Sustainable Consumption Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Sustainable Consumption - Essay Example Globalization is a process of integration among people, governments and companies through the mode of international trade, which is aided by the information technology. The procedure has an impact on culture, environment, economic development, political systems and the society. Globalization has helped to form an interdependent and interconnected world, where free transfer of capital as well as goods and services take place across national boundaries (Blowfield and Dolan, 2014). During the middle-ages, individuals, followed by corporations, bought and sold goods through the eminent Silk Road across Central Asia (Hill, Cronk and Wickramasekera, 2013). Likewise, globalization has substantially supported corporations to invest in other countries. Constant technological and policy developments over past few decades can be attributed to globalization. It has spurred a rise in the cross-border migration, investment and trade massively (Young, et al.,2014). The rapid globalization has enabled the world to enter into a new stage of economic development. Since 1950, the volume of trade globally has increased by almost 20 times (Gwynne and Cristobal, 2014). From 1997 to 1999, the inflow of foreign investment has nearly doubled from $468 to $4827 billion (Gwynne and Cristobal, 2014). The entire process of globalization has become cheaper, faster and deeper in the recent past (Daly, 2013). The fresh wave of globalization is driven by policies that have opened the econo mies internationally and domestically. Since the Second World War, the governments of various countries have adapted to the system of free market economy, which has facilitated improvement in their productivity, thereby creating innumerable new prospects for investment and international trade (Hall and Vredenburg, 2012).

Internaional Business Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Internaional Business - Article Example Normally, it is the last stage of the distribution process. Understanding the customer perceptions will help retailers to know about the nuances of marketing. Every retailer has to primarily identify his target market and the needs and expectations of that market and subsequently try to meet those expectations with efficient service. This is what exactly Costco is doing. Promotional strategies that are adopted by a retailer include different forms of communication to attract customer to the retail outlet. For example, in the case of Costco, the 'buy-in' strategy that the company adopted is a promotional strategy. The company bought as much inventory as possible after Procter and Gamble announced a price hike of 6%. This would help the company to hold stock for the future when other players would buy the same stock at a higher price. The face of the retailing industry has undergone significant global changes over the past two decades. Retailing has always focused on offering the best quality products to customers. Every retailer wants to offer the customers the right products at the right time at the right place and at the right price. Pricing the products and services might be a routine hob for most producers and retailers, but it involves a thorough and a deep understanding of the principles and practices governing the business environment. Adopting the right pricing strategy helps a company achieve its objective. To sustain and achieve its objectives in the competitive market, a company should adopt the most effective pricing mechanism. Thus, pricing is very important to a marketer. Before adopting a pricing strategy, certain factors like the demand for the product or service in the market, customers' perception, the sustainable margin, the image of the company in the market etc. Pricing is a very important aspect of the firms' existence and hence, firms must develop proper pricing strategies and convert them into effective competitive advantages. Pricing is the biggest challenge that marketers face, and quite often, they may feel that they have not set the right price. This may be due to several reasons. One of the most important is that prices are dependent on market factors. The sales of a product have an impact on the pricing mechanism. However, the sales of a product can increase because it has been priced too low and not because it has been priced right. Setting the right price can have a substantial impact on the profits of the firm. Costco is using the market penetration pricing strategy to attract customers. It is only a few products that can be called truly innovative products. Such products come into the market infrequently. Most of the times products introduced are copies of existing products with slight modifications. /firms try new approaches to attract customers who have many similar products to choose from. They employ sales promotions, membership cards, sponsorships, etc. to attract customers. Costco admits that more than half of its revenue is form membership fees. Firms resort to price cuts, and offer products below their competitors' prices to take away a large number of customers form their competitors. This is the strategy that Costco has adopted. The expectation in offering products at low prices is that one customers use the product, they will develop an interest in the product

ASTR123 H Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

ASTR123 H - Assignment Example This globular marked as M13 had a determined distance. In his assumptions, Shapley believed that all the globular were of the same size. Later, he established that the sun was 50000 light-years from the center (Melia 31). On the other hand, Curtis agreed to Shapley findings that the globular clusters were not in the galaxy. However, he disagreed to his estimations of their distances. In Curtis opinion, these clusters were closer while the galaxy was smaller. Further, Curtis believed that the galaxy was a vast collection of the stars situated way from the boundary of the Milky Way (Melia 29). Therefore, despite the two agreeing and disagreeing on some facts, they both had a common idea that the galaxy was in the universe, something they argued out based on the position of the globular cluster in the Milky Way. And, if this was the case, which is not, then it could be concluded that the galaxy is the entire universe. In 1935, Andrew McKellar was in the in the astrophysical observation team during which, he involved himself in astrophysics research. It was then that he used the CN excitation doublet lines in 1941 to measure and determined the effective temperature of space to be 2.3 K. Around that period he establish this important discovery that could have earned him a Nobel prize, but the world was at war-world war two (WW II). Therefore, Andrew McKellar never had time to publish his findings. Again, scientist gathering to deliberate on this research was not possible. After the WW II, the world recovered, but in a sluggish rate. In 1952 when the astronomers had their first meeting in Rome, Andrew McKellar file had been forgotten (NaselÊ ¹skij, Dmitry and Igor

Leadership Theories From Mahatma Gandhi To Winston Management Essay

Leadership Theories From Mahatma Gandhi To Winston Management Essay From Mahatma Gandhi to Winston Churchill to Martin Luther King, there are as many leadership styles as there are leaders. Fortunately, businesspeople and psychologists have developed useful and simple ways to describe the main styles of leadership, and these can help aspiring leaders understand which styles they should use. So, whether you manage a team at work, captain a sports team, or lead a major corporation, which approach is best? Consciously, or subconsciously, youll probably use some of the leadership styles in this article at some point. Understanding these styles and their impact can help you develop your own, personal leadership style and help you become a more effective leader. With this in mind, there are many different frameworks that have shaped our current understanding of leadership, and many of these have their place, just as long as theyre used appropriately. This article looks at some of the most common frameworks, and then looks at popular styles of leadership. Leadership Theories Researchers have developed a number of leadership theories over the years. These fall into four main groups: 1. Behavioral theories What does a good leader do? Behavioral theories focus on how leaders behave. Do they dictate what needs to be done and expect cooperation? Or do they involve the team in decisions to encourage acceptance and support? In the 1930s, Kurt Lewin developed a leadership framework based on a leaders decision-making behavior. Lewin argued that there are three types of leaders: Autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting their teams. This is considered appropriate when decisions genuinely need to be taken quickly, when theres no need for input, and when team agreement isnt necessary for a successful outcome. Democratic leaders allow the team to provide input before making a decision, although the degree of input can vary from leader to leader. This type of style is important when team agreement matters, but it can be quite difficult to manage when there are lots of different perspectives and ideas. Laissez-faire leaders dont interfere; they allow people within the team to make many of the decisions. This works well when the team is highly capable and motivated, and when it doesnt need close monitoring or supervision. However, this style can arise because the leader is lazy or distracted, and, here, this approach can fail. Similar to Lewins model, the Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid helps you decide how best to lead, depending on your concern for people versus your concern for production. The model describes five different leadership styles: impoverished, country club, team leader, produce or perish, or middle of the road. The descriptions of these will help you understand your own leadership habits and adapt them to meet your teams needs. Clearly, then, how leaders behave impacts on their effectiveness. Researchers have realized, though, that many of these leadership behaviors are appropriate at different times. So, the best leaders are those who can use many different behavioral styles and use the right style for each situation. 2. Contingency theories How does the situation influence good leadership? The realization that there isnt one correct type of leader led to theories that the best leadership style is contingent on, or depends on, the situation. These theories try to predict which leadership style is best in which circumstance. When a decision is needed fast, which style is preferred? When the leader needs the full support of the team, is there a better way to lead? Should a leader be more people oriented or task oriented? These are all examples of questions that contingency leadership theories try to address. A popular contingency-based framework is the Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory, which links leadership style with the maturity of individual members of the leaders team. 3. Trait theories What type of person makes a good leader? Trait theories argue that leaders share a number of common personality traits and characteristics, and that leadership emerges from these traits. Early trait theories promoted the idea that leadership is an innate, instinctive quality that you either have or dont have. Thankfully, weve moved on from this approach, and were learning more about what we can do as individuals to develop leadership qualities within ourselves and others. Whats more, traits are external behaviors that emerge from things going on within the leaders mind and its these internal beliefs and processes that are important for effective leadership. Trait theory does, however, help us identify some qualities that are helpful when leading others and, together, these emerge as a generalized leadership style. Examples include empathy, assertiveness, good decision-making, and likability. In our article Building TomorrowHYPERLINK http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_62.htmHYPERLINK http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_62.htms Leaders, we discuss a series of attributes that are important for all types of leaders to develop. However, none of these traits, nor any combination of them, will guarantee success as a leader. You need more than that. 4. Power and influence theories What is the source of the leaders power? Power and influence theories of leadership take an entirely different approach. Theyre based on the different ways in which leaders use power and influence to get things done, and the leadership styles that emerge as a result. Perhaps the most well known of these theories is French and RavenHYPERLINK http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_56.htmHYPERLINK http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_56.htms Five Forms of Power. This model distinguishes between using your position to exert power, and using your personal attributes to be powerful. French and Raven identified three types of positional power legitimate, reward, and coercive and two sources of personal power expert and referent (your personal appeal and charm). The model suggests that using personal power is the better alternative and, because Expert Power (the power that comes with being a real expert in the job) is the most legitimate of these, that you should actively work on building this. Similarly, leading by example is another highly effective way to establish and sustain a positive influence with your team. Another valid leadership style thats supported by power and influence theories is Transactional Leadership. This approach assumes that work is done only because it is rewarded, and for no other reason, and it therefore focuses on designing tasks and reward structures. While it may not be the most appealing leadership strategy in terms of building relationships and developing a long-term motivating work environment, it does work, and its used in most organizations on a daily basis to get things done. An Up-to-Date Understanding of Leadership Within all of these theories, frameworks, and approaches to leadership, theres an underlying message that leaders need to have a variety of factors working in their favor. Effective leadership is not simply based on a set of attributes, behaviors, or influences. You must have a wide range of abilities and approaches that you can draw upon. Having said this, however, theres one leadership style that is appropriate in very many corporate situations that of Transformational Leadership. A leader using this style: Has integrity. Sets clear goals. Clearly communicates a vision. Sets a good example. Expects the best from the team. Encourages. Supports. Recognizes good work and people. Provides stimulating work. Helps people see beyond their self-interests and focus more on team interests and needs. Inspires. In short, transformational leaders are exceptionally motivating, and theyre trusted. When your team trusts you, and is really fired up by the way you lead, you can achieve great things! The transformational leadership style is the dominant leadership style taught in our How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You program, although we do recommend that other styles are brought in as the situation demands. Having said that Transformational Leadership suits very many circumstances in business, we need to remember that there may be situations where its not the best style. This is why its worth knowing about the other styles shown below so that you have a greater chance of finding the right combination for the situation you find yourself in. Popular Leadership Styles A Glossary The leadership theories and styles discussed so far fit within formal theoretical frameworks. However, many more terms are used to describe leadership styles, even if these dont fit within a particular system. Its worth understanding these! 1. Autocratic leadership Autocratic leadership is an extreme form of transactional leadership, where leaders have absolute power over their workers or team. Staff and team members have little opportunity to make suggestions, even if these would be in the teams or the organizations best interest. Most people tend to resent being treated like this. Therefore, autocratic leadership often leads to high levels of absenteeism and staff turnover. However, for some routine and unskilled jobs, the style can remain effective because the advantages of control may outweigh the disadvantages. 2. Bureaucratic leadership Bureaucratic leaders work by the book. They follow rules rigorously, and ensure that their staff follows procedures precisely. This is a very appropriate style for work involving serious safety risks (such as working with machinery, with toxic substances, or at dangerous heights) or where large sums of money are involved (such as handling cash). 3. Charismatic leadership A charismatic leadership style can seem similar to transformational leadership, because these leaders inspire lots of enthusiasm in their teams and are very energetic in driving others forward. However, charismatic leaders can tend to believe more in themselves than in their teams, and this creates a risk that a project, or even an entire organization, might collapse if the leader leaves. In the eyes of the followers, success is directly connected to the presence of the charismatic leader. As such, charismatic leadership carries great responsibility, and it needs a long-term commitment from the leader. 4. Democratic leadership or participative leadership Although democratic leaders make the final decisions, they invite other members of the team to contribute to the decision-making process. This not only increases job satisfaction by involving team members, but it also helps to develop peoples skills. Team members feel in control of their own destiny, so theyre motivated to work hard by more than just a financial reward. Because participation takes time, this approach can take longer, but often the end result is better. The approach can be most suitable when working as a team is essential, and when quality is more important than speed to market, or productivity. 5. Laissez-faire leadership This French phrase means leave it be, and its used to describe leaders who leave their team members to work on their own. It can be effective if the leader monitors whats being achieved and communicates this back to the team regularly. Most often, laissez-faire leadership is effective when individual team members are very experienced and skilled self-starters. Unfortunately, this type of leadership can also occur when managers dont apply sufficient control. 6. People-oriented leadership or relations-oriented leadership This is the opposite of task-oriented leadership. With people-oriented leadership, leaders are totally focused on organizing, supporting, and developing the people in their teams. Its a participative style, and it tends to encourage good teamwork and creative collaboration. In practice, most leaders use both task-oriented and people-oriented styles of leadership. 7. Servant leadership This term, created by Robert Greenleaf in the 1970s, describes a leader who is often not formally recognized as such. When someone, at any level within an organization, leads simply by meeting the needs of the team, he or she is described as a servant leader. In many ways, servant leadership is a form of democratic leadership, because the whole team tends to be involved in decision making. Supporters of the servant leadership model suggest that its an important way to move ahead in a world where values are increasingly important, and where servant leaders achieve power on the basis of their values and ideals. Others believe that in competitive leadership situations, people who practice servant leadership can find themselves left behind by leaders using other leadership styles. 8. Task-Oriented leadership Highly task-oriented leaders focus only on getting the job done, and they can be quite autocratic. They actively define the work and the roles required, put structures in place, plan, organize, and monitor. However, because task-oriented leaders dont tend to think much about the well-being of their teams, this approach can suffer many of the flaws of autocratic leadership, with difficulties in motivating and retaining staff. 9. Transactional leadership This style of leadership starts with the idea that team members agree to obey their leader totally when they accept a job. The transaction is usually the organization paying the team members in return for their effort and compliance. The leader has a right to punish team members if their work doesnt meet the pre-determined standard. Team members can do little to improve their job satisfaction under transactional leadership. The leader could give team members some control of their income/reward by using incentives that encourage even higher standards or greater productivity. Alternatively, a transactional leader could practice management by exception rather than rewarding better work, the leader could take corrective action if the required standards are not met. Transactional leadership is really a type of management, not a true leadership style, because the focus is on short-term tasks. It has serious limitations for knowledge-based or creative work, however it can be effective in other situations. 10. Transformational leadership As we discussed earlier, people with this leadership style are true leaders who inspire their teams constantly with a shared vision of the future. While this leaders enthusiasm is often passed onto the team, he or she can need to be supported by detail people. Thats why, in many organizations, both transactional and transformational leadership are needed. The transactional leaders (or managers) ensure that routine work is done reliably, while the transformational leaders look after initiatives that add new value. Key Points While the transformational leadership approach is often highly effective, theres no one right way to lead or manage that fits all situations. To choose the most effective approach for yourself, consider the following: The skill levels and experience of your team. The work involved (routine, or new and creative). The organizational environment (stable or radically changing, conservative or adventurous). You own preferred or natural style. Good leaders often switch instinctively between styles, according to the people they lead and the work that needs to be done. Establish trust thats key to this process and remember to balance the needs of the organization against the needs of your team.

farming :: essays research papers

Farming I am doing my paper on farming because that is my job and the pay gets s me through college. Farming is a very important and a very hard job at times. A lot of farmers don’t get much credit for all the work they do and they don’t get much pay for it either. When most farmers grow in age they start to get crippled and start to get arthritis. All farmers have a few stories about their experiences on the farm. I am going to tell you about some of mine and some of my boss’s. The other things I am going to wrote about in this paper is some of the equipment we use, the number of cows he milks, the animals he has on his farm, stuff about his family and himself. The farm I work at is located by Gilman, Wisconsin. It is one of the biggest farms in that area. The farm that I work on is owned by Earl Oberlin. He is fifty-five years old and has been farming for more than twenty years; before he started farming he haled gravel for a place called Olympics Trucking. He worked there for ten years and really didn’t like it a hole lot. He has four kids and there are three boys and one girl. He has been married for about twenty-five years and his wife is an Elementary Pry. Ed. teacher G-man. The names of his kids are Shauna, Dave, Chad, Dinettes, and his wife’s name is Mrs. Obverse. He started out milking cows with just pipe line and regular milers. Now he uses automatic take off millers and that is lot easier on his back that is why he said he got them. He uses seven milers while he only milks about sixty-four cows and that only takes us on a good day about an hour in a half. Earl owns about three hundred and fifty acres of land at this point and most of it is farmland that he uses for crops. He has Twenty calves and twelve heifers in his barn right now. Some of the machines that he uses are a TMR mixer that mixes all of the feed for the cows up and there is an elevator that comes off the end of the mixer and puts it in the bunk were the cows go to eat it.

Child of the Americas Essay

I interpreted that this line meant that the speaker had been exposed to european culture and adapted some of the european customs into their own personal culture. Through out the poem the speaker describe her heritage and the cultures she identifies as, and I believe that â€Å"Europe lives in me, but I have no home there† simply means she is creating memories and experiences that takes place in europe but she has never truly lived there or been there long enough to call it home. How does the speaker describe herself? Throughout â€Å"Child of the Americas† the speaker describes herself as many different nationalities. She uses the metaphors â€Å"I am not African, Africa is in me†¦Spanish is in my flesh†¦I am not European, Europe lives in me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  to show us that because she identifies herself as american she can also be seen as all these different nationalities because America is a country in which many different cultures have settled down and started to fuse together into original lifestyles. What is the tone of the poem? Is the speaker defiant, hopeful, angry, confused, ambivalent, proud? Cite specific words and phrases to support your response I believe that the tone of â€Å"Child of the Americas† is both ambivalent, and proud. The speaker develops these tones through her details. We can determine that her tone is ambivalent because of the way she describes herself. She describes herself as a jumble of different cultures and nationalities. â€Å"I am a U.S. Puerto Rican Jew†¦I am Caribena, Island grown† â€Å"Africa is in me†¦.Tiano is in me†¦Europe lives in me† From this we can tell that she is not specifically identifying herself as a single culture which shows us that she has mixed feelings about her heritage. We can determine that her other tone is proud, from the details in her last stanza. She describes herself as new â€Å"History made me.† She also says that â€Å"I was  born at the crossroads and I am whole.† From these lines we can determine that she was not ashamed of her uniquity. We can tell that she is proud of her â€Å"mixed-up heritage.†

Information Systems in Organizations Essay

Information systems (IS) is the study of complementary networks of hardware and software that people and organizations use to collect, filter, process, create, and distribute data. The study bridges business and computer science using the theoretical foundations of information and computation to study various business models and related algorithmic processes within a computer science discipline. Computer Information System(s) (CIS) is a field studying computers and algorithmic processes, including their principles, their software and hardware designs, their applications, and their impact on society while IS emphasizes functionality over design. The history of information systems coincides with the history of computer science that began long before the modern discipline of computer science emerged in thetwentieth century. Regarding the circulation of   information and ideas, numerous legacy information systems still exist today that are continuously updated to promote ethnographic approaches, to ensure data integrity, and to improve the social effectiveness & efficiency of the whole process. In general, information systems are focused upon processing information within organizations, especially within business enterprises, and sharing the benefits with modern society. Human Resources Human resources is the set of individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector or an economy. â€Å"Human capital† is sometimes used synonymously with human resources, although human capital typically refers to a more narrow view; i.e., the knowledge the individuals embody and can contribute to an organization. Likewise, other terms sometimes used include â€Å"manpower†, â€Å"talent†, â€Å"labor† or simply â€Å"people†. The professional discipline and business function that oversees an organization’s human resources is called human resource management (HRM, or simply HR). Sales and marketing Sales is what you do and say during the one moment your product or service is being purchased. It’s confirming the payment options. Sales people have to feed the Marketing process and use the resources effectively that they had a part in building. There needs to be a partnership between the Sales and Marketing departments. Marketing is what you do (Sales people and Marketing people), before and after the sale. It is the strategy that will identify prospects that will lead to the sale. Marketing is learning about your client needs and delivering on them (or realizing there is not a fit with a prospect). Marketing is about building awareness and relationships – it’s everything that makes ‘the phone ring’ the first time and convinces past customers to buy from you again. Marketing includes anything that comes into contact with your customer. Finance Finance is the study of how investors allocate their assets over time under conditions of certainty and uncertainty. A key point in finance, which affects decisions, is the time value of money, which states that a unit of currency today is worth more than the same unit of currency tomorrow. Finance aims to price assets based on their risk level, and expected rate of return. Finance can be broken into three different sub categories: public finance, corporate finance and personal finance. Characteristics Of Information Good information is that which is used and which creates value. Experience and research shows that good information has numerous qualities. Good information is relevant for its purpose, sufficiently accurate for its purpose, complete enough for the problem, reliable and targeted to the right person. It is also communicated in time for its purpose, contains the right level of detail and is communicated by an appropriate channel, i.e. one that is understandable to the user. Further details of these characteristics related to organizational information for decision-making follows. Availability/accessibility Information should be easy to obtain or access. Information kept in a book of some kind is only available and easy to access if you have the book to hand. A good example of availability is a telephone directory, as every home has one for its local area. It is probably the first place you look for a local number. But nobody keeps the whole country’s telephone books so for numbers further afield you probably phone a directory enquiry number. For business premises, say for a hotel in London, you would probably use the Internet. Businesses used to keep customer details on a card-index system at the customer’s branch. If the customer visited a different branch a telephone call would be needed to check details. Now, with centralized computer systems, businesses like banks and building societies can access any customer’s data from any branch. Accuracy Information needs to be accurate enough for the use to which it is going to be put. To obtain information that is 100% accurate is usually unrealistic as it is likely to be too expensive to produce on time. The degree of  accuracy depends upon the circumstances. At operational levels information may need to be accurate to the nearest penny – on a supermarket till receipt, for example. At tactical level department heads may see weekly summaries correct to the nearest  £100, whereas at strategic level directors may look at comparing stores’ performances over several months to the nearest  £100,000 per month. Accuracy is important. As an example, if government statistics based on the last census wrongly show an increase in births within an area, plans may be made to build schools and construction companies may invest in new housing developments. In these cases any investment may not be recouped. Reliability or objectivity Reliability deals with the truth of information or the objectivity with which it is presented. You can only really use information confidently if you are sure of its reliability and objectivity. When researching for an essay in any subject, we might make straight for the library to find a suitable book. We are reasonably confident that the information found in a book, especially one that the library has purchased, is reliable and (in the case of factual information) objective. The book has been written and the author’s name is usually printed for all to see. The publisher should have employed an editor and an expert in the field to edit the book and question any factual doubts they may have. In short, much time and energy goes into publishing a book and for that reason we can be reasonably confident that the information is reliable and objective. Compare that to finding information on the Internet where anybody can write unedited and unverified material and ‘publish’ it on the web. Unless you know who the author is, or a reputable university or government agency backs up the research, then you cannot be sure that the information is reliable. Some Internet websites are like vanity publishing, where anyone can write a book and pay certain (vanity) publishers to publish it. Relevance/appropriateness Information should be relevant to the purpose for which it is required. It must be suitable. What is relevant for one manager may not be relevant for another. The user will become frustrated if information contains data  irrelevant to the task in hand. For example, a market research company may give information on users’ perceptions of the quality of a product. This is not relevant for the manager who wants to know opinions on relative prices of the product and its rivals. The information gained would not be relevant to the purpose. Completeness Information should contain all the details required by the user. Otherwise, it may not be useful as the basis for making a decision. For example, if an organization is supplied with information regarding the costs of supplying a fleet of cars for the sales force, and servicing and maintenance costs are not included, then a costing based on the information supplied will be considerably underestimated. Ideally all the information needed for a particular decision should be available. However, this rarely happens; good information is often incomplete. To meet all the needs of the situation, you often have to collect it from a variety of sources. Level of detail/conciseness Information should be in a form that is short enough to allow for its examination and use. There should be no extraneous information. For example, it is very common practice to summarize financial data and present this information, both in the form of figures and by using a chart or graph. We would say that the graph is more concise than the tables of figures as there is little or no extraneous information in the graph or chart. Clearly there is a trade-off between level of detail and conciseness. Presentation The presentation of information is important to the user. Information can be more easily assimilated if it is aesthetically pleasing. For example, a marketing report that includes graphs of statistics will be more concise as well as more aesthetically pleasing to the users within the organization. Many organizations use presentation software and show summary information via a data projector. These presentations have usually been well thought out to be visually attractive and to convey the correct amount of detail. Timing Information must be on time for the purpose for which it is required. Information received too late will be irrelevant. For example, if you receive a brochure from a theatre and notice there was a concert by your favorite band yesterday, then the information is too late to be of use. Value of information The relative importance of information for decision-making can increase or decrease its value to an organization. For example, an organization requires information on a competitor’s performance that is critical to their own decision on whether to invest in new machinery for their factory. The value of this information would be high. Always keep in mind that information should be available on time, within cost constraints and be legally obtained. Cost of information Information should be available within set cost levels that may vary dependent on situation. If costs are too high to obtain information an organization may decide to seek slightly less comprehensive information elsewhere. For example, an organization wants to commission a market survey on a new product. The survey could cost more than the forecast initial profit from the product. In that situation, the organization would probably decide that a less costly source of information should be used, even if it may give inferior information.