Battle Royal. Ralph Ellison Essay Example for Free

Battle Royal. Ralph Ellison Essay I felt like he had never experienced racism to the extent that he did that day. I believe that he walked into the â€Å"smoker† believing the white people were actually interested in what he had to say. He was even prideful thinking that he was better than the other boys he was forced into the elevator with â€Å"I felt superior to them in my way, and I didn’t like the manner in which we were all crowded together into the servants’ elevator† (pg. 287). The author writes about them being packed into this elevator designated for â€Å"servants. I pictured animals set for slaughter, which was not far from what the battle was, packed into a cart terrified and bewildered. Perhaps the young man believed that times had changed from when his grandfather was alive. Like the average teenager he may have believed that no one can understand the culture and the time quite like they can. He may have thought that his grandfather’s perspective was that of a bitter old man and that white people really did care about him and the rest of his people. The grandfather’s deathbed words affect the protagonist character throughout the story like the haunting of a ghost. His words tell the young man to act how the white people would like and say what they would have him say. At first I thought he was telling his grandson to stay the same and accept oppression as a way of life. In actuality I think he was telling him that he would get further acting correctly then he would by lashing out or acting irrationally. I think the grandpa knew that in order to gain respect you must act like they expected instead of becoming a radical for change. I think that essentially he was trying to tell his family to â€Å"kill them with kindness. Many symbols were present in this story. The naked blonde woman who was forced to dance in front of the men is the first. I believe that, much like the men, the blonde was a victim. The author even says that when they picked her up and tossed her around she had â€Å"terror and disgust in her eyes. † (pg. 288) To the black men she symbolized something that they were not allowed to have. I thought that although she was w hite she was still a victim to the powerful men of the town. She was forced into the ring the same way that the black men were. It seemed as if the author wanted to illustrate the complete disregard these white â€Å"powerful† men had for any one else. The American flag tattoo on the woman’s belly was ironic. I think that the flag, to many people, symbolizes freedom and rights. People around the world associate the American flag with freedoms unlike those in any other country. I think that on the stomach of the blonde woman it was a slap in the face. The black men saw the flag on her body and knew that they could not have her, nor could they have the freedoms that they were entitled to as citizens of this country. The flag shook and waved with the movements of her body, taunting the men. Waving at them, as if beckoning them to come to her, yet they were unable to because of their skin color. Much like the liberties of the United States that waved themselves in the face of the black people but they could not have because of their skin color. The author mentioned red, white and blue multiple times in the story. I thought that the references to the colors symbolic to this country were interesting. I think he used them much the same as he used the flag on the woman’s stomach. They were symbols exclusive to the United States, which is supposed to be a place of freedom; however the black people were only allowed to take part half way. The author spoke of the men’s red faces from their drinking, and the lipstick of the young woman was also red. The men were white along with the dancers skin which was a stark contrast to the young men she was surrounded by. I think that it is ironic that white is often associated with good, or innocence while black is symbolic of darkness or wickedness. In this story the roles were reversed. The white people were wicked and the black people were victims. Smoke in large quantities creates a blue haze like what might have been present in the ballroom. I think that it is interesting the use of blue because it can be associated with suffocation. I think that is what the white men were doing to the black men. They were suffocating them with their presence and their oppression. The coins that they were forced to scramble for off of the electric mat were terribly sad. They were for cars, which surely none of the men could afford. I thought it was sad they were scrambling for little amounts of money or none at all. Finally the last thing I think that was symbolic was the scholarship. While it was a great gift from the community, I think that it was also another stab at black people and their place in society. By giving the young man a scholarship to the state’s leading black college the town was saying that he was allowed the opportunity to further his education but had to remain in his place amongst the other black people. I thought that the fight the men were fighting was not just against the white people. Sadly the white people turned the black people on one another. The white’s did everything they could to tear the black people down including letting them tear each other apart. I think that the older perspective allows for us to see how he had developed as a man. He has education and a broader perspective on the world. The 17 year olds perspective was very narrow because he had not yet seen the crimes white people were capable of. The older man was not surprised or phased by the way that white people behaved with regards to blacks. I also think that as he grew older he found a part of himself that lacked.

Independent Variables Taxation Dependent Variable Firm Economics Essay

Independent Variables Taxation Dependent Variable Firm Economics Essay The textile sector accounts for 8-9 per cent of the total GDP, and generates 51 per cent of the export revenues for Pakistan, which is a huge number making it a very important sector. This sector is subject to high operating and financial leverage. Leverage plays a vital role in textile unit. Interest rates are the main determinants of investment and have an inverse relationship with investment. Lower real interest rates will encourage new investment by reducing the cost of capital. More debt means a higher level of interest payment each year, which is paid from net income. Interest is the major factor which is responsible for leverage. As compare to the others countries like Indonesia s Korea Malaysia is 5.5 and 4%. The situation with regard to textile industry is very serious. While interest as percentage of sales was 8.58%, interest as a share of value added was a high 12.9% for textiles. Garments is one sector which seems not be as adversely affected on this account. A consistently declining investment and economic growth rate is the major problem that the Pakistani economy has been facing for the last decade. An in-depth analysis of the determinants of private investment in different sectors of the economy is quite helpful in designing a plan for the economy. Interest rates emerge as the significant determinants of investment in all the sectors. Nominal interest rates and infrastructure are important in the case of agriculture only, while relative prices of imported machinery and real interest rates are significant in the manufacturing and services sectors. Unexplained variation in private investment is observed in the entire sector, which might be due to the different external and internal shocks to the economy. According to (MAHMUD, 2003) showed that economy is not good in Pakistan. Pakistan market capitalization and GDP growth are very low they have undeveloped equity market that is the reason of very high leverage ratio in Pakistan. A high proportion of fixed cost means that very high risk belongs to company. Government attention is not positively towards the textile sector. A high risk involved in the company so very low investment is carried out in the manufacturing sector and also high risk involvement means taking loans to the bank with high interest rate. Good economic policies requires for Pakistan and Japan textile sector (MAHMUD, 2003). The researcher (Denis, 2001) have searched that several academic studies have documented significant shareholder gains and operating improvements following highly leveraged transactions. These gains are generally attributed to changes in the incentive, monitoring, and governance structures of the firms. The results suggest that while high leverage is important in giving managers the incentive to generate cash, high managerial ownership of shares and improved monitoring from the board of directors are important in ensuring that cash is generated in a way that maximizes returns to shareholders (Denis, 2001). According to (V.O Boadu, 2002) the U.S. textile complex has experienced overcapacity of production, global financial crisis, changes in fashion trends and demand; and cheap imports from Asia. To become more competitive and profitable, U.S. textile manufacturers have focused on achieving greater speed, efficiency, and high quality production by investing heavily in automated technology Exports to Mexico and Canada were $9.5 billion, which constituted 51% of total exports. (V.O Boadu, 2002) Low-priced Asian imports believed to have been caused by the currency devaluation of major textile exporters such as Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand Asian currencies stabilized through 2000, and resumed their downward path. (V.O Boadu, 2002) U.S. apparel manufacturers seem to have benefited from the cheaper Asian imports of textiles by the U.S. Global sourcing strategies by the industry in locating manufacturing. Sourcing is explained by the cost of investing in facilities and equipment, production costs, labor costs and availability, quality control, timing, risks which involved language, culture, political, etc. and reliability of product supply in the international market. Firm size relation with leverage: (shah Hijazi, 2004) took the test whose showed that tangibility, profitability, growth and size of the firm effect leverage in textile. There was positive relationship between the size of the firm and board size, high board size means number of directors, larger board means highs leverage. Debt is taken more and more, that will affect the company equity. Leverage board size showed that more out siders, which possibly reflects debt, can act as a monitoring device and also showed that leverage was lower when the CEO had a long tenure in office. (shah Hijazi, 2004) analyzed size of firms and profitability was negatively correlated with leverage. Hence this rejects the static trade off theory, which showed a positive relation between size of the firm and profitability. This shows that firms in cement industry use more equity and less debt. Tangibility of Assets and growth found to be positively correlated with leverage. All the results were Significant except the size of the firm. Thei r results with Shah and Hijazi (2005) were found to be different in terms of growth and size of the firm. They concluded that in developing countries like Pakistan, cement industry usage of short term financing is high than long term financing. (Spuma, 2000)concerned with different variables that indicate the level of leverage in firm. It shows that there is a negative relation among growth and leverage of the firm. Size of the firm is negatively correlated with the leverage of the firm. Interest rate relation with leverage: (N.Majluf, 2004) showed that there is a relationship between managerial operation and high leverage ratio; external investor not has enough information about the country policies, their environment, and firms operations. Inside investor can easily handle that situations comparison with external investor. (N.Majluf, 2004) Present share holder prefer debt financing because of firms need to issue debt when information is larger, stock price decrease etc. that could avoid under pricing and also show that the managerial share holder and long-term debt have a negative relationship. Interest is paid from net income it means more debt change to more interest and more interest means low income. (Chhibber K. Majumdar, 1998)The size of a firm is known to affect a firms performance in many ways. Key features of a large firm are its diverse capabilities, the ability to exploit economies of scale, and the formalization of procedures. These characteristics make the implementation of operations more effective and allow larger firms not only to generate greater returns on assets and sales but also to capture more value as a proportion of the value of production than is possible for smaller firms. Alternatively, larger firms could be less efficient than smaller firms because of the loss of control by top managers over strategic and operational activities within the firm. (Chhibber K. Majumdar, 1998) SIZE is an important control variable for another reason. While our data are cross-section ally extensive, we do not have the ability to measure a firms market power or the level of concentration in the industries in which the firms in our sample operate. This is a major limitation of the data, and we cannot include controls for market-structure factors that are important determinants of economic performance. SIZE reflects the ability of firms to attain economies of scale as well as market power.35 Finally, the inclusion of SIZE allows us to avoid the criticism directed against much empirical work in this area. H. Short notes that a major criticism that can be levied at the majority of the empirical studies is that they tend to concentrate on large firm samples, rather than taking a broad cross-section of firms of different sizes. (chen, 2008) argued that high leverage ratio would increase the possibility of a firms bankruptcy. More debt means a higher level of interest payment each year, which is paid from net income. Once the operation of a firm goes into trouble and net income is not enough to pay the interest, the firm has to face the threat of bankruptcy. This is one of the main reasons why firms cannot employ debt financing as much as they want and keep high leverage ratios. Static trade-off is exactly a trade-off between marginal tax saving from debt and marginal expected bankruptcy cost. Later literature tends to replace the bankruptcy cost with financial stress. Too much interest payment would reduce the cash retained in the firm.(CHEN, 2008) Consequently the firm will not have enough budgets to hire capable workers and executives, to undertake positive NPV projects, to cope with emergencies, etc. Furthermore, a higher leverage ratio would reduce the credit level and increase the operation risk of the firm. When facing new financing needs, the firm would be unable to use debt financing anymore, or unable to collect enough capital, or suffer a higher interest rate when borrowing. Even using equity financing, due to the low credit level and high risk, the firm would have to pay a higher price. Larger firms have larger amount of fixed assets and this amount directly reflects the ability of using collateral debt. Thus larger firms could borrow more than smaller firms and could get a more favorable price- lower interest rate(CHEN, 2008). According to the (Verma, 2002) Indias international competitors have as high an interest cost as in India 70. Its respective ratios were 2.05% and 3.3%. One important reason for this, according to some entrepreneurs, is the fact of predominant decentralized nature of garment sector in India. In Product Specific Cost- Supply Chain Management contain Factor cost (Cost of raw material), In Government Policy (Excise Policy, Technology Up gradation Fund, Strict labor laws), (Verma, 2002) IN Economy-wide costs (Economy-Wide Costs, Transaction costs, Transportation, interest rate).One important reason for this, according to some entrepreneurs, is the fact of predominant decentralized nature of garment sector in India. Also discussed Non-Price Factors in which included (Allow Foreign Direct Investment, Reduce the import duty on textile, Promote fair competition, Remove policy-bias against synthetic fiber, modify Labor related Provisions, Collaborating to Compete- Policies on Investing Abroad ). Furthermore, under the era of managed trade, too many textile. High cost of production relation with leverage: High financing cost relation with leverage: Taxation relation with leverage: (wang, jiebing, yao, 2001) the global financial crisis has led to a rising number of unemployed textile and clothing workers in China. The global financial crisis has had a negative impact on economic growth in China. The orders received by textile and clothing companies at the China Import and Export Fair declined by 30 per cent in the autumn. The Ministry of Finance increased tax rebate rates on some textile and clothing exports from 11 per cent to 13 per cent. The global financial crisis has seriously affected the textile and clothing industry in China. (wang, jiebing, yao, 2001) Some of those firms have gone bankrupt as a result of the global financial crisis More and more textile and clothing factories have been forced to relocate to the middle and western regions of China or to Asia-Pacific developing countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand and Viet Nam. China continues to maintain their unique competitive advantages arising from local textile and clothing industrial clusters with a comprehensive production chain, a pool of skilled labor, innovative fabric technology, sound infrastructure and economies of scale within the textile and clothing industry. The Government of China should continue to encourage the domestic large-scale textile and clothing enterprises to establish textile industrial parks in other developing countries. Provide a better financial package to support foreign direct investment by Chinese textile and clothing firms Improve infrastructure facilities and government efficiency in the least developed countries. (wang, jiebing, yao, 2001) Asset Turnover relation with leverage: (fama, 2009) mentioned in firm size, the proportion of tangible assets would probably play a role in debt or equity financing. he discussed that assets with a substantial and stable liquidation value would be a good guarantee for the firms investors. Compared with intangible assets, tangible assets are easier to be valuated and information is less asymmetric. In case of default and bankruptcy, tangible assets are easily to be changed into cash to pay for debt. Thus a firm with larger proportion of tangible assets tends to use more debt. Moreover, the guarantee effect of tangible assets depends on whether resale market is easily accessed. First, plants, machines and other properties that could be adopted by other firms would generally sale at a good bargain and thus are better guarantees for collateral debt. (fama, 2009) Assets that are unique and could not be directly used by other firms would not. Second, removable assets or assets that are close to market or to potential buyers wou ld easily be resold for cash and thus would be better as collateral. Not only proportion of tangible assets, but also characters of assets would play a role in leverage ratio. This researcher (J Ilyas , 2008) use proportion of tangible assets in total assets as a proxy for assets composition. Due to availability of data, characters of assets will not be precisely analyzed. the guarantee effect of tangible assets depends on whether resale market is easily accessed. First, plants, machines and other properties that could be adopted by other firms would generally sale at a good bargain and thus are better guarantees for collateral debt. Assets that are unique and could not be directly used by other firms would not. Second, removable assets or assets that are close to market or to potential buyers would easily be resold for cash and thus would be better as collateral. Not only proportion of tangible assets, but also characters of assets would play a role in leverage ratio. (J Ilyas , 2008) in firm size firm sizes influence on leverage ratio is not necessarily positive. Due to asymmetry information, small firms are more likely to be underpriced by investors than large firms and could not get favorable price when financing through equity. While using debt with a fixed interest rate, small firms could suffer less loss from mispricing. Thus small firms should tend to consider using more debt, compared to large firms..earnings plays more important role in firms leverage decisions as compared to other determinants of the capital structure.Tangibility of the firm is found to be negatively related to the leverage of the firm(J Ilyas , 2008) . (Miao,2005) provides a competitive equilibrium model of capital structure and industry dynamics. In the model, firms make financing, investment, entry, and exit decisions subject to idiosyncratic technology shocks. The capital structure choice reflects the tradeoff between the tax benefits of debt and associated bankruptcy and agency costs. The interaction between financing and production decisions influences the stationary distribution of firms and their survival probabilities. The analysis demonstrates that the equilibrium output price has an important feedback effect. (Miao,2005) This effect has a number of testable implications. For example it implies that high growth industries have relatively lower leverage and turnover rates. the higher the difference between ROA and cost of capital the higher is the return on equity because of the leverage effects. Similarly the higher turnover of assets results in higher return on assets, which in turn results in higher return on equity. Thu s the assets tangibility ratio i.e., ratio between fixed assets and total assets becomes important as capital structure determinant. (Spuma, Waters, and Payne, 1995) hence smaller firms are accepted to increase the profitability of going private, concluded that firms with less investment opportunities apply more leverage that is in accordance to both theories and leverage has a direct relation with the tangibility of assets. They also suggest that more profitable firms use less leverage. (Thornhill P, 1995)find that firms with higher financial deficits, i.e., firms that raise more external capital, tend to increase their leverage. They examine the tendency of managers to time the equity markets by interacting the market-to-book ratio with the amount of capital that a firm raises (i.e., its financial deficit). Their evidence suggests that firms tend to reduce their leverage ratios when they raise substantial amounts of capital when the equity market is perceived to be more favorable, (i.e., when market-to-book ratios are higher). There seems to be a consensus in the literature that suggests that these variables affect capital structures, at least temporarily. (Rajan,r,g zingales, 2002)compared leverage and its determinates across G-7 Countries that are united states, Germany, Canada, Italy, France, Japan and united Kingdom. They analyzed there was a positive relationship of leverage and profitability. Tangibility is positively correlated in all countries. Size is positively correlated with leverage except Germany. Investigated determinants of capital structure and leverage ratio of French, German and British firms with the help of penal data. Their results suggested that size of the firm positively affect the leverage ratio. They analyze relation of profitability, size of firms, fixed assets. (Rajan,r,g zingales, 2002) This study identifies a positive impact on firms size on leverage. While the relationship between fixed asset ratio and level of leverage was mixed means positive in Germany but negative in France and UK. This shows that tangibility of assets is more significant in bank borrowing in Germany. The effect of all these factor s on leverage depends on financial environment and tradition of the country in which firm operates investigated that there are a large number of variables that appear to be related to debt ratio of the firm but only few factors have significant effect on debt ratio. They found that relation between leverage and size of firm is positive. For tangibility of assets Empirical results showed a positive relation among leverage and tangibility of assets of firm. (Harris, 2007) a high leverage ratio would decrease the value of a firms equity. This provides opportunity for managers to buy more shares with the same amount of fortune. Meanwhile, external investors might be reluctant to invest in such firms, as high leverage is often linked with high risk. They also argued that managerial ownership is determined endogenously. Thus it is not safe and proper to assume an exogenous ownership structure and a dependent capital structure. (Harris, 2007) They try to use lagged control variables to get rid of endogenously. One way to address this issue is to use lagged variable. As there is no reason a priori that historical ownership structure would be correlated with current leverage ratio, we try to include historical ownership concentration in the regression. The variable they use ownership concentration during the year of the first listing. It could also be considered as an instrument of current year ownership concentration, if ownership is determin ed endogenously indeed. (Fatehi ,2003) 30 to 50 percent of all the expatriate placements do not work out as anticipated. Besides the direct financial costs involved with a failed expatriate assignment, the firm may incur other costs, including voided business deals, loss of valuable employees, the break up of joint ventures, and poor relations with the host Government. Fortunately, many MNCs have now realized the importance of cross-cultural training and the number of organizations involved in making preparations and arranging training prior to the departure of managers in foreign countries has increased lately(Fatehi ,2003)

Spider Silk is the Material of the Future Essay -- Material Silk

Spider Silk - the Material of the Future Abstract: Spider silk is well known for its strength yet elastic nature, and for this reason scientists and engineers from a wide variety of fields have begun researching its structure and the possibility and methods of synthesizing spider silk for industrial use. However, extraction of silk from spiders is not cost effective, so most research is focused on synthesis of spider silk either chemically or using DNA recombinant technology. Although research is still at an early stage and ongoing, it is only a matter of time before spider silk can be successfully synthesized for industrial use. Results: Nature is truly a master architect. With relatively few raw materials, it is able to create a diverse array of biological life forms and biological materials essential for the survival of all life forms on earth. Some of Nature’s materials continue to amaze scientists and exceed the characteristics of artificial materials. One such material is spider silk. Spiders rely on their silk for a variety of functions, and their silk are exceptionally light, tough, stiff, and extensible even when compared to the strongest synthetic materials. Each family of spider spins different types of silk, but silk from the Nephila Clavipes (the golden orb-weaving spider) (see Figure 1: Nephila Clavipes figure 1) and Araneus diadematus (common garden spider) are the strongest among spiders, and have been the focus of scientists’ research in recent years.[5] Orb weaving spiders produce various types of silk from seven different glands. Dragline and Viscid silk fibers are the strongest silk produced by orb weaving spiders, and are the most closely studied. Dragline silk is used to make the ra... ...&version=1.0>. [8] Tirrell, David A. "Putting a new spin on spider silk. " Science. 271.n5245 (Jan 5, 1996): 39(2). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Phillips Academy. 24 July 2008 s&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=EAIM&docId=A17812077&source=gale&srcprod=E AIM&userGroupName=mlin_n_phillips&version=1.0>. Pictures Sources: Figure 1: July 30, 2008. http://www.spiderzrule.com/spider806/IMG_3533_small.JPG Figure 2: Royal Society of Chemistry. July 30, 2008. http://www.rsc.org/ej/SM/2006/b600098n/b600098n-f1.gif Figure 3: MCAT. July 30, 2008. http://www.mcat45.com/images/Beta-Sheets-MCAT.png Figure 4: Citizendium July 30, 2008. http://en.citizendium.org/images/2/29/BetaSheetByDEVolk.jpg Figure 5: July 30, 2008. http://www.scq.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2006/07/silkstrand.gif Spider Silk is the Material of the Future Essay -- Material Silk Spider Silk - the Material of the Future Abstract: Spider silk is well known for its strength yet elastic nature, and for this reason scientists and engineers from a wide variety of fields have begun researching its structure and the possibility and methods of synthesizing spider silk for industrial use. However, extraction of silk from spiders is not cost effective, so most research is focused on synthesis of spider silk either chemically or using DNA recombinant technology. Although research is still at an early stage and ongoing, it is only a matter of time before spider silk can be successfully synthesized for industrial use. Results: Nature is truly a master architect. With relatively few raw materials, it is able to create a diverse array of biological life forms and biological materials essential for the survival of all life forms on earth. Some of Nature’s materials continue to amaze scientists and exceed the characteristics of artificial materials. One such material is spider silk. Spiders rely on their silk for a variety of functions, and their silk are exceptionally light, tough, stiff, and extensible even when compared to the strongest synthetic materials. Each family of spider spins different types of silk, but silk from the Nephila Clavipes (the golden orb-weaving spider) (see Figure 1: Nephila Clavipes figure 1) and Araneus diadematus (common garden spider) are the strongest among spiders, and have been the focus of scientists’ research in recent years.[5] Orb weaving spiders produce various types of silk from seven different glands. Dragline and Viscid silk fibers are the strongest silk produced by orb weaving spiders, and are the most closely studied. Dragline silk is used to make the ra... ...&version=1.0>. [8] Tirrell, David A. "Putting a new spin on spider silk. " Science. 271.n5245 (Jan 5, 1996): 39(2). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Phillips Academy. 24 July 2008 s&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=EAIM&docId=A17812077&source=gale&srcprod=E AIM&userGroupName=mlin_n_phillips&version=1.0>. Pictures Sources: Figure 1: July 30, 2008. http://www.spiderzrule.com/spider806/IMG_3533_small.JPG Figure 2: Royal Society of Chemistry. July 30, 2008. http://www.rsc.org/ej/SM/2006/b600098n/b600098n-f1.gif Figure 3: MCAT. July 30, 2008. http://www.mcat45.com/images/Beta-Sheets-MCAT.png Figure 4: Citizendium July 30, 2008. http://en.citizendium.org/images/2/29/BetaSheetByDEVolk.jpg Figure 5: July 30, 2008. http://www.scq.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2006/07/silkstrand.gif

Scouting the World Essay -- Personal Narrative Essay Example

Scouting the World It was July 2000, when it started. Colorful flags of 14 nations gently flapped under a blue Canadian sky. In a field, 1500 young people from around the world assembled in uniform for the opening ceremonies of the sixth worldwide jamboree of the Polish Scouting Organization. I was among the scouts proudly representing the USA. It was only my first "international" experience, but one that was the start of an unforgettable multicultural adventure. And standing there in that field, I felt it starting. I had not traveled far from home, but it seemed I was visiting lands from afar - France, Argentina, Australia, Poland. Talking to the scouts, being in the presence of youth from all around the globe put me in their world. Even though we were hosted by Canadians, Polish was the indispensable language of communication at this jamboree. Yes, among our friends we used our own language, but when we spoke to the other scouts, the Polish Austalians, Polish Danes, Polish Germans, there was only one language to use, one we all shared - Polish. For two weeks we bonded through both the scouting experience and our Polish heritage. We discovered that in many ways, we were the same and yet there was a distinct flavor to each nation's group, revealing its cultural individuality - be it in song, verbal expressions, or in just the way they interacted with each other. I was amazed at how comfortable I felt in this setting and it sparked my desire - I wanted to experience it more. In two weeks, I formed lifetime friendships that crossed many countries' borders and since then, we have been exchanging letters. Later that summer, I was lucky to travel to Rome for the World Youth Day 2000 whe... ...chool students from across the world came together to share ideas and interact socially. I was thrilled when my project won awards in this distinguished fair, but especially touched because it was for a subject close to my heart. It is hard to believe that my yearlong multicultural odyssey, which started on that sunny Canadian field, ended at an international science fair. Meeting so many young people from around the globe made me gain a fresh perspective of my own cultural experience, as well as that of others. It opened my eyes, and I learned that we each have our own unique cultural identity, which is constantly being shaped and hopefully, enriched. Such cross-cultural encounters inspire an appreciation of diversity, strengthening a real human connection we all share, and how significant a lesson that is for me, at only 17 years of age, to have learned.

Gay Marriage Should NOT Be Legal :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

  The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. Yet, same-sex marriage continues to be a highly debated issue that leaves our society searching for answers. Traditionally marriage is the union of a man and a woman. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of marriage reads "to join as a husband and wife according to law and custom; to take as husband or wife; to enter into a close union" (452). Dictionaries are not a biased publication and serve as a guide to what words mean. The words "husband" and "wife" show that marriage is a close union between a man and a woman. This idea could be disputed if we only looked at the third part of a definition?"to enter into a close union." But if we only look at the third part, then we change the definition altogether. Obviously we can not look only at a dictionary to gain a deeply rooted belief; so let us continue with the search for a firm foundation. Elections are being affected by the way people stand on this issue. After the 1992 election, President Clinton, who is said by Human Events to be the most "pro-gay President in history," adamantly tried to abolish the ban on gays in the military. This was a victory cry for many homosexual activists. Then in the 1996 election, President Clinton admitted he would not openly oppose the bill in Congress that defines marriage as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife" ("Same-sex Marriage Imperils the Family"). President Clinton, who generally supports gay rights, gives Americans a reason to believe that perhaps gay marriage is one step too far. Even First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton agreed that marriage should be a union of a man and a woman in her statement, "Marriage has got historic, religious, and moral content that goes back to the beginning of time, and I think a marriage is as a marriage has always been: between a man and a woman" (State of the Union"). In the recent 2000 Election, both George W. Bush and Al Gore agree with the Defense of Marriage act (DOMA), which "implies that allowing homosexuals to marry constituted an 'attack' on the existing institution" ("State of the Union"). It is difficult to find many issues with which these two candidates can agree. So, it seems that since they do agree, we can assume that a gay marriage would in fact intrude upon the values of not only marriage but also we as a people.

Marketing Project on Nokia Essay

Introduction: Nokia is a world leader in mobile phone industry, but its market share has recently been diminished by tough competition in the smart phone market. It targeted rural markets with mobile phones that are affordable and, the mobile phones were not only for the communication but also for varied purposes like torch light, radio etc. Farmers use it during nights as a torch light. Nokia was able to fully penetrate and conquer the still untapped rural mobile phone market. Nokia plans to conquer the untapped rural market by providing additional services like information on agriculture, microfinance, weather reports. Background: In 1865, an engineer named Fredrik Idestam established a wood-pulp mill and started manufacturing paper in southern Finland near the banks of a river. Those were the days when there was a strong demand for paper in the industry, the company’s sales achieved its high-stakes and Nokia grew faster and faster. The Nokia exported paper to Russia first and then to the United Kingdom and France. The Nokia factory employed a fairly large workforce and a small community grew around it. In southern Finland a community called Nokia still exists on the riverbank of Emà ¤koski. Finnish Rubber Works, a manufacturer a Rubber goods, impressed with the hydro-electrcity produced by the Nokia wood-pulp (from river Emà ¤koski), merged up and started selling goods under the brand name on Nokia. After World War II, it acquired a major part of the Finnish Cable Worksshares. The Finnish Cable Works had grown quickly due to the increasing need for power transmission and telegraph and telephone networks in the World War II. Gradually the ownership of the Rubber Works and the Cable Works companies consolidated. In 1967, all the 3 companies merged-up to form the Nokia Group. The Electronics Department generated 3 % of the Group’s net sales and provided work for 460 people in 1967, when the Nokia Group was formed. In the beginning of 1970, the telephone exchanges consisted of electro-mechanical analog switches. Soon Nokia successfully developed the digital switch (Nokia DX 200) thereby replacing the prior electro mechanical analog switch. The Nokia DX 200 was embedded with high-level computer language as well as Intel microprocessors which in turn allowed computer-controlled telephone exchanges to be on the top and which is till date the basis for Nokia’s netwok in infrastucture Introduction of mobile network began enabling the Nokia production to invent the Nordic Mobile Telephony(NMT), the world’s very first multinational cellular network in 1981. The NMT was later on introduced in other countries. Very soon Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), a digital mobile telephony, was launched and Nokia started the development of GSM phones. Beginning of the 1990 brought about an economic recession in Finland. (Rumour has it that Nokia was offered to the Swedish telecom company Ericsson during this time which was refused) Due to this Nokia increased its sale of GSM phones that was enormous. This was the main reason for Nokia to not only be one of the largest but also the most important companies in Finland. As per the sources, in August 1997, Nokia supplied GSM systems to 59 operators in 31countries. Slowly and steadily, Nokia became a large television manufacturer and also the largest information technology company in the Nordic countries. During the economic recession the Nokia was committed to telecommunications. The 2100 series of the production was so successful that inspite of its goal to sell 500,000 units, it marvellously sold 20 million. Presently, Nokia is the number 1 production in digital technologies, it invests 8.5% of net sales in research and development. Also has its annual Nokia Game. Between 1992 and 1996, the company exited from the rubber and cable businesses as well Nokia in india: Nokia entered the Indian market in 1994. The first ever GSM call in India was made on a Nokia 2110 mobile phone on its own network in 1995. When Nokia entered India, the telecom policies were not conducive to the growth of the mobile phone industry. The tariffs levied on importing mobile phones were as high as 27%, usage charges were at Rs.16 per minute and, at these high rates, consumers did not take to mobile phones. Nokia also had to face tough competition from other powerful global players like Motorola, Sony, Siemens and Ericsson, Samsung, reliance. ————————————————- The Indian Mobile Phones IndustryThe mobile phones industry made a slow start in India in 1995. Several private players who had entered the industry in 1995 exited in the next few years due to the unfriendly telecom policies of the Indian government, high licensing fees and absence of a proper telecom regulatory body. The growth in the subscriber base of mobile phones remained sluggish initially, reaching the 1 million milestone in 1998. In 1999, the Government of India announced a new telecom policy. This policy planned to provide telephones on demand by 2002.| Among other things, the policy allowed unrestricted private entry into almost all mobile service sectors. The government allowed cellular mobile service providers to share infrastructure with other operators. It also allowed existing operators to migrate from fixed license fee to one-time entry fee with revenue sharing. This policy helped many private operators to break even faster. By 2001, the demand for mobile services was growing well. The private companies concentrated on providing basic telephone services to consumers. The number of mobile phones crossed five million by 2001 and doubled to 10 million in 2002†¦

Alibaba: Competing in China and Beyond Essay

Introduction In this report I will examine the case â€Å"Alibaba: Competing in China and Beyond.† Alibaba under the leadership of Jack Ma, its founder has transformed into one of the most successful e-commerce companies in China. In the 2000s Alibaba had emerged as the largest e-commerce company in China. The company tailored its strategies to meet the needs of the customers and made a mark because of its understanding of the Chinese language and culture. However, some experts have also raised doubts over the sustainability of Alibaba’s business model. In my report I will critically analyze the factors that led to Alibaba sustaining its leadership position in the Chinese e-commerce market. I will Discuss the rationale behind Ma establishing Taobao.com. I will examine the factors that led to Taoboa’s success in the Chinese online auctions market. Furthermore, with Baidu’s entry into the e-commerce market, I will discuss the challenges that Alibaba faces with regard to sustaining its position in the growing e-commerce market in China. Finally I will critically examine Alibaba’s business model, possibilities of global expansion and the overall sustainability of the company. Questions 1. One of the most significant factors that lead Alibaba Group sustaining its leadership positioning in the Chinese e-commerce market was its ability to understand the Chinese market itself. Jack Ma, Alibaba Groups founder understood that Chinese consumers and their preferences distinguished them selves from those in other countries. Other companies such as eBay did not appreciate the local market circumstances in China; instead, they were using the strategies that were working in the United States. I believe for this reason Alibaba Group was able to sustain its leadership position. Many of the competitors lacked understanding of the Chinese language as well as the culture. Moreover, Alibaba.com made its services extremely easy for its customers to use. Ma, himself, was a non-technical person and this helped him keep the websites more user-friendly. In the article Ma refers to this stating: (Deresky, 2010). â€Å"If you follow Google’s way, you always be a follower†¦ We have to make the Yahoo! Search engine more human, more interactive†¦ something for the 1.3 billion people in China who aren’t technology-oriented, who don’t know how to ask the right question to a search engine — for people who are like me.† (p.320) An added factor is the services that Alibaba.com offered. The company believed that the first thing to do was to build a devoted customer base. Therefore, before adding any charges, a lot of the services were free of charge. Alibaba.com offered many services such as email and listings of products/services free of charge. In addition, e-commerce was vulnerable due to the fact that sellers and buyers did not trust the idea of sending money before receiving their products and the sellers wanted the money before they shipped their products. For these purposes, Alibaba.com launched Alipay in 2004, which was an online payment solution that allowed the users to make money transactions in an easy, quick and safe way. All and all Alibaba.com basically concentrated greatly on increasing costumer satisfaction even on the expense of not gaining maximum profitability. The company made its customer and getting to know what customers want its number one. Question 2. Jack Ma established Taobao.com in May 2003 to enter the profitable e-commerce market. Taobao.com also symbolized a part of Ma’s Alibaba.com business model of joining SMEs, customers together, and helping SMEs grow. Taoboa’s goal was to generate an online trading platform for both B2C and C2C models. Several factors lead to Taoboa’s success over the rival eBay in the Chinese auctions market. First, Ma managed to raise a substantial investment of 56 million dollars from Softbank and teamed up with Masayoshi Son the founder and CEO of Softbank who had previously helped to defeat eBay in Japan (which lead to eBay leaving Japan in 2002). Also again Ma decided to build a loyal customer base before really attempting to make a profit; he did this by offering free listings as opposed to eBay, which charged for listings (Deresky, 2010). A major factors in Taoboa’s success was Alibaba Groups better management of the trust factor involved in e-commerce trading and better understanding of the local Chinese market. eBbay positioned its standard business model that was used in the United States and other countries. Taoboa, instead, established its own payment escrow service. With AliPay buyers paid into an escrow account that did not pay the seller until the buyer noted he had received the product; therefore, making the transaction thrust worthy since the money was in escrow until the transaction was completed (Deresky, 2010). Furthermore, Taoboa offered e-mail and chat services between users unlike eBay, which concealed identities and only had an offline messaging system. Taoboa also advertised aggressively through websites and billboards in major population areas something eBay did not do. The final steps of defeat for eBay was when Taobao offered three years of free listings and when Taoboa launched its B2C services in 2006. Moreover Taoboa had a large list of companies supporting it and also Alibaba.com members that could join easily. Overall Taoboa’s success over eBay has been attributed its ability to know the local Chinese market and adapt to it as opposed to eBay’s strategies of using a inefficient model that could not adapt to the Chinese market (Deresky, 2010). However, now Taoboa is facing competition from a company that knows the Chinese market very well. Taoboa’s main competitor Baidu, is the largest search engine market share holder in China. Baidu has a large, loyal customer base to work with and has ability to advertise and link its own ecommerce website. Taoboa will have many challenges facing the competition from Baidu. Never the less Alibaba Groups strong and evident presence in the Chinese e-comercial market signifies the company’s ability overtake its competitors by combining all services and maintaining the user-friendliness of its services in B2B, C2C and B2C markets. Question 3. Absolutely it is sustainable. As Alibaba Group now further develops and expands its various web services, it must also additionally develop the various products within each website. Alibaba Group should have one department focusing one website development aspect and another department focusing on product development aspect. The company can still capitalize on his legacy sites that have millions of monthly subscribers. The intention for the company should be to find a way to raise the monthly run rate on each customer on a yearly basis, this would allow Alibaba Group to use these profits to fund the company’s efforts to expand. In my opinion Alibaba Group should focus on moving into Russia first, using their political ties to their advantage. Russia has many raw materials but few factory centers like China. If they could move into Russia, this would effectively provide geographical access to the Middle East and Northern Europe in the future. However, after Russia, I would mainly focus on expanding through Southeast Asia all the way down to Australia. This would fundamentally provide an ecommerce solution that can link B2B, C2C, B2C, sales across the entire Eastern part of the world. Conclusion After reading the case and answering to the questions it seems like the case is too good to be true. Even though Jack Ma had proven his capability of  being a good leader and business man it is impressive how he started from scratch and was able to gather good people around him and develop this successful multinational company. I truly believe that Ma’s and Alibab Groups key to success were the founder people in the company. Overall I see Alibaba Groups story as a big success. It is truly a inspirational story. In the words of Ma’s business partner Masayoshi Son: (Deresky, 2010). â€Å"If there’s a company outside of America that can introduce a new business model to the world, it is Alibaba.† (Founder and CEO of Softbank Corporation, in Japan 2005.) Reference: Deresky, H (2010). International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures. 7th ed. Pearson Boston. 310-322.