mis raised his head from the long desk, and bleared at them as they approached. His thinning hair was scuffed up, his lips made sleepy, smacking sounds. â€Å"Eh?† he said. â€Å"Someone want me?† Bayta bent to her knees, â€Å"Did we wake you? Shall we leave?† â€Å"Leave? Who is it? Bayta? No, no, stay! Aren't there chairs? I saw them-† His finger pointed vaguely. Toran pushed two ahead of him. Bayta sat down and took one of the psychologist's flaccid hands in hers. â€Å"May we talk to you, Doctor?† She rarely used the title. â€Å"Is something wrong?† A little sparkle returned to his abstracted eyes. His sagging cheeks regained a touch of color. â€Å"Is something wrong?† Bayta said, â€Å"Captain Pritcher has been here. Let me talk, Torie. You remember Captain Pritcher, Doctor?† â€Å"Yes- Yes-† His fingers pinched his lips and released them. â€Å"Tall man. Democrat.† â€Å"Yes, he. He's discovered the Mule's mutation. He was here, Doctor, and told us.† â€Å"But that is nothing new. The Mule's mutation is straightened out.† In honest astonishment, â€Å"Haven't I told you? Have I forgotten to tell you?† â€Å"Forgotten to tell us what?† put in Toran, quickly. â€Å"About the Mule's mutation, of course. He tampers with emotions. Emotional control! I haven't told you? Now what made me forget?† Slowly, he sucked in his under lip and considered. Then, slowly, life crept into his voice and his eyelids lifted wide, as though his sluggish brain had slid onto a well-greased single track. He spoke in a dream, looking between the two listeners rather than at them. â€Å"It is really so simple. It requires no specialized knowledge. In the mathematics of psychohistory, of course, it works out promptly, in a third-level equation involving no more – Never mind that. It can be put into ordinary words – roughly – and have it make sense, which isn't usual with psychohistorical phenomena. â€Å"Ask yourselves – What can upset Hari Seldon's careful scheme of history, eh?† He peered from one to the other with a mild, questioning anxiety. â€Å"What were Seldon's original assumptions? First, that there would be no fundamental change in human society over the next thousand years. â€Å"For instance, suppose there were a major change in the Galaxy's technology, such as finding a new principle for the utilization of energy, or perfecting the study of electronic neurobiology. Social changes would render Seldon's original equations obsolete. But that hasn't happened, has it now?† â€Å"Or suppose that a new weapon were to be invented by forces outside the Foundation, capable of withstanding all the Foundation's armaments. That might cause a ruinous deviation, though less certainly. But even that hasn't happened. The Mule's Nuclear Field-Depressor was a clumsy weapon and could be countered. And that was the only novelty he presented, poor as it was. â€Å"But there was a second assumption, a more subtle one! Seldon assumed that human reaction to stimuli would remain constant. Granted that the first assumption held true, then the second must have broken down! Some factor must be twisting and distorting the emotional responses of human beings or Seldon couldn't have failed and the Foundation couldn't have fallen. And what factor but the Mule? â€Å"Am I right? Is there a flaw in the reasoning?† Bayta's plump hand patted his gently. â€Å"No flaw, Ebling.† Mis was joyful, like a child. â€Å"This and more comes so easily. I tell you I wonder sometimes what is going on inside me. I seem to recall the time when so much was a mystery to me and now things are so clear. Problems are absent. I come across what might be one, and somehow, inside me, I see and understand. And my guesses, my theories seem always to be borne out. There's a drive in me†¦ always onward†¦ so that I can't stop†¦ and I don't want to eat or sleep†¦ but always go on†¦ and on†¦ and on-â€Å" His voice was a whisper; his wasted, blue-veined hand rested tremblingly upon his forehead. There was a frenzy in his eyes that faded and went out. He said more quietly, â€Å"Then I never told you about the Mule's mutant powers, did I? But then†¦ did you say you knew about it?† â€Å"It was Captain Pritcher, Ebling,† said Bayta. â€Å"Remember?† â€Å"He told you?† There was a tinge of outrage in his tone. â€Å"But how did he find out?† â€Å"He's been conditioned by the Mule. He's a colonel now, a Mule's man. He came to advise us to surrender to the Mule, and he told us – what you told us.† â€Å"Then the Mule knows we're here? I must hurry – Where's Magnifico? Isn't he with you?† â€Å"Magnifico's sleeping,† said Toran, impatiently. â€Å"It's past midnight, you know.† â€Å"It is? Then – Was I sleeping when you came in?† â€Å"You were,† said Bayta decisively, â€Å"and you're not going back to work, either. You're getting into bed. Come on, Torie, help me. And you stop pushing at me, Ebling, because it's just your luck I don't shove you under a shower first. Pull off his shoes, Torie, and tomorrow you come down here and drag him out into the open air before he fades completely away. Look at you, Ebling, you'll be growing cobwebs. Are you hungry?† Ebling Mis shook his head and looked up from his cot in a peevish confusion. â€Å"I want you to send Magnifico down tomorrow,† he muttered. Bayta tucked the sheet around his neck. â€Å"You'll have me down tomorrow, with washed clothes. You're going to take a good bath, and then get out and visit the farm and feel a little sun on you.† â€Å"I won't do it,† said Mis weakly. â€Å"You hear me? I'm too busy.† His sparse hair spread out on the pillow like a silver fringe about his head. His voice was a confidential whisper. â€Å"You want that Second Foundation, don't you?† Toran turned quickly and squatted down on the cot beside him. â€Å"What about the Second Foundation, Ebling?† The psychologist freed an arm from beneath the sheet and his tired fingers clutched at Toran's sleeve. â€Å"The Foundations were established at a great Psychological Convention presided over by Hari Seldon. Toran, I have located the published minutes of that Convention. Twenty-five fat films. I have already looked through various summaries.† â€Å"Well?† â€Å"Well, do you know that it is very easy to find from them the exact location of the First Foundation, if you know anything at all about psychohistory. It is frequently referred to, when you understand the equations. But Toran, nobody mentions the Second Foundation, There has been no reference to it anywhere.† Toran's eyebrows pulled into a frown. â€Å"It doesn't exist?† â€Å"Of course it exists,† cried Mis, angrily, â€Å"who said it didn't? But there's less talk of it. Its significance – and all about it – are better hidden, better obscured. Don't you see? It's the more important of the two. It's the critical one; the one that counts! And I've got the minutes of the Seldon Convention. The Mule hasn't won yet-â€Å" Quietly, Bayta turned the lights down. â€Å"Go to sleep!† Without speaking, Toran and Bayta made their way up to their own quarters. The next day, Ebling Mis bathed and dressed himself, saw the sun of Trantor and felt the wind of Trantor for the last time. At the end of the day he was once again submerged in the gigantic recesses of the library, and never emerged thereafter. In the week that followed, life settled again into its groove. The sun of Neotrantor was a calm, bright star in Trantor's night sky. The farm was busy with its spring planting. The University grounds were silent in their desertion. The Galaxy seemed empty. The Mule might never have existed. Bayta was thinking that as she watched Toran light his cigar carefully and look up at the sections of blue sky visible between the swarming metal spires that encircled the horizon. â€Å"It's a nice day,† he said. â€Å"Yes, it is. Have you everything mentioned on the list, Torie?† â€Å"Sure. Half pound butter, dozen eggs, string beans – Got it all down here, Bay. I'll have it right.† â€Å"Good. And make sure the vegetables are of the last harvest and not museum relics. Did you see Magnifico anywhere, by the way?† â€Å"Not since breakfast. Guess he's down with Ebling, watching a book-film.† â€Å"All right. Don't waste any time, because I'll need the eggs for dinner.† Toran left with a backward smile and a wave of the hand. Bayta turned away as Toran slid out of sight among the maze of metal. She hesitated before the kitchen door, about-faced slowly, and entered the colonnade leading to the elevator that burrowed down into the recesses. Ebling Mis was there, head bent down over the eyepieces of the projector, motionless, a frozen, questing body. Near him sat Magnifico, screwed up into a chair, eyes sharp and watching – a bundle of slatty limbs with a nose emphasizing his scrawny face. Bayta said softly, â€Å"Magnifico-â€Å" Magnifico scrambled to his feet. His voice was an eager whisper. â€Å"My lady!† â€Å"Magnifico,† said Bayta, â€Å"Toran has left for the farm and won't be back for a while. Would you be a good boy and go out after him with a message that I'll write for you?† â€Å"Gladly, my lady. My small services are but too eagerly yours, for the tiny uses you can put them to.† She was alone with Ebling Mis, who had not moved. Firmly, she placed her hand upon his shoulder. â€Å"Ebling-â€Å" The psychologist started, with a peevish cry, â€Å"What is it?† He wrinkled his eyes. â€Å"Is it you, Bayta? Where's Magnifico?† â€Å"I sent him away. I want to be alone with you for a while.† She enunciated her words with exaggerated distinctness. â€Å"I want to talk to you, Ebling.† The psychologist made a move to return to his projector, but her hand on his shoulder was firm. She felt the bone under the sleeve clearly. The flesh seemed to have fairly melted away since their arrival on Trantor. His face was thin, yellowish, and bore a half-week stubble. His shoulders were visibly stooped, even in a sitting position. Bayta said, â€Å"Magnifico isn't bothering you, is he, Ebling? He seems to be down here night and day.† â€Å"No, no, no! Not at all. Why, I don't mind him. He is silent and never disturbs me. Sometimes he carries the films back and forth for me; seems to know what I want without my speaking. Just let him be.† â€Å"Very well – but, Ebling, doesn't he make you wonder? Do you hear me, Ebling? Doesn't he make you wonder?† She jerked a chair close to his and stared at him as though to pull the answer out of his eyes. Ebling Mis shook his head. â€Å"No. What do you mean?† â€Å"I mean that Colonel Pritcher and you both say the Mule can condition the emotions of human beings. But are you sure of it? Isn't Magnifico himself a flaw in the theory?† There was silence. Bayta repressed a strong desire to shake the psychologist. â€Å"What's wrong with you, Ebling? Magnifico was the Mule's clown. Why wasn't he conditioned to love and faith? Why should he, of all those in contact with the Mule, hate him so. â€Å"But†¦ but he was conditioned. Certainly, Bay!† He seemed to gather certainty as he spoke. â€Å"Do you suppose that the Mule treats his clown the way he treats his generals? He needs faith and loyalty in the latter, but in his clown he needs only fear. Didn't you ever notice that Magnifico's continual state of panic is pathological in nature? Do you suppose it is natural for a human being to be as frightened as that all the time? Fear to such an extent becomes comic. It was probably comic to the Mule – and helpful, too, since it obscured what help we might have gotten earlier from Magnifico.† Bayta said, â€Å"You mean Magnifico's information about the Mule was false?† â€Å"it was misleading. It was colored by pathological fear. The Mule is not the physical giant Magnifico thinks. He is more probably an ordinary man outside his mental powers. But if it amused him to appear a superman to poor Magnifico-† The psychologist shrugged. â€Å"In any case, Magnifico's information is no longer of importance.† â€Å"What is, then?† But Mis shook himself loose and returned to his projector. â€Å"What is, then?† she repeated. â€Å"The Second Foundation?† The psychologist's eyes jerked towards her. â€Å"Have I told you anything about that? I don't remember telling you anything. I'm not ready yet. What have I told you?† â€Å"Nothing,† said Bayta, intensely. â€Å"Oh, Galaxy, you've told me nothing, but I wish you would because I'm deathly tired. When will it be over?† Ebling Mis peered at her, vaguely rueful, â€Å"Well, now, my†¦ my dear, I did not mean to hurt you. I forget sometimes†¦ who my friends are. Sometimes it seems to me that I must not talk of all this. There's a need for secrecy – but from the Mule, not from you, my dear.† He patted her shoulder with a weak amiability. She said, â€Å"What about the Second Foundation?† His voice was automatically a whisper, thin and sibilant. â€Å"Do you know the thoroughness with which Seldon covered his traces? The proceedings of the Seldon Convention would have been of no use to me at a as little as a month ago, before this strange insight came. Even now, it seems – tenuous. The papers put out by the Convention are often apparently unrelated; always obscure. More than once I wondered if the members of the Convention, themselves, knew all that was in Seldon's mind. Sometimes I think he used the Convention only as a gigantic front, and single-handed erected the structure-â€Å" â€Å"Of the Foundations?† urged Bayta. â€Å"Of the Second Foundation! Our Foundation was simple. But the Second Foundation was only a name. It was mentioned, but if there was any elaboration, it was hidden deep in the mathematics. There is still much I don't even begin to understand, but for seven days, the bits have been clumping together into a vague picture. â€Å"Foundation Number One was a world of physical scientists. It represented a concentration of the dying science of the Galaxy under the conditions necessary to make it live again. No psychologists were included. It was a peculiar distortion, and must have had a purpose. The usual explanation was that Seldon's psychohistory worked best where the individual working units – human beings – had no knowledge of what was coming, and could therefore react naturally to all situations. Do you follow me, my dear-â€Å" â€Å"Yes, doctor.† â€Å"Then listen carefully. Foundation Number Two was a world of mental scientists. It was the mirror image of our world. Psychology, not physics, was king.† Triumphantly. â€Å"You see?† â€Å"I don't.† â€Å"But think, Bayta, use your head. Hari Seldon knew that his psychohistory could predict only probabilities, and not certainties. There was always a margin of error, and as time passed that margin increases in geometric progression. Seldon would naturally guard as well as he could against it. Our Foundation was scientifically vigorous. It could conquer armies and weapons. It could pit force against force. But what of the mental attack of a mutant such as the Mule?† â€Å"That would be for the psychologists of the Second Foundation!† Bayta felt excitement rising within her. â€Å"Yes, yes, yes! Certainly!† â€Å"But they have done nothing so far.† â€Å"How do you know they haven't?† Bayta considered that, â€Å"I don't. Do you have evidence that they have?† â€Å"No. There are many factors I know nothing of. The Second Foundation could not have been established full-grown, any more than we were. We developed slowly and grew in strength; they must have also. The stars know at what stage their strength is now. Are they strong enough to fight the Mule? Are they aware of the danger in the first place? Have they capable leaders?† â€Å"But if they follow Seldon's plan, then the Mule must be beaten by the Second Foundation.† â€Å"Ah,† and Ebling Mis's thin face wrinkled thoughtfully, â€Å"is it that again? But the Second Foundation was a more difficult job than the First. Its complexity is hugely greater; and consequently so is its possibility of error. And if the Second Foundation should not beat the Mule, it is bad – ultimately bad. It is the end, may be, of the human race as we know it.† â€Å"No. â€Å"Yes. If the Mule's descendants inherit his mental powers – You see? Homo sapiens could not compete. There would be a new dominant race – a new aristocracy – with homo sapiens demoted to slave labor as an inferior race. Isn't that so?† â€Å"Yes, that is so.† â€Å"And even if by some chance the Mule did not establish a dynasty, he would still establish a distorted new Empire upheld by his personal power only. It would die with his death; the Galaxy would be left where it was before he came, except that there would no longer be Foundations around which a real and healthy Second Empire could coalesce. It would mean thousands of years of barbarism. It would mean no end in sight.† â€Å"What can we do? Can we warn the Second Foundation?† â€Å"We must, or they may go under through ignorance, which we can not risk. But there is no way of warning them.† â€Å"No way?† â€Å"I don't know where they are located. They are ‘at the other end of the Galaxy' but that is all, and there are millions of worlds to choose from.† â€Å"But, Ebling, don't they say?† She pointed vaguely at the films that covered the table. â€Å"No, they don't. Not where I can find it – yet. The secrecy must mean something. There must be a reason-† A puzzled expression returned to his eyes. â€Å"But I wish you'd leave. I have wasted enough time, and it's growing short – it's growing short.† He tore away, petulant and frowning. Magnifico's soft step approached. â€Å"Your husband is home, my lady.† Ebling Mis did not greet the clown. He was back at his projector. That evening Toran, having listened, spoke, â€Å"And you think he's really right, Bay? You think he isn't-† He hesitated. â€Å"He is right, Torie. He's sick, I know that. The change that's come over him, the loss in weight, the way he speaks – he's sick. But as soon as the subject of the Mule or the Second Foundation, or anything he is working on, comes up, listen to him. He is lucid and clear as the sky of outer space. He knows what he's talking about. I believe him.† â€Å"Then there's hope.† It was half a question. â€Å"I†¦ I haven't worked it out. Maybe! Maybe not! I'm carrying a blaster from now on.† The shiny-barreled weapon was in her hand as she spoke. â€Å"Just in case, Torie, just in case.† â€Å"In case what?† Bayta laughed with a touch of hysteria, â€Å"Never mind. Maybe I'm a little crazy, too – like Ebling Mis.† Ebling Mis at that time had seven days to live, and the seven days slipped by, one after the other, quietly. To Toran, there was a quality of stupor about them. The warming days and the dull silence covered him with lethargy. All life seemed to have lost its quality of action, and changed into an infinite sea of hibernation. Mis was a hidden entity whose burrowing work produced nothing and did not make itself known. He had barricaded himself. Neither Toran nor Bayta could see him. Only Magnifico's go-between characteristics were evidence of his existence. Magnifico, grown silent and thoughtful, with his tiptoed trays of food and his still, watchful witness in the gloom. Bayta was more and more a creature of herself. The vivacity died, the self-assured competence wavered. She, too, sought her own worried, absorbed company, and once Toran bad come upon her, fingering her blaster. She had put it away quickly, forced a smile. â€Å"What are you doing with it, Bay?† â€Å"Holding it. Is that a crime?† â€Å"You'll blow your fool head off.† â€Å"Then I'll blow it off. Small loss!† Married life had taught Toran the futility of arguing with a female in a dark-brown mood. He shrugged, and left her. On the last day, Magnifico scampered breathless into their presence. He clutched at them, frightened. â€Å"The learned doctor calls for you. He is not well.† And he wasn't well. He was in bed, his eyes unnaturally large, unnaturally bright. He was dirty, unrecognizable. â€Å"Ebling!† cried Bayta. â€Å"Let me speak,† croaked the psychologist, lifting his weight to a thin elbow with an effort. â€Å"Let me speak. I am finished; the work I pass on to you. I have kept no notes; the scrap-figures I have destroyed. No other must know. All must remain in your minds.† â€Å"Magnifico,† said Bayta, with rough directness. â€Å"Go upstairs!† Reluctantly, the clown rose and took a backward step. His sad eyes were on Mis. Mis gestured weakly, â€Å"He won't matter; let him stay. Stay, Magnifico.† The clown sat down quickly. Bayta gazed at the floor. Slowly, slowly, her lower lip caught in her teeth. Mis said, in a hoarse whisper, â€Å"I am convinced the Second Foundation can win, if it is not caught prematurely by the Mule. It has kept itself secret; the secrecy must be upheld; it has a purpose. You must go there; your information is vital†¦ may make all the difference. Do you hear me?† Toran cried in near-agony, â€Å"Yes, yes! Tell us how to get there, Ebling? Where is it?† â€Å"I can tell you,† said the faint voice. He never did. Bayta, face frozen white, lifted her blaster and shot, with an echoing clap of noise. From the waist upward, Mis was not, and a ragged hole was in the wall behind. From numb fingers, Bayta's blaster dropped to the floor.

Understanding by Design

Marnelli C. Joyosa January 19, 2013 BSED/ 011-0187 Understanding by Design’s Weaknesses 1. If you plan lessons that may broadly be described as open ended, based on standards, containing clear criteria for student success, include different ways to ensure student enthusiasm, flexible enough to accommodate the â€Å"teachable moment†, accessing the higher echelons of bloom’s taxonomy and integrating skills then the likelihood is you won’t learn anything new from understanding by design. . Creating a unit using the backward design planning process is not a neat, tidy or easy process. It is a recursive one; you will move back and forth across the curriculum map, making revisions and refinements each time you add something to a section of your planning. 3. Teachers think that â€Å"transfer† in UBD means applications to real life. They often â€Å"force† activities that are contrived.Sometimes applications are beyond students’ experiences . 4. â€Å"Other activities are impractical for huge classes. † 5. Understanding alone can be detrimental to other skills. 6. â€Å"In UBD, knowing aims to come after understanding but in reality, understanding comes after knowing. † 7. â€Å"Mandate that every teacher must use UBD for all of their planning immediately (without sufficient training, ongoing support or structured planning time).Provide one introductory presentation on UBD and assume that teachers now have the ability to implement UBD well. † 8. Other teachers were not directly trained but were told to just follow the guides. Some did not get any guides, so they had to do â€Å"UBD-sounding† lesson plans on their own. 9. Many schools say they do not know what textbooks to use since current books are not â€Å"UBDized. † 10. UBD’s process was not fine-tuned with consonant to an area or region’s context, needs and goals.