Acquisition is a High Risky Strategy Essay

In the literature, several motives for takeovers have been identified. One is the desire for synergy. That is, similarities or complementarities between the acquiring and target firms are expected to result in the combined value of the enterprises exceeding their worth as separate firms (Collis and Montgomery, 1998). A second motive involves the expectation that acquirers can extract value because target companies have been managed inefficiently (Varaiya, 1987). A third motive is attributed to managerial hubris – the notion that senior executives, in overestimating their own abilities, acquire companies they believe could be managed more profitably under their control. Agency theory motive is the anticipation that firm expansion will positively impact the compensation of top managers since there tends to be a direct relation between firm size and executive pay. Contemporary specialists contend that managerial ownership incentives may be expected to have divergent impacts on corporate strategy and firm value. This premise has been recognized in previous studies. For instance, Stulz (1988) has examined the ownership of managers of target companies and has proposed that the relationship between that ownership and the value of target firms may initially be positive and then subsequently become negative with rising insider ownership. Moreover, Shivdasani (1993) empirically shows that the relationship of the ownership structure of target companies with the value of hostile bids is not uniformly positive. McConnell and Servaes (1990) have likewise analyzed the relationship of equity ownership among corporate insiders and Tobin’s q. Their results demonstrate a non-monotonic relation between Tobin’s q and insider equity stakes. Wright et al. (1996: 451) have shown a non-linear relationship between insider ownership and corporate strategy related to firm risk taking. Ownership Incentives and Changes in Company Risk Motivating Acquisitions An agency-theoretic motive for acquisitions has been used to explain managerial preferences for risk-reducing corporate strategies (Wright et al., 1996). The implication is that both principals and agents prefer acquiring target companies with higher rather than lower returns. In that, shareholders and managers have congruent interests. The interests, however, diverge in terms of risk considerations associated with acquisitions. Because shareholders possess diversified portfolios, they may only be concerned with systematic risk and be indifferent to the total variance of returns associated with a takeover. Senior managers may alternatively prefer risk-reducing corporate strategies, unless they are granted ownership incentives. That is because they can not diversify their human capital invested in the firm. In the literature, it has been argued that agency costs may be reduced as managerial ownership incentives rise. The reason is that, as ownership incentives rise, the financial interests of insiders and shareholders will begin to converge. Analysts conjecture, however, that such incentives may not consistently provide senior executives the motivation to lessen the agency costs associated with an acquisition strategy. Inherent is the presumption that the nature of executive wealth portfolios will differently influence their attitudes toward corporate strategy. The personal wealth portfolios of top managers are comprised of their ownership of shares/options in the firm, the income produced from their employment, and assets unrelated to the firm. Presumably, as senior executives increase their equity stakes in the enterprise, their personal wealth portfolios become correspondingly less diversified. Although stockholders can diversify their wealth portfolios, top executives have less flexibility if they own substantial shares in the firms they manage. Hence, if a significant portion of managers’ wealth is concentrated in one investment, then they may find it prudent to diversify their firms via risk-reducing acquisitions. In the related literature, however, takeovers and risk taking have been approached differently from the described approach. Amihud and Lev (1999) have contended that insiders’ employment income is significantly related to the firm’s performance. Thus, managers are confronted with risks associated with their income if the maintenance of that income is dependent on achieving predetermined performance targets. Reasonably, in the event of either corporate underperformance or firm failure, CEOs not only may lose their current employment income but also may seriously suffer in the managerial labor market, since their future earnings potential with other enterprises may be lowered. Hence, the risk of executives’ employment income is impacted by the firm’s risk. The ramification of Amihud and Lev’s (1999) contentions is that top managers will tend to lower firm risk, and therefore their own employment risk, by acquiring companies that contribute to stabiliz ing of the firm’s income, even if shareholder wealth is adversely affected. Consistent with the implications of Amihud and Lev’s arguments, Agrawal and Mandelker (1987) have similarly suggested that managers with negligible ownership stakes may adopt risk-reducing corporate strategies because such strategies may well serve their own personal interests. With ownership incentives, however, managers may be more likely to acquire risk-enhancing target companies, in line with the requirement of wealth maximization for shareholders. The notion that at negligible managerial ownership levels, detrimental risk-reducing acquisition strategies may be emphasized, but with increasing ownership incentive levels, beneficial risk-enhancing acquisitions may be more prevalent is also suggested in other works (Grossman and Hoskisson, 1998). The conclusion of these investigations is that the relationship between insider ownership and risk enhancing, worthy corporate acquisitions is linear and positive. Some experts assert that CEOs’ personal wealth concentration will induce senior managers to undertake risk-reducing firm strategies. Portfolio theory’s expectation suggests that investors or owner-managers may desire to diversify their personal wealth portfolios. For instance, Markowitz (1952: 89) has asserted that investors may wish to â€Å"diversify across industries because firms in different industries. . . have lower covariances than firms within an industry.† Moreover, as argued by Sharpe (1964: 441), â€Å"diversification enables the investor to escape all but the risk resulting from swings in economic activity.† Consequently, managers with substantial equity investments in the firm may diversify the firm via risk-reducing acquisitions in order to diversify their own personal wealth portfolios. Because they may be especially concerned with risk-reducing acquisitions, however, their corporate strategies may not enhance firm value through takeovers, although managerial intention may be to boost corporate value. The above discussion is compatible with complementary arguments that suggest that insiders may acquire non-value-maximizing target companies although their intentions may be to enhance returns to shareholders. For instance, according to the synergy view, while takeovers may be motivated by an ex-ante concern for increasing corporate value, many such acquisitions are not associated with an increase in firm value. Alternatively, according to the hubris hypothesis, even though insiders may intend to acquire targets that they believe could be managed more profitably under their control, such acquisitions are not ordinarily related to higher profitability. If acquisitions which are undertaken primarily with insider expectations that they will financially benefit owners do not realize higher performance, then those acquisitions which are primarily motivated by a risk-reducing desire may likewise not be associated with beneficial outcomes for owners. Additionally, it can be argued that shareholders can more efficiently diversify their own portfolios, making it unnecessary for managers to diversify the firm in order to achieve portfolio diversification for shareholders. Risk Associated with HRM practices in International Acquisitions There are a number of reasons why the HRM policies and practices of multinational corporations (MNCs) and cross-border acquisitions are likely to be different from those found in domestic firms (Dowling, Schuler and Welch, 1993). For one, the difference in geographical spread means that acquisitions must normally engage in a number of HR activities that are not needed in domestic firms – such as providing relocation and orientation assistance to expatriates, administering international job rotation programmes, and dealing with international union activity. Second, as Dowling (1988) points out, the personnel policies and practices of MNCs are likely to be more complex and diverse. For instance, complex salary and income taxation issues are likely to arise in acquisitions because their pay policies and practices have to be administered to many different groups of subsidiaries and employees, located in different countries. Managing this diversity may generate a number of co-ordination and communication problems that do not arise in domestic firms. In recognition of these difficulties, most large international companies retain the services of a major accounting firm to ensure there is no tax incentive or disincentive associated with a particular international assignment. Finally, there are more stakeholders that influence the HRM policies and practices of international firms than those of domestic firms. The major stakeholders in private organizations are the shareholders and the employees. But one could also think of unions, consumer organizations and other pressure groups. These pressure groups also exist in domestic firms, but they often put more pressure on foreign than on local companies. This probably means that international companies need to be more risk averse and concerned with the social and political environment than domestic firms. Acquisitions and HRM Practices: Evidence from Japan, the US, and Europe In contemporary context, international human resource management faces important challenges, and this trend characterizes many Japanese, US and European acquisitions.   From the critical point of view, Japanese companies experience more problems associated with international human resource management than companies from the US and Europe (Shibuya, 2000). Lack of home-country personnel sufficient international manage ­ment skills has been widely recognized in literature as the most difficult problem facing Japanese compa ­nies and simultaneously one of the most significant of US and European acquisitions as well. The statement implies that cultivating such skills is difficult and that they are relatively rare among businessmen in any country. Japanese companies may be particularly prone to this problem due to their heavy use of home-country nationals in overseas management positions. European and Japanese acquisitions also experience the lack of home country personnel who want to work abroad, while it is less of an impediment for the US companies. In the US acquisitions expatriates often experience reentry difficulties (e.g., career disruption) when re ­turning to the home country: This problem was the one most often cited by US firms.   Today Japanese corporations report the relatively lower incidence of expatriate reentry diffi ­culties, and it is surprising given the vivid accounts of such problems at Japanese firms by White (1988) and Umezawa (1990). However, the more active role of the Japanese person ­nel department in coordinating career paths, the tradition of semi ­annual musical-chair-like personnel shuffles (jinji idoh), and the continu ­ing efforts of Japanese stationed overseas to maintain close contact with headquarters might underlie the lower level of difficulties in this area for Japanese firms (Inohara, 2001). In contrast, the decentralized structures of many US and European firms may serve to isolate expatriates from their home-country headquarters, making reentry more problematic. Also, recent downsiz ­ing at US and European firms may reduce the number of appropriate management positions for expatriates to return to, or may sever expatri ­ates’ relationships with colleagues and mentors at headquarters. Furthermore, within the context of the lifetime employment system, individ ­ual Japanese employees have little to gain by voicing reentry concerns to personnel managers. In turn, personnel managers need not pay a great deal of attention to reentry problems because they will usually not result in a resignation. In western firms, reentry problems need to be taken more seriously by personnel managers because they frequently result in the loss of a valued employee. A further possible explanation for the higher incidence of expatriate reentry problems in western multinationals is the greater tendency of those companies to implement a policy of transferring local nationals to headquarters or other international operations. Under such a policy, the definition of expatriate expands beyond home-country nationals to en ­compass local nationals who transfer outside their home countries. It may even be that local nationals who return to a local operation after working at headquarters or other international operations may have their own special varieties of reentry problems. Literature on international human resource practices in Japan, the US and Europe suggest that the major strategic difficulty for the MNCs is to attract high-caliber local nationals to work for the company. In general, acquisitions may face greater challenges in hiring high-caliber local employees than do domestic firms due to lack of name recognition and fewer relationships with educators or others who might recommend candidates. However, researchers suggest that this issue is significantly more difficult for Japanese than for US and European multinationals. When asked to describe problems encoun ­tered in establishing their US affiliates, 39.5% of the respondents to a Japan Society survey cited â€Å"finding qualified American managers to work in the affiliate† and 30.8% cited â€Å"hiring a qualified workforce† (Bob ; SRI, 2001). Similarly, a survey of Japanese companies operating in the US conducted by a human resource consulting firm found that 35% felt recruiting personnel to be very difficult or extremely difficult, and 56% felt it to be difficult (The Wyatt Company, 1999). In addition to mentioned problem, Japanese acquisition encounter high local employee turnover, which is significantly more prob ­lematic for them due to the near-total absence of turnover to which they are accustomed in Japan. The US, European and Japanese companies admit very rarely that they encounter local legal challenges to their personnel policies. However, in regard to Japanese acquisitions large   amount of press coverage has been given to lawsuits against Japanese companies in the United States and a Japanese Ministry of Labor Survey in which 57% of the 331 respondents indicated that they were facing potential equal employ ­ment opportunity-related lawsuits in the United States (Shibuya, 2000). Conclusion This research investigates whether corporate acquisitions with shared technological resources or participation in similar product markets realize superior economic returns in comparison with unrelated acquisitions. The rationale for superior economic performance in related acquisitions derives from the synergies that are expected through a combination of supplementary or complementary resources. It is clear from the results of this research that acquired firms in related acquisitions have higher returns than acquired firms in unrelated acqui ­sitions. This implies that the related acquired firm benefits more from the acquirer than the unrelated acquired firm. The higher returns for the related acquired firms suggest that the combination with the acquirer’s resources has higher value implications than the combination of two unrelated firms. This is supported by the higher total wealth gains which were observed in related acquisitions. I did however, in the case of acquiring firms, find that the abnormal returns directly attributable to the acquisition transaction are not significant. There are reasons to believe that the announcement effects of the transaction on the returns to acquirers are less easily detected than for target firms. First, an acquisition by a firm affects only part of its businesses, while affecting all the assets (in control-oriented acqui ­sitions) of the target firm. Thus the measurability of effects on acquirers is attenuated. Second, if an acquisition is one event in a series of implicit moves constituting a diversification program, its individual effect as a market signal would be mitigated. It is also likely that the theoretical argument which postulates that related acquisitions create wealth for acquirers may be underspecified. Relatedness is often multifaceted, suggesting that the resources of the target firm may be of value to many firms, thus increasing the relative bargaining power of the target vis-a-vis the potential buyers. Even in the absence of explicit competition for the target (multiple bidding), the premiums paid for control are a substantial fraction of the total gains available from the transaction. For managers, some implications from the research can be offered. First, it seems quite clear from the data that a firm seeking to be acquired will realize higher returns if it is sold to a related than an unrelated firm. This counsel is consistent with the view that the market recognizes synergistic combinations and values them accordingly. Second, managers in acquiring firms may be advised to scrutinize carefully the expected gains in related and unrelated acquisitions. For managers the issue of concern is not whether or not a given kind of acquisition creates a significant total amount of wealth, but what percentage of that wealth they can expect to accrue to their firms. Thus, although acquisitions involving related technologies or product market yield higher total gains, pricing mechanisms in the market for corporate acquisitions reflect the gains primarily on the target company. Interpreting these results conservatively, one may offer the argument that expected gains for acquiring firms are competed away in the bidding process, with stockholders of target firms obtaining high proportions of the gains. On a pragmatic level this research underscores the need to combine what may be called the theoretical with the practical. In the case of acquisitions, pragmatic issues like implicit and explicit competition for a target firm alter the theoretical expectations of gains from an acquisition transaction. Further efforts to clarify these issues theoretically and empirically will increase our understanding of these important phenomena. Bibliography Sharpe WF. 1964. Capital asset prices: a theory of market equilibrium under conditions of risk. Journal of Finance 19: 425-442 Markowitz H. 1952. Portfolio selections. Journal of Finance 7: 77-91 Grossman W, Hoskisson R. 1998. CEO pay at the crossroads of Wall Street and Main: toward the strategic design of executive compensation. Academy of Management Executive 12: 43-57 Amihud Y, Lev B. 1999. Does corporate ownership structure affect its strategy towards diversification? Strategic Management Journal 20(11): 1063-1069 Agrawal A, Mandelker G. 1987. Managerial incentives and corporate investment and financing decisions. Journal of Finance 42: 823-837 Wright P, Ferris S, Sarin A, Awasthi V. 1996. The impact of corporate insider, blockholder, and institutional equity ownership on firm risk-taking. Academy of Management Journal 39: 441-463 McConnell JJ, Servaes H. 1990. Additional evidence on equity ownership and corporate value. Journal of Financial Economics 27: 595-612. Shivdasani A. 1993. Board composition, ownership structure, and hostile takeovers. Journal of Accounting and Economics 16: 167-198 Stulz RM. 1988. Managerial control of voting rights: financing policies and the market for corporate control. Journal of Financial Economics 20: 25-54 Varaiya N. 1987. Determinants of premiums in acquisition transactions. Managerial and Decision Economics 14: 175-184 Collis D, Montgomery C. 1998. Creating corporate advantage. Harvard Business Review 76(3): 71-83 White, M. 1988. The Japanese overseas: Can they go home again? New York: The Free Press. Bob, D., ; SRI International. 2001. Japanese companies in American communities. New York: The Japan Society.

Law 531

Traditional and Nontraditional Litigation Systems Law/531 [ July 30, 2012 ] The traditional legal system of utilizes law as it is foundation for all decisions. Laws in the United States have four sources; constitutional, statutes and ordinance, common law and administrative. The features of these four are: * Constitutional Law is based on a formal document that defines broad powers. Federal constitutional law originates from the U. S. constitution. State constitutional law originates from the individual state constitutions. Statutes and Ordinances are legislation passed on the federal, state, or local levels. * Common Law is based on the concept of precedence – on how the courts have interpreted the law. Under common law, the facts of a particular case are determined and compared to previous cases having similar facts in order to reach a decision by analogy. Common law applies mostly at the state level. It originated in the 13th century when royal judges began recording their decisions and the reasoning behind the decisions. * Administrative Law – federal, state, and local level.Administrative law is made by administrative agencies that define the intent of the legislative body that passed the law. These four steps are used to structure and interpret laws to remedy situations as they arise the enforcement occurs at three levels and they are called courts. The Supreme Court, Appellate courts and Trial courts, in the business environment the trial court is a popular choice because it handles the civil disputes and it is only when unique cases appear it is sent to be viewed by the Supreme Court for a ruling.Cases such as NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT BUSINESS ET AL. v. SEBELIUS, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, ET AL. (Supreme Court of the United States 2011) otherwise known as the healthcare law which mandates healthcare for all, when this kind of law is in place and it affects the citizens on a whole that decision must be weighed agains t the rules of the constitution which is the law of the land. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) this is the mitigation process where the end result is the agreement according to the process of litigation.ADR is the involvement of a third party to who is unbiased but encourages a discussion between the parties. This features is particularly important to businesses because of this feature the discussions are private and so it reduces the negative publicity which may arise, the process is quicker because it because the terms of the agreement is then presented to judge for his/her viewing and then a ruling is made. Finally, the agreement is also covered by a caveat of confidentiality which reminds both parties that the agreed terms must not be discussed.This type of discussion is helpful in mergers and acquisitions as is used in the work environments where a union supplies the employees. Comparison Both processes are features of the judicial system and the remedy is legally binding. Most times the remedy is monetary and the TORT is settled in the civil courts, however, laws have two features, state and federal and whenever applicable the federal ruling is the governing law. ContrastThe judicial system in terms of the courts is time consuming and the pretrial hearings can be a lengthy task, the courts that will hear the case is also determined by the monetary remedy that is asked by the plaintiff. References Supreme Court System, American Legal System; Quick MBA, Law and Business http://www. quickmba. com/law/sys/, viewed July 30th 2012. Healthcare Reform Ruling; NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT BUSINESS ET AL. v. SEBELIUS, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, ET AL; http://www. supremecourt. ov/opinions/11pdf/11-393c3a2. pdf, viewed July 30th 2012. Definition of Tort; The Lectric Law Library LECLAW. com, http://www. lectlaw. com/def2/t032. htm, viewed July 30th 2012. ———————————⠀”——– [ 1 ]. A tort is an act that injures someone in some way, and for which the injured person may sue the wrongdoer for damages. Legally, torts are called civil wrongs, as opposed to criminal ones. (Some acts like battery, however, may be both torts and crimes; the wrongdoer may face both civil and criminal penalties. ) Law 531 Traditional and Nontraditional Litigation Systems Law/531 [ July 30, 2012 ] The traditional legal system of utilizes law as it is foundation for all decisions. Laws in the United States have four sources; constitutional, statutes and ordinance, common law and administrative. The features of these four are: * Constitutional Law is based on a formal document that defines broad powers. Federal constitutional law originates from the U. S. constitution. State constitutional law originates from the individual state constitutions. Statutes and Ordinances are legislation passed on the federal, state, or local levels. * Common Law is based on the concept of precedence – on how the courts have interpreted the law. Under common law, the facts of a particular case are determined and compared to previous cases having similar facts in order to reach a decision by analogy. Common law applies mostly at the state level. It originated in the 13th century when royal judges began recording their decisions and the reasoning behind the decisions. * Administrative Law – federal, state, and local level.Administrative law is made by administrative agencies that define the intent of the legislative body that passed the law. These four steps are used to structure and interpret laws to remedy situations as they arise the enforcement occurs at three levels and they are called courts. The Supreme Court, Appellate courts and Trial courts, in the business environment the trial court is a popular choice because it handles the civil disputes and it is only when unique cases appear it is sent to be viewed by the Supreme Court for a ruling.Cases such as NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT BUSINESS ET AL. v. SEBELIUS, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, ET AL. (Supreme Court of the United States 2011) otherwise known as the healthcare law which mandates healthcare for all, when this kind of law is in place and it affects the citizens on a whole that decision must be weighed agains t the rules of the constitution which is the law of the land. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) this is the mitigation process where the end result is the agreement according to the process of litigation.ADR is the involvement of a third party to who is unbiased but encourages a discussion between the parties. This features is particularly important to businesses because of this feature the discussions are private and so it reduces the negative publicity which may arise, the process is quicker because it because the terms of the agreement is then presented to judge for his/her viewing and then a ruling is made. Finally, the agreement is also covered by a caveat of confidentiality which reminds both parties that the agreed terms must not be discussed.This type of discussion is helpful in mergers and acquisitions as is used in the work environments where a union supplies the employees. Comparison Both processes are features of the judicial system and the remedy is legally binding. Most times the remedy is monetary and the TORT is settled in the civil courts, however, laws have two features, state and federal and whenever applicable the federal ruling is the governing law. ContrastThe judicial system in terms of the courts is time consuming and the pretrial hearings can be a lengthy task, the courts that will hear the case is also determined by the monetary remedy that is asked by the plaintiff. References Supreme Court System, American Legal System; Quick MBA, Law and Business http://www. quickmba. com/law/sys/, viewed July 30th 2012. Healthcare Reform Ruling; NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT BUSINESS ET AL. v. SEBELIUS, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, ET AL; http://www. supremecourt. ov/opinions/11pdf/11-393c3a2. pdf, viewed July 30th 2012. Definition of Tort; The Lectric Law Library LECLAW. com, http://www. lectlaw. com/def2/t032. htm, viewed July 30th 2012. ———————————⠀”——– [ 1 ]. A tort is an act that injures someone in some way, and for which the injured person may sue the wrongdoer for damages. Legally, torts are called civil wrongs, as opposed to criminal ones. (Some acts like battery, however, may be both torts and crimes; the wrongdoer may face both civil and criminal penalties. )

Ageing Experience And Psychological Well Being Social Work Essay

Ageing Experience And Psychological Well Being Social Work Essay There are two potential determinates that might influence quality of life and psychological well-being of elderly people. Firstly there are the objective factors that are income, health, status and age and intuitively, usually having more of these things means greater quality of life. However, in various research based on happiness of the elderly people, objective factors are less powerful than one might expect as Lyubomirsky et al; cited in the research article titled ‘Psychological Acceptance and quality Of Life in the Elderly,'(2007). The research suggested that objective factors account for about 8 to 15 % of the difference in happiness. So, †Do people get less happy as they get older?† and their well- being while ageing has been discussed by various researchers in order to define the concept of successful ageing but there is still a lack of consensus on what defines a successful ageing. The various researches on the relationship between old age and well-being have been at many times assessed through life satisfaction, happiness and morale. 2.2 Theories of ageing In attempting to explain the ageing process and moreover the elderly experience with family support in this particular study, the theories of ageing, which describes the ageing process and what it implies will be taken into account. 2.2.1 Activity theory, developed by Havighurst and associates in 1953, asserts that remaining active and engaged with society is primordial to satisfaction in old age. The theory asserts that positive relationships in the aged individual’s level of participation in social activity leads to life satisfaction as active aging equals successful aging. Activity can be physical or intellectual in nature so as to replace those interests and relationships that have been diminished or lost over time. This theory proposes that elderly people need to remain active in a variety of social spheres as for instance with family or friends because activity is pr eferable to inactivity as it facilitates well-being on multiple levels that is assuming that activity is vital to well-being. Activity theory proposes that social activity and involvement with others results in an increased ability to cope with aging, improved self-concept, and enhanced emotional adjustment to the aging process (Lee, 1985). 2.2.2 Disengagement theory was proposed by Cumming and Henry (1961). This theory states that ‘aging is an inevitable, mutual withdrawal or disengagement; resulting in decreased interaction between the ageing person and others in the social system he belongs to’ (Cumming and Henry, 1961, p.2). Disengagement theory thus assumes that social involvement decreases with aging and that successful ageing is best achieved through abandoning social roles and relationships and by the individual reducing both activities and involvement. Proponents of this theory maintain that this separation is desired by society and older adults, and serves as such to maintain social equilibrium. While high morale is evident at the completion of the process, the transition is characterized by low morale. However, this theory has been strongly criticized by researchers who found a lack of evidence from older people disengaging from their surroundings. Whereas older people social relationships change and that they possibly have fewer ties, it was found that these relationships were often deeper and more significant.

Evaluation of a company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Evaluation of a company - Essay Example The Coca-Cola Company is a multinational beverage firm, and manufacturer, marketer, and retailer of non-alcoholic beverage drink and syrups. The company has a headquarter in Atlanta, Georgia. The company is popular for its Coca-Cola product that a pharmacist John Stith Pemberto invented in 1886 in Columbus, Georgia. Asa Griggs Candler bought the formula from Permberto in 1889 and built-in The Coca-Cola Company in 1892. The company runs a business distribution arrangement, which dates back to 1889 where the company produces a syrup concentrate and sell it to various bottlers all over the world. The company owns Coca-Coca Refreshments, a bottler in North America. It exists in more 200 nations and sells over 50 billion drink servings of various types every single day. The spin-off of the bottling operations belonging to Coca Cola in Brazil and Philippines in 2013 affected negatively the profits of Coca Cola as it slowed sales growth. Apart from the spin-off, the continuing global macroeconomic problems in many markets have also led to the reduction of profits. In addition, the weakness in sales in North America, the largest market for Coca-Cola has led to slow growth of profits. Global sales rose in volume by 2 percent in 2013 as related to 4% of 2012. The global last quarter sales in 2013 rose by 1%, which was below the expected level of 3%. As a consequently of reduction in the sales, Coke’s shares reduced by 3.8%. A share was sold by $37.47 in 2013. Revenue reduced by 3.6% to 11.04 billion U.S dollars. Therefore, revenue for 2013 was lower than that of 2012, which was 11.46 billion U.S dollars. Drink sales reduced by 1% in North America. The income statement shows the impacts of the three issues earlier mentioned. PepsiCo is the main rival of Coca-Cola in the soft drink industry. PepsiCo is second to Coca-Cola. It outsells Coca-Cola in certain markets. RC Cola

Assessment at work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Assessment at work - Essay Example Strengths associated with Abercrombie & Fitch assessment procedures are highlighted as well as recommendations for improvements in the company’s selection process. The use of a single Communications Competence testing instrument is a standardised testing template, regulated by a highly centralised human resources heirarchy. There is no room for flexibility or adaptation of current assessment instruments or policies and the company is routinely audited for compliance to assessment methods. This creates an environment in which the company is using assessment tests that are not congruent to finding the appropriate employee for Abercrombie & Fitch. Abercrombie & Fitch has experienced high levels of negative publicity in recent years for alleged unethical hiring practices related to youth, beauty and exclusivity. However, these corporate beliefs are part of the business’ organisational culture and are the criteria utilised to determine job role candidacy. In a business environment where personality is a key factor in whether a candidate fits the culture, the company requires a reexamination of existing selection efforts. Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) is a mid-level clothing retailer which has positioned itself as an upscale fashion house catering to unique perceptions of youth, beauty and exclusivity. The company carries a wide variety of somewhat-provocative fashions, unique, politically incorrect apparel as well as traditional outerwear (Case Study, 2007). The company’s main competitors are other mid-level retailers both domestically and within the company’s international sales divisions such as Burberry or The Gap. The company currently utilises one form of psychometric testing in the firm’s selection processes. A&F maintains one of the most unique HR models in today’s retail as the business’ focus on exclusivity is at the heart of the

Read the following paper on Petroleum Engineering education and Essay

Read the following paper on Petroleum Engineering education and prepare a review summary report. ( read page 2, page 3 and page 4 ) - Essay Example Operations in the centre began in the year 2001 using an intricate system to select candidates because it allows for enrolment of students who have the capacity to capture significant information within a short time. Presently, the centre boasts of a competent team of mentors and research officers with each having a steadfast specialty in a given aspect of field development. The instructors can present and support various development projects before state officials. This makes the centre proud of having competent personnel focused on training elite individuals to work in oil companies. Academic success of learners entirely depends on the eminence of their background education. This calls for collaboration amid universities (Heriot- Watt University, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Pokholkov & Dmitriev 4). The most notable contribution made by the centre is the ability to improve the education quality control system. This is through the introduction of a component pertaining to training that allows for holding of mock examinations in accordance to the identical procedures as real exams. The exams are used to monitor the present academic progress of learners. Conclusively, graduates from the centre boast of favourable career prospects. They have a higher likelihood of holding top positions in major oil companies in the coming

Responding to the Public Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Responding to the Public - Essay Example On the 14th of February 2008 a gunman shot twenty-four people on the campus of Northern Illinois University that is located in Dekalb, Illinois, wounding eighteen and killing six (The Evening Standard, 2008). Descriptions of the event recounted the gunman, who was later identified as Steven Kazmierczak, 27, stepped out from behind a curtain in the large lecture hall, and opened fire then turning the weapon on himself, committing suicide (Western Mail, 2008). Later identified as a former student at the university, police were not able to ascertain a motive for the shootings, citing that Kazmierczak was taking some type of medication and was reported by friends and neighbours as acting increasingly erratic during the weeks leading up to the incident (Western Mail, 2008). Further puzzling is that he did not have any type of police record (Western Mail, 2008). ... Later identified as a former student at the university, police were not able to ascertain a motive for the shootings, citing that Kazmierczak was taking some type of medication and was reported by friends and neighbours as acting increasingly erratic during the weeks leading up to the incident (Western Mail, 2008). Further puzzling is that he did not have any type of police record (Western Mail, 2008). Reported as an outstanding student when he attended the university, it was found that Kazmierczak has been treated temporarily for mental illness as a result of unruly behaviour toward his parents in his early teens (Daily Post, 2008). Prior to this tragic event, the university had not have any type of violent incidents, not even student riots or unrest, as Northern Illinois University is located in a quiet small Midwestern town. The Hidden Factors Later investigation turned up that Steven Kazmierczak indeed had a secret life that hide his good student and known public behaviour opinions (The Huffington Post, 2009). In the late 1990s Kazmierczak spent in excess of "a year at the Thresholds-Maryhill House ", which was "an alternative high school program for children suffering from mental illness" (The Huffington Post, 2009). The foregoing was a result of unruly behaviour, and he was admitted by his parents. Kazmierczak's condition, which Dr. Jay Rice (2008) describes as abandonment that could have its causes in the following events "1. He may have felt abandoned by his parents for placing him in treatment at Thresholds, 2. He may have felt abandoned by the illness of his mother and her death from ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease in 2006, 3. He may have felt abandoned by the death of an older sister to cancer, 4. He may have

Effects of International Trade Barriers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Effects of International Trade Barriers - Essay Example This essay critically discusses why the government continues to impose barriers to trade and are frequently engaged in a trade dispute. In the past decades, the opening of the markets has boosted economic and trade growth worldwide. However, the trade barriers have remained a key obstacle to the access of markets. Researchers have pointed out that the potential benefit of reducing the obstacle is significant. Countries engage in international trade for various reasons. First, international trade increases the choice of goods for the domestic consumers. It also allows the domestic market to export their goods. Trade barriers refer to the measures that the public authorities or the governments introduce so as to restrict or prevent overseas investment or trade. The measures of the restriction need to be taken in the form of a particular decision or legislation. The measures that are imposed may take the form of current practice. When countries are important or exported from one country to another, they have to be accompanied by the correct documentation adoption of free international trade may result in the collapse of the domestic markets. There is a need to protect the domestic market to ensure that there is the sustainability of the domestic industries and encourage the innovation of ideas in the different countries. The trade barriers will reduce the trade disputes that may come up as a result of the poor working condition. The tariffs enable the government to increase revenues as imports enter the domestic market.

Frankenstein Analyze a character Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Frankenstein Analyze a character - Essay Example Frankenstein is usually considered as rebellious in its religious stand. The generally held notion has been that the novel was intended as a satire of Genesis, scoffing at the usual faith in a caring Creator (Walling as cited by Ryan 1988). Leslie Tannenbaum (1977) first mooted a different idea, saying that the novel's mention of Paradise Lost was intended to highlight sarcastically Victor Frankenstein's "failures" as a maker, compared to Milton's more affectionate and dependable Holiness. Tannenbaum's explanation was part of the re-reading of the novel during the 1970s, mainly by feminist and psychoanalysts, who discovered in it a restrained but firm protest against some values and thoughts of the author's father and those of her husband, the Romantic poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley. This new reading sees Victor Frankenstein as a blend of her father, her husband and the monster -- the novel's most sensitive character -- as a symbol of the author herself, the sufferer and the artifact of her father's liberal attitude. The novel thus wonders why, while a scientist like Frankenstein (or men like P.B Shelley or Godwin, the author's father), is otherwise a kind person while at the same time who ruins his close ones with his research on human life (Ryan 1988). As religion and idealism tender completely opposing views of human character and fate, it remains ambiguous which aspect the novel's lampooning is mainly aimed at. The religious ambiguity is certainly just one feature of a larger model of hesitation that has been noticed in the novel. By creating a fiend, the advocate of religious orderliness that is diametrically opposite to her father's outlook, she establishes a peculiar duality through which she doubts idealistic orderliness without clearly asserting the Christian other. The point here is that the incompetent, perplexed Christian belief of the Monster -- the main sufferer and opponent of generous philosophy in Frankenstein -- is employed by Mary Shelley to doubt both Christianity and the idealistic philosophy (Ryan 1988). Although Victor Frankenstein's own religious views are never clearly articulated, it is evident that he is not a Christian. M. Krempe's (professor of philosophy whom the narrator/protagonist Victor Frankenstein introduces in chapter 3 as " a little squat man, with a gruff voice and a repulsive countenance; the teacher, therefore, did not prepossess me in favour of his pursuits") teasing comment that Victor "believed in Cornelius Agrippa as firmly as in the gospel". This raises doubts whether Victor believes in the gospel in any way. Even though he mentions Elizabeth (an orphan young girl who married Victor and was killed during their honeymoon) and himself as children of god, he churns out the Christian tradition to find expression of cruelty with which he shouts at the monster. It is evident that Victor is not a believer even in any conventional way. By contrast, his creature from the beginning shows a strong philosophical inquisitiveness. He forces himself to a painstaking inquest: "Who was I What was I Whence did I come What was my destination These questions continually recurred, but I was unable to solve them "(Chapter 15). The answer comes to him all of a sudden when he trips, inadvertently, on a text of Paradise Lost. He narrates the experience: "One night I found on the ground a leathern portmanteau containing several articles of dress

Effects of gadgets addiction among teenagers Essay Example for Free

Effects of gadgets addiction among teenagers Essay Hotels and resorts are places for relaxation or recreation; thus they attract visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishments operated by a single company. It is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short term basis. If before, hotels and resorts only provide basic accommodation— consists only of cottages or a room with a bed— nowadays, it has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning or climate control, function hall for events, spa and an in house restaurant. The cost and quality of hotel and resort are usually indicative of the range and types of services available. Due to the enormous increase in tourism worldwide during the last decades of the 20th century, standards especially those of smaller establishments have improve considerably. Today, many systems have used an automation process like using online computer system, due to its efficiency and accuracy. Champ Aqua Farm and Resort is located at 168 Dulong Barrio, Matungao, Bulakan, Bulacan and it offers a resort and reservation of facilities and amenities for the customers. The resort uses manual business transactions with its customers. They are using a manual process in booking, reservations and logging names of customers. The resort has two swimming pools, two function halls, three houses for accommodation (Farm House, Brick House and Summer House), twelve cottages, three floating cottages, one playground, a half-basketball court, one restaurant and two fish ponds. The resort also offers activities such as Fishing, Canoeing, Basketball, and Retreat. They also sell fish like Tilapia, Hito, and Japanese Koi. The purpose of this study is to develop an Online Inquiry and Reservation System for Champ Aqua Farm and Resort. It substitutes the manual system with  computerized system. Project Objectives General Objectives The researchers aim to develop an Online Inquiry and Resort Reservation System for Champ Aqua Farm and Resort. Specific Objectives 1. To be able to design a homepage for Champ Aqua Farm and Resort. 2. To be able to design a log in form and registration form for the guests. 3. To be able to design a reservation form for guests. 4. To be able to design gallery for details about the resort or the property. 5. To determine the design FAQ’s and About Us section for questions, suggestions and other inquiry.

Journalists war on terror

Journalists war on terror Difficulties Facing Journalists Reporting the War on Terror Introduction This essay will focus on illustrating the present difficulties facing by journalists who will report war on terror after the outbreak of 911 and series of terrorism activities around the world, to make us understand the serious status quo of journalism in the warfare time and nations. In the main body part of the essay, it will give us a simple introduction about the background of present global safety and the implementation of war on terrorism by the US Government. Then it moves on to illustrate the threats and hardships that have been or will be undertaken by war journalists in their reporting process and give us a detailed analysis of the reason. Then corresponding suggestions are provided in the final part to facilitate the media coverage activities of journalists reporting in those dangerous areas of war and improve the development of press freedom in the world. Main Body Background The outbreak of September 11 terrorists attack gave the US Government a heavy blow. As a response, the Bush Administration implemented the war on terror program immediately after the attack and international coalition gathered for rooting out terrorism has created a dangerous situation, where journalists may be reduced to the victims and targets of terrorists and become key actors of those super powers in reporting events to satisfy the need of the public in understanding the situation in the frontier of battlefield. Journalists have been used as a tool of the government in propaganda and they are being forced to a difficult brim that on one hand, the mass need them to report the progressing of the so-called war on terrorism based on press freedom, on the other hand, the actual danger of life and political pressure in reporting may influence their thinking and judgement. Inevitably, the press freedom and pluralism is being gradually undermined by the increasing imperialism of super p ower countries such as the United States. First DifficultySafety and Health Journalists are facing dangers when undertaking reporting tasks in those volatile countries and regions. According to the date released by IFJ (International Federation of Journalists), 129 journalists and media staff were killed in 2004, making it the worst year on record for the casualty of journalists. In the Iraq War, more than 50 media staff have been killed by political extremists and criminals (Aidan White, Ben Hayes. 2005. Journalism, Civil Liberties and the War on Terrorism. IFJ. P3). From this we can know that the most dangerous difficulty facing by journalists reporting the war on terror is their personal safety. The misunderstanding and hatred between hostile nations gradually press journalists to the teeth of storm since they are the communicator of message. Those terrorists kidnapped and even killed journalists due to their hatred toward the country or government of the journalists and they fell to be the victims of political war. Why so many journalists depart from the ir home to report in those dangerous countries with no regard of their safety, most of their answers can be categorized to their original pursuit of truth and justice for the world. People all over the world are entitled to know whats happening on the other side of the world and the real difficulties they are facing. In order to feed the hungry of information of the mass, many journalists have been dispatched to batterfield and suffered great difficulty not only in body but also in mind. Feinstein, Owen, Blair measured the emotional impact of reporting war on journalists and concluded that war journalists suffered from higher extent of depression and PTSD than their fellow traders who did not report on war events. They have to seek for mental health treatment to release inner psychological distress. Second DifficultyPress Freedom Under the political pressure of the United States and its coalitions in war on terror, journalists are facing great difficulty in reporting events since the government used the so-called war on terrorism to expand its scope of investigation and to restrict press freedom and other civil rights. The unveiling of anti-terrorism increased the curbs and surveillance on free expression, which not only retarded the work of reporters but also negatively affected the basic right as a citizen. For example, the Patriot Act and the Homeland Security Act promulgated by the US Government just constituted a suppress on free speech in the media and academia while limited civil rights as well. Journalists have gradually departed from original principle of media openness due to the media oppression since jounalists have to dwell on the attitude and actions of the American government, when the world is full of real villains, might seem unfair, were it not for the immense power and influence that the US wields on the global stage and the effects its policies and example have on so many other countries, said the WAN President. References Feinstein, A., Owen, J., Blair, N. (2002). A hazardous profession: War, journalists, and psychopathology. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159(9), 1570-1575. Aidan White. (2002). Journalism And The War on Terrorism. International Federation of Journalists

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morisson :: Toni Morisson The Bluest Eye

Toni Morisson's novel The Bluest Eye is about the life of the Breedlove family who resides in Lorain, Ohio, in the late 1930s. This family consists of the mother Pauline, the father Cholly, the son Sammy, and the daughter Pecola. The novel's focal point is the daughter, an eleven-year-old Black girl who is trying to conquer a bout with self-hatred. Everyday she encounters racism, not just from white people, but mostly from her own race. In their eyes she is much too dark, and the darkness of her skin somehow implies that she is inferior, and according to everyone else, her skin makes her even "uglier." She feels she can overcome this battle of self-hatred by obtaining blue eyes, but not just any blue. She wants the bluest eye. Morrison is able to use her critical eye to reveal to the reader the evil that is caused by a society that is indoctrinated by the inherent goodness and beauty of whiteness and the ugliness of blackness. She uses many different writing tools to depict how "white" beliefs have dominated American and African American culture. The narrative structure of The Bluest Eye is important in revealing just how pervasive and destructive social racism is. Narration in novel comes from several sources. Much of the narration comes from Claudia MacTeer as a nine year old child, but Morrison also gives the reader the insight of Claudia reflecting on the story as an adult, some first person narration from Pecola's mother, and narration by Morrison herself as an omniscient narrator. Pecola's experiences would have less meaning coming from Pecola herself because a total and complete victim would be an unreliable narrator, unwilling or unable to relate the actual circumstances of that year. Claudia, from her youthful innocence, is able to see and relate how the other characters, especially Pecola, idolize the "ideal" of beauty presented by white, blue-eyed movie stars like little Shirley Temple. In addition to narrative structure, the structure and composition of the novel itself help to illustrate how much and for how long white ideas of family and home have been forced into black culture. Instead of conventional chapters and sections, The Bluest Eye is broken up into seasons, fall, winter, spring, and summer. This type of organization suggests that the events described in The Bluest Eye have occurred before, and will occur again. This kind of cycle suggests that there is notion that there is no escape from the cycle of life that Breedloves and MacTeer live in.

Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams Es

Stanley Kowalski in "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire, author Tennessee Williams does a wonderful job developing the character of Stanley Kowalski. To me, his character seemed most like that of a true person. On the other hand, Stella, Stanley's wife, is mainly displayed as being the loving type, and because that is basically the only character trait she displays, it is difficult to really understand her as a person. The character of Stanley Kowalski is developed much like a real person, having numerous personality traits. One characteristic of Stanley is his rudeness and cruelty towards Blanche, Stella's sister. It is very apparent that Stanley does not care for Blanche. Scene eight mentions Blanche's birthday party, and surprisingly, she receives a gift from Stanley. This gift, however, is not one that most people would appreciate. Blanche is very surprised to get a gift from Stanley, and as she opens it she says, "Why,why-Why, it's a-" . This is the first indication that there is something the matter. Because Blanche can't finish her sentence, Stanley lets everyone know that it's a "Ticket! Back to Laurel! On the Greyhound! Tuesday!" . Blanche obviously couldn't finish her sentence because she was insulted that her birthday present implied that she was not welcome by Stanley. Even Stella knew how rude and cruel Stanley had acted towards Blanche. Stella lets Stanley know, "You needn't have been so cruel..." . In scene ten, Stanley says to Blanche, "Take a look at yourself in that worn-out Mardi Gras outfit, rented for fifty cents from some rag-picker! And with the crazy crown on! What queen do you think you are?". This quote shows that Blanche's p... ...takes the only remaining course to maintain his territory; by raping Blanche he establishes the physical domination he attempted, unsuccessfully, early in the play, and the psychological domination he attempted, later, by using Blanche's own guilt against her. From our first introduction to Stanley, when he tosses the bloody package to Stella, to our last, when he rips the lantern off the light just before the doctor and nurse take Blanche away, we see this man as an expression of animalistic territoriality. He uses every tactic possible to exert his power over a fragile, but threatening woman. Finally, using brute force and sexual dominance, he appears to win. In fact however, the winner is ambiguous if even in existence. A rift has developed in the only relationship that Stanley values - that between him and his wife, with no promise of a better future.

NASA vs. Public Schools Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research Papers

NASA vs. Public Schools Dozens of cupcakes arrive at Cape Canaveral, baked and iced by astronauts and their spouses. The heads of NASA believe this fundraiser will save the space program for the next year. After all, if everyone who cares about the future of the last frontier buys a cupcake, we can save the funding of the space program. Yeah, right! Sadly, our country spends 13.5 billion dollars on space exploration but can't find enough funding for our public schools. (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/congress/budget1.html) The United States is the richest nation on our planet. Yet, parent clubs all over the country spend volunteer time raising money for public schools. Why do we not have enough funding for our public schools and who is responsible for our lack of funds? An article on NASA's website shows me a testimony by NASA Administrator, Dan Goldin, who spoke before the U.S. House of Representative's subcommittee after the NASA budget received an eleven-percent reduction in funding. Mr. Goldin feels outrage that the space program would be expected to function on such restricted funding. Goldin states this kind of cut would "gut space exploration." With closures of NASA centers and significant layoffs, Mr. Goldin predicts this budget cut will affect employee morale. Mr. Goldin poignantly states, "Perhaps most sadly, we will lose the opportunity to inspire a future generation of children." (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/Goldin/2000/testimony) Goldin's issue is the reduction in his budget. In my experience with budgets, reduction of the budget means, Goldin and his team are going to have to cut costs. Reading between the lines of his argument, I presume the eleven-percent are costs he does not want to cut. It must be his beli... ...ronomers, or engineers to further our advancing future. We must concentrate on the educational funding of our nation. I perceive the National PTA to have a valid mission in the lives of our children and education. Instead of raising funds through the community, perhaps we can become political advocates and persuade our politicians to allocate necessary funds to our public education; instead of baking cupcakes. Cupcakes in hand, I head to my next PTA fundraiser. I realize cupcakes are not going to save the education system for the next year, just as they cannot save a space program. After all, we do care about the future of education for our children. We need to analyze our issues and decide how to go about trimming the state educational budget. NASA can live through the budget cuts without cupcakes and so can our educational system. But for now, cupcake, anyone?

Research Notes on Comparison Between Romeo

Research Notes On Comparison Between Romeo + Juliet's And Benedick + Beatrice's Relationship's †¢Benedict jests he only takes Beatrice for pity whereas Beatrice claims to only accept him for she is under the belief that he is in consumption, suggests that their married life years will continue to be full of lively conversations and wit so that hopefully neither should have to ‘sigh away’ their ‘Sundays’ or bear the horns of a cuckold. †¢Romeo and Juliet’s relationship: had it been given time to grow and mature more steadily, their love may have grown into the most beautiful flower of all. A key difference, which can be noted between Romeo and Juliet and Beatrice and Benedict, is the speed in which their relationship advances. Romeo and Juliet’s whole relationship takes place in a matter of three days whereas in much ado about nothing the audience gets the impression that Beatrice and Benedict have known each other a long time, perhaps having been involved in a romantic relationship some time before the beginning of the events in the play.In act 1 scene 1 Beatrice says ‘I know you of old’. To ‘know’ somebody in Shakespearean times often suggested you knew that person in a sexual context. †¢In contrast, Beatrice and Benedict appear to be in no rush to get married. Both reveal apprehensions about it during the play. Beatrice likens marriage to a five step jig describing the initial part as ‘hot and hasty†¦ and full as fantastical’.The words ‘hot and hasty’ suggest that Beatrice sees the first part of a relationship as passionate and exciting; the words ‘full of fantastical’ seem to be suggesting that this part of the relationship is almost like a fantasy, an illusion, not real. Beatrice could be suggesting that at first you don’t really know somebody and what might seem perfect at first may turn out to be a disappointment. This may ha ve been how Beatrice felt when she first met Benedict. She seems to hint that he has let her down in some way offering only a ‘single heart’ for her ‘double one’ , and that he won it with ‘false dice’.The illusion of gambling perhaps suggests that Beatrice sees a potential relationship a risky game and one she might not win. Considering this, one can return to Romeo and Juliet and how well they really knew each other when they decided to get married. Only hours before meeting Juliet, Romeo had been in live over a girl called Rosaline. His love for Juliet does not appear deeper and more real, yet how confident can the audience be that this love would stand the test of time

Character sketch Essay

Michael Finley began walking to his room, very exasperated from the day’s occurrences. Michael was a diminutive adolescent with short black hair and dazzling blue eyes. Michael was wearing what he wore every single day, his decrepit blue jeans, a tangerine shirt and his bulky brown boots. Michael was a quiet and coy youth who had very few friends. Because he had very few friends , Michael became very introspective. Michael meandered aimlessly, cogitating about his fantasy. Michael fantasized about friendship, something that all people want. Michael entered his room and laid his body down on his bed remaining completely still. He started to evaluate his atrocious day. While contemplating, his immense angelic eyes became droopy, and had nearly fallen asleep. A moment passed, and suddenly the doorbell rang. Michael rose up from his bed and as he was opening the door, he heard sounds of laughter and discourse from the exterior. He opened the door and discovered an assemblage of his classmates. The classmates started walking into his house, seeming like they had been friends with Michael since childhood. His classmates sat down on his sofa and started to chat with Michael. Michael had not known what had happened but he didn’t care because his dream was coming true. Michael and his friends talked through the wee hours of the night. At that point Michael felt that he was one of them and didn’t care what happened in the past, he only cared what was happening now. Michael did something that he hadn’t in a long time; smile. In the morning, his friends departed after a night of celebration and companionship, and Michael walked to his room. He once again lay down on his bed and started to contemplate. But this time, Michael didn’t contemplate unhappily but contemplated blissfully. Michael’s dream was accomplished, but there was only one problem; it was just a dream.

Is Bollywood Shining in Asia

Is Bollywood Shining in Asia? Introduction As Smith, a columnist for Articlemyriad, mentioned, â€Å"Far from being mere entertainment, though, the Bollywood movies represent a powerful means of self- and community expression which Indians are using to define themselves in front of the rest of the world,† (Smith) Exploring the Bollywood movie and its emergency in Asia is an effective way to see whether India has some common culture elements with other Asian countries and whether they are integrating under the impulsion of culture.Dudrah (2006) mentioned in his book Bollywood: Sociology Goes to the Movies, â€Å"Bollywood, the moniker for popular Hindi cinema from Mumbai, India, has become an important catchword in the vocabulary of global South Asian popular culture. † (Dudrah, 2006) It demonstrates that Indian culture dominates in South Asia. However, with the success Three Idiots achieved in Asia, some people began to consider the situation of Bollywood in Asia. Bolly wood is a real buzz word at the moment,† said Vinay Virmani, writer and actor of Breakaway, in an interview, â€Å"I think that's because Bollywood has been able to translate beyond the whole south Asian community. † (Mahmood & Mitra, 2011)This opinion is true but maybe too simple as he just considered about the popularity. The opinion I want to argue in this paper is that although Bollywood movies become popular in Asia, the commercial profit they gained is still limited.Maybe Three Idiots, the most successful Bollywood movie in recent years, is the best representative of Bollywood movies which are facing such an embarrassing situation. â€Å"Have you seen the Three Idiots second time? † It may be the first reaction when Hong Kong people talked about this famous Indian movie. It is amazing that a Bollywood movie gained such huge success in Hong Kong. In fact, Three Idiots has run for 13 weeks since it was released in Hong Kong in September, 2011. It broke the sp ell that â€Å"Normally, a Bollywood Film in China and Hong Kong would run in select multiplexes for 1 to 2 weeks. (3 Idiots Rocks in China & Hong Kong, 2011)Although it gained high praise in Hong Kong and other Asia countries, the box-office contributed by Asian countries was still limited. According to the statistics from Box Office Mojo, 60. 8% box-office of Three Idiots came from India (3 IDIOTS box office, 2011) and it was released in only six other Asia countries (or areas), which are Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Taiwan. (3 Idiots) Why Bollywood becomes popular in Asia ) Thanks to Slumdog Millionaire Slumdog Millionaire tells a story happened in Indian slums. It is made by Hollywood but full of Bollywood characters, which made many audiences mistake it for a Bollywood movie. As it won the top prize at the Academy Awards and eight Oscars in total including best director and best picture, (The Oscars 2009, 2009) it appealed to more audiences, espec ially Asians, who regard the Academy Prize as the highest honor of a movie. It took $2,280,068 in its first week in China and $930,097 in Hong Kong. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE-box office, 2009) With the influence of Slumdog Millionaire, people would like to see Bollywood movies with huge interest and curiousness. Bollywood movie become a hit to Asian audiences. 2) A mirror of the issues faced by Asia It is obvious to see the changes in Bollywood movies when comparing those new successful movies with the old ones. The traditional stories about revenge or the love between a rich woman and a penniless man have already been out of date. New Bollywood movies focus more on the modern issues faced by many other Asian countries as well.The issues always mentioned are never leaving ethnic and religious conflicts, gap between the rich and poor and education. For instance, the Three Idiots mentioned before exposed the education problems existing in many Asian countries. The film is about three studen ts who do not fit the traditional and inflexible education method in Indian Institutes of Technology and are considered as idiots by professors. â€Å"However, the movie clearly shows who the three real idiots are – the educational system, the teachers and the parents†, Sudhakar RAM said. Ram, 2010) The performance-oriented system, faculty-led pedagogy and arbitrary parents criticized in this movie exist not only in India, but also other Asian states. In South Korea, academic achievements are regarded as the decisive factor for social success. Only the students getting into prestigious universities can guarantee their social success, while students with other abilities are unrecognized. (Suicide Figures Point to Failure of Education System, 2011) The same phenomena existed in Mainland China. In order to enter a famous university, students pursue higher exam marks rather than knowledge. Teaching methodology basically consists of force-feeding copious amounts of required information directly out of textbooks (often teachers will simply read directly from the text) and students are discouraged from asking questions, particularly if those questions challenge ideology or anything regarded as factual. † (Middle Kingdom Life) As this movies shows the familiar and real problems to Asian audience, people are able to understand the movie better and easily accept it, just as Zoher Abdoolcarim said, â€Å"They laughed when they were meant to and didn't when they weren't. (Abdoolcarim, 2011) In addition, Asia, as a growing power, is eager to get the approval from the world. India, with fast development in economy, has more aspiration and shows it by movies. There is a popular Bollywood movie among Asian audience called My Name Is Khan. It tells a story about how a Muslim man called Khan, in order to get forgiveness from his wife, overcame many difficulties to tell American President that his name had no relationship with terrorists. Although it seems l ike a love movie, what it shows indeed is the â€Å"questions of religious and national identity†. My Name is Khan – Movie Review, 2010) Asian states, like the Muslim, undergo untold hardships to develop, hoping to get the approval from the world. The emotion and sprit—national identifying—expressed in Bollywood movies reflect the psychology of Asia and fit the taste of Asians. 3) The attracting modern music Dance and songs are the symbols of Bollywood movies. â€Å"A Bollywood movie is incomplete without songs and dance in it. † (Role of dance Choreographer in Bollywood movie songs, 2011) However, young people in Asia seem not interested in the traditional dance and songs in Bollywood movies.Therefore, the Bollywood music changed among with the transformation in movies. It mixed the traditional songs with western elements to produce a new style that appeals international audience, of course, including Asians, rather than the pure classical Indian music that appeals to Indians only. Campus songs which never appeared now become popular in Bollywood movies. ‘Aal Izz Well' in Three Idiots has oodles of youth feeling, which brings audience back to their college days. 4) With the help of InternetAlthough playing full-length movie on internet is illegal in some countries, there are no strict restrictions in some Asia countries, like China, which provides audience a chance to watch Bollywood movies through internet. Three Idiots, for example, will be released in December, 2011 in Mainland China. However, the discussion of this movie in Internet lasted for a long time and it even got 8. 9 marks by 19,096 people marking in the Mtime, a websites regarded as Chinese IMDB. Three Idiots) This phenomenon benefits from the Chinese video-sharing websites, such as Tudou and Youku. In fact, this movie was played up to 1,824,335 times only in Tudou (Three Idiots). The same is Devads, which is marked 8. 4 in Mtime (Devdas) and played 279,4 69 times in Tudou. (Devdas) The force of internet cannot be overlooked in popularizing Bollywood movies. Why Bollywood movies have a little profit? As the statistics from Box Office Mojo show, most Bollywood movies are released in four other Asia areas mainly —Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.Although Bollywood movies have satisfied box-offices in these areas, the profit they gained in other Asian areas was still low compared to domestic market. The reason may be that Bollywood movies don’t squeeze into the two main markets in Asia—China and Japan because of the strict movie importing restrictions. China has strict import restrictions that limit the number of foreign blockbusters to 20 per year. â€Å"Film imports are still controlled by the state-owned China Film Group. † (Lee, 2011) And in Japan, the situation is even worse. â€Å"But selecting films for release in Japan is not easy. , said Aki Sugihara, general manager at licensing and acqu isition department of Nikkatsu Corp, â€Å"The rights for ‘3 Idiots' had been sold to every Asian country except Japan. † (IANS, 2011) The closing of the two main Asian movie markets makes the profit Bollywood movies gain limit in Asia. Tendency 1) The wall will come down With the globalization, the trade wall is decreasing, including the movie import policies. Taiwan is a case in point, who revised the Motion Picture law–dropping its film import restrictions—–to meet WTO demand in 2001.Many Bollywood movies, which are not released in Mainland China and Hong Kong, can be found on Taiwan screens, like Om Shanti Om and Taare Zameen Par. Taiwan is just a start as its policy influences other countries. The success of Three Idiots in Taiwan spirited South Korea to release it, according to a Korean industry office. (Bhat, 2011) The prospect in Mainland China is also bright. Thanks to the efforts of India's Ministry of External Affairs, India got a quota o f four out of the 20 imported movies per year. Baru, 2010)What’s more, as the deadline given by the World Trade Organization when China end its movie import restrictions is 19 March 2011, China is expected to raise the import quota to 30 films this year and a little more each year subsequently. (Jaffe, 2011) It is inspiring news for not only Bollywood but also the world, which can also be regarded as a symbol that the free and open movie market is a tendency in such a global world. 2) The cooperation can be realized Bollywood is exporting its movies to more countries by cooperating with foreign companies to produce movies.My Name is Khan, a Bollywood movie produced and marketed by Fox Star Studios, gained $38,326,589 in oversea market. (My Name Is Khan) It pointed out a new way for Bollywood to gain profit in Asia, which is cooperating with Asian companies. In fact, the Chinese government's official film production company has cooperated with Bollywood to make a movie called Gold Struck. â€Å"Since the film is being supported by China-based production companies, it will not be considered a foreign import and will fall outside the censorship restrictions that have impeded Bollywood's entry into the China market,† Cindy Shyu, CEO of Lighthouse Productions said. Krishnan, 2010) Also Aki Sugihara from Japan mentioned, â€Å"If our co-production expands, there will be a chance of getting into co-production with Indian films. † (IANS, 2011) By cooperation, Bollywood may knock at the door of China and Japan, and enter into these two huge Asian markets step by step. Conclusion Bollywood, which used to be regarded as â€Å"a factory of dances and songs†, is no longer what it was. In a global world, Bollywood is also expanding its influence power to Asia, even to the world. Going by the success of Slumdog Millionaire, Bollywood began to export its movies with a new image.It changes the style of dance and songs and pays more attention to the contents of movies, which expose the same issues Asians face and inspire emotional resonance. In addition, the internet popularizing also promotes the spread of Bollywood movies. However, Bollywood has fame but little profit in Asia because of the strict restrictions, especially in China and Japan. In another word, Bollywood’s emergence has already beyond South Asia but the true commercial success is still limited to domestic market.Although it seems that Bollywood has loss in Asia in terms of commerce from current movie market state, we cannot deny that Bollywood movies have potential to win because of the falling-down restrictions and the tiny cooperation with Asian movie companies. Bollywood is not shining in Asia now, but the time for it to shine is not far away. Reference SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE-box office. (2009, 12 20). Retrieved 12 1, 2011, from Box Office Mojo: http://boxofficemojo. com/movies/? page=intl&id=slumdogmillionaire. htm The Oscars 2009. (2009, 2 23). Retrieve d 12 1, 2011, from BBC: http://news. bc. co. uk/2/hi/entertainment/oscars/7904567. stm My Name is Khan – Movie Review. (2010, 2 11). Retrieved 12 1, 2011, from BollywoodWorld. com: http://www. bollywoodworld. com/movie-reviews/my-name-is-khan-movie-review-18299. html 3 IDIOTS box office. (2011, 11). Retrieved 12 1, 2011, from Box Office Mojo: http://boxofficemojo. com/movies/? page=intl&id=3idiots. htm 3 Idiots Rocks in China & Hong Kong. (2011). Retrieved from MovieMantra. com: http://moviemantra. com/telugu/2011/3-idiots-rocking-china-hong-kong/ Role of dance Choreographer in Bollywood movie songs. 2011, 5 13). Retrieved 12 2, 2011, from Enrichyou: http://www. enrichyou. info/role-of-dance-choreographer-in-bollywood-movie-songs/ Suicide Figures Point to Failure of Education System. (2011, 8 13). Retrieved 12 1, 2011, from The Chosunilbo: http://english. chosun. com/site/data/html_dir/2011/08/13/2011081300334. html 3 Idiots. (n. d. ). Retrieved 12 1, 2011, from IMDB: http:// www. imdb. com/title/tt1187043/releaseinfo Abdoolcarim, Z. (2011, 11 10). The ChIndian Century. Retrieved 12 1, 2011, from TIMESpecials:

Explanatory Essay on Horticulture

The world would not be the same without these people and these labor-Intensive positions wouldn't be nearly as unofficial without the application of Horticultural practices. Horticulture has been the heart of humanity since the dawn of civilization, what else could bring people to depend on each other than the essentials of life, food and water. Horticulture has always provided food and water to the masses from the first hunter-gatherers to today's corn farmers.These examples are very different from each other but embody the same values. Some common entry-level jobs in the Horticulture industry that will be available to me after graduating are lawn care specialist, golf course attendant, landscaper, city and county work, and greenhouse attendant. There are countless more entry-level positions available I just named a few of the popular choices. Other than the satisfaction of providing a fruitful service to society Horticulture can help you grow on personal levels.Providing you with a n active lifestyle that pays dividends, Horticulture is a healthy way to make money. A horticulturist will have learned patience and developed a higher value of time management while on the lob. The study also gives me the tools to provide food for myself and someday my family. Never will I completely depend on others to nourish me. In conclusion between the sheer amounts of career opportunities along with personal growth I see nothing but positive outcomes from acquiring an Associates Degree in Landscape, Plant, and Turf Management.In Just two short years I will have an education I can trust to provide me with a comfortable Income, the knowledge to feed my community, and the ability to beautify the world around me using material provided by the earth. Whether In times of trouble or prosperity there will be a need for Horticulturists. The Green Industry will never disappear, but only become more chemical, with advances In science and medicine ever on the horizon the need for me and students like myself to be providing material will never cease.With rolling world populations a steady food supply and dwindling natural settings have never been more Important. Word Count: 424 Words Explanatory Essay on Horticulture By onionskin career or a great backup plan to your primary career choice. Most Jobs in the Green Industry are relatively concrete positions within society such as farmers, landscapers, without these people and these labor-intensive positions wouldn't be nearly as ACH other but embody the same values. Some common entry-level Jobs in the attendant.There are countless more entry-level positions available I Just named a job. The study also gives me the tools to provide food for myself and someday my an education I can trust to provide me with a comfortable income, the knowledge to provided by the earth. Whether in times of trouble or prosperity there will be a need technical, with advances in science and medicine ever on the horizon the need for me and stud ents like myself to be providing material will never cease. With rising been more important.

To what degree does trust affect the competition in E-commerce Essay

To what degree does trust affect the competition in E-commerce - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that e-commerce or electronic commerce is a type of commerce where buying and selling of products and services are virtual, in that it is conducted across electronic platforms like the internet and other computer-enabled networks. E-commerce is a recent development has cropped up after the introduction of the computer and the internet. In the virtual world of e-commerce, trade becomes a process of communicating via systems that connect the buyer and seller in a virtual marketplace. Like in the other common types of commerce, e-commerce involves a lot of communication between the buyer and the seller in such a way that, the interaction buffers the deficit created by the existence of a virtual trading platform, which deviates from the one-on-one contact in typical trading. E-commerce utilizes several technological developments in the world of commerce, communication, marketing, data exchange, payments and computers among other major developme nts that enhance execution of e-commerce. These developments include; internet marketing, electronic funds transfer, mobile commerce, electronic data exchange (EDI), online transaction systems and automated data collection among other technologies. E-commerce relies on a set of technologies to successfully execute transactions. A typical e-commerce transaction starts with a customer visiting a company’s website that acts as a virtual store for products and services that the company deals with. The customer shops for the products and places an order of one or several items in the store.

Week 6 Project Deliverable 3 Submission Assignment

Week 6 Project Deliverable 3 Submission - Assignment Example The database is going to be designed based on the various requirements that are to be integrated in the Order management System, Inventory System and the Supply processing system. The general idea for the implementation of the database schema would adopt a general flow basing on the fact transactions in a certain business entity take a general format of: 6. The ordering process will capture the essential requirements of the customer for instance the customer name, physical address, contact information, the type of goods that have been ordered and their specific quantities. 7. The ordering process be able to forward a report to the supply processing system where stock issues will be done and will be able to make the necessary adjustments on the stock level quantities upon retrieval from the stores The database design process will be divided into different autonomous design tasks relative to the followed design process. Particular emphasis will be laid on the logical database design and the physical database design (Teorey et al, 2011). The logical database design main objective is to determine the relevant user requirements, examination of the process flows of the existing system with an aim of identifying the challenges that are faced by the user of the system. It is also aimed at studying the specific business environment of the company. Therefore, the expected outcome will be the emergence and formulation of a system-independent database description that meets the key requirements (Teorey et al, 2011). It represents the database actual implementation process in relation to the system that exists. The physical database design is dependent on the RDBMS (Relational Database Management System) which is adopted by the user (Teorey et al, 2011). The software and the hardware environments greatly influence the structure. The system will be used by different personalities of which important roles

Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Managment - Essay Example I let them quarrel and sort out their differences. While some people may be able to put behind their personal differences and give their best output but others may not be able to do so. I need to make better decision than to leave them to their means. If as a manager I am able to ensure that their differences are ironed out, they will be able to work better. (Gerald Matthews, 2004) A manager should be able to break the ice between his team members. The longer it would take for them to become familiar with each other; greater would be the hindrance to work. I can deduce from my results that I am not good in this regard and would certainly like to work on this aspect of my personality. I am usually hesitant to start conversations but as a manager the onus lies more on me than on anyone else. A manager should be fully aware of his strengths and weaknesses before he tries to understand his team’s. This is a point where I would be able to succeed easily. My assessment scores have not been much different from the scores that my friend gave me. This indicates that myself awareness level is high and will make it easy for me to work on my weaknesses. I can see from my assessment test that I feel nervous about choking at crucial situations. This is a problem that I need to solve. A manager who looks nervous in the face of an approaching deadline might not be able to motivate his team. However in this regard my friend’s perception is different. He feels that I give my best effort during a crunch situation. This indicates that I may have been able to hide my emotions of being nervous which certainly bodes well for managerial job. I however do remain calm most of the times even during a fight which I think is a good managerial quality. A successful manager usually does not takes decisions unilaterally. He should take inputs from all the concerned and then decide according to the best inputs he receive. This is already being done by me as I can deduce from

PCM Theory and Audio Reduction Codecs and Techniques Research Paper

PCM Theory and Audio Reduction Codecs and Techniques - Research Paper Example Instead, compressed PCM variants are normally employed. However, numerous Blu-ray format movies use the uncompressed the PCM for audio. Frequently, PCM encoding enables digital transmission from a point to another (in a certain system, or geographically) in a serial form.   However, due to the computer and digital network communications advancements, a lot of information or data is transmitted using the pulse wave modulation technique. Pulse wave modulation may be used to transmit analog audio signal or information with a particular rate to sample analog signal - this rate is what is called the transmission rate. On the receiver, the delivered signal is demodulated by the Pulse-code modulation (PCM) demodulator to recuperate the original continuous analog signal wave. Generally, PCM can be classified as a pulse amplitude modulation (PAM), pulse position modulation (PPM), pulse code modulation (PCM), and pulse width modulation (PWM). PAM, PPM, and PWM modulations are affiliated to a nalog modulation while the PCM modulation is affiliated to digital modulation. It is important to take note that PCM modulation is a real digital signal which can be processed and digitally stored by a computer. However, PPM, PWM, and PAM modulations are similar to PM, FM, and AM modulations, respectively (Aksoy & DeNardis, 2007, p. 112). For all pulse wave modulation, before the modulation, the original continuous form signal has to be sampled and the sampling rate for the sampling signal must not below, otherwise, the recovered signal will bring about distortion. The sampling rate is subject to the sampling theorem, whereby the sampling theorem states that: for a pulse wave modulation system, in the condition that the sampling rate excesses the double or more maximum frequency times of the signal, then distortion level of data recovery on the receiver will be its minimum. For instance, the frequency range of the audio signal is about 40 Hz ~ 4 kHz, the pulse wave modulation sampli ng signal frequency must be no less than 8 kHz, hence, the sampling error is reduced to the minimum (Maes & Vercammen, 2012, p. 67). During transmission, it is hard for the PCM signal to avoid noise distortion. Therefore, before the PCM signal sends to the PCM demodulator, a comparator is used to recover the PCM signal to its original level. The signal is a pulse wave signal series, so, before demodulating, the pulse wave signal series will be converted to a parallel digital signal by aid of a serial to a parallel converter After that, the signal passes through n-bits decoder (which should be D/A converter) for recovery of the digital signal to its original quantization value. However, in this quantization value includes not only the original audio signal alone, but also many high-frequency harmonics, hence; a low-pass filter is used to remove the undesirable signal at the final fragment. MPEG varieties The MPEG standards comprise of different Parts.  

Clockwork Orange Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Clockwork Orange - Movie Review Example The soundtrack to the movie mostly features classical music selections, as well as Moog Synthesizer compositions. He the leader of a small gang. The gang engages in an ultraviolence evening fighting and beating up other people even the elderly as well as another gang then stole a car they went to a writer’s home and bit and crippled him. There is a disagreement among members an Alex reasserts the group leadership then attacks another home where he gets captured by police. In prison, rehabilitation procedure is tough and ends up curing Alex from his brutality to inability to fight back or even feel anything before a naked woman. The prison governor justifies the technique by explaining that that their work is to reduce crime as well as reducing congestion in prison. After release Alex becomes homeless and faces many problems. He later finds himself in hospital injured. After tests he finds he is no longer an able man. The minister comes by and apologizes to him to save his political carrier. With his love for music, Alex is convinced to accept

The subject of war Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The subject of war - Essay Example By working around the central theme, the narratives powerfully show the nature of humans, their response to challenges of the environment and the endeavors they are willing to undertake as means towards an end. With that said, it is interesting to note what caused the war in Homer's epic and how it compares with Sheri Tepper's feminist science fiction. The Iliad, narrating the events of a short period in a very long battle, continues from the Trojan war which was caused by Paris' capture of the Spartan queen Helen. In the text itself, it is said that two lovely women, Chryseis and Briseis, are the root of all rampage. When their town is defeated by the Achaean forces, the camp's ruler Agamemnon demands to have Chryseis as prize while Achilles gets Briseis. Succeeding circumstances force Agamemnon to give up his reward Chryseis but then asks Achilles to hand Briseis over to him as replacement. Insulted by Agamemnon's order, Achilles refuses to join the Acheans in their fight against the Trojans and even prays to Zeus through his mother Thetis to punish the Acheans. Zeus addresses this by coming to the Trojans' rescue, signaling that the battle between the Trojan and Achean forces have resum ed despite their peace treaty. While it is shown that it is the women who caused the war in The Iliad, it is the men who caused the war in The Gate to Women's Country. The author, Tepper, elaborates on men's desire for power, the things they do in order to obtain it and the things they sacrifice in exchange for the accomplishment of their pursuits. Sheri Tepper book considers these as manifestations of men's innate character. Homer's epic makes use of women as instruments of war. On a deeper analysis, though, it is the competitive nature of men that has driven them to war. Every strong male character is tested for bravery, valor and loyalty. On the other end, women are depicted as slaves. The poem emphasizes the existence of a struggle in the world and the ability to win over this battle dignifies and glorifies humanity. This is an idea contemplated by a male. Ages later, Tepper would intervene with a story written from a perspective of a modern-world woman, dissatisfied with patriarchal rule, motivated towards change, with a proposal of her own. Figuratively, Tepper's women respond to Homer's men. In Tepper's country, Tepper's women downplay conflicts and emphasize cooperation among members of the society. The ultimate goal is peace, as if the main motivation for this writing is the lack of it in an earlier society. To Tepper's women, war in unnecessary and all their efforts will be poured towards preve nting it. As we look into the causes or war in each story, an underlying factor that heightens the conflict is discovered. More than gender issues, a more realistic cause of strife is social disorder. The story of The Iliad progresses in a patriarchal setting while the plot of The Gate to Women's Country proposes a revolution by a matriarchal structure. Both are stories dealing with gender issues which are about power and dominance. Agamemnon exhibits dominance over Achilles by demanding for Briseis and Achilles' reaction exposes the need to soothe the male ego. Were it not for Agamemnon's aggression and Achilles' yearning for revenge, the Acheans and the Trojans would not resume their battle since a peace treaty

ENG COMP II TCP TASK2 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

ENG COMP II TCP TASK2 - Research Paper Example For example, computers do not possess the ability to think, but increasingly, they ensure performance of tasks that only individuals managed to do with accuracy, efficiency and limited time. Currently, automating tasks that depend on the perceptual skills of individuals is achievable through the use of cognitive technologies. These tasks may include handwriting recognition, face identification as well as other cognitive skills. Examples of cognitive skills relate to planning, reasoning from partial or unclear information and learning. Thesis Statement: Research shows that cognitive technologies enhance human efficiency as a result of dynamic access to information as well as redistributing between people and intelligence tools while also ensuring efficiency and effectiveness. The author of the above journal discuses how intelligent data management and analysis applications aid individuals in finding about trends as well as relationships. These issues are achieved through implementation of various techniques among them text mining as well as web mining among others. Scholars currently possess capability of understanding how there exists continuous relationships and interactions setting across huge data base and diverse social media platforms. Al-Azmi (2013) provides a lot of information relating to how user behaviors, expectations, as well as needs get studied. The work of Al-Azmi serves as a reference since the work presents an excellent literature review that is essential in assisting the reader to understand the power of cognitive technologies in a deeper context. The significant focus examined by the author aims at examining how cognitive technologies play a significant role in ensuring interactions among individuals from various realms. While Al-Azmi presents the importance of cognitive technology in enhancing relationships across individuals, the next article presents a different perspective that

Multinational Enterprises Essay Example for Free

Multinational Enterprises Essay The needs to fulfill market demands and find new revenue well have driven many corporations in the world to conduct their expansion strategy. One famous way out is to expand into foreign markets while enhancing the brand value in local market. The situation refers to internationalization or globalization in which many companies take the ways in order to boost sales. The situation occurs since nowadays a business operational coverage does not restricted by national boundaries since they can sell their services over the internet under B2B (business-to-business) or B2C (business-to-consumers) schemes. Many factors encourage companies to conduct internationalization; they include the belief that their products are unique and distinctive by any measures, have recognized brands; and possess worldwide distribution channels, technological leadership, and better product value. However, the corporations, often called Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) or Multinational Companies (MNCs), may overlook several considerations when performing internationalization, which in turn prevent the companies to reap the benefits of their foreign market presences. This situation suggests that amidst the attractiveness of providing services or selling products in foreign markets due to their well-recognized brands, companies need to pay attention to external and internal forces in the market since they determine the success of the companies’ international operation. The forces do not only include the technical issue or market knowledge but also supporting issues such as human resources management, cultural issues, and financial issues, to name a few. Concerning business expansion into foreign countries, this paper will discuss several issues relating to marketing Chinese electric bicycle to Perth (Australia). Several issues include economy, technology, legal and political, human resource strategy, and cultural assessment and negotiation, to name a few. 2. Background The background is about the Electric Bicycles that we take from China, import them, and sell the products in Perth (Australia). We also have our own website that we can sell online to people and ship our bicycles to any where in Australia. 3. Economy In CIA Factbook, Australia is regarded as an example of a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP at the level of the four dominant West European economies. Since Australia has many natural resources, the country becomes a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Commodities account for 57% of the value of total exports, so that a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big impact on the country’s economy. In addition, the report from CIA also notes that Australian government is pushing for increased exports of manufactured goods, but competition in international markets continues to be severe. While Australia has suffered from the low growth and high unemployment characterizing the OECD countries in the early 1990s and during the recent financial problems in East Asia, the economy has expanded at a solid 4% annual growth pace in the last five years. Below is economy figure of Australia.