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Definition and Examples of an Anecdote

An anecdote is a brief narrative, a short account of an interesting or amusing incident usually intended to illustrate or support some point in an essay, article, or chapter of a book. Compare this to other literary terms, such as parable—where the whole story is a metaphor—and  vignette  (a brief descriptive story or account).  The terms adjective form is  anecdotal.   In  The Healing Heart: Antidotes to Panic and Helplessness, Norman Cousins wrote, The writer makes his living by  anecdotes. He searches them out and carves them as the raw materials of his profession. No hunter stalking his prey is more alert to the presence of his quarry than a writer looking for small incidents that cast a strong light on human behavior. Examples Consider the use of an anecdote to illustrate something like the literary version of a picture is worth a thousand words. For example, use anecdotes to show a persons character or state of mind: Albert Einstein:  There was something elusively whimsical about Einstein. It is illustrated by my favorite  anecdote  about him. In his first year in Princeton, on Christmas Eve, so the story goes, some children sang carols outside his house. Having finished, they knocked on his door and explained they were collecting money to buy Christmas presents. Einstein listened, then said, Wait a moment. He put on his scarf and overcoat and took his violin from its case. Then, joining the children as they went from door to door, he accompanied their singing of Silent Night on his violin.(Banesh Hoffman, My Friend, Albert Einstein.  Readers Digest, January 1968)Ralph Waldo Emerson:  In [Ralph Waldo] Emersons later years his memory began increasingly to fail. He used to refer to it as his naughty memory when it let him down. He would forget the names of things, and have to refer to them in a  circumlocutory  way, saying, for instance, the implement that cultivates the soil for plow .(Reported in Clifton Fadiman, ed., The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes, 1985) Brainstorm to Choose the Right Anecdote First, consider what you want to illustrate. Why do you want to use an anecdote in the story? Knowing this should help brainstorm the story to choose. Then make a list of random ideas. Just free-flow the thoughts onto the page. Examine your list. Will any be easy to present in clear and concise enough manner? Then sketch out the basics of the possible anecdote. Will it do the job? Will it bring extra layers of evidence or meaning to the point youre trying to convey? If so, develop it further. Set the scene and describe what happened. Dont get too long-winded with it, because youre just using this as an illustration to your larger idea. Transition to your main point, and hearken back to the anecdote where needed for emphasis. Anecdotal Evidence The expression  anecdotal evidence  refers to the use of particular instances or concrete  examples  to support a general  claim. Such information (sometimes referred to pejoratively as hearsay) may be compelling but does not, in itself, provide  proof. A person may have anecdotal evidence that going out in the cold with wet hair makes him or her sick, but correlation is not the same as causation.

Project Planning Management - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2454 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Table of Contents Background Company Information Main Case Factors affecting sustainability Project Timeline Course Correction References Background As the population in cities increases, so does the number of vehicular trips made by people. As the road width is fixed at the time of city planning, the volume of traffic that can pass through is limited. The result is increasing traffic congestion in the city. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Project Planning Management" essay for you Create order This leads to increased commute time coupled with greater difficulty in commuting. Air passengers miss their flights stuck in traffic, ambulances have difficulty in taking emergency cases to the hospitals, and professionals reach late to office. Road rage, traffic accidents are some of the incidents experienced as commuters strive to reach their destinations at the earliest. A picture of chaos and lawlessness emerges; people become dehumanized to their environment. A pragmatic solution to problems of traffic is to discourage the use of private vehicles and encourage the use of public transportation. But it is easier said than done. Public transport has to be not only cheaper than private transport but also must be quicker/save time. Although modes like buses, auto rickshaws, bicycles may make economic sense, but they do not have any advantage in travel time over private vehicles. It is in this context that Mass Rapid Transit Systems (MRTS) come in. A rail base MRTS can be intro duced in any corridor where the level of traffic in any direction exceeds 20,000 persons per hour. However, MRTS are capital intensive and have long gestation periods. It is this reason why they have not been taken up on a large scale in many developing countries. The city of Delhi has experienced phenomenal growth of people (18 m) and vehicular population. Vehicular population increased from 5.62 lakh in 1981 to over 65 lakh today. About 1000 vehicles are added to Delhi roads every day. The heterogeneous nature of traffic has decreased vehicular speed. To cater to the needs of the public and to gear up the city for hosting the Commonwealth games in 2010, rail-based MRTS, named Delhi Metro was introduced in the city. With wide roads and ownership of most land with the govt., the city was suitable for introduction of rail based MRTS. Delhi Metro has had phenomenal success since its introduction in 2003. As airline travel grew rapidly in the early 2000s, the roads leading to the airports in most cities became congested. In Delhi, there were only a few buses that serviced the airport on route to and from other destinations. Further, Delhi was hosting the commonwealth games in 2010 that would increase the influx of tourists, spectators and media to the city through the airport. Therefore, to service such travelers, DMRC proposed to build a dedicated and high speed metro line, connecting the airport to the New Delhi railway station. The line would reduce travel time between the two places to 18 minutes from the 2 hours taken by road. This was the beginning of the airport express line. Company Information Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited was incorporated in 2008. It is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) incorporated under the Indian Companies Act with joint venture between Reliance Infrastructure Limited and Construcciones Y Auxiliar De Ferrocarriles (CAF). CAF is also the technical partner and supplies the rolling stocks for the project. DAMEPL was awarded the contract on the basis of their highest quote for annual concession fees to be paid to DMRC. Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. held a 95 per cent stake in DAMEPL, with the remaining 5 percent held by CAF. Debt was arranged by the lead banker Axis Bank along with India Infrastructure Finance and eight other banks. The debt to equity ratio was 70:30. Corporate Identification Number U74210DL2008PTC176177 Name DELHI AIRPORT METRO EXPRESS PRIVATE LIMITED RoC RoC-Delhi Registration Number 176177 Company Category Company limited by shares Company Sub Category Indian Non-Government Company Class of Company Private Company Authorised Capital (in Rs.) 8,700,000,300 Paid up capital (in Rs.) 100,000 Number of Members(Applicable only in case of company without Share Capital) 0 Date of Incorporation 01 April 2008 Address 1 DELHI AIRPORT METRO EXPRESS DEPOT, NEAR SECTOR 8 Address 2 DMRC METRO STATION, SECTOR 21, DWARKA City NEW DELHI State Delhi Country INDIA Pin 110075 Whether listed or not Unlisted Date of Last AGM 20 September 2013 Date of Balance sheet 31 March 2013 Company Status (for eFiling) Active Main Case The Delhi Airport Express line was the first public-private partnership project in metro rail. The agreement was signed in 2008 between Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL). The 22.7 km line proposed to connect the New Delhi Railway station to the Delhi International Airport. The idea was to reduce the congestion on roads that led to the airport, and enable the passengers to continue their onward journey to/from the airport to the adjoining areas through the rail network. The DAEL was designed to be a dedicated high speed metro line (135 km/hr as opposed to 80 km/hr), with only 6 stations on a 22.7 km route so as to provide faster service. The line started from New Delhi railway station and ended about 4 km beyond the airport till Dwarka, a fast growing residential area. The line was to be commissioned by October 2010, in time for the Commonwealth games being held in New Delhi. Under the PPP agreement, Build Operate Transfer (BOT) model was followed whereby the concessionaire was to operate the line for a period of 30 years, build the extension line, and then hand over the project to the public sector. DMRC was well aware that the project costs would be prohibitively high. It had estimated that the concessionaire would not be able to recover all capital and operating costs from fares alone. To reduce the financial burden on the concessionaire, DMRC undertook the responsibility for building and financing all civil construction à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" including the viaduct, tunnels and the stations à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" while the private concessionaire was asked to finance operating systems à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" signaling system, track, rolling-stock, power distribution system etc. Land for real-estate development was also offered to concessionaires. Even this was thought to be insufficient to make the project financially viable as capital costs for operations alone were estimated to be USD 300 m. Therefore, there was a provision of additional capital subsidy from the govt. to make the project viable. DMRC invited bids from potential concessionaires on the basis of least requested amount of viability gap funding from the govt. The private concessionaire was expected to undertake a variety of risks including ridership ie the number of passengers using the system. Ridership was a key risk because it was the main source of revenue for the concessionaire. DMRC made a daily ridership estimate of 46,000 passengers in 2010, growing to 86,000 people per day in the next 10 years.(Exhibit 1). The forecasts were based on hourly counts of passengers at the airport terminals and surveys of departing and arriving air passengers about their starting/terminal destination. The contract was won by Reliance Energy- CAF consortium. CAF provided the rolling stock and held 5% equity in the project, with Reliance holding the rest. However, problems started emerging even before the operations could be started. Originally set to open by August 31, 2010, the line finally opened on Feb 23, 2011, after missing 4 previously set deadlines. The DMRC fined Reliance Infra 37.5 lakh every day from 30 September and 75 lakh every day from 31 October for repeatedly missing the deadlines. Further, the daily ridership projections came to naught. The average ridership remained at 11,000 persons per day, with a peak of 22,000. Such poor load factor doomed the project since the beginning. To compound the problems further, structural defects were found in the civil construction leading to , first reduction in speed to 105 km/hr, and then to complete halt of operations due to safety concerns from July 2012. The halting of operations led to a tense stand-off between the private concessionaire and DMRC. It ultimately culminated in the exit of the private party, with DMRC taking over the operations of the Airport Express Line. Operations resumed from Jan 2013. It was estimated that DAMEPL was running a loss of Rs 40 m every month. We examine the mistakes made in project planning, financing, and the role of external factors in affecting the feasibility of the project. Exhibit 1 Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Projected Ridership 46000 48970 52132 55498 59082 62897 66958 71281 75884 80784 86000 Actual Ridership 11000 11000 10069 12856 Factors affecting sustainability Cost structure: The high cost structure undermined the feasibility of the project from the very beginning. License fee: Rs 10,000 per annum Concession fee: Rs 510 million. It shall be increased every year by 5% Additional concession fee: Rs 30 million for retail space at concourse level of New Delhi and Shivaji Stadium station Cost of operation and maintenance of clearing house: To be shared between DMRC and DAMEPL. Revenue sharing: From COD (Commercial Operations Date), the following percentage of Gross Revenues would be apportioned to DMRC; One percent of Gross Revenue from first to fifth year Two percent of Gross Revenue from sixth to tenth year Three percent of Gross Revenue from eleventh to fifteenth year Five percent of Gross Revenue from sixteenth year onwards till Termination date Capital Structure Rs million Debt 20000 Subordinate debt 8000 Equity 0.1 Debt to Equity ratio to be maintained 30:70 Ridership: The overly optimistic forecast of daily ridership was the primary factor in the failure of the project. The average ridership remained at 11,000 persons per day, with a peak of 22,000 persons. It was assumed that the project would be able to capture up to 62% of the airline passengers. However, it was only able to capture 30% of the airport bound traffic. RITES, a Railwayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s consultancy arm, had based its passenger numbers on the development of Aerocity ( a bunch of five-star hotels) around the Delhi airport, which was being developed by GMR on a public-private-partnership (PPP) basis. The Aero city never materialized. Low ridership was also because of poor frequency of trains. Instead of six trains, only four were made operational. The decision to close the line at 11:30 pm cut off many passengers who would be arriving/leaving late at night and in the early hour of the morning. Over-estimated returns: Instead of claiming viability gap funding, Reliance offered money to DMRC in the form of concession fee to operate the project. This was in contrast to the second highest bidder à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" LT-GE consortium à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" that asked for a subsidy of Rs 3460 m or interest free debt of Rs 14400 m for a longer term. The success of the project depended upon the ability of DAMEPL to execute real estate developments as planned. Revenues from real estate were expected to account for 70% of the total revenues in the initial years, and more than 50% of the total revenues during the entire concession period. However, revenues from real estate development were never realized. Technical problems: The Airport line has recorded 0.375 failures per route kilometer, which is high as compared to the Blue line of DMRC which has 0.14 failures per route kilometer. Time Cost-overruns: Non-availability of labor and heavy rains interrupted construction activity in Delhi. Further delays occurred in obtaining various clearances like safety and security. DAMEPL was given a one month extension on account of construction delays. But penalty was imposed subsequently for missing each deadline. DMRC imposed penalty on the concessionaire at the rate of Rs 3.75 m per day from September 2010 and Rs 7.5 m per day from Oct 31 2010. It led to a total estimated penalty of Rs 900 m. Exhibit 3 gives the implementation schedule. Exhibit 3: Project Implementation schedule Signing of Agreement Withing 60 days of LOA Financial Close Within 120 days of LOA Key dates and Milestone Dates Start of Design Interface with DMRC Contractors 30 days from LOA Completion of Design interface 6 months from LOA Completion of Design for execution 9 months Delivery of 1st train set 31-Oct-09 Testing of Rolling stock 31-Jan-10 Integrated Testing and Commissioning 1-Apr-10 Commissioning of Project COD 31-Jul-10 Actual Commissioning 23-Feb-11 Project Timeline Aug 2006: (DMRC) finalizes a detailed project report for the airport line Sep 2007: DMRC awards the first tenders for building the railway line 23 Jan 2008: DMRC awards a 30-year build-operate-transfer contract to the Reliance Energy led consortium with the Spanish railway equipment CAF Mar 2009: Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt. Ltd, a special-purpose vehicle floated by Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (R-Infra) to build the airport line, says it has managed to raise the debt required for the project. Nov 2009: DMRC completes 95% of the tunneling and civil construction on the line and hands over the stations to concessionaire R-Infra for laying tracks. 31 Aug 2010: The airport line misses the first deadline to begin operations, but R-Infra is given a one-month extension on account of delays in handing over the stations by DMRC 30 Sep 2010: The line fails to get the mandatory safety clearance from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (India). DMRC s laps a fine of Rs.37.5 lakh per day from 30 September on R-Infra for missing the deadline 10 Jan 2011: CMRS grants safety clearance to the airport line, except for the Dhaula Kuan and Delhi Aerocity stations 23 Feb 2011: The airport line starts its first train services from New Delhi railway station to terminal T3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport 15 Aug 2011: CMRS grants safety clearance to Dhaula Kuan and Delhi Aerocity stations Dec 2011: DMRC managing director E. Sreedharan meets R-Infra executives to discuss the areas that need improvement, particularly the train coaches May 2012: DMRC chief Mangu Singh expresses dissatisfaction with the operation of the line Jun 2012: DMRC asks consultants Shirish Patel and Associates to conduct an inspection of the line due to safety concerns, after the operator reduces the speed of the trains from 105 kmph 7 Jul 2012: The operations suspended indefinitely for safety repairs. The ministry of urban development cons titutes a committee to investigate the defects in the civil construction of the railway line. January 2013: Operation resumed. Course Correction After taking over the operations of Airport Express line, DMRC has taken to following steps to improve the popularity and financial sustainability of the project: The frequency of trains was reduced from 15 to 10 and-a-half minutes Maximum speed was increased from 70 km/hr to 80 km/hr, reducing travel time by 19 minutes Parking facilities have been created at Aerocity Metro station; feeder bus services have also been started. The total number of train trips was increased from 148 to 166. In July 2014, it reduced fares by 40% Proposal to extend the line to IIFCO Chowk in Gurgaon and a Delhi-Alwar link to make the airport line operationally profitable. As a result of the steps being taken by DMRC, the total ridership per day has increased 28 % from 10,069 in July 2013 to 12,856 in June 2014. References https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/delhi-airport-metro-line-debacle-the-way-forward/article4966519.ece https://archive.indianexpress.com/news/delhi-metro-to-take-over-airport-express-link-from-midnight/1135868/ https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/airport-express-metro-ridership-rises-by-28-percent-114070101032_1.html https://www.iritm.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1373362608968-Project%20Report%203.pdf https://cdm.unfccc.int/filestorage/7/X/L/7XLGB5ATRZEIJN6K3DF8240VHUC9WQ/Efficient%20mode%20of%20public%20transportation%20by%20DAMEPL%2C%20India.pdf?t=Z0t8bmJycTJ2fDBZ8f7ANwVZ8iLyuKhP3cZR https://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/no-early-debt-recovery-for-lenders-on-airport-metro-line-113112000443_1.html

Marasco 10. . Depression. By. Mary Katherine Marasco. Ms.

Marasco 10 Depression By Mary Katherine Marasco Ms. Carr Anatomy and Physiology H 23 February 2016 Mary Katherine Marasco Ms. Carr Anatomy and Physiology H 23 February 2016 Depression Depression- the most diagnosed mental illness in the world- is also the most misunderstood. Depression?a sad or discontented mood?can leave a person feeling lethargic, unmotivated, or hopeless, and in some cases ? contemplate suicide. Unfortunately, depression usually begins as high levels of anxiety and with exposure to trauma in children. Higher levels of anxiety or exposure to stress-inducing and traumatic situations as a child could mean an increased risk of depression as an adult. Although a serious mental illness all over the world in†¦show more content†¦The cerebral cortex directs functions like speech, behavior, reactions, movement, thinking, and learning. In fact, some research suggests that bipolar disorder originates with problems with the thalamus, which links sensory input to good and bad feelings. The hippocampus also affects depression. It, like the amygdala, is part of the limbic system. It is vital in processing long-term memory. This section of t he brain registers recurring fear. In people with clinical depression, the hippocampus is much smaller. Research suggests, even, that ongoing exposure to stress impairs the growth of nerve cells in this part of the brain. One of the most important jobs of the brain is to process senses, through neurons. Neurotransmitters are specific substances that help relay information to the brain. Scientists have identified many neurotransmitters that affect depression. A lack or excess of the neurotransmitters acetylcholine, serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, glutamate, lithium carbonate and gamma-aminobutyric acid are thought to contribute to depression. Acetylcholine is involved in learning and enhances memory. Serotonin helps regulate sleep, appetite, and mood, and inhibits pain. Research shows the idea that many depressed people have reduced levels of serotonin. Low levels of a byproduct of serotonin have been linked to a high risk for suicide. Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter which constricts blood vessels and raises blood pressure. An excess in

Voter Fraud And Public Affairs Research Essay - 1795 Words

We have all wondered if elections over the years have ever been rigged, well now we have kind of a definite answer. Thanks to the ignorance in the upcoming election I have found two articles that correlate with each other, thanks to BBC. The first one is titled â€Å"Is the U.S election really rigged?† and the second is â€Å"What happens if Trump refuses to accept defeat?† Donald trump brought up the topic of voter fraud at one of his rally in Delaware recently, because he is a sore looser but that’s beside the point. Vanessa Barford of BBC looks at four points to dig deeper into this speculation, she talks about voter fraud, the claim ‘dead people generally vote for democrats’ and stolen votes. Donald Trump in the third and final presidential speech declined to say if he would accept the results of the upcoming election. 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Exploring Biographical Knowledge Into The Daily Routine...

The focus of this study was to explore how incorporating biographical knowledge into the daily routine and care of an individual with dementia can bring about changes in their behaviors that impact quality of care and quality of life. This chapter assembles the major findings of the study, considers the unique contribution to the research and practice of the care of people with dementia in a long term care setting. The implications for further research discussed as well as limitations of the study considered. Discussion The study makes a unique contribution to the existing literature on biographical approaches in dementia care. The findings suggest a positive effect of this approach for people with dementia in long term care setting. Similar to Life Story Work, Reminiscence Therapy and Meaningful activities this study indicates a number of benefits. First, it promotes increased understanding of the person. It enables nursing home staff to see a person in the context of his whole life. This in turn leads into deeper relationships. The voice of the resident with dementia can be heard when he or she is seen as a person and not just as a patient. The uniqueness of person’s needs and values can only be understood and adequately addressed by knowing his or hers life story. As in case of Rosemary, by learning about her life experiences the staff were able to see not a â€Å"mean and loud woman† but somebody who expresses her fear of water getting into her ears, or attachment to

Strategic Management Identification and Description

Question: Discuss about the Strategic Management for Identification and Description. Answer: Introduction: The term strategic management can be defined as the identification and description of the strategies, which enables the managers to execute high performance and gain a competitive benefit for their organisation. An organisation is only considered to be having a competitive advantage unless its productivity is superior to the standard profit for all the companies prevailing in its industry. Strategic management can as well be considered as the group of judgments and activities, which an administrator assumes and derives the outcomes of, firms performance (De Waal 2013). The manager should have a complete acquaintance and understanding of the general and competitive surroundings of the organisation to make correct decisions. They must perform a SWOT Analysis (Strength, weakness, opportunities and threats), i.e., the managers must make the best possible utilisation of the strength and reduce the weakness of the organisation, by employing the arising opportunities from the business activities without ignoring the threats. Hence, strategic management is nothing short of planning for the predictable and unfeasible contingencies. It can be implemented on both small and large organisation as the smallest organisation also faces the competition. By developing and implementing correct strategies they can achieve competitive advantage of their business. It is a tools for setting up the objectives and proceeding ahead with them to attain them. It is concerned with making and implementing decision to regarding the future directions of a corporation. Strategic management helps the manager to recognize the course in which an organisation is moving. Therefore, strategic management is a constant procedure, which assesses and controls the industry and the business under which an organisation functions by evaluating its competitors, setting goals and strategies to meet the needs of the organisation. Concept of strategic management: The word strategies have been derived from greek word which means Stratcgos. Hence, strategies are an action, which the managers undertake to achieve multiple goals of the organisation (Hill et al. 2014). It is a general direction, which is set for a business entity and its diversity of mechanism to attain a needed position in future prospect. It is mainly concerning of incorporating commercial activities by utilising and allotting the limited resources within the context of business environment in order to convene the current objectives. While formulating strategies it is to be noted that verdicts are not taken in a vacuity and any act by the organisation will be assemble a reaction from those affected are competitors, consumers, workforce and suppliers. Strategy is understood as the acquaintance of goals , uncertainty of events and the need to take into account the most probable and actual performance of others. It is the features of judgments in a business entity which reflects the objectives and aims, reducing the key strategies and programmes for attaining such ambitions by defining the business which an organisation carries, the kind of financial and individual organisation it desires to be and the involvement it strategizes to make to its shareholders, consumers and civilization at large. Vision and mission of strategic management: One of the primary features observed according to the perceptions of management is the thought and practice weather an organisation has any vision or mission. In addition to this, the first thing one learns in the school of business is the significance of vision and mission statements. It has been discovered in the learnings that organisations having well-spoken, coherent and objective oriented vision and mission statement generates double the amount of benefits for its shareholders in contrast to the firms having no vision or mission. Some of the advantages of having a vision and mission assertions are listed below; Above the whole thing else a vision report provides harmony of objectives to a business firm and injects the employees with the sense and belongings of identity. Perhaps vision and mission statements are symbols of organisational identity, which carries the firms creed and motto (Eden and Ackermann 2013). This sort of features enables them to be known as statement of creed. The mission and vision statement states out the context under which an organisation functions and offers the workforce with a tendency that is to be pursued under the climate of business entity. Such tools not only defines the existence of the organisation but also acts as a indicators of the directions under which an organisation should proceed to realise the goals set in the vision and mission statements. The vision and mission statement works as a point of focus for individuals in order to identify them with the process of the business entity and which gives a business entity a sense of direction. On the other hand, strategic management also deterring to those who does not wishes to follow them from taking part in the organisations activities. It is also noted that the mission and vision statement helps an organisation to interpret the objectives into labour structures by assigning task to the aspects of the business firm with the responsibility of implementing in practice. To spell out the main objectives on which the structure of the organisation functions depends and executing the actionable cost involved in the conversion of objectives into the presentation and time associated instruments. Finally, the vision and mission statements provides a beliefs of survival to the workforce, which is of utmost importance for humans. The vision and mission statement is concerned with the essential sense for functioning in a particular organisation. As it can be observed from the above stated a meaning vision and mission statement is destined to go extended way by setting up the foundation for presentation and actionable framework to exemplify the strength of the organisation. On the other hand, vision and mission statement is a matter of significance relevance as numerous identities an individuals have during their daily lives (Schilke 2014). It is to be believed that business entities spends a huge amount of time in significant of their vision and mission statement and ensures that a business entity comes with the declarations that provides importance as an alternative of being meagre judgments that are devoid of any implications. Features of strategy 1. Strategy is relevance as it is not feasible to determine future for the foreseeable amount of time. Without a perfect forecast a business entity should be ready to deal with the uncertainties concerning the business environment. 2. Strategic management of an organisation should be concerned with the long-term aspects rather than operating at a routine level. It deals with the likelihood of operations and novelties or new products, innovative process of manufacturing and new markets to be explored in the future course of time (Lasserre 2012). 3. Strategy is established to take into the account the possible behaviour of the consumers and competitors. Strategies concerning with the workers will forecast the employees performance. 4. Strategies are well organised matrix of an organisation. It defines the general mission, vision and directions of a business entity. The objectives of strategic management are to increase an organisations strength and to minimise the strength of the rival firms. Competitive advantage of strategic management: Understanding competitive advantage: It is a tool that strategic management is concerned with attaining and preserving competitive advantage over its rival and competitive firms. Competitive advantage can be defined as anything, which a business entity does especially when compared with the rival firms (De Waal 2013). It is to be noted that stresses on comparison with competing firms serves as a competitive advantage and it is all about how the best competitors stay economically competitive in the market. Competitive advantage mounts up to business entity when it does something, which the other competing firms are unable to do, or owns something that the competitors wishes. For example, for some business entities the competitive advantage signifies that a firm lesser - fixed assets when it is compared with the competitor firms, which is again beneficial during the financial slump. Sustained competitive advantage: It has already been defined that what competitive advantage holds in relation to the strategic management and the sources arising from competitive advantage differing from organisation to organisation. However, it is also evident that a business entity can have a basis of competitive advantage for only a definite period because other competing firms copy and duplicates the successful organisation strategies leading the original firm losing its source of competitive advantage over the long-term basis (Stead and Stead 2013). Therefore, it is very important for business entity to establish and develop continued competitive benefit. This can be done by following ways; Constantly adapting to the evolving external business landscape and matching with the internal strengths and capabilities by channelling the possessions and competencies in a smooth manner. By formulating, executing and assessing the strategies in an efficient way, which makes the utilisation of the above stated factors. The truth that business entities loses their competitive source of advantage during longer term is borne out by figures which shows that the top organisation in Malaysia had over 80 per cent of the marker share during the year 1978 which has significantly came down to less than 50 per cent. Introduction of internet and competitive advantage: With the introduction of internet, gaining of competitive advantage has develop into easier concept as business entities directly sell to the customers and the interconnected suppliers, consumers, outstanding creditors and other relevant stakeholders involved in its value chain. Due to the taking away of mediators, organisations can lower the cost and enhance the productivity (De Waal 2013). Nevertheless, internet has transformed the regulations of conducting business and acts as elements of competitive advantage in this era of digitization. Internet is now about how well organisations utilise the digital stage and social media to increase advantage over other competing firms. Finally, it is evident that competitive advantage should be earned, gained and defended as the above stated conversation illustrates. Organisations which are alert and quick to respond to the evolving market circumstances and whose interior potentials are associated with the external opportunities are those who would sustain themselves in the commercial landscape of the 21st century (Schilke 2014). As it can be observed from the characterisation of competitive benefit, it is ethereal and subjective to change as business entities should always look out for the new source of opportunities for competitive advantage and should always be aware of the competitors next moves. Benefits of strategic management: According to Grant (2016) there are numerous benefits of strategic management and it consists of recognition, prioritization and examination of opportunities. For example, newer products, new markets and innovations into the business firms are only achievable if firms are indulgent in strategic planning. On the other hand, premeditated administration facilitates a firm to undertake a purposeful view of the activities being performed by it and performing a cost benefit analysis as to whether the firm is conductive business in a profitable manner or not. It is to be noted that one does not mean financial benefit alone but also includes the evaluation of productivity that is concerned with the assessment of the business entity tactically aligning to its aims and objectives. An important point to be considered in this context is that strategic management enables a firm to familiarize itself to its marketplace and customers by ensuring that it realises the right strategies. Benefits of strategic management are listed below; Financial benefits: According to Goetsch and Davis, (2014) it has been learned that business entities that indulge in strategic management are capable of earning more profit and successful than those that does not have the advantage of strategic planning and strategic management. When a firm indulges into forward looking forecast and cautious assessment of their main concern, they have power over the potential outlook, which is essential in the fast changing business landscape of the 21st century. Strategic management concept shows that numerous business fails every year and most of these failures accounts for lack of strategic focus and strategic directions. Furthermore, it is noted that business entities with high performance is likely to create more informed decision because they consider both the aspects of long term and short term consequences and have designed their approach consequently. In contrast to this, business entity that does not indulge them in consequential premeditated forecast are usually beaten down by internal struggle and insufficient focus show the way of failure. Nonfinancial benefits: Under these section tangible benefits of the premeditated administration is discussed. Apart from these benefits, business organisations that indulge in premeditated administration are more conscious of the outside threats, a better understanding of rivals firms strengths and weakness helps in increasing the productivity of the employees (Bradley 2016). Improved understanding leads to lower resistance to transformation and clear understanding of the connections among performance and rewards. The vital elements of strategic management is that it is dilemma solving and problems thwarting capacities of a business entity is improved through implementing premeditated administration. Strategic management is necessary since it helps an organisation to decrease the change and converse the need to modify better to its employees. At last, premeditated administration assists a business firms to bring order and discipline to the activities of the firms in its both internal process and external activities. Closing thoughts: In the modern era, almost all the organisation has understood the vitality of strategic management. However, the important distinction exists amid those who do well and those who does not succeed is the way in which strategic management is performed and strategic planning is executed out by the business entity to create a disparity between success and failures. Nevertheless, there are still business firms that does not engage in premeditated scheduling or where the planners are not offered support by the management. These firms must realise the benefits offered by strategic management and must make sure the long-term feasibility and achievement in the market place. Process of strategic management: The process of strategic management defines the strategy of organisations. It is also defined as the procedure through which the executives make a choice of a set of strategies for the business entity, which will enable them to accomplish better performance. Strategic management is a permanent process that appraises the trade and industries in which the organisation is concerned; evaluates its competitors by fixing the ambitions in order to meet all the current and future competitors and then re-evaluate each strategy. Strategic management process consists of the following steps; 1. Environment scanning: Environmental scanning is defined a process of gathering, inspecting and providing information for the purpose of strategic management. It helps in interior and exterior elements, which influences an organisation (Watson 2013). After carrying out the environmental examination procedure, management must assess it on a regular interval and strive to progress it. 2. Formulation of strategy: Formulation of strategy is the procedure of making a decision best possible act for achieving objective of the organisation and thus, attaining the purpose of the organisation. After performing environment scanning, managers formulate functional strategies of corporate business. 3. Implementation of strategy: Implementation of strategy defines that making the strategy work as desired or placing the organisations selected strategy into the action. Strategy implementation includes designing the structure of business entity, distribution of resources, developing the process of decision making and human resource management. 4. Evaluation of strategy: Evaluation of strategy is the last process of strategy administration. The important strategy assessment activities consists of; judging internal and external aspects that are source of the current strategies employed by the organisation, measuring the performance and taking remedial or corrective actions (Hrebiniak 2013). Evaluations make sure that the organisations strategy as well as the implementations meets the organisational needs and objectives. These mechanisms are steps that are executed in sequential order, when establishing a new tactical plan. Modern day business that has previously established a strategic management plan will relapse to these procedures according to the current state of affairs in order to make the necessary changes. Figure 1 Components of strategic management (Source Kapferer 2012) Components of strategic management procedure: Strategic management is an fragmentary procedure, therefore, it should be realised that each components interrelates with the other elements and that this organisation frequently occurs in chorus. Techniques of strategic management process: Techniques of strategic management process refer to selecting the most suitable route of act for the apprehension of the goals of organisation and objectives and simultaneously accomplishing the vision of business entity. The techniques of strategic management principally consists six main techniques that does not pursue a unbending sequential order however they are very logical and can be effortlessly pursued in the following ways; 1. Setting up the organisational objectives: The important techniques for any type of strategy statement are by setting up the objectives, which are of long term for organisation. It is understood that approach is usually intermediate for attaining the objectives of business entity. Objectives emphasises the stress upon the situation of being there while strategy focuses ahead the procedure of getting there (Langley et al. 2013). Strategy consists of both fixations of both objectives as well as the medium to used to apprehend those objectives. Thus, strategy is broader approach, which considers in the utilisation of resources and achieving the objectives of business entity. 2. Evaluation of business entity environment: The next technique is to determine the universal monetary and industrial surroundings under which an organisational functions. This consists of the business entity competitive situation. It is vital to carry out a qualitative and quantitative re-evaluation of the business firm existing the product line. The objectives of such re-examination are to ensure that techniques, which are significant for competitive success in the market, can be discovered so that the management can recognize their own strength and weakness. After locating the strength and weakness, a business firm must keep a watch on the competitors moves and actions in order to discover likelihood opportunities of threats to its markets and sources of supply. 3. Setting up the quantitative targets: Under these techniques, a business firm should virtually fix the quantitative targets principles for a number of the organisational objectives (Barney and Hesterly 2015). The concept following this is to assess with the long term consumers, so as to assess the contribution that may be made by a variety of merchandise zones or functioning department. 4. Aiming in context with the divisional plans: Under this technique, the contribution made by each of the subdivision or division or merchandise class within the business entity is recognized and appropriate strategies are performed for each sub-unit. This involves a cautious examination of macroeconomic trends. 5. Performance analysis: Performance examination consists of determination and analyzing the opening connecting the planned or required presentation. A significant assessment of the business entity past presentation, current condition and the required future conditions should be performed by the organisations (Morden 2016). This decisive assessment recognizes the amount of gap that exists among the authentic reality and the long-term ambitions of the organisation. An effort is made by the establishment to calculate approximately its possible outlook if the trends persists. 6. Choice of strategy: This is the final techniques in the process of techniques involved in strategic management. The best course of action is actually chooses after considering the goals of the organisation, its strengths and potential limitations along with the external opportunities. Factors influencing the choice of strategy: Strategic management is the methodical procedure of analyzing, co-ordinating and employing decisions and actions plans to accomplish sustainable spirited advantage (Riding and Rayner 2013). There are certain factors, which consist of the management functions, transformation in structure, competition, social-economic factors, laws and technology. Management functions: Alteration in the structure of the administration or the board of directors or exit of the administrative officers influences alteration in strategy. The inward associates of the management team might need to reconsider the present strategies with the objective of enforcing innovative ideas to take the business to improved level. Structural transformations: Structural transformation consists of mergers acquisition and expansion into the global markets, which helps, in necessitating the strategic realignment. Such transformation changes the management, structure of capital and markets structure of business firms, which makes strategic management inevitable (Watson 2013). An organisation should adjust according to the current strategies and formulating new strategies in order to re align the mission and objectives of the organisation. Competition With rise in the competition of the target markets, imperative reassessment of strategies in an effort to improve the competitive benefit has become vital for very business organisations. Business firms employees such strategic tools like SWOT analysis to analyse the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats and change the present strategies (Schilke 2014). For instance, challenges such as simulations of product by the rival firms possess threats to the competitive advantage of a business firms. Altering strategies will enable a business entity to change the course of operations by concentrating on the inherent weakness and threats. Socio-cultural factors: The social and the cultural factors of a business entity must make quick changes in the strategic management process. Every business organisation must ensure that strategic process is realigned to description for the demographic and cultural simulations, particularly while penetrating into the new markets or scheming new products for a particular marketplace sections. Laws: Alteration in regulations such as the tax, environment and healthcare laws influences the procedure of strategic management. An organisation must adjust according to the current needs of their business to integrate the requirement of the new laws. For example if law directs an organisation lower the carbon footprint it may require the review process of production or the supply chain management approach so that it can comply with the new requirements. Technology: A business entity might change its approach due to the accessibility or lack of sufficient technology. The acquirement of capital resources such as mechanical and advanced equipment may enable an organisation to amplify the amount of production in order to adjust to the needs of the supply chain function (Ward and Peppard 2016). Hence, the information technology trends also influence the changes in strategic management. Conclusion: Strategic management is one of the key tools that is available with the management of the organisation to develop the organisational management systems. The report has examined the key elements of strategic management to improve the understanding of managers by placing a major emphasis on the process of strategic decision-making. The volatility of the environment is the circumstances, which hinders the development process by introducing a great deal of uncertainty. 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