Friday, November 29, 2019

Bgp Problems Solutions Essays

Bgp Problems Solutions Essays Bgp Problems Solutions Paper Bgp Problems Solutions Paper Moreover, the design and ubiquity of BGP has frustrated past efforts at securing intermediation routing. This paper considers the vulnerabilities currently existing within intermediation routing and surveys works relating to BGP security. The limitations and advantages of proposed solutions are explored, and the systemic and operational implications of their designs considered. We note that no current solution has yet found an adequate balance between comprehensive security and deployment cost. This work calls not only for the application of ideas described within this paper, but also tort further investigation into the problems and solutions to BGP security. Index Terms authentication, authorization, BGP, border gateway protocol, integrity, intermediation routing, network security, networks, routing l. I INTRODUCTION The Internet is a global, decentralized network comprised of many smaller interconnected networks Networks are largely comprised of end systems, referred to as hosts, and intermediate systems, called routers. Information travels through a network on one of many paths, which are selected through a routing process. Routing protocols communicate respectability information (how to locate Other hosts and routers) and ultimately perform path selection. A network under the administrative control of a single organization is called an autonomous system (AS) The process Of routing Within an AS is called antinomian routing, and routing benzene Asses is called intermediation routing. The dominant interdiction routing protocol on the Internet is the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) [21. BGP has been deployed since the centralization of the Internet, and version 4 of the protocol has been in wide use for over a decade. BGP generally works well in practice, and its simplicity and resilience have enabled it to play a fundamental role within the global Internet [3], despite roving no performance or security guarantees. Unfortunately, the limited guarantees provided by BGP sometimes contribute to serious instability and outages. While many routing failures have limited impact and scope, others may lead to significant and widespread damage. One such tailored occurred on 25 April 1 997, when a misconstrued router maintained by a small service provider in Florida injected incorrect routing information into the global Internet and claimed to have optimal connectivity to all Internet destinations. Because such statements were not validated in any way, they were widely accepted. As a August 7, 2008 DRAFT result, most Internet traffic was routed to this small ISP. The traffic overwhelmed the misconstrued and intermediate routers, and effectively crippled the Internet for almost two hours Several similar incidents have taken place in recent years [51, including a major outage caused by Coned (61 and an outage for the popular Youth site ( Youth. Com/) caused by Pakistan Telecoms 171. In addition, spammed (i. E. People sending spam e-mail) sometimes introduce false information into ESP. to enable them to exchange e-mail with mail rivers using unallocated IP addresses that are hard to trace Introducing false information into BGP is also an effective way for an attacker to snoop on traffic en route to a legitimate destination, impersonate a Wee site (e. G. , to perform identity theft), or block access to certain sites [9]. These attacks and misconstructions can Gauge anything from an inconsequential annoyance to a devastating communications failure. For example, critical applications such as online banking, stock trading, and telekinetic run over the Internet. Significant harm may arise if communication is lost at a crucial time. As the number of radical applications on the Internet grows, so will the reliance on the underlying network infrastructure to provide reliable and secure services. Consequently, there is great interest in increasing the security of BGP, as it is essentially the glue that holds the disparate parts of the Internet together. For example, the United States government cites BGP security as part of the national strategy to secure cyberspace [10]. In addition, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has working groups focusing on Routing Protocol Security Requirements [I I] and Secure Intermediation Routing [121 to investigate these security issues and fine practical solutions. BGP security is also a prominent topic at network operator meetings and mailing lists, such as the North American Network Operators Group (MANGO) [13]. Current research on BGP focuses on exposing and resolving both operational and security concerns. Operational concerns relating to BGP, such as scalability, convergence delay (i. E. , the time required for all routers to have a consistent view of the network), routing stability, and performance, have been the subject of much effort. Similarly, much of the contemporary security research has focused on the integrity, confidentiality, authentication, authorization, and validation of BGP messages. These two fields of operational issues and security research are inherently connected. Successes and tailored in each domain are interactive to both communities. This paper explores operational practice, standards activity, and ongoing research in intermediation routing security, exposing the similarities and differences in the proposed approaches to building a more secure Internet infrastructure. The next section provides a brief overview of intermediation routing and BGP. Subsequent sections examine todays security practices and longer-term solutions for secure immoderation routing. II. B ORDER G TIDEWAY P ROTATOR The Internet consists of tens of thousands of Autonomous Systems (Asses) that use the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) to exchange information about how to reach blocks of destination IP addresses (called IP prefixes). BGP is an incremental protocol-?a BGP-speaking router sends an announcement message even a new route is available, and a withdrawal message When a route no longer exists. BGP is also a path-vector protocol, where each AS adds its AS number to the beginning of the AS path before advertising the route to the next AS. Each router selects a single best BGP route for each destination prefix and may apply complex policies for selecting a route and deciding August 7, 2008 DRAFT ICANN 12. 0-0. 0/8 202. C. o. On AT 120. 0-0/8 202. 12. 128. 0/18 211. 120. 0. 0/12 SAABS 202. 12. 128. 0/18 ASSESS TALLEST JOPLIN 211. 120. 132. 0/22 SONY 211. 120. 132. 0/22 ASSESS PANIC 210. 0. 0. 07 An example of address delegation from the root (IANA) to regional and national registries. Whether to advertise the route to a neighboring router in another AS, In this section, we present an overview of intermediation routing in the Internet and scribe how most of Bags security problems stem from (i) uncertainty about the relationship between IP prefixes and the AS numbers of the Asses vivo manage them, (ii) the use of the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) as the underlying transpor t protocol, and (iii) the potential to tamper with route announcements in order to subvert BGP routing policy. A. IP Prefixes and AS Numbers An IP address is a 32-bit number, typically represented in dotted- decimal notation With a separate integer for each Of the four octets. Addresses are assigned to institutions in blocks of contiguous addresses, represented by he first address and a mask length. For example, the prefix 1920. 20/24 contains all addresses where the first three octets are 192, O, and 2-?the 256 addresses 192. 0-2. 0 to 1920. 2255. Allocating addresses in blocks leads to smaller routing tables and fewer route advertisements, as most routers need only know how to direct traffic toward the block of addresses, rather than storing separate routing information for every IP address, Since prefixes have variable length, one IP prefix may be completely contained within another. For example, a router may have routing information for two prefixes 211. 120. 0/12 and where the first prefix completely covers the second one. To decide how to forward a data packet, an IP router identifies the longest prefix that matches the destination IP address. For example, a packet with destination IP address would match 211 , 1 20, 1320/22, since this prefix is more specific than 211. 12000/12. Initially, institutions received address assignments directly from the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), and later from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). More recently, ICANN began to delegate this responsibility to address registries responsible for efferent parts of the world. For example, the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) manages the IP address assignments for North America, whereas the R ; Essex IP Europe ens (RIPE) assigns much of the address space for Europe, the Middle East, and North e E Africa; the Asia-Pacific Network Information Center (PANIC) assigns IP addresses in Asia and the Pacific Rim, the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Address Registry (LACTIC) distributes address space through the Latin August 7, 2008 DRAFT 12. 34-0. 0/16: AS AS 3 AS 4 AS 3 12,34. 0. /16: AS AS 4 AS 2 AS 7 AS 5 AS 2 AS 5 AS 7 12. 4. 0. 0/16: AS 6 12. 34. 0. 0/16: AS AS 1 ASS 12,34. 0. 0/16: AS 1 AS 6 (a) Regular advertisement from AS 6, (b) Malicious advertisement from AS l. Pig. 2. Announcement of prefix originating from the valid AS 6 and from a malicious AS 1. AS 2 and 3 will prefer the malicious advertisement from AS I because the path length will be shorter than the valid advertisements from AS American and Caribbean regions, and the African In ternet Numbers Registry (African) serves the African region. These regional registries can assign IP addresses directly to organizations or other registries, including national strategies and Internet Service Providers that may, in turn, assign smaller portions of the address block to other institutions. Figure 1 shows an example of address delegation. Here, ICANN delegates the large address block 210. 0-0. 0/7 to PANIC, which delegates 21 1. 120. 0. 0/12 to the Japan Network Information Center OPINION), which in turn assigns 211. 120. 132. 0/22 to Sony. Sony can then perform further delegation based on its organizational setup. Autonomous Systems are assigned AS numbers (Sans) in a similar manner, with ICANN serving as the ultimate authority for delegating numbers. AS numbers from 1 to 6451 1 are public and have Internet-wide scope, requiring each number to correspond to a single AS. For example, Sony has been assigned AS number 2527. In contrast, some companies have multiple Asses. For example, AS 701 corresponds to Minuets North American backbone, whereas AS 702 corresponds to Minuets European backbone. Public AS numbers can appear in the AS-path attribute of BGP advertisements, However, many institutions do not need a unique AS number. For example, an Autonomous System may connect to a single upstream network that bears sole responsibility for providing connectivity to the rest of the Internet. The customer AS may be assigned a private AS number in the range 64512-65535 for communicating via BGP faith its provider The providers routers would then advertise the BGP routes on behalf of this customer, without including the private AS number in the path.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Essay on MADD Grassroots Movement to Policy

Essay on MADD Grassroots Movement to Policy Essay on MADD: Grassroots Movement to Policy Essay on MADD: Grassroots Movement to PolicyThere is no doubt that today’s grassroots play a significant role in politics, involving in issue advocacy. Commonly, the grassroots procedures in order to lobby and organize some important political issues include: 1) collecting signatures for petitions; 2) sending various letters; 3) putting up posters; 4) pickets and rallies; 5) different congresses delegations to the senators and congressmen; 6) utilizing different social networks with the purpose of  arranging virtual communities; and 7) emailing campaigns (The Native CDFI Network, 2012).In fact, there are various tools that can help grassroots organizations successfully influence policy. Firstly, grassroots organizations function at the local and national levels, enabling them to harness energy from a wide range of various groups which assists in maintaining their major focus and strengthening their fundamental membership.Undoubtedly, MADD as one of the driving forces in deal ing with societal issues (ODonnell, 2005) has grown over its history from a grassroots movement to a more institutional stakeholder. The fact is that it has grown in its membership over the last years. This helped them to diversify their program, widening their horizons, obtain more respect with the crowds, adhere to different essential goals and purposes, and as a result, get more funding and financial resources.   It is a nonprofit organization that functions at the different levels and aims to reduce underage drinking, provide more comprehensive sanctions with regard to higher-risk drivers, and raise beer excise taxes.Thus, taking the above-mentioned information into consideration, it is possible to draw a conclusion that grassroots movements play a significant role in different aspects of our life, involving in issue advocacy. Grassroots organizations function at the different levels and are driven by a community politics. All in all, MADD has significantly grown over its hist ory that helped them to diversify their programs, get more respect with the crowds, and thus, obtain more funding.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Stock Portfolio Analysis - Coke and Pepsi Term Paper

Stock Portfolio Analysis - Coke and Pepsi - Term Paper Example The annual expected return for Coke is 0.1307, while the annual expected for Pepsi Company is 0.0482. This means that Coke offers an expected higher return for an investor that Pepsi Company. However, the investment that an individual is willing to make is also measured by the risk attached to the investment. The risk that is attached to an investment means the potential variation of actual returns from expected returns, a factor that is measured by the variance and standard deviation of an asset or portfolio. From an analysis of Coke and Pepsi Companies, it is evident that Pepsi has a higher standard deviation and variance, albeit by a small percentage. The standard deviation and variance for Pepsi are 0.048 and 0.0024 respectively, while the standard deviation and variance for Coke are 0.046 and 0.0027 respectively. This means that Pepsi’s stock has a higher deviation from expected return, so an investor who is risk averse would prefer to invest in Coke. The other factor tha t is used to determine the expected return of a stock is the beta, which refers to the relative volatility of the stock to the market. From the analysis, it is evident that Coke has a higher beta of 0.54 compared to Pepsi’s beta of 0.52, which indicates that Coke’s Stock is more volatile in the market. The covariance of two stocks in a market indicates that extent to which the returns for the two investments move in relation to each other. The covariance for Coke and Pepsi is low at 0.002, which means that the stocks co-vary. An investor with an aim of diversifying stock should not invest in the two stocks together. The correlation of stocks refers to the extent to which the prices of the two stocks affect each other, and from the analysis, a correlation of 0.7 indicates that the prices of the two stocks are strongly correlated, since the two stocks are strong competitors. Coke and the Market The annual return for Coke is higher than the annual return displayed by the market, which indicates that Coke is performing better than the market. The annual return for coke stands at 0.1307, while the annual return for the market is -0.009. However, the market has a lower risk than Coke, as can be seen from the standard deviations of the two portfolios. The variance and standard deviations for the two are 0.0027 and 0.0467 respectively for Coke and 0.0030 and 0.0214 respectively for the market. This indicates that Coke has a higher chance of risk than the market, which would be the ideal choice for a risk indifferent investor. The covariance of

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership and Management Paper Research

Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership and Management - Research Paper Example Management is not just confined only to organizations. Even political leaders need to have the knowledge and skills of a good manager in order to be successful in their careers. One leader with such qualities is the 34th president of the United States, Dwight David Eisenhower who exhibited both managerial and leadership qualities. This paper looks at  Eisenhower’s qualities as both of a leader and a manager. Characteristics of a Good Manager A number of factors define a good manager. The ability to have a vision about the future means that a manager is future oriented. A good manager needs to show enthusiasm in his/her work as well as to have the ability to empower and motivate others to work enthusiastically. The decision making process of a manager should be defined by an ability to make quick and informed decisions. Words need to be backed by actions. Managers who talk too much by issuing orders rarely succeed in their careers as workers need to see how they can perform t asks as well. Characteristics of a Good Leader A manager should be a good leader which means that he possesses good leadership skills. A good leader is proactive and thinks about the future. They are flexible in their decisions and actions so they can easily adapt to any change that may arise. A good leader has good communication skills, and respects the subordinates. Confidence in both leading the team and believing in personal decisions is an important quality of a good leader. A good leader shows enthusiasm in work. The interest in the feedback from the subordinates is a concern for efficient leaders, while they exhibit good organizational skills and delegate duties to the subjects (Leatherman, 2008). Leadership and Managerial Qualities of Dwight D. Eisenhower Eisenhower exhibited both leadership and managerial qualities in a number of ways. Having been a leader of the army during and after the First World War, he exhibited good leadership qualities by heading the army in war. At the onset of World War I, he immediately requested for an assignment overseas. This showed how dedicated he was in his job, showing one of the qualities of a good leader. As a hard working military man, he rose over the ranks to become Lieutenant Colonel in the National Army. As Lieutenant, he exhibited good organizational skills. He was able to organize members of the army during the war and draw placement programs of the personnel. His ability to approach members of the lower ranks and deal with them showed his commitment to the staff and his ability to effectively communicate with all the people in the military regardless of their position. His skills as a visionary leader were portrayed when he remained focused on the role of tanks in any war that would follow after the First World War. He showed his high level of commitment to his job patiently rising through the ranks of the military to become General of the Army Air Force. His dedication to work let him succeed in many assig nments such as in the invasion of Sicily. To promote democracy, he accepted the role of the President of Columbia and NATO Supreme Commander. His dream of becoming a president of the United States was supported by many people who felt that he had good leadership qualities suitable for the success of the United States. He chose to continue with Roosevelt’s plan of the New Deal for the United States and, thus, won a second term which

Monday, November 18, 2019

Placement Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Placement Report - Essay Example Marks and Spencer has successfully expanded its market and today it has more than 900 retail outlets all over the world. It is also listed in London Stock Exchange. The company however started facing problems relating to its marketing department. Main theme of Marks & Spencer was to provide high quality and innovative products along with exceptional services but the company has started to fail in achieving these objectives because of the wide expansion in their product portfolio. Due to the expansion in the portfolio the company has lost its main objective slightly and because of this reason, competitors are able to grab the opportunity. However, the quality of service has been one of the hallmarks that have helped the company to survive difficult times and make sure that the company is able to do well than its competitors. This report analyses my personal experience that I have gone through during my employment at Marks and Spencer. The report analyses and evaluates not only my expe rience, but the experience of the overall team with which I was working. The report also highlights the success reasons of the team and the success factors because of which the team was able to accomplish the project appropriately and successfully. The report also presents the scenario and case that Marks and Spencer was facing and how our team helped the company to solve the issue and make sure that the company flourishes. This report also reflects my personal skills that I have developed during the employment period. Moreover, the report also highlights how I have been able to use my marketing concepts and knowledge at the organization that helped Marks and Spencer to achieve its objectives. EVALUATING THE WORK OF THE TEAM Marks and Spencer is a big name in the retail industry of United Kingdom as well as in other European countries. However, the company has been facing different types of issues. Some of the major issues that Marks and Spencer has been facing include: Bad position ing Uncompetitive prices Unavailability of the product in some of the outlets of the company Lack of awareness of the product in the mind of consumers Not focusing on traditional marketing techniques and promotional tools Issues in the Customer services of the company I found the abovementioned issues that have negatively impact the company and its sales over the years. However I was working in the customer services department and therefore the main issues that I have identified in this department include: Proactive customer services Poor presentations Ensuring customer satisfaction level Offering more products to customers or increasing sales per customer As a customer sales representative, I along with my team mates was assigned different tasks to solve the abovementioned issues. Our team was given training in order to improve the customer relationship and build better relations with the customers. Moreover, our team also worked ourselves and formulated different strategies in ord er to improve the reputation of the retail outlet in which I was working. At Marks and Spencer, employees are given some kind of freedom on how to satisfy the customers however they are given a broad outline of how to go

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Managerial development and strategies for Tata Steel Group

Managerial development and strategies for Tata Steel Group Introduction Tata communications formally known as VSNL is one of the chief telecom player in the world of communications, the company has a strong position in the world market. Formed 1985, after taking over VSNL in 2002, the company has overtaken many midsized organizations such as Neotel in south Africa , Teleglobe in Canada United telecom in Nepal. Many of the fortune 1000 companies, service provider and the consumers depend upon the network provided by the Tata communication, encompassing one of the most advanced and largest submarine cable networks, a tier 1 IP network, and connectivity to more than 200 countries across 300 PoPs. TATA Communications serves its customers from offices in 80 cities across 40 countries, reflecting the diversity of the customers and markets we live in and serve. TATA Communications Ltd. is part of the $29 billion TATA group; it is listed on the Bombay stock exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India and its ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:TCL). I chose this company for my leadership assignment because it is a classic example to true leadership where different cultures are involved and the industry is very dynamic in nature . 1 (a) Leadership: The study of leadership is very important and crucial in the field of any organizational behaviour. Leadership is the ability of a superior to influence the behavior of a subordinate or group and persuade them to follow a particular course of action. Chester Bernard. Qualities of an effective leader: Although there is no set of qualities/traits defined for a real leader but still at TATA comm. A leader is defined who has the following characteristics: Takes initiative. High on ambition. have desire to lead. Is self-confident. Poses analytical abilities. Have knowledge of the process, technology and the industry. High creativity level. Flexible in teaching and learning ways. Theories and models defined for leadership in TATA comm.: There are 3 global theories defined and applied in the co. I worked. 1) Personality Trait theory: As per this theory, leaders stand apart from non-leaders in terms of some personality traits which are unique. One of the traditional old age theory under this was Great person theory which said that leaders might not born with the required leadership attributes but it can be acquired gradually by learning and experience. There is one model and theory under this, which explains this trait theory in more detail. This theory is called Theory X and Theory Y. T.McGregor was in an opinion that managers/leaders tend to make certain assumptions about human nature. These assumptions/views were explained in the theory X and theory Y. As per McGregors Theory X of trait theory the managers are those persons who displays control associated and direction with the exercise of authority, where as Theory Y managers normally display facilitation and integration activity. This theory was very impactful in the management world, even today in TATA Comm. managers are referred as X and Y managers. Model: Leadership Continuum and Theory X and Theory Y 2) Behaviour Theories: The behaviour theories explained the aspects related to the behaviors found in the leaders which take them to effective leadership. There are 4 theories under this. Out of this the managerial Grid is the most applicable to TATA comm. The Ohio States studies. Universities of Michigan studies. The Managerial Grid. Scandinavian studies. The Managerial Grid: This model was developed by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton. This is also called The Leadership Grid which majorly focuses on the parts missed in the early theories. This revolves around production/relationship orientations. The grid is based on the Leaders concern for people (relationships) and production (tasks). As per this the best way to lead and manage people the 9,9 way. The Tri-dimensional Grid: This is one of the approaches of behavioural theories of leadership defined. This talks about 2 main dimensions of the style i.e.: Tasks Orientation: This describes the main effect on the efficiency of the leaders work. Relationship Orientation: This talks about the human relations and the resources in TATA Comm. Change / Effectiveness: This aspect of the theory tells about how effectively the leader can adapt in the changing scenario. 3) Contingency Theories: Also called situational theory. As per this theory the leadership style is not same to all situations. Every leader is expected to analyse the situation and then adapt or apply a style that is best suited for the situation. There are 5 contingency models under this leadership style: Fiedlers contingency model. Hersey and Blanchards situational theory. Leader-member exchange theory. Leadership-participation model. Path goal theory. In TATA Comm.s managerial environment 2 contingency models apply i.e. (a) and (e). Fiedlers contingency model: in this approach a leadership style is apt to the situation as described by the 3 principles below: Leader-member relation: how much is the leader accepted and supported by the group members. Personalities of the leader and subordinates play an important role in this principle. Task Structure: under this it is examined that how the task is structured for the subordinate. To what extent the freedom is given to the group member to accomplish the tasks. Position Power: Its the ability and power of the leader as to how much his power and he himself is accepted in the group. e) Path Goal theory: this theory was coined by Robert House. Under this theory the leader is expected to provide a complete guidelines/coaching to the team members to achieve the objectives of the TATA comm.s goal. The leader defines the goals of the individual and supports them to achieve them in a better an efficient way. Below model describes the entire path goal theory followed at TATA comm. The Path-Goal Model Types of leadership:- Directive leadership Supportive leadership Participative leadership Achievement-oriented leadership Leader effectiveness in influencing subordinates Are matched against To Produce Situational Factors: Æ’Â  Subordinate Characteristics Ability Perceived control of destiny. Æ’Â  Nature of the task Ambiguous Routine Emotional Intelligence: A persons self-awareness, self-confidence, self-control, commitment and integrity, and a persons ability to communicate, influence, initiate change and accept change. (Source: Coleman) Self awareness: A leader needs to do a self assessment in terms of self confidence. Self-regulation: control over self emotions is very necessary for a leader to lead his team. He needs to take responsibility for performance, should be approachable and adaptable to change. Motivation: Self motivated leader is the one who can lead the team and take them to the position where required. Empathy: Its quality of understanding others by being noticed about their feelings, needs and concerns. Social Skills: Handling the situation diplomatically, be an open ear and offer convincing messages, inspire and motivate others to achieve the shared goals. 1 (b) Impact of a range of leadership styles on TATA Comm.s various important functions: The important functions in TATA Comm. are: Product management: This team is responsible introducing new products in the market based on the research done analyzing the completion. The major challenges are faced in terms of pricing the product. A combination of leadership styles fits in this functions is in following ways: The leader here motivates the team by both means i.e. monetary and non-monetary rewards. The outcome of the product team is judged by the revenue generated out of their product. Sales and marketing: This team is responsible for selling the products in the market in the most profitable way. The issue which is faced by this team is the extensive pressure for the numbers. The leaders play an important and crucial role in this function by:- Always being in an energetic style which is contagious to the team. Giving directions to the sales people. Rewarding and recognizing their performance on regular intervals by giving the employee of the month award. Back office for sales: This function is responsible for the entire back office job done after sales. Includes from order login to making reports for performance done by sales team from various regions in the company. The job of this function is very monotonous and thus requires and high level of leadership and motivation. The leaders face a very challenging role in this function. They apply contingency theory to a large extent as to acting differently in differently in different situations. Keep the employees motivated. Keep the employees guided and coshed regularly. CSO (customer service operations): This function is responsible for after service delivery to the customers. They need to function as per the customer issues faced on day to day basis. In telecom industry the main service/product offered are leased lines and voice services. Being so dynamic in nature these services need immediate fix from providers side. Leadership qualities displayed in TATA comm.s CSO function are as below: Path goal theory is used as providing the final goal to be achieved in terms of fixing the circuit for the customer. Team management of the leadership grid 9,9 style impacts by keeping the team in harmony and fixing the circuit or fixing the network laid for the customer. Finance: This function is responsible for all MIS related activities in terms of revenue reporting, fund raising, preparing balance sheet, performance reporting of various LoBs (line of business), etc. Traits theory plays a major role in this function. Leaders find the type x and type y kind of members in the team s defined by the theory X and theory Y. After identifying the types, the leader takes contingency approach to deal to deal with situation and people. 2 (a) Current leadership and managerial requirements at TATA Communications: As leaders and managers at TATA comm. they have a key leadership role in influencing others to achieve success. As an organization and as individuals it is necessary to be able to provide the appropriate balance between leadership and management. The leadership requirements are defined as below: Leaders are required to set and communicate the vision of the organization, department, or group. Leaders need to align the organization to the vision-leaders at TATA Comm. are exceptional who not only create the vision of where they are going but also make sure other see it can help get there. They motivate and inspire others to succeed-they inspire greatness in others. They not only effectively manage change but also are the drivers of change. The Managerial requirements are defined as below: The managers help people cope with everyday- they remove barriers to getting things done and help people solve problems. They need to provide the consistent expectation that need to be achieved and prove stability. They need to monitor work and report on success. They are more of problem solvers and help others focus on the details. They are more tactical- focused on short term planning and everyday business function such as budgeting. Achieving the balance: At TATA Comm. the leadership and management expectations are covered in the following matrix called achieving the balance. All are managers and leaders. They have to focus on the work and focus on the future. It is not one or the other but how they balance their manager hat with that of being a leader. Able to meet todays needs and to predict, respond and often drive the future. Great ideas, energy, innovative. Execution is the challenge. High Leadership Delivers well in stable environment. Slow in adapting to change. In Trouble. Low Low High Management 2 (b): Future requirements of leadership at TATA Comm.: Before we analyze future requirements of leadership I would like to identify some future challenges which are/will be faced in todays generic environment. Information age Changing technology Virtual Organizations Diversity New careers-generation X New psychological contracts Globalization rapid changes in the market places Overtaking of strategies Rapid changes in workplace culture and ways of working Delegation Focusing on Strategic Vs operational activities. Mergers and acquisitions Increasing accountability and regulation The leaders are faced with these challenges on day to day life at work. The leaders need to adapt to these changing conditions both internally and externally. A t TATA Comm. this is done by leaders accepting these changes and adapting different leadership styles to overcome these challenges. For this the conditional leadership style is mostly suited to change roles as per the situation and take the lead. Managers role is generally to stick to the goals set by the leaders to achieve the target and help the team to reach there. They need to cultivate winning relationships with the rest of the functions as well: Boss Other Leaders Boss Peers YOU Peer Peers Team Customer Other teams Your team 3 (a) Proposals for development of leadership: Here i have identified different methods of developing leaders and managers which are followed and implemented in TATA Comm.: Training Courses: At TATA Comm. various trainings are organised round the year to develop and enhance the leadership and managerial qualities in the employees. These training are generally related to enhancing leadership skills. These are organised by the external trainers who are professional in this field. Coaching: Great leaders as coaches, encourage employees to take risk and let them make mistakes and learn from them. They get the most out of every employee and recognise the difference between adding workload and offer growth opportunities. At TATA Comm. the following model is used to decide whom to coach and how much time to devote: Coaching for values and results model Employee B Employee A High Results Employee D Employee C Low Low High Values Mentoring: Mentoring is done on one to one basis in TATA Comm. by the respective managers who play a leaders role at this time. Companies own universities: TATA Comm. have their in-house training centre called as TMTC (TATA management and training centre). This is separate entity in TATA group responsible for various training and development programs for TATA employees. Time management and delegation: Mangers do a proper time management and delegation of work to the subordinate employees as they grow in their leadership ladder. They do take care of the transition traps. 3 (b,c). The methods used and described above result in the 3 main/core expectations from leaders at TATA Comm.: Leading the business Leading the results. Leading the People. Leadership of results: Drive for results: High energy professionals who play to win. Institutionalize stretch as a way of life. Laser sharp focus on execution. Constantly evolves and applies appropriates benchmarks and dashboard to calibrate results. Customer Focus: Lives customer centricity in judgement and behavior. Collaborates with customers to add value. Strives to achieve leadership for TCL in its targeted segments by developing compelling and sustainable value propositions. Timely decision making: Demonstrates the ability to ensure that decision making is clear, timely and taken at the appropriate level. Innovation management: Demonstrates ingenuity and creativity. Champions and steers business innovations. Leadership of Business: Managing Vision and purpose: Displays the ability to think through the future creating a vision factoring in opportunities and threats in terms of technology, competitors, regulations, suppliers, partners and customer buying behaviour. Ability to effectively communicate and get shared ownership on the vision to motivate stakeholders. Dealing with ambiguity: Is able to juggle multiple conflicting priorities. Is comfortable living, leading and managing in an environment of constant and rapid change. Communicates effectively to address ambiguity. Strategic capability: Capability to identify opportunities globally with internal and external constituents. Is able to align short term with long term strategy. Plans contingencies. Factors in CSR appropriately. Business Acumen: Displays financial acumen and bottom line centricity. Ability to steer business proactively anticipating market developments. Optimizes resources and creates sustainable value. Leadership of people: Interpersonal effectiveness: Ability to work vertically, horizontally and diagonally. Fosters a network of collaborators. Ability to factor in ones own work style while working with others. Is able to inspire and manage knowledge workers. Building effective teams: Is effective in a cross cultural and multi functional environment. Enables and empowers others by creating context and an environment of shared ownership of vision. Displays ability to zoom in and out at need. Inspires performance People Development: Grows and develops others. Stimulates and supports a learning culture. Reviews organizational capability and fosters talent. Build future capability. Withstanding pressure: Handles demands of operational conflict and complex systems. Is able to optimize stretch with work life balance and human element at the work place. Uses motivational techniques to deliver enhanced performance.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Political Cartoon Essay -- American History, Working Class

America has gone through different economical phases, especially when one of the big issues is the working class and the conditions that the working class faced. The most rigorous and grueling conditions were brought about in the era of 1870-1920. At this time the make up to the working class shifted drastically, the work expectation was not possible, and the working conditions were horrendous. The world of the ‘working class’ thus changed drastically. In the 1870’s, there was a flood of immigrants coming into the country. They had no skills, spoke broken English (if any), and were willing to work for virtually no pay. These immigrants began to make up the â€Å"new† working class, (Hollitz, 105). The work that these men did was not easy and by no means was it safe. Occupations varied from laborers to brakemen to coal miners to iron and steel workers, (Hollitz, 28-34). By the 1920’s jobs had become more specialized. In order to get hired, one needed to be a skilled worker with experience and an apprenticeship under their belt, (Bell, 30). Beginning in 1906, women began to take the work world by storm (Wright, 114). People began building allow women to go to work, rather than worrying about keeping the enormous houses clean (Wright, 115). Within thirty years, the average pay rose from ten cents an hour for hard labor on the railroads to fifteen cents an hour for a boy to work in a glass factory, (Bell, 224). Th e changes that happened in fifty years completely revolutionized the archetype of a working class family. In 1870, a working class family was poor and could barely afford to feed themselves. By 1920, the working class family could afford a decent sized house, a car, and to spoil themselves every once in a while. The working ... ... working class by getting involved in a war. Gompers recognized that there was unrest in the working class. There were problems with work hours, safety, and benefits. He believed the government was trying to cover up complaints by starting something bigger, so that the complaints were not the most important things on the hypothetical table. While Gompers did not completely understand the particulars of the war he did understand the main idea. He tried to scare the listeners by saying Chinese immigrants were going to come into our culture and take over. He compared immigrants to slaves saying, they would work for virtually no money. Therefore, bringing the wage rate down and making jobs harder to find. Samuel Gompers conveyed passion and spoke with confidence. He made people believe what he was saying, and scared them into wanting to take action against the war.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Drivers of Foreign Policy

Since the peaceful coup that brought the current emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, to power in 1995, Qatar has entered into an increasingly expanding foreign policy, which has greatly increased the country's regional and international standing. The main feature of Qatar's foreign policy is its role as mediator and negotiator in a number of conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, for example in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel and the occupied territories, Lebanon, Sudan and Yemen. In each case, Qatar prided itself on engaging with warring factions to push for political settlements or rapprochement, as well as providing humanitarian assistance. The decisions governing Qatar's participation in such conflicts are very central. The main decision-makers are the Emir, His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Al-Thani. Restricting much of the decision-making of this small circle has quickly led to foreign (and local) policy decisions, allowing Qatar to respond quickly to emerging conflicts with mediation offers. While it can be said that drawing a picture of the country as a benefactor is a public diplomatic move by Qatar – since neutrality facilitates the consolidation of credibility among multiple audiences – there are deeper motives behind Qatar's expansionist approach to mediating the conflict by expanding its foreign policy. The first motive is to maintain its security and stability. Qatar is located in the Arabian Peninsula, an area full of political and military rivalries. By increasing its international standing, Qatar aims to protect itself from the dangers of non-disclosure of small and vulnerable states 5 – risks of the type suffered by Kuwait in 1990. 6 In addition, by engaging in mediation between conflicting factions such as Houthis and the Yemeni government. Or between Hezbollah and its allies on the one hand and the March 14 bloc on the other, Qatar can be seen as trying to contain those conflicts and prevent their spread closer to home. This inevitability becomes more acute when one considers the role Iran plays in those conflicts and in the Gulf in particular. Iran is the main backer of Hezbollah and has established links with the Huthis in Yemen and a number of Shiite movements in the Gulf. Qatar also shares the largest oil field in the world with Iran, and is fully aware of Iran's expansionist foreign policy objectives in the region. By trying to mediate between non-Iranian actors and their rivals, Qatar is trying to counter Iranian influence in the Middle East in general, and more specifically in the Gulf, while maintaining friendly relations with Iran. Thus, in addition to general security concerns, Iran's role in the region can be seen as a clear driver behind Qatar's mediation of the Middle East conflict. The third motive for Qatari mediation is the desire to expand its influence as a regional player, especially in the face of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has traditionally played a leading role in conflicts throughout the region, for example during the Lebanese civil war. However, in recent years Saudi mediation has been spoiled for perceived neutrality, making the Kingdom an active player rather than a neutral intermediary. The close relationship between Saudi Arabia and the March 14 political bloc in Lebanon, led by Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, is an example. Qatar therefore viewed a vacuum in the Arab international relations it was trying to bridge. Its involvement in conflicts across the Middle East and beyond is an effort to present itself as a vital alternative to Saudi Arabia and a potential new leader in the Middle East. This role was further enhanced by Qatar's membership of the United Nations Security Council in 2006-2007, during which the Emirate increased its regional mediation and assistance activities. However, Qatar was keen not to exceed the limits of its relationship with Saudi Arabia. Despite Qatar's view of Saudi Arabia's low influence in the Middle East (in addition to the growing Iranian influence, which adds to the urgent need for regional Arab leadership), the country remains cautious not to conflict with the kingdom's domestic and foreign policies. Thus, when the Bahraini uprising began in 2011, Qatar supported the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – led by Saudi Arabia – mission to quell the insurgency. 7 When the Yemeni uprising, which began in the same year, gained momentum, Qatar also supported the GCC initiative it managed. The path of transition in Yemen, leading to a negotiated transition instead of overthrowing the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh. Although Qatar's relationship with Saudi Arabia over the years has been turbulent, it has finally reached a rapprochement in 2008 and has continued to become more entrenched, driven by Qatari realism and the Emirate's awareness of the limits of its influence in the Gulf. Saudi Arabia is the dominant political power in the Arabian Peninsula, where Qatar has not yet had the opportunity or the ability to play the first major role. Both countries share concerns about the instability and political transition that are reaching their territory, which leads them to cooperate more than confrontation.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

DURATION SENSITIVITY AND PLA IN BONDS essays

DURATION SENSITIVITY AND PLA IN BONDS essays Subject: DURATION, SENSITIVITY AND PLA IN BONDS I would like to help some of you with a general explanation on how to calculate sensitivity and PLA in bonds. Many of you may know these but I prefered to send a general message. Please disregard this CM if The market factor (what generates the risk) in a bond, is the yield (the interest rate embedded in the investment). This means that the Position Sensitivity should relate to changes in yields. This then, multiplied by the volatility of the yields, would give us the PLA associated with the bond positions (expected portential loss if the To calculate the Position Sensitivity, first of all, you should know the "modified duration" of the bonds that you are holding. Duration is defined as the equivalent tenor in a bond, expressed in of a zero coupon bond (a bond that has only one payment at maturity and This means that for example, an investor should be completely indiferent to invest in a zero coupon bond of 2.25 years than in a 4 years bond say with annual principal and interest payment) with also a 2.25 years How to calculate this duration (also known as Macaulay duration): Let's suppose this bond's cash flow: ($100 bond with 4 equal annual principal payment and 10% interest rate Let's also assume that we bought at $96 (at discount), equivalent to a Coupons Disc at 12% % on price coupon tenor (1) * (2) Ppal+ Interest in years (1) (in years)(2) 1 25+10 = 35 31.25 33% 1 0.33 2 25+ 7.5= 32.5 25.91 27% 2 0.54 3 25+ 5 = 30 21.35 22% 3 0.66 ...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

7 Indispensable Tricks for Writing Comic Books

7 Indispensable Tricks for Writing Comic Books As the longtime creative director of Marvel Comics and one of the most iconic comic book creators of all time, Stan Lee (1922 – 2018) was the mastermind of a Marvel Universe full of timeless characters and stories that continue to capture the imagination of new generations of comic book fans.At first, however, Lee lacked confidence in his writing. As he would later explain in his autobiography, he felt that comic books (and therefore, comic book writers) had a low status in the literary world. As a result, he used a pseudonym for some of his earliest comic book work. He writes, I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic-book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realize: entertainment is one of the most important things in peoples lives. Without it, they might go off the deep end. I feel that if youre able to entertain people, youre doing a good thing.As we all know, Stan Lees comic books not only brought h im (and the Marvel company) massive success- they also played a large role in elevating comics to a genre that is well-respected and continuing to grow in popularity. If you have been thinking about writing a comic book and are unsure of how to go about it, here are seven little tricks to keep in mind as you write.Photo by Lena Rose on UnsplashTip #1- Focus on story first, then layout secondEven though comic books are often best known for their imagery, as a rule of thumb, when writing a comic book, you should first focus on the story. Stan Lee puts it simply: Comics are stories; theyre like novels or anything else. So the first thing you have to do is become a good storyteller.While were on the topic of storytelling, if you are unsure which story you want to tell, consider the fact that many comic books and graphic novels published in todays market are retellings of older stories. This graphic novel retelling of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet and this comic book-inspired ver sion of Victor Hugos Les Misà ©rables are great examples. Even Stan Lee borrowed much of his storytelling from classic Greek and Roman myths, so dont be afraid to put a new spin on an old tale if you are stuck on the story part.Tip #2- Know the end and work backwardsThis same piece of advice holds true for writing any type of story, whether it be a short story, novel or comic book. When you know your ending first- before putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) for the first draft- youll be able to write a more succinct storyline with fewer holes in the plot.This doesnt mean that you need to know every detail about how your story will end. It only means that you should have a general idea of the major events that will take place at the end. You should know which character will be involved and the overall character arcs for your major characters (particularly the protagonist).This is especially important if you plan to write a series of comics. Knowing what happens at the end w ill help you divide the story correctly into segments and end each book on the right kind of cliffhanger (which well discuss more in tip #4).Tip #3- Outline completely before writingHeres another tip you should follow in the writing process, regardless of what type of fiction you are writing. Having an outline is one of the most important things (if not THE most important thing) you can do before sitting down to write your comic book. You dont need to know every detail at the beginning, but you should have a general idea of your setting, plot structure, major characters, their motivations, and their character arcs as the plot progresses.If youre stuck at this part, I recommend reading Blake Snyders Save the Cat! series. While he initially focuses on writing a screenplay, he offers invaluable advice on two different facets of outlining a story for any media. First, he provides a beat sheet focusing on the 15 major beats that occur within all great movies/screenplays. You can essentia lly take these beats and fill them in with your storys unique details to have a well-rounded plot outlined quickly. Second, he reviews the essential ten types of stories that encompass most plots. For example, he breaks down the most popular types of stories into easily digestible, overarching themes. A few examples are:Monster in the House (Alien, The Ring, etc.)Dude with a Problem (Die Hard, Open Water, etc.)Rites of Passage (Napoleon Dynamite, Kramer vs. Kramer, etc.)Buddy Love (When Harry Met Sally, Brokeback Mountain, etc.)Fool Triumphant (Forrest Gump, Legally Blond, etc.)Tip #4- For multiple issues, end on a cliffhangerI touched on this briefly above, but this is especially important during the outlining process if you are creating a series of comic books. As with any series- and particularly in comic books- ending each issue on a cliffhanger is essential if you want to keep your audience engaged in the overall story youre writing.In writing comics, its important to keep this in mind as you outline each issue. If you are creating a series, you should outline the entire series before writing the first comic book, and the outline should be completed before any artwork is begun. Pay special attention to page numbering as you outline and determine cliffhanger cut-off points for each issue, as this will determine the level of interest you are able to maintain with your audience and whether theyll want to purchase following issues (after reading the first).Photo by Andreas Fidler on UnsplashThere are also software programs available such as Celtx, which includes a comic book option for its script writing features. Using software to assist with layout and page numbering during the outlining and writing processes helps extensively with this cliffhanger strategy.Tip #5- Make sure your setting and characters are memorableSince comic books have limited room for extended exposition, having a memorable setting and unforgettable characters is important. Stan Lee puts it like this: To my way of thinking, whether its a superhero movie or a romance or a comedy or whatever, the most important thing is youve got to care about the characters. Youve got to understand the characters and youve got to be interested. If the characters are interesting, youre half-way home.When you think back over some of the bestselling comic books and graphic novels (Neil Gaimans Sandman series and Robert Kirkmans The Walking Dead series come to mind), youll find that two things they all have in common are a unique, intriguing setting and fascinating characters. Both drive the story when limited exposition and dialogue are necessary (such as in comic books) and both will ensure a comics success if crafted properly.Tip #6- Notebooks and audio recorders are great for stealing dialogue you hear throughout the dayThis tip comes directly from Tony Max, indie comic book author and illustrator of The Golden Silence series. As a writer, he often catches conversations on audio rec orders (with the permission of the speakers, of course) to get a feel for the cadence and word choice of everyday conversations between people. He is then able to listen back through and recreate a realistic dialogue in his comic books.Since comic books rely heavily on dialogue to fill in details of the exposition, creating realistic dialogue should be a focus while youre writing. Often, panels dont have enough room to have a lot of dialogue either, so the dialogue you do include needs to be sharp, poignant, essential to the narrative, and realistic for the genre. Think of it as the bones that hold the narrative framework together.Tip #7- Phrase books help to find the right wordsPhrase books are great resources for writers of all genres in that they can help spark the creative Muse when writers block sets in (and lets face it, all writers experience writers block at some point or another). For example, this phrase book by USA Today bestselling author Jackson Dean Chase offers over 5 00 descriptions of weapons, wounds, wild animals, weather, emotions, dangerous places, and more, plus a combat thesaurus that covers everything, from attack to defense, ranged to melee, and from monsters to magic spells and psychic powers.Action Writers Phrase Book by Jackson Dean ChaseWhether your comic book is sci-fi, action and adventure, romance, fantasy, or somewhere in between, youll be able to find phrase books offering a plethora of information on costume, weaponry, fighting techniques, survivalist tricks, technology, period-correct verbiage, naming strategies, and more. They are really indispensable to any writers collection of source books and are especially useful in writing comics, where elements like worldbuilding and costume are essential for success.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Aristotle on Moral Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Aristotle on Moral Responsibility - Essay Example A person is not morally responsible for an action if he or she does not know the possible consequences of his actions prior to the performance of that action, according to Aristotle. By such standards Aristotle tells us about the moral responsibility on a person for his or her actions. In this essay we will talk about the Aristotle’s take on moral responsibility of person for his or her actions. The voluntary acts and involuntary acts will be defined and how moral responsibility is a function of moral character will also be explained according to Aristotle. The film Dead Man Walking will also be discussed and its scenes will be analyzed keeping in mind the writings of Aristotle. Moral responsibility is defined by Aristotle to some extent through his concept of voluntary and involuntary acts. Moral responsibility can also be determined through the knowledge of consequences of the actions prior to the performance of those actions. Moral responsibility is also determined through the concept of impulsive and deliberate actions. A person is also morally responsible for inaction in certain situations therefore this is also a criteria through which moral responsibility can be determined. All these determinants of moral responsibility will be discussed in the paper. Aristotle talks about voluntary and involuntary acts. An act according to him is involuntary if a person has no control on his actions. Moral responsibility of an action does not lie on a person if he or she is forced to perform an action. An example would be that of a person who loses his cell phone and wallet to a thief at the gun point. Such actions that are not voluntary and performer of such actions cannot be held morally responsible for it. The definition of involuntary actions, by Aristotle, is very restricted and narrow. He believes that an action is only involuntary if the agent is not taking any willful part in the action himself. A person may be under force but

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Reagan, Obama and Inequality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reagan, Obama and Inequality - Essay Example Nicholas Kristof argues in his article that the inequality has soared since the time president Reagan took office to this time when president Obama is still in office. According to Nicholas, the median household income has stagnated and educational progress has almost come to a halt. He further argues that the average Canadian family is better off than the average American family. The author has based his arguments from the late 1970s to now when president Obama is still in office. The issue of inequality came up in the president’s state of the union address (Kristof). The president proposed that the government should take this issue seriously and corrective measures should be taken. However, the author does not believe that any action will be taken, citing that every year the president mentions an issue during the state of the union address and nothing is usually done to correct the situation. The author differentiates between opinions and facts. Some of the facts the author gives are that the median income for households has increased from the year 1979. However, according to his opinion, the Average American family is worse off than the average Canadian family.