Ecotourism Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ecotourism - Case Study Example The current exchange rate is 1.00 USD = 3.26 RM (Tourism Malaysia, 2014). Petronas Towers is a popular tourist destination. This 88 floored building is the second highest in the world and consists of the Petronas Philharmonic Hall, Petrosains Science center, Petronas Art Gallery and the Aquaria Oceanarium. Sunway Lagoon is a popular Amusement and Waterpark in Malaysia. The giant wave pool and water games are perfect for family entertainment. The park also consists of activities like off-road game, paintball and flying fox for the more adventurous lot. The Batu caves consist of 3 big caves, one of which has a hindu temple inside with beautiful wall carvings depicting a mythical epic story of India. There are 272 steps to reach the top of the hill and there are many rock climbing activities near the caves. Genting is an area a little away from Kuala Lumpur. It is home to the Genting Sky Venture which provides a sky diving facility for its customers. There is also an international standard climbing wall at the Genting X-pedition and other facilities such as bowling and Cineplex are also available for tourist entertainment. The Petronas towers have limited accessibility for the disabled and wheel chair ramps are not found everywhere, especially near the ticket counters. Ticket counters open at 8:30 am and often the queues are very long. This can prove to be a hassle for tourists but it can easily be resolved by offering more ways to dispense tickets. This can include online websites and more ticket counters. The addition of more ramps to the ticket counter section and sky deck can ensure that the Petronas Towers become friendlier for the disabled. Sunway Lagoon is a popular tourist destination but most tourists often complain the food available in the park is not good and too expensive. Tourists who wish to leave the park to eat and come back are not allowed in again

The Best Friendships Essay Example for Free

The Best Friendships Essay Most people say that friendship is the most common relationship that each of us has. Each relationship that we hold in our lives has a common ground of friendship. However, the levels might differ in terms of our interaction and personal communication with them. In every relationship that we have, a part of us is also revealed as we try to perform the responsibilities in line with the friendships that we have with various people. As of today, I can identify five types of friendships which are currently active in keeping my life as meaningful as possible. Similar with the rest of the world, one of the friendships that I treasure is the one I have built with strangers I have met along my journey in life. These set of people consists of my childhood friends, classmates from previous schools, colleagues from different organizations, co-workers, and other persons whom I have shared myself with as a friend. They are the people whom I have laughed with in times of fun and cried with in times of woe. The second type of friendship that I have is the one that I secure with the person I intend to spend the rest of my life with. I consider this a special type, for I know that amidst the romance, intimacy, and further stages in a couple’s relationship, it is friendship that will most probably be left after a long time of companionship. That is why I do not treat my partner entirely as a lover but at the same time as a best friend whom I can always rely on even without the affectionate words or romantic stuff. The third type of friendship in my life is the one that I have with my family. I am of those few blessed people who have close-knit relatives and family. The friendship I have with them may not be similar with the first two friendships I have discussed. Ours is much understood and profound. They are the ones whom I know will stay with me despite my weaknesses and faults because I was born related to them. It is sort of permanent in nature that once damaged, the scars would always be traceable. The fourth type of friendship that I believe to be as important as the previous ones I have mentioned would be the friendship that I have with myself. It is equally important with the external friendships that I have because it is responsible for a person’s well-being and personal development. The ability to treat oneself as a friend produces a much better relationship and friendship with other people. It amounts to the idea that one must first love oneself before he/she can love others. The fifth and last but definitely not the least is my friendship with God. Without this type of friendship, how could one see the beauty of life and befriend it? One may probe how can I claim such if the existence of this â€Å"Friend† is even physically questionable. The strength of my faith is the sole proof of friendship that I have with Him. This may be quite hard to characterize, for only people with the same kind of friendship can comprehend what I am trying to explain. Presenting all these types of friendships also reveals the different characters that mold my personality. Each relationship illustrates a different definition and function that I must deliver. I am a friend, a lover, a sister/brother, and a daughter/son with responsibilities to fulfill in my attempt to develop myself as well as these friendships.

Does Herzbergs Motivator And Hygiene Factor Theory Apply Tourism Essay

Does Herzbergs Motivator And Hygiene Factor Theory Apply Tourism Essay Motivation is a driving force that gives an individual the zeal to undertake a task. Taiwan has experienced success in managing its technological and other traditional sectors due to the motivation that it gives to employees. Managers are aware that the control system of running business is non-motivating to the employees (Fulton, Maddock, 1998). They believe in giving individual responsibility for them to utilize their ability. According to Herzberg, work achievements, recognition, responsibility, and growth are motivating factors to employees. The theory is not limited to any form of culture and does not consider any. The theory of Herzberg is much applicable in Taiwan since they believe in giving individuals responsiveness (Silverstein, 2007). Taiwan believe in giving individuals the chance make use of their knowledge to explore their capability and ability. Employees have the chance to advance and grow in Herzberg hygiene theory. According to Herzberg, if the hygiene factor is t aken into consideration it could help in eliminating peoples dissatisfactions. Herzberg believes that employees get responsibility based on their level of ability, which is the same principle that managers in Taiwan use. They give employees responsibility based on an employees level of skill and knowledge (Pophal, 2002). Herzbergs theory is based on the satisfying factors, which is the motivation, and the dissatisfaction factor that is the hygiene. According to Herzberg, the hygiene factor help in dealing with dissatisfactions on the side of employees or the employers. The theory states that various factors may cause dissatisfaction to the employees, which eventually may lead to poor performance. Herzberg believes that the hygiene factors that cause dissatisfaction are strict work supervision and tight company policies (Herzberg, Frederick Herzberg (Author) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ º Visit Amazons Frederick Herzberg Page Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author Are you an author? Learn about Author Central Mausner, Snyderman, 1993). Most of the employees are unable to perform well under such conditions. They feel suppressed and unmotivated to use their skills. Managers in Taiwan are aware of the facts that employees need space to use their skills without strict supervision and need to be trusted to make decision on behalf of the company. Just like Herzberg states, that company policy may be dissatisfying, Taiwanese give their employees the chance and the stake in policymaking (Silverstein, 2007). Herzberg hygiene theory poses challenging tasks to employees as a way of increasing their capability in utilizing their knowledge, which is a tactic used by managers in Taiwan. The managers believe in employees full ability utilization therefore, they give them challenging tasks so that they can use their knowledge and learn more. Additionally, Herzberg believes that appreciation is an employee motivation that helps in utilizing his ideas and skill fully. Taiwan is a soaring country as rated for it high performance. Employees in Taiwan are highly rewarded for their job improvement and excellent work performance. They get bonuses as incentives in work places, which are powerful motivators (HerzbergFrederick Herzberg (Author) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ º Visit Amazons Frederick Herzberg Page Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author Are you an author? Learn about Author Central , Mausner Snyderman, 1993). To some extent, the hygiene factor is rough to employees that are not able to utilize their full ability. This is because Herzberg suggests that employees who are unable to utilize their skills to the fullest should be replaced. In Taiwan, most of the employees are aware of replacement facts for failure of skill and knowledge utilization therefore, go extra miles in whatever tasks they take. On the other side, Herzberg hygiene factor recommend promotion to employees for their well performance as a way of motivation. This factor is similar to that of Taiwanese because promotion is based on the performance of an individual employee. The fact that they get promotion for their improvement and performance, employees in Taiwan are so eager to learn and acquire knowledge and skills. It is a fact that most of the employees learn through the e-learning program at their work places. To them promotion is a motivating factor that make them be always at their best. Employees in Taiwan compete among themselves to produce good results and give the best services since they know there are rewards. Personal growth and achievement according to Herzberg is important and employees in Taiwan work towards that for the short-term and long-term rewards (HerzbergFrederick Herzberg (Author) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ º Visit Amazons Frederick Herzberg Page Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author Are you an author? Learn about Author Central , Mausner, Snyderman, 1993). Motivation is an important aspect of work performance and result satisfaction for the organization. Therefore, it is worth studying and putting into considerations. Managers and employers should learn the behaviors of their employees and understand the motivating factor of each. According to Herzberg, motivated employees have the energy and will to be productive which, eventually help in organizational survival (Pophal, 2002). Taiwan managers are keen on the role that their employees perform so that they can motivate them. Managers understand that motivated employees perform well. The managers are aware of the fact that an increased income makes money a lesser motivator. This means that work that interest them is more of a motivator (Bruce, Formisano, Anne Bruce (Author) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ º Visit Amazons Anne Bruce Page Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author Are you an author? Learn about Author Central Pepitone, 1998). Motivation helps in eliminating tension in the work place. Managers and employees are well able to communicate and make decisions together with a clear focus. Additionally, motivation encourages employees to learn more and acquire knowledge and skill. These employees are able to stand any challenges that arise thus being competitive. Taiwan has a cross cultural in its work environment which is a very important issue of consideration because of the adjustments. This means that globally the managers should study what motivate employees across different cultures. On the other side, managers learn the best econometric models that can impart cross-cultural environments and bring satisfactions to the employees (Bruce, Formisano Anne Bruce (Author) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ º Visit Amazons Anne Bruce Page Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author Are you an author? Learn about Author Central Pepitone, 1998). The motivating factor in on culture is different from another. Once companies study the motivating factors, they are able to adopt open system of management that gives employees greater autonomy. Herzberg motivation-hygiene factors are considered over other motivation theories because it pinpoints the dissatisfying needs. The lower categories of Maslows hierarchy of needs are similar to Herzberg hygiene factor. The difference is that the hygiene factors lead to dissatisfaction for their non-fulfillment. Two companies were tested from Taiwan and outside. Shih and Chinerawat developed an econometric model to test the two-factor theory of Herzberg. There was sufficient satisfaction from the model, which also reviewed that, the application of hygiene factor different cross cultures (Chinerawat, 2009). Herzberg hygiene factor was reviewed to impact considerable satisfaction in the cross-cultural work setting in the companies of test. Finally, the question of what would be the impact of the hygiene factor on the Taiwan industries is crucial. This is because different cultures have different motivating factors. Employees from Taiwan and those working in Taiwan but different cultures act differently. Herzberg hygiene factor caters for all cultures because it deals with the issue of work satisfaction. These help managers to understand different cultures and appreciate them with the aim of improving the competitiveness of different employees (Chinerawat, 2009). In conclusion, Herzberg states that hygiene factor is not directly proportional to work. That is because if bad working conditions lead to unsatisfied workers. Managers ought to understand that every individual employee is unique and is motivated differently. Taiwanese managers have learnt that money is not always a motivating factor and have sought other factors. This has led to their enormous success in the electronic fields compared to other countries. The managers have borrowed a leaf of Herzberg Hygiene factor to know what motivates and satisfy their employees. Taiwanese understand that a self-fulfilling factor increase productivity and improves performance (Chinerawat, 2009).

How Does Iago Persuade Othello Essay -- essays research papers

In Act 3 Scene 3, how does Iago persuade Othello of Desdemona’s supposed infidelity? Act 3 Scene 3 is, arguably, the most important scene in the entire play, for it is the point of no return. It is as if for the entire beginning of the play you were pushing a huge boulder up a steep mountain, and in this scene you reach the top, and push it down the other side, helpless to stop it. This is how I see the action in Othello. Iago spends the whole time plotting, and conspiring with the audience, and in this scene you can actually pinpoint the line where he finally pushes Othello over the edge. Iago manages this in several ways, through imagery, ‘sewing the seed’ in Othello’s mind, and reverse psychology. However all of these ways boil down to one thing, Iago, throughout the play, plays on Othello’s own insecurities about race, and Desdemona. Iago’s language throughout the scene is very rich and amazingly descriptive so much so that it actually acts as a projector, projecting vivid, clear pictures into the audience’s, and more importantly, Othello’s mind. This is more evident in the later part of the scene, and there is one particular speech I wish to isolate. Iago’s speech, lines 407 to 423, is where the richest image is created in the scene. He is describing a night through which he lay with Cassio, and witnessed a so-called dream. In this dream, Cassio is meant to have said “S...

History of General Motors

History of General MotorsThe Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, is General Motors' world headquarters. General Motors Corporation, also known as GM or GMC, is the world's second largest car manufacturer based on annual sales. Founded in 1908, in Flint, Michigan, GM employs approximately 284,000 people around the world. With global headquarters at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, USA, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. Their European headquarters is based in Zurich, Switzerland. In 2005, 9. 17 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. Early history General Motors was founded on Wednesday, September 16, 1908, in Flint, Michigan, as a holding company for Buick (then controlled by William C. Durant), and acquired Oldsmobile later that year. The next year, Durant brought in Cadillac, Cartercar, Elmore, Ewing, and Oakland (later known as Pontiac). In 1909, General Motors also acquired the Reliance Motor Truck Company of Owosso, Michigan, and the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, Michigan, the predecessors of GMC Truck. A Rapid became the first truck to conquer Pikes Peak in 1909. In 1910, Welch and Rainier were added to the ever-growing list of companies controlled by GM. Durant lost control of GM in 1910 to a bankers trust, due to the large amount of debt (around $1 million) taken on in its acquisitions. Durant left the firm and helped establish the Chevrolet Motor Company in 1911, with brothers Gaston and Louis Chevrolet. After a brilliant stock buy back campaign, he returned to head GM in 1916, with the backing of Pierre S. du Pont. Chevrolet entered the General Motors fold in 1917; its first GM car was 1918's Chevrolet 490. Du Pont removed Durant from management in 1920, and various Du Pont interests held large or controlling share holdings until about 1950. In 1918 GM purchased the McLaughlin Motor Car Company of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, manufacturer of the McLaughlin-Buick automobile, and renamed it General Motors of Canada Ltd. , with R. S. â€Å"Colonel Sam† McLaughlin as its first president. In 1925, GM bought Vauxhall Motors of England, and then in 1929 went on to acquire an 80% stake in German automobile manufacturer Adam Opel AG. Two years later this was increased to 100% and the company remains the core of GM Europe to this day. In 1931, GM acquired Holden of Australia. GM surpassed Ford Motor Company in sales in the late 1920s thanks to the leadership of Alfred Sloan. While Ford continued to refine the manufacturing process to reduce cost, Sloan was inventing new ways of managing a complex worldwide organization, while paying special attention to consumer demands. Car buyers no longer wanted the cheapest and most basic model; they wanted style, power, and prestige, which GM offered them. Thanks to consumer financing via GMAC (founded 1919), easy monthly payments allowed far more people to buy GM cars, while Ford was moralistically opposed to credit. (Nevertheless, Ford did offer similar credit arrangements with the introduction of the Model A in the late 1920s but Ford Credit did not exist until 1959. ) 1933 – 1958 During the 1920s and 1930s, General Motors assumed control of the Yellow Coach bus company, and helped create Greyhound bus lines. They replaced intercity train transport with buses, and established subsidiary companies to buy out streetcar companies and replace the rail-based services as well with buses. GM formed United Cities Motor Transit in 1932 (see General Motors streetcar conspiracy for additional details). In 1930, GM also began its foray into aircraft design and manufacturing by buying Fokker Aircraft Corp of America (U. S. subsidiary of Fokker) and Berliner-Joyce Aircraft, merging them into General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation. Through a stock exchange GM took controlling interest in North American Aviation and merged it with its General Aviation division in 1933, but retaining the name North American Aviation. In 1948, GM divested NAA as a public company, never to have a major interest in the aircraft manufacturing industry again. General Motors bought the internal combustion engined railcar builder Electro-Motive Corporation and its engine supplier Winton Engine in 1930, renaming both as the General Motors Electro-Motive Division. Over the next twenty years, diesel-powered locomotives — the majority built by GM — argely replaced other forms of traction on American railroads. (During World War II, these engines were also important in American submarines and destroyer escorts. ) Electro-Motive was sold in early 2005. In 1935, the United Auto Workers labor union was formed, and in 1936 the UAW organized the Flint Sit-Down Strike, which initially idled two key plants in Flint, but later spread t o half-a-dozen other plants including Janesville, Wisconsin and Fort Wayne, Indiana. In Flint, police attempted to enter the plant to arrest strikers, leading to violence; in other cities the plants were shuttered peacefully. The strike was resolved February 11, 1937 when GM recognized the UAW as the exclusive bargaining representative for its workers. World War II General Motors produced vast quantities of armaments, vehicles, and aircraft during World War II for both Allied and Axis customers. By the spring of 1939, the German Government had assumed day-to-day control of American owned factories in Germany, but decided against nationalizing them. During the war, the U. S. auto companies continued to be concerned Nazi Germany would nationalize American-owned factories. [citation needed] GM's William P. Knudson served as head of U. S. wartime production for President Franklin Roosevelt, who called Detroit as the Arsenal of Democracy. The General Motors UK division, Vauxhall Motors, manufactured the Churchill tank series for the Allies. The Vauxhall Churchill tanks were instrumental in the UK campaigns in North Africa (ironically often being used to attack German logistics units using Opel trucks). Bedford Vehicles manufactured logistics vehicles for the UK military, all important in the UK's land campaigns. In addition, GM was the top manufacturer of U. S. Army 1? ton 4Ãâ€"4 vehicles. 1] Nevertheless, while General Motors has claimed its German (Opel) operations were outside its control during World War II, this assertion appears to be contradicted by available evidence. General Motors was not just a car company that happened to have factories in Germany; GM management from the top down had extensive connections with the Nazi Party, both on a business and personal level. [2] Americ an GM Vice President (later Colonel) Graeme K. Howard was a committed Nazi, and expressed such views in his book, America and a New World Order. Adolf Hitler awarded GM boss James D. Mooney the Order of Merit of the Golden Eagle for his services to Nazi Germany. General Motors’ internal documents show a clear strategy to profit from their German military contracts even after Germany declared war against America. Defending the German investment strategy as â€Å"highly profitable†, Alfred P. Sloan told shareholders in 1939 GM’s continued industrial production for the Nazi government was merely sound business practice. In a letter to a concerned shareholder, Sloan said that the manner in which the Nazi government ran Germany â€Å"should not be considered the business of the management of General Motors†¦ We must conduct ourselves as a German organization. . . We have no right to shut down the plant. â€Å"[3] After 20 years of researching General Motors, Bradford Snell stated, â€Å"General Motors was far more important to the Nazi war machine than Switzerland †¦ Switzerland was just a repository of looted funds. GM-Opel was an integral part of the German war effort. The Nazis could have invaded Poland and Russia without Switzerland. They could not have done so without GM. †[3] Post-war growth At one point GM had become the largest corporation registered in the United States, in terms of its revenues as a percent of GDP. In 1953, Charles Erwin Wilson, then GM president, was named by Eisenhower as Secretary of Defense. When he was asked during the hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee if as secretary of defense he could make a decision adverse to the interests of General Motors, Wilson answered affirmatively but added that he could not conceive of such a situation â€Å"because for years I thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors and vice versa†. Later this statement was often misquoted, suggesting that Wilson had said simply, â€Å"What's good for General Motors is good for the country. At the time, GM was one of the largest employers in the world – only Soviet state industries employed more people. In 1955, General Motors became the first American corporation to pay taxes of over $1 billion. [4] 1958 – 1983 While GM maintained its world leadership in revenue and market share throughout the 1960s to 1980s, it was product controversy that pl agued the company in this period. It seemed that, in every decade, a major mass-production product line was launched with defects of one type or another showing up early in their life cycle. And, in each case, improvements were eventually made to mitigate the problems, but the resulting improved product ended up failing in the marketplace as its negative reputation overshadowed its ultimate excellence. The first of these fiascos was the Chevrolet Corvair in the 1960s. Introduced in 1959 as a 1960 model, it was initially very popular. But before long its quirky handling earned it a reputation for being unsafe, inspiring consumer advocate Ralph Nader to lambaste it in his book, Unsafe at any Speed, published in 1965. Ironically, by the same (1965) model year, suspension revisions and other improvements had already transformed the car into a perfectly acceptable vehicle, but its reputation had been sufficiently sullied in the public's perception that its sales sagged for the next few years, and it was discontinued after the 1969 model year. During this period, it was also somewhat overwhelmed by the success of the Ford Mustang. The 1970s was the decade of the Vega. Launched as a 1971 model, it also began life as a very popular car in the marketplace. But within a few years, quality problems, exacerbated by labor unrest at its main production source in Lordstown, Ohio, gave the car a bad name. By 1977 its decline resulted in termination of the model name, while its siblings along with a Monza version and a move of production to Ste-Therese, Quebec, resulted in a thoroughly desirable vehicle and extended its life to the 1980 model year. In the 1980 model year, a full line of automobiles on the X-body platform, anchored by the Chevrolet Citation, was launched. Again, these cars were all quite popular in their respective segments for the first couple of years, but brake problems, and other defects, ended up giving them, known to the public as â€Å"X-Cars,† such a bad reputation that the 1985 model year was their last. The J-body cars, namely the Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire, took their place, starting with the 1982 model year. Quality was better, but still not exemplary, although good enough to survive through three generations to the 2005 model year. They were produced in a much-improved Lordstown Assembly plant, as are their replacements, the Chevrolet Cobalt nd Pontiac Pursuit/G5. 1983 – 2008 Under the controversial leadership of Roger B. Smith throughout the 1980s, a multitude of well-intentioned initiatives seemed to go awry at every turn. GM was losing money for the first time since the early 1920s as the legacy of poor management of the previous decade was taking its inevitable toll. Poor product quality, lab our unrest and lawsuits over unsafe vehicle designs were affecting sales volumes, which meant that GM was losing market share at an alarming rate, mostly to foreign automakers. Recognizing the superiority of the Japanese quality and production procedures and practices, Smith set out to infuse their methods into the GM culture. He formed joint ventures with two Japanese companies (NUMMI in California with Toyota, and CAMI with Suzuki in Canada). Each of these agreements provided opportunities for GM managers to work alongside Japanese managers, thus learning their approaches, and taking this knowledge back to GM. Unfortunately the GM bureaucracy that opposed change influenced from outside was too strong and â€Å"inbred,† so the efforts of these managers as they returned to GM were essentially ineffective. Apparently anticipating this reaction, Smith also launched the Saturn Corporation, in which these managers could institute the Japanese system in a fresh non-GM environment. While all three of these facilities were, and still are, moderately successful, the net result for GM was failure to accomplish Smith's ambitious goals. GM's profits remained inconsistent and its share of the U. S. market continued to fall. Ironically it was another Smith, not related to Roger, who took the reins of GM in the early 1990s, and succeeded where Roger had failed. Like Roger, his tenure began when GM was in dire straits, having just endured a very close brush with bankruptcy. Its losses were much deeper than they had been a decade earlier and â€Å"Jack† Smith was burdened with the task of overseeing a radical restructuring of General Motors. Sharing Roger's understanding of the need for serious change, Jack undertook many major revisions, of which the most visible to the public in general was the demise of the Oldsmobile division, an effort that took in total a full decade. Reorganizing the management structure to dismantle the legacy of Alfred P. Sloan, instituting deep cost-cutting and introducing significantly improved vehicles were the key approaches. These moves were met with much less resistance within GM than had Roger's similar initiatives as GM management ranks were stinging from their recent near-bankruptcy experience and were much more willing to accept the prospect of radical change. By the late 1990s, many archaic remnants of GM's history were falling away, such as the Oldsmobile complex in Lansing, Michigan and Buick City in Flint. This also meant a large reduction in the work force. After GM's massive lay-offs hit Flint, Michigan, a strike began at the General Motors parts factory in Flint on June 5, 1998, which quickly spread to five other assembly plants and lasted seven weeks. Because of the significant role GM plays in the United States, the strikes and temporary idling of many plants noticeably showed in national economic observations. In the late 1990s, GM had regained market share; its stock had soared to over $80 a share by 2000. However, in 2001, the stock market drop following the September 11, 2001 attacks, combined with historic pension underfunding, caused a severe pension and benefit fund crisis at GM and many other American companies and the value of their pension funds plummeted. A weak U. S. dollar and private health care (as opposed to nationalized health care in other countries) costs also put GM at a disadvantage to its Japanese, Korean, and European counterparts In successive moves, GM responded to the crisis by fully funding its pension fund; however, its Other Post Employment Benefits Fund (OPEB) became a serious issue resulting in downgrades to its bond rating in 2005. The company expressed its disagreement with these bond rating downgrades. In 2006, GM responded by offering buyouts to hourly workers to reduce future liability; over 35,000 workers responded to the offer, well exceeding the company's goal. GM has gained higher rates of return on its benefit funds as a part of the solution. Stock value has begun to rebound – as of October 30, 2006 GM's market capitalization was about $19. 19 billion. GM stock began the year 2006 at $19 a share, near its lowest level since 1982, as many on Wall Street figured the ailing automaker was bound for bankruptcy court. But GM remained afloat and the company's stock in the Dow Jones industrial average posted the biggest percentage gain in 2006. [5] In early 2007, GM fell to be the world's second largest auto company, behind Japan's Toyota, but regained the lead during the summer. Also, in June 2007, GM sold its military and commercial subsidiary, Allison Transmission, for $5. 6 billion. Having sold off the majority, it will, however, keep its heavy-duty transmissions for its trucks marketed as the Allison 1000 series. During negotiations for the renewal of its industry labor contracts in 2007, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union selected General Motors as the â€Å"lead company† or â€Å"strike target† for pattern bargaining. Late in September, sensing an impending impasse in the talks, the union called a strike, the first nation-wide walkout since 1970 (individual plants had experienced local labor disruptions in the interim). Within two days, however, a tentative agreement was achieved and the strike ended.

Relationships: Online Dating vs. Long Distance Dating

There is no doubt single people are willing to try anything to find their romantic partner. It depends on how far they are willing to go. People date because it helps them to get to know each other. If they are interested in each other they can build a relationship. Meanwhile, there are different methods used when meeting someone. Online dating and establishing a long distance relationship are just a couple of methods to building a relationship. â€Å"In the U. S. alone, tens of millions of people are trying to find dates or spouses online every day. † (Epstein, 2007). Many people prefer online dating because they can quickly search through millions of available candidates. Online dating have many advantages. With online dating you are able to look at different peoples’ profile. This option allows you automatically eliminate the people you don’t find interest in. Also, online dating have low tolerance for foul language. There is a membership expense for joining an online dating site on certain web sites. â€Å"Other dating sites will not charge you a membership fee but will charge you posting personal ads. † ( Hardy para 2). Compared to online dating, long distance relationships have some similarities. There is no physical or face to face contact on a daily basis. Regardless of the lack of physical companionship, these relationships establish an emotional connection. Online dating and long distance relationships are beneficial if you enjoy having more time for yourself. You may have to travel a lengthy distance to see each other. This can also be costly depending on if your means of travel will be a train, bus, or airplane. In contrast, long distance relationships can cost a lot more than an online relationship. The latest issue of Women’s Health magazine has an article about long-distance relationships featuring this interesting statistic: An average total amount of $278 is spent a month by couples to keep love alive in a long distance relationship. † (no author,2006). In a long distance relationship you typically know the individual you are in a relationship with. However, getting seperate d for reasons, the test of true commitment is far more real than online dating. Online dating have imagine deception not recognized until you meet for the first time. Author Robert Esptein met a woman he corresponded with online. They agreed to meet at a coffee shop, but she was not the same woman in the online photo when she showed up at the table. (paraphrased para 2). Thus, online dating and long distance relationships share common interest of people wanting to get to know each other. It could both be good or bad. You have to find what dating method works out for you. If you are shy person or used of getting rejected, then online dating might work for you. You could avoid the embarrassment of being let down. Long distance relationships give you more time to spend with yourself. Although both online dating and long distance have their own category of expenses finding what method that will work for you will make you more at ease. Meanwhile, the effort people are willing to go for romance will eventually have some kind of distance involved, whether it would be online or long distance. â€Å" More than 120,000 marriages occur a year as a result of online dating. Growth of online dating industry estimated at $642 million in 2008. † (Silva-Behrens, Nguyen, Queen, Ayala) References Ayala,C., Behrens, L., Nguyen, G., Queen, M. (2009). Online dating statistics-docstoc -documents. Retrieved from www.docstoc.com Epstein, R. (2007). The truth about online dating. Retrieved from www.scientific american.com Hardy, M. (2006) Understanding no membership free personals/love to know Retrieved from www.dating.lovetoknow.com Women’s Health (2006). Cost of a long-distance relationship. Retrieved from www.myopenwallet.net

Organisational structures Essay Example

Organisational structures Essay Example Organisational structures Essay Organisational structures Essay Two main types of organisational structure 1. Hierachial structure 2. Flat structure The main hieranchial structure has many layers of management and at times this can cause information to be lost or changed while passing to one person to another. This type of structure is like a wise based triangle and every person in it has a line manager who is responsible for the work done by him, this makes communication slow and getting things done takes a great deal of effort, modern companies use a flatter structure where it is possible to access your superior directly. This new system came from the Japanese who encouraged much more informal communication between different levels of workers. The Japanese concept is that we are all in it together no delighted parking and everybody eats in the same dining room, allowing different levels of the workforce to cumminicate informally together Chain of command In structure one there is a very long chain of command, because in order to communicate orders or ideas workers have to go through many levels before the information reaches the correct person. The chain of command in a flat structure is ery short and there is less chance for communication to be mixed up and to contact the right person for the Job. In the traditional structure one it is very difficult to manage change because its so traditional and the process of moving from moving from structure 1 to 2 is called delayering it means unecersary structures are removed. The process of delayering is painful as often it results in redundencies which can get the business a bad name unless they do it in a sympathetic manor. Finally hieranchial structures can demotivated the people at the bottom as they cannot see a clear way forward. In the control structure teams are formed that compete against each other to be the best, the competitive instinct motivates them. Problems with the flat structure, the major problem with this structure is that it has a very wide span of control, it means that individual managers have a great number of people for whom they are responsible, this can be good or bad, on the good side the worker feels more trusted and respected as he is allowed to get on with his Job with less supervision Span of control This is the number of people that one person is in control of. Depending on hat the ou go the larger the span of control becomes. In many businesss having only one person in charge of you, workers learn to take responsibility for their work and they feel empowered because they are given a task to do and are allowed to get onto it, this breeds trust. However there is more capacity for workers to become idol if the span of control is too big. Many firms set their policy at the head office and send out instructions to all their branches either nationally or internationally, this is fine provided that head office takes into account the requirements of each area of their usiness, many firms have recognised that centralisation is a problem because not all decisions made in head office apply to all he branches in the business, so many of them have become decentralised and allow local and regional managers to make the decisions that affect their branches. Motivation theory Motivation is giving your best when working in a business, the key is finding the right way in which to motivate. A more motivated workforce will be more committed to the job, demotivated workers may not do their best and even hinder their Job. Motivated orkers produce better goods and services and are far more efficient because they take pride in their work and they want to produce quality goods and services. Motivated workers are much more flexible; they arent scared of change, their willing to learn and they are happy to become multi skilled. Maslows hierarchy of needs Maslows triangle shows that people have basic needs and that everyone should obtain level one, many will move on to the higher order needs. most businesss believe that most people are motivated by money, these businesss tend to pay eople for the amount of work that they do. Most people are either paid hourly or annually and if they work hard enough they will receive a bonus. The bonus level must be achievable, there are many other firms that believe that money is important but giving workers respect, responsibility, empowerment, good conditions of work and extras is better than paying bonuses. It is important to understand that for each person motivation comes from within, they can take their environment and use that to help motivate them but without their inner drive it would not happen

Feckless

Feckless Feckless Feckless By Maeve Maddox A reader has called my attention to a surge in the use of the word feckless in the American press. A Web search garners 1,550,000 hits. Feckless derives from feck, a dialect word possibly formed by a linguistic process called aphaeresis: â€Å"omission of one or more sounds or letters from the beginning of a word.† Examples of aphaeresis include: squire from esquire and coon from raccoon. Feck, which is documented as early as the 14th century, is probably a shortening of the noun effect. Feck is â€Å"energy and gumption.† A person with feck gets things done. When used to refer to a thing, the adjective feckless means, â€Å"valueless, futile, or feeble.† Used to refer to a person or a person’s actions, feckless means, â€Å"lacking energy; weak, helpless.† In modern usage, feckless is used chiefly as a synonym for irresponsible or shiftless. This latter use of feckless is especially common in the British press in headlines and articles relating to social welfare programs: Britains most feckless father? Unemployed dad of 10 is expecting FOUR more children –The Telegraph. Lets get the feckless to buy food not fags and booze –MailOnline. No one would consider her [a young unmarried mother of four children, by two different men, and expecting her fifth] to be anything other than feckless and irresponsible. –The Independent. The Oxfam report – â€Å"Walking The Breadline,† published in June this year, states that half a million people in the UK rely on food banks. Yet the Government puts their fingers in their ears, blaming feckless parenting and scroungers. –The Guardian. Here are some examples in contexts other than discussions of welfare recipients: Given their feckless track record, would you really trust Apple with (even more of) your digital life? –Source uncertain; the comment appears on numerous sites. One striking feature in all three works is how badly the men do; how feckless they are, how treacherous, weepy, self-obsessed and violent. –Review of a collection of three short stories by Bernhard Schlink. Because the usual use of feckless is to describe people or actions lacking in will or responsible purpose, some of the examples I found left me a bit puzzled: Delete a Feckless Effect from Filler Edgar Steele’s Feckless Racism Here are some sure fire home remedies and tips to get rid of your feckless and lifeless hair. The opposite of feckless–feckful (powerful, effective, efficient, vigorous)–is used seriously in an OED citation dated 1568: I culd nocht cumwithout sum gret and fecfull purpois. [I could not comewithout some great and feckful purpose.] Anyone using the positive adjective feckful nowadays would be aiming for humorous effect, as in this 1990 quotation from The New York Times: The unfailingly feckless Bertie Wooster and his valet, the formidably feckful Jeeves. Sometimes feckless is the perfect choice, but sometimes not. Here is a selection of words that might serve better in some contexts: good-for-nothing idle indolent inept irresponsible lazy ne’er-do-well no-account slothful sorry useless worthless David Auburn, playwright and contributor to the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, says this about feckless: The obscene-sounding first syllable gives punch and an air of harsh condemnation to the synonym for irresponsible, conveying â€Å"not merely irresponsible but also unforgivably blithe, and in one’s blitheness, causing great harm.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Coordinating vs. Subordinating ConjunctionsRules for Capitalization in TitlesParticular vs. Specific

Christian copts Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Christian copts - Research Paper Example The history of Coptic Christianity is tragic, sad and filled with stories of misery. The Coptic language is no longer spoken outside church and the percentage of Copts in Egypt have declined to fewer than 10 percent of the population yet this sect has survived through the centuries spreading beyond the Egyptian borders to many countries around the world. According to Coptic belief the Christian sect began when the Apostle Mark traveled to Egypt. Mark would become the first Pope of Alexandria. The word â€Å"Copt† is derived from the â€Å"Aigyptos,† a Greek word meaning Egyptian. The Coptic Church believes Jesus is less than God because He was made by God while all other Christian denominations believe Jesus to be a spiritual being whose nature was the same therefore equal to God. This was a major divisive issue in 451 AD at the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) when the Copts separated from the other Christian sects but the disagreement has cooled over the many years since . Neither mainline nor do Coptic Christians believe this one point of contention to be of great importance anymore. Otherwise, most Coptic beliefs are essentially the same as other Christians Churches, the Bible being the guiding text. As in other Christian sects, Copts believe the Bible is the inspired word of God. Men actually wrote it but were guided by the Holy Spirit. Copts, as other Christian’s sects believe that Christ not only taught through words but also by His actions and the Bible is not the only source of knowledge. According to Coptic Pope H. H. Pope Shenouda II â€Å"the Holy Bible does not mention everything.† (BBC 2009). Traditions are particularly important to Copts because these have directed civilization from since the time of the first people, Adam and Eve, a period which, according to them, occurred many centuries prior to the writings of the Bible. Somewhat surprisingly, due to the Copts, Christian monasteries originated in Egypt. Termed â€Å"m onasticism,† the creation of monasteries is the most significant contribution to the Christian religion by the Copts. The original monastic community was unintentionally founded by Saint Anthony (died in 356 AD). He departed for Egypt intending to live a spiritual life alone but came across others who wanted to live close to what they believed to be a holy person. They formed a religious community, a novel concept at that time. Of course the community needed rules and who better than a Roman for the task? Saint Pachomius (died 346 AD), an Egyptian and former soldier in the Roman Army, established the first collection of rules for a religious community with a central highly spiritual leader, later to be termed ‘monastery.’ The list of rules combined a work regiment and spiritual dedication. As is the case for all other religions and Christian sects, there are many traditions and rituals unique to Coptic Christians. All Coptic churches face east as do the faithful w hen praying. Traditions and symbolism, such as facing east, is held sacred by Copts. â€Å"We see Christ as our east, in that the sun rises from the east. The sun is the source of our life and so Christ is our salvation, the source of our life in the spirit. Looking towards the east, we are facing the Garden of Eden.† The act is also Biblical in nature. According to ‘Acts,’ St. John of Zebedee â€Å"took a cross of wood and placed it up towards the east and kneeled

Human Resources Re-Engineering Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Resources Re-Engineering - Research Paper Example We are the business." Competitive pressure is the main reason for the above phenomenon. As a point of start, instead of imposing rules, it would fetch a better result if the process is started right from knowing what others (employees) want. Also, according to Ulrich, Smallwood and Sweetman (2007), "Being an effective leader starts with self." Employees should take up the responsibility of streamlining the Human Resources as a business partner and the top management should create the necessary ambience atmosphere. A proper intersection of people and business will certainly yield sustainable human capital resources of the organization, as per Ulrich, Brockbank HR can be linked with profitability metrics. They may either partner with Audit staff or give directions for hiring requirement or they can partner with sales & marketing team and work in designing and negotiating health care programs. In order to carry on this process effectively, develop a leadership program that includes hands of training of all functional disciplines and insist HR staff to receive basic training on financials so that they can understand impact of cash flow, receivables, billing cycles etc. Encourage them to participate in sales strategies, customer visits, technology reviews etc. Hold all members accountable for achieving the company's critical numbers and include HR employees as full business partners. Following is the example of my current company where 5 of the positions can be re-engineered (according to me) to allow for reductions in work force availability. Here are the total 16 total positions currently in our company. General Manager (1 position), Marketing Manager (1 position), HR Manager (1 position), Accounts Lead (1 position), Sales & Marketing (3 positions), Auditing (2 position), Recruiting & Training (3 positions), Payroll Staff (1 position), Accounts Assistants (3 positions). According to the explanation above, HR teams can be partnered with other departments and necessary changes can be made. Recruiting & Training team can be partnered with Sales & Marketing team and gradually, the total 6 positions can be reduced to 4. Clubbing of Recruiting and Marketing team helps in collaboratively working "within the company" & what is needed "outside the company." Auditing staff can be partnered with payroll and accounting staff and the total number may be changed from 6 to 4. This combination is because of the similarity between finance and accounts. My current role is one among a team of 3 in Sales & Marketing. There is a potential chance of my position getting disturbed with the above re-engineering. However, for the overall well being of the company, I feel this is the right approach. Also, as long as I am good performer, my position shall be definitely safe. References The HR Value Proposition by David Ulrich and Wayne Brockbank (2005) The Leadership Code: Five Rules to Lead By by Dave Ulrich, Norm Smallwood, and Kate

Language Change Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Language Change - Article Example They may be just expressing their opinions and fears rather than being concerned about the health of language itself. The article says that language change is triggered by social factors. These social factors make use of the existing gap in the structure of the language. The author believes that language change is of two major types. She gives an example of changes in English language. According to her, while the loss of‘t’ is a disruptive change, the loss of ‘h’ has a therapeutic effect on the language. The article then moves over to linking language change in humans to that of whales. During the breeding season, whales change their song. Change is not a correct word as only modification occurs in their song. When an accurate observation was made about the modification, it was seen that new sequences were created by joining middle and end of the phrases, omitting the middle part. This is very similar to change of language in human beings. The purpose of this example is to point out that human beings are not alone in the phenomenon of language change. Then the first question of the article is asked. Should language change be measured with the words like progress and decay? The author believes that arguments about ‘progress’ or ‘decay’ in language have tended to reflect the religious or philosophical preconceptions of their proponents. On the other hand there are people who base their language theories on the Darwin’s theory of evolution. Charles Darwin believed that a shorter and easier form of language gained an upper hand over other languages. So does this mean that a language that expresses more in fewer words is superior over others? The author says that this shouldn’t be the yardstick to measure the superiority of a language because shorter and easier forms of language often result in confusing homonyms. Hence, while analyzing a language change, both religions and

Contemporary Culture Challenging the Irish Catholic Church Essay

Contemporary Culture Challenging the Irish Catholic Church - Essay Example It is no longer synonymous to getting a sound education, health care or any other public services. Inglis, with the application of Pierre Bourdieu's theories calls this situation as a "religious capital" and sees that this decline in regard for Catholicism in Ireland has resulted to a so-called Post-Christian/secularized society ("Where to now for Irish Catholicism"). The waning influence of the Irish Catholic church on politics and other socio-political and moral matters is also due to the metamorphosis of popular culture. 'Pop culture' as what popular culture is more commonly known, is a staple in all societies. Pop culture is fuelled with the needs and desires of the people as well as the 'in' thing at the moment. It is considered the 'mainstream' and anything outside of it is considered 'underground'. Pop culture extends to the masses preference in fashion, food music, entertainment and practically any other thing that is integral in the everyday activities of men. Culture has always this tendency to bring in people into its clutches and somehow influence them to take part in it and devote themselves into it. Sociologically, people feel the need to belong in a certain group and building up their identities there. This 'belongingness' bestows a feeling that one is integral in the group's activities and is especially seen in small neighbourhood s and other groups of people. 'Mass culture' on the other hand allow people to characterize themselves in terms of their association with everybody else in the society. In effect, this makes the establishment of an identity more difficult. ("Popular culture"). Pop culture is very specific and varies from the time and place where and when it occurred. It is like a wave that comes and goes as the interest of a small number of people eventually becomes accepted by the masses. It comes from a wide array of sources, one is the business establishments that constantly invents and produces products that may have any cultural impact. The media is also a source of popular culture; music, film, television, radio, video game, and book and comic books all play a part in the cultural changes of the common man ("Popular culture"). The modern times saw the dramatic changes in the lifestyles and behaviour of men. Adults these days find it hard to adjust to these social changes, especially when it comes to issues regarding morality and religion. Morality changes through time as with people's perception of it. It is firmly anchored to reality but as it is proven, reality also changes through time, what applies to this timeline may not be applicable in the past and vice versa. What is viewed as 'morally' right today may not be utterly acceptable in the past. Also the 'moral norms' based on a certain time period's standards can be reinterpreted or misinterpreted by people living in the current time period. Today, there is a so-called 'morality crisis' not just in Ireland but all over the world. This 'moral crisis' characterised by the misinterpretation or total disregard to morals is said to be influenced by pop culture. The Irish Catholic is in itself in some kind of 'identity crisis', it is currently undergoing a re-evaluation of its perspective on

Listening Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Listening Skills - Essay Example I am unable to support this with research data, but it is my firm conviction. The countenance of silent persons looks better, than the parted lips of those individuals who are ever ready to announce something on any topic, any time, in any situation. Listeners are respected everywhere; glib takers get selective reception! Though listening is a great skill, especially for the public relations people, this is one of the neglected segments of the communication skills. Formal training courses are available and diplomas are awarded for reading, writing and speaking—but not for listening! You see workshops and conferences arranged for all types of communication skills, except listening! One can be forced to write, read or speak. But one can’t be forced to listen. Listening is a mind function, though we suppose that it is primary job of two ears. Research results have proved that listening skills suffer with age. â€Å"Ralph G. Nichols, long-time professor of rhetoric at the University of Minnesota (now retired), says in his book Are You Listening? --that "if we define the good listener as one giving full attention to the speaker, first-grade children are the best listeners of all." (Listening...) Let me give a simple, real-life example, how bad listening can create (un) pleasant situations. I have recently joined a Non-governmental Organization and posted at the Public Relations Department. There are many part-timers who do honorary assignments for NGOs after their office/business hours. On the third day of my joining, a lady attached to the NGO, who looked after the â€Å"Women Empower Department,† telephoned to me. She called me, and enquired if I am the man who has been posted at the Public Relations Department. On getting the affirmative reply, she asked my introduction, name to be precise, and I said, â€Å"My name is Mallya.† I do no know whether she heard it properly or not, but she immediately began to reel off lots of

International Marketing Case Study Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Marketing Case Study - Coursework Example The marketing strategy while strengthening the global brand should have a customized appeal for the customers of the markets of the developed economies. Customers of developed markets are usually more quality conscious rather than price conscious unlike their counterparts in developing economies. Chinese brands need to invest more on Research & Development if they want to market themselves successfully in developed economies. Capabilities in research and development can be acquired by building research & development centers in the developed markets. Li Ning has built such Research & Development Centers in Hong Kong and United States. There are also differences in consumer tastes and preferences. Incorporating these differences in the products is critical for the success of internalization of any Chinese brand. Another dynamic capability that is extremely important is to have the right distribution network so that the target segment in the developed economies can be easily accessed to. Besides the product issues there are also issues related to customer service. Every product has a service component attached to it. In comparison to China the level of customer service is quite high in the developed economies of the West. Therefore, when foraying into markets of the developed world, Chinese companies need to make their customer service more customer oriented and friendly. Last but not the least the differences in culture and business are significant between China and the more developed West (Philip Kotler, 2008). The Chinese companies need to incorporate such cultural aspects of the West like transparency, individuality and a strong sense of commitment towards the customers as stakeholders, if they want to make a mark in the developed economies. For building a sports brand like Li Ning or Nike, there can be no better brand ambassador that a national sports icon. Li Ning has done so by using the name of its founder Li Ning, a former Olympic gold medalist in

Contemporary Culture Challenging the Irish Catholic Church Essay

Contemporary Culture Challenging the Irish Catholic Church - Essay Example It is no longer synonymous to getting a sound education, health care or any other public services. Inglis, with the application of Pierre Bourdieu's theories calls this situation as a "religious capital" and sees that this decline in regard for Catholicism in Ireland has resulted to a so-called Post-Christian/secularized society ("Where to now for Irish Catholicism"). The waning influence of the Irish Catholic church on politics and other socio-political and moral matters is also due to the metamorphosis of popular culture. 'Pop culture' as what popular culture is more commonly known, is a staple in all societies. Pop culture is fuelled with the needs and desires of the people as well as the 'in' thing at the moment. It is considered the 'mainstream' and anything outside of it is considered 'underground'. Pop culture extends to the masses preference in fashion, food music, entertainment and practically any other thing that is integral in the everyday activities of men. Culture has always this tendency to bring in people into its clutches and somehow influence them to take part in it and devote themselves into it. Sociologically, people feel the need to belong in a certain group and building up their identities there. This 'belongingness' bestows a feeling that one is integral in the group's activities and is especially seen in small neighbourhood s and other groups of people. 'Mass culture' on the other hand allow people to characterize themselves in terms of their association with everybody else in the society. In effect, this makes the establishment of an identity more difficult. ("Popular culture"). Pop culture is very specific and varies from the time and place where and when it occurred. It is like a wave that comes and goes as the interest of a small number of people eventually becomes accepted by the masses. It comes from a wide array of sources, one is the business establishments that constantly invents and produces products that may have any cultural impact. The media is also a source of popular culture; music, film, television, radio, video game, and book and comic books all play a part in the cultural changes of the common man ("Popular culture"). The modern times saw the dramatic changes in the lifestyles and behaviour of men. Adults these days find it hard to adjust to these social changes, especially when it comes to issues regarding morality and religion. Morality changes through time as with people's perception of it. It is firmly anchored to reality but as it is proven, reality also changes through time, what applies to this timeline may not be applicable in the past and vice versa. What is viewed as 'morally' right today may not be utterly acceptable in the past. Also the 'moral norms' based on a certain time period's standards can be reinterpreted or misinterpreted by people living in the current time period. Today, there is a so-called 'morality crisis' not just in Ireland but all over the world. This 'moral crisis' characterised by the misinterpretation or total disregard to morals is said to be influenced by pop culture. The Irish Catholic is in itself in some kind of 'identity crisis', it is currently undergoing a re-evaluation of its perspective on

International Marketing Case Study Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Marketing Case Study - Coursework Example The marketing strategy while strengthening the global brand should have a customized appeal for the customers of the markets of the developed economies. Customers of developed markets are usually more quality conscious rather than price conscious unlike their counterparts in developing economies. Chinese brands need to invest more on Research & Development if they want to market themselves successfully in developed economies. Capabilities in research and development can be acquired by building research & development centers in the developed markets. Li Ning has built such Research & Development Centers in Hong Kong and United States. There are also differences in consumer tastes and preferences. Incorporating these differences in the products is critical for the success of internalization of any Chinese brand. Another dynamic capability that is extremely important is to have the right distribution network so that the target segment in the developed economies can be easily accessed to. Besides the product issues there are also issues related to customer service. Every product has a service component attached to it. In comparison to China the level of customer service is quite high in the developed economies of the West. Therefore, when foraying into markets of the developed world, Chinese companies need to make their customer service more customer oriented and friendly. Last but not the least the differences in culture and business are significant between China and the more developed West (Philip Kotler, 2008). The Chinese companies need to incorporate such cultural aspects of the West like transparency, individuality and a strong sense of commitment towards the customers as stakeholders, if they want to make a mark in the developed economies. For building a sports brand like Li Ning or Nike, there can be no better brand ambassador that a national sports icon. Li Ning has done so by using the name of its founder Li Ning, a former Olympic gold medalist in

Utopian Societies Essay Example for Free

Utopian Societies Essay Utopian societies are in constant struggle to find perfection in everyday life. In Fahrenheit 451 and The Handmaid’s Tale, each protagonist is struggling with fitting into these boundaries of perfection. When inquisitive minds emerge in a society that strives to be so pure, it can become dangerous not only physically but also emotionally. Although these societies strive for a utopia thinking that it will allow them to reach perfection, it in fact ends in hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is seen in both Fahrenheit 451 and The Handmaid’s Tale through Captain Beatty and the power of books, the government taking Offred’s daughter, and both societies basing their beliefs off of fiction. In Fahrenheit 451 Captain Beatty, a leader and someone to whom the firefighters look up to, has read and made up his own mind about books but will not allow anyone else to read the books which he knows hold so much power. By denying the people to read the books that he himself has read, Beatty is the epitome of a hypocrite. When speaking about the books it is obvious that Beatty understands the great power these books yield, but he refuses to let that power out. This is hypocritical because Beatty tells Montag that the books say nothing! You can teach or believe (Bradbury 59) and yet he still believes that these books have to have enough power that the world must be rid of them. Although Beatty preaches the uselessness of books, he has dedicated his life to burning them all, an admittance in itself that the books hold enough power to change the ideals of the society in which they live. In The Handmaids Tale Offred is accused of being an unfit (Atwood 39) mother for her daughter because of her past. Offred met her husband through being his mistress, but waited until marriage to have a child. The government uses their affair against them, convincing Offred that because the bible says that adultery is a sin that she is not fit to be a mother. To make-up for her affair and illegitimate child, the government gives Offred a choice between being a Handmaid or an un-woman and chooses to become a handmaid. Her duties as a Handmaid, however, are to repeat the same sin that plagued her with this destiny. The hypocrisy surrounding this society and Offreds role in it is that to dissolve yourself of sins, you must keep repeating them. This kind of adultery is seen as righteous because this society bases their beliefs off of the Bible, which, in the story of Rachel and Jacob, deems an affair for the purposes of child bearing as necessary. Through allowing Offred to rid herself of her sins by sleeping with married men, the government is a hypocrisy that uses the Bible to justify their cause. In both novels, each society is based off of myths that cannot be proved or seen. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradburys society follows a strict code of the phoenix: it must all burn to ashes before it can be reborn again. Taking this literally, the society decides that books must be the rebirth of the society, burn[ing] all books (Bradbury 57). The only problem with this is that the Phoenix is based off of mythology, only existing in fiction. Bradburys society is striving to reach a new mythical beginning, setting themselves up for disaster. Likewise, in Atwoods utopian society, their new rules and regulations are based off of the Bible, a book of stories that cannot be proved as non-fiction and are more fantasy than realistic. Many of the stories and rules of the Bible are out dated. The society picks and chooses what rules and commandments they want to follow, reverting themselves back to a lesser time. By basing their societies off of myth, both Bradbury and Atwood depict men and women who are constantly influenced by hypocrisy. They are forced to believe blindly that these myths will lead them into safety and a better future. Each society comes with a promise of better times, but by basing it off of mythology they are striving for perfection which can only lead them down the road of disaster. In both Bradbury and Atwoods utopian societies, the government strives for perfection by changing the standards that their people live by. Although their is revolt and questioning in the means of these changes, it is ultimately at the blame of the people of the societies themselves. In Fahrenheit 451, the minorities (Bradbury 57) are the ones who begin the banning of the books, but because their are so many minorities, every book must go. Likewise in The Handmaids Tale, the men of the society agree to the changes which affect everyone, reverting their society back to a time where there was no technology or developments. By leading the change of the societies, the people are the only ones to blame for their societys hypocrisy and ultimate downfall. Citations Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaids Tale. New York: Anchor, 1986. Print. Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon Schuster Paperbacks, 1951. Print.

Interaction of Electromagnetic Radiation: Quantum Structures

Interaction of Electromagnetic Radiation: Quantum Structures Preparation and Characterisation of Quantum Dot Infrared Photo Detector and Its Application in Night Vision Devices Submitted by Mangala Gowri M Focus of the study during this period was to understand interaction of electromagnetic radiation with quantum structures. Interband transition and intraband transition are two types of transition possible in semiconductors. Intraband transitions are unique for the quantum semiconductor structures. Intraband transitions between the quantized energy levels are possible depending on several parameters. The resonance wavelength depends on effective masses of the carriers, parameters like size, shape and composition of the quantum structures. Practical observations made on quantum structures like quantum wells and quantum dots were very interesting. â€Å"The first direct observation of infrared absorption between conduction subbands of n-doped GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells was reported in 1985. It was confirmed that intersubband transitions between electronic states of quantum wells are strongly polarized along the confinement potential direction.† [1] Therefore light whose polarization has component along the confinement potential direction gets absorbed. Therefore â€Å"light must have a polarization component perpendicular to the quantum well layers.† [1] This is the strong limitation for the quantum well infrared photo detectors. On the other hand, quantum wires and quantum dots theoretically do not have this limitation on the polarization direction of incident radiation. For quantum well polarization, direction radiation should not be normal (perpendicular) to the confinement potential direction, whereas t his type of normal incidence is allowed for quantum dots. Oscillator Strength: â€Å"Oscillator strength is a dimensionless quantity that expresses the probability of absorption or emission of radiation in transitions between energy levels of an atom or molecule.† [2] When an electronic transition occurs an oscillating dipole moment will be induced by interaction of electric field of the system with electromagnetic radiation. The following illustration explains the mechanism of transition in a system in general. Suppose an electron changes its energy from En to Em by changing its state from ψn to ψm. During the transition it will be in a state which is superposition of the two states. ÃŽ ¨ = aψn + bψm Probability that the electron in the state ψn is |a|2 and probability that it is in state ψm is |b|2 so that at any time |a|2 + |b|2 =1. We can see that expectation value mn oscillates at frequency ÃŽ ³nm = , ÃŽ ³nm is the transition frequency. mn is the oscillator strength as the strength of the oscillation is proportional to the expectation value of intermediate state. It is also called the transition matrix element. For allowed transitions mn is a nonzero value and for forbidden transitions it is zero. Transition Dipole Moment: Transition dipole moment is the dipole moment associated with the transition between two states. It is a complex vector quantity. It encodes phase factors associated with the two states. The direction of this dipole moment is the polarization of the transition. The polarization of the transition determines the interaction of the system with electromagnetic radiation with a given polarization. Square of the dipole moment of transition gives the strength of the transition. Transition dipole moment is off-diagonal matrix element of position operator multiplied by the particle’s charge. Classically, dipole moment is product of charge and separation between the two charges. In the presence of an electric field, the two charges will experience a force in opposite direction so that a torque acts on the dipole. Similarly, during transition, coupling between an electromagnetic wave and transition dipole moment of the system depends on the charge distribution within the system, strength of the field and the relative polarization of the field and the transition. Also transition dipole moment depends on the geometries and relative phases of the two states involved in transition. The concept of transition dipole moment is very useful to determine whether a transition is allowed or not. If the integral defining transition dipole moment is nonzero, that transition is allowed. Perturbation Theory: To understand the mechanism of interaction between the system and electromagnetic radiation, we adopt quantum mechanical perturbation theory. Incident radiation is treated as a perturbation. Electromagnetic radiation provides a time dependent potential, which assists quantum jumps between energy levels. So total Hamiltonian of the system has two parts, one is time independent and another is time dependent. If time dependent part is small compared to time independent part, then that can be treated as a perturbation. Considering two level system, where ÃŽ ¨a and ÃŽ ¨b are two eigen states of unperturbed Hamiltonian H0. The two states are orthonormal. Any other state of the system can be written as a linear combination of those two states. ÃŽ ¨(0) = Ca ÃŽ ¨a + Cb ÃŽ ¨b Ca and Cb are constants, which include information about probability of finding the system in respective states. Suppose we are curious to know the state of the system after a time t. If there is time dependent perturbation, ÃŽ ¨(t) is again superposition of the two states. Not only the two states evolve with time, but also coefficients Ca and Cb are also functions of time. If we can determine Ca(t) and Cb(t) we can understand the system at time t. Several mathematical steps lead us to ÄÅ  a = And ÄÅ  b = Where ÄÅ  a and ÄÅ  b are time derivatives of Ca(t) and Cb(t) respectively. Both of the above equations taken together are equivalent to time dependent Schrodinger equation for a two level system. The diagonal matrix elements of H’ vanish. Therefore, ÄÅ  a = ÄÅ  b = With Considering that H’ is small, above equations can be solved by a process called successive approximations. Here we also consider that perturbation is having sinusoidal time dependence. Then And In the first order we have ω is the driving frequency and ω0 is the transition frequency. If ω and ω0 are very close to each other second term in the square brackets dominates. So we can say ω + ω0 >> | ω0 ω| We drop first term and after simplification The transition probability gives the probability that a particle started from the initial state will reach at final state in time t. We can see here that transition probability as a function of time oscillates sinusoidally. Fig: Transition probability as a function of time, for sinusoidal perturbation. Maximum value of probability is . The probability of rising to the maximum value is much less than 1 for small perturbation. Another thing to observe here that the probability of transition is highest when ω ω0. Fig: Transition probability as a function of driving frequency. Thus as time goes on width of the peak becomes narrower and height of the peak becomes higher. That means that the system will undergo transition with higher probability. Emission and Absorption of Radiation: An electromagnetic wave consists of transverse oscillating electric and magnetic fields. An atom reacts primarily to the oscillating electric component of radiation. Assume that an atom is exposed to a sinusoidally oscillating electric field. Consider that the field is polarized along z direction. Then the perturbing Hamiltonian is written as Note: Considering that the period of oscillation of the field is long compared to the time taken by the charge to move around within the atom we adopt electrostatic formula for Vab that is equal to Then Where P = is transition dipole moment. ÃŽ ¨ is an odd or even function of z. We consider that the diagonal matrix elements of H’ vanish. Then the interaction of radiation with the system is governed by precisely the kind of oscillatory perturbation with Vab Note: P is off-diagonal matrix element of z component of dipole moment operator qr. Transition probability is proportional to the energy density of the perturbing fields. And we see that the probability is proportional to time. If incident radiation is monochromatic, transition probability oscillates. However, if the system is exposed to incoherent spread of frequencies that flopping nature disappears. The transition rate will be a constant. In the calculations, we have assumed that the direction of propagation of perturbing radiation is y direction and it is polarized along z axis. However, in practice the system (like quantum well, quantum dot) is exposed to a radiation coming from all directions and with all possible polarizations. Then the energy of the field is shared equally among these different modes. So in the place of we have to substitute the average of |P.n|2 with n is the direction of polarization of radiation. Average is over all polarizations and all incident directions. Quantum Well: A quantum well can be considered as idealized square, finite and symmetrical potential well. It is now evident that absorption of radiation by quantum well depends on the direction of the transition dipole moment and direction of polarization of incident radiation. It can be shown that the wave function of quantum well is a even function in ground state and it is alternatively even or odd in higher states. In order to P be nonzero ÃŽ ¨a and ÃŽ ¨b should be of opposite parity since z is odd. In addition, direction of P depends on ÃŽ ¨a and ÃŽ ¨b. Since the wavefunction of the quantum well has only z component, transition dipole moment will also be directed along the z direction i.e. along the direction of potential Vwell(z). In the case of normal incidence, the polarization of radiation is perpendicular to the walls of the well barrier or to the potential. The n that refers to polarization direction of radiation is in xy plane. So choosing cylindrical polar coordinates, we have And . Thus, . Then, Which implies that normal incidence in quantum wells is forbidden. The polarization selection rules for transitions in quantum wells are summarized below. Quantum Dot: Quantum dot is a quantum structure, which is confined three dimensionally. Thus, the confinement potential has all the three x, y, z components. Similarly the wave functions representing the states of quantum dot have x, y, z components. So the scalar product between transition dipole moment and the polarization direction of incident radiation will not be equal to zero. Average of is not zero in quantum dots. Thus, the quantity in quantum dots is nonzero. There is no restriction for direction of polarization of radiation theoretically. Even though normal incidence intraband absorption is forbidden in quantum wells, they are allowed in quantum dots. This is major fact of great interest in the development of infrared photodetectors. I attended a two-day collaborator’s workshop organized by Centre of ART, SIT, Tumkur from 20-02-2014 to 21-02-2014. Study Plan: In the next half year, focus of the study will be MOCVD growth process of quantum dots. Signature of the CandidateSignature of the Guide (Manala Gowri M) (Prof. (Dr.) Ganesh N. Raikar) References: A. Weber. Intraband Spectroscopy of Semiconductor quantum dots, 1998. 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscillator_strength 3. Proefschrift. Optical Properties of Semiconductor Quantum Dots, 2011 4. Griffith. D.J, Introduction to quantum Mechanics, 2nd Ed, Pearson Education Inc, 2006.

Street racing: On The Inside :: essays research papers

For 19-year-old Jeff, weekends begin on a long strip of highway near Atlanta. rather than browsing the mall or going to the movies like others his age. Jeff joins a group of his comrades and spectators to witness a spectacular show of speed. As we pulled up to the meeting spot he looks over at me and says, â€Å"Welcome to the world of illegal street racing.† "We have a cruising area where all the cars go and just chill. If someone wants to race," says Jeff, "they just ask...most of our races are with people you know pretty well...we don't have the major race nights like they have in other areas." The other areas Jeff refers to are about as common as can be and can probably be found on a straightaway near you. "Motorsports has made incredible progress as a legitimate sporting event in the last decade," says Editorial Director of NHRA Publications Phil Burgess. "Corporate America has taken a keen interest in motorsports, which has led to the proliferation of not just racing teams, but racing venues, where racers and fans can go to enjoy the fast-paced excitement that the varied forms of racing have to offer. Many sanctioning bodies offer grassroots-level racing, often where families can enter a race car literally off the street and compete against similar entries." Contrary to popular belief, street racing isn't only found on the fast moving streets of the major cities, its going on all over the country. Recent articles published on MSNBC.com report on street drag racing as an increasing problems in such out of the way places as Spokane, Washington and Forth Worth, Texas; other articles found on www.abc.com report on accidents and coverage of events in Washington D.C., Boston and New York City. Los Angeles County is a big street racing scene however, was recently given a $200,000 state grant to crack down on the illegal street racing activity. Penalties for racing vary from state to state and offense to offense, but can range from a slap on the wrist ticket to arrest and impounding of the vehicle as was the case last January when police in Sylmar-Sun Valley arrested 32 people and impounded 72 vehicles after a sweep. With such heavy impending penalties why would anyone set themselves up for what seems imminent trouble? "Everyone's got a hobby," says Jeff. "And this just happens to be mine.

Free Essays - Essay on Medea and Antigone :: comparison compare contrast essays

Medea and Antigone are two stories of women fighting back for what they want, or what they feel is right. These stories take place in ancient Greece, around the time of its rise to power. Medea and Antigone are both strong, sometimes-manipulative characters but have different moral settings that control what they do. Medea is often very demanding in getting what it is that she wants; Antigone, will do what she need to do in order to get what she wants. With Antigone she is defies the law of a king to uphold the law of her spiritual belief. In the middle of the night she lives the house and sneaks into a field to bury her dead brother. Medea killed many people, including her own sons and a princess, in order to only spite her unlawful and cheating husband. The two women are like alligators, waiting motionless for the right time to strike. In the case of Medea, swift, violent strikes. And with Antigone, a cool collected precise one. These women are always determined to get what they want.   In classic works being a strong woman seems to run hand in hand with being manipulative. Medea lied and cheated friends to try to acquire time in order to get what she wants. In this case what she wants is revenge agents her ex-husband. She tricks a friend to give her asylum in Athens after she has committed her insane task. Medea even goes so far as to be able to con Kreon, the king himself into giving her an extra day. This unwittingly gives her exactly what she needs. Antigone tries her hand at manipulation but is not as successful as Medea. Antigone tries, with no avail, to persuade her sister, Ismene, to help her give their brother Polyneices a proper burial. In this way they are more like foxes, cunning but not always getting it right. Their deceitful nature is their strength.   While both women do wrong by the law of man, and Medea against the law of the gods, they do it for different reasons.   In the beginning Medea kills many people and monsters with little or no concern of the consequence. When the story deals with modern times Medea kills out of pure revenge and spite for Jason.   She plots for weeks to kill Jason’s new bride and poisons her, and then before she leaves the country she murders her two sons, she had with Jason, before she rides off in her bright white chariot.

Global Perspective on Health Policy Essay

The controversial issue of healthcare coverage for all individuals is an ethical and moral issue that Americans struggle with and as socially proactive as they are on there are many issues arising of it. Healthcare is not only about health and coverage but the major issue is about funding, what can be funded and what cannot be funded and how is going to be funded. Universal healthcare in other countries offers insight into some of the biggest issues and best alternatives for providing healthcare to all and to resolve the health care rising cost. The ethical issue of health care has led to the Accountable Care Act or Obama Care policy development and legislation. More time, data and research has to be done before the definite results of this legislation can be proven. A controversial issue Considering the opposing views about Accountable Care Act legislation, it’s reasonable to understand why universal health care has elicit such a heated political controversy among political parties as well as throughout American people. Unlike other Western industrialized nations, the U.S. has not established a universal health care system. Since health care is a fundamental defining policy of the modern state, and since Obama’s health care reform can be seen as an expansion of the role of government, it can be analyzed in a global context (Ha, 2012). The issue of health care reform brings important ethical issues of justice to the forefront, as individuals, communities, and the legislature struggle with how to provide quality health care for the many without sacrificing the basic rights of even the few (Sorrel, 2012). Policy’s creation The divide on health care coverage, cost and sustainability for all Americans and the increased cost of health care in United States led to legislations being brought to seek out a solution to the issue. The American Recovery and  Reinvestment Act was the first of these laws, this act signed into law in 2009 by President Obama. The Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act was also signed into law. Also enacted and accompanied by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. Another legislation that became a law in 2010 is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Patel, 2013). Provisions in the act are designed to expand insurance coverage, control costs, and target prevention (Gable, 2011). One of the primary targets is adults aged 19-64, since their access to health care and use of health services deteriorated between 2000 and 2010, particularly among those who were uninsured (Kenney, McMorrow, Zuckerman, & Goin, 2012). The PPACA includes reforms such as prohibiting insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions, expanding Medicaid eligibility, subsidizing insurance premiums, and providing incentives for businesses to provide health care benefits. Insurance companies will no longer be able to drop clients when they become ill. The act has the potential to improve health outcomes across all income and age groups at a reduced cost (Sorrel, 2012). Steps in the state and federal policy development process. The steps of the development process focus in the four â€Å"pillars† of health reform: improving the quality of care, making health insurance affordable, supporting personal responsibility, and developing a sustainable approach to health care financing. This platform will help focus the initiative to tackle the growing costs of health care while preserving the highest quality of care for all Americans and avoiding cost-shifting wherever possible (Bipartisan Policy Center, 2013). Many ACA provisions went into effect immediately or soon after the health reform law was enacted in 2010; others are being phased in over time. Several major reforms, including the Medicaid expansion, insurance exchanges, and minimum coverage provision (â€Å"individual mandate†) will go into effect in 2014, and still others will go into effect later. APHA recommends several great resources for tracking state progress on creating health insurance exchanges, funding states have received through various ACA provisions, and states’ intentions regarding the Medicaid expansion, and other topics (APHA, 2010). Policy development vs implementation. Policy development starts with knowing what the problem is and how the policy will improve the issue. So the importance of analyzing the data about the problem needing fixed. When writing the policy provide the opportunity for the input of the policy makers to suggest changes which provides different viewpoints. To present the policy to the committees for approval or changes as needed. Policy Implementation is ready to start with a timetable of how the implementing of the policy and briefing the States. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act is an enormous administrative challenge, and many details of its implementation are still developed by the Department of Health and Human Services (Wann, 2013). Policy development starts from the moment the public, the legislature think there is an issue and a solution is needed. The ACA development started many years ago back in the 90s when the Clinton administration specifically Hillary Clinton supported the creation of a Universal Health C are system, that laid the foundation on which ACA started to gather the issues and started to research possible solutions. The issues was brought by the public to the press, to the meetings and hearings during the elections campaign and started to gather strength and support on President Obama challenge not only the American people, but the entire Congress to bring out to the negotiations idea on how to increase access to care while reducing cost. The ACA legislation development follows several tenets as the building block in which the legislation was written and develop on, Quality affordable health care for all Americans, the role of public programs, Improving the quality and efficiency of health care, prevention of chronic disease and improving public health, Health care workforce, Transparency and program integrity, Improving access to innovative medical therapies, Community living assistance services and supports and Revenue provisions (Democrat Senate, 2004). The implementation process of the legislation follows the same tenet but there is not planning and changing is the plan drafted and written how each steps will be attained and when and lastly the evaluation of the development and the implementation and sitting back in the drafting table to fix any encountered issues. The development and implementation phases of the legislation cannot be seen as two different path but rather as a process of two collaboration between the two parts using the same foundation to build.  To summarize the differences between development and implementation would be that the developments of the policy consist of the idea to the final written policy. The implementation of the policy is the start of putting the policy in action. Stakeholder’s involvement The stakeholders became involved with the affordable care act because even though this was controversial many believed that the needs were far greater than the issue and some changes were needed. Stakeholders for this legislation is the entire country of United States as the affected party, the health care providers, the legislators, the President of United States. In health care, the overarching goal for providers, as well as for every other stakeholder, must be improving value for patients, where value is defined as the health outcomes achieved that matter to patients relative to the cost of achieving those outcomes. Improving value requires either improving one or more outcomes without raising costs or lowering costs without compromising outcomes, or both. Failure to improve value means, well, failure (Porter, Lee, 2013). Stakeholders are heard during the elections periods where the issues to be discussed should and have to be of interest to the public to be added to the political platform. The press plays an important role on serving as the echo or the microphone to put the issues that are important for the American people. The Health care providers were a major force on the legislation development as their input from a business standpoint played major role on discussing areas that were part of the problem as well as area that needed to stay the same and it also serve as another voice of the public on such a controversial issue. Congress as a stake holder not only play a vital role on policy development and drafting but was the starting point of bringing the issue to the front and placed it in the agenda to be discussed and heard and last the President and its executive branch as the approval seal to the developed policy. In summary the Affordable Care Act has pique the interest not only as a national issue but a global one. Like any policy development the issues have to discuss by the stakeholders representing health care and each and every one has a specific interest in the issue to be solve. References American Public Health Association, (2014), ACA Implementation. Retrieved August 4, 2014 from http://www.apha.org/advocacy/Health+Reform/implementation/ Bipartisan Policy Center, (2013). Managing Costs, Preserving Care: Health Care Cost Containment Report Release. Retrieved on August 4th, 2014 from http://bipartisanpolicy.org/projects/health-care-cost-containment-initiative Patel, K. Parker, R. Villaruel, A.Wong,W (2013). Amplifying the Voice of the Underserved in the Implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Retrieved on August 4th, 2014 from http://www.iom.edu/Global/Perspectives/2013/AmplifyingTheVoice Ha, J. (2012). Health Care Reform vs ObamaCare: Partisan framing of FOX, MSNBC, NYT snd WSJ. Retrieved on August 4th, 2014 from http://gnovisjournal.org/2012/11/30/health-care-reform-vs-obamacare-partisan-framing-of-fox-msnbc-yt-and-wsj/ Porter, M. E. (2013), The Strategy that will fix health care. Harvard Business Review, Retrieved On August 4th, 2014 from http://hbr.org/2013/10/the-strategy-that-will-fix-health-care Sorell, M. J. (2012), Patient Protec tion and Affordable Care Act: Ethical Perspectives. Retrieved on August 4th, 2014 from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/Columns/Ethics/Patient-Protection-and-Affordable-Care-Act-Ethical-Perspectives.html

Capital Account Convertibility Essay

Capital Account Convertibility. Should India adopt full convertibility? Capital Account Convertibility-or a floating exchange rate-is a feature of a nation’s financial regime that centers around the ability to conduct transactions of local financial assets into foreign financial assets freely and at market determined exchange rates. It is sometimes referred to as Capital Asset Liberation or CAC. CAC is mostly a guideline to changes of ownership in foreign or domestic financial assets and liabilities. Tangentially, it covers and extends the framework of the creation and liquidation of laims on, or by the rest of the world, on local asset and currency markets. Current account convertibility allows free inflows and outflows for all purposes other than for capital purposes such as investments and loans. In other words, it allows residents to make and receive trade-related payments receive dollars (or any other foreign currency) for export of goods and services and pay dollars for import of goods and services, make sundry remittances, access foreign currency for travel, studies abroad, medical treatment and gifts, etc. Capital account convertibility is considered to be one of the major features of a developed economy. It helps attract foreign investment. It offers foreign investors a lot of comfort as they can re-convert local currency into foreign currency anytime they want to and take their money away. At the same time, capital account convertibility makes it easier for domestic companies to tap foreign markets. At the moment, India has current account convertibility. This means one can import and export goods or receive or make payments for services rendered. However, investments and borrowings are restricted. But economists say that Jumping into capital account convertibility game without considering the downside of the step could harm the economy. The East Asian economic crisis is cited as an example by those opposed to capital account convertibility. Even the World Bank has said that embracing capital account convertibility without adequate preparation could be catastrophic. But India is now on firm ground given its strong financial sector reform and fiscal consolidation, and can now slowly but steadily move towards fuller capital account convertibility. CAC has 5 basic statements designed as points of All types of liquid capital assets must be able to be exchanged freely, between any two nations, with standardized exchange rates. The amounts must be a significant mount (in excess of $500,000). Capital inflows should be invested in semi-liquid assets, to prevent churning and excessive outflow. Institutional investors should not use CAC to manipulate fiscal policy or exchange rates. Excessive inflows and outflows should be buffered by national banks to provide collateral. Prior to its implementation, foreign investment was hindered by uneven exchange rates due to transactions, and national banks were disassociated from fiscal exchange policy and incurred high costs in supplying hard-currency loans for those few local companies that wished to do business abroad. Due to the low exchange rates and lower costs associated with Third World nations, this was expected to spur domestic capital, which would lead to welfare gains, and in turn lead to higher GDP growth. The tradeoff for such growth was seen as a lack of sustainable internal GNP growth and a decrease in domestic capital investments. When CAC is used with the proper restraints, this is exactly what happens. The entire outsourcing movement with Jobs and factories going oversees is a direct result of the foreign investment aspect of CAC. The Tarapore Committee’s recommendation of tying liquid assets to static assets (i. e. investing in long term government bonds, etc) was seen by many economists as directly responsible for stabilizing the idea of capital account liberalization. The Reserve Bank of India has appointed a committee to set out the framework for fuller Capital Account Convertibility. The Committee, chaired by former RBI governor S S Tarapore, was set up by the Reserve Bank of India in consultation with the Government of India to revisit the subject of fuller capital account convertibility in the context of the progress in economic reforms, the stability of the external and financial sectors, accelerated growth and global integration. Economists Surjit S Bhalla, M G Bhide, R H Patil, A V RaJwade and Alit Ranade were the members of the Committee. The Reserve Bank of India has also constituted an internal task force to re-examine the extant regulations and make recommendations to remove the operational impediments in the path of liberalisation already in place. The task force will make its recommendations on an ongoing basis and the processes are expected to be completed by December 4, 2006. The Task Force has been set up following a recommendation of the Committee. The Task Force will be convened by Salim Gangadharan, chief general manager, in- harge, foreign exchange department, Reserve Bank of India, and will have the following terms of reference: Undertake a review of the extant regulations that straddle current and capital accounts, especially items in one account that have implication for the other account, and iron out inconsistencies in such regulations. Examine existing repatriation/ surrender requirements in the context of current account convertibility and management of capital account. Identify areas where streamlining and simplification of procedure is possible and remove the operational impediments, especially in espect of the ease with which transactions at the level of authorized entities are regulations are consistent with regulatory intent. Review the delegation of powers on foreign exchange regulations between Central Office and Regional offices of the RBI and examine, selectively, the efficacy in the functioning of the delegation of powers by RBI to Authorised Dealers (banks). Consider any other matter of relevance to the above. The Task Force is empowered to devise its work procedure, constitute working groups in various areas, co-opt permanent/special invitees and meet various trade ssociations, representative bodies or individuals to facilitate its work.