Ragtime Essays - Ragtime, Harry Houdini, Makers, Escapology

Ragtime In the classic E.L. Doctorow novel, Ragtime, we see the juxtaposition of many motifs to represent Doctorow's view of the early century. By combining history and fiction Doctorow allows himself to write a semi-accurate interpretation of the early 1900's while also being able to strongly express his own biases and opinions of the era. The biggest, and perhaps most important theme Doctorow applies in the novel is social tension, or the battle of the rich versus the poor. Other important themes include rebirth, racial tension, and high randomness of events. By using these themes and others, movie makers created a film, which they believe best represents Doctorow's views. It is apparent that Doctorow clearly favors the poor, lower class, in their struggle for economic and social mobility against the few, rich, upper class citizens. Doctorow's thoughts are best depicted through the novel's characters. Tateh, Coalhouse Walker and Sarah are all characters who are portrayed as ?good'. These characters, while representing a wide range of economic success, all symbolize socially challenged individuals. Throughout the novel, Doctorow always chooses these or similar types of characters to be the protagonists. Doctorow wants the reader to feel for Coalhouse's situation. He wants the reader to hope that Willie Conklin is harmed and the Model T Ford is repaired. On the other hand, Doctorow tells a different tale for the economic elite, upper echelon of society, represented by J.P. Morgan and Henry Ford. Morgan is presented as a snobbish old man, who always gets his way, and we are supposed to feel no remorse for him when his museum is broken int! o. We, the readers, are inclined to agree with Doctorow's opinion only because that is the way he planned it. Doctorow did not touch on any negative aspects of Coalhouse Walker's actions, such as innocent firemen that he killed, and their families, perhaps, because this might sway the reader's belief as to Coalhouse's innocence. The film, Ragtime, does support Doctorow's social tension beliefs, however it leaves more things open for the reader to decide. For example the book gives the impression that Coalhouse is killing the racist bad firemen. The movie shows him shooting and blowing up firemen, who perhaps could be ?good' people. The concept of rebirth is used liberally by Doctorow. Doctorow commonly has a character go through a major transmogrification, or rebirth. This rebirth ordinarily happens when moving from one social class to another. Tateh, Houdini, Coalhouse, and mother's younger brother and clearly are examples of these rebirths. When Tateh goes from being a poor street peddler to a rich movie maker, he goes through a transformation. Tateh starts dressing and acting a lot differently, perhaps also forgetting his Jewish heritage and 5000 years of oppression. Houdini's alteration is greater than Tateh's. Houdini goes from a not so well off family to a rich and famous escape artist. Through this social change, Houdini changes his Jewish name Erich Weiss to a more appropriate Christian name of Harry Houdini. As well as changing his name, Houdini also seemed to forget his background. However, later in the novel we find out that Houdini did in fact not forget his heritage. He just cha! nged his name as a career move. Coalhouse Walker's rebirth is much more dramatic and swift than Tateh's or Houdini's. Coalhouse goes from a fine upstanding citizen to a disgruntled man, caught at the end of a racist prank, and out for revenge. At one point, "He sat down with a sheet over his shoulder and permitted one of the young men to shave his head and his neat mustache. The change in him was striking," (). This symbolic and actual rebirth occurs as Coalhouse moves from being a wealthy prominent musician to a fugitive on the run. Mother's younger brother also goes through a rebirth. His rebirth involves going from a wealthy family to a fugitive gang. Because of this social change, Doctorow has mother's younger brother go through a rebirth as well. This was in the form of him putting black makeup on his face to fit in with Coalhouse's black gang. All four of these examples express Doctorow's opinion that in order to go through a social change, one must go

Bad Leadership Essay Example

Bad Leadership Essay Example Bad Leadership Paper Bad Leadership Paper BAD LEADERSHIP What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters By Barbara Kellerman Page 1 The book is all about the dark side of leadership and how you individuals get there and what we can do to avoid it. She suggests that leaders do not act alone and are not solely responsible for bad leaderships. There is no leadership without followship. If followers would just not follow a bad leader we could put a stop to the bad leadership. She has two main arguments throughout the book. The first is that leadership is either classified as ineffective or unethical. The second argument is that you can break the whole bad leadership into seven types – incompetent, rigid, intemperate, callous, corrupt, insular, and evil. She talks about how writers of other books and schools that study leadership suggest that to become a leader is to become a good leader. The dark side then as she suggests that to limit leadership to good leadership presents three major problems. It is confusing and misleading and does a disservice. She goes on to talk about the reasons why we are bad. She states that â€Å"people in a state of nature are not, in the usually sense of the word, good. This is not to insist that people are bad but rather that the human animal cannot be relied on to behave well. †[i] I’m not so sure that I agree with this statement. She brings up a point that in the past, scholars believed that a leader’s traits, such as intelligence, were more important then any other variable when determining a leader’s ability. They now agree that there are other variables that need to be considered such as the situation, the nature of the task at hand, and the followers. Why do we follow leaders who behave badly? She suggests it’s out of our need for safety and self-preservation. Getting along by going along is one of life’s early Page 2 lessons and so we need simplicity and stability. We do not want to lose our jobs so we keep quiet and keep things simple. Groups go along with bad leaders because even bad leaders can provide important benefits. Leaders maintain order, provide cohesion and identity, and do the collective work. Either in a group or as an individual, we find that it’s in our best interest to go with the flow and not stir the pot. How can we expect to reduce the number of bad leaders though unless we reduce the number of bad followers like we probably all have been at one point in our career. She states that, â€Å"Bad leadership will not, cannot be stopped or slowed unless followers take responsibility for rewarding the good leaders and penalizing the bad ones. †[ii] The first of Kellerman’s arguments is that bad leadership falls into two categories: ineffective and unethical. An ineffective leader â€Å"fails to produce the desired change. For reasons that include missing traits, weak skills, strategies badly conceived, and tactics badly employed, ineffective leadership falls short of its intention. †[iii] Whereas, unethical leaders may be very effective, they just don’t know the difference between right or wrong. Our textbook has a chapter on leadership ethics and social responsibility. The textbooks describes ethics as, â€Å"the study of moral obligations, or of separating right from wrong†, and morals as, â€Å"an individual’s determination of what is right or wrong†. [iv] I would suggest that they may know the difference, but they choose to ignore it. She then goes on to her next argument that there are seven types of bad leadership: Incompetent, Rigid, Intemperate, Callous, Corrupt, Insular and Evil. She says Page 3 that the first three types (incompetent, rigid and intemperate) tend to be classified as ineffective leadership and the last four (callous, corrupt, insular and evil) are bad because of unethical behavior. She defines an incompetent leader as, â€Å"The leader and at least some followers lack the will or skill (or both) to sustain effective action. With regard to at least one important leadership challenge, they do not create positive change. [v] Leaders are incompetent for many reasons. Some lack experience, education or expertise and others lack drive, energy or the ability to focus. The instances I have recognized incompetent leaders are one’s in which someone was promoted only because of their longevity at the company and not because of their skills or expertise. I tend to call them worker bees who are gre at at being a worker bee, and then they get promoted to a leadership role because they are such a great worker bee, and then they fail. They don’t have the courage to step back and realize they are not meant to be leaders. She defines Rigid Leadership as, â€Å"The leader and at least some followers are stiff and unyielding. Although they may be competent, they are unable or unwilling to adapt to new ideas, new information, or changing times. †[vi] I think this has come into play in past couple of decades with the emergence of technology. There were leaders who were not use to the convenience of technology and it scared them. It scared them right out of their jobs though because they were using rigid leadership and not being able to adapt to the change. Page 4 Kellerman defines Interperate Leadership as, â€Å"The leader lacks self-control and is aided and abetted by followers who are unwilling or unable effectively to intervene. †[vii] This is more of a private matter and very important for leaders to keep it that way. If these types of leaders lose self-control in public it can be very damaging to their reputation and to their followers. The book defines Callous Leadership as, â€Å"The leader and at least some followers are uncaring or unkind. Ignored or discounted are the needs, wants, and wishes of most members of the group or organization, especially subordinates. [viii] Leaders are supposed to consider what their employees want. She uses words such as power-sharing and team-building as examples of what leaders are suppose to be promoting. We read in our textbook that leaders are to empower their employees and let them make decisions and seek improvement. It states that â€Å"a dominant characteristic of effective leaders is their passion for their work and to some extent for the people who help them accomplish the work. † The textbook has a section on team-based organizations and the role that the leader plays. It defines 9 key roles of the leader and those are: Building trust and inspiring teamwork Coaching team members and group members toward higher levels of performance Facilitating and supporting the team’s decisions Expanding the team’s capabilities Page 5 Creating a team identity Anticipating and influencing change Inspiring the team toward higher levels of performance Enabling and empowering group members to accomplish their work Encouraging team members to eliminate low-value work[ix] These are all roles that will help contribute to effective leadership and team building. These types of organizations needs leaders who know the team process and can give feedback and resolve conflict. She defines Corrupt Leadership as, â€Å"The leader and at least some followers lie, cheat, or steal. To a degree that exceeds the norm, they put self-interest ahead of the public interest. †[x] We have learned that there is no place that is immune to corrupt leaders, not even the church. Most of the time the corrupt leader is motivated by money. They are placing their personal interests over the welfare of the company and other employees. It is important to remember that these types of leaders exist especially when you are a follower. Being a follower of these types of leaders can only bring you down as well if you choose to follow them. Insular Leadership is defined by her as, â€Å"The leader and at least some followers minimize or disregard the health and welfare of, ‘the other’- that is, those outside the group or organization for which they are directly responsible. †[xi] It is in some sense, human nature to feel that your group, or family, or country competes with others and that Page 6 your group will always come first. These leaders should look to more of a collaboration and cooperation rather then competition. The textbook suggests, as a way to build teamwork, that you encourage competition with another group. It says that, â€Å"one of the best-known methods of encouraging teamwork is rallying the support of the group against a real or imagined threat from the outside. † It also goes on to say though that, â€Å"the leader should encourage rivalry, not intense competition that might lead to unethical business practices. †[xii] The last style of leadership that she defines is, Evil Leadership. She defines it as, â€Å"The leader and at least some followers commit atrocities. They use pain as an instrument of power. The harm done to men, women, and children is severe rather than slight. The harm can be physical, psychological, or both. †[xiii] She focuses more in this section on the followers who follow these evil leaders. She suggests that they are just as much as evil if they do nothing and just follow along. She also suggests though that maybe they are a victim and are terrorized into following. She of course uses Saddam Hussein as an example of an evil leader, which I think we all could agree with. Before I even read who the brief examples were about, he is who came to my mind. The textbook talks a little about the evil and the dark side of leadership in that of a charismatic leader. It states that, â€Å"some people believe that charismatic leadership can be exercised for evil purposes. Charismatic leaders are experts at promising Utopia. Since perfection is the end, often the most heinous actions can be tolerated as seemingly Page 7 necessary means to the end. †[xiv] It goes on to talk about followers and why they follow these types of leaders. The textbook states that it’s because of that leader’s personal magnetism. Overall, the costs of bad leadership cannot be known exactly. Not only does it cause pain and suffering to those directly affected by the bad leadership, but there are those that are indirectly affected such as family and friends. She does a great job describing the many different ways bad leadership develops and also gives way at the end to correct and fend off bad leadership. She says, â€Å"What is to be done? How can we all, leaders and followers alike, begin truly to correct for and prevent bad leadership? She makes three assumptions to answer these questions: â€Å"First, we cannot stop or slow bad leadership by changing human nature. Second, we cannot stop or slow bad leadership without stopping and slowing bad followship. Finally, we cannot stop or slow bad leadership by sticking our heads in the sand. †[xv] [i] Bad Leadership (Kellerman, p. 15) [ii] Bad Leadership (Kellerman, p. 232) [iii] Bad Leadership (Kellerman, p. 33) [iv] Leadership (Durbin, p. 169) [v] Bad Leadership (Kellerman, p. 40) [vi] Bad Leadership (Kellerman, p. 41) [vii] Bad Leadership (Kellerman, p. 2) [viii] Bad Leadership (Kellerman, p. 43) [ix] Leadership (Durbin, p. 264) [x] Bad Leadership (Kellerman, p. 44) [xi] Bad Leadership (Kellerman p. 45) [xii] Leadership (Durbin, p. 271) [xiii] Bad Leadership (Kellerman, p. 46) [xiv] Leadership (Durbin, p. 91) [xv] Bad Leadership (Kellerman, p. 231 232) Page 8 REFERENCES Durbin, Andrew J. Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills. Fifth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company (2007). Kellerman, Barbara. Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters. Harvard Business School Press (2004). Page 9

UK and American Financial Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

UK and American Financial Markets - Essay Example (Weale, 2008) Since many of the leading economies in the world are in North America and Europe, these regions are the worst hit. East Asian economic giant Japan seems not to have been impacted. Emerging economic superpowers in the form of China and India have shown stable credit markets too. (Barrell & Hurst, 2008) As the U.S. financial markets are most closely linked to that of Europe in general and the UK in particular, the effect of the credit crisis is most acute on the latter. If the total losses induced by the current economic recession crosses $1000, then this will constitute a 7.4 percent contraction in US GDP. But other countries such as the UK will also be affected by this contraction since their banking institutions have invested in US mortgages. This means that other countries such as the UK are adversely affected as well. In the UK, although the losses have not measured accurately so far, it is a fair estimate that losses of 2-3 per cent of GDP have been incurred. But even before the credit derivatives crisis took hold, the IMF gave out warnings through its World Economic Outlook reports. The report also made obvious that any crisis in the U.S. financial markets would have a cascade effect on the UK and beyond. For example, in the report released in 2008, months before the outbreak of the credit crisis, it stated that "It is possible that falling house prices could induce US consumers to default on prime loans issued to good creditors with significant housing equity. It is also possible that default rates on credit cards and car loans could rise, but perhaps this is less likely as the short-term costs are perhaps higher. In addition it is possible that borrowers with negative equity in the UK and elsewhere might choose to default on their loans when house prices are falling and, if they did, banking sector losses could mount." (Barrell & Liadze, 2009) Just as the recession was taking hold in the US, analysts predicted that there would be spill over effects on the rest of the world, including the UK. And so far, those predictions have proven to be true. The crisis triggered by the failure of credit derivatives in the US would affect other countries depending on which areas the losses affected and their impact on the banking system. At a time when the effects of global recession was on an ascendency, scholars Ray Barrell and Ian Hurst, noted that "if we spread the losses evenly then growth in the UK would also slow, this year and next, and we might see growth as low as 1.4 per cent this year and marginally lower than 1 per cent next year. On the same basis Euro Area growth might slow to around 1.2 per cent in each year. These falls could be compounded if there were domestic problems in these countries as well as in the US". (Barrell & Hurst, 2008) And economic data for 2009 and 2010 has vindicated their predictions, further underlyi ng the fact that the UK economy is highly dependent on the fortunes and fluctuations of the American economy. During the first phase of the recession, it is natural to see an increase in bank borrowing, as business corporations seek to utilize

Health and Promotion Policies and Promotion Essay

Health and Promotion Policies and Promotion - Essay Example The type of iron that is being used to fortify the soy sauce is called sodium iron ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or NaFeEDTA. NafeEDTA is considered to be the most suitable form of iron because of its chemical stability and its effectiveness in foods that may need to be stored for lengthy period of times (Hurrell 2001). Also, NaFeEDTA does not change the taste or colour of the sauce. Soy sauce is consumed by roughly seventy percent of the Chinese population, which makes it an excellent food choice (2002). NaFeEDTA fortified soy sauce was first placed on the Chinese markets in 2002. As of 2003, the fortification programme has been funded by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, also known as GAIN (2005). The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition implemented a five year programme in the year 2004 that would develop a countrywide plan to manufacture, market, educate and supply the iron fortified soy sauce to China. ‘The goals of the programme include: annual yield of iron-fortified soy sauce in the amount of one million and eight hundred thousand tons, which accounts for thirty to fifty percent of the total soy sauce production in China; proper quality control system is to be established in all of the iron fortified soy sauce producers; the programme is to cover three hundred and sixty million Chinese residents, including one hundred and twenty-nine in high risk populations; and the reduction of the prevalence of anemia by thirty percent in the high risk populations (2005).’ GAIN’s nutritional plan also includes a programme to make the problem of iron deficiency known to the population.

Kate Chopin Essay Example for Free

Kate Chopin Essay Who comes to mind when the term â€Å"American author† is mentioned? A lot of female authors of today would say Kate Chopin, one of the most independent writers of the nineteenth century. Although Kate Chopin didn’t live to see her work re-published, she is an important author to study because her stories are influential, her ambition arouses her readers, and her point of view supports independent women. Unlike most of the women during her time period, Chopin didn’t agree on letting the men be in control. After a couple of her stories were published in Vogue Magazine, like â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† and â€Å"A Pair of Silk Stockings†, people began to start liking Chopin’s short stories (Powell). Vogue had even quoted how they â€Å"admired her brains and beauty† (Powell). It wasn’t until Chopin decided to give more of her belief of independence and write her first novel â€Å"The Awakening† for people of that time to start disliking her. Publishers cited what they considered â€Å"promotion of female self-assertion and sexual liberation† (Chopin, Kate Introduction). Libraries banned Chopin and her friends shunned her as her reputation started to fall. Kate Chopin may influence women today, but during her social period she wasn’t looked upon by many. Born into a prominent St. Louis family, Chopin was influenced by her mother and great-grandmother after the death of her father. Her family descended from French-Creole pioneers and that also influenced her to be involved with music, school, and arts (Kate Chopin: The Awakening, The Storm, Stories, Biography). Chopin graduated from a convent school at age seventeen (Kate Chopin). In 1870 she married Oscar Chopin, who was also Creole descent, and they had six children. His death in 1883 was when Kate Chopin decided to become more serious about writing (Kate Chopin). She sold all the land her and her husband owned and moved back to St. Louis with her mother. Family friends who found her letters entertaining encouraged her to â€Å"write professionally† (Chopin, Kate Introduction). Chopin started writing short stories and eventually began having her stories published in periodicals. Popular American periodicals published Kate Chopin, such as America, Vogue, and the Atlantic (Powell). Her collections â€Å"Bayou Folk† and â€Å"A Night in Acadie† made her reputation grow as an important colorist at the time (Chopin, Kate – Introduction). Chopin started writing about her husband’s death and her response to it. After trying to publish â€Å"The Awakening† she was immediately rejected because during the time it wasn’t appropriate. The novel subjected as female sexuality and adultery (Chopin, Kate – Introduction). Her reputation declined greatly after that and Chopin wanted to give up on writing all together. Now that all her work is republished, people find it very inspiring, especially women. Critics today say that â€Å"her work is focused on the pioneering use of psychological realism, symbolic imagery, and sensual themes† (Chopin, Kate Introduction). A large amount of female writers today are encouraged by Chopin’s short stories, novels, and essays. One of Kate Chopin’s most famous short stories is â€Å"The Story of an Hour†. The main character, Mrs. Mallard finds out her husband just died. She didn’t hear the bad news the same as most widows would have. Finally she could do what she wanted without anyone else telling her what to do, is the way she saw it. She was still young with a pretty face and she wanted to show it off. She kept whispering â€Å"free, body and soul free† (Kate Chopin: A Re-Awakening). Mrs. Mallard started planning the days ahead of her. All of those days would be her own days to live by. As she opened the door to jump straight to all her new opportunities, there stood Mr. Mallard. Mrs. Mallard fell over, when the doctor came he said she had died of a heart disease. She enjoyed feeling independent and it when she found out it could no longer be she collapsed. Although â€Å"The Story of an Hour† didn’t have a happily ever after ending, Kate Chopin showed her true meaning of the short story by using symbolism, comparison, and assertiveness (Chopin, Kate – Introduction). When Mr. Mallard died it was symbolic for Oscar Chopin, and how Kate herself felt as a woman afterwards. After the death, the story describes Mrs. Mallard looking out the window and everything looks like there’s more freedom, which is also symbolic for herself having more freedom without her husband telling her what to do. Chopin uses comparison in her stories to show her readers what she’s been through and prove independence is important. In â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, not only did the author’s and Mrs. Mallard’s husbands die, but they have the same attitude about the situation (Kate Chopin: A Re-Awakening). Chopin uses comparison with the character and herself to show what she really means and make it easier to describe the theme. Kate Chopin is most known for her assertiveness in this particular story and without it she may not be as well known today. She spoke her feelings and true meanings through this action and that’s what led her to be so independent. Chopin knew people would frown upon this quality, but it was honesty. During the time Kate Chopin tried publishing her work, the morals were different than they are now. Her stories, to a lot of people, are very influential. Commentators have noted that â€Å"her influence on later feminist writing and consider her a major American short story writer† (Chopin, Kate Introduction). Her work encourages people to stand up for what they believe in, regardless of what people think of them for doing so. Also to let her readers feel freedom and that everyone is equal. A handful of her short stories have the same plot and story, but they all have different meanings in which influence writers today to strive for what they believe in. After â€Å"The Awakening†, people believed that it aroused the readers. Chopin didn’t intentionally want for this to happen, but she wasn’t like most women of that time. Short story after short story, her work became more visual and exciting. Of course during her time no one liked it, but now the excitement in her stories makes one of the most important qualities. At the time, it was different from anything anyone has ever read. A woman’s freedom, which so many people took the wrong way, was a huge difference and conflict at the time (Chopin, Kate – Introduction). Many say she â€Å"broke a new ground of literature† (Powell). It’s Chopin’s inspiring excitement that arouses her readers and makes them want to come back for more. Most of what has been written about Kate Chopin is feminist in nature or is focused on women’s positions in society (Powell). The late 19th century, no women were independent. Kate Chopin took a stand and that’s all she wrote about. After her husband’s death, she feels like she has more freedom and independence. Someone not telling her what to do all the time; what she’s been wanting so badly. Her work helps women recognize the consequences of action, and helps them find individual freedom (Kate Chopin: The Awakening, The Storm, Stories, Biography). Female writers look up to her greatly because of how she was able to take a stand and speak her mind, without caring what people thought of her. She was one of the first women in her century to write outspoken fiction literature, revolting against tradition and authority (Chopin, Kate – Introduction). Chopin’s highly respected as a writer through the understanding of all the complications to get her word out for woman independence (Powell). Through her influential stories, ambition, and support of independent women, she became an inspiring American author. It may’ve took society half a century to grasp what Kate Chopin accomplished, but now she is finally known as a strong independent woman, and that’s all she wanted to be known for.

William Goldings Lord Of The Flies Essay examples -- Lord Flies Goldi

The author, William Golding uses the main characters of Ralph, Jack, and Simon in The Lord of the Flies to portray how their desire for leadership, combined with lack of compromise leads to the fall of their society. This desire for leadership and compromise led to the fall of their society just like multiple countries during times of wars. In the Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses characters to convey the main idea of his novel. The story begins with a war, and a plane carrying several young boys, who are being evacuated, is shot down from the sky. There are no adult survivors; however; the boys were brought together by Ralph blowing on the conch shell. They formed a tribe to stay alive. Slowly the stability and the sense of safety in the group started to deteriorate, similar to the downfall of societies during World War II. They are not only hunting animals now, but they are killing each other like savages in order to stay alive. This action of killing is like Hitler during World War II and his persecution of Jews during the Holocaust. One of the main characters, Ralph, was very likeable to everyone and was almost immediately elected as the leader of the tribe, with the only competition being the leader of the choir boys, Jack. Even though Ralph just wants to get home, he remains to look strong and tough to the other boys, to try and keep things as civilized as possible. So, Ralph decides that; "We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best a... ...the North and the South, just like the differences between Jack and Ralph in this novel. Chaos broke out in both situations and led to multiple murders. Another example of desire for leadership that led to society downfall was Germany during World War II. Adolph Hitler was the leader of Germany who created a nation that persecuted Jewish persons. He did not give in to anyone or any nation; this led to the breakout of World War II. Jack is an example of Adolph Hitler due to his desire of power over the island. Jack's actions led to a similar situation as Hitler's, however not as extreme or wide spread. So, the desire for leadership, combined with lack of compromise usually leads to the fall of a society or at least a drastic change.

Forms and Classification of Online Business

Forms and classification of online business According to (Adam, Z. R. ), the major different types of e-commerce (B2B) Business-to Business, (B2C) Business-to-Consumer, (B2G) Business-to-Government, (C2C) Consumer-to-Consumer and M-commerce which is mobile commerce. Business-to-business is simply e-commerce that is present between two businesses. It is said that it is the fastest growing type of e-commerce, much faster than B2C. It is a type of e-commerce wherein two businesses transact with each other online. About 80% of online businesses are of B2B type. Business-to-consumer is e-commerce between companies and consumers. It is the second largest in growth and numbers among the types of E-commerce. It basically is interactions between consumers whether they transact online or offline or just gather information about products that are being offered by the company. Examples of such companies that are of B2B are Amazon and Costco. Business-to-government is e-commerce between companies and the public sector. It refers to the use of the Internet for public procurement, licensing procedures, and other government-related operations Consumer-to-consumer is e-commerce between private individuals with their fellow consumers. This type of e-commerce is characterized by online markets and online auctions wherein these sites serve as a medium for consumers to transact with other consumers. This type of e-commerce is said to have huge potential of growth out of all the types of e-commerce. Consumer-to-business is e-commerce that is likened to reverse auction. It is basically the opposite of selling wherein a company would respond to a consumer’s need. This type of e-commerce is rarely encountered. However, e-bays report that there is a large number of this type of e-commerce wherein they earn millions of dollars every day. Mobile commerce is e-commerce wherein transactions from businesses to consumers are done through wireless networks through the medium of PDA’s and portable handheld devices. Business Models used on the Internet According to (Starting an internet business- we make it simple), there are numerous ways on making money in the internet. There are business models on which they are differentiated on how they execute and return profit. Some of these are retail while some use the power of information to sell. Affiliate Marketing  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ the most common type of Internet business around. It objective is to market and sell someone  else’s  product. There are various ways to market the brand both on and offline. Passive (or niche sites)  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ sites designed to market advertising and/or products that require little to no maintenance. These sites can be focused on small subjects or some are built to be big multi-subject sites. The main intention here is build, promote and forget. Information Sites – this could fall into the category of passive. These sites are built for advertising; they target a narrow subject and are intended to make money primarily from advertising. Once set up and promoted, they only require occasional maintenance. Other specific business models are Product creator wherein creating one’s product be it a fashion line, shoes, and etc as long as it’s an original product and not someone else’s. Its difference with affiliate marketing is that Product creator makes one’s products and sells it as well. Email Marketing or more commonly called List building makes use of Email marketing wherein one has to build relationships with its customers and is particularly effective in building targeted traffic. It is the most highly rated way of making money in the Internet. Services are providing services such as weight loss program, quit smoking plan and etc. This provides more consumer interaction and is recommended if one excels in interacting with people. There are also more specific types of business models and more recognizable which is the Retail and Wholesale which is like an online store version of a store such as SM, Costco or Walmart. The main difference between them is that one is whole sale and the other is not. This requires a higher investment compared to other business models since additional cost through shipping products, payment processing, customer service and etc are accumulated. Creating a website for online business According to Poo (2008), in creating one’s website for business purposes, the first step is to determine one’s goals on what will one use the site for? Is it for retailing or purely marketing website? These are some things that need pondering before designing a website to make it an effective website. By brainstorming and finding out the main goals, determining the genre of the website is the next step. This will determine the pros and cons of the website. There are four genres of websites which are the sales or retailing, marketing, information and a web-based application. Poo (2008) describes that retailing or sales website it focuses much on a lot of pictures, sporadic text on product descriptions and these sites are very user friendly and easy to navigate. However, one disadvantage of retail websites is that they are not usually recognized by search engines and one way of counteracting that and bringing in traffic is making use of affiliate programs. Marketing websites compared to retailing websites is that it is designed to sell a product and one product only. Marketing website is very easy to design which feature mostly text and a few images. What is great about marketing websites is that it is perfectly positioned to make money through advertisements and affiliate programs and they are better optimized for search engines which are a huge advantage in getting traffic into the site. Information website compared to marketing and retailer is that its purpose is mainly to inform the consumers of its products or what is its trying to sell. Although some corporate websites such as Nokia, Honda, Sony, and etc. are information websites that can also sell, they are primarily designed to inform its consumers. Information websites are only recommended for businesses that has a national or international presence since local businesses that only has a local presence only gets a few visits on its website while having a business that has a nationwide presence gives off many visits and informs its consumers well on its products. Web based application works like traditional programs but the difference is that web based application is accessed through the web unlike traditional programs which are installed beforehand. It’s basically computer based application that is hosted in a browser-controlled environment. This type of business venture requires a team of programmers who are creative and persevering. The payoff is very profitable but this type of business is not recommended for the newcomers. Efficiency of Online Business compared to Traditional Business According to (Nielsen, 2008), about over 85% of the world’s online population has used the internet to make a purchase which is a staggering 875 million people. Reason why there is a huge percentage of the online community using internet for purchasing is that the internet is unrivaled for its convenience when it comes to researching and shopping. Consumers nowadays would rather stay at the comfort of their homes shopping than travel and find their desired product which is very tiring compared to single click buying. In Philippine context, about 45% of Filipino online population has purchased through online means. Compared to other countries like South Korea which hails to be the number 1 in frequency of using internet for shopping, Philippines is near the bottom list of infrequent use of online shopping. However, for a third world country like Philippines this is a new innovation that is newly tapped into by consumers and in a few years the trend would be increase in use of online shopping could be observed just like what is observed in the Global population which jumped 40% for only two years. In matters of what people look for in an online shop, according to (Nielsen, 2008). â€Å"In selecting sites on which to shop, one-third used a search engine or just surfed around to find the best online store. One in four relied on personal recommendations. It is said that once an online shop captures the hearts and loyalty of its consumers about 60% of these consumers would tend to stick to the same shop in buying its products since consumer relationship has been playing a large role in making these online businesses successful. Furthermore, recommendations from fellow consumers also play a huge role in making an online site successful. Feedback is one important aspect in closing transactio ns in online businesses especially businesses on online auctions or social networking sites that seem to make 1st time online shoppers reluctant to purchase. Using Social Networking for Business According to (Brown of Inc. Technology), online social networking sites are new grounds for profiteering through online means. It is said that two out of every three internet user has used or visited a social networking site according to internet research company Compete. These numbers alone show the potential of what social networking has to offer for business opportunities. Among social networking sites, Myspace, multiply, facebook and etc. are the popular ones while there are other networking sites that have been primarily geared towards entrepreneurs such as LinkedIn, Ryze and Spoke. One of the main strengths and factor in making a successful social networking business is to focus on building networks. First is to find the niche and build the appropriate networks that fit the desired business niche. This is the essential step if not the key step in establishing a successful online business through social networking sites. References: Adam, Z. R. (2003). E-commerce and e-business. Manila, Philippines: United Nations Development Programme. Brown, D. (2009). Using Social Networking for Business. Retrieved March 14, 2010, from the World Wide Web: http://technology. nc. com/internet/articles/200611/interneticebreakers. html Nielsen (2009). Trends in Online Shopping. Retrieved March 14, 2010, from the World Wide Web: http://th. nielsen. com/site/documents/GlobalOnlineShoppingReportFeb08. pdf Poo, C. (2007) Build Website Online. Retrieved March 14, 2010, from the World Wide Web: http://www. cessypoo. com/build-website-online. html Starting an internet business- we make it simple (2010). Types of Business Models- Step 2. Retrieved March 14, 2010 from the World Wide Web: http://biggbucksonline. com/2009/08/25/types-of-internet-business-models/