Phenomena of Piracy and Copyright Laws Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Phenomena of Piracy and Copyright Laws - Essay Example The Anthill infrastructure proposes an idea in which nesting becomes a vital component. Nest implementation consists of three components which consist of document storage, ant manager, and a gateway agent. In this particular framework, five nests work together as a storage component for these networks and use algorithms. The current model of Anthill enables users engaged in the P2P system to use genetic algorithms that may simplify tasking of specifying the parameters for a query. One of the aspects that were explored with Anthill was to program it in Java since Java is portable is secured. Since Ants are generated by nests in response to requests, each and tries to fulfill the request for which needs to be generated. Anthill is special because it takes care of all low-level details such as communication, security, and scheduling. Developers wishing to experiment with new P2P protocols can concentrate on developing suitable and algorithms using the framework. Bit Torrent is a file distribution system that is heavily used by users for sharing information through bits and pieces. When a file is available using HTTP, the upload costs are atoned by the hosting machine. However, with the advent of a Bit Torrent, multiple users that are downloading a similar file can share that file with each other. This is highly effective as it reduces not only the cost but the lag time in downloading. A unique feature of Bit Torrent interface is the fact that it is very simple to use. Users can easily navigate and launch Bit Torrent using the â€Å"Save As† button. One of the key aspects regarding Bit Torrent is the issue of deployment. Users who want to initiate deployment of a specific torrent by using the extension .torrent on an ordinary web server. The whole essence of Bit Torrent is to enhance the functions of peer sharing.  

Personal Essay about Cause of College Drop-outs

Personal about Cause of College Drop-outs - Essay Example literate as a result of several communal perceptions about education, religious cultures, peer influence, financial status, mental value of education, job status and medical attributed factors and geographical locations. This document focuses on the factors that keep people out of school. School is a place wheel people go to acquire education. Many communities in Africa South America and Asia countries have been left behind development wise because of lack of education value due to the communities’ traditions as well as cultural points of view (Leonhardt, 15). These communities concentrate more on the economic activities that was passed on to them by their forefathers for survival. The communities do not embrace technological changes and its influence to human activities and survival. As a result, many children in these communities drop out of school after the second phase of education curriculum which is the primary school system, to carry on their family businesses. the Bahai community of Lesotho in southern Africa and the Maasai and Samburu communities in Eastern Africa are among the communities where children drop out of school and shift to pastoralism activities. In these communities, pastoralism is the basic act of survival as the communities believe tha t their forefathers survived as a result of pastoralism. ‘Andy Blevins was a student at Radford University who made a big decision big decision in life as a result of financial setbacks but end up regretting in future’(Leonhardt, 15). College dropout boom presents a case that explains the reasons why many college students tend to drop out of school without fully completing the degree or diploma course. Many students in college drop out of school due to the idea that they can as well survive without the college degree certificate. This is the perception that Andy Blevins had when he dropped out of school while pursuing his college degree. Many college students find it normal to drop out of school

The Role of Women During the Crusades

The Role of Women During the Crusades The Crusades were a series of campaigns led by the Catholic Church. It took place in the Holy Land which was taken over by the Muslims. The Catholic Church urged the Catholic countries in Europe to send men and recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims. The final crusade was the 9th crusade in the Middle East which concluded the entire campaign (Jones vii). After the wars were over many countries were struck with military problems. The effects of the Crusades werent all negative some aspects were positive like the prosperity of economic. Economic was flourishing during this time because all the ships had to pass through Italy. Therefore the entire tradesman came from the Crusades or the Muslims. Therefore the Italian Renaissance was ignited from the effects of the Crusades (Rosenthal, Joel T.). The effects of the Crusades werent only to the men in society, but also to the women. The Crusades created hardship for many common families in Europe and especially Women. Women during this pe riod had to lose their identity as women and go out and fight, they also had to do the role as a father and as the leader of the family, and due to the absence of the husband they took up arts and culture to fill up the missing gap in their lives without their husbands. Women had to go out and fight also in the Crusades to fill up for the dead soldiers. Although women are physically weaker than men they still went out to war. Both sides of the war, Muslim and Christian women both went out to fight. They werent usually the ones fighting out in the battlefield but protected the castle or the base from being attacked. Their effects were being like a defensive wall so that the Muslim soldiers could not overcome a base while the Crusaders were fighting. A problem aroused despite the good job the women were doing. When women appear while looking at men for a long time, the sexual desires of man appear, so the women who were the washer women and the cooks became prostitutes. So after the 2nd crusade the Church prohibited women to go out and help fight in the battles (Crusades-Encyclopedia). During their battles they found out that a major problem with the soldiers was their lack of hygiene. So after the 3rd crusade only washer women were allowed to go to t he battlefield to take care of the lice of the soldiers. The only reason they were allowed to go was because they were very old of age and none of the soldiers had sexual attractions to them (University of Michigan). Women who went to war were not only common women but also royalty. The powerful queen Eleanor of Aquitaine also participated in the war. Even though she was a queen of two countries and despite she was very important in Europe she led 300 female crusaders during the second crusade. The second crusade like the first was a complete failure and the blame went to Eleanor and her women soldiers. The blame was put on her for the supply train she needed to support here soldiers. In reality though, it wasnt her fault but the poor strategies and lack of moral from the men leaders. She was a perfect example of what women could accomplish later in the future (Jones 81). When men from a family went out to the crusades it usually lasted for a couple of years so the women took over the family and accomplished the jobs of the father. When the husband was around it was easy for the women since her jobs were very limited, but when the husband went out to the crusades women decided to send messages to their husbands. During busy times it was highly unlikely that the message would be properly sent so the importance of the women increased greatly. The women had to deal all sorts of problems which arose within the house and in society. Due to the lack of men the women was considered the head, temporarily. When the husband died during battle the wealth and the land would go to the women, therefore socially women became stronger (Free Articles Directory). In those times womens jobs were childbearing, marriage, and housework. Due to the absence of men women became socially active. Royal women for example managed their own courts and solving problems such as knig hts trying to take over the manor using the absence of the husband as an advantage. Despite the gender difference women still fended off men. Peasant women had to do strenuous physical activities to raise and feed the children. The ones who couldnt do these usually left all the material aspects behind and became religious. Due to being a woman they were forbidden from being a priest, so they became spiritual advisers, visionaries, or writers (Rosenthal, Joel T.). This showed that despite the fact that the men werent with them they were able to do things which men could do. This chance became a spark for the women in the renaissance period later in time. Since men were out due to the crusades, women were affected by the absence of the man in the family, to feel the missing gap in life; women took up arts and culture. One aspect of culture was literature. Literature in medieval Europe increased greatly especially in the urban areas. During the medieval times all the books and church scriptures were written in Latin. Therefore women had a chance to learn to read and be educated (Rosenthal, Joel T). To replace the absence of the husbands many women became Trobairitz. A trobairitz is a patroness of literature. They composed lyrics, poems and they recited to the people. They managed to copy books in different languages (Vanderbilt University | Nashville, Tennessee) .The second generations of the patronesses of literature were raised as patronesses of art. After teaching art to the second generation the reputation of the women enhanced (University of Michigan). The idea of being a patroness was not only open to normal people but to royalty also. Many queens became patronesses such as Eleanor of Castille. She was a queen in 1290 of England and was an active patroness of vernacular literature. The books she copied and wrote were about romances and bibliographies on saints (Google Docs). Another royalty was Marie de Champagne who was the daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was an example of the offspring of many medieval women who raised their kids to be patronesses of the arts and cultures. She managed to write a lot of romance poetry, fables and moral tales (Fidel Fajardo-Acosta). These examples of how women became part of the male dominated society. By studying and learning women became knowledgeable which helped develop the country through culture and arts. The crusades although were bloody wars which killed many lives of the Europeans and the Muslims it helped women develop in a male dominated society. By taking over the manors and lands of the husband they learnt skills which they could never have learnt without the crusades. One of the biggest help the women did to society was taking up arts and literature. By taking these aspects it increased the status of the women, improved the literature and arts of the medieval period. When the men were out fighting women at the bases defended the walls and tended for the sick. Although Europe was a male dominating society and prejudice against women through these effects of the Crusades women became noticeable to society. This was the beginning of equality of men and women. MLA: Jones, Sydney. The Crusades: Biographies. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale, 2005. vii. Print. Women Warriors During the Crusades. Crusades-Encyclopedia. Web. 14 Feb 2010. . Women-article. University of Michigan. Web. 16 Feb. 2010. . Jones, Sydney. The Crusades: Biographies. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale, 2005. 81. Print. The role of women during the Crusades. Free Articles Directory | Submit Articles ArticlesBase.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. . Rosenthal, Joel T. Crusades. Microsoft ® Student 2008 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2007. Trobairitz. Vanderbilt University | Nashville, Tennessee. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. . Eleanor of Castille. Google Docs. 3 Sept. 2009. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. . Marie de France. Fajardo-Acosta.com. Fidel Fajardo-Acosta, 2001. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. .

Main Causes of The Great Depression :: history

Main Causes of The Great Depression The Great Depression was the worst economic slump ever in U.S. history, and one which spread to virtually all of the industrialized world. The depression began in late 1929 and lasted for about a decade. Many factors played a role in bringing about the depression; however, the main cause for the Great Depression was the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920's, and the extensive stock market speculation that took place during the latter part that same decade. The maldistribution of wealth in the 1920's existed on many levels. Money was distributed disparately between the rich and the middle-class, between industry and agriculture within the United States, and between the U.S. and Europe. This imbalance of wealth created an unstable economy. The excessive speculation in the late 1920's kept the stock market artificially high, but eventually lead to large market crashes. These market crashes, combined with the maldistribution of wealth, caused the American economy to capsize. The "roaring twenties" was an era when our country prospered tremendously. The nation's total realized income rose from $74.3 billion in 1923 to $89 billion in 1929(end note 1). However, the rewards of the "Coolidge Prosperity" of the 1920's were not shared evenly among all Americans. According to a study done by the Brookings Institute, in 1929 the top 0.1% of Americans had a combined income equal to the bottom 42%(end note 2). That same top 0.1% of Americans in 1929 controlled 34% of all savings, while 80% of Americans had no savings at all(end note 3). Automotive industry mogul Henry Ford provides a striking example of the unequal distribution of wealth between the rich and the middle-class. Henry Ford reported a personal income of $14 million(end note 4) in the same year that the average personal income was $750(end note 5). By present day standards, where the average yearly income in the U.S. is around $18,500(end note 6), Mr. Ford would be earning over $345 million a year! This maldistribution of income between the rich and the middle class grew throughout the 1920's. While the disposable income per capita rose 9% from 1920 to 1929, those with income within the top 1% enjoyed a stupendous 75% increase in per capita disposable income(end note 7). A major reason for this large and growing gap between the rich and the working-class people was the increased manufacturing output throughout this period. Main Causes of The Great Depression :: history Main Causes of The Great Depression The Great Depression was the worst economic slump ever in U.S. history, and one which spread to virtually all of the industrialized world. The depression began in late 1929 and lasted for about a decade. Many factors played a role in bringing about the depression; however, the main cause for the Great Depression was the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920's, and the extensive stock market speculation that took place during the latter part that same decade. The maldistribution of wealth in the 1920's existed on many levels. Money was distributed disparately between the rich and the middle-class, between industry and agriculture within the United States, and between the U.S. and Europe. This imbalance of wealth created an unstable economy. The excessive speculation in the late 1920's kept the stock market artificially high, but eventually lead to large market crashes. These market crashes, combined with the maldistribution of wealth, caused the American economy to capsize. The "roaring twenties" was an era when our country prospered tremendously. The nation's total realized income rose from $74.3 billion in 1923 to $89 billion in 1929(end note 1). However, the rewards of the "Coolidge Prosperity" of the 1920's were not shared evenly among all Americans. According to a study done by the Brookings Institute, in 1929 the top 0.1% of Americans had a combined income equal to the bottom 42%(end note 2). That same top 0.1% of Americans in 1929 controlled 34% of all savings, while 80% of Americans had no savings at all(end note 3). Automotive industry mogul Henry Ford provides a striking example of the unequal distribution of wealth between the rich and the middle-class. Henry Ford reported a personal income of $14 million(end note 4) in the same year that the average personal income was $750(end note 5). By present day standards, where the average yearly income in the U.S. is around $18,500(end note 6), Mr. Ford would be earning over $345 million a year! This maldistribution of income between the rich and the middle class grew throughout the 1920's. While the disposable income per capita rose 9% from 1920 to 1929, those with income within the top 1% enjoyed a stupendous 75% increase in per capita disposable income(end note 7). A major reason for this large and growing gap between the rich and the working-class people was the increased manufacturing output throughout this period.

Argument for the Social Definition of “Medicate”

Of many terms used to denote the actions taken quickly and casually to mend serious problems, ‘medicate’ is a word extensively applied to such movements. The word has at least two meanings, a direct and indirect one, both joined by a common component of meaning.In both cases, â€Å"to medicate† means â€Å"to apply aid in order to remedy an undesirable condition†. In the direct meaning, â€Å"to medicate† is defined in Free Online Dictionary as â€Å"treat with medicine†. This meaning is widely accepted when the word is used in a general sense to refer to the idea of the process of treating medical illness with substances.In many cases, however, the word â€Å"medicate† takes on an additional meaning when it is used to denote the process in which people try to use medical methods in a random, casual way to solve serious problems. One can try to medicate a serious disease resorting to folk ways to medication, or treat a condition with ma gic or witchcraft.â€Å"To medicate† has become popular in today’s fast-paced society where people are tempted to jump to easy measures to ward off the constantly increasing stream of problems. This effort gave the word an additional connotation of a â€Å"quick fix†.This additional shade of meaning dramatically expanded the original meaning of the word. Now the action signified with â€Å"medicate† no longer needs to refer to those moves that involve medical substance. One can take drugs to medicate a love failure, or get a cup of morning coffee to drive stress away.Carl Eliott in his essay â€Å"Medicate Your Dissent† applies the word to the spreading inclination of many Americans to turn to antidepressants when they want to correct their depressed state. In many situations, antidepressants serve only as a temporary palliative that treat the symptoms, but not the real problem.Medicating one’s problems with antidepressants and tranquilizers , people try to isolate themselves from what really nags at their hearts, shoving the real issues of their lives into distant corners of their minds, striving never to retrieve them from there. This way of medication creates skeletons in cupboards – neglected matters that are pushed away but in reality often never forgotten.When a person tries to resort to medication, the short-term fix does not remove the real problem. It can disappear on its own, but will never retreat in the course of â€Å"medication†. This is the key difference between medication and real treatment. When a person is really treated, the root cause of the problem is addressed, whether successfully or not. In case of medicating, it remains there, triggering setbacks over the long run.Medicating arose in society because of people’s obsession with getting fast results without applying much effort. Medicating is driven by the speed of life that forces people to think of ways to â€Å"deceiveâ₠¬  time, accomplishing a lot in a short while. Spreading their efforts too thin over many things, people do not have the time and strength to attend to many matters seriously.Often, one problem will be addressed with detail while all the rest will be â€Å"medicated† or addressed without much detail. Taking shortcuts in treating medical problems, individuals realize that they can bypass usual ways to remedy their problems. More often than not, they are penalised for their self-confidence.This is why â€Å"medicating† often has disastrous consequences. A person can be assured that everything is going well, and he or she is on the way to recovery, while in fact the disease or other problem is growing into an even bigger one. Temporary solutions can place human mind in a state of blissful unawareness when a person revels about a problem being solved and fosters passivity with regard to real issues.In my experience, the most vivid example of â€Å"medicating† in th e latter sense of the word was a married couple that tried all kinds of short-term solutions to a problem they had. The wife moved to her husband’s place of residence in rural Austria, having lived all her life in the US. Her urban background left her totally unprepared for life in a rural community in a foreign land where she did not know the language and felt that the local residents did not accept her.They tried all kinds of solutions that would temporarily solve the problem – she joined various local clubs, engaged in community life, tried to work as a freelance designer taking orders online.   In the end, like so many people trying to overcome their problems, she took to anti-depressants so as to remove her worries and concerns. Surely, anti-depressants did not save her marriage that ended on the rocks after barely two years of family life, after passionate dating and a honeymoon filled with explosive happiness.Kara (my friend’s name) realized too late th at she should not have entered this relationship at all, for although they were enthusiastic about each other, they were two different people with differing backgrounds, which made family life difficult if not impossible.No matter what she tried when she got to Austria, her inner strength and communication skills were not enough to make her life there not only enjoyable, but even tolerable. Instead, her attempt at medicating her pain over separation with her relatives and her native culture with anti-depressants gave a serious blow to her health as she developed side effects associated with the drugs.Thus, â€Å"to medicate† means to invent short-term solutions to long-term problems. The term is more often used to refer to actions that involve the medical component to them; however, it is also used to denote actions that use other means than medical substances. A person can resort to any means to solve a serious problem, but as long as this action uses an ineffective, yet eas y trick for the resolution of the issue, the action is â€Å"medicating†, and not real treatment. Works CitedElliott, Carl. Medicate Your Dissent. 6 July 2006 .Medicate. Free Online Dictionary. 6 July 2006 .

Critique of Ada and Affirmative Action Paper

Critique of ADA and Affirmative Action Paper The population of the Unites States of America consists of a variety people. Many races, cultures, and beliefs exist in the country. Individuals also vary upon characteristics, genetics, mental capabilities, and social status. The Unites States of America is known as the â€Å"land of the opportunity† (Home of Heroes, 2011) across the world. Individuals travel near and far to join the country. Over the years, many individuals have come to the country. They have established families and became citizens. Other cultures, and even other characteristics, haven’t always been welcome. In the past years, individuals, organizations, educators, and government have discriminated against these minority groups. Minority groups ranked at the bottom when being considered for a job or school. Minority groups were not treated the same as the average population in many organizations and society. Two acts have been imposed to stop the discrimination of these minorities. The imposed acts are known as Affirmative Action and the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). This paper defines both imposed acts, past to present. Affirmative Action The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines Affirmative Action as â€Å"positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded. When those steps involve preferential selection—selection on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity—affirmative action generates intense controversy. † (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2001) The history Affirmative Action has a long history. It was first used in the 1960’s in the Civil Rights Act. In 1965 the President ordered Affirmative Action to be applied to federal contractors (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2001). Imposing Affirmative Action resulted in organization creating quotas. Quotas are known as a â€Å"plan† to allow a specific amount of individuals per minority to be hired or utilized. Due to these quotas, Affirmative Action wasn’t working as expected. It was later determined, quotas are not applicable and defeat the purpose of Affirmative Action. The purpose Affirmative Action has a main purpose to create fairness between minorities and the larger populations. Affirmative Action mandates organizations, schools, and government to consider minority individuals without bias to minority. Minority individuals must receive the same treatment and opportunity as any other individual, who is not in a minority population. Controversy As with many other acts and laws, controversy follows Affirmative Action. Despite the purpose of Affirmative Action, individuals often argue the contents of the action are unconstitutional. Some organization set plans for Affirmative Action and controversy often follows. Many organizations still manage to have quotas, which cause controversy. Controversy seems to be unlimited when concerning Affirmative Action. Affirmative Action may need to be strict to stop controversy, if possible. American Disability Act â€Å"Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. (U. S. Equal Opportunity Commission, 2008) â€Å"The ADA covers employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and to labor organizations. The ADA’s nondiscrimination standards also apply to federal sector employees under section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended, and its implementing rules. † (U. S. Equal Opportunity Commission, 2008) ADA defines disabilities The Americans with Disabilities Act defines an disabled individual in by three factors. These factors include: * Mental or physical impairment which hinders an individuals’ ability to perform one or more â€Å"major life activities† (U. S. Equal Opportunity Commission, 2008) * Has been diagnosed as having the impairment described * Has been regarded as having the impairment described Organization requirements The Americans with Disability Act requires organizations to follow specific guidelines to be compliant with ADA. Besides, giving disabled individuals equal opportunity to employment and education, the organizations must be functional for disabled. The organizations facility must be accessible. Schedules and work tools may need to be modified to fit disabled individuals. â€Å"An employer is required to make a reasonable accommodation to the known disability of a qualified applicant or employee if it would not impose anâ€Å"undue hardship† on the operation of the employer’s business. Reasonable accommodations are adjustments or modifications provided by an employer to enable people with disabilities to enjoy equal employment opportunities. Accommodations vary depending upon the needs of the individual applicant or employee. † (U. S. Equal Opportunity Commission, 2008) Conclusion United States of America consist of many diverse individuals. Many of these individuals are included in minority groups. Minority groups have been treated poorly in the past. Although mistreatment of minority individual still occurs, specific acts imposed by the government have decreased the statistics. Affirmative Action was imposed to create fair and equal opportunity to minority groups. Affirmative Action includes government and educators. Americans with Disability Acts (ADA) is another act to assist a specific minority, disabled. The ADA creates an equal opportunity for disabled individuals in the areas of work and education. This act covers hiring processes and reasonable accommodations. As the United States population grows, so do minority groups. The government has implemented these acts to give fairness to the growing minorities. The country values equal employee opportunity. References Home of Heroes. (2009-2011). Land of Opportunity. Retrieved from http://www. homeofheroes. com/hallofheroes/2nd_floor/opportunity/index. html Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2001, December 28). Affirmative Action. Retrieved from http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/affirmative-action/ U. S. Equal Opportunity Commission. (2008, September 9). Facts About the Americans with Disability Act. Retrieved from http://www. eeoc. gov/facts/fs-ada. html

Analysis of the Warehouse Automation Failure at Sainsbury’s The WritePass Journal

Analysis of the Warehouse Automation Failure at Sainsbury’s Abstract Analysis of the Warehouse Automation Failure at Sainsbury’s ). Even though the company being outsourced to might have had a good reputation in implementing such projects, the lack of involvement by parent company managers in the monitoring and evaluation of the project can affect the attainment of the intended objective (Alexander Walker, 2013). The minimal involvement by Sainsbury’s management in this project explains why it took three years and a change in leadership to realize that the project was not likely to attain its set objectives (Alexander Walker, 2013). Another possible cause, which has also been identified by Double Loop (2013) is that there was insufficient engagement between the company’s CEO and its IT suppliers in projecting the possible key business and IT risks. For this reason, no delivery strategy that could tackle these challenges was promptly designed (Chermack, 2011). This can also be considered as the lack of sufficient preparations by the then CEO (Sir Peter Davis) before the initiation of the project. Insufficient preparation exposes projects to the risk of possible failure and over-expenditure (Kardes et al., 2013). There was also a communication problem, which can be mainly blamed on Sir Peter Davis. Whereas it must have been known to him that the project could probably fail to serve its intended objective, his presentation about the project to the public was that its progress was as planned and that by 2003, it had saved the company  £700 million. Had the issues been frankly and promptly pointed out, necessary measures could have been undertaken to avert the heavy loss that was later incurred (Aula Siira, 2010). Given that this failure was associated with the warehouse automation exercise at Sainsbury’s warehouse automation project, it is also worth noting that the failure might have been partly caused by automation challenges. The fact that automated system failed to operate as it was intended to, indicates that all the inputs in terms of time, money and resources were lost (Kardes et al., 2013). Porter’s Value chain Analysis of the Failure Porters value chain model can be used to identify the primary and supporting activities which contributed to the failure at Sainsbury’s According to Porter (1985), generic value added activities can be divided into two. These are primary activities and support activities. Primary activities comprise of inbound and outbound logistics, sales and marketing, services and operations. Supporting activities, on the other hand, comprise of firm infrastructure, senior management roles, internal culture, procurement, outsourcing and technological developments. The model is represented in the diagram below, in which the functions that contributed to the failure at Sainsbury’s have been marked. Fig. 1: Sainsbury’s value chain components that contributed to the failure in warehouse automation The functions marked in the value chain model above have been identified as the contributors towards the identified failure. They are explained in more detail below: Outbound logistics: in the value chain, outbound logistics are referred to as activities that mainly relate to transference of goods to customers through warehousing. The automation of the warehouse at Sainsbury’s was being done so as to facilitate this primary activity in the organization. The failure of the warehouse automation to effectively take place thus affected the activities in outbound logistics (Zott et al., 2011). Senior management Roles: There was a failure by the senior management, led by the company’s CEO to effectively make an exhaustive plan of the warehouse automation project, which could have identified the potential risks and contributed to the formulation of possible strategies to overcome these challenges (Kardes et al., 2013). Another failure by the management was in terms of their involvement in the implementation of the project, only to identify issues three years after implementation of the project (Double Loop, 2013). Internal Communications: This function refers to how effectively and accurately information is passed within the organizational precinct (Wright, 2012). The failure was due to the miscommunication by the CEO, where he purported that the project was on the right track and had in fact saved the company a reasonable amount of money. This shows that he was either being given the wrong information by the contractor company or he was presenting wrong information about the project. Technology developments:   It has to be acknowledged that the company’s agenda was to improve its service delivery to its customers through technological innovation. However, given that the entire automation project failed to materialize, it can be argued that there was a technological development failure. According to Porter’s (1985) model, technological development comprises of all activities that relate to the processing and management of information. It also involves the activities undertaken in ensuring that the organization keeps up with the latest technological changes. Outsourcing: The IT automation project was undertaken by Accenture, an outsourced IT company, which failed to deliver the intended automation results, and ultimately led to the cancellation of the contract (Double Loop, 2013). Conclusion This paper has presented a case of warehouse automation failure at Sainsbury’s in 2004. With the help of the Porter’s value chain model, several primary and supporting activities that might have contributed to the failure have been identified. The identified primary activities are inbound logistics and outbound logistics. Supporting activities are outsourcing, technology developments, internal communications and senior management roles. The fact that all these activities affected and were also affected by the warehouse automation failure at Sainsbury’s proves that many operational failures or disasters that occur because there is lack of understanding of the whole organization, resulting in problems in the synchronization of different organizational functions. References Alexander, A. Walker, H., 2013. Sustainable supply chain management: towards a systems theory perspective. Dublin: EUROMA conference. Double Loop, 2013. Sainsbury’s Warehouse Automation Project. [Online] Available at:   Ã‚  doubleloopconsulting.com/sainsbury-warehouse-automation   [Accessed 6 March 2014]. Kardes, I., Ozturk, A., Cavusgil, S.T. Cavusgil, E., 2013. Managing global megaprojects: Complexity and risk management. International Business Review, 22(6), pp.905-17. OBrien, L., 2004. Digital disaster. [Online] Available at:   Ã‚  supplymanagement.com/analysis/features/2004/digital-disaster/   [Accessed 6 March 2014]. Porter, M., 1985. Competitive Advantage. New York: Free Press. Sainsburys, 2014. About us. [Online] Available at: j-sainsbury.co.uk/about-us/   [Accessed 6 March 2014]. Zott, C., Amit, R. Massa, L., 2011. The business model: recent developments and future research. Journal of Management , 37(4), pp.1019-42. Abdullah, L.M. Verner, J.M., 2012. Analysis and application of an outsourcing risk framework. Journal of Systems and Software, 85(8), pp.1930-52. Aula, P. Siira, K., 2010. Organizational Communication and Conflict Management Systems: A Social Complexity Approach. Nordicom Review, 31, pp.125-41. Chermack, T.J., 2011. Scenario Planning in Organizations. California: Berrett-Koehler. Wright, M., 2012. Gower Handbook of Internal Communication. Burlington: Gower Publishing.