Friday, March 20, 2020

Tips for Multi-Resolution Delphi Applications

Tips for Multi-Resolution Delphi Applications When designing forms in Delphi, its often useful to write the code so that your application (forms and all objects) looks essentially the same regardless of what the screen resolution is. The first thing you want to remember early on in the form design stage is whether  youre going to allow the form to be scaled or not. The advantage of not scaling is that nothing changes at runtime. The disadvantage of not scaling is that nothing changes at runtime (your form may be far too small or too large to read on some systems if it is not scaled). If youre not going to scale the form, set  Scaled  to False. Otherwise, set the property to True. Also, set AutoScroll to False: the opposite would mean not changing the forms frame size at runtime, which doesnt look good when the forms contents do change size. Important Considerations Set the forms font to a scalable TrueType font, like Arial. Only Arial will give you a font within a pixel of the desired height.​  If the font used in an application is not installed on the target computer, then Windows will select an alternative font within the same font family to use instead. Set the forms Position property to something other than poDesigned, which leaves the form where you left it at design time. This usually ends up way off to the left on a 1280x1024 screen- and completely off the 640x480 screen. Dont crowd controls on the form- leave at least 4 pixels between controls  so that a one-pixel change in border locations (due to scaling) wont show up as overlapping controls. For single line labels that are alLeft or alRight aligned, set AutoSize to True. Otherwise, set AutoSize to False. Make sure there is enough blank space in a label component to allow for font width changes - a blank space that is 25% of the length of the current string display length is a little too much but safe. Youll need at least 30% expansion space for string labels if you plan to translate your app into other languages. If AutoSize is False, make sure you actually set the label width appropriately. If AutoSize is True, make sure there is enough room for the label to grow on its own. In multi-line, word-wrapped labels, leave at least one line of blank space at the bottom. Youll need this to catch the overflow when the text wraps differently when the font width changes with scaling. Dont assume that because youre using large fonts, you dont have to allow for text-overflow- somebody elses large fonts may be larger than yours! Be careful about opening a project in the IDE at different resolutions. The forms PixelsPerInch property will be modified as soon as the form is opened, and will be saved to the DFM if you save the project. Its best to test the app by running it standalone and edit the form at only one resolution. Editing at varying resolutions and font sizes invite component drift and sizing problems. Make sure that you set your PixelsPerInch for all your forms to 120. It defaults to 96, which causes scaling problems at a lower resolution. Speaking of component drift, dont rescale a form multiple times, at design time or runtime. Each rescaling introduces round-off errors which accumulate very quickly since coordinates are strictly integral. As fractional amounts are truncated off the controls origins and sizes with each successive rescaling, the controls will appear to creep northwest and get smaller. If you want to allow your users to rescale the form any number of times, start with a freshly loaded/created form before each scaling so that scaling errors do not accumulate. In general, it is not necessary to design forms at any particular resolution, but it is crucial that you review their appearance at 640x480 with large and small fonts, and at a high-resolution with small and large fonts, before releasing your app. This should be part of your regular system compatibility testing checklist. Pay close attention to any components that are essentially single-line TMemos- things like TDBLookupCombo. The Windows multi-line edit control always shows only whole lines of text- if the control is too short for its font, a TMemo will show nothing at all (a TEdit will show clipped text). For such components, its better to make them a few pixels too large than to be one pixel too small and not show any text at all. Keep in mind that all scaling is proportional to the difference in the font height between runtime and design time, not  the pixel resolution or screen size. Remember also that the origins of your controls will be changed when the form is scaled- you cant very well make components bigger without also moving them over a bit. Anchors, Alignment, and Constraints: Third party VCL Once you know what  issues  to bear in mind when scaling Delphi forms on different screen resolutions, you are ready for some coding. When working with Delphi version 4 or higher,  several properties are designed to help us maintain the look and layout of controls on a form. Use  Align  to align a control to the top, bottom left, or right of a form or panel and have it remain there even if the size of the form, panel, or component that contains the control, changes. When the parent is resized, an aligned control also resizes so that it continues to span the top, bottom, left, or right edge of the parent. Use  Constraints  to specify the minimum and maximum width and height of the control. When Constraints contains maximum or minimum values, the control can’t be resized to violate those constraints. Use  Anchors  to ensure that a control maintains its current position relative to an edge of its parent, even if the parent is resized. When its parent is resized, the control holds its position relative to the edges to which it is anchored. If a control is anchored to opposite edges of its parent, the control stretches when its parent is resized. procedure ScaleForm (F: TForm; ScreenWidth, ScreenHeight: LongInt) ;begin F.Scaled : True; F.AutoScroll : False; F.Position : poScreenCenter; F.Font.Name : Arial; if (Screen.Width ScreenWidth) then begin F.Height : LongInt(F.Height) * LongInt(Screen.Height) div ScreenHeight; F.Width : LongInt(F.Width) * LongInt(Screen.Width) div ScreenWidth; F.ScaleBy(Screen.Width,ScreenWidth) ; end;end;

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Use of ~ Kana at the End of Sentence

Use of ~ Kana at the End of Sentence For new students learning Japanese, youll eventually come across sentences ending with kana. Sometimes from the context, its difficult to tell what kana means. How does it translate into a sentence? Heres the basic breakdown of this unusual Japanese sentence structure (unusual to English speakers, at least): When you see Kana at the end of a sentence, it is essentially inferring the English equivalent of I wonder. Its a relatively casual expression, and used quite often in conversation. Instead of just asking the question, its a way of couching it a bit, to encourage the listener to wonder as well.   Here are some examples: Ashita yuki ga furu kana.明æâ€" ¥Ã©â€º ªÃ£ Å'é™ Ã£â€šâ€¹Ã£ â€¹Ã£  ªÃ£â‚¬â€š I wonder if it will snow tomorrow. Ano hito wa supein-jin kana.㠁‚㠁 ®Ã¤ º ºÃ£  ¯Ã£â€š ¹Ã£Æ'šã‚ ¤Ã£Æ' ³Ã¤ º ºÃ£ â€¹Ã£  ªÃ£â‚¬â€š I wonder if he/she is Spanish. ~ kashira 㠁‹ã â€"ら can be replaced with ~ kana, though it is used only by females. Kore ikura kashira.㠁“ã‚Å'㠁„㠁 Ã£â€šâ€°Ã£ â€¹Ã£  ªÃ£â‚¬â€š I wonder how much it is. Dou shita no kashira.㠁 ©Ã£ â€ Ã£ â€"㠁Ÿã  ®Ã£ â€¹Ã£ â€"ら。 I wonder what happened. Here are some more phrases with ~ kana. Nani o kite ikou kana.ä ½â€¢Ã£â€šâ€™Ã§ â‚¬Ã£  ¦Ã£ â€žÃ£ â€œÃ£ â€ Ã£ â€¹Ã£  ªÃ£â‚¬â€š What shall I wear? Mattete kureru kana.Ã¥ ¾â€¦Ã£  £Ã£  ¦Ã£  ¦Ã£  Ã£â€šÅ'る㠁‹ã  ªÃ£â‚¬â€š I wonder if he/she will wait for me. Machiawase-basho machigaeta kana.Ã¥ ¾â€¦Ã£  ¡Ã¥ Ë†Ã£â€š Ã£ â€ºÃ¥   ´Ã¦â€°â‚¬Ã©â€"“é â€¢Ã£ Ë†Ã£ Å¸Ã£ â€¹Ã£  ªÃ£â‚¬â€š I wonder if I am waitingin the wrong place. Okane, ato ikura nokotteru kana.㠁Šé‡‘〠Ã¥ ¾Å'㠁„㠁 Ã£â€šâ€°Ã¦ ®â€¹Ã£  £Ã£  ¦Ã£â€šâ€¹Ã£ â€¹Ã£  ªÃ£â‚¬â€š I wonder how much money I have left. .æ  ¥Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã£  ¯Ã£ â€žÃ£ â€žÃ£ â€œÃ£  ¨Ã£ â€šÃ£â€šâ€¹Ã£ â€¹Ã£  ªÃ£â‚¬â€š I wonder if next year will bringsomething good. To ask the question and add an element of doubt or uncertainty I wasnt sure whether it would snow you would add  Ã£  ®(no) forming nokana.

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Whistle Blowing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Whistle Blowing - Assignment Example Through whistle blowing, employees are able to act on matters that are out of the set code of conduct. According to Johnson (2003), whistle blowing helps in building a safe working place, protects the name, and earnings of the organization. At times, an employee may desist from reporting potentially harmful practices in the organization as it often raises differences in the organization. It is important to note that whistle blowing may lead to division among various parties in an organization (Johnson, 2003). The other people who are affected by whistle blowing tend to dehumanize the whistle blower in various ways. In the long run the whistleblower may desist from the act (Johnson, 2003). Ethics hotlines are a crucial tool in enhancing reporting of the irregularities in an organization (Corey, Marianne & Callanan, 2011). It is, therefore, important for an organization to have ethics hotlines. To begin with, ethics hotlines help avoid the conflicts that arise from whistle blowing (Corey, Marianne & Callanan, 2011). Additionally, hotlines help the employees access some immediate help in case there is an urgent need. Corey, Marianne & Callanan (2011) outline that, hotlines are imperative in ensuring that the employees develop a trustworthy culture in the organization they work. This can be indicated to be a merit in strengthening organizational governance. However, ethical hotlines have numerous disadvantages such as cost. There is often mistrust of the independence of the hotlines. Employees may fear to make calls since the person that is operating the hotline may be the target or may recognize the person that is being reported. Lastly, the hotlines often raise securit y concerns (Corey,

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Criminology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Criminology - Essay Example ibute to the rise of such crimes in the cities, include the population density in the cities, level of education and unemployment rates (Baltic, 2011). Other related crimes that augment the prevalence of aggravated assaults include drug peddling and underage drinking. However, the prevalence of aggravated assault in the three cities decreased significantly, the rate of aggravated assault in Detroit fir example decreased by about 2% in the last two years. St. Luis for example had a higher prevalence of drugs and illegal guns in the city. Lack of effective border security coupled with weak immigration laws make the United States susceptible to illegal guns and drugs from such neighboring countries as Mexico. Illegal guns and the complex illegal drug business are among the factors that influence the prevalence of aggravated assaults. Within the last two years, the police departments in the cities revamped their efforts in controlling drug and substance abuse. The efficiency of the police helped reduce the levels of the aggravated assaults in the cities. Additionally, improving statistics on the levels of employment and education in the cities are among the factors accounting for the decrease in the rates of aggravated assaults in the three cities am ong many others throughout the United

Saturday, January 25, 2020

An overview of IKEA

An overview of IKEA 1. Introduction Undoubtedly, in the modern, technological and developed world, IT defined as the storage, protection, conversion, transmission and retrieval of data, has a significant role in various important activities and contributes in industrial development. The usage of Information technology in businesses is a useful tool in managing and administering their regular operations and activities. An example of wise and effective application of IT into business is IKEA. IKEA is the worlds largest home furnishing retailer with stores located worldwide. Every year IKEA stores welcome 565 million visitors, while more than 450 million visits have been recently recorded to its website. The followed low-price strategy coupled with a wide range of functional, well designed products that satisfy every lifestyle and life stage of its customers, who come from every age group and type of household, is responsible for its rapid growth and its enormous success. 2. The company 2.1 Company overview IKEA began to design its own furniture in 1955 and opened its first store in Sweden in 1958. In 1959 it began to produce self-assembly furniture to lower freight chargers and other costs to retail customers, an approach that continues until today. IKEA now has over 200 stores in 30 countries. Each store has about 9500 items for sale. Its 2008 sales were over â‚ ¬20 billion. The company, over time has become a leader in its niche by the choices made in that process. Nevertheless, the IKEA uniqueness presents a formidable barrier to competitors- one that supply chain planners can look in creating their own business models. The â€Å"IKEA concept† guides the company. This concept is to make â€Å"well-designed, functional home furnishing products† at low, affordable prices. In fact, the design process for a new product begins by setting the retail price. It then proceeds to design production processes that meet the cost objective. Finally, the product is designed to IKEAs style standard. This standard omits cost-adding frills that add no value in terms of functionality. Each IKEA store carries -on average a selection of 12000 products, while the core rage is the same worldwide and independently of the store size. Managing over 200 stores spread in 30 countries worldwide and having 1,600 suppliers in 55 countries, requires apart from outstanding support staff, exceptional logistics and the best information systems. IKEA, in order to maintain an integral supply chain at its most efficient level, it must incorporate the right people, the high technology and the best information systems. 2.2 IKEAs timeline 2.2 SWOT Analysis 2.3 IKEAs challenges and goals The company requires the best tools available to ensure a faultless transition and has to be able to solve any problems as quickly as possible, particularly when it is the worlds leading home furnishing retailer. The rapid development of technology creates new standards and increases demands in planning process. The company has to be modernized and able to adjust quickly to changes, place additional pressure on the whole operation of the supply network and be innovator in using the most up to date information systems. Being sustainable should remain a central part of IKEAs image. Failure to deal with new challenges and problems that arise due to market forces and to various economic factors will cost IKEA in every area of its business. Hence, to ensure that this would not happen, IKEA needs to invest in IT, helping the company to adapt quickly and easily to the developing situations (agility) and face any problems occurred. Investing in IT can achieve: Increased visibility in the sales patterns of IKEA products. Improved forecast accuracy. Improved planner experience and productivity through exception-based management. Enabled the consolidation of supplier base with a focus on low-cost countries. Increased overall supply chain visibility and efficiency. 3. IKEA and IT 3.1 IKEAs major IT systems IKEA has many company-wide IT systems. These IT systems are facilities which aim to process data and provide meaningful information to users but each of them varies in function. IT systems are able to track data and information to all resources external or internal making possible design, production processes, distribution, retailing take place in the most productive and effective way. 3.2.1 IKEAs intranet: bringing people and information together In 1997 IKEA launched its intranet, IKEA inside.At its first steps it included useful information for co-workers and had a basic although unclear structure: content was static, interactivity inexistent but it improved through trying and learning. Through time the need to share the intranets content not just with IKEAs co-workers in the service office but also with the people working in IKEAs stores emerged. What was considered critical to success was the way the site would be set up in order to match the retail personnels needs and skills. In the following years IKEA replaced its traditional paperwork system with digital equivalents which led to great accomplishments, decreasing costs and time needed to complete different kind of tasks within company. Intranet offers a wide range of applications such as online surveys, details about products, company news, customer feedback, inventory and supply management tools and material concerning marketing. Hence, is considered by employees as their second hand that promptly provides them, whenever and wherever needed, with the necessary tools and information to perform their duties. Innovation and effort for improvement through intranet in IKEA never stops. Recently in May 2008 the Swedish company launched the ico-worker which houses information about employees and it is used in general as a digital human resource centre. Applications vary from managing retirement plans to requesting time-off and accessing online pay checks. This latest addition to intranet has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars and also many hours of work for IKEAs HR department. Through intranet IKEA has managed to decrease costs in departments other than HR. The intranet consultant, Toby Ward, mentions that IKEA US has managed through intranet to decrease costs more than $500,000 per year. More precisely, it has managed to decrease paper costs by $192,000, streamlining processes and self-serve process by $4,590, modernizing communication technologies -video conference to webex- by $90,000 and finally self-service HR by $219,000. The intranet team has accomplished not only to decrease costs but also increase sales by empowering employees and sales teams. It has succeeded this goal through delivering a highly focused on sales content. Employee discussion boards and provision of information concerning sales number and metrics are only some of the tools offered on a daily basis to employees working at IKEA. IKEA inside has managed to bring people and information together in the most productive way. Other companies use intranets as well without being merely as successful. What is the element that has ensured IKEAs intranet long term success? Is it a very sophisticated technology? The answer is that the key element to success has been the provision and ability to coincide the technology based system to the people it is meant to support. Technology was definitely not the sole focus when developing IKEAs information systems and especially intranet: The emphasis has been placed more to people rather than data or technology. Specifically, the IT was designed to enhance the connection between employees and data in respect to IKEAs people-centered culture. Beth Gleba, Internal Information Manager for IKEA explains that We are a people-based company. Face-to-face time is very important. Weve built our intranet to complement this. We dont want people to feel technology replaces but enhances our c onnection to one another. Working with our culture, not against it, has been key. The Intranet as part of IKEAs information landscape has been able to decentralize work, impact the bottom line, improve IKEAs financial factors and all that because people building the intranet right from the start had in mind that it should be more than its bits and bytes, it should be able to respond to peoples needs respecting their work culture. 3.2.2 IKEAs product information assistance (pia) One of IKEA ‘s key IT systems is PIA , Product information assistance which was introduced in 1998. This system has as a core objective to help administrate product information and is therefore useful for product development projects. PIA is provided with information by project teams and product developers. Input data include several kind of information about the product: sale price, expected cost, product composition, goals. PIA is also fed with information by other specialists at IKEA who provide details about suppliers, materials etc. Product developers are the main users of output information but all of IKEAs employees have also access to the system: they can either browse information or create documents such as internal reports. When we refer to product development at IKEA we should have in mind a fully vertical integrated system: A system that provides resources and coordinates the different stages of design, manufacturing, logistics, warehousing and finally exhibition in retail stores. So, behind each product there is a vast system of internal and external resources that interact one with another. Through PIA, IKEA has been able to perform miracles: It has been able to create products -like Lack, a simple table- that had a constant price for decades although the price of input materials has increased substantially. This accomplishment was possible with the use of PIA which has combined resources in different ways to reach the same result. PIA is responsible for collection, process and diffusion of the large amounts of information needed for each product, Lack as well, to both external and internal units. Of course PIA is not yet a perfect system. Certain limitations emerge from its direct and indirect connections its passive and active users but PIA is a system which constantly evolves with changing features and patterns getting better each time. 3.2.3 Supply Chain Management IKEAs supply chain follows the â€Å"philosophy† of make to stock. This means that products are not built upon customer request and thats why there is a large dependency on demand forecasts. In the past, there was a great degree of freedom concerning stock planning and replenishment at a regional level. Through time this has led to stock outs, overstocks and obsolete inventories. But this was not the only problem faced by IKEAs previous supply chain. The fragmented and unreliable information used -coming from manual work- created lack of trust between the different parts participating in the supply chain. Moreover problems in data maintenance were spotted as well as lack of the proper tools to handle deviations in demand. In order to address these problems IKEA decided to attain better control of the supply chain and improve performance. The new concept is being currently implemented and an important part of it is the IT technology being used. IKEA has reformed to a centralized planning organization with integrated planning processes and high data quality. APS (advanced planning systems) are tools used to help make decisions in this complex environment of global networks. The main idea is that one central planning engine includes all decisions concerning the supply chain: stock replenishment, sourcing, production and distribution decisions. The following figure shows the new planning concept where all forecasting activities are centralized and stock levels are under control through out the whole supply chain In the new global planning process corporate sales planning takes place first, its results are used as input in to the global need planning process. The next step is the capacity planning process and finally the planning of the distribution supply chain takes place. Most of the planning processes are supported by APS and the forecasting processes have been supported by JDA. The contribution of these two systems to the improvements described concerning the integration of the supply chain has been amazing. With the use of APS the number of forecasts has reduced from 120 to around 30 the average forecast accuracy has increased from 60% to 80% Several roles in IKEA‘s planning organization have been supported with up to date information concerning stock levels, replenishment needs and safety stock calculations. APS has improved supply chain planning in the following ways: It has helped reduce stock levels and improve services It has provided management of large amounts of data and run of â€Å" what if† scenarios to ensure the best decisions will be taken It has present results in an understandable way It has contributed to the improvement of the degree of automation planning and therefore has save time for decision making It has helped to balance the supply chain through coordination It has offered tools to detect and deal with planning problems in early stages It has improved the data quality In the year of 2001 IKEA has launched a new cooperation with JDA which in its turn provided a new solution to apply JDA Demand solutions on all company products in the international market. The primary objectives pursued by the company were to design a methodology to plan sales, to come up with real sales forecasts in order to determine capacity for stocks as well as plan for suppliers and estimate the transpiration costs. Due to this global supply chain planning system, today IKEA has the opportunity to manage its sales, capacity, inventory and distribution in an efficient and visible manner. This gives the company to better consider its sales prospects and improve the business operations as a whole. The reports state on the companys planning departments testifying about the efficiency of this method as it was vividly reflected in more accurate forecasts. 4. Future Challenges Over the next five years IKEAs strategy has been to keep expanding in the international markets which makes them to face new challenges, particularly with the distribution system. Such enormous growth urges the company constantly review its distribution structure and adapt it to the required needs. One of the primary moves the company should do is to reallocate its distribution structure in a way that the low-flow range will be stocked centrally for big regions and high-flows near to the appropriate market. Meantime, the company should work on increasing direct deliveries. The other upcoming challenge that the company is coping with is about organizing remote shopping over phone and Internet. Even though IKEA customers still prefer to visit the stores as it is a whole experience for them, however internet shopping and phone orders is on demand and in order to meet this expectations the company should find new and flexible distribution solutions. 5. Evaluation of the impact of IT in IKEAs success 5.1 ITs impact on IKEAs success As the globalization is increasing in the retail industry in terms of sales and supplies the significance of IT is rising substantially and is playing a vital role in managing the complexity of retail operations. Major retail industry players are willing to allocate larger amounts for IT costs as they realize the importance of its application in the business as it generates numerous advantages over the competitors and delivers value. IT has played a great role in IKEAs success and this is because the company was not merely integrating these systems into its operations but also combining them with its strategic goals. At the same time, IKEA was able to maintain successful in the market as it was evolving the IT systems in the company as the business was growing starting from simple and base systems to finding complex solutions to complex problems. 5.2 Competitive advantages from ITs implementation In this dynamically moving business environment it is a challenge for companies and organizations to sustain their competitiveness. Today by integrating IT systems in its everyday operations, IKEA has empowered its grounds in the market as these systems provide best information that the company needs to do its tasks more effectively. It has quick access to information and it minimizes the errors in business transactions. At the same time it serves as a powerful competitive tool for IKEA to interact with its customers, supplier and employees in an effective manner that contributes to a mutual benefit by making its stakeholders loyal to the company. Today, due to its successful Supply Chain Management system IKEA is able to achieve cost benefits and offer reduced prices to its customers. At the same time the implementation of Supply Chain Management system in its global planning has given IKEA the opportunity to reduce its stock level and increase the service level. This in its turn contributes to the overall satisfaction of the company clients and supplier. Contrary to its competitors, IKEA is able to detect and cope with problems related to the supply chain at an early stage which helps the company to have a balanced chain. It also has accuracy in its forecasts and better visibility and efficiency in its overall chain. In summary, the IT implementation in various business operations gave number of competitive advantages and benefits to IKEA. Today the company has improved its overall operations in the market and runs the company with a better and global view. These IT initiatives gave the company long-run significant competitive advantages in the market that will contribute to improved profits. 5.3 Lessons learned from IKEAs IT applications IT systems became the heart of IKEA operations and it plays an important role in alleviating pressure points in its business transactions. On the other hand, those companies who do not manage their IT systems effectively it becomes a problem rather than solution, especially when a retail industry player has to deal with advanced planning and scheduling systems, merchandizing and inventory management systems. However, these systems play crucial role in retail operations and when the company uses it effectively, it can improve efficiency and increase revenues. In IKEAs example we learn that the company matched its IT systems to its existing culture and found success in its initiatives. Their objective was not to create a sophisticated systems but systems that could promptly respond to the employees, suppliers and customers specific needs. One of the success factors that have to be taken into consideration was that IKEA did not compromise its corporate culture by using information technologies. The company was aware that these systems exist to support people and not the technologies. They understood that those tools should not have negative impacts on healthy and powerful organizational culture as these tools are not capable to replace the nuances of the human experience. Another important aspect that has to be taken into consideration is the change management in IKEA, when implementing new IT projects. Most of the IT systems integrated by IKEA have been implemented successfully as the company spent money and efforts to support workers to adapt to methods and tools by creating awareness and interest among the employees, trying out the solutions and adapting to the change. 6. Conclusion Undoubtedly, effective use of modern IT can be seen as a requirement to succeed in the markets. Information technology secures the efficient information flow needed to develop and support a growing IKEA. IT has the ability to support a global organization such as IKEA with business solutions and services that keep the company running and to develop the way the company does business by supply quick, lean and user-friendly IT services rather than just technology. IT offers countless opportunities to simplify, streamline and improve every aspect of IKEA operations. Most of the specialized jobs and projects are based in the IKEA IT centers, but IT support functions are needed in all parts of the company. Historically, IKEA has developed many of its own IT-solutions and stands as a model for various businesses worldwide. In the future, considering the globalization, internets expansion and technological growth, the role of IT will be even more critical. Given that IKEAs personnel has been proved through the companys long history as a solution-oriented and creative organization with a genuine interest in the overall success of IKEA as a home furnishings company, the future of IKEA is even promising with its IT systems to be the shortcut to success. 7. References Ward T., Sales intranet case study: IKEAin http://intranetblog.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2009/4/14/4153375.html Paul Chin, 2009. Inside IKEA ‘s human intranet approach at http://www.intranetjournal.com/articles/200908/ij_08_21_09a.html . Baraldi E. , Waluszewski A. 2002. Information technology at IKEA: an â€Å"open sesame† solution or just another type of facility? In http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL_udi=B6V7S-4C7VXV7-3_user=10_coverDate=09%2F30%2F2005_rdoc=1_fmt=high_orig=search_sort=d_docanchor=view=c_searchStrId=1206222647_rerunOrigin=google_acct=C000050221_version=1_urlVersion=0_userid=10md5=101bf0153f4fccb85d75fc95846140f2 The table was extracted from Jonsson P., Rudberg M. , Holmberg S. Global supply chain planning at IKEA in http://www.plan.se/files/Jonsson_Rudberg_Holmberg_08.pdf

Friday, January 17, 2020

Mao’s Last Dancer

Text: Mao’s Last Dancer I chose the autographical novel ‘Mao’s Last Dancer’, composed by Li Cunxin, as it has several themes that convey the idea of a journey. It is physical in the way Li Cunxin had to work hard to be a professional ballet dancer and it is also mental as it is a road to self-discovery. The autobiography is also extremely inspirational and inscribed in first person, therefore this allows the reader to see the personal journey of Li.I believe this text also relates to Shakespeare’s play ‘The Tempest’ in the way Li has to act like a slave to the Communist Mao. This is similar to the enslavement of the characters Caliban and Ariel. The main physical journey represented in the text is how dancing shaped and became Li’s life. When he was chosen to be in Madame Mao’s ballet academy, he had no desire to be there. ‘Those first few weeks were an agony of loneliness†¦I became introverted and spoke very lit tle†¦everyday I couldn’t wait for the year to end’.Later on though, you notice through emotive language the determination he has to be the best. ‘I challenged myself to go further, to experiment with new feelings. ’ He had to leave his family, who live in an awfully poor village, so he can be a dancer. Further along in life he became one of the most elite ballet dancers China has produced. Madame Mao then took him to America to enhance his skills; he won many medals and now lives in Melbourne. Coming from a poor family, to now being rich and famous shows incredible juxtaposition and the concept of a journey.Another idea is the emotional journey of this text. In the story you notice many qualities that Li possesses like bravery and courage. At the beginning of the story you sense the tone of unhappiness, knowing he cannot contact them for years. ‘I am frightened. I want to go home to my niang. I start to sob. ’ For the first year of ballet school, his confidence was low and he constantly felt like people were judging him but from his fourth year onwards he had willpower and strength to move forward.Finally, in his sixth year, Teacher Xiao had a chat with him and he used a simile, saying a pirouette is like a mango. This helps you create a clear image in your mind. ‘The fun is in the process. Admire the unique shape, the colour, the smell. You need to enjoy every bit of the process, taste the many layers of the fruit and enjoy it for it’s full value. I want you to treat pirouettes the same way. ’ This quote also represents a journey perfectly, saying it’s not about the outcome; it’s what you achieved along the way.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

The Most Important Job Of The World - 2093 Words

Sandy Tom McCourt ENGL 1302 3 December 2014 The Most Important Job in the World A properly watered seed will bloom into a beautiful flower. A growing seed that does not receive the proper care will wither away before it even reaches the sunlight. Just like parenting skills, the nurture and care a child receives from their parents throughout life is ultimately what defines the child when they grow into an adult. Bad parenting such as neglect and improper discipline causes suffering to many children. If marriage requires a license, the ability to procreate should be taken just as seriously. When a marriage does not work out, the couple can simply separate without causing irreparable harm, whereas poor parenting can cause a lifetime of suffering for the child. They may also affect large amounts of innocent people, passing the unhealthy parenting from one generation to the next (Tebaldi). Throughout history, many states heavily regulate marriage and tell people who they can or cannot marry. Up until 1967, sixteen s tates did not permit same sex marriage. The regulation of marriage is still strongly controversial to many Americans today, yet procreation is not regulated at all. The next step after marriage for most, is raising children, which plays an even bigger role in society. Therefore, it is crucial that parents educate themselves with the proper parenting skills to limit the suffering in children. Poor parenting will severely affect a child throughout their lifeShow MoreRelatedWorking Experience Is More Important Than Education1442 Words   |  6 PagesExperience is More Important than Education Its been a question that society has debated for a long time. Does education or work experience provide the most benefits and therefore hold more importance for children and society as a whole? 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