Real Estate and Social Media

Introduction The purpose of this essay is to discuss the history of real estate and social media, the position of social media over the last years, importance of technology to improve business, the best ways to develop business, the ways by which social media can develop real estate and commercial building, the process to improve website and so on.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Real Estate and Social Media specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More History of Real estate The Times of India (5) pointed out that although the word ‘real estate’ has found in the dictionary for the last thousand years, but the history of ‘real estate’ is an integral part of human civilisation for more than ten thousand years. History demonstrated that concept of private ownership of the property has evidenced during the 17th century onwards that generated huge psychological impact on the possession of ‘real est ate’ that sowed that seeds to the preface of the real estate market (5). Archaeologists traced differentiated lifestyle among the ancestors where cave and cave painting on the stone point to the ordinary and luxurious living place, although the humankind is in scares of dwelling place from the hunter-gatherer. During 1066 AD, the origins of real estate law were established while King William conquered England and declared himself as a titleholder of the territory, the British Monarchy brings them into practice through ‘tenure’ ‘tenants’ and their concerned ‘rents’ globally (12). The Times of India also added that the industrial revolution has enhanced the opportunity among the middle class to buy land and built the own home, but most of them were eager to buy home from the real estate ready for at once living without experiencing the hazards of construction. The financial institution extended their hands to the real estate industry to ad dress the needs of middle class through debt financing; it flourished the market and turned real estate as a booming industry all over the world (15). At the same time, accretion of democracies, turned to safeguard the buyer and seller by establishing Real Estate Law, the extensive colonisation of British monarchy was aimed to establish same legal domain across the world through mixed ownership while the model of communism stands against private of ownership of real estate (14). Shiller studied with the historical evidence of US real estate market and argued that the exploration of housing finance and incorporation of real estate corporations in the stock market has bought a revolution with historic turning points in real estate. Starting from 1957, in context of Stock Price Index, the aggregate stock price of real estate has extensively risen for single-family homes up to 1988, reached it historic pick points in 2000, and evidenced rapid fall in 2003 (5). The changing nature of rea l estate has strongly associated with the high risk of credit crush due to extra burden of loan in this sector (Shiller 5).Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Barth et al. mentioned that the financial institutions amplified their cash flow for real estate from US$ 500 billion in nineties, while it jumped towards US$ 2.4 trillion in 2007 and during the global financial crisis in September 2008, the total outstanding loan volume elevated up to US$ 11.3 trillion that seriously hampered global economy causing banking sector collapse (11). Due to the growing significance of private sector for real estate mortgage funding, the adaptable rate of mortgage financing has tripled, at the time of diminishing towards US$106.7 billion during the second quarter of 2008 and demonstrated sharp boost throughout the boom, but huge drops in the shares price of real estate corporations at bubble burst. History of Social Media: The history of social media has developed from 1980s, but the major development in this sector has enhanced from 1990s, for example, First dial-up BBC continue to grow at the initial stage of development, but World Wide Web started its operation in 1991 to serve the purpose of military, government or university. Hershey (5) and Morrison Foerster (1) stated that WWW became available to the US people in 1995; in addition, Beverly Hills Internet (BHI) started operation of Geocities in 1995, which was purchased by yahoo by $3.570 billion and it closed in 2009. At the same time, Hershey (5) stated that first social networking site Forums launched in the late 1990s to share opinions on some issues, but it criticized as a non-social media Internet tool because of many decisions and operating system of the top management level. However, Morrison Foerster (1) pointed out that SixDegrees launched in 1997 and it was famous to more than one million users as it functioned much like Facebook, but this site closed in 2001. Morrison Foerster (1) and Hershey (5) reported that the concept of social networking sites mainly developed from 2002, for example, Friendster started operation in 2002 as a network-expanding social site to share personal profiles with online friends and Photobucket launched in 2003 and became the first leading photo-sharing site though it followed data protection acts. LinkedIn:Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Real Estate and Social Media specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Curtis (1) and Hershey (5) argued that LinkedIn founded in 2003 and it was the first business or colleague based social networking site, which established to prompt users to create a profile to connect with colleagues, accept recommendations, and introduce with other professional network. MySpace: Morrison Foerster (1) and Hershey (5) stated that MySpace launched in 2003 and it beca me the largest social media site within next three years; however, most of the features of this site have designed considering the users’ demand and it provides the opportunity to the users to generate unique backgrounds, embed slideshows, music players, and photos and so on. Facebook: Hershey (5) stated that Facebook started its operation in 2004 and it was only available to Harvard students, but within two years, this site became popular to the students of other colleges. However, Hershey (5) further pointed out that However, key characteristics of Facebook are – It is a social directory, which enables individuals to share information; for instance, it uses personal profiles and fan pages to attach individuals all over the world (Hershey 5); According to the annual report of Facebook 2011, it is largest and most popular social media site in the world since more than 70% of the users are outside the US; Facebook has integrated thousands of applications including onli ne games and music (Facebook 18); In addition, Facebook gives a great chance for users to stay in contact with old associates and keeping up with new friends; therefore, the average Facebook user has 130 friends and each user creates 90 pieces of content every month; In 2008, it surpassed MySpace as the leading social media site; According to the annual report of Facebook 2011, many renowned multinational companies tried to acquire this site considering the continues growth and financial prospect of this site, for example, Yahoo offered $1.0 billion to purchase Facebook in 2006, Microsoft attempted to acquire a stake in Facebook at a $15 billion valuation in 2010, Viacom bid to acquire Facebook at a proposed deal value of around $1.45 Billion, and so on YouTube:Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Cheng, Dale Liu (3) stated that the most popular and successful video-based social site and search engine YouTube started its journey in 2005, which provides users the opportunity to upload, download, view and share videos; however, it featured about 40.0 million videos and enjoyed 2400 million visitors in 2007 and it was the second major search engine after Google. In addition, Cheng, Dale Liu (3), and Hershey (5) stated that YouTube offered the users to create profiles and upload videos along with other opportunities that provided by all the other social media sites; therefore, the actors and musicians have the chance to become successful using this site. Twitter: Hershey (5) and Morrison Foerster (1) pointed out that status-based social media site â€Å"Twitter† founded in 2006 to communicate with people; however, the celebrities use this site to communicate with fans and news agencies monitor this site for breaking news. The social media over the last years Nowadays, s ocial media servers multi-purposes in order to develop strong networking, for example, Facebook and other social networking sites have changed their policies to make it easy for the users to communicate with other and they also concentrate on the data protection though there are many controversy in this regard. However, the numbers of the users of the largest social media like Facebook and Twitter have increased dramatically, for example, Facebook user hits 350 million in 2009 while it has 955 million Monthly active users and 552 million Daily active users in 2012. According to the annual report of 2011, Facebook generated $3.825 billion and Yahoo finance reported that it earned $4.330 billion in 2012, which demonstrated that the earning of social media is increasing day by day. On the other hand, Google  + launched in 2011 with intent to provide outstanding opportunities using digital technology to share documents, personal profiles, videos and so on; however, Morrison Foerster (2) reported that it is sharing more than one billion items per day. However, the following table shows the direct competitor comparison – Facebook Google Inc Microsoft Corporation Market Capital 47.540 billion 248.710 billion 248.570 billion Employees 3,976 54,604 94,000 Revenue 4.330 billion 43.160 billion 73.720 billion Gross Margin 0.74 0.63 0.76 EBITDA 1.050 billion 15.450 billion 30.710 billion Net Income 714.0 million 11.11 billion 16.98 billion EPS 0.29 33.73 2.00 Table 1: – Direct Competitor Comparison Source: – Self generated from Yahoo Finance (1) According to the above-mentioned data, the necessity of social media is increasing to improve business, which help social networking sites to expand their business; besides existing renowned sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter, etc., some other social networking sites has started operation to serve the people over the last years and these are – Loopt: Hershey (10) p ointed out that location-based and cell phone-based GPS sharing network site â€Å"Loopt† established in 2005, which is integrated into Facebook and Twitter to update status with a location link; however, it is the best geo-social networking site, but it has only three million members. Groupon: According to the report of Hershey (10), purchase-based and coupon Website â€Å"Groupon† founded in 2008 to socialize the economical world by separating local markets to share offers with their communities and to reach target audience; however, the users of this site have to create new accounts to get its services. Blippy: Hershey (10) argued that purchase-based social networking site Blippy started its journey in 2009 and gained a large number of users within short period, but this site authorized Google to index detailed transaction information, which was main cause to decline users dramatically though the management apologized for this inconvenience; as a result, this site w as shut down in 2011. FourSquare: According to the report of Hershey (11), location-based (GPS hardware in the mobile device) social networking site â€Å"FourSquare† started its operation in 2009 by Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai; however, it has more than 20 million registered users and it provided the opportunity to the people the mobile devices to interact with their environment. Google Buzz and Social Television: Hershey (11) and Morrison Foerster (1) stated that Status-based Google product â€Å"Google Buzz† founded in 2010, which provides same service like Facebook and Twitter; in addition, members of this site can comments about vendors and locations on Google Maps; however, social media company Plaxo had worked to invent Social Television for the users. Whether technology is the best way to improve business or not In the changing pace of globalization and the drastic development in the innovation of new technologies in the 21st century, suitable applica tion of technology is indeed a lucrative way to improve any business. Today, it is almost impossible to find even a small business that does not make use of technology for day- to- day operations. Technology has embraced the corporate world so crucially that entrepreneurs could not even imagine a single hour without its help. According to Kooser (1), when it comes to improving a business from all spheres, certain uses of technology are highly essential. Efficient communication, for example, is one of the most crucial needs to fulfil the demands of the leaders and workers in an industry, and today, cell phones themselves have turned into small businesses; to be specific, such devices are linkages for any corporate personality to remain connected while on the street and replying to consumer enquiries in a timely manner. Smartphones raise the bar with access to Internet, email, and business applications in a small hand-held device, which also work as personal-organisers with electronic -diaries, contact lists, and automatic reminders; in addition, text-messaging, social-networking and e-mails are other uses of technology in communication that assist to improve businesses by linking them to their customer-bases and enhancing in-house communication inside the corporation. Technology has liberated many businesses from the limitations of advertising in print or electronic media when it comes to attaining new and existing consumers because today Internet marketing ranges from an easy informational-website, to advertising on search engines, to online-product sales; moreover, email-marketing is an effective and cheap way to reach mass people merely with newsletters, coupons or business updates. On the other hand, Kooser (1) also stated that technology becomes essential during production processes, as most companies require compressing every bit of productivity out of their operations and technological kits aid workers to get works done more rapidly – this could va ry from printing out marketing materials to supplying clients the best service by email or online chat. The key is to keep workforce determined while utilising technology and to use it properly with the aim of saving time; moreover, it is arguable that sometimes, a phone call may be more efficient and fruitful than an email; additionally, in order to ensure continuous improvement, many businesses provide workers with efficient-hardware and updated-software to bring out the best adroitness. In addition, teleconferencing or web-conferencing could accumulate collaborative-online-meeting spaces to generate tremendously interactive-environment, where people can work together on documents and rebuild the physical meeting experience; as a result, like all other businesses, in real estate industry also, it is impossible to imagine an improvement without the use of apt technology. The best ways to improve your business The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission of the United States pointed out that the mortgage and real estate markets aligned with the most risky loans and the financial institutions overloaded with bed debts, giant players like Lehman Brothers burdened with US$ 111 billion real estate loans, which were four times above its entire equity (FCIC 21). The collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 had brought into view a series of falls in the baking sector in the US and Europe and gradually turned the global financial crisis that shaped worldwide recession, the bailout and rescue packages has failed to stabilise the global economy. Although the real estate booms had engendered the economy through accelerating cash flow in the share market, a lot of new jobs creation in this sector, the regulatory authorise were reluctant to take control over the profitability financing firms, but after the economic down turn all they blamed real estate and housing sector for credit crash (38). Thus, under this scenario of the present economy it is very difficult to recover the inves tor’s confidence in the real estate industry and to improve real estate business it would an integrated strategy. Billingsley et al. added although the real estate industry has demonstrated a steady growth in recent years, there is no chance for quick recovery, or there is no chance to flow public debts in this sector that would provide quick raise, even the US Congress may not allow any financial package for economic recovery during the upcoming general election (3). The European financial institutions are worry to generate further cash flow in this sector and it is expected that the global economy would take up to 2014 to come out from the recessionary impact, thus it would be wise for the real estate and housing sector to sustain in the market with a moderate growth up to 2016. It would not to be wise to take any further risk of new product development or new supply in the real estate market with heavy investment and the industry players are suggested for highly defensive strategy for the next few years (3-4). From the strategic outlook at this point, the improvement of real estate business would possibly aim to reduce cost and investment by integrating the Information and communication technology at all levels of the operation, advertising budget would be reduced by using the internet based advertising rather than the print and electronic media. Integration of e-commerce would defiantly reduce sales and marketing cost of the traditional marketing process, web based customer relationship would also reduce the public relationship maintenance cost in the traditional process by providing quick information flow. At the same time, B2B or B2C mode of e-commerce would improve the sales and online payment without any hazard of tradition banking, enhance online product promotion and noteworthy reduction of cost with enhanced proficiency of business operation. The  ways by which the social  media improving real estate and commercial building Social media i s one of the most effective marketing tools to the real estate agents in order to develop and enhance relationship with potential and target customers; moreover, this system would assist the markers to increase traffic and create new opportunity of the joint venture business. However, it becomes now easy for the real estate agents to reach the message to the customers though they may deny to purchasing home from that particular company, but they can be potential customer for the future; therefore, it is important to the investors and the agents to make a plan to use the opportunities of these sites. However, the marketers of this sector should concentrate on few important issues, such as – It is necessary to define the nature of the business along with current projects in order to attract target audience and get positive feedback from them though different audiences respond to different things. In addition, the marketers of this sector have to design a questionnaire to know the choice of different customers to provide the best service of the customer considering their views, for instance, agents may ask what types of home they need, whether they are the first time buyer or not, and which place would be suitable for the customer and so on; Real estate agents have to find out the strongest point of the projects to increase customer base because selection of right offerings can hit the target audience to take service from any particular company. However, the marketers must try to find out the demand of the customers to segmenting target audience to offer best services, so, they need to produce free reports, weekly property lists, video tours along with other helpful marketing mechanisms; Drive traffic to the web pages of the real estate company can bring fruitful and direct results, for example, the options like inform friends about website, or about the business can develop strong social network, which would help the marketers develop distribution channe ls; After connecting people, the concept of cloud computing can play vital role to provide valuable information to the target audience and gain cultivate trust to sell products and services; The real estate agents need to build own email database and make sure that agents would fare with social media though the success of the business is depend on some other external and internal factors Trower (6) stated that Active Rain, WordPress Blog, Facebook and Twitter are the most powerful social media for the real estate and mortgage business because Active Rain designed considering the importance of real estate business, WordPress Blog designed for professional niche, Facebook is the leading social network with maximum number of members, and Twitter is the fastest growing social network. However, different sites provide different services and facilities for the real estate professionals; as a result, the marketers of the companies have to use the offers of the sites to get fruitful result s by using these sites. Rodriguez (1) stated that near 60% of the US citizens use social media and most of the time, they interact with the companies to purchase products and services; moreover, social media expenditure would increase from $716.0 million to near $3.10 billion by the fiscal year 2014; therefore, the importance of social medial is too high to the real estate professionals. The purpose of this report is to analyze the ways to improving real estate business by giving importance on the social media and its potential role in the real estate sales chain. However, Rodriguez (2) and Trower (6) stated that the real estate professionals have to design their own social media strategy to make a strong network, which will give opportunities to create new relationships, develop brand awareness, and gain a competitive advantage from the competitive market. Moreover, Rodriguez (2) and Trower (6) stated that real estate professionals have to concentrate more the development of brand awareness as brand awareness can increase loyal customer base and maximize profits as well; in this context, Facebook and LinkedIn can play prominent role to create quality followers and move the conversation to their specific website. However, Rodriguez (1) provided a pathway to describe how Social media works to increase customer base and to develop the position of the real estate professionals Figure 1: To gain effective result using Social media by the real estate professionals Source: generated from Rodriguez (1) At the same time, Rodriguez (1) argued that the proper use of YouTube could increase customer base, for example, the real estate professional can upload information based monthly report to aware people and change customer behaviour and test. The Process to improve website Sawyer et al. (13) conducted a survey on the IT integration of the real estate companies and argued that the real estate industry has facilitated with a remarkable advancement through their web prese nce were the real estate companies are capable of exchanging their information, options and exchange their views with the sellers and marketers. In fact, real estate industry has going through a revolution, being an information-intensive business sector the website of a real estate company is a vital tool that easily control and distribution information for buyer seller and agents without any hard efforts (13). Thus, the website of a real estate company may not be a static website, but must be dynamic with customised tools applicable for that company and the executives working with information level must possess minimum IT skills to listings sales leads and providing feedback to the all groups of users. Information is power or in the real estate market, customer always looks for competitive study regarding the price, location, and other features of the property, thus the existing static web should be re-engineered with customer relationship management tools long with e-commerce and payment gateway. Lin et al. (3) presented an expert website model for real estate companies with a practical implementation of dynamic tools, secured database integration, and speedy hosting server requirements that would ultimately resolve all requirements of the real estate industry in the digital dynasty. The model has delivered realistic proficiency and understanding of the real estate business for successful integration of e-business serving the benefits of all parties in this sector along with the scope of lead generation, real estate accounting opportunities, financial transaction gateway, land or ready apartment listing, auction listing, customer relationship management, and membership management and so on. It also incorporated other valued tools required to complete e-business solution with basic three categories of user groups where real estate companies at the top linking with property sellers and individual buyers; agents and referees are sub-categorised through applicat ion development for revenue sharing. The suggestive we solution of Lin et al. has aimed to adopt the e-business model integrating PHP and MySql database driven come within reach of easy design that assist implement the multi-organisation data sharing where the services for real estate companies could be considered a four layer website demonstrated in the following figure – Figure- 2: Four-layer website Model for Real Estate Company Source: Modified from Lin et al. (4) The first layer presented the most common website configuration generated HTML and XML language to furnish lucrative web graphing of the site integrating the style-sheet, where specialized PHP or ASP would endow with cost-effective solution small and medium sized real estate companies with minimum efforts (5). The second layer would generate membership databases for the website at MySql or ASP backend as an integral part of the first layer services, where the membership database plays a significant role for the real estate companies and their clients to promote their properties along with value added services without any extra cost or efforts. All users would be capable to get entry in the database through their username and password and would be facilitated to edit their existing data and listings. The third payer of the website would endow with the product database that preserves the image of the property instead in the website, their location, price, financing terms and all other necessary features that help the customers for their decision making. This database would be interlined with the membership database by which the clients would be traced and capable to interact with each other to commence a successful transaction. The fourth layer presents the networking opportunities that allow users to personalise and standardise his product and services linking with the social media and search engine optimisation, at this stag the users would be capable to get support service form the techn ical support team at the backend of the website. The linkage with the social network sites would provide extra strength to the website where the stakeholders of real estate industry and the members of the concerned site would get additional scope to maintain relationship with one another. This is the way to improve the website of a real estate sector; however, there are also some customised web based software in the market specially designed and developed for real estate companies, which are also suggestive to improve the web presence of this industry. What does a commercial developer do Porter argued that real estate industry could not run any longer with traditional viewpoints for which this is the time for the commercial developers to make their future strategy with the reality of concurrent financial downturn, market potentials, ecological factors and so on. To adopt an effective strategy, the commercial developers would consider two vital factors firstly real estate industry is not just an industry, but also an economic sector that consists other different industries like commercial space, brokerage, construction, steel mills, break fields, and land development where profitability changes dramatically. Secondly, the commercial developer would identify its present position in the industry, attractiveness of that industry, nature of the change over time and then set the target where it would like to with a particular span of time and then design its strategy (1). Porter also added that to develop its business the commercial developer then try to understand its industry as a whole, point out its competitive advantages within the industry, conduct a five-force analysis pointing to the forms of rivalry amongst competitors, threat of new entrants, bargaining power of the suppliers power and buyer, and substitute products and services (3). With this analysis the commercial developers designs an effectual strategy to bring successful operation of their organisati on in the market. Guma et al. (5) explored that in the changing nature of profitability of real estate market, the commercial developers nowadays put into practice of vertical phasing as a most popular strategy and business development option in their regional markets. Vertical expansion provides momentous opportunity for profit maximisation with logistical advantages for the commercial developers they consider it as an efficient tool to minimise the risk of economic downturn and recessionary impact by scaling back designs with little efforts. The vertical expansion of buildings is the technical course of action by which a totally an absolutely new building built upon an existing occupied building without using new land in the busy area (5). Although it is a highly technical process to keep, the original design of the building unchanged and add additional strength to the structure, but the commercial developers choice it to gratify the broad-spectrum market demands for space in a co st effective process (7). Vandell and Green pointed out that continuous development of technology and to integrate them is a common feature of commercial real estate firms; while modern construction equipment would assist them to reduce excessive burden of labour force, the information technology facilitate to manage and administer employees and ease marketing efforts (5). At the same time, the information technology has opened a new door for the commercial developers to communicate with their potential customers and facilitate to commence online transaction in a secured way. Podor (6) added that location of the real estate is a vital consideration for the customers of commercial developers while GIS technology assists them to show their location through online presence and manage required data that would help them for their buying decision-making. Whether the business is making the best use of technology or not Being the owner of ‘ABC Housing’ a commercial real estate developer, this author thinks that his business has always aimed making the best use of technology; adoption of right technology and effectual strategy, the company was able to sustain with less impact of global financial crisis. The management of the company is always eager to confirm the right use of technology within the organisation, rather than dynamic e-commerce website, it has already adopted ‘Smart-Phone’, iPad, and high-speed WARP. By using such ever-evolving technologies, staying at office the company management has enabled to monitor and manage employee’s activities at site, capable to navigate different site and at once calculate the value proposition more accuracy than the traditional analysis (ULI 12). At the same time, the company has upgraded its all projects with security alarming system for heating, fire, and thief protection, for such technological development the customers are willing to pay more than the other projects beside ‘ABC Housi ng’. The company also facilitated with solar system for power supply in the new project, where there is also stand by generators to encounter with any sorts of power failure, all the projects are composed with warless connectivity for the customers with less expenses. As a result, the company has turned as a pioneer in its region with rising market prospects with fully integrated online options to get customers’ feedback. The Way by Which Technology Can Improve Real Estate Business Vandell and Green (23) stated that technology has impact on the production of real estate and it can influence by three ways on the real estate business, for instance – It may act â€Å"upstream† to affect the effectiveness of production or quality; It can influence the construction along with operation of the real estate structure itself, such as, critical path method developed production capacity in 1960s; It could persuade the â€Å"downstream† tenants of the propert y, such as, the people of certain place may not be interested about the commercial building, but technology can change the external or internal environment to attract the customer. On the other hand, technology can play vital role to improve real estate business by increasing productivity, decreasing cost of the production, and escalating the demand for real estate stock and services; however, there are six other ways to develop this sector, such as New/ cheaper consumer goods: Introduction of new electronic devices and low cost raw materials had created the demand to develop real estate sector in terms of production, distribution, and marketing; Transportation development and the development of cities: Transportation development and the development of cities: the transportation technology developed real estate business, for example -manufacturers need suppliers, but if the suppliers had to pass long distance, then the cost of communication would become high; however, the reduct ion of 12 minutes distance can save $7.2 in the US (Vandell and Green 24); Construction technology: Improvement of steel frame construction, the invention of the elevator along with the introduction of mass manufacturing systems to building construction were the prime factor to develop this sector (Vandell and Green 27); Financial Engineering: Development of technology and legislation in order to change financial transaction system; Manufacturing systems: Development of supplier-producer relationships and just-in-time inventory methods, downsizing and outsourcing for specialization, building tenant improvements, and Deming total quality management techniques; The Internet revolution: Most prominent and significant technological innovation, which helps many ways like websites, and market data provision, data, the facilitation of real estate transactions online, The development of a real-time online auction; At the same time, information and communications technologies (ICT) reshap ed this sector and enhanced individual knowledge to develop functions, and provided new ways for purchasers and sellers to find one another; however, development of ICT has also increased competition among the real estate professionals; therefore, they need to take the advantages of the technology to compete each other. The way to improve business Porter (1) stated that the environment of the real estate industry is unpredictable as past modes of behaviour may not bring success in the present position; therefore, the decision-makers must have to change strategy over time to become successful in this field. In addition, Porter (1) pointed out that the decision-makers of the company should understand the nature of their business in the real estate industry before taking alternative strategies because different techniques are useful to different businessmen in this sector, for example, the person who is developing shopping malls need to putting up prime downtown commercial space. For t hat reason, Porter (1) argued that it is essential to the real estate professionals to select an effective strategy considering different economic logic, fundamental attractiveness of the business, competitive position within the real estate sector, and threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of the suppliers, financial position of the entrepreneurs, and so on. At the same time, the management of team should consider about the historical perspectives, superior market intelligence, real skills of the human resources, and kinds of projects, proliferate projects, identify the objectives of the business, implementation plan of the strategies, and finding economically attractive locations. However, the growth of the real estate business dropped in the current year due to the adverse impact of global financial crisis; as a result, it is important to find out a simple, but effective strategy, which will help the real estate professionals to attract customers because the success of the business depends on the customer’s behaviour. On the other hand, customer relationship management is a strategic tool or a managerial philosophy and it seeks to develop long-term relationship with customers along with the different markets to increase sales by integrating proper management of customer’s knowledge and information and relation with them (Berndt, Herbst Roux 2; Rodriguez 2; Trower 6; Hershey 5, and Morrison Foerster 1). However, most of the owners of small and medium sized company believed that investment to develop CRM practice failed to bring expected result and there is a chance to face lose using traditional CRM system; as a result, the marketers of the real estate business are seeking alternative strategy, which upholds organizational aims and purposes towards amplification of consumer satisfaction. In this context, the marketers of the real estate business has concentrated on the implementation of social media strategy and it has already enhanced the opportunity to the practice of CRM to achieving and retaining loyal customer base in the real estate business; however, SCRM primarily encompasses of a plan together with a corporate policy, backed via IT-platform, business policy, process and communal-characteristics. At the same time, smart use of social media can lead to successful involvement from the part of the customers; however, the following table shows the schedule of social marketing plan – Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Facebook Join more friends modernize fan page Facebook develop fan page Give feedback Facebook Optimize Link for convenience of the buyers LinkedIn Join more friends modernize fan page Facebook Live chat with the real estate professionals Twitter Open new accounts for this social networking sites Twitter Develop fan page Give feedback Twitter Join more friends Develop web content Groupon: Open new accounts for this social networking sites Groupon Join m ore friends modernize fan page Blog: Appreciating consumer potential by recognizing the consumers’ requirements and changing service range Blog: Write blog to entrustment and empowerment of the employees of the company to get best outcomes Write blog to encourage people to invest to purchase home for the future Contents for integrated marketing campaign Active Rain: Developed databases, which enclose thorough interaction data together with consumer links Active Rain Build up, preserve, and progress relationships with other firms Active Rain Content for IMC Developed databases SCRM Blog comments Customer’s feedback Table 2: – The schedule of social marketing plan Source: – Self generated The use of social media to improve own business Yes, the use of social media will improve the real estate business – The social networking sites of choice Using the  power  of  social networking to develop real estate business The  ways by which the social  media improving real estate and commercial building Google  + Foursquare Twitter Facebook Myspace YouTube LinkedIn Hi5 Why  it is significant to the individual or companies to  join  these networks to advertise about the real estate business There are many factors influence the investor to choose this strategy, such as – It should require low cost for advertisement, but can create large customer base Rodriguez (1) stated that social networking sites create relationships between individuals within a group and enclose universal language of joint camaraderie, which helps the real estate professionals like us to meet the challenges of finding the right type of customers through prospecting efforts. As a result, this strategy will facilitate our own company to create public profiles and display the home, apartments and other project profiles to a large group of people The particular reasons for which we would use  these social media Using soci al media strategy will be able to give the message to a large number of buyers who are looking for a comfortable home This strategy would be helpful because nowadays most of the internet users use social media to connect with the outer world irrespective of geography, age, gender, martial status, education, or cultures. In addition, there is no doubt that the advertisements will be successful because it will help the company to connect and develop close relationship among buyers, agents and sellers. However, it is necessary use these sites to create segmented customers; so, it should require to upload entire project videos, and informative content for the convenience of the related groups like buyers, agents, lenders, sellers and other real estate professionals What interactions would the company  do on  these networks The company have to ask feedback from the customers to assess customer behaviour and choice The purchasing power of the people has decreased due to global finan cial crisis; as a result, the prime duty of the real estate professionals is to focus on the pricing strategy and try to give the messages to the people by advertising through Google +, Foursquare, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, or Hi5 1. What  would the company share  on these networks and 2. What information  it would provide to the buyers, sellers and other people At first, it is important to provide outstanding content with the link of the company’s website The target customers or the people who are looking for good house must visit company’s website to know more details about the products and services. However, social media has unique power – this means that whilst advertising through newspapers, magazines, radios, trade fairs, televisions or billboards were able to target only a particular type of people, online sites like facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Active Rain can appeal to almost everyone, which in turn would mean enlarging market in the national and international market Table 3: Particular social networking sites, main advantages, and rationales for selection Source: Self generated The process to keep up with business: In order to keep up with the real estate business, it is highly essential to ascertain proper communication between owners, workers, and customers as well as the suppliers to ensure well- organised operations. This can be done by the use of cloud computing, which is a great technological aid to sustain the business for long- term; so, a good idea is to adopt hybrid cloud computing for data storage, which will give the business a chance to make use of both public and private cloud at the same time. In this way the real estate business could sustain by sharing data with the communities for advertising themselves and with the stakeholders for efficient management, lowering costs of sharing information externally and internally and ensuring higher capacity utilisation because of the elasticity/scalability tha t it offers: Figure 3: Advantages of keeping up with cloud computing Source: Bechtel Corporation (5) However, it is important to select the hybrid cloud provider carefully, as it is necessary for the providers to be highly flexible in order to make sure that the system can be updated any time at request; moreover, they should be capable to quickly recover from potential hacking and ensure cyber security. Works Cited Barth, James. et al. 2009. The Rise and Fall of the U.S. Mortgage and Credit Markets A Comprehensive Analysis of the Meltdown. PDF file. 03 October 2012. http://www.milkeninstitute.org/pdf/Riseandfallexcerpt.pdf. Bechtel Corporation. 2009. Cloud Computing—Overview, Advantages, And Challenges For Enterprise Deployment. PDF file. 03 October 2012. http://www.bechtel.com/assets/files/TechJournal/2009/Comms%2002%20Cloud%20Computing.pdf. Billingsley, Alan. et al. 2012. U.S. Real Estate Strategic Outlook. PDF file. 03 October 2012. http://www.rreef.com/content/_media/Re search_US_Real_Estate_Strategic_Outlook_March_2012.pdf. Cheng, Xu., Dale, Cameron and Liu, Jiangchuan. 2007. Understanding the Characteristics of Internet Short Video Sharing: YouTube as a Case Study. PDF file. 03 October 2012. http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0707/0707.3670v1.pdf. Curtis, Anthony. A Short History of Social Media. 2011. Web. http://www.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/NewMedia/SocialMedia/SocialMediaHistory.html. Facebook. 2011. Annual report 2011 of Facebook. PDF file. 03 October 2012. http://www.privco.com/media/assets/site/PrivCo-Private-Company-Report-Facebook.pdf. FCIC. 2011. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission: The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report 2011. PDF file. 03 October 2012. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-FCIC/pdf/GPO-FCIC.pdf. Guma, Anthony. Pearson, Jason and Wittels, Kate. â€Å" Vertical phasing as a corporate real estate strategy and development option.† Journal of Corporate Real Estate. 11.3 (2009). Web. http://ardent.mit.edu/real_options/Real_o pts_papers/Journal%20of%20Corp%20RE_Vertical%20phasing.pdf. Hershey, Megan. 2010. A Social Media Revolution. PDF file. 03 October 2012. http://www.personal.psu.edu/jmb851/blogs/la_200_–_business_and_the_liberal_arts/Social%20Media%20Revolution.pdf. Kooser, Amanda. How Does Technology Improve a Business? 2012. Web. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/technology-improve-business-2188.html. Lin, Zhangxi. Anderson, Gary and Anderson. 2003. Enabling Real Estate Businesses on the Web: From E-Business Model to The Application Services. PDF file. 03 October 2012. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download%3Fdoi%3D10.1.1.133.3755%26rep%3Drep1%26type%3Dpdf. Morrison Foerster 2011. A Short History of Social Media. PDF file. 03 October 2012. http://www.mofo.com/files/uploads/images/a-short-history-of-social-media.pdf. Podor, Andrea. 2010. GIS Application in Real Estate Investment. PDF file. 03 October 2012. https://ortus.rtu.lv/science/lv/publications/9597/fulltext.pdf. Porter, Michael. 1989. Competitive Strategy and Real Estate Development. PDF file. 03 October 2012. http://www.isc.hbs.edu/Porter_Strategy_Real_Estate1.pdf. Rodriguez, Michael. 2011. Making Social Media Effective In Real Estate. PDF file. 03 October 2012. http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/140948.pdf. Sawyer, Steve. Crowston, Kevin. Wigand, Rolf. 1999. ICT in the real estate industry: Agents and social capital. PDF file. 03 October 2012. http://crowston.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/ICT%20in%20the%20real%20estate%20industry%20Agents%20and%20social%20capital.pdf. Shiller, Robert. Historic Turning Points in Real Estate 2007. 2007. Web. http://cowles.econ.yale.edu/P/cd/d16a/d1610.pdf. The Times of India. 2010. Insights into the Indian Real Estate Transactions Industry. PDF file. 03 October 2012. http://rebiindia.co.cc/REBI_DealMaker/Deal_Maker_1_5.pdf. Trower, Naomi. 2010. Social Media Marketing. PDF file. 03 October 2012. http://passivecashmentors.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/0 4/FREE_CHAPTER.pdf. ULI. What’s Next: Real Estate in the New Economy. 2012. Web. http://uli75.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/WhatsNext.pdf. Vandell, Kerry and Green, Richard. 2001. The Impact of Technology on Commercial Real Estate. PDF file. 03 October 2012. http://whartonrealestate.org/research/papers/full/386.pdf. This essay on Real Estate and Social Media was written and submitted by user Milan Ruiz to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

colon cancer essays

colon cancer essays So many factors are thought to come into play in determining who gets colorectal cancer and who doesnt that its hard to choose one as the most important. A diet that is low in fat and red meat and high in calcium and folate may contribute to preventing colorectal cancer, and although the verdict is not yet in on the benefits of fiber, a diet rich in fruits and vegetables with a high fiber content would be beneficial in many ways. Daily doses of non-steroidal anti-infla mmatory agents (NSAIDs), such as aspirin and naproxen, may lower your risk of colorectal cancer by as much as 40 percent. "But we dont recommend these medications for patients who dont need them for other reasons," says AGA member Francis Giardiello, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director, Division of Gastroenterology, at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. His recommendation, then, for the best way to fight off colorectal cancer? Get to know your family better. "Family history is very important," says Dr. Giardiello. "People with first-degree relatives (parents, siblings or children) who contracted colon cancer before age 50 have a 22 percent greater chance of contracting it themselves." He adds that people with a family history of polyps, benign growths that often are precursors of cancer, also have an increased risk. Approximately 15 to 50 percent of colorectal cancers are familial, meaning they tend to occur in more members of a family than expected by chance alone. Two hereditary causes of colorectal cancer are familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) (characterized by hundreds or even thousands of polyps developing in the colon or rectum at a young age) and hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) (an inherited tendency to develop colorectal cancer at a younger age). If you discover that you are at high risk for colorectal cancer or polyps, theres no need to despair - the enemy you know is better than the one you don ...

Discuss briefly the need for citation and referencing, and describe Essay

Discuss briefly the need for citation and referencing, and describe the main characteristics of the Harvard System of Referencing, the style favoured by this un - Essay Example Gray et al 2008, p. 114, term the use of proper use of citation and referencing as â€Å"academic integrity†. The reputation of a piece of academic work lies in proper use of citations and references. Any author has a right over the ideas and words present in their work and this right deems that it is morally important to their ideas and work are appropriately attributed, when used by others (Gray et al, 2008). When accurate citation and referencing is done it reflects the integrity of the author, for it shows that the author recognizes the sources and acknowledges these sources. This leads to the importance of referencing in letting others find the original sources used in the work (REFERENCING, 2000). This is why citations and references may be considered as signposts and acknowledgements. The signpost perspective arises from showing the location of the source, while the acknowledgement perspective arises from accepting the indebtedness to the source (Hunter, 2008). Hunter 2008, p.1 gives three reasons why citations and references are important, which are â€Å"ideas are the currency of academia†, â€Å"failing to cite violates the rights of the person who originated the idea and â€Å"academics needs to be able to trace the geneology of ideas†. Referencing in an academic work demonstrates the quality of the work, through the range of ideas that are used and acknowledged and does away with possibility of any charge of plagiarism (University of South Australia, 2007). The quality of work thus becomes another important contribution of proper referencing in a piece of academic work, as it reflects the thoroughness and the diligence of the author and through that contributes to the reputation or impression of the academic work (Glick, 2007). The Harvard System uses an author-date system. There are two places in an academic work that citations and references are used, which are in the

The Lasting Social and Political impact of the 1950's Essay

The Lasting Social and Political impact of the 1950's - Essay Example The full effect of the national mobilization, in both countries, was a unique and monumental undertaking that served to provide the technical knowledge that led the staggering innovations of the subsequent generation. Proving that the benefits ran far beyond the military application, this study will confirm that argument that the 1950’s, in specific, marked a turning point in military ingenuity and upper tier scientific exploration. Directly accompanying this rise in technology was the fundamental fact that better education was needed to further any significant works. Birthed of the militaries need for expertise in new and still developing fields of research this study presents arguments that define the effect that need had on the education system of an entire nation. With new demands and ever increasing competition from the Soviet Union, the American education system underwent a substantial upgrade. Such an accomplishment, while made for sake of the brief military need, still serves to provide educated students for a still warring world. Alongside the Military buildup of the 1950’s, the Space Race helped to define a nations pride and determination. In direct competition with the U.S.S.R., American Space technology was thrust into the mainstream of society. Unknown and unremarkable scientists became national heroes and figures of consequence nearly overnight. By proving that the need for the American culture to feel triumphant helped to fuel the drive to space, this research will link the importance of the Space race to the cultural development in the decade of 1950 – 1960 and well beyond. By providing a point of national pride with which an entire population could not only rally around but hold up as role models and heroes, the Space Race provided an outlet for the pent up frustrations that were left simmering from the Second World War. Facing our once ally in a political and exploratory arena served to drive ingenuity and innovation to a never before level, that alone would have been a monumental achievement. Standing alongside the major accomplishments that took place in that decade, the research will show the profound influence that these footholds attained gave to following research. Much like the rest of the culture, competition combined with a sense of potential conflict, will serve to drive an already driven person to every greater height. On the other end of the cultural spectrum, the Space Race and the Arms race respectively are directly responsible for several still extant social movements across the globe. An entire philosophy was spawned by the detonation of the first nuclear bomb. The mere sight of the blue marble of Earth from space helped to cause the environmental movement; this was their first adopted symbol. The technology to see and the knowledge to learn that harm or potential harm would happen was direct result of military and space exploration innovation. This link will serve to show the fundame ntal and utterly connected nature that the movements of a society and their military are. The intertwining nature of a culture encompasses every facet and excludes none. During the 1950’s, there was such momentous tidal wave of change that the facts will make it nearly impossible to argue

In Depth Analysis Of The Globalisation Issue And Its Impact Business Essay

In Depth Analysis Of The Globalisation Issue And Its Impact Business Essay In this paper, Fischer provides an in depth analysis of the globalisation issue and its impact on trade, firms, employees, cultures and politics worldwide. From evolution of concept of globalisation to its adoption in even the lesser developing countries, Fischer has provided a detailed account of developments that occurred over time in field of human and economy development. Fischer has also included the analysis of policy impacts on enhancement of global trade and employment and several developing regions like Africa, Tunisia, Indonesia and Turkey have been discussed which not only includes political but cultural aspects that affect globalisation. The paper is an important input towards understanding globalisation, its impacts on emerging economies and impact of political, cultural and technological developments on globalisation. UNCTAD. (2004). Development and Globalisation: Facts and Figures. United Nations Publications. [Online] Available from http://unctad.org/en/docs/gdscsir20041_en.pdf [Accessed August 14, 2010] The research paper by UNCTAD presents a detailed survey of developing economies from perspective of globalisation. UNCTAD has selected data from various regions around the world including Northern African states, Central and South American states and Asia. The economic development has been measured in terms of trade policies, FDI, trade figures and other external factors. Also the social and cultural developments in terms of education and other social factors have also been observed in the report. The report is rather a quantitative input to the project as it includes facts and figures regarding globalisation issues in countries including Algeria which is the main focus of the research. Rothenberg, L. E. (2003). The three tensions of Globalisation. The American forum for Global education. [Online] Available from http://www.globaled.org/issues/176.pdf [Accessed 15 August, 2010] Rothenberg presents a critical analysis of globalisation and its perception in various cultures. Three main dimensions or rather tensions of globalisation are investigated in this study: Individual versus societal choices, free market versus government intervention and local authority versus supra-local authority. The paper gives an interesting perspective on globalisation and its affect on various national cultures that will eventually affect organizational culture. The research thus, is a valuable input in interpreting various cultural and economical challenges associated with globalisation. Stiglitz, J. E. (2003). Globalisation and its discontents. W. W. Norton The book by Stiglitz is a critical opponent of disadvantages associated with concept of globalisation and manipulation of global rules and regulations by developed countries or richer participants. The book provides a detailed analysis of under developed nations and developing nations who participated in globalisation process to gain from it but due to the fundamental believe of free markets and austere policies of institutions like IMF, only wealthy nations and participants have gained from globalisation instead of poor and developing nations. The book is a valuable input towards critical analysis of globalisation concept as it gives a candid and realistic view of negative aspects of globalisation. Boudreaux, D. J. (2008). Globalisation. Greenwood Publishing Group The book from Boudreaux is based on the concept of globalisation and its various aspects. The book is a complete guide towards understanding of globalisation concepts and difficulties that participants of global economy face in complex world of Multinationals. Issues like international trade, national wealth disparity, foreign investment and geographical and cultural issues are discussed in the book with relevant issues that international firms face in foreign countries. The book also includes positive as well as negative contributions of globalisation that have been provided over time to developed and developing economies. Henry, C. M and Springborg, R. (2001). Globalisation and the Politics of Development in Middle East. Cambridge University Press In their book, Henry and Springborg present a detailed analysis of challenges affiliated with globalisation and the politics of country. For the case study purpose, authors have selected Middle East where democratization is nil compared to other cultures around the globe. The authors have discussed several challenges that global firms face while setting up operations in countries of Middle East which has monarchs as rulers and thus, the level of educational and social development is a great hindrance for human resource departments. The authors then further go on with study of different cultures and their political situations and deduct a direct relationship between political structure and implementation of globalisation. Banerjee, D and Goldfield, M. (2008). Labor, Globalisation and the State: workers, women and migrants confront neo-liberalism. Routledge The book by Banerjee and Goldfield revolves around the issue of neo-liberal globalisation and how it has affected the developed as well as developing economics around the globe. The research in the book revolves around one main developed economy of United States and one developing economy of India. Banerjee and Goldfield highlight the misconceptions about globalisation regarding liberalized labor market and capital markets and posit that globalisation has varying effects on labor market in practice. The book also emphasizes on negative effects of globalisation on system of wage fixation, employment pattern, and basic rights at work in both developed, as well as underdeveloped countries. The book is a valuable input in understanding the labor issues which later affect the human resource practices in international communities. ILO. (2004). A Fair globalisation: Creating opportunities for all. ILO Publications. [Online] Available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/wcsdg/docs/report.pdf [Accessed August 14, 2010] International Labor Offices report on globalisation is a struggle towards pushing governments around the world to embrace the concept of global economy for progress and improvement of economies worldwide. The report emphasizes on establishing open policies towards globalisation and how it can help boost the trade between nations thereby, resulting in improved infrastructure, technology and human resource. The report also presents views and stances of various regions like Africa, Asia, Latin America and Arab nations regarding global standards and suggests universal efforts for successful transition in trade, technology and labor from local to global level. The report also demands for a fair governance system in globalisation policies while holding departments of parliament and governing councils accountable for maintain fair system. Crafts, N. (2000). Globalisation and Growth in the Twentieth century. IMF. [Online] Available from http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2000/wp0044.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2010] The paper by Crafts is a review of past few years as globalisation spread to various economies around the globe and left its positive as well as some negative effects. Although negative effects of income disparity and economic divergence has emerged along with globalisation. However, remarkable growth has been seen in human development index specifically skill and literacy rate. This report explores contributions that have been made by globalisation, future prospects of where economies around world are heading due to this phenomenon and lastly, what if any globalisation backlashes are expected over the coming decades. The report is a valuable input in studying empirical impacts of globalisation on various regions around the globe. Wen, D. (2006). China copes with Globalisation: A mixed review. IFG. [Online] Available from http://www.ifg.org/pdf/FinalChinaReport.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] The report by Wen is an empirical analysis of Chinese economy after entering the era of globalisation. Wen covers almost all aspects of globalisation from policies to urban reforms, impact on quality of life, education and environment including cultural aspects, labor reforms and workforce attitude. The report provides a thorough review of effects of globalisation in economy of China which is relevant to this study as the cultural differences between China and other developed nations such as U.S. and Japan are enormous and therefore, it will be easy to relate to difficulties of cultural context in Algeria due to globalisation. Kremer, M and Maskin, E. (2006). Globalisation and Inequality. Harvard University The paper presented by Kremer and Maskin is a theoretical approach towards understanding the criticism on Globalisation regarding widening the gap of education and money between poor and rich. Kremer and Maskin support the notion that due to several constraining factors like lack of access to education and skill learning, globalisation mainly benefits the rich both in rich and poor economies while the poor can only benefit if he by any means increase his skill or education level. The research includes evidences from several developed and developing nations like China, India, United States and Japan and confers that the concept of globalisation is more complicate than implicated and thus, requires careful consideration by developing or under developed nations before its implementation. ILO. (2001). Human Resources Development, Employment, and Globalisation in hotel, catering and tourism sector. International Labor Organization. [Online] Available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/techmeet/tmhct01/tmhct-r.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] The concept of globalisation is widely applicable in industries of hotel, catering and tourism that are in a way interrelated. The report by ILO presents a comprehensive review of hotel and tourism industry which is boosted by globalisation as cross-border travelling increased overtime. According to ILO, the most positively affected sector in this case is the employment sector where employment level and skills of employees have tremendously increased due to global travelling. The inter country interactions with tourists and guests have led local firms to develop training and education programs for their employees which gives development opportunities for both men and women, thereby, affecting the culture as well. The study will be an important input in studying the impact of globalisation of human resource development and culture of developing nations. Yusoff, M. S. (2003). Globalisation and Human Resource Development in the Malaysian Public Sector. UN. [Online] Available from http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/EROPA/UNPAN014373.pdf [Accessed August 14, 2010] Yusoff in his report presents the globalisation approach adopted by Malaysian public sector to avoid consequences of income inequality and win-lose situation between developed and developing countries as conceived by various critics. Yusoff studies various initiatives that Malaysian government has taken in development of its human work force such as remuneration policies that support growth and productivity and can be rewarded accordingly, career development strategies to increase motivation for learning and performance in employees and global training and development programs for locals to adjust to globalisation demands. The study is a valuable effort that provides factors and strategies that can combat negative consequences of globalisation. NATIONAL ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE Kefela, G. T. (2010). Understanding Organizational Culture and Leadership- Enhance Efficiency and Productivity. PM World Today. [Online] Available from http://www.pmforum.org/library/papers/2010/PDFs/jan/FP-KEFELE-Managingorganizationalcultures.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2010] This paper by Kefela revolves around importance of organizational culture in creating effective leadership and shaping the approach of employees towards their goals. A strong organization of efficiency and productivity is created by cultures that promote as well as support structures and policies which lead management into taking actions that can enhance productivity of employees through suitable job designs, hierarchy of command and delegation of authority. The paper by Kefela is an important input in understanding culture separately as well as in organizational context. Also the importance of organizational culture as emphasized in paper is relevant to study of global HRM where clashes between national and organizational cultures are observed. Michailova, S and Hutchings, K. (2004). Knowledge Sharing and National culture: A comparison between China and Russia. Journal of Management Studies [Online] Available from http://openarchive.cbs.dk/bitstream/handle/10398/7306/knowledge%20sharing%20and%20national%20culture.pdf?sequence=1 [Accessed August 14, 2010] The research report by Michailova and Hutchings is an analytical approach towards understanding the cultural approaches in transitional economies of China and Russia and how national culture affects the processes of organizations such as knowledge sharing. The cultural aspects of vertical individualism and collectivism in these two countries definitely affect the way organizations and especially international operate. The authors have investigated the differences in national cultures of Russia and China and then empirically analyzed how the difference in cultures affect the perceptions of management in firms regarding knowledge sharing which is an essential element in business today. Yeganeh, M. E. (2006). The impact of National and organizational culture on information technology (IT). [Online] Available from http://www.nlai.ir/Portals/2/files/faslname/69/en_content.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] Yeganeh in this paper discusses the increasing importance of national and organizational culture on Information technology and over all global operations. According to Yeganeh, as the world moves towards a global end, use of information technology is also increasing leading to dependency of foreign firms on information technology. However, the national culture prevailing in host country often causes hindrance to achievement of such transfer of knowledge. The paper intends to provide a detailed overview of national culture as well as organizational culture which is believed to overcome any hindrances created by national culture if strong enough and therefore, provides a comprehensive account of various issues like culture and globalisation. Edwards, T and Kuruvilla, S. (2005). International HRM: national business systems, organizational politics and the international division of labor in MNCs. International Journal of Human Resource Management. Vol 16. No. 1. [Online] Available from http://org8220renner.alliant.wikispaces.net/file/view/Edwards.pdf [Accessed August 12, 2010] In this journal article, Edwards and Kuruvilla discussed the issue of national and organizational culture that has been faced by managers of global firms as they enter another country. The concept of International HRM though is a powerful tool to cater to national culture needs as well as organizational goals, yet is difficult to implement as the management often ignores the importance of national culture and its effects on employees while implementing global standards. Edwards and Kuruvilla stressed the need for focus on three main dimensions of national culture that might affect implementation of global HRM: internal organizational politics, inadequate conceptualization of national effects and internal division of labor in MNCs. Rutkowska, A. L. (2009). The impact of national and organizational culture on the cooperation of firms a supply chain perspective. Journal of Intercultural Management. Vol. 1. No. 2. [Online] Available from http://www.joim.pl/pdf/Laskowska-Rutkowska2.pdf [Accessed August 12, 2010] In this journal article, Rutkowska emphasizes on importance of global chain of knowledge and sharing of technology and how various factors affect the efficient process of globalisation. Among several factors, national and organizational factors are the most important factors that not only affect organizations output but its resources like employees as well. Rutkowska has selected supply chain as focus technology which is strongly affected by culture as it requires elements of partnership, cooperation, negotiations and information transfer. The article explains in detail various perspectives of national and organizational culture and how organizational culture needs to dominate when it comes to globalized operations. Yintsuo, H. (2007). Relationships between National Cultures and Hofstede Model, and Implications for a Multinational Enterprise. Asia Pacific Management Conference. [Online] Available from http://infotech.monash.edu.au/research/centres/cdsesr/papers-pdf/t145.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] This article by Yintsuo draws relationship between real life examples from MNCs existing in high power distance countries like China, Taiwan and Thailand and low power distance countries like United States and Canada. The study is empirical in nature and provides a detailed analysis of effect of national culture on MNCs in that country and how organizational culture can help management in eliminating cultural risk. The five dimensions of culture were used in the study including power distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty avoidance and Long-term orientation. Hofstede model of cultural dimension is an important input in study of globalisation and particularly impact of culture in it and therefore, this article gives a significant input in this study. Murphy, W. H. (1999). Hofstedes National Culture as a Guide for Sales Practices across Countries: The Case of a MNCs Sales Practices in Australia and New Zealand. Australian Journal of Management. Vol. 24, No. 1. [Online] Available from http://www.agsm.edu.au/eajm/9906/pdf/murphy.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2010] This journal article is another significant contribution towards understanding role of national culture in affecting global operations of firms in host country. Murphy in his research has different implications than Yintsuos and Rutkowskas research as he implies that MNCs need to alter their strategies according to local markets especially when considering sales training as applying foreign practices results in more resistance and risks compared to advantages and gains. The research paper by Murphy can be used as a counter argument in research as organizational culture is given least importance in the project. Mowat, J. (2002). Corporate Culture. Herridge Group. [Online] Available from http://www.herridgegroup.com/pdfs/corp_cultures.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] The paper by Mowat emphasizes on importance of organizational or corporate culture to employees as well as management in order to successfully operate and achieve desired goals. Unlike researchers who place greater emphasis on national culture, Mowat places corporate culture in higher regard as any misunderstanding in corporate culture can damage the profitability and success rate of firms. Corporate culture is an important aspect in Human Resource Management as HR personnel are always expected to mold or persuade employees to achieve maximum benefits for the firm. The paper by Mowat therefore, gives a useful account of internal culture of organizations that build a strong solution for international firms struggling with diversity issues. Fey, C. F. and Denison, D. R. Organizational Culture and effectiveness: The case of foreign firms in Russia. [Online] Available from http://swoba.hhs.se/hastba/papers/hastba2000_004.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2010] Fey and Denison present an empirical paper on importance of cultural context in countries like Russia which significantly differ in cultural context from that of U.S. or Japan. The researchers, based on the inflexible nature of Russians and turbulent political and social environment of country, have tried to investigate the effects of international Human resource and social frameworks on Russian individuals. Based on these frameworks and empirical research from international firms operating in Russia, Fey and Denison have analyzed common elements in cultures of U.S. and Russia which results in positive existence of foreign firms while dissimilar cultural factors result in discontent attitude of Russians towards foreign firms. KObonyo, P. (2007). Influence of Culture on Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) Practices in Multinational Companies (MNC) in Kenya: A Critical Literature Review. University of Nairobi. [Online] Available from http://www.strathmore.edu/research/strategic-human-resource-mgt.pdf [Accessed August 14, 2010] The paper investigates misperception of some theorists that application of Strategic Human Resource management is the key solution to diversity management in MNCs. The author asserts that organizational culture though provide a uniform framework and goals for employees in international firms yet national culture in some countries specifically developing nations hold great significance and therefore, it is important to understand perception of workers regarding their national identity to ensure that there is no clash between national and organizational culture. The researcher has also implemented Hofstedes cultural dimensions framework to international firms in Kenya in order to understand the strong influence of culture on them. Guidroz, A. M., Kotrba, L. M and Denison, D. R. (2009). Workplace Diversity: Is National or Organizational Culture Predominant? Linkage Inc. [Online] Available from http://www.linkageinc.com/thinking/linkageleader/Documents/Denison_Consulting_Workplace_Diversity_Is_National_or_Organizational_Culture_Predominant.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2010] This report by Guidroz, Kotrba and Denison is an important contribution towards understanding an important aspect of Human Resource Management under globalisation: Work place diversity. The report emphasizes on emergence of concept of diversity management which is implemented by managers of international firms to deal with the local and international workforce. The report also studies the impact of national and organizational culture on perceptions of employees regarding their treatment under foreign firms as culture shapes individuals perceptions. The report is a significant addition to literature review as it covers all aspects of globalisation including HR policies and frameworks, workforce issues and diversity management. Ghauri, P. N and Usunier, J. C. (2003). International Business Negotiations. Edward Elgar Publishing. This book is another contribution towards issues of international business which is everywhere in todays world. The authors have emphasized on two major aspects of globalisation: culture and communication that significantly affects business dealings and negotiations which are integral parts of International business. The authors discuss in detail the concept of international business negotiation and its importance, cultural dimensions that affect negotiations and guidelines to international managers based on real life examples and case studies from different cultures. The book is an important input in understanding concept of globalisation and factors of negotiations that initiate the global business. Silverthorne, C. P. (2003). Organizational psychology in cross-cultural perspective. NYU Press. Silverthorne in this book has emphasized on the differences between various cultures and how human psychology varies from nation to nation depending on culture of that nation. This aspect of culture also affects the organizational culture of MNCs and international firms who aim at implementing similar psychological theories in each nation. The author has covered various aspects of Human Resource Development in the book including leadership, motivation, conflict and power, negotiation and communication that managers face in foreign nations and with their employees. The book covers all essential elements of globalisation and HR factors affecting its implementation. GLOBALISATION AND ITS EFFECTS Rioux, S. M., Bernthal, P. R and Wellins, R. S. (2000). The development of Human Resource practices survey report. Development Dimensions International. Vol 3. No. 1. [Online] Available from http://www.ddiworld.co.uk/pdf/theglobalisationofhrpractices_fullreport_ddi.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] Rioux, Bernthal and Wellins have presented a paper pertaining to several HR issues that surround managers in this global world and analyze the issue by observing HR practices of managers around the globe. The report also emphasize on issue of national and corporate culture which often gives organizations a hard time in adjustment in other countries. Leadership adjustment, recruitment, local differences with culture and training and development are few HR issues that managers face in host countries. The authors also emphasize on the social, economic, cultural and political differences that limit the consistent HR practices by a firm across globe. The report helps in understanding the difference between corporate and national culture and what role these factors play in global context. Cesyniene, R. (2008). Globalisation and Human Resource Development. Economika. [Online] Available from http://www.leidykla.eu/fileadmin/Ekonomika/82/41-56.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] The article by Cesyniene represents negative effects of globalisation on Human Resource Practices of firms operating outside their home country. The author appreciates the positive aspects of globalisation such as free trade and technology flows cross borders leading to competitive business environment. However, the establishment of business outside home country involves several other problems like national culture differences and thus different personality traits of employees. The author compares cultures of economies like U.S., U.K, France, Japan and Lithuania where differences in cultures lead to perception differences in terms of compensation, reward, working conditions, delegation of authority, training and social interactions within firms. Poor, J. (2005). Internationalization and Globalisation in Human Resource Management. [Online] Available from http://kgk.bmf.hu/system/files/Poor.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] In this paper Poor presented the concept of International HRM (IHRM) which emerged as a result of globalisation. Poor posited that internationalization of firms requires all operational and marketing activities to be delivered in consensus with local culture and market etiquettes and therefore, the HR practices need to be global as well to avoid the chaos of national and international culture and its adoption difficulties. Poor distinguishes clearly between local and international HRM and thus, provide a detailed analysis for foreign firms to operate under a global framework of HRM that can reduce cultural, employment and operational risks in foreign country. Tomlinson, J. (2003). Globalisation and Cultural Identity.GT Reader. [Online] Available from http://www.polity.co.uk/global/pdf/GTReader2eTomlinson.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] Tomlinson in this paper presented an argumentative analysis in favor of globalisation and its positive impacts on cultural identities. The paper is presented to counter the criticisms of various researchers over negative impacts of globalisation on cultural identities whether in organizations or marketing campaigns or even products. Tomlinson considers national identity as a strong cultural point which is highlighted by globalisation instead of being crushed and thus, rejects the notion of critics of globalisation. According to the paper, Tomlinson suggests that globalisation brings with it modernity and updated reflections upon life which positively enhances cultural identity whether it is in form of modern organizational practices or products for consumers. Goyal, K. A. (2006). Impact of globalisation on developing countries: with special reference to India. International Research Journal of Finance and Economics. [Online] Available from http://www.eurojournals.com/IRJFE%206%20goyal.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] This paper by Goyal intends to study the effect of three major policies of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalisation on developing countries economies. This impact is studied on basis of Foreign Direct Investment and export and import trades in countries like China and India and implies that LPG itself is a progressing concept however; the wrong selection of policies is what makes an economy suffer from dark side of globalisation. The paper is an important input in understanding the effects of globalisation and assessing factors that positively or negatively align a countrys strategies to positive effects of globalisation. Eregare, E. A and Afolabi, A. O. (2009). The Effects of Globalisation and Deregulation on Nigerian Culture Industries. Journal of Social Sciences. Vol 21. No.2. [Online] Available from http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/JSS/JSS-21-0-000-09-Web/JSS-21-2-000-09-Abst-PDF/JSS-21-2-145-09-360-Eregare-E-A/JSS-21-2-145-09-360-Eregare-E-A-Tt.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] The report by Eregare and Afolabi critically analyzes the effects of Globalisation on Nigerias culture. Where the authors appreciate the economical growth that has been spurred by globalisation and privatization, they also become cautious of the penetrations in Nigerian cultures that globalisation has made possible for other nations. The authors consider American and European cultures as strong ones compared to Nigerian culture and thus, warn against the takeover of one culture by another. The report provides a fair evaluation of effects of globalisation as both negative and positive aspects are discussed by authors. Pickering, J. (2002). Globalisation: a threat to Australian culture? Journal of Australian Political Economy. [Online] Available from http://www.multiculturalaustralia.edu.au/doc/jape48_3.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] Pickering positively analyzes cultural changes in Australia that have been brought by globalisation both in consumers as well as in employees. Despite the criticisms of anti-globalisation personnel, Pickering points out various positive changes brought by globalisation, for instance, improved skills of employees, modern technology, promotion of human rights and modern culture. The paper is an additional evidence of positive contributions of globalisation towards national culture as well as organizational culture. Lee, E and Vivarelli, M. (2006). The Social Impact of Globalisation in Developing Countries. FTP Institute for the Study of Labor. [Online] Available from http://ftp.iza.org/dp1925.pdf [Accessed August 14, 2010] Research by Lee and Vivarelli is another negative perspective in popularity of globalisation as the researchers condemn surety of successful globalisation in every case. Lee and Vivarelli have analyzed globalisation in context of FDI and trade increases where according to their research, FDI and open trade alone cannot bring positive effects on economy. Another perspective of concentrated employment is used in the paper which emerges as result of different demographics, education level and cultures of countries and therefore, can result in increased poverty. Similarly, increased imports can affect the local industries affecting employment as well poverty level. The paper provides limited yet strong evidence on effects of globalisation. Campe, C. V. (2008). Globalisation and its effects on nationalism. [Online

Animal testing in the United States Essay

Some of the many pros there are for animal testing are scientists and doctors trying to find cures for cancer, aids, and the HIV virus. Also scientists and doctors use animals for research, specifically monkeys because they are the closest thing to humans without using humans. When they test different medications and procedures on animals it is saving human lives because we are finding cures and were not testing the medications on humans so it reduces the death rate. Insulin for diabetes, lifesaving antibiotics, etc. have been made by experimenting on animals. Contagious diseases like smallpox, measles, chickenpox, rubella, polio, rabies, mumps, etc. were brought into control due to vaccines made by carrying out experiments on animals† (Baxamusa). Scientists and doctors use monkets most often because they have 99% the same genes that are similar to humans. â€Å"In animal testing, countless animals are experimented on and then killed after use† (Murnaghan). The cons for animal testing and experimenting are that scientists are killing innocent animals for human help and sometimes the medications don’t cure the problem for humans. Another con is that animal testing is extremely expensive because the animals have to be fed, have shelter, and they have to be cared for properly until they test drugs on the animals. It is also very dangerous to test drugs on animals. Like in the book The Hot Zone they used monkeys to try and find a cure for the Ebola virus. The dangers in that are that the scientists who are working on the monkeys that have the virus must be suited up and prepared for infection. The Ebola virus is the most dangerous because 9 out of 10 people who get it die within a week of being exposed to the virus. Even though there are both sides to this epidemic I don’t think scientists and doctors will stop testing drugs and procedures on animals because of the huge benefit it could and will have on the human race. And they will probably keep testing on animals until they find the cures for the biggest diseases in the world such as aids, HIV, cancer, and of course, the Ebola virus. Works Cited Baxamusa, B. N. (2012, March 26). Animal Testing Pros and Cons. In Buzzle . Retrieved May 8, 2013, from http://www. buzzle. com/articles/animal-testing-pros-and-cons. html Murnaghan, I. (2011, July). Using Animals for Testing: Pros Versus Cons. In About Animal Testing. Retrieved May 8, 2013, from http://www. aboutanimaltesting. co. uk/using-animals-testing-pros-versus-cons. html

IMPACT SOCIO CULTURAL FACTORS ON BUSINESS Essay

Business is an economic activity and decision making by the management is an economic process. It will be influenced by economic and non economic environment of business. You will appreciate that the business environment is quit complex, with heterogeneous elements in the environment. A manager must understand and analyse this process of interaction. In particular, you must note that all non-economic, environmental variables have economic implications, and that is why these variables singly or jointly, affect business activity. Business must have a social purpose; business concern must discharge social responsibility and social obligations and have social commitment. Otherwise business cannot enjoy social sanction. We may identify the critical elements of the sociological environment of business. These elements are: Social institutions and systems Social values and attitudes Education and culture Role and responsibility of Government Social groups and movements Socio-economic order Social problems and prospects Social institutions and systems Social Institutions and systems develop through history, culture and heritage. The caste system, the fount family system, child marriage, sad and the patriarchal family are all examples of social institutions and systems. Until the recent past the caste system ensured a very simple occupational division of labour in our society. The place of the individual was very clearly defined in the social hierarchy of the joint family system where division making was centralized in the head of the family who commanded respect for his age and experience. Social Values and Attitudes In India Today, most of these age-old social institutions are dying fast. It is because the social values and attitudes are changing very fast. The western values of individualism have caught our imagination. Indian women no longer remain satisfied as housewives. Business does not remain confined any more within a given community or caste. Customs, traditions and conventions are no longer rigid. They become flexible. Society’s view of its authorities, responsibilities and delegation, its attitude towards business as a profession, towards achievement and work, towards ownership and management-all have very definite implications for the sociological environment of business. Education and Culture Then come Education and culture as an ingredient of the sociological environment. In this category you may list the attitude towards education; the need for business education; education matching the skill requirement of industry and manpower utilization the role of business schools and executive development programmes ; education versus training ; correlation between formal literacy and the level of culture; the spread of education and its impact on business ethics ; material progress and business morality ; business culture and organizational culture. Role and Responsibility of the Government At a given point of time, society has a level of achievements and aspirations. Such achievements and aspirations have to be defined clearly and categorically, and any divergence between the two has to be bridged through relentless social effort taking care of social welfare and social constraints. This is where the role of the Government as a welfare state comes in. The government is the apex social institution. It is the Government which has to make sure that social progress is not handicapped by the tyranny of the majority, otherwise social tension. Social Groups and Movements Social tension originates in groups composed of frustrated individuals from groups on the basis caste, creed, religion, language, trade and profession and similar other factors. Social groups and the social movements that they engineer are a critical variable of the non-economic environment. Some of  these groups have direct business interests. Thus, consumerism, trade unionism, the cooperative movement, professional management, and shareholder’s associations all pose challenges for business operations. Socio-economic order In a country like India, we have a plural society. Ours is a land of a variety of food, dress, languages, religions, and culture. We also have dual economy with the traditional sector co-existing with the modern sector. Technological dualism in India is very pronounced. Bullock Carts ply on the roads and the Airbus flies through the sky. All these make a very unique socio-economic order for India today. From time to time, this social order gets disturbed and modified, hopefully for the better, through social movements and social policy formulation on subjects like science and technology, ecology and forestry, family planning, animal husbandry etc. Social problems and prospects Social Problems and prospects are just offshoots of a changing socio-economic order. You might be aware that consequent to industrialism and socio-economic development in many developing countries, the death rate has fallen faster than the Birth rate, and this has resulted in an explosive growth of population. This in turn has brought about growing unemployment and poverty, poor housing and sanitation, urban congestion, pollution and increasing incidence of anti-social activities. Therefore, economists suggest that you should always attempt a social cost-benefit analysis of industrial development. As society moves from the pre-industrial stages of development, social benefits must outweigh social costs, otherwise the emerging new social order will prove unstable SOCIAL MOVEMENTS The nation has witnessed several social movements. With the passage of time, as industrialisation proceeded either in the form of a revolution or evolution, sooner or later organised movements were engineering by various social groups to protect their own interests. The class-conflict grew in intensity, and consequent upon that grew a variety of social movements. THE TRADE UNION MOVEMENT Trade unionism is the child of industrialisation. With the growth of the industrial culture, workers have felt that their socio-economic interests cannot be protected if they do not come together in some sort of organized union. THE CONSUMER MOVEMENT Like the labour movement, the consumer movement also exercises a considerable influence on the socio-economic environment of business. A strong consumer movement is the sine qua non of a healthy household sector in an economy. THE MANAGEMENT MOVEMENT Compared to trade unionism and consumerism, the management movement in India has been relatively strong and distinct. Since Independence, one finds certain distinct trends in our corporate management Philosophy and structure. Independent India inherited a structure of corporate management which was dominated organisationally by the Managing Agency System, and entrepreneurially by particular business communities and, among them again by a group of families of big business houses. THE SHARE HOLDER’S MOVEMENT In our socio-culture environment of business, the shareholders’ movement is a recent offshoot of the professional management movement. The shareholders ‘are increasingly becomingly becoming aware of their legitimate rights. ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT Issues related to protection of the environment and ecology have received worldwide attention not only in developed countries but also in the developing countries. Increasing concern has been expressed about environmental degradation which can risk human life and existence.