Hot Seat Chapter 16 Essay

1 . The fundamental ideas associated with the mercantile theory were: that everything was to benefit the mother country, each nation was trying to achieve self-sufficiency, colonies and agriculture would improve economy and raw materials, and the country must benefit at the expense of others. For the most part, these ideas along with a few other minor pieces helped European nations to conquer much of the New and old world. Great Britain was the most successful with a vast overseas empire through North America, the West Indies, Africa and into India. They governed their colonies effectively and efficiently maximizing power and economic strength over the world. The least successful would probably be Portugal. They initially started out strong, finding trade routes along Africa into Asia and conquering Brazil, however by the 18th century their empire had diminished to slight control of Brazil and almost no other colonies. 2. The main points of conflict between Britain and France in North America were in the St. Lawrence River valley and the Ohio River valley. These areas were huge enters of trade and influence of the Native Americans that both the French and English desired. In the West Indies the conflict was mainly over crops and through naval battles. These skirmishes affected overseas trade and the flow of resources. In India, the conflict was mainly restricted to port cities and factories set up by the early English and French settlers along the Indian subcontinent. 3. Triangle trade was an extremely useful trading method to transport goods, raw materials, and resources between Europe, the Americas, and Africa. European sailors ould travel down to Africa and exchange weapons (mostly) for African slaves from West African kings. These slaves were typically prisoners of war that the rival African cities wanted to get rid of. Europeans would transport these slaves to the West Indies and North American colonies were they would be traded for bullion and raw materials found and grown in the New World. Finally those ships would take the materials back to Europe were they could be sold and traded to the rest of the world. Triangle trade was an effective way for mercantilist empires to become more self- ufficient and grow economically. 4. Initially, the Spanish conquered and controlled the largest empire in the Americas. They had colonies in much of the rich West Indies, all throughout Central America, most of South America, and the South West of North America. They would split much of their territories into Judicial councils called audiencias. Each audiencia had a local official loyal to the Spanish crown called a Corregidor. Before the Bourbon reforms, Queen Isabella had assigned much of the colonial control to the Council of the Indies, hich nominated viceroys for the New World. Trade was mostly ruled by a flota system of yearly shipping with Spain. With the Bourbon reforms, Charles Ill attemoted to reassert Spanish control over the colonies. He allowed more than one Spanish city (Cadiz) to trade with the New World and opened more Caribbean ports. colonists) as the heads of society. They were the elites while the creoles were subordinate. 5. Slavery was introduced to the Americas through the triangle trading networks where large numbers of blacks were brought over form Africa. This wasn’t the first nstitution of slavery, however it is one of the worst recordings of slavery throughout history. Slavery became a fundamental part of the plantation system and completely necessary to the New World colonies’ economies. Without slaves, much of the intense economic growth experienced by the New World and Europe would not have occurred. The plantation system helped drive inhumane treatment of slaves because they were then seen as property, farm tools, that could be replaced. When they misbehaved or didn’t function properly, the plantation owners would either fix them through torture) or kill them. Despite the harsh treatment of slaves, our country and many others would arguably never have gotten to where it is today without them. 6. By the end of the Seven Years’ War, France and Austria came out defeated. In Europe, almost no borders or politics changed. Germany was still disputed and Prussia remained a strong power with England at its back. In North America, France lost all of their colonies and possessions. England and her North American colonies defeated the French and with the Treaty of Paris, cast them out. The only real foothold France now held in the New World were through its West Indies possessions. Great Britain now came out as a world power and probably the strongest nation up until the USA’s uprising. 7. Many European, especially British, events and ideas helped influence the American Revolution and drive the colonists to rebel. The John Wilkes affair which challenged the Kings power and the influence of Parliament. John Wilkes criticized the peace negotiations with France after the Seven Years’ War and gained much support from mall property owners and the nobles who wished to drain the kings power. America saw these demonstrations of proof as to the tyrannical nature of a monarchy. The Glorious Revolution also showed to the colonists how sometimes a new government must be instated to protect the people. Thinkers like John Locke and Thomas Paine also widely influenced the minds of many Americans. The American Revolution also caused a domino effect over much of the New World colonies like Haiti and other South American areas. It displayed the Enlightenment characteristics and helped inspire the French revolution. Great British political radicals saw that taxation of their North American colonies as far and Just. England had protected and defended them throughout the Seven Years’ War and they must share some of the burden. Also, American colonists paid significantly less taxes than the English citizens in Great Britain so they had no reason to complain. Americans were outraged because they were only represented through virtual representation. They felt that if the Parliamen t wished to tax the colonies, they must give them fair representation in Parliament, â€Å"no taxation without

Cushing’s Syndrome

Cushing’s Syndrome is a hormone disorder caused by the body tissues being exposed to high levels of the hormone cortisol for a long period of time. The disease is commonly caused by taking corticosteroid medicine in high doses over an extended period of time. The condition can also be caused by the body’s excess production of cortisol due to an overactive adrenal gland. It is a rare disease that mostly affects adults between the ages of 20 to 50. Females are more likely to get the disease than males due to an adrenal or pituitary tumor. Cushing’s Syndrome signs and symptoms include progressive obesity and skin changes. There is rapid gain in the upper body fat deposit along the collar bone and the back of the neck which is often called â€Å"buffalo humps† and a rounded face which is referred to as â€Å"moon face†. The skin stretches causing pink or purple stretch marks along the stomach, thighs, breasts, and arms. A woman with the syndrome could experience excess body hair growth on their face, neck, chest, stomach, and thighs. It could cause their menstrual cycle to become irregular or stop. A man with the syndrome could experience decreased fertility and erectile dysfunction. Other signs and symptoms include excess sweating, fatigue, muscle weakness, headaches, high blood pressure, thinning and fragility of the skin causing it to bruise easily and heal poorly. Other symptoms also include dryness of the skin, acne, weakened bones, cognitive difficulties, and high blood sugar which may lead to diabetes. Cushing’s Syndrome can also cause loss of emotional control which could lead to depression, anxiety, and irritability. The adrenal gland of the endocrine system produces a number of hormones, including cortisol. Cortisol plays a number of roles throughout the body. It helps with regulating the body’s blood pressure, which keeps the cardiovascular system functioning normal. It helps to react to stress by converting proteins, carbohydrates, and fats into usable energy. The condition can be caused by medication such as prednisone that has the same effects as the cortisol that is produced in the body. A doctor may prescribe this type medicine to patients with inflammatory disease such as asthma, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or to prevent the body from rejecting a transplanted organ. The treatment of these conditions often requires higher amounts of cortisol than the body normally needs in a day. The condition can be caused by your own body producing excess cortisol. This could occur from the excess production of one or both of the adrenal glands of the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) which regulates production of cortisol. A benign tumor of the pituitary gland can cause secretion of an excess amount of ACTH, which will, in return, stimulate the adrenal gland to make more cortisol than the body needs. As mentioned previously, the condition occurs more often in women. Urine and blood lab tests are performed to measure the hormone levels in the urine and blood. These tests will show if the body is producing an excessive amount of cortisol. Saliva tests are also used by analyzing cortisol levels in salvia collected at night. Normally, cortisol levels rise and fall throughout the day, but levels in people without Cushing’s Syndrome will drop considerably in the evening. Imaging tests such as CT or MRI scans can detect abnormalities such as tumors in the pituitary and/or adrenal glands. All of these tests can help a doctor diagnose Cushing’s Syndrome and rule out other medical conditions. The treatment for Cushing’s Syndrome depends on what caused the cortisol to be high in the body. The treatment should be designed to lower the high level of cortisol in the body. If the disease was caused by long term exposure to corticosteroids, then the treatment would be reducing the use of corticosteroid. For patients with asthma, arthritis, or other conditions that require medication to manage their illness, doctors can prescribe noncorticosteroid drugs. Surgery is recommended if the disease is caused by a tumor that is present in the pituitary gland, adrenal glands, lungs, or pancreas. If surgery does not remove the tumor completely, radiation therapy is used in conjunction with the operation. Medications such as Nizoral, Lysodren, and Metopirone are prescribed to control production of cortisol when the surgery or radiation therapy doesn’t work. The length of recovery depends on the severity and cause of the Cushing’s Syndrome. Patients should be advised to increase their daily activities slowly due to weakened muscles. They need to be sure that they are eating sensibly and getting enough calcium and Vitamin D to help strengthen their bones. They need to monitor their mental health because depression can develop due to being overwhelmed or having difficulty coping with recovery. For aches and pains; the patient can take hot baths and do low impact exercises such as water aerobics. For patient recovery from cognitive difficulties, they can do crossword puzzles or math problems to exercise their brain and help to improve their brain function.

How are marked and unmarked identities socially produced

A simple definition of identity might be no more than â€Å"who we are†. People of the same nationality or age, for example, can be said to have an identity in common. It follows that by virtue of belonging to more than one group, or â€Å"collective identity†, we all have multiple identities. Identities can connect people; and disconnect them too. Similarities in group identities may give rise to positive connections between people, but equally connections may be negative when referring to differences. An identity created by differences can be: one that is negatively valued; one which ceases to be equal; and one where social life is maintained on an imbalance. Identities can be both individual (for example: female, Southerner) and, through referring to relationships and connections to others (whether they be similar or different), social. Furthermore, social identities can be either situated, that is given by what people are doing (shopping, working), or relational and given by the relationships between people. It is important to note this relational identity can be unequal. The concepts of marked and unmarked identities are a pairing of unequal relational identities where the unmarked identities – taken for granted – are not noticed; in contrast to the marked identities, which always are. As Taylor states, the marked identities â€Å"in most cases carry a negative value† (Taylor, 2009, p179). This essay describes the way marked and unmarked identities are created. An example of marked and unmarked identity is found in Raban’s Street People. They were the homeless living on the streets of New York; they were grouped by â€Å"others† (everyone else) as a collection of â€Å"thieves, alcoholics, the temporarily jobless† (Raban cited in Taylor p176). The identity given to the Street People is relational; it is both detailed and negative and is the marked identity of the pairing. â€Å"Everyone else†, the other half of the relationship, is of course the unmarked identity. People with unmarked identities have a â€Å"vaguely positive ‘normal’ identity which is not really described† (Taylor, 2009, p179). Moreover, the Street People were grouped together as being the â€Å"same†, because as Taylor suggests it is part of the nature of group identities that they are not seen as individuals with different life histories (2009, p177). â€Å"The social process through which the difference of other people is marked and their negatively valued identity becomes established† is known as Othering (Taylor, 2009, p179). From the articles both the Roma or â€Å"immigrants† and the â€Å"thugs† are the marked identities. The Roma immigrants have a racial and ethnic collective identity; they are Roma, from Romania, living in Northern Ireland, some of whom are English-speaking. The attacks against them (by the thugs) are racially motivated, and in racist rhetoric a frequent insistence is that immigrants should ‘go back to where they come from’. As Taylor observes, a racial and ethnic identity, like the Roma, often positions people â€Å"as recent immigrants to the country in which they were born and grew up† (2009, p182). Although the article doesn’t say how long the immigrant Roma people have been living in Belfast, the mention of a baby indicates that in this community there is at least a second generation. The other marked identity is that of the thugs. They are described with labels such as, â€Å"gang†, â€Å"neo-Nazi†, â€Å"racist criminals† and â€Å"far-right faction† whose actions were â€Å"illegal†; although unlike the Street People they may be comfortable claiming at least part of that identity. In both articles figures of authority use powerful language to condemn the behaviour of the thugs and unconditionally support the Roma. The Roma are recognised as making a contribution to the community where they were living, presumably side by side with their assailants, in a cosmopolitan district of Belfast. Despite this, however, they remain marked; their identity is further reinforced and re-created by the negative effect of the rhetoric of persecution and discrimination in both the articles. In contrast, the unmarked identity are the Western, white, Irish who are also given a situational identity by association with their â€Å"cosmopolitan and affluent† place of residence – a strong impression is given of a â€Å"nice† (not a â€Å"working-class†) place to live. In the article the journalist makes a particular point of mentioning that the attacks did not happen in a working-class, Protestant neighbourhood, where perhaps it would be less surprising to see this behaviour? In a modern society it is no longer possible to divide up a community into Karl Marx’s neat groups of capitalists and workers. A more complex picture exists in the contemporary UK of â€Å"middle-class† and â€Å"working-class† groups. Both terms refer to characteristics such as affluence, education, background and even accent, furthermore terms, such as â€Å"chav†, â€Å"posh† or â€Å"yummy mummy† can add further detail. In the article the description of Lisburn Road with â€Å"coffee shops full of affluent young mothers† is describing a comfortable, middle-class district which confers an identity just on the unmarked. As with Raban’s Street People, the Roma and the thugs have been grouped into an â€Å"imagined community†. ’Imagined’ refers to the importance of our ideas and beliefs about the world† (Taylor, 2009, p178). Typically, members of an imagined community are too numerous to be personally acquainted, however, as both the Roma and thugs were relatively small groups it is probable that members were acquainted. The negative collective identity, again as with the Street People, was given by others. Taylor suggests that at some level the experience of being homeless in a modern society in some way constituted the Street People as a group, as the experience of persecution helped constitute the Roma as a group (2009, p178). Finally, the story of the Roma people here is an example of how established differences and inequalities are reinforced. The attacks by the thugs were â€Å"part of a trend of growing abuses against the Roma across Europe† (www. amnestry. org. uk accessed December 2010) they were challenging and contesting the right of the Roma to live in their community. In turn their persecution of the Roma was challenged by residents of the community and figures of authority in an attempt to repair and improve society. Taylor, S (2009) ‘Who do we think we are? Identities in everyday life’ in Taylor, S. Hinchliffe, S. , Clarke, J. and Bromley, S. (eds) Making Social Lives, Milton Keynes, The Open University. Amnesty International accessed 4th December 2010 http://www. amnesty. org. uk/news_details. asp? NewID=18258 Order and predictability are important if society is to exist therefore it is inherent that social order is maintained. Social order can be referred to as a set of linked social structures, social institutions and social practices which act to conserve, maintain and enforce an orderly way of relating and behaving within society. There are various views and theories of how social order is created within society two such views come from Erving Goffman and Michael Foucault. The difference between theories such as those of Erving Goffman and Michael Foucault is primarily one of focus. Goffman analysed social rules governing nonverbal interactions by individual people to develop his theories using the metaphor of a theatre. Goffman demonstrated that the most casual actions, such as posture, body and eye movements that people make are performances aimed toward communicating a positive impression for an audience. Goffman focused on the self and self-presentation he preferred to study individuals. Goffman’s descriptions of individual’s face-to-face interactions formed the large body of his work through this he noted that social interactions could be reworked by changing interactions. In contrast, Michael Foucault preferred to analyse the entire society. He examined the ways in which societies function and the principles of exclusion societies developed to define their differing forms of order throughout different historical times. Foucault did not conduct the type of first hand and intensive field work characteristic of the development of Goffman's theories. Foucault's theories on history and the self were more impersonal and global in focus. They centred on how societies interpreted and implemented their definitions of sane and insane, innocent and criminal and insider and outsider and how with each differing discourse social change emerged creating a new and greater power than the last. Goffman looks at the way individuals present themselves and their activities to others using the theatre as a framework. In his theory of impression management Goffman saw that through interaction with others in society an impression of the subject is given off to others. This is automatic and inevitable. The way people perceive others is through this social interaction. This means that through messages that are given off whether intended or unintended they are the judgments by which people will hold their opinion of others they come into contact with. According to Goffman impression management is fundamentally about expressive responsibility it is about self-consciously crafting an exterior appearance that will not offend the audience. In other words social interaction is an act of dramatization in which people perform in accordance with the social order or environment expected of them the nature of the environment and with the goal of manufacturing performances that are acceptable keeps social order constant but if these interactions are changed or reworked the result will be different disrupting the social norms within society (Silva, 2009, p. 16). In contrast to Goffmans research Foucault dismisses the view that individuals have any power or control over society looking instead at historical evidence and exploring how social order is written and talked about differently depending on what is deemed appropriate by the organisations which govern society at the time which he is studying he called these discourses the way different frameworks guide what is acceptable within these periods of time whether it be the way people are talking or acting at any given point in history. So as well as looking at how these subjects act within the larger society he is looking at society itself as a larger organism this allows him to explore micro as well as macro rather than Goffmans studies of only the micro or the individual. (Silva, 2009, p. 319) There are however similarities between the two in that they are both concerned with the bigger picture of understanding how society and social order is formed, maintained, changed and rebuilt over time the differences only become visible when their methods and theories are broken down. A good way to explore both the similarities and differences in these theories is to look at the case studies by Buchanan and Monderman In these instances the focus is the relationship between traffic and pedestrians and how the governance of these variables act as agents in the conception of social order. Buchanan and Monderman explored how the relationship between traffic and pedestrians makes and remakes social order. Traffic congestion in Britain’s towns and cities increased in correlation with the rise in car ownership following the conclusion of the Second World War. Buchanan was commissioned in 1961 by the UK Government to deliver the report ‘Traffic in Towns’. This report was deemed necessary to avoid demand for road space being greater than that available. The recommendation of the Buchanan report was that traffic and pedestrians should be segregated. Buchanan’s principle was to isolate areas for working, shopping and leisure, separate to ‘corridors’ where traffic could move freely without disruption, regulating the movements of both traffic and pedestrians. The isolated areas were described as ‘environmental units’ (Silva, 2009, p. 328). Monderman’s view directly contradicted the ideas presented by Buchanan. Monderman challenged the principle of segregation as well as other factors associated with traffic calming such as warning signs and speed humps. This philosophy of shared space takes a different approach to public spaces and highways in that segregation are almost exclusive to highways. Monderman’s thesis uses psychological traffic calming to improve road safety using measures such as abolishing roadside markings and Signposting. Monderman pioneered the idea of the ‘naked street’ the removal of what he viewed as unnecessary ‘street furniture’ within this model which promotes the idea of social order being maintained and balanced by the interaction between drivers and pedestrians (Silva, 2009, p. 333). Monderman displays awareness and understanding of the driver of the vehicle in contrast to Buchanan, Monderman implies that the driver rather than the vehicle is the true cause of potential danger on the road. Both of these studies can be used and compared to those of Foucault and Goffman both have differing views centred on the same big issue for example Michel Foucault theorised that we behave according to what he refers to as discourse. In this instance discourse is what is in everyday talking, thinking and reading, but it has come down from people and institutions invested with authority. In his view we think we are free to act but in reality we are obeying authority figures this can applied to the report by Colin Buchanan When people drive they automatically obey road signs and physical features Foucault proposes that discourses are replaced as the need arises but that they are always cascaded down from authority figures. These figures change through time from the organisations in charge of social order and so on. So as we had more cars on the road we had new rules around their use. Monderman’s approach had the street furniture and segregation and claimed that pedestrians going through what became known as shared spaces instinctively knew to be aware of other road users and pedestrians and negotiated their way by making eye contact with each other. Erving Goffman's theory can be compared to this as he believed that people interact with each other in daily life to make things work better so that they can make changes in social order which they can claim as their own rather controlled governing bodies. n conclusion both have many similarities such as their desire to understand social life and order, they are both rational in their ideas of authority although neither claims to have a definitive theory of social order both believe it is made up of sequences whether it be small individual pieces or discourses that creates power and organisation however they differ in their approaches to what components make up society one taking the individual and one taking society as a whole. One believing that the way individuals act towards one another directly affects how social order is made and remade one believing that this is only influenced by larger organisms such as government as a whole not as individual entities. Both views have merit and are not without fault but are in their own ways directly concerned with the bigger picture that is social order within society.

Thalassaemia Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thalassaemia - Lab Report Example Then there is the ÃŽ ±-thalassaemia trait characterized by two affected ÃŽ ±-globin genes. Hemoglobin H disease is the third type classification of ÃŽ ±-thalassaemia which has three affected genes. Finally, there is the ÃŽ ±-Thalassaemia Major that has four affected ÃŽ ±-globin gene (Weatherall and Clegg 2008). There are three different types of ÃŽ ²-thalassaemia. The first one is ÃŽ ²-thalassemia trait which has one mutated ÃŽ ²-globin gene and one normal one. The second one is Thalassaemia Intermedia, which has two abnormal l genes although there is a little production of ÃŽ ²-globin. The third is Thalassaemia Major in which there are two abnormal genes that cause extreme decrease or complete lack of ÃŽ ²-globin production (Weatherall and Clegg 2008). Haemoglobin electrophoresis is a method used to separate the different blood haemoglobin types in a procedure that uses cellulose acetate in alkaline buffer. The process involves the use of extremely small samples of haemosylates prepared from whole samples of blood. These samples are applied to the Titan III Cellulose Acetate Plate whereby the haemoglobins in the samples undergo separation by electrophoresis with the use of an alkaline buffer. The pH of the buffer ranges between 8.2 and 8.6. They are then stained with Ponceau S Stain and the resulting patterns that form are scanned on a scanning densitometer followed by determining the relative percentage of each band. TF is diluted to 15ml, and SF is collected in 3ml so as to maximize absorption in the spectrometer. This, however, does not affect the results because they were diluted using distilled water. Distilled water is free of ions and other soluble contaminants and; therefore, cannot affect the result of the experiment. The pH of the solution in which amino acids are dissolved mostly determine their ionic state. Cationic amino acids exist at low solution pH of approximately 1. An increase in solution pH causes the

BizCafe Business Plan Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

BizCafe Business Plan - Coursework Example This business plan takes us through the Never Enough Cafe’s journey since birth to growth. This business has mimicked the production curve throughout its existence. The marketing plan plays a vital role in determining areas of improvement and the appropriate measures. The main aim of any business is to make profits; this is not an exemption, therefore, these strategies aim at improving the status of the business. 1.0 Company description Never Enough Cafe is a small business, which has been in existence for over a month. The main aim of this cafe is profit making, and its mission statement includes â€Å"to ensure that our customer’s professional and courteous service, by selling remarkable coffee at fair prices and maintaining a clean and comfortable space for our customers and staff; to consistently provide our customers with impeccable service by demonstrating warmth, graciousness, efficiency, knowledge, professionalism and integrity in our work, with a focus on styl e and hygiene.† The main objective of the business is to attract customers by offering the best services, with an aim of increasing revenues. This business specializes in only one beverage, which is coffee, but which varies from coffee latte, coffee black to cappuccino. The company is in its growing stages and has 10 employees among which three are managers while the rest are servers. The manager’s salaries are $670 while the servers are paid $9.00 an hour. The business operates six days in a week and recently changed its opening hours to 8.am as opposed to 9.am. The current prices of our coffee are as follows; small cup at $3.00, medium cup at $3.50, whilst the large cup goes for $4.00. This business has adopted the differentiation strategy, which enables it to be unique in terms of its products and services, for instance, by offering a variety of different type of coffee and in different sizes so as to cater for all types of customers. In addition, the cafe possesses a four-cup automatic espresso, which contributes to effectiveness when catering many customers. The cafe is also insured and has adopted a logo, which is visible on the coffee cups. The cafe markets its product via the newspaper at $200 per day and on the radio twice per day at $560. The cafe is located on the main street, therefore targeting a variety of customers, who include university students, the university staff, downtown entrepreneurs, and their clients. 2.0 Market analysis Marketing analysis is used as a tool by businesses aiming at understanding their operating environment better. According to the local labor news, the average manager’s wages is at $635 per week while the server’s wages are at $8.88 per hour. Nevertheless, our cafe pays the employees above the local average rates, such that, servers are paid $9 per hour while managers are paid $670 per week. In addition, the average turnover rate is low in the market as it is at 14%; our cafe has not had majo r issues with turnover as only one server has quit since the business started. We opted to offer our employees on-the-job training, which is cheap and effective. The employee salaries have always been reviewed and increased when necessary, according to Lathan (2009, p.78), motivated employees result to higher performance, which in return increases a company’s productivity. In period six, the customer satisfaction rate was at 54%, while the industry average customer’

DOES THE PRACTISE OF HRM GIVE ORGANISATIONS A COMPETITIVE EDGE Essay

DOES THE PRACTISE OF HRM GIVE ORGANISATIONS A COMPETITIVE EDGE - Essay Example Business organizations has been apt in declaring their commitment in treating employees as valued assets and a source of competitive advantage yet empirically "organisational reality appears 'hard' with an emphasis on the quantitative, calculative, and strategic aspects of managing a head count" (Gill 1999). Empirical evidences on the effectiveness of human resource management as a source of competitive advantage have been widely documented. During 1995, the study of Huselid conducted in almost 1000 US players in various industries concluded that "the magnitude of the returns for investments in high performance work is substantial." Furthermore, "a one percent standard deviation increase in such practices is associated with 7.05% decrease in labour turnover, and on a per employee basis US$27, 044 more in sales, and US$18,641 and US$3,814 more in market value and profits, respectively" (Huselid 1995). This study has been one of the earliest and most extensive works linking HRM to actual business performance. The findings has been strongly supportive on the view that HRM provides companies with competitive edge because HR practices increased employees' trust, job satisfaction, and commitment while eliminating work intensification and reducing stress. In the United Kingdom, wide array of case studies have also been documented which strongly links HRM to organisational performance. In 1997, Patterson et al released the results of their survey utilizing 67 manufacturing industries. This has been published by the Institute of Personnel Development which is currently known as CIPD and highly quoted for its enlightening insights. The study has put forward the "importance of HRM as a driver of, and contributor to, improved performance" (Patterson et al 1997). It is also interesting to note that this study asserts that "HRM had a greater impact on productivity and profits than of other factors including strategy, research and development, and quality" (Patterson et al 19997). Going further, Patterson et al, uncovers that while 8% in variations from profitability is explained by R&D, 17% is explained by HRM practices. This is highly significant compared to the 2% and 1% garnered by the strategy and quality, respectively. The study of Guest et al in 2000 also stresses the importance of human resource management practices in organisational performance. This research links specific human resource practices like job security, recruitment and selection, and training and development with performance outcomes including financial performance, quality, and productivity. It has been uncovered that 70% of the chief executives interviewed for the study asserts that their business strategy relied a lot on people as a source of competitive advantage (Guest et al 2000). On the other hand, less than half of them "felt that 'people issues' are more important than financial and marketing issues" (Guest et al 2000). This particular research opens an important field for further queries. Even though it concluded that HRM is positively correlated with performance, it has also been observed that only a small proportion of the companies considered do practice more than

The economic benefits and environmental problems of the Three Gorges Research Paper

The economic benefits and environmental problems of the Three Gorges Dam - Research Paper Example 139). The first suggestion was given by Sun Yat-Sen, who was the president of China in 1919. It was a business vision that was aiming at improving the economy status of China. The river Yangtze was the potential water source for the reservoir since it is 3937 miles with a volume discharge of water of 960 billion cubic meters in the Sea of East China. This river never dries, and it is consistent with the amount of water flowing in it because it gets its water from the ice that covers the mountain range in the South-west, Chongqing (Kammerer 5). More to the economic benefits, the project, was to be built to reduce flood that was occurring at least once in every decade, and its effects were devastating to the Chinese community. The dam was engineered and designed to have three parts: ship lift, ship locks, and the dam. The drive of the dam was to store water thatwas used for hydroelectric harnessing and the ship lift and ship dock was for water vessels navigation to enhance trade to and from Shanghai (Trouw 16). The dam has a height of 600 feet and a width of 1.3 miles. These measurements were large enough to hold large volumes of water during the season when the ice melting realized a lot of water. The bigger the size the efficient it is to reduce water spillage to the land surfaces. It was fitted with twenty-six turbines that were rotated by the flowing water to generated electricity. These stations have the capacity to produce the power equal to eighteen power plants generating the energy from nuclear elements (Spilsbury 30). Five ship locks were constructed for large and heavy ship transportation and a ship lift to lift the small marine vessels over the dam wall of Three Gorges Dam. The construction caused migration of 1.3-1.9 million of people because of the changing water levels in the dam. The resettlement of people was to allow a safe margin of water

Chinese Indonesian People Discrimination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Chinese Indonesian People Discrimination - Essay Example As a 6-year-old girl, I remember feeling helpless as I saw my parents shaking when the mob was in the vicinity of our house. They tried to keep a watch on the movements of the mob through the radio and television fearing something would happen to our family if we did not keep a close vigil, while I sat dumbfounded, not knowing what to do and how to react. The most we could do was just sit and wait till the mob calmed down and stopped indulging in the kind of heinous activities that they were. Despite this entire situation, the reason behind the action was unclear because even though some said that it was because of genocide toward Chinese Indonesian who monopolized the economy in Indonesia, but no one knows the actual truth. However, fourteen years have passed since that nightmare, but discrimination is still a big problem in Indonesia. Even though the state is not as anarchist in nature, the hatred between these two ethnicities is still visible. They tend to make misconceptions about each other beforethey really look at each individual. This bad habit can be seen in almost all walks o life including both politics and education; discrimination is very deep rooted in Indonesia. Dealing with this kind of hatred becomes extremely difficult because people are not willing to live with one another and adjust to the other’s needs. Today, people need to understand that whatever war had to take place in the past is over for a reason that the struggle does not take place again in the present. Discrimination on the basis of an ethnic group is a very saddening thing that forces the minority to live in a powerless bubble.

Identify and critically assess the principles which underpin the EU Essay

Identify and critically assess the principles which underpin the EU Public Procurement - Essay Example Framework Procurement can be defined as â€Å"the purchase of commodities, goods, works or services by public administrators†.1 A public administrator in the EU Law includes state, government, association governed by public law and similar bodies. Collectively, public procurement accounts for 13.5% of the European Union’s GDP.2 This therefore means that the authorities have a duty to provide a legally acceptable set of guidelines that promotes the European Union’s single market system and also prevents leakages and unfair procurement practices and corruption. However, some challenges in the EU Procurement Laws do not enable the EU Procurement system to achieve its objectives. In the UK, the threshold for the observance of EU Public Procurement Law is ?100,000 for government supplies and ?4 million for works and services.3 These thresholds are really high. This gives room for various forms of manipulation. A public institution that desires to be mischievous is lik ely to buy goods and services in lower amounts so that they will not be required to follow the EU Procurement Rules. This gives room for easy evasion and manipulation. Reasons for the EU Public Procurement Laws The first reason why the EU Public Procurement Law was enacted was that the European Union has laws that guarantee the freedom of movement, person, capital and services across borders so nations and governments should not have public procurement systems that discriminate against people from other EU nations.4 Also, non-tariff protection exists for all EU businesses in the transfer of their goods and services across the various borders.5 The EU Procurement Law avoids amongst other things, discrimination against efficient companies by ensuring the fair treatment of all potential bidders for a public supply tenders across the EU. The extent to which the procurement law has protected non-national businesses in bids and tender is quite questionable. This is because with higher tra nsportation costs and diversity issues, it is often common for public institutions to choose local suppliers and not external suppliers. In summary, the EU Procurement Laws state that public institutions should honour three things in their operations.6 The are: 1. They must treat a business and person of other EU nationality fairly7 2. No discrimination, there should be equality 3. There should be transparency in bidding and tender selection process. However, with the uneven trends of development in the EU, there are cases when there is the need for positive discrimination to help some national businesses to grow by supplying to public institutions in the country. Adhering strictly to the public procurement framework can only cause some local businesses in smaller nations like Portugal and Latvia to collapse in the face of other richer businesses from more powerful nations like Germany, France and Britain. Overview of Underpinning Principles The main areas and aspects of the EU Publ ic Procurement policy include transparency, publicity, objectivity, accountability, non-discrimination and flexibility/redress.

MUSIC (Freewrite) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MUSIC (Freewrite) - Essay Example r contemporary artists carpenters’ greatest sounds Michael Jackson erytha franklin local talents pure inate skills banjo guitar piano groovy nights night out dancing socializing midnight blues spontaneous personal expression sentimental no bounds lyrics crying Christmas medly remembering good days bad days people loved smile faces philharmonic harmony melody noise banging fireworks nostaligic calming spring water warm peaceful merican idol beatles riding radio on google upload swigning breathtaking sopranto alto crescendo mother singing baby lullaby association to music was inferred from one’s family members and the experiences shared with them. As such, music was more of a personal and family experience as memories seemed to have formed through established bonds with loved ones. As evident, the correlation to music was expressed through words that were descriptive of sounds of music: soft, mellow, loud, fast, crescendo, alto, among others. Then, there were adjectives that focused on associating music with particular events or days: Sunday afternoon, father and mother singing, baby’s lullaby, Christmas, fireworks and even watching American Idol. Concurrently, music was clearly related to artists such as Josh Groban, the Carpenters, Michael Jackson, and Aretha Franklin; in conjunction with remembering terms that are specifically related to musical elements and genres: rhythm, harmony, melody, pop, jazz, and rhythm and blues. The fun part was that the freewrite exercise provided one with the opportunity to burst for th with whatever came to one’s mind regardless of order, pattern, grammatical rules, or whimsical sense. Food was evidently part of the musical experience with pizza, potato chips and chocolates topping the list. However, remarkably, since the topic on music was initially provided, the free flow of words, ideas, and associated terms all reverberated to anything that has some special relation to music: people, events, sounds, artists, and even the

Vectren Corporation Audit Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Vectren Corporation Audit - Assignment Example Based on reported results, the dividend payout ratio and the return on average shareholders’ equity for 2013 were 86% and 8.9%, respectively. Under the Vectren At-Risk compensation plan, the company may prefer to acquire more shares on the open market during the fiscal periods when there are no limitations on the internal transactions to fulfill these obligations. The effective January 1, in the year 2015, the Compensation and Benefits Committee of the solemn Board of Directors issued approximately 169030 performance-based units to the management. Moreover, the Vectren Company is expecting to grant an absolute additional 172,069 performance awards measured at the time of the three-year performance period that will end as at December 31, the year 2014, which do not vest with the inadequate exceptions up to December 31, 2015. Unfortunately, these facts are not included in the table structured with the issues on the fiscal year. The footnote generally plays various fundamental roles in documents that will be analyzed further to acquire some information or rather to guide in a particular research. A footnote is always a tool that is used for referencing in documents (Pierce, Sarah, and Julie, 88). Some of the major purposes of the footnote include the following: Provision of additional information on an element or subject that has been mentioned in the main text or document but the elaboration of the element or subject is a little bit shallow in the main text. The footnote will, therefore, create a broad explanation on the subject in order to facilitate proper understanding thus accurate interpretation for anyone who will access the document. Footnotes also provide references used in the text or document in order to enable the readers to acquire more information from the journals or books quoted in the document in order to avoid cases of plagiarism.

Economic Effects Of U. S. Sugar Subsidy Policy Essay Example for Free

Economic Effects Of U. S. Sugar Subsidy Policy Essay Economists have for a long time studied and discussed the various effects of government subsidies and government support for specific industries and markets. In fact, in many colleges and universities, there are specific courses that are dedicated to the effects of public policy to both private and public firms as well as the overall market in which these firms operate in. These economic concepts, in turn, help policymakers make sense of the causes and effects of various incentives that are driven by government interventions to the market. However, as we shall soon discover in the discussion in our paper, even the science and economics have conflicting theories regarding such public incentives and support to industries. In fact, over the decades in the development of public policy and micro economic choice, steps have been made so much so that various domino effects work experience. However, this does not mean that any theoretical or conceptual model could not be applied to real world situations even various market imperfections where in traditional economic theories break down. In fact, even with the assumption of perfect markets which is a basic impossibility especially in todays complicated economy and arena of public policy economics may be able to predict and forecast various results from decisions that are made by the government with respect to incentives and disincentives within industry. In this paper, we shall be looking at the effects of the United States sugar subsidy policy. In order to do this, we would be using the three basic analytical tools that come from the larger body of micro economic analysis. The first is by using a comparative static model of incentives within a market by government intervention. The second analytical framework that we shall use is another comparative static model with regards to the median voter theorem and its effects to public choice in sugar subsidy policy in the country. The third framework which we shall be using is that which has been developed by recent Nobel Prize in economics winners in the analysis of government support and its overall effect in the arena of globalization and international trade. By using these analytical frameworks, we hopefully could be able to capture the economic effects of the United States sugar subsidy policy not only in the industry itself but also in the country as well as the consumers living in the country as well. Comparative Static Analysis of the United States Sugar Subsidy Policy in an Economic Market The first analysis that the papers shall be using is a comparative static analysis of a subsidy granted by the United States government to the sugar industry in the country. A comparative static analysis is simply an analysis of an economic incentive or even a disincentive while holding all other things constant. In the real world, a comparative static analysis may be difficult to implement and make sense of especially because variables affecting the market, the industries, or even individual firms, interact with each other all the time. However, if we are to integrate all the variables involved perhaps using econometric estimation and lean your regression analysis in order to indicate these variables we still would not be able to segregate the effects of a single factor in this case a policy which gives the sugar industry subsidy the overall economy. The discipline of economics usually makes use of such all other things held constant rule in order to make the analytical framework more clear and the analysis more concise by segregating just one variable. The analysis of the sugar subsidy policy uses a micro economic model of the firm. In this micro economic model, we assume a horizontal demand curve because the firm is a price taker and imposition of the marginal cost, the average cost, the average variable cost, and the total cost curve. In such a situation, sugar firms would choose to produce at that point where in price equals marginal revenue equals marginal cost. In such a condition, the affect of aggregating all the firms in the sugar industry would give us the traditional perfect market situation downward sloping demand curve upward sloping supply curve. This is a situation where in there is not yet any subsidy which the government had chosen to implement in the sugar industry. However, in the case that the government chooses to give subsidy to the sugar industry, the effect would be to significantly reduce the average cost and total cost curves of the firm by reducing the fixed costs. In a partial equilibrium model, it would result to the shifting of the supply curve to the right and therefore the ability to produce higher quantities by the firm while at the same time effectively decreasing the price of sugar. This is the approach using traditional analytical frameworks of microeconomics in order to understand the subsidy that is made by the government. In fact, this analysis may be implemented into any kind of industry which is subsidized by the government in order to produce its final output. However, we must remember that this is approach only using an economic model. In order to understand the applications of such a theory and to prove it, economic researchers have estimated and made various studies to show that this is indeed the case that the curse in real-world events and could have a significant effect even considering all variables into the analysis. Of course, in order for the theory to hold, econometric estimation must also be able to prove that subsidies do in fact affect the supply curve of the industry. This is exactly what has been constituted in the larger body of research regarding government interventions to specific industries. As early as a study made in 1977 which analyzed the equilibrium effects of United States sugar policy, significant supply curve shifts were estimated by economists after such super policies regarding subsidies had been implemented by the government (Gordon Gemmill, 1977). In fact, as the research noted, although there was only a minor influence on the price that was implemented after subsidies had been injected into this sugar industry, quantities significantly change as a result of the increased supply that was allowed by the subsidy. Earlier in 1970, there was already indicate that legislative bias for the United States sugar program which involved a high degree of domestic protectionism which simply means that injection of policy by the government to sugar producers. However, an interesting thing to note in such study is that not only were the policy recommendations for the domestic sugar industry but also for international and foreign countries sugar industry as well locations which have comparative advantage in sugar production and which could directly benefit the United States in the long run if such industries were conducted. This analysis would be integrated into the third concept and discussion of our paper. What is important that this research is pointing out, however, for this section, is that sugar subsidies do indeed increase quantities of sugar producers because of the lowering of costs as a result of the subsidy. In fact, such quantity increase effects are not only segregate into the United States but other countries as well. In many developing economies, and in economies which are significantly different from the United States, an increase in market subsidy to the sugar industry also increases quantity in those countries, showing that such economic effects are not only segregate into one geographical location and one kind of economy but also to the spectrum of economies of countries as well (Nelson Panggabean, 1991). In such a partial equilibrium analysis, perhaps the immediate conclusion that could be made is that it is beneficial to consumers as a whole. Using the framework, it would be obvious that the lowering of price and the lowering of the production cost of sugar in the sugar industry would be beneficial both for sugar farmers as well as the consumers who would be buying sugar. However, a negative effect that a subsidy may make in such a framework is that it could be unfair to those directly competing against the sugar markets. However, such an argument may not be so strong. The arguments against the subsidy is made by the United States government to the sugar industry could be further developed in the second and third section and analytical framework of the paper. The Median Voter Theorem and Why There Are Sugar Subsidy Policies in the United States An argument that has been developed by economists which goes against recommendations for implementing subsidies on certain industries is the implementation of the median voter theorem. Remember that subsidies are basically policy recommendations that are made by individuals such as lawmakers, legislators, and the greater body of politicians. According to standard economic theory, these individuals in a representative government are selected by the population through the mechanism of voting. And if we consider the population distribution to be a perfectly normal bell curve, there are individuals in extremes of the issue in this case not to implement a subsidy and to implement full subsidy but a larger number of people in the median area of the population distribution. However, the median voter theorem also states that there are discrepancies within the voting situation. A powerful group which has lobbying power, although would derive less benefit from the summation of all consumers, could be able to conceivably shape electoral results because of such lobbying powers and financial support since they are the ones who have a larger incentive in the choosing of a certain candidate which would eventually approve a sugar subsidy policy. For example, consumers would not give a few dollars each in order to lobby against support for a certain policy, but the sugar producers, who have enough incentives, maybe both lobby themselves to carry out such a vote. Even though the elected body of government representatives may in fact be the winner of the elections, it is not necessary that they won because they have the largest and best purpose of the consumers into mind. There are literature regarding such topic proving that the median voter theorem indeed does work in society where in there are individual lobbying powers and incentives for groups. In 1991, a study was made on electoral and voting process where there are specific preferences for individuals with larger incentives and the aggregate society. This study points out that even though there are larger benefits and welfare implications for the whole society if a specific policy is not implemented, having less incentives than those wishing to implement the policy would eventually drive the vote towards those with greater incentives (Caplin Nalebuff, 1991). Another article published earlier in 1989 presented such a theoretical model in the analysis and determination of the level of Social Security that is provided to individuals. Again, they use the median voter theory in a representative democracy and capital market. As has been shown, there are more incentives for some individuals to lobby against the policy and even though Social Security increase would benefit the society greater, it was not implemented fully because of such lobbying power of specific sides (Boadway Wildasin, 1989). Trade Theories and the United States Sugar Subsidy Using standard economic trade theories and frameworks, we could perhaps be able to develop the best argument against the government implementing a specific policy for protection reasons or for any other reasons that are offered in the legislative body. Instead their trade theory, implementing a protectionist policy such as the subsidy would lead to a less efficient comparative advantage situation in the sugar industry in the United States. Although it would definitely be able to provide short run increases in the income of producers, there are much worse effects. The first is that prices would be much higher in the domestic market. A subsidy together with a protectionist policy would make and force consumers to buy sugar at a higher price than that is offered in a global competitive market without such protectionist policies. If it was the subsidy alone, then it could be perhaps beneficial to the consumers while there are certain losses in the government model. However, usually, and specifically for the United States sugar policy with regards to subsidies, protectionist policies are also implemented. This means that consumers are forced to buy sugar at higher prices in the domestic market than they would otherwise pay if sugar was imported by countries which offer the same goods at lower prices in a perfectly competitive model of trade. As an overall result, there would be welfare increases for the side of the producer surplus but decreases in the consumer surplus and the government revenues. However, the dominant argument made by past and even some precedent economists is that some industries have to be protected because they do not have comparative advantage to other producers of sugar taking into consideration the implementation of free trade in the world today. Such arguments for example are the import substitution industrialization that had been put forward by two German economists in the 1960s which says that by protecting domestic industries in the short run, they would be able to catch up to the ventral comparative advantage. In fact, it is not only the United States sugar industry which implemented such policies but domestic agricultural goods all over the world especially in third world and developing countries. At first, this might have seemed like a good idea. However, eventually, it was found that implementing a specific subsidy to the sugar industry might have long term problematic effects. For example, by implementing such a subsidy, local domestic sugar producers would not have enough incentives in order to improve such sugar production technology. In fact, this has been proven to be the case. In the implementation of local production protection of sugar, less and less farmers were willing to innovate in the productive capacity given that there are even available technologies for such an improvement. The reason for this is that they are already enjoying lower production costs because of the subsidies. Such a framework eventually results in the shifting of the production frontiers of sugar in other countries while the production function of sugar in the domestic economy remains the same. The lack of incentives is a direct result from the lack of competition in an industry and the result is after a few years perhaps a decade productive technologies and capacities by other sugar markets would eventually overtake that of the domestic protected market. It is in fact already an interesting point that the United States is even implementing such sugar subsidy policies even though past economies and studies have been made regarding its detrimental effect to the long-run profitability of the market and the welfare of producers (Pollitt, 1997). In fact, we do not even need to look so far away for sugar subsidy policies have been implemented in the United States and the historical proof of the infectivity of such subsidy policies have already been well documented and studied by economists and policymakers (Horton, 1970). Even recently, trade liberalization policies were studied between the United States and the European Union sugar trade industry and were found to have detrimental effects in one market implemented a specific policy on the production of their sugar supply (Won W. Koo, 2002). Conclusion using these three frameworks, we could be able to conclude that by implementing a subsidy in the United States sugar industry, the country may be able to see short-term benefits because of price reduction and the welfare increase of sugar farmers and producers as low as those involved in the sugar market distribution. However, in the long run, as our analytical framework and even the practical research in previous literature and references have shown, implementing such a sugar policy is not only inefficient because of the actual background of decision-making through the median voter theorem, but also would be able to hurt the farmers and sugar producers themselves in the long run because of implementing a protection industry and the continuous decrease of comparative advantages as a result of the increase in technology in perfectly competitive markets which have not been subsidized by the government. To this end, economics teaches us that a subsidy, although helps in the long run producers, would hurt short run government revenues and consumers as well as long-run profitability of sugar markets from all aspects. References Boadway, R. W. , Wildasin, D. E. (1989). A Median Voter Model of Social Security. International Economic Review, 30(2), 307-328. doi: 10. 2307/2526649. Caplin, A. , Nalebuff, B. (1991). Aggregation and Social Choice: A Mean Voter Theorem. Econometrica, 59(1), 1-23. doi: 10. 2307/2938238. Gordon Gemmill. (1977). An Equilibrium Analysis of U. S. Sugar Policy. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 59(4), 609-618. doi: 10. 2307/1239388. Horton, D. C. (1970). Policy Directions for the United States Sugar Program. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 52(2), 185-196. doi: 10. 2307/1237489. Nelson, G. C. , Panggabean, M. (1991). The Costs of Indonesian Sugar Policy: A Policy Analysis Matrix Approach. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 73(3), 703-712. doi: 10. 2307/1242822. Pollitt, B. H. (1997). The Cuban Sugar Economy: Collapse, Reform and Prospects for Recovery. Journal of Latin American Studies, 29(1), 171-210. doi: 10. 2307/158075. Won W. Koo. (2002). Alternative U. S. and EU Sugar Trade Liberalization Policies and Their Implications. Review of Agricultural Economics, 24(2), 336-352. doi: 10. 2307/1349764.

Differences in liberal and realist approaches

Differences in liberal and realist approaches Every group interaction between humans in different activities entails defining the participants in discrete groups of two. The purpose of which is to differentiate between one group of participants that excel from the other group that does not. The exact labeling of these groups varies with the activity under consideration. Morally speaking, a person can be grouped into either good or evil class; Talking about football, a player can be grouped into either superior or inferior category; economics also entails dividing the people who study them as either classical or Keynesians. Though the initial two groups occupy the end points of a horizontal scale, there are many entities that interconnect these two, thereby filling the grey area. They never full advocate the logic of any one of the two rather argue for an amalgamation, offering a middle path to any eventual solution. The history of Political science as an academic field of study also has been imbued with an eternal clash of ideas between two schools of thought. Throughout generations these two schools have vied for the coveted position in explaining the nature of humans as political entities. One sees humans as increasingly self centered and find little in them to work collectively for the benefit of all humankind; the other believes in the selflessness of the same humanity and sees hope and reason to continue working for a world where everything would be characterized by principles of freedom. The former is called the Realist school of thought while the latter stance is that of the Liberals. The clash is particularly evident in the area of International Relations within Political Science. Here realists think of the international state system as increasingly anarchic, believe that all states work in their self interest and characterize international politics as power centered concentrating on balance of power, and finally that war is inevitable in the international state system. On the other hand, liberals argue that that there is great room for cooperation and benefit for all in the international state system, believe that states can and do work for mutual benefit and find evidence against the realist claim that all international politics is power politics. They also argue that war is avoidable and complex interdependence has also a role to play in the international arena. If the above demarcation separates the liberals and realists within IR, the academia within another relatively new sub discipline of Political Science, IPE, had also followed that pattern in their study of a relationship of international politics and economics. Realism in IPE has been more often called as mercantilism. In both case they represent the same school in a sense that both of them act as synonyms for a particular school of thought. Mercantilism has come to find more usage as a term within IPE as opposed to realism in IR. As the aspect of international politics economy under discussion is international tra de, I will use realism as mercantilism throughout the course of this paper to remain synonymous with the terminology used within IPE. The paper would give a brief introduction of the two discourses within IPE and then scrutinize them further side by side till the end of the paper. The conclusion aims to provide a brief understanding as to where were headed in this discussion now and in the future. Liberalism traces its roots to about two hundred years ago to economic philosophers Adam Smith and David Ricardo. Liberalism has abounded in popularity in the aftermath of the WWI and WWII. Although limitations have come around in the inability of liberalism to bear the fruit which it so vigorously argued for, liberals are found everywhere today in the business community of the West, Wall Street, IMF and World Bank etc. Liberals praise the benefits of free market and trade. Liberals most important contribution is the idea that all participants in a system of free markets and trade are beneficiaries (Cohen, p 12, 2008). The view does not stop at the junction of free market. They fail to give due importance to the role of Politics in free markets and trade. State for most liberals is a negative and holistic entity which should be kept out of the affairs of the free market as it impairs the Laissez-faire idea of market regulation. Mercantilism rightly claims to have the longest intellectual tradition because this emphasizes the importance of nations and power in thinking about economic issues. Mercantilists contrast most sharply with liberals in asserting that the gain of one nation usually comes at the expense of others (Cohen, p. 12, 2008). As a result mercantilists see international economy increasingly characterized by a close relationship between economic, technological and military strength; all topped by a greater national influence. Mercantilist arguments are increasingly used by countries and groups disadvantaged by international trade as a cover for their inability to stimulate domestic development process. They argue for self serving initiatives like protectionism etc. in the areas of economics and military technology. The contribution of mercantilists is to recognize that international economic relations operate within a world of competitive and conflictual nations (Cohen, p. 12, 2008). For mercant ilists, power and economic motives both play an important role in the shaping of international economic cooperation or competition. The two ends of the spectrum are linked together by a multitude of theories and discourses. The links at times appear to be very convincing while at other times add to the already prevalent confusion in this field. This uncertainty is what makes IPE as a discipline so interesting to study. The feeling of intrigue very much abounds within oneself as one studies more and more the web that connects nations in international politics or separates them. International political economy is not an easy subject and the major tool for analyzing IPE, trade, becomes harder to critically analyze with the aim of reaching towards a specific conclusion. Hence one should delve further into IPE with an open mind and let the discourse guide oneself towards any eventual conclusion. The modality of the topic requires me to compare and contrast liberalism and mercantilism. The framework that I intend to use is to analyze both in terms of their key actors, key dynamic and their stand on conflict and cooperation in the international arena of trade. I also intend to put side by side their inception as an academic school of thought and see if any meaningful result can be deducted from it. The origin of the mercantilist school of thought can be traced back to the emergence of nation based politics in Europe during the fifteenth century. Liberals found root in the wake of the industrial revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth century. In this sense Mercantilism ideas have had a longer life than their liberalist counterparts. Liberal ideas earned much approval and favoritism in the wake of the failure of realism as an effective discourse describing and governing the international politics that led to the bloody World Wards I and II. Liberals see the international trade system as interdependent rather than anarchic and self serving as advocated by realists. Realists see the international trade as a zero sum game, the gain of one country is the loss of another, which liberals see it as a positive sum game that the growth of international trade is of benefit to everyone. Liberals give the idea of the growing of a pie, as the pie gets bigger the slice each participant ge ts also increases. Here one should question that this example fails to give due account to the question that which participant gets the bigger slice. Also that due to the comparative or absolute advantages that some countries hold over the other, those countries grow at a rate higher than the others. Also the countries not possessing the comparative or absolute advantage require huge domestic political costs to be entailed if a shift is made from no advantage sectors to ones having comparative advantage in its domestic economy; these costs include unemployment, temporary inflation, public backlash, loss of political support for the government in power etc. For example during the Vietnam war, President Nixon decided against raising taxes to cut back US trade deficit because it might weaker his already fragile political support. Now this differential growth rates for different countries presents itself as a dilemma for a state especially since the concept of a state is an entity that is supposed to provide the best possible package of security, progress and life style towards its citizens. In the pursuit of this self or collective interest of realists and liberals respectively, the former believe that power has an equal, if not stronger, role to play along with economics in the international economy and trade relations; the latter tend to underplay the role of power in the international politics and emphasize the ability of states to choose between attractive courses of action. Nevertheless, mercantilist arguments have often come to be chosen as routes for underdeveloped nations to catch up with their developed counterparts. Alexander Hamilton writing in the 1970s urged Americans to protect their manufacturers from foreign competition so that they could industrialize and increase their power. Almost a hundred years later, Fredrick List argued that Germany should industrialize behind trade barriers so that it could catch up to the economic might of Great Britain (OBrien Williams, 2004). The protectionist apprehensions or favoritism continue till this day. As recently as on the 17th of November this year, President Hu Jintao of China in a joint news conference with President Obama called for joint opposition to trade protectionism (China and US to work together, 2009). Realists see the state as the key actor in the international arena, while for liberals the starting point of analysis is the individual. Liberals argue for a complete freedom for the needs of the individual by arguing that if left alone the individuals would maximise the gain of the entire humankind regardless of their origin. Liberals see state interference in the market as negative and advocate the freedom of the market to self govern. Realists on the other hand believe that there is nothing natural about markets. They are artificially within the social contract of each state, which requires that a markets functions have to be regulated by a higher authority. Similarly realists doubt the role firms have to play within the domestic markets and as expected for liberals the presence of firms is a positive omen in a sense it increases the overall wealth of any country. Realists prefer state to the individual and for liberals its vice versa. Even within liberal thought, there exist a de marcation separating those who are hardcore liberals and those who acknowledge the role state has to play. It ranges from those who see the state fading away in an emerging borderless world (Ohmae 1990) that will be dominated by private business to liberal institutionalists (Keohane and Nye, 1977) who stress the continuing importance of the state, but see it enmeshed in webs of interdependence and international organization (OBrien Williams, 2004). Moving towards the dynamics of these two discourses, for liberal theorists the market lies at the centre of economic life (OBrien Williams, 2004). Realists feel the rational activity of the state characterizes the dynamics of international trade and cooperation. Here the rational activity by any is undertaken with an aim to get the best possible outcome for its citizens. Liberals admit the shortfall of markets to weave their magic in certain fragile times of international trade but theyre almost certain in their belief that any further state involvement at that fragile instant is certain to worse the already weak market situation. Realists back out of this argument by maintaining that market relations are important but market is governed by the activities of the state. Economic activities and actors are subordinate to political agendas and actors respectively. The consequence of the salience of the state is that international economic relations become international political relatio ns (OBrien Williams, 2004). Realist scholars believe that the nature of global economy reflects the interests of the most powerful states by arguing that free trade regimes tend to exist during the times when a single state dominates the entire world system; as the hegemon can absorb the costs associated with imposing the free trade system. As the system degrades towards a multiple power centre system, conflict characterizes the international relationship between states as interests contradict. Liberals maintain that if all the countries maintain free trade policies and shun self centered motives, conflict would certainly not take place. They give the example of Europe following the WWII and also that liberal democracies never go to war with one another. The phenomenon of globalization has evoked two tiered response within both the realist and the liberal school of thought. Defensive nationalists within realism admit the presence of globalization and work to undermine it rather tha n skeptics who dont see any form of globalization at all. Within liberalism too a similar trend is produced; hyper globalists see globalization as breaking down barriers between countries and unleashing a force of production bound to produce further happiness for humankind (OBrien Williams, 2004). Liberals influenced with Keynesian principles still see the problems of free markets in certain scenarios as cause for possible hesitation towards globalization; it might have some unwanted outcomes. They support the need for market reform till its perfection is achieved. Finally dealing with the aspect of conflict and cooperation, liberals see international trade as essentially cooperative as opposed to the realist view that it is conflictual. Example of theories within both the schools that advocate their respective ideas include the theory of comparative advantage within liberalism that describe that even while possessing a comparative advantage, not absolute, in a certain area of production, one can benefit from trade in the international trade. Realist power based theories moan the absence of any higher authority in the international state system which they see as must to regulating any cooperation and mutual benefit in the international trade. The concern for liberals with nationalist policies is that they lead to conflict. Liberal theorists see trade interaction as strengthening bonds for peace and stability. The liberal belief in the connection between protectionist policies and conflict and the reverse argument, namely that capitalist favours peace and conflict and the reverse argument, namely that capitalist favours peace, is central to the liberal critique of the international economic order. (OBrien Williams, p. 20, 2004) Immanuel Kant foresaw an era of perpetual peace when all the world market systems would be characterized by Free states and international state an alliance of democratic states. Woodrow Wilson advocated adopting liberal principles for the international state system following World War I; also a founding principle for the League of Nations. Similar nationalist policies following the Great Depression were understood to have aggravated relations between countries leading up to the World War II. Citing the pluralist nature of international trade and economic system, liberal theory of complex interdependence explain the connection between increase economic exchange and interconnectedness and the long peace among Western nations after 194 5represent classical liberal political economy (OBrien Williams, p. 21, 2004). The belief of international cooperation and conflict of realists tend to start with their lack of total belief in the abilities of market. Markets for realists produce both positive and negative outcomes. Since, due to their inherent assumption I believe, most realists see markets negative outcomes more than their positive ones realists argue for state control of important economic variables of their domestic economy. A liberal economy sees these very controls as measures of protectionism. Mercantilist arguments are prevalent more in sectors which are either critical to a nations existence or has to do with their cultural values. Examples of either of these could be a countrys defence industry or their local film and music industry etc. With the culmination of the cold war as well as the communist setups of many countries around the globe it appears liberal policies have seem to be dominate, for now. It remains to be seen how long does this majority support goes in red efining the international economic and political structure. Some liberals went as far as to claim that history had ended because the liberal democratic model had triumphed over other forms of social organization (Fukuyama, 1992). Robert Cox said, Theory is always for someone and for some purpose (p. 207, 1986). The presence of different ideas in analyzing one aspect of international economic system finds its roots in a number of reasons. The first of these is that although all the theories are trying to explain one single phenomenon, they are looking at it from different angles. One theory looks at it from the angle of security, for the other its economics that holds the upper hand and for another school of thought, Marxism or critical perspective, its all about class struggle. Another reason is the group of people the theorization is coming from. Rich and influential people would tend to favour liberal trade policies as it offers the least resistance in conducting their business and reaping profits. Under privileged group of people would advocate for protectionist policies that would protect their interests. One last reason is that due to the subjective nature of opinions and reasons, it is not possible to g et an absolute categorization of a theory as right or wrong. Theories are based on observations, not mathematical truths. Thus their rightfulness depends on the value judgment that particular groups of people apply to them. It is important for us to realize is that we do not have to follow any one particular school of thought blindly. The presence of multiple layers of explanation presents one with a tool to apply ones thinking to any specific case. More over one can find any amalgamation describing ones own stance between these layers of theorizations that has taken place until now within International Political Economy. References Cohen, B. (2008). International Political Economy An Intellectual History, 17 39. OBrien, R., Williams, M. (2004). Global Political Economy Evolution and Dynamics, 11 36. (2009, November 17). China and US to work together. BBC News. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8363643.stm

Concept of liberalization:

Concept of liberalization: Introduction: The early 1990s was an era of intense changes in the Indian economic system. The torrent of international companies that we see today in India was born as a result of the economic transitions the country went through in 1991. It was the age of relaxation of a number of rules popularly known as â€Å"Liberalization†. With liberalization, there was an increase in competition and certain categories were facing competition for the first time. There could be no lackadaisical attitude on the part of the companies existing pre-liberalization as the whole economic system was overthrown to willingly accommodate more players. Liberalization had far reaching impacts. One are which it impacted significantly was the arena of advertising. Organizations couldnt take their customers for granted as there were other organizations waiting to eat into their market share. Advertisements hence became a more incisive tool for organizations to make their presence felt and appeal to their target audie nce. It is this change in the pattern of advertising that this thesis wishes to track. Literature Review Exploring the Concept of Liberalization: â€Å"in July 1991 with the announcement of sweeping liberalization by the minority government of P.V. Narasimha Rao opened the economy dismantled import controls, lowered customs duties, and devalued the currency virtually abolished licensing controls on private investment, dropped tax rates, and broke public sector monopolies. We felt as though our second independence had arrived: we were going to be free from a rapacious and domineering state† Das (2000), on the reforms that originated with the July 1991 package announced by Manmohan Singh (Panagariya, 2004). To ‘Liberalize means remove or loosen restrictions on (something typically an economic or political system).   Generally, Liberalization (Liberalisation) refers to removal or relaxation of restrictions imposed by the previous government usually in areas of economic or social policy.   In the area of social policy, liberalization refers to the relaxation of laws for example, laws on homosexuality, drugs, abortion, divorce etc.   In the area of economic policy, liberalization can either be privatized or be liberalized.   Like, India has liberalized various markets, instituting a system of competition, but still some of the departments like Gas and Energy remain partially or completely in government ownership. The economic liberalization in India refers to the current reforms in India.   The Indian economy was liberalized in 1991.   That marked the end of â€Å"License Raj†.   License Raj, also known as Permit Raj, was the brainchild of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indias first Prime Minister.   It was the result of Nehrus decision to have a planned economy in India where all the aspects of economy are controlled by the government (state).   License Raj refers to the elaborate licenses and regulations and the accompanying ‘red tape, which was required to set up and run businesses in India between 1947 and 1990.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the late 80s, the government led by Rajiv Gandhi eased restrictions; removed price controls and reduced corporate taxes. This did increase the rate of growth, but it in turn led to high fiscal deficits and a worsening current account. Soviet Union, Indias major trading partner collapsed at the same time and the first Gulf War, which caused a spike in oil prices, caused a major balance-of-payments crisis for India. The Gulf war also led to a reduction in repatriation from expatriate workers (an important source of foreign exchange at that time).   India asked for a $1.8 billion bailout loan from IMF, which in return demanded reforms.   In response to this, Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and the finance minister Manmohan Singh initiated the economic liberalization of 1991. The reforms did away with the License Raj and ended many public monopolies, allowing automatic approval of foreign direct investment in many sectors. On licensing, the new policy explicitly stated, â€Å"industrial licensing will henceforth be abolished for all industries, except those specified, irrespective of levels of investment.† (Sivadasan, 2007) Liberalization is about Encouraging growth of private sector Simplification of policy, regulation, tax structure Facilitating Foreign Direct Investment Restructuring public sector for efficiencies Providing incentives for exports and allowing more imports Put emphasis on modernization of plants and equipment through liberalized imports of capital goods and technology (Sivadasan, 2007) Expose the Indian industry to competition by gradually reducing the import restrictions and tariffs Moving away from protection of small scale industries Realization that economies of scale is necessary for economic growth (Singh Shankar, 2008) Life before 1991 Various rules were imposed on foreign companies operating in India, under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (1973).   Foreign ownership rates were restricted to below 40% in most industries. In addition, restrictions were placed on the use of foreign brand names, on remittances of dividends abroad and on the proportion of local content in output (under the Phased Manufacturing Program).  Ã‚   (Sivadasan, 2007) Very limited brands available on the supermarket shelves Upto 97% taxes on private players High-level corruption.   Frustrated Entrepreneurs State monopoly in many key sectors including TV broadcast.   Hence, the monopoly of Doordarshan. [Television and public policy: change and continuity in an era of global liberalization, David Ward, 2009] Legendary battle between the two textile magnates Dhirubhai Ambani and Nusli Wadia in the latter part of 1986.   The battle between these 2 corporate rivals Dhirubhai Ambani, Chairman Reliance Industries Ltd., is not the first in the history but the weapons such as the Press employed by them on the large scale is certainly without a parallel. This shattered the concept of objective journalism in a business controlled press (Aggarwal, 1989) Movies of that era young man rebelling against the ‘system a reflection of common mans angst against a state-run, corrupt, bureaucratic machinery which slowed down the progress of India rather than facilitating it. Life after 1991 Foreign direct investors were now allowed up to 51% equity stakes in certain industries, under the â€Å"automatic approval route. Further, restrictions relating to use of foreign brands, remittances of dividend and local content were relaxed. Following these reforms, there was a significant increase in amount of foreign direct investment into India(Sivadasan, 2007) Media Explosion Introduction of Cable TVs.   Since most of the Doordarshans programming was seen to be unimaginative and dull, large audiences switched to satellite television channels made available through cable. Influx of western ideas and lifestyle Conspicuous consumption Entry of foreign players and hence multiple players in each category.   Great increase in competition and hence, customer at the advantage Increase in challenges of Media Planning and Brand Building due to the widespread channels Emergence of TVR, GRPs, TAM ratings etc  · Much more buoyant and optimistic state of mind was reflected in Bollywood.   Hence, all soft, mushy, romantic blockbusters like ‘Hum Aapke Hai Kaun,Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge,Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Joshi, 2001) Defining Advertising: Advertising is so familiar to modern readers that it may seem odd to ask what an advertisement is.   Although advertising is all around us perhaps because it is all around us we dont often pause to think about its nature as a form of discourse, as a system of language use. There are multiple definitions of advertising like ‘Advertising is simply one of many available channels of communication and ‘Advertisements are the messages that advertising carries, in an attempt to achieve those ends. Advertising is a form of communication used to influence individuals to purchase products or services or ideas Advertising is a non-personal form of promotion that is delivered through selected media outlets that, under most circumstances, require the marketer to pay for message placement Any paid-for communication, intended to inform and/or influence one or more people is Advertising Of few of the above mentioned definitions, I could best relate advertising being ‘any paid-for communication, intended to inform and/or influence one or more people Paid-for Any advertisement that is not paid for is not an advertisement Communication Every advertisement is attempting to bridge a gap between a sender and one or more potential receivers.   That bridge is a form of communication. Intended Not all advertisements ‘work, in the sense of achieving their desired objectives, but they are nonetheless part of advertising. Inform and/or influence The purely informative advertisement may be rare and the distinction between information and persuasion may be difficult to draw, but an advertisement does not have to set out to influence either attitude or behavior in order to qualify (Bullmore, 2003) History of Advertising Worlds first ever advertisements appeared some 3000 years B.C. as ‘stencilled inscriptions on bricks made by the Babylonians. History tells us that out-of-home advertising and Billboards are the oldest form of advertising.   Printed advertising began to make itsappearance for ‘Royal announcements in early Europe: China, Turkey, England (1100 -1711). Moving on to American advertising in 1729 1850; several changes occurred interms of medium, message, manner of presentation. These changes are nothing but areflection of the social, economical and technological changes over time. Changing times and society called up for changes in the way advertising was planned. There has been one or the other peculiar aspect of advertising strategy, which kept it growing in volumes of success and importance. In 1870 the first ‘Brand advertisement for St. Jacobs Oil appeared and this phenomenon continued till early 80s. Further ‘slogans and trade characters took over the job. Then there came a time to appeal; variety of creative appeals (humor, sex, fear, love, affection etc.) made the further way up for advertising (Pincas Loiseau, 2008) Medium of Advertising Medium is nothing but a channel that carries the Advertisers message.   There are six major categories of advertising media 1. Print Media refers to any published, printed medium such as Newspapers and magazines. a. Newspapers are one of the traditional mediums used by all types of businesses to promote their product or service or idea. Advantages Huge reach in a given geographic area Flexibility in deciding the size and the placement of the ad Exposure to the ad is not limited.   People can go back to see the ad Quick turn around.   The ad if decided to run today can be in the hands of the customers in a day or two Disadvantages: Expensive ad space Lot of competition Poor photo production Highly visible medium, and hence the competitors can quickly react to your prices Newspapers facing stiff competitions from internet b. Magazines more focused, expensive compared to newspapers Advantages: Better targeting of audience Higher reader involvement and hence more attention paid to the advertisement Better color reproduction Disadvantages: Long lead time Limited flexibility in terms of ad placement and format Higher costs compared to newspapers 2. Electronic Media consists of radio and television a. Radio is a universal medium enjoyed at one time or another during the day. Advantages: Negotiable rates Less inflation in radio media compared to other media Disadvantages: Listener cannot go back to the ads for the important points Ads, an interruption in the entertainment Radio is a background medium.   Most listeners are doing something else while listening b. Television permits you to reach large number of people Advantages: Television permits you to reach large numbers of people on a national or regional level in a short period of time New opportunities to pinpoint local audiences Television being an image-building and visual medium, it offers the ability to convey your message with sight, sound and motion Disadvantages: Lot of competition.   Requires multiple exposure for the ad to get noticed Preferred ad times are often sold out far in advance Relatively expensive in terms of creative, production and airtime costs Limited length of exposure, as most ads are only thirty seconds long or less, which limits the amount of information you can communicate 3. Out-of-home media is focused on marketing to consumers when they are on the go in public places, in transit, waiting (such as in a medical office), and/or in specific commercial locations. a. Out door advertising: is essentially used for any type of advertising that reaches the consumer while he or she is outside the home. Advantages: Specific Target Audience Good for branding and positioning Creates greater consumer awareness Disadvantages: Less effective in tactical and short term campaigns b. Transit Advertising: Transit advertising is typically advertising placed on anything, which moves, such as buses, subway advertising, truckside, and taxis, but also includes fixed static and electronic advertising at train and bus stations and platforms. Airport advertising, which helps businesses address an audience while traveling, is also included in this category. Advantages: Good for all ranges of a businesses advertising budget You get what you pay for A target audience is exposed to a single advertisement for a long period of time It picks up the speed due to frequency Timeliness Geographical selectivity Disadvantages: People on transit may not even notice such advertisements, simply because they became used to transit advertising Many of those people may not be interested in you and your product at all; hence, transit ads are not easy to target despite the high level of reach * Design limitations 4. Internet Advertising is a form of promotion that uses Internet and World Wide Web for communicating with the customers. Advantages: Rapidly growing industry Affluent market Selective Targeting Interactive medium Immediate Response In-depth information Disadvantages: Security and Privacy Slow downloads Global marketing limits Untested medium 5. Direct Mailers is a marketing technique in which the seller sends marketing messages directly to the buyer. Direct mail include catalogs or other product literature with ordering opportunities; sales letters; and sales letters with brochures Advantages: Personalized marketing message Effectiveness of the response can be easily measured Control Ad campaign is hidden from the competitors Active involvement- the act of opening the mail and reading it Disadvantages: Selectivity problem Long lead times are required for creative printing and mailing Can be expensive, depending on the target market and size of the campaign Monitoring Advertising Dealing with advertising is still one of the hardest tasks facing marketing people.   It remains notoriously difficult to demonstrate this return, to show clearly that advertising is paying its way.   It is also difficult to understand how advertising works, how consumers respond to it.   How do we choose the best way of developing our advertising, testing it, checking it out, ensuring that it meets the objectives we have set for it let alone evaluating how far it has done so, and how we should improve it? (McDonald, 1998) Research Problem To analyze the change in content and pattern with regard to the nature of print advertisements in the pre-liberalization and post-liberalization era Research Objectives To understand liberalization and the changes resulting as a result of this measure To understand the implications of liberalization on advertising from a regulations perspective To trace the change in the nature of advertisements before and after liberalization Research Methodology The research will be qualitative in nature.   And the method which will be used will be content analysis. An analysis of the advertisements of top five brands in the soaps and chocolates category will be carried out, bathing Soaps, coming in daily usage category and chocolates in occasional usage category. Here print advertisements of the top five brands pre and post liberalization will be taken and a content analysis will be done on them. This will be used to track changes in pattern and using these two categories the results will be extrapolated for the FMCG category as such.