Cloud-based efficiency gains within e-Business strategies Essay

Cloud-based efficiency gains within e-Business strategies - Essay Example E- Business is a process in which the business transactions are made via networks of telecommunication especially the internet. The invention and innovation in the ICT sector led to the development of cloud computing. Cloud computing is the process of using remote server networks on internet to process, manage and store e- business data (Geoffrion and Krishnan, 2003: 1445). This technological process is an option for the use of a personal computer or a local server. Cloud computing has gained popularity within the business sectors over the past years because there has been a need to reduce the energy costs. The cloud computing is also more of environment friendly technology. It is efficient in relation to energy consumption during computation, communication and storage of data. Studies show that cloud computing is more energy efficient compared to in- house information centers. Its efficiency can be categorized into: economies of scale, aggregation and diversity, flexibility and effe ctiveness. It was found that businesses can improve their efficiency by spreading the costs. The costs are spread over a server that is larger, thus allowing efficiency improvements. There has been increased usage of information and communication technologies (ICT) due to technological improvement. The use of ICT has been preferred in the businesses due to its efficiency and effectiveness. The technological dynamics has made efficiency of the ICT to be more energy efficient. There has been increased usage of ICT in businesses due to its ease of use and reliability. Since businesses aim to see that the profit is maximized, there has been a need for cost- effectiveness in ICT (Kyriazoglou, 2012: 213). The environmental concerns, efficiency and effectiveness have seen that cloud computing gets preferred in the business sector. This is because cloud computing has improved the efficient utilization of information

Russian Economy in the Late 1990s Essay Example for Free

Russian Economy in the Late 1990s Essay The process of economic transformation in Russia has been marked by a prolonged transitional depression and macroeconomic instability: seven years of continuing decline resulted in a cumulative drop of GDP by more than 40% between 1989 and 1996; in that period there were also several outbursts of near- hyperinflation. The first radical effort to tackle inflation was the IMF-supported stabilization program of 1995. It focused on tight monetary control and nominal exchange rate targets; subsequently, direct central bank financing of the budget was discontinued and the exchange rate was placed under control. In the years that followed, Russia made marked progress towards price and exchange rate stability and this prompted positive expectations in the West and a widespread perception that the country was pursuing the right course of reforms. It is important to point out that the 1995 stabilization effort was not supported by deep structural and institutional reforms. Russia inherited from the past an over-industrialized economy, dominated by highly inefficient heavy industry (including the military-industrial complex). The liberalization of prices and the discontinuation of subsidies resulted de facto in the destruction of a large share of the existing capital stock. Restructuring these industries is a serious policy task: simply closing down the large number of inefficient enterprises would not be socially and politically tolerable, but unfortunately that was the way of Russian development during 1990s. In these circumstances the Russian authorities started speedy, give-away mass privatization program which was carried out during 1992-1994. However, this resulted in most cases in the concentration of effective property rights in the hands of insiders (company managers) who had neither the willing nor the capital to perform the necessary deep restructuring of the enterprises. The newly emerging system of private ownership was not conducive to effective corporate governance and was in fact another obstacle to the process of enterprise restructuring. Moreover, the loopholes in law system seem to have incited a continued stripping of the assets of the privatized enterprises rather than their market-oriented restructuring. Thus, the progress in institutional and legislative reforms in Russia in the 1990s has been modest and the emerging market infrastructure in the country is extremely poor. This is especially so in the areas of commercial and corporate law. The execution of agreements most often relies on the goodwill of the parties, while contract enforcement is often impossible by legal means. Very little was done to reform the functioning of Russian public administration whose lack of transparency is well known. It gave birth to widespread rent seeking which resulted in the de facto concentration of wealth in a relatively small group of oligarchs. This distorted socio-political environment, and the presence of a mistakes in public administration has created a vicious circle which is a major obstacle to reforms and to social justice. One frequent characteristic of the Russian nouveaux-riches is that the wealth of numerous members of the new class was not acquired as a result of entrepreneurial success; it was simply easy money, obtained in some cases from illegal or semi-legal activity. Huge amounts of capital left Russia and were spent on luxury goods or just placed in safe havens instead of being put to productive use within the country. The unprecedentedly rapid stratification of society and the lack of social justice eroded initial public support for the reforms and strengthened the opposition to the reform process. It was in this economic and institutional environment that the Russian government launched the 1995 stabilization program. The climate for productive investment in Russia remained hostile, mostly due to the negative impact of this environment. The persistent lack of investor confidence leaded to further decapitalization of the economy. In real terms, gross fixed investment in 1997 was a quarter of its 1991 level. The prolonged financial pressure on manufactories provoked a credit crunch and the emergence of various monetary surrogates (acting as an alternative to money) and widespread barter (closely related to the diffusion of loss-making activity) which eroded further the tax base. Wage arrears kept mounting not only in the public domain but also in the corporate sector: in 1996 the arrears were, on average, for about 85% of total wage. The escalation of this situation was in May 1998, when doctors, workers and coal miners went on a massive strike over unpaid wages, blocking the Trans-Siberian Railway. After a short recovery in 1997, the economic situation started to getting worse in early 1998. Russia depends heavily on exports of energy resources and other primary commodities which make up 80% of merchandise exports, and the weakening of global demand and the unprecedented fall in their prices in the aftermath of the Asian crisis had a significant negative impact on its economy. There was a sharp fall in export earnings (about 12% in the first half of 1998) and this had a major impact on Russias external and fiscal balances. The fiscal problem There is wide agreement that the Russian fiscal crisis is itself just the expression of the overall crisis of the Russian transformation. Fundamental institutional reform of both taxation and expenditure has been repeatedly set back by political conflicts, such as constitutional crisis in 1993 and the problem of regional separatism. For the first half of 1998, the consolidated budget deficit (federal, regional and local) stood at 4. % of GDP, according to the lowest official figures. The overall position was considerably worse than this, particularly because the major extra-budgetary fund, the Pension Fund, had also a large deficit. These figures must also be seen in the context of wage arrears throughout all sectors of the economy. In the first quarter of 1998 debt service was fully one-third of federal spending. This visible strain was in itself another factor that destibilized confidence in the ability of the government to correct the situation. The growing burden of interest payments was built into the measures taken in 1995: while Russian official figures continue to record the 1995 budget deficit at 3. 0% of GDP, interest payments on the growing stock of GKO (Government Short-Term Commitments) were actually adding nearly the same amount to the financing needs in that year. The first issues of GKOs were available only to residents, and offered very high interest rates. In 1996, and in part as a result of International Monetary Fund insistence, the market was opened to non-residents. This did eventually succeed in lowering the interest rates, but it also clearly meant that the dangerous accumulation of debt could be continued. Until the first major crisis of confidence, this is what, in fact, occurred in 1998. The financial crisis of summer 1998 As part of the efforts to achieve macroeconomic stabilization, the federal government had made increasing use of Government Short-Term Commitments. But the situation remained dangerous: of the government deficit as much as 50% was due to interest payments. As Russias current account deteriorated from a position of surplus in 1997 to a deficit forecast at 1. 5-2% of GDP for 1998 as a whole, the rouble came under pressure and monetary policy was tightened with the result that the interest rates on GKOs reached levels of more than 100%. The consequent decline in the value of government securities led to calls by the foreign creditors of Russian banks for addition a repo loans. Thus, russian banks came under pressure to raise additional funds at just the time when the central bank was draining liquidity from the market as part of its attempt to defend the exchange rate. Due to the falls in the value of government securities, banks efforts to borrow were transferred to the interbank market that eventually couldnt function. These difficulties signaled the liquidity squeeze on Russian banks to international lenders, and increased their fears of becoming a bankrupt. At the same time the government faced increasing difficulties over borrowing to meet the interest obligations on its debt. The package of international loans from the IMF, the World Bank and Japan arranged in July was to provide Russia with funding of $17 billion during the 1998 and 1999. However, the attempt to defend the exchange rate which followed, was eventually abandoned, and a wider band for the rouble/dollar exchange rate was introduced in the third week in August that leaded to a rouble depreciation of more than 25%. On 2 September 1998 the Central Bank of the Russian Federation decided to abandon the floating peg policy and float the ruble freely. By 21 September 1998 the exchange rate had reached 21 rubles for one US dollar, meaning it had lost two thirds of its value of less than a month earlier. The moratorium on government debt caused large losses to foreign banks. For Russian banks the losses associated with the crisis are estimated at 40% of their assets. Despite the small scale of international exposure to Russia, the emergency measures taken by its government were accompanied by significant declines in prices in international financial markets and important downward revisions in forecast of capital inflows to developing and transition economies. Recovery Russia bounced back from the August 1998 financial crash with surprising speed. Much of the reason for the recovery is that world oil prices rapidly rose during 1999–2000 (just as falling energy prices helped to deepen Russias troubles), so that Russia ran a large trade surplus in 1999 and 2000. Another reason is that domestic industries, such as food producing, had benefited from the devaluation, which caused a steep increase in the prices of imported goods. Also, since Russias economy was operating to such a large extent on other non-monetary instruments of exchange, the financial collapse had far less of an impact on many producers. Finally, the economy had been helped by an infusion of cash. As enterprises were able to pay all debts on wages, consumer demand for goods and services produced by the Russian industry began to rise. For the first time in many years, in 2000 unemployment fell as enterprises added workers. Since the 1998 crisis, the Russian government has managed to keep social and political pressures under control, and this has played a essential role in recovery during the early 2000s.

What´s Ocean Acidification? Essay -- Impacts, Causes, Solutions, Ocean

Introduction The oceans of the earth are a massive part of the natural cycles that make this planet habitable. They regulate global temperatures, absorb carbon dioxide, provide a home for millions of plants and animals that make up various levels of the food chain, and so much more. They are a resource given for us to use and benefit from, however, it is also a resource that needs to be protected. It is the fountain of life for the planet and drastic changes to the makeup of the oceans could be detrimental to life as we know it. Ocean acidification is a problem which has come to light in the last decade, but is becoming increasingly concerning to many scientists (1). In this essay I will attempt to direct your attention to some of the possible and observed impacts of global ocean acidification, present some of the likely causes and suggest possible solutions to the problem. The essay will also deal with the possibility that the evidence can be interpreted differently in order to not implicate hum ans as the primary cause responsible for the observed destruction occurring in the acidified waters. Defining Ocean Acidification Ocean acidification is when carbon dioxide is absorbed into the water of the oceans. This causes a chain of chemical reactions leading to the formation of carbonic acid in the water. (2) Furthermore, many animals in the oceans use calcium carbonate ions to build their shells, however, in the process of forming carbonic acid, these ions are destroyed creating a deficiency in calcium carbonate and preventing these animals from forming their life sustaining and protective shells. (1) The reaction occurs when carbon dioxide, which is heavier than air, sinks in large clouds over the oceans and is absorbed into th... ...gain recognition both by environmental organizations and governments, but also by individuals who need to be aware of the impact their actions and energy usages. Whether it be a new form of energy or an old one refined, continued research and work needs to be done to ensure that we are being good stewards of the earth we have been given to live on. Works Cited http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/What+is+Ocean+Acidification%3F http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-ocean-acidification/ One Ocean documentary http://oceanacidification.noaa.gov/WhatsNew.aspx http://www.pnas.org.libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/content/105/45/17442.full http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/deadzone.html http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/noaa-scientists-embark-voyage-asses-ocean-acidification/ http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/content/68/6/1019.abstract

Four Problem That Farmers Face

How the Government help farmers in the Bahamas Today I am going to speak momentarily on how the Bahamian government help farmers in the Bahamas. They help by giving the farmers loan to buy supplies on a broad spread of product including building supplies ,processing materials and farm vehicles such as trucks, tractors plough and a harvest machine . Usually they hold lease and dispose of agricultural land, because some farmers don’t have a land to farm on and some farmers land are so small. The more the land the more the crops can increase.For example they give about 13,869 acres of land in Andros about 11,737 acres of land in Abaco and about 10,542 land in Grand Bahama . Also the government give money to some farmers because sometime the farmers cannot afford the supplies to maintain a proper farm . For example wheel barrels , Cattles ,Fruit trees and vegetable seed. Another thing they do is allow the farmers to sue, because these days some people go on farmers land and pick t heir crops without permission to do so .If they keep stealing the farmers crops there will not be non for the farmers . Also the Bahamian government help with training seminars and programmes on farming livestock information to help farmers and person that is interested in farming with initative as well as what proceses are required to increase yield of crops and how to raise health livestock . When new events arise they are posted in the events section of the (BAIC)website to sentsitise public. Filling out forms and submit the register form to the (BAIC) office.The time spent at these session are one day to sometime four weeks the most. They also help us with marketing our products in the Bahamas and international corporation (BAIC) also assist by placing farmers produce on it website to make the produce available to Bahamian and foreigns. Lastly but not lease they support us with fertilizer the soil , because some land areas don’t have very good soil so are and crops will n ot be unable to grow properly . They are un able to grow because the soil is hard , barren and don’t have enough nutrients for the crops to grow.

Basic Accounting Equation

The basic accounting equation upon which the final accounts are prepare encompasses the following: Assets minus Liabilities = Ownership Interest The Balance Sheet is the key financial report that portrays the accounting equation, which will be utilized to compute the accounting equation for the companies at hand.Accounting Equation in McDonald’s Annual Report (2007) Assets: Property, plant and equipment $20,984. 70 million Current Assets $ 3,581. 90 million Other Assets $ 4,825. 10 million Total Assets $29,391. 70 million Liabilities: Non-Current Liabilities (note 1) $ 9,613.40 million Current Liabilities $ 4,498. 50 million Total Liabilities $14,111. 90 million Ownership Interest $15,279. 80 million Note: ownership interest is represented by total shareholders’ equity in the Balance Sheet. Note 1 – Computation of Non-Current Liabilities: Long-Term Debt $7,310. 0 million Other Long-Term Liabilities $1,342. 5 million Deferred Taxation $ 960. 9 million Non-Current Liabilities $9,613. 4 million Accounting Equation in Triarc Companies Incorporation (2007) Assets: Non-Current Assets $1,284,313,000 Current Assets $ 170,254,000Total Assets $1,454,567,000 Liabilities: Non-Current Liabilities (see note 2) $ 798,530,000 Current Liabilities $ 207,163,000 Total Liabilities $1,005,693,000 Ownership Interest $448,874,000 Note: ownership interest is represented by total stockholders’ equity in the Balance Sheet. Note 2 – Computation of Non-Current Liabilities Long-Term Debt $711,531,000 Deferred Income $ 10,861,000 Minority interest in consolidated subsidiaries $ 958,000 Other Liabilities $ 75,180,000 Non-Current Liabilities $798,530,000Under both organisations the same accounting equation is utilised and the same components taken. This uniformity is important in accounting in order to ensure comparability. In addition with the aid of such accounting equation a uniform structure is given to the Balance Sheet, which is an important medium for pertinent stakeholders to assess the financial position and stability of the organization. As one can note the assets section is classified between current and non-current assets, while the liabilities are divided between current and non-current liabilities.The subtraction between the two will results in the ownership interest. This basically comprises the equity capital of the company together with capital and revenue/capital reserves. Such features are present both for McDonald’s Corporation and Triarc Companies Incorporation. In addition such features will also be present in the majority of limited liability companies set across the globe. The Balance Sheet is the main medium that one can utilize to identify the assets, liabilities and ownership interest of the companies.The additional notes in the financial statements serve as detail specification on certain assets and liability elements. However, the accounting equation being generic in its nature does not necessitate t hat one enters into such details. In this respect the Balance Sheet was the main medium utilised to put in practice the accounting equation for McDonald’s Corporation and Triarc Companies Incorporation. Reference: Weetman P. (2003). Financial and Management Accounting. Third Edition. New York: Prentice Hall.

Free Essays on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A Man With A Dream

Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who lived in a time where people were discriminated against for the color of their skin and for any other problem that white Christian men could find with them. King must have learned at an early age that most whites did not accept him and he had to grow up with the pain of being discriminated against for something that he could do nothing to change. This inspired him to give speeches and to try and break down the walls separating blacks and whites and he is probably the most well known name of anyone in the Civil Rights Movement. King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia. His parents were Alberta Williams King and Martin Luther King, Sr. His father was a reverend and his grandfather on his mother’s side was a minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. When King was older he followed in his father’s footsteps becoming a reverend and serving as a pastor but at a different church, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. King was a very well educated man; he attended Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia where he earned his B.A. he also received a B.D. degree from Croser Theological Seminary, Chester, Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. degree from Boston University. (ulib.iupui.edu/libinfo/mlkjr.html) Doctor King began his pastoral work at Dexter Avenue Baptist church in 1954. He was inspired to join the fight for civil rights after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the front of a bus for a white person. In 1955 King was elected president of the newly formed Montgomery Improvement Association, which was formed to fight civil rights abuses and to try and have action taken to protect the rights of blacks. King was made a national hero when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Rosa Parks and said that the Montgomery bus policy was illegal. (ulib.iupui.edu/libinfo/mlkjr.html) Now that King was a nationally known figure he now had the power to spread his me... Free Essays on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A Man With A Dream Free Essays on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A Man With A Dream Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who lived in a time where people were discriminated against for the color of their skin and for any other problem that white Christian men could find with them. King must have learned at an early age that most whites did not accept him and he had to grow up with the pain of being discriminated against for something that he could do nothing to change. This inspired him to give speeches and to try and break down the walls separating blacks and whites and he is probably the most well known name of anyone in the Civil Rights Movement. King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia. His parents were Alberta Williams King and Martin Luther King, Sr. His father was a reverend and his grandfather on his mother’s side was a minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. When King was older he followed in his father’s footsteps becoming a reverend and serving as a pastor but at a different church, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. King was a very well educated man; he attended Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia where he earned his B.A. he also received a B.D. degree from Croser Theological Seminary, Chester, Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. degree from Boston University. (ulib.iupui.edu/libinfo/mlkjr.html) Doctor King began his pastoral work at Dexter Avenue Baptist church in 1954. He was inspired to join the fight for civil rights after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the front of a bus for a white person. In 1955 King was elected president of the newly formed Montgomery Improvement Association, which was formed to fight civil rights abuses and to try and have action taken to protect the rights of blacks. King was made a national hero when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Rosa Parks and said that the Montgomery bus policy was illegal. (ulib.iupui.edu/libinfo/mlkjr.html) Now that King was a nationally known figure he now had the power to spread his me...

Top 3 Ways to Become a Great and Effective Leader

Top 3 Ways to Become a Great and Effective Leader Steps to A Truly Effective Leadership Style Last month I was fortunate to meet a real wonder woman. Not from the DC universe, but the wonder woman from our world. She has three kids, she is married and she runs a bank. Impressive, isnt it? Her name is Gillian and she runs a bank in Toronto. Gillian took the first place in an honorable list of Top 100 Canadas Most Powerful Women, which celebrated spectacular female leaders, who lead by example and inspire thousands of people. From my own experience, I can say that Gillian is really an exceptional and inspiring woman. What I was impressed by the most is her leadership style. Unlike everything you would expect from the bank director, she was authentic, warm and friendly. In our conversation I asked her about her core values and especially her leadership style, which navigated her through the male industry and granted her personal and professional success. We discussed leadership skills and also such important characteristics of leadership as the ability to set right priorities, built relationships based on trust and create a great team. But what was even more important is how a leader can develop his or her own unique leadership style. You may ask, Why is this so important, if the primary ability of the leader is to have vision and lead others towards the higher goal? While this is true, the lack of authenticity usually makes the leader look not trustworthy. So the question is how to be yourself, be a great leader and be a unique leader at the same time? This three-step guide will help you to discover your authenticity and start leading from the heart: Identify Your Strengths. First, you have to understand what your strong points are. Once you know what they are develop them. While working with something that you really like, you will feel engaged and happier. Its also a great way to express your authenticity, because you will project your real desires and motives rather than pretending to be someone else. Alleviate A Key Weakness. Working at what youre good at is not the only thing that leaders do. They also eliminate their weak sides. Unfortunately, this is not something that can happen in a blink of an eye. So, in order to work with your weak sides, you first need to identify them and then work on them for the course of several years. Some common traits that leaders usually need to work on are: being too impatient, too much sarcasm, always being last etc. Admit Your Mistakes. No matter which leadership styles youre utilizing, you need to learn to admit your mistakes in order to become a great leader. If there were no mistakes, there would be no experience. Without experience, we wouldnt know how to move in the right direction. Instead of copying mans leadership style, Gillian developed her own. Why dont you follow her glorious example?