Answers to Questions About Commas

Answers to Questions About Commas Answers to Questions About Commas Answers to Questions About Commas By Mark Nichol In this post, I’ve reproduced some questions posed in e-mail or comments to Daily Writing Tips about commas, followed by my responses. 1. Which comma-style-in-a-series do you prefer, Oxford/Chicago Manual or AP? Why? I prefer employing the serial comma because doing so rarely introduces ambiguity, which is more likely when the serial comma is omitted. (See this section in the Wikipedia entry on the serial comma, which explains why because serial commas are sometimes necessary for clarity and should therefore, for the sake of consistency, always be employed.) 2. I keep finding commas placed after but, as in this sample from a Bloomsbury novel: â€Å"She is not yet that committed but, determined not to be ridiculous, she makes herself bite into the Bakewell slice.† I was raised to put a comma before the but. Is this another matter of American versus British usage, or is there a grammatical nicety here that I am missing? The comma after but is necessary because it signals that what follows it and precedes the next comma is an interjection, and the insertion of another comma is also recommended: The correct punctuation is â€Å"She is not yet that committed, but, determined not to be ridiculous, she makes herself bite into the Bakewell slice.† 3. I have read books where authors neglect using the comma in phrases like â€Å"me too.† I don’t know whether my being irked when I see this is completely wrong, but I would like more information about it. In the usages you describe, the tag too should indeed be preceded by a comma, but the punctuation mark is often omitted in informal or conversational contexts or simply out of ignorance. 4. I refer to my stylebooks all the time in an effort to get [appositive epithets] right. Do you know of an easy mnemonic device that can help me remember this rule? I don’t have any mnemonic for this matter, but think of an epithet as an adjective: â€Å"Daily Writing Tips contributor Mark Nichol† describes which particular type of Mark Nichol is being identified. Just as you wouldn’t punctuate â€Å"blue car† with a comma between the adjective and the noun and another following the noun, you don’t insert commas before and after your name. Or consider the subject in â€Å"Planet Earth is our home.† Planet is an epithet, and Earth is not bracketed by commas. 5. In â€Å"Strange and surely intentional was the omission of her name in the credits,† should â€Å"and surely intentional† be set off with commas? And would you please expand on such when the second is not clearly subordinate e.g., an aside. This type of phrasing is highly flexible in terms of punctuation, and what the writer does depends not on construction but on connotation. If a pairing of adjectives or other parts of speech is straightforward and sensible lithe and graceful, hale and hearty, cheap and shoddy the second element need not be set off, but when it is extraordinary, emphatic treatment is effective. Grammatically speaking, no punctuation is necessary in the sentence you provided, but the force of delivery of the additional information is heightened by setting it off from the main clause: â€Å"Strange, and surely intentional, was the omission of her name in the credits† ensures that the reader momentarily ponders the import of the deliberate omission. â€Å"Strange (and surely intentional) was the omission of her name in the credits† does the same while suggesting a conspiratorial whisper between the writer and the reader on the topic. â€Å"Strange and surely intentional was the omission of her name in the credits† intensifies the impact by pushing the surmise onto center stage. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Writing Prompts 101Difference between "Pressing" and "Ironing"Grammar Review #1: Particles and Phrasal Verbs

Chinas FDI essays

China's FDI essays Critically Discuss the Employment Impacts of FDI upon China China attracted a record $52.7bn (32.9bn) in foreign direct investment (hereby referred to as FDI) in 2002. The Chinese government made it easier for foreign companies to expand in China and entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001 has resulted in liberalisation in some industries. A United Nations report has indicated China will become the top recipient of foreign director investment (FDI), overtaking the US. The state media reported that China expected to attract about $100bn in FDI a year between 2006 to 2010 (BBC, 2003a). With inflation low, labour cheap and plentiful, urbanisation driving demand, and a savings rate of 30% providing easy capital, China is a manufacturer's dream. No wonder the Pearl River Delta in the south-east of the country, once a rural backwater dominated by rice paddies, has turned into the world's factory floor (BBC, 2004). Chinese urban growth is unique, large and complex, and has provoked much scholarship. Before the period of economic reforms, China seemed to be in a stage of under-urbanization. By previous assessments, its urban development has been greatly influenced by national political ideologies and development strategies. Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978, the Chinese urban system has experienced spectacular growth, accompanied by a rapid rise of urbanization levels from about 20% to more than 36%. In the 1980s, in the face of strong pressures for urban in-migration due to the relaxation of rural-urban migration control, policy was strictly controlling the size of large cities, rationally developing medium-sized cities, and vigorously developing small cities. However, in reality, Chinas policy of controlling large city growth has not been effectively implemented, and large cities grew at a much faster pace in the past decade. Large city growth remains appreciable, due largely to...

Gentrification in Park Slope Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Gentrification in Park Slope - Research Paper Example Gentrification occurs when the middle class people move into the lower income resident of the neighborhood leading to displacement and changes basic character and flavor of the neighborhood (Angotti 4). The paper will focus on the causes, effects and control measures for gentrification. Its notable that gentrification comes with both economic benefits and adverse effects as some households face displacements. The gentrification of Park Slope is particularly far from new incident and has been in progress for decades. Gentrification in Park Slope is characterized by displacement free zone, which is an attempt to have the existing residents kept in their places. Gentrification in Park Slope summarizes all the market polarization, failures, and injustice that shaped life in Park Slope communities. Based on statistical analysis of housing surveys, gentrification in Park Slope was never a boost for anyone. Gentrification challenged the conventional experience through illustrating renters w ho are disadvantaged living in gentrifying neighborhoods have lower mobility rates compared to the renters in the non-gentrifying regions. Conditions that were brought by gentrification in Park Slope provided incentives for the poor renters so as to remain in their homes in the face of higher burdens and other rent stresses (Harvey, 8). Gentrification in the Park Slope has led to economic and social changes that are widely visible. In this case, it cannot be referred to urban generation because it leads to displacements of the neighborhood specifically on a large scale while the latter is the movement of high income households on a small scale of vacant buildings and land. According to Slater (12), gentrification occurs in places that have experienced low manufacturing employment, increase in service and entrance of women in the job market where the middle-income earners with the preference of an urban living move to low-income residents’ neighborhood. The case of John Jay Co llege illustrated the effect of gentrification in schools. The focus was specifically on areas such as: student body composition, disciplinary climate, organizational climate, and academic organization. These areas have seen a long term effect of gentrification especially in John Jay College where gentrifies with children kept their children out of John Jay College, figuring out a way to place their children in schools outside the catchment area, or instead opting for private schools. This resulted into impacts on potential fragmentation and social integration of the social fabric in the neighborhood. The Gentrification process in Park Slope is also likely to affect the urban residents living near the central business districts with affordable well architecture residential houses since they are not economically and politically muscled as the gentrifiers. The entrance of the gentrifiers into these neighborhoods leads to rising of house prices as the middle-income households come with a huge appetite for spending, forcing the existing businesses in the neighborhood to improve their services. This leads to low-income household to move out to places they can afford since they had settled there because of cheap rent and proximity to the employment opportunities. These households had settled there due to convenience in that the same class of people also found it favorable to their circumstances (Smith, 1). Lower-income households that live in these

Refilction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Refilction - Essay Example Although many aspects of leadership require that lay down a set of rules for directives which stakeholders should follow, spirituality is one of the only determinants that will be discussed within this five-part analysis that is completely concentric upon the way in which the individual leader the Hanes himself/herself. Challenge - is a compound of leadership that is not only necessary for the leader, but also necessary for the stakeholders. Although most people derive a sense of satisfaction from many different determinants, challenge is one of the most universal. What is meant by this is the fact that will be most fulfilled in his/her responsibilities by performing tasks and functions that represents something of a challenge to the ability that he/she is able to bring to bear. In much the same way, the fulfillment of the individual stakeholders/employees will most be affected by a degree of challenge within their own respective work. Whereas no one would be fulfilled by a monotonou s and unchallenging job that requires little to no creativity or problem-solving skills, the converse be said with regards to the level of the filament which can be derived from a job that provides a type of challenge and encourages the individual to maximize their potential and strengths. Friendship - no matter how good the leader is and no matter how effective his/her strategies might be, there is a high level of efficiency that can be affected by treating one’s colleagues, superiors, and subordinates with a level of friendship. This is particularly dangerous concept due to the fact that it has been proven that the work environment should remain professional. However, what is meant by engaging in a level of friendship with all of the stakeholders in the process is that they should be treated with the courtesy, kindness, acceptance, and respect that one would give to their own friends. Although they may indeed not be close friends outside of the work environment, this level of respect and admiration for the unique skills and qualities that they bring only helps to facilitate the work process and encourages each and every member of the organization to perform at their peak capacity. The leader should understand that even though a level of friendship is engaged with the stakeholders, he/she should not feel that they are continually among friends and not required to display a level of professionalism at all times. Loyalty - whereas all of the other aspects which have been discussed up until this point are some what unidirectional, the issue of loyalty is something that is very specifically multidirectional. What is meant by this is that the leader/manager that attempts to engage in level of loyalty with respect to both his superiors and subordinates will necessarily have this level of loyalty returns to them in time. Although loyalty should not be engaged in as a means of getting something in return, this action allows for each and every stakeholder in th e process to come to the understanding that the leader in question prizes loyalty and its compounded parts above all other things. In this way, a feeling of confidence and increased efficiency will be generated whereby each and every stakeholder is secure in the knowledge that they have loyal colleagues who are not merely engaged in the

Entrepreneurship Business Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Entrepreneurship Business Plan - Essay Example A wide range of SUVs, small cars, sedans and luxury vehicles will be marketed through the showroom of XXX Automobile. The objective of the business is to become one of the leaders in vehicle retailing market in Geneva. The operations of the business will be performed by an experienced management team. In order to ensure higher productivity, the business will take assistance from advisors and technical experts and thus can help to secure the business from possible risks. The start-up cost of the business is expected to be ? 3,850,000; majority of which will be collected by availing bank loans. The major drivers for success of the business will be quality products with reasonable price and better customer service. XXX Automobile plans to be a start-up car dealership business. XXX Automobile will intend to serve vehicles for middle class and upper class markets. The business is planned to be commenced in the downtown of Geneva in Switzerland City considering the fact that the market of Geneva is untapped and there is high potentiality for car business in that region. People in Switzerland also desire for quality, stylish and world class vehicles. The developed economy of Switzerland along with increasing population and demand of vehicle can increase the probability of success for the business by a considerable extent. The paper describes a detailed business plan for opening vehicle showroom in Geneva city of Switzerland. The objective of the paper is to develop a structured planning for marketing, finance and other significant aspects in order to commence the showroom for demanded vehicles. The paper has also considered the market of automobile along with personnel strategy to conduct the business effectively and ensure profitability. 2.0 Business Description XXX Automobile is expected to be operating as the authorised dealer of Volkswagen Group. The showroom will provide sales and services of new models of Volkswagen. The business will also attempt to procure car s directly from Volkswagen and sell through the showroom to the people of Geneva maintaining a direct supply chain connection with the producer. Therefore, the vision of the business will be to become one of the top-rated Volkswagen dealers in Geneva. The mission of XXX Automobile will be to gain and empower customer loyalty by delivering quality products, services and professional assistance to the customers. The major drivers of the business would be: To manage the threat of other competitors of XXX Automobile through effective advertisements and promotion To deliver products on schedule To control the budget To manage the expenses of business To provide superior customer service To maintain strong network with customers and other business associates 2.1 Business Opportunity The Swiss automobile market has remained resilient throughout the first quarter of 2012 and experienced increase of car registration by 9% than the previous year. The sales of passenger vehicles have demonstra ted strong

Formulate And Conduct Monetary Policy In Malaysia Information Technology Essay

Formulate And Conduct Monetary Policy In Malaysia Information Technology Essay The selected company for this paper is the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. The organization is popularly known by its widely accepted acronym HSBC. To-date, this multi-national company is a giant financial conglomerate that operates from more than 7,500 offices spread across 87 countries world-wide with more than 330,000 employees (www.hsbc.com). Briefly, the historical background of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) was that it was founded in 1865. Its formation was to cater to primarily for the China trade. In 1876, it opened its Singapore branch followed by the Penang branch in 1884. The main banking activities then during the turn of the century in the Straits Settlements were to cater for trading activities in China. As the British presence in the Malay states in the Malay Peninsular grew through tin mining and during the later stages through rubber cultivation as well as other commodity plantations such as cocoa, tobacco and spices, Hongkong bank grew larger as demand for banking support to the business communities grew (HSBC. Its Malaysian Story, text by Douglas Wong, Editions Didier Millet, 2003). The financial industry in Malaysia has demonstrated a vibrant development since its announcement to open up the industry for foreign participation via increased equity and to hold a major stake in insurance companies, investment banks and commercial banks. Amongst the foreign players that has made a big inroad into the financial industry of Malaysia is HSBC, Standard Chartered and Citibank. (www.chinapost.com). The industry is controlled by the central bank of Malaysia known as Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). BNM formulates policies, sets out controls for the banking lending activities in the country and implements the Banking Financial Institutions Act 1989. Its main primary functions are:- Formulate and conduct monetary policy in Malaysia; Issue currency in Malaysia; Regulate and supervise financial institutions which are subject to the laws enforced by the Bank; Provide oversight over money and foreign exchange markets; Exercise oversight over payment systems; Promote a sound, progressive and inclusive financial system; Hold and manage the foreign reserves of Malaysia; Promote an exchange rate regime consistent with the fundamentals of the economy; and Act as financial adviser, banker and financial agent of the Government. (www.mida.gov.my) The major competitors to HSBC in Malaysia comprises of the foreign banks in Malaysia such as Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank, OCBC Bank and UOB Bank. The local banks that competes with HSBC are larger in terms of branch network, customer accessibility, capitalization, systems, loan spread as well as human capital. Part 2 The early era of modernization in the bank is through implementation of accounting machines in 1959 with the use of National Cash Register Corporation (NCR) Machine called NCR Class 32s for the general ledger and current accounts in Hongkong banks branches. The savings accounts were done using the NCR 42. The NCR 32 were later replaced by NCR Postronic machines in the larger branches in Malaya. The second phase of mechanization or early computerization in Hongkong bank started in 1976 through out to 1980. This phase involved the use of IBM mainframe such as IBM 360 which cost USD450,000 in 1977, Philips terminals, Racal modems and telecommunication provide by Telekon Malaysia. By 1988-89, the Philips banking terminal has been replaced by a Unisys system used by the HSBC group worldwide (HSBC. Its Malaysian Story, text by Douglas Wong, Editions Didier Millet, 2003). The Data Management and Storage system of HSBC are based mainly on its mainframe system that has been retained largely from its era of computerization in the 1976 era up until mid 1984/5. The mainframes are its key machines in storage of data and information which comprises of customer information, loan advances, staff information including its compensation payroll data. The Windows NT server is one HSBCs key data management and storage system. Another system in HSBCs data management and storage is its Windows 2000 SP4 server and Windows 2003 SP1 server. These three systems forms the core data management and storage for HSBC. The advantages of these systems are their storage capacity that is large enough for HSBCs customer information. The dependability of these systems has proven stable and dependable against unnecessary data losses. The IT Support teams constantly provide cumulative security update such as its Outlook Express. The flexibility of these three systems can be demonstrated in the series of pack and patches that was downloaded for the Windows 2000 SP4. Among those patches to address the system are:- Vulnerability in the Web View to allow Remote Code Execution. Vulnerability in HTML Help to allow Remote Code Execution. Vulnerability in Remote Desktop Protocol could allow denial of service. Vulnerability in the Microsift Data Access Components (MDAC) Function Could Allow Code Execution. (HSBC Intranet) The ability of the server to accommodate the above patched identified from the list of Microsoft Service Pack and Patches for Windows 2000 SP4 demonstrated the flexibility of the server to take patches in the system. These are aimed to ensure the server remains stable to support the banks requirement in data management and storage. In addition to the data management, the operating systems platforms are based mainly on Microsoft Windows. (www.hsbc.com.my) The bank placed high importance to ensure its operating systems are sound, dependable to its business needs, safeguard customer information, enables continuous product enhancement as well as maintaining employees information which are considered sensitive and crucial. Policies on internet usage for HSBC are highly regulated. The banks policy on the usage of email and internet is regulated and the policies can be found in the banks intranet accessible by all staff. The usage of email and internet is based on conditions laid down in the banks group policies. Its usage is for business correspondences and is to be conducted in a business-like and professional manner. The use of email and use of external computer access over the internet is subject to the banks policies and Code of Conduct. (HSBC Intranet). The networking and telecommunications aspect of HSBC is controlled and careful attention is given to the access to internal software and hardware of the organization. This manner of control is reflected in the organizations LAN security where all software installation is authorized through formal procedures. This would include LAN administrator guide strictly enforced, service patches on latest Microsoft updates are monitored and using approved anti-virus software (inclusive of updates). In terms of controlling the organizations network, strict password usage and control is enforced. This is evident in the organizations policy on placing ownership and accountability on individual user of their password. This includes frequent changing of password every 60 days (HSBC Intranet). In broad terms regarding consultants, system integrator and vendors, HSBC maintains strict regulations on outside equipment by consultants and vendors. In addition, the bank enforces strict controls on third party data transfer, maintenance of customer and staff personal data within the mainframe system and serves are not accessed by third parties such as external consultants and contract employees without proper clearance (HSBC Intranet/PC Security Guidelines). These strict controls are put in place to protect customer and staff data privacy as well as data security from being compromised by external or third parties that comes in contact with the banks systems or servers. In terms of the banks computer hardware platforms, these equipments are maintained through tight policy and guidelines that governs administration of the banks IBM servers, the computer hardware especially PCs and laptops used by the staff, comprising mainly of IBM machines (HSBC Intranet). Part 3 This report will proceed to present the concept on cloud computing, outlining its key features, current trends, future developments and consider its benefits to business (making direct reference to banking) and the cost of cloud computing to HSBC. Cloud computing comes into focus only when companies think about the IT needs/requirements. Companies started to explore ways to increase capacity or add capabilities on the go with business-as-usual operations without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software. Cloud computing encompasses any subscription-based or pay-per-use service that, in real time over the Internet, extends ITs existing capabilities (www.infoworld.com) (Based on an article by Eric Knorr Galen Gruman adapted from Infoworld). Prior to the availability of cloud computing, the traditional business applications have been complicated and expensive. The amount and variety of hardware and software required to run these applications and systems are daunting. The organization requires a whole team of experts to install, configure, test, run, secure, and update them. When the organization begins to multiply this effort across dozens or hundreds of applications, it is easy to observe the reason why the biggest companies with the best IT departments are not getting the applications they require. Given this reality, the small and mid-sized businesses will obviously face even bigger challenges (www.salesforce.com). While the concept of cloud computing was recognized to be spearheaded by Salesforce.com, there has been other companies that have dived into the business of providing CRM solutions in the form of software-as-a-service. A Google search produced several key service providers in cloud computing such as Gogrid, ORACLE, IBM, SAP cloud computing.com, vads.com and rimuhosting.com. The published benefits of cloud computing are the ability of the concept to leverage on cost while providing customized options to the subscribers. The list of benefits provided by cloud computing given the fundamental infra structure of cloud computing is as follows:- The level of Web-services integration has been proven. Cloud computing technology has demonstrated itself to be much easier and faster to integrate with the organizations existing enterprise applications (both traditional software and cloud computing infrastructure-based), whether third-party or applications that has been developed internally by the organization. Advanced service delivery. Cloud computing infrastructures offer greater scalability, complete disaster recovery, and demonstrated an impressive uptime figures. Lack of requirement to install additional hardware or software: There is no requirement for additional hardware or software in a fully cloud computing infrastructure. The positive features of cloud computing technology is in its overall simplicity and it requires significantly fewer capital expenditure to set up and get the whole system running. Faster and lower-risk deployment. The organization can set up and run the whole system much faster with a cloud computing infrastructure. It also saves the organization substantial expenses and allows employees/users to log into the new solution quickly. The cloud computing technology applications are live in a matter of weeks or months, even with extensive customization or integration included. Support for deep customizations. Cloud computing infrastructure allows deep customization and application configuration and it also preserves all those customizations even during upgrades. In addition, cloud computing technology is ideal for application development to support the organizations evolving needs. Empowered business users. Cloud computing technology allows on-the-fly, point-and-click customization and report generation for business users. As a result, IT is not required to spend a large amount of time and resource making minor changes and running reports. Automatic upgrades that dont impact IT resources. Cloud computing infrastructures put an end to a huge IT dilemma: If the organization upgrades to the latest version of the application, the organization is required to spend time and resources to rebuild their customizations and integrations. Cloud computing technology doesnt force an organization to decide between upgrading and preserving all its applications, because those customizations and integrations are automatically preserved during an upgrade. Pre-built, pre-integrated apps for cloud computing technology. The involvement of more companies in providing cloud computing infrastructure and applications will be able to multiply and provide more applications in either pre-built or post-built requirement to suit clients requirement. (www.salesforce.com). Malaysias IT infrastructure. The availability of better infrastructure compared to other countries in the region such as the availability of broadband indicates that the country is a suitable platform to embrace cloud computing with the assurance and support from the government. An example of this support is the entrance of Microsofts full range of cloud computing capabilities in Malaysia as well as other established parts in this region. (www.nst.com.my). While the concept and published reports and opinions have advocated various benefits from cloud computing, there are obvious down side to the concept compared to the more established traditional business applications that are more supported by the applications provider. One of the major online company that adopted cloud computing is Amazon.com. Recently, there have been technical problems and interruptions by the company starting on 21 April 2011. This has prompted industry analysts and observers to ask organizations to seriously reconsider relying on remote computers that are beyond their control. Matthew Eastwood, an analyst for the research firm IDC has called this incident involving Amazon.com as a wake-up call for cloud computing. The incident has started discussion on the concerns for cloud computing as such:- The amount organizations are required to pay for backup and recovery services. This concern also covers other areas, including paying extra for data centers in different locations. That is because the companies that were apparently hit hardest by the Amazon interruption were start-ups that, analysts said, are focused on moving fast in pursuit of growth, and less apt to pay for extensive backup and recovery services. (www.nytimes.com). The actual flexibility of cloud computing. While cloud computing has demonstrated its flexibility in terms of adaptability to organizations requirement and cost, there is a real concern amongst industry analysts on the claim of actual infinite elasticity of cloud computing. Arising from the recent Amazon.com interruption, there are serious concern on the ability of cloud computing to provide stability beyond the security from the traditional business applications provider that has seen proven reliability. This will be severe for what the analysts are concern for larger industry such as the entertainment industry (http://cloudcomputing.sys-con.com). Taking this argument a step further, this report also raises the concern arising from the Amazon.com incident to the banking industry. Would HSBC depart from the major players in banking to embrace cloud computing given this latest discussion in the IT industry. Part 4 In my analysis of the present structure of HSBC, the idea of adopting cloud computing needs to be pursued with a certain degree of caution and optimism. I am recommending the following options for your consideration in adopting cloud computing into the applications support, maintenance and storage for HSBC:- Limited participation in the Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) by putting in the new applications via cloud computing whilst keeping the existing applications to be enhanced, supported and stored by the existing system. The bank will continue to work our vendors and system support providers to maintain the existing applications. This dual approach is aimed to venture quickly into cloud computing and at the same time in assuring senior management, Asia Pacific Group IT as well as the Global team on our prudence to continue maintain the existing system for our current applications. This recommendation is to maintain status quo in our level of customer service with any unexpected disruption to our clients arising from technical problems. In addition, the VPC is relatively simple to implement and the cost of the subscription to SKALI Cloud Servers a minimal fee while having pre-build features which HSBC can use immediately. (www.skalicloud.com). This approach also eases up our GTLM (subsidiary providing IT support to HSBC) who is having attrition of IT personnel and simultaneously struggling to backfill the vacancies. In considering the IT infrastructure of our competitors, our proposed investment into cloud computing would be timely to ease off more capital investment into applications management and storage. The savings can be channeled to other IT requirement such as upgrade of our servers and other interface channel to the front end to give better support to our users. This will enable faster turnaround time and increase productivity of backroom / support staff and also better customer service for our sales service staff to our clients. Our overall business strategy under the Medium Term Outlook (MTO) three year plan from 2010 to 2012 emphasize the importance of improving productivity and cost savings to complement the bigger business revenue aim for the bank. Under this plan, the proposed adoption of cloud computing is to enable HSBC to have a quick support for its application support, minimize over dependence on staff, service providers and vendors. Many banks have spent time and money building an internal infrastructure. Such large infrastructure investment makes it difficult to cost justify moving for such infrastructure to be moved to an outside provider. There may be long-term savings but in the short-term, the difficulty is justifying the large investment into a cloud computing arrangement. In addition, moving the whole application systems from internal to eternal source via a cloud-based platform has a certain cost in itself which makes it even less attractive and even more difficult to justify. (http://thefinanser.co.uk) Issues with regulators. A recent report appearing in the UK Financier highlighted that Microsoft is often asked about Security by share holders as well as regulators. Companies would naturally due to their interest in protecting data privacy, will be determined to know how organizations protect their data. Among the questions posed to the organizations is the location of the cloud, the standards used by the organization in selecting the cloud that is located remotely away from the host country. In this respect, Microsoft is heavily geared towards security and is one of the largest firms in the development space in this area. Some issues do arise however with regulators in key markets, particularly in finance. For example, in Turkey, they regulate that data must be held on bank premises. Thats hard to overcome but is a key reason Microsoft continues to provide on premise solutions banks can implement while regulations catch up. (http://thefinanser.co.uk) Security of the information maintained within the cloud that is located away from the bank. In view that the cloud is not part of the banks organization or a subsidiary where the bank has partial or majority ownership, there remain questions on the control the bank has over the information, data or applications stored in the cloud (Interview with Mr Peter Ng, Manager IT Development/Support Office Automation on 12 April 2011). In addition, there is a provision within the Banking And Financial Institutions Act 1989 (BAFIA) that prohibits any director, employee or agent appointed by the bank who has access to the banks information made available such information to any other person or parties (S.97 of the Banking And Financial Institutions Act 1989). The concern raised by Mr Peter Ng is amplified by the fact that banks information, data or applications stored in the cloud outside the management purview of the bank. In view that the facility and commercial ownership of the cloud does not come under the definition of an agent appointed by the bank, there is no locus standi on the part of the cloud being accountable for any legal action that can be taken in the event there is a breach of S.97 of BAFIA. Section 97 of BAFIA states as follows:- 97.  Ã‚   (1)  Ã‚   No director or officer of any licensed institution or of any external bureau established, or any agent appointed, by the licensed institution to undertake any part of its business, whether during his tenure of office, or during his employment, or thereafter, and no person who for any reason, has by any means access to any record, book, register, correspondence, or other document whatsoever, or material, relating to the affairs or, in particular, the account, of any particular customer of the institution, shall give, produce, divulge, reveal, publish or otherwise disclose, to any person, or make a record for any person, of any information or document whatsoever relating to the affairs or account of such customer. (Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989). Part 5 In summary, HSBC has a complex IT system that has been build over the years of our existence in Malaysia since the computerization of our banking system. The availability of cloud computing as an alternative in our on-going challenges in application management should be carefully considered in terms of expanding our IT capabilities to move into bigger areas of banking. This will provide HSBC with the opportunity to have better flexibility in managing our overall applications system to be able to provide better support to our users. This will in turn, enable our staff to provide better customer service and engagement. The adoption of cloud computing by the bank can be implemented with the following strategies:- Adopting a hybrid cloud where major vendors such as IBM, ORACLE and Hewlett Packard offers hybrid delivery with their existing technology to manage complexity of HSBCs diverse application systems that caters to different business groups where different applications for business segments such as Personal Financial Services, Commercial Banking, Treasury and Global Banking are different. The dedicated servers and applications can be better managed through public cloud (for lower cost applications storage with medium or low risks) and managed dedicated servers (for higher risks applications and data) that can be managed in partnership with the major vendor. This combined approach mitigates risks portfolio for the bank in terms of spreading evenly its storage in cloud computing where external parties and vendors cannot be fully controlled compared to internally managed servers and storage facilities (Interview with Mr Lim Wei Hup, Senior Manager IT Operations/Support conducted on 14 April 2011). Co-venturing into cloud computing by adopting a strategic partner to mitigate risks as well as leverage on common areas and different technical expertise to harness effective teamwork for selecting external applications from various clouds. An example of a recent tie-up and cooperation in the financial industry is the venture of Polaris Software Lab, one of the leading global financial technology companies announced a strategic investment in IdenTrust, a global financial institution. IdenTrust is one of the premier service providers of digital identity authentication services to several key banks such as Citibank, Bank of America, Deutsche, HSBC and even Barclays Bank. (www.siliconindia.com). The concern of being the first bank in Malaysia to embrace cloud computing need not arise as the government has provided ample support, key service provider such as Telekom Malaysia has been upgrading its broadband services and the availability of fiber optic infrastructure will ensure adequate bandwidth and speed. HSBC has always been a pioneer in various aspect in banking be it technology, products and services and even bringing environmental issues into part of its global commitments. With our rich history and forward optimism, venturing into cloud computing is an option management seriously need to consider in view our future growth strategy.

The Three Major Issues in the Advertising Campaign for Coca Cola Classi

The Three Major Issues in the Advertising Campaign for Coca Cola Classic The three major issues in this advertising campaign for Coca-Cola Classic are to increase the number of people who drink Coca-Cola Classic, make our advertising more creative, and to ultimately beat our competitors. Our target market can be explained in just one word, everyone. Since Coca-Cola Classic had been around for many years everyone has heard of it. It does not matter what age, race, religion or what kind of financial status you have. The main thing that we need to do, is to take back all of the people that our competitors have taken away from us over the years. Though we do have great customer loyalty we want to increase the numbers. What’s wrong with being the ultimate best? Nothing and that is exactly what we are going to accomplish with this campaign. For our advertising I want to make several different advertisements using all of the media that is available. I want to have fun and exciting advertisements for our youngest audience, with lots of colors and maybe even a popular child cartoon character like Sponge Bob Square Pants for example. For our young adults I want to have advertisements that promote drinking Coca-Cola Classic instead of alcohol. I want to show a television commercial showing kids having a party and instead of drinking beer or liquor they are drinking Coca-Cola Classic, and still having a good time. Now, for our older audience I want to back them back to how we use advertise. Since they have been with us and watched our company grow for so many years I want our advertising to them to be more sentimental and recreate some of the advertisements that we use to use. Seeing things that you remember from the past, like a great Coca-Cola Classic advertisement, brings a good and warm feeling to a lot of individuals. I would also like to send out notices for direct mail to everyone just reminding them how good Coca-Cola Classic is and encourage them to rush out and go get one. Situation Analysis John Stith Pemberton (1831-1888) the inventor of Coca-Cola was a druggist. At the age of fifty he decided that he wanted to become part of scientific history, and he wanted to make a fortune. He wanted to invent the perfect medicine and develop a drink so that he could mix both of them. He had learned about the coca plant and how the natives of Peru and Bolivia... ...e are many objectives that I want to accomplish. Get customers attention, hold their attention, introduce them to our new slogan, and tell everyone why coke is better. Since we will have a new slogan I want our public relations person to send out mailing notices to our carriers letting them know. This way we can have new signs put up. I also want to have coupon at the front when they buy a coke they will get $.50 off of their drink. I only want the coupon to be valid for a week. Evaluation I want our carriers to let us know how many coupons’ they redeemed when their customers purchased a Coca-Cola. I also want a stocking report from them to see if sales increase or stay about the same. I think that if we mail out surveys also to random houses asking when the last time they bought a Coca-Cola was and how they like our new approach. With this we will send them a free pen and pad once it is returned to us, as a thank you to them. I am very confident in this advertising campaign, but this is your company and if there is something that you do not like or something that you think should be added please let me know. I look forward to doing business with Coca-Cola Classic Company.