Pros and Cons Erp

Akhilesh Nair Deepesh Chatterjee Mithun Vishnu Nikhil Kumar OPEN SOURCE ERP PROS and CONS Contents Introduction3 Commercial and Open Source ERP Software6 Open Source ERP Solution Pros8 Open Source ERP Solution Cons10 Open Source ERP Success Story11 Company Overview11 Issue At Hand11 The Solution11 Results12 The Bottom Line12 Top Open Source ERP Applications to Look Out for13 ?Goodness of Open Source ERP Packages13 ?Open Source ERP Packages13 ?Java-Based Open Source Finance Apps13 ?Latest Developments13 ?GnuCash: The Ultimate Free Open Source Accounting Software14Introduction Open source ERP is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software system whose  source code  is made publicly available. The  open source  model allows companies to access the ERP system's code and customize it using their own IT department instead of paying extra for vendor customization services and licensing, as is typically the case with closed source programs. Open source ERP can be particularly attr active to small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) that want to upgrade or customize their ERP systems without paying large licensing and support fees.Open source brings an alternative which addresses many of the key problems of both custom and commercial enterprise software. It begins by offering the user a freely available code base as a starting point. The user can try it for free to see if it meets his needs. There is no risk of upfront licensing fees for software that may not work. If no modifications are required, open source software can be implemented with the same rapid time-to-market as commercial packages.If customizations are required, the user has a head start with an existing code base. Furthermore, he can leverage the expertise of both in-house and open source community developers. An open source project brings with it the domain knowledge and business requirements of many contributing organizations, significantly reducing the specification risk typical of custom software . Open source communities also offer user-developers collaborative help in developing and debugging of his software. The net result is better software in less time.Longer term, open source offers the user the control of custom software and the external resources previously available only with commercial software. With the source code in hand, the user can decide on future support and upgrades. There is no one to â€Å"discontinue† the software for him. At the same time, because the software shares the common roots with open source, he can obtain support and upgrades from the open source community or purchase professional-quality support from a range of vendors in the community.Thus, the risks of becoming â€Å"stranded† due to the loss of vendor support or key employees are significantly reduced with open source. Selection of ERP system Ease/Speed  of  Implementation There exist a sentiment that implementation takes too long. It is hard to state whether proprietary or open source ERP systems are faster and easier to implement. On one hand, open source solutions are, in general, believed to be less user-friendly. On the other hand, ERP vendors (or their partners) implement proprietary ERPs, so there is no clear need for them to make ERP systems easy to install.However, it can be stated that if the ERP system is easier to implement then it would be possible for the ERP vendor to sell more licenses, since it can be assumed that there is a lack of  implementing consultants. Moreover, ease and speed of implementation does not depend only on the graphical user interface and number of settings one needs to select from but  mainly on the amount of required customizations. Further development does not depend only programmer’s speed of writing code but also on requirements collection, their analysis and correct understanding PriceUnless the company has the capabilities to implement an open source ERP system and program all the necessary cust omizations, open source ERP is not really for free. Consultants for open source ERP systems may charge significantly more than e. g. consultants for MS EPR systems, since there are rather only a few of them. On the other hand, an open source ERP system can be a perfect solution for a starting company, which has no established business processes – the company can adapt to the system, i. e. it does not require customization, so consultants need to be hired only to install the system.Another advantage is that an open source ERP system can be adjusted directly to the intended business processes in case at least one of the employees has a good  computer science background Vendor  Support Though this criterion seems to be more important for proprietary ERP systems, since it is customers of proprietary ERP systems, who are locked in with the vendors but on the other hand, they have security that the support exists. In the open source world, this criterion can be interpreted as h aving a large enough community, which could support the organization implementing a particular open source ERP system.Reliability Vendors providing proprietary ERP systems try to achieve as high reliability as possible but community using an open source ERP system might be able to find errors faster, since it is larger in numbers and each of them tries to make sense of code. While in proprietary ERP system vendor organization, it is always the same people looking into the code, so it is much harder for them to spot a mistake, especially in the code, which was written by them. Ease  of  Use It is unclear whether proprietary or open source ERP systems are easier to use.On one hand, ERP system vendors try to achieve competitive advantage providing ERP systems that are easier to use. On the other hand, open source solutions are, in general, believed to be less user-friendly [51, 52]. But the community of users (with programming skills) is likely to improve the system to the level th at is more-or-less acceptable for most of the users. Customization Proprietary ERP systems are often programmed in vendor-specific languages. Companies can be sure that vendors (or their partners) will customize and set up their ERP systems.But it also means that they are locked to the vendor (or its partners). Since open source ERP systems are programmed in widely known programming languages, there is a greater pool of potential programmers, who can do it. Openness of code is not a domain of OSS ERPs anymore. E. g. MS Dynamics AX allows users to change a significant percentage of the code. Integration Customers are often searching for means of integration of their systems/data. Many proprietary ERP systems inherently allow for usage of data warehouses.It is possible that there fewer proprietary than open source ERP systems, which allow for communication to other systems through API. On the other hand, this communication can be solved even by less standard means (through customizati on). Organizational  Fit Existing ERP systems try to focus on business processes, however it can be suggested that they do not explicitly describe the business processes that are supported. Besides that, ERP systems are not easily adjustable to changes in business processes. Unfortunately, it seems that this is a problem of both open source and proprietary ERP systems.Flexibility Flexibility is required because of rapidly changing environment, which is likely to lead to new business models, which need to be supported without disturbing the end-users and on-going business. This requires an ERP system to have a robust architecture, which would allow for these requirements. Many existing proprietary ERP systems arose from MRP systems through small iterations. So systems, which were created more recently and do not carry this burden, are more likely to be more flexible, which could be the case ith open source ERP systems. Training First, it can be said that the amount of training requ ired depends on the ERP systems  Ã¢â‚¬â€œhow self-explanatory it is and how many functions it offers. Secondly, users of  proprietary ERP systems are more-or-less dependent on the vendor or partner’s related to the specific ERP system. On  the other hand, users of open source ERP  systems may have a hard time to find a consultancy company offering training for a particular system. Latest  TechnologiesThere is no reason why proprietary ERP systems should be better in using latest technology but it is mostly vendors of proprietary ERP systems, who claim that their competitive advance (over other (regardless whether open source or proprietary) ERP systems) is usage of latest technology. Proprietary vendors may promote them more but similar solutions may exist  in the open source world. OpenERP is a full suite of business software, including the following modules: Accounting: Record your operations in a few clicks and manage all your financial activities in one place. Application Builder:   The OpenERP application builder lets you customize every module of OpenERP directly from the web interface without any development required. CRM: Track leads and opportunities customized your sales cycle, controls statistics and forecasts and marketing campaign automation to improve your sales performance. Human Resources:   The module is for personnel information management, leave, time tracking, attendance‚ expenses, payroll, periodic evaluations and recruitment. Invoicing:  Create and supervise your entire supplier and customer invoices.Manufacturing:  Plan and control your supply chain through different applications in the Manufacturing module. Marketing:  Marketing campaigns can help you automate email and email sending, qualify leads and encourage customers to contact the right department. Point of Sale:  The OpenERP touch screen point of sale allows you to manage your shop sales. It's fully web-based so you don't need to install or dep loy any software. Project Management: Keep track and manage your projects using tasks for short term project execution or plan phases for long term planning.Purchase:  Create and track your purchase orders, manage your suppliers' info, control your products reception process and check suppliers' invoices. Warehouse Management:  An inventory management system to easily manage complex needs: tracking stocks of suppliers/customers, full traceability, accounting links, and more. OpenERP supports multi-warehouse management based on hierarchical location structure. Because OpenERP is open source and backed by a large community, you can take advantage of more than 700 OpenERP modules on the  OpenERP Apps website.These applications extend functionality of the ERP software and provide more business apps for things like manufacturing, localization, project management and more. The other benefit to users is that you do not need to use all the business apps. You can choose only the module s that you need for your business from the suite (e. g. just CRM or CRM and invoicing). This keeps your OpenERP tidy and less overwhelming if you do not need all the business apps. You can add additional modules (at no cost) as you need them. ArchitectureCompiere and ERP5 are two of the top notch open source ERP systems that are widely accepted and implemented. The architecture of an Open Source ERP can be explained using the structured architectural design of compere and a comparison with ERP5. ERP5 offers powerful ERP solution for small businesses. ERP5 was originally developed as apparel industry solution for an organization with more than 300 employees on 5 internationally distributed sites. The special requirements of the apparel industry are mass customization of products and hence the need for handling unstructured and multimedia data.Mass customization means that many variants of a product are possible. The original modules are now generalized as business templates. It has t he exact features that include customer relationship management (CRM), production management (MRP), supply chain management (SCM), product design management (PDM), accounting, human resources and e-commerce. For the small businesses, ERP5 has an Express edition which integrates ERP, CRM and KM funtionality. ERP5 uses the open source Python based ZOPE (Z Object Publishing Environment) application server and content management framework as its foundation.The web based Zope Management Interface is used as IDE for developing ERP5 modules. The application server also supports multiple languages, provides a security model, object persistence, and remote object access trough HTTP, XML-RPC and SOAP. ERP5 uses, extends or provides 5 important Zope components: Page Templates implement the web user interface and presentation logic. Workflows are used for the development of various types of decision workflows ERP5Form49 is used for web form development.XMLObjects add synchronization capabilitie s and autonomous activity (timed, pre- and postcondition triggers) to ERP5- Zope objects. The synchronization of distributed sites is carried out through XML export and import and also supports unreliable communication channels, which are allowed to fail. The duplication of reporting data to a relational database allows simple SQL querying. Compiere is uniquely designed to avoid the duplication of information and the need for synchronization. The design of Compiere allows customization of the application done easily.Modules in compiere include CRM, Quote to Cash, Requisition-to-Pay, Partner Relations Management, Warehouse, Supply Chain Management, Performance Analysis, Double-entry Book-keeping, Work-flow-Management and Web Store. Compiere's architecture uses a fat Java Client (Java Webstart). The accounting engine is on the application server (JBOSS J2EE container). Thin Web clients are used for web store and some CRM functionality. There is also a beta thin client serving all form s, but it needs further work to be equivalent to the fat client.The used application server supports clustering. No cluster installation is documented. Emails can be sent and files can be attached to documents. Compiere has a built-in reporting engine. A Sourceforge side project provides Jasper Report77 integration. CSV export and import of data is provided by the commercially available migration tool. Other interfaces can be developed in Java using the briefly (Javadoc) documented APIs (application programming interfaces). The database abstraction layer is SQL-centric which was initially developed for Oracle.Commercial and Open Source ERP Software Pricing: – Most open source software is freely distributed with no up-front licensing fees. Further savings come from ease of deployment, training and integration. Companies that implement open source ERP solutions often report a 50% savings over proprietary systems. With free systematic  open source ERP training methodology like SOSE! Site you can own your software for no cost. Commercial ERP is an expensive package and suitable only for bigger corporations.The prices do vary significantly but according to the size of the company and volume of business. In any cases they have been found to be extremely costly irrespective of the quantum in which they are purchased. These packages are not subject to flexibility and molding. Their usage modalities are rarely liberal and cause troubles when they are modified. Hence the deployments also turn out to be costly and inconvenient due to the procedures involved, in the future. Another major allegation against the package is that they consist of lot of  hidden costs.Flexibility: – When you compare commercial and open source ERP, commercial systems are not flexible in nature. They let business with no other choice but to change their way of business. However when it comes to open source ERP everything was decided by the code . Therefore companies can do the n ecessary modifications in code and without much support from the vendor. Another advantage of open source is that it does not interfere with the regular schedule of the company during the implementation stage. This is a major difference between commercial and open source ERP applications.You should use business software for your needs, you should not change the way of your business to fit into software needs. Duration:- When you study commercial and open source ERP,The time allotted for implementing open source ERP is very less when compared with commercial ERP. The innumerable number of complexions in commercial ERP calls for longer time span. It consumes a lot of time not only during implementation but in every stage of ERP process due to the nature of work involved. With use of SITE  ERP implementation methodology  you can reduce time required for open source ERP to the minimum.Dependence: – When it comes to the question of relying on the vendor the open source ERP own ers enjoys a considerable edge than the commercial ERP. Since open source are license free users having full freedom for taking care of needs by themselves. The productivity is also high in open source ERP systems and the failure rates are very low. Results: – Success rate of open source ERP are considerably more compare to proprietary ERP software’s. Read  open source ERP success stories  for more details. Training: – Lots of training is required for using commercial ERP.It calls for lots of investments in terms of time and money. If they don't give the necessary impetus the results will be poor. Similarly validity of training sessions designed and handled exclusively by the ERP vendor is also debatable. On the other hand Open Source ERP does not require much training. The results are also bound to be effective because the user gets to learn through the process of self training. The company need not spend much on training and makes a minimal utilization of the resources. This is another way of reducing the level of dependence on the ERP vendor.You can get free  online ERP training  with SOSE!. Security: – On comparing commercial and open source ERP applications, Commercial ERP systems are less secure. They are by and large prone to the traps and pitfalls of hackers. Even though open source ERP makes everything transparent and available in the public domain it bring into the notice of user whenever something goes wrong. Visibility: – Few end users change the underlying code of an open source application. But when the need arises, open source provides access to the code to make changes to suit each distributor’s unique business needs.Open source customers enjoy a refreshing level of transparency from their vendors around activities such as bug reporting and fixing and road map planning. Longevity: – Virtually any ERP solution will work well when initially deployed, but time is the true test of every ERP s olution and vendor. Unforeseen opportunities will likely drive changes to a business’ objectives and necessitate changes to its ERP solution. Independently, a vendor’s commitment to supporting a solution could change over time. An open source solution with a flexible foundation addresses today’s needs and safeguards the solution’s future.Because the user has the source code, a solution can never be bought or merged out of existence, meaning the investment lasts as long as needed. Independent services for  ERP implementation support  is also available for free with open source ERP. | Conclusion: – Functionality is the top consideration when reviewing ERP solutions, but it should be closely linked with evaluating open source and proprietary options. The demonstrable benefits of open source products reach deep into a company’s infrastructure. You can evaluate and  select business ERP software  which give functionality you need.The diffe rences between  commercial and open source ERP  show the Edge enjoyed by open source ERP players. And independent free ERP trainer likes SOSE! Will help open source ERP to reach people. Open Source ERP Solution Pros * Negligible Investment and Maintenance Costs – Open source ERP solutions hold a big pro in the fact that there are no huge un-front licensing fees, pre-sales cost associated with them, thus, the initial cost of an Open Source ERP solution is usually far less than a comparable proprietary program. There’s minimal dependency on the ERP vendor in most cases.In a study done by Meta Group, where it surveyed 63 companies – including small, medium and large enterprises in a range of industries – it was found that the average cost of implementation of ERP was $15 million, with the highest as $300 million and lowest as $400,000. Commercial ERP also has pre-sales cost associated with them. * Widely customizable – Open Source ERP solutions ar e highly customizable allowing for companies to mold them to meet specific business process requirements. It is possible because it comes with two versions of code; the compiled version and the un-compiled version.There are a few reasons to do customizations, which are; functionality needed for core competencies, your front or back office systems require the customizations, you want more or less fields, or you have regulatory requirements that require the customization. So, if you need customizations, then by all means you must have them with a clear eye on the who's who of the support of customizations and financials needed. But, commercial ERP does not provide an easy and inexpensive customization of the ERP software to fit the business model changes whatsoever. Flexibility – Open source ERP gives lots of freedom like free redistribution, freedom to access and modify the source code and freedom for the end user to use it for any purpose they wish to. GPL licensing of Open S ource Software enables developer community to rapidly contribute to the software development and enhance features. * Total Cost of Ownership – TCO of Open Source ERP solution may be less given the option of virtually free operating systems (Linux)and databases (MySQL) and potentially lower maintenance fees. Independent Integrations – Open Source ERP solutions typically have a wide range of integration formats so that they are employable well with other software components. * Ease of Training – Open source ERP packages come with complete licenses, comprehensive documentation and user manuals, helping the users to learn and understand their usage. No special trainings or consultants may be hired. * Ease with implementation – The implementation can also be carried out separately without disturbing the regular operation of the business.Also, with open source ERP, the customers can do any sort of experimentations even while in production without losing the bas e or 100% availability. * Shorter implementation timings -The open source ERP packages require considerably shorter implementation time, which is another big positive aspect whereas in case of commercial ERPs , even six months are considered to be short period for implementation * Reduced or no Dependency on ERP Vendor – As the open source ERP packages have proper documentation and user manuals, there is no or reduced dependency on ERP vendor to come and fix the issue.A good programmer can handle the issue in considerably less time. * High Accuracy and Quality – The productivity and accuracy is high in the case of open source ERP systems. Also, the failure rates are often discovered to be on the lower side in comparison to commercial ERP packages. All open software has strong user community which is also very responsive and very knowledgeable. * Open source testing – The open source users in the process of development are able to thoroughly test and 99% of the b ugs are reported and highly secure.Except a very few, most of the commercial ERP systems are tested to a decent extent, but still are many security flaws, traps, pitfalls and loop holes, which can be easily harnessed by the hackers. * Handling security – With the ever evolving nature of technology, security has become a problem of the past. And, there are many open source security applications on the market today which can be easily used with open-source ERP, which include; Nessus, Snort, Nagios, SpamAssassin, ClamAV, Open SSL, OpenSSH, Nmap, Ossec HIDS, and Wireshark.Open Source ERP Solution Cons * Risk of over-customization – Delivering customized codes could prove troublesome for some organizations just in case you get into over-done customization and you can’t get out of it. Too many customizations can be a definite issue. * Difficulty in finding implementation and support resources – Open Source ERP solutions also calls for the best and finest progra mmers of open source  ERP solutions on the code. This may be difficult and may cause higher support costs at times. Compatibility Issues with Proprietary Packages – Some of the open source ERP packages are incompatible with the proprietary products of certain corporations like Microsoft, Oracle, or IBM etc (sometime due to variation in platform used for implementation). * Lack of Dedicated Support from a Specific Vendor – Despite all of the benefits of open source ERP packages, the fear of the failure of open source ERP package during crucial stages of a project is considerable driving forces for commercial ERPs where vendors provide dedicate support in lieu of big bucks on licensing costs. Unstructured approach to issue resolution – There are no proper defined product roadmaps and time line as most of the enhancements and bug fixes are done by freelancers and independent consulting companies and developers based on their requirements. * Devoid of feature- ric hness – Proprietary software are feature-lade and have more features that are not found in the case of open source ERP packages mostly and may be cited helpful by commercial ERP vendors as a tool of ease and productivity. Open Source ERP Success StoryOpen source ERP has had its own share of successful implementations. There is no better argument for the use of an ERP solution than a testimonial by and organization which has used the system and reaped benefits from what the software has to offer. Let us take a look at a successful implementation that happened at a Danish pharmaceutical firm named Pharma Nord. The implementation was done by a firm by the name Compiere Company Overview Denmark-based Pharma Nord is one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of preventive dietary supplements and herbal remedies.The 500-person company, founded in 1981, develops, manufactures and markets scientifically well-founded dietary supplements, herbal remedies and medical drugs with optima l bio-availability. Pharma Nord’s products are available in 50 countries throughout Europe, Asia and North America. Issue At Hand Due to market success with its initial line of dietary supplements, Pharma Nord was continually expanding its product line and markets served. Growth in the regulated pharmaceutical industry, however, requires precise inventory management to address business and regulatory complexity.Pharma Nord’s ERP solution requirements extended well beyond the standard set of distribution and accounting functionality that performs at a global scale. They viewed the selection of an ERP solution as having a 15-20 year life. For a solution to succeed for more than 15 years, product licensing, ease of customization and confidence in the vendor were as important as out-of-the-box functionality The Solution Pharma Nord uses Compiere to manage its sales orders, invoicing, cash collections, purchasing and accounting for its sales subsidiaries and also to manage receipts and shipments in its warehouses.Pharma Nord liked what they saw in the earliest versions of Compiere in 2001. Using knowledge gained at a Compiere training class, Jacob Pedersen, Compiere Project Manager, completed an initial Compiere deployment in early 2002 focused on a single subsidiary. â€Å"We did it on the basis that we would probably find things that need to change along the way. And we have. It’s been with us, it’s been upgraded and we’ve changed quite a few things. We’ve been able to migrate to new versions of Compiere all the way from 2002 and now we’re here at 2008. I find that quite impressive. Before selecting an ERP solution, Pharma Nord assessed a number of offerings, notably Compiere and Navision. Midway through the evaluation, Navision was acquired by Microsoft. A few months later, the Linux version of Navision was discontinued. These events were eyeopening for Pharma Nord’s information technology and executive te ams. The result was an even stronger requirement for the kind of open source licensing offered by Compiere to ensure Pharma Nord’s long-term ERP success. Services from the Compiere Partner Network and Compiere helped Pharma Nord succeed.For example, the 2001 version of Compiere lacked support for tracking lot/batch numbers and expiry dates—essential functionality for the pharmaceutical industry. Pharma Nord’s sponsorship accelerated the development of this general use functionality. â€Å"We wrote the specification of exactly what the software should be able to do and it was developed by the Compiere team. † – Pedersen Results Seven years after initial deployment, Pharma Nord is still going strong with Compiere. Their database has grown over the years as they’ve added business partners, products and transactions.Having transaction history available for analysis and reporting is a nice benefit from using a single product continuously over tim e. â€Å"What’s great about Compiere is that everything is stored at the most detailed level,† explained Pedersen. â€Å"So whenever you need to do reporting, you have a number of dimensions to work with. You can combine each product, different sizes, and different countries. All of those will be dimensions. Since you can report and group on these dimensions, you can get the answer you’re looking for by grouping and merging these data afterwards. With its sales and distribution operations productive with Compiere, Pedersen is looking toward the future: â€Å"Pharma Nord is also a manufacturing company. We manufacture all of our products ourselves. We know that Compiere is also working on manufacturing capabilities. † The Bottom Line Several unbelievably productive, efficient and highly secure open source ERP packages are not yet well recognized in the market, most of the customers are still prepared to shell out big bucks on custom commercial ERP package s.This might be due to the credibility that the big ERP producing organizations like SAP and Oracle. In times that are proving increasingly tough for organizations the world over; organizations are taking measures to tighten their operations and keeping stock of each and every penny that is spent; open source ERP packages provide a very robust and cost effective alternative for midsize companies who might not have a big budget allocated to cover their IT requirements. Even the large corporations can cut maintenance costs by making use of these brilliant packages.However, lack of support from a particular vendor is something that the open source ERP packages badly lack, and compatibility issues with other custom third party apps are one of their biggest turn-offs. Open source ERP scores higher than commercial ERP on many aspects. Yet, commercial ERP still have major share in ERP markets. This is because open source products are quite new and people are a bit conservative about choosi ng ERP software, because if implemented ERP software does not work, then there is serious business trouble.The first adopters of open source ERP were in Latin America, Europe, and Asian countries because of economic reasons. Now, open source ERP is gaining popularity even in US markets and one day, it will be able to challenge the domination of commercial ERP in ERP markets of USA Top Open Source ERP Applications to Look Out for The finance applications, especially the custom ERPs, can be extremely costly and burn big holes in the pockets of business owners, and as such the demand for open source apps in the field of finance has been increasing dramatically.So, let us take a look at the top open source finance applications * Goodness of Open Source ERP Packages Not only do the open source finance packages come totally free of cost, but they are also not dependant on a particular platform. However, the proprietary programs work well on only specific platforms, as they're designed onl y for specific needs. As such, even after paying a lot of money on licenses, the proprietary financial packages don’t allow you to work with all platforms and require additional licenses based upon the number of machines on which, the software is used.On the contrary, the open source packages can be used on as many systems as needed, and they work well on all open source platforms like FreeBSD, UNIX, Linux, Solaris etc. * Open Source ERP Packages To cater to the needs of small business owners, countless open source finance packages were developed, such as Adempiere (an ERP Business Suite), GnuCash (a double-entry book-keeping system), ERP5 (a Zope/Python based ERP solution), and the likes of them.Turning the focus towards other popular open source ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) packages, Compiere, an ERP solution that automates processes like accounting, managing sales orders, inventory, and supply chain is also quite popular, while packages like Grisbi, a single-entry an d KMyMoney — a double-entry book-keeping program, have also gained significant levels of popularity. * FriFinans is yet another impressive open source finance application that offers facilities like taking orders, generating invoices, ordering products and doing a lot more.It is still under final stages of development, and isn’t tested completely yet, but even at this stage it looks quite promising. * Java-Based Open Source Finance Apps jFin, JGnash (double-entry book-keeping), JQuantLib (Quantitative Finance API framework), and JStock (stock market software) are some of the popular Java-based open source finance packages that have become extremely popular these days. * Latest DevelopmentsLooking at the latest developments,  n21 eBusiness Suite, a web-based ERP/CRM package is quite a powerful open source finance package that has emerged in the market, while  Mifos  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Microfinance Institution management software, Openbravo, and OpenERP have also been recent ly developed and gained high popularity soon enough. TurboCASH  is a popular double-entry book-keeping for Windows environment, while  GnuCash  is a treat for Linux/Unix/FreeBSD lovers.HomeBank  is an open source application for personal use, and  Marketceterais an open source trading platform for those who're interested in stock trading, but don't want to spend any money on using paid tools. Note:  All Linux financial tools are not necessarily free — there are some proprietary packages that require licenses, and don't come under the GNU/GPL free distribution license, but majority of Linux/UNIX based finance packages are totally free for personal and commercial usage. GnuCash: The Ultimate Free Open Source Accounting Software Primarily coded in C,  GnuCash  is a free open source accounting software, and happens to be a part of the GNU Project. It runs on platforms such as OpenBSD, Solaris, UNIX, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, and the likes of them. Looking at the f eatures of GnuCash, you’ll discover that the package allows you to perform double-entry bookkeeping, maintenance of Stock/Mutual Fund Portfolios, Scheduled Transactions, and Mortgage and Loan Repayment Druid.It also offers support to HBCI and Multi-Currency Transaction Handling. GnuCash also comes with Transaction-Import Matching Support, OFX, QIF Import facilities, Small Business Accounting Features and even Multi-User SQL Support, making it an extensive open source finance application. What’s more, GnuCash can also export data to TXF format and can be used in tandem with the tax preparation programs with great ease. You can virtually perform all kinds of finance related tasks with the help of GnuCash.

Racialization of savagery Essay

In his essay ‘The Tempest in the Wilderness: The Racialization of Slavery’, Ronald Takaki (1992) discusses how savagery as generally understood by Europeans since the early seventeenth century became identified with and synonymous to the races of Native Americans and transplanted Africans. He shows how this historical construction of savagery proceeded from a general understanding of civilization as similar with and synonymous to being European. He demonstrates in the historical experience that he examines the creation of the binary opposition ‘European-civilized/Others-savage’. He used The Tempest, the play by William Shakespeare, as a starting point in delivering his argument. He says that the play â€Å"can be approached as a fascinating tale about the creation of a new society in America. † As a play, as literature, as a work of art, The Tempest inevitably drew upon prevailing, if not dominant, perceptions of Europeans colonizers’ encounter with Native Americans. Europeans after all have not been at that time exposed to such people, and those who were indeed exposed were but a minority of the population. The existing conditions therefore allowed, if not forced, a narrow, one-sided and ethnocentric appreciation of the Indians. This is the context of The Tempest. The play was written after the first encounter with American Indians but before the full-scale colonization of New England began. In the play, the main character Prospero encountered Caliban – a beastly creature that captures the stereotype of Native Americans. Caliban’s appearance is deformed and dark, and his behavior is savage. He personified ‘a born devil’ who belonged to a ‘vile race’. He represented intellectual incapacity as well as nature in its raw form. He is therefore the diametrical opposite of Prospero – intelligent, civilized, and normal-looking and therefore European, driven by lofty principles. The Native Americans in New England were racially different from the Europeans. They were viewed as representatives of backwardness and inefficiency, different from and opposed to the modernity and technological advancement represented by Europeans. They reminded the English colonizers of the Irish savages because they were tribal and pagan. Their economic system appeared to the English colonizers as the primitive ancestor of the latter’s manufacturing system. The Indians had a dark complexion, lived in the forests and were open sexually. â€Å"Christianity, cities, letters, clothing and swords† – these, according to Takaki, are the things Europeans considered as hallmarks of civilization – their civilization – which Indians however lacked. Indians were seen as driven by wild passions, and not led by intellect, as Europeans thought about themselves (Weinberg 2003). Historical developments built upon this largely negative perception of American Indians to the detriment of the latter. The New England area was later to be occupied by English settlers who were devout Protestants and who condemned the American Indians as heathens. The American Indians were later to be called a ‘demonic race’ that is associated with evil. The Protestant English sought to reaffirm and strengthen their moral beliefs by defining these against the beliefs and practices of the American Indians. They are not American Indians and they must strive never to become similar with these people. They believed that the diseases afflicting large sections of the American Indian population were God’s way of punishing and destroying pagans, as well as of paving the way for God’s people to settle and reside in the lands of these peoples. When embroiled in conflicts over rightful ownership of lands, English settlers fell back on their religious beliefs, believing that it was their ‘Puritan destiny’ to occupy those lands. They even claimed that by not using their lands, the American Indians were merely wasting these. In short, economic contradictions between the two peoples worked to reinforce the racialization of savagery as a Native American character. In many ways, the appreciation of Africans by the European colonizers were similar to the latter’s appreciation of the Indians. There were also differences, however. The dark skin of the Africans by itself, and especially when understood as ‘black’, sets off into motion various cultural connotations for Europeans. Darkness or blackness often signifies evil, sinister or wicked forces in English culture. Africans were viewed as a baser, primal and lesser people who deserve to serve Europeans. The physical strength of Africans, in the context within which they were encountered by the Europeans, appeared to the European settlers as a form of threat. The Africans were therefore thought of as needing to be subjugated and controlled, tamed and enslaved. They embodied nature, not culture. This largely negative perception of Africans was reinforced later by succeeding developments. If they were initially perceived as slaves, slave-like, or deserving to be slaves, Africans were later to become slaves, thanks to complications in the class system of the English settlers. The English aristocracy demanded labor to capitalize on the growing tobacco demand. Landowners on the other hand depended on indentured servants, both black and white. The indentured servants aspired to become wealthy themselves, but were repressed to minimize competition for land and increase the supply of white laborers. This resulted in the Bacon’s Rebellion of 1676, in which lower-class workers fought the landowners. For depending on white labor, the landowners felt threatened. It is here that slaves from Africa came as a convenient way to address the problem. Africans can become slaves without the right to bear arms and assemble at meetings that were given to white laborers (Halford 1999). So the racialization of savagery is the outcome of a complex historical process that involved the encounter of two different cultures, societies, and economic and political systems – wherein one is debased from the perspective of the other whose identity came to be built upon the debasement. Important in this process is the uneven economic and military power between the two collectivities, as this factor determines whose perspective shall become dominant and shall persist among the two perspectives that naturally go with the two races. The racialization of savagery constitutes and is in turn constituted by, various cultural forms as exemplified by The Tempest. The participation of cultural forms in the racialization of savagery, though in a different but related contex, is also clarified in the influential book of Edward W. Said titled Orientalism (1979). 2. Compare the Land-Allotment Strategy used with the Choctaw’s with the Treaty Strategy that was applied to the Cherokee. What are the key differences between both approaches to Indian lands? Do they share any similarities? What were the outcomes of each strategy? Both the Land-Allotment Strategy used with the Choctaws and the Treaty Strategy used with the Cherokees continued and carried to conclusion the Europeans’ earlier deceitful and brutal strategies in dealing with American Indians. Weinberg (2003) reports that the communal society of the Indians was converted by the white settlers into a ‘plunder’ society: Many of the Indians lived as a community. They depended on hunting for buffalos. They planted corn, which served as their staple food. The Indians were an intelligent and civilized people. They had a civilization, even if this did not conform to and imitated what the white settlers considered as civilization – which, to their mind, means their civilization. Wars were waged against the Indians to get their land and subdue their labor. European fur traders even used whiskey to greatly weaken the sense of discretion of Indians in matters pertaining to trade. To get their lands, repression through legal means, as well as death squads, was used against them (Weinberg 2003). Historically, both the Land-Allotment Strategy used with the Choctaws and the Treaty Strategy used with the Cherokees were implemented under the â€Å"Indian Removal Act†. This act was campaigned for by US President Andrew Jackson in both houses of Congress. This piece of legislation gave the president the free hand to discuss the removal treaties with Indian tribes occupying the eastern part of the Mississippi river. Under these treaties, the Indians were to surrender their lands in exchange for lands in the west of the Mississippi river. Those wishing to remain in the east, the act claims, would be considered as citizens of their home states. The process was supposed to be voluntary and peaceful. When the southeastern nations resisted, however, US President Jackson used force to make the Indian nations leave their lands. He was initially trusted by the Indians but was later exposed and condemned as a traitor to their cause (â€Å"Indian Removal†, n. d. ) Some points on the Land-Allotment Strategy used with the Choctaws: ? The Choctaws were the first to sign a removal treaty. ? The Treaty of the Dancing Rabbit Creak promised to give individual families the liberty to stay and live amidst white people by giving them a land grant. ? Those who stayed were given some protection by the War Department, though it proved no match to the white population which squatted in Chotaws territory and those who cheated Choctaws of their land. ? President Andrew Jackson initially promised to protect those who stayed, only to say later that he cannot guard the boundaries he set. ? Those who stayed ran out of money and had to borrow from white land-owning families. As a result, they got into debt, had to sell their lands, and moved west. ? This is the reason why whites think that they are not to blame and are without fault in relation to the poverty and eventual exodus of the Indians. They make it appear that it is the Indians who are responsible for their decision later on to go to a different land. ? The migration of the Choctaws occurred during the winter, causing many to get sick and die (Wright and Fernandez, 1999). Some points on the Treaty Strategy used with the Cherokees: ? The legislature of Georgia orders Cherokee lands to be absorbed by the federal government. ? They were tricked into signing an illegitimate treaty. This treaty promised individual Cherokees a payment of $3. 2 million in exchange for their lands. (SHSU, n. d. ) ? In 1833, a small faction agreed to sign the Treaty of New Echota, a removal treaty. The leaders of this group were not the recognized leaders of the tribe. ? More than 15,000 Cherokees signed a petition in protest to the Treaty of New Echota. The Supreme Court, however, ignored the protests and ratified the treaty. ? The Cherokees were given two years to voluntarily migrate. If they fail to migrate after two years, the ruling says, force will be used to remove them. By 1838, however, only 2,000 members of the tribe have transferred, and 16,000 members remained in the land. ? The US government sent in 7,000 white troops. The Cherokees were not allowed to pack up their belongings, and the white troops looted their homes. ? This resulted in the march known as the Trail of Tears, which in reality is an exodus from the violence inflicted by the white settlers. The Trail of Tears lasted until winter, killing more than 4,000 Cherokees on their way to another land. (â€Å"Indian Removal†, n. d. ). The similarities between the two approaches are more striking than the differences. Both approaches merely continued and carried to conclusion the Europeans’ earlier deceitful and brutal treatment of the Indians. Both are premised on the drive to remove Indians from their lands. Both started off by dividing the particular Indian populations. Both inflicted suffering on the section of the Indian population that stayed in their lands. Both ended up with whites owning Indian land, and with Indians getting sick and dying on their way to a different land. Both used laws and treaties that pretended to work for the Indians, but in reality facilitated the transfer of their lands to the white settlers. These laws and treaties also made it appear that Indians had genuine choices at that time and that they are solely responsible for their actions. The approaches not only exemplify ‘divide-and-rule’ tactics used by European colonizers against peoples they colonize. The approaches also demonstrate the brutality with which colonial conquest was carried out by Europeans against peoples they perceive as ‘others’. The differences between the two approaches hinge on one significant factor: The resistance of the Cherokees. Because the Cherokees resisted, they were treated as a group, not as individual families as in the case of the Choctaws. This is the context of the attempt to buy off individual families for such a preposterously huge sum. Because they resisted, their occupancy of their land was extended, unlike that of the Choctaws. Because they resisted, they were met with a force more violent than that encountered by the Choctaws. 3. Possession of land is a recurring theme throughout the nineteenth century. Discuss how the differing relationships to the land typically experienced by European immigrants and their descendents, Native Americans, African slaves, post-bellum African Americans, and Mexicans contributed to the relative successes of these different ethnic groups. The possession of land is widespread in the 19th century. European immigrants did not come to America to occupy vacant land but to a territory inhabited by different ethnic groups (Zinn, 1980). The American ruling elite as well as the upperclass Europeans emerged many times richer after grabbing land from other peoples. The white who had the resources to carry out land grabbing deprived people of their land. The descendants of European immigrants, hereafter, inherited the land that was stolen from others. The countless peoples (number reaching millions) coming from ethnic groups had this in common: they did not have ownership of the land that they had occupied and developed for hundreds of years. How it was taken from them also has this central theme- war. It was by force that their land was taken from them. Behind this coercive measure is the drive for private property. European occupation, therefore, involved stories of massacre, deception and brutality (Zinn, 1980). In sum, the differing relationship to the land by European immigrants and their descendents and Native Americans, African slaves, post-bellum African Americans and Mexicans was that of ownership of land. The ethnic groups were either driven out of their land, or were made to stay and develop the land but were not allowed to partake in its bountiful resources. The result of this differing relationship is that the rich became richer and the poor became poorer. What would emerge different from these ethnic groups, on the other hand, is how they fought the war for land. The internal and external conditions of their struggles result to their varying success in social status. Relative to each ethnic group the difference is minimal. Relative to European immigrants, the gap is wide. However, in the event of monopoly capitalism, different ethnic groups would all experience exploitation of greater scope and magnitude than any point in history. The Case of Indians In the 19th century, the movement of whites pressured national government to conduct aggressive activity to Indians to drive them out of their land. The removal of Indians opened the vast lands of America to agriculture then to market, then to money, and then to the development of modern capitalist economy -which is essentially an economy characterized with the surplus of good and the phenomenon of superprofit. The places involved in the violent dispossession of land were Louisiana (purchased from France), North Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Missisipi and Florida (Zinn, 1980). The Case of Mexicans US government troops were ordered to occupy the territory inhabited by Mexicans. The latter were murdered in their own soil. Some of the soldiers including commanding officers were reluctant but few showed opposition in executing orders. Although racism was widespread among Americans, the killings did not receive popular support. The places involved in the violent dispossession of land were California, Texas, New Mexico and Louisiana. Mexico surrendered to US and was later paid $15 million. US propaganda later professed that fortunately they have taken nothing by conquest (Zinn, 1980) The Case of African American In 19th century, slavery of blacks was abolished in principle. In practice, however, they remained subjected to the oppressive conditions in plantation systems. They were still whipped and punished as forms of discipline in work. The places involved in the oppression of blacks based on land were New Orleans, South Carolina, Virgina, among others. The event of large-scale production in plantation brought about many uprisings of black people. Some ran away individually to escape their white master’s exploitation. But, it was through collective resistance and armed insurrection that black people received vast support that even electoral candidates including President Lincoln had to make a pretense of giving black and white equal access to land and all the wealth and rights that go with it (Zinn, 1980). Conclusion There is no doubt that the need for land is real and practical. But in a society ruled by competition and insatiable drive for more wealth, this human need was transformed to the murder of millions of people who are mostly colored. The ruling class in America during the 19th century argued that this conquest is justifiable because the white man is far superior to any other race. But history proves they were only superior militarily (Zinn, 1980). And they used this instrument of force to oppress other peoples. The history of white man supremacy is still propagated to this very day by the most powerful men in modern capitalists. The US government and its propaganda network in media and academe argue that taking land from other people, despite its bloodshed, can be justified with the emergence of a more progressive US. The ethnic groups, on the other hand, are more refined culturally and richer economically. This claim, of course, is but a distortion of history. If there is any real progress among these ethnic groups, it is the result of their struggle against their oppressors. Futhermore, it is not the American people as a whole that benefited from the systematic land grabbing from ethnic groups by the government. Ordinary Americans had to work hard for what they have; it was not given to them by the government. They were even sent to wars for the sake of the rich. In sum, the relative success of different ethnic groups was brought about by their struggle for land and all the wealth that comes with it. There was never a â€Å"United States or a community of people with common interest if we mean a â€Å"national interest† represented by the government, the development of capitalism or the dominant culture (Zinn, 1980). The differing relationships to the land experienced by European immigrants and their descendents, compared to the native Americans, African slaves, post-bellum African Americans, and Mexicans result to the formation of different people bounded with similar interests and common struggles, and contribute to the formation of movements which, as a whole, create a battling arena against modern capitalism. REFERENCES Halford, Joan Montgomery. (1999) â€Å"A Different Mirror: A Conversation with Ronald Takaki† Understanding Race, Class and Culture. Vol. 56, No. 7. April. http://www. ascd. org/ed_topics/el199904_halford. html â€Å"Indian removal†. n. d. Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 21 Aug. 2006 from http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2959. html Said, Edward W. (1979) Orientalism. New York: Pantheon. Takaki, Ronald. (1992) The Tempest in the Wilderness: The Racialization of Savagery. The Journal of American History, vol. 79, no. 3, December, 892-912. Weinberg, Meyer. (2003) A Short History of American Capitalism. USA: New History Press. Retrieved August 16, 2006, from http://newhistory. org Zinn, Howard. (1980) A People’s History of the United States. USA: Harper & Row Publishers. Wright, Dawin and Dr. Ramona Fernandez. Sept. 16, 1999. ATL 125-13 American Ethnic and Racial Experience. Retrieved 21 Aug 2006 from http://www. msu. edu/user/wright96/essay2b. htm

“Hobson’s choice” by Harold Brighouse Essay

The play, â€Å"Hobson’s choice,† written by Harold Brighouse, was set during the time period when women’s rights were forbidden – not being allowed to vote for example. In doing so, Harold Brighouse combines both comedy and confliction, between all of the characters. When the curtain comes up, you see Hobson’s daughters on the stage in the shop. Maggie, who is hard working that she will succeed by perusing her wishes rather than her fathers. The audience would perhaps find this situation strange as women during the 19th century were not thought of as business women. As a result of this, tension rises as Maggie is defying the stereotype regarding women. She defies the fact that most women don’t make something of themselves. By looking at the account books, it portrays her personality as forceful, forthright and a business type woman. As Maggie examines the account book, it displays that she is intellectual as she understand maths and she straight seems to be more noticeable from her other sisters as soon as she enters the scene. She automatically seems to look superior to them. During the Victorian days, women had to abide by specific regulations. One of these regulations being that you had to obey your father as he was generally the master. There is a huge amount of debate in the play, â€Å"Hobson’s choice,† due to this certain rule. An example of differences developing due to that rule is when they are discussing what time to have dinner: â€Å"Dinner will be when I come in for it. I’m master here.† By Hobson actually announcing that he is master, he in my opinion is not only reminding his daughters that he is superior and his daughters are second best to him, but I feel that he is also reminding himself. This could be as he may be losing control over his daughters. In a sense, a debate occurs when Hobson and his three daughters are discussing marriage proposals as well. â€Å"You thought me past the marrying age. I’m not that’s all.† Here, Maggie is refusing to be put into the so called, â€Å"Shelved,† cluster that her father has positioned her in. There are a number of issues this play looks at towards subjects that even happen in today’s world – for example, alcohol issues, marriage, health and family structure. When Will Mossop is introduced to the play, Maggie is telling him how she wishes to be wed to him, however Will is already tokened – to be wed – to another, Ada Figgins, and is very reluctant to Maggie’s decision. Ada then comes into the shop, like every other day, to give Will his lunch she had made for him, but before she can even see Will, Maggie jumps in front of her and tells Ada she will be getting wed to Will instead. Ada and Maggie have a dispute towards Maggie’s words. Will tries to tell Maggie he is tokened and it will be with Ada like it was supposed to be, until Maggie is telling Ada to leave her shop and as Will will not stand up for Ada, instead tells her that the shop is Maggie’s fathers business and he is the employer, we all find out that the only reason Will is with Ada is because her mother is very controlling and Will actually fears her. Ada leaves the shop followed by Hobson walking back in. Maggie then tells her father about th e decision that had been made and he is very reluctant to listen to the ‘nonsense’ and lashes out on Will and hits him with his belt. Will is then very and tells Maggie he will wed her and her father will not be able to get in the way, followed by Will giving Maggie a kiss in front of her father! Will and Maggie have now left the shop together and are now starting their own business by opening up their own boot store. They both ask Mrs Hepworth if they can borrow a hundred pound to start up the business as she is the only one who can give the future a future. However, as this is all happening Hobson’s shop is losing a lot of their business and is going downhill, driving Hobson to turn to alcohol and always being in the Moonrakers. Will and Maggie wed followed by them seeking husbands for Maggie’s younger sisters, Alice and Vikki causing the Hobson family to be no more as Henry Hobson is so angry with his daughters and also humiliated. After Maggie and Will have wed they go back to the newlyweds house with the sisters and their new partners to have some tea and a slice of cake to celebrate the marriage. However the evening before the wedding took place Maggie had made a plan to keep Hobson out the way so he didn’t ruin it by waiting till he was at the Moonrakers and opening up a cellar door knowing he would fall into it and fall asleep as he was so drunk and unable to look after himself. When Hobson woke up the next day he found a letter on him saying he had been fined for trespassing on someone else’s land, which he showed to Maggie and everyone else when he went to her home that evening. Nearly a year later all three sisters have moved on and are now married, and also Vikki is expecting a baby on the way. Hobson has had the visit from the doctor who has figured out he is an alcoholic and a depressed man, and his only cure was his family, he prescribed him no medication but in fact for Maggie to move back in to look after him. After a lot of bickering between the sisters and Hobson to see who will look after him and move back in, Maggie agrees to ask Will for permission for them to move back in. Will agrees with no hesitation but is a bit nervous about shutting down his business. However, Hobson tries to tell him he will give Will back his old job and Maggie can have her old job back, Will however was not convinced nor was he happy about the offer. Instead they would share the business together and change the name to something that would suit both men. I feel as if Hobson’s Choice went over a lot of issues, some of which I have some personal knowledge in so I therefore found the play very interesting to read and see how others deal with the same situation. Even though I loved to read this play and I would recommend it to others, it was very hard to write about as so much was in it. It opens readers eyes to see what it was like to be brought up in the 19th century and see how life was supposed to be like. A very well written book, and also a very easy read but yet exciting play.

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The Responsible Leader and Manager - Essay Example Among the managers are Stacey Miguel, Kathy Buttimer and Annama Schaeffer. They are, respectively, district manager in Indiana, recruiting manager in Rhode Island and investor relations manager. The district manager oversees all the operations of the district including customer satisfaction and preparing stakeholders’ reports. The recruiting manager is responsible for getting qualified and competent staff to drive the business’ success. The investor relations manager ensures the stakeholders’ interests are taken care of while updating them on the company’s progress. This paper will explain how the managers can use their personal, interpersonal and societal values to manage the stakeholders. It will also show how they demonstrate their awareness of social issues and corporate citizenship responsibilities. Stakeholders Stakeholder management is the process that promotes a company’s strategic goals by influencing internal and external environments to c reate beneficial relationships between the company and its stakeholders (Bolman & Deal 1995). This is achieved through management of the agreed objectives and expectations. Among the stakeholders of Limited Brands are the customers, corporate shareholding companies and suppliers. By the end of 2012, Janus Capital Management LLC had 22.8 million shares, representing a 15.9 percent shareholding in Limited Brands. It is the duty of the managers to integrate their personal values and corporate values in order to ensure the success of the business and encourage stakeholders to invest more. Apart from Mr. Leslie Wexner, the owner, Janus Capital Management is the next largest shareholder. Customers The customers are among the key stakeholders, and the company instills the value of the customer being king to all managers. The managers at Limited Brands know that the business cannot survive without its customers. Even after bringing quality products to the market, the customers’ choic e to buy or not can determine the business’ fate (Chappell 1993). It is, therefore, significant to portray themselves as a company that focuses on excellence driven by customer satisfaction and motivational leadership on top of giving value for money in their products. In mirroring their customers’ values, the recruiting manger, district manager and investor relationship manager bring out their humility in a bid to empower women and improve children’s education. All the managers possess personal values of reaching out a helping hand to the needy. They themselves must possess values of honesty and integrity so as to enroll into the programs genuinely deserving students and women. In light to aiding talented students who need to gain experience before venturing into the employment world, the company offers internships and the successful applicants receive firsthand 10 weeks of immersion experience. They get to learn how products, brands and customer experiences ar e built and delivered. Some are even enrolled into accounting or systems support positions. The managers ensure, through their values of sharing knowledge and opportunity, that the interns learn in the best environment and they can share their experiences with the general public, and customers, upon completion. They subject the interns to the actual and challenging experiences of the working field. The interpersonal values of the managers help the interns to build and develop networks of relationships with other managers and the broader customer base by introductions and recommendations. This gesture serves to attract, build and maintain loyal customers who ensure that business flourishes. With retail stores in 49 states in the US and over 700 products, the interns also stand a better chance of being taken up

Managing Activities To Achieve Results Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Managing Activities To Achieve Results - Essay Example They focus on demand from all over the world, to supply customers with products of a good price. Since it is an innovation based company that focuses on lower and competitive prices and food for all, its structure is a matrix structure. That is, it is divided into departments called functional departments. These include sales and marketing, global supply, research and development and global support functions. Even though these are independent functions, they function together as well, as teams are made to bridge the different departments. This helps bring diverse talent together and benefit the organization as a whole. It also has a culture of being forward looking, passionate and creative, where employees are made to think of new ideas while at the same time understanding that they need to meet deadlines. Employees are also appreciate and rewarded for the work that they do. LO1.2. Process management is when the company increases the effectiveness of the entire processes in Syngenta by applying the knowledge base to all the activities in the organization rather than a specific project so that optimal customer satisfaction can be achieved. The entire business process is included in this process and all the aspects of the organization are made according to the customer’s demand. ... The next step is to model the theories and test out their practicality and workability with a number of variables as situations in the world are dynamic. Execution is the next step and it is used to apply the theoretical concepts in the workplace such as the software or computer applications that allow the workplace to function. Service quality is defined as a comparison of what people are expecting to be delivered or offered and what they actually get offered or what actually is offered to them. If a business is eyeing to remain competitive and as well as a strong customer base, it is vital for them to offer the kind of service quality that is higher than the industry average. The business is able to establish itself as a successful enterprise only when they actually cater to the customers that they are looking for. A customer is always willing to pay as much as demanded when they are offered the equal price in return. The price in return that the customer is looking for is a good r eception of their demands and the fulfillment of their request to the maximum limit. Service quality has two aspects to it, one of them is objective and the other is subjective. The objective part of the service quality relates to the tangible factors, things that are visible while subjective part are the intangibles, things that are only felt or experienced. It is important for the business to be able to distinguish them and hence appear more appealing to their customers. To keep a constant check on the Service Quality that is being provided by them, the Sygentas should design a measurement scale, or predefined criteria that will actually help them judge their own service quality. Every business process also

Media changes Essay Example for Free

Media changes Essay Media changes the rules of how we can view the world. It lets us see that there are realities aside from the reality that we already know. The media shows, for instance, how tragic calamities like tsunamis and hurricanes could be. It also reveals that public school teachers in U. S. could also be violent and abusive towards their students. Now, if these realities didn’t come out of media, would we know that such injustices and inequalities still rampantly occur in human existence? Media also spreads bad influences like violence and pornography. However, these should not constitute the only basis for condemning media. Pornography and hostility already existed decades before media came out. Negligence of parents can’t be blamed for this violence. But it we want our children to view wholesome materials, then parents should initiate a move in monitoring their children’s activities and orient them what materials would be considered as garbage. Youtube. com is just one of the popular forms of media where the people visit to watch and upload videos. While some other sites have a team of reviewers to check on the videos beings submitted to their sites, YouTube o n the other hand is the free site where people can easily upload and access even the inappropriate ones. Inappropriate means videos containing obscene, violent, and offensive language. Kids 11-14 can say that there are videos with inappropriate content. Videos like Hentai (a Japanese pornographic animation) and Harry Potter Puppet Pals are examples of videos that have sexual, gory and foul content. These videos are obviously catchy to children. Indeed, children should never be deprived of their rights to be educated of ugly realities but posting violent and pornographic videos in a site where people, even the young ones, often â€Å"drop by† when they’re on the net could be dangerous. These videos might bring shock to these young, or they might think it is okay to show pornography. With all these issues, parents should guide their children on what they watch and, in some cases, what they upload. Some of these inappropriate videos can only be accessed when he/she registers and must not be a minor, but anybody could lie about the age. It is also advised that children below 18 should have parental guidance, but some parents are not aware that these sites exist. Some parents are not even familiar with the Internet. If children are guarded at home, the could always go to Internet cafes if they would insist or too curious to access these videos. This could still be possible since some cafe’s are very lenient when it comes to censorship. In our generation today, technology is changing and evolving every minute. Though measures are taken and warnings are given, improvement will only be realized with the virtue of responsibility. References Media Awareness Network (n. d. ) Violence in Media Entertainment. Retrieved October 12, 2008, from http://www. media-awareness. ca/english/issues/violence/violence_entertainment. cfm

Role of Fast Food in Increasing Childhood Obesity

Role of Fast Food in Increasing Childhood Obesity The pandemic of childhood obesity is something that should be concerning to the individuals of our country as it is something that can be prevented. Within the last 3 decades, child obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents. In 1980, only about 7% of US children between the ages of 6 and 11 were obese, while in 2012 about 18% of them were. Similar results were seen in US children aged 12 to 19 years old, jumping from 5% to 21% during that same time. A person is considered overweight when they have excess body weight from fat, muscle, bone, or water for a certain height. A person who is considered obese has excess body fat (â€Å"Adolescent and School Health†, 2014). Caloric imbalance, which is when more calories are consumed than expended, contributes to obesity and can be affected by an assortment of behavioral, genetic, and environmental factors. Considered both an environmental and behavioral factor, the consumption of fast-food and convenience food contributes to higher obesity rates among children. The pace of the fast-food industry has only sped up in the past 30 years, as fast-food chains are rapidly multiplying and popping up faster than ever before on every street corner. They are known to serve calorie-dense foods which are high in salt and fat, and low in micronutrients (Fraser, Clarke, Cade, Edwards, 2012). These extra calories consumed in addition to the sedentary lifestyles of many children create an â€Å"obesogenic environment.† Extra calories get stored as adipose fat and contribute greatly to obesity (Fraser et al., 2012). Today, over 50 million customers are served each and every day from more than 3,000 different fast-food restaurants across the country. Promotional activities sponsored by these fast-food restaurants often target vulnerable populations including families with children or of low socio economic status, and stress that their products are quick and inexpensive meal replacements (Newman, Howlett, Burton, 2014). Like fast-food outlets, convenience stores are viewed as unhealthy since most of the products on their shelves are non-perishable and can last for long periods of time. The majority of the shelves in these types of stores are stocked with snacks and junk food. Seeing that portion sizes are significantly larger at fast-food and sit-down restaurants, they contain more calories and fat than meals prepared in the home would have (Lee, 2012). Many families opt for these alternatives because they do not have the time to cook a meal in the home or they are trying to save money and this is the only way they know how to. Consuming fast-food and convenience food is unhealthy for people, especially children since their bodies are still growing and need essential nutrients for proper development. An additional 150 calories a day has been associated with children who choose to eat fast-food for one of their meals throughout the day (Lee, 2012). Extra calories get stored as adipose fat, which can lead to being overweight and becoming obese if not monitored closely. The negative effects are numerous and can last a lifetime. Immediate effects of childhood obesity include greater risk for cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, and developing asthma. Children can also develop sleep apnea and trigger the onset of early puberty by simply being overweight. This can cause a child to become self-conscious about their body image because they are developing faster than their peers. If not monitored before a child reaches adulthood, they have a greater risk of becoming obese as an adult, which can then lead to p roblems such as stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, arthritis and a variety of different cancers (â€Å"Adolescent and School Health†, 2014). The rate of childhood obesity is climbing in every country with rates around 10% for school-aged children from all over the world. This is concerning since it is known that obesity can stay with a child through adulthood and cause disease. The more accessible grocery stores and farmers markets are, the smaller the risk a person has at becoming obese. While on the opposite end, the more one is surrounded by fast-food and convenience stores the higher their weight status usually is. In 2009, a study performed on 1,669 children indicated that 23% of them were overweight or obese. Additional findings included body weight to be 1.3 kg lower, BMI 0.5 kg/m ² lower, and body fat 1.1% lower in children who had access to supermarkets and food options than those who did not have this advantage (Jennings et al., 2011). Similar results were seen in another study that compared 72,900 children, from 17 different countries aged 6 to 7 years old. Twenty-three percent of the children said that they consumed fast food, while 4% of them said that they consume fast-food on a daily basis. The children who rarely came in contact with fast-food had an average BMI of 16.35, those who consumed fast-food once or twice a week had an average BMI of 16.5, and those who consumed fast-food daily had an average BMI of 16.57 (Braithwaite et al., 2014). Consumption of fast food only increases as a child gets older into their teen years. The more frequent fast-food is consumed, the higher a child’s BMI will be. Children are in a vulnerable state during their childhood, but also have an opportunity for extraordinary growth. It is important to nip these bad habits now, so they do not become the norm in the future. A study of 13 to 15 year olds in the United Kingdom showed associations between eating fast-food and the increase of body fat. Persons who ate fast-food typically had 2% more body fat and increased their odds of becoming obese by 23% (Fraser et al., 2012). Due to its expanding fr anchises, calorie dense products and large portion sizes, fast-food chains have become a major concern in several countries. Another thing to consider is the location of fast-food restaurants and convenience stores in relation to the school and the home. At least one fast-food chain has been found within walking distance of about 37% of all schools around the country (Newman, Howlett, Burton, 2014). Fewer servings of fruits and vegetables and increased servings of soda were seen in students who walked one half mile or less to a fast-food chain from school. The population of students who attended schools close to fast-food chains were more likely to be seen as overweight or obese than students who were not considered to be in that type of environment. In this study, the average BMI was 21.7 kg/m ² for students aged at least 12.5 years old. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), this is considered to be in the healthy weight range. With only 55% of children attending a school within walking distance of a fast-food restaurant, 27.7% of the total sample was overweight and 12% were considered obe se. A 0.10 unit increase in BMI was also seen in children who attended schools with a fast-food restaurant nearby (Davis Carpenter, 2009). Almost the same results were seen in a Leeds, UK population of 33,594 children ages 3 to 14. Of those living within the metropolitan boundaries, 27.1% of the population was overweight with 12.6% being obese (Fraser Edwards, 2010). Not only does fast-food cause an increase in BMI, but also increases a child’s risk of becoming obese. The odds of being overweight increases 1.06 times and the odds of being obese increases 1.07 times for children who attend schools that are in close proximity to a fast-food chain (Davis Carpenter, 2009). In a California-based study, the occurrences of obesity in high schools were significantly higher for students that could walk to fast-food outlets during or after school (Lee, 2012). Another survey conducted at a medium-sized public school district in Virginia showed that students within one-tenth of a mile of any fast-food place were 3.9 times more likely to be obese and have an increase of 2.32 units in BMI. BMI increased another 0.40 units if there was another restaurant within one quarter of a mile (Mellor, Dolan, Rapoport, 2011). It is all about location; children are more tempted to grab a bite to eat from a fast-food restaurant if it is on their way to and from sch ool. Convenience food is another factor that contributes greatly to childhood obesity. In a national study, 9,760 children were tracked from kindergarten until the spring of their eighth grade on fast-food, snack, and soda consumption. Fifth-graders showed that they ate an average of 0.46 fast-food/snacks per day, while 12% of them consumed fast-food daily. The average soft drink consumption was 0.91 servings daily with 19% reporting that they had more than twice the daily recommended serving (Andreyeya, Kelly, Harris, 2011). Another national survey states that an extra soft drink serving for children is associated with a 15% increase in the probability of obesity, while an additional serving of fast-food causes a 25% increase. Also, an extra serving of juice a day is associated with a 10% increase (Mandal Powell, 2014). An additional study of 350 kindergarteners in south-eastern Poland reported that 14.6% of all children were overweight. After reviewing their diets, it was found that m ost of the foods were calorie dense and loaded in added sugar. Snacking was seen between all meals and the consumption of sugary drinks was high. At least once a week, fruit juice high in sugar was drunk by 66% of children and sweetened sodas by 44.6% of them. Furthermore, 58% of children ate only one serving of sweets per day, while roughly one third ate these treats multiple times per week. Research indicates that young children with a BMI above the 80th percentile are at three times the risk to experience obesity during the ages from 24 to 29. The risk even increases to four times for adolescents who are overweight (Kostecka, 2014). Even though more and more children these days are eating convenience food and fast-food, there are several ways parents, schools, and communities can help to prevent this from happening. Prevention programs must have an approach that aims to boost energy expenditure and reduce intake. Individually, caregivers would need to be targeted since most children are too young to understand. Caregivers should have nutrition education and be able to prepare healthy meals. At home, parents should be encouraged to serve proper food portions, support physical activity, and minimize or eliminate sedentary behaviors. They should also prepare meals in the home versus grabbing fast-food on the run. A good idea might be to make leftovers so that they can be heated up when in a time crunch. That way, the children are still getting a healthy and satisfying meal that gives them plenty of energy for whatever activities they might be doing. At school, school lunches can be altered to lower the caloric cont ent and vending machines can be removed. That will eliminate any energy dense snack foods and sugary drinks, although children may still bring these kinds of snacks from home. Another idea for schools is to design their buildings so that students expend more energy throughout the day. This can be done by designing a multistory building where each succeeding class is on a different level which promotes significant stair stepping during the day. In the community, public policies and mass media campaigns can aim to promote healthy eating and an active lifestyle. The community can also place taxes on sugary items and fast-food in the hopes that the extra cost will deter people from purchasing these items. An example of a public policy that helps prevent child obesity can be seen in Arkansas. It called for mandatory BMI testing of children in public schools starting in 2003 (Han, Lawlor, Kimm, 2010). This type of testing has been used in 13 other states and should be considered in state s currently lacking this screening. This way, children’s weight can be monitored from an early age and preventative measures can be taken before it is too late. As one can see, the rate of childhood obesity has been growing rapidly all over the world. Rates are only going to keep increasing if nothing is done to prevent it. All the studies have shown that there is a positive association between BMI and fast-food intake, and BMI and convenience food intake. A higher BMI than the norm indicates that the child is either overweight or obese. Positive associations were also seen between BMI, obesity, and distance between fast-food/convenience stores and the home/school. It is our job as a community to reduce the prevalence of obesity in children. There will always be a continued need for nutritional education concerning fast-food and its health consequences. Of the United States total gross domestic product, about 12.7% is spent on health care annually. Seeing that obesity is one of the most expensive medical conditions, the need for intervention is clear (Davis Carpenter, 2009).

Cell-based Therapy For Myocardial Regeneration

Cell-based Therapy For Myocardial Regeneration ABSTRACT Myocardial infarction is one of the main cause of mortality in many countries. Therefore, an effective therapy for myocardial infarction is required. Reperfusion and other conventional therapy have been the mainstay therapy for myocardial infarction. However, many patients remain refractory to this therapy. Cell-based therapy is considered a novel therapy, in which stem cells are used for cardiac repair. Stem cells are potential therapeutic and promising option that could be the alternative solution for salvaging damaged cardiomyocyte. Based on current studies, stem cells are a promising therapeutic approach for myocardial infarction. However, some challenges need to be answered by future studies before this novel therapy can be widely applied. This essay provides an overview of the progress in stem cell therapy for myocardial infarction. INTRODUCTION The robust potential of stem cells were still a mystery, but today, we are constantly getting new information on this particular topic. One of the prospects of stem cell therapy is to treat damaged cardiomyocyte (Fischer, et.al, 2009; Beltrami, 2003).Acute myocardial infarction is one of the main causes of mortality and morbidity in many countries. Not only this disease causes a massive socio-economic burden, but also reduces the quality of live for patients who survive the attack (Hamm, 2016). Currently, one of the mainstay therapy for myocardial infarction is rapid revascularization to limit ischaemic damage. Reperfusion and other conventional therapy have undoubtedly saved so many lives, yet there are patients remained refractory to this therapy and left with no other treatment options. In addition to that, many patients who have underwent reperfusion strategy and survived, often left with significant impairment of left ventricular systolic function. One big question remain unansw ered. Is there any other treatment option for these patients? Medical therapeutic approach to reduce damaged cardiomyocyte and generate new functioning muscle is the current unmeet need. Stem cells emerge as the novel procedure to restore damaged cardiomyocytes, and this procedure is popularly known as cellular cardiomyoplasty (Pendyala, et.al, 2008; Reinlib, 2000). Many preclinical and clinical trials have documented the potential use of stem cells to generate viable cardiomyocyte and improve cardiac function (Bergmann, et.al, 2009). To date, there are many different types of adult stem cells and progenitor cells used for this procedure, some of which are bone marrow derived stem cells, hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells and so on. Since the advance of stem cells technology is faster than ever before, this essay aimed to give an evidence based update on stem cells use for myocardial infarction, what we have achieved so far, and what does the future hold for this breakthrough. CELL-BASED THERAPY FOR MYOCARDIAL REGENERATION After an ischaemic attack due to occluded coronary vessels, heart muscle usually left damaged and nonfunctioning. However, recent evidence suggested that the cardiac muscle could actually undergo a limited amount of renewal. A prospect of inducing muscle cell to undergo division for cardiomyocyte replacement, or generating new muscle by stem cells are certainly intriguing (Roell, et.al, 2002; Santoso, et.al, 2011). Stem cells are capable to proliferate in the same state (self-renewal) and differentiate into multiple cell lineages. On the other hand, progenitor cells are more specific and have limited differentiation potential. Mechanism on how stem cells work are as follows: firstly, these stem cells need to be extracted from the source (eg. bone marrow), after that these stem cells need to be delivered to the injured area. These cells are implanted in the myocardium, and due to the nature of these cells, they would grow and differentiate/transdifferentiate into cardiomyocyte. To achieve the goal of cardiac repair, these cells should also have the ability to fuse with the surrounding tissues that their harmonious contraction increases the heart contraction. Furthermore, these newly-formed cardiomyocyte should also express the appropriate electromechanical properties required for contraction to yield a synchronous contraction (Templin, et.al, 2011; Makino, et.al, 1999). Many clinical studies have documented the feasibility and safety of cellular cardiomyoplasty in patients with coronary artery disease (Makino, et.al, 1999; Strauer, et.al, 2002). To date, there are some different types of adult stem cells and progenitor cells used for this procedure, some of which are bone marrow derived stem cells, hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells and many others (Jackson, et.al, et.al, 2001; Kamihata, et.al, 2001; Bolli, et.al, 2011) POTENTIAL SOURCE AND TYPE OF STEM CELLS Bone Marrow Derived Stem Cells Bone marrow derived stem cells (BMCs) are the most widely studied type of stem cells. Orlic et al. (2001) first describe the ability of bone marrow cells to regenerate infarcted myocardium in mouse models. The transplanted cells showed transdifferentiation into cardiomyocyte which eventually lead to improved left ventricular ejection fraction (Orlic, 2001). The three types of stem cells derived from bone marrow are hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) (Orlic, 2001; Piao, et.al, 2005; Badorff, et.al, 2003). The role of BMCs for acute myocardial infacrtion has been reported to improve left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), both in REPAIR-AMI and BOOST trial (Meyer, et.al, 2006; Schachinger, et.al, 2006).BOOST trial demonstrate an acceleration of LVEF after intracoronary BMCs transfer (ejection fraction increased by 6.7% in the BMCs group as compared to 0.7% in the control group), and significant result was sustained until 18 months (Meyer, et.al, 2006). While in REPAIR AMI trial, improvement of LVEF, infarct size and wall thickening of infarcted segments were reported at two years follow up. At two years, the cumulative end point of death, myocardial infarction, or necessity for revascularization was significantly reduced in the BMC group compared with placebo (hazard ratio, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.94; P=0.025) (Assmus, et.al, 2010; Perin, et.al, 2012). Skeletal Myoblast Skeletal muscle has the ability to regenerate under certain circumstances. Skeletal resident stem cells are usually known as satellite cells, and these cells would differentiate to new myocytes in response to injury. However, whether this ability can be translated to a different condition, as in cardiomyocyte repair, should be further studied (Taylor, 198; Reinecke, et.al, 2002). MAGIC trial, a randomized controlled phase II trial, showed no significant changes in terms of global and regional LV function in skeletal myoblast- treated patients (Mensche, et.al, 2008). Another study performed by Dib et al.(2005) showed an increased in LV ejection fraction in the group treated with transepicardial injection of autologous SMs. Mesenchymal Stem Cells Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are another potential option for cellular cardiomyoplasty. Mesenchymal stem cells can be found in various tissue, such as bone marrow and adipose tissue (Pittenger, 2004). One interesting mechanism by which MSCs mediate cardiac function improvement is the paracrine effect. MSCs may secrete soluble cytokines and growth factors that would eventually influence adjacent cardiomyocyte (Gharaibeh, et.al, 2011). Hare JM et al. (2009) studied the efficacy of intravenous allogenic human mesenchymal stem cells in patients with myocardial infarction. According to this study, intravenous MSCs were safe as showed by the similar adverse event rates in both intervention and control group. MSCs injection favorably affected patient functional capacity, quality of life and LV remodeling (Hare, et.al, 2012). Endothelial Progenitor Cells Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have been linked with neovascularization in ischemic tissue. This interesting finding lead to the use of EPCs for another therapeutic purpose like cellular cardiomyoplasty (Isner, et.al, 1999). The human peripheral blood-derived EPCs would be a potential approach because those cells can be easily isolated without the need of major surgical intervention (Lin, et. Al, 2000). This assumption was later confirmed by Badorff et al. In this study, Badorff et al. (2003) reported that EPCs from healthy volunteers and Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) patients can transdifferentiate into functionally active cardiomyocytes when co-cultivated with rat cardiomyocytes. However, this finding was later opposed by Gruh I et al. According to this study, there was no significant evidence of transdifferentiation of human EPCs into cardiomyocyte (Gruh, et.al, 2006). Resident Cardiac Stem Cells Until recently, we believe that heart is a fully mature organ with no capability of self-renewal. However, the adult heart is not a terminally   differentiated organ, but harbors stem cell with regenerative capacity, namely resident cardiac stem cells (CSCs). Although the origins of CSCs are yet unclear, they can be isolated from heart tissue and expanded ex vivo for use as a cell-based therapy. There were many types of CSCs have been described in previous studies, like: epicardium-derived cells, cardiosphere-derived cardiac cells, and cardiac Sca-1+ cells. These resident stem cells have the potential to differentiate into different types of cells like vascular smooth muscle and myocardial cells (Tang, et.al, 2013; Tang, et.al, 2006; Fazel, et.al, 2006). Embryonic Stem Cells and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) Embryonic stem cells (ESC) are derived from the blastocyst (inner cell mass) of human embryo prior to implantation. ESCs are pluripotent cells, which means they have the capability to differentiate into any cells, one of which is cardiac myocytes. Due to the source of these cells, there are ethical issues regarding the use of ESC (Kofidis, 2005).The huge potential of ESC comes with a price. The pluripotency of ESC made these cells predisposes to tumor formation including teratomas. Amariglio N et al. (2009) documented the occurence of a human brain tumour following neural stem cell therapy. A boy with telangiectasia was treated with intracerebellar and intrathecal injection of human fetal neural stem cells. Four years later, he was diagnosed with a multifocal brain tumour. After thorough analysis, the tumor was of nonhost origin, indicating it was derived from the transplanted neural stem cells (Amariglio, 2009). To date, due to the scarcity of studies on ESC and negative experiences of previous studies, the significance of ESC as cell-based therapy for myocardial infaction remains elusive. The above-mentioned limitation would hopefully be elucidated in future research. Human Umbilical Cord Blood Cells Human umbilical blood cells (hUCB) contains a large number of non-hematopoietic stem cells which rarely express human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II antigens, thus reducing the risk of rejection. Many studies have reported the efficacy and safety of hUCB administration in acute myocardial infarction model, with conflicting result (Henning, 2004; Moelker, 2007).According to Henning RJ et al. (2004) hUCB administration reduce infarction size and improve ventricular function in rats without requirements for immunosuppression (Henning, 2004). Similar positive finding were documented by Kim et al. Circulating Blood-derived Progenitor cells Circulating blood-derived progenitor cells (CPCs) are similar to BMCs, which mainly composed of EPCs. Santoso T et al. (2011) studied the safety and feasibility of combined granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) and erythropoetin (EPO) based-stem cell therapy using intracoronary infusion of peripheral blood stem cells in patients with recent anterior myocardial infarction. G-CSF is used to mobilized stem cells to the injured area, inhibits cardiomyocyte apoptosis, promotes neovascularization, and increase the production of nitric oxide. While EPO, that is originally thought to be a hematopoietic hormone only, also may inhibited apoptosis and induced angiogenesis. This phase I study concluded that this procedure is safe and resulted in improved endpoints for LV ejection fraction and cardiac viability (Santoso, 2011). Cardiopoietic Stem Cells Cardiopoietic stem cells are not a distinct type of stem cells but refer to the novel way of processing stem cells in order to get a lineage specification. Cardiopoietic stem cells are harvested stem cells that are treated with a protein cocktail to replicate natural cues to heart development, before being injected into the patients heart. The C-CURE trial studied the efficacy of bone marrow derived-mesenchymal stem cells in chronic heart failure. The isolated mesenchymal stem cells were exposed to a cardiogenic cocktail that trigger expression and nuclear translocation of cardiac transcription factors, before being injected to the patients heart. After six months follow up, patients in the treatment group significantly improved in terms of LVEF and fitness capacity. There was no evidence of increased cardiac or systemic toxicity induced by cardiopoietic cell therapy (Bartunek, 2013). Unfortunately, data comparing the efficacy and safety between cardiopoietic stem cells and ordinary stem cells without cocktail-based priming is still lacking. DELIVERY METHODS In order to make these stem cells reach the heart, a reliable delivery method need to be employed. The ideal method should be able to safely and efficiently deliver an optimal number of stem cells to the target tissue. Beside the high efficacy, this delivery method should be as minimally invasive as possible for the sake of patients comfort. There are some delivery methods worthy to know. Intracoronary Infusion As the name implies, intracoronary infusion is a process of delivering stem cells through coronary artery, usually through intracoronary catheterization. Stem cells are infused under pressure via a ballon catheter. The ballon was inflated in order to prevent anterogade blood flow that would compromize stem cells delivery. Catheter guided cell transfer has its unique advantage of safety under local anesthesia, and a part of routine cardiac catheterization. The intracoronary method provide a maximum number of cells to the target area, with good blood supply which is crucial for cell survival. Multiple studies have reported the use of intracoronary infusion for stem cells delivery (Strauer, 2002; Schachinger, 2006). Intravenous Peripheral Infusion Intravenous stem cells administration is one of the easiest method to be employed. Intravenous administration is possible through homing phenomenon of stem cells to the injured heart. Unfortunately, intravenous peripheral infusion comes with some disadvantages. First, only 3% of normal cardiac output will flow per minute through the left ventricle. This low amount of blood would limit the amount of stem cells delivered. Secondly, due to the passing of venous blood in the lung, many cells would trap in lung vasculature that eventually lead to stem cells reduction (Grieve et.al, 2012). Intramyocardial, Transendoccardial and Transpericardial Route As mentioned earlier, the downside of intravenous administration is the passing of the blood in certain organs that would entraped some of the stem cells. Unlike intravenous route, intramyocardial method is undoubtly provide direct access to the injured cardiomyocyte bypassing the need for mobilization, homing and any risk of cells entrapment in other organ, thus provide a more effective way to deliver abundant stem cells to the injured area. However, this method comes with its own expense of a more invasive method, not to mention the risk of ventricular perforation in the already damaged cardiomyocyte. Intramyocardial delivery usually performed during an open heart surgery or needle-tipped delivery catheter (Strauer, 2003; Forrester, 2003). Nelson et al.(2009) documented that intamyocardial delivery of iPS originating from reprogrammed fiobroblast, yielded progeny that properly engrafted and resulted in restored contractile performance, increased ventricular wall thickness, and elec tric stability (Nelson, et.al, 2009). STUDIES USING STEM CELLS IN MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION Many studies have been carried out to investigate the efficacy and safety of stem cell therapy in patients with myocardial infarction. Each of these studies investigated different kind of stem cells with different delivery methods. The ultimate goal of these studies is to answer whether stem cell therapy could be a feasible therapeutic approach for patients with myocardial infarction. The result of these studies were not always positive, even some of the studies did not document any beneficial effect of stem cell therapy. However, this conflicting result need to be intepreted with caution due to the different study method, different type of stem cells used, and different delivery methods employed. Three meta- analysis on the efficacy of BMCs therapy for myocardial infarction have been published. In a meta-analysis by Delewi R et al, intracoronary BMCs infusion is associated with improvement of LV function and remodelling in patients after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. The benefit in terms of LVEF improvement was more pronounced in patients with a worse baseline LVEF (LVEF cut off: 40%) and younger age (age cut off: 55 years) (Delewi, et.al, 2013).   In a second meta-analysis by Clifford DM et al. (2012) which include thirty-three RCTs, there was no significant difference in hard end point like mortality and morbidity in the BMCs treated group. However global heart function, as represented by LVEF and infarct size, was improved significantly and was sustained long term (12 to 61 months) in the BMCs group (Clifford, et.al, 2012). The third meta-analysis by Long C et al. (2013) further confirmed the beneficial effect of intracoronary BMCs in patients with acute my ocardial infraction. According to this meta-analysis, BMCs therapy significantly improved LVEF, while mildly but not significantly reduced left ventricular end-systolic volume and left ventricular end-diastolic volume (Lond, et.al, 2013). These three meta-analysis synonymously agree that BMCs therapy is beneficial in terms of improved heart function and reduced infarct size. CHALLENGES AND THE FUTURE We have just entered the new era of stem cell therapy. When advanced therapy like primary PCI and thrombolytic showed more limited beneficial for patients with myocardial infarction, the concept of cell-based therapy is definitely appealing. This new approach could be the answer that have been waited for sometime. As we have discussed previously, there are many issues on stem cell therapy that need to be addressed in future studies. Firstly, what is considered to be the best stem cells to replace cardiomyocyte. Secondly, the right delivery method of these stem cells need to be determined. Whether different type of stem cells required certain delivery methods also need to be further elucidated. Another question is the right timing of delivery (acute, sub-acute or chronic), whether it contributes to the fate of stem cells. Fourth, the concentration of stem cells, dose-effect relationship and safety of stem cell therapy need to be further investigated. One particular topic in regard to stem cell safety is the tumorigenicity of ESC. We need to disentangle a way to reprogram these cells so they can differentiate into functional cells, but lack the ability to form tumours. 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