Abraham Harold Maslow

A long list of theories that attempt to explain human’s personality traits have been put forward by psychological theorists especially of the 20th century. Some of the prominent theorists include Sigmund Freud, B. F. Skinner, and Abraham H. Maslow (Newman Newman, 2007). Maslow was an American psychologist who was born and grew up in Brooklyn in New York. He is greatly honored for conceptualizing a theory about the trend of human development which is popularly known as â€Å"Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs†. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Abraham Harold Maslow specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Being a humanistic psychologist, Maslow optimistically believed that all human beings have an inherent desire to realize and achieve their given potential to the highest possible level, which he referred to as self-actualization (Newman Newman, 2007). This essay seeks to discuss, in summary, the five majo r levels of human needs that Maslow arranged in a hierarchical manner. It will then provide its applicability to the professional practice. The Hierarchy of Needs model has withstood the test of time as a very instrumental tool for understanding human motivations. This model takes a pyramidal shape with the basic needs at the broader base and the need to self-actualize at the apex (Newman Newman, 2007). Maslow believed that people are motivated most by physiological needs which are inherent and include; the need for air (oxygen), water, food, rest, comfort (excretion), sleep, need to avoid pain, and to have sex. The second layer of the pyramid is the need for safety and security. Once the physiological needs have been met to acceptable minimum, a person moves to satisfy the second layer. The person is motivated by the need to be in a safe environment, as well as assurance for security in life like job security, retirement benefits and or constant care. The sufficient satisfaction o f the first two layers paves way for the third which is the need for love and sense of belonging. One starts being motivated by the need for friendship, a lover, general affectionate needs, the need to have children, and a sense of association. This strong need can push one into all sorts of groups ranging from good to the worst. This level also defines the need to pursue a given career. The fourth level, the need for esteem, follows immediately once the first three have been largely met. This involves the search for self-esteem. The first category is the need for the respect for others, fame, glory, attention, reputation, dignity, dominion, recognition, and appreciation. The second category is the need for self respect through feelings like; confidence, achievement, independence, competence, and freedom. The first four levels are characterized by unique negative effects if they are not met and therefore, Maslow referred to them as deficit-needs or otherwise ‘D-needs’. This implies that one will be motivated as long as there is a deficit (Griffin Moorhead, 2009).Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The fifth and the last level is the self-actualization need. People in this level are motivated by the need to grow and ‘being’ needs. A person is driven to fulfill his or her optimum potential. Due to the challenge that exists in meeting the lower needs, a very small percentage of the people in the world reach the summit of the hierarchy/triangle. Self-actualized people are characterized by their reality-centeredness, problem-centeredness, and are not conventionally convinced by the idea that the end justifies the means. Basically, they are nonconformist. This model of considering human developmental needs has proved useful and is applicable in virtually all human engagements. In the professional practice, for instance, the Hierarchy of Need s has been employed by leaders and executive officers to motivate their employees to ensure maximum output from the professional workforce (Maslow Stephens, 2000). This will largely depend on how each employee/professional is treated through the type of leadership used, plans for compensation, clear definition of roles, and company culture. Under physiological motivation, the workforce should be allowed to have adequate breaks as well as providing salaries that can enable them to buy essential things in life. Safety needs should be taken care of by creating an environment which is safe and free from threats and feelings of job insecurity. Generating a company or professional culture that encourages feelings of acceptance, community, and belongingness through the use of group dynamics will go a long way in addressing the social needs. The chance for professional advancement like study leaves and promotions should also be provided at this level. The fourth level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can also be applied to professional practice quite effectively. The esteem motivation can be exploited by recognizing individual achievements, assigning key projects, and ensuring that the workforce feels valued and upheld. Self-actualization motivation of professionals can be achieved through the assignment of high level projects or assignments/tasks that are quite challenging and demanding a lot of creativity, and innovation in the quest to reach the set goals (Griffin Moorhead, 2009).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Abraham Harold Maslow specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The essay has provided a summary of the five key levels of needs as laid out by Abraham Maslow. It has also explained how the motivational theory can be effectively used in the professional world to ensure maximum input as well as output from professionals and workforce in general. References Griffin, R. W. Moorhead, G. ( 2009). Organizational Behaviour: managing people and organizations (9th ed.). Cengage Learning Maslow, A. H. Stephens, D. C. (2000). The Maslow business reader. John Wiley and Sons Newman, B. M. Newman, P. R. (2007). Theories of human development (4th ed.). Routledge This essay on Abraham Harold Maslow was written and submitted by user Sasha Carroll to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on Travel Destinations

There are different categories of destination sites where people decide to travel. Types of destinations include: ethnic, cultural, historical, religion, environmental, recreational and business travel. Each individual tourist has different expectations and wants when they travel. Each destination generally speaking, has many cultural resources which are key factors in travel, food of that region, vegetation, history, different sites, museums, art, music, shows and entertainment, moreover the mentality of that particular region. What a region has to offer to the tourists is the main factor that brings the tourists to that area, depending on what they are looking for and why they are traveling. For example, a person wanting to travel to see historical sites and historical culture and background may decide to go to Europe to see famous sites such as Versailles in France where Luis the XIV set up a court for all his nobles. On the other hand a person who is looking for a relaxing vaca tion may want to travel to the Caribbean to enjoy the natural environment and beautiful weather. National and international events play a huge role in tourism and can be the reason as to why people do or do not travel to a particular country. More importantly, people travel for different reasons but the fact is travel and tourism is a huge industry that is continuing to grow and expand. There have been many different tourism trends, economic impacts and downfalls throughout history. Although there are negative effects of tourism, the positive impact tourism creates is more often beneficial to communities. Today, tourism is one of the most established and number one industry in many counties. It is also one of the fastest-growing economic sectors responsible for foreign exchange earnings and job creation. Travel and tourism has become one of the world’s most continuously growing sources of employment. Tourism not only provides a region with employmen... Free Essays on Travel Destinations Free Essays on Travel Destinations There are different categories of destination sites where people decide to travel. Types of destinations include: ethnic, cultural, historical, religion, environmental, recreational and business travel. Each individual tourist has different expectations and wants when they travel. Each destination generally speaking, has many cultural resources which are key factors in travel, food of that region, vegetation, history, different sites, museums, art, music, shows and entertainment, moreover the mentality of that particular region. What a region has to offer to the tourists is the main factor that brings the tourists to that area, depending on what they are looking for and why they are traveling. For example, a person wanting to travel to see historical sites and historical culture and background may decide to go to Europe to see famous sites such as Versailles in France where Luis the XIV set up a court for all his nobles. On the other hand a person who is looking for a relaxing vaca tion may want to travel to the Caribbean to enjoy the natural environment and beautiful weather. National and international events play a huge role in tourism and can be the reason as to why people do or do not travel to a particular country. More importantly, people travel for different reasons but the fact is travel and tourism is a huge industry that is continuing to grow and expand. There have been many different tourism trends, economic impacts and downfalls throughout history. Although there are negative effects of tourism, the positive impact tourism creates is more often beneficial to communities. Today, tourism is one of the most established and number one industry in many counties. It is also one of the fastest-growing economic sectors responsible for foreign exchange earnings and job creation. Travel and tourism has become one of the world’s most continuously growing sources of employment. Tourism not only provides a region with employmen...

For Rich or For Poorer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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History - Assignment Example The religious patriarchs like Abraham and Ishmael were available before the scripture. The  Quran started with these patriarchs to build Islam. Muslims give great regard to the authority of Quran and its sacred and divine nature. The  Hadith  is yet another important text in Islam. Hadith means traditions. Hadith constitutes the traditions followed by Muhammad in his life with the first Muslims. Numerous stories are told about the life of Muhammad. His daily affairs, his way of interacting with people, his manner of leading the community and his ways of taking care of household are considered as good examples by Muslims. Hadith illustrates the image of Muhammad, which is considered by Muslims as the role model. The Quran and the  Hadith  together give the textual basis for what is considered as Islamic ‘divine law’. Both are honorable texts with high degree of authenticity and integrity. Mohammed, the Seal of the Prophets is deemed as the greatest of all prophe ts. Quran is considered as the exact embodiment of Message of God. The teachings that got revealed to Muhammad are considered as the final of all previous messages. Muslims believe that Quran follows Torah and Gospel. According to them, Quran is the final revelation of God to man. The Quran gives great honor to Hebrew patriarchs, kings and prophets who are associated with Jerusalem. Islam recognizes the revelations received by these prophets. Jesus Christ is recognized by Islam as a great messenger of God. 2. List the five pillars of Islam and define Jihad. What is the role of Sharia to Islamic law?   The five pillars of Islam make the make the foundation for true Muslim life. Believing in one true God and the prophethood of Muhammad makes the base of Muslim belief. Daily prayers, concern for poor and giving arms to the negatively privileged, self sanctification through fasting and sacred pilgrimage to the Makkah makes the subsequent four pillars. The Qur'an explains Jihad as a ty pical structure of checks and balances. According to Islam Jihad is a system that checks one group of people using another group. If a person or a group of people violates the rights of Muslims or breaks their limits, Muslims can rightfully ‘check’ them and take them to the right line. Islam never permits unprovoked attack from its own side. Quran has asked Muslims to never start hostilities or do any act of aggression. Muslims are further commanded not to harm innocent ones and never violate the rights of others. Hurting animals and even trees is wrong according to the teachings of Islam. Islam recommends war only to defend their people from persecution, war and oppression. Quran recommends hostility to those who oppress Muslims. According to Quran, persecution cannot be afforded as it is worse than oppression. Sharia is the set of Islamic canonical laws that are fundamental to Islam. They are derived from four different sources, The Koran, The Sunnah, The Hadith or Ah adith and the ijma. Sharia was formed in the eighth and ninth centuries. Sharia means a path that leads to God. Muslims believe that Sharia is the law of God. Sharia however has different faces depending upon what exactly it entails. Fundamentalists, modernists and traditionalists, each have different views on Sharia. Sharia is therefore related to different Islamic schools of thought. Sharia deals with different fields

Nursing Research websites Part 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Alibaba Is A Business To Business Company Marketing Essay

Alibaba Is A Business To Business Company Marketing Essay Alibaba.com is regarded as a dominant player and a high-growth company due to its large membership base and its phenomenal growth. Its total registered user base grew from 6.0 million in 2004 to 19.6 million in 2006. In the same vein, it registered a cumulative annual growth rate of 94.8% in 2006 alone. One of its major competitors in the international marketplace B2B giant Global Sources, which has an online directory of many other B2B services it offered, such as print business directories and exhibitions, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 7). However, Alibaba.com has various strengths which served as its competitive advantages over Global Sources and other competitors. Indeed, Alibaba.com should continue in being a dominant player in the B2B eCommerce industry. Among all the upcoming B2B in china, Alibaba.com has received much despite not been listed in NASDAQ .In 2001 the company was featured by Forbes as its cover story also selected as the only firm on the Forbes Best of the Web:B2B list founded in china (Doebele,2000).By 2002 the Alibaba.com was selected and featured by Forbes again as its only Best of the Web:B2B in the month of September.(Qin Hu et al.,2004). 1. 0 Background 1.1 What is Alibaba.com Alibaba.com was founded in June 1999 by Jack Ma and eighteen other founders (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 3). It is a business-to-business portal which allows suppliers of everything from 176 countries to connect with buyers around the world. (Bi, 2002). The Companys founder Jack Ma was nominated as one of the 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum and was honored as a recipient in the Asian Business Association Business Leadership Award in 2001, on the 27 December 2001 with the registered 1,000,000 Alibaba.com member, which became the only B2B Webster with 1,000,000 registered business members from 202 countries. (Qin Hu et al., 2004) Since inaugurating its website in simplified Chinese to serve the Chinese mainland market in 1999 (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 3), it has now become worlds largest online business-to-business global trading marketplace, with 2.5 million and 14 million registered users in its international and Chinese domestic marketplaces respectively , (Alibaba.com: A Smiling Community with a Dream, undated). Based on the number of registered users and market share by revenue at the end of the second quarter of 2007, Alihaba.com was considered as the largest online B2B company in China. The international marketplace was served through its English language website which caters to global importers and exporters (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 4). On the other hand, the China marketplace was served by its Chinese language website, Alibaba.com which caters to domestic suppliers and buyers (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 4).Alibaba.com online transaction basically has six levels as describe CTO,John Wu which are information exchange, negotiation, price bargaining, shipping, insurance, inspection and customs processing and payment. As its lowest level that Alibaba.com operates. In other words it only provides an information platform on which the buyers and sellers meet and post business information.(Qin Hu et al 2004). Farhoomand (2008, p. 4) explains that the business model of Alibaba.com centers on the use of the marketplace by suppliers and buyers who would establish their presence online, identify potential trading partners and conduct business with each other. Farhoomand (2008, p. 4) describes the manner by which the Alibaba.com interface is used by suppliers and buyers in China and around the world in their trading activities: , Suppliers and some buyers would use the marketplaces to host their company profiles and catalogues in standardised formats known as storefronts and post listings such as products, services and trade leads. Users could view storefronts and listings in over 30 industry categories and nearly 5,000 product categories by either searching for keywords or browsing through the online industry directory. (Farhoomand 2008, p. 4). Figure 1 presents the value proposition of Alibaba.com and the manner by which it effectively facilitates the conduct of trade within the context of B2B commerce. Figure 1 Alibaba.coms Value Proposition Source: Farhoomand (2008, p. 17) Figure 2 below shows the typical process of trade in Alibaba.com. Suppliers and buyers were able to successfully establish large online comminutes in Alibaba.com which features active listings, enquiry exchanges, instant messaging, discussion forums and other user-friendly community features, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 4). Figure 2 A Typical Trading Process in Alibaba.com Source: Farhoomand (2008, p. 17) Although Alibaba.com offers free basic services to its all its registered members, it generates is revues from the services purchased by suppliers which include membership packages that provided priority placement of storefronts and listings in the industry directory and search results, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 5). These suppliers are charged from their subscription to value-added services which include: (1) purchase of additional keywords which help improve their search result rankings; and (2) premium placement on Alibaba.coms web pages (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 5). 1.2 Why Should Alibaba.com be Considered a High Growth Company? Alibaba.com should be considered as a high-growth company due to its large membership base and its phenomenal growth. Its total registered user base grew from 6.0 million in 2004 to 19.6 million in 2006. In the same vein, the total number of its paying members grew from 77,922 in 2004 to 219, 098 in 2006. Figures 3 and 4 below show the growth in the number of Alibaba.coms registered users and paying members, respectively. . Figure 3 Growth in the Number of Alibaba.coms Registered Users from 2004 to 2006. Source: Farhoomand (2008, p. 5). Figure 4 Growth in the Number of Alibaba.coms Paying Members from 2004 to 2006. By the end of 2007, Alibaba.com has already successfully captured 50% of the market share of Chinas online e-commerce revenue (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 19). Figure 5 below presents the market share of Chinas online e-Commerce Market by Revenue. Basically the pie chart demonstrated how successful Alibaba.com has been able to stay above its major competitors by seizing half of the market share. Figure 5 Market Share of Chinas Online E-Commerce Market by Revenue Source: Farhoomand (2008, p. 19). Moreover, its phenomenal growth in the B2B industry is buttressed by its impressive financial standing. By the end of 2004, its annual revenues totaled US$48.3 million, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 5). With a cumulative annual growth rate of 94.8%, its annual revenues amounted to US$183.2 million at the end of 2006. Figure 6 below presents the financial data of Alibaba.com from 2004-2007. Figure 6 Financial Data of Alibaba.com from 2004-2007 Source: Farhoomand (2008, p. 5) 1.3 Who is Jack Ma? Jack Ma is the founder and chairman of Alibaba.com and is a native of Hangzhou, which is situated approximately 100 miles southwest of Shanghai, where the companys headquarters resided (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 3). Jack Ma is one of the first entrepreneurs to develop e-commerce in China, (Alibaba.com: A Smiling Community with a Dream, undated). He, together with his partners have successfully established the following: (1) first internet commercial website in China; (2) a B2B marketplace platform for suppliers and buyers around the word; (3) the worlds first on-line credit platform for companies, called the Trust Pass (Alibaba.com: A Smiling Community with a Dream, undated). Jack Ma grew up during Chinas Cultural Revolution and became fascinated in learning English at the tender age of 12, (Farhoomand, 2008, pp. 3-4; Fannin, 2008). For eight years, he rode 40 minutes every morning on his bicycle to a hotel near the West Lake and practised his English by giving free tour guides to foreigners, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 4). Later, when he decided to pursue a degree in education out of his desire to teach English to high school students, he flunked his admission exam twice for a University, prior top being accepted at Hangzhou Teachers University, (Fannin, 2008). After graduating, he was offered a teaching job with a rate of 100 to 120 renminbi, which is equivalent to USD $12 to $15 per month, (Fannin, 2008). Then in 1995, he was employed by the Chinese government to settle a dispute between a Chinese firm and its US partner, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 4). The US partner held Ma captive at gunpoint for two days before he regained his freedom by agreeing to become a p artner in an internet startup in China, even though he had no concept of the internet at all, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 4). During the same year, Ma joined a trade delegation in Seattle as an interpreter wherein a friend showed him a computer with an internet connection (Fannin, 2008; Farhoomand, 2008). There, he was surprised to find out that nothing turned up in the search results when he searched for the word China. This prompted Ma and his friend to set-up a website and name it China Pages ((Fannin, 2008). Upon his return to China, he borrowed $2,000 to establish China Pages which shared a strikingly similar ideology with Alibaba.com: to list Chinese companies on the internet and help foreigners find their websites, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 4). However, China Telecom bought out his stake which eventually forced him to return to civil service. In 1998, he started to resume work on his vision of connecting Chinese companies to the world through the internet. Then, in December of that same year, Ma finally realised his vision with the establishment of Alibaba.com, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 4; Fannin, 2008). Indeed, Ma had the makings of a successful business leader. Under his leadership, Alibaba.com became a leading B2B marketplace which have successfully attracted more than 17million registered members in 220 countries globally, with daily postings exceeding 35 million, making Alibaba.com the most active Internet marketplace and B2B community worldwide, (Alibaba.com: A Smiling Community with a Dream, undated). 1.4 What is the Basis for the Report? This report is primarily based on secondary data obtained from the case study undertaken by Farhoomand (2008) and from other relevant online and offline sources. This study did not use any primary research methods such as interviews in gathering information about Alibaba.com. 2.0 The beginning of Alibaba.com Jack Ma officially launched Alibaba.com online in December 1998, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 3). Alibaba.com originally served as a bulletin board service for businesses to post buy and sell trade leads. Jack Ma and 18 other founders established the Alibaba group in June, 1999, which is the parent company. It first served clients domestically (Farhoomand, 2008,p.3). 2.1 The Opportunity In 1995, while in Seattle, Jack Ma made his first contact with the computer and internet and was shocked to find out that no search results could be found for the keyword China. Together with a friend, Ma decided to set up an online company and name it China pages. In 1998, upon his return to China, he launched China Pages which featured a list of companies on the internet and help foreigners find their websites, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 4). After three months, Ma and his team established Alibaba China which was a major operating subsidiary in China and which served to carry out the business of operating B2B marketplaces, ((Farhoomand, 2008, p. 4). After three more months, three more sites were set up by the team, which include: (1) an English site for international users; (2) a Korean site for Korean users; and (3) a traditional Chinese site for Chinese users outside China ((Farhoomand, 2008, p. 4). 2.2 Competitive Environment Even during its infancy, Alibaba.com has already been faced with stiff competition from rivals based domestically and internationally, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 7). One of its major competitors in the international marketplace B2B giant Global Sources, which has an online directory of many other B2B services it offered, such as print business directories and exhibitions, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 7). Global Sources was first established in Hong Kong in 1971 as a monthly trade magazine for consumer products made in Asia for export to Western markets , (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 7). As of the end of September 2007, Global Sources already has a community of over 647,000 buyers and 160,000 suppliers (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 7).Moreover, Global Sources has successfully : (1) enabled suppliers to sell to hard-to-reach buyers in over 230 countries; (2) delivered information on two million products annually; (3) operated 14 online marketplaces that delivered more than 23 million sales leads annually; (4) pu blished 13 monthly magazines and over 100 sourcing research reports per year; and (5) organised nine trade-specific exhibitions that ran 22 times a year across seven cities, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 7). Farhoomand (2008, p. 7) explains that Global Sources could be considered as a serious threat to Alibaba.com because its revenue source was shifting online, as evidenced by its 2006 annual report demonstrating that online businesses generated over 40% of total revenue. Figure 7 below shows the contributors to Global Sources revenues for 2006. Figure 7 Contributors to Global Sources 2006 Revenues Source: Farhoomand (2008, p. 8) 2.3 Strategic Review of the External Situation at Start up Ma only had to carry out very little analysis before launching Alibaba.com due to the structure of the B2B marketplace subsector at that time, which is characterised by a high national internet penetration rate and a robust growth of the Chinese online shopping market; the Chinese B2B eCommerce Market, the Chinese SME and usage of third party eCommerce among Chinese SMEs (Farhoomand, 2008). 2.4 What Competences were Required There were numerous competencies required in the establishment of Alibaba.com. First, it needs to posses the capacity to make its online marketplaces more effective for SMEs around the world, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 6). To do this, Alibaba.com needed to employ people with the necessary technical skills . Moreover, it needed to have people who could help it : (1) expand of it user base and active listing; and (2) enhance community experiences to further improve user loyalty and activity through continued development and introduction of new features and tools (Farhoomand, p. 7). 2.5 Summary of Alibaba.coms Early Years Alibaba.com was officially launched online in December 1998. On July 9, 1999, and September 9, 1999, Alibaba (China) Technology Co., Ltd was founded in Hong Kong and Hangzhou, respectively (Alibaba.com: A Smiling Community with a Dream, undated). In October 1999, Goldman Sachs invested USD 5 million in Alibaba. (Alibaba.com: A Smiling Community with a Dream, undated). In October 2000, Alibaba launched the Gold Supplier membership scheme to serve Chinese exporters, followed in August 2001 by the launch of International TrustPass, a membership service catering to exporters outside China. China TrustPass was launched in March 2002 to serve SMEs engaged in domestic trade, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 3). 3.0 Alibaba.coms Development from 2002 2007 3.1 Evolution of Alibaba.com On March 2002, Alibaba China launched its TrustPass plan initiative, which made Alibaba the worlds first on-line credit business community, (Alibaba.com: A Smiling Community with a Dream, undated). By the end of that same year, Alibaba.com has successfully started making profits (Alibaba.com: A Smiling Community with a Dream, undated). After several years, in November 2007, Alibaba.com debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, raising US$1.5 billion to become the worlds biggest internet offering since Googles initial public offering (IPO) in 2004, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 1). According to Qin Hu et al.,(2004) many other businesses owner believe that alibaba.com growth and impact will only become more prevailing in the future.Over the years the sale of goods on the internet by American firms is assumed to reach US$ 1.3 million by 2003.By 2004 the European online business to business sales is expected to be US$1.6 million compare to China largest population in the world. However some compa nies in euro are still probing this new source of revenue. 3.2 Understanding the Market and Their Target Customer Alibaba.com operates in a business environment whose structure is largely shaped by the following: (1) National internet penetration rate ; (2) Chinese online shopping market; (3) the Chinese B2B eCommerce Market; (4) the Chinese SME; and (5) usage of third party eCommerce among Chinese SMEs (Farhoomand, 2008). In terms of the national internet penetration rate, in 2007, China registered an internet penetration rate of 12.3% trailing after the US, Japan and South Korea, whose penetration rates were above 65% (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 2). However, Chinas internet penetration rate has been documented to grow at approximately three percentage points annually. Figure 8 shows Chinas internet penetration rate from 2002 to 2007. Figure 8 Chinas Internet Penetration Rate from 2002 to 2007 Source: Farhoomand (2008, p. 10). In the same vein, Chinas online shopping market has also showed a rapid trend of growth (see Figure 9 below). Figure 9 Chinas Online Shopping Market from 2006 to 2007. Source: Farhoomand (2008, p. 10). 4.0 The Future for Alibaba.com Just one after the IPO in 2007, Alibaba.com has already considered a venture with Softbank. Although the Japanese telecom giant disclosed no details regarding the venture, it was likely that Alibaba.com would expand its service to mobile users in Japan, a market that had been impenetrable to the Chinese e-commerce company, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 9). In China, Alibaba.com toppled EachNet, an older rival backed by global leader eBay, (Farhoomand, 2008, p. 1). The future of Alibaba.com seems bright due to a combination of the positive influence of its competitive strengths and effective strategies. According to Farhoomand (2008), Alibaba.com has numerous strengths which serve as its competitive advantages over its rivals. These strengths include the following: (1) it had effectively built a premier brand in the e-commerce domain, boasting the highest traffic among all online B2B marketplaces; (2) it focused exclusively on the highly lucrative SME sector; and provided tools and solutions tailored to SMEs, Alibaba.com was confident in the value proposition of their service offerings ; and (3) its sales force and customer service support in attracting and retaining users, especially those who paid for subscriptions, were excellent. 5.0 Conclusions The results of the critical examination of the various information regarding Alibaba.com, including its strengths and achievements only indicate that Alibaba.com should remain a dominant player in the B2B marketplace category of eCommerce. Its solid financial standing would help it whether the uncertainties of the future which is largely brought about by the stiff competition in the industry. Moreover, its sound and innovative business model is rather hard to copy, making it difficult for new entrants to compete with Alibaba.com. With respect to its key competitor, Global Sources, Alibaba.com only needs to continue to innovate and diversify its businesses in order to gain competitive advantage over Global Sources and other international rivals.

Three Ancient Civilizations of Latin America :: Pre-Columbian History Culture

Three Ancient Civilizations of Latin America Essay: Discuss three civilizations of the ancient world. Civilizations began to show their face around the area now known as Egypt and some parts of Europe around the Mediterranean. These were said to be some of the earliest and most advanced civilizations of their time. These civilizations were known as Ancient Egypt, Ancient Sumer and the Babylonians. The oldest and certainly one of the most advanced was ancient Egypt. The people of ancient Egypt were polytheistic and believed that their Pharaoh (King) was god as well and held divine right. The people also believed in reincarnation and what you were buried with you were able to take with you to the after life. They built huge Tombs called pyramids where they buried their rulers after they died. It is still unknown how they managed to build Pyramids with the limited technology at their time. They had a form of ideograms called hieroglyphics and they mummified their dead. Ancient Sumer was a collection of Ancient city-states which each had their own ziggurat where the people believed the god of their city lived. They too were polytheistic. Sumer was located in what is now known as the Fertile Crescent. The soil is very rich and capable of growing large amounts of food. The Sumarians discovered irrigation and are believed to be having the first organized cities. Trade mostly cared for their economic life. They even had a school for scribes. Hammurabi ruled Babylon. He is responsible for crating the first set of laws. If these laws were broken they were paid with swift harsh punishment. While king of Babylon he managed to bring much of the Mesopotamia under his control. Hammurabi improved irrigation and organized a well-trained army. Hammurabi even had temples repaired as a part of the public services he established and promoted the chief Babylon god Marduk. Over time Babylon will pass from one civilization to another as most people tried to conquer them. Most of the things we have in everyday society have come from ancient times. Sumarians made the first wheels and they also though up cuneiform. The Phoenicians are responsible for the first alphabet.