Posts Tagged ‘s’
Saturday, May 16th, 2009
by Steve Turner
Are you looking for a cheaper price for your Utah Auto Insurance policy? If so you are not alone. There are many drivers that are trying to save money on their coverage.
Evaluating your situation will be beneficial as you are searching for ways to realize discounts. Is the book value of your car worth the premium that you are paying? Is it possible that you could be able to drop collision or comprehensive coverage from your policy?
It is not always easy for individuals to be able to find cheap auto insurance coverage. Often it will take research and quite a bit of time. Unfortunately many individuals get frustrated with the process and stop their search before they find the best price for their policy.
Being familiar with insurance terminology will be helpful to drivers as they are trying to find the policy that they want to purchase. It is valuable for drivers to know beforehand what types of coverage are available and exactly what they want to have on their policy.
As you are trying to find a better price for your auto insurance policy use as many resources as you can that will help you to obtain your goal. The internet, insurance magazines or brochures, and references from friends and family are all great ways to evaluate what is an acceptable price and reliable company.
There are many ways that drivers can control the price of the premium that they receive. Parking in a garage will decrease the risk of theft and protect against reverse collisions and sideswipes. Limiting the amount of miles that are driven on the car will prove to decrease the premium as well.
Smokers will be charged a higher rate for their auto insurance coverage than drivers who chose not to smoke. Since smoking is a hard habit to give up, there is a risk that drivers will smoke while on the road and could drop their cigarette and cause a diversion in their attention to the road. Drivers should understand all the factors that will be considered when the insurance provider calculates their insurance premium.
About the Author:
Steve Turner is a great resource to utilize when trying to find the best Utah Auto Insurance coverage. Utah Auto Insurance Coverage Steve Turner works with a variety of insurance companies and can therefore provide drivers with the best Utah Auto Insurance coverage at an inexpensive price. Utah Auto Insurance Price
Tags: a, auto insurance, automobile, automobile;truck, B, business, car insurance, e, economy, f, family, finance, I, insurance, insurance industry, insurance provider, m, money, p, premium, s, self improvement, u, v, vehicle, vehicle insurance, Vehicles
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Saturday, May 16th, 2009
by Steve Turner
Having Kentucky Auto Insurance coverage will be very beneficial if an individual finds themselves in the unfortunate situation of being in an accident. Sometimes the need to contact legal support will arise if there has been an extensive amount of injuries received. To ensure that appropriate recovery of losses is obtained an insurance expert should be contacted.
The driver who is found to be at fault for the cause of the accident will be the one who has to be financially responsible for the expenses resulting. For the other individual that is involved they will need to show proof to their insurance provider that the other driver was at fault.
Seeking the aid of an auto insurance lawyer in Kentucky will help those individuals injured to ensure that they have their interests protected as best as possible. Taking steps required to obtain financial security is important for these individuals so that they are protected against the expenses associated with medical injuries and property damage costs.
Accidents occur for a variety of reasons. Just some of which include driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, speeding above the posted speed limits, not taking caution when driving in poor weather conditions, or drivers simply not paying attention to the other vehicles around them.
It is crucial that individuals that are injured in an automobile accident take steps immediately to find financial and legal protection that is needed. Skilled auto insurance experts will be able to offer guidance as to what methods should be followed to receive adequate recovery for losses incurred.
Vehicle accidents can be minor or major in respects to the injury and damage resulting from them. Long term medical treatment is typically required if the accident has been a major one, and this will create a dramatic increase in the expense associated with the accident.
The insurance provider of the driver who is at fault in the accident will be responsible to pay for damages and injuries to the specified limit on that individual’s insurance policy. Because of this it is important that all drivers purchase the highest level of coverage that they are able to afford to provide them with greater financial security.
About the Author:
Steve Turner is a great resource to utilize when trying to find the best Kentucky Auto Insurance coverage. Kentucky Auto Insurance Coverage Steve Turner works with a number of insurance providers and can therefore provide drivers with the best Kentucky Auto Insurance coverage at an inexpensive price. Kentucky Auto Insurance Policy
Tags: a, auto insurance, automobile, automobile;truck, B, business, car insurance, e, economy, f, family, finance, I, insurance, insurance industry, insurance provider, k, kentucky, money, n, p, premium, r, s, self improvement, u, v, vehicle, Vehicles
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Friday, May 15th, 2009
by Steve Turner
Affordable Kentucky Auto Insurance is easier to obtain than most drivers seem to think. It used to take a lot of time and hassle to be able to find the cheapest policy, but now drivers can spend a couple of hours and find a policy that could save them nearly hundreds of dollars.
Making sure that you do not sacrifice on the level of coverage you purchase just to find a cheaper premium is the most important aspect. Purchasing a policy with the cheapest price is very alluring, but if you do not have sufficient coverage on the policy then the policy is really a detriment to you and not a benefit.
An insurance agent is the best resource that you have to decide how much coverage you need on your auto insurance policy for you particular situation. Many people have a hard time understanding the legal wording found in insurance documents. If you do not understand your policy or what your agent is advising you to do, make sure you take the time to ask questions.
You need to make sure that you know you have enough coverage on your policy to protect your assets if you are in an accident. Kentucky state has a specific amount of minimal coverage that is required for all drivers, but this minimal amount of coverage is not enough to give you financial security.
The easiest way to find an affordable insurance policy is to search on the internet. There are websites that will provide drivers with quotes of coverage from many different insurance providers all at once.
The quotes that are received will just be an estimate for the insurance coverage requested by that particular insurance provider. Because this is just an estimate, drivers need to be aware that the actual premium could be higher or lower once they purchase their policy.
There is a lot of competition in the insurance industry today because of the large number of providers offering coverage to consumers. The more time that you are willing to spend on the internet to research finding the best policy the better off you are.
About the Author:
Steve Turner has a lot of experience with helping drivers to find sufficient Kentucky Auto Insurance coverage. Kentucky Auto Insurance Coverage Steve Turner will be able to ensure that drivers obtain the best price for their Kentucky Auto Insurance policy since he works with many competitive insurance providers. Kentucky Auto Insurance Prices
Tags: a, auto insurance, automobile, automobile;truck, B, business, car insurance, e, economy, family, I, insurance, insurance industry, insurance providers, kentucky, m, money, premium, s, savings, self improvement, united states, vehicle insurance, Vehicles
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Monday, May 11th, 2009
The health care industry or health profession treats and tends to patients who are injured, sick, disabled, or infirm. The delivery of modern health care depends on an expanding interdisciplinary team of trained professionals.
Delivery of services The healthcare industry includes the delivery of health services by health care providers. Usually such services are paid for by the patient or by the patient’s insurance company; although they may be government-financed (such as the National Health Service in the United Kingdom) or delivered by charities or volunteers, particularly in poorer countries. The structure of healthcare charges can also vary dramatically among countries. For instance, unlike the United States, Chinese hospital charges tend toward 50% for drugs, another major percentage for equipment, and a small percentage for healthcare professional fees.[3]
There are many ways of providing healthcare in the modern world. The most common way is face-to-face delivery, where care provider and patient see each other ‘in the flesh’. This is what occurs in general medicine in most countries. However, healthcare is not always face-to-face; with modern telecommunications technology, in absentia health care is becoming more common. This could be when practitioner and patient communicate over the phone, video conferencing, the internet, email, text messages, or any other form of non-face-to-face communication.
[edit] Medical tourism Main article: Medical tourism
Medical tourism (also called medical travel, health tourism or global healthcare) is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of traveling across international borders to obtain health care.
Such services typically include elective procedures as well as complex specialized surgeries such as joint replacement (knee/hip), cardiac surgery, dental surgery, and cosmetic surgeries. However, virtually every type of health care, including psychiatry, alternative treatments, convalescent care and even burial services are available. As a practical matter, providers and customers commonly use informal channels of communication-connection-contract, and in such cases this tends to mean less regulatory or legal oversight to assure quality and less formal recourse to reimbursement or redress, if needed.
Over 50 countries have identified medical tourism as a national industry.[4] However, accreditation and other measures of quality vary widely across the globe, and there are risks and ethical issues that make this method of accessing medical care controversial. Also, some destinations may become hazardous or even dangerous for medical tourists to contemplate.
History
Growth The health care industry is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing industries.[5] Consuming over 10 percent of gross domestic product of most developed nations, health care can form an enormous part of a country’s economy. In 2003, health care costs paid to hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, diagnostic laboratories, pharmacies, medical device manufacturers and other components of the health care system, consumed 15.3 percent[6] of the GDP of the United States, the largest of any country in the world. For United States, the health share of gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to hold steady in 2006 before resuming its historical upward trend, reaching 19.6 percent of GDP by 2016. [7] In 2001, for the OECD countries the average was 8.4 percent [8] with the United States (13.9%), Switzerland (10.9%), and Germany (10.7%) being the top three.
US healthcare expenditures totaled US$2.2 trillion in 2006.[9] According to Health Affairs, USD$7,498 will be spent on every woman, man and child in the United States in 2007, 20 percent of all spending. Costs are projected to increase to $12,782 by 2016.
Transformation
China has implemented a long-term transformation of its healthcare industry, beginning in the 1980’s. Over the first twenty-five years of this transformation, government contributions to healthcare expenditures have dropped from 36% to 15%, with the burden of managing this decrease falling largely on patients. Also over this period, a small proportion of state-owned hospitals have been privatized. As an incentive to privatization, foreign investment in hospitals - up to 70% ownership - has been encouraged.
Tags: a, auto, auto news, business, c, career, computer, e, f, fashion, finace, g, government, h, hardware, health, Health & Fitness, industry, m, music, news, o, p, politics, product, r, review, s, society, u
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Monday, May 11th, 2009
by Zou cheaponsale
On the 4th floor in the five swapping record town cost on a new high since the 54.47 U.S. dollars / barrel after, NYMEX crude oil cost on the 5th stage of electrical devices swapping round 54 U.S. dollars in the vicinity. Despite the power market provide and demand position is still loose, but the latest supply market advanced financial facts and numbers and some investors accept as factual that the flaw in the oil market provide and demand position of the initial board is anticipated to break.
Data on the oil market and encourage macro-warmer
On the 4th floor in the deal, announced Monday the United States and into housing construction spending rose sales contract, by the support, the U.S. stock market higher all day, the Dow Jones Industrial Index and the Nasdaq index was up 2.61 percent, respectively, and 2.58%. This makes the energy market investors believe that oil demand will recover in the future effectively. NYMEX crude oil futures contract settlement price in June rose 1.27 U.S. dollars the same day, to 54.47 U.S. dollars, or 2.4%, a record November 24, 2008 the highest closing price since.
In supplement, on the 5th of the power market has furthermore been support from the supply market. Beijing the identical day as at 19:06, the British FTSE 100 catalogue was at 4371.07 points, up 3.01 per hundred after gains. Li accepts as factual that the medium-term futures investigator, the supply market up to reinforce the feeble market demand for advanced self-assurance in the future, and the increase in oil charges is by this self-assurance boost.
It is worth mentioning is that the commodity market as a whole is also expected to support this, as at 21 o’clock on the 5th, on behalf of the overall trend of commodity prices has risen to the CRB index of 387.71, set a November 4 last year since a new high.
Although the U.S. crude oil stocks since 1990 has risen to the highest level, and a survey, to be released Wednesday week U.S. crude oil inventory data will increase further, but analysts think that the market for the supply and demand has been relaxed to fully digest the information. In order to seek new capital gains, speculative capital markets need to find a subject matter outside speculation.
Another environs of worry presently on the market distilled on the Federal Reserve will be advertised May 7 of the 19 greatest banks in the insist investigate results. National Bank of Australia’s substance vitality economist Ben Westmore that if these banks to add the needed capital to sanction the market to be astonished, this will make the store market and vitality market is looking at new pressure.
Mobility inducements
In addition to economic data and the stock market to improve the consumer is expected to bring about the good, the financial side as well as the increasingly lenient including bulk commodities, including crude oil prices brought about by power.
5, the British Bankers Association in March issued LIBOR U.S. dollar plunged 2 foundation points, arriving at 0.99 out of 100, 1 out of 100 under the first level. In March over the matching interval U.S. dollar LIBOR and overnight indicator swap rates (OIS) is the interest rate differential between the tapering 78 foundation points to bang a September 1 last year, the least since.
In Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection, the market panic has led to three-month LIBOR U.S. dollars in October last year had climbed to 4.82%, LIBOR-OIS (LIBOR - the interest rate and overnight index swaps) spreads surged to 3.64 %, while the average level of five years prior to about 0.26%. After, with the U.S. government and Federal Reserve to provide the size of the 12.8 trillion U.S. dollars of funds to save the banking system, LIBOR only begin to come down. The current LIBOR and LIBOR-OIS level means that the cost of capital markets are at a rare low. Some analysts believe that this means that speculative funds can be leveraged to obtain lower costs, rising commodity and stock prices and other assets. Moreover, the market is also worried about potential inflation may lead to demand for commodity hedging, thereby pushing up prices.
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Saturday, May 9th, 2009
by yang himfr
Bricks-and-clicks is a business model by which a company integrates both offline (bricks) and online (clicks) presences. It is also known as click-and-mortar or clicks-and-bricks, as well as bricks, clicks and flips, flips referring to catalogs.
For example, an electronics store may allow the user to order online, but pick up their order immediately at a local store, which the user finds using locator software. Conversely, a furniture store may have displays at a local store from which a customer can order an item electronically for delivery.
The bricks and clicks model has typically been used by traditional retailers who have extensive logistics and supply chains. Part of the reason for its success is that it is far easier for a traditional retailer to establish an online presence than it is for a start-up company to employ a successful pure “dot com” strategy, or for an online retailer to establish a traditional presence (including a strong brand).
The success of the model in many sectors has destroyed the credibility of analysts who argued that the Internet would render traditional retailers obsolete through disintermediation.
Advantages of the model
Click and mortar firms have the advantage in areas of existing products and services. In these cases there are major advantages in retaining ties to a physical company. This is because they are able to use their competencies and assets, which include:
1. Core competency. Successful firms tend to have one or two core competencies that they can do better than their competitors. It may be anything from new product development to customer service. When a bricks and mortar firm goes online it is able to use this core competency more intensively and extensively. 2. Existing supplier networks. Existing firms have established relationships of trust with suppliers. This usually ensures problem free delivery and an assured supply. It can also entail price discounts and other preferential treatment. 3. Existing distribution channels. As with supplier networks, existing distribution channels can ensure problem free delivery, price discounts, and preferential treatments. 4. Brand equity. Often existing firms have invested large sums of money in brand advertising over the years. This equity can be leveraged on-line by using recognized brand names. An example is Disney. 5. Stability. Existing firms that have been in business for many years appear more stable. People trust them more than pure on-line firms. This is particularly true in financial services. 6. Existing customer base. Because existing firms already have a base of sales, they can more easily obtain economies of scale in promotion, purchasing and production; economies of scope in distribution and promotion; reduced overhead allocation per unit; and shorter break even times. 7. A lower cost of capital. Established firms will have a lower cost of capital. Bond issues may be available to existing firms that are not available to dot coms. The underwriting cost of a dot com IPO is higher than an equivalent brick and click equity offering. 8. Learning curve advantages. Every industry has a set of best practices that are more or less known to established firms. New dot coms will be at a disadvantage unless they can redefine the industry’s best practices and leap frog existing firms.
Pure dot coms, on the other hand, have the advantage in areas of new e-business models that stress cost efficiency. They are not burdened with brick and mortar costs and can offer products at very low marginal cost. However, they tend to spend substantially more on customer acquisition.
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Saturday, May 9th, 2009
by yang himfr
Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavour or improve its taste and appearance. Some additives have been used for centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling (with vinegar), salting, as with bacon, preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as in some wines. With the advent of processed foods in the second half of the 20th century, many more additives have been introduced, of both natural and artificial origin.
Numbering
To regulate these additives, and inform consumers, each additive is assigned a unique number. Initially these were the “E numbers” used in Europe for all approved additives. This numbering scheme has now been adopted and extended by the Codex Alimentarius Commission to internationally identify all additives , regardless of whether they are approved for use.
E numbers are all prefixed by “E”, but countries outside Europe use only the number, whether the additive is approved in Europe or not. For example, acetic acid is written as E260 on products sold in Europe, but is simply known as additive 260 in some countries. Additive 103, alkanet, is not approved for use in Europe so does not have an E number, although it is approved for use in Australia and New Zealand. Since 1987 Australia has had an approved system of labelling for additives in packaged foods. Each food additive has to be named or numbered. The numbers are the same as in Europe, but without the prefix ‘E’.
The United States Food and Drug Administration listed these items as “Generally recognized as safe” or GRAS and these are listed under both their Chemical Abstract Services number and FDA regulation listed under the US Code of Federal Regulations
* See list of food additives for a complete list of all the names. * See E number for the numbers.
Safety
With the increasing use of processed foods since the 19th century, there has been a great increase in the use of food additives of varying levels of safety. This has led to legislation in many countries regulating their use. For example, boric acid was widely used as a food preservative from the 1870s to the 1920s, but was banned after World War I due to its toxicity, as demonstrated in animal and human studies. During World War II the urgent need for cheap, available food preservatives led to it being used again, but it was finally banned in the 1950s. Such cases led to a general mistrust of food additives, and an application of the precautionary principle led to the conclusion that only additives that are known to be safe should be used in foods. In the USA, this led to the adoption of the Delaney clause, an amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938, stating that no carcinogenic substances may be used as food additives. However, after the banning of cyclamates in the USA and Britain in 1969, saccharin, the only remaining legal artificial sweetener at the time, was found to cause cancer in rats. Widespread public outcry in the USA, partly communicated to Congress by postage-paid postcards supplied in the packaging of sweetened soft drinks, led to the retention of saccharin despite its violation of the Delaney clause.
In 2007, Food Standards Australia New Zealand published an official shoppers’ guidance with which the concerns of food additives and their labeling are mediated .
Cases like these highlight the controversy associated with the risks and benefits of food additives. Some artificial food additives have been linked with cancer, digestive problems, and neurological conditions such as ADD, or diseases like heart disease or obesity.[citation needed] Even “natural” additives may be harmful, whether because of overuse (for example table salt) or because of natural toxicity. An example is safrole, which was used to flavour root beer until it was shown to be carcinogenic. Due to the application of the Delaney clause, it may not be added to foods, even though it occurs naturally in sassafras and sweet basil.
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Saturday, May 9th, 2009
“Online” redirects here. For the Brad Paisley song of the same name, see Online (song).
The terms online and offline (also on-line and off-line) have specific meanings with respect to computer technology and telecommunication. In general, “online” indicates a state of connectivity, while “offline” indicates a disconnected state.
The concepts have however been extended from their computing and telecommunication meanings into the area of human interaction and conversation, such that even offline can be used in contrast to the common usage of online (e.g., “I bought those Marcus Fenix figurines offline”).
Standard definitions
In computer technology and telecommunication, online and offline are defined by Federal Standard 1037C. They are states or conditions of a “device or equipment” or of a “functional unit”. To be considered online, one of the following must apply to a device:
* Under the direct control of another device * Under the direct control of the system with which it is associated * Available for immediate use on demand by the system without human intervention * Connected to a system, and is in operation * Functional and ready for service
In contrast, a device that is offline meets none of these criteria (e.g., its main power source is disconnected or turned off, or it is off-power).
Offline mailing
One example of a common use of these concepts is a Mail User Agent that can be instructed to be in either online or offline states. One such MUA is Microsoft Outlook. When online it will attempt to connect to mail servers (to check for new mail at regular intervals, for example), and when off-line it will not attempt to make any such connection. The online or offline state of the MUA does not necessarily reflect the connection status between the computer on which it is running and the Internet. That is, the computer itself may be online-connected to Internet via a cable modem or other means-while Outlook is kept offline by the user, so that it makes no attempt to send or to receive messages. Similarly, a computer may be configured to employ a dial-up connection on demand (as when an application such as Outlook attempts to make connection to a server), but the user may not wish for Outlook to trigger that call whenever it is configured to check for mail.
Offline media playing
Another example of the use of these concepts is in the world of digital audio technology. A tape recorder, digital editor, or other device that is online is one whose clock is under the control of the clock of a synchronization master device. When the sync master commences playback, the online device automatically synchronizes itself to the master and commences playing from the same point in the recording. A device that is offline uses no external clock reference and relies upon its own internal clock. When a large number of devices are connected to a sync master it is often convenient, if one wants to hear just the output of one single device, to take it offline because, if the device is played back online, all synchronized devices have to locate the playback point and wait for each other device to be in synchronization. (For related discussion, see MIDI timecode, word sync, and recording system synchronization.)
Offline browsing
A third example of a common use of these concepts is a web browser that can be instructed to be in either online or offline states. The browser only attempts to fetch pages from servers whilst in the online state. In the off-line state, users can perform offline browsing, where pages can be browsed using local copies of those pages that have previously been downloaded whilst in the on-line state. This can be useful when the computer is offline and connection to the Internet is impossible or undesirable. The pages are either downloaded implicitly into the web browser’s own cache as a result of prior online browsing by the user, or explicitly by a browser configured to keep local copies of certain web pages, which are updated when the browser is in the online state, either by checking that the local copies are up-to-date at regular intervals or by checking that the local copies are up-to-date whenever the browser is switched to the on-line . One such web browser capable of being explicitly configured to download pages for offline browsing is Internet Explorer. When pages are added to the Favourites list, they can be marked to be “available for offline browsing”. Internet Explorer will download to local copies both the marked page and, optionally, all of the pages that it links to. In Internet Explorer version 6, the level of direct and indirect links, the maximum amount of local disc space allowed to be consumed, and the schedule on which local copies are checked to see whether they are up-to-date, are configurable for each individual Favourites entry.
Offline browsing known as “Offline favourites” was removed as a feature in Internet Explorer 7, which now only supports saving single web pages, but not an entire site.
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Saturday, May 9th, 2009
Santa Barbara Business College was originally founded in 1888 as a co-ed finishing college in Santa Barbara, California. Santa Barbara Business College is recognized as one of the oldest colleges in California and in the country[1]. Santa Barbara Business College originated as a business college in 1888, but since has expanded its program fields and campus locations. SBBCollege now has six campuses, including an online campus.
Accreditations
Santa Barbara Business College is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. The ACICS is listed as a nationally recognized accrediting agency by the United States Department of Education and is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Generally, credits received at this junior college will not transfer to any UC, CAL State, or Community College, however, students have successfully petitioned to have the general education portion of their curriculum accepted.
[edit] Curriculum
Santa Barbara Business College began in 1888 primarily as a business college. In addition to its business program, SBBCollege has expanded to include programs in allied health, information technology, legal studies and wellness. Students can earn diplomas, as well as Associate’s degrees in these programs. The curriculum of each program is designed to be career-oriented, preparing its students for specific employment opportunities.
* Business Administration * Medical Assisting * Medical Office Systems * Pharmacy Technician * Network Systems Administration * Criminal Justice * Legal Office Systems * Paralegal * Massage Therapy * Fitness Trainer
[edit] Financial Aid
The ACICS Accreditation authorizes SBBCollege to participate in federal funding programs. SBBCollege offers financial assistance to those who qualify. The types of assistance include scholarships, federal grants, and loans.
Locations
Santa Barbara Business College currently has campuses in the following California communities, including an online campus:
* Santa Barbara o Programs offered: Business Administration, Medical Assisting, Massage Therapy, and Fitness Trainer. o 506 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
* Santa Maria o Programs offered: Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Fitness Trainer, Massage Therapy, Medical Assisting, Pharmacy Technician, Vocational Nursing, and Medical Office Systems. o 303 E Plaza Drive, Santa Maria, CA 93454
* Bakersfield o Programs offered: Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Legal Office Systems, Paralegal Studies, Network Systems Administration, Fitness Trainer, Massage Therapy, Medical Assisting, Pharmacy Technician, Vocational Nursing, and Medical Office Systems. o 5300 California Ave., Bakersfield, CA 93304
* Ventura o Programs offered: Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Legal Office Systems, Paralegal Studes, Fitness Trainer, Massage Therapy, and Medical Assisting. o 4839 Market Street, Ventura, CA 93003
* Palm Desert o Programs offered: Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Paralegal Studies, Fitness Trainer, Massage Therapy, Medical Assisting, Pharmacy Technician, Vocational Nursing, and Medical Office Systems. o 75030 Gerald Ford Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92211
* Online o Programs offered: Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Paralegal Studies, and Medical Office Systems.
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Saturday, May 9th, 2009
by yang himfr
Current Definitions of Business Ecology
The use of the term “business ecology” is not new. Yet, previous conceptualizations of the term have not yielded a meaning that sufficiently represents the fullness of either word. Rather, “business” is addressed in a narrow economic sense rather than relational one. “Ecology” is used more metaphorically than literally as much of this section illustrates. Furthermore, “business ecology” has not been well defined. As a result, it is subject to different uses, most of which are not grounded in ecological theory or method. The term “business ecology” is used in one of two ways:
1. To define tightly knit, inter-company relationships, or “business ecosystems”
2. To survey businesses’ impacts on natural systems
With regard to the first definition, several web sites and articles have appeared espousing the importance of developing business ecologies and creating business ecosystems in order to offer better and faster service particularly within the computer industry. This idea appears to have emerged from James F. Moore’s The Death of Competition (1996) and was further developed by Moore’s later work. In The Death of Competition, Moore examined the importance of the company’s context - its ecosystem. Moore (1996) defined the business ecosystem as follows:
“An economic community supported by a foundation of interacting organizations and individuals - the organisms of the business world. The economic community produces goods and services of value to customers, who are themselves members of the ecosystem. The member organisms also include suppliers, lead producers, competitors, and other stakeholders. Over time, they coevolve their capabilities and roles, and tend to align themselves with the directions set by one or more central companies. Those companies holding leadership roles may change over time, but the function of ecosystem leader is valued by the community because it enables members to move toward shared visions to align their investments, and to find mutually supportive roles.” (p. 26)
In his book, Moore used several ecological metaphors. For example, he suggested that the firm is embedded in a (business) environment, that it needs to coevolve with other companies, and that “the particular niche a business occupies is challenged by newly arriving species” (1996, p. 3). Moore’s later work has included consulting to companies, such as Intel, and informing them that “they would have to construct new webs of relationships and help seed emerging business ecologies” (Reinhardt, 2000, section Digital Rebar, para. 1). This meant that companies need to move out of their comfort zones, so to speak, and become proactive in responding to and taking part in changes that are happening in their industries and economies.
Using ecological metaphors to describe business structure and operations without discussing a company’s relationships with the natural environment appears to be increasingly common especially within the field of information technology (IT). For example, J. Bradford DeLong, a professor of economics at the University of California - Berkeley, has written that business ecology is “the pattern of launching new technologies that has emerged from Silicon Valley” (DeLong, 2000, para. 1; also see Cohen, DeLong, and Zysman, 2000). He has defined business ecology as “a more productive set of processes for developing and commercializing new technologies” that is characterized by the “rapid prototyping, short product-development cycles, early test marketing, options-based compensation, venture funding, early corporate independence” and other qualities exhibited by Adobe Systems (DeLong, 2000, para. 6 & 4, respectively). DeLong has explained that the new business ecology greatly differs from the older, time-consuming method of developing new products and technologies.
DeLong also has expressed that the business ecology model is likely to last “because it’s a better business ecology than the legendarily lugubrious model refined at Xerox Parc - a more productive set of processes for rapidly developing and commercializing new technologies” (DeLong, 2000, para. 6).
On its web site, Mangrove Software has defined business ecology as “(t)he interaction and correlation of economic conditions, technology, customers, employees, corporate partners, shareholders, and competitors forming the environment under which a business operates” (Mangrove Software, Inc., 2001, para. 1). The Montague Institute (1993), a company that focuses on information technology and management, has defined business ecology as “interacting systems consisting of companies, their customers and suppliers, and other players in the business environment” (para. 1). Kenneth L. Kraemer, director of the University of California - Irvine’s Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations, has explained, “It is the applications that firms buy or create themselves that bring value-added to the firm and to its business ecology of customers, suppliers and business partners” (UCI Communications Office, 1999, para. 11). Meanwhile, Stephen Abram, Vice President of Micromedia, Ltd., has asserted that the Web is “maturing as a business ecology” (Abram, 2000, section on Stephen Abram, para. 4).
In another web article, Tom Gruber, co-founder and CTO of Intraspect Software, has speculated that the economy of 2021 will become even more of a business ecology. Gruber, using business ecological metaphors extensively, has stated, “Imagine that companies are like organisms in an evolutionary landscape” (para. 4). Following Darwin’s logic, the fittest companies survive as the business ecology changes” (para. 4). For example, Gruber has explained, over a century ago, Ford Motors did well using methods of mass production, an assembly line, and insourcing. However, Ford began to outsource its production “[w]hen the ecology evolved.” Gruber (n.d.) has stated that such evolution in the ecology of the business world is “punctuated now and then by radical changes in the environment” and that “globalization and the Internet are the equivalents of large-scale climate change. Globalization is eliminating the traditional advantages of the large corporation: access to capital, access to markets, and economies of scale” (Gruber, n.d., para. 5-6). Thus, business ecology merely reflects the ever-changing business context.
The superficial link between business and ecology is made by others as well. Vinod K. Dar, Managing Director of Dar & Company, a Maryland-based firm that specializes in business strategy for energy and utilities companies, has written, “Evolution on the Internet is no different from physical evolution but with vastly compressed life cycles and faster genetic mutation” (Dar, 1999, para. 1).
Meanwhile, the article “ASPs - Creating a New Business Ecology” (Kaminsky, 2000) reflects the move within the application service provider (ASP) industry toward creating relationship networks and focusing on core competencies. As its author has written, “According to the gospel of Cisco Systems, companies inclined to exist together within an “ecosystem” facilitate the imminence of Internet-based application delivery” (Kaminsky, 2000, para. 1). Books such as Corporate DNA (Baskin, 1998) also use natural systems metaphors without discussing the real interfaces between human business and ecological systems.
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