Time extension under FIDIC 1999 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Time extension under FIDIC 1999 - Essay Example It also includes details of operations like payments and specific works to be done in the contract. Due to the fact that the construction contract comes with numerous elements which define the contractors tender, employers letter of acceptance, contract agreement, contract conditions and technical details2, it is prone to numerous issues that can affect its interpretation. This include misunderstanding, conflict and other disputes. In order to minimize these problems, FIDIC has a set of standardised rules and regulations that control the operation of construction contracts. The 1999 FIDIC Red Book sets out provisions for continuity of projects, encouragement of of constructive relationships and provisions for dealing with uncertainties3. Clause 20.1 provides an important guideline on how claims can be made and it regulates the relationship between Employers and Contractors on making claims for further payments and time extensions amongst other things4. Clause 20.1 states that: â€Å"If the Contractor considers himself to be entitled to any extension of the Time for completion and/or any additional payment, under any Clause of these conditions or otherwise in connection with the contract, the Contractor shall give notice to the Engineer describing the event or circumstances giving rise to the claim. The notice shall be given as son as practicable, and not later than 28 days after the Contractor becomes aware or should, after the contractor becomes aware, or should have become aware of the events or circumstances† This clause attempts to create a timeframe within which Contractors must report issues relating to time constraints need for further payments and other issues. This is necessary because there is the need for some kind of order to ensure that Employers and Contractors needs are respected and there is no indefinite right for Contractors to come back with their demands and requests for time

Analysis of Multinational Computer Technology Corporation Microsoft Essay

Analysis of Multinational Computer Technology Corporation Microsoft - Essay Example Microsoft has a very friendly and supporting approach in the routine ways that staff at the company behave towards each other, and towards those outside the company that can make up the ways people do things. The control systems and measurements are constantly under the management review to monitor the efficiency of the staff and managers' decisions. The rituals of Microsoft's life are special events, corporate gatherings, which the company emphasises what is particularly important and reinforce the way things are done. On-going meetings and communication at every level of the company's hierarchy represent a strong internal environment (Microsoft Corporation Annual Report). Interpersonal communication within Microsoft is supported by technologies that connect people from different locations of the world. Facial communication stands for always friendly and expressive attitudes of people working along with each other. The issue of space is observed to be of the same level as in a typic al organization: people keep the distance with each other and sustain professional relationships. Normal distance when negotiating or greeting within Microsoft is around one meter. Microsoft's relationship model combines process maturity with a flexible, fast-paced small company culture that makes it easy to work with. The delight is enhanced by a company’s ability to provide ramped-up value and responsibility as the relationship progresses. Microsoft’s people are inspired to be open, fair and uncompromising in their efforts to ensure external as well as internal customer satisfaction. The company pays special attention to Integrity because of the trust that its clients place upon it. Ethics, values, reputation are vital to Microsoft’s philosophy. Its objective is to be globally respected as a process management company that is truly viewed as a strategic extension of our clients' capacity.

Oxfam coat Essay Example for Free

Oxfam coat Essay In the Oxfam coat, Anna Adams is able to elaborate with a dry irony the symbolism of a coat and all that it contains. In the unison of this frock, there is the hopefulness of expectation and the knowledge that very much it is a conceit towards a better life that is somehow illusory and never quite there. There is something so sturdy about this coat, but in its impoverished outline, there are thematic qualities which ring of an inevitable notion that more than one thing can be seen from it. In much of society and in judgement, clothes are one indicator of socioeconomic class and forms a classification of people, their preferences, and their prejudices, even. In the poem, the speaker seems to be in some ways, using this poem for knowledge. â€Å"I do not wear this coat to be admired,/not even to be seen; it is for seeing from. † Sometimes a person might wear a certain outfit to indicate a certain station in life. Just like during the Mardi Gras in Venice rich men sometimes dressed as beggars in tattered rags just to expose themselves to the expectations that are given to the poor. Also, in the Mark Twin story, â€Å"The Prince and the Pauper† all it takes for the prince and the pauper to switch places is a trading of clothes. That something so simple as donning a new frock, that something like this can give people new vantages is a commentary on a society that judges at times with the blink of an eye. In some ways, it seems like the speaker is trying to analogize her life to that of a farmers wife. Based on her sophisticated dialect and the advanced qualities of her grammar. It seems unlikely that she has been or was a farmers wife, it seems like even when wearing a shabby Oxfam coat. The analogy towards sacrifice and a sort of poverty, that is nevertheless good, a different lifestyle, history, and experience. The speaker, like the Prince in The Prince and the Pauper† cannot abandon the learning he has received. For when he draws the crown seal to prove his identity, he is proving himself despite the dirt on his face and the shabby misery of his appearance. When the speaker voices, â€Å"I am a walking look-out post, attired. † The word attired is by a dictionary denotation merely saying that she was wearing something which was not all too flattering. Like the paint on a walking look-out post is rarely glossy or shiny, but rather dull and worn, tired in a way in appearance. An apparatus of sorts in its rudimentary appeal and dignity regardless of the season, the hour or the time. Yet despite the adaptation of a literal denotation of attired, there is furthermore the connotation of being tired. The farmers wife is thought of to work tirelessly, without a murmur, watching out for all around her, a sturdy sediment against instability and working mightily to overcome the elements. While its certainly a bit insulting that the speaker seems to objectify the farmers wife. Comparing the frock to the deaf, dead-leaf look of camouflage and inconspicuous sight, there is evidently some derision in the admiration as well. â€Å"I am a walking look-out post, attired/in mist and dead-leaf coloured camouflage-a watchers hide, a property/advisible as poverty, as inconspicuous as middle-age. /it must have needed thirty years at least,/to reach this natural state and yet remain an artefact/that keeps me warm. To ditch it would be a waste. † The derision seems to be there, as theres the comparison of the worn coat to a natural state. It is not clear why thirty years of hard work and poverty ages a coat, that is symbolic of a toil-friendly farmers wife, to be a container for the poverty and overwork that is typically referred to rural scenes and states. In some ways, the naturalization of the farmers wife coincides with the objectification of the supposed farmers wife who is symbolized by the worn Oxfam coat. There is an organic, yet maturing or dead quality, of a kind of soulless duty as personified by the utility yet absence of personality of the illusion of a farmers wife vis a vis the Oxfam coat. â€Å"It cost me twenty pence. Good Harris cloth,/springy as heathers turf:/it has outworn the striding farmers wife/its cut suggests. Her scarecrow bones are earth. † The organic thematization is still present, as the omnipresent aspect of death and decay ares still there. That even this sturdy coat may have taxed the farmers wife who wore herself to the bones and is part of the earth as much as dead leaves melt into the dirt. The personification of this coat, in some ways serves to eclipse the deadness or gone quality of the farmers wife with its being as worn by someone else. Who cannot help thinking into the life and times of a farmers wife. However insulting or even mistaken it may be, undoubtably farmers wives lead hard lives but in some ways, we all do. That in fighting against organic matter, the endurability of good, sturdy cloth can preserve some aspects of feeling invulnerable but that people in the end, all melt into the earth. Perhaps the speaker is more than a bit sympathetically derogatory of the life and times of the farmers wife because she too, is stricken by a fear of death and being worn out. Possibly in moving the quality of being worn and an â€Å"artefact,† an outmoded cultural icon, there is an attempt to deal with the has been quality that is pervasive of many fields including that of poetry. Where a person may be a morning star one day, brilliant and admired, then thrown into the rubble the next day, exiled and socially excommunicated. In lending so much emotion, thought, and headlining grief to this Oxfam coat is perhaps a way to reconcile with the recyclability of not only leaves but people. That in a society which treasures the use of people for its own means, its in some senses hard for people to really express themselves. That in especially tough situations of environments there are so few choices to choose from and so few worlds to inhabit and wear. â€Å"It has outworn its power to startle birds/and has become a rough/looking-glass fibre stuff/chameleon, reflecting wintry woods. /that matted sheep-potential bale of wool/on knitting-needle legs-/sees me as sheep. Those twigs/sense me as bark-skinned tree if I stand still. † The use of people is at times so much changing as people are expected to objectify themselves in so many ways, that apart from a degeneration into the dirt caused by organic decay. People are expected to transform themselves from the natural to the created, just as wool is transformed by the knitting-needle into something like a sweater. The wool as fetched from the backs of sheep, sheared for warmth, is transformed in the shop by the needle to turn itself into something more that people can simply use. When the speaker wears this coat and feels that she may be more degraded and not regarded so well, looked upon as sheep. A vulnerable yet strong person who is fleeced or can be fleeced. That despite the almost insulting attitude towards the hardship of the farmers wife. The distancing yet empathy that is regenerated in this poem. That the speaker wears the pain and suffering of the farmers wife like a costume. That there is an idiosyncratic individuality which borrows from the uniformity of a farmers wife to converge into some medium point. There is still, an unavailability of true emotion or authentic sympathy, as to â€Å"travel incognito† as to â€Å"register on no mans retina. † Is a way of distancing oneself from a role, or even an affectation while still borrowing so much from it. Ultimately the farmers wife is much removed and only imagined, like some pastoral painting. In conclusion, we can only receive her secondhand, like the worn Oxfam coat, there but not there at the same time because life is never given to it in full.

A History Of The Netflix Strategy

A History Of The Netflix Strategy In 1997, Reed Hastings, along with partners Marc Randolph and Mitch Lowe, was inspired to develop one of the most successful bricks and mortar businesses to date, when a frustrating situation exposed the need to create a lucrative e-commerce business, requiring many of the same basic components as a traditional business, including a cohesive business model, compelling marketing plan, and strong implementation strategy. It was the video rental late fee that motivated Reed Hastings to develop Netflix.com.  [1]  Advances in technology, adaptation of DVD media over VHS, and an unmet consumer demand is responsible for the successful launch of Hastings vision, which has undergone several strategy shifts similar to other innovative start-up companies that begin with a simple vision. Changes in focus or direction have continued to assure that the company remains dominant in the movie rental industry, using a strong business strategy and a cohesive implementation plan that have increased the odds of their success in the market. Hastings began his business by declaring a simple yet effective mission statement, our appeal and success are built on the most expansive selection of DVDs; an easy way to choose movies; and fast, free delivery.  [2]  The business strategy for Netflix has evolved to satisfy new market opportunities, although the original concept has remained the same, making the companys business model the perfect business model from which all eBusinesses could learn, regardless of the slow adoption by the internet user community. To translate market opportunity to business opportunity, Hastings follows the seven-step framework to create the original company and continued to leverage the individual steps to re-evaluate the companys position in a changing market. . There are four key environments to consider when analyzing a market opportunity-customers, company, technology, and competition.  [3]  The overlapping areas of these key environments would represent the market opportunity area for a business. The first of the seven step process identified the unmet or underserved customer needs by Reed Hastings, being a customer himself. He was able to draw upon his personal experience to establish the opportunity nucleus of the company that stemmed mostly from processes dictated by traditional video rental businesses. The bricks and mortar movie rental companies had generally established methods and policies regarding video rentals, late fees, and membership rules that, according to Hastings, would have no reason to change without external competition. Following the problem recognition step, Netflix identified its target market by grouping customers into segments, referred to as the distinction between must-have and nice-to-have customers.  [4]  For Netflix, this includes identifying customers using geographic, demographic, and behavioural segmentation approaches, with the target audience expanding beyond the regions and primary market areas that typically define traditional brick-and-mortar businesses. In this type of business, the target audience is bound by technology rather than geography, giving Netflix the competitive advantage it needed to begin as a business by utilizing an Internet-based system that allowed a user to find movie titles, making it easier than strolling the aisles of a video rental store. The entire supply-chain of the Netflix mail-order fulfillment system is more desirable than issues surrounding weather, store hours, and drop boxes common to most bricks and mortar movie rental businesses. Step four of the seven-step process involved assessing the resources necessary to deliver the benefits of the product to the consumer for Netflix as a company, and step five required an in-depth assessment of the technology required to deliver the product to the end-user, and the impact of these new technologies externally as the technologies used in 1997 were primitive to present-day technologies. As a positioning strategy for the future, Netflix was able to incorporate Broadband technology as a part of its product delivery system and distribution strategy as it is commonplace today, making the online users experience many times better than before. Step six of the market opportunity framework involved distilling the opportunity into concrete terms, before the final step of justifying the companys position in the market and identifying the overlapping areas of the four key environments mentioned earlier that represent the market opportunity area for Netflix. The online experience that Netflix provides to its consumer rivals the competition and is a part of its differentiation strategy in the market. The Netflix market position boasts an easier way to choose movies, fast and free shipping, and no late fees or due dates  [5]  , unique to the company in terms of its product and delivery. In addition to following the movie rental membership models of other businesses, Netflix expanded the scope of their offering to include several levels of membership and created an online community where member could contribute by offering and sharing reviews as a part of its promotion strategy. Today, this online business model that differentiates the product by creating an experience for the user has become a beacon for other businesses to follow.  [6]   Netflix follows best practices across 7Cs-context, commerce, connection, communication, content, community, and customization as its product, promotion and distribution strategy.  [7]  The context of Netflix site follows basic rules for ease of use and navigation standards for the web, and uses a clean, uncluttered design to present an online movie rental experience that is unique for its users. The color scheme and graphic elements also remain true to the corporate brand image of the company. Its commerce capability is limited only by its business model, where members spend the majority of their time within the areas of the Netflix website that offers movie reviews and search capabilities, as the only transactions are one-time enrolments and subscriptions to the monthly service. Members only revisit the commerce section if a subscription needs to be changed since all other transactions are automatic and recurring. The connection design element is not used on the Netflix member s ite as the Netflix website does not offer any external links. However, in the non-member and public areas within the website, Netflix offers external links to the websites of major publications, well-known critics, and other movie review sites. Netflix banner ads that are found on many popular sites, link each banner ad to the Netflix main page. Netflix has also mastered the challenges associated with integrating their website and other communication channels. As an example, each time a movie is returned, the member receives an email, asking them to review the movie and offer additional comments if desired. Periodically, the member receives an email asking for information regarding the timing and condition of a DVD once it is delivered. This information is then used to monitor the quality of service of the fulfillment centers. The Netflix website content consists mostly of movie imagery, descriptions and storylines, and member posted reviews. A non-member is presented with content d esigned to encourage enrolment, whereas the member community enjoys a user-specific experience, where movie titles are presented to each member that are relevant to his or her likes and dislikes, based on individual movie reviews. The content also includes static information regarding the Netflix organization, its affiliates, career listings, and social networking links. Additionally, Netflix provides a robust community design element to their site, where members are invited to participate in reviews, forums, and blogs. The tell-a-friend option creates a viral element useful in word-of-mouse marketing, but falls short of providing functionality that allows member-to-member communication. Movie ratings provided by the users are real-time, whereas the written reviews are moderated before posting live to the site. Lastly, customization features include allowing every member to manage his or her own personal movie queue. Much like a playlist, the Netflix queue is used to control and man age the titles and order that the movies should be delivered to the member. The site uses this customization element to provide a member-specific experience to the user. Every member also receives an interactive list of movie titles that can be added to their playlist as another customization feature, after analyzing the members previously watched movies and the associated ratings provide enough information to create a suggested playlist. Netflix uses several communication strategies as its promotion strategy for prospecting and acquiring new members. Of the four categories of communication which are direct, personalized, mass marketing, and general approaches, the company relies mostly on the general approach of banner ads, email, and viral marketing. Members opt-in to receive special notices, offers, and incentives.  [8]  Netflix also uses banner advertising to direct traffic from sites with a similar audience demographic as their current target market. As its new pricing strategy, Netflix split its pricing model into two options. The first one continued with the old model where customers get unlimited streaming along with DVD-rentals, and also added a new option where customers get unlimited movie streaming without the option of DVD-rental. The unlimited streaming only option, which is clearly Netflixs preferred method of delivering TV shows and movies, costs $7.99 per month. The unlimited streaming with DVD-rental costs between $9.99 to $41.99 per month, depending on the number of DVDs rented. The old pricing model started at $9.99 per month, so the new streaming only option represents a $2.00 monthly decrease.

Socialist Equality of Opportunity Essay -- Politics, Free Market Syst

Each of us is inherently conditioned into a particular way of life by our community and the politics that govern such a society. At any current time, the organization of political principles, such as democracy or distributive justice, has been a predetermined result. We blindly accept that our ancestors were correct and ignore the possibility of objections. Yet, this is a grave mistake, especially considering the fact that our lives and the way society is organized are so intertwined. This means â€Å"we cannot avoid thinking of our political practices as alterable, and even (if only in retrospect) as possible objects of choice† (Bird 3). To some, one of the â€Å"alterable† political practices of distributive justice, in Socialist Equality of Opportunity (EOP), may seem extreme. The word Socialism has developed into a â€Å"meaningless word† that serves as a synonym to tyranny (Orwell 4). Yet, a specific form of socialism, equality of opportunity, has many meri ts over common, currently practiced systems and should be considered as a legitimate ideal for distributive justice. To realize the aforementioned thesis it is important to first define equality of opportunity. Within the definition, many reasonable objections will surface, but through disputing common theories on distributive justice, it will be relatively simple to recognize the following: EOP is the most rational form of distributive justice given the inherent nature of society, it eliminates a vast number of inherent inequalities, and is the most efficient form of distributive justice if equality of opportunity can be granted. The task then is to adequately define Socialist EOP. This in itself, like defining most distributive justice schemes, is a complex matter. However, it may he... ...n my opinion, the nature of society includes a communal ideal that does not let those less fortunate suffer irrationally. Within Socialist EOP, the decisions of any individual remain intact so long as everyone starts out with the same chance for success. Although, what might come out of this is complexity, Socialist EOP fosters a true sense of justice and fairness by catering to the true sense of society. Economic efficiency shouldn’t matter, so long as the aforementioned ideals are held up by the state. The consequence will be a more just and perhaps a more efficient society. Compared to other polarized schemes, Socialist EOP truly represents the best chance at success, by eliminating a broad range of inequalities based on arbitrary factors, including luck. Only in eliminating all of these factors can a society, forged on a true sense of justice, be realized.

The Argument Essay: Just Dont Do It! -- Argumentative Persuasive Topi

The Argument Paper: Just Don't Do It! Â   English 101 is incredibly challenging and overwhelming to the typical college student. A narrative reflective essay, an expository essay, a novel, and the Nelson-Denny Reading Comprehension test are all crammed into ten weeks of backbreaking work. However, the most intolerable assignment of all has not even been mentioned yet: the argument paper! Students run around shrieking and cursing when they are handed the assignment. Most of them are enveloped by insanity during the writing process. When I mentioned the dreaded argument paper to a fellow classmate, he said that he felt my pain. English 101 students should not be required to write an argument paper because it is detrimental to their emotional well-being. Some people may think it necessary to know how to write an argument paper. Everyone will have to do it at least once in his or her life, and Freshman English is the place to learn how. But that is not the case. In truth, I have never heard of anyone writing an argument paper unless he or she is required to by law or is plannin...

Change over Time Renaissance Essay

Because of the Middle ages and the crusades, the Renaissance and the humanistic art and literature and the Protestant Reformation and the splitting of the Catholic Church. Those three ages brought upon important historical events which we all know and study. The Middle Ages and the crusades where first and then came the Renaissance with humanistic art and then the Protestant Reformation and the splitting of the Catholic Church. Middle Ages were one of the most destructive and important times in our history with the bubonic plague and the crusades. The bubonic plague was the cause of invading and unhealthy living when mice and small fleas from a town where transported on to boat with survivors and brought to Europe. It came into Europe because of Mongol invaders, and it killed over 100 million of the world’s population. The crusades began their â€Å"heavenly war† because of Pope urban urging the English and all his subjects to go out to war and recapture the holy land. ————————————————- Around the 1400’s after all the crusades and plague had gone by, the kings work had been done so his subjects were at peace and feudalism was through, so the cultural movement of middle ages(salvation) was gone and was replaced by a new artistic movement called Humanism. Leonardo da Vinci was one of the most fascinating people of the 14th century as he was not only an artist but an inventor, a scientist, an engineer and a botanist among other things, he would often praise the human intellect to achieve things( as was the theme for this time period). Galileo Galilei is also fascinating as he is the first scientist to say the earth revolves around the sun, thus â€Å"defying† the word of god, which no one in the time of the Middle Ages would do as they wanted and believed that they had to work to get to heaven and never blaspheme the word of god. ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- The protestant reformation was a reforming act that was led by Martin Luther and many other early Protestants who thought that you should go to heaven for your acts and not by working towards it unlike the past two ages. The ninety-five theses were written by Martin Luther and were 95 ideas on how to change the Christian church to make it sacred and unsecular again. Since the church only made slight changes to their rules, Martin Luther and his followers created protestism, If it was in the Middle Ages, Martin luther would’ve been slain, and if in the Renaissance he would have been shunned. ———————————————— ————————————————- As These passages tell you there where major changes in Europe have shaped the way the world is today. The Middle ages , the Reniassan ce and the protestant reformation all made the world different . The crusades, humanistic art and ninety five theses are very important. ————————————————-