Designing a Future Academic Library

Designing a Future Academic Library Binbin Liu 3th December 2007 . Introduction: scenario and background With approximately 389,000,000 results on Google about keyword 'university libraries', libraries absolutely play an important role in academic activities. They have developed into a robust academic system for providing books and services of knowledge. Few people can imagine that about thirty years ago, microform was considered to be on the cutting edge of technology (Farber, 1999) while now every library has a number of workstations which provide digital catalogue service. But, it still does not mean that the university libraries can survive the impact of development of high technologies, such as the Internet, database, multimedia, etc. Thus, academic libraries need more change. This change not only includes information technological revolution but also involves library future strategy. Currently, a serious challenge are university libraries facing. The development of information technology which produces high efficiency of using information makes a great impact on traditional academic libraries. No one wants to go to libraries when they get enough information about what they are looking for on the Internet, on mobile phones etc. Few visitors to libraries mean some are facing serious financial pressures to justify their existence. Some research argued that campus

  • Word count: 4948
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Business Policy

ASSIGNMENT FEEDBACK FORM Student Number: 0910573 Academic Year 2010 Semester: 5 Level: HE6 Centre (off campus): Cohort/Intake number (off campus): 04 Assignment Number/Title: An External Analysis of Wall's brand in Vietnam Module Code/Occ./Title: Business Policy (BST3003) Marking Tutor: Dr. Julian Coleman Deadline: 2 July 2010 Date Handed In: 2 July 2010 Weight: 50% Relevant Learning Outcomes: Achieved? Y/N Identify the importance and effect of strategic models to organisations Understand the role of corporate strategies in sustaining business goals and in enabling rational resource allocation Communicate in an effective fashion expected of a professional accountant the skills of a professional accountant in the areas of strategy Feedback: Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor Very poor Structure (layout, planning, flow) Relevance (to brief/learning outcomes) Evidence (research sources employed) Understanding (cognitive awareness of subject area) Reflection (description/analysis/critique - appropriate to level) Presentation (use of English and tables/figures/ appendices) Referencing (in text, in Bibliography/Reference List) Comments Areas for Further Development st Marker's Grade Moderated Grade Turn-it-in Y/N? BUSINESS POLICY

  • Word count: 2814
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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The Role of expatriation in MNC International Assignments

The Role of expatriation in MNC International Assignments Abstract This assignment examines the role of expatriate staff in the success of a multinational corporation (MNC) reviewing literature on international human resource management, knowledge transfer, the benefits of employing expatriates for international assignments and cross cultural training. The literature stipulates that having experienced international staff is a principle source of competitive advantage for a multinational corporation (MNC) (Hamill, 1989; Harris and Moran, 1996; Bender and Fish, 2000; Luthans and Farner, 2002; O'Keefe, 2002; Paik et al, 2002; Vance and Paik, 2002; Harvey and Novicevic, 2005; Shen, 2005; Shih et al., 2005). Increasing globalisation and internationalisation has meant that international assignments are no longer reserved for a small number of top flight executives (Bonache, 2005), so companies can now recruit a wider range of individuals to expatriate and develop into internationally aware talent. Some researchers (Webbe and Wright, 1996; Yarvas and Badur, 1999; Stanek, 2000; Downes et al., 2002; Suutari, 2003) have recognised that individuals are more likely to accept further international assignments if their first was successful, so it is in the best interest of companies to expatriate their staff effectively. This assignment is a broad review of the literature. It will

  • Word count: 4273
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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E-Business - Online Auction

.0 Introduction This assignment that I will be doing is about Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and the financial benefits that Toyota has brought to Malaysia. So what do you understand about FDI and about Toyota Company as well as the lean manufacturing? I will be discussing them in details in the following sections in my assignment. 2.0 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) 2.0 What is FDI? Foreign investment can be divided into two components which are the foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign portfolio investment (FPI). Foreign direct investment is defined as a long term investment by a foreign direct investor in fixed assets located abroad for operating distribution or production facilities. FDI plays an extraordinary and growing role in global business. It can provide a firm with new markets and marketing channels, cheaper production facilities, access to new technology, products, skills and financing. In the years after the Second World War global, FDI was dominated by the United States, as much of the world recovered from the destruction wrought by the conflict. The U.S. accounted for around three-quarters of new FDI (including reinvested profits) between 1945 and 1960. Since that time FDI has spread to become a truly global phenomenon, no longer the exclusive preserve of OECD countries. FDI has grown in importance in the global economy with FDI stocks now

  • Word count: 6139
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Cigarette Taxes: Effects on the Economy

Cigarette Taxes: Effects on the Economy Tobacco is big business in the United States. Alone, cigarette sales in the United States in 2005 totaled $82 billion (Capehart 2007). Federal cigarette excise tax collections are estimated at $7.4 billion for 2001 (Tobacco Outlook Report, 2003). For governments, tobacco tax revenues have become an integral part of the tax structure, and important for boosting state and federal coffers. This paper will look at the effects of increased cigarette taxes on consumption, government revenues, and employment in the tobacco industries. Law makers like to argue that cigarette taxes are used to reduce consumption. This while partially true does not totally account for the reduction in smokers over the last 24 years (Sahadi 2005). This is due to the fact that the price elasticity of demand for cigarettes is somewhere between -0.3 and -0.5 (see figure 1) (Bradford, 2003; Chan and Capehart 2004). This indicates that the demand curve is inelastic. A ten percent increase in price would reflect as a 3-5% decrease in consumption. This inelasticity is supported by the fact that between November 1998 and April 2002 wholesale manufacturers prices rose eightfold (Tobacco Outlook Report, 2003). During the same time period there was not an eightfold reduction in smokers even taking into account the people that quit for health reasons. Education

  • Word count: 1388
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Has Urbanisation developed too fast?

Urbanisation has transformed vastly throughout history. Ancient societies, such as China were the first exhibitors of the population trends. Over the last 100 years many developing and developed countries have experienced these rapid urbanisation growth trends. At the turn of the 20th century only 13% of the world's population were urban dwellers. Presently over 3 billion of the world's population, approximately 50%, now habit in urban areas.(1) In the late 19th Century and early 20th century urbanisation was most widely felt in Europe and North America, when many rural settlers migrated to urban areas to seek employment during the industrialisation era. In the past 60 years the rural-urbanisation migration has had a large impact on LDCs. Interestingly GNI per capita tends to be positively associated with urban population. Showing, as countries increase income, they tend to evolve in to urbanisation.(2) What has caused this shift in population demography? Many rural areas in the LDC world experience a significant lack of resources. Often there is little government assistance, jobs are scarce and basic needs are hard to come by. In many rural habitations in the developing world, the population doesn't look far beyond survival. Rural settlers become attracted to the prospect of urban habitation through assumptions of better standard of living, better health care, better

  • Word count: 1373
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Post-Fordism: Examine its relevance and impact on work and society as a whole

Post-Fordism: Examine its relevance and impact on work and society as a whole. In this essay I intend to tackle the relevance, and indeed potential existence of Post-Fordism and its impact on work processes and society as a whole. The potential movement from a Fordist environment to a Post-Fordist social atmosphere and the economic changes accompanying this movement need to be scrutinised and clarified. I will engage with issues such as the economic and social environment in America and the UK around the Fordist period, and the macroeconomic implications on a global scale. There are many stages predicted by academics, that we have, or will have passed through post-Ford, the most prolific and enduring presented by Ernest Steinberg, who lists no fewer than 8 potential ages (Post Fordism, 1994 P. 1) we have, or are to experience. There are many views, some supportive and conflicting by academics, and it falls to me to attempt to sift through the debris and attempt to elucidate a sound theory. It is essential that I gather the cumulative resources and present them in a coherent fashion, in order that you, the reader can comprehend the issue as a whole. A good place to start would be the beginning, the start of Fordism. The question, 'What is Fordism' is a simple one to answer, it is an abstract concept applied by socio-historians to a specific period of time and style of

  • Word count: 1353
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Assess the contention that 'post-Fordist' changes in the organisation of work have improved the quality of employees' work experience. Provide examples to illustrate your answer.

Assess the contention that 'post-Fordist' changes in the organisation of work have improved the quality of employees' work experience. Provide examples to illustrate your answer. Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903 during a period of time in the USA of rapid industrialisation. It was within these years (1880-1910) that large organisations were produced, and Henry Ford's motor company was one of them. In 1908 the company initiated the production of the Model-T, of which the company sold 15million, it was the first car of its kind to built using a new type of production, Fordism. - Fordism is a form of industrial production that was born developed from F.W. Taylor's scientific management methods where the main aim is, as Abernathy (1978) wrote "product maximisation through tight control over the employee's every task movements." Fordism pioneered mass production by fragmenting and simplifying work tasks for employees. It incorporated the use of a: "moving assembly line that controls the pace of the work. Under this system, workers performed repetitive assembly tasks which require little training or skill. The parts are designed so that they can be developed easily. Machines are used to produce standardized parts for products which are mass-produced. Products tend to be relatively cheap. Labour costs are held down because there is little need to employ skilled

  • Word count: 2081
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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What impact has the movement from ‘Fordism’ to ‘Post-Fordism’ had on the world of work?

What impact has the movement from 'Fordism' to 'Post-Fordism' had on the world of work? Introduction The movement from Fordism to Post-fordism represents changes in our methods and arrangements of production as well as an observed movement in the direction of globalisation. This movement has had a significant affect on social power, the role of the state and thus transformed the world of work. In many respects. Fordism Fordism is a term which comes from the name Henry Ford - manufacturer of Ford General Motors. Ford introduced a collection of new techniques and practices in his car factories which allowed him to achieve a new phenomenon successful from 1945 to the late 60s: 'efficient' mass production of affordable standardised products, supported by mass consumption. Henry ford introduced production by way of an assembly line which would run continuously to produce standardised products. This is achieved by breaking down production into a number of smaller stages and processes through which the product moves. Having stages of production also involved a division of labour which is where jobs are broken down into short, repetitious, simple tasks reducing labour costs per unit. Large scale production implied benefits from economies of scale allowing a lower price per unit The overall effect was that standardised products could be produced quicker than ever before.

  • Word count: 2124
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Analysis of Italian Serie A Players Salaries in Correlation to their Personal Performance

Analysis of Italian Serie A Players Salaries in Correlation to their Personal Performance Regression Analysis Tara Westfall December 6, 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS . ABSTRACT 2. INTRODUCTION 3. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 4. DATA 5. EMPIRICAL RESULTS 6. CONCLUSION 7. REFERANCES 8. APPENDIX A - DATA 9. APPENDIX B - REGRESSION RESULTS AND TESTS RUN Analysis of Italian Serie A Players Salaries in Correlation to their Personal Performance Tara Westfall Longwood University [email protected] ABSTRACT Throughout history, men and women have competed against one another in sport and many have enjoyed watching these competitions for entertainment. In early history, most men competed for their lives. However, in modern times, men are paid large salaries to compete in competitions and sports. In the past fifty years, the salaries of athletes in every sport have risen to disproportionate amounts in comparison to the public per capita worldwide. The financial worth of these athletes exceeds the value that any one individuals actually worth. Athlete salaries in the sporting industry have grown extremely excessive and league officials need to control the outrageous payrolls by using salary caps, negotiations, and legal tactics. Such as the player's salaries of the NBA, which are determined under the regulations and requirements of the salary caps. However, salary

  • Word count: 7086
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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