Video Game Console Essays

Video Game Console Essays Video Game Console Essay Video Game Console Essay The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft, and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sonys PlayStation 3 and Nintendos Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. We plan to launch a high-quality, it is slimmer than the previous Xbox 360 model and features integrated 802. 11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, TOSLINK S/PDIF optical audio output, a 250 GB hard drive, 5 USB 2. 0 ports (compared to the 3 from older versions) and a special AUX port. The overall goal of xbox 360 marketing program is to create enhanced public awareness through a comprehensive marketing campaign. we would like to see a 15 percent increase in the segment market of brand awareness. The Xbox 360 is very user friendly,convenience with Wi-Fi Connection, good customer services and advices, free download video game trailers. Additonal, We are planning to provide a prefect customer services system. Building brand awareness among affluent consumers. Using low price to penetration in the market segmentation. Also We will use pull strategy to capture potential consumer and use push strategy to reach with good relationship with each media channel. Internal situation Our company mission is reach a brand awarness of 60% up to 75% in the cosumer market. We will build up a good communication with our partner, using promtion discount offer to wholesaler and retailer, we will provide more information of our new products to them. External situation When economic recovery, it will make people have more purchase power to buy their needs. Highly income will make people to increae their enterainment with standard of living. Xbox360 compete with others manufacture such as PS3, Wii in the segment market. SWOT Analysis of Xbox360 Xbox360 is very powerful strengths such as Kinect (originally known by the code name Project Natal)is a controller-free gaming and entertainment experience for the Xbox 360 video game platform. The users to control and interact with the Xbox 360 without the need to touch a game controller through a natural user interface using gestures, spoken commands or presented objects and images. The project is aimed at broadening the Xbox 360s audience beyond its typical gamer base. The Xbox360 is using HD Technology which makes a beautiful image and with visual expression. The powerful of Xbo360 is easily compat wiht previous Xbox games, it makes convenience who wants to play a previous games. Our pice is lower than PS3, Launch of Xbox 360 250 GB $299. 99 and The price of PS3 each unit cost around $400 to manufacture by August 2009 with 160GB. Our Weakness is the lack of Microsoft Xbox 360 Strength: Integration of next generation DVD players i. e. HD technology Backward compatibility with previous Xbox games Online product – the first of its kind Lower price than most comparable competitor PS3 The new product of kinect Weakness: Expensive hardware and games Production flows Direct competition with Nintendo because of equally large customer base Opportunity Penetration of new markets in ME Penetration of untouched markets by means of bundling Partnership with Hollywood studios Threat Lower cost competitor i. . Nintendo Anti trust issues in Europe Hardware complication Competition Sony Play Station 3 Strength: Integration of next generation DVD players Backward compatibility with previous PS2 Mostly Free Online product Recent decline in profits Weakness: Expensive hardware and games Opportunity Great product lunch covering global spectrum. Penetration of new markets in ME Penetration of untouched markets by means of bundling Partnership with Hollywood studios Threat Lower cost competitor i. e. Nintendo Delays in production Constant strategy change Nintendo Wii Strength: Uniqueness of hardware motion detection Low cost hardware and software Intuitive usage Weakness: Joystick liability Limited selection of software Opportunity Penetration of new markets in ME / Europe / Asia Marketing to novice gamers including seni ors and adults Threat Loss of potential customer because of lack of software selection and sophistication of games. Software developers abandon game development because of lack of adequate profits.

Imagination and Noble Obsessions in Guiseppe Tornatores Fil essays

Imagination and Noble Obsessions in Guiseppe Tornatores Fil essays Imagination is the ally of Guiseppe Tornatores characters as they come of age in Cinema Paradiso and Malena. Both stories are told as flashbacks, situated in Sicily. Cinema Paradiso is the local theatre where Salvatore, whose father is presumed the have been killed in battle, escapes into. We find in the projection booth Alfredo, who learns to love Toto as his son. And indeed, the boy considers the old man his father as he makes the booth his home away from his indifferent home and the movies his mother. They teach him about people and life beyond the small town of Giancolo whose ways we become familiar with inside the theatre as they make movies their momentary redemption. The story takes place in the wake of World War II and the times hardship and poverty are shown. We come to understand in Toto that the power of the screen can compensate for a deprived life and aide the imagination not only to create dreams but to believe in them as well. But the theatre, as the whole town, lives under the reverberating bell of the Church (the theatre is actually the Church-converted, after all!). The priest censors the films with a bell that is rung at every kiss, whereupon Alfredo stops and snips the offending footage and tosses it into a pile of lifeless celluloid. Humor is evident throughout the film especially in the village-folk but is never allowed to take over entirely. The musical score maintains a nostalgic, bitter-sweet tone that outlines the films mood. But the film begins in earnest as Alfredo is blinded in a fire that destroys the cinema and it is left to Toto to take over the village projectionist when the newly built cinema is opened. His love of cinema matures as he grows up. He shoots a documentary and, inevitably, falls in love. But the dreams the movies have helped create and Alfredo urge him to leave and keep moving forward, never to return. He keeps his promise for 3...

Impact do business and economic decisions have on society Essay

Impact do business and economic decisions have on society - Essay Example One of the major impacts of the shift from a State based system to a market based economy has been the emergence of large scale unemployment. The Central and East European countries made the dramatic transition to market based systems in the 1990s. During the first phase of the transition in economy, they were able to achieve macroeconomic stabilization but there was also a decline in employment, but there was a rise in unemployment.(Ham et al, 1993). The State based systems absorbed unproductive labour, however with privatization and the drive for profits that characterizes a market based system, the result has been double digit figures of unemployment. Unemployment can be detrimental to a society’s welfare, since a long duration of unemployment not only produces higher levels of human suffering but may also impair the long term efficiency of the economy by reducing the capacity of those who are unemployed to ultimately reintegrate themselves back into gainful employment, thereby making them burdens upon the State.(Ham et al, 1993). Unemployment rates in the Czech Republic were lower than the rates for any of the Central and east European countries, while other Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland have experienced much higher rates. This may be the result of much larger inflows and smaller outflows in Slovakia, or alternatively, differential allocation of resources among various districts, each of which is a fairly closed labor market (Ham et al, 1993). However, the transition in economy often causes suffering to the people due to the difficulties in sustaining and guaranteeing employment within a competitive framework. Different economies may therefore respond differently to the shift from State controlled to a market based economy, however in general it tends to produce unemployment which can produce a detrimental impact if unemployment is prolonged and individuals are unable to adjust into the requirements of the new economy. The emergence of

CRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

CRM - Essay Example Threading also reduces visual clutter. Secondly, Gmail offer users with huge storage space, and thus, they can archive mails instead of deleting. Thirdly, Gmail users are advised to use labels instead of folders because an email can only be put in one folder; however, for flexibility, it can be put in many labels. Moreover, labels can be hierarchically organized. Fourthly, switching to Gmail like a pro entails using Gmail while working offline without any internet connection. Gmail can also be accessed through cell phones (Cloud Sherpas 2). Additionally, the fifth step listed by Cloud Sherpas in their article is the possibility of searching for emails with speed and accuracy instead of sorting, enjoying automatic software updates on a weekly basis, therefore, users experience new functionality. The seventh and last step in the article entails priority inbox. Gmail has a new feature known as priority inbox, which identifies a user’s important emails, and thus, separates it from other emails. Important emails are identified by priority inbox through the user’s pattern that is, the emails that are regularly opened and replied (Cloud Sherpas

Factors Affecting Nigerias Underdevelopment Essay Example for Free

Factors Affecting Nigerias Underdevelopment Essay According to an economist the idea of development is a situation whereby there is an increase in a nations GNP and GDP, leading to an increase in growth .but to a sociologist this is a surface definition as development or rather a country is regarded as developed when such increase is affecting the living condition of its people even to the smallest group in the society. Where we don’t only calculate numbers and figures and structures but can see the positive change of things in the life of the people, both the rich, average and poor. Then such a society would be regarded as developed. For example the living conditions of the USA. Nigeria the most populated country in Africa filled with its endowed natural resources, and according to the â€Å"united nations statistics Nigeria is the 8th most populous county in the world with a population of 2.3%† (UN 2011).but the country still suffers the decay of underdevelopment due to certain avoidable factors that stand as unavoidable. What actually is underdevelopment? W.A Lewis 1963 says that a country may be â€Å"underdeveloped in the sense that its technology is backward when compared with that of other countries or in the sense that its institutions are relatively unfavorable to investment, or in the sense that capital resources per head are low when compared with western Europe or in the sense that output per head is low or in the sense that it has valuable natural resources that has not yet begun use† (extracted by opafola 1996). Agreeing to what Lewis has said so well underdevelopment can be explored from another dimension which in a way he seemed to have ignored, it is a situation whereby the quality of life of the majority of its people is low. The causes or factors of Nigeria’s underdevelopment can be divided into 2 which are both external and internal. â€Å"External includes slavery, colonialism, neo- colonialism and the worldwide recession† (Rodney 1972), with which in my opinion is a fact for our underdevelopment the foundation. Also the internal factors include bribery and corruption, poor leadership, bad patriotism from citizens etc. which actually is avoidable. FACTORS AFFECTING NIGERIA’S UNDERDEVELOPMENT 1. Bribery and Corruption This is the greatest factor that has put Nigeria where it is today, the issue of â€Å"corruption† this is an internal factor. According to the Longman dictionary of contemporary English new edition â€Å"corruption is define as dishonest, illegal or immoral behavior, especially from someone with power†. In Africa as a whole research has seen it that most African leaders are corrupt in nature, leading to their backwardness in development of their economy. Taking a cue from the late Attah Williams of Ghana, he executed all the corrupt leaders in Ghana for the stability of the country, and from recent news Ghana has taking a new turn in its development process (silver bird news 23rd august 2012). The issue of corruption is Nigeria’s biggest challenge that is eating into our economic growth leading to money laundering and looting of public funds meant for the improving living condition of citizens. Corruption now is found in every facets of the Nigerian system especially the political aspect has leaders steal for selfish gain. The transparency international corruption index 2011 ranked Nigeria 143th of 183 counties in the world that is developed, also on the scale of 10 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt) Nigeria scored 2.4%, between 2010 and 2011 Nigeria’s position declined from 9 places scoring 2.4% from a possible 10 showing the greatest sign that efforts at correcting corruption had been very inadequate in the last year† (business day, Wednesday September 6 2011). This shows the height of corruption in our country, taking the story of the former governor James ibori of delta state who was jailed for 16 years for money laundering in April 2012 by the American judiciary after being discharged by a Nigerian court due to bribe for a case he was still found guilty. Nigeria’s problem is this menace and until there is a stop to it I wonder where we are heading to. 2.Neo-colonialism or imperialism This is an external factor of Nigeria’s underdevelopment; it is the highest form of exploitation from the British countries to their colonies after independence. Nigeria has contributed to its economic backwardness, as it â€Å"promotes the maintenance of foreign domination and enhances neo-colonialism and the flowering of subjugationism† (onimode, 1981). Imperialism has always been an exploitative phenomenon, which was the initial motive for colonization. Nigeria has been seen as a dumping ground for most British counties, making it difficult for us to produce our own goods. Also the fact that we are primary producers with fewer technicalities to produce our raw materials into finished products makes it a means of imperialism as we export our goods at the rate determined by the British colonies and still import back at a higher cost. For example the crude oil, Nigeria is the largest country with the crude oil but the poorest in economic state due lack of technicality in transforming crude oil into petrol which led to the issue of sucidy removal in January 1st 2012, even after which things haven’t changed as fuel scarcity hits most part of the country e.g. Abuja, Lagos etc. as at 19th September 2012. 3.Poor leadership According to john c. Maxwell â€Å"leadership is about influence† and niyi adesonya sees it â€Å"as not just influence but also inspiration†. The idea of Nigeria’s leadership is just based on selfish gain of eating the â€Å"national cake† and leaving the main aim of governance. Research has seen it that Africa is one continent whereby its leaders are older than the country itself and Nigeria is not left out, as most of our past leaders are much older than the country itself. The issue of poor leadership is also a contributing factor whereby due to corruption leaders make laws to favour their actions, as each time a ruler comes in seat we keep on amending the constitution to suite political parties, politicians make empty promise during election campaigns when put office little or nothing is done in such community and citizens keep suffering in squalor and begin to govern themselves providing the necessities for their comfort. Due to poor leadership the recent issue of flood all over most riverine area would have occurred, this is because a developed country would have been prepared to channel the water released from the Cameroonian dam into another dam. But since Nigerian political elites spend time on unnecessary things like the introduction of the 5000 naira note, citizens are homeless. Poor leadership is a contributing factor of Nigeria’s underdevelopment, as the main issues are not critically tacked to solve other things. It has led to flamboyant spending of public funds whereby an average senator in the house of representative is paid unnecessary bills like the seating allowance, wardrobe allowance etc. aside the salary they earn, why won’t people kill to seat on political power? Nigeria is one country whereby the president earns more than the president of United States. As they continue to buy properties that they don’t need instead of investing in profitable business. 4.Bad patriotism This is also a causing factor for our underdevelopment from in my opinion, it is obvious that most Nigerians are aware of our backwardness and they don’t try to help matters instead they add to the problem itself. By disobeying or making difficult certain rules meant to help the country, this is because they believe it is another lie to eat from us. From the AIT news in August Hilary Clinton’s last visit to Nigeria in 2012, she told the president to have the will power of taking certain stringent rules and standing firm for example the handiwork of governor Fashola of Lagos state is termed credible as Lagos with its massive population is actually adjusting to change. This is because even as unpatriotic most Lagosians are governor Fashola still took a stand, Nigeria’s problem is also citizen built as persons no what is right and refuse doing it for no reason. REFERENCES Walter Rodney (1972) â€Å"How Europe Underdeveloped Africa† Dar-Es Salaam. Tanzania Publishing House. Lewis W.A (1963) â€Å"The Theory of Economic Growth† London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd. S.O. Opafola (1996) â€Å"The Journal of Philosophy and Development† Vol.2, Ogun State University: Hope Publications. Onimode, B (1981) â€Å"Imperialism and Nigerian Development† In O. Nnoli Edition. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English New Edition. Business Day Newspaper Wednesday September 6 (2011), Nigeria and Corruption Index United Nation Statistics 2011. AIT News august 2012.

The Scarlet Letter Freely Adapted as a Movie :: Movie Film comparison compare contrast

The Scarlet Letter Freely Adapted as a Movie      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The gods and goddesses of Greek mythology had temples erected in their names. They were worshipped and most times adored. The people brought offerings to these gods in the form of food, drink, and gold. Today’s gods and goddesses don’t sit high on Mount Olympus. They sit high on or behind the movie screen. We visit their temples in record numbers and bring food, drink, and the mighty dollar. But what do they offer us in return? Voyeurism, titillation, narcissismà ·all in a rebirth of classical American literature, which through their filters becomes sappy love stories with politically correct happy endings. In this way, their gifts are made more palatable for an audience they feel is not quite ready for films dealing with bitter social controversy, such as sin, hypocrisy, spiritual crisis, and guilt.    Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is one of the classics that is experiencing this renaissance. Director Roland Joffe has enlisted the aid of writers Michael Mann and Christopher Crowe to produce a body of work also entitled The Scarlet Letter. The effort to introduce the American audience to this classical piece of literature was undertaken, as the film’s star Demi Moore asserts, because "not many people have read the book" (qtd. in Mr. Showbiz, par. 4). However, in doing so, Joffe has taken away the essence of Hawthorne. "It [is] sorrowful to think how many days and weeks and months and years of toil [have] been wasted on these musty papers [of Hawthorne’s] never more to be glanced at by human eyes. But, then, what reams of other manuscripts - filled [ ·] with the thought of inventive brains and the rich effusion of deep hearts - [have] gone equally to oblivion" (Hawthorne 46; The Custom House).    In film, the viewer sees a story from the director’s perspective. When experiencing a novel, the reader is drawn into the authorà ¢s story and relates to the characters and events created by the author. He is allowed to bring forth his own imagination to recreate the characters and events by visualizing what the writer describes. He chooses the voice of each character, pictures how the character looks, and brings his own personal experiences forth to enhance the written word. He has an opportunity to be one-on-one with the author, hear his words, and experience for myself the charactersà ¢ emotions.

Project Managers

With the rapid advances currently being made in information technology there has now become an increased need for Project Managers. The scale and number of projects has increased thereby increasing the risk associated with these projects. With this in mind the choosing of project managers with the required skills to ensure the successful completion of projects has become critical and organizations have recognized that the choosing of the right individual to lead a project can have a significant bearing on the success of the organization. There are countless project management certifications, methodologies and text books that give their own interpretation of what us considered a â€Å"best practice† and every methodology can bring value if applied appropriately. Methodologies are better viewed as valuable frameworks or toolkits from which a skilled and experienced Project Manager can select the relevant components, probably different components for different projects, and apply them where appropriate, not just for the sake of it or because it says so in the manual. So, if the methodologies and certifications only make up a part of the profile of a good project manager, what the other attributes and traits do we consider to be most important in a project manager?AdaptabilityAn often-used word, but project managers need to be able to react to change. They need to be dynamic, flexible and adaptable. Of course, setting out a comprehensive plan, with clear dependencies, milestones and completion dates is a key part of project planning but if all that was required to be a successful project manager was to set out a plan at the outset and then sit at the tiller and gently steer the project team through the plan, everybody would be doing it. When the inevitable happens and the risk becomes an issue, or the customer changes their requirement, or a key engineer resigns, this is when good project managers really come into their own. The ability to react quickly, to have an answer before most people have even realized what the question is and to have a contingency plan, a Plan B and a Plan C sets good project managers apart.PragmatismThe Project Manager who constantly falls back on, or some might say hides behind, process is unlikely to prosper in the real world. We'd all like to deliver our projects to the letter of a recognized methodology, but if it was as simple as just obtaining a PRINCE2 or Agile certification and then carrying the manual around with you, good project managers wouldn't command the salaries they do. A successful project manager will balance the essential process and rigor with the need to be pragmatic at times and to bend the rules occasionally. There's no room for mavericks when delivering large enterprise projects, and we'd recommend that doing things outside of process first receives the endorsement of somebody with appropriate authority, but when rigidly adhering to process means that you miss a customer delivery deadline that you would otherwise have hit, possibly with financial or reputational implications, that's the time when an experienced and aware project manager will propose the pragmatic approach.Logical Mind-setThe ability to look ahead and logically fit together the pieces of a complex implementation is of great value to a project manager. A bigger picture view and understanding of dependencies and why certain activities need to be sequential makes project planning a lot easier and significantly increases the likelihood that a plan is accurate and effective. Some of the best technical and innovative minds, the types of individual that are key to delivering technology, are hopelessly devoid of organization and methodical thinking. The project manager has to bring the logical outlook that pulls it all together, and a strong project manager will have the confidence to challenge the thinking of the most brilliant engineer if he or she is failing to look beyond their own small area of the overall implementation.CommunicationNo surprises here. Most project managers would list communication as one of the most important aspects of project management. Indeed, most project management methodologies dedicate specific coverage to communication and the Comms Plan. How and to whom a project manager communicates is vitally important. All projects should set out at the outset how they will formally report progress, risk ; issues, exceptions and escalations. This is the formal part. In addition to this, a good project manager will make sure that key stake holders always have just enough information but not too much and are never caught in a position where the first they know of an issue or problem is when the customer escalates it to them. Different stakeholders like different approaches and the project manager needs to quickly establish how best to communicate informally with stakeholders, be it email, phone, walking over to their desk, or a chat at the coffee machine. An important point made verbally is always best followed up in writing.RelationshipsGood relationships go a long way when trying to achieve project success. The project manager who invests time into building relationships with key players will find themselves well positioned when the pressure is on and it's necessary to ask more of the project team, or when relationships with clients become strained due to delivery challenges. Ten minutes invested in providing counsel to a frustrated engineer, showing some empathy and letting him get a few gripes off his chest, can pay dividends when you need that same engineer to work late on a Friday night to get an installation finished. It's not just relationships with key contributors in the project team that are important. Forming a strong relationship with a delivery counterpart within the client's organization is also important. When you're both in front of the customer's programme sponsor at the monthly steering board and the meeting isn't going well due to challenges or delays on the project, you'd rather be side by side and aligned with your client counterpart, who reports into that programme sponsor, than be the individual who gets hung out to try and made a scapegoat.Political AwarenessMany a talented project manager has fallen down or been made the scapegoat for project failure because they didn't get to grips with the politics of either their own organization or that of the customer. A good understanding of when to speak, when to just keep your head down and listen, who to trust, who to be wary of, who you must keep on the right side of and where the real power and authority resides will all increase a project manager's chance of success. Let's be completely honest, sometimes a project is just going to fail, regardless of who the project manager is. A project manager who can navigate the political landscape (as well as having a lot of the other traits we list here) will emerge from a challenged project with their reputation intact, possibly even enhanced. A project manager who neglects this area runs the risk of being made the fall-guy and going down with the sinking ship. Some of this only comes with experience, and there are very few project and programme managers who would honestly tell you that they hadn't been burnt by organizational politics at some stage in their career.AuthoritativeAnother area that sometimes only comes with experience, but being authoritative, or at least giving the impression of being calm and in control, even when you haven't got all of the answers, will inspire calm and confidence in stakeholders and project team members. Nothing erodes customer confidence or encourages an angry client to go for the jugular like a project manager who mutters his way through an update or shows uncertainty and hesitation when answering a difficult question.Inclination to question and challengeThe project manager who takes everyone and everything at face value runs the risk of having the wool pulled over their eyes. Of course , delegation is a key aspect of project management and whilst having overall accountability, the project manager cannot take responsibility for everything. But as a project manager, the ability to quickly identify the right questions to ask, who and when to challenge, and who and when you can trust is another key trait. As a Project Manager, you never want to be in a position where your senior stakeholder or customer is asking the questions that you should have asked yourself or is asking you questions that you can't answer because you haven't asked the right questions of your team.Delegate but keep controlThere is a place, on small, simple, projects for the â€Å"player manager† to use sporting parlance, the individual who does some basic project management as well as being responsible for actually carrying out some of the actions. Similarly, its sometimes valuable when a project finds itself in â€Å"all hands-on deck† mode if the project manager can roll up his sleeve and start crawling under desks to trace cables, deploy handsets or drive a piece of kit from one site to another. However, typically a project manager can't afford to be in the detail of configuring equipment, taking part in the physical installations or touching kit. A project manager incapable of staying out of the weeds will eventually fall foul of this because they will neglect the true project management responsibilities and tasks that they should be carrying out. A project manager needs to establish the governance and rules with project team members in terms of what they need to be made aware of and what they are happy to delegate and leave in the hands of the project resource who owns the action.ExperienceUnfortunately for any new project managers on the block, the reality is that the big jobs normally go to project managers who have been around the block a few times. Not what you want to hear when you're trying to break into project management but, arguably more so than in a lot of other disciplines, the best project managers have normally been doing it for a while. An installation technician can leave the training lab knowing all they need to know about how to physically rack and stack kit and connect it to the network. An engineer can attend a training course on how to configure a switch or router. Individuals with the appropriate training can be immediately effective in these types or roles, even if they have little or no real-world experience. Clearly there are enough project managers around to demonstrate that a lack of experience isn't an absolute barrier to entry but if we're talking about the best project managers, those who are entrusted with the complex projects and the high-profile clients, experience plays a major part. With experience, all of the other traits on this list are likely to be developed and enhanced to a higher level. When a challenge arises, the experienced project manager who has seen the same or similar situations before is more likely to have learned the lessons and gained first-hand knowledge of what will work and what won't work. Sadly, for those looking to enter project management and go straight to the top of the pile, you can't teach experience.