Strategic Evaluation Document for Boots

| Strategic Evaluation Document for Boots| e-Commerce| Words: 4,998| Ei Cho Mon| MCC Training Institute, Yatanarpon| | Contents 1 Management Summary3 2. Introduction4 3. Strategic Evaluation6 3. 1 SWOT analysis6 Strength6 Weakness6 Opportunity7 Threats7 3. 2 PEST analysis7 Political7 Economic8 Social8 Technology8 4. Impact of IS9 5. E-Marketing Strategy11 5. 1 E-Marketing strategy I will advise the organization to adopt11 5. 2 The value proposition and differential advantage of this strategy11 . Legal and ethical issues13 7. Conclusion14 8. References15 1 Management Summary As an experienced consultant, I have been invited by Boots Senior Management. I need to put together a strategic plan based on the evidence supplied. The Management is also seeking a thorough investigation into the analysis of the impact of the new system on the culture and the productivity of the organization. I produce a management report title by â€Å"Strategic Evaluation Document for Boots†.In this rep ort, I investigate the impact of the new IT/IS system on the culture and productivity of the organization and also I identified the evidence that corroborates, or falsifies the claim that the new system has delivered value and provided the organization competitive advantage that Boot’s management were seeking. Boots is a retailer company that launched Advantage Card base on the result of recording purchasing patterns and customers’ behaviors. Boots already have analysts and marketers and also the database system exist too.But Data didn’t flexible and also query response times are taking so long. Therefore, Boots managed Customer Data Analysis System (CDAS) by using the help of IBM. After using this system, the problems are nearly solved. Boots want to gets customer to use their brand all over their lifetime. So, it intends to make Campaign Management System. In the future, Boots’ valuable customer will purchase Boots product peacefully and happily. To ach ieve all of this, Boots’ analysts try to research all possible ways of marketing strategy, legal and ethical issues.It is a bit difficult to research the big company system but I try my best to collect all require data and information. 2. Introduction Boots is the long life retailer that stands as a private limited company. Its main marketing environment is the Toiletries, Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare, Beauty, and Photography. Boots also have a strategy for their market. But for the company’s growing team of analysts and marketers, it is driving to change its strategy as a customer-centered view from the traditional product category focus according to the information on purchasing patterns.According to the result of strategy manager, Boots have the loyalty data related with customer for a real impact on the business. To fulfill their plan of changing company’s culture, Boots intend to make Advantage Card for their customers. Advantage Card plan is depend on custo mer behaviors for Boots. So, they research extensive trials for two year in the Norwich and Plymouth areas. These trials tested out the reward levels and had begun to identify what card holders wanted from Advantage Card plan. Boots targets women as the majority. For this time, Boots want heir scheme different from the others. So, they focus to give ‘treats’ to card holder customers. Customer will be rewarded with a personal item that they would not normally buy for themselves. This scheme got a good result for Boots because its sales growth is even greater than expected in two years. Boots invested around ? 25 million for Advantage Card including database in first year to get a significant sales growth that was an important part of the rational for the scheme. Boots more value the records that focus to consumer behavior which can reveal the buying patterns.To get these valuable records, Boots use sophisticated data management and analysis tools. The grower the customer database, the greater the result of boots will be. Boots’ IS team and the marketing department researched thoroughly the available options for the new customer analysis system even though it is a long-established customer of IBM. But IBM can offer a complete solution and the retail experience of their support team to Boots. So, database project started at 1997 and project went well. But it is very much state of the art technology and IT is also difficult for everyone at first.After researching more than 2 years about individual card holder transaction records and a selection of non-card holder sales records, the size of the database was larger and larger. Therefore, Boots wanted to get the right structure database with maximum flexibility and also it can achieved to store data at the lowest level of granularity for user to build it up to any level they require during analysis. Commercial analysts can also have rapid real time access to all of the data without having to make special requests on IS support. The database structure should be to support the analytical process.To fulfill all the requirements, Boots decided to use Customer Data Analysis System (CDAS) by giving advice from IBM. According to the support of this system, most queries response times were 30 times faster than before even though the database has reached 1. 200 GB. Because of this, the analysts of Boots were delighted. CDAS includes IBM’s intelligent Miner for Data being used for more advanced data mining such as segmentation and predictive modeling. Analysts are more interests in the behavior of groups of customers. They use market basket analysis to provide insight into the product purchasing repertories of different groups of customers.By using the advantage card data, the insight team has been able to identify four groups of promotion buyers. They are:The deal seekers (ever buy promotional lines), Stockpilers (bulk buying and then don’t visit for weeks), Loyalists ( revert to their usual buying patterns),New market (buy items on promotion, continue to purchase same product). By using the result of analysts, marketers can understand what they are achieving via their promotions, rather than just identifying the uplift. Analyzing market basket trends by shopper over time is also providing Boots with a new view of its traditional products categories.Boots builds up its understanding by combining data from a number of customer dimensions: RFM (Recency, Frequency and Monetary value) analysis enhanced with profitability. Boots managed Boots relationship marketing programme enabled by the Advantage Card. To fulfill this relationship marketing, Boots is planning to make Specific campaigns system. This system will provide customer-center view technique. Campaign management system is based on CDAS development by IBM. By integrating campaign management system within the analytic environment of CDAS become the main strengths of Boots. 3. Strategic Evaluatio nBoots is a retailer company in United Kingdom. Boots marketing strategy change from the traditional product category focus to a customer-centered view. Boots already launched Advantage Card to fulfill customer requirements. By recording consumer behaviors in database, Boots collect the source data for their strategy. This technique is useful for Boots but database size is larger and larger and also data doesn’t flexible. The users, analysts took a long time to research require data. So, this becomes one of the problems for Boots. By using Customer Data Analysis System (CDAS), Boots can solve this problem.One of the purposes of Boots is to change Loyalist customer to New Market and to remain New Market customer as Loyalist. The later, Boots also want to create Campaign Management System to give pleasurable shopping to loyal customer of Boots. To complete these purposes, Boots need to consider the organization’s current position by using SWOT and PEST analysis. 3. 1 SWO T analysis Strength * Launching Advantage card scheme- This is a very valid vision. It can improve Boots sales growth and also can get the trust and respect from customers. It can also supply a loyalty market environment. Real time access over CDAS- It can reduce the time that will take to ask special requests on IS support. By having real time access, analysts can analyst consumer data more effectively. * Making Brand Loyalty over customer- Customer loyalty is one of the important parts for Boots marketing strategy. Having loyalty customers supply Boots to create strong business environment. For an instant, a shopper visiting Boots once a fortnight and buying nappies is probably buying from a number of supply sources whereas one calling at the store twice a week probably gets most of her baby’s nappy needs from Boots.This increases nappy sales. * Customer Focus- Boots pride itself on developing experience retail and wholesale teams which manages their respective areas. By do ing this, Boots creates an internal management system, managing customers purchasing habits. Weakness * Treats – Rewarding Treats to customer can be pleasure but too much treats can make customers annoying and also become careless vision for Boots products when treats are repeat and repeat. * Large stores overwhelm small stores – Branching a group of stores in particular geographical area can provide Boots customer to buy boots products any time, any where.But large stores are more persuade customer than the small stores. So, it will be a waste of store, staff, money and time. E. g. Boots large store and small store are together in the same area, and then customer will go to large store and ignore small stores. * Cannibalization – Customer behaviors can supply Boots analysis a lot but customer manners can change. If it comes out like that, that will be a big damage for Boots. For example, when boots produce a new and similar products, customer only buy these new products and never return to his/her original products. CDAS – This system can almost fulfill the requirements of database system but it also has a weak point. When analysts analyst the result of recording data, there can be different point of view to make decision. Sales growth conversion can appear also. * Time delays can be caused at the Point of Sales due to updating of points into card. Opportunity * Campaign management system – This will be a good opportunity for Boots. By planning campaign management system, Boots can persuade customer according to seasons, holiday and festival. Boots Gifts & Christmas TV show launched in December is a good example of this.This will give customer’s peace and earn extra points. * Relationship marketing – By making customer to become lifetime customer, boots will get a valuable customers of the future. Relationship marketing can give personal or emotional connectivity to Boots customer. By giving direct mail to valu able customer will be an example for this. * From Loyalist to new market – this will also be a good opportunity. If loyalist customer changes to new market, boots products point of sale growth will increase and also boots need to maintain new market customer as loyalist.For an instant, Customer buy skin care products often buy hair-care products in promotions and then Customer continually buy both skin care products and hair-care products. * 4% growth – quantifiable growth rate in second year Threats * Customer personal data usage – This can suffer customer personality by recording consumer purchasing data. * Competition – there will also be other companies that will use the same techniques and strategies. * Loss of revenue – promotion will get revenue in average. If deal seekers and stockpilers involved then that will be damage to point of sales system. E. g.When Boots promote bodycare products, deal seekers and stockpilers bought these more then promotions will meet fill. * If Loyalist customers get multiple treats then it will be co placement and also overwhelm options for repeat purchase as new market. 3. 2 PEST analysis Political * Toiletries and pharmacy market are the market provided the basic requirements of daily life so that this can’t affect Political directly. But making a promotion system will directly relate to Political. If Country policy changed, then promotion techniques will be unstable conditions. * Planning Campaign management system will also directly imply Political.For example, Boots plan to produce new Christmas TV show but policy change than it will be a failure. * Advantage Card can also affect on political. Advantage card scheme based on customer behavior so policy changing can be imply to reduce or improve sales growth of Boots business strategy. Economic * Rewarding treats may be a good idea for promotion. But sometimes too much rewarding treats make affects to Boots promotion system. * Boo ts launched Advantage Card scheme in 1997 and this will be a great future for Boots as this development is more efficient and reliable for most customers. Investigating ? 25million over database system will be an important part of the rational for Advantage Card Scheme. It already had great profit in first year. So, sophisticated data management and analysis tools can give Boots a big effort. Social * Relationship marketing system will change according to the culture of people. This can affect Boots’ sales growth. * Discussing basic customer demographic data (such as age, gender, number of children and postcode) to expend business environment can affect Social. Sometimes, customers don’t like to tell their personal. Targeting geographical area to open a group of Boots stores led to a greatly improved understanding of the role different stores play within that area. Technology * Customer Data Analysis System (CDAS) is one the main techniques for Boots database system. I t can reduce time and cost. * Analyzing market basket trends by shopper over time is also providing Boots with a new view of its traditional product categories. * Real time Access – This can improve analysts’ analyzing system more rapidly. By using this, can reduce time to requests on IS support. 4. Impact of ISBoth Science and technology are already developed and also technological innovations develop along already. It results to the emergence of new equipment and gadgets. For all big or small company, technology transports both intangible and tangible advantages to turn into cost efficient and to get together the growing orders and requirements of customers. Technological advances change business efficiency, traditions and relationship between employees, clients, suppliers and customers. The type and quality of technology used influence the security of classified business information.All big and small companies depend upon computers to achieve their administrative wo rks when the trouble brought by organizational tasks, like inventory, bookkeeping and records keeping. Because of producing Internet and online social networking sites reduced the costs of business operations. One advantage of it is to become more useful and easy for companies to use Six Sigma management methodologies. Some firms changed to outsourcing rather hiring their own personnel between the low costs correlated with it.According to the huge impact of technological innovations to companies, it will be impossible for them to live with it. Advantages of Technology to Business: * Customer Relations. Technology concerns the way companies correspond and create relations with their clients. In a fast moving and business environment, it is crucial for them to interrelate with clients frequently and rapidly to expand their trust and to attain customer reliability. By using Internet and online social networks, firms cooperate with consumers and respond all their queries concerning the product.Launching useful communication with customers not only produces connection with them, but it also creates strong public image. It permits business enterprises to decrease and to slice carbon dioxide emissions. * Business Operations. Amid the exercise of technological improvements, business owners and entrepreneur understand their cash flow better, how to manage their storage costs well and enables business to save time and money. * Corporate Culture. Technology lets employees communicate and interact with other employees in other countries.It establishes clique and prevents social tensions from arising. * Security. Modern security equipment enables companies to protect their financial data, confidential business information and decisions. * Research Opportunities. It provides a venue to conduct studies to keep themselves ahead of competitors. It allows companies to virtually travel into unknown markets. * Corporate Reports. With technology, business enterprises communicate e ffectively with their branch offices to deliver quality financial and operational reports. Disadvantages of Technology to Business Unemployment – While information technology may have streamlined the business process it has also created job redundancies, downsizing and outsourcing. This means that a lot of lower and middle level jobs have been done away with causing more people to become unemployed. * Privacy – Though information technology may have made communication quicker, easier and more convenient, it has also bought along privacy issues. From cell phone signal interceptions to email hacking, people are now worried about their once private information becoming public knowledge. Lack of job security – Industry experts believe that the internet has made job security a big issue as since technology keeps on changing with each day. This means that one has to be in a constant learning mode, if he or she wishes for their job to be secure. * Personal Touch â€⠀œ Technology streamlines business processers, but in order to do so, it often displaces the personal touch of business (e. g. getting an automated service instead of a phone representative when calling a company. ) * Commonness – The commonness of a technology in business tempers the disadvantages of that technology to some degree.For instance, since so many companies use the Internet, network specialists are very familiar with how to fix issues of network security, speed and connectivity. Boots culture also has significantly changed over the years. In the early years boots had its own its structure which basically dealt with all IT needs. Consequently, boots has realized that over the years it can improve on its IT infrastructure, granted that the company boost its pride on consumer satisfaction. Boots launched its Advantage Card scheme by researching in Norwich and Plymouth areas between two years trials.According to these trials, reward levels are tested out. This had beg un to identify what card holders wanted from the scheme. Boots total invest ? 25 million to both Advantage Card and database. For boots, a significant slaes growth was an important part of the rationale for the scheme. Boots already have IS team and database. Boots is a long-established IBM customer. Before the implementation of available options for the new customer analysis system with IBM, Boots’ IS team originally researched it. IBM can give the real value during the solution development cycle.The database project started in 1997 and the project generally went well. But it is very much state of the art technology and it give a lot more painful at times than expected. At first, IT is very uncomfortable and so no one wants to use it. After using this more than 2 years, card holder transaction records and a selection of non-card holder sales records that provides card holder behavior are increased and increased. The size of the database was going to be a challenge for perfor mance. Analysts want database flexibility, rapid real time access to all of the data without having to make special request on IS support.It was necessary for Boots to restructure their ongoing out sourcing deal with IBM. The company’s main aim for the improvement in its IT sector, is to focus on how it can improve its customer relationship, decreasing its IT operational cost and improve on its delivery capabilities. To fulfill this, Boots create CDAS according to IBM’s DB/2 UDB database under AIX. After 18 months the database has reached 1,200 GB but most queries take a few minutes to run. Boots customer insight strategy team runs 23 full-time analysts. Finally, Boots plan to manage Campaign Management System to provide customers’ peace of mine. . E-Marketing Strategy E-Marketing Strategy is a major part for every kind of business. By using e-marketing strategy, there are many aspects to be a successful business. The e-Marketing Strategy is normally based and b uilt upon the principles that govern the traditional, offline Marketing. E-marketing strategy is significant as with any strategy to recognize. Finding the business environment is also the important part such as intentional groups, originating massage, choosing the right media, tools and services. Thinking based on strategy is also an essential part.Therefore will I look into the; â€Å"how†, â€Å"what† and â€Å"why† of e-marketing, remote the advantages and pointing out how it varies from traditional marketing and communication methods and how knowledge about communication and marketing theories, technology tools, innovation and creativity can assist an enterprise to advance its e-marketing. E-marketing strategy in this term paper represents the whole thing from the conceptualization of a full e-marketing strategy, during to the completion of a range of methods, tools and services needed to make that strategy a reality.A defined e-marketing strategy should ex plicitly identify the business goals which e-marketing efforts support the enterprise to achieve. 5. 1 E-Marketing strategy I will advise the organization to adopt There are four targeting strategies that E-marketers mostly select. * Mass marketing (undifferentiated targeting) – when the firm offers one marketing mix for the entire market. * Multi-segment marketing – when a firm selects two or more segments and designs marketing mix strategies specifically for each.Most firms use a multi-segment strategy. * Niche marketing – when a firm selects one segment and develops one or more marketing mixes to meet the needs of that segment. * Micromarketing (individualized targeting) – when a firm tailors all or part of the marketing mix to a very small number of people. In this case of Boots, the best e-marketing strategy will be to pursue Multi-segment marketing, by dividing into many sub-markets from bigger markets and an organization chooses different marketing strategies to reach each sub-market it targets.The reason of choosing this strategy is because Boots offer multiple products within a larger product category for consumer. For an instant, the main category, Toiletries, there are many kinds of products such as Hair care, Hair Accessories, Tooth brushes, Tooth paste, etc. 5. 2 The value proposition and differential advantage of this strategy There are different segmentations of marketing strategy that I chose. They are Geographic segmentation, demographic segmentation, Behavioral segmentation and Psychographic segmentation, etc. All of these segmentations focus on customer center view.For analysts and marketers of Boots, this strategy will probably apply effectively. Geographic segmentation divides the Boots market into regions characterized by climate, population and cultural differences. This type of segmentation often occurs naturally. For example, Boots produces Suncare of Beauty products and it won’t advertise in the midd le of December. However, some geographic segmentation strategies are deliberate: Boots will produce Beauty products in different countries based on cultural tastes. This segmentation strategy can provide Boots effectively when promotions come.Demographic segmentation divides the market into groups based on age, family, income, occupation, education, religion and many other variables, For example, Children clothing from Boots only target on children and mother and target higher income families. Demographic targeting is so specific that marketers have developed acronyms for certain markets; for example, Drinks stands for double income, no kids. Most tactical plans in marketing involve demographic segmentation. Boots really need this segmentation for researching of purchasing patterns and customer behaviors.Behavioral segmentation focuses marketing efforts on consumers’ researched behavior toward the product. For example, if most consumers purchase a product during the Christmas holiday season, behavioral segmentation would encourage heavier marketing in the time leading up to that season. In addition to specific occasions like holidays, other variable include usage rate for the product, the benefits consumers seek from the product and consumers’ status as a first-time or card holder. This segmentation will effect at Campaign Management system.Marketers who distribute activities, interests and opinion (AIO) surveys are conducting research for psychographic segmentation, which alters marketing strategy according to consumers’ lifestyle preferences. This method of segmentation is useful when Boots wants to make its brand’s image more appealing to specific consumers. By discovering the values and attitudes of consumers who most frequently use the product, Boots can improve their public relations strategies and build brand lyalty. Multi-Segment Marketing helps companies achieve stronger positioning.Positioning is creating a distinct percep tion in customers’ mind about what makes Boots products different and better. Having more narrowly defined segments makes it easier for marketers to deliver effective messages that convey the benefits and value desired by that distinct segment. By breaking customers into defined segments, Boots can remove prospects from consideration when selecting media for message deliver. Messages delivered to people not in a given segment have little business benefit and wastes money. Segmenting markets and selectively distributing marketing messages improves the value of the message.Carefully and accurately defined market segments can gives a competitive advantage over competitors. Essentially, Boots that best understands what makes customers unique within a segment, and different from one segment to the next. By better knowing customer segments, Boots is most likely to deliver an effective value proposition that entices the customer to Boots brand. Boots can perform more targeted resear ch to learn more about customers and deliver messages that best match their brand strengths to their needs and wants.If Boots is planning camping system, for instance, presenting an add in an outdoor or adventure magazine might make sense given likely interests of the business market. Selecting the best media class and vehicle to deliver Boots marketing messages is crucial to efficient marketing. Market segments are known for utilizing certain types of media more often. 6. Legal and ethical issues As a long range business company, Boots need to consider Legal and ethical issues. Legal and ethical issues are directly affect business strategy, and how business deal with challenges involving government agencies, legislation, or the press.Ethics is a branch of philosophy and according to the â€Å"Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, â€Å"business ethics is the branch of ethics that considers moral activities in a commercial enterprise. In practice, businesses are looking for policie s that ensure legal compliance and confidentiality, examine diversity and management issues, and encourage employee honesty. In these legal and ethical issues, minimizing the privacy issues of organization is an important part of Business Company. That guideline is very useful in Boots because Boots marketing strategy is based on customer data and purchasing pattern.If the important data are spreading to the other rival company, this will cause a big scratch for company. So, Access to personal information should be limited to individuals that have proper authorization. Individuals should be able to review their records and correct any inaccuracies. For instant, allowing all users to read, write and edit every part of organization can occurred data lost and data copyright. So, this way will be save ethical issues. Boots also use internet to give information, promotion message to its valuable customer.By using internet is very supportive for business but the raise of the Internet has brought forth many new legal issues. For instant, Cybercrime, a term for illegal acts that occur online, includes â€Å"phishing† and identity theft. â€Å"Phishing† occurs when an official-looking email, usually spam, asks for a user’s private information. To prevent this, there must be a well-defined purpose for collecting and maintaining the Internet user data and also only the data that is needed for the specified purpose should be collected. To protect Data of business organizations, US produce Selected US Data Protection Laws.They are: * Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act requires websites to get parental consent before collecting personally identifying information from children 13 or younger. * Graham-Leach-Bliley Act- requires notice and â€Å"opt-out† consent before financial business may sell or share consumers’ financial information. * HIPAA – protects the privacy of health care information by medical providers and in surers. * ADA – limits access and requires employers to protect the confidentiality of disability-related information. Above laws are very essential for all organizations and already fit for Boots business.By using these laws for company, organization system will be secure to the gathering, processing, distribution and use of information on the Internet. 7. Conclusion Finally, is is a summary report based on the expert study required from the management of Boots. In this report, I consider strategic evaluation by using SWOT and PEST analysis. Both analyses for Boots are really useful for considering the organization’s current position. For example, In Strength, Launching Advantage card scheme- This is a very valid vision. It can improve Boots sales growth and also can get the trust and respect from customers.It can also supply a loyalty market environment. For weakness, Treats – Rewarding Treats to customer can be pleasure but too much treats can make customers annoying and also become careless vision for Boots products when treats are repeat and repeat. In PEST analysis, investigating ? 25million over database system will be an important part of the rational for Advantage Card Scheme. It already had great profit in first year. So, sophisticated data management and analysis tools can give Boots a big effort is sample for Political. In my report, I already use Four (4) E-Marketing Strategies.Mass marketing (undifferentiated targeting),Multi-segment marketing, Niche marketing, Micromarketing (individualized targeting). For Boots, I chose Multi-segment marketing because of its segmenting strategies are the most suitable for Boots. Finally, Boots has done so far with developing a loyalty card scheme to collect data then analyzing them by using the CDAS system is a excellent basis for the understanding the consumer behavior in order to implement recommended e-Marketing strategies to raise the generally long term sales growth. 8. References http ://www. azpublishing. org/articles/hd/index. php? =disadvantages+of+relationship+marketing : 12:28 AM 11/20/12 http://www. strategicdriven. com/marketing-blog/bid/78310/5-Benefits-of-a-Relationship-Marketing-Strategy : 12:29 AM 11/20/12 http://www. boots. com/en/Photo/Digital-Cameras/ : 12:29 AM 11/20/12 http://ezinearticles. com/? e-Marketing-Strategy:-7-Dimensions-to-Consider-%28the-e-Marketing-Mix%29&id=21976 : 1:04 AM 11/20/12 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Supply_and_demand : 1:51 AM 11/20/12 http://www. slideshare. net/RuneHaugestad/emarketing-strategy : 3:26 AM 11/20/12 Rune Haugested, e-marketing strategy, [email  protected] no, Oslo University College http://www. nowthis. com/principles-of-marketing-tutorials/targeting-markets/develop-marketing-strategy/: 4:09 AM 11/20/12 Decision Analyst; Market Segmentation; Jerry W. Tomas Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Research on Market Segmentation Variables (PDF); Wei He, Yingzi Liu : 8:19 AM 11/20/12 Business Dictio nary: Market Segmentation Definition Strategic Marketing Segmentation: Four Benefits of Market Segmentation Strategic Marketing Segmentation: Market Segmentation: Media http://www. ehow. com/info_8124974_effects-market-segmentation. html http://www. ehow. com/info_8406701_market-segmentation-variables-characteristics. html

Chartered Accountant in Montreal

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this report is to help me prepare for a career as a chartered in Canada, specifically in a firm in Montreal. I would like to graduate from John Molson School of Business with a grade point average that is higher than three so that I can then apply to the CA program and become a chartered accountant. Before I do all that, I need to get as much information as possible about the job and about the business field in general. In this report I will be using many different sources that will help me gain the information and the experience that I need.The first source is a book called â€Å"Successfully Managing your Accounting Career† by Henry Labus. â€Å"Montreal Financial: Small Business Accounting and Financial Consulting† is the blog that I will be using for this report from: http://www. montrealfinancial. ca/blog/. Accountants World Do More Do better is the discussion forum from: //www. accountantsworld. com/newforums/. The newsletter that I will be using is called The Accounting and Bookkeeping Tips Newsletter (www. accounting-and-bookkeeping-tips. com). â€Å"Issues in Accounting Education† is the peer reviewed journal that I am using for this report (http://aaahq. rg/pubs/issues. htm). As a primary source, my friend Michael Lewin will be available to help me in my career. The charitable organization I would like to volunteer for is the synagogue Hekhal Shalom. As an additional source I found the† Association Canada† (http://0-site. ebrary. com. mercury. concordia. ca/lib/concordia/docDetail. action? docID=10413264) repertoire where I can find association that have to do with the accounting job in Canada. A bar graph demonstrates how Montreal is the best city for continuing my education after my bachelor so that I can become a CA.A survey is also provided so that chartered accountants in Montreal can actually help me by telling me what they went through. Purpose Statement The purpose of this repor t is to help me prepare for a career as a chartered accountant in Canada, specifically in a firm in Montreal. BOOK REFERENCE Title: Successfully Managing Your Accounting Career Author: Henry Labus Date and Location of Publication: 1988 URL: http://www. flipkart. com/successfully-managing-your-accounting-career-book-0471633887 DescriptionThis book is about how life would be when I become an accountant; it basically explains everything there is to know about living the life of an accountant; such as: career planning, balancing home and career life, what is going on in the accounting fields. Justification This is the most relevant book for my specific carer search because it gives me a head up on what is coming up in my career plans and it gives me insight on the job itself and shows me what it is like. Most accountants have a hectic lifestyle and this book should show me how to balance my career and my personal life. BLOGTitle: Montreal Financial: Small Business Accounting and Financi al Consulting Author: Ronika Khanna, Chartered Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst URL: http://www. montrealfinancial. ca/blog/ Date & Time Last Viewed: Sunday November 7, 2010 Date of Most Recent Post: Thursday, November 4, 2010 Description This blog gives me general information about what is going on in the accountancy field and in business in general. It has many different categories that allow me to easily browse the blog. The author post fun and interesting information about accounting and financial related issues.Justification This is the most relevant blog for my specific career search because if I read the post that the author is making, it can give me a better understanding of the field that I am looking forward to work in. I can learn many different things that not everyone is aware of and that way I can have competitive advantage knowledge in my field. DISCUSSION FORUM Title: Accountants World Do More Do better URL: http://www. accountantsworld. com/newforums/ Date & Time Last Viewed: Friday November 5, 2010 Date of Most Recent Post: Friday November 5, 2010Moderated: Not Indicated Description This discussion forum informs me about many different topics in accountancy such as: auditing, ethics, taxation, technology, financial planning and much more. It shows me the full discussion about the topic that I choose and it is very easy to understand. Justification This is the most relevant discussion forum for my specific career search because, I can learn about every different aspect of the field; in order to become a chartered accountant in Montreal, I need to know as much as I can, and get as much help as I can get.It is also a great networking tool and an easy way to find different opinions from professionals in the accounting workforce. NEWSLETTER Title: The Accounting and Bookkeeping Tips Newsletter Author: N/A Subscription URL: http://www. accounting-and-bookkeeping-tips. com/accounting-basics-newsletter. htm Frequency of Distribution: Weekly Date & Time Last Viewed: Friday November 5, 2010 Date of Most Recent Issue: Sunday November 7, 2010 Description This online newsletter sends weekly e-mails about all sorts of different subjects that directly relate to my future career plans.It gives me marketing opportunities in the accounting industry; it shows me how to get involved in the business world and how to sell myself as a professional. Justification This is the most relevant newsletter for my specific career search because it only sends me valuable information about the accounting job but it also gives me tips and ideas of how to make myself work and shape me for my future profession. This newsletter keeps me up to date with news in the industry. PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL Journal Title: Issues in Accounting EducationPublisher: American Accounting Association Subscription Coordinates: http://aaahq. org/pubs/issues. htm, then click on submission information and it shows you exactly what to do to subscribe. Description This pe er review journal is very focused on the accounting field. It describes many issues that have to do with students in the accounting major and it illustrates different factors that affect the student accounting career choice. It reviews many journals that regard the accountancy field and more specifically the chartered accounting career. JustificationThis peer reviewed journal is most relevant to my job search because I am still in school and I don’t know what the future of my education can be like, so this peer review journal can help me learn about how a student behaves and copes with all the problems before I find my job, and I could read about many topics that have to do with my career choice. PRIMARY SOURCE Description My primary source is my friend Michael Lewin. He was a John Molson student that is currently working as a chartered accountant in Montreal, which is exactly what I would like to do.He is a reliable source because every time I need help or if I have a questi on about school, he will always help me. Justification This is the most relevant primary source for my specific career search because I know this man for a long time and he is very reliable, we come from the same high school as well as the same college, therefore he knows exactly what I have to go through in order to become what I want to be. CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION Title: Hekhal Shalom Synagogue Contact Coordinates: Rabbi Ronen Abitbol 825 Rue Gratton, Saint-Laurent H4M 2G4, QC (514-831-4530) DescriptionThis organisation is a place where Jewish people come to pray and study the bible. This is a charitable organization that helps Jewish people be more in touch with their religious side. It also helps young Jewish kids learn and study about the bible. This organisation gets a lot of donations from people who go there and it spends a lot of money for people that don`t have the financial capabilities to be happy. From my end, I can volunteer to help with the accounting department of th is organization by doing the basic book keeping or data entry so that I can be working with people who know the field and gain more experience.Justification This is the most relevant charitable organization for my specific career search because I actually go there to pray and study, therefore it would be a good deed for me to volunteer and give my time to the community and also it will allow me to learn and get the on hand experience that I am looking for in order to pursue my career plans. ASSOCIATION Source: Association Canada (http://0-site. ebrary. com. mercury. concordia. ca/lib/concordia/docDetail. action? docID=10413264) DescriptionThis source is the association repertoire of Canada; where I can find any association that I am looking for, including accounting associations. In order to get as much information as possible I looked up an association that is relevant to my career choice. Justification This is the most relevant association repertoire for my specific job search bec ause when I find all these different associations, I can contact them (either electronically or in person) so that I can ask questions about my future career plans.Since this is a Canadian association repertoire, it is easy for me to find the information I need because I want to work in Montreal. CONCLUSION In conclusion, this report states what I need to do to launch my career and help me gain as much information and experience as I can before I graduate and become a chartered accountant in the city of Montreal. BIBLIOGRAPHY Abitbol, Ronen. â€Å"Volunteer Work At Hekhal Shalom. † Personal interview. Associations Canada, 2010 Le Repertoire Des Associations Du Canada. Toronto, Ont. : Grey House Pub.Canada, 2010. Ebrary. Concordia, 2010. Web. 07 Nov. 2010. . Canada. Institue De La Statistique Quebec. Institue De La Statistique Quebec. Gouvernement Du Quebec, 17 Feb. 2010. Web. 7 Nov. 2010. Interview. Accountants World Do More Do Better. 05 Nov. 2010. Web. 05 Nov. 2010. . Issue s in Accounting Education (2010). American Accounting Association. Web. 07 Nov. 2010. . Khanna, Ronika. Web log post. Montreal Financial: Small Business Accounting and Financial Consulting. 04 Nov. 2010. Web. 07 Nov. 2010. . Labus, Henry.Successfully Managing Your Accounting Career. New York: Wiley, 1988. Print. Lewin, Michael. â€Å"How to Become a Charted Accountant in Montreal. † Personal interview. The Accounting and Bookkeeping Tips Newsletter. The Accounting and Bookkeeping Tips Newsletter. 07 Nov. 2010. Web. 05 Nov. 2010. . APPENDIX Figures Source:http://www. stat. gouv. qc. ca/donstat/societe/education/etat_scolr/tab3_niv_sco_2006. htm Justification I found a set of statistics that shows how many diplomas above bachelor level are completed in Montreal and in other cities in Quebec.The statistics in this figure will help me prepare for my career because, I can see that Montreal is the city where higher levels of education (such as chartered accountant) are mostly distr ibuted and therefore I can keep studying in Montreal because I know that it is the better city to study in. SURVEY -Intro Paragraph Hello, I am a currently studying accounting at the John Molson School of Business in Montreal. This survey is given to you so that you can help me gain all the information and resources that I need in order to become a charted accountant in the city of Montreal. -RespondentsThis survey will be distributed mostly to accountants that are currently working in Montreal. It can also be distributed to teacher of the accounting field. -Justification The main reason why I want this survey to be distributed to the specific respondents is simply because they all had to go through the same process and they know all the problems and solutions. The responses from this group of people can help me in my career because I would like to follow their footsteps and with the information that they give me I can learn a lot of things. 1) What is the best school to do the CA p rogram? – Concordia b – McGill c – HEC d – Other _______________ 2) How would you rate working as an accountant on a day to day basis (1 being the best, 5 being the worst)? _____________ 3) Which field is more interesting and profitable; auditing or taxation? _____________ 4) What do you recommend I do if my GPA is lower than 3. 0? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5) What is the best city in Canada to work as a chartered accountant? a – Vancouver

Recommendation letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Recommendation letter - Essay Example contributed significantly in the school’s counselling programme by acting as the active counsellor, who has assisted different students with various issues affecting their lives. Jane is caring, passionate and hardworking. During her free time one will meet her interacting with the students as she offers them advice and lessons on how to live a positive life. She is also fond of reading psychology books and I remember when she gave me the Dan Ariely book, Predictably Irrational, which was incomprehensible at first until I sought some reading tips from her. She is extremely well prepared for the Master’s Degree as many of us have seen her studying various psychology related books, which shows that she is dedicated to education and a career path that concerns other’s wellbeing. Jane has always been patient with people and whenever a colleague or a student wrongs her, she always tries to understand the cause and does not seem to jump into quick conclusions. She brings an aura of simplicity and understanding to every difficult situation that people may have. Her personality clearly suits the master’s programme that she wants to pursue and ac cepting her into your institution will not only benefit her, but will also be for the good of the community. I highly recommend Jane for a chance in the Masters of Mental Health and wellbeing for children, young people and families programme, and I sure that even the rest of the community will be grateful too. In case I am needed for any further assistance, please contact me using address or numbers attached. Bodine, Paul. Perfect Phrases for Letters of Recommendation: Hundreds of Ready-To-Use Phrases You Can Use to Recommend Applicants to College, Grad School, and Professional School. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010.

Leadership in Healthcare Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leadership in Healthcare - Assignment Example Not only the women remained underrepresented in the top decision making circles, but there is also a limit and extent to the kind of leadership roles accessible to women (Lantz & Maryland, 2008). The irony is that gender inequality and underrepresentation is not a monolithic issue, but rather a multifaceted problem presenting varied key areas that need to be systematically addressed to augment and enhance gender equality in healthcare services. This white paper intends to assort and elaborate on certain key areas that not only constrain the empowerment and representation of women in healthcare services, but that need to be approached and addressed in a systematic and concerted manner at individual, institutional and policy making level to pave the way for a more inclusive and participatory work environment. The very identification of these key areas is the first and utterly pragmatic step in that direction. Envisaged in a much broader context, the women in healthcare services, as in other professional areas and avenues, do have to contend with the limitations attendant on them, ensuing from the stereotypical gender roles and patriarchal division of labor on the domestic front. Thereby, in a pragmatic context, the domestic events like child birth, taking care of a sick family member, attending to the aged family members, etc, do impact the career decisions and choices of women more drastically as compared to their male counterparts (Hauck, Bayes & Robertson, 2012, p. 178). For instance, in a majority of the households, the need to make work related adjustments like opting for less challenging professional positions, working part time or temporarily withdrawing from professional responsibilities upon child birth is more imminent on women as compared to men. Thereby, it is not a surprise that women end up getting underrepresented and underemployed in a health care scenario, in which the a venues for work life balance are tweaked in consonance with the

The ways and solution to reposition Sylvias bar Essay

The ways and solution to reposition Sylvias bar - Essay Example In relation to the study the company which has been selected is Sylvia’s Bar. It was one of the renowned high street bar and a night club which was situated in Birmingham on the High Street. Sylvia’s Bar was founded way back in the year 1986 and was segmented as fashionable wine and a cocktail bar and mainly targeted the local bank workers. The Sylvia’s Bar was able o generate profit and was performing well with a healthy turnover. However in the recent few years the bar has not been performing up to the expectation and as a result there has been a decline in the profits of the bar and at the same time has become less popular. Sylvia’s bar which once gathered about 400 to 500 customers on regular basis, but in recent years it has been able to gather on an average 100 to 150 customers. Since Sylvia’s Bar targeted the higher income level of people, there rates were also high as compared to any other bar in the town. Sylvia hired the best bar staffs an d in addition two of Sylvia’s friend had also joined the business as assistance manager and claimed  £20 per hour. Over the years, many late night bars and clubs were opened which made the competition tough for Sylvia’s bar. As a result the customers preferred the other night clubs over Sylvia’s bar which resulted in loss for the club. The staffs were also not satisfied with the management and wanted new changes to be implemented. Sylvia’s Bar had encountered problem which lead to its failure. One of the main problems was that of operational factors. The profits of the firm tend to decline at an increasing rate. In the financial year 2011, the profit of Sylvia’s bar stood at negative balance. Sylvia’s bar was performing well till the financial year 2008 but in 2009 there was a sharp fall of profit and the last two financial years has experienced a declining profit rate. Year Monthly profit / loss (in Pounds Sterling) 2011 -400 2010 -250 20 09 325 2008 1200 2007 750 2006 2800 2005 3500 Another problem was that of menu and cost of the products in Sylvia’s bar. The bar was established targeting the high class people of the society which included the bankers and as a result the prices were charged high. The cocktail menu started with a price range from ?8 to ?12. The wine was also costly and was imported from across the world. Bottles of wine which included the champagne started at about ?25and went up to ?250 while glasses going from ?6 to ?45. The pricing of the wine were seemed to be costly by the visitors and claimed that there were better wines at a cheaper rates in other night clubs. The food menu of Sylvia’s bar was also expensive and was served during the day. The price starts from ?23 for the main course and the most expensive dish cost ?35. But during the recent years there has been a fall in the demand for the food and as a result the bar often had to throw away ingredients. The bar hired classica lly trained cocktail bar staffs who normally

Soft Systems Methodology and Activity Theory (System Thinking) Essay

Soft Systems Methodology and Activity Theory (System Thinking) - Essay Example Whereas AT inspires theoretical thought in many disciplines – psychology, culture, information systems, education, and management, disciplines that generally apply strategies involving human activity. Many researchers have cited AT as being holistically rich when it comes to understanding how humans conduct activities together with the aid of advanced tools in very dynamic and intricate settings (Adebowale, 2010). The aim of this paper is to critically evaluate how soft systems methodology and activity theory can be used to understand organisational problems. As part of this objective, the essay will also compare and contrast the two approaches and discuss relative strengths and weaknesses. SSM has undergone various modifications and revisions to become more practical, flexible, and relevant to different disciplines and organisational problems. However, SSM’s suitability to various fields has remained the most important asset, one which has not required numerous modifications to remain relevant (Bell, 2013). In addition, SSM is currently used by people who lack a technical background but want to solve complex organisational problems. At the moment, SSM is applied in several main organisational settings or disciplines. For example, in performance evaluation, it is used to develop performance measures, quality assurance processes, and to monitor the organisation. In education, it is used in defining course designs, training requirements, causes of absenteeism and to analyse language teaching. It is also used in project management, personal life decisions, risk management processes, organisational strategy, and industrial tribunal cases (Bozalek and Ambi, 2014). The first stage often involves recognising, exploring and defining the problem in some way. Firstly, the organisation must decide what it is actually investigating. At this stage,

Critical Thinking Paper (read the instructions carefully) Essay - 1

Critical Thinking Paper (read the instructions carefully) - Essay Example As such, the Christian Americans always perceive the Arab Muslims as terrorists; whereas the Arabs perceive the Americans as villain pagans, whose justice is death. The Arab Americans conflicts extends through each American administration, with every new president of the united states of America coming up with a new international relations policy, as well as, developing new strategies in creating world peace through the merging of both Arabs and Muslims in one belief of faith and progression through democracy (Colbert & John 34). However, these conflicts always lie in the three main issues mentioned above, which is terrorism, oil, and religion, particularly Islam. Terrorism is a worldwide scourge, whereby renowned terrorist groupings attack American installations across the world, and to some extend bring the war to American soil, such as the 9/11, terrorist attack whereby the Al Qaeda group of terrorists based in Afghanistan hijacked four passenger planes and crashed them at tree strategic targets in the United States. These strategic targets were the twin towers in New York City that hosted the World Trade Center, and the pentagon building that hosts the United States Department of Defense. The 9/11 attack led to the death of over 3,000 innocent Americans, which was another scar in the already palatable American Arabs relationship. This terrorist attack led to the onset of the Iraq and Afghan incursion to root out terrorists, with a global man0hunt to the notorious terrorist leader Osama Bin laden believed to be the mastermind behind the 9/11 attack. In addition, this attack worsened every peace efforts made by the various American governments to foster peace and restoration between Americans and the Arabs. For a long time, America suffered terrorist attacks either on its own soil, or in its foreign installations, such as ambassadorial offices, such as the Nairobi august 1998 bombing at the US consulate located in the CBD leading to the death

The Major Cause (s) of the Panic of 1837 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Major Cause (s) of the Panic of 1837 - Essay Example There was a short recovery in 1838 but the recession continued for around seven years. Businesses failed, banks collapsed, prices went down, and many people lost their jobs (Benson, et al. 73). The crisis was brought by the duration of economic expansion which was around 1834 to 1836. The prices of cotton, land, and slaves went up in these years. This boom had a lot of causes, domestically and internationally. Due to the strange factors of international trade at this period, a lot of silver came into the United States from China and Mexico. Tariffs on imports and land sales were producing considerable federal revenues. Through profitable cotton exports and state-backed bonds marketing in British money markets, US got substantial capital investment from Britain. These bonds facilitated transportation projects in US. The British loans were accessible through Anglo-American banking houses, helped in the United States ‘expansion westward, industrial expansion, infrastructure development, and economic development (Tindall,et al.67). 1n 1836, it was discovered that monetary reserves in England banks had reduced sharply recently possibly due to insufficient wheat harvests which compelled them import a lot of its food. Consequently, they decided to gradually increase interest rates to 5 from 3 percent. This was done so as to attract specie given the fact that money always goes to where it generates greatest returns. The 1830s open economy, was characterized by free trade and trade barriers that were weak, hegemonic power monetary policies (Great Britain), were transmitted to the global economic system, including U.S. Major Banks in America were forced to increase interest rates as a result of Bank of England doing the same(Skrabec, Quentin R.  193). Interest rates were raised by New York banks and lending was scaled back, the effects were harmful. Given the

The Biblical Worldview of the 21st Century Case Study

The Biblical Worldview of the 21st Century - Case Study Example The appellant was arguing that there simply was not enough evidence to conclude that this was the case and wanted to have the court dismiss the case because of this. The Biblical Worldview and the Case The primary biblical issue that must be addressed within this case is the issue of morals and responsibility. The appellant argued that even though the man may have been intoxicated as a direct result of the drinks that the bartender served, the law generally upholds the notion that they should not be held responsible for the actions of an intoxicated person. This stands somewhat in contrast to the Biblical worldview of justice and truth. In the video provided, the judges even questioned the lawyers about the bartender’s ethical responsibility to stop an intoxicated person from getting behind the wheel of a car or at least declining to serve the person any more alcoholic beverages. It appears that the law has made it so that bartenders and the bars such as O’Malleyâ€℠¢s Tavern are very rarely held responsible for any reprehensible actions that their patrons might commit while under the influence. This issue of basic ethics and morals that the Bible teaches would be most applicable in this particular case, therefore. Is this a good method for resolving disputes? Why or why not? The Biblical Worldview would indicate that solving a case in this manner is not preferable. According to the article entitled â€Å"Love, Law, Grace, Mercy, Justice, and Equity,† â€Å"the Biblical laws give God-determined sanctions which are levels of punishment that are proportional to the crime committed†(â€Å"The Biblical Worldview†). Additionally, this article states that â€Å"man is unable to keep God’s law and is condemned by it†¦ nevertheless(it is) to be implemented as fully and completely as possible by individuals, families, voluntary associations, the Church, and state government†(â€Å"The Biblical Worldview†). The logic within this statement concludes that the American legal system is already abiding by a Biblical worldview, albeit indirectly. If the Biblical worldview was utilized within the court, there could be a disconnect between the punishment and the crime. The Biblical viewpoint does carry a lot of morality within it, but there is also a lot of vengeance and wrath for wrongdoings within its theology, primarily within the Old Testament. If this worldview were applied in modern times, it is likely that the legal world would look a lot more like Islam’s Sharia Law where a person will have a hand cut off for stealing.  

The Treaty of Westphalia present new diplomacy in Europe Essay

The Treaty of Westphalia present new diplomacy in Europe - Essay Example However, this assertion has been frequently been under attack from revisionists and politicians. The former questions the importance of the Peace while the latter criticizing the system adopted by Westphalia sovereign states. Every nation, however small, had equal representation in the General Assembly of the United Nation with each having one vote. Membership of the United Nation grew from 50 since its inception to 192 at the start of twentieth century. Some of the members were former colonies of the founders of the United Nation thus serving their interest instead of the aspirations of their people (Darby, 2001). Discussion Desire for self-determination by most of the states took center stage in the post colonization such that other important issues such as confederacy were shelved. Westphalia marked the end of monarchs’ view that states were their property and also ensured that the sovereignty of other states was observed. Imperialism did not end even after the treaty since most of the European countries administered one rule to their people but to the countries outside Europe they administered different forms of administration. Countries that believe in equal sharing of natural resources view Westphalia state as an hindrance; there is no country which is determined to act unless on their personal interest and most of them are not ready to give power to any outsider for they believe that this could threaten their sovereignty (Nye, 2000). Due to the large number of participants with various conflicting interests, it is difficult to determine a specific pattern of negotiation; however the fundamental aims of the participants can be narrowed. The major aim of the emperor was complete and final conclusion of peace process for he desperately needed religious and territorial settlements. Mazarin’s desire for ultimate peace ended when Spain terminated their negotiation in1646. Spain wanted to reach to an agreement with the Dutch and continue the war ( Darby, 2001). According to the Germans, the French preferred destruction of the Emperor’s influence through installation of imperial institutions. This had many setbacks because most of these Emperors preferred Holy Roman Empire and an appetite for emperor who did not pay allegiance to the French and Sweden. Count Maximilian Von Trauttsmannsdorf did not have any problem in restating these demands to the French. France wanted parts of the Alsace, and Lorraine, but they were modest since France was determined to acquire Spanish territory (Waltz, 1979). Mazarin broke a deal in 1646 with the emperor to have Habsburg domains in Alsace for 1.2 million thalers. Due to Queen Christina’s desire for immediate settlement, the Swedes were ready for a compromise with her. However the French were concerned about Sweden becoming powerful. Mazarin constructed Brandenburg to back up Swedish power on the February of 1647 and the envoy to Sweden was urged to partition Pomerania. Due to t ension between the allies Trauttmannsdorf seized the opportunity to exploit them in many ways. In Habsburg, especially in Bohemian, Sweden expected religious compromise. When the emperor learned that the French had no sympathy for the Swedish Protestants he resisted any attempt to enforce these demands. In light of religion, issues pertaining to territory and allegiance were adequately dealt with in Peace of Prague and at the Diet of Regensburg; however status of Calvinism and secularized areas remained

Library System Essay Example for Free

Library System Essay In today’s rapid growth of industries, technology makes our lives much easier and does things with accuracy. Computer is perfect example of technology that was made a great impact in the society. After the effectiveness of the technology had recognized, it caught the attention of different industries. The technology had utilized to help students and faculty to perform much better on what they do. One possible function of this technology was library management system that could provide necessary book information in borrowing and returning books. This system allowed the management to enter in a new book record and retrieved the details of books available in the library. Issuing, returning of books, and maintaining records were some of the capabilities of this system. It recorded all the necessary information needed such as inventory, number of books borrowed and the available books left in the library. This system provided a concrete transaction regarding library resources to ensure the efficiency of the process. It can offer to its borrower through providing functions that help the management to organize all the data needed in executing in the transactions like returning and borrowing of books. It has an inventory records for books for the assurance of its availability. Statement of the Problems Managing a library was definitely a hard task and had needed a lot of time especially when all the transactions were recorded manually like in Library Hub Gapan Division. A borrower should fill up a slip when borrowing and returning books in the Library Hub. Librarian or assistant librarian recorded it on the log book. In this kind of process, the borrowers experienced difficulty in finding books because there were thousand books on the list. Through the systems search function, finding for a specific book became a simple task. It also needed more efforts for both staff and borrower to know if there were enough books to borrow. The library management system provided the number of existing books to ensure its availability. The staff found it hard to make reports and record all transactions because they needed to update every transaction manually. This was eliminated by using the system’s print functions that provided the printed reports in just a click. Objectives General Objective The general objective of this project is to create a Library Management System for Library Hub Gapan Division. Specific Objectives Library Management System should be able to: * provide book reference and its location through a search engine function for the library staff and borrowers; * provide computerized transaction such as borrowing and returning of books; and * print book records such as borrowed, unreturned, and masters list of books. Scope and Limitation This study developed a Library Management System for Library Hub Gapan Division in Gapan Nueva Ecija. This Library System automates the basic library functions to aid in the day-to-day operations of the library. It has different type of accounts like the Administrator and User account. The system has log history, backup, and restores function. It allowed the borrowing and returning of books, as well as printing the records of returned and borrowed books. It had a reset function for account password and could change log in information if necessary. The system provided the book status such as total number of replaced, repaired, and damaged books. The system had no transaction fee or fines for the overdue borrowers. The users could not create their own account. Only the administrator has the full control in the system most especially when updating all the records. In printing of reports, sorting of record is done monthly. It is not capable of printing records with different months at the same time. CHAPTER II BACKGROUND OF THE CAPSTONE PROJECT In exploration, we find new methods, new knowledge, even develop new substances, processes or procedures, imagination and skill was employed by the developer. Today, libraries face the challenge of remaining relevant to the users. The concept of a library staying in one fixed space was slowly evolving. Observation and interview are conducted to understand the Library Hub Gapan Division’s existing system which is a manual process. When users borrow books, the staffs check all the book records to find what users need and check the bins if there are enough books to borrow. Borrowers fill up the borrowers slip to borrow books and proceed to the librarian or assistant librarian to record the transaction and to issue the books. After using the books, borrowers return the books by filling up return slip and surrendering the books to the assistant librarian. Librarian or assistant librarian records it manually in the log book. On the last day of their office hour, they tally all the transactions for the week, manually. The staffs of the library encodes the records for making reports such as the book status, returned, borrowed and master list of books. To fully understand what a Library Management System is, a research for the existing system was done. This research was used as a basis in creating a Library Management System. Ken Chad says that Library automation helps not just the library staff but also makes it easier for library users to get information quickly. Tasks such as viewing the catalogue, putting books on reserve or renewing titles can now be quickly accomplished from a computer. This give an idea that a Library Management System could help the Library Hub to do their day to day transaction, so Library Management System is created to solved the problem of Library Hub Library Management System made by Rolan Alga for Saint Vincent High School was similar to the process of Library Hub. The system of Mr. Alga has book inventory which assures the availability and number of books and compute fines for the overdue books. This allows the user to search, borrow and return book by just entering the book information needed in a specific transaction. The system also allows Printing of reports, restoring and having data back up to secure the records of the library. Tthe only difference of Library Hub to St. Vincent High School is that they don’t have fee or fines for the overdue books; it serves as a pattern to create a Library Management System for Library Hub. This helped a lot to decide where to start and to the interface of the system. The general functions of this proposed library system are beneficial to every school that borrow books in the Hub. It means that the intended audience for this project is not only for individual borrower, but it is also for both library and to the schools who uses the system. This system has all the book transactions needed in the Library Hub. It offers computerized transactions like borrowing, returning books, printing of book reports. CHAPTER III TECHNICAL BACKGROUND Visual Basic is Graphical Rapid Application Development (RAD) tool that aims at providing the user with a graphical interface that was intuitive and easy to use. Visual Basic was a popular programming tool that can be used to write any kind of visual application ranging from a game to a database management application. It was a powerful drag and drop tool that can be used in developing project. Now-a-days Visual basic was being widely used for developing different types of applications because aside from being user-friendly, it has a wide range of support available. Using My Structured Query Language (MySQL) for the back end, with Visual Basic 6. 0 they were known to be a dynamic duo. MySQL was pronounced either My S-Q-L or My Sequel, was an open source relational database management system. MySQL offers secured data basing which make it popular to public. Aside from being secured, MySQL was open source software, user-friendly and also has a wide range of support available. The Operating System will serve as the most important software application that will be used. An operating system (sometimes abbreviated as OS) was the program that, after being initially loaded into the computer by a boot program, manages all the other programs in a computer. The application programs make use of the operating system by making requests for services through a defined Application Program Interface (API). In addition, users can interact directly with the operating system through a user interface such as a command language or a graphical user interface (GUI). Computers are needed to develop the project and the available computer that was being used has the specification of 2 gigabyte RAM, 320 gigabyte hard disk drive, Intel core duo for processor and other peripherals such as mouse. The operating system used in developing the project is Windows 7 Ultimate. The Library Management System of Library Hub Gapan Division used four (4) computers in implementing the project. To establish connection to these computers, the topology used to network the computers is star topology which uses hub to connect all those computers. Two (2) of these computers was used by the Administrator, one will be used by the Librarian and the other one was for the Assistant librarian who was in charged of updating and monitoring all the transactions in the library. The other two (2) computers were used by the borrower in searching the books they want and in filling on the computerized slip for borrowing and returning books. CHAPTER IV METHODOLOGY Locale of the Study The proposed Library Management System was for Library Hub Gapan Division located at Gapan, Nueva Ecija. The proposed Library System of Library Hub Gapan Division was beneficial to thirty-three (33) Elementary Schools and seven (7) High Schools with approximately 10,000 students. Organizational Chart LIBRARY HUB GAPAN DIVISION HIGH SCHOOL ELEMENTARY Figure 1. 0 School under Library Hub Gapan Division Library Hub Gapan Divison was a library facility under Department of Education that allows all the schools in Gapan to borrow all the resources of the books available in the library. The schools as shown in Figure 1. 0 were under the Library Hub which are composed of elementary schools and high schools in Gapan Nueva Ecija . Requirements Specification The interview and observation to the client are conducted to understand what are needed to be done in this project. The client was consulted regarding to the process and problems they encountered, what were the functions needed for the project to be very useful to them. The Library Hub is in need of a Library Management System to solve their problems which made their manual process to a computerized one. Based on the interview conducted, this Library Management System shall have the functions of borrowing, returning of books, adding of accounts and books, updating accounts and book records, printing of records, and search functions for finding books. Four (4) computers were used in the implementation of the system and these computers were networked using a hub. In developing the project, the developer started to build the system part by part. He used Visual Basic 6. 0 where designing of system interface and program coding takes place. The developer started to build the system with the log in form which was basically needed to access the system. After dealing with log in, creating the account panels was done that allow the administrator to add new accounts and update the existing records. The next function was book panel where adding and updating of book records are the main concern. Adding and updating of the main records were done, borrowing and returning of books were possible. The developer dealt with borrowed and returned books. The developer placed a confirmation request when borrowing books and this request needs to be confirmed by the administrator. After those functions, the developer started working on inventory which displays the masters list, borrowed and unreturned books. This inventory also displayed the availability of the books. Those records are printable so that making reports would be easier. After the main functions of the system were done, the developer focused on the minor functions such as; (1)search engine which make finding book easy over a list consisting of thousand books, (2)security/ pop-up message, (3)system interface and others. These functions were made especially for Library Hub Gapan Division to assist them in their day to day operation. Requirements Different methods are useful to understand what must be done and what to satisfy the client needs. One of these methods is requirements modelling which was subdivided into different five processes. INPUT -Conduct an interview to the target client. Gathers information that will be needed in the project Review the information and process of the manual library. PROCESS Analyze all the information gathers Transform all the information gathers in input stage OUTPUT The result of this project is the Library Management System for Library Hub Gapan Division PERFORMANCE -It can add book records and accounts for the borrower  -it supports three (3) different type of users -it support saving, updating and printing of library records -keep track all the records of the borrowers CONTROL -The system has a log-in form to provide security. -Creating new user account is done only by the Administrator -It has a two-user level access; the Administrator which is sub-divided into two the one is for librarian and the other one is for assistant librarian. The user (borrowers) is the second type of user level. Figure 2. 0 Requirements Model of Library Management System First is the INPUT wherein conducting an interview was done as a preliminary investigation of project to be. The developer found out that this library was in need of a library management system because of the different problems that the librarian encountered. The second was PROCESS. The developer decided to make a library management system for the client after conducting an interview. This library management system replaced paper and pens in recording data transaction because it computerized the process in which they used computers in making those transactions. Having the Library Management System resulted to an output which serves as the third process. As an OUTPUT, the schools were able to borrow, return and make inventory reports easier than performing it manually. They searched and chose books by just clicking and scrolling. The system also helped the librarian and other staff in recording all the transactions and making good inventory. The fourth method of requirements modelling is PERFORMANCE. In this method, the system can identify how the transaction of the library system has been done. It proved how the system can satisfy the needs of the clients. It keeps all the records of the borrowers of the book tracked. Transactions include borrowing and returning books. CONTROL is the last process wherein the librarian served as the Administrator of this project that holds the full access in the system. Assistant Librarian helped the Librarian to monitor and update the system. The school representative that borrowed books are entered all the necessary data in borrowing and returning books. LIBRARIAN/ ADMINISTRATOR 0. 0 Library Management System for Library Hub Gapan Division ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN SCHOOLS/ BORROWER Return book (s) Borrow book (s) Update accounts View all records Update book records View books information (Status location). View records Update book records book information  printed reports Transaction reports Inventory Print records Print reports Book Information Context diagram shows the system as a whole in its environment. This Library Management System has three external entities (Figure 2. 0). The first one is the Librarian that serves as the Administrator which has the full control in the system. The administrator can update all accounts and book records, borrow and return books, confirmed book request and print records. The Assistant Librarian has all the functions of the administrator except for updating accounts. Borrowers can only view, borrow and return books. LIBRARIAN/ ADMINISTRATOR 0. 0 Library Management System for Library Hub Gapan Division ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN SCHOOLS/ BORROWER Return book (s) Borrow book (s) Update accounts View all records Update book records View books information (Status location) View records Update book records book information printed reports Transaction reports Inventory Print records Print reports Book Information Figure 3. 0 Context Diagram of Library Management System for Library Hub Gapan Division Data Flow Diagram is a means of representing a system at any level. The Figure 3 shows the flow of data in the system. The Administrators can update accounts and book records directly in the system. Through the system, they can borrow and return books, generate computerized books reports as well as printing of book records was all possible. In return, the system provides book information, transaction records, inventory, and printed reports. The system also provides book records that used by the borrowers in searching, borrowing and returning books in the system. LIBRARIAN Account confirmation 1. 0 Log in accounts Tbl_ACCOUNTS DB Account Confirmation Input Log in information Log in Information account information 2. 0 Update Accounts Account information Account found List of account Updated Account information. Use account 3. 0 Adding books Book information Account information List of books Updated Book information Book information DB Tbl_ allbooks Book records 4. 0 View record List of books Book information Book records Use Book information Book record Book information 5. 0 Search books Searched Book information Search book record A Figure 4. 0 Data Flow Diagram (Librarian) DB A returned book records Return Books Print record 8. 0 Confirm request Returned Books information All book records Borrowed books Borrowed book records Return books 9. 0 Print Records 10. 0 Tbl_borrowbooks DB Book Request Printed records A. 6. 0 Borrow Books Book Record Borrowed books Confirm request Book request Book information 7. 0 Reserved Books LIBRARIAN Book information DB Tbl_ borrowedbooks Borrowed books Tbl_ allbooks Book information DB Figure 4. 1 Data Flow Diagram (Librarian) Figure 4. 0 and 4. 1 shows the flow of data using the account of the librarian, he/she needs to log in first to access the system which the log in information was retrieve from the database table accounts. When the Administrator log in to the system, it can create account for the borrowers and update these accounts that are saved from the same database table. After having account, adding of books and update record are can be done and saved in the database table allbooks . These records are can be viewed by all type of accounts which used in borrowing books. When they borrow books a request will send that needs to be confirmed by the administrator and this request can serves as a reservation request. If the request were finally confirmed by the admin it saves to the database table borrowedbooks. In returning books, the data in the table borrowedbooks is being retrieved for it to be returned and this was save into the database table returnedbooks with the date returned. For every borrowed books, this were automatically subtracted to the total number of books in the database and when the books was returned the number of books borrowed were added to the total number of books. The Administrator can print the records on database tables borrowed, returned and allbooks for the reports of the library. LIBRARIAN 2. 1 Add Accounts DB Tbl_ accounts Inputted account Information account record 2. 3 Update account Book record account Information Updated account record Old account record 2. 2 Check account Input account information Checked information Account status Account Information. Updated Account Information Figure 5. 0 Decomposing Diagram (Adding of Accounts -Librarian) The Decomposing Diagram of adding accounts (Figure 5. 0) shows the process on how the librarian will add or edit account information to the system. The Librarian will input the account information given by the borrowers and the system will check the entered information from the database table accounts if there was an existing record. Then if there was no record found it will be saved on the same database table. Librarian can update that account information on the database. LIBRARIAN 3. 1 Input book information. DB Tbl_ allbooks Inputted Book Information Book record 3. 3 Update book record Book record Book Information Updated Book record Old Book record 3. 2 Check book record Book information Updated book list Figure 6. 0 Decomposing Diagram (Adding of Books -Librarian) The Decomposing Diagram of adding books (Figure 6. 0) shows the process on how the librarian will add or edit book information to the system. The Librarian will input the book information on the book he/she want to borrow and the system will check the inputted information from the database table allbooks if there was an existing record. Then if there was no record found it will be saved on the same database table. Librarian can update that book records on the database. Book information LIBRARIAN 6. 1 Input book information DB Tbl_ allbooks Inputted account Information Account record Account Information Check book record 6. 2 Borrowed book information 6. 3 DB Tbl_ borrowbooks Submit Borrowing Borrowed book request Request Figure 7. 0 Decomposing Diagram (Borrowing Books -Librarian) The diagram above (Figure 7. 0) shows the process on how the Librarian can borrow books using the system. The Librarian input the book information will be borrowed then the system checks the records in the allbooks if there are available books to borrow and if there are enough books, the entered information serves as a request and this will be saved on database table borrowbooks which need to be confirmed. DB Tbl_ borrowbooks Borrowed Book record 7. 1 Select borrowed books Book information Book record LIBRARIAN Selected borrowed books information 7. 2 Confirmed Request list Approve Request Approved Book request DB Tbl_ borrowedbooks Check book record Figure 8. 0. Decomposing Diagram (Confirm Book Request(Librarian). The diagram (Figure 8. 0) shows the process on how the Librarian will confirm the book request of the borrowers. The Librarian will select a book request of send by the borrower and then click the confirm button. The confirmed request will be saved on the database table borrowedbooks which need to be confirmed. Borrowed Book record Borrowed book information 8. 1 Select Borrowed book DB Tbl_ borrowbooks Borrowed Book information LIBRARIAN Returned Book Information Borrowed Book information DB Tbl_ returnedbooks 8. 2 Complete Return slip Returned Book information Borrowed Book information DB Tbl_ allbooks Figure 9. 0 Decomposing Diagram (Return Book -Librarian) The diagram (Figure 9. 0) shows the process on how to return book. The Librarian will select a book record and then click the return button to complete the information needed in returning books. This will be saved on the database table returnedbooks and the numbered of books borrowed is added available books on the table allbooks as part of the inventory. Book information List of books Updated List of books New Book information Book information Searched Book information Book information Log in Information Input Log in information Account Confirmation Account confirmation Book  information Old Book information Book record Book records Updated Book record Book information Updated Book record Book records Book records ASSISSTANT LIBRARIAN. 1. 0 Log in Account Tbl_ACCOUNTS DB DB Tbl_ allbooks 2. 0 Add books 3. 0 Update Information 4. 0 View record 5. 0 Search books A Figure 10. 0 Data flow Diagram (Assistant Librarian) DBTbl_allbooks A returned book records Return Books Print record 8. 0 Confirm request Returned Books information All book records records Borrowed books Borrowed book records Return books 9. 0 Print Records 10. 0 Book Request Printed records A 6. 0 Borrow Books Book Record Borrowed books Confirm request Book Request Book information 7. 0 Reserved Books ASSISSTANT LIBRARIAN Book information Input book information Borrowed books DB Tbl_ borrowedbooks Tbl_borrowbooks DB Figure 10. 1 Data flow Diagram (Assistant Librarian) Assistant librarian’s account was somewhat like the account of head librarian he/she must log in first to access all the functions of the system. When the Assistant Librarian was successfully log in to the system it can add new book record which save on the database table allbooks. From this table, the book information was being retrieved for updates and it will be saved on the same database table. This account can borrow books and confirmed book request. After the borrowing books and the request was confirmed, it can return the books which will be saved on the database table returnedbooks. The records in the table returnedbooks is retrieve to view the summary of books returned. It can print records such as borrowed, unretuened and master list of books which will retrived records on different database table. This account is not capable of updating account records and reset borrowers password, as well as the viewing the log history of the system as shown in Figure 10. 0 and 10. 1. LIBRARIAN/ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN. 5. 0 Return books Borrowed books Tbl_borrowedbooks DB Returned books Request confirmed Borrowed book books Tbl_returnedbooks DB 2. 0 View available books BORROWER Account found Log in Information Input Log in information Account Confirmation Account confirmation 1. 0 Log in account Tbl_ACCOUNTS DB 3. 0 Search books 4. 0 Borrow books Book information books Book records Request book Tbl_allbooks DB Book information 5 Confirmed request Request information Figure 11 Data flow Diagram (Borrower) The account of User can search, borrow and return books which were the basic transaction in the Library Hub. This type of account was capable of viewing all the available books in the Library. User account can search for a specific book to locate, view its availability and information. In borrowing books, the user will fill up the computerized borrower slip and wait for the administrator’s confirmation to validate the borrower’s request. Network Topology A network topology describes the arrangement of systems on a computer network. It defines how the computers, or nodes, within the network are arranged and connected to each other. Figure 12. 0 Network Topology for Library Management System The topology used in the implementation of the project was star topology which fit to the situation because this topology was a server based network. The system needed a server and client computers to be more effective. To establish connection between the computers, hub was used. The server was placed on the table of Head Librarian and Assistant Librarian. When the client preferred to use one server for the librarian or the administrator, one computer for the assistant librarian and two computers for the libraries client, star topology is used to establish connection to the computers will be used. Programming Environment Front End Microsoft Visual Basic 6. 0 serves as the front-end in developing this project. This is the marginal tool that used to create this Library Management System. Visual Basic (VB) is a programming environment which was called the drag and drop tool because it contains built in tools like the buttons. The proponent decided to use this drag-and-drop buttons on the window directly to the form to design its interface and code the data structures of the proposed system because Visual basic is user-friendly and has a wide support in both text books and in the web. The front end serves as a tool for creating the different forms and interface of the Library Management System. Back End MySQL serves as the back-end in developing this project. This serves as the data storage of all the information needed to be recorded in the database. MySQL is very fast reliable and flexible Database Management System. MySQL serve as data or record storage of all the transaction of the Library Management System. For every transactions made in the system, data will be saved on the different database table. This database table is where all of the information is stored and retrieved in its operation. To make those database tables, the proponent used WAMP server which has PHPMyAdmin that allows creating and managing the database. It uses a web browser to access it features and manipulate records. Testing In the development of every project, the developer must not commit any shortcomings, problems and/or mistakes. One of the best ways to avoid problems was through conducting a system testing where in it assesses the system. This helped the project to improve and meet its objective. The twenty (20) individual was asked to test the project through an evaluation instrument provided. The developer tested the whole system if bugs exist. If bugs are present, the developer fixed it and makes another test until there’s no trace of errors. After the developer test the system, he asked at least seven (7) IT students to test the system because they have knowledge in this field, at least seven (7) individuals which has a course outside or not related to information technology to ensure its simplicity and understandability. One (1) Head Librarian, one (1) Department of Education official in Gapan and two (2) Assistant Librarian because they were the one who used the system and to get suggestions to improve system functionalities. The evaluation instrument was used to determine what to change and what to add on the system. Lastly, two (2) member of IEAT faculty assessed the whole system and determined the system’s performance. The Head Librarian from the Library Hub, Department of Education official and the proponent from IEAT faculty used the administrator account to evaluate the system; the assistant librarian used the intended account for them which will be the Administrator 2. And the other respondent used the user/borrower account. In short, twenty (20) respondents are asked to test and assess the system. Evaluation instrument guided/helped the proponent to test the whole system. This helped a lot to evaluate the system for Library Hub. This was trial and error basis, when the respondent find errors/bugs on every question, it must fixed the errors first. The developer: 1. Set evaluation instrument and set the units used in the system evaluation and testing. The developer networked the units used. 2. Discussed first all the function of the system and all the information needed to use the system. 3. Actual demonstration on how to use the system by using its every single function. 4. Assist the respondent when they test and evaluate the system. 5. Asked every respondent for their suggestions to make the system perform it full potential. 6. Analysed every suggestions comment and then apply the one that will make the system better. After the system had been assess through the provided evaluation instruments, answers and suggestions have been summarized. Those useful comments and suggestions were applied. Through this evaluation the system performed its function to its full potential. After these changes, the developer ensured that the changes made are seen by the respondent to check if it is correct and satisfy them. Through the use of Evaluation Instrument to test and assess the system, data are collected data were analysed to interpret the result of the system evaluation. The evaluation of the system used three (3) sets of evaluation questionnaires that use the different account level which were the account of Head Librarian, Assistant Librarian and Borrowers that had been summarized to use in analysing the results.

Life Safety And Property Protection Environmental Sciences Essay

Life Safety And Property Protection Environmental Sciences Essay Life Safety Refers to the joint consideration of both the life and physical wellbeing of individuals. 1. This, in relation to buildings, includes both the occupants and firefighters and requires different levels of fire precautions, to that required for property protection and business disruption. To sum up life safety, the fire protection needs to ensure that all occupants can safely evacuate the building and firefighters if necessary can execute rescues, once the building is empty it can be acceptable for a building to burn down, with fire fighters just protecting surrounding risks. In fact some buildings are designed with this in mind, constructing the building to collapse in on it once a safety period has been reached. There are various guides to life safety standards the main ones being UK design codes for life safety systems and the USA Life Safety Code NFPA 101. These out line a standard to be followed for life safety and aim to establish minimum requirements that will provide a reasonable degree of safety from fire and similar emergencies in buildings/structures. Property Protection Measures that are undertaken usually by property owners in order to prevent, or reduce property damage. 2. This normally requires higher levels of fire prevention as it addresses fire behaviour far beyond the time it takes occupants to evacuate the building. It may also only protect certain areas of the property, i.e. to protect artwork or computer storage/server. The basic objectives for property protection are, to minimise the effect of fire on a business, to limit the effects of business interruption, to allow a business to be trading within 24 hours of a fire, and to protect the buildings within a business.3. To allow these objectives to be met, the FPA Design Guide4. lays down 12 principles to follow; these are summed up as; Building materials/products should not make a significant contribution to the early stages of a fire, the exception being joinery products. Prevention of premature structural collapse and excessive deflection. Construction should ensure that if a fire occurs heat and smoke damage will be confined as close to the fires source as possible. Arson should be considered and preventative measures taken. Construction should not allow fire spread to the surroundings. The building shall be fitted with an appropriate automatic fire alarm. The fire protection systems should be regularly maintained. The building owner shall ensure the standards for the buildings life. Environmental considerations must be given, including results of firefighting. All fire protection products shall be third party certified. All fire protection products/systems shall be installed by trained specialist installers. Fuel burners/services, or electrical appliance/services shall be installed/constructed in a way to prevent an ignition source. Meeting all the above criterias are recognised by insurers that a building has reached a good standard with regards to property protection. Guidance on the levels to which these are planned into any building project is laid down within various building legislation documents such as Approved document B 3., BS9999 5., CIBSE 6. etc. There are other factors which will also create the need for higher levels of protection; Insurance companies who will often put conditions forcing higher standards to allow lower premiums or even the offer of a policy. Buildings occupants, i.e. disabilities physical or learning, familiar or unfamiliar, awake or asleep etc, who may need more time to evacuate. Business disruption can, in some cases, cost a company more than the loss of property and even lead to closure. Computer/paper files, products produced, antiques, artwork, etc, can often be of more value than the building, and again there loss could lead to closure/financial ruin. Arson considerations, some areas may have a history leading to the need for additional external protection. Environmental impacts such as, the release of hazardous materials, the effect of fire on surrounding buildings or facilities and also considerations for methods of firefighting (i.e. avoidance of water course pollution). Taking the balance of these points into account the extra cost of additional property protection can sometimes become insignificant. However, clearly it can also be seen the cost difference between life safety and property protection is great and unfortunately will have a significant affect on any final decisions. Interaction between Life Safety and Property Protection Before decisions can be made in these areas it is important that all stakeholders are involved including, but not restricted to; Buildings end user Building control authority Local fire authorities Architectural and engineering consultants System installers Government health and safety departments Building insurers Possibly, government heritage departments, should there be an impact on listed/protected property. Arguably any life safety system will offer some form of property protection and visa versa. The different types of protection also need careful consideration to ensure the most suitable is chosen, these may include; Additional fire compartmentation Sprinkler Systems Fire detection and alarms Smoke control Special hazard systems , such as water mist, CO2, oxygen reduction, etc Or simply relocation/removal of a high risk. All the available systems can be part or all the relative protection required for both life safety and property protection; however a different level/standard may be required. An example would be a detection system for a large/complex risk, particularly industrial/commercial risk; the insurance requirement may be for a minimum L1/L2 (or P1/P2, L being life safety, P property protection) standard, where as the prescriptive standard may be L3/L4 or manual, which as a result of a risk assessment could quite easily meet the requirement of life safety. An open air shopping centre has very little in the way of requirements, however an under cover shopping centre will require sprinkler systems, automatic alarm systems etc, all these being for life safety, i.e. preventing the passage of heat and smoke into areas required for means of escape. In this example though property protection will be enhanced it is by no means the aim, however if a requirement of property protection was required (i.e. by the insurers), then extending the life safety systems or enhancing them could well meet the new requirements. There are different requirements within the actual sprinkler system for life and property, life requiring a wet system and twin water systems, where as property allows for a dry system but requires four pump units in the place of two 6.. Therefore the interaction between the two systems and final design will be assessed through risk assessment and cost/benefit analysis. Fire Safety Strategy for a large manufacturing and storage facility Problems When looking at a large manufacturing and storage facility, after consultation with all stakeholders, the risks need to be identified; Large manufacturing area, high numbers of staff, possible office areas, client areas etc, may well put the priority on life safety. However; Storage area, this may have finished stock which could command a very high value and limited if any staff, therefore property protection could be the priority. To bring the entire site up to the required standard for both, could work out initially at a high cost and then high ongoing maintenance costs to follow on a regular basis. Solutions Compartmentation between the two areas could be a solution, 60 minute fire resistant wall and equivalent fire doors could separate the areas. Alternatively separate buildings with suitable separation, be it by distance or water curtain/drencher systems. Linked fire detection system between the two may be required, but a higher standard in the storage areas where a fire could go undetected due to low, if any, occupancy. A sprinkler system may only be required in the storage area for the same reasons and high value of storage. Though the machinery in the manufacturing area could be of a value, or if damaged high business losses, could require the installation of a sprinkler system or other form of suppression in certain areas. Legislation v Insurance Justifying Fixed Fire Protection Techniques Holistic Approach and its affect on Fire Fighting Conclusion References Web,http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=endefl=enq=define:life+safetysa=Xei=5I5CTZCYKIqLhQf-5IWUAgved=0CBYQkAE,(accessed 28/01/11) Web;http://www.teachmefinance.com/Scientific_Terms/Property_Protection.htm, (accessed 28/01/11) Building Regulations 2000, Approved Document B: Fire Safety (Volume 2) Buildings other than dwellinghouses. Incorporating Insurers Requirements for Property Protection. RIBA Publishing, Crown Copyright 2007. FPA Design Guide for the Fire protection of Buildings: Essential principles, 2003. BS 9999; 2008, Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings. CIBSE Guide E: Fire engineering