Saudi Arabia's geography offers more opportunities than constraints Essay

Saudi Arabia's geography offers more opportunities than constraints - Essay Example The vast coastline offers potentials for transport, and the unique geographic features are untapped tourist attraction sites that can significantly develop the country. The paper, therefore, analyzes the positives of the location of Saudi Arabia in world geography as opposed to the perceived hindrances. It aims to instill information that Saudi Arabia is a land of opportunities, and the location is a blessing in disguise. As highlighted, Saudi Arabia is a big country in the Middle East. It borders seven countries some of which are Iraq, Oman, United Arabs Emirates (UAE), Jordan, and Peoples Republic of Yemen. The exceptional topographical location provides Saudi Arabia with opportunities for becoming the accessible and strategic market for west and east. The extensive boundaries also enhance the nation’s capacity to accommodate many products and the population is an ideal market for commodities from this nations. Therefore, the positioning is an excellent opportunity for market development and subsequent growth into an economic powerhouse of the Middle East. Saudi Arabia borders large continental water masses. Particularly, it has a vast coastline on the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The exclusive feature offers magnificent control in shipping and water transport. Specifically, the nation can benefit more by establishing structures for shipping crude oil from the region to other parts of the world. Likewise, the positioning makes it a transit route for export and import goods for other nations in the area. Utilizing the sea and developing sophisticated transport channels are some of the opportunities at the disposal of the Saudi Government. Hence, the coastline has great potentials of making Saudi Arabia a prominent logistic and transport center if well managed. Saudi Arabia has assorted geographic structures that include grasslands, ranges forests, mountain, and deserts. Most of Saudi Arabia landmass comprises of desert. In addition, the country

Research Experiment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Research Experiment - Assignment Example This theory also suggests that job attitudes are linked to job outcomes. Consequently, organizational attitudes are linked to organizational outcomes (Greenberg, 2013). Background Organizational behavior is a key determinant of how an organization should be managed and led, with the aim of increasing organizational effectiveness. As such, Organizational Behavior Units provide insight and knowledge that advances the understanding of how to manage and lead an organization, with the aim of increasing personal or organizational effectiveness (Ali et al., 2009). Encompassing aspects of sociology, psychology, communication and management, the course has its roots in Industrial and Organizational Psychology (Locke, 1976). This is because organizational behavior determines the effectiveness, hence success of the organization. The factors that affect the general conduct or behavior of an organization should, therefore, be brought in to perspective and manipulated to targets the achievement of ideal results. Indeed, a lot of research has been conducted to try to establish the factors that affect the work outcome in an organization. In particular, the attitude of employees has been deemed an essential variable in these studies. In assessing this variable, many researches have primarily focused on job satisfaction as the key measure of employee attitude (Ali et al., 2009). However, recent researches have delved in to the role of organizational commitment in determining employee attitude and intensions (Greenberg, 2013). The purpose of this study was to establish the factors that drive job satisfaction and organizational commitment at Subway Restaurants. As such, it assessed two variables: job performance and turnover intensions. Job performance has often been related to Job satisfaction more than organizational commitment, with studies establishing mixed results. While some studies have shown a strong correlation between the two, others argue that this correlation is negli gible (Ali et al., 2009). However, almost all of the studies conducted establish a negligible correlation between organizational commitment and job performance. On the other hand, turnover intensions are primarily a factor of organizational commitment. Indeed, studies have shown significant association between the two. However, these studies also show a considerable amount of correlation between turnover intension and Job satisfaction. In fact, studies of facet satisfaction have established significant association between turnover intensions and satisfaction with the job itself, and pay and promotions (Greenberg, 2013). However, combined comparisons of job satisfaction and organizational commitment with turnover intensions have established a greater correlation between turnover intensions and organizational commitment than with job satisfaction (Greenberg, 2013). These findings form the basis for my hypotheses in this research study. Research Questions The participants in this study were primarily the restaurant’s staff in the U.S. and included 2 Restaurant Managers, 3 part time Hospitality Employees, 2 full time Chefs, 2 part-time Administrative Assistant, and a full time Retail Clerk. They were required to answer ten research questions based on their level of agreement with the suggestions as follows: Strongly Agree (5) Agree (4) Most likely/Not sure (3) Probably not (2) Disagree (1)

Findings Analysis Essay Example for Free

Findings Analysis Essay I have found out my primary information about the idea of slim-line kitchen electrical appliances by doing a quota sampling, which meant dividing the population into various age groups and backgrounds and carrying out questionnaires. In my results in source 14, which is my questionnaire, the first question shows the gender of the amount of people that help fill in the questionnaire. Out of 150 people that I questioned only 36.6% were males and females a greater percentage of 63.6(%). This shows that on average most of the people I questioned were females. Source 2 also supports this idea as it states that the majority of people living in England are females at 51%. Also the details in source 6 show the gender of people that purchase brown and white goods, the larger percentage goes towards the women at 54%. Also an evidence of this statement that there are more women than men in GB is illustrated in source 2, it shows that in 2003 there were more women than men- and that I think has increased during recent years because source 2 shows that women are at 51% of the population in UK, then source 6 shows women are at 54 and source 14 [the questionnaire] shows they are at 63 percent (you can see that in the chart below that shows these results), and I predict this is going to escalate far more in a years or so time; which means if S and S plc was to choose their target group then in my opinion women should be targeted not only for their percentage as a whole but as for the person that makes decisions about where the kitchen appliances go and what should be bought. The second question in the questionnaire asks for the age groups of the person that is filling in the questionnaire; the most widely held answer is the 45-54 age group. On a percentage out of 150 people 48% of the people come in that particular age group. Although my source 2 says that the majority of the people living in Great Britain are either between the age group of 35-44 or above 65, however my source is over 3 years old, which could make big difference as related to new market, but maybe the area that I was doing the questionnaire in; the majority of the people were between 45 and 54. The rest of the questionnaire still supports the idea of what S and S plc is trying to introduce. This means they have now got an idea of what the populations wants and needs are. S and S plc need to confirm the target age group and then plan sale strategies. Question 4 asks the people what newspapers they read. Out of a variety of newspapers most of the people wrote their answer as The Daily Telegraph, 62% out of 150 people. This question is not completely pointless as it is a method of advertising for many companies including electrical stores such as Dixons, Comet and Currys. According to my source 12 quite a big percentage of the expenditure that a business is ready to pay for advertising belongs to the press area /newspapers. Out of 10 different electrical stores 76% of the money they spend on advertising is in the press column. Therefore it would be very beneficial for S and S plc to put their ads into the two top particular newspapers Daily Telegraph being the top. Another quite high percentage of the advertising goes into the radio, which is also another method for S and S plc to attain more awareness. The next question asks the people how many people live in their household, majority of the people answered 4 to the question. Out of 150 people 30% said 4. Source 4 of my secondary data illustrates that 13.2% of the people out of 25,220 people have 4 persons living in their household and the majority of the people answered 2 persons out of the same audience 34.9% to be exact, however we know that my secondary information is about 2 years old which only shows me old data that is not accurate but as we know now the majority of the people have 4 persons in their household, because as times go on people make more decisions. This means that there are more people living in a single household now as opposed to 2 years ago, therefore white goods will be necessary for them in their daily life unlike single people living alone dont need as much white goods because they wont use it a lot. So if S and S plc were to get targets then going for the more colonized houses because they will be a god i dea and these will be their ideal customers. Question six asks the people what circumstances will aid them to consider buying slim white goods to replace them with the old. The choices included from new models introduced, moving house, changing their kitchens and/or when their old goods break down. The majority of the people answered as when they move houses, 62.6% out of 150 people agreed to that. This gives S and S plc the opportunity to sell their products, if they know how many people are moving houses on average they can work out the amount of the kitchen electrical appliances that they need to produce, this will maintain the sale of the slim-line white goods as the results in source 5 show the statistics that, there are increasingly more people that either move or as a result separation move to another home alone. If S and S plc want to boost their sales they have to advertise it to the people that are moving houses [as white goods are very important in a household, it is almost a necessity]. Source 3 also shows that the majority of the people in 1 household are 2 persons. And as more people move into the same house there is an even greater need of white goods, and as some houses are quite cramped slim-line white goods is the best option so that sort of people should be target to the S and S plc. Question seven enquires the people how long ago was the last time that they purchased/changed their white good. The majority of the people answered this question as last 5 years which sums up to be 48% out of the total of 150 people. This shows that the majority of people will not spend frequently on white goods as they are only replaced when they are damaged or too much out of date, this is simply because that the people are already used to the way that that particular white good works. Also another reason for people not to change their white goods purchased in last 5 years is that the white goods technology hasnt changed much in the last 5 years so no reason to change their white goods, but as source 8 of my raw information shows that there is an increasing demand of new technology therefore sale for the slim-line white goods will produce profit to S and S plc as the savvy consumers is the prime driver of the market. The pie chart in the same source reveals that the second highest percentage of consumers spending on electricals belongs to the household appliances this is a 23% of the expenditure. Question eight asks the people where they purchase their kitchen appliances; the applicants were given four choices out of which 3 were specialist retailers and one non-specialist. However you would expect a specialist such as Curry or Dixons to rule this sort of market, but the majority of the peoples answer was other specialist retailer as these two retailers I mentioned are not experts and do not sell all brands that the people might be looking for. Some people have had good experiences with some brands that they wish to keep with. I predicted the majority of the shares should be owned by Dixons; this is also what my sources show namely source 11; it shows that the majority of the shares in the market belonged to these retailers in 2004. Source 9 of my raw information states that non-specialist such as ASDA and Tesco have a more constant product offering which is a step beyond WIGIG [when its gone its gone offer] that specialist retailers use as their sale strategies. These non-specialists sell varieties of brands and at a low cost too, thus increasing their sales. Source 9 also shows the statistics in the electrical retail market that this has caused. It has attracted customers from other markets such as PC and Audio-Visual markets because people would rather buy the same thing cheaper. This means that S and S plc should also increase and expand the variety of electrical goods the sell and do not necessarily have to be a specialist retailer for white/slim-line goods. This will increase their sales and give the m a higher reputation in the electrical retail market. The ninth question in the questionnaire enquires if changes in the circumstances were to occur; [including those mentioned in question six], would they consider buying i.e. replacing them with slim-line versions of the goods. The majority of the people out of 150 answered Yes, this concluded to 86% the rest 14% answered No. People dont find the urge to replace their existing electrical appliances as quick as any other item in the household, this is because these can be shared and it is only going to be a waste if you used it once and then dispose of it especially when it costs a lot. So as seen in question 6, most people will only replace their kitchen electrical goods when they move house. The idea of slim line appliances in kitchen is new so many people will not be too comfortable with using these, therefore sales for these will not increase soon after the promotion. According to the results I for this question it looks like quite a high percentage of people want to try it out and have a vision of what they will be when they buy them, because they know this will save space in their house no matter what the amount of people in the household. There are a number of reasons why people would want to purchase slim-line kitchen electrical goods. One that I think is different than any other is efficiency of the goods. If it saves the customers money, they will defiantly choose this item to last for a long time. Source 7 states The largest amounts of customer spending go on housing/electricity/gas other fuels, so slim-line kitchen electrical goods were to decrease the money spent they would be able to buy more goods as they get more disposable income SAY SOME STUFF ABOUT THE NEWSPAPER ARTICLE !!. What S and S plc needs to do is to advertise their product so that it illustrates that it is efficient and takes less space they need to take this measurement in the plotting of the sale strategy, this could be S and S plcs unique selling point, something that distinguishes S and S plc from other retailers. In source 7 [i.e. fig.11] you can see the statistics as to how much people spend on the mentioned factors. From the graph above you can see that even though the expenditures are increasing slowly if not very swiftly. This you can see in the tale where in the %change column you can see that even though expenditures were increasing as a percentage in midyear intervals for many years, it is slowly levelling out/decreasing. Question 10 asks the people if they were given a choice to own a slim-line kitchen electrical good would the replace it with their existing ones. 59.3% of the people answered yes. As I said, for replacement of kitchen electrical goods slim-line kitchen electrical appliances are best suited as they as well as being efficient this will also be more modern and will take less space, so this offers the customers an opportunity to work more efficiently and in a better/ bigger space. HELP!!! Question eleven is entitled to find out what the motivation is that leads the sales of kitchen electrical appliances in the market. The question was What motivates you to buy a new kitchen electrical appliance? We provided them with four possible answers these included the price, its capacity, brand name or energy efficient. A high percentage of people were motivated by looking at the appliances capacity, which is vital because if it has to be shared it must be sufficiently big. This added up to 21.3% of the people out of 150 that help fill the questionnaire. The higher percentage [48%] of the people said they were motivated by the price, so if it was cheap and had a big capacity more customers would purchase the product. Not much of the credit went to the brand name, although I would have guessed this would be a bigger motivation to the people because when many people have had experience with one brand they stick to it and pass on their reviews, then again it isnt very often that p eople buy kitchen electrical appliances and its models changes from year to year. This means that when S and S plc rules the JnK plc companies in Asia, they wont have much difficulty with introducing new products into the market and sell as much as possible. However more credibility goes to energy efficiency, so some people are interested in saving money per annual rather than once, at the purchase time, this answer was chosen by 12% of the total. This question too links to source 7 as it shows that more people are decreasing the amount of money spent on electricity, gas, water etc. It shows that less people are ready to pay a lot of money for these appliances. The last question finishes off the questionnaire with asking the people if slim-line kitchen electrical appliances were in the market would the people buy them. The majority of the people chose to buy their goods only if their circumstances were to change. This means that even though slim-line kitchen electrical goods are a big success they will only be purchased when they need to replace them because people dont want to change their kitchen appliances too frequently, only when they move or if the old one is broken. 42.3% of people chose this for an answer. This means that people are not desperate to own one but they reckon it is a good idea to own one Well this questionnaire gave S and S plc a good guidance on what the market is like and if slim-line kitchen electrical appliances would sell in that market and to choose their target and unique selling point.

Meeting Organizational Aims and Commitment in Healthcare

Meeting Organizational Aims and Commitment in Healthcare Managing a healthcare facility or a healthcare organization with diverse and multicultural employees requires an exquisite and well updated policies and procedures. These would become the governing principle and plan that guides every action, stating what should and how should an action be done. But before an organization put up these policies and procedures, it should first have clarified its organizational aims and with the help of these policies and procedures, fulfilment of these aims will follow. Organizational aims are the goals or objectives that an organization seeks to achieve. It is something that an organization has envisioned to happen. And in order to meet its aim the organization then has to establish the mechanisms it will use in order to achieve those ends, draw up some plan and come up with a strategy. By setting aims or objectives, organizations give themselves a sense of purpose and direction. This provides a frame of reference around which to create their plans. With an overall plan in place, a company or organization can set particular targets and monitor its progression towards reaching them.[1] In a healthcare setting, one of the most important factors to consider in setting up an aim is that everybody’s right would be equal especially in a healthcare institution with differences in employees’ culture and with diverse nationalities. The best example of an aim with this kind of setting would be to provide diversity and equality to all in employment regardless of their gender, ethnic origin, age, nationality and national origin, disabilities, sexuality, religion or belief, social class as well as marital status. Organizational aim should also include opposition to any form of unlawful and unfair discrimination. Example of this would be the fair or equal treatment to all employees, whether part-time, full-time or just temporary. Even those with disabilities, male or female or anyone with different gender orientation should be treated with respect. Another important aim of an organization that promotes equality is giving the same opportunities for employment, prom otion, training or any other benefit to everybody. Everybody will be justified on the basis of their ability and disposition not because of the differences in age, races and other areas of discrimination. For example is that age shouldn’t be a matter in choosing who the organization will employ. Everybody in different ages should be welcomed and given opportunities because it doesn’t always mean that the older the age, the lesser the ability to learn new things or the older the greater experience. It should be the organization’s purpose to encourage and help all the employees to develop their full potential for them to exercise their talents and resources. This will lead to full utilization of the workforce and creative innovations of employees will be fully utilised and also, the efficiency of the organisation will be maximised. Having these aims and objectives in an organization will definitely address disparities in every individual and will lead to a cultura lly sensitive and globally competitive organization. Addressing inequalities and disparities in a workplace is not an easy task but as long as the organization or institution sticks or would not lose sight to its goal of promoting equality and diversity then everything will fall to its place. Reaching organizational aims requires organizational commitment. The level of employee’s commitment greatly affects the system of the whole organization. Organizational commitment to promote employees’ well-being in a workplace should be a must for every organization. It serves as the guide of an organization of its obligation to every employee with which, should be leading to equality and diversity principles and policies. Moreover, this also has an effect on whether the employee will remain with the organization and to perform with greater effectiveness. A healthcare organization commitment should be based on its organizational aim. Its commitment is to build an environment in which individual disparities and the contributions of all the staff are acknowledged and are given importance. Every employee is entitled to a work in an environment that uplifts the dignity and respect to all and no form of coercion, bullying or persecution will be tolerated. The healthcare organization should also be in charge of continuity of progress and development of employees through provision of trainings or in house seminars. This would help them become more confident and knowledgeable in every aspect of the organization system which will then make them an effective part of it. WRITING EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY POLICY Equality policy reflects the commitment of an organization to equal opportunities. It is an assurance for all employees and also to potential employees that they will be treated fairly and considerately. Developing equality policy is one of the important factors in building a sustainable organization. It gives forth on rich diversity of society and provides equal favourable circumstances for everyone involved. What is an equality policy? An Equality Policy is a written statement showing that an organisation actively opposes discrimination. It demonstrates commitment to making the organisation a fully accessible and inclusive place that welcomes and respects diversity.[2] All organisations must be apprehensive of their legal obligations regarding discrimination by reviewing it in various Acts of Parliament. In writing equality and diversity policies, the management committee should engage employees and everyone involved in an organization. It should be developed in consultation with them and it should be supported by everyone in the organization. This will enable the organization to develop a more inclusive and comprehensive policy addressing equality issues which will also make its implementation easier. The policy of the organization should have four distinct parts. The policy should contain a statement of the organization’s aim to encourage, value and manage diversity, specifically there is no harassment and bullying; the commitment to provide equality for all and also the intention to take constructive ways to encourage cooperation. Moreover, the list of objectives that the organization seeks to achieve and the procedures to take the aims into action should also be included in the policy. Most importantly, it should be monitored, evaluated and reviewed upon certain amount of times. The areas of discrimination that an organization will counter should then be identified. These are usually age, disability, physical appearance, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (including ethnic origin, colour, nationality and national origin), religion or belief (including philosophical belief), sex and sexual orientation.[3] In the organization ’s policy statement, it should recognize that there are certain people or group of people in the society who are discriminated and that it is opposed to it and will take steps to counter it. Objectives in every organization may vary but it may include ensuring that all workers and management committee receive training on issues about equality and diversity and no one experiences discrimination, bullying or harassment of any sort. What about the action plan? Without an action plan with regular monitoring and reviews to back it up, no matter how well-written the policy is, there is no way of ensuring it has any significance. The action should be detailed on about what will be done, when it should be done and by whom. The organization should set dates on when they will do monitoring, reviewing procedures, and training. Setting out minimum standards of behavior and making sure everyone is aware of them is an important procedure. The organization should also develop procedures for dealing with breaches of the code like grievance policies, harassment or bullying policies and if somebody had breached it, there should be a corresponding consequence. The organization should also establish programs providing equality and diversity training to everyone and they should be aware and be familiar with the procedures so that they will also know what is expected of them when they are implemented. Equality and diversity policy must be monitored continually by which statistical information is collected and results are evaluated. The purpose of monitoring is to enable you to examine how the policy and action plan are working and if they are not working well the organization can make necessary revisions to put it right. Monitoring involves gathering individual personal information on the diversity of potential recruits or existing employees and comparing and analyzing this against other groups of employees in the organization. This monitoring poses a problem as workers are not obliged to provide information about them so one way to gather information could be done through confidential surveys and questionnaires. Policy should clearly state as who will be responsible for monitoring, evaluating and reviewing the policies and how often it should be done. REFERENCES: Acas (2014). Delivering equality and diversity. Retrieved from  http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=818 Beyond Barriers. Equality and diversity, how to write an inclusive equality policy.  Retrieved from http://www.stonewall.org.uk/beyond_barriers/information/equality_and_diversity/1134.asp#1 Liff, S.(2006). Diversity and equal opportunities: Room for constructive  compromise?. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-8583.1999.tb00190.x/abstract;jsessionid=3D5E2E8F40E7E3AFD2127B49BDB290AE.f03t02?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=userIsAuthenticated=false Michellin (2014). Business aims, objectives, and values. Retrieved from  http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/michelin/business-aims-objectives-and-values/aims-and-objectives.html#ixzz34ODthJ95 Owitzy, S. O. (2014). The impact of organizational commitment on effectiveness of  banks in Nigeria: A study of selected banks in Makudi Metropolis. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/2928313/THE_IMPACT_OF_ORGANISATIONAL_COMMITMENT_ON_EFFECTIVENESS_OF_BANKS_IN_NIGERIA_A_STUDY_OF_SELECTED_BANKS_IN_MAKURDI_METROPOLIS University of Florida College of Medicine (2014).Research and intervention program-aims and objectives. Retrieved from http://ufhealthdisparities.med.ufl.edu/about/aims-objectives/ [1] Michellin (2014). Business aims, objectives, and values. Retrieved from http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/michelin/business-aims-objectives-and-values/aims-and-objectives.html#ixzz34ODthJ95 [2] Beyond Barriers. Equality and diversity, how to write an inclusive equality policy. Retrieved from http://www.stonewall.org.uk/beyond_barriers/information/equality_and_diversity/1134.asp#1 [3] Acas (2014). Delivering equality and diversity. Retrieved from http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=818

A Tale of Two Cities Essays: The French Revolution :: Tale Two Cities Essays

France and England in A Tale of Two Cities - The French Revolution   Introduction   In the eighteen-fifties, Charles Dickens was concerned that social problems in England, particularly those relating to the condition of the poor, might provoke a mass reaction on the scale of the French Revolution.   In a letter written in 1855, for example, he refers to the unrest of the time as follows:   I believe the discontent to be so much the worse for smouldering, instead of blazing openly, that it is extremely like the general mind of France before the breaking out of the first Revolution, and is in danger of being turned †¦ into such a devil of a conflagration as never has been beheld since. (qtd. in I. Collins 42)   At the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities (1859), Dickens once again expresses his concern. The novel opens in 1775, with a comparison of England and pre-revolutionary France. While drawing parallels between the two countries, Dickens also alludes to his own time: "the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only" (1; bk. 1, ch. 1). The rest of the chapter shows that Dickens regarded the condition to be an 'evil' one, since he depicts both countries as rife with poverty, injustice, and violence due to the irresponsibility of the ruling elite (1-3; bk. 1, ch. 1). As the novel unfolds, however, England becomes a safe haven for those escaping the violence perpetrated by the French Revolution. In this paper, I shall argue that A Tale of Two Cities reflects the popular confidence in the stability of England in the eighteen-fifties, despite Dic kens's suggestions at the beginning. A Tale of Two Cities thus becomes a novel about the England and the English of Dickens's time. And yet, many people today would believe that the novel is essentially about the French Revolution, which brings me to my second point. If in the nineteenth century the novel served to affirm the stability of Britain, in this century it has been greatly influential in the formation of the popular image of the French Revolution, mainly thanks to film and television adaptations. The purpose of this paper is to look at the popular reception of the novel from the time of its first publication in 1859 to the nineteen-nineties.

Mathematics - The Fencing Problem :: Math Coursework Mathematics

Fencing Problem A farmer has exactly 1000 meters of fencing and wants to fence of a plot of level land. She is not concerned about the shape of the plot but it must have a perimeter of 1000 m. She wishes to fence of a plot of land that contains the maximum area. I am going to investigate which shape is best for this and why. I am going to start by investigating the different rectangles; all that have a perimeter of 1000 meters. Below are 2 rectangles (not drawn to scale) showing how different shapes with the same perimeter can have different areas. Text Box: 300Text Box: 50[IMAGE][IMAGE] Text Box: 450 Text Box: 200 Below is a table of different rectangles. Height Length ====== Area 10 490 4900 20 480 9600 30 470 14100 40 460 18400 50 450 22500 60 440 26400 70 430 30100 80 420 33600 90 410 36900 100 400 40000 110 390 42900 120 380 45600 130 370 48100 140 360 50400 150 350 52500 160 340 54400 170 330 56100 180 320 57600 190 310 58900 200 300 60000 210 290 60900 220 280 61600 230 270 62100 240 260 62400 250 250 62500 260 240 62400 270

Big Data Architecture, Goals and Challenges

Big Data Architecture, Goals and Challenges Coupons Jose Christianity Dakota State University Abstract Big Data inspired data analysis is matured from proof of concept projects to an influential tool for decision makers to make informed decisions. More and more organizations are utilizing their internally and externally available data with more complex analysis techniques to derive meaningful insights. This paper addresses some of the architectural goals and challenges for Big Data architecture in a typical organization.Overview In this fast paced information age, there are many different sources on corporate outworks and internet is collecting massive amounts of data, but there is a significant difference in this data compared to the conventional data, much of this data is semi- structured or unstructured and not residing in conventional databases. â€Å"Big data† is essentially a huge data set that scales to multiple potables of capacity; it can be created, collected, collab orated, and stored in real-time or any other way. However, the challenge with big data is that it is not easily handled using traditional database management tools.It typically consists of unstructured data, which includes text, audio and video files, photographs and other data (Kavas, 2012). The aim of this paper is to examine the concepts associated with the big data architecture, as well as how to handle, process, and effectively utilize big data internally and externally to obtain meaningful and actionable insights. How Big Data is Different? Big data is the latest buzzword in the tech industry, but what exactly makes it different from traditional Bal or data analysis?According to MIT Sloan Management Review, big data is described as â€Å"data that is either too voluminous or too unstructured to be managed and analyzed through traditional meaner† (Davenport, Thomas, Berth, & Bean, 2012). Big data is unlike conventional mathematical intelligence, where a simple sum of a k nown value yields a result, such as order sales becoming year-to-date sales. With big data, the value is discovered through a complex, refined modeling process as follows: make a hypothesis, create statistical models, validate, and then make a new hypothesis (Oracle, 2012).Additionally, data sources are another challenging and differentiating factor within big data analytics. Conventional, structured data sources like relational databases, spreadsheets, and yogis are further extended into social media applications (tweets, blobs, Faceable, linked posts, etc. ), web logs, sensors, RIFF tags, photos/videos, information-sensing mobile devices, geographical location information, and other documents. In addition to the unstructured data problem, there are other notable complexities for big data architecture.First, due to sheer volume, the present system cannot move raw data directly to a data warehouse. Whereas, processing systems such as Unprepared, can further refine information by mov ing it to data warehouse environment, where invitational and familiar Bal reporting, statistical, semantic, and correlation applications can effectively implemented. Traditional data flow in Business Intelligence Systems can depict like this, (Oracle. (2012). An Oracle white paper in enterprise architecture) Architectural Goals The preeminent goal of architecture big data solutions is to create reliable, scalable and capable infrastructure.At the same time, the analytics, algorithms, tools and user interfaces will need to facilitate interactions with users, specifically those in executive-level. Enterprise architecture should ensure that the business objectives remain clear throughout big data technology implementation. It is all about the effective utilization of big data, rather than big architecture. Traditional IT architecture is accustomed to having applications within its own space and performs tasks without exposing internal data to the outside world.Big data on other hand, w ill consider any possible piece of information from any other application to be instated for analysis. This is aligned with big data's overall philosophy: the more data, the better. Big Data Architecture Big data architecture is similar to any other architecture that originates or has a inundation from a reference architecture. Understanding the complex hierarchal structure of reference architecture provides a good background for understanding big data and how it complements existing analytics, 81, databases and other systems.Organizations usually start with a subset of existing reference architecture and carefully evaluate each and every component. Each component may require modifications or alternative solutions based on the particular data set or enterprise environment. Moreover, a successful big data architecture will include many open- source software components; however, this may present challenges for typical enterprise architecture, where specialized licensed software system s are typically used.To further examine big data's overall architecture, it is important to note that the data being captured is unpredictable and continuously changing. Underlying architecture should be capable enough to handle this dynamic nature. Big data architecture is inefficient when it is not being integrated with existing enterprise data; the same way an analysis cannot be completed until big data correlates it with other structured and enterprise-De data. One of the primary obstacles observed in a Hoodoo adoption f enterprise is the lack of integration with an existing Bal echo-system.Presently, the traditional Bal and big data ecosystems are separate entities and both using different technologies and ecosystems. As a result, the integrated data analyses are not effective to a typical business user or executive. As you can see that how the data architecture mentioned in the traditional systems is different from big data. Big data architectures taking advantage of many inpu ts compared to traditional systems. (Oracle. (2012). An Oracle white paper in enterprise architecture) Architectural Cornerstones Source In big data systems, data can come from heterogeneous data sources.Typical data stores (SQL or Nouns) can give structured data. Any other enterprise or outside data coming through different application Apish can be semi-structured or unstructured. Storage The main organizational challenge in big data architecture is data storage: how and where the data can be stored. There is no one particular place for storage; a few options that currently available are HATS, Relation databases, Nouns databases, and In-memory databases. Processing Map-Reduce, the De facto standard in big data analysis for processing data, is one of any available options.Architecture should consider other viable options that are available in the market, such as in-memory analytics. Data Integration Big data generates a vast amount of data by combining both structured and unstructur ed data from variety of sources (either real-time or incremental loading). Likewise, big data architecture should be capable of integrating various applications within the big data infrastructure. Various Hoodoo tools (Scoop, Flume, etc. ) mitigates this problem, to some extent. Analysis Incorporating various analytical, algorithmic applications will effectively process this cast amount of data.Big data architecture should be capable to incorporate any type of analysis for business intelligence requirements. However, different types of analyses require varying types of data formats and requirements. Architectural Challenges Proliferation of Tools The market has bombarded with array of new tools designed to effectively and seamlessly organize big data. They include open source platforms such as Hoodoo. But most importantly, relational databases have also been transformed: New products have increased query performance by a factor of 1,000 and are capable of managing a wide variety of big data sources.Likewise, statistical analysis packages are also evolving to work with these new data platforms, data types, and algorithms. Cloud-friendly Architecture Although not yet broadly adopted in large corporations, cloud-based computing is well-suited to work with big data. This will break the existing IT policies, enterprise data will move from its existing premise to third-party elastic clouds. However, there are expected to be challenges, such as educating management about the consequences and realities associated with this type of data movement. Nonparametric DataTraditional systems only consider the data unique to its own system; public data never becomes a source for traditional analytics. This paradigm is changing, though. Many big data applications use external information that is not proprietary, such as social network modeling and sentiment analysis. Massive Storage Requirements Moreover, big data analytics are dependent on extensive storage capacity and process ing power, requiring a flexible and scalable infrastructure that can be reconfigured for different needs. Even though Hoodoo-based systems work well with commodity hardware, there is huge investment involved on the part of management.Data Forms Traditional systems have typically enjoyed their intrinsic data within their own vicinity; meaning that all intrinsic data is moved in a specified format to data warehouse for further analysis. However, this will not be the case with big data. Each application and service data will stay in its associated format according to what the specific application requires, as opposed to the preferred format of the data analysis application. This will leave the data in its original format and allow data scientists to share existing data without unnecessarily replicating it.Privacy Without a doubt, privacy is a big concern with big data. Consumers, for example, often want to know what data an organization collects. Big data is making it more challenging to have secrets and conceal information. Because of this, there are expected to be privacy concerns and conflicts with its users. Alternative Approaches Hybrid Big Data Architecture As explained earlier, traditional Bal tools and infrastructure will seamlessly integrate with the new set of tools and technologies brought by a Hoodoo ecosystem.It is expected that both systems can mutually work together. To further illustrate this incept, the detailed chart below provides an effective analysis (Arden, 2012): Relational Database, Data Warehouse Enterprises reporting of internal and external information for a broad cross section of stakeholders, both inside and beyond the firewall with extensive security, load balancing, dynamic workload management, and scalability to hundreds of terabytes. Hoodoo Capturing large amounts of data in native format (without schema) for storage and staging for analysis.Batch processing is primarily reserved for data transformations as well as the investigati on of novel, internal and external (though mostly external) ATA via data scientists that are skilled in programming, analytical methods, and data management with sufficient domain expertise to accordingly communicate the findings. Hybrid System, SQL-Unprepared Deep data discovery and investigative analytics via data scientists and business users with SQL skills, integrating typical enterprise data with novel, multi-structured data from web logs, sensors, social networks, etc. (Arden, N. (2012).Big data analytics architecture) In-memory Analytics In-memory analytics, as its name suggests, performs all analysis in memory without enlisting much of its secondary memory, and is a relatively familiar concept. Procuring the advantages of RAM speed has been around for many years. Only recently; however, has this notion become a practical reality when the mainstream adoption of 64-bit architectures enabled a larger, more addressable memory space. Also noteworthy, were the rapid decline in me mory prices. As a result, it is now very realistic to analyze extremely large data sets entirely in-memory.The Benefits of In-memory Analytics One of the best incentives for in-memory analytics are the dramatic performance improvements. Users are constantly querying and interacting with data in-memory, which is significantly faster than accessing data from disk. Therefore, achieving real- time business intelligence presents many challenges; one of the main hurdles to overcome is slow query performance due to limitations of traditional Bal infrastructure, and in-memory analytics has the capacity to mitigate these limitations.An additional incentive of in-memory analytics is that it is a cost effective alternative to data warehouses. SMB companies that lack the expertise and resources to build n appropriate data warehouse can take advantage of the in-memory approach, which provides a sustainable ability to analyze very large data sets (Yellowing, 2010). Conclusion Hoodoo Challenges Ho odoo may replace some of the analytic environment such as data integration and TTL in some cases, but Hoodoo does not replace relational databases.Hoodoo is a poor choice when the work can be done with SQL and through the capabilities of a relational database. But when there is no existing schema or mapping for the data source into the existing schema, as well as very large volumes of unstructured or MME-structured data, then Hoodoo is the obvious choice. Moreover, a hybrid, relational database system that offers all the advantages of a relational database, but is also able to process Unprepared requests would appear to be ideal.