Competitive Education Essay

In my opinion, Education is a holistic process of learning and development in an individual’s lifetime. While competitiveness, is the result of the basic survival instinct already inherent in an individual, or for that matter all living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For this reason, I believe education as a system shouldn’t undermine the importance of â€Å"competition† as a valuable tool employed to enhance the learning process, undermining which might consequently hinder the natural progress and development of a student. The need for a competitive education becomes all the more vital in preparing a student for the cut-throat competition that takes place in the real world, and in which â€Å"survival of the fittest† phenomenon applies in every aspect of an individual’s life. It starts early from sibling rivalry at home, to parents ensuring that the individual gets into the best school, again enrolling into the best college of choice, applying for scholarships, vying for the attention of the opposite sex, finding a suitable job, choosing the best prospective bride or groom, starting an enterprise and competing against other enterprises in the market etc. For better or for worse, â€Å"competition† is not limited to our personal lives but also thrives in our collective social, political, economic environment and not to forget in the field of sports. For instance, we all saw and openly displayed our enthusiasm and support for our department i. e. ITB during the cricket tournament and our players also felt motivated to outscore other Departments. Therefore, if competition is considered a positive and integral element in our progressive society, the question that arises is why should it be perceived as anything less or a threat in our education system? Competitive education system empowers a student to face challenges and not to shy away from them. It helps a student identify his/her strengths and weaknesses and further provides the necessary motivation to focus on the strengths and overcome the weaknesses. In academics a student will be able to assess what he/she has learnt so far in the class through oral and written examinations. In co-curricular activities, a student might be poor in sports but may be exceptional in painting. Through the means of competition, this student will be able to discover what he/she is good at and then focus on refining that particular skill, thereby a student will feel motivated to strive for excellence in the activity that brings out the best in him. Yes its true, in a competitive environment there is room for only one winner and for every winner to win the prize there must be a loser to take the fall, because failure is the much needed contrast to success and vice versa. Having said that, one can argue that â€Å"competition† is not about winning or losing but about giving our best. Salman Rushdie in his novel â€Å"midnight children† wrote: All games have morals; and the game of Snakes and Ladders captures, as no other activity can hope to do, the eternal truth that for every ladder you climb, a snake is waiting just around the corner; and for every snake, a ladder will compensate. † Therefore, a student in a competitive education system, in keeping with the spirit of competition can learn an important moral lesson of life: handling failures gracefully and perceiving it as a stepping stone to success. Ultimately, learning these crucial lessons from a competitive education system the easy way is better than learning from the unforgiving real world the hard way.

Interaction with teacher Essay

It was all what I wanted. It was what I dreamt of long before. But it was all taken for granted by the people around me. I was always the top student among all the six graders in our school, and due to that I am one of those whom they regards as their priceless gem because I always come up with something, like a new idea about a certain issue. I have been one of those sent for if there are contests. They say I act and think like an adult already. Not like any other regular students, I also happen to excel in sports and other curricular activities. I am also a runner. I have always been running on track since I was in grade three. I exerted much effort in it because it is my passion. Day after day I spend time in training and being exposed to tracks to win in future races but i never forget to maintain my good grades in my academics. In class, I have this very close teacher in Math. I also love Math at that time that is why I also like my teacher. It so happened that my Math teacher also happens to be our classroom adviser. Sometimes, after classes and I do not have any practice in the track, we always have chitchats and she would always advise me to pursue whatever dreams I have in mind and never to forget to remember the people around me that had help me in achieving things in life. She also told me not to be sidetracked and still give importance with my studies because that is the most important achievement in life. There were difficult times during my training but I still managed to persevere because I have a goal and that is to win. I never thought of quitting the training even how tired it gets. I continued to pursue my dreams and visions that one day I will reap my reward in due time if I will not fail and go frail. I can say that I am very determine and aggressive to reach my dreams that time. I think I just deserve every victory I get as i go along with my chosen path because of the diligence that I have manifested. Time came when I joined a race. Every people would know me would say that I have great chances of winning the first place because of my hard trainings and my trained skills. The event came and I was all set out to win the race but to my surprise, my coach talked to me in private and asked me not to win the first prize. I can be in second place or third place as long as I won’t be the champion. I was so devastated upon hearing this coming from my coach, my mentor, the one who served as my model. I wouldn’t know what to do. I was so troubled and kept thinking whether to agree and follow my coach or to go on the different way and achieve my dreams. It was the most difficult part of my life, to choose something that no one would be hurt. My conscience, my will to win and my loyalty to my coach we’re all fighting. What would I choose then? The event proper came, and the race started. I was on track and was leading. Many of my friends and families were all cheering for me. This made me more determined to go on faster and faster. The finish line is almost near when I remembered what my coach told me. My heart was beating as I saw the finish line. For the finish line would mean victory and success but for now, it meant devastation and tragedy for me. A few seconds before I reached the finish line I slowed down, giving the others opportunity to win. When I slowed down I noticed one girl who was always at my back during the track was now leading the race. Finally, the girl made it to the first place while I was the second placer. All my friends, families and relatives were all dismayed by what happened. They all expected that I would win the race. I was down and weary, to the point that it already affected my performance in school. I felt so ashamed and so coward for not fighting what is right. I have low self- esteem for quite some time and my grades got lower and lower. Then one Thursday afternoon, my Math teacher and classroom adviser called my attention. She and I talked in her office. I knew she was going to reprimand me for my poor performances at school. Well, at the back of my mind that time it was alright if she will reprimand me because I just deserve it. But to my surprise I was wrong, totally wrong. The moment I entered the room she smiled at me. Smile? Why would she smile to someone who is a loser? Then she offered me a seat. During those moments I am still very clueless on what would happen as we talk. Then she asked me if I am alright, so I said yes but I said it tears just fell on my eyes. She told me to be true to myself and whatever I feel I should share and let it out. So, I expressed my frustrations and everything that happened in the race. She told me that she understand why I was having low performances at school the past few weeks. But my life should not stop there. She told me that I am still very young and that many opportunities would still knock on my door and if that happens I should grab it immediately. She told me that everything happens for a reason and for a purpose that is to shape and mould us to become a much better person than what we are. She told me that my life should not end there because there is still so much in store for me in the future. Stubborn as I am, I told her that I do not want the future, what I want is now. She then answered me that I should live one day at a time and take one step at a time. With her words of wisdom, I was cheered. It really matters if you talk with someone who has a lot to say about life, like my teacher. I could not imagine that she would help me out because all along, I thought she was just a Math teacher, nothing more, but it was proven wrong. My teacher really touched my heart and transformed my life. After that talk, I started again and now with a positive outlook in life that no matter how I fall I should make a choice to rise up again. That was how I think even though I was just in sixth grade that time. Later it was found out that the father of the girl, who was the champion, paid my coach so that I won’t win at all. Imagine, all along my opponent knew that I was really something. They knew that I can really win the race that is why they were all threatened by my victory. I was a threat to everyone who was in the race that eventually made the father of the other girl bribe my coach to destroy my vision, my goals. But no matter how they put me down, the truth came out and it was on my side. Success, winning and victory are not about running a race after all. It is more of having a clear conscience that you made it that far because you never cheated, hurt anyone and stepped on other’s shoes for you own gain. I thank my teacher for the words of wisdom she has shared to me during the lowest point in my life. Teachers really do make a difference in this world. They are not just there to teach you academically but they are always there to support you and mould your being for you to become a better individual that every society dreams of having especially in this cruel world right now.

Mabe Case Essay

Internationalization Strategy MABE has a good internationalization strategy with widely spread manufacturing plants in Mexico and Latin America, such as Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. It relies highly on acquisitions and JVs with local brands to lower manufacturing cost and increase its market share by entering different markets. This strategy is valuable as it decreases net costs and increases net revenues. It is rare because one third of all gas, electric ranges and refrigerators sold in the U.S. are manufactured by MABE. It is also hard to imitate as MABE spent many years to develop its plants in Mexico and Latin America, thus, competitors would face a cost disadvantage in developing similar strategy. Its products can be easily substituted as GE is still one of the largest competitors. However, MABE has exploited the full potential of this strategy in the international market. Research & Development In the early stage of development, MABE formed alliance with GE and took advantage of the foreign technology and penetrated new market. Later on, it developed higher and more sophisticated technical skills and decreased reliance on GE and developed its proprietary technology. It has used its R&D capability to exploit opportunities in the electric stoves, refrigerators, dish washing machines and clothing dryers markets. Thus, its R&D skill is valuable. Also, it is rare and non-substitute because very few competitors possess these skills and it will be costly for competitors to duplicate. MABE exploits its R&D by constant adaptation and innovation to ensure success in the growing appliance market. Organizational Culture MABE has a well-established multinational organizational culture. It hired engineering graduates and assigned them with seasoned MABE and GE executives. It used GE’s methodology of â€Å"action learning† so that multidisciplinary teams of executives can work together to recommend ways to enter into new markets. This organizational culture is valuable as it plays an important role in shaping management and employees’ values, expectations, behaviors, and experiences. It is not rare as many multinational firms have good organizational culture. Notwithstanding, it is non-substitutable because organizational structure is set up by many years of business experience and every organization has its own typical organizational  culture, so it is hard to imitate from one to another. MABE is organized to fully exploit its resources and capabilities. Summary: MABE has a sustainable competitive advantage in the international market because it takes advantage of all of its uni que resources and capabilities and continue to expand its market and remain competitive. External Analysis Porter’s five forces Degree of Rivalry — Moderate to High In the Russian appliance industry, majority of the market share is shared among Indesit, Bosch-Siemens and LG. MABE occupies less than 1 percent of market share and falls far behind 9 other major competitors. Due to the market size (i.e. $3 billion) and profitability (i.e. two times the average operating margin), the appliance market is attractive to foreign investors. Thus, the degree of rivalry is moderate to high. Threat of Substitute — Low to Moderate Before entering the appliance industry, initial capital and technologies are required. MABE has existed for a while now and has continuously produced good quality appliances, therefore, no better substitute for stove, freezer and washing machine are available. However, due to weather conditions, living habits and customs, the consumption of canned food may substitute the freezer sales as it is convenient and easy to store. Hence, the threat of substitute is low to moderate. Threat of New Entrants — Moderate to high The threat of new entrants in Russia is moderate to high. On one hand, new entrants need to consider Russia’s culture, low foreign acceptance, trust issues, economic environment and unstable political position before entering Russian market. All these factors may result in potential risks in business. Conversely, the profitability of the appliance market in Russia attracts new entrants to the industry. Bargaining power of Buyers — Moderate to high Customers have many options in the Russia appliance industry. They can select products based on their preferences as there are nearly 9 strong brands to satisfy buyers various needs. Thus, the bargaining power of buyers is  moderate to high. Bargaining power of Supplier — Low to Moderate Suppliers have low to moderate bargaining power. When production is done by the JV, the supplier will have low bargaining power but when production is outsourced, supplier tend to have moderate bargaining power. Conclusion: Based on the analysis, the Russian economy is favorable with growing potential for the JV to exploit. Nevertheless, they have to pay more attention to the intensified rivalry and political and economic status and learn about customers’ needs as well as strive to increase economy of scale in order to achieve competitive advantage and increase profit and market share. PESTEL Analysis Political Russian State has high involvement and enormous influence over business activities and decision making. Moreover, there is political instability, weak legislative and enforcement regimes as well as immense corruption and bribery at all level. Therefore, it is vital that MABE understand the political risk when entering the market as it could have negative impact on their business as well as their reputation. Economic In 2008, the Russian economy was devastated by the recession which affected its monetary system. Among the BRIC countries, Russia has the highest FDI, per capita and discretionary incomes. It is also the world’s largest gas reserve and the second largest oil reserve. However, Russia economy offers low entry to small and medium size companies and its financial system is monopolized by one big bank resulting in a rather small domestic investment by locals and loan difficulty. Notwithstanding, there are still numerous opportunities for development that MABE can take advantage of if they can implement a method to handle these issues. Sociocultural Russia has a collective culture with informal social orientation and considers trust as a prominent factor in doing business especially with foreigners and it takes a considerable amount of time for foreign firms to earn the trust of locals. Therefore, the adaptation of MABE to the Russian cultural cues is essential. Furthermore, Russia is facing comparative  problems of population abatement, human capital deterioration, high mortality, low level of life expectancy, health and knowledge. In spite of the Russia’s vast natural resources, their declining human capital, low level of knowledge and other related issues have limited its social and economic development which will pose a problem for MABE to extract high skilled and competent workers. Technological Technological innovation and improvement is one of the main success factor to achieve competitive advantage in the appliance sector. In a merging market like Russia, with increasing competition, it is imperative that MABE invest more in technology improvement, innovation and development so as to stay abreast with the rapidly changing technological environment and improve their business efficiency, performance and competitiveness. Environmental Russia environment can be quiet hostile for foreign investment with several laws and regulations pertaining to environmental protection. For instance, doing AIDS test to obtain work permit and also, the hiring of several local work force in order for business to successfully operate in Russia. Additionally, there have been energy consumption regulations imposed by most government including Russia. Thus, MABE has to take into consideration these requirements and conditions. Legal Russia has had weak legislative and enforcement regimes with increasing corruption and bribery. Its biased legal and judicial systems, corrupt law enforcement, weak capital market institutions and poor private property right protection has relatively formed and increased the volatility and instability of its economy. This will lead to the loss of interest of existing and potential foreign firms to do business there. C onclusion Russia has an attractive and profitable appliance market with high technical innovation capabilities. However, the poor legislative and judicial system with a corrupt government that highly influences business practices makes it quite challenging and risky for entry into the country. Despite its social impediment and structure, there is still opportunities for successful entry in the market and for the joint venture to achieve its goal, it must adjust  itself to the Russian environment. CAGE Analysis Cultural Distance Administration and Political Distance Geographical Distance Economical Distance Attributes creating distance -Different languages, -Different religions, -Different ethnicity, Different social norms -Absence of colonial ties, -Different monetary system & currencies -Government policies -Different country size -Different climate -Limited sea access -Difference in customer income Cultural distance: Russia and Mexico have very distinct cultures. They have different languages, ethnicity, social norms and religions, hence, there is a huge cultural difference between them. Administration and Political Distance: Both country’s government have high influence on all aspect of business and other operations in the country. Although they suffer from the same poor political and legislative system as well as corruption and bribery, some administration and political differences still exist. Geographical Distance: Due to the large geographic distance between Russia and Mexico, goods can be exchange via transportation and most communication through information system. Economical Distance: Russia and Mexico are developing countries with similar economic situations such as average salary, GDP and population size. In this regards, the economic distance is little. Conclusion Russia and Mexico are somewhat similar in term of their political, economic and administrative situations while very different in term of culture and geography. However, as many factors need to be considered to adjust to the changes, the JV must adapt to the Russia environment. Alternative and Recommendation Decision Criteria Mabe has to make a decision based on its business objectives and these will be discussed below: International expansion Whether or not MABE decides to stop or continue with the JV, it will most likely still seek to go to other markets in the world since the JV was a result of its aim of wanting to explore new regions of the world and expand to other markets. If it decides to stay, it may partner with a local manufacturer in Russia as discussed in our third alternative or if Mabe decides to leave Russia, it may seek to enter into other markets in other regions of the world but these markets will also have their potential threats in addition to their opportunities and benefits. Business growth The major aim of Mabe wanting to expand operations to other regions of the world is to grow its business. In order to ensure that this happens, Mabe will have to tailor its next step on what to do about its JV in Russia to something that not only helps it expand to other countries, but one that also increases the growth of the business. Other factors Whether or not Mabe decides to continue with its present JV, go into another JV in Russia or go to another region of the world, it has to consider the current market situation there and the major market players to see if it can gain adequate market share that will sustain its business there. In addition to this, it also has to consider the business culture in the region and see  if its business can fit into their ways of doing things there. The available opportunities in those regions also matter but this may not be a huge problem in emerging markets unlike under developed regions. Even in the midst of these available opportunities, Mabe has to see if it has the resources that will enable it benefit from these opportunities. Another important factor is the threats in the region since they can serve as a major hindrance to not only taking advantage of opportunities, but also the growth of the business as a whole. The environment in which a business operates in goes a long way in determining how well it will perform. More on the external environment has been discussed in our external business analysis section. Alternatives Pros Cons -Strong customer purchasing power -Low economic and financial risk -Relatively lower cost of manufacturing -Transportation system is well established -Large number of potential business partners and investors -The level of price sensitivity is high. Thus, how to set up proper price becomes critical -Faces intense competition, i.e. Haier, Midea, Mitsubishi -A high level of government regulation and business requirements -Relative a high level of local bribery Recommendation According to the internal and external analysis, MABE should form a new joint venture with a Russian company for growth. Russia have one of the largest appliance market in the world with an impressive profit margin. However, it is relatively difficult and challenging to do business in Russia due to its political structure, sociocultural and economic environment. It’s best for MABE to work with a local Russian partner who knows the system and has extensive line of network in order to reduce the various connected risks. Furthermore, by entering the Russian market, Mabe will fully exploit its  resources and capabilities and will achieve its objectives of international expansion, business growth and increase in market share. Therefore, Alternative 3 is recommended. Implementation In order to resolve the above issue, it is important for MABE’s executives to comprehend and gain extensive knowledge of Russia’s business system and environment in order to be competitive. To implement the recommended alternative, a short and long term plan is discussed below. Short-run implementation Plan (See Exhibit 1) Phase 1 (day 1-7): A board meeting need be held to discuss and form a research team. A professional market analysts and few expatriates of MABE should travel to Russia on an exploratory visit to understand Russia market and find a reliable Russian manufacturer. At the same time, the research team should also hire local employees who are acquainted with the appliances market in Russia. In addition, the expatriates and executives should begin to learn the language and gain more knowledge about Russian culture because it helps to communicate with local manufacturers and employees in order to effectively operate the JV. Phase 2 (day 8-12): The research team should be divided into several groups to collect more information and make sure every aspect is considered. The groups should regularly meet to exchange information and insights to ensure that the current situation in Russia is updated. In this case, the advantage and disadvantage of each potential Russian company could be listed orderly by professional market analysts. Meanwhile, expatriates should keep learning. Phase 3 (day 13-19): Presentation should be well prepared for board members to show the knowledge and analysis about potential Russian partner. Board members will analyze and negotiate with these manufactures based on what is on the list. Phase 4 (day 20-31): With the help of lawyers, a contract will be drafted and negotiated with local partner about the business model, routine, strategy and management structure. Negotiation should not be stopped until the two companies are satisfied with the details. Phase 5 (day 29-38): The final contract should be prepared and signed by MABE and local partner. Then, the new Joint Venture would be set up and operation would begin. Long-run  Implementation Plan MABE should focus on the fastest growing segment, that is, the small and middle end products to increase profit and should show concern for the local employees and society by increasing salary, offering employee benefit and donating to the society. With extensive knowledge of Russia economy, MABE could forecast on the future trend of the Russian market and develop new strategies to compete in future situations There should be vast and continuous investment in R&D, technical innovations and process improvement in order to increase efficiency and competitiveness After fully develop in Russia, MABE could expand their reach in larger international markets like China to take advantage of the numerous growth opportunities. Contingency Plan If the recommended alternative does not work out, we would recommend that JV be dissolved and Mabe should exit the Russian market to another emerging market like South Africa. This is because it is relatively easy to do business there; it will help Mabe gain more presence in Africa as a whole which is politically and macro-economically stable with competitive labor costs. In addition, the country has better patent and copyright laws that will protect its innovations and designs from knockoffs as opposed to some other emerging markets like China.

Moholy-Nagy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Moholy-Nagy - Essay Example Moholy Nagy suggests that the only solution to deal with the nature of the contemporary economy is to innovate and design equipment that can produce large volumes of a particular type of homogenous product that can satisfy the needs of the people. Historically, the house representing the economy was not so complicated compared to today’s economy. The current economy is comprised of rising demand which means that a particular type of product can be demanded at the same time. This means that production of the same product has to be increased. Moholy-Nagy argues that it is not enough to improve the form of product but how the product is produced as a means of contributing to the performance of the entire economy. His contributions have influenced significant changes in the world of typography and design during the contemporary period. The current economy demands that we move towards mass production of the products that are demanded by the consumers. This has compelled the people to design new â€Å"prototypes† or rather equipment that can be used to produce the demanded products in large quantities. Moholy’s contribution has influenced the design of new technology to manufacture different goods meant to sati sfy the needs of different people. This mechanization has significantly contributed towards the development of the entire economy. This means that the new improvements have also played a pivotal role in improving the welfare of the people. Today, the economy is mainly determined by mechanization and mass production. We need to experiment with things in order to design prototypes that are meant to improve our entire way of life by means of economic production. As we move towards modernism, it is a virtue to harness art and design to come up with the best type of equipment that can enhance economic development. Our current economy demands effective and efficient means of production and this can only be possible through

See below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

See below - Essay Example The capillaries play an important role in healing a wound. The four overlapping phases are used to explain the healing process. This is a systematic phenomenon. The four phases include homeostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and maturation. Homeostasis is a process which involves the platelets to form clots. Furthermore, the inflammatory cells deride injured tissue during the inflammatory phase. Epithelialization, fibroplasia, and angiogenesis occur during the proliferative phase (Romo III, n.d). The hemorrhage caused by disruption in the blood vessels is controlled by clot formation which contains fibrin mesh with aggregated platelets embedded in it. Fibrin is the end product of coagulation pathway which causes homeostasis to take place. It provides a scaffold for the migration of inflammatory and mesenchymal cells (Wound Healing, n.d). Platelet aggregation leads to release of cytokines. These cytokines influence wound healing either directly or indirectly. The processes of clot f ormation and platelet aggregation halt when stimuli for clot formation fritter away. Lysis of clot starts along with clot formation and is mediated by plasminogen activator. This activator converts plasminogen to plasmin (Wound Healing, n.d). The second phase is called inflammation. It starts when the tissue trauma stimulates the inflammatory response. â€Å"Immediately after injury intense local vasoconstriction occurs, mediated by circulating catecholeamines and prostaglandins released by injured cells. This is followed by vasodilatation and increased capillary permeability resulting in local edema. This is mediated by histamine, kinins, prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and endothelial cell products† (Wound Healing, n.d). The tissue does not observe presence of any leukocytes as yet. The wounded tissues contain neutrophils which hare the first leukocytes to appear in the wounded tissues. They phagocytose damaged tissue or bacteria. Neutrophils themselves are phagocytosed by ma crophages (Wound Healing, n.d). There are a few symptoms observed when the wound is healing because of the physiological changes. The pH change is observed because of the breakdown of tissues and bacteria which also causes pain. This also results in swelling and decreased tissue oxygenation due to disruption of blood vessels (Wound Healing n.d). Furthermore, the white blood cells namely monocytes and lymphocytes start performing their functions in the healing process. Monocytes turn into macrophages when these white blood cells migrate from capillaries into extra vascular space. Macrocytes phagocytose bacteria and tissue debris and secrete enzymes called collagenase and elastase, which are responsible for breaking down damaged matrix (Wound Healing, n.d). Lymphocytes produce various factors like HB-EGF (Heparin binding epidermal growth factor) and basic fibroblast growth factor. Adding on to this, they are also involved in cellular and humoral immunity. Neutrophilis dominate for the initial 24-48 but 48-72 hours later they are outnumbered by macrophages which persist for a few days. However, after 5-7 days fibroblasts are the principal cell type (Wound Healing, n.d). The third phase called proliferation constitutes epithelialization, fibroplasias and angiogenesis. Epithelialization is the â€Å"process of covering a denuded surface with epithelium† (Medical Dictionary, n.d). Fibroplasia is another part of the proliferative phase. It

The Radicalism of Osama Bin Laden Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

The Radicalism of Osama Bin Laden - Case Study Example Osama Bin Laden, a Saudi citizen, was born to a self-made Saudi construction billionaire.   His family life was somewhat unstable as evidenced in the fact that his mother was his father’s tenth wife and was divorced early in his childhood.   With three half brothers and sisters from his mother’s side and over fifteen from his father’s, it would be hard to assume that he benefited from a stable home environment. Nevertheless, while his family life may have been unstable, familial wealth afforded him countless opportunities and experiences.   These included education in the best private schools in Saudi Arabia, education in Europe and the United States as well as unlimited world travel and contact with the global economic and social elite (Jacquard, 2002). Despite these and countless other opportunities, Bin Laden exhibited a persistent tendency towards religious fanaticism and upon the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, joined the mujahedeen forces. Born in 195 7, Bin Laden’s childhood period coincided with the collapse of colonialism and the rise of Arab and Islamic nationalism. His childhood and youth, therefore, unfolded during a period of politically inspired religious and nationalistic fervor. The degree to which the stated influenced him is amply evidenced in his response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. As Gunaratna (2002) explains, bin Laden immediately responded to the United States’ call for the liberation of Afghanistan, a Muslim territory, from the atheistic communist forces headed by the Soviet Union and joined the ranks of the mujahideen. During this period he was exposed to extremist Islamic ideology and, according to Gunaratna (2002, p. 21), was afforded the opportunity to establish â€Å"close relationships with several religious authorities,† most of whom like Omar Abdel Rahman, were living in exile having The times into which Osama Bin Laden was born and the way he interacted with and responded to them determined his evolution into a terrorist. It is within the context of these times that the events of September 11th assume a type of inevitability.

Women in Mathematics, Science & Engineering Essay

Women in Mathematics, Science & Engineering - Essay Example Lewis (2011) documents 10 women who have made contributions to the field of mathematics for as early as 355 AD. These women include Hypatia of Alexandria (370 – 415 AD), a Greek philosopher, astronomer, mathematician, Elena Cornaro Piscopia (1646-1684) an Italian mathematician, theologian and Composer, Maria Agnesi (1718-1799) an Italian claimed to be the first woman university of mathematics. Others include,Sophie Germain (1776-1830) a French mathematician, Mary Fairfax Somerville (1780-1872) a Scottish and British mathematician also known as "Queen of Nineteenth Century Science," Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) a whose the Ada computer language after, Charlotte Angas Scott(1848-1931) an English, American mathematician and educator, Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850-1891) a Russian mathematician, Alicia Stott (1860-1940) an English mathematician and Amalie Emmy Noether (1882-1935) a German, Jewish, American mathematician (Etzkowitz, Kemelgor and Uzzi 45-100). Notably there are a number of wo men who have participated and made considerable contridutions in the field of sciences as early as the medieval age. Trotula di Ruggiero was the chair at the Medical School of Salerno in the 11th century. She has been credited in influential texts in obstetrics and gynecology (Leigh 65-80). Dorotea Bucca was also the chair of philosophy and medicine at the University of Bologna from 1390. Other women physicians from Italy included Abella, Jacobina Felicie, Alessandra Giliani, Rebecca de Guarna, Margarita, Mercuriade, Constance Calenda, and Calrice di Durisio among others. The participation and contribution of these Italian women physician was attributed to the liberal approach of the Italian Universities. Other notable achievements by women in science and physics in the nineteenth century include Florence Nightingale credited in pioneering nursing as a discipline; she was also a pioneer in public health and a statistician. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was the first British woman with medical 1865. In America it was Elizabeth Blackwell. Astronomical photography was also pioneered by Annie Scott Dill Maunder. In the 20th century women notables in science include Marie Curie a Nobel price winner in Physics in 1903 (physics), and chemistry in 1911. In 1939, Lise Meitner credited for pioneering nuclear fission. Margaret Fountaine has made significant contributions in botany and entomology (Leigh 65-80). An analysis of female Nobel Prize laureates’ shows out of the fourty one women who have won the prestigious award between 1901 and 2010, sixteen of them have been in the field physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine (Ruth 100-150). Despite the above success stories there are several challenges that have inhibited women from pursuing Sciences and Mathematics. They include stereotypes, cultural practices, social prejudices, preferences and tastes, family orientation, the church etc. For instance St Thomas Aquinas was of the view that women were incapable of ho lding positions of authority, some cultures discourage women from participation in fields and activities regarded to as manly, some prejudices that a female is a weaker sex thus cannot comprehend technical aspects of science, there are workplace discrimination based on gender etc. (Ruth 100-150). 2.0 Challenges, issues and opportunities The issues of underrepresentation by women in sciences start early. In the US, girls account for athird of the students opting for physics at the high-school level. Those who secure placement in computer

BOOK SUMMARY ANALYSES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

BOOK SUMMARY ANALYSES - Essay Example Form creates expectations within the viewer because it presents a picture of an entire whole into which the various elements fit comfortably; as a result when a work of art is incomplete in some aspect for instance, it appears unbalanced. Viewer’s perception of form in a work of art arises from within the work and from prior experiences . Emotions represented in film also fall within the category of form because they determine how a viewer is likely to respond to the depiction of emotion in the work. A spectator’s emotional response is also elated to form, because it will enhance or detract from the viewer’s perception of the meaning of the work of art. Meaning is a vital element of form and is important for the experience of the entire work. Every work of art is attributed a deeper meaning or significance based upon the overall context within which the work of art occurs; for example the form in the film Wizard of Oz is attributed on the basis of the meaning of transition into adulthood itself. Overall form has the following components: (a) function, i.e, the role of the element in the overall system (b) similarity and repetition of individual motifs in the film (c) differences and variations of elements in the film (d) the development and/or progression of elements and (e) the unity or disunity among the elements. As a result, form may be summarized as the specific pattern of relationships which is perceived within an artwork. According to Beardwell and Thompson, narrative is the way that human beings make sense of the world. The narrative form of filmmaking tells a story and it is the most common kind of film narration format that is used. In essence, a narrative may be said to be a chain of events occurring in a cause-effect type of relationship over a period of time. The narrative form has three basic elements – causality, time and space. The narrative film format is like telling a story – it could be focused upon one

Explain the structure and objectives of the UK and US regulatory Essay

Explain the structure and objectives of the UK and US regulatory systems and assess whether they are capable of regulating the f - Essay Example It will then discuss the Dodd-Frank Act passed by the United States Congress and conclude with an estimation of the efforts of both countries. UK Financial Regulatory Measures In the UK several reports were made that reviewed the global recession crisis with the purpose of offering corrective suggestions that would bear on the regulation the financial service industry. The important ones were the Turner Review, The Treasury White Paper on Reforming Financial Market, and the Walker Report that dealt with corporate governance. The first important report was produced by Lord Adair Turner. In May, 2008 Turner was appointed Chairman of the Financial Services Authority. By the Bank of England Act 1998, the Tripartite Authorities was created consisting of the Her Majesty's (HM) Treasury, the Bank of England, and the newly created Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA took over bank supervision services from the Bank of England. Turner is an insider of the both the UK and the US financ ial markets. In the United States he worked for Chase Manhattan Bank from 1979-92 and for Merrill Lynch Europe where he serviced as Vice-Chairman during the period of the recession, 2000-2006. In 1994, Turner became a director of the influential American consulting firm McKinsey & C. Turner presented a formal talk to the Bank of India in February, 2010. The event was the 14th C.D. Deshmukh Memorial Lecture. He made several observations that foretold ways in which the U.K. would be concerned with meeting the economic crisis. Financial transaction taxes could be used to control Short-term speculative inflows. Capital requirments against trading activities and leverage constraints on bank and non-bank trades were practical tools Macro-prudential tools could be used to warn off asset price bubbles and not interest rate levers. Turner's remarks were essentially in accord with the May, 2009 Turner Review. The review went against the efficient market theory that was often used to support a stance of self-correcting markets. It stated, "Market efficiency does not imply market rationality", making a note of "self-reinforcing herd effects and of prices overshooting rational equilibrium levels" (Turner, p. 40). Suggestions made by the report included raising the amount of capital in the global banking system; requiring capital against book trading activities; enforcing the role of regulators to avoid and check unnecessary procyclicality; introducing a maximum gross leverage ratio; intense supervision of bank liquidity positions and use of a core funding ratio to be reflected on balance sheets. Regulation should be based on economic substance as opposed to legal form and unregulated financial institutions should fall under the authorities of regulates. Regulation standards under global agreements should apply to offshore financial centers. Retail depositors should be generously covered by deposit insurance. Credit rating agencies were addressed to avoid conflicts of inter est under dictates of good governance and structured finance ratings should stand review within the Basell II framework. Credit Default Swaps should fall under "clearing and central counterparty systems". Macro-prudential analysis should be used by the Bank of England and the FSA and

Brand Management Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Brand Management - Term Paper Example Brand orientation refers to the case where a company or business organization formulates its marketing strategies based on brands. It is a company’s inclination towards the dealing with different brands as a marketing strategy (Urde 1). Brand Management: Definition and Related Concepts Brand management This refers to the analyses of all factors and aspects related to a brand and then coming up with a strategic plan to have a uniformly distributed brand. It involves the use of marketing strategies in ensuring that the users of a particular product do not shift their interest from the brand in question. Brand awareness This refers to the ability of the consumers of a particular product to identify and classify the product among other competing products and associate it with the manufacturer (Urde 10). It enables the consumer to know what the brand has that can make it more preferable to the others. It is important for the management to ensure that awareness is carried out concerning the company’s product since no customer will buy a product he does not understand. Brand valuation This is the establishment of the financial value of a brand. Brand valuation has important applications both in strategic brand management and in financial transaction. In the former case, brand valuation ‘focuses mainly on internal audiences by providing tools and processes to manage and increase the economic value of brands’ (Brand Valuation 10).

Social Media and Innovation Essay Example for Free

Social Media and Innovation Essay Methodology The purpose of this literature review is to explore recorded literature and evidence relating to social media and innovation. The research method for the review consisted of by surveying a total of 20 articles; 15 journal and conference-proceeding works, and five practitioner articles centered on the topic in different contexts. A selection of trusted databases were accessed through MSU Libraries Electronic Resources in the search to find articles, include the ACM Digital Library, the IEEE IET Electronic library, Proquest and Google. All of the studied literature exists between the years of 2010 and 2012. Table 2 (p. 10) reflects the articles that were used in this review, listing the author and title of the work, the implication of the study, and any limitations of the study noted. Different combinations of keywords were used to extract literature related to the topic, for example: social media and innovation, social product innovation, and web 2.0 and innovation, and many other configurations. The executive summaries and abstracts of the articles included were briefed to ensure relevancy, and later the articles themselves were reviewed in entirety. To make the task of reviewing the bulk of literature streamlined, and manageable key points were recorded for each article. The notes contain the main takeaways for the articles: the authors’ purpose of the research or studies conducted, the main points, and claims most relevant to the general subject, the key findings, or results of the studies conducted, the challenges faced (regarding the specific research/studies themselves, and those relating to the broader topic) and lastly, the recommendations offered, if any, including those applying to future research in the area of the study, or those involving the companies and entities covered in the research. A table compiling all of this important information will be provided for quick comparison of the different contexts that social media and innovation were applied to. The research yielded a variety of perspectives regarding established literature and research in the area of social media and innovation, in addition to the real-world application of various social media and innovation models and evaluation of their performance. This literature review will explore the perspectives, claims and findings of the articles included highlighting similarities and contrasts to discuss gaps and overlaps. Recommendations for future research in the area will be provided in the conclusion. Introduction The term social media most commonly falls under the guise of the some of the most popular social networking websites to date, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Linked In. Truthfully, the phenomenon that is social media involves more than just photo sharing and status updates. Social media networks are powerful tools when used for knowledge creation and shared creativity. A more contemporary field of study, social media and innovation tends to branch off into other areas like crowdsourcing, and open innovation. These platforms enable virtual communities, or groups of people using social technologies for collaboration efforts, of all kinds to execute tasks, solve problems, express ideas, and function in a group environment. To date, collaborative thinking has been proven to aid in the innovation process. The central idea is that groups of users possess crowd-wisdom (sometimes referred to as â€Å"the wisdom of the crowd†). It is a term describing the relative expertise or p otential of knowledge available from a crowd of people as opposed to restricted internal â€Å"experts.† In, â€Å"Rising Creativity and Participation in Innovation and Knowledge Management Activities,† Gourova Toteva describe the effect that involving the â€Å"crowd† has had on product development specifically in the business sector. â€Å"The shift from vertical to a horizontal production model has brought changes in the innovation process, whereas end users and external stakeholders provide additional benefits to organizations, which are increasingly using the wisdom of the crowd.† (Gourova Toteva, 2011) With the evolution of the Internet’s landscape brought on by social networks and social technologies, comes the shift in methods of productivity. Crowd collaboration is at the heart of social media and innovation models, and according to the articles has began to cause somewhat of a stir in organizations’ creative and development areas. Holtzblatt Tierney (2011) warn that â€Å"iterating and developing ideas in isolation or with limited awareness of similar research in other parts of the organization can present missed opportunities and duplication of effort. â€Å" Collaborative innovation processes via social media networks have potential to manifest effective results when utilizing u ser-driven innovation activities. â€Å"Socially-enabling innovation processes can have positive effects on outcomes when participation is broadened, and greater dialogue around ideas is fostered. (Holtzblatt Tierney, 2011) The article â€Å"Six Key Takeaways on Social Media and Innovation from Digital Marketing Pioneer Porter Gale,† stressed the importance of the shift of one-way dialogue into real conversations, and urged firms to get to know their channels and customers, and to look beyond a numbers-only approach to measuring success. â€Å"Results are not always return-on-investment; returns may also be made by added fans/followers or with enhanced customer engagement.† (Arthur, 2012) Firms and organizations, realizing the advantageous properties of social media networks have began to use them, attempting to reap the benefits of them. Research and Development, product and software innovations, and internal employee communications to help garner virtual communities are just a few of the areas in which social technologies have been applied to help innovation. Social media and innovation is an area in which the common practices and functions of social networks are manipulated, exposing the greater potential of productivity that they withhold, and so often, not credited for. The studies included in this review feature real-world applications of social media networks in business and in development, and theoretical evidence that the models merging social technologies and the innovation process have the potential to be successful. Summary of Literature The articles chosen for this review were extracted from the different databases mentioned previously. The literature explores social media and innovation from different perspectives, and how both the internal and external innovation process can be enhanced using social media. The variance of perspectives and focuses from different authors fostered a host of different terms and models relating to social media and innovation. Below, table 2 illustrates the different keywords and key terms used in the literature, their definitions and the title and author of the work that contains those terms. Table (1) Social Media + Innovation keywords Term| Definition| Author Work| Open innovation; open innovation model| A method for capturing value form technology innovation- whether that innovation occurs within or outside the organization.| Defining Open.(Gobble, 2012)| Crowdsourcing| The act of accessing the â€Å"wise crowd† for ideas and solutions (term coined by Jeff Howe).| The Revolution Will be Shared: Social Media and Innovation(Anonymous, 2011)| Web 2.0| Technologies that enable users to communicate create content and share it with each other via communities, social networks and virtual worlds.| Social Media Use and Potential in Business-to- Business Companies’ Innovation.(Jussila et al, 2010| Social product innovation| The practice of leveraging social media technologies in the innovation process.| Kalypso: Social Media and Product Innovation Research Findings.(Anonymous, 2011)| Innovation-related collaboration| Collaboration activities utilized in the innovation process.| Social Media Use and Potential in Business-to-Business Companies’ Innovation. (Jussila, 2010)| Communities of creation| Groups of people who engage in generation of ideas for future products and services, actively discuss, further elaborate and test them.| Virtual Worlds as Collaborative Innovation and Knowledge Platform.(Fuller et al, 2012)| User-driven innovation| An approach in which users are the sources of ideas, drivers of the design, and decision makers throughout the design process.| Practical Model for User-Driven Innovation in Agile Software Development.(Koskela et. al, 2011)| Co-creation| Describes the active role of users.| Platform Model for User-Driven Innovation in Agile Software Development. (Koskela et. al, 2011)| Customer Communities| Communities of a company’s end-users. | Benefits of Social Media in Business-to-Business Customer Interface.(Jussila et al, 2011)| User-driven innovation| Describes users contributions to challenges launched by companies. | Practical Model for User-Driven Innovation Agile Software Development.(Koskela, 2011)| Lead user| Active in idea development over an extended period of time.| Getting Customers’ Ideas to Work for You: Learning from Dell How to Succeed With Online User Innovation Communities(Gangi et al, 2010)| Crowd Futurology| Refers to the â€Å"forum of the future.† Social media crowdsouced environment.| | Enterprise 2.0| Describes social networking software to support and enhance the continuously changing and emergent collaborative structures across enterprise| Governing Web 2.0(Dedene et al, 2011)| Wisdom of crowds| The characteristic of crowds to create content, solve problems and even do corporate research.| Raising Creativity and Participation in Innovation and Knowledge Management Activities. (Gourova Toteva, 2011)| Enterprise social innovation| Method that allows companies to take advantage of extensive networks, by providing open channels of communication and stimulating innovation.| Enterprise 2.0 and Semantic Technologies for Open Innovation Support(Carbone et al, 2010)| User Innovation Communities| Virtual community of customers that participate with organizations in RD.| The Next Digital Wave Using Social Media (Accenture, 2012)| Social media and innovation begins with one concept: social media technologies. Each article that was studied for this literature review, emphasized in one way or another, the revolutionary power that these technologies possess. Though different terms were used to describe the technologies, such as web 2.0, enterprise 2.0, and social technologies, the consensus between the authors is that they hold much potential (and often times untapped) to foster successful creative and productive environments. Real World Application/ Challenges The literature reflects a variance in knowledge, and evidence available in the social media and innovation area, directly affecting the rate of adoption of companies and organizations. The articles studied for this review were published in the past two years. The general trend is that the older pieces (2010-2011) reflect a lack of knowledge, resources, and statistics regarding social media and innovation. Jussila et al (2010) identified four major challenges responsible absence of innovation processes using social media technologies in business to business companies: lack of understanding possibilities of social media in innovation, difficulties of assessing financial gains from social media, difficulties in adopting new mental models and practices needed for adoption, and lack of evidence of similar using social media in innovation. (Jussila et al, 2010) The authors identify one cause being a â€Å"relatively scarce† amount of information in the area, and â€Å"fragmentedâ⠂¬  theoretical and empirical research. (Jussila et al, 2010) Similarly, Bettina Mikko (2010) agreed that â€Å"the literature is relatively scarce concerning open innovation in the specific channel on online communities. (Bettina Mikko, 2010) Despite the lack of knowledge, they acknowledge efforts to incorporate these type of â€Å"open† collaboration activities.â€Å" Although some firms have adopted these principles, the way for users to communicate their ideas to the firms remain underutilized with a few exceptions.† (Bettina Mikko, 2010) A general lack of knowledge in the area of social media and innovation is not the only cited issue relating to real-world applications of models and policies. In the article, â€Å"Social Media and Product Innovation Research Findings,† (2011) a survey of more than 90 manufacturing and service companies revealed that 70 percent of the participating companies â€Å"are using or were planning to use social media for product innovation,† but of those respondents, less than half had an implementation and/or management strategy in place. Forty-six percent of respondents revealed a lack of knowledge regarding effective approaches. (Anonymous, 2011) The article notes one of the causes of this trend as the lack of knowledge among companies’ uncertainty of benefits (of social media innovation strategies) and leading practices. (Anonymous, 2011) Gangi et al (2010) acknowledges the potential of business models using social technologies to engage users as a competitive advantage, but also lists challenges companies face in implementation: 1) understanding users ideas posted, 2) identifying the best ideas, 3) balancing needs for transparency against disclosure (protecting user-submitted ideas for competitors, 4) sustaining the community (developing strategies for interacting with the community to sustain user participation. Koskela et al (2011) confirms the claim that â€Å"companies do not have enough knowledge of utilizing user’s input and social media-based interaction in innovation and software activities,† in the article† Practical Model for User-Driven Innovation in Agile Software Development.† A changing of perspectives occurs in the articles written between 2011-2012. Gourova Toteva (2011) argue that the rate of adoption of creative activities involving customers in the process is increasing in companies. The authors concluded the article â€Å"Rising Creativity and Participation in Innovation and Knowledge Management Activities,† by stating â€Å"Nowadays social media is increasingly supporting innovation and is behind most open innovation processes and user’s co-creation activities.† Following in line with this claim, Figge et al. (2012) reveals that â€Å"most big corporations chose to tap into the growing portion of participative consumers to refine their marketing strategy practices,† and that social media, being major sales and marketing channels, have allowed for increasing collective trends in consumption. (Figge et al., 2012) Pena (2012) concluded after a study of multi-national corporations’ use of social innovation sites and application of content found on those sites that â€Å"while multi-national firms did not formally embrace social platforms for innovation, passive or informal use of these sources were endorsed by 100% of the interviewees. (Pena, 2012) The two main barriers to use of the sources included 1) a lack of clarity around the owner of the finished idea and the potential for litigation and 2) the fact that competition becomes informed of firms’ intentions as they pursue innovation from social formats. (Pena, 2012) Business Contexts Several articles applied to or studied social media technologies and the innovation in the creation processes of firms. There were several articles analyzing and comparing the use of social media innovation processes, specifically business-to-business and business-to-consumer firms. The differences between the two in terms of categories of clientele and business practices reveal similarities and differences in innovation and collaboration methods. In Social Media Use and Potential in Business-to-Business Companies’ Innovation, Jussila et al, makes the point that the use of social media in innovation processes can reveal great potential for success in b2b companies, like in b2c companies, and was used with innovation partners (outside audience) more often than with b2c companies. (Jussila et al, 2010) Jussila et. al (2011) acknowledged the assumption that â€Å"it is much more difficult to utilize social media in business innovation and customer interface for business-to-business innovation and customer interface for business-to-business products, markets and product development.† Research exploring social media and benefits from the business-to-business customer interface perspective found potential causes for variance of social media use in different phases of innovation processes: patterns of interaction between firm and customers vary with roles, knowledge creation activities vary depending on nature of knowledge to be created and lastly, customers motivation to participate or be involved in innovation process activity rather than product support. Other articles focused on business in a broader context in order to make implications or recommendations in the field of study Fuller et al (2012) studied IBM’s use of social media use in innovation and collaboration pr ocesses using virtual worlds (second life) in the article â€Å"Virtual Worlds as Collaborative Innovation and Knowledge Platform.† During the course of the study, IBM gathered experience by using 3D environments as communication and interaction platform within the organization. The study findings indicated potential for virtual worlds to foster creative ideas both within, and beyond the company. (Fuller et al, 2012) Similarly, Gangi et al (2010) analyzed and assessed challenges present in the first 18 months of Dell’s IdeaStorm program implementation and offered recommendations for successful management of online user innovation communities. The recommendations are relevant to any application of a user-driven innovation platform; create a user toolkit, strategically position key personnel to ensure clear, logical flow of ideas to proper internal resources, engage the lead users of the platform, promote self-governance in users to enable community to carry more of workload, respond quickly and ask questions, make user-submitted votes count and present progress clearly and openly to the community. (Gangi, e t al, 2010) Software Development The use of social media for innovation purposes is applied to the development of software in both internal and external (employees of organizations vs. user activities) contexts. In â€Å"Using Web 2.0 to Improve Software Quality.† Black Jacobs (2010) assert that the development process has been altered due to social media, now including interaction design where feedback from users is encouraged, and used as part of the ongoing development process. The study examined social media use in collaborative group work using distant teams. Organizations are encouraged to focus implementing social technologies for purposes of group work. â€Å"The use of social media presents an opportunity for an organization to build a distributed knowledge base and increase employees’ sense of connection to companies initiatives and to each other. (Black Jacobs, 2010) Koskela et, al (2011) claims that online co-creation among users and developers needs continuous facilitation; thus allowing direct user interaction to enhance the perspectives of each group and placing more importance on the use’s goals. According to â€Å"Practical Model for User-Driven Innovation in Agile Software Development,† by implementing user-driven innovation integrating users, even in a quick, agile software development process is not only possible and can be potentially beneficial to the organization. (Koskela et. al, 2011) Technological Applications Innovation and social media have technological implications, especially in the areas of enterprise 2.0 and open-innovation processes. Structuring Web 2.0 collaborative platforms and strategies is discussed in two of the articles used for this review. In the article â€Å"Enterprise 2.0 and Semantic Technologies for Open Innovation Support,† Carbone et al (2010) emphasizes the potential of enterprise 2.0 technologies by asserting that they â€Å"have the power to usher in a new era by making both the practices of knowledge work and its’ output more visible. The article proposes a new model â€Å"Semantic web† to transform human-readable content into machine-readable content. This new model controls and structures the heavy flow of user-submitted information, an aspect brought on by the â€Å"collaborative paradigm.† (Carbone et al, 2010) Dedene et al (2011) proposes four grounding principles to help organizations get the most out of their Enterprise 2.0 investments. In the many-to-many, decentralized environment present in Web 2.0 collaborative activities, structuration is emphasized as a key process and is made possible by these four principles: 1) â€Å"empowerment principle- empowers users to discover desirable uses of technology rather than draw up barriers to unwanted use, 2) processes principle- enables process workers and managers to capture value from experimenting and progressively synthesizing new ways for processing, 3) collaboration principle- lets virtual communities and teamwork emerge from a free-flow of collaboration engagements, rather than pre-assign bulk of roles, activities and access rules and finally 4) people and culture principle- invites people to participate, rather than coercing them to work in a particular way.† (Dedene et al, 2011) Findings/ Pitfalls All of the articles studied for this review acknowledged the potential of the use of social media for purposes of innovation to be successful avenues reaching end consumers and sparking creative thinking within a firm or organization. The articles, both theoretically focused, and case studies of real-world application conveyed the benefits of implementation and recognized the area as revolutionary, and the inevitable direction of the innovation process for firms and organizations. It goes without saying, that there is another side to the coin when it comes to model and strategy implementation. Gangi et. al (2010) identified one potentially damaging characteristic of social media that could negatively effect innovation efforts. â€Å"The viral aspect of all web 2.0 technologies means that an org could quickly lose control of negative content.† (Gangi, et al, 2010) The pervasiveness and instantaneous aspects of social media can be damning to an organization based on self-published material, or user-published. (Carbone et al, 2010) Managing the overwhelming amounts of information that exists, as an end-result of the decentralization of ideas may be difficult to achieve. Ideas contributed via social media networks present an issue with idea ownership due to blurred line between what is idea adoption and what could be conceived as theft of intellectual property. As mentioned by Pena (2012) this is one cause of avoidance regarding companies’ implementation of social technology strategies. Recommendations Dedene et al (2011) notes that managing the technologies for effective use requires strategy and knowledge, and that organizations have not fully mastered these concepts. â€Å"The promise of Enterprise 2.0 is enticing to many orgs; however experience and research into managing such investments to effective benefits realization has not yet reached full maturity; making people mindful about the capabilities of the technology is an absolute precondition to benefits generation from the technology.† (Dedene et al, 2011) The lack of knowledge available in the application of social media for innovation purposes, though lessening over time, is still a viable issue of concern for companies attempting to implement models. It is important for there to be an accessible collection of literature to foster field knowledge, and to increase in real-world applications. The lack of understanding due to little to no knowledge base has attributed to the skepticism among businesses and IT professi onals. (Dedene et. al, 2011) More research should be executed in this area and more literature developed. Organizations will not invest in ideas that are not fully understood. The reach of evidence of benefits of the use of social media for purposes of innovation needs to be increased. Not only should literature about implementation be increased and shared, but also firmer guidelines for successful use of social media for innovation should as well. Many of the major and minor firms and organizations venturing into this somewhat â€Å"unchartered territory† are doing so without a definitive strategy. A set of published principles, assisting first-time implementation, corrective implementation, and for use throughout operation, (management of platforms) should become accessible. This set of principles would provide some protection against simple mistakes and allow for smoother, more streamlined implementation for firms and organizations. Table (2) Table of Literature Author/ Work| Implication/ Findings| Limitation(s)/ Pitfalls| Benefits of Social Media in B2B Customer Interface in Innovation(Jussila, et. al, 2011)| Social media can be useful in all stages of B2B companies’ innovation processes. | Companies don’t understand how to be active with social media effectively.| Measuring the Effectiveness of Social Media on an Innovation Process(Holtzblatt Tierney, 2011)| Using social media, it is possible to â€Å"accelerate the transition of new technology and knowledge to customers by expanding staff and end-users direct communications.| Limitations of data: restricted to interactions that occur on-line inside the IdeaMarket (platform used in research).| Is Open Innovation Open?(Bettina Mikko, 2010)| Social media and open innovation principles remain underutilized by companies. | Most innovative firms that were studied were multinational with multiple websites, all using different content. | Platform Model for User-Driven Innovation in Agile Software Development(Koskela et al, 2011)| The model using co-creation tools and direct user-interaction can be applied to the innovation processes of other consumer-targeted products and services..| Companies do not have enough knowledge of utilizing user’s input and social media based interaction in innovation and software activities. | Raising Creativity and Participation in Innovation and Knowledge Management Activities(Gourova Toteva, 2011)| Nowadays social media is increasingly supporting innovation and is behind most open innovation processes and user’s co-creation activities.| N/a| Social Media and Product Innovation(Anonymous, 2011)| When it comes to applying social technologies to product developments and innovation, most organizations are still in the early adoption phase.| N/a| Social Media Use and Potential in B2B Companies’ Innovation(Jussila et al, 2010)| Both B2B and B2C companies’ were taking advantage of social media use in innovation processes| The gap of perceived use between t wo different business types is significant. Research should be carried out to facilitate adoptions and fill gap. | The Revolution Will Be Shared: Social Media and Innovation(Anonymous, 2011)| Social technologies used for innovation purposes are revolutionary| N/a| Using Web 2.0 to improve Software Quality(Black Jacobs)| Social media among other benefits, has changed the development process to include interaction design, where feedback from users is used.| N/a| Virtual Worlds as Collaborative Innovation and Knowledge Platforms(Fuller, et. al, 2012)| Virtual worlds can offer new ways of having access to knowledge and creative ideas within and beyond companies. | Virtual community lacked total security and some complained about poor graphics| Getting Customer’s Ideas to Work for You: Learning from Dell How to Succeed With Online User Innovation Communities.(Gangi et al, 2010)| A poorly managed user innovation community could have devastating consequences for an organization.| Challenges for companies included: Understanding users ideas posted, Identifying the best ideas,Balancing needs for transparency against disclosure (protecting user-submitted ideas from competitors) and Sustaining the community (developing strategies for interacting with the community to sustain user participation. | Governing Web 2.0(Dedene, 2011)| Enterprises can use principles and lessons to avoid the fallacy of going into social media for innovation endeavor with too much of a command/control view on tech adoption| Many organizations have not effectively mastered management of social media and innovation platforms| Investigating the Increasing Role of Public Social Networks Within the Innovation Process of Large, Multi-National Corporations(Pena, 2012)| Use of strong social networking within an organization propels innovation| Firms did not embrace platforms, but all endorsed informal use.Two main barriers to use of sources by companies: lack of clarity around owner of ideas, 2) competition may become informed of intentions| Enterprise 2.0 and Semantic Technologies for Open Innovation Support(Carbone et al, 2010)| The web 2.0 environment helped in establishing an innovation culture in the firms, while the sematic technologies helped not just in fostering interaction for the creation of new ideas, but also in supporting the decision process.| N/a| Defining Open(Gobble, 2012)| Open innovation is among the new resources available for conceptualizing, creating and managing open innovations efforts at every scale.| N/a| Six Key Takeaways On Social Media And Innovation From Digital Marketing Pioneer Porter Gale(Arthur, 2012)| One-way dialogue has evolved into 24/7 real-time conversations.| N/a| Social Media for Innovation Efforts (Lindegaard, 2013)| The use of social media for innovation efforts is still new and full of opportunity.| N/a| Social Product Innovation2013 Kalypso| Social media technologies are rapidly changing the way we communicate and collaborate. A comprehensive and sustainable strategy must be developed to deliver results.| N/a| Five Emerging Innovation and Social Media Trends and Why They Matter Now(Ben-Yehuda, 2012)| Social media and a renewed emphasis on innovation and DIY is transforming how government agencies operate and how they interact with citizens.| N/a| The Next Digital Wave: Enterprise Social Innovation. 2012 Accenture| Through enterprise social innovation, companies can benefit from a greater pool of ideas, ones that are aligned more closely with the wants and needs of end-consumers.| N/a| Works Cited Jussila, J., Karkkainen, H., Meino, M. (2011). Benefits of social media in business-to-business customer inerface in innovation. 2011vACM, Holtzblatt, J., Tierney, M. L. (2011). Measuring the effectiveness of social media on an innovation process. 2011 ACM, Bettina, M., Mikko, L. (2010, Sep). Is innovation open? evidence from the most innovative firms and the most valuable brands. European conference on innovation and entrepreneurship, United kingdom. Koskela, K., Nakki, P., Pikkarainen, M. (2011). 17th international conference of concurrent enterprising, Finland. Gourova, E., Toteva, K. (2011). Raising creativity and participation in innovation and knowledge managment activities. 17th internation conference on concurrent enterprising. Anonymous. (2011). Social media and product innvoation research findings. Professional services close-up, Jussila, J., Karkkainen, H., Vaisanen, J. (2010). Social media use and potential in business-to-business companies innovation. 2010 ACM, Anonymous. (201). The revolution will be shared: social media and innovation. Research technology management, 54(1), 64-66. Black, S., Jacobs, J. (2010). Using web 2.0 to improve software quality. 2010 ACM, Fuller, J., Hautz, J., Hutter, K., Matzler, K., Muller, J. (2012). Virtual worlds as collaborative innovation and knowledge platform. 2012 IEEE, Gangi, P., Hooker, R., Wasko, M. (2010). Getting customers ideas to work for you: learning from dell how to succeed with online user innovation communities. MIS quarterly executive, 9(4), Dedene, A. G., Hertogh, S., Viaene, S. (2011). Governing web 2.0. Communications of the acm, 54(3), Pena, V. (2012). Investigating the increasing role of public social networkd within the innovation process of large, multi-national corporations. Business studies journal, 3, Carbone, F., Contreras, J., Hernandez, J. (2010). Enterprise 2.0 and semantic technologies for open innovation support. IEA/AIE 2010, part II, 18-27. Gobble, M. (2012). Defining open. Research technology management, Arthur , L. (2012, 3 6). Six key takeaways on social media and innovation from digital marketing pioneer porter gale. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaarthur/2012/03/06/six-key-take-aways-on-social-media-and-innovation-from-porter-gale-former-virgin-america-marketing-vp/ Lindegaard, S. (2013, 01 31). Free webinar: social media for innovation efforts. Retrieved from http://www.15inno.com/2013/01/31/smwebinar/ Kalypso. (2013). Social product innovation, capabilites, kalypso. Retrieved from http://kalypso.com/capabilities/services/social-product-innovation/ Ben-Yehuda, G. (2012, 11 1). Five emerging innovation and social media trends and why they matter now. Retrieved from http://www.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2012/11/five-emerging-innovation-and-social-media-trends-and-why-they-matter-now/59179/ Accenture. (2012). The net digital wave: enterprise social innovation. Retrieved from http://www.accenture.com/us-en/Pages/insight-next-digital-wave-social-media-harness-innovation-summary.aspx

ASIC v Adler Essay Example for Free

ASIC v Adler Essay The case of ASIC v Adler is very unique as well as complicated since it involved several breach of duties in the Corporations Act 2001. The HIH collapse was caused by very bad corporate governance. Such breach of duties are, section 9 (director’s duties), section 180 (duty to act with care and diligence), section 181 (duty to act in good faith and for a proper purpose), section 182 (improper use of position), section 182(2) (business judgement rule), section 183 (duty not to improperly use information) and section 260A (financial assistance). All of these contraventions under the Corporations Act 2001 will be discussed in detail below. Section 9 – Who Is A Director And Their Duties Under section 9, a director of a company is defined as a person who is appointed to that position such as a director or alternate director, regardless of what name it is given to that position. Section 9 also includes certain people to be directors even though they are not properly appointed. Such people can act as a director even though without proper appointment of director position. This is where they act in the position of a director (which can be also known as de facto director) or the directors are used to act in accordance with the person’s instructions (which also known as a â€Å"shadow director†). Directors’ duties need to be existed in order to protect shareholders from the risks of directors giving harm towards the company. Shareholders basically have risks such as fraud, where the directors took control over the assets belonging to the company by using it for their personal interest, and mismanagement, whereby directors made an incompetent decision with the financial standing of the company. Furthermore, section 9 also defines the â€Å"officer of a corporation†, which basically includes company executives who held senior positions in the board  level. Such persons can be identified in certain situations where that person (the executives) makes or joins participation into making decisions in which affects the whole or substantial part of the company’s business activities or, the person who has the authority to affect in a significant way towards the company’s financial standings or, basically the same definition of a â€Å"shadow director† where the person are acting towards the instructions given to them to act. In the case of ASIC v Adler, the court held that Adler, the director of HIH, was also an officer of wholly-owned HIH subsidiary which can be related under the section 9 definition of directors. This applies to Adler even though he was not properly appointed as a director or an officer of the subsidiary. Since he has the role of director, the subsidiary holding company and also a member of HIH investment committee, this has showed that he participated in the decision making of the company’s business in which affected it the whole or substantial part of the business. As Santow J gave his judgement on this case, he gave a good summary of principles applicable to directors’ duties. Some of it are; a director must continuously kept informed of the activities of the company, they must be familiar with the fundamentals of the business whereby the company is doing. Section 180 – Duty To Act With Care And Diligence In the section 180(1), it provides that a director or other officer of a company need to exercise their powers and discharge their duties with a standard of care and diligence in which a reasonable person will do if they were the director or officer of a company due to company’s circumstances (section 180(1)(a)) and occupied the office and had the same responsibilities in the company as the director or officer (section 180(1)(b)). Executive directors are full time employees of the company who involved in the day-to-day management of the company. They have special responsibilities with their position and have a high knowledge of daily operations of the company. Non-executive directors, on the other hand, do part-time and have regular involvements in the company. In the case of ASIC v Adler, Williams who was the managing director for HIH and HIHC as well, contravened section 180(1) as he failed to ensure there were proper safeguard before HIHC gave the loan to PEE. Fodera, who was the finance director of HIH, contravened section 180 as he failed to discuss a proposal to give $10 million loan to PEE to the HIH board or its investment committee. As the executive directors of the company, both Fodera and Williams failed to carry out their role properly without informing the HIH board of their intention. Section 180 (2) – The Business Judgement Rule In the section of 180(2), the section provides that a director or any other officer who makes a business judgement rule, will not be held liable in respect of the judgement under the statutory, common law or equitable duties of care and diligence, in which all of the elements can be shown. Such elements are, the judgement was properly made in good faith and for proper purpose, there was not material personal interest in the subject as of the matter of the judgement, the directors and the officers informed themselves about the subject matter of the judgement to the extent they appropriately believed to be reasonable and also the judgement was believed to be in rational in the best interest of the whole company. All of these would be reasonably justified unless any other person in such position thinks that it is completely unreasonable. The business judgement rule basically gives the directors with a â€Å"safe protection† from a personal liability in the relation of the business judgements that they take are valid which is in a good faith and in the best interest of the company. This is because some of their business decisions may turn out to be profit-making or a total loss in honest and rational way. Some of the main reasons for the business judgement rule defences are risk taking and activities in entrepreneurial activities will be encouraged since directors are aware of the specific legislation that if they act honestly,  they will not be punished or personally liable as a result of adverse judicial review. Another rule defence is that better business judgement will be made as a result of removing of some uncertainty of liability under the statutory duty of care and finally, the shareholders interest are better provided by engaging risk taking activities. To make directors be liable for such small erro rs of decision will promote risk-adverse decision-making with contrast effect on the economy. If the directors or other officers are able to satisfy the above requirements, they will have â€Å"safe protection† which makes them to be protected from liability for any breach of their duties of care and diligence. This means that their business judgement in such situations will be reviewed by court. Under section 180(3), the business judgement is defined that any decisions to take or not to take action with respect to matter that is relevant to business activities of the company. This only refers to business decisions that has made relevant to the business activities. It does not include any decisions made in the position of directors powers such as the power to issue shares or pay dividends. By referring to the case ASIC v Adler, the court held that all three Adler, Williams and Fodera breached their statutory duty of care as stated in section 180(1). They also, however could not rely on the business judgement rule as their defence. Firstly for Adler, the business judgement rule did not applicable for him since he cannot satisfy the section 180(2)(b) since he had a conflict of interest in the relation of his decision to invest the $10 million payment from HIHC in PEE. Secondly for Williams, the business judgement rule did not apply to him because of his failed to ensure the correct safeguards were enforced was not business judgement for the purpose in section 180(3). However, even this was a business judgement, since he was a major shareholder of HIH, he basically has material personal interest as in the section 180(2)(b). Other than that, Williams also failed to present any evidence that his judgement was done in good faith for the proper purpose as stated in section 18 0(2)(a). Finally, Fodera cannot rely on his business judgement rule as he failed to refer the transaction of PEE to the HIH board or its investment committee. This was not a business judgement as  stated in section 180(3). Section 181 – Statutory Duty To Act In Good Faith And For A Proper Purpose Under section 181(1), it says that a director or other officer of a corporation to exercise their powers and discharge their duties in bona fide (good faith) for the best interest of the company and also for a proper purpose. The section 181(1) can be contravened if the director thinks that they are actually doing their duties for the best interest of the company in which any other director, in that situation, thinks that is clearly unacceptable approach to do it. This may be happen when a director have a conflict of interest personally with the interest of the company they are handling. In the case of ASIC v Adler, it can clearly be seen that Adler, had contravened the section 181(1) to act in good faith by properly excising his powers and discharging his duties for the best interest of the company. This is because, the transactions that occurred in the HIH, HIHC and PEE had been improperly used, for the sake of his personal interest. Section 182 – Improper Use Of Position Under section 182, the section states that it restricts officers or the employees of a company from improperly using their power to gain advantage for themselves or for any other persons to the company. In the case of ASIC v Adler, the court held that Adler had contravened the section 182 due to the arrangement of $10 million loan from HIHC to PEE which was then to be used to acquire HIH shares on the stock market. This transaction was merely done for the purpose of supporting the HIH shares to increase the price and thereby selling the HIH shares owned by Adler Corporation before PEE could sell off their HIH shares. Because of this transaction, PEE had incurred a total loss of investment by reselling on the HIH shares. In regard of this transaction, Adler was held that he had improperly used his position as a director of HIH, officer of HIHC and director of PEE to gain advantage for the Adler Corporation. The court also held that Williams, also had breached his duties as a director for both HIH and HIHC under section 182, to help gaining advantage for Adler Corporation. This is because Williams, used his position improperly by authorising the $10 million load payment without proper approval from the HIH’s investment committee, which he was required to disclose under the HIH’s investment guidelines. Other than that, the court also held that Adler improperly used his position as a director in the PEE transactions of acquiring a number of unlisted capitals at the cost price from Adler Corporation without obtaining independent valuations of these ventures. With these transactions successful, Adler and Adler Corporation was able to exclude himself from these commercially unviable business operations. Adler basically knew that each of those businesses were having major cash flow problems and each had a significant risk that they would ultimately collapse. Adler, however, failed to disclose his personal interest to the HIH board other than Williams and Fodera. Section 183 – Improper Use of Information As stated in section 183, a person who gets information because they are or are not director, officer or employee of a company, must not misuse the information just to gain advantage for themselves or to any other person whereby causing failure in the company. Section 183 also applies towards resigned or retired directors, officers and employees as well. Informations such as insider information can be taken as an advantage by any person in order to gain benefit by using it to themselves or by giving to other person. In the case of ASIC v Vizard, the court held that Vizard involved in the contravention of section 183, whereby he gained the insider information as he was the non-executive director of Telstra. He misused the information in order to gain advantage for CTI, Brigham and himself as well whereby based on the information that he receives (Telstra board’s decision to acquire  other company and selling their interest on another company), he would act accordingly to buy or sell off his shares ahead of Telstra. S260A – Financial Assistance In section 260A, the section states that it forbids a company financially assisting a person to obtain or acquire shares in the same company of its holding company. However, if some of the conditions are met then the company may proceed to do such transaction. Some of the conditions are, giving the financial assistance will not materially prejudice the interest of the company, its shareholders or the company’s ability to pay its creditors (under section 260A(1)(a)), the financial assistance is validated by the shareholders (under section 260B) or the financial assistance is relieved or exempted (under section 260C). Financial assistance is can be basically referred to where a company is lending money to a person to buy the company shares. This means that the company gives a certain amount of money to a person so that the person buys some of the company’s shares. Another example is where a company gives a surety or guaranteed a person’s loan in which the sum of the loan will be proceeded to buy shares in the company. The company is basically providing a loan to a person for the sake of buying back its own shares off the stock market. Another example is where the company is giving its own assets as a security to a person’s loan in which the loan money will be used to buy the shares of the company given its assets as security. The section 260A clearly states that a company is restricted from giving financial assistance to a person to buy its own shares in the stock market as it will cause material prejudice. By analysing the case of ASIC V Adler, it can be seen that Adler, who was controlling PEE, was clearly contravened the section of 260A by which giving financial assistance to PEE through HIHC, a subsdiary of HIH, which is also a company controlled by Adler. This financial assistance given to PEE, was then used to buy the HIH shares on the stock market. This transaction gives a false impression over the stock market as well as its investors that Adler was supporting the falling share  price of its company, HIH, by buying the shares personally. However, the court found out that Adler does not have the intention to make easy profit and reselling the HIH shares. The real purpose was to increase the HIH share price in benefit of Alder Corporation Limited as substantial shareholding in HIH. The actual evidence is that when PEE went to sell off the HIH shares, it was done only after Adler Corporation decided to sell off its HIH shares in which leads to total loss for PEE’s investment. The Supreme Court of New South Wales held that the main intention of the transaction was that HIHC gave PEE financial assistance in order to acquire the shares in HIH which is HIHC’s holding company. Due to this transaction, according to Santow J, both HIHC and HIH suffered material prejudice, which therefore, contravening section 260A.

How Economic Systems Allocate Resources Effectively

How Economic Systems Allocate Resources Effectively Executive Summary Learning outcome two comprises of three questions. The first question speaks about economic systems; it will be explained in the research how these economic systems attempt to allocate resources effectively. According to Samuelson (n.d.) these three economic systems are: Mixed economy, command and free market. ‘Mixed economies may have a distinct private sector, where resources are allocated primarily by market forces, such as the grocery sector of the UK economy. Command economy: ‘Markets enable mutually beneficial exchange between producers and consumers, and systems that rely on markets to solve the economic problem are called market economies. This method is referred to as central planning and economies that exclusively use central planning are called command economies. In other words governments direct or command resources to be used in particular ways’. These will be thoroughly explained in the research. The second question speaks about fiscal and monetary po licies, fiscal policy is basically a tool used determine rules with respect to the expenditure of a government. Monetary policy influences the extent of money supply in an economy. Ghuman (2005). The last question speaks to competition policy and other regulatory mechanisms in an organization. Background/ Rationale The aim of the research is to provide the researcher with an understanding of different organizations, the influence of stakeholders and the relationship between business and the local, national and global environment. On successful completion of learning outcome two, the researcher will understand the nature of the national environment in which business operate. The researcher will understand how economic systems attempt to allocate resources effectively, the researcher will also understand the impact of fiscal and monetary policy has on business organizations and their activities and also the impact of competition policy and other regulatory mechanism and the activities of an organization. Profile 1 Mission Statement: To provide business planning and marketing strategy consulting services to help businesses become even more successful. Bryan’s consulting Firm Contact Information: Email Address: [emailprotected] Fax Number: 9044765 Office Number: 9086712 Bryan’s consulting firm was founded in 1993. This company is under the supervision of Miss Chinelle Bryan and Cyril Mathiaz. They are located on the tropical plaza in half way tree Kingston. Bryan’s consulting firm is a partnership organization. They are assisted by a staff of fifteen well trained and educated workers. A few of these workers are Jada Fyffe,Janae Chung and Aaliya Ftffe,who are under the fields of communication and knowledge and information interaction and human resource management. Bryan’s consulting firm targets small struggling businesses. The services offered by the company are to provide enrichment and fulfilment, create solutions to problems and help businesses develop effectively. The company is unique `because of their superior customer service, they think both internally and externally, and they are the only consulting firm in Jamaica that opens 24 hours. Their prices and their guarantee also make them unique. The goals and objectives of B ryan’s consulting firm are: superior customer service, growth, efficiency, retention, support opportunity, building amazing service, have happy customers, increase revenue, increase profit and build the community. Miss Bryan and Cyril Mathiaz were inspired to create this business because of their personal struggles with their small business in the past..†You push the limits, we measure it†. Profile 2 Chixae’s variety store Contact Information: Email Address: [emailprotected] Fax Number: 9092145 Office Number: 9017123 Mission Statement: The mission is to build permanent habits through daily practices. This mission is to make a profit that will not only benefit our company but to give back to the community. Chixae Variety Store was established in 2010. This store is governed by Chinelle Bryan and Xae Boreland. Their store can be found on the Springs Plaza in Half Way Tree Kingston. This is a partnership organization. Chinelle Bryan and Xae Boreland are assisted by ten well trained and oriented workers who are under the departments of: Cashier, Sanitization, Assistance- customers, and collector- Collection of bags when entering the store. The company is unique because it’s a store that everything is offered under one roof and their prices are unbeatable. The goals and objectives of Chixae’s variety store are: to give back to the community, have happy customers, and a superior customer service. This store was created by because Xae and Chinelle wanted a place where one can purchase almost everything under the same roof at an affordable price and that’s exactly what is offered at Chixae’s variety store. Chixae’s variety store targets both old and young pe ople. The mission is to build permanent habits through daily practise; to indicate to customers that they can get all they want under the same roof, at an affordable price and getting good quality for their â€Å"little money†. However, they are now facing some difficulties because of the lack of communication and knowledge and information interaction skills. Objectives To identify how economic systems attempt to allocate resources effectively To assess the impact of fiscal and monetary policy on business organizations and their activities To evaluate the impact of competition policy and other regulatory mechanisms on the activities of a selected organization Methodology Qualitative research is designed to reveal a target audience’s range of behaviour and the perceptions that drive it with reference to specific topics or issues. It uses in-depth studies of small groups of people to guide and support the construction of hypotheses. The results of qualitative research are descriptive rather than predictive. The research consists of the secondary research method. The research is qualitative based, reason being, interviews will be carried out with stakeholders, this type of research is more efficient, less time consuming and inexpensive. Secondary sources entail the usage of internet sources. The limitation the researcher had are some information seemed old or the internet may provide different answers to a question which posed difficulties for the researcher as the researcher would not know which of the answers are correct. The information collected was controlled, processed and evaluated in order to meet objectives of Chixae’s variety Store. The research questions will be analysed critically giving examples matching the organization that was assessed. LO2- Understand the nature of the national environment in which businesses operate 2.1 Explain how economic systems attempt to allocate resources effectively Mixed economies ‘Mixed economies may have a distinct private sector, where resources are allocated primarily by market forces, such as the grocery sector of the UK economy. Mixed economies may also have a distinct public sector, where resources are allocated mainly by government, such as defence, police, and fire services. In many sectors, resources are allocated by a combination of markets and panning, such ashealthcare and, which have both public and private provision’ (Samuelson n.d.) Free Markets ‘Markets enable mutually beneficial exchange between producers and consumers, and systems that rely on markets to solve the economic problem are called market economies. In a free market economy, resources are allocated through the interaction of free and self-directed market forces. This means that what to produce is determined consumers, how to produce is determined by producers, and who gets the products depends upon the purchasing power of consumers’. (Samuelson n.d.) Command Economics Another solution to the economic problem is the allocation of scarce resources by government, or an agency appointed by the government. ‘This method is referred to as central planning and economies that exclusively use central planning are called command economies. In other words governments direct or command resources to be used in particular ways’. (Samuelson n.d.) 2.2 Assess the impact of fiscal and monetary policy on business organizations and their activities According to Ghuman (2010), ‘Fiscal policy instrument determines the rules and regulations with respect to the nature and extent and taxation and expenditure by the government. The extent of tax collection and government expenditure in different domains significantly impacts the profit position of a business entity’. Monetary policy: ‘This policy influences the extent of money supply in an economy. Depending on the requirement of a country to give boost or control inflation, its government makes modification in monetary policy. These changes impact both the availability and the cost of funds for business organizations. The monetary policy also influences the value of the national currency in the international market, the impacting profit position of the companies operating in the global market. Ghuman (2005) 2.3 Evaluate the impact of competition policy and other regulatory mechanisms on the activities of a selected organization The selected organization is the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). Established by the fair trading Act 1973, is a non- profit organization of the United Kingdom. The Fair Trading Act basically requires competition law and protection. OFT’s main objective is fairness. They make sure markets work well for consumers, ensuring that there is fair competition among all trading firms. Its role power changed with the Enterprise Act which was passed in 2002. ‘Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) announce further reforms to the UK consumer and competition regimes. In accordance with the provisions of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was established in April 2014 and combines many of the functions of the OFT and the Competition Commission and replace both’. (Office of Fair Trading 2014). Competition commission was a public body who was responsible for investigating market merges and other things related to regulatory industries that are a part of the competition law in the U.K. The Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) announced further reform to the UK consumer and competition regimes. The competition market authority (CMA) which was established in April 2014 combined many of the functions of the OFT and competition commission and replace both. (Office of Fair Trading 2014), ‘Competition Commission Monopolies and Mergers Commission replaced on 1 April 1999. It was created by the Competition Act 1998, although most of its powers were governed by the Enterprise Act 2002’. The competition commission was removed on the first of April in the year 2014 and was replaced by the competition authority (CMA), this took over many responsibilities of the OFT. Conclusion In concluding, on successful completion of learning outcome, the nature of national environment in which business operate was looked at. Learning outcome focused on three questions. The researcher first spoke about economic systems; it was explained in the research how these economic systems attempt to allocate resources effectively. Samuelson (n.d.) Mixed economy, command and free market. ‘Mixed economies may have a distinct private sector, where resources are allocated primarily by market forces, such as the grocery sector of the UK economy. Command economy: ‘Markets enable mutually beneficial exchange between producers and consumers, and systems that rely on markets to solve the economic problem are called market economies. This method is referred to as central planning and economies that exclusively use central planning are called command economies. In other words governments direct or command resources to be used in particular ways’. The three were explained in the research. The researcher then went on by talking about fiscal and monetary policies, fiscal policy is basically a tool used determine rules with respect to the expenditure of a government. Monetary policy influences the extent of money supply in an economy. Ghuman (2005). Lastly, the researcher gave a brief outline of competitio n policy and other regulatory mechanisms in an organization. Recommendations The uttermost goal of any organization is to make a profit and have a long term business. In order for Chixae’s Variety Store to be around for a long time, it is recommended they understand the business environment. Chixae’s Variety Store should understand the nature of the national environment in which they operate. The researcher would recommend that they understand the economic systems to allocate resources effectively. The three are: Mixed, free market and command. The one that would be recommended for this store to allocate their resources is free market. Reason being, In a free market economy, resources are allocated through the interaction of free and self-directed market forces. This means that what to produce is determined by consumers, how to produce is determined by producers, and who gets the products depends upon the purchasing power of consumers’. (Samuelson n.d.) The researcher recommends this because with a business like Chixae’s Variety St ore, whatever they plan to do depends on their stakeholders, and to be successful, it is important they satisfy them. Everything coincides with these people, as (Samuelson n.d.) stated, ‘what to produce is determined consumers, how to produce is determined by producers, and who gets the products depends upon the purchasing power of consumers’. Lastly, the researcher recommends that Chixae’s Variety Store is knowledgeable about fiscal policy. Reason being, Fiscal policy is ‘the extent of tax collection and government expenditure in different domains significantly impacts the profit position of a business entity’. Ghuman (2010). If this is a term that explains the impacts the profit position of the business then it would be wise for every business to know what it is. References Samuelson,n.d., Economic systems. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.economicsonline.co.uk/Competitive_markets/Economic_systems.html. [Accessed 05 November 2014]. Ghuman, K G, 2010. Management: Concepts, Practice. 5th ed. West Patel Nagar, New Delhi 110008: Tata Mcgraw Hill. Office of Fair Trading, 2007. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.termpaperwarehouse.com/essay-on/Evaluate-The-Impact-Of-Competition-Policy/279493. [Accessed 07 November 2014].