Monday, December 30, 2019

The business ethics in organisations - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 16 Words: 4778 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? INTRODUCTION This essay is based on business ethics, but generally ethics is a very broad and complicated topic on its own therefore the writer will address on how an organisation carries out is ethical issues and how they are managed. The essay attempts to analyse why business ethics is important, how an organisation evolves around ethics. Business ethics roots have been analysed to give an overview of the different schools of thought that have been developed by various thinkers which are used in present to analyse the goodness or evilness of a business act or decision. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The business ethics in organisations" essay for you Create order This essay tries to look into various ethical aspects that govern the decisions that are made by various organizations in their daily operations. How much importance different businesses should give to various stakeholders like the shareholders, the society and the employees and the sad truth of the number of unethical actions that many businesses perform to gain more profits and more market share The field of Business Ethics is comprised of several definitions by different scholars and authors over the decades and all have a different way to define it. More than 100 business people were interviewed by Raymond Bauhart on what ethics meant to them 50 percent defined as what my feelings tell me is right , 25 percent defined in terms religion in accord with my religious beliefs and 18 percent defines it in terms of what conforms to the golden rule (Velasquez, M. G. 2006, p.7 ) whereas, according to author Svensson Goran and Wood Grey (2006), business ethics is a function of time a nd culture, this basically means that time/culture will determine what ethics will be acceptable or unacceptable due to the changes in business environment. According to Velasquez M. G (2006:13) it is the study of moral standards and how these apply to the systems and organisations through which modern societies produce and distribute goods and services. (Robin .D, 2006) or Business ethics is also the branch of ethics which determines the actions and decision by businesses ( corporate and any firm who is in the field of making profits) and how it affects the lives of its stakeholders who are the general public, the shareholders, competitors, employees and the government. Most businesses think that business ethics are determined by the values in its society. It is true that businesses are there for providing goods and services for the public in order to make profits but the question is: What do they do in order to make profits and not harm the society? Today business values are changing, information is readily available through media about the actions and to keep businesses running, they have to take care of all the stakeholders. These trends are what has made firms implement business ethics in their strategies so as to keep customer loyalty and stay within the frameworks of acceptable norms of the society. Actions which are just for the creation of the privileged few at the expense of the many stakeholders is discouraged in the modern societies but there still exists many firms which maximize profits but still follow strict values of business ethics. A popular example is the US $24 billion Johnson and Johnson company led by the chairman and C.E.O Ralph Larsen. The company is known for its valued commitment to ethics, customers, employees, and communities. The secret of doing profit making business is to follow the needs of all stakeholders and provide goods and services of value to the public and manage the operations in a way which does not har m any stakeholder. Why Business Ethics? Business ethics enables firms who want to be good and gives them knowledge and how to be good. Moral and ethical challenges are part of peoples daily life but in business its important on how they handle such challenges. Business ethics enables leaders to have good criteria on making decisions which are in favour of most stakeholders and not just for the few. The main role of any manager in any organisation is to ensure that their firms live up to the required legal and ethical standards. It enables businesses to take care of stakeholder interests while running the firm. Doing business in an ethical manner enables earning of fair profits by providing useful and beneficial products and services and at the same time improving the lives of people in a competitive environment, but profits are only good if they are obtained in the right manner and if man keeps the right attitude towards them. It also involves being able to run a profitable enterprise while being considerate and while ta king care of the morals and attitudes of the employees. To avoid other players to either quit or demand high risk premium business players need to act ethically to build trust among those players. Above average profit making firms who use unethical methods to do this do not last long before they get exposed to the law and general public and all the returns they may have made unethically vanishes in few moments. (Hooker, John 2003) Origin of Business Ethics Business ethics is a branch of the general ethics and philosophies which have been developed for many years. Business ethics has been mostly written about and thought after firms started entering into commercial business independent of communism system. The stakeholder Theory explains clearly what the roles of the management are and what they should do so as not to create conflict among each other. Kant theory makes it clear that needs of all stakeholders should be met at certain levels according to the efforts, resource and time that has brought a benefit to the company and in case there is a loss, all the related parties who otherwise would have benefited should be penalised. The stakeholders should be given a right to be part of the firm and influence in the decisions of the firm if the firm is to go ahead and become bigger and more productive. There are more theories which will be explained as we progress further into the details of each. Example: Utilitarian and Ma rxism theories. (George D. and John H. 1993, p.255) Is Business Ethics a Contradiction? The answer to this question is yes it is very contradicting because what may be good to one person would be completely unethical to the other reasons could be because of different culture, norms or beliefs that they have. Some of the contradicting examples that may arise are: When an employee is working with a lot of zeal and confidence and producing the best sales result but continuous to be abusive even after several warnings so should the organisation just remove him or her and lose one of its best sales people? It would be difficult for one to decide on what is acceptable and unacceptable. (Holme, Charles, 2008) It has been said that business ethics is just about doing good however this is not true when a conflict arises between supplier of raw materials and customer on when they should be paid. Is it to the benefit of the suppliers, Customers or both? And a bad decision can be taken by good people when they are in stress or dilemma and this can affect the business in the long run. (Holme, Charles, 2008). An organisation might increase the prices of goods and services due to increase in prices, inflation, economic recession or due to factors affecting demand and supply. It is necessary for the firm to increase the price per unit for it to meet its production cost therefore, according to the business it is ethical but to the society it may be unethical due to the rise in prices. Similarly, in order to cut down on operational costs a company may lay off its employees; this would be ethical to the organisation but unethical to its employees. Advantages of business Ethics in organisations One way of bringing ethics into business is by ensuring that ethical standards are maintained in the process of making profit this enables the organisation to achieve a common goal. Examples of companies who were in compliance with good ethics while maintaining a profitable operation are: Intel, Hewlett Packard, Procter Gamble, and Starbucks Coffee. (Velasquez, M. G. 2006, p.38) The ways a manager takes care of its employees in terms of paying a good wage rate, keeping the staffed informed of the day to day work activities, involving employees in decision making taking them into consideration. This way the workers will be producing to the highest levels of production due to good working conditions and friendly working conditions and in return would lead to motivation and therefore creating a good employer-employee relation. These management behaviours can make a difference between employee satisfaction and frustration. (Holme, Charles, 2008) Perception is a reality. Reputati on is the image of any organisation, which is the factor that helps the investor to decide whether to invest in a company or not. Therefore image of any organisation can only be sustained through development of ethical values such as not polluting the environment, paying above the minimum wage or by conserving the environment by reducing the usage of non- environmental friendly products like plastic bags. (Holme, Charles, 2008) Businesses that practise ethics help them build trust within the society that they are working in. It is obvious that a supplier would be looking for an organisation that he can trust for credit payment and in return the organisation will also expect trust worthiness in terms of quality. This is a two way process and therefore the higher the level of trust the better the business. (Holme, Charles, 2008) A model of Business Ethics Leadership relationships Staff relationships External Stakeholder relationship Supplier relationship Customer relationship Competitor relationship Government legislation Lobby groups Institutional responsibility Increased education Power of media Social responsible managers Professional Association Competition International Business with Integrity Economic outcomes Lawful behaviour Better corporate citizens Pay appropriate taxes Environmentally friendly Employees retained Services retained Products acceptable Expectations Perceptions Evaluations Society Expects Society Evaluate Outcomes organisational values, norms and beliefs Reconnection (Svensson, Goran and Wood, Grey 2008) Expectations All of those factors that are listed under expectation are important as it shapes the way in which the society comes to view its corporation. These are the factors societies expect to have in any organisa tion for it to perform better and to satisfy its citizens more efficiently. (Svensson, Goran and Wood, Grey 2008) Social expects Any society in general has expectations of the business and what good it is doing to the general public. Every organisation has to adhere to the needs of the society in order to sustain position in the market. (Svensson, Goran and Wood, Grey 2008) Organisational values, norms and beliefs Organisations are usually affected by the environment in which they operate and therefore culture in any organisation is an important factor to be taken into consideration. Serpa (1985:426) says that it can be called, the social glue holding a company together. Each organisation has been shaped according to its own sets of belief and its a way of interpreting a companys past and future prospects. (Svensson, Goran, and Wood, Grey 2008) Perception This are the ways in which an organisation chooses to interact with the society at large this maybe in terms of ethical behaviour or unethical for what they think about various stakeholders and the attitudes each which has its own effects. Goran Svensson, Grey Wood (2008) Outcome A company that acts or interacts according to society expectations and the way in which it responds and reacts to these pressures produces an outcome. According to Levitt (1958) and Friedman (1962) says that outcome of a company whether it has made a profit or a loss and how it influences its stakeholders through the activities in the market place. However Joyner and Payne, 2002; Spiller, 2000 believe that business exist just to make profits. (Svensson, Goran and Wood, Grey 2008) Evaluations The society uses a number of ways to make the decisions of the organisations performance. These decisions are mainly based on: How company contributes to Corporate Social Responsibility? How they have retained their customers by providing services? Are their products healthy for its citizens to consume? (Svensson, Go ran and Wood, Grey (2008) Society evaluates In a general sense, society hates losses and it praises profits that have been declared by a particular company, and they further investigate the situation although profits are not a guarantee that the organisation acted according to the society interests therefore the society goes a step further through a set of checks and balances to ensure that the profits gained are in an ethical manner? (Svensson, Goran and Wood, Grey (2008) Reconnection Once evaluation criteria have taken place the model again comes back to the beginning because now the expectations will the foundation on which the performance of an organisation can be judged. As time evolves, the perception of individuals may also change to new levels of ethical behaviour. This model in past years may seem to reconnect again but the world has now changed and it has become more revolutionised and therefore the citizens have moved forward and have become more aware of busi ness expectations and behaviours. ? (Svensson, Goran and Wood, Grey (2008) Ways of maintaining ethical standards also referred to as codes of ethics Ethics in the any business is a vital determination of sustainability of the organisation regardless of the industry one is trading its goods or services and no matter how large or small a company is. (www.helium.com) Organisations that fail to have a strong ethical foundation are more likely to find their customer base extremely lowered down and their profit margins to have completely reduced than ever before. (International Federation of Accountant, 2006) .The solution for any company to overcome this problem is by: Creating a credo based company This defines the ethical responsibilities toward its stakeholders and the underlying values of the entire organisation (Scarborough et al., 2009 p.759) example. Johnson and Johnson have credo based values the analysis, design and interpretation of clinical studies and results. (Fisher, Colin and Lovell, Alan, 2006, p.388) Conduct ethical training This is usually carried out by a manager to the rest of its employees. This will enable them to enhance their knowledge on the understanding of what is expected of them. . (Scarborough et al., 2009) Performing periodic ethical audits This will measure the effectiveness and compliancy of the ethical system implemented by examining practises, procedures and policies. (Scarborough et al., 2009) Integrity This a core value of code of ethics which requires adhering to highest standards of behaviour like honesty and impartiality example Carbo Ceramics. Every organisation requires its employees to carry out the work assigned faithfully. (Fisher, Colin and Lovell, Alan, 2006, p.389) Enforcing the codes fairly and consistently The codes of ethics should be the same for everyone in any organisation therefore one should not be more superior than the other leading to unfair treatment. . (Scarborough et al., 2009) No harm and risk management This code of ethics is practised by Johnson and Johnson where there most important responsibility is towards t hose who use their products and services such as doctors, families and nurses. To ensure that their need are met everything they do has to be of high quality. (Fisher, Colin and Lovell, Alan, 2006, p.389) Development of a transparent culture This is very crucial element and if failed to adhere to it the creditability of the organisation can be questioned because secrets can create unhealthy corporate cultures and an open culture leads to honesty and respect among employees. (International Federation of Accountants, 2006) Sources of Morality Sources of morality are the elements which determine the goodness or evilness of an act or the ability to choose between right or wrong, acceptable or unacceptable. (Dinah, Payne and Brett, J. L. Landry, 2005) These are the sources of the morality of human acts: Object Is the matter of the human act, the what we do? The object determines the morality of an act. The human act receives its goodness primarily from the morality of the act itself. Intention It refers to the motive of the person in doing an act. No matter how good the intention is, it never makes an intrinsically evil act to become good. Circumstances These are those factors that occur with the act and that contributes to the morality of the act. They cannot change an evil act into a good one but can lessen or heighten the blameworthiness. These three elements helps to evaluate whether the act is evil or good however, intention and circumstances cannot change the morality of intrinsically evil act s examples like stealing from the business, offences against human dignity such as arbitrary imprisonment, slavery, degrading working conditions where men are merely tools for profit. An act always has a good and bad consequence which makes the person evaluate the act using the double effect criteria. It weighs the extent of both the good and bad effects and the act that has the minimum bad effect is over ridden by the act that is more ethically moral which is good hence reducing the evilness of the bad effect. It also means that the good effect should overdo the bad effect in cases when the bad effect cannot be avoided and steps should be taken to reduce the effects of the bad effects. The object of the act should be good in itself or neutral. An example of such a scenario is that it is advisable to bomb the headquarters of an enemy camp in order to end the war even if it requires killing civilians around the headquarters. Another example in a business context is the Johns on and Johnson. In October of 1982, Tylenol, the leading pain-killer medicine in the United States at the time, faced a tremendous crisis when seven people in Chicago were reported dead after taking extra-strength Tylenol capsules. It was reported that an unknown suspect/s put 65 milligrams of deadly cyanide into Tylenol capsules, 10,000 more than what is necessary to kill a human. This was very unethical since it claimed human lives. Investigations showed that this act was done by a third party since it occurred at the time the product was on the shelves but following the guidelines of the company to protect people first and property second so as to maintain reputation. Thus the firm conducted an immediate product recall from the entire U.S.A which amounted to 31 million bottles and a loss of more than US $ 100 million. This act definitely had a great impact on the revenues of the firm. So the double effect criteria if used explains that the good effect of saving more lives a nd maintaining reputation far exceeds the bad effect of losing revenues and incurring the huge losses. Virtue Ethics Virtue ethics helps an individual to have a good life because it requires us to act in a particular way for the good of others and this basically depends on our character, our beliefs and our interests. (Fisher Colin and Lovell, Alan, 2006, p.101) Values are habitual way of acting and they form a character in a person .However, both Kantian Ethics and Utilitarians expect us to ignore our emotions but virtue ethics requires us to use character traits which might be formed through schools or at work place or according to how they have been brought up. The four cardinal virtues which a man should posses are as follows: (Oderberg, David, 1999) Prudence This virtue explains the use of wisdom to decide what is right and think of the correct action to take it also prevents taking wrong actions. Fortitude This virtue enables a person to be strong and hopeful even in adverse cases and not lose out easily. This virtue should be present in managers whose business environments are very competitive and dynamic. Justice This virtue enables a person to be rational and give everyone what they deserve and not limit anyones freedom of right and respect. Temperance This virtue enables a man to keep control and moderate any use of resource which might harm the people or the business if it is not controlled. Other important virtues like honesty, cheerfulness and humility make a person more admirable and respectable for the actions he/she does. There are 6 important pillars of characters in virtues: (Velasquez, 2006, pp.114-115) Citizenship A good citizen will always work for the benefit of the country or to serve their own community so that the world can be a better place to live in. Respect Respect every human so as for you to be treated well in return. Trustworthiness This is indeed an important factor to consider in any person because any business requires its employees to be honest. Caring This means taking care of other people in terms of its feelings, being kind and this is the basis of ethics. Fairness- This means being just and equal to every stakeholder and giving them what they deserve as per their efforts. Responsibility- This means taking liability and accountability of actions and duties that have been granted by a higher authority to implement, control and maintain. One of the most famous writers like Adam Smith wrote the theory of moral sentiments he said that justice and benevolence are the two most important virtues of a modern market society. Some of the virtues that make a market operate efficiently are honesty. Courage is also an important factor as it enables one to take risks and gives the strength to stand on its own even when the days of life are hard. Recognizing hard work and awarding employees so that they are motivated to work extra harder is a virtue that will increase the efficiency and productivity of the employees. (George D. John H. 1993) RIGHTS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY AS A NATURAL RIGHT The whole earth was given to the human race by God to use and enjoy and therefore every man has a natural right to private ownership both for consumer and productive goods. There are two schools of thought in private property ownership namely Capitalism and Socialism. Capitalism suggests that property should be made available to the public and those who can provide the sufficient resources can own it and develop it (George D and John H.1993). Socialism on the other hand suggests that everyone should have an equal chance and thus the property should be solely owned by the government who in turn will provide the required goods and services as per the basic needs. Individualism (Capitalism) allows individuals to own property and use it as a resource to generate more capital which leads to competition and ultimately to common good. (George D and John H.1993) Productivity in the generation of goods and services can only be achieved if there is motive for it. Thus the right t o private property acts as a motive to bring to the market better products which in turn satisfy more wants of persons and increase the standards of living. (George D and John H.1993) Common good can be achieved if there is presence of business ethics among the firms operating in the society. If a firm practises unethical behaviour like polluting the environment, then the society can never achieve common good and such firms should be regulated by a higher authority like the local government. (George D, John H. 1993, p.37) The state is the overall determinant of how resources are allocated and how they are put into use. The state has ministries which control various functions like commerce, land, water, energy, finance and others. All these ministries have a direct impact on the actions of the businesses. Thus the government should make sure there are strict rules and regulations which the firms should follow and that failure to do so should have critical legislative actions. There are various instances when firms engage in unethical activities which may be legal but this shows that the state has loopholes which should be sealed to prevent this behaviour. The state should allow employees to associate and form labour unions and support them so that they can have a higher bargaining power against the employer in terms of working conditions and wages. In past when labour unions in Kenya were highly discouraged, the employees used to suffer a lot that they were unable to bargain against the employer. These days collective bargaining has given workers power to ask for their rights and be given what they deserve. Pursuit of profit in business is a theory that has been in debate since many years and it suggests that employers try to maximise only the profits at the expense of the employees and the other stakeholders like the clients. Employers according to Kantian should provide meaningful work to its employees. The management should fulfil the oblig ations of the contract they have entered with the employee. Certain authorities which have a higher influence in making decisions should not use the power to undermine junior employees especially for implicit elements of work. Employees are the people who make organisations move ahead and their demands should be met if they are within the ability of the firm. Under the universal declaration of human rights, workers have the rights for their demands to be met as long as the employer has the ability and the employee deserves it although the employer cannot take guarantee of it. Firing employees for minor reasons should be strictly discouraged since it is unethical to take away a persons freedom without giving the person room for making any decision. Kenya is a developing country and in developing countries the number of jobs available is less than the total number of unemployed. This gives more power to employers who just give the employees a wage equal to the minimum wage wh ich is very unethical. The management should give employees freedom for expression and not undermine them by not giving them privacy. Certain organisations look into the personal life of an employee even though it does not have any link to the work the employee does. Employees also act unethically by using the freedom for their leisure time like reading newspapers, using internet and telephone for personal use and loitering out of work during working hours without the knowledge of the management. (George D. and John H. 1993) Corporate Social Responsibility Caroll (1979:500) defined CSR as the economical, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectancies that society has of organisations at a given point in time. (Valentine, Sean and Fleischman, Gary, 2008).The benefits that accrue from adopting CSR are: Organisations are usually able to attract and retain their workforce because the values of the business are closely in accordance to those of the individual. CSR encourages loyalty and commitment of employees which is an element of success. (Cacioppe Ron et al., 2008) CSR has the capability to increase a companies financial performance this results were shown in an analysis carried out by Margolis and Walsh (2001). (Cacioppe Ron et al., 2008) An organisation that is looking forward to improve their brand image and reputation has to have good CSR activities due to increased community expectations. The factors that contribute towards CSR are whether its products are child labour free and are the products environmentally friendly. (Cacioppe Ron et al., 2008) Conclusion The biggest concern is that most of the citizens are still not aware and confident or in other words are yet confused with what is ethically acceptable and what is not. For a better understanding of this concept there was a need for addressing on ways of managing business ethics in todays global environment especially if businesses want to preserve the integrity of the organisation which in turn will increase its revenue. If any business does not practise sound business it should be assured of failure, however some businesses still succeed by throwing away its morals and report a higher return than those practising ethics but this might not be advantageous in the long run sooner or later the business will be exposed. In todays evolving world business ethics is becoming a strategic importance for competitive advantage and yet its so difficult to say what is that really right or wrong because what would be unethical would still be legally acceptable. The modern workplace can be an extraordinarily powerful character-building institution which can instil leadership, honesty, responsibility, fortitude, respect and many other values if it is taken seriously. Indeed, in a fast moving, competitive global culture and marketplace, character is a corporations most valuable input and resource which is the determinant of the long term success of a business. At a time when the commitment of many companies to their ethics codes and mission statements is being questioned, several firms make headlines by adhering to the business ethics policy they have and acting promptly to make sure that all interests of all the stakeholders are met in a way.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Net Present Value, Mergers and Acquisitions - 2848 Words

Net present Value, Mergers and acquisitions FIN501 - Strategic Corporate Finance Net present Value, Mergers and acquisitions To start I would like to explain the difference and meaning of the present value of the future cash flows from an investment and the amount of investment. Present value of the expected cash flows is computed by discounting them at the required rate of return. For example, an investment of $1,000 today at 10 percent will yield $1,100 at the end of the year; therefore, the present value of $1,100 at the desired rate of return (10 percent) is $1,000. The amount of investment ($1,000 in this example) is deducted from this figure to arrive at net present value which here is zero ($1,000-$1,000). A zero net†¦show more content†¦So fear was the motivating factor for not agreeing with a merger/acquisition by Google (Carlson, 2010). For their part, Google was excited to acquire Groupon for the ability to tap into the potential for local advertising which they were not capturing through their own marketing efforts. Groupon has a reputation f or establishing and maintaining marketing relationships with their suppliers which is unmatched within the technology sector. Google saw this as a potential for creating a huge revenue source from local advertisers, creating a new advertising source leading to new revenue, while controlling costs for gaining this revenue, resulting in higher levels of performance, which should drive the stock price ever higher. The overall result was that Google decided to go their own way, and established a new offering called GOOGLE OFFERS which is designed to compete directly against Groupon. Thus far it has met with a bit of interest, and has had success to date (Kim, 2013), (Winkler, 2011). The impact on Google shareholders Potential for the Google shareholders was an increase in appreciation of the stock which would have helped to reach the forecast strike price of $1000/share sooner, than later. Moreover, it would have established Google as a continuing growth company, with new acquisitions and new ideas designed to enhance their market positionShow MoreRelatedNet Present Value, Mergers and Acquisitions1406 Words   |  6 Pagesthe shareholders’ wealth. Therefore, merger and acquisition decisions should be consistent with shareholder wealth maximization, and financial characteristics of the targets to consider in the decision-making process. The net present value method is one of the useful methods that help financial managers to maximize shareholders’ wealth. The capital budgeting decision mergers Acquisitions Net Present Value Financial managers are working for theRead MoreNet Present Value of T-Mobiles Discount Rate1421 Words   |  6 PagesPart I: The formula for net present value is as follows: INCLUDEPICTURE http://i.investopedia.com/inv/dictionary/terms/NPV.gif * MERGEFORMATINET   Source: Investopedia (2012) The net present value of this project if T-Mobiles discount rate is 4% is therefore as follows: Year 0 1 2 3 4 5 CF -3219000 350000 939000 1122000 500000 400000 PV -3219000 336538.5 868158.3 997453.9 427402.1 328770.8 NPV -260676 d 4% Based on thisRead MoreRisk Analysis on Investment Decisions1436 Words   |  6 Pagesmeet company needs for making major decisions with data consisting of clear goals, a planned design, high ethics, revealed limitations, adequate analysis, and justified conclusions (Cooper and Schindler, 2003). In this paper, the methods of net present value and internal rate of return are examined based on real-world capital budgeting decisions. This paper also gives insight on valuation techniques used to determine internal and external investment decision strategies and the risk associated withRead MoreNinas Fashions Case Study Essay1424 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Chic Company. 1) Gather information regarding mergers and present it to Nina’s board of directors. 2) Discuss reasons and factors justifying mergers, including their benefits to society and each company. 3) Discuss the Pro’s and Con’s of a hostile versus friendly mergers, along with some data on how shareholders from each side have fared in past mergers. 4) Do a sensitivity analysis of all data that was estimated and used in the merger analysis. 5) How to start negotiations, the beginningRead MorePresent Value1398 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ Net present Value, Mergers and acquisitions Abstract Main objective of undertaking this to report was learn about NPV present value (NPV) method to make capital budgeting decision(Google NEW Project) and success factors involved in mergers and acquisitions(Google-Groupon Case). Answers to the Assignments Part I: Google should go ahead with the new project. Part-II: Google’s acquisition of Groupon would have been win -win situation for both corporations Now I will discuss bothRead MoreThe Current State Of The Health Care Environment1573 Words   |  7 PagesThe current state of the health care environment is extremely competitive, regulated, and expensive. In order for private health care organizations to stay competitive and still be profitable, organizations may have to look at merger and acquisition opportunities. It is important, however not to simply merge for the sake of merging. It is important to look at some of the key financial drivers and assess if would be a good idea financial to merge or acquire with another organization. One key financialRead MoreCapital Structure Approach1558 Words   |  6 Pagesand the EPS as outlined in the schedule below (exhibit 3-1) this is the best alternative to strengthen Competition Bike financial position with strong capital structure while maximizing shareholders value. Although a solid capital structure will maximize a shareholders value and increase the value of the company, it is also important to Competition Bikes as with any other business, is not to lose site and focus on what is also important to the consumer; which is the quality of the product and customerRead MoreKey Factors That Promote M A In Health Care Service.1285 Words   |  6 PagesM A is created by a defensive firm to make another firm more vulnerable. From a theorectical perspective, there are factors that arrive at mergers and acquisition. One major factor is to increase and maximize shareholders wealth and value. However, practitioners of U.S health care system do not follow this theory. So, wh at is driving health care mergers? From my perspective, I think many factors are responsible for takeover. For instance, most independent health care practitioners are strugglingRead MoreStrengths And Weaknesses Of Mci1215 Words   |  5 Pages65% of Fortune 1000 companies. In addition to their expansion, MCI has a low debt to value ratio in comparison to their competitors as well being least leveraged. Whereas their weaknesses lie within their operating losses of over $3,200,000,000 due to a decrease in sales after the WorldCom bankruptcy realignment. As for weaknesses, sales decreased after WorldCom’s bankruptcy. In addition to dissolving the merger with WorldCom, MCI business operation losses at an estimated $3.2 billion were realizedRead MoreStock and Long Term Trend1513 Words   |  7 Pageswholesalers and 15,000 retail outlets. The Robertson products are sold in 137 countries worldwide. This avenue to market Monmouth and Robertson products across resources could le ad to above average growth and profits. 2. Estimate a WACC for the acquisition. Invested Capital |   | $37,696,000 |   |   |   | Debt | | $12,000,000 | | |   | Equity | | $25,696,000 | | |   |   | | | | |   | Current market price | | $44 | | |   | Shares outstanding | | 584,000 | | |   |

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Documents Free Essays

Administration and Related Streams How To Use The Business Report Template (version 1. 0) Formal business reports are prepared in a different format than essays or other academic assignments. Preparing professional reports, and proposals, will help you communicate your ideas to your employers while also adding to your value as an employee. We will write a custom essay sample on Documents or any similar topic only for you Order Now This is an important skill to develop and practice while here at Centennial. Business writing should involve three key steps: Planning Writing Completing Planning: Analyzing the situation or topic. Defining the purpose, the â€Å"business problem† or opportunity’ that a report may address. Formulating a main message for your report – often this involves proposing a solution or response to the purpose. Developing an audience profile. Gathering information. In other words, primary and secondary research, as required. Organizing the information: Creating an outline or structure for the key points that need to be expressed. Writing: Adapting to the audience. Developing a tone or style that is sensitive to audience needs while projecting and protecting your organization’s image and/or brand. Composing the message: Follow the outline prepared earlier, using carefully instructed paragraphs and sentences. Identify or create any visual or graphic representations of data that you want to use. Completing: Revising: Proofread and edit for spelling, grammar and typographical errors. Re-write for conciseness and clarity. To assist you with the formatting of such documents, we have prepared a template that you can use to guide you through the report preparation process. Download the template. Save one â€Å"master † copy to use again in the future. Save a new copy with a new file name that reflects your report or assignment. Instructions are given and highlighted in yellow. Read all instructions and delete them when you no longer need them. Replace all other elements (titles, headings, sample text, etc. ) with YOUR content, as instructed. When you finish using the template, the final document should contain your own original work, formatted as a standard business report. All instructions or examples given in this template should be either deleted or replaced with your own content. Instructions for the cover page: The next page is a cover page and contains the report title (mandatory), a subtitle (optional) and information on the author, the intended audience (in this case, a roofless), and the date it was prepared. Every business report should have a title that reflects its content or â€Å"main message†. The title should be in the same font as the body of your work, but at least twice as large as your regular text. It should be centered, bold, underlined and should appear about one third to halfway down the page from the top. Depending on the nature and content of the report, you may decide that a subtitle is appropriate. For example, a report about recycling in Toronto might look like this: Recycling In Toronto Saving The City One Plastic Bottle At A Time Titles do not require punctuation, although you can use a colon at the end of the title if you decide to use a subtitle. This is optional. Guidelines regarding fonts and font sizes: Use either a simple sans serif font (Ariel, Calamari, OTTOMH) or Times New Roman (a simple serif font). Regardless of which font you select, use the same font for the entire document. Do not use italics at any point in your report. Use the following font sizes and configurations: Cover Page Title: 22 point, bold, underlined, centered Cover Page SubTitle: 16 point, centered Headings: 16 point ,bold, underlined, centered Subheadings: 13 point, bold, underlined left-justified Body text: 1 1 point DELETE THIS PAGE BEFORE YOU HAND IN YOUR WORK! The Title Of Your Report The Subtitle of Your Report Your Name Your Student Number Professor’s Name Course Name Course Code Date Submitted Executive Summary Instructions: The heading â€Å"Executive Summary’ is standard and should remain unchanged on this page. An Executive Summary is the last item that an author prepares when writing a business report. It should contain NO MORE than three paragraphs, each with three or four sentences. The Executive Summary should never exceed one page. Paragraph One: Introduce the topic of the report. Paragraph Two: Discuss the main problem(s) that the report examines. Paragraph Three: Review, briefly, any conclusions or recommendations that the report offers. A reader should get a reasonable representation of the overall content from reading these three paragraphs. Table of Contents These page numbers are provided as samples. Use the real page numbers for your report. Put actual headings and subheadings as per your actual report. Introduction First Topic Heading Subheading 2 Second Topic Heading 3 Third Topic Heading 4 Recommendations Conclusion References 5 Appendices 6 Appendix One 7 Appendix Two 8 – Title Appendix Three – Title 9 Appendix Four – Title 10 The Table of Contents shows the reader where to find specific content areas. If you have prepared a strong outline prior to writing your report (highly recommended), the headings, subheadings and other information should be easily available and clearly organized. This example shows three headings and two subheadings for each, however this is Just for the purposes of this example. There is no set amount for these elements. Use as many of each as you feel are appropriate to construct a omelet report. Insert the accurate page number for each corresponding element. It is often best to construct this table of contents after all content is prepared and edited. This will allow for fewer revisions to the table of contents. The appendices show any data tables, charts, graphs, or visuals that you refer to within the body of the report. Such visual material should appear at the end in an appendix rather than taking up page space within the body of the report. A note about page numbers: The first page of the report is the page that follows this table of contents and should notation a few introductory paragraphs to the topic, followed by the first major topic heading. However, the first page NUMBER should appear on page two. It is standard to leave the page number out on page one. Introduction Marketing has been changed dramatically for last fifty years. Nowadays it consists of many different and complex tools for every particular type of business. With constant changes technological progress, in the way consumers communicate personally and professionally, marketing is a moving forward every day. Now, it happens online, offline and everywhere in-between. With the prevalence of social media, mobile internet connections and on-demand information, the 21st century presents a new challenges and opportunities for marketers. To understand these challenges and opportunities could be extremely important for success of marketing campaigns and, as result, for businesses in 21st century. Furthermore, modern marketers should understand how to solve particular challenges and how to use particular opportunities as effectively as possible. Challenges The marketing profession is going through a major transformation. Traditionally, marketing focuses on three key responsibilities: understanding the customer, how ND where to market and building the brand promise. These responsibilities are now transforming into new dimensions that require marketers to function and collaborate differently. We are talking about the new marketing imperatives of understanding the client as an individual, having a clear view of the client experience Journey or the systems of engagement and lastly, integrating the company’s culture and brand to be authentically one. With today’s Big Data, a marketer has the potential to transform his/her role and use the new insights to drive strategic decisions for growth and nominative advantage. Big Data-?the enormous volume, variety, veracity and velocity of data being produced-?holds tremendous potential for the marketing function. With the right marketing mix, marketing professionals can use Big Data to better understand individual customers, predict their behaviors, create tailored interactions and maximize the value of each interaction. Gone are the days where we Just talk about understanding markets. We have moved onto a smaller rabbit hole that promises much more. Marketers now need to understand each customer as an individual. Subheading Sample text Lore pipes dollar sit met, constructed advising elite. Vestibules magna Guam, actor at congou neck, Venetians a fells. UNC ornate, veldt AC tincture pollutant, sapiens veldt consequent null, id dismissing est. Eros et risks. Vamps consequent arc trustier risks ornate a frangible NIST consequent. Queues at trustier Eros. Duds sit met Eros seed UNC consequent mantis e vitae Guam. Annual facilities caulis torpor id plainer. In plenteous NIST quiz risks lifeline placemat. Name AC malamutes magna. Present trustier seem AC pipes subscript a ornate Guam ultraists. Suspensions at arc NIST. Ut veil dodo mass. Anne get pipes Eros, quiz plenteous unique. Team consequent valuate purrs, et posture urn lacing non. Prior torpor NIST, lacing a bacchius condiment, dictum e Mauritius. Morbid veldt pipes, lifeline subscript rhombus in, element get urn. Vamps seed felts et est. commode aliquot. Present quiz urn ante. In seed dud dodo, advising moll’s ague. In biennium nib UT pipes lacing UT lusts lacks valuate. Queues get meets unique. Mauritius commode mass e elite saddles UT clique’s Just vestibules. Passels simper pipes sit met dollar facilities a frangible tells tincture. Team at magna lore, UT rut elite. Suspensions siestas consequent Eros, et interned fells placemat UT. Anne UT lacks elects, vitae dictum lacks. Present AC NIST Adam, id vestibules lacks. Annual constructed, Leo neck imperiled plenteous, NIST risks Venetians null, quiz tempts meets dollar dismissing seem. Anne vitae clique’s torpor. Morbid seem dodo, solicitude seed portion at, lampooner sit met Adam. Plenteous turnips UNC, Verviers veil malamutes in, caulis in magna. (Argentina 2006) The major difference between a â€Å"business report† and an â€Å"essay’ is that a business port clearly divides its content into logically flowing topic areas, divided by headings and subheadings. These should ALWAYS correspond to a properly prepared outline – something that makes your task much easier. Use as many headings / subheadings as make sense for your report. There is no standard regarding the number of paragraphs or sentences per paragraph, although most paragraphs contain – at minimum – three sentences. Use as many or as few as make sense for what you have to say about your topic. Please note: A heading or subheading should NEVER appear in the last 15% (I. E. At the bottom) of any page. In such a case, leave white space and start the next section at the top of the next page. In-Text Citations: For all ideas, quotations or content, use standard PAP in-text citation format of the author’s name followed year of publication. (Argentina 2006) The reader should then be able to refer to your reference page to find where you sourced your specific material. Opportunities Wide range of marketing tools With today’s development of the Internet, new marketing tools appear every year or even every month. Improvement of old technologies is happening too. Because of that marketers can use a huge number of marketing tools now. Beginning from advertising in magazines and continue to the promotion in the Internet, social networks. Obviously, it gives new opportunities for businesses and for people around. Cheap marketing Vamps seed felts et est. commode aliquot. Present quiz urn ante. In seed dud dodo, advising moll’s ague. In biennium nib UT pipes lacing UT lusts lacks valuate. Queues get meets unique. Mauritius commode mass e elite saddles UT clique’s just vestibules. Passels simper pipes sit met dollar facilities a frangible tells tincture. Team at magna lore, UT rut elite. Suspensions siestas consequent Eros, t interned fells placemat UT. Anne UT lacks elects, vitae dictum lacks. Present AC NIST Adam, id vestibules lacks. Annual constructed, Leo neck imperiled plenteous, NIST risks Venetians null, quiz tempts meets dollar dismissing seem. Anne vitae clique’s torpor. Morbid seem dodo, solicitude seed portion at, lampooner sit met Adam. Plenteous turnips UNC, Verviers veil malamutes in, caulis in magna. Maximize each engagement Customers are individuals. To be a successful marketer, one needs to go beyond broad customer segmentation to determine individual preferences and anticipate individual behaviors. By understanding each customer as an individual, one can develop highly targeted promotions, determine the next best action for each individual and deliver a tailored experience-?one that improves outcomes and increases return on investment (ROI). Social media sentiments are crucial especially for business to consumer (BBC) enterprises. Collecting and analyzing the content from social media must be a top priority. The volume of social media content is staggering: Every minute, there are some 1. 7 million Faceable posts, a third of a million tweets, plus some 2. 8 million Youth views, according to Delano Digitalis 013 Social Media Trends. In the Philippines, social media is changing the way the Filipinos do things in general. Going by the numbers from Sociological, one of every three Filipinos is on Faceable. Big businesses are cashing in on it and there’s no sign that it’s going to slow down anytime soon. To make a point, in May 2013, ABS-CAB Integrated News and Current Affairs (INCA) tied up with IBM Philippines to utilize its deep big data analytics expertise and patented tools in analyzing public interactions on social media that helped made better sense of the social media activities in the recent mid-term elections. Faceable is Just one of the many channels that offer marketers routes into the psyche of a customer. As the number of customer channels increases, delivering a tailored experience across all channels is a must. Whether a customer engages-?in person, via telephone calls or comments via Twitter or on Youth, the need to anticipate what the customer wants and then make the most of each interaction is crucial. Improving marketing effectiveness An effective marketer seeks to sustain interest, generate qualified lead and goes on to convert an inquiry into a new sale-?while making the most of the marketing investment. In the past, many marketing campaigns fail to generate actual sales. The good news is, today’s advanced analytics has the potential to maximize the value of Big Data and transform key marketing functions. Employing big data analytics for behavior analysis, for example, enables marketers to explore a broader range of customer information than previously available, detect patterns in prior behavior and more accurately predict future behaviors. As a result, marketers can determine the next best action, better target promotions and increase the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. The valuable customer information that marketers collect can be used not only to improve marketing but also to enhance product development. By sharing emerging trends and real-time feedback gathered from social media and other sources, marketers can make a valuable contribution to successful product development. Moving from traditional marketing strategies to more data-driven approaches that employ advanced analytics, marketers can optimize their audience, channel, content and yield. They can better target high-value customers, determine the best channels for reaching those customers, tailor the messaging and ultimately liver better results. Big Data is more than a simple matter of size; it is an opportunity to find insights in new and emerging types of data and content, to make your business more agile, and to answer questions that were previously considered beyond your reach. Until now, there was no practical way to harvest this opportunity. To sum it up, it is about bringing science to the art of marketing and realizing that things can be done smarter. In Conclusion pipes, lifeline subscript rhombus in, element get urn. Vamps seed fells et est. commode aliquot. Present quiz urn ante. In seed dud dodo, advising moll’s ague. Plenteous turnips UNC, Verviers veil malamutes in, caulis in magna. Most business reports are written with the purpose of presenting findings and offering recommendations. When preparing the conclusion, you may wish to review the main points from the introduction (for example, re-stating whatever business problem you were examining) and suggesting what positive results might follow should your recommendations be followed. Argentina, P. A. , Foreman, J. (2006). The Power of Corporate Communication: Crafting the Voice and Image of Your Business. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Hover’s Online. (2007) Intel-company Capsule. Retrieved September 6, 2007 from www. Hoovers. Com/ Intel-corporation/–old_13787–/free-co-facets. XHTML. Porter, M. E. Kramer, M. R. (2002, December). The competitive advantage of corporate philanthropy. Harvard Business Review, 80(12), 56-68. Instructions – PAP Citation Style: The American Psychological Association (PAP) style is one of three standard formats used to cite works that have been used as research for reports and essays. ALL non- original ideas and content within a document MUST be cited or you may be legalizing – in other words, you may be presenting work that appears to be yours, but in fact is not. Your professor has the option to give a grade of zero for either the work, or the course, should a student be found popularizing. The best way to avoid this is to use PAP to cite EVERYTHING. Keep track of every article you read, every book, journal or website you use. Personal interviews with experts are great sources of information and must be cited in the text as well however do not need to be included in the reference page. PAP has the following attributes: Citations are formatted as hanging indents and appear alphabetically by author last name. Citations contain the following information (when available), IN THIS ORDER: 1 . Author last name followed by initials 2. Year of publication (in parentheses) 3. Title information 4. Publication information 5. Date retrieved or accessed (for online Journals and web sites) 6. Page range (for periodicals only) 7. URL (for online Journals and websites) The examples above offer three different types of citations for the reference page. There are dozens more that cover all possible situations. Examples can be found inline if you search for â€Å"PAP examples†, or you can refer to any reputable communications textbook for guidance. Appendix One – Title Chart Title List the source and the date here Put all visual materials into appendices that appear at the end of your report. Each page should contain only ONE visual. Change the title of the appendix here to reflect your work. MAKE SURE you properly label the data, and that you use an explanatory chart title. The source for the visual should always be listed, as well as a date. This is particularly important if you are using data that might be questioned or may be obsolete. Picture Title How to cite Documents, Papers

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Fundamentals of Business Information Systems free essay sample

Is the pad a disruptive technology? The purpose of this report Is the pad a disruptive technology? is to research and study about the technological developments in Information Systems, such as, the pad and if its a disrupting technology that changes the world or not. Apple introduced the pad in 2010, selling 300,000 on the first day of release and approximately 3 million in 80 days. Given that the features of the pad were similar to the phones, Apple envisioned for this device to be used in a diversity of areas to offer an all-in-one package for computing, connectivity, gaming and any other task consumers might think of. The pad was promoted as a communications device for music, telecommunications, Web and computing, another advancement in information systems. (Kessler, T. 2010) This report will cover the positives and negatives of the pad along with the technological advancements in the Information Systems. The report will create an insight of the effects pads and similar technologies have on the business models of Apple, content creators (such as app developers) and distributors. It will also cover the basics, comparisons, features and specifications on each information system and if its a disruptive or a collaborative technology. For the pad, the main traditional competitors are brands such as Google, Amazon, Samsung, Microsoft, and Sony along with many more. Some products that are competitive against the pad are the Kindle, Samsung Galaxy tablets, Google Nexus and Microsoft tablets. The tablet market has recently increased as new versions of the pad have been released. Smaller models have become increasingly popular in the competitive market. Google is Apples strongest competitor who recently released new market entrants such as the Nexus; along with Amazon introducing seven new Kindles. All prices are at least $100 cheaper than the pad mini and $200 less than he original sized pad. With these two companies combined, they have sold approximately 1 5 million smaller, cheaper tablets according to specific research. (Chin, B. 2012) All these new market entrants introduced new features in aim to enhance and increase their place in the tablet market. Although there is the competition which some may be cheaper, Apple is still the dominant of the tablet market having sold 100 million pads to date. Below is a current usage chart between the time periods of January 2013 March 2013. (Usage Share Change- Top 3 Tablets January 2013 through March 2013. 2013) This chart shows the comparisons between the pad and its competitors and the usage percentages. This is current supporting data of how pads compare to its traditional competitors. As mention brittle bettor, price is a key element in customer decisions to purchase a product. If the price is too high then customers might substitute products. These products are similar and have most or some functionality available as the pad has. As there are many alternatives to the pad including the other tablets mentioned before, Laptop/PC and the Amazon Kindle, the threat of substitute products and services is high. Googles recently released 7-inch Nexus 7 is valued for $200. Amazons seven newly released Kindles price range $160 $300 and the Samsung Tablet products start at $100 and increase. (Chin, B. 012) Looking at these prices the Apple pads start at $499 and reach to prices such as $929, which some customers may prefer to substitute the pad for something of a cheaper range. Many consumers choose to go with the Apple pads due to the brand and features that it offers and for Apples pad; customers have high power in the Competitive Forces Model as they have many choices from whom to buy which is very important. Apple is opting to attract more consumers by focusing o n content. Corporate consumers deem the pad useful for corporate purposes with the ability to have APS for documents and also other business functions. The suppliers also come into the equation as the more different suppliers a firm has, the greater control it can exercise over suppliers in terms of price, quality and delivery schedules. Apple has a strong base of suppliers and currently has over 200 supplying companies who provide raw materials and components or perform final assembly for Apple. Some companies include Delta Electronics Inc. , Hanson Metal Factory. Ltd. , Intel Corporation, Quanta Computer Inc. Along with many more. (Supplier List 2013. 2013) Apple has a current uploaded document on their website which contains a list of suppliers. This list is of their top 200 suppliers which includes component providers and others representing in at least 97 percent of procurement expenditures for materials, manufacturing, and assembly of their products worldwide in 2012. Looking at all five of Porters Competitive Forces model you can evaluate how much impact Apple pads have had on the tablet market competitors, products and services, customers and suppliers. The definition of a disruptive technology is new technologies that come along and change the world in a way. The pad is a platform at which it has the capabilities of a laptop of tablet PC but put in an ostentatious functionality that makes itself unique with the ability to deliver video, music, text, social networking applications and video games. With all these features, pad fits into the description of a disruptive technology with its unique capabilities that have change many ways consumers do things. It is in the publishing and media industries where the pads disruptive impact ill be first felt. News and magazines have both positive and negative impacts with the pad. The pad could assist with struggling newspaper and magazine printing sectors by providing a format that will pay online for. Newspapers were enthusiastic about the pad as it represents a way for them to continue charging for all of the content that they have been required to make available online. As with book publishers, if Apple dominates e portable reader sector, magazine and newspaper publishers will become reliant on them for their continuing success that is a weak position for them in long run. The pad and similar devices (including the Kindle) will force many existing media businesses to change their business models significantly. When it comes to E-books, the pad could be a device that makes eBooks go mainstream. Publishers profit in the arrangement that Apple has provided them with the pad which is announcing their intention to offer a tiered pricing system, giving publishers the opportunity to participate more actively in the pricing of their books compared to Amazon, the technology platform provider and largest distributor of books in the world. The active however is the pad makes existing readers including the Kindle, Sony tablet and Samsung Galaxy look very ordinary and obsolete. A final example of the pad being a disruptive technology is with the music industry. A positive for Apple is that they will be able to maintain their premium pricing. Apple can continue to control the music distribution business and the industry would have to accept what they say and do. Music labels used to make more money selling multiple songs on an album than they did selling popular singles. Now consumers purchasing albums has radically decreased as preference is downloading one song at a time. Apple had already reformed some of its business model by freely acting as an agent selling books rather than Just a book distributor. In the past Apple believed content was less important than the popularity of its devices but soon realized that was unsustainable. If there is no content, people will not purchase the product. The company is now prepared to make agreements with each media industry to distribute many diverse types of content at a price approved upon by the content and platform owners. The pad is another one of Apples successful products and has a major effect on the business models of Apple, content creators and distributors. For the content based business models, the Apple pad has affected eBooks, news, magazines etc. It has created portability for the consumers and everything is to go and a bigger segment. As for the content creators, Apple has high-quality application, personalization; specific customers needs and wants for the product, high competition and more niche contents. Lastly, Apple distributors act as an agent rather than Just a distributor (with a 30% fee on all eBook sales), have more freedom to publishers in relation to eBooks and have agreed with publishers to charge $12- $14 for the eBooks. This results in cheaper eBooks in the future even though publishers are worried about long-term pricing arrangements and expectations. The pad is a very powerful and useful technology device. Consumers choose this product as it is very useful for reading books, magazines, newspapers, for surfing the web, and for watching videos. The following features are what the pad can give consumers. Pad Reading books, magazines or newspapers: * books. Both a way to read books and a way to buy them, books transforms the simple act of reading into something simply delightful. Customize your view. How you read is up to you. Flick trot page to page, change the text size, select deterrent font, adjust the brightness or choose a white, sepia or nighttime-friendly theme. * Use reading tools. You can highlight or underline text, make notes, look up a word in the dictionary or on the web, or search inside the book. You can even use Viceroy to have pad read to you. Surfing the web: * The web-browsing app Safari allows for speedy Wi-If cellular data connections along with a powerful AX chip that results in web pages loading ultraist. Advanced Wi-If technology and Next-generation cellular connectivity up to LET. Apple pad can also come with Wi-If + Cellular. So you can download content, stream video, and browse the web at amazing speeds without a contract or long-term commitment. Watching a Video: * Shoot and Record HAD video in full IPPP using a 5-megalith camera. The Sight camera on pad lets you capture all different occasions. Automatic video stabilization so you have a clear video to playback. Watching videos on the pad is clear and crystal with the feature of Retina display. Faults: * With every technological device there are always some faults. With the pad, consumers have listed some of the faults they experience. These problems consist of; Frozen screen/Unresponsive to your touch; pad wont turn on; tunes doesnt recognize pad; pad wont charge; pad wont connect to Wi-If/Wi-If sync not working; Running slow; and, Cellular data connection dropping. There are also technical faults such as no integrated card reader and no USB, missing support for Adobe flash, no HIDE and no wireless synchronization. Kindle Reader Is the worlds most advanced e-reader with Free 36 higher resolution, higher contrast touchstones with built-in light and 8-week battery life. Reading books, magazines or newspapers: * The kindle has 62% more pixels for unsurpassed resolution, 25% better contrast or sharp, dark text. While reading, the Kindle delivers clear text and images with no glare even in bright sunlight. Adjustable fonts and text size for all consumers needs and holds up to 1,100 books in the library device. Surfing the web: * 36 wireless. Wireless works globally where you can download books anytime, anywhere. Built in Wi-If lets you download books in under 60 seconds Watching Video: * Does not have this feature. Faults: * Amazon talked about three problems consumers are complaining about with the Kindle: the lack of audio, the smaller storage and the lighting problems. It does not eve audio or Text-to-speech . Under certain lighting conditions, the backcloth at the bottom of the screen is not perfectly even. Finally the Kindle has 2 KGB of storage, which some previous models had BIB. This amount of storage holds up to 1,100 books locally on the device. Chain, C. 2012) After researching the capabilities of each device above, I personally believe the pad is a better device for reading books. Along with the many useful features, the pad provides many benefits to reading books using the I KS app to buy, save and store eBooks, newspapers and magazines in the book library. It Retina display allows nonusers to be able to read text clearly both as an eBook or online reading news articles. For an example of pads capabilities theres the feature where you can read articles without distractions. Just tap the Reader icon and clutter instantly disappears. All you will see is the article itself. If consumers do not finish reading the article they have an option to add the articles link to your Reading List and finish it later. Even without internet connection, Safari saves web pages not Just links in your Reading List, so consumers can read even when offline. So for books I use at university courses I would definitely choose the pad. However, when it comes to reading traditional print publications I sometimes prefer to read printed versions of articles or novels. For university, I would use the pad to read eBooks as keeping a variety of books in the books library application is much easier than to carry the multiple books around, which is much heavier than Just taking one technological device. However if I am reading for pleasure in my own time, I prefer to read from printed texts as the feel of the traditional printed versions are sometimes better to read, especially if your reading for a long amount of time. In conclusion to he report the pad is definitely considered a disruptive technology.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Activity 1_ Historical Context and a Closer Look at Setting Essays

Unit 3: A Struggle for Freedom Activity 1: Historical Context and a Closer Look at Setting July 29, 2019 1. Geography a) Louisiana is a state located in the southeastern part of the United States of America. Louisiana is surrounded by Mississippi and Gulf of Mexico in the east, Texas in the west, Arkansas in the north, and the Gulf of Mexico in the south. http://voterlist.electproject.org/states/louisiana This is where Louisiana is located. (in United States of America) b) From my house/neighbourhood to Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site in Louisiana (12501 LA-10, Saint Francisville, LA 70775-4531) it would take 20hr 37min to get there by car and it is 2,140km far. According to Mapquest c) Louisiana and Toronto have many contrasting differences. To begin with, Louisiana is located far south of the United States of America. With that being said, there is an obvious climate difference. Due to the fact, Louisiana is closer to the equator in comparison to Toronto, the weather is a lot hotter and the winters are not as harsh. In fact, in Louisiana it is extremely rare to see snow unlike Toronto where it snows heavily in the winter season. 2. African American Rights in the U.S. a) On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared the Emancipation Proclamation. This official document demanded slaves of certain states were to be free. As it stated it in original document that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be free. b) The Civil Rights Movement primarily began in 1950's to 1960's in the United States. The objective of the movement was for African Americans to gain equal rights under the law in the United States of America. 3. Setting a) According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantation "A plantation is the large-scale estate meant for farming that specializes in cash crops. The crops that are grown include cotton, coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar cane, sisal, oil seeds, oil palms, rubber trees, and fruits." b) A plantation is significant place in the Southern United States because it was used to enforced labour slaves to harvest produce for export and trade. c) Segregation is separation in different racial groups in a community, country or establishment. d) Segregation in schools and churches were justified in the Southern United States because of a law that was passed on 1896. This law stated: "the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racially separate facilities, if equal, did not violate the Constitution"

Monday, November 25, 2019

No Name Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston

No Name Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston â€Å"No Name Woman† is a short story written by Maxine Hong Kingston and was first published in 1975 included in her book â€Å"The Woman Warrior.† Kingston commences the story by arguing that all myths and tales are contingent on specific cultural necessities. This story provides an ambiguous and complex talk-story; the role of the female in Chinese traditions and the difficulty of been raised as a Chinese American girl.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on No Name Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The story tells of Kingston’s aunt who was abandoned by the other members of the family. The aunt was pregnant and was raided on the night she was supposed to give birth; the raiders stole and destroyed family property, and the aunt gave birth in a pigsty while in exile. The aunt took away her life and her newborn baby by plunging into a well in China. This story sounds like a cautionary tale. Kingston’s mother cautions her not to tell anyone about the aunt’s story, and this story came at the time she had begun menstruating and was warning her or else she would end up like the aunt. Kingston reflects this with the kind of life she was brought up in – an invisible world of spirits migrating from Chinese rural life to the exile home in America. Since Kingston cannot inquire about the aunt’s name, she refers to her as â€Å"No Name Woman† and comes up with reasons as to why her aunt was tempted into her outlawed urges. In one instance, she describes the aunt as a shy lady who is lured into giving in by a rapist. While in another, the aunt harbors a gradually growing intimate, attempting to seduce men by making up herself neatly. Kingston’s fantasies may have been sympathetic about her own life. For instance, she denies the view that the aunt was a vicious woman with weak principles and had committed a crime which Ki ngston argues she was acting in her passions, although she had broken the Chinese values and traditions. To reveal the difficulties in society, Kingston uses numerous dichotomies and conflicts: between the private and public, merriment and essentials, the person’s wants for expression and society’s desire for organizing. She pictures how old Chinese culture was like; repressiveness, strictly controlled society in which one did not have a private life. Society’s sake or well-being dictated ones actions. In this case, Kingston’s aunt represents the worst extent of aggression, her private passions (publicized by her unwanted child) interfered with the social order and threatened the continuity of the society. Kingston argues that in situations of plenty, adultery could have been only a mistake when members of the village expected everyone to cooperate in providing food, although it was criminalized.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature ? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Kingston introduces many views on her aunt’s motives and reasons together with the experiences she had encountered in her life. She quotes that â€Å"Any man within visiting distance would have been neutralized as a lover- ‘brother,’ ‘younger brother,’ ‘older brother’-one hundred and fifteen relationship titles.† Kingston highlights the differences between Chinese and American cultures. The narration of Kingston’s shows that the cultural values one adopts depend on oneself. Kingston relates her ideas and beliefs around this story she heard of her aunt. Kingston tries to delve deeper into the intentions of her aunt and intends to relate the whole narrative about her aunt to her personal experience. Kingston tries to study and analyze more her Chinese culture and to discover her identity. Kingston quotes â€Å"I have pursued to conve rt myself to Chinese-feminine. If I make myself American-pretty, so that the five or six Chinese boys in the class fell in love with me, everyone else (the Caucasian, Negro, and Japanese boys) would too.† Kingston tries to be conspicuous. She does not be want to be associated with the Chinese American girl. This shows her relationship with the aunt, which was she was not conventional with social values and expectations. She is to be engaged, raise her own family, although she never reveals the issue of any sexual intimacy. This highlights her enduring struggle between her traditional Chinese social values and Americanisation. â€Å"No Name Woman† is a mixture of creative detail and personal musing. The story describes how important it was for the villagers to do away with sexual attraction among tribesmen and how Kingston disobeys this and makes herself attracted to men. Kingston uses metaphors such as round cakes and doorways to describe the roundness of Chinese cultur e, that is, the perception that all members of the society are interdependent and responsible for each others deeds. The story ends in a mimic of its format; her mother warns her again not to tell anyone about her aunt. Kingston is amazed by the reason why her aunt was left out the way she was. In American society, the idea of adultery is not reason enough to leave and outfit individuals in their family, even when they are pregnant. Kingston highlight how there is logical dubiousness of her mother witnessing the raid when her mother and the aunt were living in the same house, although such improbability gives her the freedom to progress in reconstructing the tale.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on No Name Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The story told by Kingston’s mother centered on the agony of the raid and the accusation without providing any details about the kind of a woman h er aunt was like or what her motivation was. The story is two two-fold, Kingston was afraid of being attracted to boys and discovered that being more sisterly was more critical as she realizes the only punishment for the aunt was being abandoned, as the backing of the village was vital not only in life but also in death. Although the story did not define whether the no-name aunt was her aunt, it impacted greatly on her development as a woman.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Philadelphia movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Philadelphia movie - Essay Example Tom Hanks brilliantly portrayed the character of Andy and communicated to viewers the need to look at gays suffering from AIDS in a different light. It was an emotional issue, to be sure, but Hanks did a good job at causing everyone to rethink their views towards people suffering from this horrible disease. When Andy began looking for a lawyer, he discovered that many people did not want to represent him simply on the basis of his illness. The frustration that he began to feel must surely have been overwhelming. Most people he met were afraid and would not get close to him. The movie effectively points out that even the lawyer who was brave enough to represent Andy was also afraid of him. In the end, however, this lawyer began to understand that Andy was no threat to his own health or to his reputation. He ended up learning a great deal from Andy and they turned into good friends. The overarching theme of this movie is to educate the public about AIDS and homosexuality. These two issues have divided society and have caused this segment of the population to be segregated and discriminated against in many communities across the country. This movie shows me that discrimination will likely always exist in our society, either on the basis of gender, race, or sexual preference. Philadelphia gives me, and other viewers as well, a good look at the reasons why we should shed our discriminatory views. Such thoughts serve to hurt not only the specific group being discriminated against, but also society in general. The message that the movie sends is that discriminating against homosexual people, especially those with AIDS, is illegal. It also conveys the message that judging people, commonly referred to as stereotyping, is wrong. Understanding people and our difference comes with time. This understanding came happen if we all take the time to get to know each

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Brickman Vending Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Brickman Vending Services - Essay Example The sole trader structure also provides opportunities for claiming taxation advantages associated with business losses. This structure also provides advantages related to the capital gains tax, the sole trader is eligible by law to claim a 50% CGT reduction and the ability to write off expenses for a vehicle utilised for business purposes (Quinn Group 2012). The vending industry in the United Kingdom is valued at ?1.94 billion and there are currently 468,000 refreshment vending machines operating in the country (Research and Markets 2010). In most UK households, vending machine product purchases are representative of approximately 1.9 percent of total household spending on food (Research and Markets 2010). The statistics on the UK vending sales industry are highly favourable for ensuring profitability and revenue growth. Furthermore, total household expenditures on food for families in the UK increased by 5.3 percent in 2010 (Report Buyer 2011). In all respects, the vending industry in the UK represents a very auspicious opportunity for ensuring success of the start-up venture. 2.0 Mission and objectives The mission of Brickman Vending Services is distinctly customer-centric: Brickman Vending Services strives to provide a range of products that focus on serving the lifestyle needs of customers in the United Kingdom. From professionals to busy, on-the-go customers, Brickman Vending provides modernised service delivery and diversity of product for our valued buyers. The business maintains three distinct objectives achievable during the first year of operations. 1. Establish brand recognition for the business to establish a competitive brand presence. 2. Gain five percent of market share in the vending industry in the UK 3. Build market loyalty in the commercial business-to-business environment. 3.0 External market analyses There are approximately 300 vending competitors operating machines in the London region, where Brickman Vending Services will initially launch its vending business. Major competitors include Academy Beverage Company, Amazing Beveridge Company, Evend Ltd. and LTT Vending (Vendingmachine.co.uk 2013). This is representative of only the largest and most recognised vending companies in the London area. Despite the saturated market environment, there are opportunities associated with brand development for Brickman Vending that can serve to outperform the competitive reputations of major rivals. None of the aforementioned competitors maintain a strong brand in the UK, known largely by contractual experience in the commercial sales environment. The business model of vending services is easily replicable by competitors, in relation to the established vending supply network in the UK and the non-differentiated aspects of food products available in vending machines. Nandan (2005) indicates that the only genuine, tangible asset that cannot easily be copied by competition is the brand. After scanning the external competitive environme nt, a lack of brand presence by major competition is advantageous for building a consumer-centric brand personality that can be recalled by customers as a means of differentiating Brickman Vending from competitors. Thompson, Gamble and Strickland (2005) offer the work of Michael Porter regarding the external market characteristics that either serve to improve business position or

Monday, November 18, 2019

Pfizer- Puffery or Deception Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Pfizer- Puffery or Deception - Essay Example Jarvik as an ambassador for Lipitor. Pharmaceuticals are products that have a scientific basis. Hence, the purpose of any advertisement pertaining to a drug should focus on educating the physicians and increasing their awareness regarding that drug. Its objective should be to convince the targeted physicians about the effectiveness of that drug by extending scientific facts and data. In that context, the association of Dr. Jarvik with the ads points towards an attempt by Pfizer to influence the medical practitioners by impressing them with the appeal and stature of Dr. Jarvik. Going by the fact that drugs are products that could have severe impact on the users, usage of emotional appeal in a drug advertisement conveys an unethical and irresponsible attitude on the part of its manufacturers. Drugs are not like cereals or washing machines that could or should rely on celebrity endorsements to increase sales. They are products that could make or mar the life of a patient. So, the USP of any drug should be reliable and scientific data and not emotional propaganda. For one, Pfizer tried to push the sales of its product by using emotional appeal. Secondly, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has expressed doubts about the reliability of claims pertaining to Lipitor, made by Dr. Jarvik in the ads. So the resulting criticism of Pfizer is valid and justified. To avoid such criticism in the future, Pfizer should make certain that the claims made by its ads are backed by scientific studies and clinical experience of the responsible physicians. Besides, Pfizer should also look to it that the personalities endorsing its products in the future ads do have the academic background and practical experience to decide on the effectiveness of the drug under consideration. Also, the claims made by those personalities are true and authentic. Sometimes, there exists a very thin line between puffery and

Friday, November 15, 2019

In Depth Analysis Of The Globalisation Issue And Its Impact Business Essay

In Depth Analysis Of The Globalisation Issue And Its Impact Business Essay In this paper, Fischer provides an in depth analysis of the globalisation issue and its impact on trade, firms, employees, cultures and politics worldwide. From evolution of concept of globalisation to its adoption in even the lesser developing countries, Fischer has provided a detailed account of developments that occurred over time in field of human and economy development. Fischer has also included the analysis of policy impacts on enhancement of global trade and employment and several developing regions like Africa, Tunisia, Indonesia and Turkey have been discussed which not only includes political but cultural aspects that affect globalisation. The paper is an important input towards understanding globalisation, its impacts on emerging economies and impact of political, cultural and technological developments on globalisation. UNCTAD. (2004). Development and Globalisation: Facts and Figures. United Nations Publications. [Online] Available from http://unctad.org/en/docs/gdscsir20041_en.pdf [Accessed August 14, 2010] The research paper by UNCTAD presents a detailed survey of developing economies from perspective of globalisation. UNCTAD has selected data from various regions around the world including Northern African states, Central and South American states and Asia. The economic development has been measured in terms of trade policies, FDI, trade figures and other external factors. Also the social and cultural developments in terms of education and other social factors have also been observed in the report. The report is rather a quantitative input to the project as it includes facts and figures regarding globalisation issues in countries including Algeria which is the main focus of the research. Rothenberg, L. E. (2003). The three tensions of Globalisation. The American forum for Global education. [Online] Available from http://www.globaled.org/issues/176.pdf [Accessed 15 August, 2010] Rothenberg presents a critical analysis of globalisation and its perception in various cultures. Three main dimensions or rather tensions of globalisation are investigated in this study: Individual versus societal choices, free market versus government intervention and local authority versus supra-local authority. The paper gives an interesting perspective on globalisation and its affect on various national cultures that will eventually affect organizational culture. The research thus, is a valuable input in interpreting various cultural and economical challenges associated with globalisation. Stiglitz, J. E. (2003). Globalisation and its discontents. W. W. Norton The book by Stiglitz is a critical opponent of disadvantages associated with concept of globalisation and manipulation of global rules and regulations by developed countries or richer participants. The book provides a detailed analysis of under developed nations and developing nations who participated in globalisation process to gain from it but due to the fundamental believe of free markets and austere policies of institutions like IMF, only wealthy nations and participants have gained from globalisation instead of poor and developing nations. The book is a valuable input towards critical analysis of globalisation concept as it gives a candid and realistic view of negative aspects of globalisation. Boudreaux, D. J. (2008). Globalisation. Greenwood Publishing Group The book from Boudreaux is based on the concept of globalisation and its various aspects. The book is a complete guide towards understanding of globalisation concepts and difficulties that participants of global economy face in complex world of Multinationals. Issues like international trade, national wealth disparity, foreign investment and geographical and cultural issues are discussed in the book with relevant issues that international firms face in foreign countries. The book also includes positive as well as negative contributions of globalisation that have been provided over time to developed and developing economies. Henry, C. M and Springborg, R. (2001). Globalisation and the Politics of Development in Middle East. Cambridge University Press In their book, Henry and Springborg present a detailed analysis of challenges affiliated with globalisation and the politics of country. For the case study purpose, authors have selected Middle East where democratization is nil compared to other cultures around the globe. The authors have discussed several challenges that global firms face while setting up operations in countries of Middle East which has monarchs as rulers and thus, the level of educational and social development is a great hindrance for human resource departments. The authors then further go on with study of different cultures and their political situations and deduct a direct relationship between political structure and implementation of globalisation. Banerjee, D and Goldfield, M. (2008). Labor, Globalisation and the State: workers, women and migrants confront neo-liberalism. Routledge The book by Banerjee and Goldfield revolves around the issue of neo-liberal globalisation and how it has affected the developed as well as developing economics around the globe. The research in the book revolves around one main developed economy of United States and one developing economy of India. Banerjee and Goldfield highlight the misconceptions about globalisation regarding liberalized labor market and capital markets and posit that globalisation has varying effects on labor market in practice. The book also emphasizes on negative effects of globalisation on system of wage fixation, employment pattern, and basic rights at work in both developed, as well as underdeveloped countries. The book is a valuable input in understanding the labor issues which later affect the human resource practices in international communities. ILO. (2004). A Fair globalisation: Creating opportunities for all. ILO Publications. [Online] Available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/wcsdg/docs/report.pdf [Accessed August 14, 2010] International Labor Offices report on globalisation is a struggle towards pushing governments around the world to embrace the concept of global economy for progress and improvement of economies worldwide. The report emphasizes on establishing open policies towards globalisation and how it can help boost the trade between nations thereby, resulting in improved infrastructure, technology and human resource. The report also presents views and stances of various regions like Africa, Asia, Latin America and Arab nations regarding global standards and suggests universal efforts for successful transition in trade, technology and labor from local to global level. The report also demands for a fair governance system in globalisation policies while holding departments of parliament and governing councils accountable for maintain fair system. Crafts, N. (2000). Globalisation and Growth in the Twentieth century. IMF. [Online] Available from http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2000/wp0044.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2010] The paper by Crafts is a review of past few years as globalisation spread to various economies around the globe and left its positive as well as some negative effects. Although negative effects of income disparity and economic divergence has emerged along with globalisation. However, remarkable growth has been seen in human development index specifically skill and literacy rate. This report explores contributions that have been made by globalisation, future prospects of where economies around world are heading due to this phenomenon and lastly, what if any globalisation backlashes are expected over the coming decades. The report is a valuable input in studying empirical impacts of globalisation on various regions around the globe. Wen, D. (2006). China copes with Globalisation: A mixed review. IFG. [Online] Available from http://www.ifg.org/pdf/FinalChinaReport.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] The report by Wen is an empirical analysis of Chinese economy after entering the era of globalisation. Wen covers almost all aspects of globalisation from policies to urban reforms, impact on quality of life, education and environment including cultural aspects, labor reforms and workforce attitude. The report provides a thorough review of effects of globalisation in economy of China which is relevant to this study as the cultural differences between China and other developed nations such as U.S. and Japan are enormous and therefore, it will be easy to relate to difficulties of cultural context in Algeria due to globalisation. Kremer, M and Maskin, E. (2006). Globalisation and Inequality. Harvard University The paper presented by Kremer and Maskin is a theoretical approach towards understanding the criticism on Globalisation regarding widening the gap of education and money between poor and rich. Kremer and Maskin support the notion that due to several constraining factors like lack of access to education and skill learning, globalisation mainly benefits the rich both in rich and poor economies while the poor can only benefit if he by any means increase his skill or education level. The research includes evidences from several developed and developing nations like China, India, United States and Japan and confers that the concept of globalisation is more complicate than implicated and thus, requires careful consideration by developing or under developed nations before its implementation. ILO. (2001). Human Resources Development, Employment, and Globalisation in hotel, catering and tourism sector. International Labor Organization. [Online] Available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/techmeet/tmhct01/tmhct-r.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] The concept of globalisation is widely applicable in industries of hotel, catering and tourism that are in a way interrelated. The report by ILO presents a comprehensive review of hotel and tourism industry which is boosted by globalisation as cross-border travelling increased overtime. According to ILO, the most positively affected sector in this case is the employment sector where employment level and skills of employees have tremendously increased due to global travelling. The inter country interactions with tourists and guests have led local firms to develop training and education programs for their employees which gives development opportunities for both men and women, thereby, affecting the culture as well. The study will be an important input in studying the impact of globalisation of human resource development and culture of developing nations. Yusoff, M. S. (2003). Globalisation and Human Resource Development in the Malaysian Public Sector. UN. [Online] Available from http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/EROPA/UNPAN014373.pdf [Accessed August 14, 2010] Yusoff in his report presents the globalisation approach adopted by Malaysian public sector to avoid consequences of income inequality and win-lose situation between developed and developing countries as conceived by various critics. Yusoff studies various initiatives that Malaysian government has taken in development of its human work force such as remuneration policies that support growth and productivity and can be rewarded accordingly, career development strategies to increase motivation for learning and performance in employees and global training and development programs for locals to adjust to globalisation demands. The study is a valuable effort that provides factors and strategies that can combat negative consequences of globalisation. NATIONAL ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE Kefela, G. T. (2010). Understanding Organizational Culture and Leadership- Enhance Efficiency and Productivity. PM World Today. [Online] Available from http://www.pmforum.org/library/papers/2010/PDFs/jan/FP-KEFELE-Managingorganizationalcultures.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2010] This paper by Kefela revolves around importance of organizational culture in creating effective leadership and shaping the approach of employees towards their goals. A strong organization of efficiency and productivity is created by cultures that promote as well as support structures and policies which lead management into taking actions that can enhance productivity of employees through suitable job designs, hierarchy of command and delegation of authority. The paper by Kefela is an important input in understanding culture separately as well as in organizational context. Also the importance of organizational culture as emphasized in paper is relevant to study of global HRM where clashes between national and organizational cultures are observed. Michailova, S and Hutchings, K. (2004). Knowledge Sharing and National culture: A comparison between China and Russia. Journal of Management Studies [Online] Available from http://openarchive.cbs.dk/bitstream/handle/10398/7306/knowledge%20sharing%20and%20national%20culture.pdf?sequence=1 [Accessed August 14, 2010] The research report by Michailova and Hutchings is an analytical approach towards understanding the cultural approaches in transitional economies of China and Russia and how national culture affects the processes of organizations such as knowledge sharing. The cultural aspects of vertical individualism and collectivism in these two countries definitely affect the way organizations and especially international operate. The authors have investigated the differences in national cultures of Russia and China and then empirically analyzed how the difference in cultures affect the perceptions of management in firms regarding knowledge sharing which is an essential element in business today. Yeganeh, M. E. (2006). The impact of National and organizational culture on information technology (IT). [Online] Available from http://www.nlai.ir/Portals/2/files/faslname/69/en_content.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] Yeganeh in this paper discusses the increasing importance of national and organizational culture on Information technology and over all global operations. According to Yeganeh, as the world moves towards a global end, use of information technology is also increasing leading to dependency of foreign firms on information technology. However, the national culture prevailing in host country often causes hindrance to achievement of such transfer of knowledge. The paper intends to provide a detailed overview of national culture as well as organizational culture which is believed to overcome any hindrances created by national culture if strong enough and therefore, provides a comprehensive account of various issues like culture and globalisation. Edwards, T and Kuruvilla, S. (2005). International HRM: national business systems, organizational politics and the international division of labor in MNCs. International Journal of Human Resource Management. Vol 16. No. 1. [Online] Available from http://org8220renner.alliant.wikispaces.net/file/view/Edwards.pdf [Accessed August 12, 2010] In this journal article, Edwards and Kuruvilla discussed the issue of national and organizational culture that has been faced by managers of global firms as they enter another country. The concept of International HRM though is a powerful tool to cater to national culture needs as well as organizational goals, yet is difficult to implement as the management often ignores the importance of national culture and its effects on employees while implementing global standards. Edwards and Kuruvilla stressed the need for focus on three main dimensions of national culture that might affect implementation of global HRM: internal organizational politics, inadequate conceptualization of national effects and internal division of labor in MNCs. Rutkowska, A. L. (2009). The impact of national and organizational culture on the cooperation of firms a supply chain perspective. Journal of Intercultural Management. Vol. 1. No. 2. [Online] Available from http://www.joim.pl/pdf/Laskowska-Rutkowska2.pdf [Accessed August 12, 2010] In this journal article, Rutkowska emphasizes on importance of global chain of knowledge and sharing of technology and how various factors affect the efficient process of globalisation. Among several factors, national and organizational factors are the most important factors that not only affect organizations output but its resources like employees as well. Rutkowska has selected supply chain as focus technology which is strongly affected by culture as it requires elements of partnership, cooperation, negotiations and information transfer. The article explains in detail various perspectives of national and organizational culture and how organizational culture needs to dominate when it comes to globalized operations. Yintsuo, H. (2007). Relationships between National Cultures and Hofstede Model, and Implications for a Multinational Enterprise. Asia Pacific Management Conference. [Online] Available from http://infotech.monash.edu.au/research/centres/cdsesr/papers-pdf/t145.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] This article by Yintsuo draws relationship between real life examples from MNCs existing in high power distance countries like China, Taiwan and Thailand and low power distance countries like United States and Canada. The study is empirical in nature and provides a detailed analysis of effect of national culture on MNCs in that country and how organizational culture can help management in eliminating cultural risk. The five dimensions of culture were used in the study including power distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty avoidance and Long-term orientation. Hofstede model of cultural dimension is an important input in study of globalisation and particularly impact of culture in it and therefore, this article gives a significant input in this study. Murphy, W. H. (1999). Hofstedes National Culture as a Guide for Sales Practices across Countries: The Case of a MNCs Sales Practices in Australia and New Zealand. Australian Journal of Management. Vol. 24, No. 1. [Online] Available from http://www.agsm.edu.au/eajm/9906/pdf/murphy.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2010] This journal article is another significant contribution towards understanding role of national culture in affecting global operations of firms in host country. Murphy in his research has different implications than Yintsuos and Rutkowskas research as he implies that MNCs need to alter their strategies according to local markets especially when considering sales training as applying foreign practices results in more resistance and risks compared to advantages and gains. The research paper by Murphy can be used as a counter argument in research as organizational culture is given least importance in the project. Mowat, J. (2002). Corporate Culture. Herridge Group. [Online] Available from http://www.herridgegroup.com/pdfs/corp_cultures.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] The paper by Mowat emphasizes on importance of organizational or corporate culture to employees as well as management in order to successfully operate and achieve desired goals. Unlike researchers who place greater emphasis on national culture, Mowat places corporate culture in higher regard as any misunderstanding in corporate culture can damage the profitability and success rate of firms. Corporate culture is an important aspect in Human Resource Management as HR personnel are always expected to mold or persuade employees to achieve maximum benefits for the firm. The paper by Mowat therefore, gives a useful account of internal culture of organizations that build a strong solution for international firms struggling with diversity issues. Fey, C. F. and Denison, D. R. Organizational Culture and effectiveness: The case of foreign firms in Russia. [Online] Available from http://swoba.hhs.se/hastba/papers/hastba2000_004.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2010] Fey and Denison present an empirical paper on importance of cultural context in countries like Russia which significantly differ in cultural context from that of U.S. or Japan. The researchers, based on the inflexible nature of Russians and turbulent political and social environment of country, have tried to investigate the effects of international Human resource and social frameworks on Russian individuals. Based on these frameworks and empirical research from international firms operating in Russia, Fey and Denison have analyzed common elements in cultures of U.S. and Russia which results in positive existence of foreign firms while dissimilar cultural factors result in discontent attitude of Russians towards foreign firms. KObonyo, P. (2007). Influence of Culture on Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) Practices in Multinational Companies (MNC) in Kenya: A Critical Literature Review. University of Nairobi. [Online] Available from http://www.strathmore.edu/research/strategic-human-resource-mgt.pdf [Accessed August 14, 2010] The paper investigates misperception of some theorists that application of Strategic Human Resource management is the key solution to diversity management in MNCs. The author asserts that organizational culture though provide a uniform framework and goals for employees in international firms yet national culture in some countries specifically developing nations hold great significance and therefore, it is important to understand perception of workers regarding their national identity to ensure that there is no clash between national and organizational culture. The researcher has also implemented Hofstedes cultural dimensions framework to international firms in Kenya in order to understand the strong influence of culture on them. Guidroz, A. M., Kotrba, L. M and Denison, D. R. (2009). Workplace Diversity: Is National or Organizational Culture Predominant? Linkage Inc. [Online] Available from http://www.linkageinc.com/thinking/linkageleader/Documents/Denison_Consulting_Workplace_Diversity_Is_National_or_Organizational_Culture_Predominant.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2010] This report by Guidroz, Kotrba and Denison is an important contribution towards understanding an important aspect of Human Resource Management under globalisation: Work place diversity. The report emphasizes on emergence of concept of diversity management which is implemented by managers of international firms to deal with the local and international workforce. The report also studies the impact of national and organizational culture on perceptions of employees regarding their treatment under foreign firms as culture shapes individuals perceptions. The report is a significant addition to literature review as it covers all aspects of globalisation including HR policies and frameworks, workforce issues and diversity management. Ghauri, P. N and Usunier, J. C. (2003). International Business Negotiations. Edward Elgar Publishing. This book is another contribution towards issues of international business which is everywhere in todays world. The authors have emphasized on two major aspects of globalisation: culture and communication that significantly affects business dealings and negotiations which are integral parts of International business. The authors discuss in detail the concept of international business negotiation and its importance, cultural dimensions that affect negotiations and guidelines to international managers based on real life examples and case studies from different cultures. The book is an important input in understanding concept of globalisation and factors of negotiations that initiate the global business. Silverthorne, C. P. (2003). Organizational psychology in cross-cultural perspective. NYU Press. Silverthorne in this book has emphasized on the differences between various cultures and how human psychology varies from nation to nation depending on culture of that nation. This aspect of culture also affects the organizational culture of MNCs and international firms who aim at implementing similar psychological theories in each nation. The author has covered various aspects of Human Resource Development in the book including leadership, motivation, conflict and power, negotiation and communication that managers face in foreign nations and with their employees. The book covers all essential elements of globalisation and HR factors affecting its implementation. GLOBALISATION AND ITS EFFECTS Rioux, S. M., Bernthal, P. R and Wellins, R. S. (2000). The development of Human Resource practices survey report. Development Dimensions International. Vol 3. No. 1. [Online] Available from http://www.ddiworld.co.uk/pdf/theglobalisationofhrpractices_fullreport_ddi.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] Rioux, Bernthal and Wellins have presented a paper pertaining to several HR issues that surround managers in this global world and analyze the issue by observing HR practices of managers around the globe. The report also emphasize on issue of national and corporate culture which often gives organizations a hard time in adjustment in other countries. Leadership adjustment, recruitment, local differences with culture and training and development are few HR issues that managers face in host countries. The authors also emphasize on the social, economic, cultural and political differences that limit the consistent HR practices by a firm across globe. The report helps in understanding the difference between corporate and national culture and what role these factors play in global context. Cesyniene, R. (2008). Globalisation and Human Resource Development. Economika. [Online] Available from http://www.leidykla.eu/fileadmin/Ekonomika/82/41-56.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] The article by Cesyniene represents negative effects of globalisation on Human Resource Practices of firms operating outside their home country. The author appreciates the positive aspects of globalisation such as free trade and technology flows cross borders leading to competitive business environment. However, the establishment of business outside home country involves several other problems like national culture differences and thus different personality traits of employees. The author compares cultures of economies like U.S., U.K, France, Japan and Lithuania where differences in cultures lead to perception differences in terms of compensation, reward, working conditions, delegation of authority, training and social interactions within firms. Poor, J. (2005). Internationalization and Globalisation in Human Resource Management. [Online] Available from http://kgk.bmf.hu/system/files/Poor.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] In this paper Poor presented the concept of International HRM (IHRM) which emerged as a result of globalisation. Poor posited that internationalization of firms requires all operational and marketing activities to be delivered in consensus with local culture and market etiquettes and therefore, the HR practices need to be global as well to avoid the chaos of national and international culture and its adoption difficulties. Poor distinguishes clearly between local and international HRM and thus, provide a detailed analysis for foreign firms to operate under a global framework of HRM that can reduce cultural, employment and operational risks in foreign country. Tomlinson, J. (2003). Globalisation and Cultural Identity.GT Reader. [Online] Available from http://www.polity.co.uk/global/pdf/GTReader2eTomlinson.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] Tomlinson in this paper presented an argumentative analysis in favor of globalisation and its positive impacts on cultural identities. The paper is presented to counter the criticisms of various researchers over negative impacts of globalisation on cultural identities whether in organizations or marketing campaigns or even products. Tomlinson considers national identity as a strong cultural point which is highlighted by globalisation instead of being crushed and thus, rejects the notion of critics of globalisation. According to the paper, Tomlinson suggests that globalisation brings with it modernity and updated reflections upon life which positively enhances cultural identity whether it is in form of modern organizational practices or products for consumers. Goyal, K. A. (2006). Impact of globalisation on developing countries: with special reference to India. International Research Journal of Finance and Economics. [Online] Available from http://www.eurojournals.com/IRJFE%206%20goyal.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] This paper by Goyal intends to study the effect of three major policies of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalisation on developing countries economies. This impact is studied on basis of Foreign Direct Investment and export and import trades in countries like China and India and implies that LPG itself is a progressing concept however; the wrong selection of policies is what makes an economy suffer from dark side of globalisation. The paper is an important input in understanding the effects of globalisation and assessing factors that positively or negatively align a countrys strategies to positive effects of globalisation. Eregare, E. A and Afolabi, A. O. (2009). The Effects of Globalisation and Deregulation on Nigerian Culture Industries. Journal of Social Sciences. Vol 21. No.2. [Online] Available from http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/JSS/JSS-21-0-000-09-Web/JSS-21-2-000-09-Abst-PDF/JSS-21-2-145-09-360-Eregare-E-A/JSS-21-2-145-09-360-Eregare-E-A-Tt.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] The report by Eregare and Afolabi critically analyzes the effects of Globalisation on Nigerias culture. Where the authors appreciate the economical growth that has been spurred by globalisation and privatization, they also become cautious of the penetrations in Nigerian cultures that globalisation has made possible for other nations. The authors consider American and European cultures as strong ones compared to Nigerian culture and thus, warn against the takeover of one culture by another. The report provides a fair evaluation of effects of globalisation as both negative and positive aspects are discussed by authors. Pickering, J. (2002). Globalisation: a threat to Australian culture? Journal of Australian Political Economy. [Online] Available from http://www.multiculturalaustralia.edu.au/doc/jape48_3.pdf [Accessed August 15, 2010] Pickering positively analyzes cultural changes in Australia that have been brought by globalisation both in consumers as well as in employees. Despite the criticisms of anti-globalisation personnel, Pickering points out various positive changes brought by globalisation, for instance, improved skills of employees, modern technology, promotion of human rights and modern culture. The paper is an additional evidence of positive contributions of globalisation towards national culture as well as organizational culture. Lee, E and Vivarelli, M. (2006). The Social Impact of Globalisation in Developing Countries. FTP Institute for the Study of Labor. [Online] Available from http://ftp.iza.org/dp1925.pdf [Accessed August 14, 2010] Research by Lee and Vivarelli is another negative perspective in popularity of globalisation as the researchers condemn surety of successful globalisation in every case. Lee and Vivarelli have analyzed globalisation in context of FDI and trade increases where according to their research, FDI and open trade alone cannot bring positive effects on economy. Another perspective of concentrated employment is used in the paper which emerges as result of different demographics, education level and cultures of countries and therefore, can result in increased poverty. Similarly, increased imports can affect the local industries affecting employment as well poverty level. The paper provides limited yet strong evidence on effects of globalisation. Campe, C. V. (2008). Globalisation and its effects on nationalism. [Online