Early Islam and Islam Today Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Early Islam and Islam Today - Essay Example The culture and beliefs of Muslims are also discussed. This paper also presents a brief overview on both historical and modern Islam, worldwide and in America. Culture and Beliefs of Muslims Islam is a monotheistic religion and Muslims believe in the oneness of god. They have five basic principles that they call the â€Å"pillars† of Islam (Shepard, 2009). The first pillar is that of the Shahada, which is the declaration that there is only one god and prophet Muhammad is his messenger. The second pillar is the Salah, i.e. prayer, which is performed five times a day. The third pillar is the Zakah, i.e. charity for the poor. The fourth pillar is the Sawm, which means fasting. Muslims fast during the entire month of Ramazan, a holy month of the Islamic calendar. It is believed that the Quran, the word of God (Allah), began to be revealed to Prophet Muhammad by angel Gabriel during this month. The fifth and final pillar of Islam is Hajj, or pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, at least once in a lifetime (Shepard, 2009). Muhammad, who is believed by Muslims to be a prophet and messenger of Allah, founded Islam. Islam abolished the practice of polytheism, which was the religion of pagan Arabia, and introduced the concept of unity or oneness of God. According to Muhammad’s teachings, there are certain tenets and standards of living, ethics and polity, as described in the Quran, the holy book of Muslims, to be followed by Muslims, failing which they would face penalty both in this life and in the afterlife. Muslims have faith in the Judgment Day, when all humans will be judged for their deeds and will be sent to hell or heaven based on their doings. Muslims place a great significance on the conservation of women’s modesty, and so, women are asked to cover themselves by veils. They are not allowed to reveal themselves to other men except their husbands and close kin. Women and men are segregated in their social gatherings. Although it is widely be lieved that Muslim women are suppressed, it is believed to be the wrongdoing of men themselves rather than Islam, as Islam preaches equality of both men and women (Ezzati, 2002). Muslims are forbidden to consume pork and alcohol (Shepard, 2009). While monogamy is the common practice among Muslims, polygamy is legal and permitted by Islam (Shepard, 2009). While Muslim women are allowed only one husband, Muslim men can have a maximum of four wives only if they can treat all their wives equally. The Arabs made great scientific and cultural progress with the advent of Islam (Shepard, 2009). Origin and Expansion of Islam Islam has many universal elements that appealed to all cultures and religions outside Arabia (Stearns et al., 2004). This led to the acceptance of Islam and conversion to Islam by people of other religions such as Christianity, Judaism, etc. Following the death of Muhammad, his followers set up a caliphate in order to maintain political stability among the Arabs (Hemming er, 1997). Abu-Bakr was made the first caliph and military exhibition was used to gain the caliph’s authority over Arabia (Hemminger, 1997). Under his caliphate, the Arabs overtook Persian and Byzantine forces. He was succeeded by Umar, who became the second caliph and under whose reign, many other neighboring empires were conquered. By 637 CE, Ctesiphon (Persia’

Critically analyse and evaluate the video games software industry Essay

Critically analyse and evaluate the video games software industry dynamics - Essay Example Some of the barriers to an entry to video game industry is: a) The Capital Requirement of Entry The capital requirement in video game software industry is very high as lot of money and resources is required for advertising, production, research and development (R&D). A company with less funding capacity neither can afford to make large bulk of orders nor it can survive in long term scenario (Altwein, 2006, p.3). Most of the companies that are already established have been facing fierce competition from new ones which have been coming up. Some companies like Ataria of the United States collapsed in 1980s due to fierce competition from new entrants. (Brightman, 2006). b) Economies of Scale Although economies of scale is not a strong barrier to an entry to video game software industry yet a company can only compete to market if it has an ability to create good economies of scale in industry (Altwein, et al, 2006, p.4). 1 c) Expected Retaliation and Access to Distribution Channel The expected retaliation and access to distribution channel also play an important role to an entry to an industrial sector as both factors determine the future prospective of a competitor in the market. Same thing is applied for video game software industry too. For example in 1983, when Nintendo entered the market with the FAMICOM, although the expected retaliation was at quite a low point for the global video gaming market resulting the disillusionment of customers, yet as Nintendo was already a familiar player in the market having access to distribution channel network, hence it was much easier for it to distribute its products to a large market area (Altwein, et al, 2006, p.4). ii) Threat of...This is because the industry is supported by growth in the information system sector which has not been affected by the economic recession. There have been no macro or micro economic policies which has affected the operations of the industry. On the world front, the growth of the economy in the world has translated to increased use of computers which has led to growth of the industry. There has been increased disposable income as the middle class continue to emerge in all parts of the world which as led to increased use of video games (Gold 2003, p. 65). There has been increased change in the culture in the world which has favoured increased use of video games. As more and more communities of the world depart from their traditions, there has been increased use of video games as alternative entertainment for children. This has been recorded in the emerging markets of the world. But in general there has been increased use of computer games which are supported by video games. This has been a great shift in the culture of the people who have now embraced computer games as a wary of recreation. This change in culture has seen computer games become the culture of most adolescent in the world.

Critical Review of Contemporary NPD Issues Essay - 1

Critical Review of Contemporary NPD Issues - Essay Example The latter, on the other hand, focuses on NPD best practices and the standard by which they can be measured or judged. According to Goffin & Koners (2011), performing case studies were a better method of learning the issues regarding NPD, rather that performing reviews of already done projects. This is because of the accuracy and level of flexibility this method brings along. The authors noted that this method was able to capture more lessons that individuals have learnt from NPD while much of the learning of the Post Projects Review was not captured. This was attributed to the fact that it is hard to capture experiences once they have passed. The results and findings are highly accurate because they are based on what the responses were from the majority of the interviewees. The data analysis for the case studies was carried out in four stages, some with iteration. This may have been time consuming or expensive, but, on the other hand, it would result to high quality findings which can be compared and contrasted against each other. The first phase was to analyse the repertory grids. The lessons learnt from individuals working on NPD projects were documented and involved issues concerning: organizational complexity, time constraints, budget, learning, problem solving, project objectives, and resources. According to Jan (2006), these are important issues of consideration when an organisation wants to embark on NPD. I view these findings as reliable and accurate. They are based on facts collected first hand and analysed using reliable software. The second phase was to analyse the minutes of Post-Project Reviews. The 19 minutes of PPRs were coded with extreme care being taken. Detailed understanding was obtained from the repertory grid interviews, and hence the same coding scheme was used for the PPRs minutes. A total of 56 lessons were documented. Unfortunately, only relatively few

Marriott Hotels in Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marriott Hotels in Australia - Essay Example The Marriot way of doing business has been to reward good performance in its employees, both among the management as well as staff paid hourly rates. The primary stakeholders as identified by the â€Å"Marriot way† includes associates, guests and communities, thereby including employees, suppliers and retailers as well as its guests and members of the general community and the Company aims to provide the kind of services that can reach out to all of these.(www.marriot.co.uk). Marriot Hotels in Australia have also developed effective communication strategies to communicate with these different groups of stakeholders. According to Vogel (2005:110) promoting value must also include the introduction of better business practices that can serve to improve the welfare of the communities within which these corporations function. Employee satisfaction for example, impacts upon customer and ultimately, shareholder satisfaction. As a result, effectively communicating with employees would include the introduction of measures that could improve their motivation levels, which in turn would improve employee satisfaction (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2005). Management behaviour impacts upon employee attitudes, which in turn leads to customer satisfaction. For example, in a hotel environment, satisfied frontline employees project an attitude that improves the customer experience of the hotel (Rust et al, 1996). The productivity of a business depends upon the levels of cust omer satisfaction. The Marriot hotels have also developed a corporate image and profile, which have been communicated through its actions and annual reports. The core values of the Marriot hotels are centred around its â€Å"spirit to serve† philosophy.(www.marriot.co.uk) and includes corporate social responsibility, or the introduction of corporate practices that â€Å"improve the workplace and benefit society in ways that go above and beyond what companies are legally required to

Performance management system for Marks and Spencer Research Paper

Performance management system for Marks and Spencer - Research Paper Example In practice, it has been proved that the findings of these systems do not always reflect the actual status of organizations, in terms of their performance. Thus, the identification of effective PM systems is a key challenge for managers internationally. The potential use of a performance management system for measuring the performance of Marks and Spencer (UK) is examined in this paper. Three performance management systems are set under examination, as of their appropriateness for Marks and Spencer: the Balanced Scorecard, the Goal Setting and the Individual Reward System. It is proved that all these systems could be used for measuring the performance of Marks and Spencer under the terms that their implications and challenges, as analyzed below, are taken into consideration. In any case, it seems that these systems can reflect rather the current performance of the specific organization, or, at least, the firm’s performance in the short term. If used for studying the potentials of the organization for a long term growth, these systems would be appropriately alternated, as explained below.The measurement of performance is a key part of organizational strategy. However, the criteria on which the measurement of performance of modern organizations is based are not standardized, meaning that each organization can employe different methods for measuring and evaluating its performance. Most commonly, the following issue needs to be addressed: how could a particular organization choose a performance management (PM) system that will offer accurate findings, in regard to the organizational performance? In practice, it has been proved that the use of a popular PM system, such as the Balanced Scorecard, can minimize the risks for failures in measuring organizational performance. Due to its high effectiveness, the Balanced Scorecard is preferred by firms of various sizes; in a relevant research it has been revealed that ‘about 60% of the Fortune 1000 has a Balan ced Scorecard in place’ (Niven 2006, p.2). However, under certain terms, the findings of a Balanced Scorecard may not fully reflect the performance of a particular organization. In this context, the use of other performance management (PM) systems, as alternative, is often considered as unavoidable. The three PM systems presented in this paper, i.e. the Balanced Scorecard, the Goal Setting and the Individual Reward System, are analyzed in particular as of their use in measuring the

Public speaking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Public speaking - Essay Example Nicole, personal communication, October 2, 2014). However, the third person said that although he may experience a specific amount of fear especially based on the size of the crowd, this feeling gradually disappears as the speech proceeds (E. Jason, personal communication, October 2, 2014). This is because he gains more confidence. He also added that this adjustment is determined by the reaction of the crowd. Personally, I am not afraid to speak in public. This is because I have had adequate exposure throughout my life. I began by having short speeches during family gatherings when I was young. In addition, I do not attempt to make perfect conversations. Instead, I talk freely without intending to please the audience. This turns out on my favor because I find myself pleasing the audience without intending to do so directly. Nevertheless, at times, I may develop some fear especially if the crowd is huge. During such instances, I refer to personal cognitive therapy by performing activi ties that may boost my confidence such as performing deep breathing exercises prior to appearing before the

How Facebook Has Destroyed Privacy Boundaries Essay

How Facebook Has Destroyed Privacy Boundaries - Essay Example The website has come under the limelight time and again. Previously it was in the limelight as a business model for innovation and hallmark breakthroughs but in recent times it has been scrutinized for breaches of privacy. The various forms of breach of privacy have been recognized and investigated and are confirmed phenomenon leaving little to doubt them anymore (Iachello and Hong). Some breaches of privacy are caused due to users overlooking fine print details while other breaches of privacy occur due to online surveillance. In addition to everything else, certain forms of breach of privacy occur due to the inherent design of social networking platforms. This paper will focus on the various forms of breach of privacy that have resulted from the use of Facebook whether these breaches were intentional or otherwise. Furthermore, the consequences of these breaches will be looked into in detail to gauge their effects on ordinary people. Another major factor that limits the amount of inf ormation carried by human beings is the limit on information delivered at any one point in time through conversations. It would be unrealistic to assume that a person could convey all kinds of personal and family information to another in one meeting alone. However, this situation is totally reversed when using computing platforms to interact. People who use social networking websites such as Facebook will realize that a large amount of information has to be divulged in order to sign up for such services.