Thesis for POS Systems Essay Example for Free

Thesis for POS Systems Essay ABSTRACT Several threats affect the survival of small, independent retail companies. Adoption and use of Point-of-Sale (POS) systems may offer important benefits to counter these threats. POS systems are not widely used by these retailers, however. This research investigates the determinants of the adoption of POS systems using a conceptual model based on existing adoption theories. Based on this, a survey has been held among 37 Dutch small, independent retailers, to answer the question what the most important determinants for POS system adoption are. This study furthers theory on IT adoption, specifically for small organizations. The practical relevance is that its findings may help in improving POS system adoption. . INTRODUCTION The Dutch retail sector consists for 94% of small retail organizations (≠¤10 employees), altogether employing around 250,000 persons. The retail sector is noticeably present in the trade-driven Dutch economy and acts as an intermediary between industry and consumer. The sector is an important and relevant subject of study from an economical, social and cultural perspective. In this paper we focus on in-store retailing. The environment of this type of retail trade is under pressure. Several interacting threats, like globalization, demanding consumers, increasing administrative burden and an economic recession force the retailers into action. Information and communication technology (ICT) is a double-edged sword in this context (cf. Turban, King, Viehland and Lee, 2004). On the one hand, it can be a threat to smaller retailers for its disintermediation effects and competition through e-tailing (cf. Chircu and Kauffman, 1999), and by its supply chain management effectuation of the larger(franchise) organizations (cf. David, 2008). On the other hand, ICT likewise provides opportunities to smaller retailers, like opening up new sales channels, reducing administrative tasks and/or enabling strategic management of their enterprise (Turban et al., 2004). A specific type of retail ICT that can be employed to achieve effective store management is a ‘Point-of-Sale’ (POS) system. POS systems are defined in many different ways. On Wikipedia, a retail POS system is defined as â€Å"a computer, monitor, cash drawer, receipt printer, customer display and a barcode scanner†. Webopedia.com defines a POS system as â€Å"the capturing of data and customer payment information at a physical location when goods or services are bought and sold†. YourDictionary.com defines it as: â€Å"A comprehensive computerized checkout system that includes a bar-code scanner, receipt printer, cash drawer, credit and debit card scanner, monitor, and inventory management software. A point-of-sale system tracks sales and identifies inventory levels in real time†. There are many different types and brands of POS systems available. eBay.com and BuyerZone.com provide a web-based ‘Point of Sale System Buying Guide’, containing over 4,000 different POS equipments for retailers, and 91 different types of POS software. The POS system market in The Netherlands contains no less than 150 vendors, each offering their own ‘unique’ software package. POS systems enable retailers to consult more detailed management information compared to traditional cash registers and Electronic Cash Registers (ECRs). As this management information is based on sales figures, retailers can improve their business by maintaining a better product strategy and pursuing a more efficient replenishment process matching customer demand, alleviating what is often referred to as the ‘bullwhip effect’ (Lee, Padmanabhan and Whang, 1997). This enables inventory optimization, minimizing storage space and ‘sold-out’ situations. Moreover, cash slips can be stored electronically and the results can be brought up in the POS system immediately, both reducing time spent on administrative tasks. This is specifically relevant for The Netherlands, where the administrative burden for SMEs has increased through regulations LITERATURE REVIEW: ADOPTION MODELS In this section we review eight different studies on the adoption of information systems, which were found through literature study. The meta literature search focused on theories and models concerning IS/IT adoption, more specifically of small businesses, retail and/or POS systems. Below, as a result, we first describe two generic adoption models with regard to IS/IT adoption. Next, we discuss six models that address adoption within the retail or small business domain. Generic models The first generic adoption model we refer to here is that of Rogers (2003). His Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory describes the adoption of innovations over time. He ascribes the dynamics of adoption behaviour in terms of different groups of people, like innovators and laggards. His theory also indicates how an individual or organisation (i.e. any decision-making unit) decides to adopt (or not) an innovation. This adoption process consists of five different stages: knowledge acquisition, persuasion, adoption, implementation and confirmation. Rogers specifies three groups of determinants that influence this process: characteristics of the decision-making unit, characteristics of the innovation and information channels. Based on DOI theory, factors concerning the decision-making unit that positively influence adoption are e.g. high social status, low age and financial flexibility. According to DOI, important characteristics of an innovation include: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability (the degree to which it can be experimented with), and observability (the visibility of its results). Information channels (personal and mass communication channels) are required to spread knowledge of an innovation. The second generic adoption model is based on Venkatesh, Morris, Davis and Davis (2003), who reviewed technology acceptance models, among which the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1986) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1985). They used elements of each model for a new unified model, called the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. Contrary to Rogers’ model, UTAUT concentrates on the adoption behaviour of individuals. In this model, four constructs are defined as determinants of a user’s acceptance and behaviour. Performance expectancy relates to the degree to which the technology is expected to improve job performance. Effort expectancy concerns the ease of use associated with the technology. Social influence is defined as â€Å"[t]he degree to which an individual perceives that important others believe he or she should use the new system† (Venkatesh et al., 2003). Finally, the construct facilitating conditions deals with the degree to which a support infrastructure for the technology is believed to exist. In addition, these four constructs are modelled to be influenced by four so-called moderators, i.e. gender, age, experience and voluntariness. Retail and SME-specific models We will discuss six main studies and their adoption models below. First, the study by Julien and Raymond (1994) can be mentioned. Their technology adoption model for the retail sector proposes eight organizational aspects as determinants of technology adoption: centralization, complexity, size, status (i.e. independent/affiliated), sector, and assertiveness, rationality, and interaction of the organizational strategy. These determinants were identified in earlier research on technology adoption in small organizations. Technology adoption in this case concerned the use of hardware (business computing, POS systems and telecomputing) and software. In the study 79 firms in food, hardware and clothing were assessed through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Clothing firms and large firms were less apt to use POS systems, while firms that had a longer organizational planning horizon used POS systems more often. Secondly, Chau (1995) researched which factors are important for small businesses in software selection. His research focused on packaged software, as small organizations usually do not buy custom developed software, due to their limited resources. Chau argues that owners/managers of small organizations are less focused on budgeting techniques like ‘net present value’ or ‘internal rate of return’ to make decisions on software investments. Instead, they focus more on criteria aimed at the functionalities and popularity of the software. Also, opinions of vendors, employees, consultants or acquaintances are believed to influence decision making. Based on empirical research among 122 small businesses, he found that the importance of selection criteria varied between owners and managers. In general, owners seem to focus more on technical aspects, while managers focus more on non-technical aspects. Third, Thong and Yap (1995) developed a model based on the notion that the adoption process of small businesses differs from that of large firms. CEOs play a major role in small firms as they are the primary decisions makers. In their research, the authors developed a causal model, which assumes that the following factors are positively correlated with the likeliness of IT adoption for small firms: business size, competitiveness of the business environment, information intensity, innovativeness, and attitude towards adoption of IT and IT knowledge. SYNTHESIS: CONCEPTUAL MODEL AND HYPOTHESES In the previous section, a total of eight models for adoption have been discussed. Most models view the (retail) organization and/or its owner as the decision-making unit. In small organizations, the owner-manager/CEO almost by definition determines IT investments and the IT strategy. Thong and Yap (1995), Ekanem (2005) and Chau (1995) all point out this phenomenon. Therefore, we consider personal variables of the owner (like age and gender) as key determinants of POS adoption by retailers. In addition, organizational characteristics (like size and competition) can be considered as additional, contextual determinants of the IT adoption decision.

A Tale of Two Cities- A Historical fiction Essays -- English Literatur

A Tale of Two Cities- A Historical fiction A Tale of Two Cities is a novel categorized as historical fiction. Historical fiction is a composite material, with a portion of history embedded in a matrix of fiction. A Tale of Two Cities is appropriately titled, as the novel is the story of England and Revolutionary France; as a result it can be categorized as historical fiction. A Tale of Two Cities is parallel to history in many different respects. The English setting, and atmosphere, is similarly portrayed, as it actually existed in the seventeenth century. In the novel, Dickens goes into more detail about Revolutionary France in history with regards to setting, politics and the social structure, as well as the events, which occurred during the revolution. Dickens may not have been totally accurate with his historical information, but he vividly portrays the atmosphere of England and France during this period. The French Revolution, by Carlyle, was the main source of Dickens’ information for his novel with the two settings, London and Paris. Adopting Carlyle’s philosophy of history, Dickens created A Tale of Two Cities with a tightly structured plot, developed through a series of amazingly detailed and vivid pictures. The English setting of A Tale of Two Cities is very realistic with respect to the time period. Dickens starts the story by describing the atmosphere in England by illustrating the poverty and the economic situation. It is a tale, which tells of life in two cities and the dreadful happenings, which link them together (Osbourn 3). It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, was the epoc of belief, it was the epoc of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, 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" (Dickens 35). In England it was the dawn of the industrial revolution, and for the growing middle class it was the best of times. For the poor, it was the worst of times because illiteracy and unemployment... ...ctorian inhabitants of what may happen if England did not make the necessary economic, judicial and political reforms. He warned them that if they did not change their ways, a revolution might occur, like it did in France. Since aspects of setting and events are accurate in history, A Tale of Two Cities can therefore be described as historical fiction. Bibliography Dickens, Charles and George Woodcock. A Tale of Two Cities. England, 1859. Davis, Earle. The Flint and the Flame: The Artistry of Charles Dickens. Columbia:Universtiy of Missouri Press, 1963. (pages 247-248) Osbourn, Barbara. Critical Commentary on A Tale of Two Cities. University of London Press, 1957 Orwell, George. Charles Dickens. Running Press, 1986, 1992. WWW Sites (World Wide Web) â€Å"Victorian Images of the French Revolution† METU British Novelists Seminar in Ankara, Turkey. March 1998. http://landow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/dickens/turkey/turlit12.html#d â€Å"The Dickens Page.† Nagoya University. September 1995. http://lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/Dickens.html â€Å"Classic Notes on Tale of Two Cities.† 1999-2000. http://www.novelguides.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/taleoftwocities/

How to Teach Language Through Poetry

The use of literature in the EFL classroom through three different perspectives. Exploring poetry as a strong option.. Most of the time literature is mainly related to reading and writing, but it may play the same meaningful role in teaching speaking and listening if we design creative activities. Teachers can use literature in the classroom for different purposes such as reading aloud and dramatizing a poem, teaching pronunciation, and many other activities. There are many advantages of using literature in the EFL classroom.To talk about the general advantages of literature can be a broad approach thus; we will not focus on them. Instead, we will have a look at the benefits from three different perspectives: literature as genuine and authentic material, as a good language source and as a bridge to get the learner interested and also, we will mention poetry as a strong option to develop students’ skills. MATERIAL Literature is authentic material that makes students travel to f oreign countries and fantastic worlds. This keeps our students motivated and promotes favorable attitude toward learning.Poems, novels, and stories can bring powerful emotional responses to the classroom. Furthermore, students can relate their own real lives to the stories they read. Literary texts help EFL students to improve language learning. However, literature by itself is not enough; teachers need to use imaginative techniques for integrating literature work with language teaching. It is also necessary to bring motivating methodology and to choose the right material to keep students interested. LANGUAGE Language is the most prominent feature of literature.Through literature students learn about syntax and discourse, different structures, functions, and the different ways of connecting ideas, all these help students to develop their writing, listening, reading and speaking skills. As they use literature they learn about language structure without even noticing, this helps to de velop their communicative competence, what as we know, is the ultimate aim of English learning. LEARNER In the classroom the use of literature encourages learners to get involved ith the stories they read or hear; the understanding of the words becomes less important as they get involved in trying to figure out what is happening with a character or the end of a story. Students may also like using literature if the activities are oriented towards enjoyment and creativity instead of memorizing or following grammatical rules. Literature can be seen as the bridge between the learner and the culture of the people whose language they are studying; in order to get the learners interested in the culture, we have to carefully select the literary texts according to their interests and level of comprehension.WHY DO WE USE POETRY WITH THE LANGUAGE LEARNER? Poetry is a short piece of imaginative writing, of a personal nature and laid out in lines. In this sense, poetry is a product of the langua ge and a tool to teach it, a tool to teach grammatical clues and a product when students make a composition of any topic. Most of the poems include metaphors. Students can use cognitive skills by making comparisons between two different things and finding their similarities. The figures of speech used in poetry such as metaphors, similes and personifications help students to have a better understanding of the use of language in an unconscious way.Poetry is a way for teaching and learning basic skills. It can be used as an enjoyable and a rewarding tool with the properties of rhyming and rhythm. It helps students to easily learn with the supra-segmental aspect of the target language, such as stress, pitch, intonation. Using poetry while teaching English can have many benefits: * It encourages creative writing. * It helps students appreciate sounds words and patterns. * It develops phonic skills. * It makes students express feelings and opinions. * It provides a great opportunity to p lay with language. It reinforces the ability to think and to experiment with students’ understanding of the world. * It helps to acquire vocabulary, creativity and imagination. * it reveals, restates, reinforces and affirms those things which we think are true. * It gives the chance to discover and explore the use of the language. * It generates collaborative activities (pair and group work). Poetry and the four skills We can develop the four skills while using poetry: Poems are good to reinforce grammar structures and to improve writing abilities, bringing out creativity and rhythm in the classroom since students have to use their imagination to write.Also, poems help to develop oral and mental capacities. They should be read aloud to reinforce the student’s phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and vocabulary as well as to sharpen their receptive language skills by learning rhyming, sounds, stresses, pauses, alliteration and syllables. Ideas for using poetry in the c lassroom * Discussing the theme of a poem and writing out personal experiences related to the theme. * Deducing meanings from the context. * Completing a paraphrase of a poem (cloze-style). * Choosing the best paraphrase among a few. Predicting what’s coming next after reading only one verse at a time. * Ordering jumbled stanzas or lines in the correct sequence. * Rewriting a part of a poem in one’s own words and ideas to offer different messages. * Filling an omitted word, phrase, or line in relation to its context. * Discussing similarities and differences between poems of the same subject or theme. * Identifying any aural or musical qualities in the poem (rhyme, alliteration, and simile). * Reading aloud poems (choral reading) and making a song. This teaches intonations and stress. Using visuals images such as paintings to help pupils envisage settings, historical periods, etc. * Imitating o parody the style of poem. * Acting the poem: mime, role play, performance, etc. * Making a peer or group composition, writing together. Useful Web sites www. readwritethink. org/lessons/lesson_view. asp? id=391 www. poetryteachers. comh www. poetry4kids. com www. poetryzone. co. uk www. michellehenry. fr/poems. htm www. poemhunter. com www. tooter4kids. com/classroom/poetry_in_the_esl_classroom. htm www. teachingenglish. org. uk/think/literature/poems_prod. html http://www. youtube. com/user/b4uguy#g/u Conclusions Using poetry in the classroom is a great tool, but we cannot forget that we have to choose the right material, so students can maximize their learning. It has to be interesting and adequate for each student level, reading about new things is usually interesting for students. Learners will benefit from literature; we are responsible of putting in touch our students with material that catches their interest, so they want to read and listen more, which turns out in further and richer learning.Also, it can create opportunities for personal expression as well as reinforce learner? s knowledge of lexical and grammatical structure giving the opportunity to develop their communicative and cognitive skills. Many teachers think that including poetry in the EFL classroom can be a very heavy and useless work. However, we have analyzed some of the benefits that working with poetry can bring to the learning process. Also, we pointed that not only it is useful but also, students can have great fun if we choose the correct activities and poems.

Women of the Forest - 799 Words

Women of the Forest- By Yolanda Murphy Last week I officially became a wife. My new husband lives in the mens house not far from me. He is a good man. He is older than me, but a good friend to my father and my mother approved. We had met many times before so I was not surprised when he approached my parents about marriage. They approved and the following night he brought his daily kill, a wild boar, to our house. The boar solidified our marriage. After our three day period of avoidance we finally saw each other again. I think I am going to enjoy life as a wife. Today I found out I was pregnant. My husband had been coming over to see me at the womens house at night a lot since our period of avoidance ended so Im not†¦show more content†¦I must also avoid Brazil nuts, which are my favorite; because it will make my child vomit and he needs all the vitamins my breast milk provides in order to grow into a strong worker. 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