Hydroxyl group Essay Example for Free

Hydroxyl group Essay Vanillin is the primary component of the extract of the vanilla beans that is used as a popular flavoring agent in food stuffs. Recently, it was found that some of food processing and food manufacturing companies are making food items using harmful ingredients in order to save their production cost. Since vanillin is used widely in food items as a flavoring agent, I wanted to know more about vanillin through this experiment. The Vanillin constitutes a colorless, prismatic needles which are readily soluble in the common organic solvents. It is also readily soluble in boiling water, but it is sparingly soluble in cold water (E. Gildemeister, 1913). Acetylvanillin will be formed via esterification of vanillin in a basic solution. Procedure1 In this experiment, vanillin will react with the acetylating agent acetic anhydride to form the acetate ester of the phenolic hydroxyl group. Dissolve the vanillin (3. 04 g, 0. 020 mole) in 1 M aqueous potassium hydroxide (22ml, 0. 022 mole) in a 125 ml Erlenmeyer flask. Add it to acetic anhydride (2. 1 ml, 2. 27 g, 0. 022 mole) in ether (45 ml). Stir the mixture until it loses its yellow color and the lower, aqueous layer becomes almost colorless. Pour the mixture into a separatory funnel and draw off the aqueous layer. Decant the ethereal solution into an Erlenmeyer flask and dry the solution with anhydrous magnesium sulfate. Remove the drying agent by gravity filtration into another Erlenmeyer flask. Using the steam bath, strip off the all the ether and allow the residue of acetylavanillin to cool to crystallize. As the final procedure, Recrystlaize the crude product from 40 ml of 50% ethanol in water.

Chocolate Research Paper Essay Example for Free

Chocolate Research Paper Essay Chocolate is a key ingredient in many foods such as milk shakes, candy bars, cookies and cereals. It is ranked as one of the most favourite flavours in North America and Europe. Despite its popularity most people do not know the unique origin of this popular treat. Chocolate is a product that requires complex procedures to produce. The process involves harvesting cocoa, refining coca to cocoa beans, and shipping the cocoa beans to the manufacturing factory for cleaning, coaching and grinding. These cocoa beans will then be imported or exported to other countries and be transformed into different types of chocolate products. Cocoa beans grow in countries like Cote dIvoire, Ghana, Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Malaysia, but the highest cocoa producing country is Cote dIvoire. The production process of cocoa beans include: first, cocoa is harvested manually. The seed pods of cocoa are collected and the beans are selected and placed in piles. These cocoa beans are then ready to be shipped to the manufacturer for production. Cocoa grows in pods that sprout off the trunks and branches of cocoa trees. The pods have the shape and almost the size of football. The pods start out green and turn orange when they are ripe. When the pods are ripe they are harvested gently with machetes. Machines can damage the trees or the clusters of flowers and pods that grow on the trunk, so workers have to harvest the pods by hand, using short, hooked blades mounted on long poles to reach the highest fruit. The cocoa seeds then undergo a process of fermentation by placing them in large, shallow, heated trays or by covering them with large banana leaves. If the climate is right, they may be simply heated by the sun. Workers mostly women come along periodically and stir them up so that all of the beans come out equally fermented. This process may take up to five or eight days. After fermentation, the cocoa seeds are dried before they can be scooped into sacks and shipped to chocolate manufacturers. Farmers simply spread the fermented seeds on trays and leave them in the sun to dry. The drying process usually takes about a week and results in seeds becoming reduced to about half of their original weight. During the production process, labor is not equally divided between men and women who work in the planation; this brings us to the issue of gender division. The gender divide that exists on the cocoa plantation is that most farm work is conducted by men, although most certainly there are tasks where women are very active, such as scooping the beans from the already opened husks, turning the beans during the fermentation and drying process, and sewing the jute sacs needed for the packaging of the dried beans. Women in the farms normally tend to the needs of the family. When female labor is hired during the harvesting time the wages given to them are not the same as those for men. Perhaps another reason why men are preferred is because of their assumed higher productivity rate compared to that of women. Due to different practices followed in individual regions, even within countries, the participation of women and their assigned tasks vary enormously. For instance, because of the popular method of sun drying cocoa beans in Ecuador, it is necessary to â€Å"clean† the beans. This job is mostly undertaken by women. This is not the case in Ghana or Brazil where sun drying is accomplished while protecting the beans from foreign matters and waste. It is interesting to note however that there is no specific pattern for the assignment of tasks to women, except during the harvest when the scooping of the beans from the opened pods is primarily performed by women in most cocoa producing countries. Given the great differences in the systems of production in producing countries it is difficult to find a common percentage that reflects the average participation of the female work force. It is worth mentioning that unlike the coffee agricultural sector, there are no associations or specific groups that house ‘women only’ involved in the cocoa sector at any level, although all associations and cooperatives are open to all who qualify. Due to fluctuation of cocoa prices in the world market, farmers have no long-term security, and in some situations, they do not have enough funds to support their farming business. Cocoa farmers are always faced with financial hardship; they are not able to provide for their families as they would want nor have enough funds to start up their own farming business because they only receive a fraction of the proceeds from the selling of the beans on the world market and there are many people in the trading chain. Cocoa farmers around the world face many challenges. It is estimated that about one-third of global cocoa crops are destroyed by pests and diseases every year. Many cocoa farmers have limited access to the latest agricultural technologies or methods of cultivation and few of them have business backgrounds to help them effectively market their products and manage their operations. Many of the farming communities live in poverty and are infected with diseases. Industry groups, governments and consumers worldwide have raised concerns about the use of pesticides and child labor on West African cocoa farms. An interview conducted by Christophe Koffi showed that one major problem that women in cocoa production encounter is the lack the of financial capability or backing due to the fact that most of these women find themselves in a male dominated occupation. It is very difficult for them to secure financial aid or loans to manage their farms. For instance, â€Å"Women cannot inherit or even create a cocoa plantation under our patriarch-dominated tradition,† said Vanie, criticising what she called a â€Å"backwards and misogynist† practice† (Koffi, 2008) because we still live in a patriarchal dominated society where women do not have the right to own lands and properties. This paper further talks about the sustanability in the production process of cocoa. We will be looking at Lindt Sprungli’s which is a family company and a major producer of chocolate and other cocoa products with a headquaters in Kilchberg, Switzerland. Lindt Sprungli is one of the few chocolate makers that have complete control over every step of the production chain starting with the precise selection of the finest cocoa varieties from the best growing areas in the world right on through the careful and expert processing until ending with the elegant packaging. Lindt gets its cocoa beans mostly from Ghana and Central and South America. Lindt has been very conservative in the amount of energy its invests in the chocolate production process. Each existing and future facility and investment undergoes very detailed analysis to determine how much energy can be saved. Through better insulation and energy recovery, Lindt Sprungli was able to cut down on energy consumption by more than 13% per ton produced between 2004 and 2010. The company intends to continue reducing the energy consumption rate per ton produced by an average over the coming years. According to the Lindt publication, The company’s efforts: since 1999, Lindt Sprungli’s Swiss subsidiary, Chocoladefabriken Lindt Sprungli (Schweiz) AG, has been an active member of the Lake Zurich Energy Model Group†¦The Swiss government and independent engineers have audited the progress and as a result, the Swiss subsidiary has been granted the official certificate. (Kilchberg, 2012) Since 2007, Lindt Sprungli under water conservation has been participating in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)†¦Since then, the measurements of water emissions and energy consumption have been largely based on the concept of the ‘Methodology Fossil Fuels’ set out in the CDP Protocol†¦Waste water, Lindt Sprungli continuously monitors and analyses the use of water and the output of wastewater in the production process and intends to further reduce the use of fresh water in this process, which, in turn will impact the output of wastewater (Kilchberg, 2012). The major people that benefit from cocoa production are mostly the big corporations. The corporations exploit cocoa farmers in the sense that they do not pay them the true worth of their labour. Women who work on the farms are underpaid and marginalized. There is also the issue of child labor where children of school going age are forced to work on the farms instead of going to school thereby denying them the right to education. The big corporations are not forth coming in releasing information as to how and where they get their cocoa beans from. Most of these African countries where these big corporations get their raw materials from do not have access to good roads, health care facilities, schools, electricity, and there is poverty in most of the communities. These big corporations buy the cocoa beans at a very cheap rate and then import them to the western society and the refined product is processed into different kinds of chocolates (e. g. chocolate drink, chocolate bars of different shapes and sizes and chocolate candies etc. ) . Which are sold consumers at exorbitant prices considering the price at which the cocoa beans are bought from the cocoa farmers. This explains how capitalism and big corporation exploit cheap labour. Almost everyone enjoys a bit of chocolate every now and again. But if you take a closer look at how cocoa is produced, it may well leave a bitter taste in your mouth. The conditions under which the cocoa farmers in many producer countries live and work are worrying: Despite the fact that cocoa is usually their main source of income, the families struggle to make a living from it. Child labour is not uncommon. As consumers we can work with NGOs to find means of helping the farmers to adapt to new systems of cocoa farming that result higher yields, under socially more acceptable and environmentally friendly conditions, to meet market demands and hence ensure a stable flow income. As a major part of the global cocoa industry which has remained inactive and invisible for so long, consumers of chocolate can demonstrate that they want slavery in the cocoa sector stamped out, and your pressure can highlight their lack of commitment and make them more accountable. Finally all cocoa products, including chocolate, run the risk of being tainted by child labour and slavery. To achieve a satisfactory standard of ethical production in chocolate consumers must help to ensure that companies commit to credible and sufficient actions against such things as use of child labour and the exploitation of cocoa farmers and not make false and unsustainable promises to consumers of being â€Å"slavery- free†. The consumers can liaise with government bodies and NGOs to negotiate fair prices for the purchase of cocoa products and this will in turn help the farmers to gain access to basic social amenities of life. Reference Page Archer, D. (2012). ADM’s commitment to sustainable cocoa. Milwaukee: Copyright 2012 Archer Daniels Midland Company . Clarkson, T. (1998). Anti-slavery. Retrieved November 15, 2012, from www. antislavery. org: http://www. antislavery. org/english/privacy_policy. aspx Kilchberg. (2012, April 22). The environment in the Production Process. Retrieved November 13, 2012, from www. Lindt. com: http://www. lindt. com/swf/eng/company/social-responsibility/lindts-sustainable-cocoa-supply-chain/ Koffi, C. (2008, November 7). Ivory Coast women defy taboos. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from iol News: http://www. iol. co. za/news/africa/ivory-coast-women-defy-taboos-1. 423405.

Design Of Enterprise It Solution Big Bazaar Information Technology Essay

Design Of Enterprise It Solution Big Bazaar Information Technology Essay Big Bazaar is a chain of hypermarkets in India, with more than 100 stores in operation. It is a subsidiary of Future Group Venture Ltds, and follows the business model of United States-based Wal-Mart. Big Bazaar, is the chain of retail stores of the big banner Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd., which in turn is a segment of the Kishore Biyani, regulated Future Group of Companies. Moreover the customer friendly ambiance and the organized retailing of products also make Big Bazaar one of the successful retail companies in India. 1. Big Bazaar: Overview Big Bazaar hypermarket is offering a huge array of goods of good quality for all at affordable prices. Big Bazaar has no doubt made a big name in the retail industry of India, moreover shopping here is further made a memorable experience with the varied rates of discounts on products as well as discount vouchers available in a variety of amounts, like INR 2000, INR 3000, INR 4000, INR 5000 and INR 10000 on all Big Bazaar products and accessories. 1.1 Product range in Big Bazaar This large format store comprises of almost everything required by people from different income groups. The added advantage for the customers shopping in Big Bazaar is that there are all time discounts and promotional offers going on in the Big Bazaar on its saleable products. 1.2 Significant Features of Big Bazaar Shopping in the Big Bazaar is a great experience as one can find almost everything under the same roof. It has different features which caters all the needs of the shoppers. Some of the significant features of Big Bazaar are: 1.3 Big Bazaar- Objective In this new era, design is helping companies to sell differentiated experiences and solutions that connect with the consumers emotions. Its not just the matter of selling products and services nor just completing transactions in the need to achieve targets. Every customer is an opportunity to build a relationship and invite the customer to become a part of the new transformational scenario. Design management is helping us position the customer at the centre of every decision we take and also operate with true entrepreneurial spirit. 1.4 Big Bazaar- Target customers Big Bazaar targets higher and upper middle class customers because there has been growth in Indian middle class that has so far been used to buying apparel and groceries from small and cluttered unorganised shops is fast realizing the joys of visiting malls that have redefined the freedom to shop and entertain. Such malls are the new temples of leisure and weekend entertainment. 1.5 Food Bazaar Food Bazaar (Future Group) is a Private Sector Organisation that offers services in Retail with Annual Total Turnover of 250-500 Crores and with Employee Strength of 501-1000. 2. Vision and Mission 2.1 Vision Future Group shall deliver everything, everywhere, every time for every Indian Consumer the most profitable manner. 2.2 Mission We share the vision and belief that our customers and stakeholders shall be served only by creating and executing future scenarios in the consumption space leading to economic development. We will be trendsetters in the evolving delivery format, creating retail realty, making consumption affordable for all customer segments- for classes and masses. We shall infuse Indian brands with confidence and renewed ambition. We shall be efficient and cost conscious and committed to quality in whatever we do. We shall ensure that our positive attitude, sincerity, humility and united determination shall be the driving force to make us successful. 3. Organisation Chart 4. EXISTING ARCHITECTURE of IT System(Hardware) The company maintains a 3 tier architecture. Figure 1 Source: www.cardisoft.eu 4.1 Client: The client represents the face of IS, through which data relating to various retail operations could be keyed in and data stored in database can be extracted. It constituted the Terminals at the counters. 4.2 Application Server: The middle tier will comprise of clustered servers also called transaction servers, as they facilitate transactions taking place in the big bazaar. This is essential for the system to handle high workloads, especially during peak hours. The middle tier will serve as an interface between the clients and the database. The application server runs on a Dell Server. 4.3 Database Server: The database server will receive and process queries received from the middle tier transaction servers. All the data will be stored in this database server. The database server is located in Mumbai. The system runs on a HP Super dome server on HP UNIX 11i and the database is from Oracle. 4.4 Inventory management: For this bar-coding is used. Around 80 bar-coding machines are used in Calicut Big bazaar branch. 4.5 Personnel management: For this attendance swapping machines are in place to keep track of in and out time of employees. Also an IT system, called the PECK system, is used for automatic ordering of items whose stock goes below a minimum prescribed level. The reorder level depends on the Minimum Base Quantity (MBQ). Suppose, MBQ = 10 Reorder level = 5 Now, whenever the quantity of this item in stock goes below 5, an automatic purchase order is sent to the centralised warehouse. 5. ANALYSIS OF THE EXISTING IT INFRASTRUCTURE 5.1 SAP ERP (R/3) The SAP ERP application is an integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) software manufactured by SAP AG that targets business software requirements of midsize and large organizations in all industries and sectors. It allows for open communication within and between all company functions for Big Bazaar. With the advent of distributed client-server computing SAP AG brought out a client-server version of the software called SAP R/3 (The R was for Real-time data processing and 3 was for 3-tier). This new architecture is compatible with multiple platforms and operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows or UNIX. This opened up SAP to a whole new customer base like retail market such as Big Bazaar. SAP R/3 was arranged into distinct functional modules, covering the typical functions in place in an organization. The most widely used modules were Financials and Controlling (FICO), Human Resources (HR), Materials Management (MM), Sales Distribution (SD), and Production Planning (PP). Each module handles specific business tasks on its own, but is linked to the others where applicable. For example, an invoice from the billing transaction of Sales Distribution of Big Bazaar would pass through to accounting, where it will appear in accounts receivable and cost of goods sold. 5.2 Technology of SAP ERP(R/3) SAP based the architecture of R/3 on a three-tier client/server as stated above in infrastructure. Client Server Application Server Database Server 5.2.1 Client Server The Client server is actually a program named sapgui.exe. It is usually installed on a users workstation. To start it, the user double-clicks on an icon on the desktop or chooses a menu path. When started, the presentation server displays the R/3 menus within a window. This window is commonly known as the SAPGUI, or the user interface (or simply, the interface). The interface accepts input from the user in the form of keystrokes, mouse-clicks, and function keys, and sends these requests to the application server to be processed. The application server sends the results back to the SAPGUI which then formats the output for display to the user. 5.2.2 Application Server An application server is a collection of executable s that collectively interprets the ABAP/4 (Advanced Business Application Programming / 4th Generation) programs and manages the input and output for them. When an application server is started, these executable s all start at the same time. When an application server is stopped, they all shut down together. The number of processes that start up when you bring up the application server is defined in a single configuration file called the application server profile. Each application server has a profile that specifies its characteristics when it starts up and while it is running. For example, an application server profile specifies number of processes and their types, amount of memory each process may use, length of time a user is inactive before being automatically logged off. The Application layer consists of one or more application servers and a message server. Each application server contains a set of services used to run the R/3 system. Not practical, only one application server is needed to run an R/3 system. But in practice, the services are distributed across more than one application server. This means that not all application servers will provide the full range of services. The message server is responsible for communication between the application servers. It passes requests from one application server to another within the system. It also contains information about application server groups and the current load balancing within them. It uses this information to choose an appropriate server when a user logs onto the system. The application server exists to interpret ABAP/4 programs, and they only run there-the programs do not run on the presentation server. An ABAP/4 program can start an executable on the presentation server, but an ABAP/4 program cannot execute there. If your ABAP/4 program requests information from the database, the application server will format the request and send it to the database server.cvb. 5.2.3 Database Server The database server handles the users request for addition, retrieval and modifications in the data. The system runs on a HP Super dome server on HP UNIX 11i and the database is from Oracle. It is located in Mumbai and centrally stores data for each Big Bazaar in these small cities. 5.3 Implementation of SAP ERP SAP ERP in Big Bazaar consists of several modules including: utilities for marketing and sales, field service, product design and development, production and inventory control, human resources, finance and accounting. SAP ERP collects and combines data from the separate modules to provide the Big Bazaar with enterprise resource planning. Although there can be major benefits for Big Bazaar of SAP ERP, the implementation and training costs are expensive. It has overcome with problems when implementing SAP ERP software, such as: failing to specify their operation objectives, absence of a strong commitment or positive approach to change, failing to deal with organizational differences, failing to plan the change to SAP ERP properly, inadequate testing. All these factors which cause unsuccessful implementation of SAP ERP didnt affect in Big Bazaar and it came successfully in overcoming them. SAP ERP is implemented correctly in BIG BAZAAR due to which it has gone from its old calculations system to a fully integrated software package. Potential benefits that it had gained from it are efficient business process, inventory reduction, and lead time reduction. An integral part of the implemented IT infrastructure is the SAP Enterprise Resource planning system. The package has a range of functions and provides a range of benefits to the company in the following areas: 5.3.1 Billing System The company has successfully implemented an ERP system with a comprehensive set of accounting applications. This helps in integrating the cost, profit, and revenue information of sales that are made, and presents in a granular way. The system is a very robust one that has failed only once in the past 3 years. 5.3.2 Inventory Replenishment Inventory management is a very critical function for a store like Big Bazaar that deals with a variety of products involving wide categories like FMCG, Staple items, fruits, vegetables, footwear, etc. All these different products required different levels of inventory. A dating structure is set up based on the past data for each data which allows the company to be informed of when their inventory should be updated. This is important, because it allows the company to keep close track of their stock and helps maintain communication simple between different units of the supply chain management 5.3.3 Order Tracking On the business side ERP is useful in order tracking. When the company receives orders for a product, being able to properly track the orders allows the company to get detailed information on their customers and marketing strategies. If different software packages are being used, this data may not be consistent. 5.3.4 Customer Relationship Management ERP is highly useful in Customer Relationship Management as it helps in providing the best customer services by immediately attending the customer queries and with timely delivery of products. All customer delays have been effectively removed by the implementation of the ERP system as it aids in resolving the customer payments well before the scheduled deadline. 6. Why Outsourcing? The reasons which drove Big Bazaar to outsource to Wipro Technologies are: Big Bazaar is a fully centralized system in integration with the Mumbai Head office. The payment of all the stakeholders are been done through Mumbai branch. A message is triggered to the Mumbai Head Office the instant the inventory level falls below a minimum prescribed level; the optimum quantity is being supplied to maintain the Maximum Base Quantity (MBQ). To maintain this dynamism across all the outlets and to gain the benefits of volume discount, a sophisticated IT system is required. The core competency of the Big Bazaar is in retailing and this application system is a support-oriented information resource management (as in Mac Farlans Strategic Grid). Hence, outsourcing was a viable option for Big Bazaar on account of the following reasons: Access to higher professionalism Risk of inappropriate IT architecture is reduced. Maintenance of skilled staffs is not needed and the management can concentrate on the core business activities. Subscribing is relative cheaper compared to purchasing a new technology. In addition, outsourced vendor would upgrade to new technology as and when needed. 7. Vendor Selection Process Big Bazaar was diligently involved in the selection of the vendors to outsource. The steps it took to finalize the vendor were as follows: They identified the requirements (functional and non-functional) and prepared an exhaustive list of the vendors software available in the market. 2. They narrowed down the list of vendors based on the non-functional requirements. The list included Wipro, Infosys, Patni Computers, TCS, etc. 3. They sent the Request of proposal (RFP) to the prospective vendors asking for information relevant to their service capabilities across a spectrum that includes financial, technical, and operational information. 4. Based on the responses of the vendors, they selected WIPRO for outsourcing. 8. Advantages Disadvantages of Existing IT Structure 8.1 Advantages The advantages of such an infrastructure can be concluded as follows: Scalability The architecture deployed currently has been modelled to facilitate the scale of operation of the company. For instance the application servers can be deployed on many machines. Also, the database no longer requires a connection from every client it only requires connections from a smaller number of application servers. In addition, many Transaction Processing Monitors could be used to balance loads and dynamically manage the number of application server(s) available. Better Reuse A replication of the same logic can be initiated from many clients or applications. Since the method of operation is standardized across all the outlets so a mechanism which can be replicated at less cost, reduces complexity and leads to optimum utilization of the resources. Improved Security Implementation of security mechanisms at multiple levels (not just the database) improves the security level. Security can be granted on a service-by-service basis. The placement on a very secure central server makes the business logic more secure. Reduced Distribution Any new policy changes like discount offers and other incentives can be easily incorporated to the complete business logic by simply updating a few application servers and do not have to be implemented individually across all the clients. Improved Availability The operations associated with the organization require the system to support numerous transactions, at the time of high sales. Such situations make use of redundant application servers and redundant database servers. Thus, it is possible to architect an application which can recover from network or server failures. Hidden Database Structure In order to facilitate the simultaneous transparent database changes, the actual structure of the database is hidden from the caller. Hence, it is possible that a service in the middle tier that exchanges information/data with other applications could retain its original interface while the underlying database structure was enhanced during a new application release. 8.2 Disadvantages Along with the advantages of the IT Infrastructure, some disadvantages also exist: Inventory management Systems inefficacy often leads to problems: Big bazaars inventory management inventory, centrally connected to its head office, has often led Big Bazaar into big troubles including recent example of Sabse Sasta Din (On the eve of Republic Day) where many of its stores had to shut after overwhelming demand and insufficient inventory. This failure in inventory management caused Big Bazaar huge revenue loss as well as bad publicity. Centrally managed system has its disadvantage too. The staff at its outlet has negligible knowledge of its IT infrastructure details. They generally lack the skills to treat the problems at their own. As all the control lies with Mumbai head office, thus in case any problem arises in system, either the store manager has to take help from its outsourcing partner or Head office IT team. The time delay in the procedure often cost it a substantial amount of business. Big Bazaar IT infrastructure lags as compare to its global competitors (who are set to enter Indian Markets) in terms of effectiveness of its Data Mining system. The data mining system enables the retailer to critically analyze and select its consumer segments and its specific needs and thus coming up with schemes to target them. Although existing customer billing system is very robust (failed only once in last 3 years: Kozhikode outlet), it often turns into bottleneck leading to longer queues and thus increased service time. The problem becomes worse during peak customer hours and the system proves to be Achilles heel during above estimated demands (recently in Sabse Sasta Din offer; 26 Jan 2011). 9. Security at Big Bazaar IT System In recent years, the retail sector has become the targets of spear phishermen, a particularly devious and hard to detect targeted attack, according to the cyber security firm Message Labs Intelligence. In a targeted attack, cybercriminals go after only a few individuals within a particular company in the hopes of compromising the individuals machine and gaining access to sensitive data, intellectual property, or confidential internal systems. IP surveillance and automation is very difficult in retail sector, hence most retailers take other measures to ensure a secure network like backups of all application data, operating system, databases and files were taken on a daily basis onto tape drives and even on disk. All the backup media was stored offsite on a daily basis. Weekly and monthly backup tapes are stored at remote locations. If the OS or application software conks off, data can be restored by reinstalling the concerned software and retrieving the latest data backup. IT Security in Big Bazaar Currently 10. Business Process Model The business process model elaborates the individual processes involved in servicing the customer and the areas where IT plays an integral role in servicing the customer. Fig: Business Process Model of Big Bazaar The key processes involved in the completion of a transaction at Big Bazaar could be described as follows: The customer selects an item to buy The customer places the order The order is then processed when the customer makes the payment If the payment is correct then the inventory level of the corresponding item is reduced by one and the transaction is complete However if the payment is not correct then the customer is intimated regarding the problem. If the customer still wishes to complete the transaction then he pays the appropriate amount else he decides to cancel the order if he does not have enough cash at disposal After the inventory level is reduced by one, it is checked if the current inventory level is critical If the inventory level is not critical then the transaction can be considered to be totally complete and the system is prepared for the next transaction. However, if the inventory level is critical i.e. based on the MBQ system, an automatic reorder procedure is activated This involves sending out a request for invoice order and another one for shipping order Once the invoice data is validated with the accounts department, the invoice is raised and forwarded Once the invoice order is complete, the items are packed and then shipped from the suppliers to the warehouse which stores the inventory Once the inventory has been received at the warehouse, the inventory level is updated From the above description it can be observed that IT plays a crucial role in three key areas namely Payment Processing, Inventory Management and Managing accounting information. Payment processing software records the payments received from the customers and keeps track of the sales amount generated on a day to day basis to understand the customer behaviour. The role of IT in Inventory management is critical in ensuring automatic replenishment of the inventory whenever the quantity goes below the critical level. Finally the accounting system has to make sure that all the goods received and the invoices generated are in correspondence and to detect and prevent anomalies that might arise out of errors committed both intentionally and unintentionally into ballooning into a huge problem for the company. It is important that the above systems are properly in place for the efficient functioning of the day to day business activities. 11. Logical Design of Big Bazaar In the logical diagram various processes are shown with the help of entities and their attributes. Various entities that are used in Big Bazaar are so linked with each other. Fig: Logical Diagram of Big Bazaar Following is the brief introduction about each entity and its attribute: HO Site: it is central point in the database unit, which controls all the departments. It controls various operations like maintaining inventory, organizing suppliers, and giving salaries to employees and billing to the customers. HO Employee: It defines the employees who will operate the HO site. They can make changes in the database of the product, and can even define new levels of cut off points for both inventory and shelf. Employee: It defines all the employees working in various departments. This entity will be accountable for their salaries, their performance, their timings and their attendance. All the incentives will be decided after seeing the performance graph of the employee, which will be generated through the DBMS. Product: This entity will define all the information about the product. It will tell the cost of the product, its unique ID code, its supplier, its self life. Supplier: As there are too many suppliers in the market who will be supplying their products to big bazaar. This entity will help to maintain their database. It will tell about the supplier name, location, product supplied by him, and about billing of the supply. Purchase rec.: This will tell about the purchase record of a particular product by the customer. It will tell the name of customer who purchased the product, date of purchasing, quantity purchased etc. Customer: The end point of the business is customer. To create the database of the valuable customers, you should know name, address, and product in what quantity they purchase. Inventory: It is the store where all the products are placed before bringing them to the shelf. The supplies directly come to the inventory. 12. Use Case Diagram The major actors in this use case diagram are: Customer Kozhikode branch employee Mumbai Head office employee Supplier The customer selects the goods he wants to buy and goes to the counter where the customer pays the amount. The employee at the counter enters the data in the database which is updated on the continuous basis. This database in turn is connected to the Mumbai database. Thus the entry made by the Kozhikode employee gives the inventory, sales etc status of the Kozhikode branch to the head office. Next, Mumbai head office checks the inventory level of the stock and if found to be below minimum base quantity level, then order is placed to the supplier regarding the same. The suppliers get the order request from the head office through the centrally connected database. All other functions of the Kozhikode branch are carried out in a similar manner. Fig: Use Case Diagram 13. Module distribution Diagram of Big Bazaar The value chain across which Big Bazaar operates is as shown below. First the vendor selection takes place. Than the centralized planning and merchandising is done for each of these stores according to the demand. Then the procurement of the goods takes place according to the forecast and plan. The goods are then distributed to each of the city branches. Then it is sold to the customers where the value chain is completed. We can divide these into four different categories. They are Planning, Store management, Buying and Supply Chain. For planning the modules of SAP used are supply Chain Management, Production Planning and Sales and Distribution. For store management Customer Relationship management, Sales and Distribution Management, Material Management and Customer Service modules are used. For Buying Supplier Relationship management and Material management modules are used. And for supply chain activities Sales and distribution, Logistics and Logistics Execution modules are used. Fig: Module Distribution Diagram of Big Bazaar 14. Scope of Improvement Despite the various advantages that IT infrastructure has bestowed on Big Bazaar, there is still a varied scope of improvement that the organization can employ: Big Bazaar can update the technology system by implementing WMS with RFID, Customer intelligence and CRM, Inventory and Promotions Optimization. On account of the heavy rush on the weekends and the festival season, the available number of terminals is unable to meet the demand quickly. Hence, the customers have to wait in queue for longer period. However, there are certain floors wherein the terminals are idle as the demand for those items are not that high. Hence, the firm can decide to exchange the location of computers from less used areas to highly used ones. 15. Recommendations 15.1 Improving Warehouse Management by strategic use of IT Big Bazaar faces many challenges. Not only it has to manage and coordinate a large number of local, regional, across complex supply chains but also the customers demand an increasingly large variety of products and faster deliveries, which often means that it has to hold smaller quantities of a larger range of SKUs. To satisfy customer demands and execute on its business strategies, you need a complete and accurate picture of where inventory is deployed and of its movement across the supply chain network. At the same time, you need to keep supply chain costs low, especially given fuel costs. Optimizing transportation management and synchronizing it with warehousing plans to meet fluctuating customer demands and store needs -is essential to competing successfully when margins are tight. Warehouse management can be further refined by the application of RFID technology. RFID will help Big Bazaar to align and optimize its task execution -which will include its loading time, sequence, and use of staging areas and bays with the supply chain events that occur outside of the warehouse. This use of technology can be easily integrated with the SAP Supply Chain Management (SAP SCM) application, which provides an integrated supply chain solution. In the long run it will provide the necessary visibility and control needed to optimize logistical execution for competitive advantage. There is a lot of scope for improvement in warehouse management. The direct tangible benefits that Big Bazaar will accrue are with the following components: Re-Defining a Complete Warehousing Plan- Optimizing warehousing as part of a demand-driven supply chain model, with a comprehensive plan to manage activities every step of the way. Order Management Integration of the new SAP EWM with existing SAP ERP for comprehensive order management. Warehouse Planning and Inventory Tracking and Tracing Once you define the high-level plan, you can focus on optimizing activities within each supply chain location. Support for cross-docking enables a direct flow from goods receipt to goods issue. The application also supports the tracking and tracing of inventory down to granular levels of detail -information needed to initiate recalls. RFID technology makes these tasks more efficient and ensures accuracy. Material Flow System SAP EWM offers complete material flow control without additional software allowing all programmable logic controllers to be connected to SAP EWM via remote function call (RFC) adaptors. To help ensure that goods keep moving inside the warehouse and to avoid unnecessary (and costly) manual intervention, the system offers high performance. That level helps ensure that a carton can be scanned, compared to the expected size and weight, and have a determination made about where it should be sent in less than a second. Tracking and Management of Warehouse Activities SAP EWM provides enhanced monitoring features for tracking and managing warehouse activities. A warehouse cockpit provides an overview of key processes, costs, schedules, and value added services. This real-time visibility helps you manage daily operations and optimize the use of labour. You can plan ahead for upcoming activities, assign resources to tasks, and identify ways to minimize time per process step or eliminate steps. With SAP Extended Warehouse Management and RFID Technology application, Bi

Conquering of Fear :: Personal Narrative, Autobiographical Essay

Conquering of Fear For as long as I could remember I have had a chronic fear of crashes at high speeds and that my best friend Joseph has never feared anything. He would jump off the Eiffel Tower if he got the chance. On the day that I would finally conquer my fear I was in the back seat of Joseph’s uncle’s Ford Expedition with the whole seat to myself. If I were to turn my head around I would see the large speeder boat the car was pulling behind it. We were on our way to the Delta Marina. Our plan was to go tubing in the water. The only way we would end our turn on the tube was by flipping over and crashing into the water. The road began to get rocky and the smell of wet wood was in the air. We finally reached the loading point for cars with boats. It was not until I was sitting in the boat with my life vest on and I could feel the swaying of the marina water that I realized how scared I was. I was shaking slightly, my palms were soaked with sweat and suddenly I felt as if I had to go to the bathroom very desperately and the engine had not even been turned on yet. I sat in the very back of the boat facing the front. When I saw Joseph’s uncle put the key in the ignition I almost instinctively grabbed the closest thing to my hand. To my surprise I had grabbed Joseph’s arm who had sat adjacent to me. I recoiled with great embarrassment. Joseph said joshingly, â€Å"Oh Adam I didn’t know you felt that way.† Then he laughed, but I was too caught up in my mistake to laugh or even notice the engine had turned on. The sudden acceleration surprised me so much I almost fell off right away. It took a few seconds, but I got use to the speed and even began to find a peace in the wind and the sound it made as it rushed by my ears. I sat in a very scholarly position with my hands folded and my back straight up. I looked over at Joseph and saw him in a reclining position with one hand holding a soda and the other hanging out the side of the boat feeling the water that the boat pushed up in large cascades as it cut through the once calm currents. Conquering of Fear :: Personal Narrative, Autobiographical Essay Conquering of Fear For as long as I could remember I have had a chronic fear of crashes at high speeds and that my best friend Joseph has never feared anything. He would jump off the Eiffel Tower if he got the chance. On the day that I would finally conquer my fear I was in the back seat of Joseph’s uncle’s Ford Expedition with the whole seat to myself. If I were to turn my head around I would see the large speeder boat the car was pulling behind it. We were on our way to the Delta Marina. Our plan was to go tubing in the water. The only way we would end our turn on the tube was by flipping over and crashing into the water. The road began to get rocky and the smell of wet wood was in the air. We finally reached the loading point for cars with boats. It was not until I was sitting in the boat with my life vest on and I could feel the swaying of the marina water that I realized how scared I was. I was shaking slightly, my palms were soaked with sweat and suddenly I felt as if I had to go to the bathroom very desperately and the engine had not even been turned on yet. I sat in the very back of the boat facing the front. When I saw Joseph’s uncle put the key in the ignition I almost instinctively grabbed the closest thing to my hand. To my surprise I had grabbed Joseph’s arm who had sat adjacent to me. I recoiled with great embarrassment. Joseph said joshingly, â€Å"Oh Adam I didn’t know you felt that way.† Then he laughed, but I was too caught up in my mistake to laugh or even notice the engine had turned on. The sudden acceleration surprised me so much I almost fell off right away. It took a few seconds, but I got use to the speed and even began to find a peace in the wind and the sound it made as it rushed by my ears. I sat in a very scholarly position with my hands folded and my back straight up. I looked over at Joseph and saw him in a reclining position with one hand holding a soda and the other hanging out the side of the boat feeling the water that the boat pushed up in large cascades as it cut through the once calm currents.

To Kill A Mockingbird: Childhood Experience :: essays research papers

To Kill A Mockingbird: Childhood Experience   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Have you ever thought of an answer to reply to your children, when they ask you, â€Å"What was the world like when you were a child?†, â€Å"What things that happened that impressed you most when you were a child?† or â€Å"How interesting is your childhood experience?†. Everybody must have had their childhood. Some of the experiences may cause them to smile, or even laugh, while some of them may bring back bitter memories. It is always hard to express the childhood incidents or experience in a clear and interesting way, since they were past memories that happened long time ago. Moreover, when a person has grown up, they will never have the same feeling which they might have in their childhood. However, the authors Harper Lee and Mark Twain can express their own childhood inside the stories they created, in a lively and realistic way. The two novels To Kill a Mockingbird and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer have a very similar characteristic. It is the way they describe a person's childhood experience, and their feelings and new knowledge that come out from those experiences. This characteristic, however, has given me a big revelation after reading the two novels. The novels show that the childhood experience of a person has a great positive influence on his personality, behaviour, and ways on dealing with others. This idea has been shown by the authors in both novels.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, one could discover that innocent behaviour and misunderstanding can lead a child to view a person or thing incorrectly and incompletely. This behaviour can also lead a child to a wrong perspective. In the first part of To Kill a Mockingbird, the main characters Scout, Jem, and Dill thought that the Radley family and their member, Boo Radley, as strange and unnatural human beings. They described Radley's house as â€Å"That is a sad house....† (Harper Lee, 48). This is a â€Å"fact† they heard from their neighbours. Until one day, their neighbour Miss Maudie's house was found on fire. While Scout was standing outside in the cold watching the fire, someone from behind her and put a blanket around her shoulders. Later, Scout and Jem realized that there was only one person in town who had not fought to put out the fire -- Boo Radley. Scout asked, â€Å"Thank who?†(Harper Lee, 76). Jem replied, â€Å"Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn't know it when he put the blanket around you.†(Harper Lee, 76) It was then that Scout and Jem started

The Elements of Style and Style Toward Clarity and Grace :: Teaching Writing Education Essays

Strunk and White's Elements of Style and Joseph Williams' Style Toward Clarity and Grace When I initially thought about writing style I believed that there would be some nice neat definition, and maybe a few rules that would govern writing with â€Å"style†. It turns out that I grossly underestimated this topic and while I knew that writing style would be a topic of considerable depth, I did not fully understand the degree that I would be pondering the issue of writing with â€Å"style†. The first book I encountered, The Elements of Style written by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White was a collection of numerous rules, that presumably if you followed would lead you to writing with â€Å"style†. This book is a handy reference book and one that I am sure I will continue to turn to. My favorite quality of this book is that it is short, sweet and to the point. The Elements of Style, was written is such a way that it was easy to understand which helped me paint a picture of what writing with â€Å"style† is like. This book is a collection of numerous tips and ideas that help the reader to know what it is that they need to do in order to write with â€Å"style†. The information that I found to be most useful came in the chapter entitled An Approach to Style. In this chapter the authors lay out some practical guidelines to writing with style. Some headings from this chapter are â€Å"Place yourself in the background, Write in a way that comes naturally, Work from a suitable design† (76). After I read this chapter I felt that I had a better knowledge of what writing with â€Å"style† really was. I began to understand the more abstract concept of style, it became more than following a series of set rules. Joseph Williams book Style Toward Clarity and Grace expanded the seed that was planted by the Strunk and Williams book and took my thoughts on style to a higher level. With his sometimes exhaustive examples and in depth discussions Williams paints a much more vivid picture of what writing with â€Å"style† is. Perhaps what made Williams book clearer was the way he laid out his book. Williams book is not laid out like a reference book like the Strunk and White text.

Presentation of witches in Macbeth Essay

Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare in 1606 during the reign of King James I. This infernal play tells the story of a man who commits regicide in order to gain power himself. Not only does this drama deal with the age-old morality tale of good versus evil but it also deals with what is right and what is wrong. In this essay I will discuss and analyze Shakespeare’s presentation of the witches in Macbeth. At this time witchcraft was feared and it was seen as a real threat. The witches did not fear Christ and this meant they basically had no fear that was outside the moral, religious and social boundaries of 17th century Britain. Catholics in England were seen as outsiders, hated and seen as a threat, this was a lot like the position of witches. Witchcraft was also used as an excuse for bad happenings like natural disasters or deaths. It was usually old women who lived on their own who got accused of being a witch. Many believed accusing these single women was a way of discouraging women from living alone outside the authority of a male-dominated household. Men wanted masculine superiority to remain unchecked. In a way men were scene as good and women were scene as evil. If these women accused of being witches were found guilty they would be tortured into a confession and then murdered. King James I was just one of the people who had strong feelings on witchcraft during this era. He believed that once he was nearly killed by the evils of witchcraft. The original play featured nymphs but Shakespeare changed it and included witches to not only impress and interest King James I but also to warn him of the danger of these evil witches. Involving witches also includes fears of that time and would frighten the audience more than nymphs. Introducing witches also gives the play an excuse for more dramatic stage play and more shocking scenes and was a necessity in the attempt to hasten the plot of Macbeth. The witches feature at the very beginning of Macbeth in Act One, Scene One. They enter to the elements of thunder and lightning in a deserted place that has a significant meaning. The thunder and lightning puts the main focus on the entrance of these witches. This dramatic scene suggests evil and highlights the threat of these witches. They enter from a deserted place that highlights their isolation and avoids distraction to the entrance of these witches. They then talk of what the future holds showing their gift of foresight that is supernatural and against Christian believing. This is an example of the witches going against the beliefs of 17th century Britain that is shown almost straight away. There is also a mention of â€Å"Greymalkin† and â€Å"Paddock† which are the witches’ familiars and part of the criteria of being a witch was having a familiar that confirms the strange sisters are witches. The scene ends, â€Å"Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover th rough the fog and filthy air.† All three of the witches say this together like a spell would be said. Here the witches heighten the sense of mystery in the play by confusing the audience by dealing with opposites. This rounds off the spooky scene with a dramatic ending. In Act One, Scene Three the witches also enter to thunder as they meet again as planned. It is not as dramatic and there is no lightning but evil and fear is still present. One of the witches talks about getting revenge on a sailor by killing him. King James I believed the witches attempted to kill him with makes it relevant to the King. Macbeth and Banquo are introduced in this scene. Macbeth comments on the day by saying â€Å"so fair and foul a day I have not seen.† Then Banquo notices the â€Å"so withered, and so wild in their attire† witches with beards and is utterly shocked. Macbeth then asks them â€Å"What are you?† and he is also horrified. The witches then together say a verse hailing Macbeth, flattering him sarcastically. The witches talk in riddles and say make some confusing comments like, â€Å"Less than Macbeth, and greater. Not so happy, yet much happier.† The characters of the witches are still quite mysterious but in this scene they have shown some emotions that support the view that they are evil, as they involve murdering and other terrible things. In Act Four, Scene One the witches once again enter to the thunder that suggests evil is coming and they then begin casting an evil spell. They put lots of different things in a cauldron and chant together, â€Å"Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn, and cauldron bubble.† Saying the verse together creates an aural effect that would scare the audience. A â€Å"scale of a dragon† and a â€Å"tooth of a wolf† are just a couple of things that go into this cauldron of evil. When they have their potion ready they â€Å"cool it with a baboons blood.† This is imagery of blood and it has a sickening and shocking effect. Throughout the play the impact of the witches is developed and strengthened by the reactions of the other characters. The witches have a major impact on Macbeth and he believes what they are saying. This makes us ask the question of whether Macbeth is under a spell of the witches making or whether he is acting under his own free will. The witches do not harm Macbeth therefore he is an agent of God, but he does destroy himself. That corresponds with the Christian notion of made in God’s image but with the power of free will. The witches use the weakness of Macbeth to their advantage and to show they can have control over people but they cannot move Banquo to the dark side. Banquo is stronger then Macbeth and does not just believe whatever the witches say. He doubts the reality of his senses and is skeptical. The witches use language in this play to get across their point in a strong way. They use plenty of repetition. â€Å"I’ll do, I’ll do, I’ll do† they repeat three times and three is widely seen as the magic number. They also use a lot of imagery in the play. For example they put in the cauldron, â€Å"A finger of birth-strangled babe† which makes you think of innocence and the witches are creating drama by including something harmless and loved. The witches’ dramatic rituals reinforce their sisterhood as they speak together and work together. They are completely original and together they are isolated from the rest of society but they have each other. The rhyming couplets help make the chant more flowing. The witches also say, â€Å"I’ll give thee a wind.† This suggests the witches can control the weather and the natural environment. The witches in these plays are warning King James I that witches can manipulate people to kill the King even though he is saw as untouchable. Shakespeare allows the audience to see that the witches do have this influence and they can cause evil through other people with Macbeth being an example. The witches tie in with the established idea that women could be harmful to men at this time as they have the power of manipulation. I think the witches work very well in Macbeth. They create fear and drama throughout the play. They can be linked with terrorists in our society today. Terrorists are now feared and they have the power to get their own way because of their evil to a certain extent. Women were seen as a threat in the 17th century as witches were usually women now Muslims are scene as a threat as a lot of terrorists are Muslims.