Piaraan Mama

A business process comprises a "series or network of value-added activities, performed by their relevant roles or collaborators, to purposefully achieve the common business goal." These processes are critical to any organization: they may generate revenue and often represent a significant proportion of costs. As a managerial approach, BPM considers processes to be strategic assets of an organization that must be understood, managed, and improved to deliver value added products and services to clients. This foundation is very similar to other Total Quality Management or Continuous Improvement Process methodologies or approaches. BPM goes a step further by stating that this approach can be supported, or enabled, through technology to ensure the viability of the managerial approach in times of stress and change. In fact, BPM is an approach to integrate a "change capability" to an organization - both human and technological. As such, many BPM articles and pundits often discuss BPM from one of two viewpoints: people and/or technology.

 Roughly speaking, the idea of (business) process is as traditional as concepts of tasks, department, production, outputs. The current^[update] management and improvement approach, with formal definitions and technical modeling, has been around since the early 1990s (see business process modeling). Note that in the IT community, the term 'business process' is often used as synonymous of management of middleware processes; or integrating application software tasks. This viewpoint may be overly restrictive - a limitation to keep in mind when reading software engineering papers that refer to "business processes" or to "business process modeling".

Although the initial focus of BPM was on the automation of business processes with the use of information technology, it has since been extended to integrate human-driven processes in which human interaction takes place in series or parallel with the use of technology. For example (in workflow systems), when individual steps in the business process require human intuition or judgment to be performed, these steps are assigned to appropriate members within the organization.

More advanced forms such as human interaction management are in the complex interaction between human workers in performing a workgroup task. In this case, many people and systems interact in structured, ad-hoc, and sometimes completely dynamic ways to complete one to many transactions.

BPM can be used to understand organizations through expanded views that would not otherwise be available to organize and present. These views include the relationships of processes to each other which, when included in a process model, provide for advanced reporting and analysis that would not otherwise be available. BPM is regarded by some as the backbone of enterprise content management.

Because BPM allows organizations to abstract business process from technology infrastructure, it goes far beyond automating business processes (software) or solving business problems (suite). BPM enables business to respond to changing consumer, market, and regulatory demands faster than competitors - creating competitive advantage.

All five-star hotels in Las Vegas are offering world class amenities and services. But what The Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino set them apart is their suite room which is the biggest average suite in the world and it is considered the Las Vegas' most stylish casino. The hotel is specially designed to capture the renaissance ambiance. So if you are looking for an unforgettable renaissance stay in Las Vegas, The Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino is always on top of the choices.

To give the hotel guests and tourists from all over the world of the true Italian ambiance, The Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino gives a authentic and truly uplifting feeling of canals surrounding over 20 restaurants with award winning chefs, international boutiques, and souvenir shops.
Please note that this is not just another world class spa, in fact the Canyon Ranch Spa Club offers you to have a restful and blissful moment with the spa. They also have fitness center, and rock climbing wall to complete your work out. If you are newlyweds or just any couple, Gondola rides is perfect for you for it will provide you rides along the district of mile canals. This is just one of the few things that contribute to the hotel in reminiscing about Italy.

 Another best thing about The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas is that they put up a live theater which made them more popular internationally. They bring the shows from New York and London to Las Vegas to appreciate by the masses. Shows of different genre like rock, jazz and pop are being hosted in the live theater not to mention dances of different types in order for the hotel guests to be entertained. This is done so that people of all ages and of different language will be catered respectively.

The Guggenheim-Hermitage Museum was just recently opened. It added to the attraction of the hotel combining the well knows museums in New York and St. Petersburg. The museum displays a wide range of collector's item in a Dutch inspired design structure. The museum also features the Madame Tussauds Wax Gallery which is home of the life sized wax replica of the world renowned American icons like Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.

There is only one goal that The Venetian has, that is making sure that guests would come back after their stay. The Venetian Hotel is among the most visited hotel in Las Vegas that offers comfort, luxury, entertainment and many more.

After just being released to the general public last week, Hotel City seems to be descent 2D simulators made by Playfish, the same developers that brought you the famous Restaurant City and Pet Society.

From first glance, Hotel City is a simulator similar that of the old Sim Tower with a little twist of Restaurant City in a mix. For days I was looking at the advertisement while playing with Restaurant City and wonder what Hotel City really is? What sort of new entertainment it can provide me? So without thinking any further I decided to give it a try and click on the advertisement to find out myself.

When I first launched the application in my Facebook account, the game loads rather smoothly with no hiccups or long loading time (Thank goodness that Playfish corrected the load time in their games). Once the loading was completed, I started naming my Hotel (Mabel High) and straight after that, the in game tutorial kicked in. The game tutorial is very straight forward and easy to be pick up by any age group. Instructing new players what to do and how the game interface works.

Hotel City works in 2D side scroll-er environment which allows you to move freely around the screen to get a better view of your hotel with interface carefully placed around the screen. Game settings, building menus and status bars are all placed around the edge of the screen to allow easy access and without blocking the hotel environment. However, what impressed me the most was for a beta version, Playfish has already added various types of furniture and rooms available to be used in the game.

After getting familiar with my new surrounding, I took the next step in creating my new hotel. As a newly established hotel, the game placed you with 3 temporary staff, a lobby area and enough gold to build a cozy hotel with 3 small rooms, a Cleaning Closet and a few extra decorations. Nothing grand when you just start a new establishment really, but good enough to draw a small crowd nevertheless.

Of course a good hotel would not be complete without workers running around entertaining and serving the guest. New staff during the beginning of the game is nameless avatar with red tags calling themselves "Temp Staff". Unlike the previous Playfish simulator, you cannot just hire any of your friends in your list to replace them, disappointing. One must actually sent out advertisement to recruit your friends as permanent staff to the new hotel. This can be rather troublesome at first since there are not many people playing the game yet and most will ignore your call for help. However, if you do manage to get your friends to work in your new hotel, the reward will be worth your wild as the cost per-shift will be reduced greatly.

Some element of the game play does not seem to change much as my staffs still need to 'rest' after a long day at work. Although you do not have to constantly monitor the progress of your workers, you still need to login a day or two to start the next shift. Work shift is presented in 4 different settings for now. The shortest shift will be 2 hours and the longest provided now is around 48 hours, depending on your budget.

Certain improvement from previous Playfish game is the friend list. At the bottom panel you will see the list of your friends will now have a gold indicator, indicating that there is reward to be claim if you visit them. Gone with the days of just wondering who you have not visited for the day and the loot you have missed out.

Finally the only thing that I cannot really do in the game at the moment is to sell all my old furniture or send it to my needy friends as the function is still not available at this stage of development. So, nothing I can do right now but to dump all those old junks inside my garage while waiting for Playfish to enable that feature.

Graphics

There is little to say about the game graphic really as it looks rather plain and leave a lot of room for improvement. There is a small element of 3D in the game, but it is very hard to notice unless you look very, very careful at the little avatars head. Yes, those little hard working avatar head is actually 3D, but nothing that makes me wow out of my seat really. Seriously, I was actually expected more than just a 3D bobble head.

Sound

The music and the sound can do a bit of work. Although it started out nicely, the music can get rather annoying after listening it straight for 10 minutes. The same goes for the sound as people will make various sleeping and yawning noise which is rather irritating. As per-usual, switching off the sound is advisable unless you enjoy listening to the same old thing over and over again.

Conclusion

For now the game looks rather promising for a BETA version. However there are a lot of areas of improvement. Although it is nothing other developers have never done over the years, but for killing time in the office or at school, this game may just keep you occupy for a few minutes of your time. As for me, I will keep my eye on this game from time to time, let us just hope that there will be more contents added by the time the game goes gold.

To view more PC and online game reviews for casual games, visit MabelGames. Playing PC and online games have many advantages and keeps an active and healthy mind. Visit the collection of the downloadable PC and casual games review site. The games are free to download and have fun!

HIBBING, Minn., Aug 19, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Industrial Rubber Products, Inc. (Pink Sheets: INRB), a leading designer, producer, and applicator of protective coatings to pipeline and industrial markets, today announced that it has entered into a definitive Merger Agreement with affiliates of Lime Rock Partners, a Westport, Connecticut-based private equity firm focusing on the global energy industry, and Thompson Street Capital Partners, a St. Louis-based private equity firm focused on the manufacturing, distribution, and services industries.

The merger provides for the acquisition of Industrial Rubber Products for $16.50 per share (inclusive of approximately $0.89 per share that is subject to escrow) in cash, which per share price may be reduced for customary transaction expenses incurred by the company. The acquisition price represents an approximate 49% premium to the average closing price of Industrial Rubber over the preceding twenty trading days.
It is anticipated that the management of the company, including its President, Daniel Burkes, will continue in their current officer positions and retain a meaningful portion of their ownership.
The Board of Directors of Industrial Rubber Products, upon the recommendation of a special committee of disinterested directors, unanimously approved the Merger Agreement and recommends that the shareholders of Industrial Rubber Products vote in favor of the Merger Agreement and the merger. Stifel, Nicolaus & Company Incorporated served as financial adviser to Industrial Rubber Products, and has delivered a fairness opinion to the special committee of its Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors of Industrial Rubber Products believes that this transaction provides a substantial share price premium and market liquidity for its current shareholders, while producing a more focused and flexible, private ownership structure for the company, and its employees, as it continues to deliver its IRACORE(TM) Pipe System and other leading-edge products to its customers in the oil, mining, and industrial sectors.
Mr. Burkes, CEO of Industrial Rubber Products, said, "The Board and I fully agree that the transaction with Lime Rock and Thompson Street offers the best of both worlds: a fair price for our existing shareholders and two new partners that will help Industrial Rubber Products grow. We are singularly focused on delivering unique, customized, superior solutions to our customers."
Founded as Industrial Rubber Applicators in 1957, Industrial Rubber Products sells protective products and coating for applications to steel pipe and other industrial equipment. With seventeen products lines, the company serves customers worldwide in the energy, mining, aggregates, and other end markets. Since 2006, the company's revenue has almost doubled, driven in large part by the success of the IRACORE(TM) Pipe Systems, which has broad applications to the oil sands and other industries.
J McLane, Director of Lime Rock Partners, noted, "As longstanding investors in the Canadian oil sands, we know that technology like IRACORE is vital to reducing costs and improving performance in an increasingly strained operating environment. We are thrilled to be partnering with Dan and his management team as they seek to find new ways to develop and deliver IRACORE and their other products to their customers." Bob Dunn, Managing Director of Thompson Street, added, "Industrial Rubber Products has shown, time and again, the ability to open up new markets for its products by delivering customized and technologically advanced solutions. We are gratified that the Board has agreed to our offer and look forward to applying our manufacturing investment expertise to helping the company execute on its business plan."
The Board of Industrial Rubber Products expects the transaction to close in September 2008 subject to shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions. A detailed proxy statement is expected to be mailed to Industrial Rubber Products' shareholders in advance of a special shareholder meeting at the Hibbing Park Hotel on or about September 12, 2008.