Marketing research - social media audit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing research - social media audit - Essay Example Additional products and services include Safaricom Mail and Safaricom shops. In March 2007, Safaricom Company, in collaboration with Vodafone Group Services Limited, via Vodafone Marketing S.A.R.L., launched the M-PESA services (Mobile Money Transfer Services). Based on its advancements in terms of growth and service provision, the Company has signed agreements with other companies i.e., Vodafone International Holdings B.V. it is worth noting that one of its major achievements was realized in 2009 (two years after its establishment), when it realized a100 percent interest in Packet stream Data Networks (http://www.safaricom.co.ke/about-us/about-safaricom/our-history-heritage). WHAT: Safaricom begun as a department of the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation based on an analogue ETACS networks and later upgraded to GSM in 1996. On 3 April 1997, Safaricom Limited was integrated as prescribed in the Companies Act under the category of private limited liability company, and alt ered into a public company on 16 May 2002, with limited liability. WHO: Safaricom Company is faced with a stiff competition for Airtel, Essar-yu, and Orange companied. Although they apply different strategies, their targeted market is one. WHY: Following its good reception by the market and effective management, Safaricom Company has come up with a range of services and products such as financial aid initiatives, charity foundation, communication support, customer care services, advisory services, flashback services, ‘kipokezi’ services, mobile internet connectivity, e.t.c. KEY WORDS Safaricom limited (Current name of the company since the year 2002) Safaricom Kenya (Fundamental name of the company) Safaricom Foundation (Its branch that is tasked by major charitable activities to the communities) ‘M-Pesa’ (Safaricom being the sole provider of this service where subscribers can send and receive money via their mobile phones as long as they are within the pro ximity of the service coverage, i.e., East Africa). ‘M-Shwari’ (Safaricom being the sole provider of this service aimed at promoting local business operators i.e. SMEs). ‘Okoa Jahazi’ (Safaricom being the sole provider of this service. ‘Okoa jahazi’ is a Kiswahili term that means advance acquisition of airtime that is paid upon toping up the line). Bob Collymore (Safaricom CEO) Mobile application providers (these applications are mentioned in the executive summary covered above) Mobile Money Transfer Services provider (in addition to the ‘M-Pesa’ services covered above, pay bill services, and buy airtime/top up services are also provided). COMPANY ANALYSIS AND COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS Competition intensity within any industries is not an issue that is based on luck. Competition has its foundation on the underlying industries’ economics and proceeds well beyond any other established competitors within a defined market. Not all in dustries have equal potential while competing for market coverage. Companies differ basically in their definitive profit potentials as the collective strength of the forces of competition differs; the forces range from intense in industries like paper, tires and steel, where no firms earn spectacular returns, to relatively mild in industries where high returns are common. Initiating

International Opportunities Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

International Opportunities - Case Study Example This is extremely tasking explaining why these companies opt to remain local actors. In the course of internationalization, firms prefer where business regulation laws are lax as they can benefit more if they need to test new products (Hoskisson, Hitt, Ireland& Harrison 310-12). Availability of market will work positively for this company that aims at targeting a huge clientele base. A good example is the tobacco sale will work if the regulations are lax. On a negative note, firms may suffer if the regulations are lax, as they may have to pay for some financial risks. In the case where the currencies are not well regulated, the firms may suffer a great deal. The firm may, therefore, operate from losses. Worse still, this company may not get the required products to supply in other countries. Political instabilities in other countries where they hope to venture may also cost the firm if the regulation laws are lax (Hoskisson, Hitt, Ireland& Harrison

Explain what you believe to be the 3 biggesrt reasons why the price of Essay

Explain what you believe to be the 3 biggesrt reasons why the price of a gallon of gasoline has fallen so much in the last few momths - Essay Example or the decreased price is the decreasing oil demand based on that numerous countries have been developing oil reservoirs that can sustain their internal industry. In the United States, the production of oil has increased significantly since 2008. The increase has been influenced by the more advanced drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil production from the United States has increased the supply to the international market. In addition, different from oil from the Middle East, the price for American Oil is relatively cheaper (Plumer 1). This is based on that the United States has decreased its purchase level of expensive international oil. The impact of the strategy has been consumer friendly. In the global market, more oil from the United States and other suppliers the supply is relatively high. This decreases the monopoly of production from the Middle East (Plumer 1). Moreover, with high supply the demand in in major oil producers decreases. To sustain their production, oil producers decrease the oil prices with the objective to retain relevance in the global market. This changes has significantly influenced the decreasing gasoline prices. The consumer ability to purchase cheap oil is directly influenced by the general drop in the price of crude oil. The fall being attributed to high supply and low demand of the product. On a daily basis, the United States millions of barrels of oil to supply to the large global oil economy. The slightest decrease on the price of crude oil has a significant effect on the retail price quoted for the gas. From 2013, the price of crude oil has decreased significantly. The projection of the decrease depict even more relatively low prices by the end of 2015. The fall of global prices was also influenced by the decision by OPEC not to manipulate oil prices and oil production (Plumer 1). Previously, the oil body would determine the prices of oil from its producers. The body has in its control the largest producers of global oil. With

Packet Data Transmission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Packet Data Transmission - Essay Example The transport layer establishes a session management between the two hosts. Data received from the application layer is segmented into packets. Each packet is given a unique label before being transmitted. The packets contain the necessary information that is sent to the host computer to fetch a web page; these packets are transmitted to the internet layer. The internet layer constitutes the Internet Protocol (Parziale, 2006). Data is packaged into Internet Protocol datagrams, which hold the address details of the client and server. The addresses of the client and server side are referred to as IP addresses (Osterloh, 2001). The packets are then transmitted to network interface layer. The network interface layer is responsible for determining how data is transmitted over the network (Rufi, 2008). The transmission of data is dependent on the network medium used, for example, Ethernet and the optical fiber. TCP/IP protocol stack In order for communication to be effective, the internet protocol is based on the TCP/IP model. The TCP/IP constitutes protocols, mainly the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), hence the name but there exist other protocols as well. The TCP/IP is a hierarchical model composed of interactive modules where each module is assigned a specific task (Bonaventure, 2011, p.75). The layers in the model are composed of protocols that can relate to each other depending on the system type. In terms of hierarchy, a number of layers below the higher layer protocols support it.

To Impeach or not to Impeach Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

To Impeach or not to Impeach - Essay Example It is a legal proceeding founded against a government servant by a governing body. It is applicable for the President, Vice President, and other central officers in addition to judges in United States of Representatives. Impeachment is enacted on the basis of regular court reports. Impeachment is executed by the Senate in the United States. Impeachment can be voidable automatically a charged official is able to establish his/her innocence in front of the Senate. The Top most judicial organizations are resolute that they cannot review such proceedings. Impeachment may be conducted by a member of legislatures. The impeachment may be activated by non-member, when the conferences of judicial committee suggest that a federal judge liable to be impeached. Impeachment process generally is based upon a two-step approach (Shanks, 2002). The main objective of this study is to gather comprehension about the impeachment process with particular reference to the scenario prevailing in the United S tates. The study would facilitate to find out if impeachment of federal officials is a common occurrence in the United States. ... From the analysis of the history related to impeachment, it can be said that impeachment is a common occurrence for the federal officials. It is a very common occurrence for the federal officials not from now but from early history. In recent history, there have been frequent instances of federal officials being impeached in the United States. Since the initial impeachments in the year 1986-1989, a number of cases had been reported and executed impeachment of federal officials as well as judges. Consequently, many of these federal officials were forced to resign from the official position or they were punished under the court of law. In the year 2003, there had been 61 federal officers who were investigated due to their impeachment (Bazan, 2010). Who Was The Federal Official Who Was Most Recently Impeached? Gabriel Thomas Porteous, Jr. was the federal official who was most recently impeached after completing sixteen years of judgment in Federal court in United States. His impeachment was performed in 2010 and subsequently he was ejected from his position in the United States District Court (Memoli, 2010). Why Was He Impeached? On 8th December 2010, the Government of America found Judge Gabriel Thomas Porteous Jr. of Federal District Court to be guilty under at least one of the four related articles of impeachment and subsequently detached him from his position. Judge Porteous was the eight magistrate of federal court to be removed from his position under the charges of impeachment. He was impeached by the Senate in March 2010 on a charge of accepting money from business people along with assuming other favors from them. Moreover, he was charged on the grounds of intentionally deceiving the Senate as well as Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after he

Comparative analysis of political participation Essay Example for Free

Comparative analysis of political participation Essay The change in political participation is currently a hotly discussed topic. Low turnouts in the 2001 and 2005 UK general elections, along with falling membership of political parties have led political organisations to discover the reasons for this (BBC, 2006). One method is to use comparative analysis. This â€Å"is about comparing aspects of countries’ political systems† (Dobson, 2005, p.140) to try to understand why a phenomenon occurs in one country or time period but not in another. This essay looks at two factors, which evidence suggests affect political participation: gender and socio-economic standing. It examines whether comparative analysis is a useful tool for studying this topic. It concludes that whilst comparative politics is helpful at identifying participation trends, it is too simplistic to provide practical answers and that further studies are required to reveal useful outcomes. Historically, conventional ways for citizens to participate in politics were by voting in elections and joining a political party. The decline in these activities has led some to believe there is political apathy in Britain. However Helena Kennedy (cited by White, 2006, p.4), chair of the Commission which produced the Power to the People report (2006) denies this, saying that despite â€Å"no longer want[ing] to join a party or get involved in formal politics,† people instead take direct action by raising money for charities, joining protest marches, signing petitions and undertaking volunteering work within their communities. The possibility for differing definitions of key outcomes is a disadvantage for comparative analysis. A study that defines participation in terms such as voting or contacting politicians will conclude that political participation has decreased and supports the political apathy theory, whereas, a study such as the Citizen Audit (2001), using â€Å"unorthodox† definitions, such as membership of political organisations (anything from trade unions to community groups) or financially supporting activist organisations, find that participation is still strong. The Citizen Audit â€Å"found that approximately 40 per cent of adults belong to at least one political organisation† (Smith, 2005, p.83)  and â€Å"there is little evidence of widespread apathy† (Smith, 2005, p.84). When trying to create policies to increase political participation, these conflicting results are unhelpful. Following a 2002 European Union directive, which required member states to â€Å"promote equality in relation to sexual orientation, age and religion in addition to race, gender and disability† (Squires, 2005, p.119), European governments began to initiate changes to the way women were represented within parliament. Governments did not necessarily choose the same initiatives and comparative analysis is useful to identify quickly the comparative success of each government’s initiatives. (See table 1, Appendix). Political systems are hugely complex and as Dobson states; â€Å"Each day most of us find ourselves describing, explaining and predicting something. Comparative politics is no more, then, than carrying out these apparently basic human activities in the context of what we are calling ‘political worlds’ † (Dobson, 2005, p.143). Comparing what happens in different countries or different political systems enables the analysis of differences and similarities and thereby, identifying factors that can be applied generally to simplify complex systems. For example Table 1 shows that Nordic countries have significantly higher levels of female participation in comparison to the UK. A policy maker, looking to increase participation by UK women, can then look at why there is such a large disparity between the two countries and whether there is something the UK could learn from Nordic policy. This illustrates another advantage of comparative study; it gives opportunity to expand one’s knowledge of political worlds. For comparison there must be at least two things to compare which must be evidently different. In political comparison, this is often two different countries and even if one is one’s own, the other will not be and â€Å"if we assume that knowledge of others is a prerequisite for finding our way around, and managing, a globalizing world, then comparative politics seems to be of increasing practical importance† (Dobson, 2005, p.143). Expanding one’s knowledge is generally auspicious and simplifying complex  information is usually advantageous although over simplification is a risk. Table 2 shows the same information as table 1 but for the elections that were held closest to the time of the aforementioned EU directive. Figure 1 shows the percentage point difference between both elections. Using this information, that same policy maker may feel that focussing on France’s policies would be of much greater value than that of the Nordic countries as, in only 10 years, France has almost doubled the amount of women who hold parliamentary seats. Comparing and ranking countries can be useful but, as illustrated here, it is only part of a story and great care must be taken when interpreting comparative data. Oversimplification is a distinct risk of comparative analysis. It is possible to mitigate the risk by undertaking more study, producing more data and a more sophisticated and detailed analysis to guide forecasting or policy change. It is important that one considers this potential issue when working with conclusions drawn from comparative analysis. In 2005 the Electoral Commission produced a research report, Social Exclusion and Political Engagement. Its aim was to explore â€Å"why those experiencing social disadvantage tend to also be the most politically excluded in society.† (Electoral Commission, 2005) Looking at the aim of this report highlights an advantage of using comparative politics but also a disadvantage. The advantage is that it allows testing of hypotheses; in this case, those who experience social disadvantage are more likely to be politically excluded. By comparing different circumstances, one can find out what factors affect the political situation in a country, giving an idea as to what particular social/financial or other conditions might give rise to say, reform or revolution in the future. The possibility to predict outcomes is especially important for politicians; â€Å"the possibility of knowing that under certain social conditions, policy X will produce outcome Y† (Dobson, 2005, p.144) all ows them to make informed policy decisions. The disadvantage is that in research, subjectivity and objectivity can sometimes be lost. Baxter, (cited by Dobson, 2005, p.146) points out; â€Å"Research is not a wholly objective activity carried out by detached scientists. It is a social activity powerfully affected by the researcher’s  own motivations and values.† In this case, the researcher(s) has(ve) already taken on the axiom that those with social disadvantages are politically excluded. This does not necessarily mean that conclusions drawn by social scientists are useless it just means that it is important that anyone working with these conclusions is aware that they â€Å"might be ‘contaminated’ by their [comparative scientists’] own motivations and values† (Dobson, 2005, p.154). The report drew together much information on the subject and found that the ‘working class’ (C2DEs) were 21 percentage points less likely to vote than the ‘middle class’ (ABC1), 60% to 41%. It also found â€Å"ABC1s twice as likely as C2DEs to take advantage of the opportunity to contact their elected representatives: two-thirds of those who present their views to their councillors or MPs are ABC1s†¦ Political activism is higher among ABC1s than C2DEs (23% as compared to 7%). Across a range of different activities which could still be defined as ‘political’, there is a correlation with class and income†¦ those in the lowest social class, the poorest in society and the less educated were less likely to be politically active than those who are in a higher social class† (Electoral Commission, 2005, p.9). This gives a lot of interesting information and seems to make it clear that there is a correlation between social class and political participation but then it could be argued that it does not really say anything useful. It illustrates a difference but it does not give any reason for this difference. It does not give any principles that one could draw from the comparisons to enable one to make wider or more generalised conclusions about what would lessen the gap. Anyone using the data runs the risk of putting their own interpretation on the results, as stated by Lewis (cited in Dobson, 2005, p.157) â€Å"the development of the comparatives’ tools seems to involve the interpretation of political reality rather than its simple and problem-free observation†. The other difficulty with this is that people interpret things in different ways and one person’s interpretation of these results might not be another’s. This runs the risk of further confusion rather tha n clarifying issues. To conclude, Dobson asks; â€Å"Whether, despite their peculiarities, we can build  theories for comparing political worlds that will enable us to offer general truths about them. Or are we only ever able to tell stories about them – stories rich in specific detail but devoid of generalizable truths?† (Dobson, 2005, p.140). Comparative analysis is a key tool in identifying trends in participation. It also allows for the testing of hypothesis and for simplification of complicated data, with the possibility of expanding ones knowledge; all notable advantages. However, the disadvantages of contamination and misinterpretation along with the possibility for over simplification reveal crucial limitations, meaning that comparative analysis offers little in the way of definitive predictions about or practical answers which could influence political participation. References BBC, 2006. Political system faces ‘meltdown’. BBC UK Politics. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4753876.stm [Accessed 3 December, 2014]. Electoral Commission, 2005. Available at: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/63835/Social-exclusion-and-political-engagement.pdf [Accessed 4 December, 2014]. Dobson, A., Story telling and theory building: comparing political worlds. In: Lewis, P ed. 2005. Exploring Political Worlds. Milton Keynes, The Open University Smith, M., Taking part in politics. In: Lewis, P ed. 2005. Exploring Political Worlds. Milton Keynes, The Open University Squires, J., Common citizenship and plural identities: the politics of social difference. In: Lewis, P ed. 2005. Exploring Political Worlds. Milton Keynes, The Open University White, I., Power Inquiry, 2006. Power to the People: the report of Power, an Independent Inquiry into Britain’s Democracy. Commons Library Standard Note, Power to the People: the report of Power, an Independent Inquiry into Britain’s Democracy. Commons Library Standard Note. Available at: http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN03948/power-to-the-people-the-report-of-power-an-independent-inquiry-into-britains-democracy [Accessed 3 December, 2014]. Whiteley, P.F., Pattie, C. and Seyd, P., Citizen Audit of Great Britain, 2000-2001 [computer file]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive [distributor], March 2005. SN: 5099, http://dx.doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-5099-1

MySQL server Essay Example for Free

MySQL server Essay When a client connects to the MySQL server, the server uses the username provided by the client and the client host to select the appropriate account row from the mysql.user table. It then uses this row to authenticate the client. Before MySQL 5.5.7, the server authenticates the password provided by the client against the Password column of the account row. As of MySQL 5.5.7, the server authenticates clients using plugins. Selection of the proper account row from the mysql.user table is based on the user name and client host, as before, but the server authenticates the client credentials as follows: The server determines from the account row which authentication plugin applies for the client. If the account row specifies no plugin name, the server uses native authentication; that is, authentication against the password stored in the Password column of the account row. This is the same authentication method provided by MySQL servers older than 5.5.7, before pluggable authentication was implemented, but now is implemented using two plugins that are built in and cannot be disabled. If the account row specifies a plugin, the server invokes it to authenticate the user. If the server cannot find the plugin, an error occurs. The plugin returns a status to the server indicating whether the user is permitted to connect. Whereas SQL Server supports two authentication systems, Microsoft Access supports three. Unfortunately, three is not necessarily better than two, and the Access security system is not suited for large enterprise usage. The most commonly used is Database Password. A database password is simply a password that Access prompts you to type in when opening the database. A database can have only one password. You cannot assign a different password to different users.