Caliban’s Feelings Towards Propero Essay

In this essay I will tell you about Caliban’s feelings towards Prospero, how Prospero treats Caliban and a chain of exploitation involving Caliban and Prospero. Caliban is the rightful owner of an island that Prospero, an ex-duke of Milan and a type of sorcerer, and his daughter Miranda, a girl who was only 3 years old when her father was overthrown by his brother Antonio and pities people who are harmed by her father’s magic, took over when they arrived on the island and managed to control Caliban with his magic. Caliban finds more people to work with, when Prospero ship wrecked their boat, called Trinculo and Stephano and plan to kill Prospero. After Prospero took over the island Caliban has tried to reclaim it but is then punished by Prospero’s magic. When Caliban talks to Trinculo and Stephano about trying to reclaim the island from him he tells how he was usurped ‘As I told thee before, I am subject to a tyrant, a sorcerer, that by his cunning hath cheated me of the island’. The words tyrant and sorcerer display Prospero as an evil and cruel master, when Caliban calls him a tyrant means that he thinks Prospero is a person who exercises power in a harsh, cruel manner. In the quote it says he was ‘cheated me of the island’ shows that he was ill-treated by Prospero and suggests that Caliban has been made inferior. In line 106 Caliban asks Stephano if he will destroy Prospero, the use of the word destroy tells the audience that Caliban hates Prospero so much he doesn’t only want to kill him he wants to hurt him so much that the broken beyond repair, and he wants them to ‘batter his skull†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.  Cut his wezand (his windpipe/throat)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦paunch him’, punching is when you cut an animal’s stomach area and all its intestines fall out and you then clean the intestines to get out the good meat. The way Prospero treats Caliban according to Caliban he is ill-treated by Prospero and tells Stephano the ways he is cruel to him, ‘I say by sorcery he got this isle, from me he got it†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..  Revenge on him for I know thou dar’st’, when Caliban tells Stephano that he was usurped by cruel magic he asks ‘how now shall this be compassed? Canst thou bring me to the party’, Stephano is asking Caliban how will he get his revenge and can he come along to help Caliban. Stephano agrees with Caliban that he was ill-treated and happily agrees the help kill Prospero and in return he gets to rule the island and have Caliban and Trinculo as his viceroys. While Caliban is telling Stephano of all the horrid things he wants to do to Prospero he tells him about his daughter Miranda and Caliban says ‘Ay, lord, she will become thy bed, I warrant, and bring thee forth brave brood’ the exploitation is that Caliban is telling Stephano that he can force Miranda to sleep with him and give birth to many children at his pleasure, the irony in this is that Caliban exploiting Miranda, the person who has always been exploited. When Caliban asks Stephano if he will help kill his master he says ‘beat him enough, after a little time I’ll beat him too’ the exploitation in this quote is to Prospero because they are implying that they can easily overpower him and beat him, in line 106 Caliban asks Stephano ‘Wilt thou destroy him then’, the word destroy tells that he does not only think he can overpower him but have enough strength to destroy him, this exploitation is no ironic because Prospero used his strength to exploit Caliban. Whilst Caliban is listing the ways he wants to kill Prospero he tells Stephano and Trinculo ‘First possess his books: for without them he’s but a sot’ He is telling them this because he knows how weak he can be without his magic and his books and how strong he is with them. The fact that Caliban knows his weaknesses tells the audience that he has been planning to get revenge on his master, now he has formed an alliance with Stephano and Trinculo means that he can put his plan into action and finally get revenge on his old cruel master Prospero. He follows on from this and says ‘burn but his books; he has brave utensils- for so he calls them’ Caliban is saying that you can burn anything you want except his books because they hold great power and will be a type of trophy they gain for killing Prospero. In the story of The Tempest I think that Caliban and Prospero’s relationship is bad because at the beginning they argue about whose island it is. Later on in the story Caliban finds Stephano and Trinculo and makes an alliance with them, he then promises to show and tell them the best springs are in return for some wine, he also gets them to help him get his revenge on Prospero. Prospero doesn’t like Caliban because he abuses Miranda and always threatens him and tries not to help them live their lives. Overall I think Prospero and Caliban’s relationship is the worst in the whole story and doesn’t improve and only gets worst.

Ontario’s Nuclear Plants

Ontario†s nuclear power planets are damaging our environment and economic structure; nuclear power should be shut down and replaced with safer methods of power making. Ontario†s nuclear power is not the safe and clean way to produce power, Ontario†s nuclear plants are becoming outdated, nuclear waste is building up, and contamination is becoming more of a threat. Ontario thought that nuclear was clean, safe, and cheap way to produce power. During the 1950s, Ontario Hydro was looking for new sources of electricity to meet the growing demand. In 1954, a partnership was formed between Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), Ontario Hydro and Canadian General Electric to build Canada†s first nuclear power plant called NPD for Nuclear Power Demonstration. In 1962, NPD began supplying the province of Ontario with its first nuclear generated electricity. Ontario had found it†s new source of electricity, and they were not fully aware consequences that would happen after many years of use. Power projects (later AECL CANDU), based in Toronto. Ontario and Montreal, Quebec became responsible for implementing AECL†s nuclear power program and marketing CANDU reactors. Nuclear power was cheap, if you did not have to worry about the waste. This was the answer to Ontario†s power problems, so they invested in the newest source of power at the time. Most people believed that nuclear power was a good change in Ontario†s power structure, and there would be no real problems in the future. Ontario needed a new source of power in the 1950s; they found it in nuclear power and it solved the problem. In the 1950s the average person did not have a lot of knowledge about nuclear energy, and nuclear studies were being held. All people really knew was the positive side of things, the government and research body†s made videos that would try to describe nuclear energy to the public. The videos would talk about how great nuclear power and how abundant nuclear energy was. Making it sound like the answer to all our electric needs. The government and research body kind of jumped around the subject of nuclear waste, and the effects it could have on a human or the environment. The real truths about nuclear energy was not as widely known, and the majority of the people thought that nuclear energy was a positive step in the right direction. Ontario has a huge problem with the build up of nuclear waste, and this waste could have a huge impact on our environment if something were to go wrong. Radioactive mops, rags, clothing, tools, and contaminated equipment such as filters and pressure tubes, are temporality stored in shallow underground containers at the Bruce Nuclear Complex and elsewhere. At Bruce, a radwaste incinerator reduces the volume of combustible radioactive waste materials. In 1975, St. Mary's School in Port Hope was evacuated because of high radiation levels in the cafeteria. It was soon learned that large volumes of radioactive wastes from uranium refining operations had been used as construction material in the school and all over town. Hundreds of homes were contaminated. There are 200 million tons of sand-like uranium tailings in Canada, mostly in Ontario and Saskatchewan. These radioactive wastes will remain hazardous for hundreds of thousands of years. They contain some of the most powerful carcinogens known: radium, radon gas, polonium, thorium and others. Radio-active tailings also result from phosphate ores and other ores rich in uranium. In 1978, an Ontario Royal Commission recommended that a panel of world class ecologists study the long-term problem of radioactive tailings and that the future of nuclear power be assessed in view of their findings. The government has ignored these recommendations. Nuclear waste is biodegradable, but it takes it takes hundreds of thousands of years to do so, which could leave unimaginable results in the future. Lately Ontario†s nuclear power plants have been going threw horrible management, out dated equipment, and nuclear waste build up; resulting in economic breakdown. Ontario†s nuclear plants have not had their equipment greatly updated, which is a big problem that could be costly to fix. When calculated in real 1998 dollars, total federal subsidies to Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) for the last 46 years amount to $15. 8 billion. It should be noted that $15. 8 billion is a real cash subsidy to AECL, and does not include any opportunity cost? What the subsidies would have been worth if the government had invested in more cost competitive ventures. At a rate of 15%, the opportunity cost of government subsidies to AECL is $202 billion. There is also federal financial support for other nuclear activities in progress or impending, including: the Whiteshell Laboratories privatization ($23. 1 million); the MAPLE reactors at Chalk River Laboratories ($120 million); the Canadian Neutron Facility ($400 million); radioactive waste management and decommissioning ($665 million); and reactor exports ($2. 5 billion considered). In Ontario the bad management and the old equipment has lead to major change in the way the plats work. Also this will cost billions of dollars to do. In the long run Ontario†s nuclear do not make the money needed to stay open, with the costs of fixing them and reforming them it would just cost to much, so there is no point in doing so. Ontario has purposed to close down all of there nuclear plants, but they decided that is would be better to keep most of them open. There are much more safer, cleaner, and cheaper ways of producing power. We could invest solar, wind or tide power sources, all of which are safe. Leaving these nuclear plants open is like trying to heal your cut with a knife. Ontario and its people don†t realize that with the build up of nuclear waste, we could be looking into major crises. Many of Ontario Hydro†s problems are monetary in origin. The corporation has had difficulty maintaining its nuclear facilities in accordance with the Atomic Energy Control Board†s safety requirements. Hydro†s restructuring efforts reflect past negligence in preventive, minor, and responsive maintenance. It is now faced with a situation wherein the demand for energy must be met through the means of an increasingly limited resource . . . money. In response to this problem, the energy formerly supplied through nuclear power is being replaced primarily with coal-driven electrical generation. Hydro has implemented a short-term, quick fix solution based on the same practices and assumptions, which originally lead to the failure of Ontario†s nuclear energy program. As of now Ontario stands by its nuclear power and they do not have any current plans to shut down or totally reform these plants. Ontario†s nuclear power plants are a Danger to our environment, the economy, and a danger to the people, us; we should shut down all of these plants and replace them with safer methods.

SODA TAX Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SODA TAX - Essay Example Sin taxes are usually placed on cigarettes or alcohol. The government, therefore, should levy lefty taxes on soda because it will help in enhancing public revenues as well as dissuade people from drinking soda, which is a health hazard. Levying a higher tax on beverages like soda will fetch many advantages to the American society and most of the citizens will welcome such a measure. Kelly D. Brownell, based on â€Å"poll results contend that support of a tax on sugared beverages ranges from 37 to 72%† and the pole results from New York residents found that 52% supported a â€Å"soda tax,† but the number rose to 72% when respondents were told that the revenue would be used for obesity prevention† (Brownell). This shows that most of the American people recognize the positive effects tax on soda can bring to the American society in general. Since a major portion of American people in America consume large amounts of soda every day, the tax would help to bring in considerable sums of revenue for the government to pay off its debt. Soda is a popular drink that many people drink every day and many people are even addicted to the caffeine in it. According to Dr. Brownell further argue that â€Å"given the heavy consumption of sugared beverages, even small taxes will generate substantial revenue, but only heftier taxes will significantly reduce consumption† (Brownell). The government embarks on the introduction of such a policy, it will be able to generate some substantial revenue and this will help in making good the deficit and utilize the additional income foe development all activities.. Eliminating the fiscal deficit will not only be advantageous to the government but also to the public as a whole because the revenues that accrue as a result of additional taxes be utilized for public health campaigns to counter the measure of obesity. However, despite the benefits that

Descartes and Certainty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Descartes and Certainty - Essay Example Descartes opens himself to the possibility of rejecting the beliefs he has adopted early in life without proof down to the ones that lay foundation on his belief system. Descartes starts off by questioning his physical and spiritual existence. He checks for the veracity of his possessing a body and soul. His doubts escalate to the properties of objects such as dimension, color, quantity, and the place and time during which they exist. Afterwards and quite quickly, Descartes jumps into the subject of the existence of God, which also appears in a separate meditation - Meditation III. One may ask, "Why does Descartes' questioning on the existence of God appear so early in Meditation I" After attempting to prove his existence, Descartes tries to prove the existence of God or what he refers to as Deity. To him the ability to prove God's existence is the most significant goal the failure of which implied inability to prove everything else. This is how important the goal is to him. To a believer like Descartes, conceiving of ideas and existence of other things is only possible with God. It seems impossible to comprehend a world without a God. The existence of God simplifies the laws of nature, and answers the questions as to why the universe behaves the way it does. From his writings, it is clear that Descartes believes in God. Meditation II gives us a clearer view of Descartes' "I think therefore I am." Note that in Meditation I, Descartes' doubts concerning life, the universe and everything are strengthened by the contemplation of an "omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent" God being a deceiver. In many of his musings, Descartes bumps into skepticism but rejected it right away. At length, Descartes goes about his uncertainties and contradicts them to be able to get to his desired answer. He talks about intuition of the mind arguing that objects and bodies should be perceived not by the senses or imagination but by the intellect alone. Meditation III reveals Descartes advancing in his method of finding truth by forming a basis of certainty - the clear and distinct. To quote: "In this first knowledge, doubtless, there is nothing that gives me assurance of its truth except the clear and distinct perception of what I affirm". By "clear and distinct" he refers to objects that were not only perceived by his senses and ideas that formed in his mind but also objects whose existence was external to him. Despite this, Descartes cannot help doubting. As he progresses towards certainty, a new question forms in his mind and the process becomes circular. Descartes answers his metaphysical doubt by proving that God exists and is not a deceiver. Once he has proven the existence of God then everything else will follow. He treats the existence of God in the context of the existence of the material world. He uses wax as an example - extending it, melting it and so on and applies the same process of thought with God or Deity, for that matter. How ever little that metaphysical doubt, it has to be eliminated in order to witness the certainty of the existence of things. Descartes has to convince us that God or the evil genius has not merely enticed him into thinking that something can't emerge from nothing. Descartes attempts to make his point by dealing with contradictions. He uses

Homeland security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Homeland security - Research Paper Example Lives and properties were also lost to this collapse as people that plied that route during that fateful day lost their cars, lives to the collapse; some people also sustained injuries. The I-35 W bridge was built in 1967 and its collapse has exposed the vulnerability of other infrastructures to destruction and it has aroused everybody’s consciousness about the neglect of some key structural designs as regards their pending failure, it has further made the respective authorities to closely monitor and regularly inspect these infrastructures in order to guard against their failure (Subramanian, 2008). It is imperative to look into the collapse of this bridge and investigate the causes of the bridge and check whether the disaster could have been averted by taking precautionary measures. The events that followed the collapse of the bridge would also be closely monitored vis-Ã  -vis the response of the emergency management team in ensuring that the amount of casualties was reduced to a minimum. The findings gotten in this paper would help prevent future occurrence of infrastructural destruction and it would ultimately improve the response of the emergency unit in managing situations such as the one that befell the state of Minneapolis in 2007 as we seek to ensure adequate and effective disaster planning and management. There have been warnings concerning the imminent collapse of the 1,900-ft long I-35 W Bridge in Minneapolis as several experts had cautioned the authorities on the likelihood of the disaster. The unfortunate incident occurred on the 1st of August, 2007, just a few minutes past six, the Interstate highway with eight lanes crumbled inside the Mississippi River, plunging people into the Mississippi River and separating them from their vehicles. People and vehicles were displaced around the north and south ends of the bridge. The I-35 W Bridge collapse became a

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SOCIAL CONTRACT (OR NEGATIVE Essay

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SOCIAL CONTRACT (OR NEGATIVE FREEDOM)MODEL OF THE STATE AND HEGEL'S OWN MODEL OF IT - Essay Example The State is the form of expression of the people in an objective form that exists for them as knowers. Therefore possession under such a model of State would mean that property would belong to a person only to the extent recognized by others, and is a part of man’s struggle for recognition.(Hegel 439). The Hegelian model holds that the highest values and best traditions of a society can be politically embodied and expressed by the State. For Hegel, the State is universally altruistic, hence the interests of the State transcend those of the individual, because it is a means for a group of individuals to relate to each other out of a common will to live with other human beings in a community. (Avineri 134). The State is the ultimate embodiment of the amalgamation of the rational laws that govern a people and their subjective wills. The Social Contract Model is also founded upon the premise of recognition by others, however it is based upon those principles of social justice which individuals would adopt voluntarily in the absence of self interest. It does not view the State as the all encompassing, highest political expression of human interest; rather the laws that govern the State are formulated on the basis of principles that are commonly agreed to among people. In adopting principles to establish and govern their social institutions, certain limits will be set on individual freedom in order to ensure justice to everyone. However, within this framework, the model is formulated, consisting of initial conditions, the bargaining situation with actual proposals and the resulting social contract.(Rummel, 1981). Rawls articulates these principles of formulation of the State on the basis of social contract as follows: â€Å"No society can of course, be a scheme of cooperation which people enter voluntarily in a literal sense; †¦.yet a society satisfying the principles of justice as fairness comes as close as a society can to being a voluntary

Economic Interdependence and the Emergence of Globalization Research Paper

Economic Interdependence and the Emergence of Globalization - Research Paper Example Mexico, a developing country in the Western Hemisphere and member of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), will be used as a case study to explore the ramifications of realist-inspired neoliberalism and the effects of globalization on a country in the developing world. Furthermore, the effects of the international economic system will be discussed with reference to China, a formerly socialist state in the processing of liberalizing its economy and opening up to the global economic community. Globalization, as it exists today, rests largely on the shoulders of neoliberal economics and the global entrenchment of capitalism as the dominant economic system in the world. Inspired by Realist ideological doctrine, neo-liberalism is the belief in laissez-faire economics and its early proponents were Margaret Thatcher in the United Kingdom and Ronald Reagan in the United States in the 1980s. US President Ronald Regan famously remarked, "government was not the solution but the problem" (Hobsbawm 1994). Neo-liberals put all of their faith in the distributive capabilities of the invisible hand of the free market, and believe that business was inherently good and that government bad. The government was longer interested in the provision of welfare but existed to stimulate the capitalist economic market. The United States under Ronald Reagan was thus described as the "greatest of the neo-liberal regimes" (Hobsbawm 1994).   How did neoliberalism, the dominant political and economic ideology of the West since the Reagan years make inroads around the world and into the formerly Communist countries of Eastern Europe' The Second World, consisting of the global Communist community during the Cold War, was severely undermined by economic and political crises which began in the late 1960s. The result was a political and economic disorder. Economic crises undermined the political foundations of states like China and the USSR - particularly after the deaths of men such as Mao & Brezhnev - and the centrally planned economic systems of these countries remained under stress and increasingly precarious. The Soviet world was also not immune to global economic crises as evidenced by the effects of the OPEC crisis of 1973. These aftershocks paved the way for perestroika and glasnost in the USSR, the implosion of Yugoslavia and popular Chinese dissent expressed in Tiananmen Square and captured live on camera. The political and economic fragilities of the Second World were exposed following 1968 and slowly led to political decay, leading to the eventual implosion of the Soviet Union.  

Performance Management Through Benchmarking Simulation Essay

Performance Management Through Benchmarking Simulation - Essay Example The Nursing Administrator reasoned out that there is unavailability of equipment at the floor where the patients are being treated. She said that nurses spend most of their time looking for equipment on other floors that's why patient care is affected. Because work was getting delayed, nurses are not able to check anymore if the equipments are sanitized. Sometimes improperly cleaned equipment was used. The Materials Manager suggested purchasing enough equipment to be made available for each floor. But according to the Chief Financial Officer, Lenity annually spends much to ensure sufficient equipment and he guaranteed that there is enough for hospital requirements. He advised that nurses should instead be more careful about equipment handling. I favored the assessment of Chief Financial Officer Eric Danemar concerning proper handling of equipment. That will certainly diminish the risk of nosocomial infection. I didn't think that there is a staff or equipment shortage. The dillema of the heightening nosocomial infection rate can be resolved by efficient equipment management. I also took note of the fact that the simulation concentrates on the management of medical equipment. Although I correctly identified the root cause behind the rising nosocomial infection, upon fully understanding the... ied the root cause behind the rising nosocomial infection, upon fully understanding the details from Ian Watt's explanation, I noted that I must meticulously look on the reports to guarantee decision accuracy. ESTABLISH AIRWAY 1. Which two recommendations did you make to improve the equipment management process at LHAC Why Basing my decision on available information and advice of the staff, I decided that Nurses to Return Equipment and Equipment to be Terminal Cleaned as the best mix of processes to improve the medical management system. The combination of these two options earned the highest percentage in the JCAHO Compliance Index. With a budget constraint of $300,000, I instantly rejected the use of disposable equipment from the improvement options. Although disposable equipment is cheaper and more hygienic than reusable ones, its implementation cost is the most expensive among the process improvement options. On the other hand, concerning appropriate metrics to measure the new processes, the three metrics I selected are Total Cost of Managing Equipment, Utilization versus Cleaning Log Ratio, and Equipment Incidents Resolved. This decision was based on my understanding on the Evaluating Metrics. 2. What was the outcome Mr. Watts said that I have done well by recommending the best strategy. Re-designating some of the existing hospital personnel as Inventory Clerk was definitely a great way to ensure effective equipment management at LHAC. Suggesting terminal cleaning of equipment was also a good option. I have recommended the optimal mix of process improvement options. The Chief Operating Officer was happy with my performance in this area. The new equipment management process at LHAC has been a success. Centralized inventory has solved the problem of

Foreign Market Entry and Diversification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Foreign Market Entry and Diversification - Essay Example It is also vital to note that Kinko’s Printing Company has a lot to gain in terms of strengthening its foreign base and expanding the market. The Company should also execute its diversification strategy to acquire more competitive power comparative to their main rivals. The company might also desire to adopt a diversification strategy that is either neutral to value or one that leads to the company’s devaluation. The reason behind this is to neutralize the powers of the rivals in connection to market strength or to minimize the employment risk of the managers within the company. It is vital for Kinko’s Printing Company to consider diversification based on the need to improve the compensation of the managers due to the optimistic relation amid the size of the company, compensation and diversification. A Strategy for Diversification of the Company There are various foreign market entry strategies that Kinko’s Printing Company would take into consideration. T he company would opt to have direct exports, indirect exports, contractual agreements, joint venture or having wholly owned subsidiaries in the foreign countries (Ahlstrom & Bruton, 2010). The company could also opt for licensing other businesses in the foreign nations to run a similar business or even use franchising methods. In this case the best entry mode would to have a joint venture. The main objective of this entry strategy is to distribute risk or share the available technology and to mutually conform to the regulations of the government. The joint venture would specifically concentrate on the technological sector or industry. Some of the main products that would be appropriate for the company to diversify would be 3D printing and 2D printing. The company stands to benefit various synergies such as operational and financial strategies on top of the sales synergies and management strategies. Most importantly, in regard to the operational synergies given that the company falls in the technological sector, the emphasis is found on the need to increase the competitive nature and the marketing strength of the products in the industry. There will be shared costs of operation provided there is full government support in the host nation. The Best Foreign Market for the Company The best foreign market the company should consider diversifying its operation through the joint venture would be South Africa. Doing business in South Africa is indeed favorable for technological firms given the numerous incentives provided by the state. A joint venture in South Africa is possible due to the structures laid down by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Economic Development Department and the Industrial Development Corporation (Paul & Kapoor, 2008). There are numerous government incentives inclusive of the tax breaks and grants which are easily manageable. The main objective is to encourage more private sector participation in the increase of the production capaci ty. In particular, the state incentives are majorly split into three classes: capital expenditure incentives given the desire to acquire and uplift the assets of the company with an aim to create or diversify the productive capacity of the business. Besides, the government offers development and research incentives for such companies as Kinko’s Printing Company that would enable the firm to design and improve the latest products and business processes. Last but

Discussion Board Post Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Discussion Board Post Response - Essay Example This trend can impact n the competitive advantage of the facility since patients weighing more than four hundred pounds will opt to seek the services of other healthcare facilities. Facilities with more capital assets according to Zismer, Sterns and Claus () have a competitive advantage over others. In my organization, there is need for an additional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine to prevent long queues in the department as patients wait for their turn. Your case is similar to that in my organization as purchasing these equipments will increase efficiency of services. Your discussion Melton is also correct. Your organization considers the views of employees and incorporates their contributions in the formulation of budgets in terms of prioritizing purchase of capital assets. Incorporating employees in decision making has been proved to improve productivity as employees feel valued. Your organization does the correct thing. Subsequently, your organizations use of information regarding delays in patient care, patient anxiety, and patient satisfaction to demonstrate and justify the need for a vein finder sheds more light on how to demonstrate the need for an equipment in healthcare settings. My organization calculated the expected return of capital (Baker and Baker, 2014) to demonstrate the need for an MRI machine and the time patients wait in queues to be access the equipment. Your technique is applicable to my organization as

Effects of technology Essay Example for Free

Effects of technology Essay Technology is the specific scope of idea in which it reflects the overall application of knowledge towards the development of society (Bilton, 2007). In this aspect, greater improvements in the people’s way of life are the considerations involved in order to measure the effect of technology. Today, computers are among the most influential products of technology that have already changed the way people do their tasks. To evaluate the scale of such change, the realization that almost everything on this planet runs with the help of computers is a good aspect to consider. The most essential goal in fabricating computers was to help in the data process techniques to simplify the task of using them for everyday life. Since its inception in the middle of the 20th century, the social structures of the world population has already changed. The integration of computers to almost every type of tasks has made it much easier for people to complete responsibilities that would otherwise require enormous effort and time resources. An example on how computers have changed the society may be seen in the aspect of communications. Previously, the terms like internet, chat and video conferencing have no meaning. However, today’s computer technology has provided the essential convenience of communicating with another person from across any parts of the globe. A simple click on a web browser and sending an electronic letter is very much possible. It has provided greater channels for communications in a way that ease of use is not compromised. One more feature of computers, which modified the way society does things, is their capability of integrating with almost any other pre-existing devices. Today, television sets, cameras, bank machines, grocery scanners and vehicles are using devices that were primarily fabricated with the use of computers. Because of its capability to run tests for data management, it has been very easy for product manufacturers to see opportunities for technical improvements. Computers are now considered the basic platform that enables newer devices to run. Integrated circuits in all electronic devices are utilizing he same scope of computer based technology (Wikipedia, 2007). Lastly, computers are becoming the â€Å"multiplier† devices in which other patterned ideas will be introduced. Because of the scale of presence computers has in today’s society, a simple modification procedure to improve a product or service can cause greater developments for other segments of the public. Just like what happened in the business sector wherein almost all financial transactions are now done electronically. From a simple idea of using computers as a mean to collect money figures, it has developed into aspects no one has ever imagined before; internet banking, fund transfer-monitoring, calculations of stocks and online purchasing are no all possible with computer technology. Realizing the effect of technology in the lives of the people permits the society to consider developing more opportunities. With the significant social changes brought about by computer technology, people have been equipped to face the challenges of the future.

Drug Trafficking Is A Common Economics Essay

Drug Trafficking Is A Common Economics Essay Drug trafficking is a common trade in Mexico. Owing to its geographical location, Mexico strategic position in terms of drug supply, market demand, and distribution, the barons enjoy huge profits from the trade. Mexico neighbors Columbia, which is the world largest cocaine producer, and the U.S., which is a leading consumer of illicit drugs. Drug Trafficking Organizations in Mexico have a large network of illicit drugs supply. The Mexican laws against drug trafficking pose a major threat to the US drug customers since the laws threaten to cut down the drug trafficking avenues. However, the drug trafficking organizations are well organized and distinguished in order to conceal their illicit activities. This paper addresses similarities between the operations and activities of Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs) and those of legitimate international businesses. Mostly, the drug trafficker pose as money launders in order to invest their vast sums of cash obtained from the trade  [1]  This serves as a disguise since; they are able to channel their money to different investments, such as money laundering  [2]  .Like the international trade, the drug trafficking business is well- organized, with various marketing networks around the world. Drug trafficking is a business operation whose marketing techniques include smuggling, extortion, and threat, product line, and other outlawed items. The drug trafficking business is similar to a legitimate business venture, and sometimes has a corporate executive organizational structure, with support staff  [3]  The illegal business of drug trafficking survives due to pretense of undertaking legitimate business or through infiltration of legitimate business. In case of infiltration, the drug trafficking business operators use techniques such as protection rackets and immunity. Drug trafficking is a booming business in Mexico, where is it conducted by drug cartels and the Mexican Mafia. The cartels are not declared as terrorists, and this hinders the action of the American law enforcement and financial regulation on the Mexican borders  [4]   Seven drug cartels operate in Mexico. They are Sinaloa, Los Zetas, Arellano Felix organization, Beltran Levya, New Federation, and Familia Michoacana (LFM) cartels  [5]  . These cartels are illustrated as global businesses with backward and forward connections, for supplying and distributing their products in other countries  [6]  . As businesses, their main concern is supplying the markets with the illicit drugs in a most efficient manner in order  [7]  to increase their profits. This is a popular strategy, used by terrorist organizations, which engage in legal business, in order to fund their operations illegally or legally around the world. The Gulf Cartel emerges as a powerful drug cartel in profitability and territory. Los Zetas is extremely dangerous since it is made up of ex militaries from Mexican Airborne, who acts as assassins. Sinaloa Drug Trafficking Organization is more aggressive with an aim of controlling Drug Trafficking Organizations in Mexico. The LFM is a combination of criminal, social, and religious aspects, which leaves no marks on the corpses, and the crime scene, thus their actions are known as the divine justice acts  [8]  . Mexican cartels have various sub-divisions, with a vertical chain of command, originating from Mexico. The organization has surrogates throughout the U.S., who runs daily operations in the different countries. Mexican operators issue guidelines concerning transport of drugs, warehousing and money laundering services. Legitimate international businesses are well organized with their operations based in many countries. There is a chain of command in every business in order to avoid chaos and maintain uniformity in the operations. Use of violence is a common strategy, used by the gangs in order to protect their trading interests. However, these activities are carefully executed in order to avoid being caught. The aim is to create terror, which seeks to belittle the government ability to provide adequate security to the citizens. The drug traffickers in Mexico aim at undermining the government, in order to carry out their illicit trade activities without any threats from the authority. They want to create a free market in disguise, and fight for this freedom indirectly. Legitimate trade operates with minimal restrictions from the government and the drug traffickers want to acquire the status. There are willing buyers, and many people are using drugs such as heroin and cocaine, which the Mexican drug traffickers are willing to supply  [9]  .Legitimate international trade has willing buyers and sellers. Drugs have ready markets especially in the United States, with the suppliers having distributors in these regions. Their connections in the global context assist them to distribute the drugs easily. Legitimate international businesses have embraced globalization and can conduct their business freely in any country. They build customer trust and relationship, which enables customers to trust and conduct business with the dealers regardless of the distance. The drug traffickers practice social corporate responsibility in order to fulfill the ethical obligations, just as the legitimate international businesses do. LFM is known for its various donations such as Medicare, food, and school fees in aid for the poor. The drug barons aid the vulnerable and poor in the society in order to expose an inefficient government and damaged infrastructure  [10]  .This is a cover up of their real activities, and the public may mistake them for honest traders with an intention of reaching out to the community. They pretend to be practicing social corporate responsibility in order to disguise themselves. The cartels are dangerous and powerful and can outweigh the military and legitimate police. The illicit trade organizes its activities in a systematic manner, and carries out market research concerning the trade and are well versed with the risks involved  [11]  This is a similar scenario with many legitimate international businesses. The most targeted include vulnerable governments. There is a lot of illicit drugs flow from Mexico to the United States, and both states engage in the blame game concerning the predicament. The drugs have causes several deaths in the last few years, and the Mexican government is wary about the issue  [12]  . They have put up several strategies in order to combat the illicit drug trafficking trade. In order to combat drug trafficking effectively, Mexico advances anti-money laundering strategies in order to combat transnational organized crime  [13]  . Money laundering avails a lot of money to drug barons who re-use it for illicit drug trafficking  [14]  .Money laundering prevention, and dealing with financial terrorism is one of the comprehensive strategies of dealing with organized crime. Legitimate International businesses are against money laundering activities. The Mexico government realizes the dire need to attack the economic power of the drug traffickers in order to weaken them  [15]  .Mexico strives to enhance its bilateral cooperation with other countries in order to combat drug trafficking. Drug traffickers disguise their vast income in money laundering activities  [16]   The drug traffickers center around drug trade, and attempt to fill a specific illegal market niche globally. Legitimate international businesses attempt to supply goods that have willing buyers in the global markets. Illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine are used by many people around the world, thus the drug barons aggressiveness in meeting the demands. Furthermore, the business is extremely lucrative with high profitability  [17]  . Legitimate international businesses are expected to achieve high profitability. Drug trafficking activities are influenced by factors such as politics, culture, geography, and economics, just like the legitimate international trade  [18]   Mexico is geographically located at a strategic location since it neighbors Columbia, which is one of the most significant world cocaine producers. This makes Mexico to acquire the drugs easily and supply them in the market. On the other hand, the drug dealers have distribution channels in different countries, which enable the goods to reach consumers. The Mexican drug dealers mainly focus on the drug trade, since it is more profitable, and their geographical location favors the trade. Market attractiveness of drug trafficking and the strategic positioning of Mexico enables it to engage in illicit drug trafficking. Drug trafficking takes advantage of the international supply chains, and weak governance in order to introduce the illicit products to the market. The demand for drugs is high and this makes the drug traffickers aggressive in satisfying these markets. Drug trafficking is increasing at an alarming rate, with Mexico experiencing over 47,000 deaths because of drug abuse  [19]  . The drug traffickers have adequate funds and arms, thus presenting a threat to the national security. The barons derive their competitive advantage from factors such as access and control of drug smuggling paths across the U.S., and the ability to obtain, transport and sell major illicit drugs in Mexico. Mexican drug traffickers conduct their trade with great professionalism and ability. They are highly profitable and earn a lot of annual income for the country, just like most legitimate international businesses  [20]  .Most of the drug dealers in Mexico are motivated by money  [21]  .The barons seek to maximize the profit at any prospect and reduce their danger of being caught, or detected. Money is a crucial element in every formal and informal organization and legal or illegal enterprises. Drug traffickers receive a lot of money from their trade, which they invest in money laundering services  [22]  . This empowers them and provides them with the courage to challenge the states institutions and the economic development of a country. Traffickers change their strategies constantly through devising new sources, destinations, and transit zones. Law enforcers fail to deal with the international issues effectively, and the world does not possess effective global strategies f or curbing perennial crimes such as cocaine and heroin trade. The issues originating from organized transnational crime are not adequately addressed in a global context  [23]   According to Olson Wilson, Mexico reported an approximated U.S. $6.2 billion  [24]  , from illicit drug export proceedings. Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations activities and operations strive to create diplomatic relationships with other countries in order to combat drug trafficking. Drug traffickers operate in a large chain or drug racket, in a different destination. Mexico has to collaborate with other nations in order to crack down the operations. Similarly, legitimate international businesses have to cultivate positive relationships with other countries in order to carry out businesses in those countries. It is hard for a country to combat drug trafficking single-handedly, without the help of the international community. The Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTO, s), poses a major threat to the drug traffickers especially from the United States, since it is believed that the main customers are from the United States. Although the drug traffickers are not interested in overthrowing the Mexican government, they are keen on weakening the government in order to continue their operations without any interference from the state  [25]  . In order to facilitate their activities in the US, the drug traffickers from Mexico have formed alliances with United States prison and street gangs. These gangs are responsible for drug distribution in the United States  [26]  . According to Shanty et al, illicit drug trafficking has caused many social problems  [27]  ; hence it requires more severe measures to combat.  [28]  Released by Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Gil Kerlikowske set out goals in many of these areas. The strategy directs federal Agencies to increase coordination and information sharing with state and local law Enforcement agencies, intensifies national efforts to interdict the southbound flow Of weapons and bulk currency, and calls for continued close collaboration with the Government of Mexico in their efforts against the drug cartels.  [29]  Therefore even with the governments efforts to minimise illegal drug trafficking, cartels will always look for loopholes in the system, including using corrupt border officers. The cartels control the trafficking of drugs from South America to the US, a business that is worth an estimated $13bn ( £9bn) a year. Their power grew as the US stepped up anti-narcotics operations in the Caribbean and Florida. A US state department report estimated that as much as 90% of all cocaine consumed in the US comes via Mexico.  [30]  One reason why the government has deployed the army and marines so extensively is that it feels the police cannot be trusted. Drug cartels with massive resources at their disposal have repeatedly managed to infiltrate the underpaid police, from the grassroots level to the very top  [31]   Globalisation aids international trade, although it provides an opportunity for smugglers and traffickers due to an increase in trade regulation difficulties  [32]  Globalisation increases inequality, and this has a disruptive effect, which causes people to resolve to illicit markets, and organized crime as survival mechanisms. Illicit commerce has made a quick global spread in comparison with legal trade. Most transnational crimes begin in one continent and spreads to the others, mostly by a third means  [33]  . This makes it extremely hard to combat such perianal crimes. This was satisfied in a published article: While the Mexican federal government periodically cracked down on drug trafficking, these operations were limited in size and scope  [34]  . Conclusion The operations and activities of Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs) mirror those of legitimate international businesses in many respects. This ranges from their organizational structures to the marketing strategies. The drug trafficking enterprises practice socio-corporate responsibility in order to help the vulnerable people in the society. However, this is only used with an intention of undermining the government prowess and serves as a disguise for their criminal activities. The efforts of the Mexican government have been challenged because the drug rackets are powerful and interconnected in the global circles especially the United States, which is a strong hold market position. Drug trafficking business has various similarities arising from organizational structure, marketing and profitability. Mexico is strategically positioned, in terms of market supply and demand factors, which increases its profitability, and attractiveness. However, the illicit trade has caused many deaths ranging from consumption related deaths to law enforcers death. The dealers can do anything in order to protect their interests.

The competitiveness of Malaysia in attracting FDI

The competitiveness of Malaysia in attracting FDI 1.1 Abstract This report investigates the competitiveness of Malaysia in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). More specifically the study investigates the relationship of FDI with Malaysias economy, analyzes the reasons that affected the FDI into Malaysia, and evaluates each possible reason with relevant supportive data. The study will further evaluate the effectiveness of government policies in attracting FDI into Malaysia. 1.2 Malaysia and the FDI Malaysia has a policy of mixed economy whereby the countries attract FDI into the country to drive its economy and to ensure growth. Most of the empirical studies on the function of FDI in countries suggest that FDI is an important source of capital, complements domestic private investment, enhancement of technology transfer, and increase overall economic growth in countries where higher economic growth will creating sound investment environment which attracts investment from market-seeking firms (Karimi et al., 2009). According to Krugman and Obstfeld (1994) FDI functions as one way to bridge an inter-temporal gap of capital demand and supply, and like other capital inflows, increase the production frontier of developing countries, which normally suffer a shortage of capital. FDI also lead to increase the employment rate through the expansion of the economy and job creation. Insufficient funds for investment are the main reason to seek FDI and normally, less-developed countries lack of fund for investment (Har, Teo, Yee, 2008). Therefore by having the FDI, it can help them to develop their countries and improve their standard of living by creating more domestic employment and increase the economy. Besides FDI creating more job opportunities, inflow of FDI has been an important source of knowledge transfer in technology, management skills and international linkages for Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines and Thailand (Yussof Ismail, 2002). FDI is considered to be an important vehicle for transfer of new technology which contributes to growth more than domestic investment (Borensztein et al., 1998). FDI provides the fastest and most effective way to deploy new technologies in developing host countries, through the process of technology transfer, the foreign multinationals also contributed to the development of the technical capabilities of the locals (UNCTAD, 2000). Moreover, through training of employees and hands-on learning, FDI can raise the skills of local manpower and as a result, increasing their productivity level ( Marial Ngie, 2009). Furthermore, FDIs role is to fuel exports growth whereby the production of products and services are to cater both domestic and intern ational markets. The governments effort by introducing more liberal incentives including allowing a larger percentage of foreign equity ownership in enterprise under the Promotion of Investment Act (PIA)1986 and followed by the establishment of Free Trade Zones (FTZs) during the Second Malaysia Plan ( 1971-1975) in order to attract a larger inflow of FDI. Since then, Malaysia has attracted a large portion of the investment dollar that flowed into Asia. Between 1986 and 1996, it resulted to a large inflow of FDI at an annual average rate of 38.7% after 1987. In 1995 for instance, Malaysia was the second largest FDI recipient among Asian economies with US$ 5.8 billion (UNCTAD, 1996). FDI Inflows to Malaysia, (in million dollars) 1990-2009 The figure above shows the trend of FDI inflow to Malaysia. Malaysia has received a lot of FDI since the 1990s and FDI has become an important contributor to the growth and the transformation of Malaysias economy whereby FDI could create job opportunities for the countries citizens. The FDI flow in Malaysia is inconsistent and fluctuates randomly. For the record, Malaysia has recorded RM 152 billion in net FDI inflows during the period 2000-2009 higher than RM 134 billion from 1990-1999. But actually Malaysias performance starts to grow up impressively by 1990s compared with the years before 1990s and it show that may be the investor confidence had improved. However, the lowest figures of FDI inflows recorded in 2001 were due to the global trend and followed by the collapse of technology bubble (The star newspaper, 25 March 2010). As for 2009, the FDI inflow into the Malaysia had drastically dropped 81% to US$1.4bil from US$7.3bil in 2008, which reported by the World Investment Repor t (WIR). According to the chief economist of RAM Holdings Bhd Dr Yeah Kim Leng, the reason why the FDI have contracted sharply due to lack of confidence as the result of the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009 (The star newspaper, 13 March 2010). In 2007, FDI inflows peaked, when it reaching US$1.8 trillion, up 30% from 2006, bringing the worldwide stock of FDI to US$15 trillion. FDI is an important contributor to the growth and the transformation of Malaysias economy, particularly in establishing new industries, enhancing production capacity, employment, trade and technological capability. Malaysia has attracted a steady inflow of net FDI in the recent decade, averaging 3% of GDP per annum with a peak of 4.5% of GDP in 2007 (Har, et. al., 2008). However, relatively lower FDI inflows were recorded in 2001 and 2009, similar to the global trend, following the collapse of the technology bubble and the global financial crisis respectively. According to the World Investment Report 2010, Malaysias FDI was dropped more than 81 percent in 2009 on Year-on-Year basic, from US$7.32 billion in 2008 to US$1.38 billion in 2009. The FDI inflow into Malaysia of the entire year of 2009 was even less than half of the annual average total FDI inflow between the years of 1995 to 2005, which included the long recovery period after the 1997 Asia Economic Crisis. Besides, Malaysias FDI inflow in 2009 was also lower than Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. This is the very first time in the history where the Philippiness FDI total is more than Malaysias FDI. 1.3 Malaysia Economy Background Malaysia was a strong performer in economic growth within the South-East Asia region in the early and mid-1990s. However, the countrys economy was hit hard during Asia Economic Crisis, which began in July 1997 started from Thailand. The crisis caused Malaysia economy contracted by 7.4 percent, and the Ringgit slipped by more than 40 percent until the country decided to implement currency and capital control, as well as pegged it currency- RM3.80 to USD1. However, the economy was able to recover strongly, particularly in 1999 and 2000, as the result of increased government spending and highly increased export sector. Malaysia had successfully to register averaged annual GDP growth rate at 5.9 percent since 2001. The country economic growth are transforming from depending on government spending and exports to become more driven by private consumption and investment, particularly in the services sector. Malaysia had taken the initiatives to reconstruct it economy, especially financial sector since 1997 Asia Financial Crisis. This enabled Malaysias economy did not hurt badly by the global financial crisis which began on November 2008 in US. However, the countrys economy is facing several problems internally and externally. These include of potential decreasing exports demand, higher commodity prices (due to Quantitative Easing (QE) Policy- worldwide, and Quantitative Easing 2 (QE2) US), lower competitiveness in attracting FDI inflows, and challenges in gaining the high income country status. Malaysias government had introduced 5 economic regions within the country (Iskandar Malaysia (Iskandar), North Corridor Economic Region (NCER), East Coast Economic Region (ECER), Sabah Development Corridor (SDC), and Sarawak Corridor of Renewal Energy (SCORE)) within the year of 2008. Also, the Malaysians government has promised to commit to an open economy, increase the countrys competitiveness and promote more freedom for foreign investors to the country. However, the introduced of 5 economic regions and the promises given by the Malaysians government did not responded positively by foreign investors, as the FDI inflow into Malaysia was dropped shapely in the year of 2009. Malaysia aims to become a developed country in 2020, yet the country need to grow at least 7 percent annually for the 10 years to come. Malaysia have been focused in several sectors in 9th Malaysia Plan and 3rd Industrial Master Plan, which includes of Islamic Finance, IT ICT, Education, Tourism, Biotechnology, and Multimedia. However, the 10th Malaysia Plan and the Malaysia Budget 2011 are both focused on the blueprint on addressing income distribution, retaining affirmative action policies for native Malays, while developing and improving the agriculture and social services sectors. 1.4 Malaysia Countrys Facilities According to World Investment Report 2008, MNCs often invest in countries with well established network of transportation and communication facilities. Malaysia is ready to fulfill the needs of logistic and communication within the countrys boundary, especially in the Peninsular of Malaysia. PLUS-highways and KTM railways are both linking the major towns in peninsular. Malaysia is famous with cheaper ports services than Singapore provided in southern Johor, as well as in Klang. Besides, the leading budget airlines- Air Asia, which selected Malaysia as the hub of it networks also increased the competitiveness of Malaysia in term of transportation. As for communication, Malaysia is moving toward to implement National Broadband Initiative (NBI), other than the MSC projects. According to SKMM (Malaysia Multimedia and Communication Commission), 95% of peninsular lands and 55% of East Malaysia areas are covered by fixed line broadband. Besides, there are with 29.6 Million cellular subscrip tion (Q3,2009), with 95% of area coverage in Peninsular and 77% of area coverage in East Malaysia. 1.5 FDI. Why and How? FDI in general can help to create jobs opportunity and reduce the poverty rate in a developing country. There are many ways in which FDI can help to enhance a countrys manufacturing and export competitiveness. In order to attract export oriented FDI and to ensure that such investment translates into development gains, a country needs to find the most effective ways to make the choice of locations as well as the target segments, conducive to the kind of export activities the MNCs aim to foster. One of the biggest tools for economic integration is FDI. FDI moves towards low technology production and labour intensive in developing countries, but they flows in high technology production towards developed states. FDI usually depend on different views of investments such as the sector of investment whether its manufacturing or services, the size of multinational investor or company. When the firms, which relocate only a part of its productions process, but not the whole productions line, then there is with possibilities for more FDI inflows in future, as the firms might continuously to relocate other productions process. Natural resources, specific skills, inexpensive labour and infrastructure will usually be the motivator to the foreign investors to relocate their productions line. On the other hand, the investors will invest heavily in an advantaged location to increase their competitive advantages. In todays rapidly globalizing world, successful exporting needs not only competitive products, but also marketing expertise and access to international markets. Giving greater access to FDI can provide major benefit in this respect especially in markets in which established brand names and large distribution networks are important assets. FDI can also be effective means of providing resources, such as skills, training, technology, capital goods and intermediate input needed to exploit a countrys existing comparative advantages. As for developing countries, FDI play a major role in the manufacturing sector for exports. This contributes to direct and indirect impacts to the domestic companies, in which direct impacts occur when FDI establish backward linkages with domestic companies. The indirect impacts occur when the domestic companies are able to copy the operations and the managements styles from the foreign companies, opportunity to recruit skilled employees of foreign companies, and taking advantages from reductions in trade barriers, as well as the improvements in local infrastructure. FDI is the vehicle by which firms achieve their strategic objectives. A company must posses some asset such as product and process technology or management and marketing skills that can be used beneficially in the foreign affiliate in order to invest in production in foreign markets. According to Kindle Berger (1969), For direct investment to thrive there must be some imperfection in markets for goods or factors, including among the latter technology. Or some interference in competition by government or by firms, which separates markets. The industrialized nations have remained the major contributor as well as the major recipient of FDI though FDI flows to the developing world have more than doubled between 1990 and 1999. 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The FDI FDI is generally defined as ownership of a countrys business or properties by entities not domiciled there (BusinessDictionary.com). In this 20th century, the improved technologies and consolidated economies make a greater mobility of peoples, goods, capital and ideas from one country to another country. Such exchange of goods, services, knowledge and cultures between countries brings us to a world without boundaries and it is popularly known as globalization (Global Education). As the tendency of world towards globalization, FDI plays an extraordinary and growing role in global business (Graham Spaulding, 2005). In terms of FDI, the host country is the country which receives the investment from the source country or home country, which is also known as the foreign investor. The inflows of FDI into a host country can drive to a significant development of economy by providing an external source of capital, new technologies, management skills, and process. According to Graham Spaulding, FDI is classically defined as a company from one country making a physical investment into building a factory in another country. A direct investment is about investing in buildings, machinery, and equipment while indirect investment is refer to undertaking a portfolio investment. In current year, the definition of FDI has been expansive to include the acquisition of lasting management interest in a company outside the investing firms home country, investing in a joint venture, or construction of facility, or league with a local firm with the following input of technology and licensing of intellectual property (Graham Spaulding, 2005). Besides, the form of FDI has much different from the pass in terms of the size, scope and methods of execute due to the expansion in technologies, changes in markets capital structure as well as the gradually aggrandizing liberalization of national investment regulatory framework. The expanding of FDI in current year proposed different view point to different people. Adherents of FDI indicate that the exchange of investment flows profits both the host country and the home country while opponents hold that multinational collaboration are able to exert greater power over smaller economies and would lead to larger local competition (Graham Spaulding,2005). Since the flows of investment in a countrys economies does brings about great impact, most governments, especially for those in industrialized and developed nations really put much attention to FDI. In the United States, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, a section of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is responsible for collecting economic data about the economy including information about FDI flows (Graham Spaulding, 2005). By going through this data, the influence of such investment on the overall economy can be determined and the impact on industry segments will be assessable. The FDI embodies two typical assets: first, capital and second, technology or a number of intangible advantages. So, FDI is more likely to be important in industries with significant firm-specific, intangible, knowledge-based assets. FDI contributes most to the development process when affiliate is wholly owned and fully integrated into the global operations of the parent company. Once the parent investors commit themselves to incorporate the output from host country into a larger strategy to meet global or regional competition-there is evidence of a dynamic integration effect, which creates innovative and creative technology and techniques, as well as closer positioning along the top of the best management practises and highest industry standards. 2.2 The benefits of FDI In general, FDI will improve competitiveness and create employment, as well as increase the development of the host nation. This is a result of inward investment increasing the number of entrants in the indigenous industry which forces all competitor firms in the industry to become more competitive by reducing costs and improving efficiency and quality. In the analysis of Bosworth and Collins (1999) found that about half of each dollar of capital inflow can converted into an increase in the domestic investment. The result of the analysis show that the transferring of foreign resources equal to 53-69 percentage of the inflow of financial capital. The rest are transferred to reserves accumulation or capital inflows. In addition to the contribution of joint ventures, foreign firms can serve as a catalyst for other domestic exporters.In an empirical analysis, the probability of domestic factories will be exported is considered to be actively associated with the nearby multinational companies (Aitken et al. 1997). One implication is that the government may encourage potential exporters to be close to each other, creating export processing zones, duty-free import of inputs given as to fund infrastructure, special offers or tax-free to help reduce the cost of domestic enterprises to foreign countries to break the market. Export processing zone is a useful broad-based reform, but may introduce spatial distortions, the government in the wrong place to find the area. Much FDI activity is achieved by way of a joint venture between a foreign company and an indigenous company and this may bring advantages such as risk diversification, capital requirement reductions and lower start-up costs. Besides, foreign firms will bring in superior technology and enable free spreads of technology to the existing firm for extent of benefit to the host countries. FDI will manifest itself in the creation of spill over and linkages typically in suppliers and customers whereas the dynamic impact will affect the competitive environment. In addiction, both adherents and opponents support their respective view point regarding to the implication and effect of growing in FDI. Adherents stand the point that exchange of investment flows benefits both the host country and the home country (Graham Spaulding, 2005). This enable the mutual benefit between both countries where the enterprise in host country providing the new technologies, capital, management skills, and facilities as needed by the home country while the home country investor invest money in the host country to achieve their common goal, making profit from their collaboration. In spite of the perspective mentioned above, some prop osed that FDI helps in economic development of the particular country where the investment is being made and especially applicable for the economically developing countries (EconomyWatch). Supporters vouching for FDI say that it is stable and is a source of advanced technology and better managerial practices, so it is good for developing economies (Peter Nunnenkamp, 2002). Optimism about the consequences of foreign investment, coupled with heighted awareness about the importance of new technologies for economic growth, has contributed to wide-reaching changes in national policies on FDI and it helps accelerate the process of economic development in host country (Gordan H. Hanson, 2001). For most nations that were developing form the economic perspective, FDI is considering as one of the major foreign source of financing during 90s. Besides, there is an observation shows that FDI has played an important role in helping several countries when they were confronted by economic difficult ies. For example, during the financial problems of 1997-1998 that the amount of FDI made in countries in East Asian region was pretty steady and similar observation has been made in the 1980s and in Mexico in 1994-1995 (Economy Watch). The presence of foreign corporate in a host developing economy produces a positive externality that is the transfer of technologies. As a research for technology transfer, there are four correlated channels which are vertical linkages with suppliers and purchasers in the host countries, horizontal linkages with competing or complementary companies in the same industries, migration of skilled labors, and the internationalization of RD (OECD, 2002). With the presence of Multinational Enterprise (MNE), the technology transfers have been demonstrated that existing particularly through vertical linkages however the weighty of horizontal linkages is still the subject to argue (OECD, 2002). Moreover, technology transfer can only be accomplished through FDI since trading of goods and services and investment in financial source are unable to fulfill this goal. The countries that get FDI from another country can develop the human capital resources by getting their employees to receive training on the operations of a particular business (Economy Watch). According to the overview of OECD, this human capital enhancement is not only occurring through the efforts of MNE whereas it arises from government policies seeking to attract FDI via enhancement of human capital (OECD, 2002). Besides the effects of MNE in human capital development, the other enterprise which has a direct business relationship with MNE such as their supplier may also produce positive influences on the human resource quality. This effect can have a further movement which labor move to another firm or become entrepreneurs. In addition, it is possible for the host country to receive corporate taxes revenues when there is any profit generated by the FDI in that country. 2.3 The Factors that affecting FDI FDI movement is basically derived from financial transactions and non-transaction factors such as price changes, foreign exchanges and other changes during the reference period. In other words, the movement is derived from the differences between the closing and opening positions of the year. There are three factors that make Malaysia attractive to FDI, which have been identified are: (1) Malaysias undervalue currency; (2) lower cost of labour; and (3) fairly low interest rate (Oti-Prempeh,2003). Generally, firms are always looking that overseas expansion as a necessary way to reach a more effective access in the markets which have low representation. Investments often lead to increased trade flows indicating that trade flows and investments are complementary ( Tyler and Miranda, 2007 ). A set of region determinant is chosen from the literature on the location of US service industries to state the pattern of the Foreign Service firms FDI activity in the US. These determinants are the share of metropolitan population, the agglomeration of domestic producer services, the value of commercial and industrial property and population growth. About their study in the location of FDI and state characteristics within the US, Coughlin et al. (1991) assumed that a foreign firm company will choose to invest in a special state depends on the levels of its characteristics that influence profits relative to the levels of these characteristics in the other states. Besides that, Qian Sun et al. (2002 ) find proof that the value of the FDI determinants flows through the time period. Facility and labour quality are also important determinants of the distribution of FDI. The good infrastructure and labour quality will attract the attention of the foreign investors. Besides, the political stability and openness of that country to the foreign world are also as the important dimension to drawing in the foreign capital. Inward investment is likely to stimulate the production of global competitors in the recipient country. Market size and growth, barriers to trade, wages, production, transportation and other costs, political stability, psychic distance and host governments trade and taxation regulations, performance requirements, cultural distance, GDP per capita and infrastructure are factors affecting FDI location. While economic growth and technology transfer to the host country are important consequences of FDI, development of technological infrastructure and human capital are critical prerequisites and so antecedents for FDI. Moreover, while psychic distance has been pertinent so far in FDI decisions, its importance might gradually reduce with increasing globalization and development of new digital economy. Institutional and strategic factors into theory . . . need to be considered in tandem to explain the change in trend of FDI flows (Sethi et al ,2002),. The inflow of FDI includes a raise in the production base, the introduction of new skills and technologies and the creation of employment. Foreign investors increase productivity in host countries and FDI is often a catalyst for domestic investment and technological progress. Increased competition associated with the entry of an MNE upgrades the competence and product quality in national companies, and opens up possibilities for export (Ahn and Hemmings, 2000). 2.4 Globalisation and the FDI Since the early 1960s a large number of theories on FDI have emerged. This proliferation was to a large extent, due to Hymer 1976, and the subsequent recognition that FDI is a manifestation of market imperfection and firm specific advantages. This is the implicit and explicit assumption in most modern theories. The multiplicity of factors involved in production, combined with barriers to the free movement of goods and services, together with the differences in production environment, are also been an increasing number of studies regarding other modes of foreign investment (FI). These new forms of FI activities such as join venture, licensing, franchising, etc seem to have taken on an increasingly important role in recent years everywhere, including developing countries (Oman, 1984). There is increasing understand that trade and FDI are the vehicle that moves globalization. The nature and quantity of determinants and factors that determine FDI inflows into a country depend largely on the barriers-to-trade. In order to encourage globalization, all countries must try to eliminate the barriers-to-trade and provide opportunities for attracting FDI inflows into the country. As the race for FDI inflows among the nations intensifies, the conditions for attracting FDI inflows continue to increase and multiply as well.

The X Files: Summary :: essays research papers

Scully and Mulder are two FBI agents that were sent to investigate murders that took place in a New Mexico town, just out side of an Indian reservation. The murders were first discovered when a lady, Annie Hatch, found two tourist’s bodies while she was ridding her horse. The bodies were laying next to a van. When Annie went closer to the bodies, she could see that there was hundreds of flies on them. When she looked closer she could see that they had been skinned. The following day a teenager, Paulie was out side behind his families trailer with his little sister, Patty. It was dark, so dark that they could not see in front of them. Suddenly they both heard footsteps from somewhere , then they heard whispering, the whispering became hissing. His flesh was thrown everywhere. At this point the FBI was called in to investigate. Before Mulder and Scully got to New Mexico, they both went over the case and studied the autopsy reports that were sent to them. The autopsy report said that the bodies were flayed. The pictures they were sent along with the report made both Scully and Mulder sick to their stomachs. When they arrived in New Mexico Agent Garson was waiting to show them around and warn them to take it easy because of the heat. Scully and Mulder interviewed Patty, but did not get any more information on the case then what they already had from the report. She saw nothing because she had got hit in the face with a branch that knocked her out. After the interview, they went to get some dinner, where they met the doctor who wrote the autopsy report. She told them that the report she wrote was wrong. She was told to write the wrong details because the sheriff did not want the press to get a hold of it, because New Mexico has been trying to upgrade its image for years. The real Truth was that the people have been scoured, like being held up against a high-speed spinning drum covered with coarse sandpaper. As they left the restaurant a man stared at them across the road, as mulder drove past him, he still stared. Mulder than made a U-turn and then another, so that the car was pulled up next to the man. He introduced him self and told them he was Ciola.

Frost - The Road Not Taken :: essays research papers

FROST- The Road Not Taken "Do not follow where the path may lead... Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -Robert Frost Everyone is a traveler, choosing the roads to follow on the map of their continuous journey, life. There is never a straight path that leaves one with but a sole direction in which to head. Regardless of the original message that Robert Frost had intended to convey, his poem, "The Road Not Taken", has left its readers with many different interpretations. It is one's past, present and the attitude with which he looks upon his future that determines the shade of the light that he will see the poem in. In any case however, this poem clearly demonstrates Frost's belief that it is the road that one chooses that makes him the man who he is. "And sorry I could not travel both..." It is always difficult to make a decision because it is impossible not to wonder about the opportunity cost, what will be missed out on. There is a strong sense of regret before the choice is even made and it lies in the knowledge that in one lifetime, it is impossible to travel down every path. In an attempt to make a decision, the traveler "looks down one as far as I could". The road that will be chosen leads to the unknown, as does any choice in life. As much he may strain his eyes to see as far the road stretches, eventually it surpasses his vision and he can never see where it is going to lead. It is the way that he chooses here that sets him off on his journey and decides where he is going. "Then took the other, just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim." What made it have the better claim is that "it was grassy and wanted wear." It was something that was obviously not for everyone because it seemed that the majority of people took the other path therefore he calls it "the road less travelled by". The fact that the traveler took this path over the more popular, secure one indicates the type of personality he has, one that does not want to necessarily follow the crowd but do more of what has never been done, what is new and different. "And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden

The Truman Show Essay example -- Papers

'The Truman Show' is the story of a baby who is bought by a television company at birth. He becomes the star of the television programme, but he has no idea that his life is being filmed. All the people in his life, such as his wife, best friend, and colleagues are actors. There are no set scripts. There are three different worlds shown in the film: Truman's world, the producer's world, and the real world when we see the viewers watching the programme in the homes. The film starts when Truman is twenty-nine. We see him begin to become suspicious, by odd occurrences, such as a light falling from the sky, the way his friends and family advertise things, and people that accidentally get on the show and tell him things. Truman has always wanted to travel, but obviously he can't because the set of 'The Truman Show' is only one town. He saw his father 'die' whilst they were sailing together, and the fictional director of 'The Truman Show' did this so Truman would be thalassophobic, and wouldn't want to travel that way. Eventually he wants to get out of the town because of all these suspicions, and he gets delayed for ages trying to go by car. He plucks up the courage to go by boat and after sailing for a while he hits a backdrop with clouds painted on it. Christof's voice is heard and he speaks to Truman, though he can't be seen. He tries to persuade Truman to stay in the world he created for him, and tells him that he is the star of a television show. Truman finds a door, and after some conversing with Christof, he leaves. The director's intentions ------------------------- Peter Weir was the director of the film, 'The Tru... ...ch as a busy pub all watching, the two old ladies, the security guards, the man in the bath, and Sylvia. We also see shots from the producers control room, so in this last sequence we see from all of the three worlds that we se at different stages in the film. Up until now, the different worlds are shown, but they're quite spaced out in the film. In this last sequence, we see them a lot more regularly, instead of just Truman's. It almost seems that we see from the audience more to show that Truman is going to be in that world soon. People from the different worlds are coming together, because Truman's left, and the production team will all be out of jobs. This is important because there is a lot in the film saying that the real world is a bad place, but in the end it's where we all come from, and where we all belong.

The Compromise Of 1850

At the close of the Mexican War, in 1848, the United States owned a lot of territory without local government (all the land now included in New Mexico, Arizona, and California was then unsettled). Then in 1848 gold was found in California. Thousands of people joined the gold rush and in a few months about 80,000 of them had settled in California to hunt for gold. To keep control of these settlements, an government was needed, so California asked to be admitted to the Union as a free state, but the South would not allow this, the North was also not going to allow California into the Union as a slave state, so Senator Henry Clay decided that he would make a compromise both sides could live with, he said each side should give in to something the other side wanted. Eventually after Clay s Omnibus Bill failed to pass, five separate acts were passed. These acts would become known as the Compromise of 1850. Basically, the North should allow New Mexico and Utah to organize as territories with popular sovereignty and give the South a stronger fugitive slave law. The South should accept California as a free state and allow the end of slave trade in Washington DC. For most of 1850, Congress debated. Clay had the support of the North, including Stephen Douglas and Daniel Webster. In Webster’s famous Seventh of March speech, he declared that slave labor could never be profitable in New Mexico and that the North would lose nothing by granting this concession. He felt that it was not necessary to bar slavery by law of Congress; it was already excluded by â€Å"the law of nature. † The North was opposed by the Southern states, led by John C. Calhoun, who at the time was dying and was so sick that his speeches had to be read by someone else. The Compromise of 1850. There were five parts to the Compromise of 1850. The first was the Texas-New Mexico Act. It was the most important of the five. It made New Mexico a territory, gave some of Texas (the Santa Fe region) to New Mexico, and allowed for popular sovereignty there. This bill was passed on September 9, 1850. The second part allowed California into the Union as a free state. This bill was also passed on September 9, 1850. The third part was the Utah Act, which was also passed on September 9, 1850. It made Utah a territory and allowed popular sovereignty to decide the slavery issue. On September 18, the New Fugitive Slave Act was passed, forcing all law enforcement officers in the North and South, to help return fugitive slaves. There were penalties for helping fugitive slaves. The last act passed on September 20, abolishes slave trade in Washington DC. Clay had intended to give each act separately to Congress and had only made the Omnibus Bill (combining all of the acts into one bill) because he wanted to make sure there would be no veto by President Taylor. The Omnibus Bill could not make it passed Congress because the Northerners wouldn t accept the Fugitive Slave Act, or allow for popular sovereignty, and the Southerners wouldn t allow California in as a free state or allow the size of Texas to be reduced. After the Omnibus Bill failed, Clay went on vacation in Newport, Rhode Island and Stephen Douglas took over control of the compromise. When Douglas broke up Clay s plan into five separate bills, all of them passed. Although Clay originally wrote the acts, it was really Douglas, not Clay, who made the laws acceptable to both sides. The different parts needed different areas of the United States to give in. Northerners from both parties, and Whigs from boarder states approved the admission of California, the abolition of the slave trade in Washington, and the adjustment of the Texas boarder. Southerners and Northern Democrats passed the Fugitive Slave Law and organized Utah and New Mexico without restrictions on slavery (Brown, 192-193). Neither side really gave in, but people hoped it would end the dispute on slavery. Northern Reactions. The North had not paid much attention to the Fugitive Slave Act when it was being put through Congress. Their main concern had been the admission of California, popular sovereignty, and the Texas boarder. But when the Northerners heard about the new things they would have to do to prevent runaway slaves from escaping, they were very angry. It created resistance and as a result Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom s Cabin. When Fillmore became president the government began to put down local resistance to the Fugitive Slave Law. Controversy also declined because the number of African Americans returned to the South fell by two-thirds in the second year under the law, in part because so many blacks had resettled in Canada. The Free Soil Party, which had received about 10 percent of the vote in the presidential election of 1848, received only about half as much in 1852 (Brown, 193). Southern Reactions. The Southern reaction was not as well known, but it was more dangerous to the Union. The radicals in the south held the Nashville Convention in June of 1850 decided to meet after the compromise to discuss policy, but in November of 1850 when they met the second time, only a few people attended. Unionists still had a lot of control in the South. The governors in Georgia and Mississippi were Unionists, and fourteen of the nineteen congressmen from Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama were Unionists. Even in South Carolina (the state that had the strongest disunionist population) the voters voted to stay in the union by a large amount. Some states accepted the Georgia Platform of 1850, saying that they would give resistance and secede if Congress made more Antislavery Acts. The compromise also left political parties fighting one another. The Southern Whigs were separated from the rest of the Whigs because the Northern Whigs led the fight against slavery in the Mexican cession and controlled Whig president Zachary Taylor. Repairing the intersectional bonds of party politics would be crucial to cementing loyalty to the Union (Brown, 193).

The Life of John Lennon

The Beatles was one of the greatest rock and roll bands that have infiltrated the music industry by storm. Their music have been a legacy throughout the history of music and the four members namely: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison have all achieved the superstar celebrity status. In 1965, the accomplishments of the Beatles exceeded the expectations of Lennon because during this time they were able to conquer the US, UK and the whole world (Henke 4). Then, later on 1968, The Beatles launched their own record company, Apple. They called it â€Å"Western Communism,† an effort to free themselves from the heavy hand of corporate domination, to gain autonomy for themselves as artist. They also hoped to bring promising artists into Apple and to make experimental music. At the beginning it seemed as if the Beatles might succeed. It also seemed as if Apple could easily deteriorate into the biggest institution of hip capitalism, in which the Beatles gained nothing except the profits from the sale of their records, profits that Capitol have previously held. Wiener 73) Among the four Beatles, Lennon’s life and achievements have been the most controversial. His beliefs, philosophies, music and experiences were able to mould him in becoming one of the most influential people in the world during his times. As a celebrity, he advocated many causes and disclosed many sentiments about politics. He said that the government does not represent the people, instead they control them (Coleman). Moreover, in an interview, Lennon disclosed that he is the â€Å"laziest person in England†¦ I don’t mind writing†¦ or speaking bust sex is the only physical thing that I can be bother with any more† (Cleave). However, Lennon’s life was cut short when he was assassinated by a fan on December 8, 1980. His killer, Mark David Chapman, was convicted of murder nd was given a sentence 20 years in prison. Chapman applied several times for parole but he was always declined by the New York State Board of Parole (CBS Interactive).

Child and Young Person Development Cyp3.1.A1: Pattern of Development Essay

  | |The sequence of development is the order in which development occurs. The rate of development is the speed at which development | | |occurs. | | |Every child is unique and will develop at their own rate. Children will usually follow the same pattern of development but the rate | | |at which they reach their milestones may vary depending on the individual and their ability. | | | It is important to recognise the difference so when recording the rate of development you can identify any concerns that you may have| | |within the development area and this allows you to plan effectively for the individual. | | | | | | | | | | | |Birth to 1 month | | |Makes basic distinctions in vision, hearing, smelling, tasting, touch, temperature, and perception of pain | | |Helpless | | |Fed by mother | | | | | |2 months to 3 months | | |Colour perception, visual exploration, oral exploration | | |Sounds: cries, coos, grunts | | |Control of eye muscles | | |Smiles | | | | | |4 months to 6 months | | | Recognises sounds | | |Control of head and arm movements | | |Can grasp objects | | |Rolls over | | |Enjoys being cuddled | | |Can distinguish between familiar people and strangers | | | | | |7 months to 9 months | | |Sits without support | | |Crawls around | | |Has emotional attachment to mother | | |Protests separation from mother | | | | | |10 months to 12 months | | |Control of legs and feet | | |Can stand up | | |Says one or two words and can imitate sounds | | |Responds to simple commands | | |Curious and wanting to explore | | |Has a fear of strangers | | |Responds to own name | | |Gives and takes objects | | | | | | | | |1 year to 1 1/2 years | | |Climb stairs | | |Makes lines on paper with a crayon | | | Upset when separated from mother | | |Feeds himself | | |Repeats a few words | | |Obeys limited commands | | | | | | | | |1 1/2 to 2 years | | |Can run and kicks a ball | | |Can build a 6 cube tower | | |Capable of bowel and bladder control | | |Has a vocabulary of more than 200 words | | |Can throw temper tantrums | | |Does the opposite of what they are told | | | | | | | | |2 years to 3 years | | |Jumps off a step | | |Rides a tricycle | | |Builds a 9-10 cube tower. | | | Starts to use short sentences | | |Differentiates facial expressions of anger, sorrow, and joy. | | |Has a Sense of humour | | |Enjoys playing alongside another child | | | | | | | | |3 years to 4 years | | |Stands on one leg | | |Can draw a circle and a cross | | |Self-sufficient in many routines of home life | | |Likes to share | | |Starts to play with other children | | | | | | | | |4 years to 5 years | | |Skips | | |Broad jumps | | |Dresses themselves | | |Talks clearly and uses adult speech sounds | | |Knows over 2,000 words | | |Understands responsibility and feels guilt | | |Feels pride in accomplishment | | |Prefers to play with other children | | |Becomes competitive | | | | | | | | |6 years of age | | |Can read and write simple text | | | Focus on only one issue at a time when solving problems | | |Become increasingly social | | | | | | | | |7 years to 8 years | | |Begin to show a preference for a certain learning style | | |Like to be involved in some group play, but need time alone, too | | |Have rapidly changing emotions | | |Well-developed speech and use correct grammar most of the time | | | | | | | | |8 years to 10 years | | |Know the complete date (day of the week, day of the month, month, and year) | | |Enjoy being with friends and often have a â€Å"best† friend of the same gender | | |Have speech patterns that are nearly at an adult level | | |Have good control of large and small muscles | | | | | | | | |10 years to 12 years | | |Boys become taller and thinner | | |Girls become taller and more shapely | | | Thinks in a more logical sophisticated way | | |Puberty | | |Interest in the opposite sex | | |Increasing need for privacy | | | | | | | | |12 to 16 years | | |Beginning of adolescents | | |Intense and rapid growth development | | |Builds skills to become self-sufficient | | |May be strongly invested in a single, romantic relationship | | | | | | | | |16 years to 19 years | | |Complete puberty and the physical transition from childhood to adulthood | | |Attain cognitive maturity – the ability to make decisions based on knowledge of options and their consequences | | |Reach nearly their adult height, especially females. Males continue to grow taller into their early twenties | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

H&M company analysis Essay

H&M were established in Vasteras, Sweden in 1947 by Erling Persson. World events and trends of monumental significance have occurred, since the little Swedish ready-to-wear chain developed into a multinational concern with stores in 18 different countries. When their store opened in Stockholm’s kungsgatan, there was a queue one kilometer long and the traffic police were forced to intervene. H&M stands for Hennes and Mauritz, it is a Public Limited Company, whereby all the stores are owned and solely run by H&M.  Business forms such as joint ventures and franchising are therefore not possible. H&M are regarded as a high street fashion retailer, aimed at ‘everybody’ – and always with the best prices. They are recognised for inexpensive but trendy clothing. They currently have 901 stores located in 18 countries, employing 39,000 employees. The focus on foreign markets began with a store in Norway in 1964, and due to this inter? national status they currently occupy market share allover the world. By 1961 H&M opened a store in Norway and by 1964 in Denmark, they were quick to keep up with changing trends. In 1974 H&M was listed on the stock exchange, and they opened stores in Europe. By the 1980’s H&M began focusing on internationalization with a new managing director Stefan Persson. Stores were opened in Germany and the Netherlands and the share prices rose. H&M got their first in house designers with pupils hand-picked from the fashion and tailoring colleges in Stockholm to work in Norrlandsgatan, where there was also a major drive on jewelry and accessories. In 1983, H&M offered their customers a new and convenient way of shop? ping, by selling clothes by mail order, in order to keep up with competition, which was becoming more and more intense. By the 90’s H&M were greatly worried by the impact of e-commerce, more companies were starting to have web pages, and by 1995, companies began providing the service of Internet shopping. In 1992 H&M opened in Belgium, 1994 in Austria, and by 1996 in Luxembourg. A dramatic change came about for H&M in 1998 when they began selling on the Internet. It was apparent to directors, which they had to do this, as competition was becoming fierce, and profits were lowering. Today H&M has received global recognition for its designer collaborations, including Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Viktor & Rolf, Roberto Cavalli, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garà §ons, Matthew Williamson, Jimmy Choo, Sonia Rykiel and Lanvin. Every H&M store is unique: our One New Change store is H&M’s first in the City of London and carries collections and accessories for women and men, including tailoring and suiting and a selection of swimwear. H&M Company Profile Production H&M does not own any factories. Instead, clothes and other products are commissioned from around 800 independent suppliers, primarily in Asia and  Europe. The H&M buying department plans the range. After that, all practical aspects are dealt with by our production offices. These production offices, where most of the employees are drawn from the local population, are in constant contact with the suppliers. The production offices are responsible for placing the order with the right supplier and for items being produced at the right price, making sure that they are of good quality and delivered at the right time. They also audit that production takes place under good working conditions. The production offices perform extensive safety and quality testing, including checks for shrinkage, twisting and colour fastness, as well as ensuring that the chemical requirements have been met. A product’s lead-time can vary from a couple of weeks to six months. For high-volume fashion basics and children wear it is advantageous to place orders far in advance. Trend-led garments produced in smaller volumes require considerably shorter lead times. H&M strives to order each piece at its optimal moment, finding the right balance between price, time and quality. Strategy- Global expansion H&M stores should always be located in the best business locations, whether in a big city or a small-town shopping centre. This has been a firm principle of H&M’s since the very first women wear shop opened in 1947, and it is still true today. We always look for the best business location combined with the most favourable market terms. That applies to H&M as well as & Other Stories, Cheap Monday, COS, Monki and Weekday. H&M does not own any store premises, which makes way for flexibility and adaptability. By renting space, we can move at the same pace as our markets. Long-term quality lies at the heart of the expansion strategy. Before H&M moves into a new country or city an assessment is made of the market’s potential. Factors such as demographic structure, purchasing power, economic growth, infrastructure and political risk are analyzed. Alongside expansion, existing stores are renovated, offering customers all over the world exciting new shopping experiences. H&M is also working actively to make all stores sustainable in the long term, for example through energy-saving initiatives and environmentally adapted materials. H&M remains positive towards future expansion and new business opportunities. The growth target  is to increase the number of stores by 10–15 percent per year with continued high profitability and at the same time increase sales in comparable units. The strong pace of expansion is continuing in 2013 with a planned 350 new stores net. This means that we will effectively be opening a new store every day. In 2013 the highest rate of expansion will again be in China and in the US. Investments will also continue within online sales. H&M plans to launch online sales in the US, the world’s largest market for e-commerce. Vision and Mission H&M ‘s vision is to always provide the customers with better offers than before and to constantly exceed their customers’ expectations. At the same time, H&M also trying to be most popular fashion brand in the world and H&M took many years of efforts to realize it. â€Å"2010 was a very good year for H&M with a sales increase of 15 percent. Profit after financial items increased to SEK 25 billion. During the year we improved our market position further with a strengthened customer offering by giving the customers even more fashion and quality at the best price. The economy improved from 2009 but in several countries the economic situation was still uncertain and difficult.†-Karl-Johan Persson, CEO From the comments of CEO Persson, we can see that the mission for H&M is to strengthen customer offering by giving more fashion and quality at the best price. H&M Strategic Planning Establishment & Effectiveness To achieve that vision and mission, H&M strive to make the costumers the best offering about the design and fashion. for example, the British fashion designer created a capsule women’s collection got a fantastic sales when it was launched in around 200 H&M stores on 23 April, 2009.Its bright colors and lively patterns attracted customers. And only a month later, a more comprehensive summer collection which was typical Matthew Williamson wonderful colors and patterns arrived in the stores. The pieces also worked really well with H&M’s own summer collections. H&M expanded substantially during 2009 and 2010, opening stores in numerous exciting new markets. For example, Lebanon in October 2009,Russia in March 2009, Beijing in April 2009,South Korea, Israel and Turkey in 2010 and Croatia, Romania, Jordan,  and Morocco in 2011.With the fast expansion all over the world, H&M is gradually becoming stronger and have a firm position in this industry. At the same time, H&M are still trying to expand the online and catalogue sales, because the stores are not the only place customers can enjoy shopping with H&M. At the beginning of 2011, they have been launching the new H&M Shop Online in the markets where they offer online and catalogue sales before, easy and fun as visiting a store, regardless of whether customers shop by tablet or smartphone, via apps or directly at hm.com. H&M’s interactive shop online offers easy navigation and is much appreciated by customers in all eight countries where H&M and H&M Home offer online shopping: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and the UK. Since January 2013 H&M shop online is completely mobile-adapted. In the US, the world’s largest retail market, H&M plans to offer online shopping from summer 2013. Distance selling is a vital and growing complement to stores. COS, Monki and Weekday offer online shopping in 18 European countries. The new H&M brand & Other Stories, which is launching in spring 2013, will be available both in stores and online. & Other Stories will offer shopping online at stories.com in ten European countries. H&M’s communication is global and hm.com is one of the world’s most popular fashion websites. Fashion enthusiasts all over the world interact with H&M via social media and apps. H&M is also one of the leading fashion companies on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and YouTube, as well as on China’s social networks Youku and Sina Weibo and Russia’s VKontakte. Social media spreads the news further about H&M when the brand expands into new, exciting markets. Naturally, it will help H&M to achieve its vision in the future. Furthermore, goal of H&M is â€Å"to increase the number of stores by 10 – 15 percent per year† Under the goal, in 2009, H&M was expanding rapidly. We can see from annual report 2009-2012, during 2012 H&M opened 304 new stores n et. Achieve goal that 10 – 15% new stores net per year. External Analysis Opportunities There are several opportunities for H&M to develop its business. As the online market is more and more developed and H&M should start to sell its  product online. At the start of 2011, H&M are launching the new H&M Shop Online in the markets where they offer online and catalogue sales already. Shopping experience and functionality have been improved. Around the end of 2010 they plan to start online sales in USA where should be the world’s largest online market. In addition, the economic crisis was really strong and it may increase the interest of the population for cheap and fashionable clothes. Finally the development of some Asian countries such as Vietnam can give the opportunities to H&M to found new suppliers cheaper and more preferment in terms of quality and time of production. Some supplier markets with high purchasing power and plenty of customers are with an interest in fashion, just like in our Asian markets, China and Japan. H&M’s expansion is rapid and running parallel on four continents. Many potential projects are running simultaneously and competing with each other. â€Å"There are considerably more opportunities for new openings than the stores that we actually door open,† says Stefan Larsson. â€Å"During the establishment process we decide against some potential stores. Only the best business opportunities remain. The aim is to create the best H&M stores through a combination of best location and best possible business conditions, wherever they are in the world.† Threats The major threat is that this market is full of competitors that are constantly growing and that are generally aggressive. That’s why H&M should keep its effort in differentiation in order to face this competition. In addition, there are other risks and uncertainties they cannot avoid and predict. It related to fashion, weather situations, climate changes, trade interventions and exchange rates, but also in connection with expansion into new markets, the launch of new concepts, changes in consumer behavior and handling of the brand. The year was also full of challenges. The global financial crisis and recession, with more consumer restraint and discount driven markets, naturally affected. However, H&M recognized that there were things they could have done better too. Self-criticism and striving to make constant improvements are part of H&M’s corporate culture and they work hard to become more efficient in all areas. Increased efficiency also means that they can invest i n giving the customers an even more attractive offering. Internal Analysis Strengths H&M’s strengths include a good brand image and cheap price. H&M has established a strong brand which motivates employees creating unity and attracts skilled work force. The company benefits from a good image from the customers and they have a strong fame everywhere in the world thanks to its huge number of outlets. Also the prices that H&M offer to its customers are really competitive thanks to the cost saving management way of the company. Cheap price is known by everybody. Their other strength is that they have a wide range and many different concepts. The entire concept of low priced apparel has brought loyal customers for H&M for years. The various departments for women, men, teenagers and children are their foundation. They can work with them in different types of buildings, street locations and shopping centers with very different characters. Weaknesses As the company wants to save money everywhere it’s possible, the distribution system is really slow and it takes a lot of time to deliver a product to the outlet. It may be really bad for the reaction time if the company to the competitors offer. Also the low quality of the product could give to the customers the need to go to the competitors. H&M has amount of suppliers. This is a good thing. However, as H&M’s production units add up to 2700, the control of all these demand great resources and management. If H&M cannot maintain its effective organizational structure, the situation may lead to the failure of control. SWOT Analyze Strengths: Qualitative and high fashion items for a extremely low price. A wide range of collection of products which are permanently renewed Some lines products in store are created by guest designers This company is very reactive and has very fast delivery times Well-known brand with powerful financial resources. Weakness: Production at one time of a wide volume of product with no guarantee of any sale. A wide range of targeted customers and so a wide range of different  style without any real focus on a particular type of customer or tendency. Not innovative fashion products but copy of the luxury or high fashion brands. Opportunities Fashion plays an increasingly important role in society. For both men and women. Growing market and so at a worldwide level. Economic crisis: people try to find solutions to buy the cloth which is economical and practical. Threats: Many competitors present on this market. Fashioning products change very frequently and quickly. Other risks and uncertainties they cannot avoid and predict. It related to fashion, weather situations, climate changes, trade interventions and exchange rates Benchmarking Benchmarking is an analytical tool which is often used to determine whether a company’s competency of value chain activities are strongly competitive compared to other rivals so that it can be confident to winning in the marketplace. Benchmarking includes measuring costs of value chain activities in an industry to formulate â€Å"best practice† among competitive firms with the views of learning or improving on those best practices. Benchmarking can make a firm to take action to improve its competitiveness and win a good position by identifying value chain activities where rival firms have comparative strengths in cost, service, operation and reputation. It can be typically measured by quality, time and cost. Through learning the benchmark company, we can make improvements which help to do things better, faster, and cheaper. The most important part of benchmarking is to gain access to other company’s value chain activities with associated costs. Benchmarking needs to compare the process of management or results with the best firm in this industry, think about how they perform it, how to compete with them. Organizations evaluate various aspects of their processes in relation to best practice companies’ processes, usually within a peer group defined for the purposes of comparison. As an organization, benchmarking allows to develop plans in  order to make improvements or adapt specific best practices, usually with the aim of increasing some aspect of performance. In this case, the rival of H&M, Zara has been selected as the benchmarking target. They have something in common which is easy to compare with. Both of them are successful apparel company and have a huge popularity in the same industry. However, they own difference business strategy to conduct the business performance. The aim of benchmark in here is to evaluate H&M’s strategic management and learn some experiences to improve their strategy and performance better. Zara is a subsidiary company of the Spanish Inditex Group. It is a famous apparel brand, and also the exclusive brand of apparel retail chain of Zara brand. It was established in 1975 in Spain. As a part of Inditex Group, Zara is ranked to the third around the world and the first brand in Spain. Among 56 countries, it has owned the establishment of more than two thousand clothing chains. Zara is always favored by the young people who love the fashion. It stands out by the excellent design and cheap price. In short, everyone can embrace high fashion in Zara. Now Zara has established 2200 women’s apparel chain shops in 27 countries in Europe and the 55 countries in the world. In 2004 its revenues ups to 4.6 billion Euros, profits of 440 million Euros. This performance is even better than GAP and H&M which is the largest brand in U.S. The main point of the H&M strategy is to achieve lower costs combined with differentiation. The differentiation is mainly based on more fashionable limited collections. For Zara it’s completely different because they try to be more fashionable for reasonable prices. Not the cheapest prices in general, but cheap prices comparing to competitors who offer similar products. Hierarchy of strategy 1. Corporate strategy The first hierarchy is corporate strategy. It describes the set of businesses, markets, or industries in which the organization competes and the distribution of resources among those business. The direction an organization takes with the objective of achieving business success in the long term. H&M have a constant corporate strategy based on really fast market coverage by opening constantly new stores every week. The company has plans to double its number of outlets by 2013 that implies that they plan to have about 3000 stores around the world. It means that they open every days a new store. They want to be present everywhere in the world and in every activity areas. They are also always looking for occupying markets share from the competitors and increasing the amount of sales, the popularity and the profit 2. Business strategy The second hierarchy is business strategy. Business strategy usually happens at the business unit or product level and it emphasizes improvement of the competitiveness, positions of a corporate products or services in the specific field or market segment served by that business unit. There are two main categories in business strategy: low-cost and differentiation strategies. The strategy of H&M is both lower costs and differentiation: They are constantly looking for reduce cost in every step of the business in order to offer to the customers the best prices. First they have a simply supply chain management that is based on a â€Å"just in time† management system. Delivery times vary from 2-3 weeks to six months, depending on the type of product. It is therefore important to be able to order each item at the right time for stores in order to have it on time. The short delivery times is not always wanted because they must consider the compromise between price, time and quality. They also save cost in producing in Asia and they have partnership with cheap suppliers that produce fast and cheap. In the same time they really want to be different than the competitors in order to have a competitive advantage. This sector is really competitive and H&M need to be different to attract the customers and increase the market  shares. To achieve this differentiation, they regularly offer special limited collections designed by famous artist or designers such as Roberto Cavalli, Madonna, Karl Lagerfeld and so on. 3. Functional strategy The third hierarchy is functional strategy. It is the approach taken by a functional area in order to achieve corporate and business unit objectives and strategies by means of optimizing resource productivity. For example, an IT company such as Samsung will surely have a functional strategy based on research and development in order to create new IT materials and be more competitive. The H&M functional strategy is also based on the research and development area of its organization as they are constantly looking for new models in order to be different from the competitors. They use more than one hundred designers to create the new model in order to create fashion and not following what the competitors did. In addition, as we previously seen, they also work sometimes with famous designers to make special collections. These strategies must complete and consistent with each other in order to have an efficient global strategy. But we must also say that these strategies must be in accordance with the goals and the image that the company wants to share with customers. In this case H&M has a goal that is really different to the strategy is that the company wants to offer products that are good in term of quality, nevertheless at the same time they use cheap suppliers in order to be competitive and offer the best price to the customers. BCG MATRIX In order to construct the BCG matrix of H&M, first we need to identify the SBU-Strategic Business Unit. According to H&M’s annual report, there are 4 main SBUs are currently been run by this firm, namely, women, men, teenagers and children. Recommendations for H&M The paper has analyzed various aspects of H&M’s strategic management and its implementation. Based on these facts and theories, recommendations can be made for the company. Generally speaking, my recommendations are simple. 1. As the most competitive rival, Zara is not so dangerous yet, but H&M should keep an eye on their growth and strategy, and try to change the strategy flexibly all the time. 2. Lacking own supply chain is one of weak point of H&M. If H&M develop own supply chain management, the production process will be faster and reactive which can bring more profits. 3. H&M has already had a big market share in the world. For the present, maintaining the development efforts and getting the market penetrations are better strategy. 4. H&M should take more efforts on the fashion design and product more fashionable clothes with cheaper price to attract own specialized customers. Most importantly, I think that H&M doesn’t need to reduce the expansion. Because of this speed of expanding, many people doubt that H&M raised the cost and loosed the control due to the amount of suppliers. In my opinion, it has the ability to control and monitor the suppliers. I also recommend that it can focus on some emerging markets, like China, Malaysia, Singapore†¦As a Chinese, I think China had indeed embraced globalization, but of a sort. For example, traveling through Shanghai, it would be hard to distinguish it from Taipei, Hong Kong, or any US city for that matter. The wide street ispacked with automobiles. Bright Neon lights decorate the shops. You will find Chinese wearing Nike shoes or Calvin Klein tees, and drink Coca cola. The impression is that foreign products and influence flows free and accepted readily at China. Compared with domestic products, they prefer international brand like H&M and Zara. There are of course foreign companies able to set a stronghold in the Chinese soil, but only those who came utterly prepared, knowledgeable in Chinese society, and committed to do business. After all China is a large country with its transportation and communication sector still under development. The immediate issues faced by the investors were cultural differences, trade barriers and government restrictions.