Essays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Essays - Essay Example There is no other better way in which I feel that I can express my inner self so very effectively. I get to know myself and find a way to understand my beliefs and interests when I listen to soul music. It also gives me so much comfort that I cannot find in any other way. This is also called improvisation; that is, expressing oneself through the use of sounds. Music is composed of sounds originating from known objects, but this composition is such that it is interesting to listen to. Self-expression through music is a long known phenomenon and I found it really working when I applied it on myself. And more specifically, soul music is that genre of music that I have found to be very soothing and rhythmically comforting to my own soul. I totally agree with Aristotle that the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. Just like individuals belonging to different cultural, socio-economic and intellectual backgrounds combine to form integral parts of a strong society, I am also a combination of parts which I call experiences which have combined together to form the whole of myself. I was raised in a single parent household which taught me how to become independent at a very young age. This experience of being raised by a single parent inculcated in me much responsibility and concern toward my parent and household. I worked as a volunteer in a children’s shelter which told me how to be kind to the young ones. Serving in rural communities in Africa every year gave me the experience of practical and responsible life. Staying awake at nights burning the midnight oil gave me a sense of effort and toil to achieve my ambition. These are only the examples of many experiences that are integral parts of my life an d which combine together to form the whole of me. Through the addition of these experiences into my life, the total sum has been such a personality that is full of concern, kindness, love and care toward my elders, young ones

Procter and Gamble: PEST SWOT Analysis

Procter and Gamble: PEST SWOT Analysis Procter and Gamble Market Environment Central problem Procter and Gamble (PG) started its PuR project as part of selling water purification technology named the PuR sachets. However, entering the market with water purification technology had three major issues all related to brand and product recognition. Thus, with PG facing brand and product difficulties, three major problems were threatening to decapitate the investments that were poured into the PuR project. The very first problem that PuR project as creating awareness for the brand and product that had not been traded before in the market. Thus, in promoting the product, the company faced two secondary problems which included difficulties in establishing ready market for the product and convincing customers that the PuR sachets were relevant in their lives. Secondly, the company developed the project through heavy spending. The problem associated with the investment into the PuR project is that the company’s under per sales did not seem to be sufficient enough to cover the c osts, hence the management was contemplating on dropping the project. Thirdly, while PuR was a reality and that the company was seeking approval from CDC, a major problem involved the lack of public or customer demand for the product regardless of the fact that PG tried to convince customers that dirty water was the cause of diarrhea (Hanson and Karen, 11). Secondary problems that faced PG included the fact that the PuR used preparation method that was very difficult to copy but very expensive as well. Thus, the company could not trade its water purification solution at a price that customers were able to afford. Additionally, the target market probably at a higher risk of contracting diarrhea due to consumption of dirty water was the very one that could not afford to buy the PuR sachets at the high prices. Collectively, finding market was a base and persisting problem that did not favor the PuR project and also did not have the potential to sustain the business projection of the company. Environmental Scanning Political Factors PG targeted various markets with the PuR sachets. Among these were the pioneer market in Pakistan, Guatemala, and Morocco. The political environment in most of these markets favored the marketing of PuR sachets but Morocco was quite problematic as testing at school level was denied. All of the identified markets allowed for village testing of the PuR sachets which meant that the only major problem the company was facing was associated with its approach in working with various major governmental departments and ministries. Like in Morocco, the company could not get approval for testing at the school level but it was able to get approval of the CDC in the US. Economic Factors Among the economic factor that were facing PG included the nature of the market as well as the social class of the potential buyers of the product. Initially, the CDC saw potential in the PuR sachets and encouraged the company to continue with the project. However, the company management had had enough of the under per sales due to lack of sustaining customer base. Additionally, with reference to the existence of other brands and availability of bottled water, PG was not getting as much return on investment as it had hoped for. Finally, multiple tests and commissioning of research and development continued to take more of the company’s financial power thus weakening its promotional power. The company once had to take a desperate stance of signing a contract with nonprofit organization so that it can promote the PuR sachets in developing nations. This approach shows how economically desperate the market was making the company at hand. Social Factors Social factors that most companies are worried about today include the income of their target market and the underlying issues that push the demand for products and services. Among these issues, the target market for PuR sachets were the households that had bottom-of-the-pyramid entities, children. However, the social class of which illness related to dirty water could affect were the low-income families. The problem with the PuR sachet target market is that it had very little experience in using water purification methods and also did not have the financial potential to buy the products that the prices they were traded at. While dirty water was associated with diseases such as diarrhea, the target market had other issues affecting them besides the diseases – the included household income and consideration of other factors besides water treatment. Technological Factors While most of the factors considered under this title played a negative role towards the development and trading of PuR sachets, technology was the only one that had an all-round positive effect to the desperate situation. PG had the required strength to develop research and development approaches aimed at managing most of its projects. However, considering research and development, PG had to invest in technology that both identified the need for water purification. Additionally, the packaging of the PuR was light and could store the contents for over three years. This approach in technology enabled the company- despite the low demand- the products did not go to waste due to their extended life span. SWOT Analysis Strengths Among the strengths of PG include: Financial strength of the company The company is well established worldwide The company is diversified and has numerous other products it trades which contribute to its financial strength The company’s philanthropic tradition connects it with customers as it contributes to various charity events Weaknesses Among the weaknesses of PG include The company is diversified and offers a continuum of products to the market from health products to domestic animal products. This approach makes the company’s strategic approach unfocused. The company is involved in non-effective marketing campaigns that drain the company’s financial stability. Due to poor market feasibility studies, the company’s venture in Morocco, Pakistan, and Guatemala all failed to meet expectations With unfocused research and development, the company had to call back its products for redevelopment wasting more money. Opportunities The company pioneered a product that continued to attract more customers due to health education programs The company’s joint venture with local companies increase its market penetration and spreads risks to create financial security. With reference to Morocco, the company is able to reach out for more customers in need of clean water while in Pakistan developing upper class population providing ready market for the PuR sachets. Increasing cases of waterborne diseases create a larger market for water purification solutions. Threats More companies and brands have ventured into the market and offer far more affordable products as compared to the PuR sachets New entry products have the potential to weaken the current market share. Regulatory agencies in the current target markets prevent the company from saturating the available markets with the PuR sachets. Strategic Alternatives The strategic alternatives that can be used to ensure that the company is able to trade more profitably would be to Hire marketing agency to properly promote the products and manage finances Reduce the product portfolio so that the company focuses better on the most important lines of products Promote products in more dynamic markets rather than slowly developing markets Course of Action The course of action for each of the alternative is as follows: Alternative 1: In hiring suitable marketing agency, the company would invite marketing companies to bid for a one year contract to assess potential markets and to incorporate market segmentation relating to social factors affecting each type of market (Kahn, 76). Alternative 2: Since PG trades numerous products, the company is to select the products that are least profitable to the company and discontinue their production. This would enable the company to invest more funds to meaningful projects while cutting cost in the production of non-value intensive products (Kahn, 78). Alternative 3: The Company is to hire a marketing agency in this case or to conduct research regarding the most favorable markets worth investing in. Additionally, the current markets or nations that the company invests in could be measured in terms of economic stability and the per capita for perceived potential customers. In consideration, the company or the hired marketing agency can investigate the Gini Index of the target population of various potential markets to identify how sustainable the company operations can be in a new environment (Masur, 666). Work Cited Hanson, Margaret and Karen Powell. Procter Gamble PuR Purifier of Water: Developing the Product and Taking it to Market. INSEAD. 2009. Print. Retrieved from: http://www.gwu.edu/~clai/training_programs/UChile_MBA_Programs/uchilemba2010/Griffin_Readings/CSR_PuR_A_case.pdf Kahn, Kenneth. Functional, Multifunctional, and Cross-Functional: Considerations for Marketing Management. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Vol. 17, No. 1 2009: pp. 75-84. Print. Masur, Jonathan and Posner, Eric. Against Feasibility Analysis. The University of Chicago Law Review, Vol. 77, No. 2: 2010; pp. 657-716. Print.

Peer Pressure Speech -- Peer Pressure Speech

The first point I want to make in this speech is that peer pressure is NOT a bad thing. We all are influenced by our peers, both negatively and positively. It helps define who we are and how we feel about subjects in our lives. It is how we chose to react to peer pressure that defines who we are as an individual. Are we a leader or a follower? Both types of people are needed to make the world go round. Basically, the difference between negative and positive peer pressure is the outcome. The reverse of the situation above is negative peer pressure. The situation itself is positive peer pressure. Or is it? What if a teen really doesn't like sports, but pushes himself to do it to please his friends or to be accepted? Therefore, he probably doesn't do to well at it, and gets only jabs at hi...

Library Management System Essay

Technologies are important and helpful in everyone’s life. Schools set the various pedagogical changes to achieve the current level of education in other countries. Because of the growing numbers of computer users, this became an effective medium to demonstrate the knowledge and skills of the students. From the traditional searching process for the books in the libraries, the interactive usage of computers can be now addressed as part of the library system. Now, with the advent of such modernization in education, one way to globalize the process of research is to realize that technology is advancing at an incredibly fast pace. Technology has a systematic and organized way of keeping data records, computing numbers, accomplishing a lot of transactions and reports. A system library management system is made to have fast process transactions for searching book titles, borrowing books, returning books, computing penalties and generating an accurate report. In addition, Library is an important part of the academic sector as well as some professional sectors too like, Advocacy etc. The efficiency of a library lies in the fact how it is arranged and how easily one can get the books of their choice. Generally, what we see nowadays is the manual library management system whose process of operation is very much hectic. Library is a place in which we get information in any format and from many sources. This involves the utilization for processing, accessing and retrieving the information that can effectively support the process of student’s learning, decision- making and scholastically approaches. Because of the organized approach and systematic management of the information, the accessibility and retrieval in the library can be easy. Traditionally, library management systems are implemented manually. Forms are given to librarian and they fill them of using pens. Afterwards, the school administrators process them manually and complied on large bulky file cabinet. Indeed, the manual library system is very costly, time consuming and tedious. The primary complaint of school administrators with this system is the tiresome task of searching through records just to verify your query data. The fast phased of technology attributed a lot to the improvement of the library management system. Technology enables software developers to computerize to computerize the library system. Hence, Here in Lyceum of Alabang, the newly build library of Basic Education (exclusively for k12 lyceans) provides several of books to the students to convey information especially in their research, paper works, assignments and projects. Thus, the institution aim to supply the necessary materials to their students, the idea of library management system is introduces. A. Background of the Study Nowadays most system like library system faces some problems such as flexibility, usability and accessibility. As the times goes by, some programmers discovered a solution to aide the said problems on past. And to develop more features that can be help to the system to make it more easy to use. Lyceum of Alabang, exclusively in Basic Education Library Management System aimed to enhance the procedures of the library, manually operated to a computerized system. This proposal’s purpose was to ease the transaction in the library, i.e., lending of books, storing of books, search books and secure library system. The librarian and the library user still use the manual way of transacting of borrowing and returning of books. The librarian use log books in listing the books. They use library cards and card catalogues in searching for reading and reference materials. In order to sustain the needs of the system the developer on this system always updates and check if there are malfunctions or technical errors of the system. Before the researcher came up on this system they planned first before executing and developing this system, the researcher’s gathered information through survey if the management or students would really need this system. In addition, system structures required to achieve such design are clarified. After checking requirement specification included in the basic plan, the overview of the project is represented by the use of diagrams so that the processing and flows of data can be easily understood. B. Objectives of the Study The objective of the study was to develop a computerized system that will store the record of the students such as basic information, books record, list of borrower’s, returned books, borrowed books and prescription of the librarian. This specify following objectives of the system: a. To provide the administrator an effective way on storing and encoding all the necessary information needed from a student before letting them borrow a book. b. To design and create system that will lessen the time and effort of the administrator in their transaction. c. To quickly search the about a certain book that are still out and needed by the student who also wants to borrow a book from the library. d. To implement a modernize way of resolving inventory issues in the library. C. Scope and Limitation Important features such as the administrator would be able to get the information of the students who borrowed the books and also the inventory of books for availability purposes and monitoring of book volumes other features offers the security of the books in were the admin could easily verify if the books are return or not. User information subsystem (Collect User information from user and will save in the database) borrow a book subsystem (determine if the book is meant to be checked out) Inventory a book subsystem (Get book from user, set book/items status to â€Å"available†) Notify user book is overdue subsystem (Check if all books are accounted, issue overdue notice, look up users information). Library Management System can’t produce outputs of the data reports, can be viewed and use only by one user which is the administrator, transaction process with regards of over due of borrowing books are still in the issue of not accurately provide the exact amount of payment that the student must pay as a punishment of not returning the borrowed books on time And cannot provide the list of books that are stored inside the library system. D. Significance of the study The researchers aim to develop the manual process into computerize library system in basic education. It helps the management a lot when it comes for checking inventory of several books and to make their work more easily and conveniently. And by the use of this system the management can easily checked the books that are loaned, borrowed and identify the books which are reserved. To make it easy to search any record, to keep the data secured, to edit the records and update the database easily, to make the backup easily, to minimize the duplication of data and to make the system user friendly which more easy to use and the operator will feel no difficulty. Chapter 2 Research Methodology This chapter starts on the discussion about the project research design methodology. The second part presents the development of the system. The third part tells the operation, process and testing. The last parts discuss the evaluation procedure. Project Development The system Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a conceptual model used in project management that describes the stages involved in an information system development project from an initial feasibility study through maintenance of the completed application. Various SDLC methodologies have been developed to guide the processes involved including the waterfall model.(the original SDLC method ) rapid application development (RAD) joint application development (JAD) the fountain model and the spiral model. Mostly, several models are combined into some sort of hybrid methodology. Documentation is crucial regardless of the type of model chosen or devised for process. Some methods work better for specific types of projects, but in the final analysis, the most important factor for the success of a project may be how closely particular plan was followed. Project Design Planning In planning, the researchers conducted an interview to the client to gather some information about on how the librarians manage the books, borrowed books. Returned books, all record of the student. It is observed that the librarian writes the records manually of every student who borrowed or returned the Books. The student uses the form given by the librarian. Analysis Base on the proposed Computerized Library System is designed purely from the user’s viewpoint considering the constraints of hardware (such as computers). In addition, system structures required to achieve such design are clarified. After checking requirement specification included in the basic plan, the overview of the project is represented by the use of diagrams so that the processing and flows of data can be easily understood. Designing The software design specifically targeted to librarian of the researchers used a user friendly design to attract the user to use the new automated system. Here the system was the system designed purely from the user’s viewpoint without considering the constraints of hardware (such as computers). In addition, system structures required to achieve such design are clarified. After checking the requirement specification included in the planning, the overview of the system represented by the use of diagrams so that the processed of data can be easily understood. Based on the representation, the division into sub system and input output designing was performed. The entire project was divided into a number of modules on a functional basis, and each module was further divided into smaller units. The designing of the code, such as the determination of a coding system, was conducted. In addition, relationships between the data were analyzed. Software Development Coding In the development of the system, the researcher’s made used of Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 for encoding source code of the system, in order to be accurate and fast acquisition of data/information. Testing The researcher’s installs the new System. The researchers encountered problems while processing it for the first time but after several weeks the system has been successful and introduced it to the respondents. Operating The researcher’s were responsible for conducting an operation test. The researcher’s conducted a test under the actual operation conditions, and verified that the system satisfies the required specification. Because this test was intended to have a developed system accepted by the user, it was called an approval test or an acceptance test. The researcher’s conducted an operation test by running a program on a machine being used for actual operations. Maintenance The researchers conducted maintenance in software to correct faults, to maintain performance or other attributes. The researchers common perception of maintenance merely involves fixing detect. The researcher’s maintenance management system allows segment chiefs to plan maintenance work on fixed assets, such as equipment, machinery and property. The researcher’s came up with this library management system to provide easier, faster and effective way on monitoring the transaction of borrowed books and books that are being returned by the borrowers. This system offers the best way to check the quantity, availability and the full information about the books that are stored on the library system database. This system provides the best way to solve the quantity redundancy of books available on the library storage. In order to sustain the needs of the students in basic education the researcher’s propose this system to lessen the burdens of the management as well as the students. Based on Observation Observation is either an activity of a living being, such as a human, consisting of receiving knowledge of the outside world through the senses, or the recording of data using scientific instruments. The term may also refer to any data collected during this activity. As the researcher’s observed about the manual process it take a long time to borrow a book(s) or return a book(s) and its very hard to the management to check or inventory the books. Survey Data collection tool used to gather information about individuals. Surveys are commonly used in research to collect self-report data from study participants. A survey may focus on factual information about individuals, or it might aim the collect the opinions of the survey takers. The researcher’s gathered information from the students as well as the librarian and they’re in favor of having computerize library system. Interview An interview is a conversation between two or more people where questions are asked by the interviewer to elicit facts or statements from the interviewee. The Researcher’s interviewed the management and the students about the transaction of the books in the library they both agreed about the system because of the slow process of transaction. According to Ms. Aurora, the librarian she suffered on checking inventory of the books and determined the author in each books. Sometime she encountered of misplacing the logbook and she don’t know what to do. And she finally thankful to the researcher’s of having computerizing system. In this figure it shows the slow process of the borrowing book(s), after the borrower will get the book they will need to wait until the administrator will finalize and release the book(s). The only problem of this manual process when there are more students or faculty that will borrowed a book and there is only one administrator. They need to wait the books for a long time just because of this process. Registration by the use of library card, the students of faculty will just register once when they borrowed or returned a book. B. Proposed System Structure Library Management System is a computerize system proposed by the researchers to access quickly the records and updates. The data will be much secure from any unauthorized access. It will be made secure by using passwords and by taking other security measures. Records will be easily edited and the database will easily be updated at the time of entering a record. The Library Management System is designed for managing various activities of â€Å"Lyceum of Alabang exclusively in Basic Education†. Since library has a very large number of books and a large number of members, it is very hard for librarian to manage day to day activities manually. It keep track like categorizing of books, books that are requested by the students, books that are issued to students, details of students who borrowed the books. The system allows the administrator to interact within the system managing student’s record (adding student records, deleting records and modifying records of the students), organizing book details (add book details, delete book details and modify book details). While the students and faculty allows only searching a book(s) without registration. The librarian will get the information of the borrower when they loaned out the book(s), they need to fill up the requirements in order continue the process of the system. In this figure it illustrates how the management system works. First the Librarian must log in to enter the system, the librarian also tasked to update the books by deleting or adding books, Monitoring borrowed and returned books, Issued books for the students or faculty and data report for checking the inventory. Figure 1.3 Library Management System Use case process This figure illustrates how the system interacts between the administrator and users. This clearly shows how the users managed to remove or delete accounts and also how users add new account on this management system. This figure explains the librarian’s access to different data reports including list of all books returned and borrowed, also copies of different books available inside the library system. Figure 1.4 Library Management System VTOC In this figure 1.4 it show the librarian interacting within the system by searching, borrowing and returning books. The librarian liable of updating books, monitoring books, Issued books for students and making data Report. Flow Chart Figure 1.5 Library Management System Process In this figure it illustrates the Library Management System Process by inputting username and password of the librarian for security if the librarian didn’t match the password it back to the log in form and if the librarian matches the password that can be found in data base it will automatically appear the home page. The librarian can now update, monitor the borrow books, return books and due books. And can view the books available as well as the student’s borrowers. Sample Form about the Library Management System Figure 1.0 Books Information In this figure 1.0 the books information show the contents of book number, title, Author, publisher, copyright, ISBN, no. of copy, volume, edition and type. In this form the administrator allow to save new books on the data base to maintain the updates of the system. Figure 1.0 Borrower’s Information In this form it show the borrowers information it has ID Number, first name, middle name, last name and address. It allows the administrator to put the information of the borrowers of the book. And by using the old borrower’s radio button it will allow the administrator to search by inputting the ID number which is the student number of the students. Figure 1.0 Borrowing Book(s) In this figure 1.0 the Borrowing book(s) can be located at the transaction area. By inputting on the searching string it will search on the data base where the books are stored. In this form also included the list of borrowed books and list of unreturned books. After pressing the search button, all the books that are related to the book(s) that you’re seeking it will appear on the list box. Figure 1.0 List of Book(s) This section is were you can view and check the records of the books available on this library computer system and it also gives the administrator the option whether to print the records of the remaining copies of the books or not. Figure 1.0 List of Borrowers In this section the system provides the administrator the power to view and check the list of students who borrowed from the library and gives the option to whether print the names of the borrowers or not. Figure 1.0 List of return and unreturned books In this area it shows to functions of the library system the one on the left pane is the area in were you can view and check the list of unreturned books and to on the other side is the area in were you can input the number id and the system will automatically shows the information about who borrowed the books and the whole information of the books including the titles and authors. Chapter 5 Summary and Recommendation In this chapter explains the summary of the findings from the evaluation of the system and recommendation future enhancement of the system. The last part of this chapter, however, discusses the possible recommendations for the system such as platform of software development or adding feature into the system. Summary The developed system is largely attributed to the concept of RDBMS (Relational Database Management System) and MySQL (Standard Query Language) database Programming. An open source RDBMS which provides robust functionalities for managing information. The program was developed under the Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 which was found out to be more suitable when image processing and database programming is computerize system. Library management system is designed & developed for a receipt and issuance of books in the library along with the student’s details. This project gives complete information about the library. We can enter the record of new books and retrieve the details of books available in the library. We can issue the books to the students and maintain their records and can also check how many books are issued and stock available in the library. In this project we can maintain the late fine of students who returns the issued books after the due date. The software design specifically targeted to librarian of the researchers used a user friendly design to attract the user to use the new automated system. Here the system was the system designed purely from the user’s viewpoint without considering the constraints of hardware. Recommendation Base on the summary of result, the proponents suggested the following modification of the system for the best performance and improve its efficiency and functionality. a. The system must be automated so that it is quicker than this computerized system. b. RFID bar code must be applicable to enhance more the system. c. Integrate proximity card and detectors to monitor the number of library users either borrowing books or those who are doing other things inside the library. d. Apply encryption algorithm into the records before saving it into the database. e. Providing fines to each borrower’s base on the due dates f. Must be on LAN connection.

For rich and poor in Russia Essay

I leaned my back on my big black chair. The cushion, now deep and saggy, still feels comfortable. It has been ten long years of sitting on the same chair yet I can still feel its soft leather and now dilapidated covers. This high-back chair has been with me since day one. It surely has witnessed countless heated arguments with my staff, serious conversations with directors, even termination scenes with employees. Today, as I am about to make the biggest decision for the company, the chair will once more bear witness to my decision-making. So I reached for the topmost document from a pile of white papers on my desk. This was from yesterday’s presentation. It read, â€Å"Strategy for Expansion,† with bold letters that seemed to be screaming at me. Yes, after ten long years of doing business, we have finally decided to widen our horizons and look for other markets to tap into. I stretched my feet under the table, putting back the document I sighed and asked myself, â€Å"Are we ready to do this? † â€Å"Sir, everyone is waiting for you in the boardroom,† my secretary interrupted. This is just one of the vivid scenes recurring to me whenever I think about my future career. Indeed I aspire to sit on the manager’s chair of a successful company in my home country of Russia. Yet the road towards that aspiration is long and bumpy, not to mention competitive and challenging especially in today’s business world. As this is the case, I deem that I need top-notch and excellent education and rigid practical training from a prestigious educational institution. Hence, I have chosen the European School of Economics to major in International Business. Primarily, I regard that an international learning environment offered by ESE is crucial in today’s competitive business world so as to prepare and train me in building a career in business especially in this time of globalization. Since ESE is home to students of different nationalities and allows free movement between the centers in London, New York, Rome, Milan, and Florence, I am certain to experience a dynamic, interesting, and challenging academic environment necessary in today’s competitive atmosphere of business. ESE will further hone my skills and strengthen my knowledge in preparation for my entry into the global marketplace by providing practical training or real-life application of business theories and perspectives through exposure and involvement in creating strategic plans, managing international projects, and addressing various challenges in today’s global business environment. Evidence of ESE’s capacity to do this is the myriad of graduates who are the movers and shakers in the business field occupying positions in management, organizational operations, marketing, and customer care, among others. Another testament to ESE’s ability to educate me excellently are the recognitions it has received. In fact, ESE programs have been validated by the highest ranked university by British students and the only independent university in the United Kingdom, the University of Buckingham. It is also accredited by the British Accreditation Council. Furthermore, I have been drawn to ESE’s philosophy of not just assisting students in choosing a career that suits them but more so encouraging them to fulfill their goals by chasing their dreams and doing what they love. This kind of encouraging environment will definitely ease the stress and pressures attached with higher education, not to mention bring fun and active spirit amidst academic requirements. Moreover, another significant factor in choosing ESE is its revered internship program. Since the school has established relationships with successful global companies, I am guaranteed to gain the needed exposure and adequate training necessary before entering the real business world. Particularly in my chosen major where I will be exposed to three internship placements, I will have the opportunity to explore which field I may be good at, to assess my own skills for future practice, and to earn the trust and confidence of employers for future employment options. Above all, I have chosen ESE, particularly the Bachelor’s Degree in International Business because of the quality of education that I will receive should I be accepted in the said program. Included in this quality education are the analytical and critical thinking skills that I will acquire, which will aid me in future organizational decisions. Furthermore, the kind of learning I will gain in the said program will give me a deep comprehension of the global business environment and the different factors that influence investment, trade, and the economy, thereby allowing me to come up with strategic business plans in the future. In addition, an ESE education will further strengthen my communication skills crucial in local and international business transactions and dealings as well as develop my creativity and flexibility in responding to various challenges that face the business environment. Because of all these qualities, I aspire to be one of the students to be educated with an ESE education. However, this education will not just be for me but for my country as well. As a Russian native, I have seen the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Though everyone seems to be climbing up the ladder of economic progress, the rich people continue to become richer very quickly and as a result, the gap continues to expand (Arvedlund, 2005). Hence, as someone with business and economic knowledge, I dream of working in an area where I can help bridge this gap – the supermarket industry. In 2001, it was only forecasted that supermarkets will gain momentum in Russia as the demand for food caused by the increasing purchasing power of Russians skyrocketed. In the past though, supermarkets were known to be exclusively high-income shopping places while outside markets are pictures of low and middle class shopping (Kozlov, 2001). While supermarkets provide all the conveniences of shopping, the prices of goods are high; while local stores’ prices are low, the quality of products is poor. Moreover, it was reported in 2008 that foreign supermarkets are beginning to expand their markets by establishing outlets in Russia, particularly in Moscow. Majority of these supermarket giants have been household names in developed nations. Their goal is to target consumers with a growing dispensable income by combining high quality products and low prices (Bentley, 2008). However, what I am aiming for is an all original Russian supermarket merging the features of a supermarket and a local store. My long-term professional dream is to establish a chain of supermarkets characterized by high standard goods, convenient shopping, low prices, and authentically Russian ambiance, where everyone regardless of income can enjoy shopping. After some time when the company has been established and have enough profits to sustain the business and even to venture out in other endeavors, we will expand to include charity work in our goals. This social responsibility is one aspect that many Russian companies seem to neglect. Hence, this dream will somehow decrease the gap between the rich and the poor and in a way support the less-fortunate to climb up the economic ladder quickly. Moreover, it is this very dream that inspired me to pursue a career in business; majoring in International Business in ESE is the first step towards this. Indeed the primary role of businesses, whether small, medium, or large, and local or international, is to create products and services and sell these to communities to gain profit for wealth creation in society (International Organization of Employers, 2005). How to effectively and efficiently achieve this purpose is what aspiring businessmen like me wish to study and master. The principles of marketing, various business methods, economics, business law and ethical practice, management and organization, and finance – these are just few elements that businesses need to take into consideration on their way to making profit. Yet beyond money matters, businesses have ventured out to include social responsibility and accountability to community as part of their strategy. For instance, businesses have sought to advance the quality of life like McDonald’s advocating for animal welfare, education of youth, clean environment, and charitable efforts (McDonalds, 2010). Moreover, businesses have also used their resources to embed social responsibility in their goods and services as in Vodafone’s Mpesa program in Kenya that enables people to do mobile banking and the content-filtering system the company incorporated for parents and children’s protection (Demos, 2006). If these companies successfully accomplished these endeavors, then it will not be impossible for the others to follow suit. Hence, I aim to do just that in my future business. To do this, I will apply my experience in interacting with different types of culture that I gained from living in several countries. Likewise, I will use my skills in developing relationships and working in groups to expand my business, develop ethical approaches in doing business, and incorporate charitable programs that will foster a symbiotic relationship between my business and the community or society. Since there are problems ahead, the analytical knowledge that business education will equip will come in handy. Nonetheless, this analytical approach will not only be applicable within the bounds of business but outside the business world as well. For instance, the lessons learned from economics, finance, and marketing will enable me to become an intelligent consumer. Moreover, the values taught by management and organization will help me manage my time and organize my schedule. In addition, the values acquired from business law and ethics will support my personal judgment and decisions in life and at work. Needless to say, I am fit to achieve all these through an ESE education because I am a hard worker and a leader. Testament to this is my experience working in the marketing department of a shoe company. Though a greenhorn, I was immediately tasked to handle the marketing plan for the newest line of rubber shoes. Together with the team, I looked into previous plans from the department and examined the core values of the company. I then gathered them and brainstormed on what marketing strategy would be best for the new shoe line. I assigned each member a task that includes researching the marketing environment, reviewing past marketing activities, studying the company’s marketing system, and devising methods to analyze marketing plan’s effectiveness. With all our inputs, we were able to come up with a solid strategy, which the company used to introduce the new product to the market. From this work experience, I showcased my leadership and management abilities to produce good results. I was also able to display responsibility, meticulousness, organization, and ability to work well with others to ensure that the task assigned to me was smooth sailing from beginning to end. All these qualities will come in handy in the real global competitive business world. Nonetheless, my life is not all work and business. I also use my time doing fun activities such as swimming and yoga, both of which ease my mind from the pressures of school, work, and personal life. In my spare time, I read books and newspapers. I find current events, politics, history, and business the most interesting topics to read about as they give me awareness of past and present events that shape people and ultimately influence their decisions and actions. Furthermore, I also devote my time in volunteer work. In fact, I was recently in Tijuana, Mexico to help build houses for homeless families in the said area and also in the reservation in Taos, New Mexico to immerse myself in the Pueblo culture together with Pueblo school children. I have likewise participated in the Walk to Cure Diabetes in San Francisco, CA for a number of times. The said experiences deepened my understanding of different kinds of people and made me appreciate life more. They also inspired me to do more for the community and society as there are many people who need help, care, and attention. Therefore, in the future, I wish to extend my hand to the underprivileged and unnoticed sectors of society. Before doing this though, I wish to earn my master’s degree to strengthen the undergraduate education I will acquire. This way, my dream of establishing and managing a solely Russian-based company will be easier to achieve. Additionally, earning a master’s degree will make me a more effective leader and manager bringing a Western style of conducting business, which I believe is more efficient when applied in the Russian environment. The higher degree will also strengthen the knowledge and skills I gained from studying in various parts of the world and from interacting with different cultures in bringing a global and efficient approach to the company and in promoting charity and community work as an integral component in today’s business world. So I stared at my secretary for a couple of minutes and then she said, â€Å"Sir, is there something wrong? Everyone is waiting.. † I did not let her finish and instead I asked, â€Å"Do you think it is time for me to buy a new chair? † â€Å"I most certainly think so, Sir. † With that, I already know what decision to deliver in the boardroom. References Arvedlund, E. E. (2005). For rich and poor in Russia, gap widens. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. com/2005/04/26/business/worldbusiness/26iht-ruble. html? _r=2 Bentley, E. (2008). Supermarket giants check out Russia. The Moscow News. Retrieved from http://www. mn. ru/business/20080904/55345070. html Demos, T. (2006). Beyond the bottom line: Our second annual ranking of Global 500 companies. CNN. Retrieved from http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391850/index. htm International Organization of Employers. (2005). The role of business within society: Position paper. Geneva: International Organization of Employers. 1-10. Kozlov, V. (2001). Supermarkets gain momentum in Moscow. The Russia Journal. Retrieved from http://www. russiajournal. com/node/5018 McDonalds. (2010). Values in action. Retrieved from http://www. mcdonalds. com/us/en/our_story/values_in_action. html