Business Intelligence :: essays research papers

Business Intelligence for competitive advantage In the beginning, businesses used information technology for automating the processes primarily to reduce labor costs. Subsequently, information technology is used for delivering information with speed and accuracy. Currently, businesses want to use the information effectively for competitive advantage to make better decisions that improve and optimize business processes, predict the market dynamics accurately, optimize forecasts to adequately maintain resources to name a few reasons. Businesses reached a critical juncture in global competition and the business intelligence capabilities and analytic prowess will play critical roles in the most competitive sectors of global economy. First of all, business intelligence analysis requires the capturing of information and storing in a single location for effective data analysis. Currently, data analysis is supported by transactional systems, business specific data marts, and other ad-hoc processes. Information is distributed making it difficult and time-consuming to access. Business teams have adapted to this environment by creating user maintained databases and manual â€Å"work-arounds† to support new types of reporting and analysis. This has resulted in inconsistent data, redundant data storage, significant resource use for maintenance, and inefficient response to changing business needs. A data warehouse comprised of disparate data sources enables the â€Å"single version of truth† through shared data repositories and standards and also provides access to the data that will expand frequency and depth of data analysis. Due to these reasons, data warehouse is the foundation for business intelligence. As a Technical Architect, I am involved in the design and development of the Enterprise Data Warehouse at Target. I and many of my colleagues worked hard to make the business case of the importance of the data warehouse and its value addition to the company.

Back to School

Back to School: A Comparative Essay Walking back into school for the first time in years sent a rush of memories through my mind, from the tree I used to climb after school to the conversation that lead to the premature loss of my virginity and so much more. Surprisingly, my emotions lead me to something else altogether†¦looking at the dull concrete walls, iron laced windows and towering fences I realized; public school truly is a prison. Mind you, your average middle or high school may not have iron bars or shackles but you can â€Å"bet your bottom dollar† public schools and prisons are more alike than not.Both include guards, gangs, crowded cafeterias with bad food, strict schedules determined by vociferous bells, signed documents in order to get in or out and only God knows who will get out alive. The only things somewhat cheery about my former schools are the student murals cracked and damaged by barbaric vandals. Every student gets the same sentence: three consecuti ve sentences of five years, three years and four years before you can be considered a productive member of society. You might get out early for good behavior, but you are probably more likely to end up with time added on.Thinking back to my time in the â€Å"Big House†; I always felt like a criminal. Between the IDs and hall passes it seemed like no matter where I went there was someone making sure I didn’t do something horrible. Getting sent to the torture chamber called â€Å"The Hole† for the most asinine things like having a pack of matches, a metal fork or even wearing a polo that wasn’t just the right shade of green. The Hole truly was psychological torture; a tiny room with no clocks (you’d drop your phone and watch in a box as you walked into the room), the temperature was permanently set to 50 ° degrees Fahrenheit.If a single word was spoken (without permission from the teacher) it gave you an automatic extra day in The Hole and you†™d be marched into the musty cafeteria far too late in the afternoon to avoid socialization. Another way of getting sent to The Hole was to be caught out of class without your student ID†¦you could be on your way to your locker to get the ID and you’d be sent to The Hole for the rest of the day. Speaking of IDs, going back to school this past week, I got a taste of â€Å"the good old days†.Trying to get into my old high school was like trying to break into Fort Knox. Having to pull out three different forms of ID, they still rejected my entry. It’s almost funny how even though I’ve graduated, every employee I encountered somehow made me feel like a criminal-just like they did back when I was still a student. My first stop was my high school and I was told in order to enter the school (just to look around) I had to make an appointment a month in advance. After hearing that I desided to hightail it over to my old middle school, this proved just as fr uitless.At the middle school I was finally able to speak to a vice principal who told me I could come back after school hours; my joy was short lived when he told me I could only walk through the echoing breezeway which I had already walked through to get to the administration office. For the last time in my life, I walked out of the school feeling loathsome and reprehensible, until I got into my car. As my engine hummed it hit me; I will never have to go back there†¦and I will never have to feel like a criminal again.Considering the fact that I don’t do anything illegal, I know I won’t have to face either form of incarceration again. Also, I will never make my future children suffer through public schooling or what I like to call â€Å"Prison Life Training†; instead, they will either be homeschooled or attend private school. I was so flabbergasted by my mistreatment I had to write where my pen lead me. All in all, prison, grade school, it’s all the same to me and regardless of which one a person is in; they both feel asphyxiating and confining. Back to School Back to School: A Comparative Essay Walking back into school for the first time in years sent a rush of memories through my mind, from the tree I used to climb after school to the conversation that lead to the premature loss of my virginity and so much more. Surprisingly, my emotions lead me to something else altogether†¦looking at the dull concrete walls, iron laced windows and towering fences I realized; public school truly is a prison. Mind you, your average middle or high school may not have iron bars or shackles but you can â€Å"bet your bottom dollar† public schools and prisons are more alike than not.Both include guards, gangs, crowded cafeterias with bad food, strict schedules determined by vociferous bells, signed documents in order to get in or out and only God knows who will get out alive. The only things somewhat cheery about my former schools are the student murals cracked and damaged by barbaric vandals. Every student gets the same sentence: three consecuti ve sentences of five years, three years and four years before you can be considered a productive member of society. You might get out early for good behavior, but you are probably more likely to end up with time added on.Thinking back to my time in the â€Å"Big House†; I always felt like a criminal. Between the IDs and hall passes it seemed like no matter where I went there was someone making sure I didn’t do something horrible. Getting sent to the torture chamber called â€Å"The Hole† for the most asinine things like having a pack of matches, a metal fork or even wearing a polo that wasn’t just the right shade of green. The Hole truly was psychological torture; a tiny room with no clocks (you’d drop your phone and watch in a box as you walked into the room), the temperature was permanently set to 50 ° degrees Fahrenheit.If a single word was spoken (without permission from the teacher) it gave you an automatic extra day in The Hole and you†™d be marched into the musty cafeteria far too late in the afternoon to avoid socialization. Another way of getting sent to The Hole was to be caught out of class without your student ID†¦you could be on your way to your locker to get the ID and you’d be sent to The Hole for the rest of the day. Speaking of IDs, going back to school this past week, I got a taste of â€Å"the good old days†.Trying to get into my old high school was like trying to break into Fort Knox. Having to pull out three different forms of ID, they still rejected my entry. It’s almost funny how even though I’ve graduated, every employee I encountered somehow made me feel like a criminal-just like they did back when I was still a student. My first stop was my high school and I was told in order to enter the school (just to look around) I had to make an appointment a month in advance. After hearing that I desided to hightail it over to my old middle school, this proved just as fr uitless.At the middle school I was finally able to speak to a vice principal who told me I could come back after school hours; my joy was short lived when he told me I could only walk through the echoing breezeway which I had already walked through to get to the administration office. For the last time in my life, I walked out of the school feeling loathsome and reprehensible, until I got into my car. As my engine hummed it hit me; I will never have to go back there†¦and I will never have to feel like a criminal again.Considering the fact that I don’t do anything illegal, I know I won’t have to face either form of incarceration again. Also, I will never make my future children suffer through public schooling or what I like to call â€Å"Prison Life Training†; instead, they will either be homeschooled or attend private school. I was so flabbergasted by my mistreatment I had to write where my pen lead me. All in all, prison, grade school, it’s all the same to me and regardless of which one a person is in; they both feel asphyxiating and confining. Back to School Back to School: A Comparative Essay Walking back into school for the first time in years sent a rush of memories through my mind, from the tree I used to climb after school to the conversation that lead to the premature loss of my virginity and so much more. Surprisingly, my emotions lead me to something else altogether†¦looking at the dull concrete walls, iron laced windows and towering fences I realized; public school truly is a prison. Mind you, your average middle or high school may not have iron bars or shackles but you can â€Å"bet your bottom dollar† public schools and prisons are more alike than not.Both include guards, gangs, crowded cafeterias with bad food, strict schedules determined by vociferous bells, signed documents in order to get in or out and only God knows who will get out alive. The only things somewhat cheery about my former schools are the student murals cracked and damaged by barbaric vandals. Every student gets the same sentence: three consecuti ve sentences of five years, three years and four years before you can be considered a productive member of society. You might get out early for good behavior, but you are probably more likely to end up with time added on.Thinking back to my time in the â€Å"Big House†; I always felt like a criminal. Between the IDs and hall passes it seemed like no matter where I went there was someone making sure I didn’t do something horrible. Getting sent to the torture chamber called â€Å"The Hole† for the most asinine things like having a pack of matches, a metal fork or even wearing a polo that wasn’t just the right shade of green. The Hole truly was psychological torture; a tiny room with no clocks (you’d drop your phone and watch in a box as you walked into the room), the temperature was permanently set to 50 ° degrees Fahrenheit.If a single word was spoken (without permission from the teacher) it gave you an automatic extra day in The Hole and you†™d be marched into the musty cafeteria far too late in the afternoon to avoid socialization. Another way of getting sent to The Hole was to be caught out of class without your student ID†¦you could be on your way to your locker to get the ID and you’d be sent to The Hole for the rest of the day. Speaking of IDs, going back to school this past week, I got a taste of â€Å"the good old days†.Trying to get into my old high school was like trying to break into Fort Knox. Having to pull out three different forms of ID, they still rejected my entry. It’s almost funny how even though I’ve graduated, every employee I encountered somehow made me feel like a criminal-just like they did back when I was still a student. My first stop was my high school and I was told in order to enter the school (just to look around) I had to make an appointment a month in advance. After hearing that I desided to hightail it over to my old middle school, this proved just as fr uitless.At the middle school I was finally able to speak to a vice principal who told me I could come back after school hours; my joy was short lived when he told me I could only walk through the echoing breezeway which I had already walked through to get to the administration office. For the last time in my life, I walked out of the school feeling loathsome and reprehensible, until I got into my car. As my engine hummed it hit me; I will never have to go back there†¦and I will never have to feel like a criminal again.Considering the fact that I don’t do anything illegal, I know I won’t have to face either form of incarceration again. Also, I will never make my future children suffer through public schooling or what I like to call â€Å"Prison Life Training†; instead, they will either be homeschooled or attend private school. I was so flabbergasted by my mistreatment I had to write where my pen lead me. All in all, prison, grade school, it’s all the same to me and regardless of which one a person is in; they both feel asphyxiating and confining.

F. Scott Fitzgerald s The Great Gatsby - 1303 Words

Gatsby’s Great American Dream The American Dream in simple terms is the essence of Americanism; it is the belief that social mobility, prosperity, and financial success are attainable by hard work regardless of social class and nationality. The American Dream exemplifies what every immigrant imagines as they walk through Ellis Island or cross the border from Mexico. It is the ethos of America, the defining image of the average upper-middle class family man. This idea of prosperity begins as far back as the founders of the United States. Benjamin Franklin, one of the most famous Framers in American history, built himself from the ground up. Franklin’s The Autobiography is both his personal regimen for prosperity, but also the†¦show more content†¦James Gatz transformation to Jay Gatsby is â€Å"the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end†(Fitzgerald 98). Benjamin Franklin created thirteen virtues that he personally followed that aided his quest for perfection. Of these thirteen virtues, Gatsby perfected Cleanliness and Order to the fullest extent. Gatsby’s practice of elocution and ability to schedule his business is one example of these specific virtues. Jay Gatsby often seems to be reminded of his past, but his goal is not to even cover up his past. This goal of Gatsby’s is the beginning of his downfall in the quest towards the perfection of his own American Dream. The virtues that Gatsby fulfils in some circumstances and does not fulfil in others include Silence, Temperance, and Sincerity. Franklin’s idea of Sincerity is that one should â€Å"use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly† (Franklin). Gatsby achieves this virtue whenever he is in the company of Daisy Buchanan, his love interest of many years. There is a certain irony to their relationship as Dai sy is extremely insincere or grateful for the life she has led. Even though Gatsby’s entire adult life is a lie, there is a sense of youthful love from a man who has outgrown his youthful pleasures. Daisy Buchanan is related to another of these virtues, Silence. Gatsby understands