Why Do You Buy Your First Rental Property - 1741 Words

Working in the technical industry has never taught me anything about real estate investing. When I was starting out, I seriously had no clue what I was doing. I would put most of my money in mutual funds since it was a little bit better than leaving it in a regular savings account. Don’t get me wrong my investment accounts had decent returns but I was looking for an even better investment to put my money in. A new way that could help me create passive income so that I could ultimately quit my job.  How To Buy Your First Rental Property While there are many ways to start growing your passive income, I chose real estate investing simply because I just LOVE everything about it. Not only has it helped me create an additional income stream,†¦show more content†¦I mean, why wouldn’t it be?! YOLO, right?! So if you’re like me, you will need to figure out how much money you’ve been wasting and start working on your spending habits. Start by making it a habit of tracking down everything that you spend. The easiest way to start cutting your expenses is to start a budget plan and learn to follow it. Resist the urges to blow your money on those â€Å"temporary high† purchases and invest into your long term wealth instead. Try to ask yourself before buying anything. â€Å"Do I need this or do I want this?† This simple question is enough to get rid of most of your bad purchases so you won’t end up having buyer’s remorse as often as before. Once you have established a good habit. Saving for your initial capital will be soooo easy! STEP 2: SETUP AN AUTOMATIC PAY-YOURSELF-FIRST INVESTMENT PLAN What does â€Å"Pay-Yourself-First† mean anyway? It simply means that when you get your paycheck, before paying for your bill(s) or credit card(s). PAY YOURSELF FIRST! Start by setting up an automatic deposit on the same day that you get paid and put a set amount of money away from your chequing account to a separate investment account. This is a good habit to have because this tricks your mind to think that you have no money when you look at your chequing account. In addition, if your savings account is directly connected to your debit card. Contact your bank and disable it so that you’re not able to select â€Å"Savings† if you pay with

Analysis Of The Poem Khirbet Khizeh - 1610 Words

Michelle Hinkey Professor Sirisena October 17, 2014 FIQWS 10105, FQ20 Essay # 2 Stage 2 Nationalism can be defined as political feelings, principles, and efforts, or the desire for the political liberation of a particular country. The nationalist movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the establishment of a Jewish state in Israel is known as Zionism. This ideology was the driving force behind the Jewish expulsion of the Palestinians from their villages in1948. Through the eyes of an unnamed Israeli soldier, S. Yizhar describes this purge as it ensued in one Palestinian town in his autobiographical novella, Khirbet Khizeh. The contradictory themes of proud justification and shame or guilt because of the actions done in the name of Zionism, influence, and ultimately characterize the speaker’s identity, developing his divided loyalties as a Jew in Palestine. Since his participation in the Israeli military’s eviction of the Palestinians, the narrator has been haunted by what was done, and these feelings of guilt prompt him to tell his story. His experience as a soldier so impacted him that it has molded his very existence as a Zionist, causing him to wonder about and question the motives behind his actions. At first he tried to shrug off his own role in the violence, thinking that he was just following orders and doing what he had to do. But then he (and through this the reader)

Internet Technology Role

Question: Internet technology plays a prominent role in todays society. The Internet is used in all industries. Select an organisation of your choice that uses Internet to operate the business. Based on the selected organisation, analyse and report the following: 1. The organisation and type of products sold. 2. Features and functionalities of the website. 3. The information requirements and the type of systems used in the website. 4. Impact E-commerce has on the organisation. You may include benefits, challenges and risks. Answer: 1. Introduction Amazon.com. Inc, popularly known as Amazon is a retailer organization that sells products over the internet. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the efficiency of the electronic commerce and cloud computing services of the organization has made it the largest inter based retailer that presently operates in the United Sates (Amazon.com, 2016). The organization had initially started as an online bookstore: however it slowly diversified into selling digital materials like that of audio books, mp3s, Blue Rays, DVDs, CDs and so on and so forth. At present, the organization sells a wide range of products: starting from software to jewelry, books, apparels, household items, food products, furniture, toys and much more. Amazon has also started consumer electronics under their brand name: the e-book readers popularly known as the Amazon Kindle being the most popular ones along with Fire Phone, Fire TV and Fire Tablets (Curty and Zhang, 2013). Bedsides this, at present, Amazon is being consi dered as one of the largest cloud infrastructure service providers of the industry, surpassing the US based retail-giant Walmart in terms of market capitalization. Thus, it can be said that the main goals of Amazon .com include the maintenance of a link between the consumers and the suppliers, improving communication with the retail customers, improving the sales target and enhance the level of services being provided to the customers. Besides this, the organization also intends to serve customers from various markets and create more customers from the daily visitors. Trough this report, we intend to explore the extent to which the electronic commerce facilities provided by the organization facilitate the process of realizing their goals. 2. Analysis 2.1 Features and functionalities of website In this section of the report, we intent to discuss the various features and functionalities that are available on the e-commerce site of the amaazon.com. As present in all other electronic commerce sites, Amazon has a dedicated home page. The home page hosts the various promotional offers that are currently being made available to the customers, information regarding the top selling products of the website, the new products or services that are about to be launched by the organization, the price reductions that are currently available, etc (Huang, and Benyoucef, 2013). Besides this, the home page also contains information regarding the promotional offers that would be available in the near future, along with the links to the products pages. Amazon displays all available products and services under different categories. All electronic gadget are to found under the Home, Kitchen Pets section, computer devices and accessories are to be found under a separate section of their own, the books available on the store are either available under the kindle readers and e-books category or under the books category and so on and so forth (Rahman and Dominic, 2012). The various features that are available in the products ages have been discussed in the following sections of the report: 2.1.1 The transaction processing system: Once the customer visits the products page, he or she is able to select a specific product by scrolling down the entire webpage. Amazon allows their users to select and buy products and services through easy steps and make online payments through secured transaction gateways: the following processes help in providing the said services to the customers: 1. One click ordering: Amazon provides one click ordering facilities to the customers which allows them to select and order the products on a single click (Bao and Chang, 2014). Besides this, the facilities of personalized purchase services and easy online transactions are also available to the customers. One of the commonly used features that deserve a special mention include the one click ordering services available to the existing customers: while new customers have to fill up the order details after making a one-click purchase, the existing customers are exempted from performing this activity. 2. Secured card payment: Amazon.com not only encourages the customers to make payments online but also provides secured gateways to make payments through debit and credit cards. 2.1.2 The product recommendation system: Amazon generates list of products, based on the last purchase habits of the customer and the products (belonging to the specific category that the customer is visiting) that are most popular among the other customers. This list displayed in the products page, as the customer scrolls down to search for specific items. Needless to say, such a recommendation system encourages the customers to purchase products in much larger volumes than they would have made by going through all the available products by themselves and selecting one from those (Turban et al. 2015). 2.1.3 An interactive searching option: While a customer can go through the entire range of products present in particular methodology, the website also provides them with options to select products based on certain filtering criteria ( like that of price, color, features, material etc) (Klaus, 2013). This interactive searching option makes that task of purchasing items from Amazon.com much easier. 2.1.4 Order tracking: Amazon.com allows their customers to review the status of the orders placed by them (Eames et al. 2014). Besides this, the customers are also provided with various updates as and when the orders are processed. 2.2 Information requirement and types of systems used in the website On its initial days, Amazon used separate system for taking orders from the client and a separate system for fulfilling the orders: the objective behind such a system was to avoid the internet security issues that might result from maintaining both the systems on the same server. At present, the organization had renovated the entire system and utilizes software packages (Epiphany for data analysis and the Manugistics for the maintenance of their logistics) from reputed IT vendors, for collecting and analyzing the customer and enterprise data(Imran, 2014). The database maintained by the company runs on Oracle DBMS. In order to maintain information related to the large number of services and products that are available on the website the organization utilizes the custom made Simple Storage Service (SS) and the Amazon Web Service (AWS) (Crowston, 2012) . The Smart Analysis search or the SAS allow the organization to map the characteristics of the purchase behavior indicated by the purchases made by the clients and the products that they are currently searching for, in order to make recommendations to them (Solaymani et al. 2012). 2.3 Role of information system in achieving the goals of the organization In this section of the report, we provide a brief description on how the various business goals of Amazon.com are met by the information system that is currently being used. 1. Smart Innovation Strategy: Although Amazon conducts business based on the basic business to consumer or the B2C model, yet bringing about strategic changes in the way in which their website operates have been helpful in generating a sense of curiosity among the target customers (Beynon-Davies, 2013). As for example, at present the organization allows small business groups to utilize their platform, in exchange of which they receive commission from them. Thus the business model has changed from sales to sales and service. The goal of maintaining the links between the suppliers and the retail customers and providing services to both the groups have become possible due to the utilization of this model. 2. Customer relationship management: Maintaining a good relationship with the customers and providing efficient and timely services to them is one of the major goals of Amazon.com. The information system has been effective in fulfilling this goal as the Simple Storage Service (SS) and the Amazon Web Service (AWS) help the organization to record all information related to the purchase orders placed by the customers (Marz and Warren, 2015). This in turn facilitates the process of after sales services. 2.4 Impact of e-commerce on the organization (Amazon.com) In this section of the report, we discuss about the effects of electronic commerce system on the operational system of Aamzon.com. A brief discussion has been provided in the benefits of the e-commerce system, the challenges that Amazon.com experiences due the e-commerce system and the risks associated with this system. 2.4.1 Benefits of e-commerce system on Amazon 1. The first and foremost point that should be considered while discussing the benefits that Amazon avails from its electronic commerce system huge operational costs that the organization saves. Maintaining a physical store is associated with various costs like that of paying rents for the store space and paying electricity bills, along with the initial set up cost that the organization would have to incur. Besides this, the ecommerce model helps Amzon.co to serve larger customer base than a physical store could have (Traver and Laudon, 2012). 2. Availability of large scaled customer information helps in decision making. 2.4.2 Challenges of e-commerce system of Amazon At present, Amazon.com faces the following challenges: Uniqueness of content: Since Amazon sells a large number of products to the customers, the description of each of the products must be unique. Such uniqueness would ultimately reduce the time required to search products from the store. However, currently, such unique contents are not available in Amazon.com (Crowston, 2012). 2. Improve the mobile version of the website: The full-fledged mobile version of the website puts certain restrictions on the purchase of products. Although the organization encourages the customers to use their smart phone applications, yet the mobile website should also be enhanced (Klein, 2012). 2.4.3 Risk associated with the e-commerce system of Amazon. In the very recent past, Amazon has invested highly in developing their cloud service infrastructure. At present, the cloud infrastructure of the organization is considered to be at the same level as that of Microsoft. However, the later, having high scale revenue generating from the said infrastructure would be able to make further investment on it (Bergstrm, 2013). On the other hand, it is less likely that that Amazon would be able to upgrade the cloud infrastructure on a regular basis (due to very high investment issues) thus any break down of this infrastructure actually has the potential of destroying the entire business venture of Amazon. 3. Conclusion Recommendations This report provides a detailed discussion on the various aspects of the e-commerce business model used by Amazon.com. The business goals and objective of the organization have been discussed in the introductory section of the report, along with the background of the organization. In the following section, the features and functionalities of website have been reviewed. The discussion made in this section of the report is indicative of the fact that the business success of the organization is largely based on the features that have been included in the e-commerce site. These features have been custom built so as to provide better buying experiences to the customers. In section 2.2, a discussion has been provided on the information systems that are currently being utilized by Amazon to maintain the functionality of their website. The research work that has been conducted so as to reveal the true nature of the IT system of Amazon has lead us to believe that the organization utilizes custom-made cloud-based platforms in order to store, manage and analyze the huge amount of data that are being generated and accessed through their website on a regular basis. The next section provides a discussion on how the e-commerce model is being helpful in realizing the business goal of the organization. It has been noticed that the e-commerce site not only helps to cater to the needs of large section of target customer, but Amazon can better understand the requirements and the buying behavior of the customers by analyzing the huge amount of data that is collected through the website. The availability of large scale of data also facilitates the process of developing business/ market strategies. While considering the effects of e-commerce on the business of Amazon, it has been noticed that the very same cloud based infrastructure that is providing Amazon an added benefit over the other market competitors is also the sole risk sector of the organization. Besides this, Amazon should also emphasize on developing unique content for each of their products and re-designing their mobile website for enhancing their services. In the light of the discussions made in the report, the following recommendations are being made to the management of the Amazon.com: 1. Regular up-gradation of the cloud infrastructure should be performed so as to maintain the sustainability of the e-commerce platform. 2. The mobile website and the applications should be re-designed from time to time in order to keep pace with the emerging technologies, besides catering the security concerns of the customers using such devices. 3. The management should also start investing in innovative technologies in order to enhance their brand value: as for example delivering products using unmanned drones might be considered as an interesting option. References Amazon.com, (2016). Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs more. [online] Amazon.com. Available at: https://www.amazon.com [Accessed 7 Jan. 2016]. Bao, T. and Chang, T.L.S., (2014). Why Amazon uses both the New York Times Best Seller List and customer reviews: An empirical study of multiplier effects on product sales from multiple earned media.Decision Support Systems,67, pp.1-8. Bergstrm, J. (2013). What Is the Risk That Amazon Will Go Down (Again)? - O'Reilly Radar. [online] Radar.oreilly.com. Available at: https://radar.oreilly.com/2013/05/what-is-the-risk-that-amazon-will-go-down-again.html [Accessed 7 Jan. 2016]. Beynon-Davies, P., (2013).Business information systems. Palgrave Macmillan. Crowston, K., (2012). Amazon Mechanical Turk: A Research Tool for Organizations and Information Systems Scholars. InShaping the Future of ICT Research. Methods and Approaches(pp. 210-221). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Curty, R.G. and Zhang, P., (2013). Website features that gave rise to social commerce: a historical analysis.Electronic Commerce Research and Applications,12(4), pp.260-279. Eames, M., Berkhout, F., Hertin, J., Hawkins, R. and Mackerron, G., (2014). 2 E-topia? Scenarios for e-commerce and sustainability.Digital Futures: Living in a Networked World, p.39. Huang, Z. and Benyoucef, M., (2013). From e-commerce to social commerce: A close look at design features.Electronic Commerce Research and Applications,12(4), pp.246-259. Imran, A. (2014). A STUDY ON AMAZON: INFORMATION SYSTEMS, BUSINESS STRATEGIES AND e-CRM. [online] ResearchGate. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261440748_A_STUDY_ON_AMAZON_INFORMATION_SYSTEMS_BUSINESS_STRATEGIES_AND_e-CRM [Accessed 7 Jan. 2016]. Klaus, P., (2013). The case of Amazon. com: towards a conceptual framework of online customer service experience (OCSE) using the emerging consensus technique (ECT).Journal of Services Marketing,27(6), pp.443-457. Klein, D., (2012). How to decide: Mobile websites vs. mobile apps.Inspire, February. Marz, N. and Warren, J., (2015).Big Data: Principles and best practices of scalable realtime data systems. Manning Publications Co.. Rahman, H.K. and Dominic, J., (2012). An Analytical Study of Online Public Access Catalogues in Comparison with Features of Amazon and Google: A Checklist Approach.Asian Journal Of Information Science Technology (AJIST),2(1). Solaymani, S., Sohaili, K. and Yazdinejad, E.A., (2012). Adoption and use of e-commerce in SMEs.Electronic commerce research,12(3), pp.249-263. Traver, C.G. and Laudon, K.C., (2012).E-commerce: business, technology, society. Pearson Higher Ed. Turban, E., King, D., Lee, J.K., Liang, T.P. and Turban, D.C., (2015).Electronic commerce: A managerial and social networks perspective. Springer.

Just Walk On By A black man ponders his power to alter public space Essay Example

Just Walk On By: A black man ponders his power to alter public space Essay Brent Staples’ essay titled ‘Just walk on by: A black man ponders his power to alter public space’ is an outstanding piece of minority literature of the twentieth century. Not only is the essay a high quality literary work, the point the author makes is also highly relevant to blacks and other ethnic minorities. Through the course of the essay, the author makes several valid observations and poignant remarks about the injustices meted out to blacks in everyday social situations. He rightly expresses his indignation at deep-rooted prejudice and the occasional hatred that blacks are subjected to. This aspect of his essay is not unique, for minority literature in America is full of such themes. But what makes Staples’ essay stand out from the rest is his proposed solution for the problem. Instead of adopting a radical standpoint of aggressive confrontation or even militant retaliation against racial injustices, Brent Staples attempts to see the problem from Wh ite Americans’ perspective and goes out of his way to ease their concerns (Staples, 1986). This is indeed a unique standpoint in the context of black and minority literature. While the logic employed by the author might come across as weak and his attitude might seem submissive, it takes a lot of courage and a big heart for a person from a minority community (that has historically been treated unjustly) to reach out and offer an olive branch. The rest of this essay will elucidate further reasons for why this is so and will argue in support of the author’s position. Looking back at the history of racial reconciliation in the United States, it is fair to say that pacifist leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. have left a more enduring legacy than militant ones such as Malcolm X. In more contemporary times, the analogy could be extended to intellectuals such as Cornell West as against vociferous ethno-religious leaders such as Louis Farrakhan. While both sides have sound logical arguments to support their case, it is always the cool and balanced analysis of the pacifist, non-violent leaders that wins through. The same assessment is applicable to Brent Staples’ position, which is based on balanced and nuanced analysis and one that is bound to fructify into peaceful reconciliation. Moreover, while identifying the rationale for black male aggression, Staples also hints at its basic flaws: We will write a custom essay sample on Just Walk On By: A black man ponders his power to alter public space specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Just Walk On By: A black man ponders his power to alter public space specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Just Walk On By: A black man ponders his power to alter public space specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer â€Å"Many things go into the making of a young thug. One of those things is the consummation of the male romance with the power to intimidate†¦ I recall the points at which some of my boyhood friends were finally seduced by the perception of themselves as tough guys. When a mark cowered and surrendered his money without resistance, myth and reality merged-and paid off. It is, after all, only manly to embrace the power to frighten and intimidate. We, as men, are not supposed to give an inch of our lane on the highway; we are to seize the fighter’s edge in work and in play and even in love; we are to be valiant in the face of hostile forces.† (Staples, 1986) While the above observation comes from his own personal experiences, Staples’ essay is also meritorious for its consideration of the opposing view point. In this case it is the reference to Norman Podhoretz’ controversial 1963 essay titled ‘My Negro Problem – And Ours’. Despite the apparent racist tone on the essay, Staples does refer to some valid observations made by Podhoretz. For example, Staples concurs with his fellow scholar in recognizing the â€Å"special brand of paranoid touchiness† that black males have come to represent (Staples, 1986). The only problem with Staples’ perusal of Podhoretz’ views is its convenient stereotyping of all black males, for it is blatantly unfair to categorize an entire community as suffering from paranoid touchiness. But beyond this small weakness in his argument, there is much veracity behind many of the essay’s claims. And finally, in what is a display of literary irony, the so-called â€Å"power to alter public space† leads the author to alter his private thoughts and behavior. When prejudices expressed by the white majority are so deeply-engrained for it to be dissipated overnight, a more practical solution is called for. In what are the most memorable last lines from the essay, the author tells his audience how he has learnt to convert tense situations into amicable ones. He tells how his adoption of a compassionate posture in the public space has transformed his personal experiences. While not being didactic about his method, there is an element of earnest recommendation in his words: â€Å"I began to take precautions to make myself less threatening. I move about with care, particularly late in the evening. I give a wide berth to nervous people on subway platforms during the wee hours, particularly when I have exchanged business clothes for jeans†¦I have been calm and congenial on those rare occasions when I’ve been pulled over by the police. And on late-evening constitutionals along streets less traveled by, I employ what has proved to be an excellent tension-reducing measure: I whistle melodies from Beethoven and Vivaldi and the more popular classical composers†¦ Virtually everybody seems to sense that a mugger wouldn’t be warbling bright, sunny selections from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. It is my equivalent of the cowbell that hikers wear when they are in bear country.† (Staples, 1986) Reference: Just walk on by: A black man ponders his power to alter public space. By: Staples, Brent. Literary Cavalcade, Sep98, Vol. 50 Issue 5, p38, 4p. Brent Staples’ essay titled ‘Just walk on by: A black man ponders his power to alter public space’ is an outstanding piece of minority literature of the twentieth century. Not only is the essay a high quality literary work, the point the author makes is also highly relevant to blacks and other ethnic minorities. Through the course of the essay, the author makes several valid observations and poignant remarks about the injustices meted out to blacks in everyday social situations. He rightly expresses his indignation at deep-rooted prejudice and the occasional hatred that blacks are subjected to. This aspect of his essay is not unique, for minority literature in America is full of such themes. But what makes Staples’ essay stand out from the rest is his proposed solution for the problem. Instead of adopting a radical standpoint of aggressive confrontation or even militant retaliation against racial injustices, Brent Staples attempts to see the problem from Wh ite Americans’ .