Islamic Banking and capitalism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Islamic Banking and capitalism - Research Paper Example First, globalization is commonly seen as an integration of developed and less-developed countries leading to a homogenization of sorts. For instance, the emergence of a middle-class in China and India is often mentioned as an example of globalization homogenizing the world, as is the global reach of brands such as Nike and Ford. Globalization has also lead to the increasing mobility of the population. This in turn, has sometimes not created homogenization, but differentiation. An example of this would be the development of Islamic finance—financial organizations that are based on Islamic principles rather than capitalist or Western financial models. Analysts generally identify the first of these as â€Å"a savings bank based on profit-sharing in the Egyptian town of Mit Ghamr in 1963.† (Ariff, 1988, p. 42) Many significant Islamic financial institutions then developed in the 1970s such as the Dubai Islamic Bank, the Faisal Islamic Bank of Sudan and the Baharain Islamic Bank. More recently, with the widespread immigration of Muslims to the United States banks such as the Devon Bank in Chicago have developed. Its website describes it in this way: â€Å"Devon Bank offers Islamic financing services designed to avoid conventional interest common in traditional banking products.† (http://www.devonbank.com/Islamic/) The emergence of Islamic financial services corporations is an example of globalization leading to leading to more differentiation rather than homogenization. Throughout the world, and particularly in the United States, it is a new and a different development for there to be financial institutions that offer financial services based on Sharia law (and of course compliant with the legal requirements of their host countries. Devon Bank makes this plain on its homepage: â€Å"Our products are created to meet your needs by a staff versed in both U.S. and Islamic legal requirements, and then submitted

Theory as a Bridge between the Personal and the Public Essay Example for Free

Theory as a Bridge between the Personal and the Public Essay In his seminal work called â€Å"Sociological Imagination†, C. Wright Mills attempts to shed light on the processes and patterns through which individual troubles and public issues are closely related. For Mill, sociological analysis is the key to understanding the dialectics between personal troubles and public issues. II. What Constitutes the Sociological Analysis? The epistemological premise of sociological enquiry is based on its ability to understand the concrete nature of personal troubles in the abstract nature of public issues. In other words, sociological analysis in its ontological position is an abstraction of the overarching phenomena. According to Mill, sociological imagination is constituted by the ability to see through the core of the social and the soul of the personal and the complex interactions between them, while without being blinded by any. Based on this idea, Mills (2000) points out that â€Å"the most fruitful distinction with which the sociological imagination works is between ‘the personal troubles of the milieu’ and ‘the public issues of social structure†. As an individual, one would experience his/her problems as personal but such problems still may well derived from the general problems from within the society. Therefore, sociological imagination has to give its due to both the larger social forces and the individuals and groups. It is the mutually interactionist nature of both social forces and individuals that matters. Behaviors are not only shaped by the social forces, but also individual actions too influence the course societal dynamics. III. Conclusion Sociological imagination is always interactive. It demands a balance of approach in looking at the specific problems of individuals as they often closely assembled to the wider social context. On the other hand, the social context too is necessarily linked to the actions and behaviors of individuals and groups. Reference Mills, C. W. (2000). The Sociological Imagination. 40th Ed. New York: Oxford.

Company Purpose And Stakeholder Analysis: Wonderland

Company Purpose And Stakeholder Analysis: Wonderland Wonderlands history dates back to 1950s when it was started in Germany as a partnership business between a chemist and a child psychologist. These toys flooded the German and the Scandinavian markets in their initial years of launch. The market extended to cover the US and UK in the 1960s. Currently, the company enjoys the largest market share with its toys being available in more than 80 countries worldwide. The company is headquartered in Frankfurt and it has regional head offices in New York, Hong Kong and Buenos Aires. The offices in Frankfurt, Montana and Bute are dedicated solely to the creation of new toys to improve the companys brand. However, China, Taiwan, India, Korea and Honduras do most of the manufacturing works. Wonderland has recorded admirable growth both in its scope of operation and in its revenues. In 2009 for example, the company recorded total revenue of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬850 million from all its regions. In a bid to serve the customers even better, the company diversified its activities in the 80s and 90s to include other childrens items such as school bags, board games and party items. The company has also employed more than 10,000 people who work in different centers. For instance, 3,000 people work in Montana while 2,000 work in Frankfurt. Others work in the local offices as marketers, sales representatives, retailers and distributors of the companys products. LIST OF STAKEHOLDERS Wonderland has been very successful as a result of the contributions made by its stakeholders. These stakeholders are categorized into two divisions; primary stakeholders and secondary stakeholders. Primary stakeholders These are stakeholders who are directly affected by the company activities and vice versa. They include: Employees Shareholders Customers and Suppliers Secondary stakeholders These have interest in the company but their effect is not felt directly by the company. They include: The government, Media, Competitors, Lobby groups and The local community COMPANY PURPOSE AND STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS Company Purpose The purpose of this company is to produce high quality branded children items and distribute them globally so as to reach our target customers and hence fulfill their educational and recreational needs. Stakeholder analysis Primary stakeholders A) Shareholders Shareholders are the owners of Wonderland Company. They invest their money in the company so as to propel it to achieving its objectives. Wonderlands shareholders are categorized into two: institutional shareholders and individual shareholders. Institutional shareholders refer to organizations that have bought shares in this company with the hope of realizing returns from their investment. Examples of such organizations might include Virgin Airlines Company and Sony International Corporation. Individual shareholders, on the other hand, are the individuals who purchase shares of a given company with the aim of making profits. The founders are the major individual shareholders since they contributed the start-up capital. They possess majority of Wonderlands shares and have greater voting powers. In addition, the company has offered shares to other individual shareholders in Frankfurt (Turner, 2011). Interests of shareholders in the company Shareholders have a great interest in Wonderland, as noted above. They invest their money in the company with the hope of realizing returns in the short and long term. They are therefore concerned with the profitability of the company. Wonderlands managers have a great responsibility in ensuring that shareholders are contented with the performance of the company. When making decisions about the company, they ought to be very careful with the outcome since any loss made by the company will be felt by the shareholders. Managers ensure that both the short term and long term effects of their decisions are beneficial to the company so as to improve the value of shareholders investment. Powers of the shareholder In Wonderland, shareholders greatly influence the way it is operated. They decide who will be the company manager and who will be in the board of directors. Shareholders have voting rights on a variety of issues concerning the company. This means that the important decisions affecting the company, such as mergers, cannot be made without their consent. They vote for or against the proposal by the board of directors. Shareholders decision in the company is final. Notably, managers cannot change what has been jointly agreed upon by the shareholders (Worthington, 2007). Shareholders also have the power to make by-laws of the company. By-laws refer to a set of rules and regulations that govern the operation of the company. All the employees of the company abide by these by-laws. Any violation of these by-laws is sanctioned and necessary actions taken. The company holds annual meetings with its shareholders to discuss and review the performance of the company. In this meeting, they review the companys accounts for transparency and profitability check. During these meetings, the appointed auditor presents periodic reports. Members have powers to either endorse or refuse to endorse these reports. Nonetheless, the powers of shareholders in Wonderland commensurate with the number of shares held in the company. For example, an individual shareholder with 1,000 shares in a company has more powers than the one with 50 shares. This means that if the majority of Wonderland shareholders have 20 shares and one of the shareholders has 1,000 shares, it will requir e the company to have 50 shareholders with 20 shares so as to match the voting powers of one member with 1,000 shares (Worthington, 2007). B) Employees Employees refer to the workers in a company. They are directly associated with daily operations and therefore determine the output of the company. They can be categorized into different levels depending on the nature of the company. They include individual contributors, professionals, managers and senior technical professionals, directors and company presidents. In Wonderland, each employee fits in his place in the organization depending on the level of education and skill specialization. In order to effectively achieve the objectives of the company, managers have a duty of ensuring that work is well structured so as to avoid collision of employees. Similarly, it is important for the managers to communicate the vision of the company so that employees work collectively towards achieving this vision (Shukla, 2006). Interests of employees There are various interests that employees have in Wonderland. One of the most important ones is having their fundamental rights respected. These rights include the right to remuneration, right to associate with others, right to fair treatment, freedom from discrimination and freedom of expression, among others. Therefore, they will be productive if these rights are honored and if they feel that they are being respected. To achieve this, managers need to cultivate a working environment that will compel employees to give their best so as to achieve the objectives of the company (Shukla, 2006). Wonderland employees just like in any other company want to receive competitive pay. Competitive pay refers to the payment that is made to employees and that which commensurate with the employees skills, level of education and motivation in the work place. They expect a pay that is consistent with the market rates (Shukla, 2006). The companys employees also want to be given an opportunity to earn more. This is made possible by increasing their pay with time, paying them for overtime work and commissions where necessary. Another expectation of employees is regular review of their pay. This means that employees do not expect to stagnate in one pay scale. In addition, they need to be given a chance to participate in the decision making process as this will motivate them to work towards the enactment of these decisions (Shukla, 2006). Employee powers Employees have a great influence on the direction that a company takes. As highlighted above, managers, as the employees of Wonderland, are mandated to run the company. They therefore have powers to make decisions on the day to day running of the business. If these decisions are sound, the company stands to benefit. However, if they make misguided decisions, the performance of the company will deteriorate. It is the duty of Wonderlands human resources manager to hire junior employees to carry out middle and lower level activities of the company. If the human resources manager hires skilled and qualified people for this work, then the company will yield good results. However, if he hires under-qualified staff, Wonderland will not achieve its objectives (Shukla, 2006). The motivation of the employees in the company also plays a big role in the achievement of the company objectives. It is the duty of the employee to carry out the decisions made by the shareholders and the top management. A positively motivated workforce will carry out its duties with passion thereby enhancing the realization of the goals communicated to them. Negatively motivated employees on the other hand may affect the reputation of the company by producing poor quality commodities. It is therefore the duty of the company managers to cultivate a participative culture where an employee will be free to communicate his feelings about the company (Shukla, 2006). C) Customers Customers are the buyers of Wonderlands products. They are the end users of its product. They include the parents of children in pre-schools and primary schools. Throughout the manufacturing process, great care is taken so as to produce products that are competitive in the market and they that add value to the customer. It is important for the business to understand the behavior of its customers. Satisfied customers are pillars of any successful business. They also contribute to the reputation of the company if their needs are met as they desire. The customers determine the growth potential of a business (Akinnola 2011). Accordingly, every business manager who has the desire to generate income from the business must strive to ensure that the desires of the customers are met. Though customers are not included in the decision making process of the company, they play a big role in enhancing the achievement of the set business objectives. Interests of customers The interest of the customers in Wonderland is to maximize the utility derived out of the consumption of its products. They want the company to meet their needs in a way that creates value for their money. In order to fulfill this demand, the company must ensure that they first survey those needs before embarking on production. Through this, the company will be assured of ready market. However, companies that go ahead to make production without consulting from the customers risk market failure (Akinnola, 2011). Power of the customers Customers have a greater influence on the success of the company than any other stakeholder. It is a known fact that the profits of the company are out of the customers spending. If the spending by the customers is low, then the profitability of the company also declines and the opposite is true. The influence of the customers is so strong that managers must consult before making any decision affecting them (customers). In the toy industry, customers tastes play a big role. It is imperative for the Wonderland to carry out a research so as to understand the tastes of customers in different parts of the world. Cultural influences also affect the customers decision making process. As the companys products target different cultures, it is important to study these cultures so that the toys which will be produced meet the demands of these markets (Akinnola, 2011). D) Suppliers Suppliers are the firms and the individuals who deliver the resources that the company uses in the production of goods and services. Wonderland establishes specific suppliers so as to ensure consistency in the provision of the necessary resources. If resources are not supplied on time, production delays will be inevitable and consequently the customers will not receive finished goods on time. In establishing the relationship between the suppliers and the company, it is important to note that this relationship is based on value. Value in the sense that if the suppliers deliver quality resources, the end products will be of high quality and therefore goods delivered to customer will reflect value for his money. Interests of suppliers Suppliers are businessmen and therefore their main interest in the company is profits. The second interest of suppliers in the company is to secure a contract that will shield them in case the market fluctuates. Suppliers desire to be in business throughout the year. However, there are seasons when the prices go down making them to operate at a loss. Securing a contract to supply resources to the company means that the prices will not fluctuate and therefore the supplier will make profits all through. Powers of the suppliers Sometimes suppliers may join forces to dictate the terms of their supply to the company. This is especially in situations where suppliers are few and the buyers are concentrated. When the supplier has a strong brand name, he may have greater influence in the company than other factors. Nonetheless, mutual agreement between the supplier and the company is required to ensure that a sustainable relationship exists. To neutralize these powers, Wonderland can contract for its needed resources in advance so as to prevent the supplier from misbehaving as the market changes. Secondary Stakeholders A) The government The role of the government in Wonderland cannot be overlooked. Being an external stakeholder, it plays an important role in shaping the external environment within which the company operates. The roles of the government in the company are executed by a specially formulated agency that is answerable to the government. The main interest of the government in the company is to regulate its operations so as to ensure that consumers do not suffer loss as a result of business activities. The government therefore regulates the competitive practices, and the industry-specific practices. In addition to its regulatory roles, the government has powers over the Wonderland Company. It can revoke its license and subject it to legal actions in case its activities are not acceptable in the country where it operates (Enotes, 2011). B) The media Media plays an important role in Wonderlands growth. For example, the company will use media to reach out to the target customers. Media also creates a forum whereby the customers express their views about given company. The media can influence the image of the company among the customers and therefore influence their purchase decision. The company must therefore cultivate a positive relationship with the media so as to have a positive image in the face of its stakeholders. As far as Wonderland is concerned, efforts have been put in place and agreements achieved with Disney and childrens TV programme producers so that the company will use the character of these programs in designing toys and accessories (Liss, 2000). C) Competitors Competitors are other important stakeholders in the company. The presence of competitors in the industry help in improving the quality of products produced and services rendered. The interest of the competitors in a company is to learn its weaknesses and capitalize on them. There is competition for customers as well as market share. Our companys managers therefore need to be cautious when disclosing information about the company that can be used by the competitors to the disadvantage of the company, especially in a market where there are many competitors (Carlson 2004). It is important for our company to take a survey of the market so as to identify competitors, their weaknesses and strengths. In the toy market, Wonderland faces stiff competition from Mattel and Hasbro. Both have been in the market for many years and therefore offer stiff competition to Wonderland in its bid to capture the promising markets all over the world. In addition, the two companies have strong brand names be sides offering a variety of products targeting different customers. D) Lobby groups A lobby group refers to a collection of people who come together to advocate for certain interests that they feel are threatened by the decision made by the company leaders. In as much as lobbying affects the performance of the companies, it is one of the trusted means through which proper functioning of the businesses can be achieved. Environmental activists are examples of a lobby group that greatly influences the operations of Wonderland. With the issue of global warming taking priority, they seek to regulate the amount of carbon dioxide that the company releases in the process of modeling the toys. Their interest is to ensure that the operations of the company do not negatively affect the environment. Lobby groups have powers to influence the activities of the company. They can influence the consumers to boycott the products of the company. It is therefore imperative for the company to establish a positive relationship with the lobbyists so as to avoid instances of being accused for undertaking illegal activities (Hart, 2004). E) Local community When the company undertakes corporate social responsibility activities, its intention is to create a positive impact on the local people directly related to the company. In Wonderland, local communities are the people who surround the company. In case of harmful emissions from the company, the local community would be the first to receive the effects. Local communities offer the local infrastructure that the company needs in order to achieve its objectives. On the other hand, they expect the company to pay back by carrying out activities that do not adversely affect them. These stakeholders have powers to influence the company to either continue with its activities or to stop its operations. They are able to unite and stop the company from causing negative effects to the community (BusinessLink, nd). The Global Society Global society, in its most basic definition, refers to the society that is integrated together into a single community with improved levels of interaction. Global society is a consequence of the globalization process. Human beings are social by nature and would embrace any means that brings them close to each other. Courtesy of internet technology, people can communicate with other on the far side of the world just by a click of the mouse. Nonetheless, global society deals more with the individuals in the society than it does with the general society. It is the efforts of individuals that lead to the development of global society. The vision of the founders of Wonderland was to reach customers in all parts of the world. Globalization has speeded the achievement of this vision by facilitating prompt marketing and distribution of the company products. Generally speaking, global society has improved efficiency with which people in the society interact (Taylor Francis, 2011). Integrating the concept of global society into the operations of any business raises issues that are not consistent with the goals of the company. Some of these issues favor the accomplishment of the business objectives while others hinder this accomplishment. These issues include: Cultural differences Inequity in development Environmental degradation Human rights abuse Government structures 1) Cultural Differences Culture refers to a set of beliefs that a given group of people has adopted as their way of life. No culture is greater than the other and attempting to change peoples culture is an effort in futility. Founders of Wonderland decided to launch their operations in areas with a culture different from that of the companys home country so as to be more competitive and more profitable. They also wanted to outsource raw materials from other countries where the cost of acquiring those resources are lower than in the home country. (Smith Ethel, 2007). The most successful companies are those that have understood the cultural differences of target customers. These companies keep abreast of the importance of these differences and will research ways to fulfill customer needs without interfering with their cultures. Wonderland understands that people from different cultures might have different approaches to the same issues (Smith Ethel, 2007). 2) Inequity in Development This refers to the differences in the levels of development in different countries. It is measured both in economic and infrastructural terms. Inequity in development affects the running of international companies. Factor endowment contributes more to this inequality whereby companies that are endowed with more resources excel better than those with fewer resources. With development inequality being experienced in the global society, it is hard to achieve a fair play ground where all companies can compete favorably. Also, as a result of differences in the factors of production, massive movement of labor from one country to another is affecting the operations of the company. For this reason, a difference in Wonderlands prices is justifiable. In countries where cost of operation is low, our products are low and vice versa. In general, companies operating in the global environment are as competitive as their resources can allow (Taylor Francis, 2011). 3) Environment Degradation Environmental degradation is another issue that global society has brought. The issue of global warming is being addressed and measures being put in place to combat global warming. The Kyoto protocol of 1997 that sought to regulate the percentage of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from the industries is still in discussion with companies being forced to adhere to the restrictions imposed by this protocol. Wonderland therefore checks on its processes to avoid legal actions from being instituted against it. Notably, in the toy companies, modeling plastics releases smoke into the atmosphere. Being part of the global society, the company will take measures to ensure that it honors this requirement (Taylor Francis, 2011). 4) Human Rights Abuse When operating in a global society, it is possible to unknowingly promote the abuse of human rights. Much business is done via the internet without necessarily knowing the processes that take place at the other end. For example, a company may order a product online. The supplier will send the consignment to the buyer. Without proper research the buyer may not know how this product has been manufactured. The supplier may have used child labor, which is in contravention of basic human rights. Wonderland will ensure that it chooses suppliers that do not engage in such activities. 5) Government structures in a global society Another issue that Wonderland faces when operating in a global society is the difference in government structures. The structure of the local government where the company is located may be different from the structures of the other country. An example of this is where the local government embraces socialism economy and the foreign country embraces capitalism economy. Secondly, a government may be aristocratic while another one may be democratic. Operating in varying government structure may be difficult therefore companies will need to understand this from the outset (Taylor Francis, 2011). Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass | Summary Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass | Summary Frederick Douglass revolutionary novel, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; An American Slave, sent a seismic shock through American society, altered many peoples perception of the â€Å"peculiar institution†, and utilized a stylistic combination of flawless rhetoric and his poignant first-hand account of childhood shattered by slavery. Douglass childhood was marred by an all-encompassing sense of nothingness, he did not know his parentage, mother, age, or birthday; he felt inferior to white children, and lusted after the simple knowledge about themselves the whites regarded so casually. Through revealing specific details of his childhood experiences Douglass creates an emotional connection with his intended audience, Christian, white, Northerners, and by use of pathos, strengthens that bond with every paragraph. Douglass begins his haunting tale with one of the few cemented truths of his childhood; his birthplace. He was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland, to Harriet Bailey, an attractive slave woman with a dark complexion and light, loving demeanor. However, these small truths were overshadowed by dark, looming clouds of uncertainty, which posed more questions than it ever answered. A young Douglass was left confused; Who was his biological father? Why was he so cruelly separated from him mother? What was his true age? Was the master actually his Father? These questions pestered Douglass for years, and as the excerpt explains, he had no venue through which to glean the information. â€Å"I was not allowed to make any inquiries of my master†¦He deemed all such inquiries on the part of a slave improper and impertinent.† Douglass spent his childhood swathed in mystery, he never had the chance to enjoy the warmth of a mothers love, swathed, bundled, protected. Douglass accounts his separation from his mother for a variety of reasons; including an effort to solicit pathos from his readers, illustrate the magnitude of inhumanity bestowed upon slaves, and to appeal to white mothers, who would deem the action both barbaric and unforgiveable. Douglass reflects upon his mothers death with very little emotion, and states â€Å"She died when I was about seven years old, on one of my masters farms, near Lees Mill.† This quote exemplifies an understatement at its best; Douglass remarks upon his mothers death the way one talks about the weather, matter-of-fact and resigned. The casual way he speaks of his mothers absence in his life is directly conflicts with the sacred bond betweenmother and childset forth through countless books and artworks, such asLa Pieta.According to Douglass, separating a mother and child before twelve months was a common practice in Maryland, an action which most likely would have been deemed irreprehensible by sympath etic northerners. Douglass also tackles another large and unsolved topic; the mysterious identity of his father. Although Douglass is mostly uncertain of the details of childhood, one concrete fact remained a constant; his father was white. Douglass writes â€Å"The opinion was also whispered that my master was my father; but the correctness of this opinion, I know nothing†¦the means of knowing were withheld from me.† This quote is perhaps the most profound piece of the provided excerpt, not only did it add a new and puzzling aspect into the glimpse of Douglass childhood, but it also provided ammunition to enrage the pious, abolitionist, Northerners. Douglass rawappeal to emotionspeaks volumes, the scope of slavery knew no bounds, and bent the moral code of the 19thcentury to suit its depraved ways. Douglass non-existent father is introduced alongside the death of his mother, conjuring up feelings of sympathy and pity for Douglass among his intended audience. Douglass innocence was snatched away by the poisonous talons of slavery, leaving him vulnerable to the plights facing the adult world while still within the confines of childhood. By recollecting thetraumatic eventsof his early years he solicits a barrage of emotions from his intended audience, ensuring the success of his slave narrative. The death of his mother and hidden the identity of his father, Douglass paints a picture of heartache, loneliness, and uncertainty. In conclusion, Douglass detailed recollection of his past created pathos within his intended audience and undoubtedly opened the eyes of a plethora of ignorant Americans who simply believed slavery was a natural practice within Americas boundary lines.

The Causes of World War II Essay -- American History, World War Two, p

From the Treaty of Versailles, to the rise of Hitler, and the failure of the League of Nations, there were many causes that lead up to World War II. World War I left Germany with many shortfalls, thus leaving them in the hands of the Treaty of Versailles. Rather unfair of a Treaty, this left Germany once again looking for another way out. A country resented by many had no other choice but to feel optimistic toward Adolph Hitlers empty promises†¦ making it substantially simple for him to gain power so quick. Throw in the Great Depression, and you have a vastly unstable world, which the Germans believed Hitler would lead them out of. After World War One, Germany was thrown into downward spiral. They were left with a monstrous amount of unemployed people, and they were still unhappy about being the scapegoat of World War One, thus according to the Treaty of Versailles. Looking for a way to rebuild, Hitler came in at a perfect time. Adolph Hitler made them many promises, ensuring them that in believing in him, Germany would be great once again. One of his many promises was that he would stimulate employment. To do this, he promised that he would employ the unemployed, by giving them jobs building roads, stadiums, etc. Hitler promised the middle class he would reinstate small business profits, and communist threat. He also promises farmers the reimbursement for their losses during the Great Depression, by raising the prices of their produce. Another one of Hitlers many promises was that he would destroy the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles basically blamed Germany for everything, stating that Germany accepted the guilt in causing the war. Germany signed under protest. It stated that Germany was to pay for the reparat... ... They weren't allowed any more than 100,000 men in their army, they were only entitled to keep six battleships, they were not to create and kind of powerful aircraft. The Germans believed this was only to keep them weak. Enter Hitler, and his obliterating the Treaty of Versailles. He led Germany in rearming in 1933, and Hitler proclaimed they would be ready for war by 1940. Hitler basically destroyed the Treaty of Versailles by 1939, and thus World War II began with the invasion of Poland. All in all, there were many events and a vast amount of problems that ignited World War II. It's amazing how so many different aspects can all snowball into having the same motive of causing a world war. With so many powerful individuals all wanting something different (peace, power), it was just a recipe for disaster. Evidently, a nation under stress isn't a sound nation at all.

Root Causes of Financial Crisis in the 1990s

Introduction The objective of this paper is to discuss the root causes of financial crisis in the 1990s. In this light, the paper has identified financial liberalisations that occurred in the late 1980s as a principal cause of crisis in the 1990s. The paper begins by presenting a discussion of financial liberalisation in section 2 below and then focuses on how it resulted in financial crisis in the 1990s. The paper employs the East Asian Financial Crisis as a case study and provides a discussion of how financial liberalisation contributed to the crisis 1997/1998 in section 2; while section 3 provides general conclusions and recommendations of the paper. Financial Liberalisation and the East Asian Financial Crisis One of the main causes of financial crisis in the 1990s was financial liberalisation which facilitated the flow of capital across borders. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, most developed and developing economies liberalised their financial systems and removed a number of regulations regarding the movement of funds. In particular many countries eliminated restrictions on foreign exchange movement thus increasing the flow of cross-border capital. One major crisis that occurred during the 1990s was the Asian Financial Crisis. This crisis has been linked directly to an increase in cross-border capital flows which resulted to currency crisis across the East Asian Countries that were involved in the crisis. Most of the countries involved in the crisis witnessed depreciation in their currencies which in turn led to major crisis across all the countries involved. Thailand was facing competition for its exports which led to a decline in its export sales. One of the reasons for Thailand†™s export declines was as a result of the devaluation of the Chinese Yuan in 1994 (Pathan et al., 2008). Rising export competition Thailand forced many businesses to shift from manufacturing to the real estate. Banks began providing loans to home buyers to facilitate real estate investments. A banking facility – The Bangkok International Banking Facility (BIBF) offered funds to both local and foreign borrowers thus facilitating their real estate investments (Pathan et al., 2008; Bisgnano, 1999). In the early 1990s, the East Asian countries were witnessing significant economic growth. As a result, these economies maintained huge current account deficits (Bird and Rajan, 2000). As a result, large inflows of capital and a depreciation of international reserves were required to reduce finance the deficits (Bird and Rajan, 2000). During This period, many East Asian economies also made significant efforts to liberalise their domestic financial systems as well as the capital account balance of payments. The establishment of the BIBF in Bankgok is a typical example of how domestic liberalisation facilitated the attraction of foreign capital. It enabled domestic banks to accept foreign-currency-denominated loans and deposits from foreign investors. These loans were later used to offer loans to the domestic market. This process led many local firms to increase their leverage thus increasing their financial risk. Net capital inflows for all countries in the region were positive and most often than not exceeded the current account deposit. In addition, international reserves were significantly high (The World Bank, 2000). Capital inflows were significantly high in Malaysia and Thailand. These countries were classified among the top ten emerging market economies to received net private capital flows during the period under study (Lopez-Mejia, 1999). A significant portion of the loans were made in foreign currency. This strategy increased the gearing of many foreign and local borrowers. The huge influx of capital combined with high current account and trade deficits in the first half of the 1990s resulted in the massive decline in the value of the currencies of the region, which eventually transformed into the financial and economic crisis of 1997 and 1998. Moreover, most of the countries involved in the crisis were operating a semi-pegged exchange rate regime, which also contributed to the currency crisis. Significant movements in the Thai Bhat meant that the currency could no longer sustain its value. the currency was forced to crash in 1997. On the 2nd of July 1997, the Thai Bhat was allowed to float freely and its value fell tremendously against other currencies (Joosten, 2004; Pathan et al., 2008). Despite the introduction of foreign exchange controls as well as large spot and forward interventions by the government and Central bank, the magnitude of the disaster on the currency was so high that these measures could not stop it. As a result, the devaluation of the Thai Bhat on the 2nd of July 1997 marked the onset of the East Asian Financial Crisis (Joosten, 2004; Li and Kwok, 2008). The currency crisis in Thailand was transmitted to five other East Asian economies. As explained earlier, the main cause of the crisis was the liberalization of the financial system which led to large cross border movements in foreign currency. The large movement in the East Asian currencies led to the ir depreciation which eventually led to the crisis. Singapore has often tried to compare itself to London as a major financial Centre. Consequently, U.S financial institutions often used it as a safe haven for depositing toxic assets. Given the liberalised nature of global financial markets, Singapore attracted a lot of toxic assets from the U.S which also helped in fuelling the crisis in Singapore (Lim and Maru, 2010). In Indonesia, the channel taken by the crisis was somewhat different from those of other countries like Korea and Thailand (Joosten, 2004). The Central Bank (Bank of Indonesia) increasing became concerned about an economy that was operating above full employment and decided to take measures that would slow down the economy to ensure that it return to full employment. The Central bank however, lacked the tools required to reduce aggregate demand. This is because it became concerned that if interest rates were increased, more foreign capital would flow into the economy a situation that would result to a currency crisis. Lack of an appropriate monetary policy tool meant that the Central Bank was unable to prevent an imminent crisis. Like Indonesia, Malaysia’s economy was operating beyond full employment. During the year 1995, the country witnessed an increase in public investment. The money was spent mainly on large infrastructure projects (Joosten, 2004). By the end of 1996, the count, Malaysia witnessed a decline in its current account deficit and the concerns over capacity overutilization were reduced. However, given increasing concerns over the ability of other East Asian countries as good investment environments, investors began to perceive Malaysia as a safe haven. Consequently, the country witnessed a huge influx of foreign capital which resulted in an increase in bank lending that in turn fuelled an asset boom. The influx in capital led to an increase in the country’s current account deficit over the period 1992-1995 as wel as declining exports. Huge current account deficits combined with trade deficits, the local currency could no longer sustain its value. This means that Malaysia could n ot escape the crisis either. The Philipines also had a sound economy when compared to other East Asian economies. The country operated at low levels of foreign debt and showed no immediate risk of a crisis. However, an influx in foreign capital soon fuelled a rapid lending boom that was mainly used in the financing of risky investments and as such the country began facing difficulties (Joosten, 2004). Table 1: Current Account (% of GDP). YearIndonesiaMalaysiaPhilippinesRepublic of KoreaThailand 1992-2.0-3.7-1.6-1.3-5.5 1993-1.3-4.6-5.50.3-4.9 1994-1.6-7.6-4.6-1.0-5.4 1995-3.2-9.8-4.4-1.7-7.9 1996-3.4-4.4-4.8-4.4-7.9 Source: (Joosten, 2004). Table 1 above illustrates the current account as a percentage of GDP for the East Asian Economies that were involved in the crisis over the period 1992 to 1995. It can be observed that all five countries exhibited a negative current account indicating that they operated current account deficits throughout the five year period leading up to the crisis. Korea however had a positive figure of 0.3% in the year 1993. Thailand showed the worst economic performance as evidenced by its largest current account deficit which kept widening with time. Conclusions and Recommendations The objective of this paper was to identify the root causes of financial crisis in the 1990s. Using the East Asian Financial Crisis as a case study, the paper concludes that one of the major causes of financial crisis in the 1990s was financial liberalization. Financial liberalization facilitated the movement of capital across borders. The East Asian Economies liberalized their financial systems thereby allowing a huge influx of foreign capital. Given that most of these countries suffered trade deficits, the capital was spent mainly on infrastructural development which means that enough returns could not be realized to cover the current account deficits. As such the current account deficits had to be financed with international reserves. This resulted in a currency crisis across the region which eventually led to the financial crisis in 1997 and 1998. One of the main lessens that can be learnt from this crisis is that countries with huge current account deficits should not attract fo reign capital if they are also operating trade deficits. This is because most of the foreign capital is used to finance unprofitable projects that cannot generate enough cash flows to offset the current account deficit. This increases the financial risks of both the private and public sector, which eventually result in a financial crisis. References Bird, G. and Rajan, R. S. (2000) â€Å"BANKS, FINANCIAL LIBERALISATION AND FINANCIAL CRISES IN EMERGING MARKETS†, available online at: http://www.freewebs.com/rrajan01/liberalfull.pdf , accessed: [8th January, 2012]. Bisgnano J. (1999). Precarious Credit Equilibria: Reflections On The Asian Financial Crisis. BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS Monetary and Economic Department Basle, Switzerland Working Papers. Joosten W. (2004). The Asian Financial Crisis in Retrospect. What HappenedWhat Can we concludeCPB Memorandum. CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis. Li, K., Kwok m. (2008). Output volatility of five crisis-affected East Asia economies Japan and the World Economy, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 24 April 2008. Lopez-Mejia, A. (1999), â€Å"Large Capital Flows: A Survey of the Causes, Consequences, and Policy Responses†, Working Paper 99/17, IMF. Mahui, M. N., Maru, J. (2010), â€Å"Financial Liberalisation and the Impact of the Financial Crisis on Singapore†, Third World Network 131 Jalan Macalister, 10400 Penang, Malaysia. Pathan, S., Skully, M. & Wickramanayake, J. (2008) Reforms in Thai bank governance: the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, International Review of Financial Analysis, 17 (2), 345-362. World Bank (2000), East Asia: Recovery and Beyond, New York: Oxford University Press.

Analysis of the Possible Effects of the Caste System

In this modern day and age, many countries are moving towards globalization. With the current changes and improvement in technology, people easily share and exchange goods, products and services for economic and social development. A lot of opportunities are given to many people so they can take part in globalization and uplift their living. However, there are still countries that seem to lag behind because of their internal problems in regards to inequalities. India with regards to its present global profile is seen to be one of the rising economic powers in the world.In spite of its vast supply of labor especially the skilled workers, this country still remain a low-income one and poverty is still a big issue. This said problem is considered a result of its caste system. The Caste system divides people of India into four groups. This system decides for Indian people what they should do for living for their entire life. The Caste system did help the Indian society to be structured a nd organized. However, the system in the modern days was only an obstacle for India. It is considered as one of the most dehumanizing systems the world.The caste system is making a big gap between the rich and the poor. The extent of and trends in inequalities and poverty in India affects global trends because of its large population size and majority of its population fall under the poverty line. Due to globalization with the mass improvement of transportation and communication, nations are competing against other nations of the entire world. In a modern society, where time and resource are truly valued, the Caste system has held back India by wasting some incredibly talented individuals of lower caste.This system has made the poor suffer most. They were stripped of an opportunity to learn and be employed on bigger companies. This said situation has further led to the marginalization of the already marginalized people. With the growth of India’s gross national product, still the labor force in agriculture remains too high while those in the manufacturing sector are low. There is no doubt that a striking feature of India’s growth performance in the past years has been the growth of the services sector like IT, software and BPO industries.There is no doubt that India has employed millions of people for this industry but as impressive as the figure seems, it is too small if they are seen against the overall size of the country’s labor force. Employment is the service sector still lags behind. Additionally, employment is only concentrated in a few large cities and very few people from the rural and poor area find jobs in this sector because they lack the required skills. In other countries, the service sector tends to gain a larger share of employment.The rising of globalization has made people move from one place to another easily. Also education has also helped people disregard gender and social inequalities. If India would remain strict on recognizing the caste system, it will pose a threat for them in the future. The world is one, and how a nation deals with its immigrants is really important for the future of the nation. Many people now are intolerant to inequalities and discrimination. Therefore, India may be losing investors or possible capitalists just because of the system.The Caste system cannot make India a stable country anymore, since there is no spot in the system for immigrants to India. India should not lose what it was built for and based on. However, they should be really careful. The caste system may give birth to possible social unrest that may dismay or discourage other people to go to their country. This social blindness can be cured only when there is the realization that all people are created equal and have equal intrinsic value and worth.

The Best Way to Write an Outline for a Compare and Contrast Essay

The Best Way to Write an Outline for a Compare and Contrast Essay The Best Way to Write an Outline for a Compare and Contrast Essay Nowadays written assignments are an important part of everyday life not depending whether you are a student or a professional writer. That is why being able to complete a great essay not only influences your grades but also your salary and professional success. An essay is the most common written assignment, which aims to research, analyze and evaluate a certain issue or matter. Depending on the type of skills a tutor wants to check, there are multiple essay types: argumentative, narrative, compare and contrast essays, and much more. Not depending on the type of essay you are going to complete, half of the success depends on its proper structure or an outline. That is why we have created this article and gathered all the necessary information you need to know on an essay outline. Outline of a compare and contrast essay As you understand from its name, a compare and contrast essay is a paper, which compares and contrasts certain subjects, matters or even events. Aims of this task include: To show that one matter is better than another; To describe misunderstandings; To provide a fresh outlook on the subject; To give the reader information on a certain topic; To work with credible and scholarly sources, and provide arguments on the topic. Depending on your goals, subjects and aspirations, there are two methods to create a proper outline for your paper. Organizing by criteria This pattern is also known as a point-by-point method and is used to complete an outline, when the items you compare are alike or when you need to evaluate only a couple of points. Here is a regular pattern, which is used to create a point-by-point outline: Here you should provide a thesis statement and introduce the reader to the matters that will be compared; Paragraphs, for example 1,2 and 3. Always start with a topic sentence and then write details to support your idea, argument or fact. Every paragraph should have its own topic sentence; Summarize thoughts, presented in the paper and write why your comparison and contrast are important. If possible, make prognosis for the future. Organizing by items This type of outline organization is sometimes called a block method and is applied, when described issues are completely different or you have a big number of criteria to discuss. In such cases a point-by-point method doesn’t work at all and can be considered absolutely ineffective. The main aim of such a method is to make the paper readable, so here is how an outline of such compare and contrast essay looks like: As usual, you need to give a general look at the subject and provide a thesis statement; Their number may differ depending on the quantity of arguments you need to discuss. Each paragraph should start with an item and continue with a number of points this item consists of; Give a summary of your topic and make predictions for the future, explaining how your comparison or contrast may influence the industry. Another way of structuring an essay, using the block method, is to make two separate paragraphs: one for comparison and one of contrasts. Once you have chosen a pattern to use, you can start with completing the essay. Introduction Introduction section is usually the same, not depending whether you are writing a descriptive or a compare and contrast essay.   In this section, you need to give the reader an overall idea of your paper and discussed matters. Try to introduce the audience to the items, events or definitions you are going to compare and contrast. Here are the features of an introduction section: Always start with the hook. It will intrigue the reader and will make him go on reading. Depending on the subject, it can be a joke, a quote or a question you are going to examine; Write down the subjects you are going to compare and contrast. It won’t sound right if you simply start describing similarities and differences of the subjects, so it is necessary to give their general definition and your motives; Complete a thesis statement. You need to close your introduction with a sentence or two on the main aim of the whole paper. Be brief and give only relevant information on the topic, without watery and meaningless texts. Once your introduction is ready, you can start working on body paragraphs. Body paragraphs There are no restrictions on how many paragraphs your main section should contain. Everything depends on the quantity of issues and points you want to discuss in your essay. For example, two criteria will require two paragraphs, three criteria – three, and so on.   In some cases, you will be given a certain amount of such issues to discuss but most of the times you will need to choose them yourself depending on the main goal of your essay. If you don’t know how many criteria to include, just take a blank piece of paper and write down all the similarities and differences of the issue. Then choose those, which you want to discuss. However, you should limit such items to maximum three or four not to bore the reader and to be able to concentrate on a specific topic. Here are the questions, which may help you to decide which criteria are important for your work and which are not necessary at all: Does it have anything to do with the subject I am studying? What matters am I given? What will make my essay interesting and useful? What is relevant to my course? Not depending on the issue you are studying, you need to start every body paragraph with a topic sentence. It aims to give a reader information on the thing, matter or event you want to compare or contrast. Then you need to give all the details on your research, backing with relevant information and all the necessary data. Remember that every issue you compare and contrast, should not only contain your personal opinion but also be backed with academic papers, researches and various credible sources. Moreover, you should always stay objective and give a side-glance on all the similarities and differences of the subject. It is not right to give the reader a chance to understand what side you are on. In addition, it will be useful to add connections to the text to make it smooth and readable. For example: Likewise, both, thus, nevertheless, compared to, same as, as well as, however, in contrast and so on. Conclusions When you have completed an introductory section and body paragraphs, you will find it quite simple to complete your conclusions, as you already know what to write about. However, there are still some secrets you need to keep in mind: Summarize key points. Start your conclusions with rephrasing all the key points you have learned throughout your essay. They need to correspond with your body paragraphs; Give an evaluation. It is important to make predictions and analyze what you have learned. You can also provide different solutions depending on the topic you choose; Importance of the research. It is necessary not only to explain why your topic is important but also to give the reader a chance to see why a compare and contrast essay gives a full understanding of your topic. When writing is completed Take a deep breath and congratulate yourself with completing such a difficult assignment. However, don’t rush to your tutor to deliver it, as there are a few things you need to do before submitting it. Spend some time on editing and proofreading your essay to make sure it has no mistakes or unnecessary parts. Some students think that typos are not important and neglect this important stage, willing to save time. However, the reader will easily distract from your essay, when seeing mistakes in the text and it may result in lower grades. Read your essay over and over again to make sure there are no grammar or lexical mistakes in the text. You can feel the temptation of downloading a software to check your mistakes or do it online but it will do you no good, because such programs don’t have a critical approach. Yes, you can use them as the first step but afterwards you need to check everything yourself. A great solution is to ask your relatives or friends to read your compare and contrast essay to see whether there are some mistakes left. Finally, complete references if you have forgotten about them and submit the essay to your professor! Closing thoughts A compare and contrast essay is more than just a paper, which aims to evaluate a certain subject. Here you need to analyze two different items, events or matters and back everything with credible data. We hope that our article helped you to understand how to complete such a difficult task and you won’t experience any difficulties, when completing it. Just follow our guidelines step by step and you will definitely write an outstanding compare and contrast essay.

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The Life and Studies of WEB Du Bios essays The Life and Studies of W.E.B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois entered the world on February 23, 1868. This was less than three years after slavery was outlawed. However, his family had been out of slavery for several generations. He was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, a small village with only a handful of black families. His teachers quickly made him a favorite, and most of his playmates were white. At the age of fifteen he became a local correspondent for the New York Globe. Du Bois moved to Nashville, Tennessee where he received a scholarship and attended Fisk University. This was the first time that he discovered that being black was a big part of his identity. He spent his summers in Tennessee teaching in rural schools. It was there that he met "the real seat of slavery." He had never seen such poverty in his entire life. "I touched intimately the lives of the commonest of mankindpeople who ranged from barefooted dwellers on dirt floors, with patched rags for clothes, to rough hard-worki ng farmers, with plain clean plenty." (Hamilton, Her Stories). Unlike Massachusetts, Nashville was a southern town that exposed Du Bois to the everyday bigotry he had escaped growing up. While he was there he came in contact with some people that did not think of him as a normal human being. There is a story of one woman that called him a nigger after she accidentally bumped into her. By the end of his college years Du Bois had begun to take pride in his heritage. Du Bois graduated from Fisk and entered Harvard where he received his A.B., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. He was the first African-American to receive a doctorate from that university. He also spent two years studying at the University of Berlin, which was at the time the world's most distinguished center for advanced research in history. His doctoral dissertation was a study of the efforts to suppress the African slave trade. He accepted a position teac...

History Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

History Project - Essay Example Prevalence of Childhood Obesity Childhood obesity and overweight children are characterized as â€Å"epidemic in North America and internationaly† (Deckelbaum & Williams, 2001, p. 239). The number of children satisfying the definition of obesity has increased significantly. For example, information released from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that in the US the number of obese children between ages 6 and 19 increased from 4-5% in 1963-1970 to 15% in 1999-2000 (Korbonits, 2008). The CDC (2012) reports that 17% or 12.5 million children and adolescents in the US between the ages of 2 and 19 â€Å"are obese.† In addition, the numbers of obese children in the US have tripled since the 1980s. Childhood obesity differs according to ethnic and racial distinctions. For example, between 2007 and 2008, data suggested that Hispanic boys between the ages of 2 and 19 were far â€Å"more likely to be obese than non-Hispanic white boys† (CDC, 2012 ). The data from 2007-2008 also revealed that non-Hispanic black girls were far more â€Å"likely to be obese than non-Hispanic white girls† (CDC, 2012). The CDC (n.d.) reports that 1 out of every 3 children are either obese or overweight before attaining the age of 5. Moreover, approximately 3.7 million or 1/3 of children from low-income families between ages 2 and 4 were either overweight or obese (CDC, n.d.). Childhood obesity is therefore prevalent in the US. Causes of Childhood Obesity According to Korbonits (2008) only between 1 and 2 percent of obese children suffer obesity as a result of an inherited gene. Obesity in children for the most part is more frequently caused by a number of interacting factors that â€Å"increase food intake and decrease energy expenditure† (Korbonits, 2008, p. 88). According to Davies, Fitzgerald and Mousouli (2007) both the quality and availability of food has changed during the latter parts of the 1900s to the extent that both food and drinks are dense in energy, come in larger portions, marketing of food and drinks has intensified and more and more Americans eat away from the home. Urbanization has also contributed to the propensity for obesity as walking in cities has been characterized as too dangerous (Davies, et. al., 2007). People in general have become more sedentary and as a result there is far less physical activities (Davies, et. al., 2007). Eating and lifestyle patterns and choices are typically cultural in nature in that children often inherit these choices and patterns within their respective cultures. Thus cultural influences help to explain why Hispanic boys and black girls in the US are more likely to be obese (Sundquist & Winkleby, 2000). Feeding habits beginning in infancy is said to be linked to the development of childhood obesity (Harder, Bergmann, Kallischnigg & Plagemann, 2005). A lack of physical activity is also linked to childhood obesity. In fact, Kimm, Glynn, Obarzaneck and Kriska (2005) reports that individuals who are more active are more able to effectively control their weight by developing muscles and decreasing body fat. However, children today tend to reduce the level of physical activities by the time they start high school (Kimm et. al., 2005). Health Risk Factors Attributed to Obesity Roberts and Hoffman (2008) reported that childhood obesity is associated with academic underperformance, psychological and physical health problems

Identity Theft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Identity Theft - Essay Example This is the first step in maintaining a secured computer system. Having an open connection to the Internet simply invites trouble. What Dr. Palmer suggest, and most companies to date follow is making sure computers on both sides have a secure tunnel or VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection that can only be initiated from a specific computer with specific programs to negotiate the connection. Without these programs in place, it is much more difficult to breach the system.Other types of breaches can occur as well. There are also instances of backup tapes being misplaced, stolen or even sold by employees. Laptops being left in cabs with confidential information on them, even though company policy forbids it and many other areas of concern. Non-profit consumer rights and advocacy organization have begun to track these breaches. The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has data since 2005 tracking various types of security breaches. A very brief sampling compilation can be found in Appendix I of the hundreds of breaches affecting up to possible 234 million data records during that time period.One such data breach was discovered in Louisiana by a student googling the internet. The Company tried to keep it under wraps but the story was picked up by a local Television station there, WDSU. Aaron Titus, a law school student and privacy advocate, said he found the open door to the Board of Regents internal network using Google. Not only did he find the database of student names.

International business management Strategic Information Management Essay

International business management Strategic Information Management - Essay Example SIM is important because information tends to become vague and complicated and very often it can be Organisational Activity can demonstrate a lack of quality in the information.2 A Strategic Information System (SIS) aligns itself with the management strategy and the structure of a Firm and allows the timely response to changes recurring in the business environment and competition issues.3 Wiseman (1985) has defined the strategic information system (SIS) as, "The information system to support or change enterprise's strategy."4 The general perspective of Information management involves a reference to the management of any kind of information .This may involve document management, electronic document management records management, document imaging, process automation and digital asset management.(Wiseman 1985) Historically information management was subject to the nuances of bureaucratic procedures and had a limited role in management decisions.(Galliers 1991).The potential of profit by information management systems has only emerged in the recent decades and the modern businesses view information as a weapon against competition and a strategic resource. (Galliers 1991).The former attitude changed radically in the mid-sixties when organisations started viewing information as a tool for general management support. Until the decade of the eighties however information management was limited to weekly financial and management reporting and accounts of inventory and arrears.(Galliers 1991) During the early nineties these information systems emerged as serving a special purpose. At this point information systems like decision-support systems (DSS)5 and executive support systems (ESS)6 became popular with the main aim of support and the fast expedition of the decision-making process of organisations (managers and executives). (Swatman 1995). Prominent examples of Strategic information systems have included the use of SABRE and APOLLO by the US Airlines in the past for the increase in travel bookings of these Carriers by making sure their names appeared on the first screens of the travel agents.7 In the recent times Information has emerged as a strategic resource to gain competitive advantage, as well as to defeat and frustrate the competition. (Porter 1985).An important example quoted by Porter (1985) of information management is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 the philosophy behind which was to manage information by requiring federal government agencies to develop an information resource officer's role. Such systems being an integral part of SIM ensure the organisations survival in the fast track corporate world. Porter(1985) has also identified a value chain model to help identify problem areas in information systems in order to supply a strategic advantage. Porter (1980) has also identified the competitive forces model which describes a number of external threats and opportunities which can be countered by competitive strategies. See below for a model diagram of both these concepts. The potential of information systems is immense as it can be developed to not only defeat rivals but also to counter the pressure from competing substitutes and an

Tracing Internet Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Tracing Internet Communications - Essay Example long time without logging in to their account, the site requires them to verify their account using a particular code or personalized information required. Once logged in, the second step is tracing. This involves tracing the communication to the first email received from a particular person. Since there is a display of the name of the sender, it is possible to navigate through the inbox through their names to find the messages from that particular sender. To trace this communication, one clicks on â€Å"inbox†, which reveals all the received messages from all people. If there are more messages than the window can display, one has to click â€Å"next† to view other emails in the inbox. After reading the first message, one then has to check on the â€Å"sent† emails in order to read the communication. By repeating this process, it is possible to retrieve all the emails sent or received. This is not an easy process, as one has to navigate through many messages in both the â€Å"inbox† or â€Å"sent† items, which is tedious and cumbersome. However, by searching the name of the sender from the search tab on the email account, it makes it easy to trace the communication, as it simplifies the search to all the messages, either sent or received. It is therefore easy to track down communication this way. Although it is an easy process, it becomes tedious as one has to keep on searching the sender’s name ever now and

College app essay answers Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

College app answers - Essay Example and, this was a simple and petite job; however, this internship allowed me to understand the different operations and processes of office administration, which enhanced my knowledge in an efficient manner. Moreover, I had the opportunity to interact with people from diverse backgrounds. Despite of different cultural and social backgrounds, people were working in different ways; however, for one single objective. This cultural and social diversity enhanced my personality traits that will facilitate me in improving socially, as well as, intellectually in a creative manner. During my sophomore and junior years of high school, students from different cultural and social backgrounds were part of our class, and I had the opportunity to coordinate and interrelate with them during different activities of school. Such interaction allowed me to understand that different individuals are developed in diverse backgrounds, and therefore, have varied personality traits. For instance, family and interrelationships play a significant role; however, some individuals gave significance to individualism. In other words, my stay at high school developed me in such a way that I may be able to consider individuals with respect to their culture, social, and intellectual capacities. I gained respect for cultural and social differences from one of our classmates who was from El Salvador. He represented a non-English native country, which resulted in his inefficiency in spoken English. However, he was good, and even best in some other capacities, such as education, sports, etc . In specific, he was considered the best player of our soccer team. Even though he was incapable of grasping English language, he tried his best to coordinate with us in a usual manner like our other classmates. The language barrier was not able to frustrate him at all, which was one of the major reasons that even after such difficulties, he was not infuriated and irritated, which resulted in my respect for cultural

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Tracing Internet Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Tracing Internet Communications - Essay Example long time without logging in to their account, the site requires them to verify their account using a particular code or personalized information required. Once logged in, the second step is tracing. This involves tracing the communication to the first email received from a particular person. Since there is a display of the name of the sender, it is possible to navigate through the inbox through their names to find the messages from that particular sender. To trace this communication, one clicks on â€Å"inbox†, which reveals all the received messages from all people. If there are more messages than the window can display, one has to click â€Å"next† to view other emails in the inbox. After reading the first message, one then has to check on the â€Å"sent† emails in order to read the communication. By repeating this process, it is possible to retrieve all the emails sent or received. This is not an easy process, as one has to navigate through many messages in both the â€Å"inbox† or â€Å"sent† items, which is tedious and cumbersome. However, by searching the name of the sender from the search tab on the email account, it makes it easy to trace the communication, as it simplifies the search to all the messages, either sent or received. It is therefore easy to track down communication this way. Although it is an easy process, it becomes tedious as one has to keep on searching the sender’s name ever now and

StockTrak Investment Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

StockTrak Investment Strategy - Assignment Example The fund goals operate differently. While a growth fund focuses on specializing in an investment that promises to improve in value with time, income funds chose investments that promise to generate revenue (Fidelity). The growth term is, however, more attractive. The above mentioned is an investment strategy whose ground is based on the prediction that investments that are long-term. Are clinched through avoidance of incurring significant losses while working on accumulating reasonable gains (Weil). Therefore, the fund manager strives to stimulate upside returns and, on the other hand, reduce on downside exposures. Making losses is a significant lead to failure in investments. Therefore, this approach is tailor made to limit any possibilities of investment failures. Investing 57% of the total funds in equity shares and the rest percentage in bonds would be a strategic move. After that, making additional investments of 18 equity shares through purchases and sales of shares for different companies would increase chances of meeting the objective. Purchasing shares is results to a long position while selling them is a short position. Observing the stock trend allows for making analyzed decisions in buying and selling the shares. In case there are higher chances of the lowering in prices, then a short position is more appropriate but if the prices increase, a long position is better. Since the company here is looking into investing in varying business firms, bonds and shares, a top-down approach would be the best. The approach mitigates the associated risks of making losses. In addition, the approach facilitates the analyzing of the best company in which to

Police Brutality Essay Example for Free

Police Brutality Essay Police work is dangerous. Sometimes police put in situations that excessive force is needed. But, because some officers use these extreme measures in situations when it is not, police brutality should be addressed. The use of excessive force may or may not be large problem, but it should be looked into by both the police and the public. For those people who feel racism is not a factor in causing the use of excessive force, here is a fact. In Tampa Bay, Florida five men died while in the custody of the Tampa Bay police department. The thing is the Tampa Bay Police Department is made up of mostly white officers, but of the five men who died none where white. Four of the five men that died were African Americans, and the other man was a Mexican. If the incident in Tampa Bay does not show person racism, this event might. In New York City, an average of seven Latin Americans were killed a year between 1986 to 1989, but in 1990, that number increased. In that year, twenty-three Latin Americans were killed by police gunfire. Police brutality is involving the unnecessary and unjustified use of force that is either physical or verbal. Other than the police stopping brutality, the use of review boards can be used. These boards must be able to receive all the evidence in a case, including the police audio tapes, in order to make fair judgment if excessive force was used or not. If excessive force is present in cases, these review boards must be able to punish the police or they are almost useless. Whether or not a person believes police brutality is a serious problem, it must be stopped. In some cases, where more force is needed than in others, it is still there. Even in areas where police and the use of excessive force is not a huge problem, it must be decreased by both the police and the public. Finally, there needs to be rules making sure that this never happens again.

Market analysis of Stratsim management simulations

Market analysis of Stratsim management simulations StratSim management simulations are on-line games pioneered by Michael Deighan and Stuart W.James from Virginia USA aimed at giving students a wider exposure in the real world business arena. The initiators perceived students to view the simulations as a unique learning event where the knowledge gained so far within the academic years could be now made into practices. Quintessentially, apart from being a learning experience it was anticipated to bring a challenge to both managers and executives. According to the case, This is far easier to say than to achieve. 1.1. Industry Overview StratSim management simulation was a game-like, all about different firms operating in an automobile industry whose managers compete to the maximum by setting goals and objectives that are intended to outwit its immediate and within industry competitors. The managers used efforts to the best of their abilities so as to ensure right decisions are put forward just to earn superb profits due to greater sales ascribed by the management. Altogether, throughout the simulations there had been a total number of seven (7) firms ranging from firms A, B, C, D, E, F A and G. The initial alphabets of each firm meant that its respective vehicles began with either of them from A until G. All these firms had a similar starting point to commence its operations including funds. Among the firms, the best one was to be judged on performance bases mainly in terms of market share, market value, income generated as well as efficiency in playing with the marketing tools i.e. marketing mix (4 Ps). 1.2. Firms Overview Firm F was a group formed by four members who are Raya Nassor, Sarah Alley, Shahista Hasmani and I, the author of this report. Firm F comprised of three (3) vehicles which were Fantasy, Fast and Fish while their classes were Family, Truck and Economy respectively. I worked hand-in-hand with my colleagues in making the best decisions for our firms survival in an ocean of high waves of competition. The firms utmost intention was to position itself as a market leader by entering new markets and meeting the needs and desires of customers through vehicle attributes. However, there was a class which wasnt served by almost all the rival firms. It was known as AEV which must be addressed as technology modern with integrated marketing efforts. As far as Firm F is concerned, my colleagues and I decided not to opt for it as our firm was keen enough on cost minimisation and not spendthrifts of resources. 2.0. Mission and Vision Mission Statement Mission statement aims to provide employees and stakeholders with clarity about the overall purpose and raison dà ªtre of the organisation. (Johnson et al 2009, p.112) According to Peter Drucker (father of modern management), what is our business? is all about its mission. It is also known as creed of statement. Firm Fs statement of purpose could be: To address different consumer segments desires through value creation with respect to their financial capability when it comes to automobiles and eventually ending-up with immense profits generated from sales. Vision Statement A vision statement is concerned with what the organisation aspires to be. Its purpose is to set out a view of the future so as to enthuse, gain commitment and stretch performance. (Johnson et al 2009, p.112) Therefore, firm Fs dream is as follows: To be a company of the people, for the people and by the people in the automobile industry. 3.0. External and Internal Analysis These are the frameworks used to carry out an analysis of an organisations progress by examining two major extremes, the inner (internal) as well as the outer (external) environments. 3.1. PESTEL The PESTEL framework categorises environmental influences into six main types: political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal. (Johnson et al 2009, p.25) The external environment is much more complex than internal because the earlier could exert enormous pressure to firm F to the extent of determining its ways to carry on its operations. Now let me examine all the six factors while reflecting firm F. Political This refers to the roles played by the government together with the degree of countries stability which will influence production of the motor vehicles for firm F to move on or lag behind. Also, this factor will determine whether the firm is undermined by a particular set of restrictions in its business such as not manufacturing vehicles which are similar to those possessed by the government. Throughout my analysis, all the firms including firm F were operating in a peaceful environment for the following reasons: Firms were increasingly thinking on product development and further production. Various customer categories continued to buy automobiles of their desire as they did not doubt the political situation in their areas. Increase in the number of dealers in all the extremes of a compass direction. Economic Within the course of the game, the business cycle wasnt predictable due to the fact that pricing structures employed by the automobile firms was different to one another. Firm F and other were aggressive towards increasing the dealer discount rates thinking that it would boost its motor vehicle sales and hence increase its profitability. However, the economy of the firms operating in the simulation kept on deteriorating with reference to the starting market shares, market values, stock price and overall net income. At the end, economies were badly shaped. Social This refers to the society in which the firms are operating their automobile business. Within the society, people differ in culture and demography. Some had been considering others as their point of reference in buying certain cars. Also, its obvious that as there are many automobile firms means more vehicles down the roads and hence more traffic collisions to the extent of delaying people planned activities during the day. Technological Advancement in technology was restricted among the firms as there were maximum limitations of technological capabilities in interior, styling, safety and quality extremes for which not a single firm could exceed. Above all, the firms were given an opportunity to make developments and marketing for a new class i.e. AEV which at the start had no introduced vehicle. The AEV being technology-driven, it is possible that it could use electricity, gas or other means. From my narrow view, I perceive AEV development to be more risky. Environmental Here Im greatly concerned because while vehicles are developed who knows how the waste materials are damped. This may have greatly deteriorated the soil and the species inhibiting in and on. These vehicles emit green house gases which add more health concerns to its own users through pollution after the fuel has been burnt in the engines. Legal It is up to the government to make sure that, a firm which goes against the labour laws, health and safety regulations, environmental preservation and trade practices are debarred from operating in the automobile industry. The government should enact laws which limit the number of vehicles to be owned by a single person unless it is big company with large operations in-order to minimise pollution on air, land and water sources. 3.2. Porters Five Forces Model According to Michael Porter, there are five cut-throat forces that demonstrate the rules of competition within the automobile industry and which determine both industry attractiveness and the degree of profitability. These forces are: Threat of new Entrants Throughout my analysis, I realised that for a firm to enter into automobile industry is not that much easy due to the reasons that, too much investment funds will be required to have a successful starting point as a matter of fact its not all about producing but knowing the needs of the market through Research and Development (RD) which costs greatly. For late movers, enjoying economies of scale will be highly minimal because there are giants already operating in large scales. Some of the giants may have done either backward or forward integration which may distract new entrants. Hence, the threat of new entrants in the automobile industry is low but firms need to be extra careful as the world is dynamic. Threat of Substitutes There are plenty of substitutes to vehicles but it doesnt mean people will shift towards them i.e. bicycles, scooters and walking. I dont expect people to abandon automobiles due to increasing costs instead people will shift to more economical ones from luxurious. Hence, the threat of substitutes is medium. Bargaining power of Suppliers Suppliers degree of power is low due to the existence of a big number of components and parts distributors in the automobile industry. It is likely for a manufacturer to switch from one supplier to the other. On the other side, firms at StartSim are likely to enjoy low prices of components because suppliers are many. Bargaining power of Buyers In the StratSim world, this is high as customers are likely to navigate from one manufacturer to another if their needs and desires are not well addressed considering the fact that, there are almost seven (7) firms operating in automobiles. Reluctantly, firms will be forced to stick on customers decisions on the requirements, pricing and other vehicle attributes. Customers are the core and a major reason for the firms existence. Rivalry Intensity This is very high because of the presence of many firms including firm F operating in the automobiles. These firms used various business strategies which have got differing effects to the competition intensity. Hence, the degrees of profitability and market shares will differ at large. 3.3. SWOT ANALYSIS This is a framework used to examine internal and external environment. Strengths (Internal) Firm Fs names of its motor vehicles were unique i.e. Fantasy, Fast and Fish which couldnt be easily imitated by its rivals. Weaknesses (Internal) Mismanagement of stocks which had a greater fall in value together with more inventory days. Failure to make proper use of the marketing tools i.e. promotions and prices. Firm Fs product ranges didnt compete effectively with those of its competitors. Opportunities (External) The AEV class vehicles could be a platform for firm F to maximise its market share and sales growth. Poor performance in other firms could allow firm F to gain more customers who couldnt benefit from the earlier firms. Moving into markets which were not served before through market and product development. Threats (External) Continuous technological developments for which firm F couldnt cope. Global economic recessions resulting to fall in currencies and slowing vehicles demands. Automobile industry being competitive, firm Fs employees may have been head-hunted by other rival firms leading moving away the company secrets. 4.0. Strategic Planning Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. (Johnson et al 2009, p.3) Planning refers to making decisions on which strategic choices to carry forward in the course of the business. 4.1. Basic Strategy Firm Fs long term strategy is to offer vehicles with the lower possible investments but in maximum numbers with the intention of increasing the net cumulative income and market share from period 1 until period 4 with much focus on the Family class. 4.2. Technology Firm F thought that to go hand-in-hand with advancing technology as not necessary because it could lead it away from high profitability. Instead minor upgrades in the vehicle attributes are considered. Technology will be used to minimise wastage so as to increase productivity. 4.3. Financial Control The management of firm F aspires to have immense sales and increasing profitability but at same time controlling Research Development as it wont like to spend a lot for it. It looks forward to increase assets held while decreasing liabilities including debts. 4.4. Marketing Firm F intend to create awareness to both society and potential customers through advertisements and promotions. Also, efforts will be done to review pricing structures and the vehicles with related products to be of value to customers. Distribution points will be monitored too. 4.5. Future Development The management of firm F looks forward to do major upgrades in its motor vehicles if the level of profitability will permit it to do so. Otherwise, the kind of development which is expected could be maximising of the firms plant production capacity. 5.0. Lesson I learnt from simulation exercise I came with a mindset that a firms market share could be inversely proportional to net cumulative income. Also, it wasnt a good idea at times to discuss with members from rival groups as my group was at last decision mislead by another group leading to its low income and stock price too. Teamwork is the essence towards achieving success as decisions were jointly made by group members who differed in knowledge, background and experience. 6.0. Conclusion To me, it was much lucrative due to the fact that I had been exposed from theoretical to practical because the simulations made me think outside the box as to whether the strategies I took part in could outwit competitors. Finally, I agree that a business without strategy wont have a direction.

Meet Me in St. Louis & Raging Bull :: essays research papers

The 1940’s were a time when most were living with the effects of war every day. Whether it be stomaching the violence of war or trying to deal with the absence of male family members in the family unit, everyone was shaken by World War II. Therefore it is easy to see how a movie such as Meet Me in St. Louis was born. It takes us back to a time that is associated with wholesome family values and a world with less major problems before war had directly affected Americans of modern times. A film of a different nature, Raging Bull, takes place in these violent times displaying to us not what the people of the 1940’s longed for, rather showing some of what society lived with back then. These two movies seem as different as night and day when viewed together, yet they simply show different sides of the spectrum of the same themes. The source that led to the desire to produce such movies is one and the same, violence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although I am yet to know serious effects of war, I know what it is like to want to escape from something and to find that escape in watching a movie. For many people in the 1940’s watching Meet Me in St. Louis was they’re escape from violence in society at that time. It makes perfect sense that a movie in which the biggest conflict is whether or not a family leaves their home together would be a success in a time when family unity was not as easy to come by. Vincente Minnelli directed it and provided the audience with singing and dancing, themes of love and romance, and overall a great deal of good values. His film represents the importance of family and relationship and he is able to show us this very well on screen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mise-en-scene was one method Minnelli used in displaying this sense of family unity and value. It is apparent in scenes of family interaction, whether it is conversation in the kitchen, celebrating holidays together, or sharing a family dinner together at the table. Behavior in this movie revolves around being loving considerate family members no matter what the action. Any smiles or excitement not motivated by direction were utilized and helped keep with the movies themes. When Mr. Smith brings about the conflict of the family having to move despite their wish to stay, almost immediately the family members disperse and leave him to himself.

The River Warren and the Importance of Rivers In Our Lives :: River Warren Essays

The River Warren and the Importance of Rivers In Our Lives It was tradition. Every Sunday after church my dad, brother, and I would drive through the fields checking crops and whatever else made their homes in my father's fields. Then we'd drive down to the river to check how high or low it was, or to see how much worse the river was cutting into the land. The river flowed right at the end of the road, so my dad would always pretend he was going to drive straight into it. We live about one in a half miles from the Missouri River. We have our own private road that winds down to a small shoot that connects to it. Because of our closeness to the Missouri, I have grown to love and admire it. It is an enormous and amazing machine to me. I find peace and love for it. It's funny how much alike Jeff, Luke, (the two main characters in Kent Meyer's The River Warren) and I are towards our rivers. Their River Warren is my Big Missouri. Luke goes to the river to clear his head, to think about things, and to find himself. He also uses it as a means of control over his father. Two-Speed does not see the river as Luke does. Luke also finds understanding when he's on the river. He knows his father does not feel the same about the river, and that's why he takes him there. His father is afraid of the river, and Luke sees how afraid he really is. Before getting into the boat, Two-Speed "lifted his head like fire in the air. He realized he was alone-with someone who couldn't be conned. The river worked on him. It flowed into the moment. He knew this was my place. I saw that he knew"(223). The reason Luke brought his father out was "so that he could try to make sense of things, to make him stay put for awhile, to get enough control to where he had to talk to me, and to where he had to answer questions"(232). Two-Speed can't find himself. He's been lost all his life, made excuses for his drinking, and pretended he was someone else all his life.

HP Case Study Essay

The company Hewlett Packard (HP) was founded in 1938 by William Hewlett and David Packard, two electrical engineers from the Stanford University. They initially started it in a garage behind Packard’s home in the state of California, manufacturing only electronic instruments at that time. Their first product was a resistance-capacity audio oscillator, an instrument used to test the sound equipment. The biggest customer of that product was Walt Disney Company. In 1940, HP was formed, with the establishment of Hewlett and Packard’s own factory in Palo Alto. By the end of this year, HP’s revenue exceeded $2 million and the company employed 166 employees. During 1950’s HP gained popularity as a producer of innovative measuring and testing equipment of premium quality. HP first acquired the F. L. Moseley Company in 1957, which was the producer of quality graphic recorders. After this, HP started to globalize its Business. In 1959, it opened the first Marketing office in Switzerland and a manufacturing plant in Germany. Realizing the need to sustain the synergy in the organization Hewlett and Packard formulated the values and objectives of the organization, these values and objectives formed the basis of the management style at the company, referred as ‘The HP Way’ nowadays. (Moganty, n. d. ) Thus HP transformed into a democratic organization where every employee has the autonomy to talk to his immediate boss and other employees having different hierarchical positions. The company continued to diversify its business and entered the Asian market in 1963 forming a joint venture with a Japanese firm. In 1968, HP invented the HP 9100 desktop scientific calculator, after that many innovative computing products in the 1970s, hence, till 1980s HP’s business portfolio was filled with a wide array of products and to strengthen its position HP acquired Apollo Computers, which was then the leading manufacturer of workstations. By 1990s HP had 92,000 employees and earned revenues of approximately $13. billion. External Environment With the recession in PC industry of the United States in 1990, HP started to lag behind, and significantly loss a share in innovative products, it was not able to cope with the changing conductions in the industry due to its old fashioned organizational culture. Employees started becoming dissatisfied with the way the company was managed. According to a poll conducted among HP employees, HP lacked in clear directions and was said to have become too product oriented. In order to deal with this situation, HP decided to focus on its computer business and spun off its measuring, testing and medical equipment division into a new company. This was done in early 1999 and a new company named Agilent Technologies Inc. was founded, which only dealt with the devices other than those related to computing. As a consequence, HP was left with only four main divisions; Personal computers, inkjet printers, laser printers and servers. Despite the measures, taken by the company to reduce costs and drafting a new internet strategy, it was believed that what HP actually needs is a change in leadership. So a CEO named Carly Fiorina was hired. Soon after becoming the CEO, she started a mass marketing program for HP, new advertisements were made in which the employees of HP were referred as ‘A fearless collection of inventors,’ many of those advertisements had Fiornia herself. But all of this went in vain, and on the top of it the merger between HP and Compaq Computers Corp. made the conditions even worst for HP. As a consequence, the company’s culture change and new rules were set which were in the favor of the company according to Fiornia. But the laying off of approximately 17,000 HP employees was beyond the level of understanding of all the people. Ever since the merger took place HP was having disappointing earnings which indicated the epic fail of Fiornia’s leadership. HP was facing continuous losses and the estimated sales forecasts also turned out to be lower than what was expected. HP’s share price also fall up to 13% and Fiornia was blamed for all this. According to critics, she was unsuccessful in managing the company well because during her tenure she behaved like a celebrity, travelling in limousine and not communicating with the employees face to face. Fiornia was terminated for not being able to delegate the firm’s strategies. (Paul, 2005) Industry Analysis Based on the Porter’s framework of industry analysis the following results are most likely to occur for HP: Threat of New Entrants Since HP only has two major competitors, Lenovo and Dell, the threat of new entrants is not as a matter of concern for HP now-a-days. Because the products of HP are unique and are innovative and are not easy to copy by the rival companies or any new firm that is trying to enter in the PC industry. Even if the products of HP are copied they would not be as reliable as of HP. Bargaining Power of Suppliers HP believes in providing its customers with products that are of premium quality, and since there are only few suppliers in the computing market, they may have an effective bargaining effect on HP to give them high charges for assembling or providing parts for their computing devices. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Customers are the main priority for any company and so for HP. In order to retain its customers, Hp made a number of efforts. It had provided its customers with innovative and unique products that no one else in the industry provided before. Threat of Substitutes Substitutes are available in the market for HP products, but as discussed earlier, the quality of HP products is much higher. Since, different technologies were introducing at the time of Fiornia’s tenure, HP was not able to keep up with its traditional image of producing innovative computer, so as a result the customers switched to other brands due to which the company started to get in losses. Vyomesh, 2005) Rivalry Dell and Lenovo are major rivals of HP; these companies gained the most when HP was facing different kinds of leadership crisis. When people started switching to these brands, the companies started to make the most of it and increased their prices, while disappointed customers of HP were ready to purchase other brands because HP was not performing up to the mark. (Novelguide, n. d. )