Strategic Management Business Case Study for Insight Magazine

{draw:frame} {draw:g} {draw:g} INSIGHT’s MISSION, VISION & PHILOSOPHY {draw:text-box} Insight is a local social magazine founded to satisfy different appeals in the Egyptian society. It are committed to face our challenges by embracing and creating change, through innovative solutions to extend the overall content distribution and marketing model to include websites, digital magazines, virtual events, and other new technologies to establish positive relations and credibility between the magazine and its readers. It is committed to providing an informal yet professional working environment that encourages and rewards creativity, teamwork and enthusiasm. Insight’s operation is environmentally friendly. {draw:text-box} ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING When setting the mission, Insight had to first understand the â€Å"big picture† of the environment, in which it is operating, and the opportunities and threats that lie within. Such understanding of the surrounding environment will enable us to take advantage of the opportunities that will come in our ways and minimize the threats that will face us along the way The Big Picture (PEST ANALYSIS) PEST Analysis helps understanding the â€Å"big picture† of the Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural and Technological environment, it ensures that what we are aiming for in our mission is aligned positively with the powerful forces of change that are affecting the press media. Political factor: Understanding the political environment in Egypt is almost the most important step in the scanning phase, the freedom of press in Egypt is not â€Å"as free† as it may seem because of the following: The political environment might not be stable within the next five years due to the presidential election which may negatively influence the market. Egypt's state security investigation apparatus empowered to interfere in almost every area of public life under the state of emergency in force for the last 28 years which forms a barrier for writers to speak up their minds freely. On the other hand, there are some positive changes in the political environment such as the reform program that is a work in progress. Egypt has made substantial progress in developing its legal, tax and investment infrastructure, over the past five years; Egypt has passed, amended and admitted over 15 legislative pieces one of which was the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential elections. Economical factor: The financial crisis and the recession which has recently struck the world all over definitely had an impact on the Egyptian job market in many versatile ways such as: The downfall of the western economy forced the expatriates working abroad consider twice before asking for a high salary, this made the hiring of foreign calibers easier and resulted in the layoffs of many local employees and the increase of unemployment and job market instability. Unemployment in the Egyptian society has aggressively increased during the last five years affecting indirectly the press industry. Many organizations started to adopt the policy of cost cutting and benefit minimization; this as well had the same effect as the precedent point resulting in unemployment and instability. The worsening state of the global economy makes 2009 a â€Å"horror show† for advertising-dependent newspaper and television companies, with some analysts predicting that businesses may have to wait until 2011 to see positive ad growth. It must be noted as well that the Egyptian economy has been gaining, thanks to the wide-ranging amendments & reforms that the country began implementing in 2004 and due to such amendments and administration of many legislative pieces the economy is expected to grow by about 4% to 6% in 2009/2010. Technological Factor: We are living the technology era, every day, a new invention, revolution or innovation strikes the market in every business, if Insight is not open to apply new operational strategies that can help to address the effects of both technological streamlining and better developing meaningful ways of generating an exchange of ideas, it won’t last before its competitors, with a daily increasing pace in the world of technology. The rise of online media presents another challenge: reliability. The internet has become the fastest and easiest way for the readers to get the type of info they claim, low-priced and as diverse as they want, and this rise is obliging the media world to give attention to online advertisement as much as or even at a higher interest that normal printed magazines. Socio-cultural Factor: A cultural change has came into the surface, with he increase of the coffee shops outings, the topics that were point of interest to readers have been changed , Insight carried out new researches to cover a broad range of topics to attract readers. Over the last 5 years, the interest in football, politics and religion ruled over many areas in life, Insight being a social lifestyle magazine it has to cope with the new interests in our society. Given that English is the language of the magazine in an Arabic speaking country; this has enlarged the difficulty of the magazine’s distribution in the Egy ptian market. Environmental Factor: Global warming that became perhaps the most complicated issue facing the world of magazine production after study showed that the carbon dioxide emissions caused by the production and distribution of one copy of an average sized 0. 39 pound magazine total about 0. 95 kilograms including paper from trees, materials, production, shipping and customer use; henceforth, the loss of natural habitat potential from the 0. 39 pound magazine is estimated to be 0. 3 square meters. This has led to a huge increase in the prices of the papers which is the most important element of the magazines industry. {draw:frame} The Small Details (SWOT ANALYSIS) SWOT Analysis is a simple but powerful framework for analyzing the magazine’s Strengths and Weaknesses, and the Opportunities and Threats it faces. Thus, helping Insight to focus on its strengths, minimize threats, and take the greatest possible advantage of opportunities available. Strengths: Insight magazine enjoys a very good image that has a business idea and credibility amongst its competitors. It has an extensive advertising and good promotions that withhold good value and quality. The magazine enjoys good cash flow through advertising which provides space for innovation and expansion. Most of Insight’s staff is between 20-25 years, at these young ages the ability to cope with new challenges of life is much more flexible than older generations and this provides the space to innovate & improve in many fields. Weakness: Any organization has its weaknesses; Insight suffers from the lack of a good distribution plan compared to its rivals. Another weakness facing Insight is the fact that the teams are self managed by junior staff which lack knowledge and experience leadership of its junior staff. Threats: Insight’s main threat is the strong competitors dominating the market and how quickly they can adapt to market changes. The inability to cope with new technologies may also lead to the magazine’s failure. Opportunities: Giving that Egypt is in a state of transition and economic growth, our good cash flow will enable us to seize any opportunity of hiring excellent calibers and adopting new technologies. {draw:frame} STRATEGY FORMULATION Strategy formulation is the process of determining appropriate courses of action for achieving the organizational objectives and thereby accomplishing organizational purpose. The strategies formulated should reflect environmental analysis previously discussed, lead to fulfillment of the mission, and result in reaching our organizational objectives. TOWS MATRIX The TOWS Matrix is a relatively simple tool for generating the strategic options, using it, will enable us to look intelligently at how Insight takes the best advantage of the opportunities open, at the same time that we minimize the impact of weaknesses and protect ourselves against threats. By analyzing the external environment (threats and opportunities), and the internal environment (weaknesses and strengths), we can use these techniques to think about our corporate, business & functional strategies. Corporate Strategy Corporate strategy is one, which decides what business the magazine should be in, and how the overall group of activities should be structured and managed, it is as well a description of the magazine's overall direction in terms of its general attitude toward growth, stability or Retrenchment and the management of its various businesses and product lines. Following the change of the external major forces as well as the declining performance of the distribution unit and the marketing department, the top management had to consider formulating an alternative strategy other than the previously followed growth strategy. A stability strategy is now the new corporate strategy followed by Insight, it is decision of doing nothing new in the worsening situation but instead to act as though Insight’s problems are only temporary, and it is an attempt to artificially support profits when sales are declining by reducing short term discretionary expenditures. Insight magazine is currently following the stability strategy as its corporate strategy knowing that it will be temporarily adopted until Insight settles its weakness in the marketing area and regains a significant position in the Egyptian market. Business Strategies In light of the ongoing economic crisis besetting the world, many business leaders had to consider just exactly how they are going to put together a winning business strategy to help overcome the hard times. Insight’s business strategy is a competitive one, it involves making the right choices in order to achieve cost leadership, differentiation and focus; this is achieved by invest our money and strategies in this area as well as coordinating properly Insight’s distinctive competencies in the provision of the service we provide. In order to sustain our competitive advantage, Insight has to determine the durability and imitability of its main distinctive resources which are the human and the financial resources. Business Model Insight serves English reading customers in Egypt by providing them with the latest lifestyle information; Insight’s Insight sustains a competitive advantage through recruitment through the strong cash flow from advertisements made by top class brands, young calibers who adapt easily with any changes in the external environment, thus allowing diversity in writing materials and articles. draw:frame} Functional Strategies Functional strategy is the approach taken by Insight’s functional departments to achieve corporate and business unit objectives and strategies by maximizing distribution. In each functional area, the manager is concerned with developing a distinctive competence to provide Insight with the competitive advantage that it aims to obtain. Marketing & Sales Strategies After 14 years Insight is still struggling and to maintain, capture larger market share, and continues market penetration. It is very hard to achieve now days especially in our case and similar to many magazines and newspapers in the region and world wide. Insight relies heavily on advertising money for revenue since the price consumers pay when they purchase a copy of the magazine has never been sufficient to cover the production costs much less creating any profit. Insight Magazine’s marketing strategy consists of market and product development as well as dealing with pricing, selling and distributing the magazine through the following: Creativity Launch new campaigns with developed layout and logo. Distribution Generate new distribution plans to cover different venues; hotels, bookshops, newsstands, supermarkets, airports, cultural centers, advertisers, numerous Egyptians and international business peoples and VIPs. Make a deal with a well known distribution agency to circulate the magazine on a wider scale on one hand, and on the other hand to put booths in many different areas and offer special gifts to people in order to attract the readers. Sales Give free issues on special occasions in order to encourage and attract customers Instead of selling space to marketers for print ads, we started selling services that marketers want to have. Diversification To focus more on topics that have overwhelmed people lately especially football. Emphasize profitable material and realign their content production costs with where the revenue is generated. A publisher will need to find the unique and defining material that attracts their readership. Go Green Despite the economic state and the rapid increase of paper prices, the Marketing head suggested to the top management to use recycled papers and environmentally friendly materials in order to save cost and maintain same quality of the product that the customer got used to and at the same time to cope with the green trend of the world. Technology & Innovation Digital marketing media and web publishing have become a very tangible area for improvement and market enlargement, Insight’s strategy for development in print media magazine world is mainly based on enriching Insight’s website, with new means of advertisements such as online purchasing of a wide range of products starting from pictures all the way to specific non published exclusive articles. HR Strategies Giving that a good human resources management practice enables organization to achieve higher profits and better survival rate than do firms without these practice, Insight’s strategies towards its most valued asset-the people had to be reviewed and amended to the following: Insight being owned and managed by a sole proprietor, have always followed a top-bottom strategy, as a new practice, the top management is now opening the door for a bottom-top strategy thus taking advantage of any new ideas, innovations and changes that can increase the magazine’s share in the Egyptian Market. Insight magazine is considering the hire of a mix of young generation, skilled reputable writers and foreign calibers as well, no matter how high they get paid. This mixture will help the different teams at Insight to properly manage themselves and thus achieving high productivity to the magazine. Encouraging the hire of part time employees and free lance writers; it will save cost since they will not be paid for health care benefits, pensions and many allowances offered to the full time employees. Promote new company traditions such as family outings, annual dinners. Improve the communication level between the top management and staff by involving employees in decisions that affect their jobs and the overall direction of the company whenever possible. Recognize excellent performance by implementing new exercises such as employee of the month, additional rewards for high performers. Promote career & personal growth perspectives such as succession planning, trainings, education, challenging, assignments and more. Assign a development team to cope with the recent technologies. Insight’s Culture & Behavior Insight enjoys a very friendly and supportive work environment, everyone is free to speak up their minds, and all new ideas are being appreciated, but giving that the top management of the magazine is being held by the owner, the last word is always up to them. This gives Insight’s a mix of Supportive and Autocratic behavior, any suggestions are being carefully interpreted but the final decision is always up to the owner. Insight’s culture is a Multi-directionalone, being a relatively small organization that has only four distinct function, each department member considers themselves as a part of his function only forgetting that they are a member of a whole body. Insight’s Organization Structure Insight’s organization was structured based on functional groups centered on clusters of titles each led by chief function officer with complete responsibility for their respective business unit as per the below chart. draw:frame} STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION The implementation of organization strategy involves the application of the management process to obtain the desired results. Particularly, strategy implementation includes designing the organization's structure, allocating resources, developing information and decision process, and managing human resources, including such areas as the reward system, approaches to leadership, and staffing. Strategy mplementation skills are not easily mast ered, unfortunately. In fact, virtually all managers find implementation the most difficult aspect of their jobs – more difficult than strategic analysis or strategy formulation. Marketing & Sales Strategy Implementation: Implementing a rock-solid marketing strategy is probably the most important factor contributing to the long-term sustainable success of any business and the one that will set Insight ahead of its competitors. Insight’s main task is to get its message across the market, make sure that its unique selling proposition is articulated in all of its marketing messages, campaigns, and sales channels through the following implementation: HR Strategy Implementation The HR Strategy has at its core maximizing the potential talent of Insight’s staff. Each of these strategic themes are interlinked and are the strategic objectives for each of these themes facilitates the delivery of the Institutional Strategy, the Financial Strategy, enhanced organizational performance and Operational Plans. This is illustrated as follows: {draw:frame} In implementing the desired strategy of Insight to resolve the sales and distribution, The HR function have done the following: â€Å"Get the big picture â€Å" of the whole company, to provide the readers with the ultimate life experience through lifestyle magazine and becoming No. 1 magazine the Egyptian market; Recruit a mix of the young generation and skilled reputable writers and employees who receive high pay and are trained to participate in self managing teams. By implementing this strategy it will result in employee satisfaction and high productivity to the magazine. Hire part time employees and free lance writers; it will not save cost since they will not be paid for health care benefits, pensions and many allowances offered to the full time employees. Encourage diversity in nationality, and age as in aligning with the Egyptian labor law, this strategy has proven higher productivity inside the magazine. Respect employees at all times. Listen to them deeply; use their ideas. Offer performance feedback and praise good efforts and results. Involve employees in decisions that affect their jobs and the overall direction of the magazine whenever possible thus increasing the loyalty and sense of belonging to the magazine Recognize excellent performance, and especially, link pay to performance. Value and encourage the magazine traditions through events and gatherings like Family day and annual company dinner. Increase the employees’ skill by providing them with the best training opportunities to enhance their competencies and develop their skills. Outsource professional distributors in an attempt to reach the target. EVALUATION & CONTROL Although the term â€Å"monitoring and evaluation† tends to get run together as if it is only one thing, monitoring and evaluation are, in fact, two distinct sets of organizational activities, related but not identical. Monitoring is the systematic collection and analysis of information as a project progresses, aimed at improving the efficiency of organization. If done properly, it is an invaluable tool for good management that provides a useful base for evaluation. Evaluation is the comparison of actual project impacts against the agreed strategic plans. It can be formative (taking place during the life of a project or organization, with the intention of improving the strategy or way of functioning of the project or organization). It can also be summative (drawing learning from a completed project or an organization that is no longer functioning) During the planning and implementation phases, it was crucial to conduct a reporting mechanism to monitor whether the right milestones have been taken towards the targeted goals or not as well as to ensure that employees are keeping pace with the progress. This monitoring was done by Chief executives submitting a monthly report to the Chairman as well as scheduling a quarterly meeting to continually keep an eye on the sales, client feedback, foresee what could be done for improvement of any new ideas that would help in increasing the sales of upcoming editions, and finally to ensure that the business and functional levels are keeping track with the corporate objectives and goals. On the other hand, daily meetings are held in each functional department to continually monitor and evaluate work quality and business progress. After an extensive monitoring process the HR strategy was found week in the following points: No HR interview was made any manager interviews his calibers from his own aspects and cultural background. Huge cultural gaps between foreign and local employees No relatively clear difference between the full time and part time employees in term of salaries and benefits which creates unfairness and injustice among them. The rewards were not given in great value and are not fairly given to all employees. Trainings were not fairly distributed among employees. In order to evaluate the magazine performance we have found the following diagnostic checklist items: CONCLUSION Insight is a local English magazine which has been in the Egyptian market for more than a decade. Although Insight enjoys good cash revenue from the top class advertisements it provides, it is struggling with a marketing and distribution setback which gave the top management the sufficient motives to alter the current strategies followed in order to reclaim its top position in the Egyptian market. Insight’s top management first steps of creating new strategies started by setting a new mission of developing the marketing function followed by an external and internal scanning of all possible threats and opportunities that could in a way or another affect the strategies. The scanning that was done helped Insight distinguish its competitive advantage which consequently assisted in the formulation of new corporate, business and functional strategies. After implementing the previously formulated strategies precise monitoring and evaluation were done in order to conclude the gap areas that resulted in the implementation. One of the gap areas that were found was the wrong implementation of hiring foreigners without giving them a proper induction on the Egyptian culture which lead to a huge conflict in ideas between the local and foreign staff. As a final conclusion to the previous report, Insight top management should investigate what went wrong during the implementation of the HR strategy that lead such gaps and how to overcome these gaps to properly implement the functional human resources strategy that will ultimately reflect its success in Insight’s overall performance. {draw:frame}

Psychology and Multiple Choice

Psychologists who accept the model tend to seek universals and do not believe there are Individual differences in behavior. Multiple Choice 1 1. Pets Your Score: Your Answer : neuroscience Correct Answer : neuroscience The Choices Were: neuroscience cognitive humanistic behavioral Psychologists who believe in are most likely to attempt to understand diversity in ethnic background as an influence on behavior. Multiple Choice 1 1. Pets Your Answer : Individual differences Correct Answer : Individual differences individual differences free will determinism universal principles del tend to look for the uniqueness of every individual.Multiple Choice 1 1. Pets Your Answer : humanistic Correct Answer : humanistic psychodrama Although their interests are diverse, psychologists share a common Multiple Choice I I. Opts Your Answer : Interest In mental processes and behavior. Correct Answer : interest in mental processes and behavior. Interest in mental processes and behavior. Concern for apply ing their knowledge to social situations. Interest in the study of animal behavior. Respect for the ideas of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. The scientific study of s the primary focus of psychology.Multiple Choice I 1 . Opts Your Answer : behavior and mental processes Correct Answer : behavior and mental processes behavior and mental processes how people live and work paranormal experiences people with psychological disorders In explaining human behavior and mental processes, psychologists try to achieve all the following goals EXCEPT Multiple Choice | 1. Pets Your Answer : manipulation. Correct Answer : manipulation. Description. Prediction. Explanation. Manipulation. The primary difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist is that MultipleChoice | 1. Pets Your Answer : psychiatrists are physicians who specialize in psychological disorders. Correct Answer : psychiatrists are physicians who specialize in psychological disorders. The Choices Were: psychologists have more formal education than do psychiatrists. Psychiatrists are physicians who specialize in psychological disorders. Psychologists are more likely than psychiatrists to have a Used degree. Psychologists are unlikely to have education beyond the bachelor's degree. Currently, there are dominant perspectives in psychology.Multiple Choice I Correct Answer : five one five nine hearten A psychologist who adopts the perspective would be interested in how cells in the nervous system transmit information to each other. Multiple Choice | 1. Pets DRP. Reams is a psychologist who is working to develop a drug treatment for Parkinson disease. Knowing nothing else about DRP. Reams, with what perspective in psychology do you think she would closely identify? Multiple Choice | 1. Pets Your Answer : neuroscience Correct Answer : neuroscience neuroscience DRP. Anthony is a psychologist who researches the hereditary influences of schizophrenia.Knowing nothing else about DRP. Anthony, with what perspective in Your Answer : neuroscience Which psychological approach is most closely associated with Sigmund Freud? Multiple Choice 1 1. Pets Your Answer : psychodrama Correct Answer : psychodrama â€Å"Slips of the tongue† and dreams are seen by psychologists as revealing the unconscious mind's true beliefs or wishes. Multiple Choice 1 1. Pets Those who identify with the psychodrama perspective emphasize Multiple Choice Your Answer : unconscious rather than conscious causes of behavior. Correct Answer : unconscious rather than conscious causes of behavior.The Choices Were: unconscious rather than conscious causes of behavior. Observable behavior rather than mental processes. Mental processes of which the person is aware, rather than those that are hidden from awareness. Intentional rather than unintentional actions. Which perspective asserted that psychology should focus solely on observable behaviors that can be objectively measured? Multiple Choice | 1. Pets Your Answer : behavioral Correc t Answer : behavioral A main theme of the humanistic approach is that Your Answer : people have free will to make their own decisions.Correct Answer : people have free will to make their own decisions. The Choices Were: people have free will to make their own decisions. Behavior is genetically or environmentally determined. Unconscious conflicts dominate personality. Thoughts and emotions can be understood biologically. With their emphasis on human potential and free will, and figures in the humanistic perspective. Multiple Choice 1 1. Pets Your Answer : Carl Rogers; Abraham Moscow Correct Answer : Carl Rogers; Abraham Moscow Sigmund Freud; Carl Jung Carl Rogers; Abraham Moscow John Watson; B. F.

Children and Violent Video Games

â€Å"The worst thing a kid can say about homework is that it is too hard. The worst thing a kid can say about a game is it's too easy. † This was actually quoted by Henry Jenkins. Good Morning My Fellow Students and judges, as you all would know I would be discussing the topic video games cause violence and I would be talking in favor of this topic. More and more kids today are playing video and computer games — especially ultra-violent ones that are top sellers. A recent analysis shows that a majority of video games include violence and about half of the violent incidents would result in serious injuries or death in the real world.Violent video games can increase children's aggression. The number one negative effect is they tend to inappropriately resolve anxiety by externalizing it. So when kids have anxiety, which they do, instead of soothing themselves, calming themselves, talking about it or even expressing it emotionally by crying, they tend to externalize it. Th ey can attack something, they can kick a wall, they can be mean to a dog or a pet. Additionally, there's an increased frequency of violent responses from children who play these kinds of video games. Violent video games don't teach kids moral consequences.If you shoot somebody in one of these games, you don't go to jail, you don't get penalized in some way — you get extra points! This doesn't mean that children will go out into the world and shoot someone. â€Å"But they do use more aggressive language, they do use more aggressive expressions, they have less ability to control their anger and they externalize things in these violent ways. It's absolutely not good. The American Psychological Association says playing violent games correlates to children being less caring and helpful toward their peers.And these effects happen just as much for non-aggressive children as they do for children who already have aggressive tendencies. Children spend a great deal of time with violent video games at exactly the ages that they should be learning healthy ways to relate to other people and to resolve conflicts peacefully. Thus I think that playing violent video games is the same as watching violent movies, they are all scripted in the same way and they put you through the violence training. I would say that we should Jump off the video games and get a life! Children and Violent Video Games â€Å"The worst thing a kid can say about homework is that it is too hard. The worst thing a kid can say about a game is it's too easy. † This was actually quoted by Henry Jenkins. Good Morning My Fellow Students and judges, as you all would know I would be discussing the topic video games cause violence and I would be talking in favor of this topic. More and more kids today are playing video and computer games — especially ultra-violent ones that are top sellers. A recent analysis shows that a majority of video games include violence and about half of the violent incidents would result in serious injuries or death in the real world.Violent video games can increase children's aggression. The number one negative effect is they tend to inappropriately resolve anxiety by externalizing it. So when kids have anxiety, which they do, instead of soothing themselves, calming themselves, talking about it or even expressing it emotionally by crying, they tend to externalize it. Th ey can attack something, they can kick a wall, they can be mean to a dog or a pet. Additionally, there's an increased frequency of violent responses from children who play these kinds of video games. Violent video games don't teach kids moral consequences.If you shoot somebody in one of these games, you don't go to jail, you don't get penalized in some way — you get extra points! This doesn't mean that children will go out into the world and shoot someone. â€Å"But they do use more aggressive language, they do use more aggressive expressions, they have less ability to control their anger and they externalize things in these violent ways. It's absolutely not good. The American Psychological Association says playing violent games correlates to children being less caring and helpful toward their peers.And these effects happen just as much for non-aggressive children as they do for children who already have aggressive tendencies. Children spend a great deal of time with violent video games at exactly the ages that they should be learning healthy ways to relate to other people and to resolve conflicts peacefully. Thus I think that playing violent video games is the same as watching violent movies, they are all scripted in the same way and they put you through the violence training. I would say that we should Jump off the video games and get a life!

Conflict of Interests for Researchers - Possible Solutions Essay

Conflict of Interests for Researchers - Possible Solutions - Essay Example This is because researchers are these days continually sponsored by corporate organisations to conduct researches whose results should be what will bring out the best in their goods and/or services. The implication is that the purpose of conducting researches seems to have drastically changed from providing useful and valid information to serving as a tool for boosting sales and patronage. This situation has largely put the integrity of researchers at stake as many people now find it very difficult to believe the results of their research. Researchers frequently find themselves at crossroads where they have to decide what to do; whether they would cook researches or whether they would remain clean and uphold the core ethics of their calling. As opposed to professional ethics, some researchers actually conduct researches but bearing in mind that they must arrive at a particular conclusion, some of them often manipulate samples. For example, in the beverage industry, a researcher whose intention is to show that adults prefer drinking alcohol to drinking any other beverages might go the full hug by changing results of the research in order to accommodate the intended result. A similar thing can happen in any other industries. It is on record that it also happens furtively in the health industry (Crossen 1994 p. 36).

Critically examine the role of international credit in contemporary Essay - 2

Critically examine the role of international credit in contemporary economies - Essay Example One of the major developments after the Second World War period was the internationalization or liberalization of the financial markets with United States of America on the front. The multinational corporations of USA spread their financial dealings and operation to different bases across nations. Simultaneously a large amount of funds were allocated for purchase of treasury bills of USA. The banks of USA have also spread their operations worldwide during the seventies. International operations contributed to around 20 percent of the total income of the American banks. International credit provides certain distinct benefits to the people of the borrowing nation. These funds obtained through international credit help in financing the projects of local firms and the government. International financial system offers different opportunities of diversification to an investor, which might not be locally available. However, when an economy joins the global financial markets, certain economi c variables may be restricted as well as the effectiveness of certain basic economic and national policies. For instance the capital mobility across the world has automatically restricted the movements of domestic interest rates and also the control of money supply becomes so difficult under fixed exchange rates. Before economic transactions occur between the residents of different nations, certain arrangements are require making payments effective as well as bringing about the exchange or transaction successfully. The arrangements required need to address the political regimes, legal systems and the customary process of doing business in various countries. The basic of the international monetary system centers on the barter system prevalent in history. To make the exchange procedures convenient and easy to handle, a rage of monetary arrangements came into operation.

Focusing on Financial Impact & Innovation TLMT 441 forum 2 Assignment

Focusing on Financial Impact & Innovation TLMT 441 forum 2 - Assignment Example According to Mullineux (2008), financial innovation enables firms to raise funds for investment, which is critical in lowering production cost. Similarly, the growth is developed by new technologies and not driven by profit-maximization. They help in supporting entrepreneurs to create new methods to fund and screen technologists. Financial innovation is poised as the economic engine of the societies, at the same time, castigated as source of weakness of the economy (Bansal, 2006). Empirically, the source of financial innovation is poorly understood by entrepreneurs. These innovations refer to advances in technology that expedite access to information, payment, and trading approaches (Bansal, 2006). Financial innovation shapes the monetary policies of countries. On the other hand, financial development in media and payment systems has created a substitute for note, which is a reserve of the central banking (Bansal, 2006). For instance, they have enhanced e-banking and online money transfer that enhances money circulation. In other words, financial innovation facilitates the operation of monetary policies (Allen, 2004). They enhance transfer of money, contract on futures values, and allow negotiability of

Humanitarian Interventionism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Humanitarian Interventionism - Essay Example Military interventions have a long history both prior to and during the Cold War, and even at the turn of the decade it was not apparent that they might no longer be undertaken in the future. These interventions were justified on moral grounds, or on the grounds of international law, or as selfless acts. On October 7, 2001, the U.S. launched a massive military assault on Afghanistan that effaced its political structure and created an enormous refugee situation. From the middle of 2002, the U.S. threatened to do the same thing to Iraq, running through a spectrum of reasons that changed as each previous argument collapsed. After giving up on efforts of U.N. inspectors to find weapons of mass destruction in that country, the Bush administration's inability to do so dissolved that pretext as well. The assault on Afghanistan, mounted in response to the events of September 11, 2001, was part of a two-decade-long series that included Grenada (1982), Panama (1989), Iraq (1991), and Yugoslavia (1999). Each assault had its own peculiarity, and violated certain principles of democracy and international law; yet, each received overwhelming support in the U.S., at institutional and popular levels. Though its moments differ, they reveal a common structure and the series as a whole poses an envelo ping question concerning its general acceptability. After the 9/11 After the 9/11 attacks, though no one took credit for this coordinated act of destruction, the U.S. government immediately claimed, without evidence, that a Saudi expatriate allegedly living in Afghanistan was responsible, and that 19 men of Middle Eastern origin, whose names the FBI published two days later, had committed this act of collective suicide and mass murder. International law provides the right to defend against terrorist attacks, but not to retaliate without going through certain international channels and procedures, which the U.S. ignored. Though in violation of international law (the Geneva Accords and U.N. Charter), the military assault on Afghanistan constituted the first act in what was declared to be an "endless war." The massive bombing of Afghanistan created a civilian death count considerably beyond that of the World Trade Center; whole villages were obliterated, and an already critical refugee and starvation situation was exacerbated, stretching well into Paki stan. In place of the Taliban organization, an interim government was invented. Though objection to this assault in the U.S. was small, it was repressed: public figures who spoke against the attack were vilified, people were fired, students suspended from school, social programs closed, university professors sanctioned, etc. to arrest one man. The assault on Afghanistan, according to military experts, would have required at least three months of logistical preparation; indeed, plans for the assault had begun the previous July. (Stan Goff) If so, the arrest of bin Laden was merely a legalistic pretext for a prior political project, the change of regime in Afghanistan. This raises two issues. The first is the use of international legalism to symbolize rather than explain or authorize an intervention, the pursuit of which violates international and U.S. law. The second is the structure of popular acceptance that likewise ignores illegality (the violation of a treaty, of international codes, and the principle of national sovereignty). The U.S. invaded Panama

Interracial Homicide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Interracial Homicide - Essay Example The causes that motivate homicide can be diverse and very individual. However, there are cultural motivations that create an atmosphere where homicides that are interracial are relevant to the associations to those social groups. As the naturally occurring competition for resources develops between communities, the result can have lethal consequences. The African-American communities, in particular, have developed an atmosphere of distrust for law enforcement that has roots in the oppressed nature of that heritage. Without a sense of security through a trust that the police are available as a source of protection, members of that community have a cultural adaptation toward survival based on need, whether those needs are in line with lawful social conduct or are defined by ethics outside of the community mandates. The national statistics that concern homicide reveal commonalities for the causes of interracial murder. The statistical views of the causes for interracial homicide suggest the importance of economic factors that usually represent an inequality. Discriminatory factors also play a strong role in the way in which the races approach their diversity and can have influence over the creation of conflict. Because competition between social groups with the purpose of domination in order to survive creates strong and passionate responses, the result can be the taking of life. When a group is segregated into a socially disadvantaged geography, the need to take something from the advantaged group in order to continue survival can lead to the commission of potentially homicidal acts that are sometimes associated with other crimes. As the research of relevant literature reveals some common elements associated with interracial homicide, a pattern of cultural causes reveals the nature of the comp etitive American culture. Research Questions 1. How does the opportunity for contact between social groups contribute to increases in interracial homicide and homicide rates 2. What relationship does economic and political competition have with interracial homicide rates 3. How does the concept of disadvantage and discrimination create an effect on interracial homicide 4. Does the difference between arrest and sentencing rates between African- Americans and Caucasian-Americans contribute to an atmosphere of criminal behavior that increases interracial homicide Literature Review Effect of contact between social groups (Contact Theory) S. F. Messner and S. J. South did a study on interracial homicide in 1992 that gathered data from 154 cities in order to prove that both a racial heterogeneity population size with an inequality of socioeconomics, coupled with the level of unemployment affected the rate of interracial homic

To what extent is substantive equality promoted through the Human Essay

To what extent is substantive equality promoted through the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010 - Essay Example Second, the convention responded to the growth of Communism in Eastern Europe by protecting the member states from communist subversion. The constant reference to values and principles became norm within the Convention as it was deemed â€Å"necessary in a democratic society.† The Convention was drafted in 1950 by the Council of Europe, however, did not go into force until September 1953. This Convention established the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears cases from persons who feel their rights have been violated under the Convention by a state party. Any state party judgements are binding on the states concerned and they are obligated to execute them. Executions of judgements are overseen by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Particular discretion is used to ensure that payment amounts awarded by the Court to the applicants are received in compensation for damages sustained. The establishment of an international Court to protect individua ls from human rights violations is a very innovative feature. This innovative feature gives the individual a very active role on the international field. Tradition will show that only states or members are considered participants in international law. However, the European Convention remains the only international human rights agreement that provides this high degree of individual protection. Parties of the state can take cases against another state party to this Court, but this power is seldom used. Ten members originally joined as members in 1949. After the fall of the communist regimes in 1989, several states from Central and Eastern Europe became members. There are currently 33 members. Several other countries or States have been granted observer status including the United States, Canada, Mexico and Japan. The ECHR consists of Eighteen Articles covering fundamental rights with respect to respecting rights, life, torture, servitude, liberty and security, fair trial, retrospect, privacy, conscience and religion, expression, association, marriage, effective remedy, discrimination, derogations, aliens, abuse of rights, and permitted restrictions. The Court also must abide by its five established protocols. The European Court of Human Rights historically has a distinguished track record. The Court judges thousands of cases every year and its opinions are internationally cited. Historically the Court’s jurisprudence on equality was based on a formal concept of equality. However, in recent years the ECHR has started to give equality more of a substantive content. Its â€Å"weak equality jurisprudence resulted from the limitations of ECHR, judicial procedure, and a formal concept of equality.† Article 14 of ECHR applies only specifically to the enjoyment of conventional rights. â€Å"The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  As far as procedure, o nly alleged victims can apply for complaints (excluded from states), and they first have to exhaust all other domestic remedies in their perspective states. The Convention furthermore was reluctant to draw inferences of discrimination from statistics. However, the most limiting factor was the ECHR’s formal concept of discrimination, which focused on direct discrimination. Recently the court has had some difficulty with cases involving covert discrimination or

Ethics approaches Essay Example for Free

Ethics approaches Essay Ethics approaches BY tealx021 Ethics in Communication After reading about the ethical considerations considering interpersonal and group communication, there are many similarities. The two differ in the sense of size. This leads to more considerations in the larger of the two, group communication, where there may be many different interpersonal relationships within the small group. However, for this analysis, like the book, I will focus on ethical considerations of the small group as a whole. Interpersonal relationships are unique in themselves, as each one is different han the next. One major ethical consideration in this context is fairness. When people are interdependent, or share mutuality, there are almost always issues of fairness or Justice that arise. These two issues are most commonly based off of individuals feelings and relational satisfaction. In our culture, this sense of Justice or fairness can be attributed to the distribution of rewards in proportion to each partners contributions. Relationships are often times weighed on costs and rewards. When this cost-reward system is unbalanced in relationships, we often see issues rise. Another major consideration in interpersonal relationships is privacy and autonomy, or openness and closeness. In communication, this comes down to self- disclosure. Issues can arise if one partner in the relationship is disclosing too much or too little about themselves, and there is an unbalance between the two relational partners. One major issue in relationships is Jealousy, which can stem from any of these ethical considerations. In small-group communication, there are a few unique ethical considerations that arise. One major issue in small groups is groupthink. Groupthink is the practice of thinking or making decisions as a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility. Another unique ethical consideration is issues that involve symbolic convergence within in-groups and out- groups. Symbolic convergence can create or develop stereotypes or exclusion within and outside a small group setting. Small-group and interpersonal relationships do also share ethical issues in communication. One of these is the issue of responsibility, which can be constituted as individual responsibility or the other affects responsibility of the whole relationship, and each one. In small-groups, individual responsibility can be hampered by groupthink or Symbolic convergence. In interpersonal relationships, individual responsibility can be hampered by lack of fairness, or lack of interdependence based on self-disclosure. Much or this is based on context, but interpersonal and small group communication share these same ethical considerations. Many of these ethical issues surrounding interpersonal communication can be channeled well through dialogical ethics. Dialogical ethics involves approaching decisions by considering attitudes and behaviors, and illingness or ability of each participant to surrender ones self-interest. This involves having an open mind, and viewing you and the relational partner as equals, almost putting yourself in the other persons shoes, setting aside your perceptual interpersonal relationships. I can attribute this to my own experience, as I feel many of the arguments I have with friends or family members would be solved if we each put ourselves in each others shoes. A good approach to small-group communication is the virtue ethics approach. This approach puts a lot of emphasis on character, and oesnt put a set of rules in place that could potentially cause ethical issues involved in groupthink or stereotypes. This approach would hold people accountable based on character, and would promote creativity and good ideas within a small group. In my own experience in small-groups, everything comes down to virtue, including responsibility, prudence, etc. Many issues could be solved with this approach in a small group context. Both mentioned approaches would fit well in both interpersonal and group relationships, but I feel that I have placed them in their best-fit places.

The essential nature of International marketing

The essential nature of International marketing International marketing is the performance of business activities designed to plan price, promote and directs the flow of the companys goods and services to consumer or user in more then one nation for profit. Cateora Graham International marketing is a broader concept and includes export marketing. Export marketing is concerned with the production of good in one country and marketing them in different countries of the world while international marketing is a boarder concept and includes globalization. International Marketing is essential for all countries-small big; developed developing and rich poor. This is because no country in the world is self sufficient as regard all the requirements and no country can live in complete economic and political isolation. Every country has to import something from other country and has to export whatever surplus available. The natural resources are not divided equally among the countries of the world. There is disparity among countries as regards geographical area, population, climate condition, availability of natural resources, economic growth, technology development, production activities and so on. Such disparity leads to inter dependent of countries. It is this situation which serves as base for the conduct of large scale international marketing activities. OBJECTIVES To bring countries closer for trading purpose and to encourage large scale free trade among the countries of the world. To bring integration of economies of different countries and there by to facilitate the process of globalization of trade. To establish trade relations among the nations and thereby to maintain cordial relations among nations for maintaining world peace. To facilitates and encourage social and cultural exchange among different countries of the world. To provide assistance to developing countries in their economic and industrial growth and thereby to remove gap between the developed and developing countries. To ensure optimum utilization of resources at global level. To encourage world export trade and to provide benefits of the same to all participating countries. To offer the benefits of comparative cost advantage to all countries participating in international marketing. To keep international trade free and fair to all countries by avoiding trade barriers FEATURES Large Scale operation International marketing transaction is always conducted in large quantity. This is necessary for securing the advantages of large scale operation as regards transportation, handling and warehousing. Domination of multinationals and developed countries Multinational Corporation dominates the international marketing scene. It has world wide contacts. They conduct business operation more efficiently and economically. They are in a better position to adopt global approach which is necessary in international marketing. International restrictions International marketing imposes various trade restriction (tariff non-tariff) because of productive policies followed by differences countries. Tariff barriers are adopted practically by all countries. Foreign exchange also imposes various restrictions on imports exports. The growth of international marketing is adversely affected due to such trade restrictions. Sensitive character International marketing is highly sensitive flexible in the character. A product may suddenly become unpopular or market may come down quickly due to political and economic reasons. Even the use of advanced technology by the competitors or the introduction of new product by the competitor may affect the sale at the global level. Need of international marketing research International marketing requires marketing research in the form of marketing surveys, product surveys and product testing as it is highly competitive. Government policies change, new substitutes enter in to the market and new restriction is imposed because of political, economic, social and cultural factors. Such challenges are common in international marketing and for this continues watch on international marketing environment is required. Marketing research, sale forecasting, etc. are useful techniques for this purpose. They bring adoptability in international marketing activities . Importance of Advance Technology Countries like the USA, Japan Germany have a dominating position in international marketing because of the use of advanced technology in production marketing of goods. They are able to promote export capture world market due to their ability to sell superior quality goods at competitive prices. At present, world markets are flooded with Japanese goods. this is the result of intensive use of automation advanced computer technology in Japan. Keen Acute Competition International marketing is highly competitive. Moreover, this competition is between developed developing countries which are unequal partners. Such competition is made severe due to special facilities incentives provided by the government to the exporter for export promotion. Need for specialized Institutions International marketing is risky complicated. It requires lengthy procedures formalities. Professional exports are necessary for dealing with various aspects of international marketing. Similarly, financial institution like indent houses, exchange bank export houses are established world over for effective participation in international marketing. Need for long term planning International marketing requires long term marketing planning. The marketing situation in different countries changes because of social, economic political factors. This stresses the need for long term planning in international marketing. A comprehensive dynamic marketing programmed can be prepared through such long term planning. Lengthy Time Consuming International marketing activity is lengthy, time-consuming complicated. This is due to long distances, restrictions imposed by different countries, payment difficulties due to the use of different currencies lengthy procedural formalities which need to be completed in an orderly manner. NEED FOR INTERNATIONAL MARKETING International interdependence of countries No countries in the world are self-sufficient in all respect. No countries can produce all its requirements due to geographical other factors. There is international inter-dependence because of which every country has to imports. This awareness of mutual dependence creates favorable situation for the growth of international marketing. International inter-dependence growing world population are two basic factors which suggest the need of large scale international marketing. Absence of uniform geographic climate conditions Geographic condition climatic factors are not uniform in all countries. No country is able to produce all goods required by it. A country can import the goods which it is not n a position to produce due to natural other economic factors. This suggests the need of international marketing in the case of all countries. Availability of comparative cost benefits International marketing is necessary as the cost of production is not uniform in all countries. Every countries can produce certain favorable factors. Exchange of commodities on the basis of comparative cost is always beneficial to all countries. Growing need of countries International marketing is necessary in order to meet the growing need of different countries also for providing better standard of living to people. This is the reason due to which countries following different political philosophies system maintain trade relation make the life of their citizens richer happier. Need of closer economic cultural cooperation International marketing is also needed for developing closer economic cultural relations between countries. This is the way by which the available global, natural other resources will be utilized fully at the international level. International marketing is needed for economic integration among the nation of the world. Problem of surplus/shortage of production in countries International marketing is needed due to surplus production in some countries supplemented by shortage of production in some other countries. It is also needed as some countries have huge unused production capacity while other have no capacity to meet even their domestic need. This situation can be corrected only through international marketing which facilities exchange of goods as per the need of different countries. Bridging gap between developed and developing countries International marketing is need in order to bridge the gap between the advance countries the developing countries. Such marketing not only brings exchange of goods services but also facilitates transfer of technical know-how skills. Such transfers are necessary for rapid growth of developing countries. Economic growth of developing countries world peace: International marketing is needed for rapid growth development in all countries-develop developing. It bring transfer of technologies facilitates rapid industrialization in developing countries. It provides a mechanism through which developed countries provides assistance to developing countries in there efforts towards economic growth. International marketing efforts benefits to all participating countries also develops co-operation among countries. In short, international marketing is needed as it is a key to world peace prosperity. PROBLEMS/DIFFICULTIES IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETING Payment difficulty: Payment is an important difficulty in international marketing because of different currency systems followed by different countries of the world. The buyer will like to make payment in one currency, while the seller desires to have payments in his home currency. In addition, strict foreign exchange is necessary. All these factors create complication in the payments for the goods sold or the services rendered. Such difficulties are absence in the case of domestic marketing due to the existence of uniform currency system Risk and Uncertainties in transportation: International marketing involves the transportation of goods over long distance covering thousand of kilometer. There is a risk of loss or damage of goods as exposed to uncertainties in transportation. High cost of transportation is one more problem in international marketing as this cost raises the market price considerably and affects sales. Government restrictions: International marketing is not free like domestic marketing. Export imports are restricted by the Govt in all countries. Due to such restriction, various problems are created before the exporters. Even the restriction in foreign countries create problem before the exporting community. Such trade restrictions are in the form of heavy tariffs, quotes, exchange control so on. Difficulties in communication: The operation of international marketing is between people of different language groups, traditions, customs, nationality, socio-system national laws. More over, direct contact between the parties is not possible. Hence, a special procedure in the form of letter of credit, bank guarantee, insurance, etc., is necessary for safety security of payments. Time difficulty: There is a wide gap between the time when the group are dispatched the time when the goods are received paid for. There is delay in receiving the delivery of goods due to complicated procedures long distance. Such delay is always troublesome to exporter as well as importer. Difficulty in the preparation of documents: A large number of documents are required to be prepared in international marketing transaction. The exporters, for example, have to prepare various documents for the benefit of the importers. This work is lengthy, complicated time-consuming. Severe competition in global market: International marketing is risky due to competition in global markets. This competition may be related to price, quality sales promotion techniques used. The competition is between countries with varied economy, social technological background. Such competition is always troublesome to poor developing countries. Exporters from such countries have to face various problems while dealing with severe market competition. Miscellaneous difficulties: These difficulties in international marketing include (a) difference in weights measures in different countries, (b) political affiliations of countries, (c) trade barriers trade blocs, (d) differences in the marketing practices followed in different countries and (e) war or international tensions. SCOPE OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING Regulation on marketing activities: International marketing is not free like domestic marketing. Various countries impose tariff non-tariff restrictions on trading activities. Such restriction affects the volume of international trade. The study of such regulation their effects on trading activities is one aspect of study concerned with international marketing. Every country has to study such regulation imposed by other countries take suitable remedial measures. Formalities and procedures of marketing: International marketing is a complicated time-consuming activity due to different commercial laws practices followed in different countries. Exporter importer have to follow various formalities procedure relating to licensing, foreign exchange, customs duties clearing of goods. Such procedure formalities are not uniform in all countries hence the study of procedure formalities comes within the scope of international marketing. Exporter importer have to study such formalities procedure for orderly conduct of international marketing activities. Trade block and their impact: Trade block are established by different countries participating in international marketing activities. Such block includes EU, LAFTA, ASEAN, EFTA CACM. However, such trade blocks are harmful to the growth of free world trade. Commercial policies and their impact: Every country prepares its own commercial policies to suit its specific needs. The policies of different countries create international commercial environment under which all countries have to operate. Naturally, the study of commercial policies of different their impact on world trade needs special attention. Such study comes within the scope of international marketing. International marketing research: Marketing research is essential for large scale marketing in global markets. Information about marketing environment, needs of consumers, buying behavior, extend of market competition, etc. will be available through such research activities. Product planning development, introduction of scales promotion techniques, etc are possible only through such research of foreign markets. Miscellaneous aspects: Export financing. Exim policy and implication. Export pricing and export risk management. Product innovation, standardization and sales promotion. Study of special facilities, concession and incentives. BENEFITS OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING TO A COUNTRY/NATION Provides higher standard of leaving: International marketing provides better life welfare to people in different countries. It provides goods which cannot be produced in the home country due to geographical limitations. This raises the standard of living of the people social welfare. International marketing facilities large scale production create employment opportunities in different countries. This provides purchasing power to the people ensures higher living standard to them. Ensures rational optimum utilization of resources: Rational allocation of resource the best use of the resources available at the international level is one major advantages of international marketing. It enables every country to export whatever is available as surplus. This may be raw material, oils, consumer goods even machinery services. Rapid industrial growth: International marketing creates new demand for goods. This facilitates industrial activities brings industrial development. International marketing leads to industrial development of the country, provides massive employment opportunities to the people full utilization of natural resources available. Benefits of comparative cost International marketing provides to participating countries, the benefits of comparatives costs. The benefits of division of labour specialization at the international level are available to participating countries through international marketing. International cooperation and world peace: International marketing bring countries closer due to trade relation. This leads to cooperation among the countries. Developed countries help developing countries in their development activities. This remove economic technological gap between the countries. Facilitates cultural exchange: Social cultural exchanges between different countries of the world are possible due to international marketing. This is possible as fashions move along with goods. Trade also develops social cultural relation among nations. This lead to cultural integration at global level. Better utilization of surplus production: Due to international marketing, surplus production of goods can be exported to other countries. This provides foreign exchange to exporting country also meets the needs of other countries. Effective use of surplus goods, service, raw material, etc. is possible due to international marketing. Thus effective utilization of surplus domestic production, introduction of new varieties of goods, improvement in the quality of production promotion of mutual co-operation among countries are the benefits of international marketing. Availability of foreign exchange: Easy availability of foreign exchange for import of capital goods, modern technology other essential requirements is possible due to international marketing. A country earn foreign exchange due to export can use it for essential imports. Expansion of tertiary sector: International marketing promotes exports. This lead to industrial development. Along with this, expansion takes place in the infrastructure facilities. International marketing indirectly promotes transport, banking, insurance shipping activities. This provides additional benefits to the national economy. Special benefits during emergency situation: International marketing offers special benefits during natural calamities such as floods famines. Emergency supply of goods is required to meet urgent needs. This is possible because of large scale imports. Even other country offers cooperation to county facing difficulties through supply of essential goods services. BENEFITS OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING TO A COMPANY A company exporting abroad earns substantial profit out of its export operation. This is because export marketing is normally more profitable then domestic marketing. Even the loss in domestic marketing can be compensated from the profit earned out of export. A company exporting abroad earn foreign exchange out of its operation and the same can be used for the import of essential goods, new machinery, technology, etc. this facilitates large scale export in future. A company exporting goods abroad is in position to utilise its production capacity fully as it has capacity to use the entire production for domestic and export marketing. A company exporting goods abroad is normally a sound company with financial stability and good earning capacity. It can face problems of domestic marketing because of the support marketing. LIMITATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING Unequal sharing of benefits: The benefits of international marketing are not shared in a fair manner among the participating countries. Rich and developed countries get more benefits at the cost of poor and developing countries. Restrictions on International Marketing: International marketing will offer all benefits only when free trade is allowed by all countries. However, the actual position is all together different. Trade restrictions (tariff and non-tariff) are imposed by all countries (developed and developing) on free movement of goods. This restricts the growth of international trade and actual benefits available to participating countries are limited. Efforts to remove various restrictions by WTO and other international trade organizations are not effective. Adverse effects of trade blocs on International Marketing: Along with trade barriers, trade blocs exist among the countries of the world. EU, LAFTA, ASEAN are some active trade blocs. They encourage trade among the members of the group but put artificial restrictions on the trading activities with non-members. As a result, the growth of international marketing is restricted. Similarly, free trade among nations is not allowed. In addition, countries which have not joined such trade blocs suffer in regards to their exports and imports. Domination of MNCs and developed countries on International Marketing: MNCs from rich and developed countries dominate international trade since long. Their operations are for profit maximizations. Poor and developing countries suffer due to virtual monopolistic position of MNCs in international marketing. These corporations sell their products in many developing countries as per the terms and condition which are profitable to them. This leads to exploitation of poor and developing countries also dominate international marketing. Existence of severe competition in international marketing: One limitation of present day international marketing is the existence of stiff competition among participating countries and companies. Unfortunately, this competition is between unequal competitors. It is between rich and poor or developed and developing countries. Developing countries lack advance technology, skilled labour, infrastructure facilities and so on. As a result, they have to sell their raw materials and other resources at a low price to rich countries.

Critical Review of Milk Age-Thickening

Critical Review of Milk Age-Thickening Robert Adi Nugraha The phenomenon known as age thickening refers to the event of viscosity rise just before the formation of gel and loss of fluidity. It is described by Snoeren et al (1982) as structural build-up through weak interactions between casein micelles which could be disrupted through mechanical shear. This effect is observed more on concentrated milk than the single strength milk. (Datta Deeth, 2001) In addition, the type of milk may have a part as well in determining the susceptibility to age thickening. It was found that skim milk samples were more susceptible to age thickening than regular milk. This is because fat had a protective effect against age thickening, perhaps through the interaction with casein micelles. (Harwalker et al, 1983) Age thickening is also a major limiting factor of shelf life for ultra high temperature (UHT) milk. (Datta Deeth, 2001) According to Datta Deeth (2001), there are 4 stages of age thickening. The initial step is the thinning of the product. There is not much change in viscosity observed in second step. The third step should display the sudden change of viscosity and gel formation. The last step is where the separation begins and gel started to appear. This gel that formed has been characterised by the whey proteins (in particular ÃŽ ²-Lactoglobulin) interacting with casein (mainly ÃŽ º-casein) of the casein particle and forming a three dimensional matrix of protein. Thus, this resulted in the formation of ÃŽ ²-Lactoglobulin-ÃŽ º-casein complexes during the heat treatment process involved in production of UHT milk products. Moreover, further changes occur during storage which involve the ÃŽ ²-Lactoglobulin-ÃŽ º-casein complexes being released from casein micelles and cross linking proteins interactions. This resulted in the formation of three dimensional protein network and can be observed as the milk thicken and then gel. (Datta Deeth, 2001) There are several factors that affect age thickening in milk which are: mode and severity of heat treatment, proteolysis, microbiology quality factor, storage temperatures, and fat content. These factors are related to the degree of the three processes which lead to age thickening or gelation which are 1) ÃŽ ²-Lactoglobulin and ÃŽ º-casein interaction, 2) the ÃŽ ²-Lactoglobulin-ÃŽ º-casein complex release from the casein particle, and 3) the cross linking of the ÃŽ ²-Lactoglobulin-ÃŽ º-casein complexes and proteins. (Datta Deeth, 2001) There are several additional factors suggested by Walstra et al (2005) that involve the effect of age thickening in condensed milk. The factors added are the stage at which sugar is added (the latter in the process, the less the age thickening) and the concentration factor (the higher the concentration, the more the age thickening). The effect of heat treatment on preventing age-thickening in cold-stored evaporated milk was looked at by Harwalker et al (1983) and showed that heat treatment was not effective at all. The idea behind their research was because of some changes in casein micelles which resulted from cold storage could be reversed from heating. Thus, the same concept was looked at for application in similar way, but they could not find evidence that the treatment worked. On the other hand, several researches have found that the introduction of UHT heating whether that direct or indirect differentiate the susceptibility of the milk samples to age thickening effect. McKellar et al (1984) found that an increase in viscosity was observed between 6-10 weeks at 20Â °C of directly heated UHT milk compared to the no apparent rise in viscosity during 30 weeks storage at the same temperature for the indirectly heated UHT milk. They suggested that the different heating severity where the indirect heating have higher heat load was the crucial factor that caused this result to be seen. Similar researches were carried out by increasing the temperature or time of heating and the same effect could be observed where the milk samples exposed to higher temperature or longer heating time tend to last longer without age thickening effect observed. (Samuelson Holm, 1966; Zadow Chituta, 1975) The reasoning behind this was suggested through the research of Manji Kakuda (1988) where they proposed that the resistance to age thickening effect observed in more severely heat treated milk samples was due to the increased level of denatured whey protein. The result from this research showed that start of the age thickening effect is factored by formation of denatured whey proteins and casein complex. Some studies have investigated the role of proteolysis of caseins in age thickening of milk. This was accredited to natural milk proteinase (plasmin) and heat stable proteinase produced by contaminants psychrotrophic bacterial. (Datta Deeth, 2001) During storage, the quantity of plasmin in milk may increase because of the endogenous plasminogen activators which convert plasminogen into plasmin and may cause gelation. Plasminogen is more heat stable than plasmin and thus if proteolysis and subsequently age thickening need to be controlled, denaturation of plasminogen must be targeted. In a study specifically designed to look at the effect of proteolysis in age thickening, serine proteinase inhibitors were added to UHT milk to inhibit plasmin and the result after storage for 9 months at 20Â °C was that no proteolysis and gelation occurred. (de Koning et al, 1985) As for the heat stable proteinase produced by psychrothropic bacteria, a Pseudomonas fluorescens strain was isolated from raw milk. The presence of this bacteria led to age thickening gelation over time with the time dependent on the bacteria growth prior to heat processing. (Law et al, 1985) Therefore, both bacterial proteinases and plasmin displayed their abilities to initiate proteolysis and thus age thickening effect in UHT milk. Harwalker et al (1983) tested the microbial quality of the raw milk used for preparing the evaporated milk, but they did not find any significant relation between the age thickening effect and this microbial quality. They proceeded to look at the microbial growth during storage to see if there was a relationship or not. In this part of their research, they did not find evidence to support relationship between an increase in standard plate count of microorganism with age thickening effect. The samples they were testing had an increase in standard plate count to millions, but the viscosity change was less than the samples which had much lower increases in standard plate count. The age thickened samples also showed no microorganisms which are capable of growth with the conditions. (Harwalker et al, 1983) The addition of additives to milk, such as sodium phosphate and sodium citrate, may speed up the age thickening effect, whereas the addition of polyphospates (e.g. sodium hexametaphosphate) could delay this effect. (Datta Deeth, 2001) The age gelation protection provided by polyphosphates increases with chain length and concentration with the most effective one being at 4.8 phosphorus atoms per chain. (Leviton et al, 1963) Furthermore, cyclic phosphates are more effective than the corresponding linear polymers in delaying the effect of age thickening. This is because cyclic phosphates are stable against hydrolysis and thus unable to form complexes with calcium ions which also posses anti-gelation activity as well compared to the linear polyphosphates which are converted slowly into orthophosphate that accelerates age thickening effect. (Leviton et al, 1962) Oxidising conditions such as aeration and peroxide treatments accelerated age thickening, but reducing conditions such as antioxidant treatments tended to delay but not prevent this phenomenon. (Harwalkar et al, 1983) This research also found that age thickening was also accelerated when evaporated skim milk was cold-stored before sterilisation. In relation to commercial practice, the age thickening problem happens to be a seasonal problem and it is more frequent in the early spring. (Hardham, 1996) Storage temperature is an important factor in age thickening effect as well. As noted by Datta Deeth (2001), age thickening takes place most easily at room temperatures (20-25Â °C) compared to the low (4Â °C) or high temperatures (35-40Â °C). Moreover, Harwalker et al (1983) concluded that age thickening may not pose a huge problem if cold storage of concentrate milk before sterilisation could be avoided. However, they noted that it is simply not possible in practical term because of the increasing volume of milk processed in combination with shorter working weeks. Datta Deeth (2001) summarised ways of controlling age gelation in their paper which will be discussed here. These methods are based on minimising proteolytic activity, delaying dissociation of ÃŽ ²-Lactoglobulin-ÃŽ º-casein complex from casein micelle, and inhibition of crosslinking or protein network formation. The first and foremost important way is by using raw milk of high quality in combination with low temperature storage for the least amount of time. In this way, the growth of psychrotrophic bacteria and the proteinases generated from bacteria in milk is minimised before thermal processing. (Datta Deeth, 2001) The second method proposed is heat treatment during preheating and sterilisation. This method needs to achieve the denaturation of most ÃŽ ²-Lactoglobulin and complex formation of the aforementioned denatured whey proteins with casein. In addition, the heat treatment would also inactivate plasmin. Indirect heating is more encouraged rather than direct heating to produce gelation stable milk. (McKellar et al, 1984) The drawback from this method is that it may give cooked flavour which would be a negative attribute for consumers. (Datta Deeth, 2001) The third method suggested in the literature was reported by Barach et al (1976) which is the low temperature inactivation of heat stable enzymes in milk using T=55 Â °C and extended holding time of 30-60 minutes. It was suggested that the proteinase undergoes a conformational change, and then the altered proteinase aggregates with casein, and thus an enzyme-casein complex was formed which inactivate the enzyme. However, this method is flawed in the way that the effect of this low temperature inactivation treatment varies between different milk batches and also some proteinases showed resistance to the temperature-time combination treatment proposed above. (Datta Deeth, 2001) Last method proposed is the addition of additives such as sodium hexametaphosphate to retard age thickening effect. This method was based on Kocak Zadow (1985) experiment which suggests that polyphosphates (sodium hexametaphosphate in particular) stopped the second phase of age thickening gelation which invol ves coagulation of protein. The drawback is that the consumer reaction to additives being added to milk product may be unfavourable. In addition, ultrasound have emerged as a possible method to manage the milk age thickening phenomenon. (Zisu et al, 2012) In the study, they used high intensity ultrasound with frequency of 20 kHz to control the rate of age thickening and reduce the viscosity of concentrated skim milk. (Zisu et al, 2012) This study found that the ageing effect could be reversed which was observed by the reduction of viscosity to similar values that of the starting material. However, they did also note that the ultrasound technique could not prevent age thickening once the process was started (especially if it is already at the advanced thickening stage), they rather delayed the thickening rate. (Zisu et al, 2012) The study concluded that if the ultrasound was to be utilised during the whole evaporation process, the effect on the early stage thickening stage could be prevented. (Zisu et al, 2012) In conclusion, milk age thickening poses a problem for the dairy industry as it could limit the shelf life of products. There is much to be learned of this phenomenon in order to solve this problem. Novel methods such as the ultrasound technique mentioned last are much needed and may arise as more research being focused on the causes of this age thickening effect. The expectation is that more ways would be suggested and researched to prevent this effect from happening and finally resolving the problem. In the mean time, there are few alternatives methods already available or suggested to minimise or delay the age thickening effect.

Cause and Effect Essay - Emergency Contraception Causes Abortion

Emergency Contraception Causes Abortion      Ã‚  Ã‚   Brown University associate professor of medicine, Ralph Miech, M.D., Ph.D., stated the abortive nature of EC in the Providence Journal on August 3, 1998: "This type of pill causes an abortion. From a pharmacologic perspective, this type of pill should be called an 'abortion-after pill'."    The question must be asked: "How is this contraception?" Women are being falsely led to believe that these pills are contraceptive in nature. But one of their common and intended modes of action is to prevent the development of the embryo, resulting in his or her death.    A major problem in this debate is the manipulation of terms. The FDA, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and abortion advocacy groups long ago endorsed a change in the definitions of "conception" and "pregnancy" to confuse the issue. Instead of equating conception with fertilization, and seeing a woman as pregnant if her body contains a living, developing embryo, they equate "conception" and "pregnancy" with the implantation of the embryo in the uterus 6 to 10 days later. Thus a drug or device that destroys the early embryo or disrupts its development is redefined as "contra-ceptive," even though it is abortifacient in nature.    The new Preven regimen and similar so-called "morning-after" pills, which can actually be taken several days after intercourse, are high doses of ordinary birth control pills containing estrogen and progestin, which have long been known to inhibit pregnancy. In response to years of pressure from some medical and advocacy groups, the FDA recommended six brands of oral contraceptive pills in high doses (Ovral, Lo/Ovral, Nordette, Levlen, Triphasil, and Tri... ...th the endometrium "could explain the majority of cases where pregnancies are prevented by the morning-after pill" (Wilks 154). Without implantation, which occurs about a week after fertilization, the embryo cannot develop and will die.    WORKS CITED    FDA Notice, 62 Fed. Reg. 861 [Feb. 25, 1997]).    Harper, C. and C. Ellertson. "Knowledge and Perceptions of Emergency Contraceptive Pills Among a College-Age Population: A Qualitative Approach." 27 Family Planning Perspectives 149 [July-August 1995].    Stubblefield, P. "Self-Administered Emergency Contraception -- A Second Chance." 339 New England Journal of Medicine 41 [July 2, 1998].    Wilks, J. A Consumer's Guide to the Pill and Other Drugs [1997]. Cites F. Grou and I. Rodrigues, "The morning-after pill: How long after?", 171 Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 1529-34 [1994].      

Victims of Domestic Abuse :: Legal Issues, Politics, Social Issues

Currently, protective orders are only provided during regular court hours to victims of domestic abuse. However, the occurrence of violence has no time frame – it does not only take place or transpire on a nine to five time clock. Therefore, I propose that legislation should be pushed forward which allows District commissioners the authority to put temporary restraining orders on people accused of domestic violence. It is important to note that victims may not receive full protection until the existing false impressions, held by some judicial and public safety officials, about the proper issuance and enforcement of protective orders are rejected. It is often considered that a protective order, being a civil order, should not be handled or enforced by police. This type of power should not be distributed, uncontrollably, to police officers. Since a court issues a protective order, some mistakenly believe that the police should not be able to arrest a person who violates the protective order because the person is in contempt of court – not disobeying the law. The proposed legislation would destroy these misconceptions by changing the state constitution to allow District commissioners to not only grant protective orders but also at night and on the weekends to safeguard â€Å"victims† of domestic abuse. Domestic violence is defined as threatened or actual abuse from someone in the victim’s immediate family or in his/her home or with whom she/he has a close relationship. Temporary restraining orders are issued by a court to restrict the conduct of a person while providing a victim with protection from the activities of an abusive person.

Why special needs children should be mainstreamed

This article spends the bulk of its clip informing the reader of the different facts behind the history of mainstreaming instruction. It begins with a glossary of different footings that are used when discoursing mainstreaming. This glossary becomes rather utile, in that it relates the reader to terminology such as, IDEA, which is the Persons with Disabilities Education Act, or IEPT which is Individualized Education Planning Team. It so moves on to the background of mainstream instruction. It shows the economic facets every bit good, demoing that to educate a mentally impaired kid it costs about three times the sum it does to educate a kid that is non mentally impaired. It so goes on to advert how Michigan has gone supra and beyond the federal Torahs when related to mainstream instruction. The article concludes by adverting the rapid growing of particular instruction, which besides means an addition in the demand for mainstreaming these kids. This article is a firsthand history of what one instructor has learned after learning kids that have been mainstreamed. She makes three points about what demand to be realized about mainstreaming in her article. The first thing she points out is a immense barrier towards mainstreaming. The writer points out that kids that are mentally impaired and mainstreamed, are by and large self-aware about it, and hence do non desire to pull attending to themselves, and so make non inquire inquiries, because they do non desire to look foolish. She so points out that kids that are non mentally impaired do non inquire inquiries because they do non desire to be looked at as the dense pupil. Another point that this writer makes is that mentally impaired pupils need one-on-one contact with a instructor, which can be hard when being mainstreamed, and being in category with 30 or more other pupils. This article was really enlightening, in demoing the differences between mainstreaming instruction for mentally impaired pupils, and the thought of inclusion. Perles points out that the chief difference between the two is the sum of support the pupil gets from instructors and other staff. Another big difference between the two is the outlook of the pupil. When being mainstreamed a mentally impaired pupil is expected to larn at a similar gait as the other pupils, although a small spot slower, when traveling through inclusion the outlooks are much lower, but are still related to what is expected of the other pupils. The thought behind mainstreaming is to assist a pupil better academically and socially by being given higher outlooks, and being around other pupils. The thought behind inclusion is assisting mentally impaired pupils better socially by puting them in schoolrooms with other pupils, instead than concentrate on faculty members. This article points out non merely some of the benefits of mainstream instruction, but besides some marks to state whether or non a pupil should be mainstreamed or non. The writer points out instantly that taking whether or non to mainstream a kid is a personal pick for any parent of a particular needs kid. She so mentions some of the factors one should see when make up one's minding whether or non to mainstream their kid. First, a parent should see the noise degree of a schoolroom, and whether their kid would be able to work with an increased noise degree, as compared to a schoolroom that contains other mentally impaired pupils merely. Another of import factor is how the kid behaves normally in public, if the kid is person that is non capable of acting themselves around other people in public, so they would non profit from being mainstreamed. The writer goes on to advert that mainstreaming can hold positive effects on all kids, the mentally disabled kids gain the societal accomplish ments, and derive friendly relationships, while other kids, without those disabilities learn how to handle people that are different than they are. This article attempts to present the reader to the construct of mainstreaming mentally impaired kids in public instruction. The writer starts the article by specifying what inclusion is. He so points out that there are two chief types of inclusion. Inclusion itself is when particular demands kids spends a few categories with general instruction classs, and so pass the remainder of the twenty-four hours with the particular instruction categories, whereas Full-inclusion is when particular needs kids spend the full twenty-four hours in general instruction categories. Full-inclusion frequently means that there is either no particular instruction schoolroom, or that there are really few pupils in at that place, with merely one or two instructors. As the writer points out, inclusion is popular for a few grounds, first it follows the American with Disabilities Education Act ( aka IDEA ) , and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Another large ground that inclusion is a popular thought is that it is cost effectual, by incorporating mentally disabled pupils into general instruction schoolrooms, schools do non necessitate to engage as many staff members as they would if they were unable to mainstream those pupils. Arguably the biggest job confronting inclusion is the deficiency of general instruction instructors being trained so that they are able to learn both the mentally disabled pupils and the other pupils reasonably, without being excessively hard on the mentally handicapped, and without being excessively simple for the remainder of the category. This article looks at the practicality of inclusion. The writer spends most of the article informing the reader about some of the jobs that face inclusion, and the practicality of it. She mentions that one of the biggest jobs confronting inclusion is that the instructors need to be trained in how to learn, non merely general instruction pupils, but besides mentally impaired pupils, and non merely separately, but both at the same clip. What the reader needs to recognize, nevertheless, is that the writer is non merely playing Satans advocator for inclusion, but instead, the writer is indicating out the defects with full-inclusion, which is easy the more hard of the two when it comes to execution. Unfortunately, many of the points that are brought up in this article that have become outdated, and this is non the mistake of the writer. The article was originally published in October 1997. Over the last 13 old ages, while the jobs that are brought frontward by the writer have non been sol ved, but at that place have been paces to better these jobs, and they are being solved reasonably quickly. This article informs the reader of what an inclusive school is like. The writer points out that if inclusion is traveling to be successful, so the mentally impaired pupils need to be viewed the same as any other pupil, by every other pupil. Until this happens, inclusion can non be considered complete, or successful. The writer besides includes a chart of things that inclusion seeks to make in any schoolroom, things that it tries to make less of, and things it tries to make more of. This includes things like Less whole category teacher-directed direction and More attending to affectional demands and the changing cognitive manners of single pupils. If inclusion is traveling to work so schools need to turn to the points that this writer brings up, and either work out the jobs associated with them, or implement the different thoughts. This article sets out to open the eyes of the reader to the existent grounds behind the mainstream motion. The writer points out instantly the grounds that she believes mainstream instruction has become such a popular thought. The writers first ground for the popularity behind the popularity it has incurred is cost. It is a batch cheaper to pay for a few instructors that can learn both mentally disabled kids, and general instruction kids, than wage for instructors for each separately. The ground is non so that schools can do more money by non paying for single particular instruction teachers, but instead because schools are confronting more and more budget cuts, particularly in Michigan, schools need to happen manner to cut costs, and by doing particular needs kids take category with general instruction pupils the school does non hold to pay for an excess teacher. The writer so mentions that this is all being done deceivingly, by mentioning that this is being done so that mentally im paired kids are treated with equality, when compared to other kids, people decide that these kids need to be mainstreamed, and the terminal consequence is that they may non be acquiring the instruction they would be acquiring if they were non being mainstreamed. This article is alone from the remainder in that it non merely supports the thought of mainstream instruction, but the article lists seven stairss that parents of mentally disabled kids should travel through to assist find whether or non they should see mainstreaming their kid. The writer besides mentions that while mainstreaming is something to see, there are certain fortunes that one needs to believe about earlier merely presuming that mainstreaming their kid is the right manner to travel. Before one determines that they will partake with a mainstream-style instruction for their kid they need to see the badness of their kids damage. If their kid is badly impaired, or needs a batch of single attending, so the kid can non work in a mainstream environment, and it would destroy the categories that they would go to. But, if you determine that your kid will be able to manage mainstream instruction, they should. There have been surveies that have shown that kids that go through mainstream instruction go more functioning parts of society than those that were isolated in merely particular instruction schoolrooms. One key point that the writer did do is that mainstream instruction demands to turn to the demands of the mentally impaired kid, while still turn toing what the other pupils need academically. This article decidedly seems to be the most cheerful about mainstream instruction. The writer references that for mainstream instruction to work parents necessitate to be involved, but allow the kids believe they are the ground that everything is working so good. While the parents need to let their kids to believe this duty is theirs entirely, the parents besides play a important function in how effectual mainstream instruction will be for their kid. The parents need to back up their kids, while keeping a moderately high degree of outlooks for their kids, and this manner the pupil will make their maximal potency. One really of import factor that the3 writer points out is that, while parents can presume that the people in charge of running mainstream instruction have their kids best involvement in head, the parents are the lone people that are traveling to be worried about their kid above all else. Parents need to be the figure one advocator for their kid, or they will non acquire wha t they want out of mainstream instruction. This article points out something that none of the others has, mainstream instruction does non merely impact the parents, and mentally handicapped kid. Mainstream instruction affects the full household, siblings can frequently clock feel isolated from their parents when all of this attending is traveling to merely one of their kids. The writer points out that one thing that parents should look into is happening some signifier of support for everyone in the household.