Charles Martin in Uganda Essay

Charles Martin, a 29-year-old American who had worked for Hydro Generation (HG) for 2 years before embarking on the Ugandan damn project. Martins’ educational experience, a degree in African Studies from the University of Wisconsin as well as a MBA from the University of Maryland coupled with his experience working through the Peace Corps made Martin uniquely qualified to work for HG in their new venture in Africa, a hydro-electric damn in Uganda. During Martins tenure in Uganda , his assignments were to, gain support from local authorities, set up offices and insure the smooth operation of the office, overseeing operations including hiring, keeping inventory and keeping accounting records as well as logistical aspects such as dealing with customs. Martins’ job also included helping new expatriates settle into living and working in Uganda. Describe Ugandan cultural attributes that might affect operation for foreign company operating there? Uganda, a multilingual cultura lly diverse country of a little more than 25 million people poses many challenges to a foreign company operating there. In addition to what may considered mostly normal challenges Uganda holds challenges that may not be found in other countries. With a long history of political instability and political corruption that continues into the present companies doing business there are faced with the stark reality that their business dealings maybe tainted because with such corruption ones place among the powerful is never assured. Nepotism is the norm in Uganda. Nepotism, the practice of allowing relatives to get jobs or promotions, even when undeserved thrives in Uganda. With jobs being awarded to family members, mostly through word of mouth connections language is very important to a business dealing in Uganda. Although English is the official language, many other languages are spoken throughout Uganda. The use of many languages thorough different cultural venues makes for a difficult a foreign company to carry on business successfully, as one is never assured what language will be preeminent therefore communications are not always the easiest in Uganda. .Uganda many religions also make for challenges in business dealings. Although much of the population is Christian there are many tribal religions that are a strong influence, a foreign company would have to be accepting of their practices in order to successfully deal with the local peoples. In general, business is much slower moving in Uganda and it is not uncommon practice to pay off or â€Å"tip† officials to make things progress more quickly, a practice unheard of in the United States. How would you describe the respective attitudes of Martin and Green: ethnocentric, polycentric or geocentric? What factors do you suspect of having influenced their respective attitudes? Martin’s attitude was one of polycentrism. Polycentric thought is such that Martin would conduct business in such a way that would conform to and accept the customs of the country in which the business was. Martin showed his polycentric attitude by paying tips, living in the middle class neighborhoods rather than with other expatriates, participating in tribal ceremonies and using nepotism in his hiring practices. Greens attitude was of geocentric thought. Geocentric thought accepts that certain differences of thought are tolerable in order to ensure successful business dealings. Depending on the individual circumstances, the company adapts to either the new culture or working to integrate the belief system of the home country. Greens attitude was influenced by his desire to incorporate the belief system of the company into the business in Uganda while Martins main concern was to fulfill the requirements of the project regardless of the fallout from the stepping away from the corporate values. Who was right, Green or Martin, about the controversial actions? Martin took in the Uganda an operation. What might have been the results if he had not taken those actions? Martin was correct in his actions. With Martin’s prior knowledge of what actions would be required in order to succeed in business in Africa and his desire to complete the required tasks in a timely fashion adapting to local customs such as nepotism helped insure the success of his project. Although successful Martin did take risks when utilizing a polycentric approach to his work, at any point his participation in various activities such as tribal rituals could have back fired due to increased pressure from an unstable government and corrupt officials talking advantage of their increased leverage to exact higher and higher prices for continued cooperation. These problems coupled with the possibility of certain actions being illegal in HGs home country directly conflicts with corporate policy. Despite these increased perils, if Martin had not undertaken this approach to business in Uganda increased delays, would certainly have occurred, local collaboration would have been decreased, expensed would have been increased due to either longer wait periods or the eventual abandonment of the project due to lack of progress. In the next phase of the project running the power plant-should HG employ someone whose main function is that of a liaison between its corporate culture and the culture of its host country? If so, is Martin the right person for the job? In the next phase of this project, the running of the power plant HG should employ someone whose main function is to be a liaison between the corporate culture and the host country of Uganda. If there is, no liaison similar problems of cultural misunderstanding will happen over again. Martin would be the most capable of understanding the various nuances of the continuing project, as he already has an extensive knowledge of the inner workings of side project. HG, as the sponsor of the project could further its policy by working with Martin and other from corporate to establish firm guide lines of what is acceptable policy when dealing with projects that are in foreign countries.

Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento

Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento Composed by: Giovanni Paisiello Nel cor piu non mi sento Brillar la gioventu; Cagion del mio tormento, Amor, sei colpa tu. Mi pizzichi, mi stuzzichi, Mi pungichi, mi mastichi; Che cosa e Questo ahime? Pieta, pieta, pieta! Amore e un certo che, Che disperar mi fa. Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento Giovanni Paisiello was the most popular comic composer of his time. His operas (of which he is known to have composed 94) abound with melodies, the graceful beauty of which is still appreciated.His church music was very voluminous, composing of eight masses, besides many smaller works. He also produced 51 instrumental compositions and many detached pieces. As the eighteenth century operatic scene that surrounded and influenced Mozart emerged into clearer view, Giovanni Paisiello was recognized as one of its most significant shapers. He began composing opera as soon as he left the Conservatory of San Onofrio in Naples in 1763. In Naples, he soon became established as a popular local composer.He was noted for simplifying operatic style in the interests of getting more quickly to the plot and keeping it moving. His tendency towards concision was even greater strengthened when he accepted employment in the court of Catherine the Great of Russia in 1776. She demanded that productions in her theater last no more than an hour and a half. He strove to make his melodies more appealing, his orchestration more colorful, and make the music help illustrate the plot. This is clearly apparent in â€Å"Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento. This upbeat aria is one in which includes comic relief as well as a fast paced rhythm and mood. Well under two minutes, it is concise. Paisiello was known for his short compositions. This song does a great job of attracting people’s attention and keeping that attention, no matter how short or long the piece may be. â€Å"Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento† comes from â€Å"L’Amor contrastato, produced in Naples in 1789. It was perfo rmed throughout Europe for many, many years. In other cities, the opera was sometimes called different names.Nevertheless, this aria in general became immensely popular. Famous stars sang the elaborate piece, as Beethoven wrote piano variations of it. Audiences remembered â€Å"Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento† because it was simple. Also, it was repeated many times throughout the scene in the opera. It is sung by Rachelina, then by a tenor suitor, Colloandro, and the ending is repeated as a duet. Its short and quick rhythmic sound stuck in people’s minds in which contributed to the great success of this song.As for the character of this song, it is best shown through the actual character(s) it was written for. The scene of the opera takes place within Rachelina’s home in the countryside near Naples. Rachelina is described as â€Å"a rich mill-owner and imprudent in love. † In the scene, she is working; something that women in earlier operas seldom did. Sorroundi ng her I assume would be common items found within a home. I expect that she may be in her kitchen cleaning somewhere. As for what she wants, can be compared to what we all want. True love!Love has been driving her crazy and she does not feel as well as usual. She, like most of the world, does not understand how love can make us so crazy at times. Learning about a character that is already discovered and developed, it is almost easier to express emotion into this song. I believe this is because I am a woman and I can relate to how Rachelina is feeling. Also, I try to place myself in her shoes, and truly exert her emotions through my voice. It is a rewarding experience when you allow yourself to become another character. That’s what makes music so much fun!

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 17

Research Paper Example Identity such as language, religion amongst others implies sovereignty, and from the struggle of the Native Americans in Hawaii and Alaska, albeit approached differently, defines the process towards sovereignty. This paper explores and discusses the sovereignty claims of the native tribes in Alaska and in Hawaii, the 49th and 50th states of the country respectively. As a matter of fact, efficient public service delivery can be disregarded for a chance to indulge in self governance. Nonetheless, with the federal government and the state governments responsible for a number of services for the people in Alaska, including the natives, the relevance of the Alaskan sovereign and the Hawaiian push for tribal sovereigns has been brought into question. The native Hawaiians situation with regards to sovereign assertions is markedly different from the Alaskan situation. However, the tribes in Native Hawaiians tribes had a centralized governing system with a royal queen being at the helm of the authority of the land before colonization and eventual annexation by the United States. Presently, the United States of America exhibit a three spiral form of sovereignty: federal, state and tribal governments. The sovereign status of the native tribes in Alaska has been defined as axiomatic, and this implies that the right to self govern is self evident. The Alaskan natives, similar to other tribes in the Americas, have governed themselves for thousands of years a similar pattern across America’s native tribes came. Assertions of tribal sovereignty as it is presently exist amongst the native Alaskan tribe took very many years to achieve fruition. During the years of sovereignty claims, the tribes used a combination political as well as legal activism. Sovereign assertion achieved by the native Indian tribes over the years is acknowledged within the federal corridors of justice, and entails the

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 71

Assignment Example The defendant and the plaintiff agree under the supervision of the court to implement the decree. An example of a consent decree is in divorce situations where the couple decides to settle under the supervision of a court. Disparate impact is the discrimination against a class that occurs due to the employer’s neutral employment practice, when the employer has a disproportion along the protected line. Disparate treatment is discrimination against an individual in a protected group that occurs due to unequal treatment from the employer, compared to the others. Using the four-fifths rule, the rate of selection of each group is calculated by dividing the number of the selected persons in a group by the number of total applicants in that group, and the group with the highest selection is observed. The impact ratios are then calculated by comparing this selection rate with the highest group. Any group with a substantially less selection rate than that of the highest group is observed. The employer defences against discrimination charges include job relatedness, business necessity, BFOQ, and BFSS. In job relatedness the employer argues that the employee does not work effectively. In the business necessity, the employer argues that the protected employee must have a given business necessity. The BFOQ will be based on their qualifications while the BFSS will be based on the selection criteria or a ratio. A hostile working environment is an offensive working environment that is characterized by unlawful physical or verbal harassment that shows hostility towards an individual basing on color, religion, race, gender, national origin, age, disability, his or her relatives, friends, and associates. Organizations can have policies that describe the constituents of a hostile working environment, and what is an inappropriate behaviour. It can also inform and educate employees on the organizational policies. They should investigate all

Media planning for advertising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Media planning for advertising - Essay Example Taking this into account, it is logical to think that the huge emphasis is laid nowadays on the quality of the advertising message transmitted to the potential buyers via various types of existing media, because the impact produced by this message determines the success of the campaign and – eventually – sales level. As the result, enormous amounts of efforts and financial expenses are involved in advertising industry, because creating a persuasive advertising message is considered to be crucial for consumers to make decisions in favor of this or that company. However, a bare advertising message is unlikely to guarantee success for a brand: â€Å"a great advertising message in front of the wrong audience is a total waste of time and effort† (Kelley and Jugenheimer, 2008, p. 5). For a successful promotion campaign, message strategies must be combined with wise media strategies for a message to reach the audience in the most effective way. Media strategies should b e always highly flexible and capable of complying with the changes in preferences and behavior of consumers. â€Å"When consumers change their consumption patterns, the marketing communications strategy to reach these consumers must change as well† (Và ­glundsson and Halldà ³rsson, 2012, p.1). It is also important to adjust media communication strategies to the patterns of media consumption and change (or enhance) them, if new media emerge or gain popularity among consumers. In the recent decades, rapid technological progress has shown dependence of marketing on the innovations in communication technologies. â€Å"For the advertiser and agency, this technological revolution has meant radical re-thinking and redeployment of how messages and incentives are distributed to relevant marketplace customers and prospects† (American Academy Of Advertising Conference Proceedings, 2013, p.

Buisness law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Buisness law - Assignment Example Although the constitution is being enforced to push the section that permit one to be prosecuted once he/she burns the flag. The flag burning should be made unlawful. As many people designate it as a form of protest simply like boycott, it is not itself a speech but a symbol (Allport 98). Incident, at which the flag is burned to send a certain message to the government the act, does not support the civil obedience as a free speech (Allport 98). Whoever, uses a flag burning as an indicator of communicating a certain issue must be considered as a criminal consequently he/she ought to receive the punishment according to the law (Allport 98). This is because the disapproval of the first amendment law is not being categorized under unlawful act. The legitimacy is flag burning is a juvenile mechanism used to protest. Many suspects and victims of flag burning at the end of the day are sent to the penitentiary despite the fact that others think of potency and martyrs (Allport 98). However, the people of the state should respect the flag before supporting ridiculous decisions. The Supreme Court should address this issue and amend a constitution that prohibits freedom of speech through burning flag (Allport 98). The court should consider flag burning as a violation of freedom of

Project 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Project 3 - Essay Example A verbal fight ensues, and despite entreaties by management to leave the store, they have not. Nobody has hit anyone but the Police are called. No crime has been committed. 3. A group of friends has dinner at a restaurant that has just opened. The restaurant touts its' wonderful pay one price buffet and its vast vegan fare. Despite a buffet that is three miles long, there are no vegetarian dishes to be found and one of the group winds up eating celery all night. Despite requests to management, nobody can drum up a vegetarian dish. The check arrives and the vegan has been charged for the buffet. The vegan points out to the waiter that they did not eat but that they will pay for the wine that they had with their bread and celery. Management calls the police and they tell management that it is a civil not criminal issue. 4. It is a warm spring night and two children's baseball teams are playing. One child gets hit accidentally by an awful pitch and suddenly parents, coaches and even the referee are cursing at each other. Nobody has thrown a punch, but the police have been called. No crime has been committed. Only weeks ago we read about the vile situation of the girl in Missouri who committed suicide after some others who knew her created a fake MySpace profile of a boy who befriended her and then turned on her and told her she was mean and he didn't want to be friends with her. The police were called but no laws were broken. There are other behaviors that people inflict on others but the police are powerless because there is no law defining the behavior as illegal. Oftentimes police officers are called in to watch crowded gatherings. Nothing is happening that is illegal, but the Police Officers are there nonetheless. It would seem that Police Officers are often called when there is a perceived threat of a future crime. In the internet case, as in many internet scenarios, there is no law that prohibits a person from posting harassing and threatening comments. The victim feels, rightfully, threatened and fearful so the logical thing to do is call the police. (Connelly, 2000) Where there are public rallies, there are officers. People are threatened by crowds. Basically, any situation where there is a perceived threat (real or not) is when police officers are called. III. Explain the difference between streetwalkers and call girls, and discuss how each might have an impact on order maintenance and peacekeeping, and what that impact might be. Which would have a larger impact on public expectations regarding the police, and why The term prostitute is a general term that defines one as someone who performs sexual services for renumeration. (Farley, 2007) The payment is often in the form of currency, though there is a group of prostitutes who accept drugs as payment. A call girl is someone who operates over the phone. Their appointments are made over the phone, as opposed to a hooker or streetwalker: a hooker solicits for customers on the street. In general, hookers are a higher risk of contracting diseases due to the fact that they are less selective about their clientele and may not necessarily practice safe sex. The difference between a call girl and a street walker is that the call girls have cell phones, so you

To what extent do you agree with free market economies being more Essay

To what extent do you agree with free market economies being more effective than a mixed economy - Essay Example The following are some of the mixed economies where with illustrations indicating statistics of government spending in relation to GDP: Sweden 57%, France 52.8%, Iceland 57%, USA 38 %, China 20%, UK 47.3, and Hongkong 18.6%. There are other countries as well. Such economies are government managed while the rest are individual or private firms managed. As the economies grow, the government usually takes higher portion of the total spending. In developed countries, e.g. Western Europe opts to offer state welfare support. The government greatly regulates business environment and environment. Benefits of Mixed Market Economies Most businesses and industries are usually governed privately. Normally, private firms are more effective than government ones since they are usually innovative in nature and provide cheaper services and products. In a mixed economy, the government does not have the total control over the market i.e. such as in market regulation et cetera. It has been argued (Urai 2010) mixed economy may in given cases allow government to regulate the market during instances of market failure. This may include: Regulation of monopoly where they abuse their status e.g. controlling hiked prices, prevent mergers, subsidizing goods and services commonly under consumed in free market. This may include healthcare, national defense, public goods. Regulation and taxation of goods with negative implications e.g. Government can implement policies to provide macroeconomic stability e.g applying monetary policy measures during of inflation. Economic reports have shown that mixed economies are likely to create equality at a greater level while reducing extreme poverty. It may simultaneously enable people to enjoy financial rewards from their entrepreneurship and hard work (Beckwith 2011). Disadvantages of Mixed Market Economies It may be difficult to determine to what extent the government will intervene. Mixed economies usually face criticism from socialists and economis ts owing to the fact it allows excessive market forces amounting to inefficient and inequitable distribution of resources. It is criticised by free marketing since it allows too much government intervention. According to libertarians, governments are generally poor managers of economy normally influenced by short term and political factors. According to Chow 2012, the reality is, success of mixed market economies depends on how they are managed. Economists argue that every market needs some extent of government intervention. In the book, ‘Wealth of Nations’, Adam Smith argues that in wealthy countries, government should come in between to control the monopoly power. Free Markets There are various benefits that are usually associated with free markets. This has created a school of thought that basically supports the corpus of free markets economies. One of the benefits that are associated with free markets is the fact that they are competitive in nature. Their industries are commonly perfectly competitive, allocative and efficient at production. Free economies efficiently allocate their resources. Additionally, there is also variety of choices associated with free markets. Firms produce what consumers are willing and ready to buy. As it is a free market, there is no restriction as to what a firm can produce. Therefore there is usually a possibility of having a large choice compared to the mixed market. The interest of the planner is to ensure

Critically Discuss Standing in Actions for Annulment and the Dissertation

Critically Discuss Standing in Actions for Annulment and the Development of Legal Protection in EU Courts - Article 263-267 Trea - Dissertation Example The analysis this paper presents does not imply a conclusive rejoinder to the debate on standing under Article 263 TFEU. Rather, it attempts to approach the discussion through a different angle. Chapter 3: Direct Concern Technically, the narrow and restrictive approach to direct concern by the Court of Justice limits the success of the applicants. Additionally, if the applicant can show that the measure of personal concern, they are still required to demonstrate that the decision is of direct concern. For instance, the applicant can only establish direct concern in relation to a measure if it was maintained by ECJ that the measure directly affects the applicant’s legal situation and discloses its addressees charged with the task of implementing it. Other restrictions include, even though the applicant can establish direct concern, it must be dependent on whether the action that affects the applicant was with discretion of the Member State (Usher, 2005). On the other hand, citi zens can only challenge decisions that are only addressed to them, and even though addressed to them, it must have a direct impact on them. The Court of Justice views this to be the case if a person is clearly affected in a distinct way in a way that affects him with the UE undertakings or other individuals. Ultimately, it can be argued that the Member States may face a major barrier from their role of taking all suitable measures to ensure the fulfillment of the objectives or obligations of the EU as they face major opposition from the citizens who perceive the union as being â€Å"super-state† and inaccessible. The restrictive nature inhibits the Member States from facilitating the achievement of the Union’s objectives (Abaquense de Parfouru, 2007). Firstly, the interested parties cannot start direction actions by any interested party other than the EU institutions or member states in pending cases before the Court of Justice as such. This is discernible through a pr ocedure where only that party that can demonstrate direct or indirect interest that determine the outcome of the case. In this case, the intervener is restricted from supporting the conclusions of one of the parties, and in that case cannot raise new ground to on which either of the parties has used. This recalls the case in Stichting Greenpeace Council (Greenpeace International) v. Commission, where Fisherman, farmers and environmental groups wished to challenge a decision by the commission, to grant financial assistance to the European Regional Development Fund, to construct new power stations on the Canary Islands. Stichting Greenpeace illustrates that even those who may suffer from hazards resulting from an activity will not have standing if the activity poses a threat to an entire population rather than specific parts of it. A similar conclusion was reached in Danielson concerning the equivalent of Article 263 in Euratom. Initially, where the application an abstract terminology test found that the measure used was without doubt a regulation, the court would stop the proceedings then. However, in current jurisprudence, it appears the European Union Court of Justice (EUCJ) is showing willingness to recognize that some regulations have the potential to cause direct and individual concern. Accordingly, a plaintiff must have enough locus standi to take legal action. Such as in the case of Codorniu SA V Council (Case: C-309/89 [1994] ECR

Taylorism Is An Outmoded And Outdated Form Of Technical Control Essay Example for Free

Taylorism Is An Outmoded And Outdated Form Of Technical Control Essay Perfected by Henry Ford, Taylorism was developed in the early 20th Century and was a revolutionary outlook on scientific management. Its aim was to make the workplace a science, taking all control away from the worker and placing total power in the hands of management. By observing workers behaviour and how long it was taking for tasks to be completed he believed he could say how much an average worker could produce under optimum conditions. Using this he devised a means of detailing a division of labour in time-and-motion studies and a wage system based on performance. At the time and throughout the last century Taylorism was and has been the only way to manage, but is it now outdated and irrelevant. I hope to be able to provide some of the arguments for and against this viewpoint and give examples of Taylorism. First, what exactly is Taylorism? Simply Taylorism is the breaking down of the production process into simple, menial tasks to the extent that even the most unskilled worker can be efficient. He researched these methods knowing that management lacked the knowledge to maximise production and that workers were not efficient. Taylor spoke about rewarding good men i.e. good employees, with higher pay for completing tasks or working harder. He called for scoring and ranking workers, thus posing the argument: how can one compare someone who is really good at a given task against someone who is good at another task? The two individuals may well be very good at what they do; however, it quite often requires a mix of these talents to produce a quality product or service. Taylor also aimed to transfer the control of the work process away from the individual worker and instead have the work performed in a way that is detailed by management who train the worker and share all the responsibilities. He used pig-iron handlers during the American-Spanish war to test his theories. He picked the four best workers and, in exchange for a higher wage, asked them to work under a managers orders. The manager had complete control, telling them when they could have a break, when to pick up more iron, how much to lift etc. The experiment was a resounding success; with one man Schmidt working at a constant 47.5 tonnes a day. This was used to show that Taylorism could work. However it could be argued that the experiment was fixed as it used workers who were mentally sluggish and therefore, by their nature, were more likely to follow orders than to think for themselves. Nevertheless Taylorism became the standard for businesses worldwide and this led to a clockwork world of tasks timed to the hundredth of a minute for standardized factories, machines and the de-humanising of men and women. A man named Braverman argued in his book in the 70s that because of Taylor and Ford, more and more jobs became and are becoming deskilled and de-humanised and the thought processes are being taken over by managers and programmed into machines (Braverman 1974). This raises a very important point about Taylorism; it makes processes so precise and repetitive that humans are being turned into machines. In this state as machines, humans are very easy to control and so it could be argued that Taylorism, whilst being effective as a production method, is also designed to control the workforce and thus highly skilled workers threaten labour control. Read more:Â  Scientific Management Taylorism Such early 20th century thought is being practised not only in business, but in the schools as well where students, like workers, are be scored and ranked. Now we have moved to a system where this ranking and grading of students and schools is of such importance that they are no longer run by teachers, but managed by managers to improve efficiency. Whilst not being a strict example of Taylorism, it shows how Taylors ideas have changed the way people think in that people now assume anything and everything can be ranked. Whilst on the subject of culture changes that have been influenced by Taylor, it can be argued that Taylorism has led to gender differences. Women have been, at least they were, categorized into certain jobs; mainly clerical and secretarial. This may not be as true today with many high-powered businesswomen in the world but, especially in the 60s, this was true. Taylorism is scientific management but how scientific is it? In Websters book there is a case where a businessman complained about how slow his secretary worked and asked, How many times a minute should she be able to open and close a file drawer? The workers handbooks answer would be Exactly 25 times. Times for other open and close operations would be .04 minutes for opening and closing a folder, and .026 minutes for opening a standard centre desk drawer (Webster, J 1990). Another example of the scientific nature of Taylorism can be seen in UPS, the parcel company. Management have said that workers should walk at 3ft per second, packages should be carried under the left arm and that drivers should step into the van with their right foot first whilst holding the keys in the middle finger of the right hand. These are two classic and blatant time-and-motion pigeonholing that leads to the de-humanizing of the worker. This pigeonholing can be classically seen in some of todays big business, especially in fast-food chains. McDonalds, the most classically discussed example, where there is absolutely no autonomy for the worker; they have no option about what to do. Machines are set to cook quarter-pounders in 107 seconds and fries in 150 seconds. Guns exist that put exactly the same amount of sauce in each burger and fill the drinks to the right level. All the worker has to do is put it together and place in a bag. Even the bagging process is Taylorised; workers must place the goods in the bag in the correct order. Ritzer sees McDonalds as a paradigm of efficiency that has led to a consumer being able to go into any McDonalds in the world and expect the same service and the same product. This very tedious monotonous work has very little job satisfaction and so to keep the worker motivated McDonalds have used Taylors idea about incentives. McDonalds have a star system which rewards hard working individuals with stars. These stars are worn on the name badge to show the consumer that they are a noted worker. More importantly it develops a friendly rivalry within the store as workers compete to win stars. This leads to more productive and efficient workers. Some workers can take this to extremes however. A friend of mine started in McDonalds and almost straight away was working up to two hours overtime on closing shifts. He earned his stars very quickly as well as employee of the month two months in a row and within 8 months was promoted to floor manager. This is, in my view, a slightly extreme case as he is naturally a hard worker but shows how hard work is rewarded in McDonalds. The efficiency of McDonalds and its ability to retain workers has made it a very successful multinational company. Leidner argues in his book that the drive for efficiency within McDonalds has led to inefficiency for the consumer as it turns them into involuntary unpaid labour because they have to queue for the food, clear their own rubbish away etc. For McDonalds to be as efficient as it is, it must offer a very restricted menu so that deliveries and production can be streamlined. This leads to a loss for the consumer who can only expect a very small choice from McDonalds. In the beginning this may have been a problem but now people go to McDonalds and expect a burger, fries and a drink which are the same every time. Despite these critiques of Taylorism there are authors who believe that Taylorism is as relevant today as it ever was. Taksa argues in her 1992 article that Taylor and his ideas are still useful in resolving todays management issues especially as firms are larger these days. The limiting of verbal exchange due to written instructions means that the teaching mangers are also under as much control as the workers from the planning group (Taksa,1992). This is especially useful in the large firms of today where middle management can be very large and therefore they must be put under the same controls as the workers. Many firms however are extremely efficient and successful without adopting Taylorist methods. It can be argued that Taylorism is not suitable for every type of business. An example of this is Dixons, where I used to work, where if any type of technical control would greatly hinder the sales of goods and insurance. The salesperson must have the freedom to react to the customers situation and what they say. There would be no way of, for example, telling sales staff that this type of person must have this product or that the sale must be complete in x minutes. It would be impossible to implement as, unlike McDonalds, every customer is different with different needs and without talking these needs cannot be ascertained to result in the sale of a product. Even shops are individual, while common theme run from shop to shop, where products are placed and how they are displayed is up to the mangers discretion and not controlled by main management. So to conclude; Taylorism is a very restrictive practise which leads to the de-humanising of the worker and complete management control. However it is an extremely efficient and productive system. I would say that in certain business environments, like McDonalds, it is the only way to manage that would produce effective results. However nowadays individuals require job satisfaction out of their roles and to that end Taylorism is outdated as it allows no sort of autonomy and thus make working very dull. To that end I cannot conclude either way; Taylorism is very effective in the food sector where customers are indistinguishable from each other but would be highly ineffective once individuals needs must be catered for. Bibliography Braverman, H.: Labour And Monopoly Capital: The Degradation Of Work In The 20th Century, 1974. Monthly Review Press, NY Leidner, R: Fast Food, Fast Talk, 1993. University Of California Press Ritzer, G: The McDonaldisation Of Society, 1993. Pine Forge Press Taksa, L: Scientific Management: Technique Or Cultural Ideology?. Webster, J: Office Automation, 1990. Harvester Wheatsheaf

Importance Of FDI In Developing Malaysian Economic Growth

Importance Of FDI In Developing Malaysian Economic Growth The federation of Malaysia was formed in 1963, initially consisting of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak. Due to internal political reasons, Singapore was asked to leave the federation in 1965 to become an independent state. Malaysia is separated into two regions namely the West and East Malaysia by the South China Sea. Malaysia is blessed with an abundance of natural resources such as gas, coal, petroleum and the humid tropical climate creates a great condition for plant growth such as palm oil and rubber. These raw materials are what contribute to the economy. Before the 1970s, Malaysia was previously a raw material producing economy that produced rubber, tin, etc that exported to the industrialised countries. Much later, petroleum and palm oil were also one of the raw materials being exported. However, since the 1970s a change has been noted in the development of the economy of being a more export-oriented manufacturing industry that produced textile, rubber products, electric and electronic goods etc. The government realised to increase GDP growth, the country had to shift from an export-oriented raw material producing economy into an export-oriented manufacturing economy. Not only will employment rise, but it will also benefit GDP growth and economic welfare. Importance of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) FDI is defined as a company from one country making a physical investment into building a factory in another country. In other words, it is the establishment of a company by a foreign investor. To invest in Malaysia, it is required that 10% of the total equity in a resident company be held by the foreign investor. Generally there are two types of FDIs; outward-bound FDI and inward-bound FDI. An outward-bound FDI is when local capital is invested in foreign resources while an inward-bound FDI, the opposite of an outward-bound FDI is when foreign capital is invested in local resources. FDI is an important and effective way to stir up the economy as it is a major catalyst to development. This is because with the setting up of companies and factories, employment will rise. With foreign money being pumped into the economy to pay of wages and salaries to the employees, a multiplier effect will create an injection of several times that will cause a huge influx of foreign money. As more foreign money is being pumped into the local economy (assuming there are no outflows of money) GDP growth will soar that goes hand in hand with vision 2020 where Malaysia will achieve a developed nation status with a constant 8% growth rate every year. This will in turn, bring confidence into the economy, further generating more FDIs. As the economy is doing well, development will naturally take place to improve the quality of life. Furthermore, the acquisition of knowledge for the transfer of technology is a tremendous advantage for the country. As companies and factories are being set up, heavy machineries and sophisticated technology are being passed on to the local employees to operate the business. In order to work the technology, the local employees will then have to go for training. Thus the passing on down of knowledge and technology to the country is an integral part for developing countries to further improve itself on a global scale. Suitable Industries and Businesses Foreign Investors from China can consider venturing into the renewable energy sector. This is because, Malaysia have an ample supply of raw material and land availability for such investments. Furthermore, a company from the Hong Kong called Sun Bear Solar Ltd. has made the first move to venture into the renewable energy industry in Malaysia. This is a stepping stone for future FDI from China into this sector. Foreign investors from India can consider venturing into the IT industry of Malaysia. This is because Malaysia is fully equipped with high speed internet due to Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) and thus this can facilitate with the FDI when they invest and set up companies in Malaysia. Foreign investors from the Middle East can consider venturing into the oil and gas industry. The Middle East is rich with an abundance of oil and gas and so is Malaysia. Investors from there have a high expertise in the field and thus, are suitable in venturing into this sector. It is highly recommended that the Middle East investors invest into the oil and gas industry to further enlarge the scale of production and thus earning billions to stimulate the economy. Strengths The political status in Malaysia isnt a huge concern to foreign investors as it is considered stable compared to neighbouring countries like Thailand. In Thailand, where street protests have escalated in recent years have kept foreign investors pending on their investment into the country due to national security. The political instability and unrest has caused a huge deterrence for the countrys FDI and thus, alternatives have been considered. Malaysia, south of Thailand is an option for the disturbed political atmosphere. With a stable political status in Malaysia, foreign investors can and will benefit from their investments into Malaysia. A strategic location between the East and the West, Malaysia is in the epicentre of the ASEAN countries. Investors from the Middle East, India and China will find that Malaysia is the gateway to the ASEAN market that is some 558.2 million people. Malaysia boasting a population of only 28 million will be the focal point of foreign investors as they can easily distribute their products to the neighbouring countries. Natural resources in Malaysia are in abundance. Natural gas, oil, petroleum and coal have been found along the coastal waters of the country. As such, Malaysia has kept a competitive edge to neighbouring countries as the price of fuel is remarkably lower than other ASEAN countries. This is an effective cost minimiser. Furthermore, raw materials such as rubber and palm oil are also found in abundance in the country. For those foreign investors who are planning to invest in these sectors will benefit as they will save on transportation cost as they can produce the industrialised goods in Malaysia rather than importing raw materials to their countries to produce the respective goods. Malaysia is a multicultural country where three main races namely the Malays, the Chinese and the Indians live harmoniously together. This has proven to be an advantage to foreign investors from China and India as they will have no problem communicating with the local employees as they can speak in the same language or dialect. This is definitely a strength compared to other ASEAN countries such as Thailand whose locals speak mostly Thai and the Indonesians, Bahasa Indonesia. Although instructions can be conferred through a medium, it is at the foreign investors best interest that they communicate directly with their employees. The labour market in Malaysia is fairly educated with a literacy rate of 87.4% (estimated by UNESCO Institute for Statistics, July 2002). With a higher literacy rate compared to other ASEAN countries such as Laos 76%, gives Malaysia the advantage of attracting FDI. Foreign investors will find it easier to communicate and to train the local employees to fit the demands of the job and thus, minimising the cost of training. Technology and transportation in Malaysia is considered better than many neighbouring countries. With proper tar roads and internationally-recognised ports, imports and exports can be done easily without having to worry about the lack of infrastructure. This will ensure FDI to invest in Malaysia as they will not have to worry or invest extra security towards their transportation of their goods. Furthermore with Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), a high speed internet connection, FDI will be ensured that work in the resident country will not be restricted by communication troubles. Challenges One of the main challenges of attracting FDI to Malaysia is the Islamic image of the country. With the recent attacks on churches over the use of the word Allah by Christians in publications has deterred foreign investors from investing in Malaysia. Concerns are being raised by foreign investors as they fear a religious conflict would turn deadly.This is not a healthy thing for perceptions of Malaysia, Nicholas Jeffreys, president of the American Chambers of Commerce in Malaysia, told a business conference. As mentioned, the political status in Malaysia is considered stable compared to other ASEAN countries. However so, the recent formation of opposition party Pakatan Rakyat consisting of DAP, PAS and KEADILAN have proved to be a problem to the economy of Malaysia. During the recent general election, the opposition party garnered five states that were previously held by the main political party, Barisan Nasional. Politically shaken, both parties have been on each others throat, fighting for power. The political unrest in Malaysia has kept investors pending about investing in Malaysia as it is difficult to get both state and federal government to accommodate at the same time. In recent months, Malaysias currency has been steadily rising against the US dollar, Euro and the British Sterling. It is important to note that a strong currency is not what foreign investors want as more money will have to be forked out to buy Malaysias currency. Furthermore, a strong currency will mean labour cost will increase. This will be a setback for the economy as foreign investors will want to choose other ASEAN countries of lower currency for a lower labour cost such as Vietnam or Cambodia. A drop in GDP rate over the last few years is another reason why foreign investors are still pending with their investment into Malaysia. With a fall in growth rate, the economy will contract and thus, foreign investors will not be able to expand their business fully and this will deter foreigners from investing into Malaysia. Corporate taxation on profit has a huge impact on foreign investors wanting to invest into countries. Among ASEAN countries, Malaysia does not have the lowest corporate taxation rates and thus foreign investors may think twice about investing into Malaysia. Heavy competition from other ASEAN countries is also another deterrent for investors to invest in Malaysia. This is because, other neighbouring countries may lower corporate taxation rate in order to accommodate with the increasing FDIs. Furthermore, the other countries may design or propose better government policies to attract FDI into their respective countries. Vietnam, known as the second China has shown a remarkable performance in attracting FDI and is one of the fastest growing economies of the world, behind China. Thus, with a reputation of that, Malaysia will have to work harder to garner more support and FDI. Recommendations It is impossible to avoid the world to know about Malaysias image of being an Islamic country. However so, precautionary methods can be done to enhance the peaceful and harmonious relations in the country. Advertisement on a global scale to promote Malaysia as a symbol of racial and religion unity can improve Malaysias image. Political instability in Malaysia may not be a major issue; however, it is still a pressing matter that the federal government and the opposition are at constant loggerheads. Disagreement is bound to stir up situations hence; agreements must be made in order to ease the tension. The federal government and the opposition will have to come to an agreement to provide the best facilities and services to current and potential foreign investors. With both parties working hand in hand, foreign investors will have the confidence to want to invest in Malaysia. A strong currency deters investors from investing into Malaysia as total costs will increase. In order to remain competitive, Malaysia can and may revoke back to the pegged exchange rate against the USD where economy uncertainty can be abolished as investors will be certain that their current expenses will not increase or decrease readily. A falling GDP due to the recent economic recession is not something the government can change overnight. However, the government can encourage spending by lowering interest rates. This will cause a multiplier effect and stimulate the economy. Investors will then see a growth in GDP rate and invest in Malaysia. With public confidence, this will become a whole cycle. Heavy competition from other countries is due to attractive and lucrative deals made by the government to attract FDI. The Malaysia government can do the same by introducing attractive deals, low corporation tax, etc to attract FDI. Conclusion FDI is an important and effective way to stir up the economy as it is a major catalyst to development. There are many pros and cons to investing in Malaysia, pros being, political stability, strategic location, an abundance of natural resources and raw materials, a multicultural country, a high quality workforce, good transportation, while cons being, political instability, Islamic image, high currency, high corporate taxation and heavy competition. However so, recommendations have been made to minimize the challenges faced by foreign investors. Invest in Malaysia, and it shall invest in you.

Energy and the Environment :: Environmental Pollution Science

Energy and the Environment As I read books and magazines to prepare for this essay, I have become much more familiar with energy and the environment. I was always aware of my surroundings, but studying the issues further has allowed me to see how my life is involved with this area and how it actually impacts it. I think it was first made clear to me when I looked at the actual energy processes that take place every single moment of every day, and how very little disturbances can change environmental processes substantially. I never really understood the fact that certain environmental, and human, processes can actually convert energy into many different forms in certain situations. And also, all of the types of energy can be converted in an infinite amount of ways. An example of this is how "mechanical or electrical energy is, for instance, produced by many kinds of devices, including fuel-burning heat engines, generators, batteries, fuel cells, and magnetohydrodynamic systems" (Encyclopedia Britannica). In this example, fuel burning heat engines are used to produce mechanical energy, but in the process chemical energy is turned into thermal energy which is then converted into mechanical energy. As you can see, this is just one of countless processes that convert energy many different times. Another way I started to look at these topics was from an economists' point of view. I started to think more about how we may deplete certain resources and how certain alternatives are helping to aid with this problem. Another area is the distribution of resources and the certain decisions that must be made when deciding what and how much to use. An example of this is the fact that "schools spend more on energy than on computers and textbooks combined" (www.ase.org). If scientists could develop new methods of energy conversion, maybe schools and other areas of interest can decrease their spending on resources and ultimately energy usage. All-in-all, I think that the biggest topic of interest involved with energy and the environment is how much we actually consume (resources, energy, etc.) and how we can try to decrease this figure. To think about how much energy we actually use, and how this number has increased, consider the fact that in the past 54 years we have increased our energy usage from 29 quadrillion Btus to about 84 quadrillion Btus (Annual Energy Review). This figure is constantly increasing, which is one of the biggest environmentally-related problems that we are faced with today.

Living With Parents Vs. Living :: essays research papers

Living with Parents vs. Living Alone   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Living with your family and living all by yourself is like living on two different planets. It will affect every detail of your life, right down to the way you talk, the foods youeat, and how much money you can spend. It will also determine how often your friends visitand how much freedom you have.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Living with your parents is similar to living in a royal palace; you will enjoy the luxuries of an elegant house, clean laundry, and a slightly bigger budget, but you will also have to defer to the king and queen of the realm. You will quickly discover that if your sovereigns aren’t happy, neither are you. While living under the rule of the parents, you will have to leave the house in order to socialize. Your friends will also fear the wrath of your sovereigns, and might visit you, but only for short periods of time. You will also have to wait until your parents go away on vacation to have a suitable house party.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Living alone, however, yields much more room for fun. You can dine on pizza and beer every night if you wish and your friends can visit any time. The furniture will be of your choosing, like the smelly ceramic vase in the corner with the strange mouthpiece. And you can clean the house under your own standards of cleanliness, not your mom’s.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The new freedom comes with a greater responsibility as well. Living alone, you’llbe facing the combined wrath of the dirty dishes, the laundry, and all kinds of new bills to pay. And you can’t ask your parents for financial assistance, it will only prove to them thatyou can’t make it out on your own.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Essay -- essays research papers

Throughout history, man has been fascinated by the thought of flying among the clouds. But recently it seems that man is slowly starting to come back down to earth and complete aviation-required tasks with two feet firmly on the ground. As impossible as it may seem, aeronautics and aviation are doing something almost unfathomable: letting airplanes fly without a pilot. This amazing feat is being done through the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). These spectacular aircrafts are revolutionizing the aviation industry by using incredible technology and the brightest minds from all around the globe. Many prestigious aviation companies such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin, (to name a few) have led the way in the design and development of UAVs. Even though UAVs are seen as very modern and futuristic, the concept of flying without a pilot has been thought of for long time. (â€Å"Brief† 1) The idea was first tested during the United States Civil War, when both the North and South attempted to put explosives in a hot air balloon, and make them drop on the other side’s camp. The idea of using hot air balloons was used again in World War II by the Japanese, who attempted to bomb the United States by using wind to guide the balloons. During WWII, the U.S. had a more successful attempt at producing a UAV, a prototype called, â€Å"Operation Aphrodite.† (â€Å"Brief† 1) But it was the development of cruise missiles that paved the way for UAVs. The aeronautics company, Chance Vought Aircraft, is the company that took the first step in p roducing UAVs by proposing the idea of putting landing gear onto missiles. One of the first, full-functioning UAVs is the Firebee. The Firebee was designed by Ryan Aeronautical Company and u... ...form surveillance as well as artillery missions (â€Å"Production† 1). Other countries with UAV programs include North Korea, South Korea, India, Pakistan, Japan and Australia, to name a few (Wilson J.R). UAV technology is available to not only industrial superpowers, but also to smaller countries. Unmanned Aircraft are the future of aviation. When people think that the most advanced and best models cannot be topped, they are surprised to find that what they thought was the best, is merely a stepping stone of a field with tons of potential. UAVs are keeping humans safer but are also doing jobs that, without them, would be hard for humans to do. UAVs are the result of the most advanced technology known to mankind being put into an aircraft. With so many advanced models of UAVs already, it is amazing to ponder about what the future of UAVs will hold.

Interdiscuplinary Study in Consumer Behaviour Essay

With the development of a consumer society, increasing consumer power in the market place, the growth in marketing, advertising, sophisticated consumers, ethical consumption etc, consumption is recognized as central to modern life. Thus it entails to go into a depth of the different approaches to consumer behaviour. Many human sciences give a variety of reasons to explain why a consumer behaves in a particular way in a given situation. Studies of consumption investigate how and why society and individuals consume goods and services, and how this affects society and human relationships. These are found in many social sciences such as economics, psychology, sociology, etc. The present study tries to investigate these theories based on consumption and consumer behaviour and how far these are interlinked as well as different from one another. It is also aimed at studying the relevance of these theories with the help of primary data and research. The purpose of this study is to find out whether there is some interlink between the various theories and approaches given by different economists, psychologists and sociologists. The hypothesis framed for the research is that Consumption is greatly influenced by the income factor. The data used in the study was mostly secondary in nature from the internet and reference to several books. The theories of consumption studied for this purpose are the demand theory, indifference curve analysis, revealed preference theory, Keynes’ consumption theory, permanent income hypothesis, relative income hypothesis, life-cycle hypothesis, Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, the sociological theories of consumption given by G. Katona, Ruby Turner Norris and the theory of Conspicuous consumption given by Veblen. An attempt has been made to study consumer behaviour with the help of primary data collected from a sample of 40 people from 4 categories namely, students, housewives, employees and businessmen. They were asked to rank the different factors that influence their buying behaviour. The influential factors given in the questionnaire were taken from the consumption theories given in economics, sociology as well as psychology as given above. From the analysis of both primary as well as secondary data, it was found that majority of people give importance to their income level. However, it is also found that, besides income factor, people also think about sociological and psychological factors while purchasing a commodity such as security, safety, fashion, advertising, comforts and prestige issues. As given in the Sociological theories of G. Katona and Norris, it was seen after the primary data analysis that the economic theory of consumption lacks such social structural variables. Thus it is concluded that in the construction of any consumption function or theory – for a particular product, for a particular class of products, or for consumption in general – not either economic or sociological or psychological variable is to be regarded as the key determinant. Different combinations of all these three enter into different statements of consumption functions at different situations and time periods according to the necessity or urgency of the wants.

Project Schedule

A Little Horizontal Integration, Please Greg Fry MGMT6109049 University of Maryland University College Bureaucracy consists of an organization characterized by: specific job functions and a strict vertical hierarchical structure. Bureaucratic structure introduced a shift in the archetype of society just before the 19th century. Max Weber, known for his thoughts on capitalism and bureaucracy, contributed greatly to this archetype.The classic bureaucratic model, according to Weber, is described as having such characteristics as: political neutrality, vertical structure, specific job responsibilities, and well-written impersonal documentation, which is used to ensure functional reliability. (Weber M. , 1978) This essay will concentrate on the vertical structure and the rigid tasks and knowledge of the bureaucratic model, to show that an organization can become too big and rigid to be effective in daily tasks.According to Weber, â€Å"bureaucratization offers above all the optimum possi bility for carrying through the principle of specializing administrative functions according to purely objective considerations. † (Weber M. , 1958) However, this takes away the human factor, which can hinder an employee from making an effective decision. This is all too clear when looking at the Veterans Benefits Administration, and how they handle their customers. The following diagram depicts the Veterans Benefits Administration Organization (Organization Chart – Veterans Benefits Administration, 2012): pic] Figure 1 The Veterans Benefits Administration organization is a vertically structured government agency. The structure shows how the different regional offices do not have the means to communicate with each other. Figure provided by (http://vacriteria. tpub. com/vba_dg/vba_dg0010. htm). Weber predicted that bureaucracy would triumph because of its ability to ensure more efficient functioning of organizations in both business and government settings. (Daft, 2010) However, in the case of the Veterans Benefits Administration, Weber may be wrong.The vertical hierarchy and strict rules prevent the different organizations from talking to each other. The example below will show that a large bureaucracy needs to be horizontally integrated along with the vertical structure to allow the employees the freedom to make decisions and communicate properly with other functional areas. A former Air Force member decided to use his GI Bill to continue his education. He started to use his bill while living in the state of Maryland. He then moved to Indiana, where he continued to use the GI Bill without issue.However, during a semester of class, the member needed to drop a class due to job priorities. He contacted the Education Service Organization, as seen in the above chart, to let them know of his issue. They were in agreement that the class should be dropped without penalty. A few months passed, and the member received a letter in the mail from the Eastern Regional office stating that the member owed money due to the dropping of the class earlier. The member called the helpline to explain the situation.The student was told that the regional office is separate from the education services branch and that he should have corresponded with the regional branch instead. The member went up the chain of command within the regional organization, without success. He was advised to protest the decision, which could take up to six months. The frustrated student sent in all the pertinent documents to the review board, which was located in the eastern region. During the protest stage, the member received another letter from the Veteran Administration’s Collections Center.The student was very surprised and contacted the collections center immediately. Once the member was able to reach a person who could help, he tried to explain that he was protesting the decision that was made by the office in the eastern region. The collections officer said that it didn’t matter what he was doing with the eastern region. The collections officer was located in the central region where all non-payments are reported. The student asked if the collections officer could contact the eastern regional representative to clear up the mess that was being created.The answer was â€Å"no† due to the fact that the central and eastern regional offices were not associated with each other, and he had his rules and regulations to follow. After a two year battle, the student ended up having to pay money back to the Administration, along with fees from the collections agency. Rather than focusing on narrow jobs structured into distinct functional departments, the Veterans Benefits Administration should emphasize core processes that cut horizontally across the organization and involve teams of employees working together to serve the customer. Daft, 2010) Weber built these bureaucratic organizations to act like machines and not think; however, bureaucracies could not and cannot act like machines because they consist of human beings. People will simply not imitate machines, although the Veterans Benefits Administration has certainly given it a good shot. Reference Daft, R. L. (2010). Organization Theory and Design (tenth ed. ). Mason, Ohio: Joe Sabatino. Integrated Publishing. (n. d. ). Organization chart Veterans Benefits   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Administration.Retrieved January/February 4, 2012, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://vacriteria. tpub. com/vba_dg/vba_dg0010. htm Organization Chart – Veterans Benefits Administration. (2011, October 10). Retrieved Ocotober 12, 2011, from Integrated Publishing: http://www. tpub. com/content/vacriteria/vba_dg/vba_dg0010. htm Weber, M. (1978). Economy and society: An outline of interpretive sociology (Vol. One). (G. Roth, & C. E. Wittich, Eds. ) Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press. Weber, M. (1958). Essays in Sociology. (H. H. Gerth, & C.W. Mills, Eds. ) N ew York: Oxford University Press. ———————– UNDER SECRETARY OF BENEFITS OFFICE OF EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING CHIEF OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT DEP. UNDER SECRETARY FOR BENEFITS OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICE OF RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OFFICE OF EXE. MANAGEMENT & COMMS EASTERN[pic] REGION CENTRAL REGION SOUTHERN REGION WESTERN REGION REGIONAL OFFICES REGIONAL OFFICES REGIONAL OFFICES REGIONAL OFFICES COMPENSTATION & PENSION SERVICE EDUCATION SERVICE LOAN GUARANTY SERVICE COUNSELING SERVICE INSURANCE SERVICE

Nettles by Vernon Scannell Essay

The poem ‘Nettles’ by Vernon Scannell revolves around a father’s perspective on an accident involving his son, through which the poet explores a father-son relationship, wherein the father tries to protect his son from the various difficulties in life. However, despite his efforts to shield his son from these problems, they will be a constant threat in life. The boy here is a metaphor for the army, with the nettles being an extended metaphor of recurring war. The combined effect of these metaphors throws light on the difficulties in life. The poet has crafted a title which aptly uses symbolism to depict the nettles as evil. A cursory reading of the poem portrays the protective instinct of a father for his beloved son, whom he tries to protect against all troubles in life. A reference into the author’s life tells us about his own involvement with army life, which is conveyed interestingly in the poem. There is an alternating rhyme scheme present throughout t he poem. Enjambment is used to help make the poem sound like a story. The poem has a single stanza which shall be divided into, for analysis, four stanzas consisting of four lines each. The first stanza revolves around a description of the poet’s son falling into the bed of nettles in a garden. The poet aptly uses the wordâ€Å"bed†, a term often associated with comfort that ironically the nettles cannot provide. The â€Å"green spears†, a metaphor for the flower stalks, show his discontent with the latter, therefore portraying them as a weapon of destruction. A spear is a weapon of war and killing, inducing war and blood imagery. The poet’s interesting word choice in the description of the nettle bed as a â€Å"regiment of spite† portrays them as an enemy. The phrase â€Å"regiment of spite†, coming from archaic vocabulary, is used in the juxtaposition of the nettle bed with an opposing army in a state of war. Moreover, the poet paints the setting of the regiment as being behind the shed. This creates an illusion of a hidden enemy, ready to pounce on his innocent son. The close-knit father-son relationship is shown by the persona’s hatred towards the nettle bed, which hurts his beloved son. The father is willing to do anything to protect his son and despises his son’s enemies and ill wishers. This stanza talks about the father’s protectiveness of his son from the numerous troubles in the latter’s life, inducing the readers to be warm towards this beautiful relationship. The second stanza revolves around the son’s reaction to being hurt by the ‘green spears’. By effective use of word choice, the poet describes the son asâ€Å"the boy†, highlighting the transition in language from a more personal â€Å"my son†. The poet uses visual imagery to conjure vivid images of his son with â€Å"white blisters beaded on his tender skin†. The words ‘white’ and ‘tender’ portray the sonâ₠¬â„¢s innocence and purity. Moreover, the word â€Å"beaded† is used to depict the enormous amount of blisters and how his son’s sufferings were deep. The father speaks about comforting his son in the next line through the word â€Å"soothing†. The pain is being described as ‘raw’, to draw a contrast between the son’s innocence and tenderness, and the nettles’ ability to hurt. The father is afraid that the son’s memories will leave him scars, which may remain with him forever. However, as shown in the end of the stanza, the son’s terrible memory is washed away. The son has moved on from the incident, but the sense of pain still lingers. The father-son relationship is shown to be one of immense love with the father protecting and consoling his son. The third stanza, more literal in meaning, revolves around the narrator’s reaction to his son’s injuries. In the first line, the poet removes his billhook and prepares to destroy the nettles. Through the second line, the poet is shown to be destroying the nettles. By apt use of word choice, the poet describes his ‘fury’, highlighting his anger towards the nettles for trying to harm his son. By the action of destro ying the nettles in this stanza, the poet juxtaposes destruction of enemies and protection of loved ones, throwing light on the persona’s love towards his son. The poet uses personification by describing the nettles with the human quality of being ‘fierce’. This makes them seem like the enemy’s army which has been destroyed by the father. The poet ends the stanza using an enjambment to possibly show the continued struggles in his son’s life, leading the readers to connect emotionally to the father’s devotion to his son’s happiness. The final stanza revolves around the nettles retorting to the father’s attacks. In the first line, the father is shown to give the nettles a funeral. This shows the father ending the troubles caused by the nettles. With effective choice of words, the poet describes how the ’sun’ and ‘rain’, representative of nature and its power, finally help the nettles grow. The word ‘recruits’ shows the enemy army was returning and regrouping. Furthermore, the word ‘tall’ depicts the nettles being stronger and healthier than before and their readiness for the battle. The final line states that the son would be hurt by the nettles soon and again. While problems won’t wane with time, despite all of the father’s efforts, the son will have to find a way to learn to adapt to the renewed struggles in his life. On a concluding note, while an individual may have multiple protectors, the lesson of independence is fundamental to life. Hurdles must be encountered and tackled to emerge with strength and power. One of the most interesting poetic devices used is the metaphor of war, drawing upon the battles in a person’s life. In â€Å"Nettles†, Vernon Scannell expresses how the son must eventually stand up on his feet, despite the father’s attempt to protect him though his life.

Amazons Marketing Strategies

It also uses existing communication systems. Lastly it utilizes behaviors and mentalities. Combined, all of these aspects ensure that Amazon can grow a very successful company it also keeps it as strong as possible. Without some of these marketing strategies Amazon would not be what it is today. Throughout Amazons entire time, these have been some of the things that they have always looked for, in terms of trying to provide a great experience and market their company.Analysis: Starting off with freely proffers products and services. I think this is very important for Amazon to always have since there company relies on other companies selling on there site. Without the products and services that are sold on there site, think they would not be as successful as they are today. Amazons friendly interface provides the customers to feel like they are buying from a reliable source as well as feeling at ease while searching through the site.This is very important for Amazon, because many peo ple use it because It is so easy to buy produces from the site. Amazon as a whole scales extremely easily from large to small. This can make the company better in many different aspect. Not very many companies have this ability. Amazon exploits many products and recourses and it helps everyone. It helps the customers find what they need, it helps the companies gain popularity and helps Amazon to create a much better site as a whole.

Report on order entry points in the spectrum of supply management Coursework

Report on order entry points in the spectrum of supply management - Coursework Example Review of all the references quoted in my report and eliminated those which obstructed the flow of the report 5. I have also reviewed the relevancy of the case studies and made improvement over them. 6. At the end I would like to say big thanks to Dr. Rob Dekkers who help me and made me to produce such a model report. Table of contents Summary5 Introduction...6 Evolution of the Concept of Order Entry Point ........8 Research Methodology and Scope of the Report ..............................................9 Customer Order Decoupling Points - Concept and the Basics ..10 Customer Order Entry Point as Distinguished From Customer Order Decoupling point 16 Order Entry Point and Its Control Capability for Logistics ......17 O.E.P. and its effects on Supply Chain Management ..........20 Case Study23 Order Entry Point and Engineering Management ..25 Case Study27 Production Management Perspective in Order Entry Point ......28 Case Study29 Logistics Control and Physical Distribution 30 Case Study31 Conclusion ...33 10.0 References ...34 11.0 Glossary ..38 LIST OF FIGURS Figure # Description Page # 1 Order Entry Matrix. 13 2 Manufacturing Process and CODP 15 3 Representation of material Decoupling Point 22 4 Comparison of Material and Information Decoupling points within a Supply Chain 22 5 Changes that can be expected by a firm by implementing the Modular Design 26 SUMMARY: A firm to be successful in the global environment should manage its supply chain in such a way that the problems caused by distance, language, time ones, business practices, tariffs and other impediments to an efficient flow materials are eliminated or minimized to the maximum possible extent. Irrespective of... Report on order entry points in the spectrum of supply management Case studies enlightening the excellence and achievements in various fields of management are also included to make the report more interesting to the reader. Unlike the earlier reports, this one encompasses the relationship of order entry point to different fields of management like supply management, engineering management, production management and logistics and distribution which makes the report unique. A firm to be successful in the global environment should manage its supply chain in such a way that the problems caused by distance, language, time ones, business practices, tariffs and other impediments to an efficient flow materials are eliminated or minimized to the maximum possible extent. Irrespective of the time of placing the order or providing complete details with respect to his expectations, the customer always wants his delivery in the appointed time and date. The delivery date for the final product or service appears to be a strong concrete wall which will never move and every person and process walking towards this wall has to adjust their course of movements such that there is no direct hit against wall. An efficient distribution management has resulted in a higher sales turnover for ‘Timberland’ from $ 293 million in 1992 to $862 million in 1998. Based on the increase in the demand for boots and other products, the company made a reengineering of inventory management and distribution processes. With this reengineering process the company reduced the number of distribution centers to three from the unwieldy state of having thirteen distribution centers spread allover the country.

Jack the Ripper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jack the Ripper - Essay Example Due to the limitation of resources, women resulted into prostitution to meet their basic needs. During this time is when one serial killer who killed prostitutes by cutting their throat and removing abdominal organs and the genitalia emerged. He was believed to be well sophisticated with anatomical knowledge for the fact that he got this organs off so perfectly well. Many people believed that the killings were linked for the fact some of his victims were related in some way and the killings were committed within a short period. The victims had similar cuts, although some of the victims were not mutilated per abdomen. The victims were all killed at night with most of them being discovered early in the morning. The name Jack the ripper, came up after a letter addressed to the media from one who claimed to be the killer hit the headlines. However, it was believed that the letter was drafted by one of the media people to create more attention on the issue for further investigation and co verage. There were a number of theories that came up to figure out who Jack the Ripper was. The most prominent theory is the conspiracy theory that involved the royal family. It was believed that the killings were a high profile undertaking after Prince Albert Victor impregnated a shop girl, Annie crook. Queen Victoria’s physician brutalized Anne crook until she forgot everything and left her child with one prostitute Mary Kelly. Once this prostitute got the information, she shared it with fellow prostitutes who are believed to be the victims. It is believed that they were killed in order to save the loyal family form the humiliation they could have had incase news went out that there was an illegitimate son out there form the Prince. In another instance, Doctor Thomas Neil Cream was convicted on unrelated madder charges at News gate prison where he was executed. During the

Weather Forecast Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Weather Forecast - Assignment Example The snowfall prediction is also above average. The experts on this website use a simple method of Persistence which is usually used for both short and long term forecasts. The persistence method depends upon the presence of a stagnant weather pattern. They claim to have an accuracy of around 82%. The experts from the third web site predicted that the winter of 2011-2012 would be extreme than the normal with more than usual snowfall. The reason for this prediction is that the state of Michigan had experienced a longer summer than usual. The scientists from this website predict their weather by the occurrence of abnormally warm or cold ocean waters and of abnormally high or low atmospheric pressures could be interrelated in vast global connections. The accuracy to which this website works with is 85%. It can be concluded from the research that the state of Michigan will experience a winter worse than what they usually encounter. They might experience some discomfort because of an unforgiving winter with above average snowfalls and blizzards every

TVR chapter 5 and 6 journal entries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

TVR chapter 5 and 6 journal entries - Essay Example as young as 2 years old, like, for instance, The Triplets: Christmas Special, as well as for a much more mature audience, as the movie About Schmidt starring Jack Nicholson as an aging man approaching retirement and coming to terms with his life. The movie medium is now taking over most of the entertainment industry medium, with books being sidelined as a secondary source of entertainment, and every book, in a way, claiming to be a movie in the making. Additionally, more and more individuals are taking up movie making, as they perceive it to be a medium through which they would be able to express their true selves and emit their ideas to other individuals. In a day and age where each not only has a story to tell, but wants to share it with as large an audience as possible, it is only logical that such individuals will reach out to the movie industry, an industry that reaches the maximum number of audience. Professional movies, with a director, producer, and cinematographer, try to be as creative as possible and tell a story, but, with the use of a camcorder and a connection to the Internet, individuals like Chris Crocker on YouTube expressing his views about Britney Spears aim to present themselves as their true selves. This use of the medium can have both positive and negative effects on its audience, as the way a situation is perceived varies from individual to individual. Moreover, such platforms for â€Å"movie making†, so to speak, normally end up not serving the audience, but causing them to be frustrated. Notwithstanding the movie platform is a great source of entertainment to the public as well as a platform to raise social issues, it can be used to merely document the mundane routine of one’s life, as is often seen on YouTube. YouTube, in my personal experience, can be, and often is, used for uploading mundane videos about people who have no clue what they are talking about, simply wanting their voices to be heard, or wanting to get noticed.

Arguments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Arguments - Essay Example The beaches in San Diego are beautiful and famous, and the city has several other attractions such as zoo, wild Animal Park, Sea World, and Balboa Park with all the museums. Similarly, this beautiful city is distinguished for the availability of world-class goods and services, and it is one of the richest and safest cities in the United States. It is important to realize that Forbes magazine has rated San Diego as the fifth-wealthiest city in the United States and the 9th safest city in the top 10 list of safest cities in the nation. (Clemence) The city was also rated in 2006 as the fifth-best place to live in the United States, and there are several favorable conditions for happy and peaceful living in the city, including the weather, the beaches, opportunities for cultural events, availability of world-class goods and services, etc. Therefore, it is indubitable to claim that San Diego is a great place to live in. In a reflective analysis of the favorable conditions to live in San D iego, it becomes evident that the city is blessed with comfortable weather, the beaches, opportunities for cultural events, etc. The weather of the city, which is comfortable year round, is the most important reason to claim that it is a great location for happy living.

International Finance Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Finance - Case Study Example In 1993, ICI demerged its bioscience businesses to a publicly listed company, Zeneca Group PLC. 1997 saw ICI transforming from a regional manufacturer of bulk chemicals to a global specialty chemical and paints leader with the acquisition of Unilever's Speciality Chemicals businesses. Over the last decade, ICI has transformed its portfolio through a number of acquisitions and divestments worth more than 12 billion. Proceeds from divestments have helped ICI reduce its net debt and improve its balance sheet strength (ICI Annual Report, 2006). This paper evaluates the international operations of ICI and discusses how important international trade is for the ICI Group. Various analyses are conducted such as strategic, financial, SWOT, and risk to provide a deeper insight into the company's international operations. ICI Board comprises of the Chairman, Chief Executive, 3 directors, and five non-executive directors. Collectively, the Board is responsible for the success of the company. Through the Chief Executive, the Board delegates to management the overall performance of the company through the setting of clear objectives, building long-term management capability and ensuring that the business is managed in conformity with the business principles. Core businesses Core businesses of ICI comprise ICI Paints and the adhesives, specialty starches, specialty polymers and electronic materials operations of National Starch. These businesses serve diverse consumer and industrial markets through 40 strategic business units. These businesses are supported by Group functions that provide expertise in the disciplines of information technology, finance, human resources, operations, procurement, safety, security, and applied technology (ICI Annual Report, 2006). ICI Paints has some of the world's leading paint and decorative product brands. ICI makes products to prepare and care for many building materials, and provides coatings for cans and packages. It is headquartered in the UK and has operations in 25 countries (ICI Annual Report, 2006). National Starch markets a broad array of products to various sectors such as food, healthcare and construction. It has four divisions that are grouped around adhesives, specialty starches, specialty polymers and electronic materials. National Starch is headquartered in the United States, and has manufacturing and customer service centres in 39 countries (ICI Annual Report, 2006). ICI has a number of regional and industrial businesses, principal operations for which are located in Pakistan and Argentina. They include the manufacture of pure terephthalic acid, polyester, sulphur-related chemicals, wine chemicals and soda ash (ICI Annual Report, 2006). ICI is headquartered in the UK, with geographically diversified operations worldwide. Asia and Latin America account for 36% of sales, North America 33%, Europe 29%, and the rest of the world 2%. ICI's businesses have adopted a staffing policy whereby local nationals are typically hired. Total employee strength at ICI is 29, 130, of which 87% are located outside the UK. ICI Group has operations in more than 50 countries around the world. More than 60% of the Group's revenue comes from sectors which are believed to be non-cyclical in nature, such

Social media Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social media - Research Paper Example This paper shall seek to explain the manner in which online listening offers productive ways of analyzing the various forms of online engagement which have been overlooked for a long time (Crawford 525). Crawford asserts that online listening can be considered in several contexts. These contexts can be wikis, mailing lists, MUDs, blogs, RSS feeds, among others. Additionally, she says, â€Å"listening has not been given much attention as opposed to speaking-up† (Crawford 526). In this context, speaking up refers to writing articles or updating of status on the various types of social media. It is a fact that many people write their updates in order to catch up with their friends or inform the public of various issues. Therefore, there is need for the members of the public to read and comprehend what is being updated. This is what ‘listening’ of social media entails. There are three types of social media listeners, namely; politicians, individuals, and corporations. All the three groups face the need to listen to others by creating a social media presence. In this case, they may create twitter accounts which may give them platforms to listen to other people and be listened to as they interact online. In order to facilitate interactions, they can use the three modes of listening namely: â€Å"background listening, delegated listening, as well as reciprocal listening.† Crawford asserts that twitter’s use as a forum for background listening comes about as a result of the flow of conversations and commentary with few moments of concentration. From this, it is evident that Twitter’s conversations circulate in the background, just like radio. On reciprocal listening, social media I used by several politicians to update their activities, seek for support on policy announcements, among others. For instance, Gordon Brown and Barack O bama have Twitter accounts which they use to communicate to their supporters (Crawford 529). This is

Additional Retained Firefighters Essay Example for Free

Additional Retained Firefighters Essay Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten property and civilian or natural populations and to rescue people from dangerous situations, like as collapsed or burning buildings The complexity of modern industrialized life with a greater prominence of hazards has created an increase in the skills needed in firefighting technology and a broadening of the firefighter-rescuers remit. They sometimes provide emergency medical services, for example. The fire service, or fire and rescue service, also known in some countries as the fire brigade or fire department, is one of the main emergency services. Firefighting and firefighters have become ubiquitous around the world, from wildland areas to urban areas, and aboard ships. According to Merriam-Websters Dictionary, the English word firefighter has been used since 1903. 1] In recent decades it has become the preferred term, replacing the older fireman, since many women serve as firefighters, and also because the term fireman can have other meanings, including someone who sets or stokes fires – the opposite of the firefighting role. [2] In many countries, firefighters may be employed as full-time workers and paid a salary. See more:Â  The 3 Types of Satire Essay Additionally, there are volunteer firefighters (who are theoretically unpaid) and retained firefighters (or auxiliary firefighters, who are paid for the specific time they are on duty, i. . permanent part-time career firefighters) on call as required. [3] In such countries as the United Kingdom, the use of additional retained firefighters is standard. In Portugal, for example, the use of volunteer firefighters is standard, along with career firefighters. In Australia there are volunteer brigades which are mostly unpaid rural services, although traditionally they are paid by their employers if called out during usual working hours.

Parenting Skills Essay Example for Free

Parenting Skills Essay 1. What role do you think discipline plays in developing a child’s self-esteem? What forms of discipline best serve the self-esteem of the child or adolescent? 2. List and discuss how activities, clubs, or sports, impact the self-esteem of children and parents. Provide at least two activities, clubs, or sports in your answer. Discussion Answers 1. I think that discipline done correctly could help in a child’s self-esteem. When you discipline a child make sure that they understand WHY and it makes them feel trustworthy, and included. If you treat discipline like a dictatorship the child feels like you’re abusive and they are stupid and untrustworthy. people with low self-esteem generally Fail to achieve their goals, Are not able to pursue accomplishments in a responsible and disciplined manner, Have poor communication skills, Have a pessimistic view on life, Are prone to anxiety, depression, hostility, loneliness, shame, and guilt, Form unhealthy, destructive relationships with others, and Make decisions in life more to please others than to adhere to their own interests and value systems. I think that discipline done correctly could help in a child’s self-esteem. When you discipline a child make sure that they need to understand what is happening and they need to feel included. If you treat discipline like a dictatorship the child feels like you’re abusive. people with low self-esteem generally fail to achieve their goals, have poor communication skills, have a negative view on life and are prone to anxiety, depression, loneliness, and guilt. Also, form unhealthy, destructive relationships with others, and make decisions in life more to please others. 2. Parents should encourage children to participate in sports and clubs that are productive and give a feeling of accomplishment. However, it is not always advantageous for a parent to push a child toward a particular sport or activity because sometimes the parents will push their children towards their dream sports or activities they wanted to do as a child. 3. parents should encourage children to participate in sports and clubs that are productive and give their children a feeling of accomplishment. However, it is not always advantageous for a parent to push a child toward a particular sport or activi ty.

Factors Affecting Trade Volume

Factors Affecting Trade Volume Introduction The area of research for this thesis focuses on empirical study determinants of trade volume of Asian developing economies; which constitute the success of global trade. The relationship among determinants of trade studied in the context of developing economies which includes: Pakistan, India, China, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Factors those affects on trade includes: Tariff, Import duty, Inflation, Foreign Direct Investment (F.D.I), Exchange Rate, Transportation Cost and Gross domestic Product (G.D.P) affect on trade volume, based on gravity equation framework in which foreign trade depend in between countries. To accomplish this purpose by using standard gravity model, study comprises multivariate regression on trade of Asian economies. Study found that trade depend on distance in between countries, wealth, tariff and non tariff barriers (N.T.Bs) like exchange and capital control. Export volume of an economy measures trade volume of a particular country to indicate economic growth of a particular country (Tamirisa, 1999). An Economy that have positive balance of trade, improve economic growth of a particular country due to effective economic and financial performance. Besides this basic affects exchange and capital controls influence trade through other channels, for example, transaction cost, exchange rate, foreign exchange risk and trade financing. Capital control in particular country affect on trade in goods by reducing inter temporal trade and portfolio diversification, which may substitute or complement intra temporal trade (Tamirisa, 1999). Therefore, this thesis aims to study determinants of trade volume based on developing economies. A restricted trade policies imposed by a government is harm for a trade. Study found that world trade organization (W.T.O) rules regulations foster trade volume based on strategic planning of global trade at this competitive era. Despite the net economic and social benefits; most governments reduce subsidies and open economic trade. It has been realized in this study manufacturing tariffs remained high in developing countries. However; subsidies and trade policies affects on agricultural, textile and service industries of both rich and poor countries which continued hamper efficient resource allocation, economic growth and poverty alleviation (Anderson, 2004). Fundamentally, capital controls affects on trade by decreasing inter temporal trade and portfolio diversification. The impact of trade in goods depends, if trade in goods and trade in factors are substitute (for example, as found in the basic Heckscher-Ohlin model) the volume of trade in goods likely to fall. If trade in goods and trade in factors are complement (as, for example, in some models with increasing returns to scale), the volume of trade in goods increases (Tamirisa, 1999). The empirical evidence indicates that foreign direct investment tend to increase host countries export and import due to liquidity in a financial market. Foreign direct investment and exports are alternative strategies in this case. Since multinational companies (M.N.Cs) avoid to pay tariff. They initiate subsidiary companies at the host country to cross subsidize in other countries based on strategic management. Capital controls often limit business opportunities for hedging foreign exchange risk and trade financing, thus inhibit trade (Tamirisa, 1999). The gravity equation is one of the most empirically successful studies. It relates trade flow to GDP, distance and other factors that affects on the volume of trade (Anderson and Wincoop, 2003). For this purpose, the overall effects of trade barriers on Asian developing economies empirically studied, analyzed, tested and resulted. Justification For The Research This study is timely significant for theoretical, methodological and practical reasons. With regards to theoretical significance; this study contributes to the literature based on their specification. Determinants of trade volume of Asian developing economies comprises, Pakistan, India, China, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to identify their trade issues with respect to other regions based on gravity equation framework. As mentioned in empirical literature, determinants of trade volume contribute their significance at this competitive era, where lot of resistance exists at global market. While competition indicate threat for any type of business either manufacturing or service industry. On other hand trade barriers like Tariff, Import duty, Capital Control through Foreign direct investment (F.D.I), Transportation cost and Inflation raise more critical issues to survive in this competitive era. This study also practically signifies from management prospective for those entrepreneurs intending to cross subsidize their business at global market to retain their leading market share. Results of this study provide guidelines for entrepreneurs to identify their, Economic and Socio-Cultural issues that lead to trade barriers for their investment. This study support them based on empirical understanding about trade barriers of developing economies and how it affects on trade. Finally, this study will benefit on strategic decision making to implement trade policies in global market. This chapter comprises the foundation of this study. It introduces research objective and focus on trade and its determinants based on theoretical practical justification of this research. Then major terms used in this study are discussed comprehensively. Literature Review This chapter based on comprehensive literature review, those are useful for this study. The objective is to evaluate determinants of trade volume in the context of literature review. To this end, this chapter divided into three sections. First section deal broadly with trade and its determinants for which this thesis first explains determinants of trade and then model based empirical finding those are relevant to this research. The second section will investigate theoretical perspective and determinants of trade. The third section interlinks determinants of trade with empirical findings based on Asian developing economies. In short, this thesis first discuss trade theories as mentioned in the literature and then pertinent model present; which will not only explain trade theories but also highlight the link determinants of trade and developing economies. Overview Of International Trade It is a well accepted idea that free trade benefits all countries around the world; it is also a well known fact that hardly any country has always been practice free trade policies. Traditionally trade theories contend that government intervenes on foreign trade because of political pressure from interest groups. Since import can pose a threat to domestic industries, these industries lobby intensely for trade protection (Krueger, 1974, Pincus 1975, Mayer 1984). Other studies suggest that governments are tempted to use trade bargaining to gain larger share from global trade (Morishima, 1989); [Cheng, Liu, and Yang, 1999]. International trade is more or less substitute of foreign investment. On the contrary factor proportion hypothesis [Helpman, 1984; Markusen, 1984; Helpman and Krugman, 1985; Ethier and Horn, 1990] seems to predict that international trade and investments are complement as firms take advantage of factor price differences through cross border vertical integration. According to Aizenman, Joshua and Ilan Noy (2005), it is common to expect bidirectional linkage between FDI and trade. However, it is difficult to indicate whether inflows and outflows of FDI affect directly on trade in different types of goods and services. Study found there is strong feedback relationship between FDI and trade; especially in manufacturing industries. There is some evidence indicate trade enhancement lead to extensive competition in domestic and global market at this era (S. and W. Chaisrisawatsuk, 2007). Economic integration promises to raise trade volume through trade creation by engaging trade agreements. At micro level, interdependence between international trade and investment is magnified through intra firm trade (trade among foreign affiliates), outsourcing of raw material, intermediate goods, output and firms vertical integration behavior (S. and W. Chaisrisawatsuk, 2007). Since trade liberalization implies a liberated (less costly) movement of goods and services while investment liberalization implies better environment for movement of resources. Increasing international trade based on sustainable comparative advantage is a key condition for countries to realize gain from global trade. If trade and investment are complementary, FDI inflow supposed to enhance gain from trade. In addition, FDI inflow to the host country expected to improve efficiency and productivity of factors production, therefore it enhances the countrys competitiveness (S. and W. Chaisrisawatsuk, 2007). This study applies gravity model approach to investigate the relationship between international trade and foreign investment. Generally, countries with similar resources produce similar products. However, existence of two way trade (Bilateral Trade) in similar products and two way investments among developed as well as developing economies indicates that there is a room for trade and investment. Thus, simultaneous equation estimate is more appropriate approach used in order to capture feedback effects between trade and investment in order to examine relationships between trade and investment (S. and W. Chaisrisawatsuk, 2007). Factors Influence International Trade Study found that tariff, inflation, transportation costs are critical factors affect on trade of developing economies. The empirical evidence indicates foreign direct investment tends to increase host countries exports, although the impact on imports is relatively weak. In the presence of tariff barriers, however restrictions on foreign direct investment distort trade. According to the static general equilibrium model, trade is determined by the wealth and size of countries. While distance has a negative effect on trade, in a part because of trade costs (e.g., transportation and communication) are likely increase with respect to distance. Tariff barrier in the importing countries also tend to have a negative, albeit insignificant effect on exports into these countries. While Per capita, G.D.P and Population, on other hand, have significant positive effects on exports (Tamirisa, 1999). Factors those affect on trade justify in detail below. Tariff A tariff is a tax on import which is collected by the federal government to build infrastructure of a particular country. Tariff usually aims first to limit import and second to raise government revenue, thats reason multinational corporations (M.N.Cs) avoid to pay tariff. And initiate subsidiary companies at host country through cross subsidization to retain their leading market share at global market. Empirical studies found tariff lead to trade distortion due to it have a negative effect on trade which raises the cost of trade. Due to tariff rates significantly reduce export of developing and transition economies (Tamirisa, 1999). Model predicts the presence of trade barriers, such as tariffs and non-tariff barriers (N.T.Bs) diminish trade volume. The empirical study found tariff rate interact with the estimated share of free trade. Since trade distortions caused by tariffs; which indicate low growth rate in a country that needs to import more under free trade regime. Government intervenes in foreign transactions by imposing tariff on import of foreign goods. Therefore, tariff has two effects on economy, namely distortion of resource allocation and the transfer of revenue. Thus, distortion effects of tariffs on the growth rate evidently hinge free trade (Lee, 1993). Empirical study found large variation in trade, caused by tariffs and transportation cost. Tariff liberalization shift trade from rich to poor and domestic to global countries, this estimates imply that elimination of tariff create more trade for poor countries. It is also implies that tariff elimination would divert trade away from continental to preferential trading areas. It has been studied in empirical literature tariffs, distance and production costs are important factors affect on trade; study found tariffs reduce trade significantly. Where low tariff rate is exists among organization of economic cooperation and development (O.E.C.D) countries. While high tariff is exist among Non-O.E.C.D countries. Therefore elimination of tariff rate would raise global trade significantly (Lai and Zhu, 2004). Inflation It has been realized in comprehensive literature review inflation tends to hamper the volume of trade and slow down economic growth. The initial effects arise from decreased in domestic demand. Thus, result rises in price fluctuation relative to those competing or importing countries (Lovasy, 1962). The initial affects of inflation is an increase the price of goods and services in domestic market, which makes selling on that market more profitable than export. Since market price influence a volume of trade. However inflationary affects tend to encourage such change with a view to raise the price of commodity and maintain it high level. The creation of substitute adversely affects on the volume of trade. If inflation prolong over a period of years, trade will adversely affect through structural changes in an economy (Lovasy, 1962). The affects of inflation on exports may be counteracted by government actions in various forms like: adjustment of exchange rates, retention quota, subsidies on exports (either straight or through multiple rate practices). In other hand devaluation or gradual depreciation of exchange rate will raise the prices of trade (Lovasy, 1962). Since many other factors influence export, inflation can be a visible affects if it lead the price out of line with price in competing countries or importing areas (Lovasy, 1962). On the other hand, extensive empirical research such as Levine and Renelt (1992), Levine and Zervos (1993), Stanners (1993), Bruno and Easterly (1998) and Easterly (2003) indicate negative relationship between inflation and economic growth (Chowdhury and Siregar, 2004). Transportation Cost Transportation cost is one of the significant factor affects on trade. The importance of geography has been recognized by Moneta (1959) as well as by Hummels (1998). It was found that distance is a critical factor in-between country, whether they share common border or they are landlocked. The infrastructure depends on transport and communications network. Study found that infrastructure is quantitatively important factor to determine transport cost (LimÃÆ' £o and Venables, 2001). Generally these types of cost associated in foreign trade. 1. Physical Shipping cost. 2. Time related cost (Lead Time). 3. Cost of cultural unfamiliarity. Among these costs physical and shipping cost obvious with respect to distance in a trade (Frankel, 1997 quoted from Linnemann, 1996). Generally neighbor countries have more integrated logistics network that reduce number of trans-shipments. Second, neighboring countries are more likely to have transit and custom agreements that reduce transit time and translate into lower shipping and insurance cost. This suggests that distance affects trade volumes through transportation costs and through other channels such as information, which is often associated with distance. It has been realized that poor communication network leads to higher transportation cost, which significantly affect on the volume of trade (LimÃÆ' £o and Venables, 2001). Transportation cost negatively affect on trade volumes due to complex geographical location, infrastructure, administrative barriers and the structure of shipping industry. Based on comprehensive literature review, land locked countries face transportation cost fifteen percent higher and lower trade volumes than representative coastal countries (LimÃÆ' £o and Venables, 2001). Exchange And Capital Control Study found that most countries have liberalize policy on transfers payments; since economic policy is increasingly shifting toward liberalize transaction. Exchange control acts as a tax on foreign currency required for purchasing goods and services. Besides this basic effect, exchange and capital controls influence trade through other channels as well, for example, transaction cost; exchange rates, foreign exchange risk and trade financing. Study found that exchange and capital control often raise transaction cost (Tamirisa, 1999). Furthermore, exchange and capital controls can reduce trade by limiting the transfer of technology, managerial expertise and skills through foreign direct investment. Capital controls often limit business opportunities for hedging foreign exchange risk and trade financing. Thus inhibit trade volume in the presence of capital control. Exchange and capital control on other hand, often associated with an overvalued exchange rate, which inhibit trade. Moreover capital controls help to retain domestic savings and higher saving leads to higher investment in export sectors; thus trade may increase (Tamirisa, 1999). Study found that capital controls are critical barrier to export into developing and transition economies; but not to industrialized countries. These findings attribute to capital controls, which noticeably reduce export into developing and transition economies and have only a minor negative impact on export for developed economies. Reason is that industrial economies have relatively liberal regimes for global capital movement. While many developing and transition economies continue maintain various capital controls (Tamirisa, 1999). Exchange and capital controls affect trade through interrelated channels, including transaction cost, and volatility of exchange rate, inter temporal trade, and portfolio diversification. Study realized exchange and capital control have a negative impact on export. However, this result varies depending on the level of development in the country and type of exchange and capital control. These results may reflect the extent, to which restrictions on current payment and transfers have been liberalized (Tamirisa, 1999). Gross Domestic Product Trade cost operates primarily via price. In the context of monopolistic competition model, difficulty is created by the complexity of constant elasticity substitution (C.E.S) price index in the presence of asymmetric trade costs. To resolve this difficulty, three approaches have been taken: 1. G.D.P price indexes are used to capture the price effects in the gravity equation as Bergstrand (1985, 1989) and Baier and Bergstrand (2001). 2. Estimated border effects are used to measure the price effects, as in Anderson and Wincoop (2003) and Balistreri and Hillberry (2001). 3. Fixed effects are used to account for the price effects, as in Harrigan (1996), Hummels (1999), Redding and Venables (2002), and others (Lai and Zhu, 2004). Turn to an empirical investigation export from one country to other trading partners depends on gross domestic product (G.D.P). By using [Rauchs, 1999] classification sample consist in groups: homogeneous goods, differentiated goods in between categories. On the basis of gravity equation framework trade in each of these groups move from homogeneous to differentiated goods; studies found elasticity of export with respect to G.D.P rise significantly. These findings are empirically significant both economically and statistically. The G.D.P of exporting country is found to be a powerful explanatory variable to explain trade relations. There are demographic variables such as G.D.P and population which relate to the size and stage of economic development based on export and import in between countries. These factors are included in the study despite controlling the effect of dependent variable to determine whether size of an economy has an independent influence on trade relations (Feenstra, Markusen, and Rose, 2001). The ratio of trade volume to real G.D.P is often used as an indicator of an economys openness to international trade (Prasad and Gable, 1998). Import Duty Import duties refer to a tax in which importer pay to the government in order to bring foreign products in a particular country. Most of the import duties are figured in a percentage on declared value of the commodity. An import duty differs from product to product and depends on commodity is being imported. Its declared value of origin country. While product group used to assess import duties in between two countries (Sampson and Yeats, 1976). The competitiveness of domestic manufacturers adversely affected vis-ÃÆ'  -vis import because importer liable to pay additional charges due to execution of projects financed by a trading partners (Mukhopadhyay, 2002). Like India fetched excessive price because of banning imports on some goods, they charged very high duty running around the price of goods. These non traditional goods (mainly consumer durables) provided great stimulus to the contraband trade. However, when there is a massive scale of contraband trade, country face substantial loss in term of revenue (Sarvananthan, 1994). Foreign Direct Investment Study found foreign direct investment change industrial structure and trade flow across a country. Since FDI help in cost reduction and export promotion at host countries through up date technology. Foreign direct Investment (FDI) also provides financial resource for investment at a host country. In other hand it provides foreign exchange thats positively affect on the balance of trade. Indeed, in the wake of debt crisis, FDI has come to be viewed as an increasingly important source of revenue for developing countries (Goldar and Ishigami, 1999). Advantage of FDI is that it assists the host country to improve its export performance. By raising the level of efficiency and the standards of product quality, FDI makes a positive impact on the host countrys export. Furthermore, it provides better access to export in foreign markets. According to the Hymer-Kindleberger theory (Kindleberger, 1969) foreign owned firms investment at the host country; if it possesses competitive advantage which allows them sustainable growth. Foreign direct investment plays significant role to promote export and to change industrial structure of Asian countries through transfer of technology. Dunnings eclectic theory of international trade (Dunning, 1988) explain overseas market served by enterprises in different geographical location around the world. According to this theory, firms invest in a country if following conditions are satisfied: Firm possesses some ownership advantages vis-ÃÆ'  -vis firms with other nationalities serving particular markets. It is more beneficial for the firm to produce in foreign country due to update technology and Infrastructure of a particular country (Goldar and Ishigami, 1999). FDI contribute on economic growth of the region through cost reduction and export promotion. On other hand, rapid growth is being attained by the region due to update technology and infrastructure for a particular country. As growth leads to expansion of both domestic and global market (Goldar and Ishigami, 1999). FDI flow in Asia has shifted over a time from Asian Newly Industrialize Economies (N.I.Es) to A.S.E.A.N. While china and Japan have became persistent source of FDI in developing countries (Goldar and Ishigami, 1999). During the past two decades, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong witnessed most rapid economic growth in all developing countries. Their export oriented strategy emphasis on foreign investment and trade is considered the main cause for their success (Amirahmadi and Weiping Wu, 1994). Many countries established Export Processing Zones and Special Economic Zone to promote foreign investment and export to other countries. These zones have preferential treatment in manufacturing process. Their products are targeted for export market. Taiwan and China are the chief example; where these zones have become major attractions of FDI (Amirahmadi and Weiping Wu, 1994). Exports and FDI is complementary instrument in economic growth [Veugelers and Yamawaki, 1991]. Increasing import and inward FDI increase competition on domestic market and reduce domestic firms profitability. FDI allow transfer of technology to produce and sell goods on foreign market. Empirical study found import have positive effects on competitive behavior of domestic firms and have negative effects on their profitability; it has been analyzed theoretically (e.g. by Caves [1985], Jacquemin [1982]) and empirically in the literature (e.g. by Levinsohn [1991], Pugel [1978, 1980], Turner [1980]); (Bertschek, 1995). Based on export oriented group of countries, foreign investment is a more powerful driving force in economic growth process rather than domestic investment. According to this supplementary hypothesis the elasticity of output with respect to foreign capital is predicted as exceeding with respect to domestic capital (Balasubramanyam, Salisu and Sapsford, 1996). Model For Study. Study comprises factors affecting trade volume of developing economies based on gravity equation framework. Foreign trade relation play vital role for economic development. Foreign trade is influenced by multinational corporation (M.N.Cs). These underlying relationships explain the effects, trade barriers of developing economies based on foreign trade relation. This section present trade model and its key concepts used in this study. Determinants of trade and its relationship with trade theory have been identified, tested and resulted. On the basis of comprehensive literature review; it observed that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"tariff, inflation and transportation cost are significant factors affects on trade volume of Asian countries. The trade model tested based on developed hypotheses in the next section of this research. Trade Theory Based on comprehensive literature following are the facets of trade theories focus on various concepts associated with global trade in terms of theories expanded by the scholars. Gravity Model Of Trade Theory Study found that international trade flow well described by a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“gravity equation frameworkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  indeed, gravity equation is one of the empirical accomplishment stories in economics and trade theories (Feenstra, Markusen and Rose, 1999). The gravity equation framework is one of the most popular empirical evidence for the whole range of spatial relations in economics and international trade over a period of time. Generally it apply to study determinants of trade volume and to assess various regional economic integration with respect to developing economies (Cieslik, 2007). In the context of international trade, gravity equation in its basic form nominate the amount of trade in-between two countries increases in their size and proportion to their national income, and inversely decreases by the cost of transport between them, (As measured by distance between their economic centers). This relationship closely look like Newtons (1687) law of gravitation which states that every atom in the universe attracts other atom with a force that is comparative to the product of their masses and inversely comparative to the distance among particles (Cieslik, 2007). Although gravity equation in its basic form performs a good job to justify foreign trade based on size of trading countries and distance between them. Therefore, in order to improve performance of the gravity equation in empirical studies of trade; one should take into account the impact of other factors that affects on volume of trade (Cieslik, 2007). Theoretical Foundation Of Gravity Model The concept of the gravity model based on Newtons Law of Universal gravitation which relate the force of attraction between two objects with their combined masses and distance between them. The application of gravity model in social sciences empirically proposed by James Stewart in the 1940s (Fitzsimons et al., 1999). And then originally applied to international trade by Tinbergen (1962), the gravity model predicts trade flow between any two countries as a function of their size and distance between them (Walsh, 2006). Economic size is measured by gross domestic product, population and per capita income. Distance typically calculated through transportation cost between countries capital cities. In some studies this is replaced by the measures of remoteness through G.D.P or measure distances relative to the countrys average distance with all trading partners. Extension of this approach is to calculate trade cost with respect to barriers. And other restrictions on trade flow by comparing predicted and actual levels of trade volume (Walsh, 2006). As the empirical applications of the gravity model has grown theoretically over a period of time; foundation of this model have also developed. Beginning with Anderson (1979); who illustrates gravity equation framework is consistent with a model of trade in which products are differentiated by the country of origin (Walsh, 2006). The gravity model is being established in a literature and measure potential trade between countries. The gravity model; defined by the Newtons Law of Gravitation, explain trade flow between two countries. It is one of the most popular empirical associations in economics and international trade. Earlier studies have estimated difference between observed values and predicted values those are calculated through O.L.S estimate of gravity model (Baldwin, 1994; and Nilsson, 2000); (Kalirajan and Singh, 2007). Justification Of The Gravity Model The Newtons physician primarily justify gravity model based on theoretical justification with their combined masses. Second justification for the gravity model was analyzed by Linneman (1966); (Rahman, 2003). Anderson (1979), Bergstrand (1985, 1989), Thursby (1987), Helpman Krugman (1985) share this view. Their studies identify number of variables. However, price and exchange variables can be omitted when products are perfect substitutes for one another in consumer preference. This structure of course, obtains the standard Heckscher-Ohlin (H-O) setting (Jakab 2001); (Rahman, 2003). Empirical Study Study found the gravity model in the context of international trade applied, first time independently by Tinbergen (1962) and PÃÆ' ¶yhÃÆ' ¶nen (1963) but they didnt have any theoretical justification at the beginning. The earliest but not completely successful attempts provide a theoretical justification for the gravity equation by Linneman (1966), Leamer and Stern (1970) and Leamer (1970). However, origin of the gravity equation from a model was not possible till the product homogeneity assumption; since early neoclassical trade literature was relaxed at that time (Cieslik, 2007). The first formal attempt to derive the gravity equation directly from theoretical point of view made by Anderson (1979) based on Armington hypothesis which argues that products differentiated by the country of origin. Anderson (1979) demonstrated to derive gravity equation by using properties of Cobb Douglas expenditure system when goods produced by a country. Andersons (1979) approach subsequently applied and extended by Bergstrand (1985) who derived and summarize equation in terms of trade flow (Cieslik, 2007). An alternative method proposed by Helpman (1987) who completely departed from neoclassical assumptions of traditional Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson model. Which assume monopolistic competition and product differentiation among various firm in all industries rather than countri