Chinas Transition to a Market-oriented Economy Essay

Chinas Transition to a Market-oriented Economy - Essay Example This paper is one of the best examples of objective analysis of the macroeconomic situation in China through the recent years of macroeconomic transformation. Being the most populous country in the world, China set out to transform its economy from a centrally planned one to a market oriented one in 1978. This transformation came after the regime of Mao and is seen to take place in two stages: between 1979-1993 came the first stage and the second stage began in 1994 to presently. The two stages are primarily differentiated by the 1989 Student Movement. Multinational Corporations developed interest in China and, since it presented unique marketing issues and challenges. These MNCs anticipate the growth and expansion of these economies and have thus endeavored to expand their operations to them. The greatest challenge facing China’s transition is structural impediment existent within the economy particularly with state-owned enterprises and state-owned banks; where both have interrelated problems that the state continues to intervene in their investment decisions and capital allocation. The state sector has set up several state-owned enterprises with supposed policy loans from the state-owned banks to prevent bankruptcy. The Chinese government has directed large amounts of funds into infrastructure and other projects leaving the budget at deficit levels; all this in a bid to fuel economic growth. The transition has been riddled with corruption primarily in the central and regional governments as well as in the commercial sector. This has made it difficult to undertake relevant projects beneficial to the public and not specific individuals. Beijing officials have attempted to end this by running public anti-corruption campaigns and holding trials of senior party officials in public. Nonetheless, it has continued to exist and this has made the public averse to social reforms. This has created the problem of rising inequality and in turn an overpowering middle class; which results in a shrinking workforce

History and Evolution of Leadership

History and Evolution of Leadership A leader. as always said, is born, not made, but leadership is certainly a continual evolution process of qualities like vision, commitment, discipline, trust, integrity, innovation, motivation, authority, dedication, humility, creativity etc., within leaders. Most of these qualities, if not all, in a leader contribute to the success of an organisation. For a reputed business school like Cardiff Business School, choosing a leader who can shape the aspirations enhancement of the institution to become ideal Business establishment is very vital. at the same time intricate. Choice of new Dean to replace Professor McNabb should be influenced inspired by the facts that how much the new Head is able to contribute towards the institutions achievement perform greatly in the new role. To evaluate this we need to have a brief idea about leadership theories performances. A look on the history of leadership finds that the literature on leadership performance can be broadly categorized into a number of important phases. (Ogbonna, 2000; Harris, 2000). Early studies on the leadership skills concentrated on identifying the personality traits which characterized successful leaders, and are known as ‘trait studies (Argyris, 1955; Mahoney et al., 1960). Trait theories assume that successful leaders are ‘born and that the leader has certain innate qualities which distinguish them from non-leaders (Stodgill, 1948). Ralf Stodgill reviewed hundreds of trait studies (1948, 1974, p.81) over a period of time, which can be summarized as the personality traits and other in-born qualities of the leader can be identified it is possible to select those individuals promote them into leadership positions, they then emerge to take power, regardless of the social organization or historical context. Another set of approach is ‘Set ‘Behavioural the ories. It summarises about the behaviour style that a leader chooses or adopts to solve problems. (Hemphill and Coons, 1957; Likert, 1961). Similarly the Viewpoint of theories like situational contingency is that leadership effectiveness is dependent on the leaders diagnosis understanding of situational factors, followed by the adoption of the appropriate style to deal with each circumstance. (Ogbonna, 2000; Harris, 2000). All the theories reviewed above illustrate that leader plays a very important role in the progress performance of the organisation. But if one critically evaluates the affect that a leader has on the organisation then, one can say that the decision a leader takes can sometimes be restrained by certain factors. Some people argue that constraints placed on leaders are due to situational factors. Although there have been few studies that have a direct bearing on this important issue, research on sports organisations has tended to support this argument. In practice however, this argument has rested heavily on the findings of just one major study that of Lieberson and OConnor (1972), which has become the most commonly cited evidence of this issue and which is widely regarded as the major counterpoint to the proposition that leadership makes a difference. (Thomas, 1988) One more key aspect to discuss here is that of sex differences in leadership, as our main concern is to look for the leader that can be Head of Cardiff Business School, we should not be biased to only one gender. Male leaders are rated as more effective conscientious then female leaders, but A Meta-analytic review of 17 studies examining sex differences in leadership indicates that male and female leaders exhibit equal amounts of initiating structure and consideration and have equally satisfied sub-ordinates. (Platz, 1986). More More women are becoming managers; this rise in trend is because of the federal implication which prohibits sex discrimination in employment. Despite this rise many individuals still believe that men are better leaders. (Bass, Krusell, Alexander, 1971; Bowman, Worthy, Greyser, 1965; Rosen Jerdee, 1978; Schein, 1973) there are some evidence to refute this argument indicating that men and women may differ in personality characteristics which affects the lea dership styles effectiveness. (Hoffman, 1972; Maier, 1970; Megargee, 1969; OLeary Depner, 1975; Templeton Morrow, 1972) Furthermore several studies have demonstrated that men and women differ in leadership behaviours also. (Bartal Butterfield, 1976; Petty Lee 1975)

A Students Reaction to Used Car Websites :: Sell Websites Buy Web Sites

A Student's Reaction to Used Car Websites Getting a used car instead of a new car is becoming a trend in America today. People do not want to spend money for new cars cause of the fact that cars’ values diminish significantly. This is exactly what my friend thought when he bought his used Acura CL 2.3 Coupe 2D for 13,500 dollars last years from a local dealer. Now the question is whether the price he paid really makes sense considering the current options and conditions of the car. Unfortunately, my friend didn’t even do any research before he bought this car. Thus, he bought this car with a relatively higher price than the price that he actually could have. Based on some of the used cars sales websites like kbb.com or edmunds.com which will be discussed later, he can actually buy that car for 12,585 (kbb.com), or 12,233 (edmunds.com). Inspired by my friend’s experience, I did some study on websites that can help you to negotiate for a used car like a pro. I come up with these two websites that I mentioned earlier—kbb.com and edmunds.com. Both these websites have their advantages and disadvantages. Later in the discussion, I will present all the features of each websites, and compare both websites. The question about which websites is better again depends on the user’s needs. The first website that will be evaluated is the kbb.com. This website which was created by Mike Kelley in 1981 is an online version of the standard Kelly Blue Book guidelines for all used cars. Why this website is trusted by a lot of people has a long history dated back to 1918 when Les Kelly, the Pioneer of this service, created the Kelly Blue Book. The background of the existence of the Kelly Blue Book will not be discussed too much since it is beyond the scope of this paper. However, this online version makes it much easier for people to browse through the internet and find out about the appropriate price they can bargain for with the local dealers or with the private owners. How so? This question can be simply answered by the user friendliness of the website itself. The graphic is simple, and the features are well organized so that it is easy for people to go from one feature to another.

Modern Racism Essay

An Asian friend once had experienced racism while he was out in a fast food restaurant in the city. He shared how he was the third person in line at the time, but when it was his turn to order his food, the food attendant, who was a 20-something white man, simply blew him off and serviced the person next in line to him. He said that his attempts to plead his right to order fell to deaf ears for a while, until the attendant exclaimed, â€Å"Whites first. You’re Asian. † Of course, he felt shock and embarrassment at the time the racism incident happened. He mentioned he couldn’t believe that racism is still prevalent up to this day. Though the said incident may be an isolated case, it still is alarming that these things still happen. Clearly, racism still isn’t a thing of the past, rather, it still lingers on to the present day, hence, the term, Modern Racism. One of the laudable explanations on prejudice that explains the food attendant’s attitude towards my Asian friend is the concept of In-Group Bias. This concept states that â€Å"humans have a powerful tendency to favor over other groups the group to which they belong† (Bordens & Horowitz, 2002). True enough, the food attendant chose to give his services to whites first because they have the â€Å"same color†, implying they belong in the same group, and tended to completely ignore his Asian customer because he is not white. If one must find justification to what the food attendant did, then one can only assume that because the country is at present extremely multiracial and multicultural, people tend to hold tightly to those in the same group as they are, because only then they can feel safest and strongest. This is due to the assumption that the other members of the group will also tend to value him/her more than other members of the outgroup, in the event of a conflict. This is explained in the Social Identity Theory, an underlying theory to explain In-Group Bias. The Social Identity Theory explains that â€Å"human beings are motivated to positively evaluate their own groups, in order to maintain and enhance self-esteem† (Tafjel, 1982). When a person derogates a member of the outgroup, it enhances the ingroup and in turn, promotes positive self-evaluation (Schneider, 2004. ) The racist remark and deed of the food attendant aims to please his group, which are the white people, and this event gives a positive effect on his self-evaluation. The food attendant’s hostility towards my Asian friend may also be explained by the Scapegoating Theory. This theory states that â€Å"frustration is a major instigation of aggression, and when this can’t be directed at the direct cause, it may be displaced onto a scapegoat† (Dollard, Miller, Doob, Mowrer, & Sears, 1939). In this event, the frustration of the food attendant is from his economic status, and because he is threatened that an outgroup, who in this case is my Asian friend, has a better economic status than he is, he displaced his anger and aggression by making a racist remark and deed against my Asian friend. Now, whether it is Ingroup Bias or Scapegoating Theory which explains the racist deed best, it cannot be justified that the deed was done in good taste. Of course, racism is what it entails, it is an unjust means of categorizing people, and yet it still prevails in the modern times. Unfortunately, there is no foolproof way that one can prevent racism from happening. The next best thing to avoid conflict that results from stereotyping and modern racism is to keep an open mind. References Schneider, D. J. (2004). The Psychology of Stereotyping. New York: The Guilford Press. Bordens, K. S. and Horowitz. (2002). Social Psychology. New Jersey: Lawrence Elbaum Associates Inc. Fisher, E. M. (1992). â€Å"Modern Racism and Academic Librarianship in a Period of Diversity. † Conference Proceedings, Sixth National Conference. Chicago, IL: Association of College & Research Libraries.

Story of an Hour: Symbolism

During Kate Chopin’s marriage she resided in Louisiana where the laws favored the husband in a type of patriarchal code. At the time women were subjected to a lesser role and the husband’s will was freely imposed upon their wives. In â€Å"The Story of an Hour† much of Chopin’s desire for the prospect of freedom is reflected to us through the character of Mrs. Mallard. The societal norms of the late 1800’s dictated that women would assume the feminine role and live for their husbands; as a woman’s place was to reside in the shadow of her man. Through the rich use of symbolism Chopin illustrates how the confinement created by social inequality illuminates our innate desire for freedom. The heart is a repeated conventional symbol used that reinforces Mrs. Mallard’s internal and external restrictions set upon her. â€Å"Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death† (115). Immediately it is revealed that Mrs. Mallard suffers from heart trouble that not only is the cause of her death, but a burden she carries throughout the story. The heart is often used to symbolize a loving relationship, but here her troubled heart symbolizes her troubled marriage. Just like her heart she has no control over her marriage and she constantly feels the imposing will of her husband lurking around. The news of her husband’s death acts as a catalyst and sets off a chain reaction of repressed emotions within Mrs. Mallard that ignite her awareness of what has occurred. With the presence of her husband evaporating from her conscience, the prospect of freedom is so tantalizing that she cannot help but feel pure bliss. The shackles placed on her by her husband were as real as her troubled heart, and with his passing these shackles were unlocked and she had been set free. â€Å"Free, free, free! † (116) as â€Å"Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body† (116). Both her body and mind had been revitalized; she was free to live. Just like the literal use of opening a window, the open window Mrs. Mallard gazes out of symbolizes the releasing of her past life, and replacing it with the new uninhibited world she now has access to. She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. † (115). In contrast to her heart troubles and the death of her husband, there was a world teeming with life in front of her. The open window presented the ideal view of tree tops full of life and the scent of the rain beckoning at her. Perhaps this world was always there, but the mere existence of her husband inhibited her field of vision leaving her to only see what he saw. Although the world around her had not changed, the realization that she was her own woman now was enough to alter her perspective. The monotone and bleak world she once saw was now abundant with songbirds and vibrant colors. All the restrictions had been lifted off of her shoulders like fresh air coming through the now open window. Freedom was a few mere steps away for her, ready to be seized. Death can be interpreted in many ways, but in â€Å"The Story of an Hour† death symbolizes the greatest freedom attainable. It is an ironic freedom as Mrs. Mallard will never be aware that she has obtained it, but nonetheless it will forever be hers. Death is straightforward, because in death we lose everything. When Mrs. Mallard suddenly dies from the sight of her unscathed husband, the doctor comes to the conclusion that â€Å"she had died of heart disease – of joy that kills† (116). The doctor assumes that her death was caused by the joy from her husband, whom she thought to be dead, but in fact something else has caused it. Mrs. Mallard died from the shock created by the mere idea that her new found freedom and self possession was to be stolen from her. Having just attained her sense of self possession, she immediately knows that the presence of her husband means going back to the confined life she knew. She would be the wife living, even cowering under the power her husband held. â€Å"She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long† (116). Day to day life under the power of her significant other was detrimental to Mrs. Mallard and it was only yesterday that she hoped for a quick death and freedom. Mrs. Mallard’s fear of losing her new found freedom displays how significant being free was to her. The loss of her freedom created more of a shock then the death of her husband and perhaps it was her fate to die by the hands of her husband. Whether it was literally by her husband’s hands, her own suicide, or her heart giving out, they all reflect back on the husband and the social inequality she felt. Unable to withstand the impact of losing herself once more, Mrs. Mallard was literally left heartbroken and embraced the freedom that death offers us all. As the title suggests â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is contrived within one hour and the use of time symbolizes the ticking away of our being and subsequently our freedom. An hour is a rather short amount of time but, as shown in the story, a lifetime’s worth of repressed emotions can be unleashed in an hour’s time. Mrs. Mallard goes through a personal metamorphosis during this hour as she processes everything that has unfolded before her. In conjunction with her desire to be free, Mrs. Mallard also celebrates how her remaining time is her own. Recognizing that she no longer is marginalized by her husband, life now belongs to her. â€Å"Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own† (116). Every day is now her own masterpiece, no longer will she be subjected to the feminine role society has decided for her. Perhaps Mrs. Mallard may not have been counting the minutes for her the news of her husband’s death, but when the opportunity presents itself her deeply buried desire to be free rises up to the surface and shows how potent it truly is. Ironically, Mrs. Mallard only had enough time to briefly savor the taste of freedom, before being dragged down into the belly of death. Widely viewed as an early feminist writer, Kate Chopin addresses the social inequality of the late 1800’s through the marriage of Mrs. Mallard and how freedom is essential to our being. Mrs. Mallard’s ailment of a weak heart provides symbolic evidence to conclude that she carries the burden of unequal strengths in her marriage. Her heart is weakened by a one-sided relationship and in conjunction with the oppressive nature of marriage creates a life in which she is held prisoner to the will of her husband. After the death of her husband, the once closed window to self possession and fulfillment is unlocked without a trace of regret. No longer oppressed, the mind and body see â€Å"there were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds† (115) and the innate desire to run free and escape is unleashed. No longer oppressed, the desire to be free from social injustice and inequality possesses Mrs. Mallard, letting her exuberance run wild. In the midst of triumph we often lose our sense of time and how fragile life is. Death lingers around everyone and is the inevitable end, but perhaps it is the absolute freedom. In death we lose everything, but ironically, we gain an unclaimed freedom. Mrs. Mallard’s inevitable death is not caused by her own weak heart, but her husband’s oppressive role which forced her into the clutches of eternal freedom. Her need for freedom transcended her physical need for life and in death her desire for freedom is satiated.

Amber Mileski Essays (299 words) - Culture, Fiction, Linguistics

Amber Mileski Essays (299 words) - Culture, Fiction, Linguistics Amber Mileski English111 22 January 2017 Journal 1 Amy Tan Mother Tongue I chose the article Mother Tongue because the article had more pages in it and I thought it would contain more information. The main idea in this article is Amy and the way she talks to others and how she talks to her mother. She has given many long lectures in large groups of people, but she was made aware that when her mother is present she speaks in a different way. Amy sits back and realizes that she does speak in a different way when her mother is present but also when her husband is present. She speaks in a different language when her family is present. The theme of this passage would be the multiple languages that Amy uses. Amy speaks different Englishes , she thinks her mother's English had an effect on limiting her possibilities in life. She speaks in many languages, the languages differ when she is talking to her family, talking to students when giving a lecture and when she was talking to children. This is all significant because it gives Amy some advantages of talking with others in different Englishes that her mother and children can't. As for an experience of my own, I can say that when I am talking to my grandma or my children I speak it a different tone than when I am at work speaking to my co-workers. I will be out in public and I hear everyone else and their conversations and it all just seems like a different language to me. I know their speaking English but when I hear it I know I am interpreting it in a whole different way than the individual they are talking to.

Great Bear Rainforest Essays

Great Bear Rainforest Essays Great Bear Rainforest Essay Great Bear Rainforest Essay This is where anyone who knows the industry or is at least a little environmentally aware realises that something is not quite right. Interfor has been the subject of intense protesting and disapproval by a variety of environmental organisations, including Green peace for their destructive logging practices in the Great Bear forest in British Columbia. Interfor says it is working towards sustainable harvesting in the Great Bear Rainforest, said Tamara Stark, Green peace forest campaign co-ordinator in Canada. The company is spending a considerable amount of money on public relations, trying to convince customers that its logging practices are second-to-none. Weve got the pictures to prove its shoddy logging is a long way from qualifying as even second rate.' [11] Green peaces claims that is has the pictures for proof are backed up they the posted pictures on their site, and make the companies claims that it is environmentally sustainable sound quite hollow. Another example of problems with the SFI certification claiming sustainability are made apparent when you do more research into the companies that have been given certification by the organisation and are still in good standing. : Pacific Lumber, also known as Maxxam, has been a participant in good standing in the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) of the American Forest Paper Association since 1996. Yet in recent years, Pacific Lumber has become notorious for its role in the Headwaters controversy over clear cutting of ancient redwoods. In addition, in November 1998 its license to practice forestry in California was suspended for several months, after the company had been cited numerous times by inspectors for violating state forestry practice rules.[12] So what is going on here? How is it that these supposedly certified companies are still certified when the slightest bit of research turns up incredibly environmentally unsustainable evidence. To see the answer to this question one only needs to re-examine the first sentence of the certification report. Pacific Lumber, also known as Maxxam, has been a participant in good standing in the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) of the American Forest Paper Association since 1996.[13] The important four words in the sentence are American Forest Paper Association. The SFI is in fact an industry run certification association, and the industry set out, principles for sustainable forestry are far too broad and open-ended to be meaningful. The program has few fixed requirements or benchmarks for measuring a companys performance. Nor does it require any independent review of its members claims. And it allows every company to decide for itself how to tailor the guidelines to its own forests. So vague are the SFIs guidelines, in fact, that virtually any company could belong. Environmental organisations have denounced the SFI and pointed out the coincidence that SFI came on the scene just as environmentalists had thrown their support behind a truly rigorous, independent system for certifying well-managed forests? The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), awards seals of approval for environmentally and socially responsible forest management practices.[14] The FSC is unique in the fact that it is the only certification program that exists right now that has the endorsement of environmental organisations. What is also a telling sign of its truly sustainable nature is the fact that the industry is calling on the FSC to relax its standards so that more companies may receive certification. [15] It is important to note though that of the above companies mentioned Home Depot and IKEA are demanding wood with FSC certification and not SFI certification. Another company known for its less then environmentally friendly practices has however taken steps and received FSC certification and plans to continue to do so for its other forests. Irvings Allagash Woodlands have been awarded certification as a well-managed forest under the rules of the non-profit Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The 569,520-acre woodland in Maines Aroostook County was the subject of a year-long assessment by an independent team of scientists and forestry experts under the auspices of Scientific Certification Systems, an FSC-accredited certification body.[16] The fact that Irving, has gotten its standards in Maine at least up to an acceptable level speaks well of the company and its movement towards environmentally conscious forestry practices, whether or not Irvings Canadian operation will be certified is not, however, discussed on the website. Further research on the Canadian Forestry Service website shows however that Irving had its Black Brook, New Brunswick forest operation certified by the FSC in October 1998. The rest of its Canadian operations have only however been certified to ISO standards, which as noted does not have the support of environmentalists, and are not considered to be environmentally sustainable. The FSC standards are what sets the program apart from the other certification initiatives, the standards range from requiring forest managers to show a long term commitment to sustainable forestry, compliance with all international treaties in signatory countries, respect for indigenous peoples rights and that they control forestry practices on their land, the view that economic viability must be long-term economic viability, maintenance of High Conservation Value Forests, and that plantations should promote the protection, restoration and conservation of natural forests, and not increase pressures on natural forests.[17] This has lead to the FSC being a much more exclusive list of organisations, due to the unwilling ness of many companies to submit to the FSC standards. Greenpeace and WWF recognize that the Forest Stewardship Council is currently the only system ensuring credible certification of good forest management. The statutes and requirements of the FSC clearly reflect international agreements reached at the Earth summit in Rio and thereafter.[18] It is the even implementation of these standards and the problem of how to evaluate all these criteria that has another party, the forest auditors speaking up over the difficulty of truly measuring many of these qualifications laid out by the various certification systems. The areas of management practices such as the level of site degradation, stocking levels, and fibre utilisation are indicators that are fairly simple to monitor, however, for objectives such as maintaining healthy wildlife populations, or water quality, auditing without standards or accepted levels of performance becomes a significant challenge.[19] While at first it may be easy to assume that that isnt that much of a challenge at all, one then has not considered such factors as regional differences, natural cycles in wildlife, etc. make the measuring process much more complex. In many areas, provincial legislation and certification initiatives for sustainable forest management systems are ahead of the science.'[20] There are also the questions of how much constitutes a problem, if for example five hanging culverts in one forest seems to be fine due to the make up of the soil in that area, what then do you do if five hanging culverts in an other area with less supporting soil is a problem. How then do you have a certification system that is uniform when in fact the biosystems in question are anything but? IT is important to realize just what we are currently able to verify in the field. Science has not developed to the point where auditors can measure the actual results systems will be established to document the intended outcome, but this is only a forecast.[21] As there are no established practices and concrete correlations between specific eco-forestry practices and their environmental outcomes the realisation as to whether or not specific practices are effective cannot presently be measured. The ultimate impact of sustainable forest management activities in the forest can only be assessed over a period of decades or perhaps centuries. The final group that needs to be examined within the context of a disscusion of the state of sustainable certification of Canadian forests is the government of Canada it self. The Canadian Forest Service (CFS) is the government entity in charge of the care of Canadian forests and its mission statements reads, The CFS promotes the sustainable development of Canadas forests and competitiveness of the Canadian Forest Sector.[22] The CFS is now implementing a number of programs along with the provinces to move Canadian forests into a sustainable mode of operations. The CFS received a less then favourable review when the final report of the Senate Sub-Committee on the Boreal Forest: Competing Realities: The Boreal Forest at Risk was released on June 28, 1999.[23] The senate committee stated that Canadians must find better ways to manage the boreal forest to meet the competing realities of preserving the resource, maintaining the lifestyle and values of boreal communities, extracting economic wealth and preserving ecological values.[24] This of course is the bureaucratically polite way of saying that what we have been doing in Canada in the way of sustainable forest management has fallen short of the kind of environmentally sustainable practices necessary to promote long term preservation of the Canadian boreal forests. Indeed the report stated as much with the following line, Portions of Canadas remaining undisturbed boreal forest and its areas of old growth are now at risk from both climate change and over cutting. The committee concluded that the demands being placed on Canadas forests can no longer be met under the current system of management.[25] The CFS seems to be trying to rectify this problem through the promotion of sustainable forestry certification, sixteen million hectares of Canadian forest have been certified under one of the three certification programs in Canada, being the Forest Stewardship Council, the International Standards Organisation, or the Canadian Standards Organisation. The government is very pleased with the fact that its certification push is going ahead. However this is where the difference between the FSC and all the other non-environmentally endorsed certification programs comes into play. Out of the sixteen million hectares only two hundred and twelve thousand hectares have been certified by the FSC. This includes the one hundred and ninety one thousand hectares of Irvings FSC certified land in New Brunswick. This fact remembered in the context that the other certification systems have been considered too weak, or completely useless by environmental organisations makes the push towards certification by the Canadian government seem less then effective. It is also important to realise that more then half of the sixteen million hectares of forest had been certified before the report of the senate sub committee report was released stating that the demands being placed on Canadas forests can no longer be met under the current system of management,[26] this same system of management that, somehow, in spite of the fact that it is considered to be unsustainable in by the criteria in the report, has received certification by the ISO and the CSA. This apparent contradiction, about sums up the position of the Canadian government when it comes to what it is doing with regard to the sustainable management of its forests. The certification process in Canada should however at all levels be considered a good thing, as one of my articles put it, the fact that the industry is doing something at all is a good sign. The problem now is getting the standards all to the point where they are truly sustainable. Environmental organisations and the FSC are adamant about keeping certification at the level at which the FSC has set it. It is now up to consumers to give industry and government the added push to switch their practices to sustainable levels, it was the push of consumers which started this process and the push of consumers that will continue this process, until then one must be educated to know if the certification sticker on the wood that they are purchasing means something, or is just another piece of packaging garbage. Bibliography References Anonymous, Certifying forests poses challenges Wood Technology; San Francisco; Jan/Feb 1999; Volume: 126. Issue: 1. Start Page: 12-14 Anonymous, Champion to open forests to third-party sustainability reviews Wood Technology; San Francisco; Jan/Feb 1999; Volume: 126. Issue: 1. Start Page: 12 Anonymous, It aint necessarily so The Amicus Journal; New York; Spring 2000; Anonymous; Volume: 22. Issue: 1. Start Page:6. Anonymous, McDonalds wants forestry practice info. Pulp Paper; San Francisco; May 1999; Anonymous; Volume: 73. Issue: 5. Start Page: 23.

An Englishman in New York †The Problem Of UK-US English in Freelance Writing

An Englishman in New York – The Problem Of UK-US English in Freelance Writing An Englishman in New York The Problem Of UK-US English in Freelance Writing An Englishman in New York The Problem Of UK-US English in Freelance Writing By Colin Some people see the differences between American English and British English as a problem. I see them as an interesting challenge. And although the title to this article might indicate that I’m English, I am in fact, a British Scot. I am also fully aware there is more to the United States of America than the wonderful state of New York, but I felt it made a good title, so I went with it. Why Has This Difference Come About? The English language arrived in the Americas with the advent of British colonization in the early 17th century. As the British Empire grew, so too did the language, which by 1921 had incorporated around a quarter of the world’s population (approximately 470–570 million people). Since that time, the form of English used in the Americas (particularly in the USA) and that used in the UK, have diverged in many subtle ways, leading to the individual dialects now more commonly known as American English and British English, or on Microsoft Word, as US English and UK English. What Are The Differences? The main differences that have developed between the two strains of English include pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, idioms, and date formatting. A few words have even developed completely different meanings, which can mean something in one dialect, but be a source of embarrassment or insult in the other. Some words may not even be used or are unknown to the other. What Is The Impact? As a freelance writer working from home, I am frequently assigned jobs by companies and individuals, more often than not, from the USA. Telecommuting is an area of freelance writing that I enjoy; working with a local Bed and Breakfast on an advertising leaflet one day, and writing a press release for a US-based dot com client the next. It’s exciting and provides a great way to earn a living. But as this kind of work increases, more often than not I am asked to write articles or essays in the target audience’s own version of the English language. In most cases, this means adapting my work into US English. Is There A Right One Above All Others? No. Clearly it depends on several factors, such as intended readership or editorial preference. A freelance writer should take guidance from both the publication type and the editor when deciding which to use. Where the issue becomes cloudy is when you have a large company with a global audience, or with a company that has separate websites covering different geographical locations. I’ve worked with clients in the past that required two separate articles to be submitted for every one assignment, i.e., one copy of an article in US English for their .com website, and the other in UK English for their .co.uk website. Websites such as our very own Daily Writing Tips, has a global readership, yet the difference in language expectation is highlighted where one readership is of greater number than the other. And so an article written naturally in UK English may stand out against the eye of the US English reader. What Then, For The Freelance Writer? Make a judgment call based on the publication’s intended readership. If there is no information available or it’s too hard to pinpoint, ask the editor. Always remember, though, in the world of freelance writing for the Internet, you won’t be able to please all the people all of the time. But above all, make sure the content is interesting and topical, because if it isn’t relevant, no one will even read it to spot where the differences are. Footnote: Did anyone notice this article was written in US English purely for the benefit of DWT’s US-English speaking readership? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Types of Narrative ConflictThe Possessive Apostrophe25 Idioms About Bread and Dessert

Sx wk2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sx wk2 - Essay Example This is where Freud suggests that children begin to form an attraction to their opposite sexed parent. In the fourth stage, called the latency stage, the child has dormant sexual feelings instead of acting on them (six years old to puberty). Finally in the fifth stage, the child is beginning to show interest in their genitals and they are they are beginning to start sexual activity or at least talking about it (puberty and up). (Feist and Rosenberg, 2010, p. 505). Freud believed that sexuality was a natural experience for a human being. He believed that there was nothing wrong with homosexuality and it was not at all pathological. He said that "all human beings are intrinsically bisexual" (Bohan, 1996, p. 76). Basically he felt that heterosexuality and homosexuality were natural outgrowths of human sexuality. He also called it a "developmental distortion" (Bohan, p. 76). Freud thought that children determined their sexuality when they were younger and it would depend on the relationship that the child had with their parents. He believed that both heterosexuality and homosexuality came form a "castration complex" when a boy found out that his mother was different than he was because she did not have a penis; a boy could also have problems breaking away from a mother who was domineering (Faqs.org). He also saw that boys and girls had their first attractions to people of the opposite sex when they found themselves attracted to their opposite sex parent. He stated that boys would develop an Oedipus Complex and girls would develop an Electra Complex. He believed that no matter what the sexuality, it was a healthy outgrowth of development. Freud was a very interesting man and it is known that he studied mostly the people who were in mental institutions where he worked. This is why many researchers criticize his work. Do you think that studying the mentally ill tainted his results? Would you think that the

Which Housing Should I Get Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Which Housing Should I Get - Assignment Example The report gives an overview of the labor market and local housing conditions in Salt Lake County, which is my area of residence near my family home. Also, the housing analysis report includes the calculations of how much money I will earn after graduation, as well as the affordable homes for rent. There is a consideration of the mortgage interest rates in case I will buy a house. In addition, the paper discusses the pros and cons of the interested properties and their location, as well as, the assumptions made before coming to the final housing choice. The current status of the job market is still poor, having in mind that the American economy is recovering from the global financial crisis of 2008. The rate of youth unemployment remains high although it is unpredictable in the future. However, the labor and housing markets have recently started recovering and thus there is hope for employment of the youths (Utah Economic Council, 2014). Based on the current status of the jobs market, one can only get a short term employment contract earning you a living wage. It is sensible for a fresh graduate getting such a salary to rent a house after graduation, although some may borrow loans in the form of mortgages to buy houses, with the aid of their parents. The level of income usually affects the type of a house one lives and the standards of living, as well. The housing conditions are reportedly to have improved due to the on-going recovery of the economy from the Great Recession. However, there is a likelihood of the increase in housing prices in the coming few years and, for this reason, many people are opting for buying their homes (Utah Economic Council, 2014). Currently, in Utah, the mortgage default rates are high, and many people are going bankrupt. It is a hard decision to make for whoever is willing to get housing facilities from this county. From the facts of the housing markets, it is evident that housing is costly and also a unique consumer product

Which Housing Should I Get Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Which Housing Should I Get - Assignment Example The report gives an overview of the labor market and local housing conditions in Salt Lake County, which is my area of residence near my family home. Also, the housing analysis report includes the calculations of how much money I will earn after graduation, as well as the affordable homes for rent. There is a consideration of the mortgage interest rates in case I will buy a house. In addition, the paper discusses the pros and cons of the interested properties and their location, as well as, the assumptions made before coming to the final housing choice. The current status of the job market is still poor, having in mind that the American economy is recovering from the global financial crisis of 2008. The rate of youth unemployment remains high although it is unpredictable in the future. However, the labor and housing markets have recently started recovering and thus there is hope for employment of the youths (Utah Economic Council, 2014). Based on the current status of the jobs market, one can only get a short term employment contract earning you a living wage. It is sensible for a fresh graduate getting such a salary to rent a house after graduation, although some may borrow loans in the form of mortgages to buy houses, with the aid of their parents. The level of income usually affects the type of a house one lives and the standards of living, as well. The housing conditions are reportedly to have improved due to the on-going recovery of the economy from the Great Recession. However, there is a likelihood of the increase in housing prices in the coming few years and, for this reason, many people are opting for buying their homes (Utah Economic Council, 2014). Currently, in Utah, the mortgage default rates are high, and many people are going bankrupt. It is a hard decision to make for whoever is willing to get housing facilities from this county. From the facts of the housing markets, it is evident that housing is costly and also a unique consumer product

Which Housing Should I Get Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Which Housing Should I Get - Assignment Example The report gives an overview of the labor market and local housing conditions in Salt Lake County, which is my area of residence near my family home. Also, the housing analysis report includes the calculations of how much money I will earn after graduation, as well as the affordable homes for rent. There is a consideration of the mortgage interest rates in case I will buy a house. In addition, the paper discusses the pros and cons of the interested properties and their location, as well as, the assumptions made before coming to the final housing choice. The current status of the job market is still poor, having in mind that the American economy is recovering from the global financial crisis of 2008. The rate of youth unemployment remains high although it is unpredictable in the future. However, the labor and housing markets have recently started recovering and thus there is hope for employment of the youths (Utah Economic Council, 2014). Based on the current status of the jobs market, one can only get a short term employment contract earning you a living wage. It is sensible for a fresh graduate getting such a salary to rent a house after graduation, although some may borrow loans in the form of mortgages to buy houses, with the aid of their parents. The level of income usually affects the type of a house one lives and the standards of living, as well. The housing conditions are reportedly to have improved due to the on-going recovery of the economy from the Great Recession. However, there is a likelihood of the increase in housing prices in the coming few years and, for this reason, many people are opting for buying their homes (Utah Economic Council, 2014). Currently, in Utah, the mortgage default rates are high, and many people are going bankrupt. It is a hard decision to make for whoever is willing to get housing facilities from this county. From the facts of the housing markets, it is evident that housing is costly and also a unique consumer product

Which Housing Should I Get Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Which Housing Should I Get - Assignment Example The report gives an overview of the labor market and local housing conditions in Salt Lake County, which is my area of residence near my family home. Also, the housing analysis report includes the calculations of how much money I will earn after graduation, as well as the affordable homes for rent. There is a consideration of the mortgage interest rates in case I will buy a house. In addition, the paper discusses the pros and cons of the interested properties and their location, as well as, the assumptions made before coming to the final housing choice. The current status of the job market is still poor, having in mind that the American economy is recovering from the global financial crisis of 2008. The rate of youth unemployment remains high although it is unpredictable in the future. However, the labor and housing markets have recently started recovering and thus there is hope for employment of the youths (Utah Economic Council, 2014). Based on the current status of the jobs market, one can only get a short term employment contract earning you a living wage. It is sensible for a fresh graduate getting such a salary to rent a house after graduation, although some may borrow loans in the form of mortgages to buy houses, with the aid of their parents. The level of income usually affects the type of a house one lives and the standards of living, as well. The housing conditions are reportedly to have improved due to the on-going recovery of the economy from the Great Recession. However, there is a likelihood of the increase in housing prices in the coming few years and, for this reason, many people are opting for buying their homes (Utah Economic Council, 2014). Currently, in Utah, the mortgage default rates are high, and many people are going bankrupt. It is a hard decision to make for whoever is willing to get housing facilities from this county. From the facts of the housing markets, it is evident that housing is costly and also a unique consumer product

Statment of purpose Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Statment of purpose - Personal Statement Example applications, I have envisioned honing my professional acumen through higher education through an MBA degree from your prestigious institution, the John Hopkins Carey Business School. As indicated in my Curriculum Vitae, my interest in MBA was initiated by my readings in this field of endeavor. There is this burning desire to specialize in a highly professional and attractive career, where MBA professionals are deemed to be very scarce in Saudi Arabia. It is my personal goal to be instrumental in filling that professional gap in the Saudi work market with the expertise I hope to achieve at John Hopkins. As I briefly reviewed the vast opportunities offered by the Carey Business School of John Hopkins, I am more determined and enthusiastic to enroll in one of the programs that would fit my personal requirements. I am most interested in developing personal and professional skills that focus on leadership, conflict resolution, design of strategies, and to address various business problem scenarios in the contemporary global environment. I was most impressed with the John Hopkins’ statement towards the commitment â€Å"to help you develop into an ethical, informed business professional—a capable leader who is culturally literate and entrepreneurial in spirit. You will know how to roll up your sleeves to get the job done, how to capture and articulate a brilliant idea, how to inspire others, how to lead and how to follow† (John Hopkins Global MBA, 2011, par. 9). The statement comprehensively defines the fulfillment of my personal goal to be an active contributor in m y native country of the knowledge, skills and abilities that would be improved through a multidimensional approach. If the opportunities would permit, I also plan to apply the business skills in other global markets to enable me to widen my experience and gain substantial expertise on a global scale. Ultimately, my goal to become an entrepreneur, a leader, and a manager of global perspectives would be

The link between social class issues and depression for women in Essay

The link between social class issues and depression for women in Scotland - Essay Example Besides, evidence also suggests that social issues such as poverty and discrimination can â€Å"undermine the recovery of people† from mental health problems (Myers, McCollam & Woodhouse, 2005, p.1). It further transpires that despite various initiatives taken to mitigate the problem, various challenges to mental health in Scotland arising out of â€Å"poverty, deprivation, discrimination and inequality† still remain unresolved (p.1). The problem appears to be more compounded in the case of Scottish females from lower social strata as they are unlikely to be financially independent and, thus, have to cope with various other stress elements. In this scenario, a research into the relationship between social class and depression in females in Scotland can facilitate reasonable insights into the mental health problems of this segment, which the logic behind the choice of this topic. The research will primarily be based on the information gleaned from various articles publis hed on the topic, which have been discussed in detail in the annotated bibliography appended below. Scotland’s Mental Health and Its Context: Adults 2009, written by Taulbut M, Parkinson J, Catto S, and Gordon D: This report, co-authored by four professionals in the public health field, on behalf of NHS Health Scotland, identifies the improvement of mental health as a â€Å"national priority† and sets out the objectives of the Scotland government (Taulbut et al, 2009, p.1). It attempts to describe the concept of mental health, identify the risk factors that may cause mental problems as well as the â€Å"difference within the adult population by selected dimensions of equality† (p.1). The report has relied on both quantitative and qualitative data in arriving at its findings and overall it captures the situation in Scotland, especially in the context of specific social status. The data considered for the report are from reliable sources such as public surveys or published by organizations in public or mental health. The surveys relating to 2003 suggest that women and people who live in â€Å"deprived communities† are â€Å"significantly more likely† to become victims of the mental health problems (p.17). It further points to the findings that women have higher risk of mental health problems and â€Å"17%† females have been found to be having ailing from mental health problem while the percentage of males remained at 13 (p.18). In the specific context of depression, the report maintains that it did not â€Å"significantly† differ among gender or age (p.20). Available data further suggests that the adults from lower social strata are more likely to manifest the symptoms of mental health problems at â€Å"12% compared with 8%† of those from higher echelons of the society (p.21). The findings of the study further suggest about three-fourth of the indicators of equalities analysis indicate an â€Å"association between poor mental health† and socio-economic disadvantages (p.155). The report finally provides benchmarks for â€Å"mental health improvement in Scotland† but concedes to one limitation that the data in most cases relate to the year 2000. However, the authors believe that when the availability and quality of data improves in the future the benchmarks can be modified suitably. The

International Trade Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

International Trade Law - Essay Example The researcher of this essay describes the development of the customs unions and free trade areas that adheres to Article XXIV of GATT that also generates a production effect that results in amore efficient use of world resources. Eliminating the tariff barriers means being able to compete against lower-cost and more efficient producers. Inefficient domestic producers drop out of the market resulting in a decline in home output. Although a customs union may add to world welfare by way of trade creation, its trade diversification effect generally implies a welfare loss. The formation of a customs union will increase the welfare of its members as well as the rest of the world, if the positive trade creation more that offsets the negative trade diversion effect. In extreme cases where the union is made up of the entire world, there can only exist trade creation and not trade diversion. The scope of trade diversion is smaller when the customs union’s common external tariff is lowe r. The transition for a Market-Oriented Economy, that was describes in the essay requires giving up ownership of privately owned properties and removing central planning systems for decent living standards. Therefore, to maintain healthy market economies would require: establishment of sound fiscal and monetary policies; removing price controls; opening economies to competitive market forces; establishing private property rights and a legal system to protect those rights; and reducing government involvement in the economy for an open trade.

Prioritizing Ethical Issues of a Corporate Example Dilemma Described Essay

Prioritizing Ethical Issues of a Corporate Example Dilemma Described - Essay Example They need immediate help and Tru-Seal is able to provide that, so it should. Secondly, Tru-Seal is not capable of accommodating the deal with Ford currently unless it increases its workforce. If it does not increase its workforce, the deal with Ford will be jeopardized. This will be a lose-lose situation for both Tru-Seal and the residents of the Jones County. Thirdly, Tru-Seal should increase the workforce because the Indian firm seems positive on continuing with the deal with Ford after it acquires Tru-Seal. In order to continue the work smoothly, it is unlikely for the Indian firm to completely replace the existing workforce at that time with new and inexperienced workforce as it would affect the quality of work as well as productivity. Last but not the least, it is not established that the Indian firm will acquire Tru-Seal. Unless it actually acquires it, chances exist that Tru-Seal might not be acquired in which case, it would be an unwise decision to not increase the workforce now. Yes, it is better for Tru-Seal to keep the union informed about the pending sale of the company. In spite of all the differences of the company with the unions, and the history of the company’s tough relations with the unions, informing the unions will be safer and less inconvenient choice compared to not informing them. If Tru-Seal does not inform the union, the union might engage in legal proceedings against the company at the time of its sale to the Indian firm, thus incurring a lot of cost to the owners in fines and damages. On the other hand, even if the union is informed about the pending sale, it is more likely that the union will support the decision of increasing the workforce at the Jones County given the high unemployment rate at present. Having met all environmental regulatory actions to date and having fostered a good relationship and open dialogue with the Michigan Department of Environmental

International Trade Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

International Trade Law - Essay Example The researcher of this essay describes the development of the customs unions and free trade areas that adheres to Article XXIV of GATT that also generates a production effect that results in amore efficient use of world resources. Eliminating the tariff barriers means being able to compete against lower-cost and more efficient producers. Inefficient domestic producers drop out of the market resulting in a decline in home output. Although a customs union may add to world welfare by way of trade creation, its trade diversification effect generally implies a welfare loss. The formation of a customs union will increase the welfare of its members as well as the rest of the world, if the positive trade creation more that offsets the negative trade diversion effect. In extreme cases where the union is made up of the entire world, there can only exist trade creation and not trade diversion. The scope of trade diversion is smaller when the customs union’s common external tariff is lowe r. The transition for a Market-Oriented Economy, that was describes in the essay requires giving up ownership of privately owned properties and removing central planning systems for decent living standards. Therefore, to maintain healthy market economies would require: establishment of sound fiscal and monetary policies; removing price controls; opening economies to competitive market forces; establishing private property rights and a legal system to protect those rights; and reducing government involvement in the economy for an open trade.

Research paper (How to Prepare a News Broadcast) Essay

Research paper (How to Prepare a News Broadcast) - Essay Example Selection of area to be addressed in the news is the first and foremost step of the planning process, that follows the decision. News needs to be planned at least one day in advance of the broadcasting time. The reporter should make effort to seek information about the topic selected from the most reliable sources available. In the planning phase, the reporter chooses the course of action that he/she would adopt to reach the sources of information. The reporter proceeds to know when and at what time the sources can be approached so as to cause minimum inconvenience both the reporter and the personnel representative of the sources. If required, the reporter has to seek an appointment with a department weeks in advance of the day of meeting. In addition to that, it is the responsibility of the reporter to prepare the questions he/she intends to ask the concerned authority prior to meeting him/her in person. Lack of former knowledge of queries can ruin the meeting and render it useless. The data collected needs to be organized appropriately so as to convey maximum information in minimum time, while retaining the quality of presentation. The report necessarily begins with a title that adequately reflects all that is to follow it. After the title, the first sentence is of prime importance because a listener decides whether to listen further or not on the basis of initial wording. â€Å"A good lead-in "teases" the viewer without giving away the story.† (Salvatore, 2009). Therefore, it should be interesting enough to make the audience curious to know further. It is extremely important to ensure that the report formulated answers who did what, when, where, why and how. These questions are commonly referred to as the â€Å"Five W’s and H Rule.† (White 32). A report that answers these questions is thought to be adequately equipped with all the information

Cultural Factors Considered By International Marketing Cultural Studies Essay

Cultural Factors Considered By International Marketing Cultural Studies Essay A good basic definition of concept of culture is that it is a set of traditional beliefs and values that are transmitted and shared in a given society. Culture is also the total way of life and thinking pattern that passed from generation to generation. Culture means many things to many people because the concept encompasses norms, values, customs, art and mores. Usunier and Lee(2009)suggests that this emphasis on world markets is often viewed as cross-border extensions of American marketing thought, ignoring people, languages, culture and advocating uniformity. According to Linton (1945), culture is the sum total of several attributes such as knowledge, attitudes, and habitual behavior patterns shared and transmitted by the members of a particular society. Edward Tylor(2002), suggests that culture is a complexity of factors including belief, knowledge, moral, law, custom, art and other capabilities acquired by man as a social being or the member of society. People in different cultures often have different ideas about the same subject. What is acceptable in one culture may not necessarily be acceptable in another. Therefore, a phenomena appearing in different cultures can be interpreted in different manners. Culture is shared and passed from generation to generation and is relatively stable and permanent. Old habits to die hard and a people tend to maintain its own heritage inspite of the fast changing world. Cultural pride and prejudice make many nations reject foreign ideas and imported products. But the reverse may also be true and a perception of greatness attributed to another culture may lead to eager acceptance of things reflecting the culture. For example, Japanese are proud of their culture and economic achievements and prefer to buy Japanese goods. On the other hand, the words Made in America marked on a product communicate quality and sophistication to people in many developing countries. The concept of what is right and wrong is based on culture. To he straight forward and honest are considered morally right in the US even though the feelings of the people are hurt. In Latin cultures, however, people avoid direct statements that would embarrass or would make others uncomfortable. Thus, even if a Latin businessman does not mean to do business, he would appear to have intention to do so. In an empirical study of French, American and Germany managers, substantial differences were noted on ethical issues. On an issue, that may benefit the firm at the expense of the environment, the French and German managers would more likely side with their employers and participate in what they perceive as a relatively minor infraction of environmental law. The American managers were less likely to approve a production run which would result in air pollution. Japanese are also very particular on the maintenance of environmental balance in their work ethics during the production of goods. Multinational corporations operate in different host countries around the world and in doing so have to deal with a wide variety of political, economical, geographical, technological and marketing situations. Moreover, each host country has its own society and culture which is different in many important ways from almost every other society or culture, although there are some commonalties. Though society and culture do not appear to be a part of marketing situations, yet they are actually the key elements in showing how marketing activities will be conducted, from what goods will be produced, and through what means they will be sold to establishing industrial and management patterns and determining the success or failure of local subsidiary or affiliate. Society and culture influence every aspect of overseas business of an MNC and successful MNC operations whether it is marketing, finance, production, or personnel has to be acutely aware of the predominant attitudes, feelings, and opinion in the local environment. Differences in values and attitudes between the management and the parent offices and expatriate managers at the subsidiary or affiliate level and local managers and employees can lead to serious operational and functional problems, which arise not because there are individual problems, but because of the important differences between societies and cultures. Society and culture often mould general attitudes towards fundamentals of life such as time, money, productivity and achievement all of which can differ widely across countries and lead to situations of differing expectations between the management in the home office and local employees of subsidiaries and affiliates. While some sociocultural differences are obvious, others are relatively subtle, though equally important. It is often difficult for an international manager to catch on these subtle differences if he or she has not lived or worked in cultures other than that of home country. MNCs have realised sometimes through costly blunders, that socio cultural factors are vital ingredients that make up overall business environment and that it is essential to appreciate these differences and how they influence the business before an attempt is made to set up an operation in a host country. There are too many human variables and different types of international marketing functions for an exhaustive discussion about culture. The main elements of culture are: Attitudes and beliefs Attitudes towards time Attitudes towards work and leisure Attitudes towards achievement Attitudes towards change Attitudes towards job. Attitudes and beliefs: In every society there are norms of behaviour based on attitudes, values and beliefs that constitute a part of its culture. The set of attitudes and beliefs of a culture will influence nearly-all aspects of human behaviour, providing guidelines and organisation to a society and its individuals. Identifying the attitudes and beliefs of a society and how if they differ from ones own culture will help the businessperson more easily understand the behaviour of people. Attitudes towards time: Everywhere in the world people use time tc communicate with each other. In international business, attitudes towards time are displayed in behaviour regarding punctuality, responses to business communication, responses to deadlines, and the amounts of time that are spent waiting in an outer office for an appointment. Attitudes towards work and leisure: Most people in the industrial society work many more hours than is necessary to satisfy their basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. Their attitudes towards work and leisure are indicative of their views towards wealth and material gains. These attitudes affect the types, qualities and numbers of individuals who pursue entrepreneurial and management careers as well. Many industrial psychologists have conducted research in this area to determine what motivates people to work more than is necessary to provide for their basic needs. One explanation is the Protestant ethic which has its basis in the reformation, when work was viewed as a means of salvation and people preferred to transform productivity gains into additional output rather than additional leisure. Europeans and Americans are typically considered to adhere to this work ethic because they generally view work as a moral virtue and look unfavourably in the idle. Attitudes towards achievement: Cultural differences in the general attitudes towards work are also accompanied by significant national differences in achievement motivation. In some cultures, particularly those with high stratified and hierarchical societies, there is tendency to avoid personal responsibility and to work according to precise instructions received from supervisors that are followed by the latter. In many societies, especially where social security is low and jobs are prized, there is a tendency to avoid taking risks and little innovation in work or production processes. In such cultures, the prospects of higher achievement is not considered attractive enough to warrant taking avoidable risks. In many industrial societies, however, attitudes towards personal achievements are different. Personal responsibility and the ability to take risks for potential gain are considered valuable instruments in achieving higher goals. In fact, in many cultures the societal pressure on achievement -5 so intense that individuals are automatically driven towards attempting ambitious The types of attitudes among workers and managers often influence the types of management that has to be utilised to achieve corporate goals. In a culture that emphasises risk taking, greater responsibility, and individual decision making  « decentralised management system would be more appropriate. In a culture, where there is a tendency to put in only adequate amounts of work where achievement is not a valued attribute in a person, the company will follow a more centralisee management system with only limited delegation of decision-making authority. Attitudes towards change. The international manager must understand what aspects of a culture will resist change and how the areas of resistance differ among cultures, how the process of change takes place in different cultures and how long :: will take to implement change. There are two conflicting forces within a culture! regarding change. People attempt to protect and preserve a culture with an elaborate set of sanctions and laws on vogue against those who deviate from norms. Wher. differences are seen, they are perceived as, my method is right and other methods must be wrong. The contradictory force is one in which the public is aware that the cultural environment is continuously changing and that a culture must change in order to ensure its own continuity. In fact, in order to balance these attitudes, the manager must remember that a closer new idea can be related to a traditional one whed illustrating its relative advantage, the greater the acceptance of that new concept Usually, cultures with centuries old traditions that have remained closed to outside influences are more resistant to change than other cultures. The level of education in a society and the exposure of its people to the knowledge and experience of other cultures is an extremely important determinant of its attitude towards change. Attitude towards job. The type of job that is considered most desirable or prestigious varies greatly according to different cultures. Thus, while the medicinal and legal professions are considered extremely prestigious in the United States, civil service is considered most prestigious occupation in several developing countries including India. References Morgan, A., 1998, Copycat TV: Globalisation, program formats and cultural identity, Luton, England, University of Luton Press. Tylor Edward B., 2002, Primitive Culture in: Lambek Michael (ed.): A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion, Malden/Ma./USA Oxford/UK, pp. 21-34 Linton, Ralph 1945, The cultural background of personality. New York, Appleton-Century Philip R. Cateora, John L. Graham, 2007, International Marketing, 13th Edition, McGraw-Hills. Jean-Claude Usunier and Julie Anne Lee, 2009, Marketing Across Cultures, 5th edition, Prentice Hall. Latha Nair, 1999, Personnel Management, Himalaya publishing house. Dr. K. Aswathappa, Personnel Management and Industrial Relations, Himalaya publishing house. Svend Hollenses, A global Marketing decision oriented Approach, 3rd Edition. Stonehouse, G, Campbell, D, Hamill, J, Purdie, T, 2004, Global and transnationl business, 2nd Edition, John wiley and sons, west Sussex. Palmer, A, 2007, Introduction to marketing, Oxford university press, Newdelhi. (b) Cateora and Ghauri (2006) state that for the inexperienced marketer, the similar but different aspect of culture creates an illusion of similarity that usually does not exist. What do they mean by this statement? Explain and give specific examples to illustrate the points made. (50% of marks for this assignment) Consumption patterns, living styles and the priority of needs of the human beings play important roles on the culture. This in other words means that culture prescribes the manner in which people satisfy their desires/needs. Consumption of certain food gives a good example of how it influences the culture. Americans, Europeans and Arabians consume beef whereas Thais, Chinese and the majority of Indians do not consume beef at all believing that it is improper to eat cattle that work on farms, thus helping to provide food such as rice and vegetables. In Japan, the per capita annual consumption of beef has increased to 11 Lbs. which is very small compared to the 100 Lbs. per capita consumed in the US and Argentina. The Japanese eat uncooked sea food and the Iraqis eat dried, salted locust as snacks while drinking. The French eat snails. Americans and Europeans use honey (Bee expectorate or bee spit) and blue cheese or Roquefort salad dressing which is made with strong cheese with bluish mould. It has been seen that no society has a monopoly on their unusual eating habits when comparisons are made among various societies. Food preparation methods are also dictated by cultural preferences. Asian consumer prefers chicken broiled or boiled rather than fried. Consequently, the Chinese found that the Americans fried chicken style is foreign and distasteful. The culture not only dictates the type of food to be consumed but also it affects what should not be purchased. For example, Muslims do not purchase chicken unless it is hallaled and like Jews no consumption of pork is allowed. They also do not use alcoholic beverages, a habit which is shared by some of the Protestants. Moussy a non-alcoholic beer from Switzerland is a product that was manufactured for the consumption of Muslims being a non-alcoholic beverage. Life-style of individuals in every country has its own cultural influence. For example, in India majority of male and female wear dhoties/saris/lungis whereas in Pakistan they wear Salwar Kameez. In the western countries the dress code for men is suit with headgear as hat and for ladies it is skirt and blouse whereas in India the headgear is mostly turban. This life-style basically depends upon the weather conditions of the country. The priority of needs from one country to another also varies. For example, the westerners are effluent and buy their imported clothes in large quantities. In the developing countries the needs of individuals are meager. Hence most of the men and women are dressed in the minimum. Beside consumption habits, the thinking processes are also affected by culture. It has been observed that when the individuals travel overseas, it is virtually impossible for a person to observe foreign cultures without making reference, perhaps unconsciously, back to personal cultural values. This phenomenon is known as self reliance criterion (SRC). It is because of the effect of SRC the individual remains bound by his or her cultural assumptions. It is, therefore, necessary for the foreign traveller to recognise how the perception of overseas events can be distorted by the effect of SRC. The best example of SRC is the behaviour of the individuals treating their animals which reflects their thinking processes. Americans and Europeans usually treat dogs and cats as family members addressing the animals affectionately and even allowing them to sleep on their beds. Arabs view dogs as filthy animals. Some in the Far Eas: like Korea and Thailand, go as far as cooking and eating dogs. Hindus in contrast revere cows and are surprised as to how the westerners and the Muslims eat beef, that also in large quantity. The efforts of the international marketing man should be to reduce SRC effect on the individuals. The presence of SRC, if not controlled, can invalidate the results of the research study. Lee suggests a multi-step approach to remove the undue influence of SRC. Firstly the problem should be defined in terms of the culture of the researchers home country. Secondly, the same problem is defined again except that it is defined in terms of the cultural norms of the host country. Thirdly, a comparison is made of two cultural composites. Any difference between the composites indicates the existence of SRC. Although African, Arab and Asian business methods have endured for centuries, most American firms react to those methods in ethnocentric terms and prefer to conduct business along the familiar western lines. Project Heads launching a venture in less developed countries should consider the following guidelines: Resist the tendency to conduct business immediately on landing. Resist the tendency to conduct business at all times. Consider doing favour as a business tool to generate allies. Contact, cultivate and conduct field work among at least one sample clientele to serve as an initial testing centre for the firms product. Introduce the product line into the sample group by local forms of cause related marketing. Extend product acceptance beyond the sample clientele into related segments. An awareness of the influence of the SRCs is valuable because such awareness can help a manager to prevent a transfer of personal cultural norms on a wholesale basis to an overseas market. This awareness should make the manager more customer oriented and the marketing strategy thus developed will reflect through market needs. A country may be classified as a high context culture or low context culture. The context of culture is either high or low in terms of in depth background information. North America and North Europe are examples of low context cultures. In these types of societies messages are explicit and clear in the sense that actual words are used to convey the main part of information in communication. What is important is what is said, not how it is said and not the environment within which it is said. Japan, France, Spain, Italy, some countries of Asia like India, Africa (South Africa) and the Middle East Arabian nations are High-Context Cultures. In such countries the communication may be indirect and the expressive manner in which the message is delivered becomes critical because the verbal part does not carry most of the information. The context of communication is high because it includes a great deal of additional information such as message senders values, position, background and associations in the society. Ones individual environment such as physical setting and social circumstances determine what one says and how it is interpreted by others. This type of communication emphasises ones character and words as determinants of ones integrity making it possible for business persons to come to terms without detailed legal work. A common advertising method used by American advertisers is to present a TV commercial as an illustrated lecture. In this low context method, a product is discussed in the absence of its natural setting. Such a message is not easily understood in high context cultures because of the omission of the essential contextual details. In one of the studies, carried out by researchers they tested six European commercials on five cultural groups ranging from the high context Asian group to the low context Swedish group and the evidence supported Wells proposition. Compared to a low context culture, high context cultures perceive non-verbal communication elements as being more informative.

Rhinovirus - The Common Cold :: Essays Papers

Rhinovirus - The Common Cold Introduction: Rhinovirus, pictured above, is best known as the common cold. It is a member of the picornaviridae family along with more virulent viruses such as polio and hepatitis A. The viruses of this family are characterized as small (20-30nm genome) positive polarity RNA viruses consisting of one genome segment and a nonenveloped capsid. Unlike the its more lethal relatives, Rhinovirus is designed to attack a host numerous times during their lifetime. It is the perfect pathogen. It is estimated that adults suffer from 2 to 4 infections with the virus each year. The statistics below show the toll that the virus has on the United States Population: . There are nearly 62 million cases of the common cold annually in the US . 52.2 million of these cases affect Americans under age 17 . There are nearly 22 million school-loss days annually due to the common cold . There are approximately 45 million bed days annually associated with the common cold . Seventy-five percent of common colds suffered by children under 5 years are medically attended Source: Vital and Health Statistics Series 10, No. 200 The economic impact of the cold is estimated at 5 billion dollars, but is far greater in indirect costs when considering loss of productivity and school abscence. Encounter: It is virtually impossible to avoid Rhinovirus encounter because it is one of the few pathogens that is present in the environment year round. There are over 100 serotypes making it unlikely to have antibodies to each strain. It often enters the upper respitory tract via aerosolized droplets coming from an infectious individuals coughing or sneezing. It is also possible to spread the pathogen through saliva. However, studies have proven that contact transmission is the dominant mode of contraction. [9] This is possible because infected individuals can shed the virus 24 hours before symptoms and as long as 2 weeks after symptoms cease. Contrary to popular belief, there is no valid clinical evidence that exposure to cold or moisture will result in infection. Entry: Primary infection occurs in the nasal mucosa and occasionally the conjunctiva. Once exposed to the epithelial cells, the virus attempts to bind to intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM1). ICAM-1 is regularly used by the immune system to bind endothelial cells to leukocytes. However, as the picture above shows, Rhinovirus is able to take advantage of this property and recognizes it with its own receptors.

High Heels Essay -- Fashion Shoes Papers

High Heels "To be carried by shoes, winged by them. To wear dreams on one's feet is to begin to give reality to one's dreams." -Roger Vivier Shoes of every make and style are loved by women across the globe but it is the heel, whether stiletto or platform that is coveted, adored, desired in such abundance simply in and of the shoe itself. They're everywhere. They run rampant in books, calendars, photographs, album and movie covers, dangling in miniature precious metal versions from earlobes and chains, women's closets and even their living rooms, and let's not forget their most important place of residence- women's feet. They're a constant obsession in pop culture, endlessly talked about and fetishized in television, movies, song lyrics, and seem to be worn without fail by glamorous celebrities no matter the occasion. The most notorious of the shoe loving pop culture media is of the smash HBO series Sex and the City, in which shoes are one of its main themes. Cast of Sex and the City at http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/gesellschaft/0,1518,grossbild-233666-286899,00.html What's in a shoe? Perhaps it was originally intended to protect one's feet from the elements but today the shoe has evolved from its practical origins to grandiose heights, and at the highest level is of course, the high heel. Heels are not something one simply wears on their feet, but a passion, hobby, personal expression, source of authority, sexual independence, staple of gendered feminine culture, mark of flaunted femininity, psychologically empowering, and joy. Women choose to wear high heels for many reasons; the key is that they indeed are the ones who proactively choose to endorse the high heel, often at the expense of their own physical com... ...t the decision to wear high heels is one way to rebel within a system. Women who wear these tall heel it because they like to, for their own pleasure. Whether they like the erotic connotations, excitement, height, delicate structures, dangerous points, phallic penetrative qualities, royal history, haughty independence, aesthetic beauty or a confusing combination of all of that and more, women who love high heels do so of their own volition and desire. Manolo Blahnik, the "high priest of high heels" (Benstock & Ferriss) sums up the patronizing idea that women should be pitied for their chose and love of high heels. He was once asked if he, "ever felt sorry for all those women teetering through their lives on the spikiest of high-heeled shoes," to which he responded, "Oh, my God, how could I feel sorry for them? Sorry. Sorry for who? They love it." (Specter, 388)

Elizabeth Gaskell Essay

After Helen died things didn’t get much better. The farm workers started to look down upon him and ‘hardy waited till my father’s back was turned rated the stepson’, even his own brother looks down upon him unintentionally ‘I sometimes repeated the disparaging words I heard†¦ Without fully understanding their meaning’. This makes us feel a lot of sympathy towards Gregory and we feel sorry for him. There seems to be a close link between Gregory life and his Mother life. No matter what happens, they try to make the best of things and get on with it. Preston maintains and feeds his hatred of Gregory instead of repressing it; he ‘cherished his feeling of alienation’ he had from Gregory. He lived the save type of life as her, one of suffering and one full of sorrow, death seems like a better place for him he is along side the one and only person who loved him. Preston holds a grudge on Gregory right from the very start. But we must admire Gregory for not begrudging him or any other person who treats him badly even if they have just been nasty to him, he would ‘do a kind turn for anyone, even if they had been scolding him’. He is parallel to his mother. This helps us to warm to him as a character. Gregory is stoical and endures things with uncomplaining patience which’s helps us to admire him. Gaskell creates a character that speaks highly of Gregory. Nearly every one of the farm workers has a bad thing to say about him apart from old Adam. Gregory is sent out onto the hills as a Shepard with along with Adam who trains him. Adam is the only person apart from Gregory’s mother who has not got a bad word to say about him, but indeed praises him. This is likely to the fact that Adam was ‘almost the first person who had a good opinion of Gregory’ and even told this to his boss, Preston. Later in the story when the narrator goes missing, Gregory goes out in the thick snow to look for his half brother risking in his own life and not even thinking about it. This also seems parallel to Helen who had done similar for Gregory by putting Gregory first and looking out for him without even thinking about it. When Gregory manages to find the narrator, Gaskell makes us feel even more admiration for him. In the freezing snow, he gives his brother the Maud (woollen shawl) that he is wearing so that the narrator can stay just a little bit warmer. This makes us warm to Gregory, because of the fact he is suffering for the sake of his brother. Gaskell evokes admiration from the readers, Gregory died for his brother, and someone he barely knew and did not even complain about it. Gaskell creates a character that many of the readers may take a disliking to and manages to get ambivalent responses from the readers. Preston is described as being ‘an old bachelor†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ long past forty’ and ‘one of the wealthiest farmers thereabouts†. Helen agrees to marry him solely on that the fact that he ‘promised to take good charge of her boy, and let him want for nothing, neither in way of keep nor in education’. This almost seems a purely business agreement. He uses Gregory as an excuse in order to marry Helen. Gaskell makes our response to Preston more complex than any other of the characters; she manages to get a complicated reaction to Preston through a short story. With the other main characters, it is obvious how Gaskell is trying to portray them but it is not obvious in Prestons case. We are suspicious of him at the start. At the start of â€Å"The Half Brothers† Preston is made out to be a horrible man, but by the end of the story our feelings have softened against him. He is very impatient, he does not wait for Helen to love him ‘Perhaps love would have come in time’. Preston begrudges Gregory as child for the attention he receives from Helen. He is jealous of him, and cannot stand Helen loving Gregory more than him. Preston is dehumanised. He does not love Gregory at all, but hates him. But later on we see that Preston is humanised, ‘glad and proud his son was born’. He becomes ‘sorry for his poor wife’s state’, but still blames it on Gregory and holds him responsible for Helens death even though it is his own fault for arguing with her. After Helens death Preston honours the agreement for which they were married under, to look after Gregory. But he makes no attempt to love him, only to give him material things that money can buy, nothing emotional. Even Preston is hurting Gregory’s dog, just because it belongs to Gregory, he has a real dislike to anything that Gregory owns or anything to do with. Even Preston’s own son thinks he is to hard on Gregory ‘I believe that my father cherished his feeling of alienation to my brother as a duty, than strove to repress it’ But towards the end of â€Å"The Half brothers† Gaskell makes us feel differently towards him. There is a sense of deep regret from Preston on his deathbed about the way that he treated Gregory throughout his life â€Å"God forgive me my hardness of heart towards the fatherless child! † After his death he knows that Helen loved Gregory more and so as a sign of repentance had ‘desired that he might lie at the foot of the grave, in which, by his desire, poor Gregory had been laid with our mother. ‘ Preston is very grateful and thankful to Gregory for saving his sons life â€Å"I would have given him half my land†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ I would have blessed him as my son†. He even tries to be kind to the dog, but it won’t let him near it. Gaskell is very good at creating and holding suspense for long periods of time through the story. At the start of the story, just after Helen’s husband dies suspense starts to build up as we become worried about Helen’s future and continues to hold the suspense until she marries Preston. When the narrators gets lost, the fact that ‘night came on quicker’ makes us feel unnerved that night is overtaking him and that he may get stuck there all night. An eerie atmosphere is created which intensifies the suspense even further ‘some wild boggy moor†¦ ‘ Tautology is used to emphasis how dark it and adds to the suspense ‘noiseless expansion of black darkness’. Gaskell’s use of language also helps to create suspense. ‘Suddenly the air was filled†¦ ‘, suddenly is placed at the beginning of the sentence to show how quickly and unexpectedly the snow fell. We start to become worried for the narrator and the suspense is built up even further by the emotional language used ‘I shouted – terrible, wild shouts for bare life’ and ‘choked with tears†¦ desolate, helpless death I was to die’ – shows how extreme the situation is, how isolated and lonely the narrator must have felt. The narrator starts to give up hope and we start to feel very sorry for him and then just as all hope is gone, lassie comes to his rescue, we now see that he saved and is going to get home safely as he has been found. Just as soon as we feel relief that he has been found, there poses as even bigger problem, instead of one person being lost, there are two – the suspense is deepened even further than before. As the two try to find their way home, it is apparent that they are not going to get home and could die out there. All of this creates suspense and makes the reader want to read on to see if the pair gets home all right. The suspense reaches it climax near the end of the story. When the narrator determined to sleep and doesn’t care if he dies. When the pair realise that they can go no further, they stop as a last resort – they know that they are going to die and sent lassie back to get help. The suspense is mounted to see whether or not lassie can get back to the ranch before the pair die of the cold. Then the narrator ‘fell asleep’. We think is the end, he has fallen asleep he will die. But then a sense of relief comes over us when we find that the narrator has been found just time and survives, but Gregory is not so lucky. Through out the story â€Å"The Half Brothers† Gaskell evokes and manipulates many of our feelings. But some readers, including myself find that some of the story mawkish and trying to push at our emotional buttons in an unsophisticated way. Gaskell style of writing helps to manipulate our feelings. The way she portrays Helen’s and Gregory’s lives makes us feel a lot of sympathy towards them but we admire the way they put up with everything without complaining. She creates a character, which seems to be the bad guy of the story and evokes complex feelings for him from us. Some readers including myself may find that Preston is an horrid man and continue to think the same even when Gaskell tries to soften his image by saying that he has become ‘humanised’, but others may feel that he is a good man at heart and this is portrayed at the end of the story when he is deeply regretful. Gaskell is very good at creating suspense and makes us worried about the characters and makes us want to read on. So overall Gaskell is very good at manipulating our feelings.

The “hongs” or Trade Houses of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, the pearl of Asia has been the center of trade and finance in Asia since the early 20th century. In a short history of about 150 years, Hong Kong has become the source of growth for many nearby economies. In a certain sense, it can be even said that it is a merchant city founded and managed by Traditional â€Å"hongs† or trade houses of Hong Kong were the pillar of the economy. Jardine Matheson and Hutchison were major hongs that led the economy and the Hong Kong & Shanghi Bank were the financier of these hongs and has today grown to become one of the largest bank in the world. These firms were the critical factors of the growth for Hong Kong's economy. Their role however has changed overtime. They are no longer the de facto leaders of Hong Kong as they were in the mid 1800's. Their role has diminished as Hong Kong grew to become more international, and the 1997 handover to the People's Republic of China has further altered their position. Some hongs that adapted well to the changing times prospered while others either The territory of Hong Kong is located at the mouth of the Pearl River, a little southwest of the Guangdong Province of the PRC. Hong Kong was ceded to the British after the Opium War in 1842. Many believe that the British hongs were behind lobbying the British government into fighting the Chinese Government and the settlement of the island. Kowloon was annexed in 1860, and the New territories were leased for 99 years in 1898. In 1984, the British and the PRC government agreed that Hong Kong as a whole would return to Chinese soverienty in 1997. However, a system of one country two systems were also agreed upon where Hong Kong would retain its status as a free port, with it's laws remaining unchanged for 50 years. It's main mphasis is to preserve Hong Kong's laws and economic freedom, thus to enhance the position of Hong Kong as a economic center. The Large British owned hongs were originally trade and warehouse companies established by the British in the early days of Hong Kong colonialism, they have since grown in to major commerical conglomerates. They hold interest in cargo handling, manufacturing, real estate, and even retailing. They are the engine of the Hong Kong economy. Since Britain took over the port city in 1842 to use as a gateway to the Chinese markets, the business of Hong Kong had been business, and the power was eld by the hongs. The first traditional hong was the Jardine Matheson. It was once seen to be more influential than the colonial government but nowadays it has become a minor player compared to Li Ka Shing's Hutchision Whampoa. Li Ka Shing, the Chairman or â€Å"Taipan† of Hutchision Whampoa, became the first Chinese to own a traditional hong. Li's drive and business ability helped foster Hutchision into a global conglomerate. Hong Kong Bank grew from a small trader's bank into one of the Jardine, Matheson & Co. was founded by 2 Scottish merchants, William Jardine and James Matheson in Guangdong in 1832. It was an opium trader that were the pioneers into the China trade. Eventually James Matheson takes control from 1836. It played a key role in the founding of Hong Kong and became the first to purchase land from the colonial government in 1842. Jardine expanded into other trade products in other Asian countries like Japan and South East Asian countries and also enters the ship/cargo handling industry and the real estate business. After World War II, Jardine moved their head office from Shanghi back to Hong Kong and it offically goes public in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1961. The 1970's saw Jardine orming many ventures and aquisitions such as the joint venture with the Robert Fleming of UK to create the Jardine Fleming & Co. , a holding company the aquires many foreign and local firms and diversifies Jardine's business. The mid- 1980's saw some mismanagments and misguided aquisition especially after the 1984 Sino-British announcement on the return of Hong Kong. Jardine wanted to diversify more abroad in fear of the Chinese takeover because their relations with the PRC was not good. It aquired the British construction giant Trafalgar House and ther various retail chains in Europe o that Jardine could emphasize more in Europe, but these investments would turnout to be disappointing in the future. The current taipan, or CEO is Alasdair Morrison. He has tried to undo many past mistakes and to rejuvenate the 160 year old hong. Morrison has sold off many losing companies and has a greater emphasis on profitability. The management has been changed to more aggresive and experienced managers such as Ronald J. Floto who previously worked as Kmart Corp. and is known for his turn-around ability. But most importantly, Morrsion has been trying to improve ties with Beijing. He realises that the China market as an indespenable location and has tried repeatly to mend the differences made by the previous Today, the Jardine Matheson group is a multinational enterprise that operates in over 30 countries and employs some 160,000 people. It is divided into eight core companies : Jardine Pacific(general trading), Jardine International Motors(Car dealership), Jardine Fleming, Jardine Lloyd Thompsion(Insurance), Jardine Strategic, Dairy Farm(supermarket and convenience stores), Hong Kong Land(Commerical property), and the Mandarin Oriental(luxury hotel chain) . Last year's sales were US$11. 2 billion and a operating profit of US$190 million was made. The profits fell 34% from last year, and share prices have fallen almost 60% since it moved its primary listing from Hong Kong to Singapore. The main problem with Jardine is that it needs to use its large cash resources to boost market shares in existing profitable businesses and make aquistions in core business while assests in Asia are still cheap from the Asian crisis. It also needs to refocus on Asia, because it is where it's main expertise and connections are, but the controlling family, the Keswicks with nly a 4. 9% share are reluctant to invest heavily back to Asia and especially China. The Keswicks have held control through cross ownership to build a financial defense against hostile takeovers. Li Ka Shing has tried but failed to take over Jardines in 1988 but many still believe that Li has not given up but is rather waiting for an opportunity. Although the current taipan, Morrison is trying to shape up Jardine again, many are doubtful as long as the Keswicks still retain the controlling shares. Jardine Matheson has had a astonishing past, but many fear that the golden days of the past John D. Hutchison Company was founded in 1828. Being one of the first major traditional hongs in Hong Kong, it had made vast investments in port facilities and other infrastructure projects in the colony. In the 1960's, in an effort to revitalize the hong, John Douglas Clague, the last British CEO of Hutchision made huge investments in not only in Hong Kong but It reoragnized itself to the Hutchision International and up til the early 1970's, many believed that Hutchision would indeed make a comeback as a dominant firm in the colony. However, losses started to occur from 1973, and being overstretched and hort in liquidity it lost the favors from its investors and creditors(most importantly the Hong Kong Shanghi Bank). Eventually the Hong Kong Bank would step in to take up 33% of Hutchision International and within 2 years merge with a subsidary, the Whampoa Dock Company and create the Hutchision Whampoa. Hong Kong Bank was looking for a suitable investor to take over the pre-opium war hong and eventually they chose a rising real estate tycoon, Li Ka Shing. There are many reasons that Hong Kong Bank chose Li Ka Shing, but two reasons stand out the most, His reputation as a honest nd able businessman and his contacts with the government in Today, Hutchison Whampoa has grown into one of Hong Kong's largest blue chip companies with over 70,000 employees worldwide. The Group operates five core businesses : Property Development and Investment, Ports and related services, Retailing and manufacturing, Telecomminications and Media, and Hutchison Whampoa Property develops residential and commerical properties for sale and lease. Its portfolio includes some of Hong Kong's largest private housing projects and several landmark developments in the Mainland. The group's expertise in port investment and management stems form its pioneering operations in Hong Kong. Its port operations arm, Hutchison International Port Holdings, is now exporting its professional experience and expertise to ports in different Watsons operates three of Asia's most innovative retail chains:Park'N Shop supermarkets, Watson's personal care stores, and Fortress, selling domestic electrical appliances. The manufacturing division produces and distributes a wide range of food and beverages throughput Hong Kong, the mainland and other Hutchison Telecom operates a wide range of intregrated elecommunications services worldwide and is one of the world's major providers of mobile communications The Group has major shareholding in Cheung Kong Infrastructure, which holds interests in infrastructure and related businesses, and power plant projects such as the Hong Kong Electric. It is the sole supplier of electricity to Hong Kong Island. Husky Oil, is one of Canada's largest privately owned oil and gas For the fiscal year ending in December 31 1998, The Hutchison Whampoa Group had a net profit after tax of HK$8. 7 billion. It was lower than HK$12. 2 billion from 1997. The Asian crisis which rought on pressures on the entire Asian region. It experienced a period of unprecedented asset and price deflation coupled with severe recessionary conditions. These conditions had the hardest impact on the Property/Development and Retail/manufacturing operations of the group in 1998. Li Ka Shing's another main weapon in Asian business is his strong ties to the Chinese Government. He has been favored since being the first Chinese to take over a western hong in the late 1970's. He also played a large role in the transition period for the `97 handover of Hong Kong. Currently he has a trong influence in the policies that effect Hong Kong both through his contacts with Beijing and the Chief executive, Tung Headquartered in London, HSBC holdings is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organizations. The HSBC Group's international network comprises more than 5,000 offices The HSBC Group is named after its founding member, The Hong Kong and Shanghi Banking Coporation limited. Hong Kong Bank, as it is known for short, was established in 1865 to finance the growing trade between China and Europe. The inspiration behind the founding of the bank was Thomas Sutherland, a Scot who was then working as the Hong Kong Superintendent of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. He realised that there was considerable demand for local banking facilities in Hong Kong and the China coast and he helped to establish the bank in March 1865. Then, as now, the bank's headquarters were at 1 Queen's Road in Hong Kong and a branch was opened in April 1865 in Shanghai. Throughout the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, the bank established a network of agencies and branches based mainly in China and South East Asia but also with epresentation in the Indian sub-continent, Japan, Europe and North America. In many of its branches the bank was the pioneer of modern banking practice. From the outset, trade finance was a strong feature of the bank's business with bullion, exchange and merchant banking also playing an important part. Additionally, the bank also issued notes in many locations throughout the Far During the Second World War the bank was forced to close many of its branches and the head office was temporarily moved to London. However, after the war the bank played a key role in the reconstruction of the Hong Kong economy and set about further iversifying the geographical spread of the bank. The post-war political and economic changes in the world forced HongkongBank to analyse its strategy for continued growth in the 1950s. The bank diversified both its business and its geographical spread through acquisitions and alliances. However, the bank remained committed to its historical markets and played an important part in the reconstruction of Hong Kong where its branch network continued to expand. In 1965 the bank purchased a controlling interest in Hang Seng Bank, which had been established in Hong Kong in 1933. By the 970s the policy of expansion by acquisition of subsidiaries with their own identities and specialisations was firmly in During the 1980s the bank concentrated on moving into those markets where it was not yet fully represented. Hongkong Bank of Canada was established in 1981 and HongkongBank of Australia Limited in 1986. In 1987 Marine Midland Bank, based in New York State, became a wholly owned member of the Group and its principal subsidiary in the United States. HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, was established in 1991 with its shares quoted on both the London and Hong Kong stock Already almost two years have passed since the handover Hong Kong to the PRC. It is hard to judge the impact of the handover to the Hong Kong economy, due to the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. What is definite however is that Hong Kong has suffered a difficult 1998 and is still in the process of recovering. The good news is that the fallen prices of 1997 got rid of a lot of the bubbles that was being accumulated in the territory. Large landowners like Li may have had some losses but 1999 saw the economic prices and activities picking up again. Many say that the worst is over and that recover is in process. Already land prices have recovered a lot of its losses during the 1997-8 The problem in the territory is more a political one. Many incidents have brought attention to the problem of implementing the â€Å"one country, two system† policy, which is fundamental in the Hong Kong Basic Law and which will guarntee the independent governing of Hong Kong. The main attraction that has made Hong Kong what it is today is it's efficiency and lassie faire approach of the government. If the mainland interferes too much in Hong Kong, it status will decline as the international free port city that has made it so prosperous.