Walmart Foreign Expansion Case Study

Wal-Mart’s Foreign Expansion Wal-Mart is the world’s largest retailer with tons of advantage above all the rest. It is very possible that this big time retailer can translate its merchandising strategy wholesale to another country and be highly successful at it (L. Hill, 2011, p. 167). The key to this method is being able to understand the culture and environment that it would need to transition it methods to. Take for instance what was read in the case about China. China originally turned its nose up at the Americanized way that Wal-Mart presented itself when first opened in 2006.The Chinese culture didn’t agree with meat being sold in Styrofoam or selling of dead fish. It’s their cultural preference to purchase food very freshly. So, Wal-Mart adapted to the surrounding culture. Wal-Mart was successful in Mexico because they hired local managers that were well versed in the Mexican culture and allowing them to control the merchandising strategy as they se e fit. Adaption is the key to survival is different environments and economies. With Mexico being a place of few vehicles for transportation, building smaller, closer stores was another huge benefit of it being successful in Mexican culture.When the huge retailer made steps to expand to South Korea and Germany with very little success, there was a realization made in regards to diversity and what Wal-Mart offered. Britain, Germany, and South Korea cultures have a preference of high end and higher-quality merchandise than what was offered by Wal-Mart. The low price strategy is practically unwarranted in a place to where paying more is accepted. The key difference between these countries and Mexico is that Mexico accepts the low price strategy.Wal-Mart is succeeding in China and to continue to do so they need maintain adapting to the Chinese culture way. They are definitely on track with being successful in China. Wal-Mart is considered to be a force within the marketplace (Orgel, 201 1). With the business continuing to adapt and expand throughout different nations, it’s very possible that in the future Wal-Mart will cause changes within the culture of different nations. It shouldn’t be the company’s goal to ultimately change the culture of the nation it expands to.However, it should focus on broadening the horizon and combine the low price strategy with the nation’s culture to be an innovation on the marketplace. References L. Hill, C. W. (2011). Wal-Mart's Foreign Expansion. In International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace. (9th ed. ). (pp. 167-168). New York, NY/USA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Orgel, D. (2011, September 05). What's driving wal-mart's global expansion?. Viewpoints. Retrieved from http://supermarketnews. com/blog/whats-driving-wal-marts-global-expansion

Violence and Summary Socrates

Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned Themes: Redemption can be found throughout the book. Socrates, the main character, has spent twenty-seven years in prison for a violent crime that he committed. The legal system punished him for his crimes, but they did not attempt to rehabilitate him. While in prison, he committed more violent crimes than he committed before his incarceration. The Capricorn bookstore is what led Socrates to redemption, not prison. He is definitely a reformed man. He is now perceptive, compassionate and persuasive. Once he only acted on impulse, but now he reasons out what is right and what is wrong.He tries to do the right thing, and he guides others to make the right decisions through questions and rebuttals. â€Å"Crimson Shadow† Summary The novel begins with the main character, Socrates Fortlow, going outside into the alley beside his home. Socrates is investigating why Billy, an old rooster Socrates considers his friend, is not crowing this morning. Th e sun is just coming up, and Socrates views the alley as almost pretty with the debris in the alley bathed in half-light. Socrates finds a boy, Darryl, standing in the alley with a cardboard box. The boy tries to run when Socrates confronts him, but Socrates stops him.Inside of the box is Billy. He is dead. Socrates forces Darryl to take the box containing the dead rooster into his tiny, rundown home. Socrates questions Darryl as to why he killed his friend. Darryl seems relieved when he finds out Socrates is talking about the rooster. Socrates forces Darryl to pluck the chicken and to sit there while he cooks the old rooster. â€Å"Midnight Meeting† Summary Right Burke, Stony Wile, Howard Shakur and Markham Peal are all sitting in the impoverished home of Socrates discussing a serious matter. Howard's daughter, Winnie, saw Petis stab and rob LeRoy.Howard is seeking advice about how to handle the situation. Socrates questions Howard further. He wants to be certain Winnie real ly saw what Howard is claiming she saw. The men conclude that if Petis is responsible, he is also probably responsible for other murders and will not stop on his own. Three of the men have different opinions on how the situation should be handled. Right thinks they should kill Petis. Markham thinks they should go to the police. Stony feels they should tell everyone in the neighborhood about Petis and let the situation take care of itself. We get another glimpse into Socrates' past.The discussion sparks a memory from when Socrates was in an Indiana State prison†¦. â€Å"The Thief† Summary Socrates pays a visit to Iula's diner. He visits the diner at least once a month, on Tuesdays. Iula serves meatloaf on Tuesdays and that is one thing he is not able to make on his hotplate in his small home. Socrates has been out picking up bottles and cans. He does not like the way the men treat him at Crenshaw's. They make him wait, while they stand around telling jokes, and then they check every can and bottle before accepting them. After getting his money for the bottles and cans today, three men jump him.Socrates receives a cut on his wrist from a broken bottle, but otherwise he walks away the winner. Iula shows concern over his wrist. Socrates has already taken the time to stitch his slashed sleeve. Iula tells Socrates he has no business out there collecting bottles and cans and offers him a job†¦ â€Å"Double Standard† Summary Socrates is waiting for a bus. It is pouring rain, and the streets are mostly deserted. Across the street from the bus stop he sees two lovers standing under the ledge of an abandoned shop. Socrates imagines that the shop was once a bakery because of the blue and white checks on the window.He pictures the bakery full of hard working black people working long hours and earning good pay. Socrates tries to give the couple as much privacy as possible under the circumstances. Ralphie, according to the woman's passionate cries, i s on the heavy side. The girl is small and much younger. The girl's bus is coming down the street and the couple runs to the bus stop. When they do, Socrates finds out the girl's name is Linda. Ralphie does not want to let Linda go, but he finally releases her hand, and the bus drives off†¦ â€Å"Equal Opportunity† Summary Socrates is trying to get a job.He has been practicing how to ask for an application. After taking three different buses to get there, he walks into the Bounty Supermarket on Venice Boulevard. In his eyes, the store is a glittering palace with a religious feel. The everyday noises of the store all mesh together into a music that lulls Socrates. Socrates is approached by the Assistant Manager , Anton Crier. Socrates asks the man for an application. Anton stalls for a moment and then asks Socrates what kind of application he wants. Socrates tells him a job application and feels that the man is making him beg already. Anton then asks Socrates his age.Socr ates lets Anton know that it is illegal to discriminate based on color, sex, religion, infirmity or age. Anton tells Socrates that he knows that, but they do not have any openings at the†¦ â€Å"Marvane Street† Summary Darryl returns to visit Socrates. It is pouring rain, and the boy is cold and hungry. Socrates believes all eleven-year-old boys are hungry, especially when they are poor. Socrates feeds Darryl, and as the boy shovels the food into his mouth, Socrates feels the urge to slap and shake the skinny child. Socrates wishes a man had felt that type of love for him before he had gone wrong.He views Darryl as a troubled child; a lost soul who did wrong but doesn't fully know it. Darryl tells Socrates he has been having a recurring nightmare that keeps him from sleeping. In the nightmare, Darryl is in a large room with the lights out, but he is able to see the boy with the cut in his neck screaming and coming after him. Darryl always wakes up before the boy gets him , but he thinks that if the boy†¦ â€Å"Man Gone† Summary Corina Shakur shows up at Socrates' home looking for Howard. Corina is upset, because she and Howard had an argument the night before, and he has never stayed out all night.Socrates asks Corina what she and Howard fought about, and she tells him that she told Howard he should get a job at McDonald's or someplace until he can do computer operations. Howard has not had a job in nine months, and they have cut Corina's hours at work. When Socrates suggests that Howard is lazy, Corina defends him and says he is just proud. Socrates says that Howard is not too proud to let his wife bring in all the money. Socrates goes on to explain that black men are always complaining how hard things are for them, but they are too proud. Children and a loving woman are much better than pride.Socrates tells Corina that Howard†¦ â€Å"The Wanderer† Summary â€Å"The Wanderer† takes us back to Socrates' release from pr ison and his move to California. Socrates had his first fight in his new surroundings within a week of his prison release. A man by the name of Charles Rinnett was trying to impress his friends and chose to degrade Socrates in the process. In the end, Charles ended up being the one degraded. Socrates broke Charles' nose and knocked him to the ground three times before the man decided to stay down. Socrates sees Charles around Watts collecting bottles and cans.Charles has grown shabbier. Sometimes he wishes he could apologize to Charles for breaking his nose. He often has imaginary conversations with the man, trying to motivate him to do something with his life. In his conversations, Charles tells Socrates that they are both at the bottom of the white man's ladder, and neither one of them can climb†¦ â€Å"Lessons† Summary Darryl has moved in with Socrates. The two of them are sitting in a park waiting on Philip, a neighborhood gang banger, so that Darryl can confront him . Darryl is scared, but Socrates tells him that he has to do this.While they are waiting, Socrates tells Darryl that he had a dream about his momma. Darryl tells Socrates he has been dreaming about a naked Yvette Frank, telling him how much she likes him. Socrates says he is dreaming about manhood. When Philip shows up with two other thugs, Socrates leaves Darryl standing there alone. Philip takes the first swing at Darryl, but misses. Darryl hits Philip in the chin with a right cross, but it does not affect the gangbanger. As the fight intensifies, Socrates intervenes by knocking out and disarming the other two thugs.He then slaps a gun from Philip's hand and slaps him off of†¦ â€Å"Letter to Theresa† Summary Socrates is very sick with the intestinal flu. He has not been able to call in sick and is concerned about his job. He is not able to make it from one room to the other. All he can do is sleep and dream. He dreams of Theresa. The dream seems so real to him. In his dream, he comes home to her after being beaten badly. She comforts him until he falls asleep. When he wakes back up in the dream, she has bandaged his cuts. He looks into her eyes and sees every cut and bruise he has ever had in them.She wants to know when he is going to stop all of this. Theresa tells him she can't go on worrying and taking care of him. Socrates tries to tell her not to go, but he can't. Darryl then wakes him up asking him what he†¦ â€Å"History† Summary Socrates has been inside for three days watching riots on his muted television. He stays inside, not because of fear of what might happen to him, but because of fear of what he might do. â€Å"The smoke coming through the cracks in his apartment walls smelled of sweet revenge. † Everything that has happened to Socrates in the past wants out there on the streets, but he stays inside.While he is watching the television, he sees a billboard he is familiar with topple over. Socrates knows that the billboard is falling on top of a bookstore that he visited regularly when he first got out of prison. He had been waiting for his violence to bubble over and erupt until he visited the bookstore. The bookstore changed him. It was a place that he could read and talk with others without being chased out for not buying anything. â€Å"Firebug† Summary When Socrates visits Stony Wile's cousin, Folger gives Socrates a long lecture on the faults of the LAPD.Folger brings up the dozen fires that have been set. A squatter and his girlfriend were killed in the most recent fire. Some people are speculating that the fire department is setting the fires for the white landlords, but Folger thinks it is the Koreans trying to steal everything. Socrates tells Folger that he knows some real nice Koreans, and it is the businessmen, even black men, that want to steal everything. Folger believes the fires are a part of a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top, but Socrates says, â€Å"Mayb e it go to the heart, Mr. Wile. Socrates thinks that everything is rotten and that maybe burning it all down is the only way to straighten things out. Socrates asks a high school kid, Bruce Tynan, working with†¦ â€Å"Black Dog† Summary This chapter opens with Socrates standing before a judge. His attorney is stressing that Socrates has paid for his previous crimes and has been living a productive life on LA. The prosecutor is stressing that Socrates has killed in the past, and this is a violent crime that brings him before the judge. While Socrates is in the holding cell, he has to pass the holding cell's initiation.A baby faced man named Peters is harassing him. He chokes Peters to the brink of death and then releases him. A large, bearded black man by the name of Benny tells a curious guard that he was just showing Peters a trick. Peters nods that he is okay. Socrates has now established that he is not a man to be taken lightly. Socrates decides that Benny has appoint ed himself as leader. He knows he will have to go up against Benny†¦ â€Å"Last Rites† Summary Right Burke is dying a painful death from prostrate cancer. He is asking Socrates to get him a gun so that he can end his misery. Socrates is trying to talk Right out of it.He tells Right that he can't do that in Luvia's house. Right says that he can come to Socrates' house, but Socrates asks him how that would look to the police. Right then says he can go to the park, but Socrates tells him that he can barely walk to the end of the block, so he knows there is no way Right can make it to the park. Socrates visits Hogan's Snooker Room looking for Blackbird. Blackbird is a man that is probably as bad as Socrates, if not worse. The Snooker Room is a place to get illegal things and the police are paid their street insurance so there is never a problem†¦.

Bacteria & History and ecology

The word ‘bacteria’ is normally associated with disease-causing organisms, like the Streptococcus bacteria. While there are a considerable number of pathogenic bacteria that are notorious for such diseases as cholera, tuberculosis, and gonorrhea, such disease-causing species are a comparatively tiny fraction of the bacteria as a whole. There are approximately five nonillion (5? 1030) bacteria in the world. Bacteria are so widespread that it is possible only to make the most general statements about their life history and ecology (Berkeley Free Clinic, 1).There are bacteria that plays important role in the global ecosystem. They may be found on the tops of mountains, the bottom of the deepest oceans, in the guts of animals, and even in the frozen rocks and ice of Antarctica. One feature that has enabled them to spread so far, and last so long is their ability to go dormant for an extended period. There are specific methods in order to study and observe bacteria because th ey are not visible to the naked eye. Even with the use of microscope they are very difficult to spot without adding some stains that would render them visible.DETAILS Properties Bacteria are prokaryotic (no membrane-enclosed nucleus) that do not contain mitochondria or chloroplasts. They have single chromosome that are composed of close circle of double-stranded DNA with no associated histones. If flagella are present, they are made of a single filament of the protein flagellin; there are none of the â€Å"9+2† tubulin-containing microtubules of the eukaryotes (Users. rcn. com, 1). Their ribosomes differ from those of the eukaryotes. Bacteria have a rigid cell wall made of peptidoglycan that allows them to survive at long periods of time.They do not perform mitosis and mostly reproduce through asexual reproduction. Any form of sexual reproduction varies differently from the eukaryotes because they do not perform meiosis. The plasma membrane is a phospholipid bilayer but conta ins no cholesterol or other steroids (Users. rcn. com, 1). Most of bacteria form a single spore when their food supply runs low. This is the reason why pathogenic bacteria become infectious at the later part of the attack. Most of the water is removed from the spore and metabolism ceases.Spores are so resistant to adverse conditions of dryness and temperature that they may remain viable even after 50 years of dormancy (Users. rcn. com, 1). Environmental and Nutritive Requirements Most bacteria can be classified according to their response to oxygen. These are consist of three distinct group, Aerobic bacteria which thrives in the presence of oxygen, Anaerobic which cannot tolerate gaseous oxygen, and facultative anaerobes which prefer growing in the presence of oxygen but are able to survive without it. Aerobic bacteria require oxygen for their continued growth and existence.On the other hand anaerobic cannot survive in the presence of gaseous oxygen. These bacteria live in deep unde rwater sediments, or in oxygen deprived environment such as those that cause bacterial food poisoning. Bacteria also differ in the mode and source of their energy. There are Heterotrophs that derive energy from breaking down complex organic compounds that they must take in from the environment. This includes saprobic bacteria found in decaying material, as well as those that rely on fermentation or respiration.The other group, the autotrophs, fix carbon dioxide to make their own food source; this may be fueled by light energy (photoautotrophic), or by oxidation of nitrogen, sulfur, or other elements (chemoautotrophic) (Berkeley Free Clinic, 2). Chemoautotrophs are uncommon while photoautotrophs are more common and quite diverse. One particular bacteria offers a very interesting behavior because they use hydrogen sulfide as hydrogen donor, instead of water like most other photosynthetic organisms, including cyanobacteria.There are green sulfur bacteria and purple sulfur bacteria, Oth er Bacteria include the cyanobacteria, and purple nonsulfur bacteria. Role in the Global Ecosystem Bacteria play a very important role in maintaining the balance of our ecosystem. Through their ceaseless labor, they cycle nutrients such as carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur. For example without bacteria to decompose rotten objects, our CO2 would have been depleted and all our plants would have ceased to exist. The process of decomposition releases nutrients back into the environment for plants and other living organisms.Bacteria also cycle nitrogen in the soil. Nitrogen is important for plants health and growth. Without these cycling processes all our plants would die and then humanity would have ran out of food. Gram Stain Bacteria happens to have a refractive index similar to water, therefore they are very difficult to spot from an aqueous sample. To solve this problem, biological stains are added so that microorganisms can be visualized. Stains are classified as either simple or differ ential.Simple stains impart the same color to all structures whereas differential stains contain more than one dye and impart different colors to various structures(Delost, 39). One very important method is the Gram Stain, which was first introduced by Hans Christian Gram in the late 1800s. It has been modified and adjusted numerous times. The Gram stain will differentiate gram-positive bacteria from gram-negative bacteria (Delost, 39). Gram stain is one form of a differential stain that is widely even in the methods.It consists of several reagents such as crystal violet, Gram’s iodine, ethyl alcohol or acetone, and safranin O or carbulfuchsin. Bibliography Unknown. (2000). Bacteria: Life History and Ecology. Retrieved on February 18, 2007 from the Berkeley Free Clinic website: http://www. ucmp. berkeley. edu/bacteria/bacterialh. html Unkown. (2006). Bacteria. Retrieved on February 18, 2007 from the Users. rcn. com website: http://users. rcn. com/jkimball. ma. ultranet/Biolog yPages/E/Eubacteria. Delost, M. Introduction to Diagnostic Microbiology. (1997). Harcourt Brace & Company Asia Pte Ltd. .

Assignment Marketing Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing Research - Assignment Example Qualitative technique seeks to exemplify attitudes concerning behavior posed by consumers. Credits depicted by this technique include intense scrutiny incorporated during research. Unlike quantitative, it focuses on value instead of statistical facts (Katsirikou & Skiadas: 2010, pp. 27). This encompassed digging deeply to unveil perceptions encompassed by consumers. In-depth analysis occurs by execution of interviews performed at individual stages. The interviews demand exhaustive information because consumers explicate themselves. The interviews depict no time limits and thus customers entail chances to offer explanations concerning their behavior. Therefore, qualitative technique clinches the tribute of gathering detailed information. Detailed information entails negligible loopholes because it equips the researcher with satisfactory knowledge. Consequently, sufficient knowledge culminates to the researcher drawing sound conclusions concerning their study. Interviews conducted resu lt to rich knowledge concerning consumer mannerisms. Qualitative technique thus entails illuminations of a dependable method. Under this technique, there encompasses various approaches towards gathering rightful information involving the customer’s. The interviews depict liberated forums where consumers would articulate themselves without panic of intimidation. In addition, the technique presents contact with the clientele. This methodology thus offers a personal touch, hence urging consumers to air their feelings eloquently (Tadic & Mamic: 2011, pp. 280). In addition, incorporation of focus groups eminent in qualitative technique presents a reliable approach. This gains explanations from the information that these groups involve experts who seek digging for information by discussing. Observational technique depicts another qualitative technique. The method entails the advantage of being economical.

Importance of Psychology in Nursing Dissertation - 1

Importance of Psychology in Nursing - Dissertation Example With its over-arching knowledge and general applicability to various discourses, psychology has been successful in having an impact on the profession of nursing as well. The profession of nursing entails, â€Å"the use of clinical judgment in the provision of care to enable people to improve, maintain, or recover health, to cope with health problems and to achieve the best possible quality of life whatever their disease or disability until death† (Glasper & Richardson, pp. 95, 2006). As obvious from this definition, nursing is inevitably related to psychology and its inferences since it does not only deal with humans (patients) but also has a critical impact on how nurses deal with different patients, as well as on the element of care and strategies that focus on the stimulation of quicker recovery. Thus, in all aspects, psychology and nursing are highly interrelated with one affecting the performance of the other. However, there is more to it than just the element of care and its psychological underlying themes. What is particularly interesting, especially in the light of modern advancements in career planning and professional motivations is the issue of gender in nursing. Recently, what was considered to be only women’s profession, first of prostitutes and nuns and later on, by the virtue of Florence Nightingale, of decent educated and cultures young women, is now profession of young men. In specific, there has been a significant rise in number of male nurses in the past decade globally. Interesting to note; however, are the differences and similarities between these trends and behaviors of caring and treating the patients by male and female nurses individually (Miers, 2000). In this regard, this paper will attempt to discover these differences and trends and identify response patterns particular to each of them.

Mother Natures Daughters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mother Natures Daughters - Essay Example s actually admitted their failure to respond immediately, to wit: â€Å"our system clearly has structural flaws for addressing catastrophic incidents† (The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned, 2006, p. 66). Therefore, the result was a loss of 1,300 lives and properties destroyed amount to about $96 billion (The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned, 2006). The estimated cost of properties destroyed were later revised to reach $148 billion and the total number of lives lost apparently reached 1,833 (Newman, 2012). On the other hand, the federal and state officials’ response to Hurricane Sandy were deemed to be far better since the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina enabled legislators to make the necessary changes in emergency and natural disaster preparedness and response. Due to the marked improvement in response, there were only 132 deaths which were reported and an estimated damage amounting to about $71 billion (Newman, 2012). The greater coordination and concerted collaboration among federal and state agencies were instrumental in the improved response. As acknowledged, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was tasked to â€Å"work with our federal, state, tribal and local partners, as well as voluntary organizations, the private sector, and others to respond to the aftermath of Sandy† (FEMA, 2012, par. 1). The Federal responses were better with Hurricane Sandy as could be deduced from the extensive collaboration and cooperative efforts that transpired since the time that the tropical storm was reportedly monitored. Upon review of the timeline of events during Hurricane Sandy’s path of entry to the United States, it could be assessed that FEMA, as the main coordinating agency, seriously adhered to its role and responsibilities through closely coordinating with local state officials, especially the states of New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Boston, among others. It is kept in close contact with other

Analyse the component of a web-marketing strategy and explain how the Assignment

Analyse the component of a web-marketing strategy and explain how the HRBP can add value to the marketing department - Assignment Example The purpose of this paper is to analyze web marketing and how the human resource business partner (HRBP) position can add value to the marketing department. Internet marketing is a new brand of marketing that was born in the 1990’s. During that decade the business world was taken by storm as new dot com companies began to appear by the hundreds each day. At the end of the decade the infamous internet bubble burst as too many companies penetrated the marketplace at once with less than innovative ideas. The business world has changed and web marketing has become a critical success factor in the 21st century. The amount of e-commerce volume has increased a lot. The US e-commerce marketplace reached $153 billion in sales in 2010 (Plunkett Research, 2011). Due to the size of the market companies have to look for ways to improve their web marketing function in order to increase their overall volumes of sales. There are advantages and cons associated with the use of web marketing. On e of the greatest features of web marketing is the ability to increase the customer base of a company. Through the power of the internet web marketing in theory has the capability of reaching 100% of the global population once the world becomes fully online. Another advantage of the implementation of web marketing is cost. Web marketing campaigns are much cheaper than the use of traditional media. It can cost thousands or even millions of dollars to run a 30 second advertisement on television. In 2010 CBS charged between $2.5 million to $2.8 million for a 30 second ad during the Super Bowl (Cbsnews, 2010). A third advantage of the use of web marketing is that a campaign can be implemented very fast. Also web marketing can be beneficial because the advertiser can customized the ads based on the target audience. Despite all the benefits associated with web marketing there are also cons. The use of marketing advertising techniques such as email advertising or pop up ads can be perceive d by the general population as spam. Spam can be defined as unsolicited email often of a commercial nature that are sent indiscriminately to multiple mailing lists, individuals, or newsgroups (Answers, 2011). Another con of the use of web marketing campaigns is that at times it can be difficult to measure the results of a web marketing initiative. A third disadvantage of web marketing is that people can become skeptical about the trustworthiness of the deals offered in the internet due to the large amount of internet scams that have occurred in the past (Tun, 2009). The HRBP position can add a lot of value to the marketing department. Most marketing departments are limited by the internal capabilities and resources within a company. A firm could accomplish more if it joined forces with other marketing teams. The HRBP can help a company by negotiating strategic alliances with other firms. A strategic alliance can be defined as an arrangement between two or more companies that decided to share resources for a particular project (Answers, 2011). The use of strategic alliances is a market entry strategy that can enable firms to penetrate foreign locations. The marketing depar

Psp go Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Psp go - Essay Example According to Joseph Schumpeter (Schumpeter), an entrepreneur may innovate in the form of new products, new production methods, new markets or new forms of organization. However, entrepreneurship does not just involve owning a small business. Firstly, there has to be some innovation. Secondly, entrepreneurs take much bigger risk and the gains are much higher. However, not all entrepreneurial ventures may be successful. The success of the business or idea depends on a number of factors. A lot of people have researched on different entrepreneurial setups and have looked into what makes an entrepreneur successful. In this research paper we shall analyze the process of entrepreneurship from different angles and identify the key factors which relate to the success or failure of the entrepreneurial venture. The organization that we have selected for this project is Sony (SCEI). This is because Sony is quite famous for its innovative products and technologies. Over the years Sony has releases some of the breathtaking inventions of today and is considered to be a pioneer in developing new ideas. Sony is also famous for its entrepreneurial culture and environment which supports innovation within the organization. Further, the product that we have selected is their PSP Go, which is a unique handheld gaming console for kids and adults. Sony’s Game business venture is made up of game software and consoles offered by the Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporation (SCEI).The current global digital lifestyle has lead to the innovation and evolution of portable digital games to match. Based on Sony’s Corporation five year strategy, (Sony’s Annual Report 2009, p.23), Sony Computer Entertainment unveiled PSP- GO (Play Station Portable go) in Tokyo on June 3rd 2009 which was made available in stores as from 1st October 2009.PSP go is a new evolution of handheld digital entertainment system, uniquely

Economics and Environment Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economics and Environment Policy - Essay Example It would be very relevant to quote a few sentences regarding the definition of Environmental economics laid down by the National Bureau of Economic Research Environmental Economics program. "undertakes theoretical or empirical studies of the economic effects of national or local environmental policies around the world. Particular issues include the costs and benefits of alternative environmental policies to deal with air pollution, water quality, toxic substances, solid waste, and global warming." (para 6) According to Davis Lamb the environmental economics' focal point is to centralise on the perception of externality of environment. In other word some or more of the outcomes of a commotion are not evaluated in accordance to its fiscal result. As an example he states that when the pollution level of a given state reaches its optimum level the price of the producer of this pollution subject should be taken into consideration otherwise the balance would be in the brink of commotion. Therefore it is encouraged to formulate the outcome of a polluting medium in respect of utility oriented price format. "in connection to public goods (goods that are "non-excludable" and "non-rival" - that is, they are open to all). Visitors to an open-access recreational area will use the resource more than if they had to pay for it, leading to environmental degradation. This of course assumes that there is no other policy instrument (for example, permits, regulation) being used to control access." (Lamb, 2006, 148) In economic terminology, according to, Davis Lamb in his book Cult to Culture: The Development of Civilization on the Strategic Strata, "these are examples of market failures, and that is an outcome which is not efficient in an economic sense. Here the inefficiency is caused because too much of the polluting activity will be carried out, as the polluter will not take the interests of those adversely affected by the pollution into account. This has led to controversial research into measuring well-being which tries to measure when pollution is actually starting to affect human health and general quality of life". (Lamb, 2006, pg 149) Therefore it is quite evident that the prime concern of the subject environmental economics is to formulate logical outcome and settlement of the issue of pollution and control thereby saving the environment. To attain this objective there are four major solution schemes present as effective tool. Along with these four there are also other alternative tools that are quite logical in implementation. The four basic formulations could be enumerated as Better defined property rights Taxes and tariffs on pollution or Removal of "dirty subsidies" Quotas on pollution Environmental regulations According to the Coase Theorem the assigning property rights is based on a fact that there is all probability that this application would lead to an optimal solution of environmental policies of economics whereby in accordance to regardless of who receives them, the basic

CFC's and Ozone depletion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CFC's and Ozone depletion - Essay Example Therefore, appropriate action especially targeted against CFCs should be taken to reduce or stop the many negative effects of ozone depletion (Callan and Thomas  238; Miller 384). The ozone layer is basically ozone present in the stratosphere which protects the earth from ultraviolet radiation from the sun. In the early 1980s, scientists discovered that the ozone layer seemed to become thinner and thinner, till an â€Å"ozone hole† the size of North America was revealed over Antarctica. The theory largely accepted by scientists for this â€Å"ozone hole† is the presence of CFCs in the atmosphere. CFCs are a family of odorless chemical compounds which are normally used in air conditioning, refrigeration, insulation, packaging, and as aerosol propellants. Chemists found out that CFCs stay behind in the troposphere because they are chemically unreactive and thus not soluble in water. Although they are heavier than air itself, CFCs can levitate into the stratosphere mostl y through convection currents, random drifting, and the violent mixing of air in the troposphere. Once they enter the stratosphere, the CFC molecules separate under the impact of the high-energy ultraviolet radiation, releasing chlorine, fluorine, bromine, and iodine atoms. These atoms are highly reactive, and so hasten the breakdown of the ozone layer in a repeated chain of chemical reactions. ... The thinning of the ozone layer allows more harmful ultraviolet radiation to reach the earth’s surface. Research has proved that exposure of human skin to a certain type of ultraviolet radiation in sunlight is the main cause of basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers. Together, these two forms of cancers make up for ninety five percent of all skin cancers, and are responsible for about 2300 deaths in the United States each year. Moreover, these ultraviolet radiations increase the intensity of sunburns and cause immune system suppression. Besides this, ozone depletion reduces forest productivity for UV-sensitive tree species, decreases the population of certain aquatic species and surface phytoplankton (and as a result disrupts aquatic food webs), increases eye cataracts in particular species, and cuts down the yield of certain types of crops. What is more, the lessening of the ozone affects air pollution by increasing acid deposition and photochemical smog. CFCs, on the othe r hand, act as greenhouse gases and make the earth warmer, thus contributing to global warming (Miller 384, 385). As a result, it is extremely important to keep the level of ozone depletion and the amount of CFCs present in the atmosphere under control. One approach towards the emission of pollutants such as CFCs can be to replace them with other cleaner substances. For example, HFCs and HCFCs can be used in air conditioning equipment and refrigeration instead of CFCs because they have a lower potential of ozone depletion. The pathways by which these substances are emitted can also be altered to prevent them from entering the atmosphere. Old vehicles mostly use CFCs in air conditioning. Therefore, it is necessary to make sure that such vehicles are serviced by qualified technicians in

How to write a essay Essay Example for Free

How to write a essay Essay Getting into college could be as easy as memorizing the alphabet just like a preschooler. But, getting into college with a scholarship is a whole different thing. From the thousands of college applicants aiming for a scholarship, how will you make your essay application stand out? There are millions of essay examples over the internet but, you need to come up with an essay that will get you that scholarship. Tips on How to Write a Good Scholarship Essay: 1. Read instructions carefully College application can become a common thing for you. You might actually get the feeling of doing the same thing over and over like answering the same question for the nth number of times. No matter how similar college applications are, you have to read and understand the instructions well. If you want to land on a good school for college with a scholarship, everything starts with reading and comprehending the instructions. 2. Organize your thoughts After reading the instructions, it’s time to line up your thoughts to make an effective essay that will get you that scholarship. Look for essay samples on the internet or in books. Have a sort of survey from resources that will help you fill in the contents of your essay. It is difficult to start writing an essay, but with organized ideas, you can do it efficiently and effectively. 3. Make an outline When you get a general idea of the essay contents, you can now make an outline of specific details that will be included in your composition. Essay examples usually present general ideas down to the specific. Having an outline is very helpful to keep your essay consistent and focused on a particular topic. 4. Discuss every topic based on the instruction Paying attention to details or instructions is actually part of writing the essay for a scholarship application. Make sure that every topic asked in the essay questions is discussed in the whole composition. Remember that you only have one chance of writing an essay that will make a lasting impression on your college application. 5. Use simple language format and make sure your grammar is perfect Do not try to impress readers of your essay. Even if you are in college, you are not expected to use highfaluting words, but rather make your sentences simple and clear. No matter how technical your vocabulary is but poor grammar is an indication of a lousy essay. 6. Avoid bragging about your achievements Although it is important that you include your achievements as this will help your scholarship application, however you only need to do this if you are asked to do so. Avoid bragging, instead, talk about your achievements simply. It is also good to include the lessons you have learned in gaining such success. 7. Have someone edit and check your work To ensure that you are submitting an essay that will get you the scholarship, have an expert check your work. An editor or a previous professor can help you improve and validate how excellent or poor your essay is. Essay Writing First paragraph — Introduction The first paragraph is essential in capturing the attention of your readers. It is called an introduction as it gives an overview of what your essay is all about. The first paragraph should be similar to an â€Å"About Me† part of a reading material. Make it as simple as possible and dynamically connected to your next point. Second Paragraph – Important Details The second paragraph should support your introduction. This section includes more detail and usually the start of elaboration for every point or question. Say for example, state reasons why you should qualify for the scholarship; state your accomplishments; why are you choosing a particular course and the like. Third paragraph – Future Goals The third paragraph should speak of your future goals and your vision after pursuing a college degree. Goals have to be specific, and should reflect an action plan after your college graduation. Fourth paragraph – The Best Candidate End your essay by stating reasons why you are the best candidate to be chosen for the scholarship. State two to three main points from the previous paragraphs. Do not forget to note your appreciation for the readers of your essay for taking the time to read your essay. Composing your ideas and putting them in writing is never easy. It can be stressful and puts on a lot of pressure, especially when your future depends on this essay for a scholarship grant. There are many essay examples you can find on the web today.

Culture and Formation of Culture Essay Example for Free

Culture and Formation of Culture Essay The word culture can be referred to the behavior of the human beings specifically with the objects, things and commodities around them and these objects are used as an essential part of this behavior. In this sense it is only the ability of the mankind to create a culture. And culture itself will include all the norms and behaviors of human beings like language, customs, beliefs, religions, tool, techniques, arts, rituals, ceremonies and common practice of every day life. There are numerous definitions of culture and every anthropologist has a different view about it. Some has defined culture as â€Å"learned behavior† or â€Å"ideas in mind† or â€Å"a logical construct†, but the most favored definition is that culture is â€Å"the abstraction from behavior† (Culture). Certeau (xi) states that Culture is the combination of every day practices of the societies. But instead of making the unit force an individual he has taken a more economist perspective and regarded them as â€Å"consumers† (Certeau, xi). While John Fiske produced a two economic theory and regards culture as a parallel economy against the financial economy and has named it as â€Å"cultural economy† (Fiske, 538). As every economy has a capital the cultural economy’s capital consists of pleasure and meanings (Fiske, 541). Frederick Engels while speaking in the context of history defines culture as â€Å"traditions, which haunt human minds† (Engels, 10). Speaking conclusively culture is not only behavior neither an action, but it is the combination of abstraction and behavior or a behavior explicating a concept. Formation of Culture: According the theory of evolution, the advancement of the human behavior from natural to learned and freely variable behavior, the particulars of which have the tendency to be transferred to the next generation and has the ability to evolve into a system of things. Thus culture is a man made environment brought into existence by the human ability to symbol. When a culture is established then it has a life of its own. It is a range of things and events in a cause and effect relationship (Culture). Different theorists have argued about the formation of culture in their own specific way and style. According to Bourdieu â€Å"cultural needs are the product of upbringing and education† (Bourdieu, 42). He initially states that the production of cultural goods as well as the description of different ways of appropriating these goods as work of arts as well as providing social conditions, which are considered legitimate (Bourdieu, 42). He further emphasis that all social practices, which are the core of any culture, are traced back to education or social origin (Bourdieu, 42). On the other hand Fiske says that culture is the opposite force developed in response to the producers of consumer goods. He states that culture is the parellel economic system, which runs in response to the financial economic system. According to him it’s capital is meanings and pleasure (Fiske, 538). This is a more economic perspective of rather than the anthropological perspective. Theodor Adorno while discussing the evolution of popular music culture states that the popular music culture and its hold on the masses is because of the urge to distract the individuals from the current realities to the world of fantasy, and popular music has the ability to distract the listener from it (Adorno, 80,81). Thus according to him a culture evolves as a reaction of the current cultural norms. That is the main reason that the popular culture did not evolved before the industrial revolution. Social Relations: Social relations are the behaviors of different social groups related to and in response of each other. Thus speaking about the ruling class, which is also regarded as the elite class or aristocracy is the social group, which has the means of production at its disposal Thus the ruling ideas and concepts are the expressions of dominant material relationships (Marx Engels, 8). According to Marx and Engels the historically speaking the relationship of the individual and the ruling class are reflected by the dominance of ideas and concepts during the dominance of that ruling class. For instance during the dominion of the aristocracy the concepts of loyalty and honor were dominant, while during the dominion of the bourgeoisie the concepts of equality and freedom were dominant (Marx and Engels, 8). The relation between the ruling class and the lower class has two ways. Either it leads or it dominates. The first relation is with its allies while the second is with its enemies (Gramsci, 12) Thus the social relations between the aristocracy has two conditions. If the aristocracy has friendly terms with the lower class, the lower class will follow accordingly under its leadership. But if the lower class does not consent the way the ruling class leads it will refuse to follow. As a result the ruling class will try to dominate the lower class in order to maintain its status. Marx has regarded the aristocracy as the material forces of production, which sometimes come into conflict with the property relations that is the lower class and results in the social revolution (Marx, 9). Engels says that the economic political and traditional i. e cultural factors are interrelated and they in combination play the determined role in the formation of history. Thus history is the product of the combine efforts of the economical, political and demographical factors. Thus one can very easily find the social relation between the economy, politics and cultural norms. Works Cited Adorno, Theodor W. â€Å"On Popular Music† Studies in Philosophy and Social Sciences. 1941. Bourdieu, Pierre. â€Å"Distinction and The Aristocracy of Culture†. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste. 1984, Routledge, London. Certeau, Michel de. â€Å"The Practice of Every Day Life† 1984, Berkley University California Press. â€Å"Culture. † Encyclop? dia Britannica. 2007. Encyclop? dia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD 8 May, 2007. Fiske, John. â€Å"The Popular Economy† Television Culture. 1987, Routledge, London. Gramsci, Antonio. â€Å"Hegomony, Intellectuals and the State† Princeton Notebooks, Lawrence Wishart, London. Marx, Karl. â€Å"Base Superstructure† A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy. 1976, Foreign Languages Press, Peking. Marx, Karl Engels, Federick. â€Å"Ruling Class and Ruling Ideas† The German Ideology. 1970, Lawrence Wishart, London. Marx, Karl Engels. â€Å"A Letter to Joseph Bloch† Selected Letters. 1977, Foreign Languages Press, Peking.

International Civil Aviation Organisation Icao Engineering Essay

International Civil Aviation Organisation Icao Engineering Essay The term aviation means the art or science of flying. In the earlier centuries, developments in the field of aviation technology were minimal. In fact, after the 1900s, the developments in aviation technology took a new turn and dimension. As a result of this, each new phase in aviation development was rather short-lived as inventions lined up rapidly and created newer phases. In India, the aviation industry is rapidly growing with the private airlines owning more than 75 percent of the domestic market. Aviation Laws A conference was held at Chicago (Chicago Convention) in 1944 with 54 nations participating in it. The main objective of this conference was to make arrangements for the immediate establishment of provisional world air routes. This convention established the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a specialised agency of the United Nations charged with coordinating and regulating international air travel. Due to the nature of travel, an aviation law is considered as a matter of international law. In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules the applied aspects of the flight. Whereas in the international domain it is the ICAO that provides general rules regarding the aviation law. The basic principles of the international air law are: Territorial sovereignty: Every State has the right to permit or deny entry into its territory. It also has the rights to control all the movements within the territory. National airspace: The territory of a sovereign State is three dimensional. It includes the airspace above its national lands, its internal and territorial waters. Freedom of the seas: It is free to navigate on the surface of the high seas. Nationality of aircraft: Aircraft have the characteristic of nationality. Articles The Chicago Conventions contain many articles that state the various rules and regulations. Some of them are: Article 1: Every state has complete and exclusive sovereignty over airspace above its territory. International Civil Aviation Organisation ICAO ICAO nurtures the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. It adopts standards and practices regarding: Air navigation Infrastructure Flight inspection Prevention of illegal interference Assistance of border-crossing procedures for international civil aviation The main objective of ICAO is to regulate civil aviation matters throughout the world. It includes nationality registration of aircraft, documentation certification, standardisation of procedures, financial, technical and statistical services and lastly the freedoms of the air. The ICAO functions through 18 annexes covering different areas in the International Air transport business. Annex 1 Personnel Licensing This annex provides standards and recommended practices for the licensing of flight crew members such as pilots, flight navigators and flight engineers. It also provides standards for air traffic controllers, aeronautical station operators, maintenance technicians and flight dispatchers. Annex 2 Rules of the Air A set of internally agreed rules of air makes air travel safe and efficient. This annex contains visual flight rules (VFR) and instrument flight rules (IFR) developed by ICAO. These rules can be applied without exception over the high seas and national territories to the extent that they do not conflict with the rules of the State being overflown. The aircraft pilot is responsible for compliance with these rules. Annex 3 Meteorological Service for International Air Navigation While flying pilots need to be regularly updated about the meteorological conditions. This annex outlines the meteorological services in order to contribute safety, efficiency and regularity of air navigation. This is achieved by providing necessary meteorological information to operators, flight crew members, air traffic services units, search and rescue units, airport management and others concerned with aviation. Close liaison is essential between those supplying meteorological information and those using it. Annex 4 Aeronautical Charts Maps or charts play an important role in the field of aviation. Charts are used as a navigational aid for the safe performance of air operations. The aeronautical charts provide a convenient medium for supplying this information in a manageable, condensed and coordinated manner. Annex 5 Units of Measurement to be Used in Air and Ground Operations This annex speaks about the units used in communication between the aircraft and the ground stations. It contains an ICAO table of units essentially based on the metric system. It also contains four additional interim tables of units for use by those States unable to use the primary table. Annex 6 Operation of Aircraft To ensure highest levels of safety and efficiency in international air transport all the operations should be standardised. The purpose of this annex is to provide criteria for safe operating practices in order to have safe international air navigation. It also encourages ICAOs contracting states to facilitate the passage over their territories of commercial aircraft belonging to other countries that operate in conformity with these criteria. Annex 7 Aircraft Nationality and Registration Marks This annex deals with an aircrafts nationality and registration marks. It also classifies aircraft based on for how long they can maintain sustained flight in the air. Annex 8 Airworthiness of Aircraft An aircraft should be designed, constructed and operated keeping in mind the requirements of the State of Registry of the aircraft. Every aircraft fit to fly is issued with a Certificate of Airworthiness. This annex contains standards for the recognition by States of Certificates of Airworthiness for the purpose of flight of aircraft of other States into and over their territories thereby achieving, among other things, protection of other aircraft, third parties and property. Annex 9 Facilitation The Chicago Convention derives several provisions for the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) on Facilitation (FAL). Annex 9 specifies methods and procedures for carrying out clearance operations in such a manner as to meet the twin objectives of effective compliance with the laws of States and productivity for the operators, airports and government inspection agencies involved. It provides reference for planners and managers of international airport operations, describing maximum limits on obligations of industry and minimum facilities to be provided by governments. Annex 10 Aeronautical Telecommunications This annex covers the aeronautical communications, navigation and surveillance elements of International Civil Aviation. Annex 11 Air Traffic Services This annex defines the air traffic services and specifies the worldwide standards and recommended practices applicable in the provision of these services. Annex 12 Search and Rescue This Annex provides a set of internationally agreed Standards and Recommended Practices to rapidly locate and rescue survivors of aircraft accidents. Annex 13 Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation Detection of the cause of an aircraft accident or serious incident is a must in order to prevent repeated occurrences. A properly conducted investigation helps to identify the causal factor. This annex states that the main objective of the investigation of an accident or incident is prevention. It provides international requirements for the investigation of aircraft accidents and incidents, which are written in a simple format so that it can be understood by all participants in an investigation. Annex 14 Aerodromes This annex extends from planning of airports and helicopters to details of switch-over times for secondary power supply; from civil engineering to illumination engineering; from provision of sophisticated rescue and fire fighting equipment to simple requirements for keeping airports clear of birds. The impact of these numerous subjects on the annex is compounded by the rapidly changing industry which airports must support. This annex changes rapidly due to the introduction of new aircraft models, increased aircraft operations, operations in lower visibilities and technological advances in airport equipment. Annex 15 Aeronautical Information Services The Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) plays an important role in supporting the International Civil Aviation. The main objective of the AIS is to ensure the flow of information necessary for the safety, regularity and efficiency of international air navigation. This annex defines how an aeronautical information service shall receive and/or originate, collate or assemble, edit, format, publish/store and distribute specified aeronautical information/data. The goal is to satisfy the need for uniformity and consistency in the provision of aeronautical information/data that is required for the operational use by international civil aviation. Annex 16 Environmental Protection This annex deals with the protection of the environment from the effect of aircraft noise and aircraft engine emission. Annex 17 Security This annex speaks about the ICAO civil aviation security programme and seeks to safeguard civil aviation and its facilities against acts of unlawful interference. The annex is primarily concerned with the administrative and coordination aspects, as well as with technical measures for the protection of the security of international air transport. It also seeks to coordinate the activities of those involved in security programmes. Annex 18 The Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air This annex specifies the standards and recommended practices to be followed for the transportation of dangerous goods. Dangerous cargo that may be explosive, corrosive, flammable, toxic and even radioactive is transported world wide for a variety of industrial, commercial, medical and research requirements and processes. ICAO recognises the importance of this type of cargo and has taken steps to ensure that such cargo is carried safely.

Catapulting though Time & Physics Essay example -- Essays Papers

Catapulting though Time & Physics Hurling an object towards one’s enemy may seem as old as time itself. People have hurled fists at each other, thrown spears, and launched giant rocks into enemy territory. The use of catapults, and other objects that hurl projectiles, also seem as old as human civilization itself. The effectiveness of the catapult in flinging objects over a great distance and causing destruction is due to a few basic physics principals that govern force, energy, motion, speed and mass to name a few. The design of the catapult denotes a change in modern warfare to the engineer behind weapons being just as important as the actual soldiers and people who use them. Projectile-throwing machines are found in three main categories: the catapult, the ballista, and the trebuchet (How Stuff Works). The catapult has a lever arm attached to a â€Å"bucket† that is usually pulled back by rope and the projectile is released when the rope is cut (How Stuff Works). The ballista is basically a giant crossbow and the trebuchet is similar to the catapult but is a weighted beam with a sling carrying the projectile (How Stuff Works). In this examination, we will mainly be discussing the design of the catapult and trebuchet. Catapults have been traced back to many different civilizations throughout history, but its modern origins are usually attributed to the Greeks and the ancient scientist Archimedes who designed them (Paul 58). We know that in 339 A.D. Dionysius ordered their design in Syracus (Hansen), but their history goes back even further. The first recorded description of the catapult found in the Bible 2,800 years ago (Paul 58). One passage gives the following description of a ruler of the kingdom of Judah : And i... ...nd projectile motion among others. Even though the catapult and its physics are ancient, it has changed the way warfare is waged in the present. Works Cited Hansen, Peter V. "War Engines of the Middle Ages." The Medieval Center Seige Engines. 1998. 2 Nov. 2005 <http://www.middelaldercentret.dk/warengines.htm>. Hewitt, Paul G. Conceptual Physics 10th Edition. 10th ed. San Francisco: Pearson Addison Wesley, 2006. "How Does a Catapult Work?" How Stuff Works. 2 Nov. 2005 <http://science.howstuffworks.com/question127.htm>. "Mechanics of a Simple Trebuchet." 2 Nov. 2005 <http://www.angelfire.com/in3/trebuchet/physics/mechanicsandoptimization.doc>. Paul, Jim. Catapult: Harry and I Build a Seige Weapon. New York: Villard Books, 1991. 54-62. Vogel, Steven. Cat's Paws and Catapults. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1998.

The Romantic City of Venice Essay -- Observation Essay, Descriptive Ess

Venezia, known as Venice to the American, is one of the most unusual and romantic places in the world today. There you hear no car horns, alarms, or even squeaking brakes. There is just peace and quiet with a slight hum of the motor boats zooming by. You can be walking across a bridge where there are two lovers kissing and keep walking to the other side of the area and look back and they are still kissing. There is nothing to interrupt them, not even the slightest care in the world. It is a maze. Around one corner you could run right into the Grand Canal where you can hitch a ride on one of the famous gondolas, or around the next corner you might come to a famous square like the Piazza San Marco where the cobbled ground is covered in pigeons. Think that you know the way? You'd better, because if not, it will be a twisting trip home. Crossing the Rialto Bridge right over the Grand Canal, you can stop and listen, and the only sounds that you will hear are your footsteps, the quiet whispers of people's voices, or the hum of the motor boats that are whisking through the water below. A slight breeze crosses over the bridge and gives a outstanding sense of the natural and clean air that flows there. Across the bridge, you are in the heart of the city where you can take a narrow street called the Merceria that runs right through the city's chief shopping district and all the way back to Saint Mark's Square. The district is full of bustling people, mostly local residents, who are out for their occasional shopping, or have just gone for a stroll to get a couple of scoops of gelatto and just sit on a bench and chat with a friend. Saint Mark's Square is the center of activity in Venice. You can see the Basilica of Saint Mark or the ... ...da." The men on the barge just ignore their order to move, so they yell it again. This time the men on the barge just look over and give them a threatening look then keep unloading their gravel. After the third time, the older man on the barge drops his shovel, turns completely around and yells back at them, "Andarrsene, andare avanti," or go around. A fight breaks out and the men now exchange more unpleasant phrases. Then the men on the boat start their engine, swing their boat around, and head off in the other direction. The workers calmly continue to unload their gravel. When you want relaxation, culture, history, tradition, stimulation, and unique travel experiences, then Venezia is the destination of choice. After one night here, you'll feel the spirit of romance and adventure that lead the Venecians to smuggle the body of Saint Mark from Constantinople. The Romantic City of Venice Essay -- Observation Essay, Descriptive Ess Venezia, known as Venice to the American, is one of the most unusual and romantic places in the world today. There you hear no car horns, alarms, or even squeaking brakes. There is just peace and quiet with a slight hum of the motor boats zooming by. You can be walking across a bridge where there are two lovers kissing and keep walking to the other side of the area and look back and they are still kissing. There is nothing to interrupt them, not even the slightest care in the world. It is a maze. Around one corner you could run right into the Grand Canal where you can hitch a ride on one of the famous gondolas, or around the next corner you might come to a famous square like the Piazza San Marco where the cobbled ground is covered in pigeons. Think that you know the way? You'd better, because if not, it will be a twisting trip home. Crossing the Rialto Bridge right over the Grand Canal, you can stop and listen, and the only sounds that you will hear are your footsteps, the quiet whispers of people's voices, or the hum of the motor boats that are whisking through the water below. A slight breeze crosses over the bridge and gives a outstanding sense of the natural and clean air that flows there. Across the bridge, you are in the heart of the city where you can take a narrow street called the Merceria that runs right through the city's chief shopping district and all the way back to Saint Mark's Square. The district is full of bustling people, mostly local residents, who are out for their occasional shopping, or have just gone for a stroll to get a couple of scoops of gelatto and just sit on a bench and chat with a friend. Saint Mark's Square is the center of activity in Venice. You can see the Basilica of Saint Mark or the ... ...da." The men on the barge just ignore their order to move, so they yell it again. This time the men on the barge just look over and give them a threatening look then keep unloading their gravel. After the third time, the older man on the barge drops his shovel, turns completely around and yells back at them, "Andarrsene, andare avanti," or go around. A fight breaks out and the men now exchange more unpleasant phrases. Then the men on the boat start their engine, swing their boat around, and head off in the other direction. The workers calmly continue to unload their gravel. When you want relaxation, culture, history, tradition, stimulation, and unique travel experiences, then Venezia is the destination of choice. After one night here, you'll feel the spirit of romance and adventure that lead the Venecians to smuggle the body of Saint Mark from Constantinople.

education in France :: essays research papers

The education system in France: (source: European Union) I. Information on Community Law II. Information concerning the national education system III. Useful addresses I. Information on Community Law The fundamental principle of non-discrimination on grounds of nationality between students studying in a foreign country and national students applies as regards admission to an educational or training establishment. This includes enrolment fee requirements and the conditions governing the award of a grant to cover such fees. In this respect, any Community citizen must be treated in the same way as national citizens. One example of the kind of problem which young people studying another country may encounter would be special requirements on admission, the need to pass tests or supply documentary evidence, or other such conditions which are not required of nationals, and which have no objective justification. Each Member State's law provides for financial assistance for students in higher education. Some countries' laws may make it possible for a grant to be transferred where a student decides to study in another country. In other words, the student may continue to receive financial aid from his/her country of origin while studying in another Member State. Students covered by the Erasmus chapter of the Socrates programme are treated more favourably than students who have changed countries outside the Community scheme or under an inter-university agreement. It goes without saying that such students are still covered by the principle of equal treatment in terms of admission conditions, with exemption from the requirement to pay any enrolment fee. In addition, though, they continue to receive grants or other forms of financial assistance from their country of origin, regardless of the general rules or any obstacles in the country in question concerning the transferability of grants. As regards recognition of periods of training completed in an establishment in another country, the Community legislation governing the programme requires that this be provided for in the form of agreements between the university of origin and the host university. Such recognition is not necessarily guaranteed where study periods or training periods are not wi thin the scope of the Socrates/Erasmus programme. The conditions set out in a. above constitute a minimum set of rights which apply to all students who do not enjoy a broader status under Community law. For instance, where a student is classified as a worker or as a child of a Community worker, the principle of equal treatment applies to other aspects of academic life as well, i. education in France :: essays research papers The education system in France: (source: European Union) I. Information on Community Law II. Information concerning the national education system III. Useful addresses I. Information on Community Law The fundamental principle of non-discrimination on grounds of nationality between students studying in a foreign country and national students applies as regards admission to an educational or training establishment. This includes enrolment fee requirements and the conditions governing the award of a grant to cover such fees. In this respect, any Community citizen must be treated in the same way as national citizens. One example of the kind of problem which young people studying another country may encounter would be special requirements on admission, the need to pass tests or supply documentary evidence, or other such conditions which are not required of nationals, and which have no objective justification. Each Member State's law provides for financial assistance for students in higher education. Some countries' laws may make it possible for a grant to be transferred where a student decides to study in another country. In other words, the student may continue to receive financial aid from his/her country of origin while studying in another Member State. Students covered by the Erasmus chapter of the Socrates programme are treated more favourably than students who have changed countries outside the Community scheme or under an inter-university agreement. It goes without saying that such students are still covered by the principle of equal treatment in terms of admission conditions, with exemption from the requirement to pay any enrolment fee. In addition, though, they continue to receive grants or other forms of financial assistance from their country of origin, regardless of the general rules or any obstacles in the country in question concerning the transferability of grants. As regards recognition of periods of training completed in an establishment in another country, the Community legislation governing the programme requires that this be provided for in the form of agreements between the university of origin and the host university. Such recognition is not necessarily guaranteed where study periods or training periods are not wi thin the scope of the Socrates/Erasmus programme. The conditions set out in a. above constitute a minimum set of rights which apply to all students who do not enjoy a broader status under Community law. For instance, where a student is classified as a worker or as a child of a Community worker, the principle of equal treatment applies to other aspects of academic life as well, i.

Appearance Can Be Deceiving

The outer appearance of people is the first thing that can be seen in the beginning. However, when you meet someone you shouldn’t judge him only by the way he looks like, because most of the times it can be deceiving. The beauty of some people can be only a good mask for covering their real faces, their real characters. And the first question that we always ask ourselves when we see people like that is exactly – do they posses nobility, pure soul and intelligence? In some cases, they just glitter with false beauty and seek fools who will befriend them or even fall inlove with them. They have nothing to do with the purity of beauty. Just like beautiful roses which have thorns though and the beautiful and tasty but poisonous apple which the witch give to Snow White in the famous fairy tale of the Grimm Brothers. But in other cases, we can meet nowadays on the streets people who really posses high moral virtue, combined with beauty. Just like some beautiful models that have high education and take part in a lot of charity organizations. And what about the people who haven’t got beautiful outer appearance? Are they low-inteligente or intentioned? In some cases, they are. But in most of the cases, they have beauty inside. They compensate the lag of good outer appearance with the possession of sweet character, kindness and responsivness. Just like an ugly and abominable caterpillar which reveals to us that it is beautiful in its nature, when one day it becomes a gorgeous butterfly. However, we shouldn’t forget the most important thing that the beauty of the people is immeasurable and someone can be beautiful for you but not for the others. There is a good piece in everyone no matter where it is (in the outer appearance or on the inside) and it’s only waiting to be found out by someone. In conclusion, as people say: â€Å"All that glitters is not gold† and â€Å"The eyes lie† so never trust your first impressions, but use your mind and soul to determine whether some is a good person or not.

Comparing and Contrasting Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart

Melisa Chan English Language and Literature Instructor Van Andel ————————————————- February 1, 2013 Viewing Africa From Two Sides Of A Coin. There aren’t many novels about the true face of Africa on bookshelves, especially not novels written by an author who knows Africa best during the time of its pre-colonial period. Things Fall Apart is a novel worth reading because it’s eye opener for those with not-very-positive stereotypes of the continent. In fact, it has been said that Things Fall Apart was written as a response to another novel, The Heart of Darkness.This is because in the latter novel, Africa was viewed in a darker light compared to the former novel. Thus, it’s natural that there will be differences and similarities between the two novels. However, assuming that Things Fall Apart being written as a response to The Heart of Darkness is a fact; there will be more differences than similarities among the two novels, especially in terms of its author, point of view, and the perception of the novel towards Africa and how the Africans treated in the novels. One of the aspects in which the two novels have more differences than similarities is the author.In terms of the author, The Heart of Darkness was written by Joseph Conrad, a non-African. He wrote the novel in Europe in 1902. This was during the Victorian Era under the rule of Queen Victoria. Apparently, in Europe, the African continent was viewed as a dark continent. This is perhaps due to the fact that it was compared to Europe itself where everything is civilized and familiar to them whereas Africa was a place of mystery and the unknown. On the other hand, Things Fall Apart was written by Chinua Achebe, an African who wrote this novel much later than Joseph Conrad, which was back in 1958.This novel was written in Africa but published in England, unlike The Heart of Darkne ss which was written and published in the same continent. In addition, it was written during the pre-colonial period before they gained independence. Unlike Joseph Conrad who was a foreigner to Africa, Chinua Achebe knew his country as well as he knew himself, thus, he gave Africa and its people more life and made their personalities and culture equally as significant and vibrant as those around the world. Furthermore, there weren’t any use of comparison of the continent to other continents.The comparisons used in Things Fall Apart were normal comparisons between individuals and local villages. Another aspect in which we can compare and contrast the two novels is the point of view in which they were written. The Heart of Darkness was written in the first-person point of view, through Marlow’s eyes. A rather unique style of writing that Conrad used for The Heart of Darkness was that the novel was written as a double story with a first-person narration within a first-per son narration.The frame-narrator is used to describe Marlow’s narration of his own story while the other first-person narrator is Marlow himself, depicting his adventure in the Congo. Unlike a typical first-person style, Marlow’s first-person narration is directed not towards the reader but to the men on the boat on the Thames. The frame-narrator on the other hand is narrating for the reader, the outer audience. It seemed like Conrad was reading aloud Marlow’s travel log. Things Fall Apart on the other hand was written in the third-person point of view.Instead of writing through the eyes of an African, the story of Things Fall Apart was written through the author’s eyes, as if he’s writing his observations of Okonkwo and the Igbo people. Things Fall Apart was written just like a typical story book which contained small interrelated stories, especially in the first part of the book. It was written in a way that depicted a progressive day-to-day basi s of the people of Okonkwo’s family and his village. Besides that, the perception and treatment of Africa and its inhabitants are very different between the two novels.In The Heart of Darkness, the Africans were depicted as â€Å"â€Å"savage† Africans† (â€Å"excerpt†: motifs and themes). They were treated like animals and slaves. In fact, the African slaves were described as soulless, as if they were empty shells used to work for the Europeans, â€Å"†¦ They passed me within six inches, without a glance, with that complete deathlike indifference of unhappy savages. † Even the Congo River was depicted as winding, dark and treacherous, compared to the Thames River which was depicted as a place of light, clear and unclouded.In Things Fall Apart, however, Africa and its people were depicted as full of vigor and life. The people of Umuofia were hardworking people who worked on their farms with passion and purpose. They also have a sense of pride and honor. For example, the people of Umuofia will only attack another village only if it was by the order of the Oracle or they will be punished. This can be proven by an extract from the novel: â€Å"†¦never went to war unless its case was clear and just and was accepted as such by its Oracle†¦the Oracle had forbidden Umuofia to wage a war.If the clan had disobeyed the Oracle, they would have been beaten†¦never fight†¦a fight of blame† (12). Even the environment seemed to be alive. There were changes in weather, farming and harvesting seasons and even the season where the locusts came. When comparing and contrasting these two novels, a few similarities can be identified. First of all, they are similar in the way that they were written about Africa in the author’s respective perspectives. They neither relied on external sources nor let them influence their writing style and context of their writing.Another similarity is that they both showed effect s of the colonization of the Europeans on the local community though they were introduced at different times in each novel. Colonization effects include loss of the African culture and principles and also a change in lifestyle of the local community. The hierarchy of the local community was also disturbed. In both novels, Africans who were supposed to be highly regarded were degraded to mere followers or slaves. The similarities identified are somewhat superficial similarities because despite having similar aspects, at a closer look, these similarities also express differences.In conclusion, there are more differences than similarities between these two novels. This is perhaps as expected because these two novels were written by two different people of different nationalities, backgrounds and perspectives. Furthermore, they were written in two different time periods. We cannot and should not judge which of these two novels is better. We should see these two novels as equals in terms of information sources because by reading, understanding and comparing these two novels, we get a better understanding of Africa from both sides of a coin.Thus, our perspective and knowledge of Africa is now broader and based on this, we can see Africa in a different light. Whether we see it in a better or worse light is entirely up to us to decide. However, at the very least, we have established the arguments about Africa to aid our judgment. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 2010. Excerpt from Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness. Date of access: 31 January 2013. Comparing and Contrasting the Novel, Heart of Darkness. † 123HelpMe. com. 23 Feb 2013 . â€Å"Ibo Religion in Things Fall Apart†. Religion-Culture-and-Stories. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3. 0 License. Date of access: 30 January 2013. â€Å"The Art of Narration in Heart of Darkness†. Introduction to Heart of Darkness. D ate of access: 23 February 2013. < http://home. roadrunner. com/~jhartzog/heartofdarknessintro. html>

Cause and Effect of Cheating in School Essay

Every action has a consequence, whether it is good or bad. The choices you make can follow you the rest of your life. Cheating is an issue that affects many students at one time or another throughout their education. There are many different ways to cheat: copying homework, looking over at a peers test, plagiarizing, and so on. Nothing good comes from cheating your way through school, the only person you are cheating is yourself. There are serious consequences for cheating. Every teacher has different ways of punishing their students. Some teachers are hard on their students and give them the maximum punishment they can give them. However, as i’ve witnessed teachers are surprisingly lenient on their students. Many just give them a warning or make them retake the test. The problem with teachers doing this is that the students never really learn their lesson. It enables them to cheat more, if they know they won’t have serious consequences for their actions, they will be more willing to try to test their luck. Cheating is most likely to occur in students who lack effort in their studies. Students who do not attend class or do not study are not likely to get passed on their own. Therefore, they find cheating to be a good and easy way for them to pass. Nothing can be gained by cheating. Of course, a better grade may be given, but they are not learning anything by stealing somebody’s hard work. The cheater may be passing the class with a great grade, but where will the cheater be when the finals come around and they no longer have a way to cheat. Cheating can result in a tragic cycle. Once you start it is hard to stop. A person may believe that they are benefiting themselves by cheating to receive a better grade. They put off studying and never really learn the material. At the same time they are doing well in the class. Many people may not see what the problem would be, less work and good grades. What’s to complain about! However, this cannot continue forever. It will catch up to you and you will regret it. When it comes time for you to know the material, you will have to learn from the beginning or receive an unsatisfactory grade. Even if you manage to get a good grade, it cannot make you feel good knowing you did not earn it. There is going to come a time in your life when you are going to need to put what you learned in school to use in real life. If you did not do the work, you will not be able to do this. In college they are to prepare you for your career. If you plan on cheating your way through college you may want to rethink your game plan. Imagine a surgeon cheating his way through school and not really learning what was necessary to perform his job. Would you feel comfortable having this doctor operate on you? There are more things at stake than good grades. You have to think of your future and the person you want to be. Nothing in life comes easy, if you want to make it you are going to have to work at it. There is no reason you should be rewarded for cheating your way through school. It is always better in the long haul to be honest and do your own work. Once you make doing your own work a habit it will become easier. It will also build your self-esteem. Having that pride when you graduate will be one of the best feelings in your life. You can think to yourself that you did this, it wasn’t because of anyone else, it was all you. All those late nights of studying and group study sessions have paid off. You know that you are able to set a goal for yourself and find the strength within you to accomplish this goal. If you are able to do this, you are capable of so much more. Your future will be bright. When looking for a job when you are older, employers look for certain qualities. They look for a good work ethic, someone with good leadership qualities and, someone who isn’t lazy but who is willing to do what is needed to be done to finish the job. You will have more confidence going into an interview if you are well qualified for the job. Nothing good comes from cheating. It may trick you in the short hall but you need to have the strength to do the right thing. You need to be more concerned with your future, and less concerned with cheating your way through a class just so you have more free time. Today’s generation will never succeed if they do not learn to take responsibility. We are truly blessed to be given a proper education, many countries are not as fortunate as us. In a way Americans have become spoiled and have taken their education for granted. They do not view it as being important. We need to look at other nations, and realize what they would give up just to be able to learn like we do. We need to get back to a place where we are thirsting for knowledge and not just doing the bare minimum to get by. Over all, the consequences of cheating vary greatly, from being dealt with on a serious level or to just have to live with knowing deep down inside that what you have done is wrong. Some say cheating is not wrong unless the person gets caught, but cheating is no different than stealing, and stealing is wrong no matter what. I think everyone would admit that. As an individual you must take pride in yourself and do your own work. It is your life and you should want to be the best you can be. Cheating in the short run will only hurt you in the future.

Pest Analysis of Automobile Industry Essay

I would like to confer my heartiest thanks to my coordinator of Business Environment and class teacher Miss Impreet Kaur for giving me the opportunity to expel and work in the field of Environmental Analysis, especially its practical applications. While preparing my project I got to have an in depth knowledge of practical applications of the theoretical concepts and definitely the things which I have learned will undoubtedly help me in future, to analyze many processes going on in our economy. I would also like to thank all those people who directly or indirectly helped us in accomplishing this project. Literature Review Competitiveness of manufacturing sector is a very broad multi-dimensional concept that embraces numerous aspects such as price, quality, productivity, efficiency and macro-economic environment. The OECD definition of competitiveness, which is most widely quoted, also considers employment and sustainability, while being exposed to international competition, as features pertaining to competitiveness. There are numerous studies on auto industry in India, published by industry associations, consultancy organizations, research bodies and peer-reviewed journals. In this section, various studies on the Indian auto industry are reviewed, under different heads pertaining to competitiveness, namely, global comparisons, policy environment and evolution of the Indian auto industry, productivity, aspects related to supply-chain and industrial structure and technology and other aspects. PESTLE Analysis PESTLE Analysis is a simple, useful and widely-used tool that helps you understand the â€Å"big picture† of your Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural and Technological, Legal and Environmental aspects. As such, it is used by business leaders worldwide to build their vision of the future. PESTLE analysis is concerned with the environmental influences on a business. Identifying PESTLE influences is a useful way of summarizing the external environment in which a business operates. However, it must be followed up by consideration of how a business should respond to these influences. It is important for these reasons: * First, by making effective use of PESTLE Analysis, you ensure that what you are doing is aligned positively with the powerful forces of change that are affecting our world. By taking advantage of change, you are much more likely to be successful than if your activities oppose it; * Second, good use of PESTLE Analysis helps you avoid taking action that is doomed to failure from the outset, for reasons beyond your control; and * Third, PESTLE is useful when you start operating in a new country or region. Use of PESTLE helps you break free of unconscious assumptions, and helps you quickly adapt to the realities of the new environment. The table below lists some possible factors that could indicate important environmental influences for a business under the PESTLE headings: Political / Legal| Economic| Social| Technological| – Environmental regulation and protection| – Economic growth | – Income distribution | – Government spending on research| – Taxation | – Monetary policy | – Demographics | – Government and industry focus on technological effort| – International trade regulation| – Government spending | – Labor / social mobility| – New discoveries and development| – Consumer protection| – Policy towards unemployment | – Lifestyle changes | – Speed of technology transfer | – Employment law| – Taxation | – Attitudes to work and leisure| – Rates of technological obsolescence | – Government organization / attitude | – Exchange rates | – Education| – Energy use and costs | – Competition regulation| – Inflation | – Fashions and fads| – Changes in material sciences | | – Stage of the business cycle | – Health & welfare | – Impact of changes in Information technology| | – Economic â€Å"mood† – consumer confidence| – Living conditions | – Internet! | PESTLE Analysis of Automobile Sector Political. * In 2002, the Indian government formulated an auto policy that aimed at promoting integrated, phased, enduring and self-sustained growth of the Indian automotive industry * Allows automatic approval for foreign equity investment up to 100% in the automotive sector and does not lay down any minimum investment criteria. * Formulation of an appropriate auto fuel policy to ensure availability of adequate amount of appropriate fuel to meet emission norms * Confirms the government’s intention on harmonizing the regulatory standards with the rest of the world * Indian government auto policy aimed at promoting an integrated, phased and conductive growth of the Indian automobile industry. * Allowing automatic approval for foreign equity investment up to 100% with no minimum investment criteria. * Establish an international hub for manufacturing small, affordable passenger cars as well as tractor and two wheelers. * Ensure a balanced transition to open trade at minimal risk to the Indian economy and local industry. * Assist development of vehicle propelled by alternate energy source. * Lying emphasis on R&D activities carried out by companies in India by giving a weighted tax deduction of up to 150% for in house research and R&D activities. * Plan to have a terminal life policy for CVs along with incentives for replacement for such vehicles. * Promoting multi-model transportation and the implementation of mass rapid transport system. Economic * The level of inflation Employment level per capita is right. * Economic pressures on the industry are causing automobile companies to reorganize the traditional sales process. * Weighted tax deduction of up to 150% for in-house research and R & D activities. * Govt. has granted concessions, such as reduced interest rates for export financing. * The Indian economy has grown at 8. 5% per annum. * The manufacturing sector has grown at 8-10 % per annum in the last few years. * More than 90% of the CV purchase is on credit. * Finance availability to CV buyers has grown in scope during the last few years. * The increased enforcement of overloading restrictions has also contributed to an increase in the no. of CVs plying on Indian roads. * Several Indian firms have partnered with global players. While some have formed joint ventures with equity participation, other also has entered into technology tie-ups. * Establishment of India as a manufacturing hub, for mini, compact cars, OEMs and for auto components. Social * Since changed lifestyle of people, leads to increased purchase of automobiles, so automobile sector have a large customer base to serve. * The average family size is 4, which makes it favorable to buy a four wheeler. * Growth in urbanization, 4th largest economy by ppp index. * Upward migration of household income levels. * 85% of cars are financed in India. * Car priced below USD 12000 accounts for nearly 80% of the market. * Vehicles priced between USD 7000-12000 form the largest segment in the passenger car market. * Indian customers are highly discerning, educated and well informed. They are price sensitive and put a lot of emphasis on value for money. * Preference for small and compact cars. They are socially acceptable even amongst the well off. * Preference for fuel efficient cars with low running costs. Technological * More and more emphasis is being laid on R & D activities carried out by companies in India. * Weighted tax deduction of up to 150% for in-house research and R & D activities. * The Government of India is promoting National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) to support the growth of the auto industry in India * Technological solutions helps in integrating the supply chain, hence reduce losses and increase profitability. * Customized solutions (designer cars, etc) can be provided with the proliferation of technology * Internet makes it easy to collect and analyse customer feedback * With the entry of global companies into the Indian market, advanced technologies, both in product and production process have developed. * With the development or evolution of alternate fuels, hybrid cars have made entry into the market. * Few global companies have setup R &D centers in India. * Major global players like audi, BMW, Hyundai etc have setup their manufacturing units in India. Environmental * Physical infrastructure such as roads and bridges affect the use of automobiles. If there is good availability of roads or the roads are smooth then it will affect the use of automobiles. * Physical conditions like environmental situation affect the use of automobiles. If the environment is pleasant then it will lead to more use of vehicles. * Technological solutions helps in integrating the supply chain, hence reduce losses and increase profitability. * With the entry of global companies into the Indian market, advanced technologies, both in product and production process have developed. * With the development or evolution of alternate fuels, hybrid cars have made entry into the market. * Few global companies have setup R &D centers in India. * Major global players like audi, BMW, Hyundai etc have setup their manufacturing units in India. Legal * Legal provision relating to environmental population by automobiles. * Legal provisions relating to safety measures. * Confirms the government’s intention on harmonizing the regulatory standards with the rest of the world * Indian government auto policy aimed at promoting an integrated, phased and conductive growth of the Indian automobile industry. * Establish an international hub for manufacturing small, affordable passenger cars as well as tractor and two wheelers. * Ensure a balanced transition to open trade at minimal risk to the Indian economy and local industry. Introduction The Indian automotive component industry is dominated by around 500 players which account for more than 85% of the production. The turnover of this industry has been growing at a mammoth 28. 05% per annum from 2002-03 onwards as illustrated in Fig. 1 which clarifies its emergence as one of India’s fastest growing manufacturing sectors. During 1990s, the auto components market in India used to be dominated by supplies to the aftermarket with only 35% exports sourced by global Tier 1 OEMs (Original equipment Manufacturers). The industry made a sustained shift to the global Tier 1 market and today, the component manufacturers supply 75% of their exports to global Tier 1 OEMs and the remaining to the aftermarket. This is largely due to the growing capability of the Indian component suppliers in understanding technical drawings, conversance with global automotive standards, economically attractive costs (manufacturing costs are 25%-30% lower than its western counterparts), flexibility in small batch production and growing information technology application for design, development and simulation. Besides the burgeoning demand of auto components from global majors, the domestic automobile industry has been showing a sparkling growth caused by increasing customer base and affordable loans. Based on this, the turnover of the Indian auto component industry is expected to touch US$ 18. 7 billion by 2009 and estimated to reach US$ 40 billion by 2014. Overview of Indian Automobile Industry The liberalized policies of the Indian Government paved towards steady evolution of India as a stable and market driven economy with the real Gross Domestic Product growth in excess of 8%, foreign exchange reserves crossing the $150 billion mark, growing value of Indian Rupee compared to US dollar and reducing inflation rate. 100% Foreign Direct Investment, absence of local content regulation, manufacturing and imports free from licensing & approvals in the automobile sector coupled with customs tariff or auto components reducing to 12. 5% resulted in increased number of multinationals establishing their bases in India and with export markets looking up, the Indian automobile industry is poised for a phenomenal growth. The automobile production in the sub-continent has been growing steadily @ 18. 53% per annum from 2002-03 onwards with total vehicle production standing at a mammoth 1,00,31,296 nos. in 2005-06 as is shown in Fig. 2. Among the automobiles, 2 wheelers account for 75. 77%, cars about 11. 09%, 3 wheelers to the tune of 4. 33%, tractors about 2. 95%, buses & trucks constitute 2. 19%, Multi Utility Vehicles (MUVs) to the tune of 1. 96% and Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) about 1. 71% of the total number of automobiles produced in the country. Presently, India is the second largest market after China for two & three wheelers. In tractors production, India is one of the two largest manufacturers in the world along with China. The subcontinent stands as the 4th largest producer of trucks in the world. Coming to the passenger car segment, the country is positioned 11th in car production in the world. The Indian passenger car market is far from being saturated leaving ample opportunity for volume growth since the per capita car penetration per 1000 is only 7 compared to 500 in Germany. The production of cars in the country has been growing at a mammoth 27. 58% per annum from 2002- 03 onwards as is shown in Fig. 3. In general, cars are broadly classified as Mini, Compact, Mid-Size, Executive & Premium varieties. There has been a steady rise in compact car production from 333,000 in 2002-03 to 715,000 in 2005- 06, mid-size cars from 122,000 to 204,000 nos. , executive cars from 2000 to 23,000 nos. and premium variety cars from 4000 in 2002-03 to 5000 nos. in 2005-06. The mini car segment production reduced from 150,000 in 2002-03 to 98,000 nos. in 2005-06. These statistics vividly reveal the increasing capacity of the Indian customer, thus driving the passenger car demand rapidly up the price ladder. Analysts speculate car production in the sub-continent to touch 1575,000 in 2009 and 2654,000 by 2014. Cars and MUVs exports rose from 72,000 in 2002-03 to reach 176,000 nos. in 2005-06 with growth @ 48. 155 per annum from 2002-03 onwards. Out of the two wheelers produced in India, motorcycles account for 81. 59%, scooters about 13. 42% and mopeds to the tune of 4. 99% of the total production. The production statistics is shown in Fig. 4 which shows the growth of 2 wheelers @ 16. 58% per annum from 2002-03 onwards. Out of this, motorcycles have exhibited production growth @ 19. 99% per annum, scooters @ 6. 74% per annum & mopeds @ 2. 65% per annum from 2002-03 onwards. Two wheeler production units in India constitute of Japanese OEMS (Original Equipment Manufacturers) which include Hero Honda Motors, Honda Motorcycle & scooter India (P) Ltd. , Yamaha Motor India (P) Ltd. & Suzuki Motorcycle India (P) Ltd. and Indian OEMs consisting of Bajaj Auto L t d . , TVS Motor Company Ltd. , LML Ltd. , Kinetic Engineering Ltd. , Majestic Auto Ltd. , Kinetic Motor Company Ltd. and Royal Enfield of Eicher Ltd. Out of the aforementioned, Hero Honda accounts for 39. 55%, Bajaj Auto about 26. 87%, TVS Motors 17. 98%, Honda Motors 7. 94%, Yamaha Motors 3. 27%, LML 1. 41% and the remaining 2. 98% of the total 2 wheelers production in the country. The exports of two wheelers made a significant growth from a level of 180,000 in 2002-03 to reach 513,000 nos. in 2005-06. The latest estimates put up production of 2 wheelers to 13. 6 million by 2009. Current status of the industry The industry over a period of time has installed a robust capacity as given below: Table 1. Installed capacity in different segments of the automobile industry Against this installed capacity, the production over last few years has been as: Table 2. Vehicle production, 1996-2002 In order to illustrate the volume in economic terms, the Indian automobile industry achieved a turnover of nearly US$ 8 billion (excluding component industry) during the year 1998-1999. The imports of the industry during that year were of the order of US$ 0. 8 billion. The auto component industry in the country has also made rapid strides and its turnover has almost doubled in last five-year period as the year-wise production given below indicates. 1997-1998 US$ 2. 51 billion 1998-1999 US$ 2. 71 billion 1999-2000 US$ 3. 41 billion 2000-2001 US$ 3. 58 billion (estimated) Automotive industry of India is now finding increasing recognition worldwide. A beginning has been made in exports of vehicles. However, the exports have largely remained static since 1996-1997. India is making serious efforts to tap the potential in this area. The following table indicates the situation. Table 3. Indian car exports, 1996-2001 Indian automobiles are being exported mainly to the following countries. Table 3. 4. Main export destinations. The auto component industry in India now equipped with significant advancement in its technological capabilities, due to its alignment with major vehicle manufacturers in the country and abroad, has a high export potential. During the late 1990s, the export of auto-components has grown by a CAGR of about 20 per cent. Currently, the share of exports out of the total production of auto-components is 10 per cent. During the last 5 years, the exports of auto components have been as follows: 1998-1999 US$ 292 million 1999-2000 US$ 347 million 2000-2001 US$ 400 million (estimated) Future Projections Automobile industry With the domestic auto industry now moving in step with the WTO covenants, the stage is set for it to make rapid strides domestically and internationally to attain its rightful place in the world trade. A global recession for last two years notwithstanding, the industry has shown appreciable resilience and adjusted to the challenges of the environment. Based on the general growth projections indicated by the Planning Commission of India for the next five-year period, automobile industry is expected to register growth pattern as given below. This growth estimate implies certain assumptions relating to segment-wise growth rates based on a study conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). Table 3. 5 Projections of India’s automobile industry, 2001-2012 Emerging trends in Indian Automobile Globalization is pushing auto majors to consolidate, to upgrade technology, enlarge product range, access new markets and cut costs. They have resorted to common platforms, modular assemblies and systems integration of component suppliers and e-commerce. The component industry is undergoing vertical integration resulting into emergence of ‘systems and assembly suppliers’ rather than individual component suppliers. Thus, while most component suppliers are integrating into tier 2 and tier 3 suppliers, larger manufacturers and multinational corporations (MNCs) are being transformed into tier 1 companies. Environmental and safety concerns are leading to higher safety and emission norms in the country. India has already charted out a road-map for reaching EURO-II norms across the country by the year 2005. Seven metropolitan cities of India would simultaneously move to EURO-III norms in 2005. Most vehicle manufacturers are already producing EURO-II compliant vehicles in the country to meet special requirements of capital city of New Delhi where the Supreme Court verdict has already necessitated this. To meet the concomitant testing and certification activities relating to higher safety and emission norms, testing infrastructure in the country is being overhauled. A substantive state funding is being planned in upgrading the testing infrastructure with participation of industry. Environmental pollution and the need to conserve existing supply of fossil fuels have led to search for alternative fuels. In addition to supporting greenfield research in this area, an ambitious phased programme to upgrade carbon fuel quality commensurate with higher emission norms is also being undertaken. Foreign direct investment norms have already been considerably relaxed. Unhindered import of automobiles, including new and second hand vehicles, has also been permitted. Most non-tariff barriers have also been relaxed or removed. The Government has moderated and lowered taxes and duties on automobiles, including customs duty. Value Added Tax (VAT) is also proposed to be introduced across the country from 1 April 2001. The Government has also allowed private sector participation in the insurance sector. Norms guiding external commercial borrowings (ECBs) have been liberalized and lending rates within the country have also been reduced further strengthening the environment of investment. An ambitious programme to upgrade the quadrilateral of highways in the country, the Government is laying an eight-lane expressway linking all metropolitan and several important capital towns across the country paving the way for movement of heavier haulage vehicles. Porter’s Five Forces Porter’s Five Forces of Competition framework views the profitability of an industry as determined by five sources of competitive pressure. These five forces of competition include three sources of â€Å"horizontal† competition: competition from substitutes, competition from entrants, and competition from established rivals; and two sources of â€Å"vertical† competition: the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers. The strength of each of these competitive forces is determined by a number of key structural variables, as shown in Figure 3. 3. FIGURE 3. 2 Porter’s Five Forces of Competition framework Competition from Substitutes The price customers are willing to pay for a product depends, in part, on the availability of substitute products. The absence of close substitutes for a product, as in the case of automobiles, means that consumers are comparatively insensitive to price (i. e. , demand is inelastic with respect to price). The existence of close substitutes means that customers will switch to substitutes in response to price increases for the product (i. e. , demand is elastic with respect to price). The extent to which substitutes limit prices and profits depends on the propensity of buyers to substitute between alternatives. This, in turn, is dependent on their price performance characteristics. The more complex the needs being fulfilled by the product and the more difficult it is to discern performance differences, the lower the extent of substitution by customers on the basis of price differences. FIGURE 3. 3 The structural determinants of the Five Forces of Competition Rivalry between Established Competitors For most industries, the major determinant of the overall state of competition and the general level of profitability is competition among the firms within the industry. In some industries, firms compete aggressively – sometimes to the extent that prices are pushed below the level of costs and industry-wide losses are incurred. In others, price competition is muted and rivalry focuses on advertising, innovation, and other non price dimensions. Six factors play an important role in determining the nature and intensity of competition between established firms: concentration, the diversity of competitors, product differentiation, excess capacity, exit barriers, and cost conditions. Threat of Entry If an industry earns a return on capital in excess of its cost of capital, that industry acts as a magnet to firms outside the industry. Unless the entry of new firms is barred, the rate of profit will fall toward its competitive level. The threat of entry rather than actual entry may be sufficient to ensure that established firms constrain their prices to the competitive level. * Economies of Scale – Since Indian automobile market is of order $ 350 billion, the economies of scale are very high. Thus, threat of new entrants is low. * Product Differences – Since there is hardly any difference in the offerings of the various providers, so product differentiation is low. So threat of new entrants is high. * Brand Identity – Since there is no big Retailer like Amazon. com or Wal-Mart in India. So threat of new entrants is high. * Government Policy – Since the Government Policy has been quite restrictive till now with respect to the Retail market & FDI, so threat of new entrants is low. * Capital Requirements – The capital requirements for entering in the automobile sector are substantially high( high fixed cost and cost of infrastructure), so only big names can think of venturing into this area So, in that respect threat of new entrants is low. * Access to distribution – Since in India there is no well established distribution network. So threat of new entrants is low. Bargaining Power of Buyers The firms in an industry operate in two types of markets: in the markets for inputs and the markets for outputs. In input markets firms purchase raw materials, components, and financial and labor services. In the markets for outputs firms sell their goods and services to customers (who may be distributors, consumers, or other manufacturers). In both markets the transactions create value for both buyers and sellers. How this value is shared between them in terms of profitability depends on their relative economic power. The strength of buying power that firms face from their customers depends on two sets of factors: buyers’ price sensitivity and relative bargaining power. * Product Differences – Since there is hardly any difference in the offerings of the various providers, so product differentiation is low. So bargaining power of buyers is high. * Buyer Information – Today’s customers are well educated about the various product offerings in the sector. So bargaining power of buyers is high. * Buyer Switching Costs – Since customers don’t have to pay a fat premium to be registered for provision of services , so bargaining power of buyers is high. * Brand Identity – High Brand Identity and trustworthiness reduce the bargaining power of buyers but, otherwise the bargaining power of buyers is high. * Buyer Profits – Since dealers offers discounts and various bundling services like 0% insurance, old car sale, etc, on different items. Hence bargaining power of buyers is high. Bargaining Power of Suppliers. Analysis of the determinants of relative power between the producers in an industry and their suppliers is precisely analogous to analysis of the relationship between producers and their buyers. The only difference is that it is now the firms in the industry that are the buyers and the producers of inputs that are the suppliers. The key issues are the ease with which the firms in the industry can switch between different input suppliers and the relative bargaining power of each party. * Product Differences – Since there is hardly any difference in the offerings of the various suppliers, so product differentiation is low. So bargaining power of Suppliers is low. * Supplier Information – Today’s automobile manufacturers are well educated about different Suppliers. So bargaining power of Suppliers is low. * Supplier Switching Costs – Since different Suppliers hold resources as per buyer’s requirements and a large inventory has to be maintained. So bargaining power of Suppliers is low as they would have to incur a huge cost on switching. But if they get automobile manufacturers for similar products who can pay higher Supplier switching cost is low. In such case, bargaining power of Suppliers is high. * Brand Identity – High Brand Identity and Trustworthiness of a Supplier increases the bargaining power of Suppliers. But, otherwise the bargaining power of suppliers is low. Measures for more Conducive Growth. The automobile industry across the world has great potential to trigger sustained employment, mobility, inter- sectoral industrial growth and thus conduce conditions for general economic and social well-being. However, there is need to promote and sustain international cooperation between Governments and industry. There is need for coordinated research and development, standardization of designs and broader technologies, effective cost cutting to enhance affordability and loosening of trade barriers across the globe. There are separate measures, which require addressing at the national and international levels. Some suggested steps at both levels are listed below. Suggestions at the national level. Further lessening the incidence of taxes and loosening of non-tariff barriers has to be attempted with a faster pace faster. A regime of single tax across the country is an ideal situation and possibilities of this should be explored. A vehicle retirement programme which will assist not only in fleet modernization and reduction of emission but will also provide quantum fillip to the demand should be put in place. There is a need to brief the international communities on technological and quality related capabilities of Indian automobile industry. Substantive efforts are required for educating opinion leaders and build a strong ‘Made in India’ brand in overseas markets. Existing incentives for promoting exports are considered inadequate. An institutional mechanism such as the Automobile Export Promotion Council, which can address industry-specific issues and facilitate exports is urgently required. Labor laws’ reforms to facilitate better productivity and reduction in manpower costs as has already been committed by the Government should be expedited. Greater tax incentive on expenditure incurred on research and development in automotive sector. Tariff rationalization and taming of avoidable competition between rail and road transport sectors should be carried out. In this unhealthy competition, both the industries are unable to realize their full potential. Easier availability of market credit for funding automobile acquisition is required. Despite lower interest rates, availability of easy credit in rural and semi-urban areas requires more focused attention. This can substantially spur the demand. Suggestions at the international level Serious and sustained dialogue on regional cooperation in automobile sector should begin at the earliest. Dialogue should be regular and focused in which Governments and industry should both engage. The recent statistics of custom duties show that the average tariff rates of different countries have declined. However, it has been noticed that the problem of high tariffs is still prevalent in certain sectors. These high tariffs are generally noticed in developed countries. Reduction of peak tariffs is necessary to facilitate free flow of automobiles. Non-tariff barriers should be phased out with mutual dialogue and consensus. Mutual recognition should be accorded to the testing and certification agencies in various countries. Countries should join hands in developing alternative fuels to replace the existing fossil fuels. Similar cooperation is required in other critical areas of technological development. Fragmented and limited research in each country may lead to delay and more expensive results. Affordability of quality automobiles should be focus of industry across the world to facilitate volumes and widespread ownership. Reasons of Growth. Economic liberalization, increase in per capita income, various tax relief policies, easy accessibility of finance, launch of new models and exciting discount offers made by dealers all together have resulted in to a stupendous growth of India automobile industry. Market Share Automobile industry of India can be broadly classified under passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, three wheelers and two wheelers, with two wheelers having a maximum market share of more than 75%. Automobile companies of India, Korea, Europe and Japan have a significant hold on the Indian market share. Tata Motors produces maximum numbers of mid and large size commercial vehicles, holding more that 60% of the market share. Motorcycles tops the charts of two wheelers with Hero Honda being the key player. Bajaj by far is the number one manufacturer of three wheelers in India. Passenger vehicle section is majorly ruled by the car manufacturers capturing over 82% of the total market share. Maruti since long has been the biggest car manufacturer and holds more that 50% of the entire market. Global recession has impacted, the Indian automobile industry also and can be seen clearly in the sales figures of the last financial year. Even then this industry has high hopes in 2009-2010, as banks have reduced loan interest rates and the major chuck of automobile customers belong to the middle income group who are becoming economically stronger with every passing day. Conclusions Easier and faster mobility of people and goods across the regions, countri.