Wal-Mart Information Technology Systems Support - Case Study Example A purchase at any store is reflected at the nerve center within 15 minutes and within an hour, the company has a complete picture of its sales including which among the 690 million items across its stores sell the most. This clarity in the company’s performance in real-time is responsible for seamless operations on such a grand scale. Cash register receipts, for example, are backed up in the system and retained for two years. Having such a rich pool of data on shoppers helps Wal-Mart know their customer’s buying trends are enabling the company to treat each of their hundreds of million customers as individuals. The sales statistics of products at Wal-Mart are monitored to the last item, something that gives the company an edge over its competitors because improvements based on this data can be made in the shortest time possible. The Wal-Mart system even goes further to track weather and matches that data with buying patterns. This information allows the retailer to place enough orders for items purchased during a hurricane, for example, so that by the time such a disaster hits, shoppers have enough supply of the much-needed items. Another unique aspect of the Wal-Mart system is its ability to be shared to a limited extent, with suppliers. This IT system has a provider link that shows them the position of their items in real-time at all stores across the world where such products are stocked. With this data, suppliers can make product flows such that the right products are delivered to the right store in time. Having their systems opened up to suppliers brings trust between them and the company as they can transparently monitor the performance of their products from the comfort of their respective premises.
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12/27/2019 0 Comments Self RelianceThe Idea of American Self Reliance From the readings of Cooper, Hawthorne, and Emerson you get a coherent understanding of how each writer interpreted the notion of “American Self Relianceâ€. Self- Reliance is defined as the dependence on one's own efforts and abilities . There are profound strengths in promoting and practicing the idea of Self-Reliance but also evident weaknesses if the phrase is taken too literally.While making reference to Cooper, Hawthorne and Emerson's readings the following essay will discuss the otion of American Self Reliance as well as an advantage and a disadvantage that can be caused by fully living by its creed. Most of us strive for success and independence. Most take pride in themselves for being able to start from the bottom and emerge on top with no help from others. This is typically interpreted as self reliance. However, it is not always possible to rise to the top by our efforts solely. At times we all need help in succeeding in life or simply bettering ourselves.Emerson's writing persuades you to believe that man alone is completely self sufficient for him r herself. I view this as a disadvantage or weakness in thought and practice because you cannot always believe that you will never need help from anyone or anything. This type of thinking could potentially stagnant one's progress and the reluctance to ask for or accept help would be the cause. Emerson writes “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men, – that is geniusâ€.I disagree with this statement because it can be interpreted negatively or positively and from the reading I deduced that Emerson only presented his statement in a positive cogitation. This quote further influences us to believe that if we feel we can accomplish anything on our own in our hearts then everyone should believe this as well and in turn this is the most intellectual way to think. Unfortunately there are countless times when what we believe true in our hearts, whether it concerns our capabilities or accomplishments, are in reality not feasible.Certain external or internal factors beyond our control can hinder our progress. Although, with the help of others, and the renouncement of the notion of living trictly by a creed of self- reliance, one could possibly demonstrate success in their thoughtful aspirations regardless of the unknown or potential hindrances that may lie ahead. With help we are able to maneuver and the ability to maneuver in our lives is an advantage and strength. I do not disagree with the complete ideology of self reliance.Emerson writes, “What I must do, is all that concerns me, not what the people think. It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd eeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitudeâ€. This quote is powerful because it depicts the strength or advantage (great man) that one can have in life if they focus on self and not worry about the opinions and conformity that society attempts to influence them with.It makes reference to will-power, determination and in solitude, amidst society. Having independent thought no matter what coaxes exists is a vital aspect of self reliance. In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown he writes, “Faith! Faith! cried the husband. Look up to Heaven, and resist the Wicked One! . Despite the fact that Hawthorne does not specifically mention the theory of self reliance in Young Goodman Brown, it is still included metaphorically throughout the text.Here Hawthorne support Emerson's ideology of Self Reliance by showing the strong will and determination Goodman Brown had by sticking to his beliefs and resorting to the higher power (God) in the face of evil and ultimately veering away from the influence of the wicked that surrounded him. After Brown sticks to his beliefs and does not conform to those of his surrounding environment he finds imself alone again in the woods, everything having vanished.Staying committed in your beliefs and views at all times whether in solitude or among others is important and as Hawthorne depicts, can entirely alter a predicament or situation for the better. From the readings I also concluded that self reliance is not only about believing in yourself or staying true to who you are despite the influence of society it is also about not abusing the resources that god has put forth for you to flourish. James Fenimore Cooper writes in The Pioneers, “It's much better to kill only such as ou want, without wasting your powder and lead, than to be firing into God's creaters in such a wicked manner.But I come out for a bird, and you know the reason why I like small game, Mr. Oliver, and now I have got one I will go home, for I don't like to see these wasty ways that you are all practysing, as if the least thing was not made for use, and not to destroy'. Cooper reveals a portion of his interpretation of Self reliance with this excerpt from The Pioneers. The character who speaks these words, Natty Bumppo, was portrayed as the embodiment of American Self-Reliance, who ived free, was strong, determined, self sufficient and lived close to nature.Cooper believed that connection with nature was essential for one's development and ability to be self reliant. In this quote he portrays his distaste for killing god's creations for game and not necessity, which translate into the abuse of our natural resources. Cooper, Hawthorne and Emerson collectively make some great points and examples of American Self Reliance throughout their works. However, it is important to acknowledge that some of their ideologies can serve as strengths as well as potential eaknesses. Cooper, F.J. (2003). The Pioneers. In N. Baym, The Norton Anthology of Literature (pp. 440-449). New York : Norton & Company. Emerson, R. (2003). Self Reliance. In N. Baym, The Norton Anthology of Literature (pp. 450-467). New York: Norton & Company. Hawthorne, N. (2003). Young Goodman Brown. In N. Baym, The Norton Anthology of Literature (pp. 613-623). New York : Norton & Company. Merriam- Webster. com. (2013, November 3). Retrieved November 3, 2013, from Merriam- Webster: http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/self%20reliance
An integrated critique of kozols and dawkins Essay
AN INTEGRATED CRITIQUE OF KOZOL’S AND DAWKIN INTRODUCTION Richard Dawkins was born on March 26, in 1941. He is an ethnologist, an evolutionarily biologists and a popular writer in science. He also holds the Simonyi Chair, which is designed to promote the understanding of science to public at Oxford University. The first time Dawkins come into the limelight and became popular was after writing his book ‘The Selfish Gene’ in 1976. This book introduced the term ‘meme’ and consequently helped discover memetics fields. It also made ‘gene-centered view of evolution’ popular. Around 1982, he made significant contributions toward evolution science. THE SELFISH GENE BY RICHARD DAWKINS Richard Dawkin’s ‘The selfish Gene’ was a very popular reading and to some extent controversial on evolution. The book elaborates and goes deeper to discuss more about the theory of William’s first ever book to write ‘Adaptation and Natural Selection’. The theory discussed on this book is principal to William’s book. Richard introduced, ‘Selfish Gene’ to provoke and express his views on gene’s evolution. This view states that evolution acts on genes and when we select some organisms or a population, this selection is normally based on the type of genes. According to his book, an organism must evolve since it is the only way of maximizing its ‘inclusive fitness’, which refers to the total number of the genes which are transmitted globally, rather than the genes passed on by a particular individual. Consequently, a population tends to learn towards ‘Evolutionarily Stable Strategy’. (Richard, 1990) This ‘selfish gene’ came up with the term ‘meme’. ‘Meme refers to a single unit of human’s culture evolution which is analogous to genes. It suggests that this is a ‘selfish’ replication of human genes, and it can affect the culture of human in a totally difference sense. There is no doubt that ‘memetics’ evoked a discussion of meme since he published his book. ‘Meme’ is cultural information units, which can be transferred from one mind to another. Examples of memes are tunes, clothes fashion, catch phrases, pot making or building arches. “Meme’ is properly defined in the theory of memetic, which is comprised of information on culture in a unit theory; how evolution of culture or diffusion is blocked, how it propagates form mind to mind and the way a gene propagates from one person or from an organism to an organism. Where memes are multiple, they propagate as “memeplexes’. Meme complexes act as cooperative groups. (Richard, 1990) A ‘gene’ on the other hand, is a region that can be located and has a sequence called ‘genomic sequence. This corresponds to an inheritance unit that is closely associated with regions that play a regulatory function, the regions, which are transcribed, and other regions with functional sequence. The phenotype and physical development of organisms is believed to be productivity of genes, which interact among themselves and with their environment. Genes are generally inheritance units. A gene generally defines human or organism’s characteristic and the functionality of potential products. Genes do not define products but rather they contain regions. Eukaryotic organisms contain regions, which do not have coding regions and are called introns. These are taken away from RNA, which acts as the messenger in a process referred to as ‘splicing’. Exons are regions, which encode the products of gene. A total number of genes, which make a set, is called ‘genome’. The genome size of an organism is usually low in prokaryotes, which come in base pairs and the gene’s numbers. The theorists of meme state that meme evolve through natural selection, this is similar to biological evolution of Darwin through competition, inheritance, variation and mutation. THE ROLE OF CULTURAL EVOLUTION Cultural evolution and socio-evolution fall under the umbrella called ‘socio-cultural evolution’. It describes how societies and cultures have come into being over time. Cultural theories provide us with models to enhance our understanding on the relationship between our social structure, technologies and society values; and give reasons why and how they change gradually. They change to a degree to which specific mechanisms of social change are described. (Richard 1990) Around 20th and 19th century, there were approaches, which were aimed to give models for humankind evolution. The argument is that the social development of different societies is not in the same stage. The recent approaches of the 20th century emphasize on changes, which are specific to a society as an individual and turn down social progress and directional change. Archeologists and anthropologists use modern theories as the framework of socio-cultural evolution. Sociobiology and neo-evolutionism are some of modern approaches employed to cultural evolution. Richard Dawkins, the ethnologist discovered ‘meme’. According to his book, “TheSelfish Gene’ 1976, likened human’s cultural evolution unit to a gene. His argument was that replication happens in the culture, through in a different sense. Dawkins contends that meme, which resides in the brain represents units of information and it is the replicator that controls mutation in cultural evolution of humans. This forms a pattern, which has the power to influence surroundings, that is, it can propagate and possesses causal agency. However, his theory caused a heated debate among biologists, sociologists and scientists from other disciplines. Dawkins failed to given adequate explanation about the information units replicates, in organism’s brain, how it can control the behaviour of a human being and finally culture. It is apparent that it was not Dawkins intention to give the theory of memetics. Comprehensively in the selfish gene, he coined the word meme in a kind of speculative spirit. In the same sense, ‘unit of information was given different definitions by different scientists. (Richard 1990). MEME AND EDUCATION It is not entirely impossible though it is hard to debate the subject matter of the functions of emotions in education system if we are lacking the right words to sufficiently discuss the topic. This is the scenario when we reach a point of discussing the functional role of ‘emotional intelligence’ because it has got to do with the needs of our younger brothers and sisters as well as great grandchildren and become stochastically and mathematically proficient so as they can exist and fit in the competition which is characterized by technological advancement. Many educators are failing because they lack words such as ‘eipiphiny’ and ‘mehme’ and hence do not have words, which play an important role of ‘emotional intelligence,’ and how it relates to stochastic and mathematical literacy sufficiently and appropriately address attempts that can be made. The outcome is a system of education that is believed to be failing. If the kids can experience and feel eipiphinies and MEHMES, kids will definitely love maths, and see its relevance to their lives daily. It also contributes a feeling of self-confident. The key here is to create the terms mehme and eipiphiny. Introduction of mehme and eipiphiny may have a positive effect if incorporated in the meme selection process. |