Effects of technology and innovation on Pret a manager Essay

Effects of technology and innovation on Pret a manager - Essay Example Information technology plays an essential role in the unprecedented growth of retail restaurant industry. A retail restaurant industry is a segment of the business which comprises of individuals and organisation whose are mainly engaged with the selling of ready foods to the consumers. Pret a manger is one such organisation which belongs to this particular segment. The report will highlight on the areas such as the role of information technology in the retail restaurant industry as well as more specifically to the company pret a manger. Apart from this the project will also highlight on the different approaches of pret a manger in the context of sustainable development, use of IT and innovations. The report also proposes to highlight the benefits offered by information technology for different elements. Role of Information Technology in Restaurant industry In this sector the functions of Information technology and innovation is significant as it helps in the process of research and d evelopment, financial segment, product development, pricing, distribution and promotion. In other words information technology helps all the 4p’s of marketing mix. The industry plays an important role in the growth of the economy. It is one of the largest growing food types and intended for immediate consumption. The restaurant industry has some distinguishing factor within itself. The point of difference lies where some restaurants have their dedicated kitchens in their outlets while some other restaurants outlets get supply of the ready food from the factory. The industry includes members such as refreshment stands, fast food restaurants, full service restaurants, caterers and institutional food providers. Large fast food chain majorly contributes to the restaurant industry. In a recent study conducted, where it has been found that there were approximately 10 million retail restaurants available across the world. Among them most of the outlets were owned by individuals and single entities. But there are around 350 restaurants involved in chain business. The big names within this category are McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Pizza hut, Dominos, Subway, Fingers and Del Taco, pret a manger among various other players. The noticeable foodstuffs includes pizzas, burgers, sandwiches, French fries, soups, chicken roasts, baguettes ice creams to the traditional Asian fast foods like noodles, fried rice and soups among the others. Franchise operation acts as the most vital component of this industry but some companies go for direct operation as well. The market shares of different companies are illustrated through a diagram:- Figure 1 (Source: pugetsoundoff, n.d.). Presently information technology is widely used in restaurant industry. The companies get hugely benefited through the proper execution of information system. The primary advantage of using information technology retail restaurant industry is that it gives a competitive advantage to the orga nization. The other advantage of using information technology in business lies in its capability to transmit data around the world within very less time. The industry is focusing more on IT to take advantage from it. The

Cultural relativism Essay Example for Free

Cultural relativism Essay The issue of universalism of human rights vs. cultural relativism has been a focal point of heated debate for the last several decades. As globalization is bringing nations together, cultural differences and peculiarities become increasingly more salient. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nation in 1948, lists several categories of rights that the peoples of the world have agreed to accept and recognize. These rights include the right to life, liberty and security of person; the right to be free from slavery and servitude; the right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or arbitrary arrest, detention or exile; the right to marriage with the free and full consent of the parties; the right to own property; the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religionm; and the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work (United Nations, 1948). These rights are universally recognized because they protect the dignity of an individual and the basic social institutions which are present in virtually every culture. However, their universality is still contested, as â€Å"human rights as laid out in the international covenants ignore the traditions, the religions, and the socio-cultural patterns of what used to be called the Third World† (Tharoor, 1998, para. 1). For example, in some African societies, â€Å"group rights have always taken precedence over individual rights, and political decisions have been made through group consensus, not through individual assertions of rights† (Tharoor, 1998, para. 4). There are many instances when traditional practices conflict with universal human rights. For example, female genital mutilation, practiced by some African and Asian people for cultural and communal reasons, translates into irreversible lifelong health risks for females (UNICEF, 2008). The debate whether human rights are universal is perennial. It is important to recognize, however, that an effective framework for the protection of human rights can be developed only using a bottom-up approach, giving the broad support of a society where human rights are promoted. References Tharoor, Shashi. (1998). Are Human Rights Universal? World Policy Journal, 16(4). Retieved June 11, 2009, from http://www. worldpolicy. org/journal/tharoor. html UNICEF. (2008). Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. Retrieved June 11, 2009, from http://www. unicef. org/protection/index_genitalmutilation. html United Nations. (1948). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved June 11, 2009, from http://www. un. org/en/documents/udhr

The Milgram Experiment :: Papers

The Milgram Experiment A lesson in depravity, peer pressure, and the power of authority The aftermath of the Holocaust and the events leading up to World War II, the world was stunned with the happenings in Nazi German and their acquired surrounding territories that came out during the Eichmann Trials. Eichmann, a high ranking official of the Nazi Party, was on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The questions is, "Could it be that Eichmann, and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices?" Stanley Milgram answered the call to this problem by performing a series of studies on the Obedience to Authority. Milgram's work began at Harvard where he was working towards his Ph.D. The experiments on which his initial research was based were done at Yale from 1961-1962. In response to a newspaper ad offering $4.50 for one hour's work, an individual turns up to take part in a Psychology experiment investigating memory and learning. He is introduced to a stern looking experimenter in a white coat and a rather pleasant and friendly co-subject. The experimenter explains that the experiment will look into the role of punishment in learning, and that one will be the "teacher" and one will be the "learner." Lots are drawn to determine roles, and it is decided that the individual who answered the ad will become the "teacher." [IMAGE]Your co-subject is taken to a room where he is strapped in a chair to prevent movement and an electrode is placed on his arm. Next, the "teacher" is taken to an adjoining room which contains a generator. The "teacher" is instructed to read a list of two word pairs and ask the "learner" to read them back. If the "learner" gets the answer correct, then they move on to the next word. If the answer is incorrect, the "teacher" is supposed to shock the "learner" starting at 15 volts. The generator has 30 switches in 15 volt increments, each is labeled

Ethical judgements Essay

Our entire life is a continuous process of gaining and retaining information, expanding our knowledge as individuals. Most people spend quite a bit of time in their childhood years in school learning, taking in knowledge that has been produced. As a species humans have produced a wealth of knowledge in a variety of ways. However there comes a time where you have to wonder what extent people would go to, to produce knowledge. Where is the line? When are we doing something ethically wrong? All of these questions bring up another question, do ethics get in the way of producing knowledge? The arts and natural sciences are two areas of knowledge that deal a lot with ethics. The arts are a very free area of knowledge in with people are allowed to express themselves, the natural sciences require a lot of experimentation. In my opinion, knowledge is very valuable, and the production of it should be a priority if the sacrifice is reasonable. The arts are a valuable source of knowledge, producers of art tend to try to convey a message through their artwork. Art comes in many different forms, ranging from visual arts to music and even literary arts. Throughout all forms most of art there are lessons embedded in the art piece, or at least messages conveyed through the art. Similarly, most art contains some form of censorship, artists are not allowed to touch on certain topics. Even if artists decide to make art that touches on controversial or different topics, their art is typically not accepted in society and does not receive any publicity. Again, this is the case with almost all art, however for the purpose of this essay I am going to focus on literary art. An example that is very prevalent in my mind is the ban of _The Book of Negroes_ by Lawrence Hill. A dutchman named Roy Groenberg wrote a letter to Lawrence Hill. In the letter he wrote that a group of people in the Netherlands were going to burn Hill’s book because in contained the word ‘negro’ in the title (Hopper). _The Book of Negroes_ is an award winning book that is about the life of an 11 year-old girl who is kidnapped in a village near Segu in Africa, and sent to North Carolina to be a slave. The book continues to tell the reader about her life as a slave (Hill). _The Book of Negroes_ is widely considered as very moving and a book that conveys important messages (Hopper). Unfortunately, because of the title it was misconceived as a book that was critical of African-Americans. Groenberg was the only person to act on his feelings, however that does not mean he was the only person to see this book as negatively directed at African-Americans. _The Book of Negroes_ was likely misconceived by many more people just because of the inclusion of the word ‘negro’ in the title. Unfortunately, society has made many ethical judgements about the word ‘negro’ which are usually justified but in this case prevent people expanding their knowledge (Hopper). This one of many examples, in which an ethical judgement limited methods available in the production of knowledge. This brings up the question in my mind, why do people shy away from certain words? An attempt to find the answer lead me to the Theory of Knowledge diagram, more specifically the ways of knowing. One way of knowing that intrigues me is language, this seems to answer my question. Language is a very powerful way of knowing, as words can be very powerful. There are handful of words in the english language that are not spoken because of how powerful they are. It seems to me that because of this some words are not tolerated even if the context is appropriate. Which sort of explains why The Book of Negroes received some criticism. It almost makes the criticism understandable, and I can begin to justify Groenberg’s actions. Like I said before, almost all art forms have artwork that is not socially  accepted, and up to this point I’ve only discussed literary art. However in my personal life I have learned about art not being accepted, when it comes to hip-hop music. I regularly listen to hip-hop music and it is a very important part of my life. In the eighth grade for a social studies class I had the opportunity to play a song in class as part of a project. This for me was especially difficult because a lot of hip-hop music is not completely suitable for a eighth grade class setting. Even though I had found a couple of songs that were perfect for what I needed, but had a little too much profanity. I completely understand that there are some inappropriate elements to hip-hop music that are not the best thing for a class room environment. However, I believe by the eighth grade students have developed a level of maturity, and should be able to listen to hip-hop music. All that needed to happen was for my classmates to disregard any profanity and see the song for what it truly is. Similarly, people should have looked past the title â€Å"The Book of Negroes† and read the book to see it for it’s value. Ethical judgments are as prevalent in the arts as they are in the natural sciences. From stem cell research to animal testing, there are a plethora of examples for natural sciences. The arts are as much about entertainment as they are gaining knowledge, or maybe even more. On the other hand the natural sciences is almost entirely about gaining new knowledge and improving what is already known. In this age, developments in natural sciences are nearly only about human advancement. Whether is medically or discovering new things. I am going to mainly focus on how various countries, such as Argentina, the United States, Russia, Iran and France, tested their space equipment. From the mid 1940s all the way to 2013, the mentioned countries have sent monkeys into space (Gray). Before leaders were confident enough to send humans into space, they sent monkeys into space to see how their equipment fared. As expected, most of these monkeys died horrible deaths in flight with no way of knowing what is happening or any way to help themselves (Gray). The most notable instances were the first few monkeys in space. In 1948 NASA sent a  rhesus monkey named Albert 39 miles into the air in a rocket. Albert died of suffocation mid flight, however NASA sent another monkey in the air named Albert II. Albert II survived the flight but died due to a parachute malfunction (Gray). When I discussed the Book of Negroes I reached a conclusion that gaining knowledge is more important than ethical issues. However, when discussing NASA monkeys it is much harder to decide. This is because lives are at stake, although they are not human lives it is still hard to think about something dying for space research. Majority of people agree that sending monkeys into space is wrong. How is it that NASA can design equipment to go into space, but can not create a machine that can detect air pressure and oxygen levels. Again, understanding this point of view is much easier but the theory of knowledge diagram came to my mind again. In the ways of knowing there is emotion, and that is likely the main way of knowing affecting people when they imagine monkeys dying for space research. It is easy to create an emotional bond with an animal as cute as a monkey, and most people can agree monkeys are cute. When reacting on emotions people reach rash conclusions. Which I think can be applied here, I am curious what the reaction would be if NASA tested with uglier or at least less cute animals. What if NASA sent warthogs into space? This is a situation when I personally hate to play devils advocate, however if I was an astronaut in the 1940s I would certainly not go into a space rocket. I have absolutely nothing against monkeys, but if I were forced to make a decision between a monkey dying and a human dying I would choose the monkey, without hesitation. In conclusion, knowledge is very valuable and has been something humans have cherished through the ages. The production of knowledge has been vital to the advancement of the human race. Under most circumstances in the arts and natural sciences, the production of knowledge does not require a major sacrifice, just a small loss or temporary discomfort. There are times in which it is not worth the sacrifice to learn something. However the vast majority of circumstances provide a reasonable loss for the production of  knowledge. Overall, I believe knowledge and the production of knowledge is extremely valuable and should be a priority when it comes to he arts and natural sciences. Works Cited Gray, Tara. â€Å"A Brief History of Animals In Space.† NASA. NASA HQ, 02 Aug 2004. Web. 16 Sep 2013. Hill, Lawrence. The Book of Negroes. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: HarperCollins, 2007. Print. Hopper, Tristin. â€Å"Dutchman threatens to burn The Book of Negroes.† National Post. National Post, 10 Jun 2011. Web. 16 Sep 2013. .

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Position Description: Analyst Programmer – C# . Net Purpose of Position: To design, develop, deliver and support Images in Space systems and services. To work with all areas of the Images in Space business to design and deliver future systems and services. The role requires the delivery of industry leading solutions that are reliable, scaleable and easy to use. This position operates in a multi-tasking environment and will involve support of clients (Internal and External) via phone, email and in person.There is the requirement to work with the Senior Development Analyst and/or technical pre-sales staff to perform analysis and establish user requirements, deliver projects to time and budget, and support these systems to company and client specific agreed service levels. This position is also tasked with supporting a development culture based on consistent methodologies and best practices for design, testing, security and hosting. Reports to: Head Developer and Solutions Archit ect Key Accountabilities: Project Assignments: Analyze, design, build and test business / technical solutions to meet both our internal needs and the needs of our users. †¢ Provide . NET, SQL Server and general development skills and experience to the Software Development team. †¢ Maintain and support existing applications. †¢ Conduct relevant â€Å"Requirements Analysis† to develop an accurate understanding of system requirements, in order to design the best solution within project, business and technical constraints. †¢ Accurately estimate the time and investment required to implement solutions. †¢ Analyse the mpact of any programmed changes to existing systems, and implement changes so as to minimise disruption to production environments. †¢ Create functional software from technical designs and system requirements documentation. †¢ Test software against specifications. †¢ Create and maintain systems documentation. †¢ Share knowl edge and experience relevant to the project with team members. Personal Work Practice and Productivity †¢ Accept responsibility and ownership for agreed personal/project objectives, timelines and deadlines. †¢ Manage assigned work to ensure it is completed on time and to budget. Complete administration tasks within agreed timelines. †¢ Share information and work with other developers / team members. †¢ Actively work in alignment with the vision and values of the company. Quality Management †¢ Support, maintain and improve Images in Space development methodologies, procedures and standards. †¢ Ensure the quality of the final deliverables by establishing and checking technical standards, and by verifying that the products meet or exceed requirements. †¢ To provide quality assurance to colleagues. Systems Support †¢ Proactively identify system modifications and/or enhancements (scalability, performance, ease of use etc). Ensure all systems are fu lly operational in accordance with contracted performance measures and/or Service Level Agreements. Other responsibilities may include any development duties that we reasonably require you to do. These may change from time to time to reflect the changing requirements of your position and our business. Key Performance Criteria: †¢ Delivery of projects against defined milestones and budgets. †¢ Customer satisfaction / absence of complaints. †¢ Speed of solutions (efficiency). †¢ Rework rate (bugs). †¢ Stability and Performance of Production software. Stability and Performance of Development Infrastructure. General Skills: †¢ Ability to analyse and define system requirements. †¢ Systems architecture and design. †¢ Deliver functional software using appropriate web technologies. †¢ Ability to learn new technologies. †¢ Strong communication and inter-personal skills. †¢ Lateral thinking. †¢ Self management. †¢ Provide direct training and support to development staff and end users. Technical Skills: †¢ Microsoft and related technologies – C# / . NET Framework †¢ Web sites & Web services (ASP. NET, MVC) †¢ AJAX programming experience. Experience in Object Relational Mapping Tools ( e. g. : Subsonic, Nettiers, nHibernate) †¢ Microsoft SQL Server †¢ Standards Compliant Design and Markup (HTML / XHTML / XML & CSS) †¢ DOM Scripting (JavaScript, JSON & related frameworks (e. g. : jQuery, YUI/ExtJS ) †¢ Support legacy sites & services (Cold Fusion) †¢ Separation of presentation and content by use of Cascading Style Sheets. †¢ Experience in Fireworks or Photoshop for image creation or manipulation. †¢ Web Service or Service Oriented Architecture experience. †¢ Basic computer & systems hardware knowledge and networking skills.

9 Easy Steps to Make More Money At Work

9 Easy Steps to Make More Money At Work We can’t all be hedge fund managers and zillionaires. But there are a few very practical strategies that can help you maximize your assets. 1. Location Location LocationDon’t just flock to L.A., Chicago, Boston, or New York because they’re there (and so big and shiny). Use a resource like Zillow.com to check for metro areas with a better bang for your buck- cities like Dallas, Atlanta, and Indianapolis, where housing costs are a much lower percentage of your income. A lot of these cities are up-and-coming and great places to live.2. Be proactiveDon’t wait six months or a year for your first performance review to ask for that raise. Most companies make their budgets at the end of their fiscal year; if you can, start the conversation before that window closes.3. Give it a NumberLet your boss know what you want before you explain why you’ve earned it. And set a range; you’ll appear flexible; and you never know, you might end up with the big numb er.4. Go RogueExecutives who switch jobs can end up with an up to 15% pay bump, compared with your typical 3% raise. Make that kind of upward move at the age of 40, and you can make a 9% difference in your lifetime income.5. RebrandYou’re not the same employee you were when you were fresh out of college with your first resume. Tailor your current resume to your current goals, and drop whatever positions are no longer relevant to your career.6. DigitizeWhy look for other opportunities when the Internet can do it for you? Keep up on LinkedIn, Poachable, and Poacht, and sex up your profile with keywords pertinent to the job you want. This will attract prospective employers without your even having to go looking for them!7. Climb HigherEven if you’re late in your career, aim to make it up just one more rung on the ladder. It can make all the difference in cumulative earnings, not to mention the ego boost of conquering another level of the game.8. Go LateralNo more free run gs on your ladder? No worries. Hop to the adjoining one if opportunities are short. Just make sure not to burn any bridges- and keep your boss sweet in case you ever need a glowing reference.9. Have a Back-Up PlanYou never know when everything is going to come crashing down around you. Prepare for the worst and you’ll never get caught with your pants down. Have an idea for a small business or a freelance project? Keep it in your back pocket for emergencies and never lose a chance to earn.9 Ways to Make More Money at Work

Pink Mustache Delivers! Essays - Transportation Network Companies

Pink Mustache Delivers! Essays - Transportation Network Companies Anthony P. Moreno MKT/421 Instructor: Fritz Beiermeister December 21st, 2015 Pink Mustache Delivers! The company that I previously used was, Lyft, a ride within minutes. The new product that I would add to Lyft would be to branch out and become a delivery service. Within the Lyft app there would be another area that rather than asking for a lift, you can order anything you want and the Lyft driver would deliver it to wherever you needed it. The target market for this product would be adults ranging from 18 years old and older. The target market would need a smart phone; just like our normal Lyft consumers would use and would have to have a credit/debit card already inputted within the app. I think that this would appeal greatly to our market because you can have anything you want at anytime you want. We greatly encourage our target market to not drive when they are unable to, so this would branch off and help to keep unsafe drivers off the road even more. The first target market that we would aim towards would be adults 21-40 years old. We would target more of the late night after h ours groups of customers. This way we are still promoting safe driving while being able to enjoy themselves. Our drivers would still have our logo, the pink mustache, on their cars to let the customer know that it is our business who is delivering their products that they ordered. Geographically, how far of a distance would our consumer be able to order a product from? We would allow our consumer to only be able to choose from various stores, shops, restaurants, office buildings and other locations within a 15-mile radius from the driver to the consumer. Demographically, will my 15-year-old daughter be able to order alcohol? Anyone over the age of 18, with their credit/debit card inputted in the app and has a smart phone with our app on it. We will have restrictions through our app on certain items, such as alcohol, cigarettes and other items that have age restrictions. Psychographically, what if I dont want the driver to know where I live? The consumer is the person who lets the driver know where to meet. Our drivers can stand outside of their car and wait for you or if you prefer the drop off at doorstep option you choose how you want to receive your delivery. Will they be able to deliver on holidays? Yes, our drivers choose when they want to work, so we wil l always have drivers ready to work any day at anytime. Behaviorally, once I order the same thing over and over again, can I just get a personal driver to get me exactly what I want every time? No, we do not set anyone up with the same people on purpose every time. That doesnt give our other drivers opportunities at certain jobs. The methods we would conduct for our marketing research would be surveys and observation. We would conduct surveys after every Lyft ride to see if our consumers that are already using Lyft would use the delivery service. We would also have surveys on privacy and what would be appropriate for the consumer and driver interaction. We could send out surveys to our current e-mail lists with coupons on both of our services, if they complete the survey. The other method is observation, since there are already delivery service companies out there, we would conduct some observations about them. We would observe their prices, fees, delivery times, what areas are most populated and what has failed within their business. I choose these two methods because I feel that we have a large amount of available audience and a survey would be a quick and inexpensive way to get fast feedback. Observing other companies is a also a way to see what the competition is like in this field and what makes our comp any stick out from the rest. Observing the other delivery companies would help us start from a basis on where we should start from and then branch out to make our company unique and give it the Lyft touch. Once we have received feedback through our surveys