Hills Like White Elephants Essay Essay

1. I believe â€Å"the American and the girl with him† were talking about having an abortion, and how it would change their relationship if they were to have a baby. He was saying that it is the only thing â€Å"bothering† them and making them â€Å"unhappy.† The girl appears undecided, and scared of losing the man. 2. Nothing really happens, except a rehashing of their relationship, which seems to consist of looking â€Å"at things and try[ing] new drinks.† 3. Their relationship is not about communication, but about the girl following everything the man says   because she doesn’t care about herself. She just wants him to love her. He tries to manipulate the girl to agree to the abortion, saying that things between them will not have to change, and that â€Å"things will be like they were,† when she felt he loved her.   He keeps speaking about â€Å"letting the air in,† which makes me think that he wants there to be â€Å"air† in the relationship, and that the non-operation would make him—not them happy again. He feels stifled, and this pressure is reflected in the hot day. The relationship is â€Å"airy† and superficial, without direct communication, because the man does not truly care about her and is concerned only with his interests, and the girl doesn’t care about herself, so she decides to want to do what he thinks is best. 4. The conflict of the story is resolved when the girl decides to have the abortion. The climax is when Hemmingway uses the adjective â€Å"reasonably,† when describing the people waiting for the train. It is a commentary that the man was thinking â€Å"reasonably,† but not from love, even though he says he is. He made his decision out of reason, and she out of emotion. 5. The hills are described as very fertile and the opposite landscape as very barren, and it seems to represent the barrenness of their relationship, as well as the discussion about abortion. 6. I would like to know why the girl said, â€Å"’I’ll scream.’†

Bas Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet Essay

Baz Luhrmann’s main aim from his Romeo and Juliet film was to create a film which would trickle the minds of youngsters, or what is also known as the MTV generation, who don’t enjoy watching Shakespeare’s plays. His main aim was getting the MTV generation to watch and ‘enjoy’ Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet without dieing of boredom. He did this by looking at the movies MTV generation watches today, which mainly includes technology, action, guns etc to get youngsters interested. What he concluded in the film which attracted youngsters was that he replaced the original assets used in the original play into modern equipment, for example, swords were changed to guns, old fashion clothes into today’s clothes etc but one thing which he kept in the original form is the dialogue, the script. He also had other aims which were to make a film so that youngsters world wide would want to watch it. The film was a success in the world as it made à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½98m worldwide, in America alone it made 46m so the film was a hit all over the world.  The prologue in the beginning of the film was set out to make us, the audience, understand what she is saying clearly. This was done by showing a news presenter on TV quite far away, she was wearing modern clothes but basically she was a normal news presenter to us. All she done did was read the prologue from the play. This simplifies the language used by Shakespeare as we think the words, which the news presenter is saying is in modern language but because it is set out in a modern way, we automatically presume it is in modern language and understand what she is saying. The layout of this is, a female TV presenter reading the prologue from the TV which is in a distance, but the camera slowly zooms into the TV so that at the end all we see is the news presenter reading the prologue with a picture over her left shoulder showing a broken ring and the title underneath which is ‘star crossed lovers’ all in modern day settings. The prologue also tells as that this is a story about two families who hate each other and who compete with each other to show who’s greater. The prologue, voice over, images, words, is used to guide audiences who didn’t completely understand the news presenter as it had images describing what she said, words written after it was said by the voice and images shown to describe what she meant. This simplified the whole prologue, you could almost say Baz Luhrmann was holding our hand and taking us through the prologue slowly again and again until we understood it. The images in the prologue were taken from the streets of America, they were mainly violence which is what consists in our society today. IT had fast camera action, for example, it zoomed in and from the Jesus statue, it had fast camera movements from the helicopter, from the streets, police pursues etc after each word or sentence was read out from the prologue, and if this wasn’t enough, Luhrmann put the words on the screen scrolling through or just appearing to show that audience what was said. IT had modern music in the background which includes hip hop, rock music etc to attract youngsters to watch the film without getting bored. Baz Luhrmann chose to begin like this because it was the most suitable way to keep the audience, especially the youngsters, to say ‘what happens next?’ and want to carry on watching the film without getting bored. Luhrmann’s main idea was to get the begging fast and furious to hold on to the audience and want them to understand Shakespeare’s script with them imitating what the words meant in movements, body language, how they said it etc. He used this because is most other films, the beginnings were started off with action to hold on to its audience without boring them and making want more. The gas station was the most important scene in the beginning of the film. This is because they used 170 different shots just to make up the first five minutes, this is because there was a lot of action, slow motion, fast movements, cameras zooming in and out, fast editing of certain scenes etc. IT started off with the Montague’s coming in the scene with their car in to one part of the gas station and the Capulet’s entering the scene on the other part of the gas station. The introduction of each character is set out by showing the characters and pausing them with their names on them. They introduce each side to us by zooming onto the bottom of their guns when they threaten each other, under each sides guns, their names are written which is the Capulet’s and the Montague’s. The fight starts off when the Montague’s see the Capulet’s, the Capulet’s scare the Montague’s and the Montague’s insult the Capulet’s by biting their thumb at the them. At this moment the head of the Montague’s come out and start the fight, straight away a shoot out starts and they shoot at each other. When they shoot at each other the camera uses slow motion, fast editing etc to show the audience action to get their focus on the film. The camera basically introduces the characters slowly and then uses fast editing thereafter. The music used in the film varies a lot as there was a mixture of music used, this ranged from, rock to spaghetti western. This were used in specific parts of the film. The beginning started off with classical when the dialogue was read out by a deep male voice, the part when the Montague’s are in their car is rock and hip hop, and the part where the Capulet’s are introduced is spaghetti western. There were also other sound effects used in the film when one of the Capulet’s had ‘SIN’ written on a metal plate above his tooth which was an animals voice which frightened the Montague’s. There’s also other sounds for instance ‘whoosh’ when bullets fly past their heads, music played when the characters are in slow motion etc This is all used to attract the audiences attention and to get them pumped up, the music is basically ion your face. Tybalt’s shoes makes a particular noise when he walks, this is ‘ching’, this noise particularly gets to the audience when he puts out a match in the gas station by rubbing the metal part on the match to the floor, this sends a shiver through the spines of some people which is used to get the full attention of some people or it makes them look at it in great detail. The representations of each gang is set out differently. Montague’s is introduced first and are shown as trouble makers, this is done by them being dressed up in normal casual wear, for instance, baggy colourful clothing, more open etc. The music used to show them is more of a rock type of song but it also features them listening to hip hop when one part of the music goes ‘the boys! the boys!’. They are shown to be the cool boys of the town who have a great car and ride around listening to loud music. They shout when they talk, this is to attract the audiences attention once again. They also chase off the sisters in the gas station by one of the members licking his nipple in front of them who he then confronts the Capulet’s. The Capulet’s are shown to be more serious with their gang but the representation of the Montague’s are shown as they are the hipsters of the area who are out for a laugh and a good time. This represents the Montague’s innocent in the shoot out and the Capulet’s of the more powerful side having a laugh with them with their powerful ook.

Business Ethics Across the World Essay

Have you ever thought of how globalization hasn’t just moved nations nearer together, but also how it has generated a single moral perception for nations conducting business together? Management teams are discovering that there are great moral challenges waiting to be found out by the enhanced progress to a global scale. If ethics are an issue inside a country, visualize the difficulties that crop up when the quantity of people involved grows up to an international scale, cultures are different, as well as the language is alien. In this report we are going to thrash out two articles which deal with the moral perceptions of China and India, how these articles add to understanding international ethics, and how China’s and India’s business ethics contrast to that of the United States. Santa Clara University printed an article penned by Stephen Rothlin called â€Å"Business Ethics in the Chinese Context† that thrashed out some of the growth China achieved in 2006 and 2007 in business ethics. Stephen Rothlin works as the general secretary of the Center for International Business Ethics in Beijing. January 2008, Rothlin modernized the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics business and Organizational Ethics Partnership with the growth he had seen since his last trip in 2006. Rothlin thrashed out six types including; conditions for oral companies, community role, ecological sustainability, anti-corruption action, and customer privileges. In each of the six types he discussed both developments seen as well as suggested fields which required concentration for progress (Business Ethics in the Chinese Context, 2008). China’s work standards and employee privileges have progressed through the improvement of their Labor Contract Law which now defends China’s longtime workers from being dismissed from a job without particular reason. It also needs organizations to make a payment to employee social security accounts and has enhanced the workers’ protection by improving rules of working conditions. The new law also defends kids through child labor laws and now they are trying to make sure that China pursues these new rules and regulations (Business Ethics n the Chinese Context, 2008). In 2007, China dealt with a key setback with the surge of product recalls. Rothlin discussed how China must improve their advertising, product security, and China’s measures taken on such issues as being a most important moral problem for China. Rothlin also talked about anti-corruption measures of China as well as how dismissing Mayor Chen Liangyu sent a shockwave throughout China as part of the onslaught on corruption there. Rothlin said that â€Å"We have to depend on the dedication of top officers to fight corruption,† and that â€Å"they [top officers] lose reliability by doing nothing. A significant difficulty with corruption in China is paying-off through gift giving. Rothlin thinks that declining a gift would be against cultural standard in China, but that officials require concentrating on how a rule of conduct can set particular restrictions to giving gifts (Business Ethics in the Chinese Context, 2008). Rothlin also talked about ecological sustainability as well as how with the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China has persuaded executives to solve the present water and air pollution issue, preserve energy, and clear out the public transportation system. The society has been encouraged to assist through the new tax scheme which was introduced. With that, social obligation has turned out to be a growing interest, particularly with education. The final item that he talked about is how his business is upgrading new standards for moral businesses that will be utilized to assist identify the most moral businesses in China (Business Ethics in the Chinese Context, 2008).

Cross Cultural Human Resources Management Essay

Cross Cultural Human Resources Management - Essay Example After spending valuable time at the Resort as the trouble shooter and discussing various dimensions of resort work and its improvement, with the employees and other members of the staff, listening to all complaints of customers of the once-well-run resort, Patrick Dowd came to the conclusion that the problem plaguing the resort is that of inadequate and inefficient application of International Human Resource Management. In his Report to Jim Johnson, Patrick Dowd would make suggestions in the following mode, depending on his knowledge of International Human Resource Management and application of pertinent theories to the present case. International Human Resource management focuses on Human Resource Management practices across the countries mainly in multinational firms, or in organisations where people of different cultures work. There is very little difference between Internal Human Resource Management and Cross Cultural Human Resource management as both deal with the problems posed by employees drawn from various cultures. There is no definite criterion or stringent guidelines for cross cultural management. It alters according to the cultures involved and the requirements under given circumstances, as the circumstances and situations decide the rules. Here cultural diversities are accepted and honoured, not defied, and an attempt is made not only to avoid cultural clashes, but also to find a suitable way of functioning without challenging the cultures involved. Here exists no desire to see all cultures look identical and the 'lesser' cultures adopt the ways of the 'better' culture. Today the context of human resource management is constantly changing with the new and persistent demands of globalisation. Human resource management of today has a global sense based on the new trend of global business. Businesses like the West Indies Yacht Club Resort, even though not a particularly overwhelming international business house in the accepted sense, welcomes guests from all parts of the world and employs people from different background and age group. When the Resort came under clouds, both the General Manager Jim Johnson and Patrick Dowd, the chosen consultant felt that this was a case of cross cultural human resources mismanagement. British Virgin Islands are not really called 'happening' places, but quiet places where resorts were built for people who need relaxation. Local people still are living in a cocooned culture hardly being exposed to international ways of living. It is difficult to find employees with exemplary educational background and efficient motivity in the islands. Efficient staff had to be drawn from different cultures and places, mainly from United States main land. British Virgin Islands, so remotely placed and lacking all diverse academic facilities for growing up children, and entertainment or business facilities for grown ups, people usually either got bored, or felt inadequately equipped for the future, frequently resigned in search of better pastures and none of the employees stayed for a long time. This created an impossible situation for the Resort of perpetually training new people; getting adjusted to them and getting them adjusted to the Islands. When the management heaves a sigh of relief that the new unfamiliar staff is trained enough to handle the situations, the well-trained staff decides to move and management had been frustrated on this issue for a long time. The resort was famous

Write a critique on Jib Fowles article, Advertising's Fifteen Basic Essay

Write a critique on Jib Fowles article, Advertising's Fifteen Basic Appeals - Essay Example gh his essay â€Å"Advertisings Fifteen Basic Appeals† has given the information about the emotional appeals that advertisers use to make the consumer buy the products, and hence making us consumers smart enough not to become a prey to their gimmicks. His effort is to make us aware about the visual gimmicks that are being used to make us believe in certain things that are not true. Fowles has done a great job by giving us examples of different advertisements and talking about the different emotional and subconscious drives they are trying to appeal to. The essay is sort of good as far as information goes, however, I personally think that it has missed the essence by not mentioning the word ‘mental association’ and by downplaying the importance of sex in the advertisements. Let us understand one thing, right from the advertisements of the bikes, shaving blades, medicines, cosmetics and laptops, sex plays a huge part. Maybe not directly, but certainly indirectly. If a medicine commercial says that it keeps you young, it certainly gives you an idea of biological pleasures of remaining young and sex is one of the pleasures. The Pepsi commercial can make a person to buy a cold drink not because he likes the cold drink but by ‘arousing’ him and mentally associating him with Michael Jackson [2] . The Honda commercial, in flat one minute thirty seconds, pumps up the adrenaline and in the end makes you believe that owning a Honda is to experience the power of dreams [3] . Through the power of music, speed, victory and success, this commercial takes you to the peak of your feelings and arouses you to believe in the story. No matter what product is being advertised, sex plays a major

History of Art and Visual Culture 1400 - 1900 Essay

History of Art and Visual Culture 1400 - 1900 - Essay Example Conversely, the Visual Art is regarded as a form of intellectual and cognitive learning skills and experiences. For example, the construction of the circle, rectangular drawings, and painting composition procedures are described to be having ability of demanding high judgment values from the painters. The body entombment was presented in its original size, shape, kind and color complying with the law of nature. In addition, the measurements and the proportions of the living creatures that were around d the death served as a point of reference in making the Entombment justification to be a real event (Zirpolo, 2008). However, death body manifested itself when the limbs and other parts of the body could not be able to perform any duty of life function. Nevertheless, apart from the color, size, function and the kind composition abilities evaluated, individual confirming dignity of the entombed body was addressed. For instance, the clothing used in the death event presented type, functio n and dignity, a factor that was very essential in the ancient painting. The Raphael entombment picture was pleasing and appealing; it had a mixture of old men and youths without indicating a virtual emptiness. Additionally, the attitude and gestures were not appearing in the entombed feature as the mourners were in full control of the entombed movement activities (harmony in accordance with the action). The entombment emotions were presented moving in different directions presenting grief and anger.

Step two Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Step two - Essay Example The float time shall be analyzed and tracked while bottlenecks shall be identified and explained. Furthermore, any activities that result in wastage of time shall be eliminated. Also, activities that can be done simultaneously shall be grouped for quick results. The desired result of the message is to be able to graphically demonstrate that I have been successful in complying with the schedule. Furthermore, the message shall invite feedback from the audience regarding which activities need to be grouped or which need to be eliminated. This shall ensure that there is communication between my boss and myself. Not only will it allow my boss to keep track of the direction I’m taking in my work but also allow him to provide feedback for the work I’ve completed. This shall further allow him/her to make recommendations for any improvements which I can incorporate in my project to complete it on time. Any bottlenecks shall be identified to which improvements shall be made over time. Although the message is complete in itself, it shall serve as the building block for future discussions. The intended audience The intended audience is my boss. Assuming that I work in a construction firm as a construction manager, and I am presenting the results of my team before the general manager. The results shall show the number of housing units completed under the private sector, residential housing project. The audience is expected to be knowledgeable about the concepts used in the message; hence, technical terms may be used. Typography Since the graph shall convey its intended meaning through the illustrative element rather than words, display type shall not be used to draw audience’s attention. Using display type may distract audience from the overall meaning of the message in this case which is to compare the scheduled and actual outcomes. Few words shall be used in the copy area and shall primarily comprise of the graph’s legend. More lowercase letter s shall be used for the text rather than all capitalized letters. This shall not only save space but also aptly convey the brief message that needs to be communicated. A minimalistic text approach shall be adopted with key information conveyed through the graphics. The spread shall be 18 x 9. The text size shall be 10 and the Serif font shall be used. The graph shall have a clear white background against which two lines (one in blue and one in red) shall be set in contrast. The message shall incorporate color-coded activities in the form of the sequence in which they are to be completed. Use of visuals to support the message Progress of the work being done shall be measured via the graph. The message shall largely be visual with minimal text. Lines shall be used to indicate scheduled versus actual progress. A two-dimensional line graph shall be used to plot the variables. The line graph shall show the scheduled versus actual units of work. Statistical data (in the form of the number of units) shall be used to show the overall trend. The use of line graph shall ensure an uncluttered and clear representation of the data without any confusion. Communication shall, therefore, be clear, concise and complete with the use of this graph. The other visual that displays the PERT activities shall also be two-dimensional with more reliance on colors and shapes to convey different activities. However, words and numerical shall play an important role since these

Biology - Plant Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Biology - Plant Diversity - Essay Example The most important of all radiations for land plants occurred in the early Devonian period. This was when the first rhyniophytes appeared in the fossil record and made this fossil discovery very important for paleobotany. They had some distinguishing features such as their reproductive structures which contributed to their success. Some important species that dominated their eco-system included anthropods and sporopytes and gametophytes. 2. Describe and discuss the third land flora (the â€Å"Gymnosperm Flora†) that evolved on Earth. Your answer should include the following: †¢ references to geologic time of origin and/or decline, †¢ factors that may have influenced its distribution, success and/or decline, †¢ names and brief descriptions of the most important plants that dominated this flora. Gymnosperm flora Gymnosperms are known as primitive seed plants. Their evolutionary history is long. Gymnosperms appeared in the Paleozoic and then soon became the most do minant plants world over in the Mesozoic and Caenozoic periods. They were also seen in the Tertiary Period, survived the Glacial period and have multiplied till date. While gymnosperms are only 0.36% of angiosperms, they are seen in vast areas in coniferous forests and are widely distributed world over. They are found in great abundance in China in particular. Their leaves are needlelike and evergreen. They can produce cones. A very important feature of gymnosperms is that their female sex germs reside in the ovules as in regular flowers. However the ovules are not enclosed inside the flower’s ovaries as is found in most flowering plants. It should be noted though that gymnosperms don’t produce fruits. In the biological terms, fruits are produced from maturing flower ovaries where the seeds develop in the ovules inside the ovaries. They are found in vast quantities in coniferous forests which have straight tree trunks and high timber yield of gymnosperm plants. Thuja s utchuenensis, an important specie of gymnosperm is extinct. Cycas revoluta, C. taiwaniana and C. szechuanensis, three other species of the plant are now the only cultivated plants. Some other species are as following: Cycas multipinnata, Keteleeria pubescens, K. oblonga, K. hainanensis, Abies beshanzuensis, A. yuanbaoshanensis, Picea likiangensis var. montigena, P. neoveitchii, Larix chinensis, Pseudotsuga brevifolia, Pinus squamata, Cephalotaxus lanceolata, Amentotaxus formosana and A. yunnanensis. (Cummings) Most of the aforementioned species are critically endangered and nowhere to be found today. 3. Describe and discuss the fourth land flora (the â€Å"Angiosperm Flora†) that evolved on Earth. Your answer should include the following: †¢ references to geologic time of origin, †¢ factors that may have influenced its distribution and success, (Hint: pollination and seed dispersal mechanisms, including convolution of the animal groups often involved in these mechan isms, should be a prominent feature of your answer.) †¢ Names and brief descriptions of some of the most important types of plants that dominate this flora. The evolution of angiosperms is a matter of great mystery to date. There are a lot of issues concerning their evolution today. There are speculations regarding their time of origin, the

Textile Manufacturing Industry in the USA Essay

Textile Manufacturing Industry in the USA - Essay Example The major companies belonging to the textile manufacturing industry operate mills that are used for the production of textiles and various textile products by processing natural and synthetic fibers. The major companies in the global textile industry include Toray Industries in Japan, International Textile Group, WL Gore and Associates, Guilford Mills, Unifi and Mohawk Industries which are based in the United States, Hyosung in South Korea and Weiqiao Textiles which operate in China. Â  The textile manufacturing industry is mainly based on the different fibers into yarn followed by fabric and textiles. The fibers which are converted into fabric and textiles are used for fabrication into clothes and the other different artifacts. Cotton is considered as the major natural fiber that is hugely processed and treated to be used in the textile industry. The processing and treatment of cotton constitute an extensive part of the textile manufacturing industry. The textile manufacturing industry employs a number of processes involved in the fabric forming and spinning phases. The textile manufacturing industry follows complex procedures to process and treat the different natural and synthetic fibers to produce a wide range of textile goods. Different techniques using machine and hand techniques are employed in this industry. Â  The demand in the textile industry is driven by the demand of the consumers as well as the different companies operating in the garments industry. The apparel industry is the major influencer of the demand levels in the textile manufacturing industry. The demand of the consumers for furnishings like curtains and carpets also influence the demand levels in the textile manufacturing industry.

Managing High Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Managing High Performance - Essay Example There is collective ownership of the work. On the other hand, autocratic system excessive control in the autocratic system creates resentment, absenteeism and increased turnover. Decentralized system is favorable to centralized system. Though certain decisions will have to remain at the main office, certain functions will be left with the smaller units. In the decentralized system, each of the units will have the power to make their own decisions as regards most matters. This will help in greater participation by the employees in the project work, and will foster faster decision making (Reddin, 1999). Self directed work teams are preferable to conventional teams (Wright, 2006). The self directed work teams are particularly important because it is the team- not the supervisor which assigns the work, the team completes the whole piece of work, are responsible for and have the authority to correct problems with work flow as they occur. In addition, the team also receives rewards and feedbacks at the team level. This reinforces hard

Monetary and Fiscal Policy Essay Example for Free

Monetary and Fiscal Policy Essay 1. Monetary and fiscal policy and its impact on business decision making 2. Open economy macroeconomics-Mundell –Fleming Model and its application FISCAL AND MONETARY POLICY IN INDIA AND ITS IMPACT ON Business Decision Making. What is monetary policy? Monetary policy is the management of money supply and interest by central banks to influence prices and employment. Monetary policy works through expansion or contraction of investment consumption expenditure. Monetary policy is the process by which the government, central bank (RBI in India), or monetary authority of a country controls 1. The supply of money 2. Availability of money 3. Cost of money or the rate of interest, in order to attain a set of objective oriented towards the growth and stability of the economy. Monetary theory provides insight into how to craft optimal monetary policy. Monetary policy is referred to as either being an expansionary policy, or a contractionary policy, where an expansionary policy increases the total supply of money in the economy, and a contractionary policy decreases the total money supply. Expansionary policy is traditionally used to combat unemployment in a recession by lowering interest rates, while contractionary policy involves raising interest rates in order to combat inflation. Monetary policy is contrasted with fiscal policy, which refers to government borrowing, spending and taxation Why it is needed? What monetary policy – at its best – can deliver is low and stable inflation, and thereby reduces the volatility of the business cycle. When inflationary pressures build up, it is monetary policy only which raises the short-term interest rate (the policy rate), which raises real rates across the economy and squeezes consumption and investment. The pain is not concentrated at a few points, as is the case with government interventions in commodity markets. Monetary policy in India underwent significant changes in the 1990sas the Indian Economy became increasing open and financial sector reforms were put in place. In the 1980s, monetary policy was geared towards controlling the quantum, cost and directions of credit flow in the economy. The quantity variables dominated as the transmission Channel of monetary policy. Reforms during the 1990s enhanced the sensitivity of price signals from the central bank, making interestrates the increasingly Dominant transmission channel o f monetary policy in India. WHEN WERE MONETARY POLICIES INTRODUCED? Monetary policy is primarily associated with interest rate and credit. For many centuries there were only two forms of monetary policy: (i) Decisions about coinage (ii)Decisions to print paper money to create credit. Interest rates, while now thought of as part of monetary authority, were not generally coordinated with the other forms of monetary policy during this time. Monetary policy was seen as an executive decision, and was generally in the hands of the authority with seignior age, or the power to coin. With the advent of larger trading networks came the ability to set the price between gold and silver, and the price of the local currency to foreign currencies. This official price could be enforced by law, even if it varied from the market price. With the creation of the Bank of England in 1694, which acquired their responsibility to print notes and back them with gold, the idea of monetary policy as independent of executive action began to be established. The goal of monetary policy was to maintain the value of the coinage, print notes which would trade at par to specie, and prevent coins from leaving circulation. The establishment of central banks by industrializing nations was associated then with the desire to maintain the nations peg to the gold standard, and to trade in an arrow band with other gold-backed currencies. To accomplish this end, central banks as part of the gold standard began setting the interest rates that they charged, both their own borrowers, and other banks that required liquidity. The maintenance of a gold standard required almost monthly adjustment of interest rates. During the 1870-1920 periods the industrialized nations set up central banking systems, with one of the last being the Federal Reserve in1913.By this point the role of the central bank as the lender of last resort was understood. It was also increasingly understood that interest rates had an effect on the entire economy, in no small part because of the marginal revolution in economics, which focused on how many more, or how many fewer, people would make a decision based on a change in the economic trade-offs. It also became clear that there was a business cycle, and economic theory began understanding the relationship of interest rates to that cycle.(Nevertheless, steering a whole economy by influencing the intere st rate has often been described as trying to steer an oil tanker with a canoe paddle.) Research by Cass Business School has also suggested that perhaps it is the central bank policies of expansionary and contractionary Policies that are causing the economic cycle; evidence can be found by looking at the lack of cycles in economies before central banking policies existed. OBJECTIVES OF MONETARY POLICY The objectives are to maintain price stability and ensure adequate flow of credit to the productive sectors of the economy. Stability for the national currency (after looking at prevailing economic conditions), growth in employment and income are also looked into. The monetary policy affects the real sector through long and variable periods while the financial markets are also impacted through short-term implications. There are four main channels which the RBI looks at: †¢Quantum channel: money supply and credit (affects real output and price level through changes in reserves money, money supply and credit aggregates). †¢Interest rate channel. †¢Exchange rate channel (linked to the currency). †¢Asset price. Monetary decisions today take into account a wider range of factors, such as: †¢short term interest rates; †¢long term interest rates; †¢velocity of money through the economy; †¢exchange rate †¢credit quality †¢bonds and equities (corporate ownership and debt) †¢government versus private sector spending/savings * International capital flow of money on large scale * Financial derivatives such as option, swaps and future contracts etc. Types of monetary policy: In practice, all types of monetary policy involve modifying the of base currency (MO) in circulation. This process of changing liquidity of base currency through the open sales and purchase (government-issued) debt and credit instrument is called open market operation. Constant market transactions by the monetary authority modify the supply of currency and this impacts other markets variables such as short term interest rates and the exchange rates. The distinction between the various types of monetary policy lies primarily with the set of instruments and target variables that are used by the monetary authority to achieve their goals. A fixed exchange rate is also an exchange rate regime; The Gold standard results in a relatively fixed regime towards the currency of other countries on the gold standard and a floating regime towards those that are not. Targeting inflation, the price level or other monetary aggregates implies floating exchange rate unless the management of the relevant foreign currencies is tracking the exact same variables (such as a harmonized consumer price index).Inflation targeting Under this policy approach the target is to keep inflation, under particular definition such as Consumer Price Index, within a desired range. The inflation target is achieved through periodic adjustments to the Central Bank interest rate target. The interest rate used is generally the interbank rate at which banks lend to each other overnight for cash flow purposes. Depending on the country this particular interest rate might be called the cash rate or something similar. The interest rate target is maintained for a s pecific duration using open market operations. Typically the duration that the interest rate target is kept constant will vary between months and years. This interest rate target is usually reviewed on a monthly or quarterly basis by a policy committee Price level targeting Price level targeting is similar to inflation targeting except that CPI growth in one year is offset in subsequent years such that over time the price level on aggregate does not move. Something similar to price level targeting was tried by Sweden in the1930s, and seems to have contributed to the relatively good performance of the Swedish economy during the Great Depression. As of 2004, no country operates monetary policy based on a price level target. Monetary aggregates In the 1980s, several countries used an approach based on a constant growth in the money supply. This approach was refined to include different classes of money and credit (M0, M1 etc). In the USA this approach to monetary policy was discontinued with the selection of Alan Greenspan as Fed Chairman. This approach is also sometimes called monetarism. While most monetary policy focuses on a price s ignal of one form or another, this approach is focused on monetary quantities. Fixed exchange rate this policy is based on maintaining a fixed exchange rate with a foreign currency. There are varying degrees of fixed exchange rates, which can be ranked in relation to how rigid the fixed exchange rate is with the anchor nation. Under a system of fiat fixed rates, the local government or monetary authority declares a fixed exchange rate but does not actively buy or sell currency to maintain the rate. Instead, the rate is enforced by non-convertibility measures (e.g. capital controls, import/export licenses, etc.). In this case there is a black market exchange rate where the currency trades at its market/unofficial rate. Under a system of fixed-convertibility, currency is bought and sold by the central bank or monetary authority on a daily basis to achieve the target exchange rate. This target rate may be a fixed level or a fixed band within which the exchange rate may fluctuate until the monetary authority intervenes to buy or sell as necessary to maintain the ex change rate within the band. (In this case, the fixed exchange rate with a fixed level can be seen as a special case of the fixed exchange rate with bands where the bands are set to zero.) Under a system of fixed exchange rates maintained by a currency board every unit of local currency must be backed by a unit of foreign currency (correcting for the exchange rate). This ensures that the local monetary base does not inflate without being backed by hard currency and eliminates any worries about a run on the local currency by those wishing to convert the local currency to the hard (anchor) currency. These policies often abdicate monetary policy to the foreign monetary authority or government as monetary policy in the pegging nation must align with monetary policy in the anchor nation to maintain the exchange rate. The degree to which local monetary policy becomes dependent on the anchor nation depends on factors such as capital mobility, openness, credit channels and other economic factors Gold standard The gold standard is a system in which the price of the national currency as measured in units of gold bars and is kept constant by the daily buying and selling of base currency to other countries and nationals. (I.e. open market operations cf. above). The selling of gold is very important for economic growth and stability. The gold standard might be regarded as a special case of the Fixed Exchange Rate policy. And the gold price might be regarded as a special type of Commodity Price Index . Today this type of monetary policy is not used anywhere in the world, although a form of gold standard was used widely across the world prior to 1971. For details see the Breton Woods system. Its major advantages were simplicity and transparency. Monetary policy tools monetary base monetary policy can be implemented by changing the size of the monetary base. This directly changes the total amount of money circulating in the economy. A central bank can use open market operations to change the monetary base. The central bank would buy/sell bonds in exchange for hard currency. When the central bank disburses/collects this hard currency payment, it alters the amount of currency in the economy, thus altering the monetary base. . Monetary policy in different years The monetarist statistical regularities have weakened for the 1970-90 period, in comparison with the 1960-79 where the influence of current and past business activity on the money supply were weak, while the predictive value of changes in the money stock for future output was large National income and saving play vital role on formulation of monetary policy. As the income increases the spending will also increase, thus monetary will be less intensively required and same is the case with increase in saving .chart shows how the finance systems generate the real money and nominal money .The existence of long-run equilibrium relationship among money and income represented by a money demand function also has significant implications for monetary policy. The kind of economy India has, it is effected by the dollar rate .India has Services led growth is getting reinforced by a sustained resurgence in industrial activity after a long hiatus of slow down and restructuring during the period 1976-1987.Thus India contribute much too the imports and exports, thus it have impacted by dollar price.

Private Schools vs. Public Schools Essay Example for Free

Private Schools vs. Public Schools Essay Private Schools VS. Public Schools Parents often wonder how to start off their childrens education. Depending on ones religion or beliefs a private or public school is a choose most parents face. Of course, each school offers its own pros and cons the choice is simple. Public schools offer the best well rounding of a student. While being enrolled in a public school, students are faced with real outside world problems, are with a different blend of students each year, and are also introduced to the latest technology faster. While, a public school the money is offered to them by the state easier then having donations like a private school. Ones child will most likely be with the same students throughout their educational years. Classes arent as big and varied like classes at public schools. While in a public school, children view the wide spread cultures and human beings that make up todays American society. Public schools have a wider variety of classes, which give students an opportunity to choose the classes the want. These classes allow students to pursue a career from the knowledge they have obtained. For example, one might take a business class, which could lead to a career in the business industry. On the other hand, in Private schools they only provide the necessary classes required by the state. In some intermediate private schools, Home Economics and Shop classes Brady 2 arent even offered. Unlike Public schools these classes have been offered since fifth or sixth grade and up. The uniforms in private schools ones child will be wearing would not allow the child to show character in his self. Uniforms may make life easier in the long run, but think of how many different ways in style people express themselves. Theres skater, prep, sporty, gothic, hippie, or whatever is convertible. In public schools, ones child has many different ways to fit in or dress how they feel is convertible to them. The sports in private schools arent that excelled as ones in public schools. Like in private intermediate schools there are not a variety of sports. Public schools offer sports as young as their primary schools. Sports in Public schools seem to be widely known and are more funded. The money that Public schools receive go towards uniforms, equipment, and top of the line coachs. Public schools show to the community that they will educate and well round you child better then Private schools. Private schools will limit your childrens ability to grow. Although your child will receive religion in school as another subject, is it really worth it to you to have your child be deprived of the opportunity that will lead them to be a better person?

Economic Environment In Russia Economics Essay

Economic Environment In Russia Economics Essay In the year 1990 the Russian system underwent tremendous stress as it transformed from a centrally planned economy to a free market system (US Commercial Service, 2010). Following the breakup of USSR, Russias GDP observed a continuous period of decline from the beginning of 1991 until 1998 (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010). The reasons for the serious financial crisis in 1998 were difficulties in executing fiscal reforms aimed at raising government revenues and a reliance on short term borrowing to finance budget arrears. The financial problems aggravated due to lower prices for Russias major export earners (oil and minerals) and the loss of investor confidence due to the Asian financial crisis. This resulted in the rapid and steep decline (60%) in the value of the rouble, runaway of foreign investment, delayed payments on sovereign and private debts and a breakdown of commercial transactions through the banking system (US Commercial Service, 2010). The Russian economy began to bounce back after the 1998 economic crisis with an annual GDP growth of 7% from 1999 to 2007. This led to a sharp increase in prices for Russias main exports (oil, petroleum products) and import substitution effect led to the roubles devaluation in 1998, a tax reform, tightening of fiscal policy and greater political and social stability. The economy witnessed growth as a result of extraordinary rise in the consumer oriented sectors, particularly in the construction and services industries. In the year 2007, Russias GDP increased by 8.1%, and by 2008 the GDP further increased by 5.6% (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010). Russia was hit by the global economic crisis in the second half of 2008, which impacted the Russian economy immensely. The economy began to shrink, which led to falling sales, production and layoffs. In the year 2009 the economy diminished by 7.9%, through a positive revival trend that occurred in the second half of 2009, when the economy recommenced reasonable growth. The manufacturing, industrial production and construction industry witnessed a sharp decline in growth. The wages decreased and the labour force was only 66% of the total population. The number of unemployed measured 8.4% of the workforce (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010). The downturn faced by the global capital market reached Russia, which led to the closure of the global sources of funding. Foreign direct investment dropped by 41%, that   is 3.6% of GDP. The major attractions for foreign direct investment were manufacturing, retail, mineral resource extraction and transport. The figure estimated for net outflow of capital is US $52bn. In 2009, the Russian equity market was affected adversely. Russian companies attracted US $1.7bn via IPOs and SPOs, whereas in 2009 only one IPO (Initial Public Offering) was registered. Nevertheless, the IPO is expected to witness a boom in 2010 (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010). The end of 2009 brought positive news for Russia: the international credit rating agencies Standard Poor, Fitch and Moodys reviewed their sovereign rating outlooks for Russia from negative to stable, which was a result of higher oil prices and dropping of inflation (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010). 3.1.2 FUTURE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (2010-2012) The economic development scenarios for the next three years has been drafted by the Ministry of Economic Development. They have been categorised into moderately conservative, pessimistic and optimistic. In accordance with the moderately conservative scenario, the GDP for the next three years has been depicted in Figure 2 below. The figures in the graph were derived from the prediction that the oil prices will remain at relatively high levels: US $65 per barrel in 2010, US $70 in 2011, and US $71 in 2012 (see Appendix C) (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010).https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/A-V1_X47l-ha1boxdlCsEzJET-SIMACWsuvCyyBVt5VNYS-XF2godrATGtxo-rg_k30qOiQ9y0KiK6TogxhIEd75L3Sj7346nBTJQVX8b74auUOsupE Figure 2: Forecasted economic growth Source: own compilation based on data from PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010 Despite 2009 being a challenging year for Russia, the country managed to achieve three important goals, states President Medvedev. First, the government has survived to maintain social stability and put together all planned social payments. Second, the government and the Central Bank respectively have managed to keep the currency steady and brought about financial stability. Third, the government extended support to its core businesses. Since the government has taken this action, none of the large enterprises have gone bankrupt (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010). Concurrently, the countrys economic development has been constricted due to problems which Russia has failed to deal with this year. The problems faced by the country are the dependence on raw material exports, increasing unemployment levels and low competitiveness of domestic businesses. The Russian Government has been quite positive in dealing with the crisis by considering economic policy measures (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010).   Overall, the economic conditions in Russia seem to be favourable for Pufferfish to do business there in the nearest future. 3.4.1 LEVELS OF CULTURE An international businessperson needs to be aware of three levels of culture that may affect a multinationals operations. These levels include national culture, business culture, occupational and organizational culture. The diagram below shows the levels of culture that affect multinational management (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2008).https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/MDXcQRqh-4Qj_Khq7TfFEGYm7BUCkc_wJWhD29zy75RBl7GmBfjFA0gPP-NUQ67ZG7cAxgW_p47D07tc3TMr7Wx4kZ6zqHqWq5UiJ2VMUNmugd2oAOg Figure 3: Levels of culture Source: Cullen and Parboteeah, 2008 3.4.2 THE DOS AND DONTS OF DOING BUSINESS IN RUSSIA    The Russian market is a highly competitive market, where salesmanship is a key factor. Firms willing to enter the market should be prepared to express the competitive advantages and factors that differentiate them from others in the marketplace (US Commercial Service, 2010). Developing personal relationships with business partners is a crucial factor in the effective cooperation of major projects, government procurement or, for that matter, even in cultivating long-term business relations. One of the most difficult tasks   can be arranging a business meeting with potential partners.In addition,it may take a long time to receive a reply to an email,fax or a even telephone request for a meeting (US Commercial Service, 2010). To conduct business in Russia it is essential to know the Russian language if not an interpreter should be employed if needed. A substantial number of businessmen can communicate a courtesy level of English; however, they prefer conducting business discussions in Russian (US Commercial Service, 2010). Business cards are vital and are exchanged spontaneously. Your cards should have nothing more than your regular contact details, email address and website if available. It is advantageous to carry a bilingual business card (one side in English, one side in Russian). Promotional materials in Russian can be an crucial tool for developing interest in a companys product. The translation however has to be perfect and of high value (US Commercial Service, 2010). Sometimes during meetings Russian businesspeople tend to have very little verbal feedback. They listen quietly and with little obvious body language being exhibited   This does not mean that the listener is unable to comprehend it is just a cultural characteristic. They should be given the time and space needed to participate fully in a conversation (WorldBusinessCulture.com, 2011). 3.4.3 CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN CORPORATE CULTURE Peter Zashev (2004) says in his article that the contemporary Russian corporate culture could be presented as a cross-section of four sets of different factors and their subsequent impact on collective and individual culture and mentality. The aforementioned can be described in the figure below. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/LTKsFRqlpglWJeud7Jz7NVHb3CgRPb7TX0lw-ZZhddf90GO8M2EY7dZJhu1h3ygm6e5awAiNJ2ccd8gkbKozam9lYaEO9RxOAgfJvTRmJPv528-DRek Figure 4: Four sets of factors forming the contemporary Russian business culture Source: adapted from Zashev, 2004 Common Russian Values and Morals: One of the most influential element of Russian values and morals is the total lack of competition in the Russian social and economic life. Due to this nature the state of Moscow had the following characteristics. A militaristic nature   as it had to battle enemies and expand further geographically. A society based on compulsion and force rather than law with clear division of social groups that differed in their duties and not in their rights. Supreme power of the state/tsar. All the above characteristics slowly killed the concept of free competition. As a consequence of this, a highly centralized system was built, where the competitiveness was directed mainly at attracting the attention of the supreme power through gifts, bribes and networks of prominent personalities. This also explains why most international Russian projects are financed by the state (Zashev, 2004). Soviet Values and Morals: During the soviet times the system did not go through much change.The soviet rule enforced many concepts such as the following. Uravnilovka   that removed the link between work and pay. Increasing the level of bureaucracy, making cheating an inbuilt part of the economic system. Repression that later became a state concept and removed initiative, decision making and freedom of choice. The soviet system did not succeed in eliminating corruption, and it continued to afflict the whole Russian system. It, in fact, became the way for a normal life.   The foreign operations of the Soviet companies were state owned. It was only the Foreign Trade Organisations that were allowed to link Soviet factories with their overseas markets, suppliers or others (Zashev, 2004). Transition Values and Morals A dramatic change has appeared in the last fourteen years in the form of a massive retreat from the government. The privatisation in Russia created a new social group of owners, investors, capitialists and industralists (Zashev, 2004). Corruption and Bribery Corruption of officials in Russia is endemic, a system-wide state of affairs with deep historical roots (Zashev, 2004, p.27). It is now a common procedure for Russian businessmen to regularly pay bribes to government officials.   The government officials take economic decisions soundly on the basis of underlying motives. Many argue that the practice is a harmless means to facilitate government approvals and avoid penalties. High levels of bribery are the reason for low levels of competition, a factor that is needed for economic growth (Zashev, 2004). Businessmen from the UK not only have to worry about the corruption levels, but also have to watch out for the Bribery Act. The bill was published in draft on the 25th of March 2009 and received Royal Assent on the 8th of April 2010 (UK Government, 2010).    3.4.4. SO WHAT WILL THE BRIBERY ACT COVER? The Bribery Act looks at reforms in the criminal law with the intention of delivering a new modern and comprehensive scheme for bribery offences that will permit the judiciary and prosecutors to counter more successfully to bribery, both at home and abroad (UK Government, 2010). The Act will: provide a more efficient framework for combating bribery in the public and private sectors; create two general offences covering the offering, promising or giving of an advantage, and requesting, agreeing to receive or accepting of an advantage; create a discrete offence of bribery of a foreign public official; help tackle the threat that bribery poses to economic progress and development around the world (UK Government, 2010). During our inteview, Mr.Kell expressed his unfavourable attitude towards unfair trading practices, but he mentioned that if payments are necessary to facilitate market entry, it can be done. However, The Bribery Act will make things more complicated and put UK companies, including Pufferfish, at a disadvantage, especially in emerging markets such as Russia, where bribery is a custom. It is important that the company considers that in its market entry decisions. 6.1 MOSCOW Moscow, being the capital of Russia, is one of most promising markets for Pufferfish Limited. Moscow is the largest city in Russia, accounting for 7.34% of the total population of Russia (The World Bank, 2009). The advantages and disadvantages of   targeting Moscow are as follows. Advantages Moscow is the major business centre, with a well-structured distribution channel which will provide Pufferfish with an opportunity to reach out to its clients without much difficulty; The presence of large shopping malls and big box stores in Moscow will allow Pufferfish to reach out to a larger audience. The large hypermarkets present in Moscow contribute to the sale of 50 percent of consumer electronics that are advertised in Russia (US Commercial Service, 2010). As seen in the figure below, 51.60% of the total foreign investments is mainly from Moscow during the period January-September 2009.Due to the high intensity of consumers purchasing power and the large   presence of company headquarters,the region continues to attract a large amount of investments(US Commercial Service, 2010). https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/ftVUl9i1YmCG06SfBi2FoWQmrto4M6j-5LbOIxDuhYP8A5Zc5_U4pKkhk6pPehlHmeoTW8mTT9S8GWYufTBb4swnxdN01Od2GoJ0Qd_LfECTH8PJ5vc Table 4: Foreign investment top regions Source: US Commercial Service, 2010 Disadvantages Registering a company in Moscow is very expensive. Though Moscow represents the most populated city in 2009,   the major problem faced by companies wanting to set up their business in Moscow is that it requires 9 procedures and costs 2.7% of the total GNP per capita to complete all business procedures (The World Bank, 2009). The major problem of conducting business in Moscow is that it is has become increasingly challenging to find qualified local partners and Russian employees. In addition to this, the salaries of local employees have risen significantly in Moscow (UK Trade and Investment, 2009). Nevertheless, the positive side to this is that the digital signage market is Moscow is booming. According to the Association of Communication Agencies in Russia, in the first half of the year 2008, Russia witnessed a significant growth of 13% in outdoor advertising, largely due to the increase in the digital signage market (Rushworth, 2008). Statistics from Integrated Systems Russia, an exhibition held in Moscow in 2009, shows that Moscow witnessed 66% of the total visitors, followed by 12% in the Moscow region and 4% in St. Petersburg (Integrated Systems Russia, 2009a).The figure below represents the ranking of visitor activity from different regions in Russia.https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7vfeTRpsRebFYxlzz95uB26cpCYa1G2PXHmi-sa_vof1n61Uy6hz71_gm3APoivUDKRs32MMjpefgnM2aDbM08yvKoPYEK5d3XvoApCOE21xVot1Opg Figure 6: Ranking of visitor activity from different regions in Russia Source: Integrated Systems Russia, 2009a Digital Education that took place in Moscow in 2009 was targeted at Moscow and Federal government officials responsible for education, which signifies the potential for the latest audio-video equipment (Integrated Systems Russia, 2009b).This clearly indicates the market potential for the Puffersphere products in the Moscow digital signage market. 6.1 ADVERTISING In the Russian advertising market television, radio, print and billboard media are widespread. The domestic and international advertising agencies are effective in Russia. The boom in the advertising industry in the country is a result of strong economic growth and increasing incomes. Companies that were affected by the economic crisis have recovered and started investing in mass media for advertising. Although the traditional methods of advertising still do exist in Russia, advertising agencies have refined their communication methods to meet the needs of the modern firm and are progressing quite well (US Commercial Service, 2010).The shopping malls, airports and advertising agencies present in Russia appear quite promising for the Puffersphere XXL and M models. Pufferspheres definitely have a great potential in the Russian market. Moscow and St. Petersburg have plenty of shopping malls and big box stores where Pufferspheres M and XXL can be used for advertising products (US Commercial Service, 2010). Afimall shopping centre is located in the core of Moscow city and is by far the largest shopping mall in Russia. Puffersphere XXL can be used for displays and indoor advertising in this mall   (AFI Development, 2008). Airports are another segment that Pufferfish can consider. Moscow has three major airportsà Ã‚ ± namely Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo. St. Petersburgs airport comprises of two terminals: Pulkovo-1 (domestic flights) and Pulkovo-2 (international flights).Puffersphere XXL can be used in these airports to display flight information, advertising and to display television channels (US Commercial Service, 2010). Other advertising agencies that can be interested in buying Pufferspheres are Starcom, Mindshare and Mediacom. The aforementioned media agencies can use the spheres for advertising (Mind Advertising Limited, 2011). The major concern for the company can be the cost of the product. Nevertheless the advertising agencies, airports and malls operate on a large scale, making the Puffersphere prices affordable for them. 8.3 CORPORATE In the past, Pufferfish Displays limited has taken part in exhibition centres and trade shows all over the world which has enabled the company to generate awareness about their product and build new contacts (Geoff, 2011). A significant part of marketing in Russia takes place through trade shows. Russians prefer to shop at trade shows as it provides them with an opportunity to learn from the array of technical experts and company displays. The success of European companies is mainly due to their high participation rates which is around 90 % of all foreign companies in the Russian shows and this is evident through their market share of industrial equipment which is approximately 70 percent. The exhibitions held in major cities are usually visited by representatives of regional governments and state enterprises from distant areas to purchase goods (UK Trade and Investment, 2009). Promotional seminars are another efficient way to increase awareness of equipment and brand awareness in the Russian business community. The seminars usually gather appropriate press coverage in the industry publications   (UK Trade and Investment, 2009). Trade fairs for the digital signage market have been taking place in Russia for quite some time now. The Integrated Systems Russia is the leading show with people visiting from all over Russia and abroad. Since Puffer fish uses an opportunistic approach for its sales, the Expocenter, which will be held in Moscow this year will act as a platform for Puffer fish to enter Russia (Integrated Systems Russia, 2010). Statistics from the previous year proves that the exhibition is a major success and attracted more than 8000 visitors. The figure below represents the visitors business activity (Integrated systems Russia, 2009a) https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/FiaHLl88-9l8jODnGWssuT0XI_EXs__oTKeURgcz-aQpFavDV8s2uC1XUaQlkTecmUplA3F1VqGxYFGLJfRLoWyuFlJrToyokKoCxC09hM2B9UQ0cl8 Figure 3: Integrated systems Russia 2009 Source: (Integrated systems Russia, 2009) The 2011 Expocenter certainly seems promising for Pufferfish Limited and will open a wide spectrum of opportunities for the company. The show presents the latest AV and electronic system technologies to the commercial, professional and residential electronic systems integration industries (Integrated Systems Russia, 2010). This provides Pufferfish an opportunity to display their Puffer sphere XXL and M models and in turn help Pufferfish attract various target segments on a single podium. 9.1 Uppsala model: Johanson J. Vahlne J-E. (1977), The Internationalization process of the firm a model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments, Journal of International Business Studies, 8(1): 23-31 https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/2I_BZ45ctC9ENlGidRD_VREX0JKyHUMxuolE-ZaA7djj3UqzFFmpAMDfxyKdvcsTYYJsTqSnASCsWNF37pL8UNRG5JwEVW5QWGBCZNT1RDevQgsLw8Q (Johanson Vahle, 1977). https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/YKQWjMvYoipq2TfLg1Z2W_a2wuqnB8Wuc-dRdyZ2TSfxaIdqguTTMdoszm6s1NRjpJ80IUtPJCh6Ii8_l3_0Mz8cL1L17pMEeiS97JRFUDEk-f8RH1A http://www.provenmodels.com/586/internationalisation-process/jan-johansonjan-erik-vahlne/ The Uppsala model is a dynamic model which explains the internationalisation of a firm as a process. The model explains two patterns in the internationalisation process of the firms (Johanson Vahlne, 1990, in Johanson Associates, 1994). The first pattern explains the establishment chain wherein the company engages in operations in a particular foreign market. The establishment chain consists of a sequence of stages that are created in small incremental steps with extended commitment which increases with every new step. The four stages were identified by Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul in the year 1975 which are as follows: 1.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No regular export activities 2. Export via independent representatives (agent)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3. Sales subsidiary and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4. Production/manufacturing (Johanson Wiedersheim-Paul, 1975, in Johanson Associates,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1994, p. 34.) The second pattern describes the fact that firms have a tendency to enter new markets with sequentially greater psychic distance and also greater geographical distance in some cases (Johanson Vahlne, 1990, in Johanson Associates, 1994; Hollensen, 2001). Firms therefore have a tendency to enter markets they understand, where they perceive opportunities and the uncertainty levels are relatively low. As proposed in the model, the firm can perceive opportunities without uncertainty only through experiential knowledge. Therefore, the firms choose incremental steps and engage in a sequential manner in foreign markets (Hansson, Sundell , ÃÆ'-hman , 2004) . Joint ventures or Greenfield: Joint ventures: The most recognised mode of entry into a new market is through establishing a joint venture with a foreign firm. A joint venture requires setting up a firm that is jointly owned by two or more otherwise independent firms. A joint venture involves two or more companies creating a legally independent company to share some of the parent companys resources with the purpose of developing competitive advantage.   Joint ventures can take various forms, with the most common being a 50/50 shareholding in a company.A few advantages of a joint venture are the reduction of risk through sharing of the project, facilitate entry into a market and quick profits. However problems such as inability to work with the local partner due to the varying organisational cultures and the national culture, can affect the joint venture and limit its performance (Lynch, 2006). In recent years,the rate of International Joint venture(IJV) formation has continued to rise steadily among the emerging markets in Latin America, Asia   and Eastern Europe.   The aforementioned emerging markets account for close to 70% of all IJV entries by multinational corporations. According to a survey conducted by Deloitte, 35 % of companies used joint ventures to enter into emerging markets but only 21% continue to use them. The chart from Deloittes research shows that Joint Venture is the most popular entry mode into developing markets (Mahidhar et.al, 2009). https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/RF5UMKWJ67-S0PRLoVETrzdfVxDx1q_ncwGmM9izsH0QQRGPEwxY_R64xXjX7RviiN77Wae-Q-Qc0ePjGCKwanPiXTvf8TrDrMnDpUW-AsbMlhi_M6A SOURCE:(Mahidhar et.al, 2009) This section typically aims at answering some of the common question that arises when foreign investors use joint venture in Russia   (Schwarz Viktorov, 2005):  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Are there restrictions on foreign participation? In general there are no restrictions on foreign participation except for certain industries such as banking and insurance field   (Schwarz Viktorov, 2005).  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What are the legal problems which a foreign investor in a joint venture faces? The formation and operation of joint ventures are relatively easier for foreign investors due to the liberalisation of the process of state registration of joint ventures and foreign currency legislation. Nevertheless, a few problems do exist (Schwarz Viktorov, 2005): o   Ã‚  Recurring change of legislation. o   Ã‚  The state authorities fail to conform with established terms and procedures for provision of consents, approvals, registration and issuance of licenses and so on.  ·   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What are the types of joint venture vehicles commonly used by foreign investors? The figures below represent the principal types of joint ventures:https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/RnQg8HPYJ6ZvBOpuQcfbwff_LORWvqfVpA9Q5vj3miT1TbyK7lvJfueE9BTOGeysFfIqaPx1-JuNQbwdTx6N_kIkhq0IKYUFojl0HMqaLyRDRQXiqAE Source:   (Schwarz Viktorov, 2005) FORMING A RUSSIAN LEGAL ENTITY: The above figure describes the types of commercial legal entities that are recognised by the Civil Code of Russian Federation such as general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, additional liability companies, additional liability companies, joint stock companies (UK Trade and Investment, 2009). There are two types of joint ventures namely limited liability companies (LLC) where in involvement is based on participation interests and joint stock companies ( JSC) where in involvement is based on shares (Schwarz Viktorov, 2005). The crucial part of entering a market is to decide whether to enter as a limited liability company or joint stock company. LLCs are preferred over JSCs in setting up a wholly owned subsidiary since the process of establishment and operation of an LLC is less taxing and time consuming as there are no legal requirements that an LLC must issue shares or perform any procedures related to issuance, establishment and issuance of securities. This form of entity is more flexible and mobile as there is no requirement of issuing shares when the participants need to change the contract capital of the company. Nevertheless, a JSC is preferred for a joint venture in Russia between parties that are not related due to the following reasons. First, in an LLC each participant is eligible to leave the company at any time and for no specific reason, without the consent of other participants. In comparison to a JSC, the LLC law considers a lot of issues which requires undisputed voting decisions of LLC participants that might not be fair for a joint venture partner who is a majority participant in the LLC (UK Trade and Investment, 2009). Given the current situation Pufferfish Displays limited must invest into Russia only after they gain sufficient knowledge about the market. This may take a good three to four years. Depending on the situation then the company may choose from the aforementioned entities. They may additionally take help or guidance from the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce or the UK Trade and Investment for setting up the preferred entity. Pufferfish Displays, 2010. Services:Content Creation and Consultancy. Retrieved March 17, 2011, from Pufferfish Ltd: http://www.pufferfishdisplays.co.uk/services/ Pufferfish Displays, 2009. Case studies:Eurovision. Retrieved March 17, 2011, from Pufferfishlimited Website: http://www.pufferfishdisplays.co.uk/case-studies/eurovision/ AFI Development, 2008. Projects: Afimall city, [online]. Available at: http://www.afi-development.ru/en/projects/map/moscow/mallofrussia [Accessed 9 March 2011]. Deloitte, 2010. Doing Business in Russia 2010, [online]. Available at: http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_RU/ru/insights/doingbusinessinrussia/index.htm [Accessed 26 February 2011]. Hansson, G., Sundell , H., and ÃÆ'-hman , M., 2004. The new modified Uppsala model Based on an anomalistic case study at Malmberg Water AB. Hickson, D.J., and Pugh, D.S., 1995. Management Worldwide:The Impact Of Societal Culture On Organizations Around The Globe. London: Penguin. Integrated Systems Russia, 2009a. Statistics of the third international exhibition and conference, [online]. Available at: http://www.isrussia.ru/en/isrussia/statistics [Accessed 4 March 2011]. Integrated Systems Russia, 2009b. Digital Education, [online]. Available at: http://www.isrussia.ru/en/isrussia/digital_education [Accessed 2 March 2011]. Integrated Systems Russia, 2010. About the show, [online]. Available at: http://www.isrussia.ru/en/isrussia/Digital_Signage [Accessed 4 March 2011]. Johanson, J., and Associates, 1994. Internationalization, Relationships and Networks. Stockholm: Almqvist Wiksell International. Johanson, J., and Vahlne, J-E., 1990. The Mechanism of Internationalization.   Stockholm: Almquist Wiksell International. Johanson, J. and Vahlne, J-E. 1977. The Internationalization Process of the Firm A Model of Knowledge Development and Increasing Foreign Market Commitment. Journal of International Business Studies, 8, pp.23-32. Johanson, J., and Wiedersheim-Paul, F., 1975. The Internationalization of the Firm Four Swedish Cases. Stockholm: Almquist Wiksell International. Lynch, R., 2006. Corporate Strategy.Pearson Education Limited. Mahidhar, V., Giffi, C., Kambli, A., Alvanos, R., and Grunewald, J., 2009. Rethinking Emerging Market Strategies: From offshoring to strategic expansion. Deloitte, [online]. Available at: http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/article/43cc586731101210VgnVCM100000ba42f00aRCRD.htm [Accessed 9 March 2011]. PricewaterhouseCoopers Russia, 2009, Doing business and investing in the Russian Federation, [online]. Available at: http://russia.polpred.com/upload/pdf/doing-business-in-russia-2009.pdf?PHPSESSID=u85buagf7pdte5b77is3n96mt4 [Accessed 12 February 2011]. PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010. Doing Business and investing in the Russian Federation, [online]. Available at: http://www.pwc.ru/en/doing-business-in-russia/assets/Doing-Business-Russian-Federation-2010.pdf [Accessed 12 February 2011]. Pufferfish Displays, 2011a. Pufferfish Home, Products and Services, [online]. Available at: http://www.pufferfishdisplays.co.uk [Accessed 11 March 2011]. Pufferfish Displays, 2011b. Pufferfish Resources: Investors, [online]. Available at: http://www.pufferfishdisplays.co.uk/resources/pufferfish-investors [Accessed 11 March 2011].    Pufferfish Displays, 2011c. Pufferfish: Products, [online]. Available at: http://www.pufferfishdisplays.co.uk/products [Accessed 11 March 2011]. Rushworth, R., 2008. Local Authorities and DS An outside chance. HF Network Lt

Violence In America :: essays research papers

Violence in America Violence in America’s society is definitely a major problem. This problem can be traced back as far as fetal development. It seems that in most cases of bad treatment, the families come from poverty or bad neighborhood areas. The whole main purpose of this speaker was to develop a good understanding on why most of the violent crimes occur in today’s hurting society. It is not rocket science to realize that most angry violent acts are due to a disturbed child or individual that lacked attention, love or care. Violence is not a new problem, scientists are just finding out new facts about how it starts and how it can be prevented. The early developmental stages of babies is key to starting a good life long learning experience. This is the certain time in which their brains are really trying to make progress and grow. Babies need that love and sense of closeness to obtain a healthy start. Obviously mothers who smoke, drink or do drugs while pregnant can cause serious health problems to their fetus. Also when they are young most of the time these problems persist and do not get any better. This causes children to have the chance to obtain the same lifestyles as of the parents. Another instance that can hurt a child’s well being is when they are real little around the ages of two to about six. Kids at this age need to be taught and especially loved. When children are neglected or left they do not get the support that they truly need to keep the growing process up to date. This is definitely one reason that kids are committing crimes at younger ages. If people feel that they are responsible enough to have babies, they should at least take the time to help them have good lifestyles. We all know that kids for the most part are mean and form little cliques and this is a major reason that kids are committing crimes. They feel that if they can’t get attention the way that is right, they will get it almost any way they can. It also ties back the kids early childhood. A lack of love and understanding at young ages causes some children to not know how to interact with other kids. On the same token they can be made fun of daily causing them to resent the world and not have any cares. Violence In America :: essays research papers Violence in America Violence in America’s society is definitely a major problem. This problem can be traced back as far as fetal development. It seems that in most cases of bad treatment, the families come from poverty or bad neighborhood areas. The whole main purpose of this speaker was to develop a good understanding on why most of the violent crimes occur in today’s hurting society. It is not rocket science to realize that most angry violent acts are due to a disturbed child or individual that lacked attention, love or care. Violence is not a new problem, scientists are just finding out new facts about how it starts and how it can be prevented. The early developmental stages of babies is key to starting a good life long learning experience. This is the certain time in which their brains are really trying to make progress and grow. Babies need that love and sense of closeness to obtain a healthy start. Obviously mothers who smoke, drink or do drugs while pregnant can cause serious health problems to their fetus. Also when they are young most of the time these problems persist and do not get any better. This causes children to have the chance to obtain the same lifestyles as of the parents. Another instance that can hurt a child’s well being is when they are real little around the ages of two to about six. Kids at this age need to be taught and especially loved. When children are neglected or left they do not get the support that they truly need to keep the growing process up to date. This is definitely one reason that kids are committing crimes at younger ages. If people feel that they are responsible enough to have babies, they should at least take the time to help them have good lifestyles. We all know that kids for the most part are mean and form little cliques and this is a major reason that kids are committing crimes. They feel that if they can’t get attention the way that is right, they will get it almost any way they can. It also ties back the kids early childhood. A lack of love and understanding at young ages causes some children to not know how to interact with other kids. On the same token they can be made fun of daily causing them to resent the world and not have any cares.

The Value of Economics in Everyday Life :: Free Essay Writer

The Value of Economics in Everyday Life It was the strangest thing. It all began on the evening of June 15th 2008. My grandmother passed away. This was weird because no body even knew she was dying. Well maybe it was just her time to go. It was a very rough couple of days. My sisters, my mother and I set up the calling hours for her wake, and the time and place for her funeral. It was vary hard to concentrate on these tasks when one of our loved ones had passed away. About two weeks had passed and things were begging to return to normal. It had been a tremendous loss for our family, but we all knew that we had to get on with our lives. I recall a message that was left on my mother’s answering machine reporting that my grandmother had written a will. It was discovered when all of her things were being cleaned out of her home. Not a single soul within my grandmother’s family knew about this will, so it was a big surprise. The message on the machine clearly stated that the will was going to be opened and read to the family, on July 5, 2005 at 1:00 p.m. at the county court house. Everyone was anxious to find out just what he had left. No body was expecting much because they knew my grandmother didn’t have very much. She had raised seven children on her own. The day had finally come. It was just about 1:00 p.m. and the will was being opened. It read as follows: â€Å"Well all, I guess it was my time to go. I am in a better place now, where there is no suffering or pain. I need you all to promise me that you will be happy for me. I know it is hard to do, but it is for the best. Now I need you all to take a deep breath for there is something that you all must know. I have been saving some things up over the last 50 years, mainly because I knew this day was coming, I just wasn’t sure when. You all know that I was one for money. We never had much, so when I made a little extra, I was

The Taming of the Shrew Essays -- English Literature Essays

The Taming of the Shrew Examine the different ways in which Shakespeare presents the attitude towards marriage in the play, ‘The Taming of the Shrew.’ The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies, and it shares many essential characteristics with his other romantic comedies, such as Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. These characteristics include light-hearted and slapstick humour, disguises and deception and a happy ending in which most of the characters come out satisfied. The play has been dated from as early as 1594 and as late as 1598. (http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/shrew/context.html) The main themes in the play are love, marriage, domination, society expectations, betting and money. Does love really exist in the play or is it just love for money. It seems that the key to a happy and successful marriage is money. This comedy written by Shakespeare uses disguises and that also is a key part to the play. Although it is intended to be a comedy, there is sometimes a black cloud hanging over it. For instance the way in which Katherina is treated doesn’t always seem to be funny; instead it is quite cruel and degrading. â€Å"She eat no meat today, nor none shall eat; last night she slept not, nor tonight she shall not.† (Page 62, act 4 scene 1 line 182-183) Men saw marriage as a way to get rich; love didn’t even enter the equation. Padua is a rich area and therefore many suitors fled there in the hope of becoming wealthy. â€Å"I come to wive it wealthily in Padua,† says Petruchio. He asks outright, â€Å"Then tell me – if I get your daughter’s love, what dowry shall I have with her to wife?† (Page 37, act 2 scene 1, line 119-120) The husbands were given a dowry by the father of the daughter when they became married. Women didn’t have any say in who they chose to marry; instead the decision was given to the father. If a daughter was not married then they were looked shoddily upon within the society. In this era every woman was to be married otherwise they were frowned upon within the community. Further more without Katherina getting married, Bianca would also never marry. Within a family the eldest daughter must be married off first and in this play turned out to be a bonus. â€Å"Her father ke eps from all access of suitors and will not promise her to any man until her elder sister first be wed.† This is the main an... .... She now obeys what is asked of her by Petruchio like such as when she is told to lecture the other wives about how to be a good wife, â€Å"Katherina, I charge thee, tell these headstrong women, what duty they do owe their lords and husbands.† Without arguing and saying a word against what is asked of her she gives her advice, â€Å"Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee.† Women in the Elizabethan era were presented as very obedient to their husbands and respectful to them also. They had no power and no say, they were treated badly and nothing would be done to stop the behaviour. In modern society most women have as much say as the men, they are not expected to stay at home and clean etc, and instead they go to work as well. Some women are like Katherina before she was supposedly tamed, very out spoken, yet inequality still exists. During the Elizabethan era marriage was like a business contract, if the money is there then so is the signature. Love was never a part of the play and this showed in both Hortensio and Petruchio, who Shakespeare uses to expose this superficial approach to the supposedly romantic notion of marriage.

Higher Education or Higher Priced Education? Essay

The Marriam-Webster online dictionary defines higher education as â€Å"education beyond the secondary level; especially : education provided by a college or university. â€Å" It’s no secret to modern students that a higher education is necessary to advance in their professional life. There is always a cost to advancement and that cost can sometimes create a glass ceiling that is difficult for people in certain social strata to break through. The rising cost of higher education and its requirement for jobs creates a conflict for people in lower economic brackets. While the social value of higher education is difficult to argue against, the problems associated with affording higher education are very real social problems that must be considered. In Western society we have goals we are expected to achieve. At a very early age we begin preparing our children for school. There is no law demanding that children attend a specific school, nor that upon entering adult life they pursue higher education. Children can be home schooled or attend any school of their parents’ choosing. However, having a degree of some kind gives one many advantages in America. One who possesses a degree has a better chance of finding a successful money-making career. This, of course, is a crucial step to meeting society’s general standards, and living a life that resembles the ideal. The fact that extensive knowledge like that has become so highly respected reflects well on the values of our culture. Higher education has become the key to social and economic advancement. A well educated person can better process the information in front of them, and this is good for society in general. Those who possess higher-level educations are considered qualified for certain jobs and tasks that others lacking such would not be. Education levels that were once considered necessary only for advancement to the highest levels of society are now necessary for becoming gainfully employed in professions that used to require far fewer years of education. This creates a more savvy employee, but also forces people into classifications that may not reflect their true skills or abilities. Many human resources department demand minimum educational requirements, usually completion of a college degree, even to be considered for jobs that in many cases do not even utilize the skills gained during the education they are requiring. This creates a problem for people who can’t afford a higher education but could enter the skilled labor force on the basis of their skills alone: they are often restricted from becoming gainfully employed in professions they might otherwise be ideal for. As a response to this, many larger organizations have created higher education reimbursement programs where the organizations pay for the employee to become educated. Due to the cost, there are only so many people who can join these programs on any given year and the employee must prove to human resources that they are worth hiring without a degree in the first place. This may be a problematic situation for many people. The price we pay for education is steadily increasing, and it will continue to do so. Those coming from a low income families have less of an opportunity to get into college, particularly the colleges they may wish to attend. There is greater competition for placement at leading schools. With larger percentages of the student body seeking educations from leading institutions, fewer people are accepted into colleges that are their primary choices. Those who do get into the schools they wish to attend, then have to consider paying for their education. Scholarships are an option available to many, but it is very rare for a scholarship to pay for the student’s entire educational career, or even the bulk of it. As a result, many students take out loans to become educated. The vast majority of the members of my generation that choose to attend college and gain a higher education will ultimately enter the workforce in considerable debt. This is done in the hopes that they will find a job immediately out of college in their chosen career, and they expect to be able to begin paying off their debt immediately. For many this does not happen and the debt generated becomes a considerable burden on them. For families haunted by poor economic conditions, financing a higher education using student loans is a gamble. When investing in something so important to shape my future career I want something I know will work, but not every one with a degree is guaranteed a good steady career. Devoting myself to such a considerable expense like that involves risks. While it’s true that risk is necessary to get ahead in life, this risk has caused problems for people and it may leave you feeling cheated out of your money if you can’t get a good job in the field of your choice. The quality of education is also a consideration for someone entering college. If you wind up getting a bad teacher, it may cause bitterness if the experience had a negative effect on your education. We all have had our share of bad teachers, but for some this causes more strife than others.. One time I had a teacher who didn’t teach but gave out materials and work assignments demanding improvement without consideration to student understanding, so if we did well or improved then good, if not too bad its our own fault. The increased need for more educators as a result of increased student population may be causing colleges and universities to hire teachers who may not be the quality of educator that they would otherwise higher. So while the cost of education is increasing, the quality of education is regarded by many to be decreasing. While higher education is far from perfect, it is still necessary for people to advance, both from a career and a personal perspective. The cost of higher education may prohibit people in lower social classes from partaking in career paths they may otherwise have enjoyed. The quality of education relative to the cost is also considered to be a modern problem. Those who get beyond these issues will still gain considerable debt as a result of their educational career. Even given these problems, the value of getting a higher education is still unquestionable.

National Fabricators

Key Events/Case Synopsis National Fabricators Inc. is a company that specializes in the manufacturing of lockers, school furniture, toilet partitions, steel shelving, and is now currently owned by Tom Kruger after buying out $75,000 of shares from shareholders in 1992. The industry is very competitive as costs are rising and prices being cut while the economy declines at the same time. As the president of National Fabricators, Tom Kruger needs to bring the company back on its feet in order to generate profits and reduce its losses of $480,315 and outstanding bank loans of $784,000.Tom Kruger also predicts that sales would fall as much as 10% during the 1994 fiscal year due to government cutbacks on medical and educational spending as well as a sluggish level of consumer confidence. Tom Kruger is now faced with trying to get a 60 day extension for his temporary line of credit in order to get the company to start making profits again. Problem Statement and Objectives To save the compan y, Tom Kruger needs to get an extension of 60 days on his temporary line of credit so that he can keep losses to a minimum and start generating more profits.At the same time, the economy is declining, competitors are setting low prices, and the government is cutting back on educational spending. Tom Kruger realizes that his plant is not being utilized at full capacity and most of the operations were being primarily financed on bank credit due to insufficient cash at hand. To address these problems, Tom Kruger is now planning on developing a new plant layout for efficiency as well as requesting a line of credit extension in order to finance debt. Situation Analysis PortersAs we can see from the case, the metal industry is not an attractive industry because of high competition with low bids, unstable economy, high bargaining power of buyers, and high start up costs. Since the buyers have very little suppliers to choose from to do business with, it can be concluded that suppliers have bargaining power in this industry. Buyers on the other hand only have power when they are specialized at what they do and offer a very low price. Substitution is quite limited due to different specifications offered by the major companies.Barriers to entry on the other hand are very high due to the huge amount of capital needed to get a foot in to the industry. All in all competition is very high in this industry and one must bid aggressively in order to gain a contract. However, this is hard when everyone is giving their lowest bid. SWOT Analysis Overall, for National Fabricators the weaknesses outweigh the strengths for due to its failure towards managing both finance and operations for approximately 10 years.The threats also outweigh the opportunities mostly due the intense competition whcih provides a negative trend towards profits for National Fabricators within the industry. Strengths: †¢ The company has kept all of their old employees at the management level and this wil l allow them to keep stability while the company is under new ownership. †¢ With a strong sales team being compenstated on a commission basis, this will isnpire each employ to work harder to make and close sales; which in the long run will increase company profits. National Fabricator has contracts from purchaser who are very unlikely to default on their payables, because majority of them come from the government. †¢ Mr. Kruger, is well experienced for this position mostly due to his education and qualifications Weaknesses: †¢ The company lacks in a sufficient inventory management and cost management system, which impacts profits. †¢ With a deficiency of cash flow it forced the company to purchase materials from more costly warehouses other than Steelmills which is cheaper, which inreturn had increased manufacturing cost. Inproper scheduling and status reporting for work in progress caused a major ineffectiveness on plant capacity use, which had openly increased operating cost and reduced net profits. Opportunities: †¢ Buying from the Steelmills will result in an increase of operating profit while costs are being decreased. †¢ The company has the opportunity to grow in various markets and aquire new customers such as malls, hotels, offices, and motels not only in Canada but as well as the United States. Threats: †¢ Tremendous price and wage competition in a recurring industry will lead to additional losses in profits. The highest risk for National Fabricators is the three companies which are dominating the industry that have the investment ability to control industry standards and requirements, which could lead to a decrease in profits. †¢ Due to the long term contracts from the government it is impacting the company’s cash flow in a negative trend. Historical Financial Analysis †¢ Sales fluctuate due to the frequently cyclic nature of the industry but they aim to remain above 3 million annually. †¢ In 1 993 cost of goods sold being 90% of sales and 9. 6% gross profit of sales.Company’s lack of ability to manage inventory and lack of cash forced them to order from more expensive (12-15%more) warehouse than steel mills. †¢ Net profit margin has been negative and no major patterns over the 9 year period on net profit since the trend of the industry is based mostly on economic factors, and whether or not they secure contracts. Due to high percentage of COGS they are only left with a net profit of $980 or 0. 024% of sales in 1993. As a result, if the company lower the material cost, the profit margin will improve drastically. †¢ In 1984 current ratio went from 2. 07 to 1. 2 in 1993 which still is at an acceptable level, mainly due to the fact that operations were losing money in the past few years and there was a large cash drain on the company which resulted in the lowering of the current ratio. †¢ Operations were being financed by National Fabricators bank credit which resulted in outstanding bank loans of $784,000; this could cause serious problems on their credit rating from the local bank due to the worse intereage coverage ratio. †¢ Their average age of receivables in days is 78. 79 which had been steady around that number except in 1993 with 101 days mainly due to the holdback on large accounts.Since it is taking longer for them to convert accounts receivable into cash, the liquidity ability for the company is getting worse. | |1993 |1992 |1991 |1990 | |Liquidity | | | | | |Current Ratio |1. 12 |1. 34 |1. 32 |1. 58 | |Quick Ratio |0. 70 |0. 4 |0. 81 |0. 81 | |Profitability | | | | | |%Sales Growth |25. 7% |(17. 6%) |14. 4% | | |Gross Margin |9. 6% |10. 7% |7. 0% |7. 0% | |Net Margin |0. 02% |(1. 8%) |(5. 6%) |(6. %) | |Expenses/Sales |10. 0% |13. 3% |12. 8% |14. 1% | |ROE |0. 2% |(11. 4%) |(37. 8%) |(26. 3%) | |ROA |0. 04% |(4. 1%) |(12. 8%) |(11. 9%) | | | | | | | |Debt/Assets |75. % |64. 2% |66. 1% |54. 7% | |Debt/Equity |310. 4 % |179. 4% |195. 0% |121. 2% | Recommendation and Analysis We have chosen to recommend alternative #1, which will focus on improving their profits because they will be reducing the cost of materials from purchasing directly from Steel Mills rather than buying from the warehouses. By doing so this will help them convince Confederation Bank.Purchasing from producers rather than the warehouses will significantly save us an approximate 12-15%. This can help drastically with their profits being made. Another way to improve profit is by increasing profit margins and to do so they need to cut the cost of materials, which will be approximately 68%. By having cut material cost by 13. 5% National Fabricators will have $314,600, which is the amount they saved from the materials and it would increase their gross profits by that amount. Having laid out this plan everything looks very convincing but there are a couple set backs, which need to be worked out.Delivery is three months once purchased from the producers directly rather than one-day delivery from the warehouses, this may cause problems for daily operations. National Fabricators now has to pay off their suppliers in 30 days payments. It used to be 60-90 days but the change requires the need for more cash on hand. Nationals Fabricators will require the financial support of Confederation Bank in order to solve these set backs that will take place if they don't receive the help financial help they require. Being able to execute this plan we believe that National Fabricators would be able to convince the bank to extend the loan.This will benefit the company because not doing so will increase the financial problems. The reason being we didn't choose alternative 2 was because it was just too risky and way too costly especially with the risk at hand. Yes it was to better their sales but factor in that their attempts to migrate in the U. S. market also have the risk of not being successful. Also the number of other compani es already settled their will give a great competitive market and putting all this together would just show that there is much more risk at hand than reward. Exhibits and Analysis: Attached on next page