Strategic Initiative plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Strategic Initiative plan - Research Paper Example The launch of a new advertising campaign can be used as a strategic move to spur a sales jump in the short term. Financial planning is another important function that is correlated to strategic planning. A financial plan must be prepared to determine how much investment is needed for any initiatives or strategic projects the company desires to implement. Financial planning involves determining how to obtain the resources needed to finance a project. Some of the sources that can be used to finance a strategic plan include selling common or preferred stocks, bonds, sale of assets, and loans from financial institutions. Strategic planning and financial planning are correlated because the implementation of a strategic plan is dependent of the budget available. A financial planning technique that can be used to predict the future financial outcome of a company is pro-forma financial statements. The master budget is also used to keep track of inflows and outflows of a project. â€Å"The master budget is a summary of companys plans that sets specific targets for sales, production, distribution and f inancing activities† (Accountingformanagement, 2012). Multinational corporations often utilize strategic and financial planning to achieve the goals of the company. The company I work for has utilized strategic planning effectively in the past. Last year the company entered into a strategic marketing alliance with a competitor in order to increase the overall demand for the product. The firm also utilized strategic planning in its human resource function. Due to the increase production demand the firm had to hire an additional 25 employees. A financial planning initiative that the company performed last year was obtaining a $4 million business loan that was used for leasehold improvements, research and development, and to finance an expansion project. Large companies such as

Church Growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Church Growth - Essay Example It not only tells about the principles but also tells us that why we want to grow It tells us about the core motivations behind church growth. It tells us about the relationship between leadership and church growth. It gives description about larger and smaller churches. Chapters seventeen, eighteen and nineteen speak about the basic principles of the Church Growth movement. This movement is based upon the use of sociological devices in order to attract new converts. The next idea that the author tells the reader in chapter twenty is that of laity and ministry. This section states that for both pastors and the other laity there are different things that must take place, which are not always pleasing and difficult to do. One of the most thrilling principles of church growth is to set free laity to do the work of ministry1. Chapters twenty one till twenty six chronicle the various strategies that have been used by the Church Growth movement in order to improve its clout and influence. Numerical strength will always help Christianity while every effort should be conducted in order to capture the heart of potential converts. The remaining chapters focus on the organization, planning, and preparation of the Church Growth movement. Church planting is the next idea of this book.

Algorithm for Robot Navigation Without Collisions

Algorithm for Robot Navigation Without Collisions ALGORITHM FOR ROBOT NAVIGATION AT ENVIRONMENT WITHOUT COLLISION ALGORITHM REPRESENTATION FOR NAVIGATION OF MOBILE ROBOT WITHOUT OBSTACLE COLLISON Mobile robot It is a kind of robot that has the ability to travel Relative to the environment (i.e. locomotion), and one of the actuators of the robot is the locomotive system This chapter of my bachelor thesis is to develop algorithms that will help the autonomous mobile robot in visual navigation. g the robot. Then, the robot tries to understand their environment to extract data from a sequence of image data, in this case, optical, and then uses this information as a guide for the movement. The strategy adopted to avoid collisions with obstacles during movement a balance between the right and left optical flow vectors. An integral part of any navigation scheme is the desire to reach a destination and do not get lost or bump into any of the objects. There may be other restrictions on a given route, such as speed limits or zones of uncertainty, where in theory, of course, can pave the path, but not desirable. Often, the way is to move the robot autonomously planned, ie on the basis of previous input and without interference in real time. It can work effectively, but only on condition that the environment is perfectly known and does not change and the robot can travel on the route perfectly. However, in the real world everything is much more complicated. Note that navigation will include: Location of robot Environment perception and his model Methods of traffic planning Robot motion control algorithms The problem of mobile robot navigation is a very complex issue characteristic at both ends. The implementation of tasks by moving a mobile robot requires obtaining information about the surrounding-limiting environment hence the importance of having AD sensory system that allows the observation of the environment and its perception, For this purpose, both simple rangefinder systems and contact sensors, which correspond with collision detection. Using a constant speed of 4m/s for the algorithm and a step size of 0.125m which was obtained by the multiplication of the speed by interval in which information is received. = 0.125m. The algorithm is given below. Set iteration values K equals K =1. Tolerance factor ÃŽ ´ Using the following sequence inside the loop for K Evaluating Hessian and the gradient and also checking for positive definite of hessian matric Determine Newton Direction Normalize Newton Direction Determine step size Determine new point If ||ΔT||ÃŽ ´, if not set K=1 And repeat step 2.otherwise terminate But considering the above algorithm it’s still going to encounter some problems. For example saw tooth pattern that occurs at the along the path, shown below: Saw-tooth pattern Saw-tooth happens due to fixed step size at some point in the navigation of the mobile robot reduction in step size is necessary which also means reduction in the speed of the robot . The reason for this effect is because the present point of the robot is not always the best point possible. Meaning that point after that will guide the path back, resulting in a saw=tooth pattern zig -zagging along the path. The reason this problem occurs is because the robot has a constant speed. ADDING CONSTAINTS: To determine the new point of the robot the speed and acceleration needs to be known if we have a speed of and an acceleration of The constraints are |speed| Now starting speed will be set has speed(K=0)=0m/s, which means is assumed that robot is in a static state Determining position of robot All points in the line represent the Newton’s Direction. Robot needs to move to one of its point so we can determine the speed and acceleration of robot OVERSHOOT SCENARIO: This is a scenario when the acceleration that is generated is not large enough to get to the point on the newton direction, solution to this can’t be found, the only way out is that the point closer to the line will move .I.e. line perpendicular to the newton’s direction must be found and the lie should intercept in the center. Now considering the new algorithm Setting values at start point, target point and obstacle location MATHEMATICAL BACKGROUND OF ALGORITHM FUNCTION OF TARGET: Every robot has its starting point and it has its destination that to say its target point and to accomplish this task it needs a target function: Target function is Where the position of the mobile robot is at present is and the destination of mobile robot is . A mobile robot has reached its minimum function when current position of the robot is equal to the target position. Fig 1: Position of Target BOUNDARY FUNCTION: Every Mobile robot has its environment and areas that are out of mobile robots environment is therefore represented with a boundary. What the boundary represents is the size, shape and location of an object. Boundary function and function of target will both give an optimization problem when finding the minimum. BARRIER FUNCTION: The most difficult part of mobile robot navigation is generating its path without going out of its environment that is where the barrier function comes in The barrier function and the target function are added up, and this leads to the following function: PENALTY FUNCTION: What the penalty function does is that it controls the importance of obstacles on the path of a mobile robot. It show if an obstacle is of high priority or isn’t. This is where distance comes to play how close the obstacle to the robot is to the obstacle. When calculating the penalty function of a mobile robot the most important obstacles are the obstacles closer to the robot. The penalty function is obtained by the calculation of the distance between the obstacle and the mobile robot. The result of the calculation shows the increases or decreases considering the movement of the robot away or towards the obstacle This represents the variation is the distance between the obstacle and mobile robot. NEWTON DIRECTION: Mobile robot optimization is very important in robot navigation. Choosing the most efficient path to follow to from robot’s current position to the target point around its environment, this is called Newton method. Newton direction is calculated by the optimal direction in which a step should be taken, ithis is given in the equation below: Where is the gradient of target function and the inverse of hessian matrix is: which is used to describe the second order derivative of the function of target, that is evaluated at point (delta t) is used in describing the change in the first order derivative of function of target. THEORITICAL EXPERIMENT After considering the algorithm it will be right to do some experiments based on the algorithm to investigate and test whether it does what we want it to. I will be using static obstacles to test. ONE STATIONARY OBSTACLE: Stationary point;

vietnam war :: essays research papers

Choices Tim O’Brien was drafted to the Vietnam War. He didn’t want to go to the war. So he went to the northern woods in the northern Minnesota. He had to make a choice whether to go to the war or not to go to the war. After spending six days with guy Elroy he decides to go. Tim O’Brien went to the war for the wrong reasons. He didn’t even think that there should be a war. He saw no reason at all why they should be fighting. He says â€Å"I was drafted to a war I hated... [I was] politically naive, but even so the American war in Vietnam seemed to me wrong. Certain blood shed for uncertain reason. â€Å"He hated this war and had so many questions about it. he says â€Å" It was my view then, and still is that you don’t make a war without knowing why.† he didn’t believe in it and didn’t know why we were fighting so why should he go to a war. He didn’t want to go to war. He wasn’t made for war. He even says , â€Å"I was no solider. I hated dirt and tents and mosquitoes. The sight of blood made me queasy.......† Now come on he didn’t even like anything to do with outdoors what good would he even do for our country. He minds well stay home and go to school. He was too young and had too much to lose. He even got a scholarship to a good school. â€Å"... I had the world dicked - Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude and president of the student body and a full ride scholarship for grad studies at Harvard.† It must have been a mistake cause I was too young. â€Å" a month after graduating from Macalester college. I was drafted to fight a war I hated. I was twenty-one years old, young, yes.† Way too young to go to war. He was too embarrassed not to go. He was afraid to be laughed out of town. â€Å" ... and it was easy to imagine people sitting around a table down at the old Gobbler Cafe on Mainstreet, coffee cups poised, the conversation slowly zeroing in on the young O’Brien kid, how the damned sissy had taken off for Cananda.† Now think about those reasons aren’t very good for going to fight for our country.

Private School vs Public School Essay

Many public school facilities are impressive others are mediocre. The same is true of private schools. In the public school system, the twin engines of political support and economic revenue base are critical. In private schools the ability to attract endowments and other forms of financial support are just as critical. Private school facilities reflect the success of the school’s development team and that of the school to continue to generate alumni support. Some private K-12 schools have facilities and amenities which surpass those found at many colleges and universities. Hotchkiss and Andover, for example, have libraries and athletic facilities on a par with those at Brown and Cornell. They also offer academic and sports programs which make full use of all those resources. It is hard to find comparable facilities in the public sector. They are few and far between. Public schools also reflect the economic realities of their location. Wealthy suburban schools will have more amenities than inner city schools as a rule. Think Greenwich, Connecticut versus Detroit, Michigan, for example. So, who has the edge? Let’s call it a draw, all things considered. Class Size: According to the NCES report Private Schools: A Brief Portrait private schools win out on this issue. Why? Most private schools have small class sizes. One of the key points of private education is individual attention. You need student to teacher ratios of 15:1 or better to achieve that goal of individual attention. On the other hand a public system has to take almost anyone who lives within its boundaries. In public schools you will generally find much larger class sizes, sometimes exceeding 35-40 students in some inner city schools. At that point teaching rapidly degenerates into babysitting. Teaching: Public sector teachers are generally better paid. Naturally compensation varies widely depending on the local economic situation. Put another way, it’s cheaper living in Duluth, Minnesota than it is in San Francisco. Unfortunately low starting salaries and small annual salary increases result in low teacher retention in many public school districts. Public sector benefits have historically been excellent; however, health and pension costs have risen so dramatically since 2000 that public educators will be forced to pay or pay more for their benefits. Private school compensation tends to be somewhat lower than public. Again, much depends on the school and its financial resources. One private school benefit found especially in boarding schools is housing and meals. Private school pension schemes vary widely. Many schools use major pension providers such as TIAA-CREF Both public and private schools require their teachers to be credentialed. This usually means a degree and a teaching certificate. Private schools tend to hire teachers with advanced degrees in their subject over teachers who have an education degree. Put another way, a private school hiring a Spanish teacher will want that teacher to have a degree in Spanish language and literature as opposed to an education degree with a minor in Spanish. Budgets: Since local property taxes support the bulk of public education, the annual school budget exercise is a serious fiscal and political business. In poor communities or communities which have many voters living on fixed incomes, there is precious little room to respond to budget requests within the framework of projected tax revenue. Grants from foundations and the business community are essential to creative funding. Private schools on the other hand can raise tuition, and they also can raise significant amounts of money from a variety of development activities, including annual appeals, cultivation of alumni and alumnae, and solicitation of grants from foundations and corporations. The strong allegiance to private schools by their alumni makes the chances of fund-raising success a real possibility in most cases. Administrative Support: The bigger the bureaucracy, the harder it is to get decisions made at all, much less get them made quickly. The public education system is notorious for having antiquated work rules and bloated bureaucracies. This is as a result of union contracts and host of political considerations. Private schools on the other hand generally have a lean management structure. Every dollar spent has to come from operating income and endowment income. Those resources are finite. The other difference is that private schools rarely have teacher unions to deal with. Advantages and disadvantages: There are many advantages and disadvantages to both public and private schools. As a parent, both options must be explored and the choice must be based on what is right for each particular child. Public schools often have a larger variety of subjects available, especially when it comes to electives. However, what is learned is somewhat decided by the state because public schools need to do well on standardized testing. Private schools, on the other hand, whether parochial or private have much more freedom of choice in curriculum and can choose to make their own assessments. Because of the individualized instruction, private schools tend to do generally better on standardized testing, that is, if they choose to use it. Private schools, many times, have more demanding curricula and have a higher rate of students who go on to attend college. Public schools are larger and also have larger class sizes. Public schools also have larger student-teacher ratios. According to a web site called Public School Review, â€Å"Private schools average 13 students per teacher, compared with an average of 16 students per teacher in public schools† (public school review). However, public schools have certified teachers. Private schools typically have teachers who are not state-certified and who may not have expertise in their subject matter. The biggest difference between public and private schools probably is that public schools are required to educate all students. They cannot deny any student admission. On the other hand, private schools have complete control about which they accept and can kick students out much more easily. Public schools are funded by tax revenue whereas private schools are funded privately. That means private schools cost money to attend called tuition. Taxpayers pay for public schools so the payment is included in what people pay. However in private schools, the payment is upfront for students to attend. Overall, there is no one right answer for which kind of school a student attends-public or private. The decision must be made for each individual student as there are advantages and disadvantages of both. Comparisons: Private school can be more beneficial than going to a public school. Private schools focus on preparing students for the next level of education; public schools are focused on test preparations sessions. Choosing the right school system for your child has a repercussion towards their future education. In the public school system the classrooms are overcrowded with students. Each class has an average of 27 to 30 students to it, which can limit the ability of one on one interaction with the teacher. A lot of the bullying issues come from the unstructured dress codes. This can create social divide to the less fortunate kids that can’t afford all the name brand items. In public school teachers are quick to say your child needs to be on medication if they are high strung, without knowing what other forms of issues might be occurring in the home. When parents try to discipline their child at home the school seems to always try to step in. Some things should be up to the parents to handle without haven to worry about the school stepping in. In the private school system when a child enters the school for the first time he or she will start out with a minimal class size with no more than 20 students. This allows more one on one time with the teacher, it also opens up more time for activities. The private school has a very strictly enforced dress code to eliminate animosity between the students. The schools are very family oriented with parents and students being involved with school activities. Teachers and parents are held to higher standards from the private schools. Teachers are expected to continue to grow and parents are obligated to maintain discipline of their children even in their absence. The testing that takes place at private schools is called Terra Nova, and kids are tested two or three times a year. Conclusion So, who comes out on top? Public schools or private schools As you can see, there are no clear-cut answers or conclusions. Public schools have their advantages and disadvantages. Private schools offer an alternative. Which works best for you? That’s the real question which you have to answer.

Happy Ending by Margaret Atwood Essay

In this essay, I examine the short story, â€Å"Happy Endings,† by Margaret Atwood and how the Canadian author tackled the topic of love and the different ways it is portrayed in relationships and marriage, as well as examined writing styles as used in the story. For my conclusion, I will elaborate on the importance of love and romance in making marriages last as well as emphasize on the cruciality of coming up with an original and authentic literary work. In this story, Atwood focused on both the mechanics of writing and the effects of gender stereotyping, as well as challenged writers who rely on the stereotypical characterization of men and women and to the reader who accepts such gender typing. At the same time, she challenged other writers to more closely examine typical literary convention. Happy Endings has six story versions that present a different scenario of what Through analysis of â€Å"Happy Endings† by Margaret Atwood happens to the main characters, John, Mary, Madge and Fred. Three main themes surface from this story. These themes are that the story depicts middle-class values; portrays marriage and romance; and illustrates writing conventions. Touching on middle-class values, Atwood represents these values in her story as an element of the society. In doing so, the characters in the story manifest them even in the more troublesome aspects of the stories. In tackling marriage and romance, the story revolves around the fulfillment that marriage brings. Using material success and ease of life as the criteria to define a successful marriage, John and Mary certainly have built one. Romance, on the other hand, also emerges as an important theme. The various versions of the story mimic the trajectory of cliched romance novels, which end with the hero and the heroine living happily ever after. Atwood also parodies some typical plots of romantic novels, which include murder, suicide, infidelity, and disease. Lastly, Atwood also dealt with writing conventions in the story by way of experimentation. Atwood’s text in the story is self-referential as she explicitly refers to events that have happened earlier on, as well as the mechanics and elements of writing. Both directly and indirectly, Atwood addresses the whole notion of how an author develops a story. In addition, Atwood’s work also challenges writers to compose authentic works. From the above information and opinions, I conclude that for a more different and effective way of writing, authenticity is important for writers to value. I also conclude that love in marriage or any kind of relationship needs romance to be its companion in order for these relationships to last as romance is the oil that keeps friction from wearing out the relationship. References BookRags and Thomson Gale. (2006). Happy endings study guide. Retrieved February 28, 2008, from http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-happyendings/