Microsoft Swot

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington that develops, manufactures, licenses and supports a wide range of products and services related to computing. The company was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975. Microsoft is the world's largest software maker measured by revenues. It is also one of the world's most valuable companies. Microsoft was established to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800.It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems. The company's 1986 initial public offering, and subsequent rise in its share price, created an estimated three billionaires and 12,000 millionaires from Microsoft employees. Since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified from the operating system market and has made a number of corporate acquisitions. In May 2011, Microsoft acquir ed Skype Technologies for $8. 5 billion in its largest acquisition to date.  «About Microsoft inc. As of 2012, Microsoft is market dominant in both the PC operating system and office suite markets (the latter with Microsoft Office). The company also produces a wide range of other software for desktops and servers, and is active in areas including internet search (with Bing), the video game industry (with the Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles), the digital services market (through MSN), and mobile phones (via the Windows Phone OS). In June 2012, Microsoft announced that it would be entering the PC vendor market for the first time, with the launch of the Microsoft Surface tablet computer.In the 1990s, critics began to contend that Microsoft used monopolistic business practices and anti-competitive strategies including refusal to deal and tying, put unreasonable restrictions in the use of its software, and used misrepresentative marketing tactics; both the U. S. Department of Justice and Eu ropean Commission found the company in violation of antitrust laws. Microsoft just lost a world-record to Apple. Microsoft was valued to $619 billion during the last tech bubble in 2000, and the current value of Apple is $623 billion – so Apple currently is the most valuable publicly traded company of all time (If you ignore inflation.IBM was worth $1. 3 trillion in 1967 if you adjust for inflation). Microsoft seems to lose more and more of their market shares to competitors. Google's web-browser Chrome is the largest web-browser – Microsoft Explorer has the second place. Is Microsoft the next large tech company to fall into the graveyard of the old once mighty forgotten companies? To find out, one way is to make a SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis StrengthsWeaknesses †¢Strong brand †¢Increasing research and development investments †¢High financial strength†¢Lack of innovations †¢Bugs †¢No proud users OpportunitiesThreats Windows 8 †¢Xbox 720 †¢New logo†¢Piracy †¢Tablets competition †¢Open source model Strengths †¢Microsoft is the number 1 in the following areas: oXbox 360 – 47 percent of the market before Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii oOffice – 94 percent of the market  «Microsoft. com » oWindows is the largest operating system in the world – 92 percent of the market before Apple with 6 percent  «Microsoft. com » †¢Microsoft may not always be number 1, but they are number 2: oExplorer is the second largest web-browser – behind Google Chrome oBing is the second largest search engine – behind Google Sometimes you don't have a choice. If you are buying a PC today, you are going to buy it with Microsoft Windows pre-installed. If you are working at a large company, you are going to use Microsoft Office †¢Microsoft is a company with a high financial strength: oDistributes a dividend 4 times each year – currently $0. 23 per share oAre buy ing back shares – the 2012 outstanding shares have decreased by 16. 6 percent since 2006 oRevenues in 2012 have increased to $73,723 million from $44,282 million in 2006 oEarnings per share in 2012 have increased to $2. 72 from $1. in 2006  «Can the once mighty Microsoft rise again?  » Weaknesses †¢Lack of innovation. Microsoft and Facebook both spent about $1 billion. Facebook bought Instagram, and Microsoft bought patents  «Microsoft. com » †¢Lack of innovative company culture. The employees are competing with each other – not with other companies – thanks to the management system inside Microsoft that says that everyone in a group can't be top performers. Each unit is forced to declare a certain percentage of employees as top performers, good performers, average, and poor – no matter how good they are.One of the employees said: â€Å"It was always much less about how I could become a better engineer and much more about my need to imp rove my visibility among other managers. †  «Can the once mighty Microsoft rise again?  » †¢Bugs – Microsoft has a reputation for making software with bugs. Everyone can remember when Bill Gates was going to make a presentation and the famous blue screen appeared. Go and check it out here if you have missed it: YouTube. Have you ever seen a similar presentation by Apple?The problem with creating a software such as Windows is that Windows needs to work with many different computers from different manufacturers. It is easier for Apple to create software without bugs since they are manufacturing their own computers †¢No dedicated users. Apple users loves to show that they are using Apple devices, but who's proud of using a device from Microsoft? Opportunities †¢Next generation products such as Windows 8 and Xbox 720 †¢Microsoft has just changed its corporate logo – and the logo now includes a symbol Threats Microsoft is a PC company while mor e and more people are shifting to mobile and tablets. They are trying their best with Surface – their own tablet. It's hard to compete with Apple today since you also have to compete with iTunes Store with millions of apps. If you create a better iPhone competitor, people are still going to use the iPhone because of all the apps available †¢Open source models: oLibre Office is free and as good as Microsoft Office if you are only using the basic functions oOuya – the open source Android video game console may be a low-cost competitor to the Xbox

Blackwater in Pakistan Essay

According to the article â€Å"Blackwater (Xe): The Secret US War in Pakistan†, written by: Andrew Hobbs, Kelsea Arnold, Brittney Gates, Elaine Wellin and Peter Phillips, within a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), members of the elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they target suspected Taliban and al-Qaeda operatives inside and outside of Pakistan. They write about how the CIA doesn’t have the resources to have a secret operative plan so they enlisted Blackwater to do their dirty work. Blackwater said that they did not have any operations in Pakistan, other than the one employee that is performing construction oversight for the US government. But Blackwater’s founder, Erik Prince, told Vanity Fair that Blackwater works with US Special Forces in identifying targets and planning missions. A former senior executive of Blackwater even confirmed that Blackwater is in fact working with the CIA and JSOC. In 2009, there were reports that the CIA agency director, Leon Panetta, had cancelled any affiliation with Blackwater. He stated that they were two separate â€Å"beasts†, the CIA and Blackwater, and that Blackwater was a parallel operation to the CIA. But having stated all of that, Blackwater is real and there have been reports and footage of Blackwater operations in Pakistan to this very day. The Blackwater operations have first been noted in 2007 and there hasn’t been any physical evidence that their operations in Pakistan have been shut down. In the heart of a base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command, there lies an operation run by Blackwater. Blackwater runs a covert ops-type operation to plan assassinations on suspected Taliban and al-Qaeda operatives in and out of Pakistan. They, Blackwater, state that they do not have any operations inside of Pakistan while there is plenty of evidence that they are in fact in Pakistan and operation with the CIA. Erik Prince, Blackwater’s founder, even told Vanity Fair that Blackwater was working with the US Special Forces. He stated that Blackwater was helping the US Special Forces by identifying targets and planning missions. Vanity Fair even published a photo of a Blackwater base near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. This also contradicts the statement that Captain John Kirby, the spokesperson for Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a newspaper called the Nation, that they don’t have any contracts to do that work for them. They don’t contract that kind of work out. They rather do it themselves. Blackwater was trying to cover up what they were doing in Pakistan. Blackwater previously stated that they do not have any other operatives working in Pakistan other than the one overseeing construction for the US Government. What Erik Prince said to Vanity Fair contradicts the whole statement. He stated that Blackwater has some affiliation with the US Special Forces. The JSOC, which has a base in Pakistan, is part of the US Special Forces. One would reason that if Blackwater has some ties with the US Special Forces, they would be working with the JSOC as well. A former senior executive confirmed that Blackwater is in fact working in Pakistan for the CIA and JSOC. He also confirmed that Blackwater has a facility in Karachi and has personnel stationed elsewhere within the borders of Pakistan. Leon Panetta, the CIA agency director, said that the CIA has cancelled any affiliation with Blackwater. This means they had some affiliation to begin with. Something was going on in Pakistan, and Blackwater was somewhere in the mix. By stating that the CIA had canceled their affiliation with Blackwater, he basically said that the CIA had worked with Blackwater. But even if he said that they had canceled working together, there is no physical proof that they stopped operation together. There have been mountains of proof showing that Blackwater is in Pakistan while there are none about Blackwater leaving Pakistan. Vanity Fair published a statement by Blackwater’s founder and a photo of Blackwater in Pakistan. Proof that Blackwater left? None. There is no benefit of doubt when it comes to war, so same goes to this. Blackwater’s first contact with the CIA dates back to 2002. The covert program in Pakistan dates back to 2007. While Blackwater’s presence is not really visible, it’s basically Blackwater through JSOC. Blackwater’s operations in Pakistan are not done through the State Department contracts or publicly identified defense contracts so they stay on the down-low. Two separate beasts. † That’s what CIA agency director Leon Panetta says about Blackwater and the CIA. The evidence is against him, however. Blackwater’s presence in Pakistan is showing, even if the CIA and Blackwater are trying to hide it. There are cracks in their defense. Blackwater’s founder even contradicted himself by stating that Blackwater was working with the US Special Forces. There is a photo in Vanity Fair of a Blackwater base stationed in Pakistan. A former senior executive of Blackwater confirmed all of this and more. He said that Blackwater was working in Pakistan for the CIA and JSOC. He also said that they had a faculty in Karachi and personnel stationed elsewhere in Pakistan. The covert program in Pakistan dates back to 2007, so there is documentation of Blackwater being in Pakistan. There is so much proof against just some â€Å"he said, she said† statements. Blackwater is alive and kicking in Pakistan. Blackwater is just trying to hide itself from the public eye. There is no use for them to hide, the world knows they’re there.

College Rhetorical Analysis Essay

In this lengthy article â€Å"Guns Don’t Kill People, the Mentally Ill Do,† that was published in the Townhall Daily, the author, Ann Coulter, argues about a major prevailing issue today, gun control. She believes the problem isn’t the guns themselves, but the mentally disturbed people. Coulter credits the declining mental health system as the main setback. She supports her argument by providing tragic examples from mass shootings that took place in the past. One example was the 2011 shooting that took place in Tucson, Arizona where the shopping mall shooter, Jared Loughner was so obviously disturbed that he stated â€Å"If I stay long enough to make the yearbook, I will be voted the Most Likely to Commit Murder.† She also explains the most recent shooting that happened at Sandy Hook Elementary. The shooter, Adam Lanza, first shot his mother on the morning of December 14, 2012 because she supposedly was trying to have him committed to a mental institution, which is what triggered his rage. After he cold-bloodedly killed his mother, Lanza progressed on to Sandy Hook Elementary and proceeded to murder twenty children and six administrators. Coulter is a conservative columnist and political commentator who has mostly written about government and legal issues. A number of her articles are targeting a particular audience. For example, liberals, Barack Obama, the National Rifle Association, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) just to name a few. Seven of Coulter’s best works are on the New York Times bestsellers list. Similar to this article, some of her previous works are written about gun control issues and targeted toward Obama and the Senate Democrats. Obviously, this is not the first time the issue has come up that Coulter has written about it. Some of her best works on gun control include â€Å"Ending Gun Violence Requires Commitment, Not All of it Voluntary,† â€Å"Negro’s with Guns,† and her most current article â€Å"Guns Don’t Kill People, the Mentally Ill Do.† What motivated Coulter to write this article were the many cases of mentally disturbed people carrying out mass shootings and the world glorifying the murderers with press, while the NRA was taking the blame. She states, â€Å"Innumerable studies have found a correlation between severe mental illness and violent behavior.† She provides evidence from these studies with statistics. For example, â€Å"Thirty one to sixty one percent of all homicides committed by disturbed individuals occur during their first psychotic episode.† She adds, â€Å"Which is why mass murderers often have no criminal record. There is no time to wait with the mentally ill.† Coulters purpose for writing this argument is to persuade her audience that closer tabs need to be kept on people who are suspected as being the least bit mentally disturbed. She believes if it is made easier to emit people into mental institutions, there would be less violence. Coulter also argues that if one is suspected as being mentally disturbed, it should be simple for them to be evaluated by a psychologist. Coulter’s intended audience is the general population, Barack Obama, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Throughout various parts of her argument she pleads to individuals working in the mental health field to put more effort in separating mentally disturbed people from civil society. During a time like today, where mass shootings have happened within the last few months, are people more prone to pay attention to gun control issues. Especially on the forum that this article is published on. Most people that comment on â€Å"Guns Don’t Kill People, the Mentally Ill Do† are supporting Coulter’s argument. This argument first appeared on January 16, 2013 after Coulter did some researching about mass shootings i n the past. It responds to the most recent shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. Coulter states, â€Å"Enough is enough, the public needs to know and understand the danger behind mentally ill individuals.† Her main claim is that there aren’t enough precautions being taken when it comes to suspecting someone of being mentally disturbed. There are several reasons given in support for her claim. Seung-Hui Cho, who committed the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, had been diagnosed with severe anxiety disorder as a child and placed under consistent treatment but the college was prohibited from being told about Cho’s mental health problems because of federal privacy laws such as HIPPA laws (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Another example is when one of Loughner’s (Tucson, Arizona shooting) teachers, Ben McCahee, filed numerous complaints to the school against him, hoping to have him removed from class. McCahee stated, â€Å"When I turned my back to write o n the board, I would always turn back around quickly to see if he had a gun.† Coulter goes on to say, â€Å"Committing Loughner to a mental institution would have required a court order stating that he was a danger to himself and society.† Ann Coulter adds to the examples when she informs the audience of James Holmes, the Aurora, Colorado shooter. He was under psychiatric care at the University of Colorado long before he shot up a movie theater. After Holmes made threats against a professor, he was asked to leave the campus, but he wasn’t committed. Coulter claims â€Å"People knew he was deeply troubled and just pushed him into society to cause havoc elsewhere.† Finally, when talking about Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook shooter, she states â€Å"Connecticut’s laws are so restrictive in terms of the proof required to get someone committed that Lanza’s mother would probably not have been able to get him help even if she had tried.† The article, â€Å"Guns Don’t Kill, the Mentally Ill Do† was found on a website as an essay. It is a lengthy article that includes an intro, a thesis, support paragraphs, and a closing paragraph reproving the thesis. Coulter represents herself as a respected columnist who is very educated on laws, especially regarding civil rights. â€Å"A Connecticut native, Coulter graduated with honors from Cornell University School of Arts & Sciences, and received her J.D. from University of Michigan Law School, where she was an editor of The Michigan Law Review. She is the legal correspondent for Human Events and writes a popular syndicated column for Universal Press Syndicate. In 2001, Coulter was named one of the top 100 Public Intellectuals by federal judge Richard Posner. After practicing law in private practice in New York City, Coulter worked for the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she handled crime and immigration issues for Senator Spencer Abraham of Michigan. From there, she became a litigator with the Center For Individual Rights in Washington, DC, a public interest law firm dedicated to the defense of individual rights with particular emphasis on freedom of speech, civil rights, and the free exercise of religion.† Ann Coulter is a very trusted columnist. She uses facts based on mass shootings in the past and provides evidence by using statistics and quotations from insiders. Although Coulter doesn’t invoke an emotional response, she bases much of her article on morality. â€Å"Guns Don’t Kill, Mentally Ill Do† is a satirical piece due to her ridicule to the ACLU throughout her argument. In conclusion, Coulter argues that there is much more precautionary steps that can be taken when someone is suspected of being mentally ill. She closes the argument by stating â€Å"It is nearly impossible to have mentally disturbed people separated from society because the ACLU has decided that being psychotic is a civil right.† She adds, â€Å"Consequently, whenever a psychopath with a million gigantic warning signs commits a shocking murder, the knee jerk reaction is to place yet more control on guns. By now, guns are the most heavily regulated product in America. It hasn’t worked. There are still subway tracks, machetes, fists and bombs.† For example, the most deadly massacre at a school in United States history was at an elementary school in Michigan in 1927. It was committed with a bomb, by a mentally disturbed man.

Reflective Report Reassessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reflective Report Reassessment - Essay Example I found it difficult dedicating reasonable amount of time doing the module because I was engaged in other additional activities. They tended to take much of my time leaving very little to read the module. Secondly, I failed because I was working on the project that also had a definite period and requirements. I was unable to balance the project by doing it and at the same time reading the module and doing the reflective report. Thirdly, examination contributed to my failure in the module because I was preparing for it. Examination is one of the core activities that a student is expected to do while in school and I gave it a priority at the expense of the module. It contributed to my failure. One of The three things I could have done better is time management through developing a timetable for all my activities. Secondly, I could have read the module by dedicating time and sobering up. Thirdly, I could have consulted the tutor. This is so because it could have eased my understanding of the module to stop the failure I encountered. Tutors play a vital role in helping students overcome their reading difficulties and weaknesses. It is my wish and of any student in the school to have a proper understanding of the module as well as to graduate within the time frame of the course. However, many fail to achieve the dream because of unpreparedness and failing of examinations. One of the ways of overcoming all these is by developing a better way of understanding the module or subject. Understanding the subject enables a student to familiarize himself or herself with the concepts as well as the contents. Hence, it becomes easy for one when tackling examination or talking about the subject since facts are in the finger. International relation is one of the subjects in political science that keeps on changing every day hence the need to update oneself with latest information. One of the learning activities I plan to embark on

Australian Postwar Art & Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Australian Postwar Art & Film - Essay Example Members of this movement engaged in other activities such as composing, performing, recording, and videotaping humorous songs, which had revolutionary lyrics quoted from Marx. Nevertheless, Burn had achieved an artistic career prior to commencement of these movements; in fact, he had a profound involvement in conventional landscapes and self-portraits. In the beginning of 1965, he ventured into abstract and Minimalist painting. Therefore, this resulted to Conceptual art work and installations, which facilitated participation in the International Conceptual Art Movement. After disbarment of Art and Language movement from the international panorama, Burn seemed to withdraw from the International Conceptual Art Movement. Apparently, in 1977, he decided to go back to Australia, where he joined Australian labor movement via Union Media Services, which as a small company. During this period, he focused on organizing cultural programming for trade union members; exhibitions that show cased their art work, and authored associated essays and commentaries. Furthermore, he focused on publishing articles on Anglo-Australian landscape painting, while others were Albert Namatjira, who was Anboriginal artist of Aranda tribe (Burn and Stephen, 1992, 266). It is evident that Ian was a renowned writer in the realm of International Conceptual Art Movement and guardian of contemporary art; in fact, he served as unofficial mentor to numerous dissertations in esthetics and art history in various universities in Australia (Burn, 1991, 115). It is evident that Burn used his early painting to experiment with strategies was a way of separating perception from cognition. He offered conceptual systems aimed at facilitating perception of different things in various ways, which were in temporal and instinctive order. For instance, he segregated the square canvas into six, hard-edge, quasi-organic shapes in the Re-ordered Painting from 1965. In this painting, he used different colours on eac h of the six utensils; in fact, these organic shapes created a perception in a specific sequence. Therefore, Burn utilized cognitive analysis insentience as a way of redirecting the perception of the audience in their own situation. It is evident that Burn focuses on the theme of status and circumstance of self in his works; for instance, in Blue Reflex from 1966, he expresses functions that reflect the blue lacquered surface. Another example is Mirror Piece from 1967, which proved a question seeking to determine the meaning of self-reflection; in fact, this work entails a horizontal sequence consisting of thirteen framed pages of notes and diagrams (Burn, 1991, 118). Therefore, this led to a reflection and refraction of light, which was relative to mirror under various situations. However, he offers a sequence that ends with a large plain and framed mirror. Furthermore, he offers instinctive perceptual relations, which appears to be a mirror that offers a reflection to different pe ople around the world. This work of art is framed in a gallery in a way that modified people’s perceptions regarding the art object. In this case, Burn’s work of art as a part of International Conceptual Art, by presenting a cognitive system, which is independent of the frames references, whereby this is considered disentanglement of the mirrors from the true meaning. Definition of Conceptual Art

GDP Growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

GDP Growth - Essay Example In addition, empirically, studying crises is exigent as small samples and partial data is the only available inference. This exploration is going to look into the crises that hit the world and focus on the assessment of the effects on mortgage, credit, derivatives and insurance markets the crises had on national economies. Moreover, the study will scrutinize the stabilization policies nations used to address the destabilization of the markets. With reference to, the experiences of two countries had in the period the crises hit the nations the study will contrast the events comprehensively. Lastly, the paper will look into the precautions and role the central bank played to stabilize the business cycle (Anand et al, 2013). . The crisis Several asset price bubbles like the real estate and the credit bubble, which led to a bloated advantage in banking, caused the crises. As at know the globe has accepted the situation. The crisis had contribution to the euro area where the bubble was as prominent as it was in the United States of America. The rise of house prices and the increase on credit to sustain the lives of the citizens was evident in both Europe and USA but the Euro was hard hit as compared to the USA. For instance, the financial and corporate sectors give a higher inference as compared to the USA. ... The towering savings ratio in China for instance assisted financing a growing present account deficit in the US with no accumulation in interest rate charges. Globalization plus productivity increase, in particular the information technology, declined inflation strain, which in blend with an expansionary fiscal strategy predestined that interest rates go very low. The low interest rates plus an ample liquidity instigated the credit boom in the fiscal markets. A disregard of risk bloated the growth of the monetary sector and fashioned an unbalanced fiscal system. This underrating was due to a number of aspects. New financial improvements and overall system risks were ill understood. Evaluation authorities failed to evaluate the hazards linked with for instance, structured finance. Pro-cyclical bookkeeping values also encouraged the credit explosion in the equivalent trend. In addition, several particular policies such as the US plan to boost home tenure amplified the sub-prime mortgag e market, which resulted to a reduced credit regulation in the country. Governments and central banks have the liability of maintenance of the economic stability through appropriate administration and parameter of the monetary markets. Still, the decision-making structure in many areas was disjointed extending to a deficiency of accountability for the system-wide risks (Anand et al, 2013). . The Effect that Destabilized Credit, Mortgage, and Insurance Markets have had on National Economies The effect that destabilized credit, mortgage, and insurance market is that the crisis had on the markets was different in diverse countries. This was due to the instigators in the countries. Effect on credit The effect on credit disturbed the consumer behavior in the country. The

Security within Your Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Security within Your Organization - Essay Example CIA Triad is a framework, which covers almost every aspect of information security in its storage, processing and transition. I had the opportunity of working with the Defense Equipment Production Division (DEPD) for two years in my early professional life. The experience gave me an opportunity to closely observe the implementation process of CIA Triangle, the hindrances that it may face and the workarounds that can be useful in CIA implementation for organizations. The nature of this write-up is academic and does not contain any real names, scenarios or information. DEPD had implemented several information security policies to ensure a safe and secure information infrastructure and communication mechanism. The organization had implemented details security policies to address various internal, external, infrastructural, information access and denial of access, authorization and authentication threats that may be launched from within the organization or from some external source. These security policies laid down detailed SOPs (Standard Operation Procedures) for Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability of information to its legitimate resources. One important aspect of information security mechanism and its implementation is to educate people about it. DEPD had covered this important aspect through a Knowledge Dispersion Department (KDD). The department used to held regular training sessions where internal and external Information Security experts were invited to educate DEPD staff on various security issues that may result in information leakages, denial of access and theft of confidential information. I attended several sessions held by KDD and this imparted a great knowledge and sense of security to me in the forth-coming years. Being a defense organization DEPD faced numerous challenges of information security. The most important among these was the denial of

Ancient Iraq Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ancient Iraq - Essay Example The development of the sexagesimal numeral system helped in calculations such as the distance moved by the planets. These developments were significant contributions to science. Mesopotamian empires contribution to the governance system has formed the basis of government structures and organization in the modern dispensation. A centralized government system emerged from the demonstration by the Mesopotamian empires. A centralized governance system emerged as a result of better organization of communities and single plans3. Contributions to medicine began in the Mesopotamian empires and the evidence is inscribed within the code of Hammurabi. The code provides evidence of physicians from the Babylonian side who operated patient’s knives4. The physicians were to undergo serious punishments in the event of death of an individual. Diagnosis of various sicknesses and diseases were also introduced. Consequently, there were handbooks for herbal medicines and the various areas of their use. The modern art can be traced from the Mesopotamian empires, especially the ancient art and pottery5. Different forms of art such as mosaic, stone sculptures and megalithic arts inspired the emergence of arts to other parts of the

Is mass migration more of a threat or a benefit to European host Essay

Is mass migration more of a threat or a benefit to European host countries - Essay Example The flows for the non-European region led to a large scale migration to Europe. The increased restrictions on immigration policies have resulted in the increased flow of non-conventional and illegal migrants in to the European nations. The involvement of European Union in the migration policies of the individual member nations has increasingly become necessary and further enlargement in the European Union territory has accentuated this necessity. The flows of migration in both directions have resulted in some major impact on the economies of the host countries in the EU. This paper analyzes the possible effects of the migration as to whether the mass migration results in some benefit or it should be construed as a threat to the nations. People migrate from one country or region to another for their own benefits which may include getting a better pay, joining the spouse of parent, to obtain more welfare benefits or for security reasons. Most of the host nations receiving these migrants stand to benefit. For instance, the demand for labour may be met easily when imported from other countries. On some other occasions the same country may export labour to other countries depending on the economic cycle the country is undergoing and due to the differences in the economies of different countries and labour markets. However whether the mass migration to another country really benefits the people in the host country is a matter of circumstance prevailing in the host nation. It may be noted that all the international migrants in the recent past to the United States and European Union represent spouses, dependants, relatives, students, asylum claimants for whom there is absolutely no demand in these countries. In any case th ey do not represent labour migrants. Apart from these there are other illegal and short term migrants who would like to stay and improve their position by any available avenues. Over the period the economic benefits of labour migration have become less significant and have even turned negative (Borjas 1996, Wardensjo, 1999). Argument for Economic Interests of Business The first argument that will be put forth in favour of mass migration is the economic criteria involving business interests. However this argument suffers from a lacuna that the business interests that favour mass migration inwards into a country is always of short term nature. Although easy and immediate access to labor will be preferred rather than the costs involve in training and capital investment for long term, the nature of economic cycle would make the labour which was essential yesterday totally unemployed today, as has been witnessed with most the factories and mills of Europe. Employers who demand more of immigrant labour could not be blamed for the changed scenario. If the businesses are made responsible for the dealing the with the life time cost of these labour immigrants they would obviously reduce their demand for immigrant labour and make long term capital investment. However it must be remembered that the countries can not be just treated as just a set of economic l evers but they consist of communities of people who have their own shared values, commitments, identities, origins and aspirations all of which will be affected by mass migration of people. Argument for General Economic Interest Mass

Hope by Emily Dickinson Essay Example for Free

Hope by Emily Dickinson Essay Can you imagine life with out hope? I think Emily Dickinson may have used hope a lot in her life and that’s why she wrote this wonderful poem, to inspire those without hope to give them a perspective from a beautiful bird that hope can change your life in any way you dream it. I choose to analyze the famous poem â€Å"hope† by Emily Dickinson, Such an interesting and mysterious poet she lived her entire life in Amherst, Massachusetts, only two of her poems where published in her life time, she died in 1886, she was never married and live most of her life as a recluse. In this poem Dickinson uses imagery and metaphors to describe, â€Å"hope is the thing with feathers.† Stanza One In the poem â€Å"hope† is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson, I love how Dickson compared the idea of hope as a bird or â€Å"feather† I think the feather symbolizes freedom as in with hope you can fly away and be free, it examines the ideas of hope as a free spirit. She uses an imaginary metaphor to describe why hope is the thing with feathers. In the first line she uses a bird to create a clear image of a free spirit, a bird flying freely reaching what ever it wants, by using hope as a bird this metaphor is saying if you have hope you can fly to where ever it is you dream of. By giving hope feathers it gives the reader an idea or illusion of hope flying freely. By hope having feathers it is like a free home, flying to a new place. In the second line that says â€Å"That perches in the soul† I believe she means the hope comes from the spirit, from very deep down in your heart. She is using another metaphor comparing a bird sitting on its perch, as our spirit is or where hope sits. In the third line where Dickinson speaks of singing a tune without words, that never stops at all, I see the song as being hope, that the bird is continuously singing its praise of hope even without knowing the words or the meaning of the song, giving us all hope that even if we don’t know the song or the words we too can sing a song of hope. Ending the first stanza with â€Å"and never stops at all† showing that this song is never ending and available to all, it never stops. Stanza Two â€Å"And sweetest in the gale is heard† tells of the birds song as the sweetest of all songs, â€Å"And sore must be the storm† showing that when we need hope the most, through the worst of life’s storms, we can still hear that sweet song of hope. In line seven Dickinson shows that without hope we could be crushed by the storm, again showing a metaphor. I believe it means that without hope you would be without wings, no way to soar above your conflicts or hope of escaping, without hope its like you have a broken wing and cannot fly anywhere. The antagonist of the poem is the one who could abash the little bird, taking away all hope, representing problems of the world the negativity, stress, financial, relationship difficulty’s of everyday life, being the hammer bearing down on us, causing pain and discomfort. In line eight that says â€Å"That kept so many warm† means that hope has brought people through a lot of things, through the cold and hurtful times. Hope is like a blanket in the winter you need it to stay warm without it you will freeze to death. Stanza Three By Dickinson saying â€Å"I’ve heard it in the chilliest lands† I see this as yet another reason to have hope and that hope is obtainable in even the â€Å"chilliest† of lands, continuing with â€Å"And on the strangest sea† that hope can reach any distance. As Dickinson ends her poem with â€Å"Yet, never, in extremity, it asked a crumb of me.† Dickinson shows us hope is free it doesn’t coast a thing, that it comes from within, not at a store or a mall, hope is what you make it, it dose not run away from you, its there when ever you need or want it, you don’t need money to use it, all you need is the right mind set then you can just take it out of your pocket and use it whenever you need it, its that simple. As you can see hope is the only thing you need, fear is the opposite. Hope doesn’t cost anything, all you need is a little faith and all your dreams will come true, hope is a free gift so why not use it every second of every day. Hope is used in even the saddest places to make them happier. The poorest person with hope is happier than the richest without hope. Some of the richest people used hope to get where they are now with just a little bit of faith and hope, that is all you will ever need in life, because it provides you with everything you will ever need. Hope exists for everyone; there is not one-person that can’t use hope. I use hope everyday and I’m extremely happy. If you have hope you can fly to your dreams in life, for example when we were all little someone asked us what we wanted to be when we grow up and no matter what that kid said he or she didn’t have a doubt in their mind that they were not going to be what they dreamed but as we get older we start to loose hope and focus more on â€Å"reality†. But the Dickinson shows us how to escape reality and dream a little. I think every one should use hope and read â€Å"hope† is the thing with feathers because it may cause you to see hope every day of your life and change your life forever.

Ethical And Socially Responsible Business Practice Management Essay

Ethical And Socially Responsible Business Practice Management Essay Around the world organizations are being forced to struggle to meet the requirements of the existing generation without compromising the facilities of the succeeding generations to come across their own needs. Organizations are requested to take responsibility for the actions their conduct influence humanities and the natural environment. Additionally, they are being requested to implement sustainability principles to the habits in which they do their business. Sustainability in the organization refers to voluntary activities that exhibit the presence of public and ecological concerns in business actions and in connections with stakeholders. It is no further acceptable for an organization to practise economic success in separation from those which are impacted by its actions. An organization should now emphasize its attention on both maintaining its profits and being a good corporate citizen. Organizations have been forced to restructure their frameworks, rules and business models to provide both private and public benefits while keeping well-informed of global trends and remaining devoted to financial duties. To understand and improve existing efforts, the most socially responsible organizations carry on revising their short-term and long-term plans, to stay ahead of rapidly changing challenges. Although it is easier said but in reality the implementation is challenging and limited in scope, however, there are benefits to the organization. This piece of work will give an outline of the challenges, limitations that a business encounters and the strengths that are derived from their ethical and socially responsible business practice. Employees work excessive overtime, in some cases seven days a week, and live in crowded dorms. Some say they stand so long that their legs swell until they can hardly walk. More troubling, the groups say, is some suppliers disregard for workers health. Two years ago, 137 workers at an Apple supplier in eastern China were injured after they were ordered to use a poisonous chemical to clean  iPhone screens. Within seven months last year, two explosions at iPad factories, including in Chengdu, killed four people and injured 77. Duhigg Barboza. The New York Times (2012).  In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad.   Organizations, here for instance Apple Inc., to escape from their unethical and embarrassing situation to entail them to additional costs in order to decrease the excessive hours of labour. For example, a decrease in the regular working hours from the existing sixty to seventy hours per week to forty-eight hours per week would demand in the region of more than 30 per cent upsurge in the labour force to sustain the existing rate of productivity. In order to provide accommodations for the increase in labour force the factory would be required to build extra related infrastructure, such as kitchenettes, security guards, healthcare policies and transportation facilities. The initial capital investment has to be quite generous to rapidly amend all the situations at hand. The labour force, usually in developing countries, do not prefer less overtime hours because it sinks their earnings. Factory owners love to keep regular wages as low as possible so as to incentivize workers toward overtime work. Considering the point of view of the factor owner or organizations, such as Apple Inc., the actual cost is the average wage per hour and the difference between fixed and overtime wage rates is a scheme to make the labour force work more hours. The issues surrounding well-being and safety relating to production facilities are also rooted in the principal manufacturing scheme and occur for reasons that are similar to wages and working hours. The improvements to the physical conditions to the factory would include improved air filtration arrangement, better tangible work assets and the establishment of safety equipment would entail to non-productive capital factory area and result in the rise of operating expenses without proportionate rise in the quantity of units manufactured per any measures of productive efficiencies. From Apples viewpoint, the disputes of the labour force earnings and working environment has been the needless interference that must be minimized before the strong and determined displeasure of Apples customers, stockholders and regulators who are their three main body of voters. To abide by with higher standards of social responsibility, organizations have undertaken inspection on the firms they employed in their supply chain. Differences between authentic and audit results do exist. For example, at Foxconn after the heart-breaking events of workers suicide, Apple inspected the working condition of those related factories. Its enquiry report demonstrated no problems of worker overtime and no child labour. Ironically, after the assurance of good working conditions in the enquiry report, the suicide incidents have continued. The difficulty in auditing is that the firm can hide the faults and workers can hide the truth out of fear. When becoming involved in ethical business practices, developing consumer scepticism limits the business progress. They are doubtful about the true incentive behind the practices and are not easily influenced that a business is acting in the benefits of the community. Another significant limitation that results from business practices is that it can negatively affect business profits. How can a business defend expenditure on activities that offer no returns for the business? Unethical practices will cause a bad reputation which in effect will result in falling stock prices. Organizations that maintain high ethical principles are provided with legal and financial incentives by regulatory bodies. Facing mounting criticism, factories have made significant changes, but bigger steps are ahead for electronics supplier. Foxconn,  Apples top manufacturer, has improved safety conditions and cut working hours in an effort to resolve violations at its plants that triggered a global scandal for the iPad and iPhone maker. The FLA said Foxconn had made significant improvements such as introducing more breaks and better maintenance of safety equipment. The company more than doubled wages after protests from worker groups and is backing a local law adjustment that will extend unemployment insurance. Dominic Rushe. The Guardian (2012).  Apple manufacturer Foxconn improves on Chinese workers hours and safety. Evaluating the above reference it is observed that Apple realized the bigger picture. In general and in accordance to the reference, a number of strengths can be derived in advantage to Apple and organizations. Ethical business practices can provide a distinction of an organization from its competition. Whether an organization is affiliating with non-profit organizations, offering employee benefits, maintaining environment friendly policies these practices will improve your companys internal atmosphere and industry connections. All these aspects will develop the organization reputation and build a long-term strategy for success. As the organization grows a reputation for ethical business practices, the customers will begin to consider the business as trustworthy and morally honest. The confidence your customers sense for the organization is an essential element in developing long-term customer relationships and brand loyalty provided your business provided quality products. These passionate customers will talk to their related people and positively create more brand loyal customers. Brand loyal customers are a good medium of advertising helping organizations to become profitable and successful. Ethical and socially responsible business practices towards the organizations employees such as providing being working environment and incentives will lead to efficiency and productivity. The productivity of employees increases with good ethical practices existing in an organization. People regard ethics, social responsibility and business ethics in terms of administrative defiance with legal principles and observance to internal regulations. In order to achieve success many organizations believe that they must earn the respect and assurance of their customers. Organizations are being questioned, encouraged and pushed to improve their business practices to put emphasis on legal and ethical conduct. Companies, professional firms and individuals are being held more and more responsible for their engagements, as demand grows for higher principles of corporate social responsibility. Business will be obstructed by challenges and limitations but it will require a lot of patience, encouragement and money to gain the benefits from their ethical and socially responsible practices. 1347 words

The UK Property Market

The UK Property Market Residential Property The United Kingdom enjoyed serious property boom for over a decade. The property boom slowed down when the economic meltdown commenced in 2008. During the boom years the value of property in the United Kingdom soared, and in some cases the value of properties rose by over 200 percent (Cameron, 2005:5). One of the main factors for the boom was that the economy had a long period of sustained growth, furthermore the interest rates were regulated by the government and kept low. Added to these factors was an upsurge in property investments fuelled by both local and foreign investors. Finally the government kept a tight control on the number of new houses built during that period, so that effectively demand outstripped supply (Cameron, 2005:5). Currently, the bubble in the property market in the United Kingdom has burst and the market is currently undergoing some reforms. Prices are no longer rising as fast as they were some years ago and there is now an oversupply of houses in the property market as home owners are reluctant to sell in this current state. The effect of this is that supply of properties out stripes demand in residential property (Ruddick and Moore, 2010:1). The economic slowdown affected all sectors of the property market, however the price of houses in London are slowly picking up and this is due to the weak pound that has made a lot of foreign investors to come in to the UK and invest in properties (Evening Standard, March 30, 2010). Stake holders are arguing that the Carlsberg review of residential properties should be the bench mark for carrying out reforms in the residential sector as well as all the other sectors of the property market. Furthermore, the reforms currently going on is aimed at producing better and more information to customers, this lead to the introduction of the Home Owners Information Package (HIPs). The government plans to regulate the property market, especially the estate agents so that it will no longer be an all comers affairs. Finally, there is now a standards board in the property industry, although they have limited powers. On the other hand, the residential property market in Europe is different from the property market in the UK. The residential property market in the UK encourages people to buy their own homes, unlike in Europe, where the emphasis is more on long term renting (Oswald, 1999:10). Credit is readily available in the UK in order to assist home owners to buy properties, unlike in Europe where it was not easily available (Oswald, 1999:10). However all this has changed as the residential property market in Europe is undergoing some reforms that has had a great effect on the residential, commercial and industrial properties all over Europe. It appears that most European nations are copying the UK model and are now encouraging its citizens to be home owners instead of renting. Spain is a good example (Oswald, 1999:7). Furthermore, with the opening up of the EU, Europeans can now move to any EU country and acquire property, this factor has greatly affected the property market in the EU, because capital can now be moved easily and investors in one part of the EU can take advantage of cheap properties in any other part of the EU. Finally, it appears that for eight years starting from 1990, the reforms and gains of the real estate market in the United Kingdom were modelled on the system of the United States; however for six years starting from 1998, the property market in the United Kingdom appeared to be harmonized with that of its European neighbours (Lee, 2009:32). Commercial Property and Industrial Property Commercial properties are scarce in the UK and demand exceeds supply. This among other factors led to a boom in the commercial property sector. However there appears to be a slump at the moment as Commercial property in UK was also affected by the global economic down turn. However current reports indicate that the commercial property sector in the UK is picking up and investors are starting to snatch up prime commercial properties (Evening Standard, March 30, 2010). The commercial property yield in the UK is quite impressive and high compared to its European neighbours. On the other hand, commercial properties in Europe also appear to be booming. The European economy is recovering and a lot of foreign investors are investing in commercial properties in Europe (Oswald, 1999:7). The economic meltdown has also affected the growth of commercial property in Europe and the sector is also undergoing reforms just like the market is undergoing in the UK. Most EU countries have put legislation in place in order to allow real estate investment trusts (Oswald, 1999:27). This legislation will make it easier for foreign investors to invest in the commercial property sector and inject the much need funds in order to keep the commercial property sector booming. Finally the demand for industrial property is low in the UK. This is due to the fact that a lot of industries are closing down due to high cost of labour and the strong Pound Sterling. Companies are moving their operations to Europe and other areas where it will be cheaper for them to operate. While in Euro pe the demand for industrial property is booming, due to the stability of the Euro as well as the economic prosperity in the Euro Zone. Furthermore due to some recent EU Directives, setting an industry in some EU countries is now a lot cheaper and easier than it used to be. (B) The five major skills that I acquired in the university are as follows: communication skills, multi-tasking, organizing skills and time management skills, IT skills and interpersonal abilities. The main purpose of communication is to convey ones message to recipients. Good communication takes many forms such as speaking, writing and listening (Heller, 1998:6). I gained my communication skills in the university through course work presentations, seminar discussions, formal training sessions and face to face meeting with my course leader. These range of activities helped me to acquire my verbal and communication skills in the university. I improved my verbal and communications skills in the university by devoting time to the three key elements of effective communication, which are, effective initial preparation, effective structuring of my material and effective delivery of my material (King, 1992: 14). Finally, the art of getting ones message across effectively is a vital part of being a good manager (Heller, 1998:1). Communication skill will help me in future because no matter my status within an organization I will be giving instructions to my colleagues, superiors or juniors and these instructions can range from simple instructions or requests to complex instructions. I also gained IT skills and interpersonal abilities while studying in the university. We had a specialized IT unit in the university that offered training and support to students. I went for many lectures and training that the IT unit organized on campus. We had a large IT laboratory on campus and each student had a password that allowed the student access to any of the personal computers in the IT laboratory and there was always an IT specialist to offer technical support to any student that was experiencing difficulties. Inter personal abilities is basically about getting on well with your colleagues. I was in a university with people from different cultures and backgrounds. I also lived in the hostel and I had three flat mates all from different cultures and backgrounds and we to share the same living room and kitchen. These are the factors that helped me gain inter personal skills while studying in the university. The explosive growth of information technology in recent years highlights the need and importance of IT skills (Pearlson Saunders, 2006:7). In future if I work in an organisation I could be asked to take on any tasks that require different skills at different times. Finally, most organisations are now a mix of people from different cultures and backgrounds, therefore my interpersonal skills as well as communications will benefit me, if I find myself working in such multinational organisations in the future. One other skill that I gained while studying was multi-tasking and organizing skills. These two skills are essential skill (Crenshaw, 2007:15). I gained this skill by taking part in different activities in the university. As an undergraduate you are introduced to many different activities and some of them have no relationship with one another. I was introduced to so many different activities that involved different tasks to accomplish. I gained organising skills by been involved in many societies on campus. The effect of this was that I had to organise my time effectively and efficiently between my course work and my other activities on campus. This skill will help me in future due to the fact that I can cope in a busy working environment. Furthermore, I can be versatile and engage in different activities that are not related. Finally, I will be able to organize and balance my personal life and my working life. The last key skill that I acquired while in the university was time management skills. Time management is all about determining ones priorities. There is usually a lot to accomplish in the university. When you acquire this skill you can then be able to determine your priorities. I gained this skill my making a daily ‘to do list the day before and I usually organized my list in accordance with three criteria: the importance/urgency of the task, the amount of time available and the quality of time available (Morris, 1996:73). This skill enabled me to be in control of my personal life and academic life. This skill will help me function well under pressure and make me be in control of my work load in any organisation I find myself working for in future. Bibliography Cameron, G (2005) The UK Housing Market, Economic Review, University of Oxford Journal, Oxford Crenshaw, D (2007) The Myth of Multi-tasking, Key Organisations System, London Heller, R (1998) Communicate Clearly, Dorling Kindersley, London King, A.G (1992) Effective Communication, Blackstone Press, London Lee, S (2009) Is the UK real estate market converging with the rest of Europe? Journal of European Real Estate Research, Vol.2, Issue 1, 18-32 Morris, B (1996) First Steps in Management, Library Association Publishing, London Oswald, A.J (1999) The Housing market and Europes Unemployment: A Non-Technical Paper, Economic Department, University of Warwick, Warwick Ruddick, G and Moore, M (2010) UK Housing Market: Double Dip Fears, Telegraph on line can be assessed at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/houseprices/7539267/UK-housing-market-double-dip-fears-subside-slightly.html > Scott, P (1996) The property Masters: a History of the British Commercial Property Sector, Spon E FN, London

Slavery in Colonial America :: Slavery Essays

Slavery in Colonial America The first arrivals of Africans in America were treated similarly to the indentured servants in Europe. Black servants were treated differently from the white servants and by 1740 the slavery system in colonial America was fully developed. Slavery as it existed in America was a practice founded on the chattel principle. Slaves were treated as human chattel to be traded, sold, used, and ranked not among beings, but among things, as an article of property to the owner or possessor. Because the American slave system was based on this principle of human chattlehood, slaves were confined in many ways that handicapped them from even being able to act or live as a human being. The very idea of human chattelhood gave the master unlimited control over his defenseless slave. Chattels are not permitted to get married, acquire or hold property. Chattels cannot have rights and hence the slave has no rights. Chattels can be bought and sold and so justifies the existence of the slave trade. Chattels do not have any claim to legal protection, therefore the slave has none and must tolerate the cruelties of slavery. Chattels are not to be educated or instructed in religion. And lastly, chattels do not possess the freedom of speech and of the press. Race was a very important factor in American slavery. In other nations, slaves would be of the same race as their master. An ex-slave could re-enter society with their past forgotten and be accepted once again. On the other hand, American slavery was closely connected to racial differences that led to racial segregation and discrimination. Master and slave could physically be distinguished from one another, which ultimately distinguished one as human and the other as chattel. Before the American Revolution, slavery existed in every one of the colonies. But by the last quarter of the 18th century, slavery was eventually abandoned in the North mainly because it was not as profitable as it was to the South (where it was becoming even more prevalent). Slavery was an extremely important element in America's economy because of the expanding tobacco and cotton plantations in the Southern states that were in need of more and more cheap labor. At one point America was a land of 113, 000 slaveholders controlling twenty million slaves. By the 1760's many Americans were beginning to become dissatisfied with their mother nation and were waging a war of resistance against the British colonial government. Slavery in Colonial America :: Slavery Essays Slavery in Colonial America The first arrivals of Africans in America were treated similarly to the indentured servants in Europe. Black servants were treated differently from the white servants and by 1740 the slavery system in colonial America was fully developed. Slavery as it existed in America was a practice founded on the chattel principle. Slaves were treated as human chattel to be traded, sold, used, and ranked not among beings, but among things, as an article of property to the owner or possessor. Because the American slave system was based on this principle of human chattlehood, slaves were confined in many ways that handicapped them from even being able to act or live as a human being. The very idea of human chattelhood gave the master unlimited control over his defenseless slave. Chattels are not permitted to get married, acquire or hold property. Chattels cannot have rights and hence the slave has no rights. Chattels can be bought and sold and so justifies the existence of the slave trade. Chattels do not have any claim to legal protection, therefore the slave has none and must tolerate the cruelties of slavery. Chattels are not to be educated or instructed in religion. And lastly, chattels do not possess the freedom of speech and of the press. Race was a very important factor in American slavery. In other nations, slaves would be of the same race as their master. An ex-slave could re-enter society with their past forgotten and be accepted once again. On the other hand, American slavery was closely connected to racial differences that led to racial segregation and discrimination. Master and slave could physically be distinguished from one another, which ultimately distinguished one as human and the other as chattel. Before the American Revolution, slavery existed in every one of the colonies. But by the last quarter of the 18th century, slavery was eventually abandoned in the North mainly because it was not as profitable as it was to the South (where it was becoming even more prevalent). Slavery was an extremely important element in America's economy because of the expanding tobacco and cotton plantations in the Southern states that were in need of more and more cheap labor. At one point America was a land of 113, 000 slaveholders controlling twenty million slaves. By the 1760's many Americans were beginning to become dissatisfied with their mother nation and were waging a war of resistance against the British colonial government.

The Evolutionary Importance of Maternal Anti-Bodies and its Implication

An organism’s ability to survive is not limited to the number of resources available but even more importantly the organism’s ability to fight off infections. Immunity is one of the most important features an organism has to distinguish and protect itself against certain pathogens that could potentially be fatal to the organism. From the first line of defense such as skin and mucous membranes, an organism’s body is constantly fighting off antigens. Antigens are molecules from a pathogen or a foreign organism that provoke a specific immune response. There are several ways a body prevents specific antigens from entering the body or causing harm, starting with non-specific mechanisms that include the first and second lines of defense. When an antigen passes the skin barrier an inflammatory response is set into motion to prohibit any further attack on the body. This inflammatory response includes the work of phagocytic white blood cells and anti-microbial proteins. When that alone, is not able to defeat the antigens, a specific mechanism including lymphocytes and antibodies make up the third line of defense. All organisms are born with immunity which is commonly referred to as innate immunity. However, most importantly as an organism grows, an acquired immunity is developed either naturally or artificially. Natural passive immunity may be an organism’s most important form of immunity since it is passed from the mother to the fetus via the placenta or after birth during breast feeding. Although this immunity is usually only temporary, it protects the offspring while their own immune system develops. Current studies have addressed important issues regarding environmental and genetic factors affecting the amount of antibodies transf... ...ernal transfer of antibodies: raising immuno-ecology issues. Trends Ecol Evol 23:282-288. Grindstaff, J. L., E. D. Brodie, 3rd, and E. D. Ketterson. 2003. Immune function across generations: integrating mechanism and evolutionary process in maternal antibody transmission. Proc Biol Sci 270:2309-2319. Hasselquist, D. and J. A. Nilsson. 2009. Maternal transfer of antibodies in vertebrates: trans-generational effects on offspring immunity. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 364:51-60. King, M. O., J. P. Owen, and H. G. Schwabl. 2010. Are maternal antibodies really that important? Patterns in the immunologic development of altricial passerine house sparrows (Passer domesticus). PLoS One 5:e9639. Pihlaja, M., H. Siitari, and R. V. Alatalo. 2006. Maternal antibodies in a wild altricial bird: effects on offspring immunity, growth and survival. J Anim Ecol 75:1154-1164. The Evolutionary Importance of Maternal Anti-Bodies and its Implication An organism’s ability to survive is not limited to the number of resources available but even more importantly the organism’s ability to fight off infections. Immunity is one of the most important features an organism has to distinguish and protect itself against certain pathogens that could potentially be fatal to the organism. From the first line of defense such as skin and mucous membranes, an organism’s body is constantly fighting off antigens. Antigens are molecules from a pathogen or a foreign organism that provoke a specific immune response. There are several ways a body prevents specific antigens from entering the body or causing harm, starting with non-specific mechanisms that include the first and second lines of defense. When an antigen passes the skin barrier an inflammatory response is set into motion to prohibit any further attack on the body. This inflammatory response includes the work of phagocytic white blood cells and anti-microbial proteins. When that alone, is not able to defeat the antigens, a specific mechanism including lymphocytes and antibodies make up the third line of defense. All organisms are born with immunity which is commonly referred to as innate immunity. However, most importantly as an organism grows, an acquired immunity is developed either naturally or artificially. Natural passive immunity may be an organism’s most important form of immunity since it is passed from the mother to the fetus via the placenta or after birth during breast feeding. Although this immunity is usually only temporary, it protects the offspring while their own immune system develops. Current studies have addressed important issues regarding environmental and genetic factors affecting the amount of antibodies transf... ...ernal transfer of antibodies: raising immuno-ecology issues. Trends Ecol Evol 23:282-288. Grindstaff, J. L., E. D. Brodie, 3rd, and E. D. Ketterson. 2003. Immune function across generations: integrating mechanism and evolutionary process in maternal antibody transmission. Proc Biol Sci 270:2309-2319. Hasselquist, D. and J. A. Nilsson. 2009. Maternal transfer of antibodies in vertebrates: trans-generational effects on offspring immunity. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 364:51-60. King, M. O., J. P. Owen, and H. G. Schwabl. 2010. Are maternal antibodies really that important? Patterns in the immunologic development of altricial passerine house sparrows (Passer domesticus). PLoS One 5:e9639. Pihlaja, M., H. Siitari, and R. V. Alatalo. 2006. Maternal antibodies in a wild altricial bird: effects on offspring immunity, growth and survival. J Anim Ecol 75:1154-1164. The Evolutionary Importance of Maternal Anti-Bodies and its Implication An organism’s ability to survive is not limited to the number of resources available but even more importantly the organism’s ability to fight off infections. Immunity is one of the most important features an organism has to distinguish and protect itself against certain pathogens that could potentially be fatal to the organism. From the first line of defense such as skin and mucous membranes, an organism’s body is constantly fighting off antigens. Antigens are molecules from a pathogen or a foreign organism that provoke a specific immune response. There are several ways a body prevents specific antigens from entering the body or causing harm, starting with non-specific mechanisms that include the first and second lines of defense. When an antigen passes the skin barrier an inflammatory response is set into motion to prohibit any further attack on the body. This inflammatory response includes the work of phagocytic white blood cells and anti-microbial proteins. When that alone, is not able to defeat the antigens, a specific mechanism including lymphocytes and antibodies make up the third line of defense. All organisms are born with immunity which is commonly referred to as innate immunity. However, most importantly as an organism grows, an acquired immunity is developed either naturally or artificially. Natural passive immunity may be an organism’s most important form of immunity since it is passed from the mother to the fetus via the placenta or after birth during breast feeding. Although this immunity is usually only temporary, it protects the offspring while their own immune system develops. Current studies have addressed important issues regarding environmental and genetic factors affecting the amount of antibodies transf... ...ernal transfer of antibodies: raising immuno-ecology issues. Trends Ecol Evol 23:282-288. Grindstaff, J. L., E. D. Brodie, 3rd, and E. D. Ketterson. 2003. Immune function across generations: integrating mechanism and evolutionary process in maternal antibody transmission. Proc Biol Sci 270:2309-2319. Hasselquist, D. and J. A. Nilsson. 2009. Maternal transfer of antibodies in vertebrates: trans-generational effects on offspring immunity. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 364:51-60. King, M. O., J. P. Owen, and H. G. Schwabl. 2010. Are maternal antibodies really that important? Patterns in the immunologic development of altricial passerine house sparrows (Passer domesticus). PLoS One 5:e9639. Pihlaja, M., H. Siitari, and R. V. Alatalo. 2006. Maternal antibodies in a wild altricial bird: effects on offspring immunity, growth and survival. J Anim Ecol 75:1154-1164.

Communication Problems Between Teenagers And Adults Essay

From the beginning of time teenagers and adults have always had conflicts with each other. These conflicts occur most of the time because of the lack of communication between the teenager and the adult. The generation gap between the teenager and the adult can play a role in the problems they have communicating. The superior adult has the instinct that whatever the inferior teenager does can lead to bad things, and lectures the teenager about it. Most of the time teenagers have many other sources of advice they can listen to, and it seems that the adult can become the last resort or not a resort at all. The generation gap, the feeling of being inferior and superior, and the other sources of advice can play a big part in the problems teenagers and adults have communicating. Both parties have an equal role in communicating with each other. But the choice comes down to the two willing to take that particular role. The generation gap between teenagers and adults plays a huge part in why they have problems communicating with each other. The adult who had a very different lifestyle and childhood then that of a teenager may have a different view on life. Things unheard of years ago to the adults can now have rational reasoning through the advance of technology. For a teenager to talk to an adult, on a subject that the adult has no idea on can almost become impossible. Still living in the last decade, adults may not correspond with the thinking of today’s youthful teenagers. The age difference between the teenager and the adult plays a huge role in the game of communicating between the two. The superior adult has always had the impulse to contradict the ideas of the inferior teenager, and lecture the teenager on the teenager’s wrongful ways. The more mature adult thinks that he or she has more knowledge than the younger teenager and sees that the teenager may benefit from the lecture. This gives a feeling of uneasiness in the teenager and makes them very irritable. Many verbal conflicts have aroused after the adult has given his or her point of view in the lecture. The adult often times makes the teenager feel inferior to him or her in the lectures. The teenager feeling inferior, who has a lot on his mind, may not express what he or she really  feels to the adult. This state of feeling inferior and superior between the teenager and adult does not help solve the problems they have communicating. Teenagers talk to so many friends about things they have in common with, it makes talking to an adult like taking to a person on the other side of the planet. Teenagers have so many other options on expressing what they think, that it seems very difficult talking to an adult. The teenager could always first go to a close friend of theirs if they had something on their mind. Teenagers going to adults for help can lead to more problems because the two may not agree on the same thing. This example goes the same way with an adult. If an adult has something on his or her mind and has to express it some way, he or she will go to another adult who would have the same ideas on it. The lack of respect they have for one another can explain the problems they have in communication. Problems and conflicts occur all the time among teenagers and adults. The hurdle of communication can sometimes become the hardest obstacle teenagers and adults have to overcome. The trouble of the two communicating can lead to a very tough relationship or lead to no relationship at all between the two. The two must try to have better communication with one another if they want to improve the relationship between them. The leading responsibility for this problem can have something to do with the generation gap of the two, the feeling of inferior and superior, and the abundant sources of advice. One person cannot fight the communication battle alone. With the help of both sides this war on communication can lead to a victory for both teenagers and adults.

The War of 1812 Could Have Been Avoided

Konrad Bradbury 8/20/13 History The war of 1812 The war of 1812, a war that some people tend to referto as the second revolutionary war. But could it have been avoided? Well yes it most certainly could have been avoided, but then again couldnt most wars have been avoided? Though some people do not have the same reasoning. Other think that the war of 1812 was unavoidable, that it was â€Å"destined† to happen. Well what reasons do they have to think that? Though what reason do i have to think what i do? Well i will tell you.One reason that i think that the whole war could have just been avoided is because the british completely disragarded the maritime acts of the united states. After a country that was a hundred times smaller than you just beat you you are going to go ahead and act completely oblivious to that ssame countries rules? Sounds very angering to the people that just got away from you right? Right, the americans did not take this lightly. But that couldnt be the only reason that this whole war could have been avoided could it? No.The british might as well of just went up to the president of the united states and told him too screw off. They seemed to not care at all what they did to the americans. Another thing that they did was that they were interfering with all of the trade of the united states. Though even worse they were intercepting american ships and illegally improsining the american seamen. This as you can imagine would greatly anger the united states. The president at the time Madison demanded that britain revoke the oder in the council that declared american commercial vessels subject to interception and seizure.Britian ingnored this demand. Which angered the U. S. even more and congress declared war. After about a week of the declartation britain removed the provocative order and so there was no longer reason for a war to arise. There are some people including me that think that if there was better communication between europe and t he united states and north america then the war could have been avoided entirely. Some people like to call the war of 1812 the second revolutionary war. But how could this be if the united states of american was already free of briatin.Well some people think that this is the second revolutionary war because they think that the americans were pretty much showing once again that they were there own country witht their own rules and their own trading. Which in that sense does kind of make it the second revolutionary war for america. Another reason that the war of 1812 is a second revolutionary war is because of what happened in the war. The britsish came and completely burned Washington D. C. down to the ground. This is actually where our star spangled banner came from.Which personally i think is one of the best reasons to say that it was the second revolutionary war. So in all technicality this was the second revolutionary war because we were fighting from the british so that we were able to have a rights as a free country. Why not say thats what it is? Because that is exacty what it was. After all the reasearch that was done to be able to write this paper i do and will always strongly believe that the war of 1812 most certainly could have been avoided entirely.

Best Buy Failure in China (International Business) Essay

In the world today, there are many companies getting involved in international business, and developing to become a multinational company. Why do these firms want to take the multinational route? One of the dominant frameworks to explain the existence of these multinational companies is the Ownership-Location-Internalisation (OLI) paradigm (Dunning & Lundan 2008). Running an international business is different from running a domestic business. International business requires you to recognise and understand the cultural differences between countries. Failing to recognise and understand this difference could possibly lead to many difficulties, or worse still, failure. In this essay, I will be discussing the difficulties that Best Buy Co. Inc. faced, and its eventual failure due to the lack of understanding of the cultural differences in its host country, China. The rise of China has matured into hope for the entire consumer electronics industry. The country’s 1.3 billion consumers and their fast increasing buying power have transformed China into the world’s largest consumer electronics market, a market opportunity that multinational giants cannot afford to neglect (Chen & He 2005). As such, Best Buy was just one of the many multinational companies that tried to enter the Chinese market. Best Buy Co. Inc. Best Buy is a multinational retailer of consumer electronics from the United States and operates in the United Kingdom, Canada, Turkey, Mexico, China as well as its home country. Started as the Sound of Music in 1966 as an audio specialty store by Richard M. Schulze, it was later changed to Best Buy Co., Inc. by the board of directors in 1983 and is now the leading consumer electronics retailer in the United States (Pederson 2004). Best Buy sells consumer electronics as well as a wide selection of related merchandise such as music, mobile phones, computers, computer software, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, video games, digital cameras, video cameras as well as home appliances. The multinational used a two-track approach to enter the Chinese market. The consumer electronics giant first opened a sourcing office in Shanghai in 2005 and began its efforts to expand into the Chinese market in May 2006 by foreign acquisition. The multinational invested $108 million to obtain a majority stake in China’s fourth largest consumer electronics retailer, Jiangsu Five Star Appliance (Bloomberg 2006). Soon after in December 2006, the company used the greenfield mode of entry and opened its first â€Å"Best Buy† store that followed their own US business model, in Shanghai’s busy Xujiahui shopping district. By imposing a US business model, Best Buy intended to convince fastidious Chinese customers with helpful and dependable service in clean, pleasant outlets. The chairman and general manager of Best Buy China, Lu Weiming declared that they were confident with the store model they had, which will differentiate them from competitors and consequently help them win the consumers’ heart (Kurtenbach 2006). The company later opened another eight stores, which increased the total number of â€Å"Best Buy† stores in China to nine. Problem Identification According to the China Daily on March 21, 2011, Jiangsu Five Star Appliance continued to expand. However, Best Buy’s expansion was slow and was not running as smoothly as anticipated. â€Å"The multinational brought in a Western business model and it failed to sufficiently attract the Chinese clients and customers,† said Chen Can, a senior analyst from Analysys International (China Daily 2011). Best Buy’s business model in the US, where the brand markets itself as delivering a better service than competitors, did not go well in China. After being in the Chinese market for five years, the company only managed to open nine stores, capturing less than one per cent of the Chinese market as according to analysts. Failing to catch on in the Asian country, the company decided in February, 2011, to close its headquarters along with all its nine stores (Birchall, Strauss & Waldmeir 2011). Causes of the problem Even though the company opened a sourcing office in 2005, the multinational still had a lot to learn about the Chinese and the way they did business. â€Å"The lesson we learned is that we got too far ahead of the Chinese consumer in how business is done in China,† said Brian Dunn, Best Buy’s Chief Executive (Groth 2011). He said the company’s mistake had been to open big box stores with fixed prices that were staffed entirely by Best Buy’s blue-shirted employees (Jopson & Waldmeir 2011). Clearly, Best Buy entered the Chinese market in 2006 with a lack of knowledge of the local consumer’s culture. International strategy is a strategy where the firm uses the core competency, which it developed at home, as its main competitive weapon in the foreign market (Sumantra & Nitin 1993). This is the strategy which Best Buy used. The company did not enter China with the intention to hire local talent who knew how to be successful in China. Rather, it entered the country intending to create talent that knew how to be successful in the United States (Adam 2011). When the multinational first entered the Chinese market, many people hoped that it would successfully replace the prevailing, yet widely criticised Chinese business model that focused on price-centred competition (Ni 2011). Imposing their core competency in the US model, the company offered â€Å"a concept ahead of the consumer,† said retail analyst Paul French of Access Asia which was based in Shanghai (Macleod 2011). Best Buy provides a premium shopping experience for its consumers, to which the Chinese consumers were ultimately not willing to pay for (Jopson 2011). Consumers in China are generally different from consumers in the United States. Wei and Salil (2010) stated that the Chinese consumers have a higher cognitive age perception, lower levels of physical health status and lower life satisfaction levels as compared to their American counterparts. Eastman et. al. (1997) conducted a study and found that there were statistically significant differences between the two, such that Chinese consumers were more materialistic than those in the United States. Eastman’s research was later backed up by Schmitt’s (1999) studies. In addition, Schmitt found that the Chinese consumers were more brand conscious and would go shopping with brands as a key influencing factor. The cross-cultural study above is just one of the reasons as to why Best Buy failed to attract consumers in China. For instance, the company’s store in China generally divides up electronics and other large-ticket items by category (Birchall, Strauss & Waldmeir 2011). However, the Chinese are inclined to put more faith in brand names than consumers in the US do. Due to this reliance on brands as a deciding factor, the Chinese consumer would generally prefer items in the store to be categorised according to their make rather than function. Another cause of the company’s failure in attracting Chinese customers lies in the fact that all sales staff in the store were the company’s direct employees who donned the ubiquitous blue Best Buy uniform. This was a stark difference to the scene in typical Chinese outlets, where consumers were accustomed to subsections of electronics stores being manned by the manufacturer’s own employees, who were also able to offer specialist knowledge (Jopson 2011). At the same time, Best Buy’s market research showed that Chinese consumers liked to try out new products. While this was true, what eventually happened was that the Chinese shoppers would first go to Best Buy to try out products, before promptly marching across the street to one of the other Chinese retailers and buying the said product for less (Adam 2011). This was partly due to the pricing in Best Buy stores, which was based on a fixed-price policy (Jopson 2011) and only served to push the Chinese consumer even further away. As stated by Montlake (2006), bargaining is a way of life in China. Chinese consumers like bargaining and they are used to negotiating with the salesperson to get a discount, which was not an option in Best Buy. Not only is bargaining not an option, the prices at Best Buy were also set at a premium as it followed the company’s US model of offering high-quality service and a better shopping experience to consumers, such as the opportunity to try products before making a purchase. However, that did not seem to suit the immature Chinese market very well (Ni 2011). Purchasing decisions made by Chinese consumers are determined by price and not service (Birchall, Strauss & Waldmeir 2011). At the same time, Chinese consumers had the perception that Gome and Suning, two of Best Buy’s biggest competitors, were able to under cut Best Buy’s prices significantly (Adam 2011). Chinese consumers care more about price than service (D’Altorio 2011). The Chinese do not penny-pinch and save because they like to, but because they have to. They voluntarily tax themselves so as to protect against the absence of a welfare safety net. If a Chinese consumer gets old, he will need that money to survive, since state pensions remain inadequate. As his parents age, he will need to support his elders, especially since he is likely to be their only child, a result of the country’s one child policy. This reality is what perpetuates and engenders the low-cost, bargain basement Chinese retail environment (French 2007). To top it off, Best Buy’s choice of a Chinese name left many consumers pondering over its decision. A country steeped in traditions and superstitions, many Chinese consumers commented that the company’s Chinese name, â€Å"Bai Si Mai†, was a bad one as it literally meant â€Å"to buy after thinking 100 times† (Ni 2011). Overall, the company’s business model, like its Chinese name, showed a lack of understanding for the Chinese culture. It tried too hard to educate Chinese consumers about high-end service value when lower prices were typically the only value that motivated them to make quick decisions. The consumer electronics giant’s overconfidence in transforming the Chinese consumer philosophy finally hurt its performance in the Chinese market. Maintaining only a small market presence in China, Best Buy not only failed to please its consumers, but its suppliers too, who did not receive many orders from the company (Ni 2011). Proposed Solutions There are huge cross-cultural differences between the US and China. Therefore, one change I will make if I was Best Buy is to take up a multi-domestic strategy instead of the international strategy adopted by the company. Multi-domestic strategies involve a high degree of customisation to the local market place (Hout, Porter & Rudden 1982). This is important, noting the huge cultural gap between the China and the US. Hill, Hwang and Chan (1990) also stated that a multi-domestic strategy is based on the belief that national markets differ widely with regard to consumer preferences and taste, competitive conditions, operating conditions and social structures. According to organisational capabilities theory, in order to leverage its competitive advantages in the foreign market, an enterprise must understand its business environments and adapt its operation modes to the host country (Xu, Hu & Fan 2011). This is also in line with the multi-domestic strategy, to which Anne-Wil (2002) has highlighted the need of multi-domestic companies to deal with markets where products tailored to local circumstances are required; and to be able to do so, companies need to be well aware of the local market and be well-integrated into it. This can be easier achieved by acquiring an existing company that possesses a knowledgeable work force and good connections in the local market. As such, the mode of entry decided upon by a multinational is a critical and strategic decision. To support the multi-domestic strategy and aligning with conditions in China, I will still first enter the Chinese market using foreign acquisition. Foreign acquisition involves having to invest in a local firm and in this case, I will be investing in Jiangsu Five Star Appliance. Acquiring Jiangsu Five Star Appliance will create access to local resources as well as knowledge of the Chinese retail environment within a much shorter span of time (Cristina & Garcia-Canal 2004). Acquisition is also a more effective way of exploiting foreign resources and markets as compared to joint ventures or licensing, as supported by the transaction cost theory (Hennart 2010). Tapping on the knowledge and expertise of Jiangsu Five Star Appliance, I will then use the greenfield method, which is the setting up of a new company legally independent from parents, to set up a Best Buy store in China (Cristina & Garcia-Canal 2004). By using a multi-domestic strategy, the management seen in the greenfield approach will be more similar to that of acquisitions (Anne-Wil 2002). The consequent Best Buy outlets will then be managed and accustomed to the Chinese market. For instance, as most Chinese consumers shop by brands, the store will therefore be segregated by brands rather than product category. Sections of the store will also be rented out to brand manufacturers and their designated areas will be staffed with their own sales team, so that consumers can receive specialised knowledge as well as bargain for a lower price. The store will not be carpeted or provide services like allowing consumers to test out the product before purchase. This is to prevent the Chinese consumers from having the perception that the store is pricier as compared to competitors, especially since China is a highly price-conscious market. As French (2007) aptly stated, â€Å"win on price and you win, period†. It is therefore of utmost importance to have a lower price as compared to competitors. In order to provide lower prices, I will acquire the real estate, instead of renting or leasing the property like my two biggest competitors Gome and Suning do. This will provide me with a great advantage as I can lower rental prices for the manufacturers, who can then pass the accumulated savings down to the Chinese consumers. Noting the Chinese aversion to inauspicious names, I will also conduct sufficient research and preparation into choosing a Chinese name for the store before its opening. Instead of using a direct sound conversion of the brand name like â€Å"Bai Si Mai†, I will translate the brand name by meaning instead, such as â€Å"Zui Hao Mai†. This literally means â€Å"best buy†, and doubles up as a call that encourages consumers not to miss out on a deal. Conclusion In conclusion, China is a huge and growing market with tonnes of opportunities that multinationals cannot afford to neglect. However, there is a huge cultural divide between China and countries from the west like the United States. Entering the Chinese market will require multinationals to recognise and understand the cultural difference between their homeland and the Chinese market. Best Buy failed in China due to a lack of knowledge and understanding of cross-cultural differences. Although the company chose the correct mode of entry by first using foreign acquisition followed by the greenfield approach, it failed because it adopted an international strategy thinking that Chinese consumers will welcome the same offerings that reflect its core competency in the US — value-added service. Thinking it could import its success in the US to China by focusing on the same areas, Best Buy’s targeted service approach failed to take off in a climate governed by financial sensitivity. While focusing on providing consumers with a great shopping experience, the company failed to consider a fundamental portion of the retail environment — price, which affects Chinese consumers much more than service. To improve on this situation, I would first enter the Chinese market through foreign acquisition, so that I may gain access to knowledge about the culture in China before starting on the greenfield route. However, instead of using an international strategy, I will opt for the multi-domestic strategy by adapting my operations towards the needs of Chinese consumers. This would circumvent the issues that led to the company’s downfall in China. Due to the country’s rich traditions, its people are habitual and tend to shy away from the unfamiliar. Should Best Buy have chosen to use a multi-domestic strategy, it would have realised the need to customise its offerings in accordance to local tastes and might have gone on to capture a larger share of China’s consumer electronics market. Reference List Adam, M. 2011, ‘Bye-Bye, Best Buy (China): You had it coming’, Adam Minter of Shanghai Scrap, 22 February, Viewed 22 August 2012, Anne-Wil, H. 2002, â€Å"Acquisitions versus Greenfield investments: International strategy and management of entry modes†, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 211-227. 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