International Business Management Essay Example for Free

International Business Management Essay Briefly explain the concept of competitive advantage. The concept of competitive advantage is all about a characteristic of having an edge over another product or service that drives the customer to choose one product or service over another. This edge can be in the form of a functionality such as multi-simcard mobile phones, or mobile phones with a television feature. It could be in the form of product design that makes the product more attractive and aesthetically desirable among a certain age group, gender or social class such as those belonging to Class A market, such as cars of the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) class. On the other hand, competitive advantage could be in the form of a noted durability and quality of a product with such as Sony television set, or an IBM computer, both of which are noted for this quality feature. It can also pertain to the multi-feature of a product or service which increases its value but not much its price. It can be in the form of a cost advantage or differentiation advantage. In a market that is filled with competing products, the concept of competitive advantage drives the ultimate choice of the consumer on what product and service to patronize over the short, medium or long-term depending on the sustainability of the competitive edge. Hence, the concept of competitive advantage pertains to the uniqueness of a product of service. Explain the concept of economies of scale and show how it relates to competitive advantage Economies of scale represents the cost advantages that an organization or business obtains due to reengineering and expansion. Likewise, this pertains to the factors that cause a manufacturer’s or producer’s average cost per unit to decrease or fall as production scale is increased. It is also a long run concept and may refer to the decrease or reductions in unit cost as the size of a production facility, or scale, increases. Economies of scale may also pertain to the utilization of a production facility so that the manufacturing of a specific product becomes competitive in terms of cost. The reduction of the cost is due to the spreading of the fixed cost over a bigger volume of production to respond to an expanded market such as exports, special orders that likewise increases the number of units to cover a bigger demand or a bigger market. Why has Ford been unable to achieve full economies of scale in manufacturing and how is the new CEO planning to address this problem? Ford has traditionally been a producer of big cars that had not been able to bring competition to its doors. With the assumption of a new CEO from Boeing, the concept of small cars found its way into the manufacturing processes using the same platform in producing the compact cars for the North American as well as the European market. With the introduction of small compact cars in the North American market, identical platforms as that used in other markets can support identical cars being produced and marketed in other markets. Using the term global to describe the Ford Focus as a global brand, Ford Motors does not anticipate the model to manufactured differently which will entail higher production cost due to non-availment of that economies of scale. Thus, the rationalization of the production processes will likely result into a cost-savings advantage. . What does the Ford case show about the tension between Local and Global strategies? Local and global strategies, insofar as Ford Motors Company is concerned, vary greatly in terms of approaches. Local strategies are what defines the marketing approaches that are confined to the local market and its workings. Global strategies indicate a more sophisticated marketing approach to a wider area and which requires a more comprehensive management of resources to stay competitive and relevant. The Ford case is an eye-opener for Ford itself. Its traditional view of car manufacturing has been confined to its own culture of bigness. Thus, with smaller cars responding to a new global demand in and a response to the increasing world oil prices, the consumer market suddenly found an ally among oil producing and exporting countries. A new type of car, the global car is a sure winner for many. The tension between local and global standard at Ford Motors \company is an issue of sustainable competitive advantage in smaller cars that require common platforms, a lower production cost profile and a pocket friendly car with social relevance in terms of savings.

Albinism :: essays research papers

Page:1 Albinism is a very serious disease that could end up in death. Albinism is a recessive inherited defect in melanin, which is metabolism in which pigment is absent from skin, hair, and eyes. Albinism in hair, skin, and eyes is called oculocutaneous albinism. Humans that have oculocotaneous albinism are not able to produce melanin. These people have white, yellow, or yellow brown hair, very light ( usually blue ) eyes, and very pale skin. Their eyes may appear pink because they have very little pigment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Albinism just in the eyes is called ocular albinism. Which is a dark biological pigment that is formed as an end product of the metabolism of the amino and tyrosine. People with ocular albinism, which only the eye lacks melanin pigment, while everything else appears normal. People who have this have a variety of the eye disorders because of the lack of pigment impairs normal eye development. These effected are extremely sensitive to bright light. Treatment for ocular albinism includes the use of visual aids and surgery for strabismus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Albinism is very rare in humans. There is a one to seventeen thousand chance that a person will have Albinism. Because of albinism if a person with the disease is exposed to ultraviolet rays they get very sick or get cancer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Albinism occurs in all races, from white, black, to asian. Regardless of skin color the people are still paler than normal people. Their hair is white and they have pinkish red eyes. Page:2 There is another type of albinism which is called Hermansk-Pudlak syndrome. In the is type of the disease there could be problems with bleeding, and with lung and bowel disease as well. This is a very rare and uncommon type of albinism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For almost all types of Albinism both parents or mates must carry an albinism gene in order for their child to have albinism. Because the body has two sets of genes, a person may have normal pigmentation but carry the albinism gene. If a person has one normal gene and one albinism gene that is still enough to pass the disease on to their children. Even if both parents have the albinism gene it does not mean they have the sickness. The baby will have a one out of four chance of getting the disease. This is inherited by autosomal recessive inheritance.

Explore Dickens presentation of education in Hard Times Essay

Explore Dickens’ presentation of education in Hard Times and comment on how this reflects a Dickensian vision of Utilitarianism Dickens’ presents The Victorian education system in ‘Hard Times’ in a fundamentally negative way, Dickens’ expresses the idea that having an imaginative aspect to our education is essential. He does this through satirising the education system and mocking the characters. Throughout the novel, it is a purpose of Dickens being satirical towards the education system. Dickens opens the novel with a satirical description of Thomas Gradgrind and his utilitarian educational methods as he teaches the room full of students â€Å"Facts alone are wanted in life† (9) Dickens satirises Gradgrind’s commitment to an education comprised only of facts as Gradgrind exaggerates that facts are the only essential thing in life. â€Å"Fancy† (14) symbolises imagination and wonder compared to facts. Dickens emphasise â€Å"Fact† more than he does with â€Å"Fancy† he does this by repeating â€Å"fact† itself, sounds more forceful. Gradgrind’s view on education is his children are to never imagine or wonder. Gradgrind rejects the concept of â€Å"fancy† or imagination; ‘fancy’ has nothing to contribute to understanding; only things that can be measured are important. Gradgrind’s disapproving rant on fancy â€Å"You don’t walk upon flowers in fact† (14) to the students underlines that fancy is bad and it should be â€Å"facts! † (14) In his satirical description of Gradgrind, Dickens’ aim is of what he experienced in the industrial England during his time when education varied vastly, according to location, gender, and class, meaning that Dickens view on Utilitarianism is shown in a satirical way, and his beliefs stood out throughout the novel, this indicates how the education system was controlled. Dickens uses characters’ names to continue his satire of the utilitarian education system prevalent in Victorian Britain. Mr Gradgrind breaks into the word â€Å"Grind† as a means to crush, signifying his method of grinding down the students’ individuality and any imagination they may have entered the school with. Mr M’Choakumchild, breaks into â€Å"me, choke, child† Dickens’ exaggerates with the name as we don’t think the new teacher is literally choking the children in his care, that this Fact-obsessed creature will only choke imagination and feelings out of them. â€Å"If he had only learnt a little less, how infinitely better be he might have taught much more! † (15) This highlights that the utilitarianism system would function much better, if it were not so strung on facts. If Mr. M’Choakumchild had learnt less and been practically involved with his students more and would have taught far better. This is criticizing the way the system works. Dickens is suggesting that in the utilitarianism system, suggesting that ramming facts into students might not be the most effective way of teaching them. Not everything can be reduced to facts alone. Mr Gradgrind and Mr Bounderby are the main representations of utilitarianism and followers of the system. In Louisa’s proposed marriage to Bounderby, Dickens shows us a disastrous consequence of Gradgrind’s system that denied everything but facts. â€Å"You have been accustomed to consider every other question, simply as one of tangible Fact† (97) This illustrates that Gradgrind, who is incapable of expressing his emotions effectively toward Louisa, edges her into a marriage with Bounderby by stating various facts and statistics to her. Louisa is hesitant to communicate her feelings towards him â€Å"she returned, without any visible emotion† (96) David Lodge’s ‘How Successful Was Hard Times? ’ (1981) argues that Gradgrind’s ideology in his system is questionable, Lodge explains that it is a â€Å"primary index of what is wrong with his system† Mr Bounderby is also a character with utilitarian beliefs, doubtlessly one of the major characters that has a firm belief in the system, â€Å"you may force him to swallow boiling fat, but you shall never suppress force him to suppress the facts of his life† (23) He signifies the very essence of his ruthless principles that only has room for facts and statistics. ‘Hard Times’ outlines that a utilitarian approach to life is unsuccessful and costs those who follow their imaginations become robotic and inadequate to the system. Imagination and heart is found in the circus where Mr Bounderby and Mr Gradgrind despise â€Å"No young people have circus masters†¦ or attend circus lectures about circuses† (23) Gradgrind implies that circuses are not like a practical schoolroom. Dickens represents Sissy Jupe as an influential character of the novel who presents the value of a warm heart and embodies feelings and emotions. She is seen as a complete failure of Gradgrind’s system. However Dickens and the reader judge her as a success. The young innocent girl mocked by the teacher and presented as the â€Å"dumb† girl in the start of the novel, gradually turns out to be the most key character in the whole novel. Since the foundational significance of fact and the removal of fancy that Gradgrind’s education obliges, Sissy Jupe will never succeed. Nevertheless, in spite of the education, Sissy becomes a young woman who is able to maintain her own principles and beliefs. The contrasting descriptions of Sissy and Bitzer are shown in their appearance. For example Sissy is described as radiant and warm â€Å"dark eyed and dark haired† (11) referring to her as someone who is the face of vitality. However Bitzer is portrayed as â€Å"what little colour he ever possessed† (11) and â€Å"His cold eyes would hardly have been eyes† (11)) Demonstrating that he is cold and emotionless with no heart and all calculation. Dickens uses Bitzer to demonstrate that other students are influenced by him, showing that he is a follower of Gradgrind’s system, whereas Sissy is the foreigner to the system. The Utilitarian education system relates to the industrial town ‘Coketown’ which consists of factories and â€Å"large streets †¦ like one another †¦ people equally like one another† (27) The town is linked to a â€Å"painted face of a savage† (27) that is described as barbaric and uncultured, the children are being deprived from the â€Å"ill-smelling dye† (27) Dickens suggests the society that the children/workers are living in is unsanitary â€Å"Jail† (28) indicating that they have no escape from their problems. The utilitarian system stamps out all imagination in the pupils and prepares them perfectly for the life of drudgery. Dickens describes as their lot as ‘hands’ in Coketown’s factories. Education presented in ‘Hard Times’ is shown as satirical in Dickensian vision of Utilitarianism. This is because Dickens is able to create a fool out of the system cunningly. Furthermore it is certain that what Dickens has presented is humorous and convincing with making the utilitarian ideology seem absurd through the novel. I find David Lodge’s argument towards Dickens opinion as liberal and potent.

US Fiscal Policy During the Great Depression - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2108 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/05/15 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Great Depression Essay Did you like this example? Before the Great Depression, the idea that government should use its fiscal policy to moderate the business cycle was far from the focus of political and economic debate. In the past, the government borrowed during wartime as wars were very expensive. Borrowings were large relative to the size of the economy and a balanced budget was hardly discussed. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "US Fiscal Policy During the Great Depression" essay for you Create order Upon entering the Great Depression in 1929, president Herbert Hoover was an important representative of belief in the application of social thought into social programs. Similarly, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt preceded Hoover and shared many of Hoovers beliefs in the application of thought into social programs. Both Hoover and Roosevelts fiscal policies in the Depression era were the catalyst of the various fiscal policies practiced today. This paper outlines the numerous fiscal policies pursued by Herbert Hoover and FDR during the Great Depression and examines the positive and negative effects of these policies. Hoover confronted the Depression with an abundance of attitudes, which even today sound modern. Hoover accepted the need for social action and confluence to prevent and correct the current state of unemployment. The acceptance of this social conglomerate did not mean the central government would be elevated to the role of managing the economy entirely. Rather, it was an acceptance to a more cooperative system in which the elements of society- businesses, individuals, state and local governments-worked together to achieve the goals of society. The cooperative system required a leader that would point society in a direction that was in their best interests but would not give the central government responsibilities that were otherwise separate from those of the other elements of society. Hoovers inaugural address on March 4th, 1929, included voluntary cooperation as one of the main themes in achieving a solution to the national problem and called on numerous branches of government to co llaborate in assisting businesses and individuals There is an equally important field of cooperation by the Federal Government with the multitude of agencies, State, municipal, and private, in the systematic development of those processes which directly affect public health, recreation, education, and the home. We have need further to perfect the means by which Government can be adapted to human service. Hoover was the leader in the movement to organize businesses in trade associations to cooperate with each other and the government in order to prevent and alleviate the growing unemployment. Hoover warned against excessive reliance upon the federal government and believed that the cooperative system would reduce unemployment. Shortly after the stock market crash in October 1929, Hoover extended the reach of the Federal Farm Board (FFB) to make government funded loans to farm cooperatives to keep prices up, with a stabilization fund of $500 million. The FFB had two major responsibilities: strengthening farm cooperatives and direct prize stabilization within the $500 million fund made available. Unfortunately, the subsidies given to farmers encouraged them to increase production until the deflation could not be countered and the appropriated funds were eventually exhausted. Following the disastrous attempt to aid farmers, President Hoover proposed a limited revision of the tariff on agricultural imports to raise rates and boost sagging farm prices. This in turn brought tariff debates to the forefront and Representatives Willis Hawley and Reed Smoot were encouraged to further tariff hikes. After months of debate and numerous warnings from economists, Hoover, unable to break from his own partys congressional leadership, signed the tariff in 1930. As a result, the high tariff proved to be a major mistake as U.S. trade partners began retaliating by increasing their tariffs, temporarily freezing international trade. Similarly, to maintain wage rates and enlarge private investment and public work expenditures, Hoover invited major business leaders to discuss keeping wages constant in the face of rising unemployment and asked labor leaders not to strike or request higher wages. I have, therefore, instituted systematic, voluntary measures of cooperation with the business institutions and with State and municipal authorities to make certain that fundamental businesses of the country shall continue as usual, that wages and therefore consuming power shall not be reduced, and that a special effort shall be made to expand construction work in order to assist in equalizing other deficits in employment. Hoover believed that high wages causes prosperity and argued that if major firms cut wages then workers would not have the purchasing power needed to buy the goods being produced. Non-union industry leaders complied with Hoovers request out of implicit protection from unions. In 1931, Hoover signed the Davis-Bacon Act which established the requirement for paying locally prevailing wages on public works projects. A year later, Hoover signed the Norris-LaGuardia Act which removed certain legal and judicial barriers against organized labor unions. The act declared that members of labor unions should have full freedom of association undisturbed by employers. Not surprisingly, the impact of high wages on profitability caused concern among industry leaders as they could no longer keep wages higher than the market clearing level. As a result, unemployment continued to rise. In 1929, unemployment was at 3.2% and rose to 8.7% in 1930. In 1931-1932, unemployment rose to 15.9% and 23.6%. (See Table 1) After Hoovers conference, nominal wages rose, and unemployment fell resulting in rapid unemployment between 1929 and 1932. By late 1931, the Hoover administration began moving towards stimulating real investment by restoring confidence and allocate funding for capital projects. To increase real investment and confidence, the Hoover administration focused on fighting deflation through stimulating lending and spending by creating the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC). The agency was established by Congress to provide financial aid to railroads, financial institutions, and business corporations. After a few months of its creation, the Treasury Department purchased the capital stock of the RFC for $500 million and announced it would borrow up to $3.3 billion. Although only the capital infusion affected the budget at that time, the expansion of the governments borrowing authority alarmed investors. Although this open-market program was to achieve confidence and reassurance, investors were still alarmed by the growing deficit and high unemployment. Another priority of Hoovers was to balance the budget because it emphasized the importance of preserving confidence in the credit of the government. Attempting to control the growing deficit, Hoover passed the Revenue Act of 1932 and was criticized because increasing taxes during a recession is contractionary. According to Keynesian Theory, fiscal deficits may stimulate an economy in the short run by increasing aggregate demand, but numerous forces could counteract this expansion. Hoover inherited a budget of $3.1 billion in 1929 and increased spending to $3.3 billion in 1930, $3.6 billion in 1931, $4.7 billion in 1932, and $4.6 billion in 1933. (see Table 2). Hoover increased spending over four years by about 48%, yet this increase was hindered by the numerous fiscal policies created by the Hoover administration. According to Herbert Stein, Hoovers decision to raise taxes was made in a condition of rising interest rates, falling bond prices, increasing bank suspensions, and large go ld outflow. In response, foreigners predicted that the U.S. would devalue the dollar and began converting their dollar holdings to gold. To maintain the dollars strength and slow the outflow of gold, the fed raised interest rates. The administrations attempt at an open-market policy was unable to increase confidence as activity within the financial markets indicated that the country was in a high level of uncertainty. The index values in graph 1 shows that uncertainty and risk reached their highest levels within 1932, down 86% being the lowest the country has ever seen since the beginning of the Great Depression. On March 4th, 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was hurled into the height of the Great Depression. Bank runs had reached epidemic proportions, interest rates had risen, and gold was flowing out of the country again. Both Roosevelt and Hoover were faced with the problem of working within these unfavorable conditions, however, these conditions were most unfavorable to Roosevelt as he pursued an expansionary policy of increasing budgetary deficits. Roosevelt won the election by promising to take the necessary steps to end the Great Depression. He introduced Keynesian economic theory and pursued policies that increased government spending. FDR promised to balance the budget for similar reasons to Hoover. Roosevelt believed that a balanced budget was important to instill confidence in consumers, business, and the markets, which would thus encourage investment and economic expansion. FDRs first step in balancing the budget was to close banks to stop foreign investors from depleting Americas gold deposits because Britain had just reverted to the pound. FDR declared a national bank holiday, ordering commercial banks to exchange their remaining gold reserves for Federal Reserve notes and credits and to submit lists of persons who had withdrawn gold or gold certificates since February. In conjunction to the bank holiday, FDR suspended the convertibility of dollars into gold for domestic citizens and suspended the export of gold until the value of the dollar in gold had been reduced by 40%. Dollars were no longer tied to gold and the US was now entirely off the gold standard. While the value of the dollar declined internati onally, the policy allowed more money to become available to Americans, stimulating the economy. FDR had deliberately achieved domestic and monetary freedom. On March 9th, 1933, within the first 100 days of FDRs presidency, congress enacted many of the programs in FDRs New Deal. It passed the Emergency Banking Act, which allowed banks to reopen once they prove they are solvent. Within three days, over one thousand banks reopened and raised the nations confidence exponentially. In the same day, Secretary of Treasury William Wooden said: The emergency banking legislation passed by the Congress today is a most constructive step toward the solution of the financial and banking difficulties which have confronted the country. The extraordinary rapidity with which this legislation was enacted by the Congress heartens and encourages the country. Before the Emergency Banking Act, the Depression caused many people to run on the bank and store their money at home. This Act provided confidence and security to the American people and slightly improved the economy. Within the following months, Congress passed numerous acts proposed by the New Deal. With unemployment nearing 25%, congress passed the Federal Emergency Relief Act, which provided immediate grants to states for relief projects. Simultaneously, congress passed the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which restricted farmers production and paid farmers to not till their land. It was an effort to restore agricultural prosperity by curtailing farm production, reducing export surpluses, and raising prices. This was a direct improvement of Hoovers attempt to subsidize farmers. Had Hoover enacted a production limit similar to FDR, a surplus of agricultural products wouldnt have occurred, and the $500 million allocated fund wouldnt have been exhausted. Over the course of FDRs presidency, congress signed an abundance of acts that created and improved social programs such as organized labor, Social Security Act, Revenue Act, Neutrality Act, and numerous others. In the mid 1930s, FDR had established his reputation and established confidence amongst the American people. Upon taking office in 1933, unemployment was at a staggering 24.75% (see Table 3) In just one year the unemployment rate fell to 21.6% and by 1939 it fell to 17.05%. Although unemployment was still high, FDRs New Deal and Keynesian policies had increased government expenditure which lowered unemployment. With a strong financial system and cooperative monetary policy, there was no danger that a large deficit would cause a financial crisis and FDR used federal spending to provide relief and not to achieve full-employment. When FDR took office the budget for 1933 was $4.6 billion and increased to $6.4 billion in 1934. By 1939 it increased to $9.1 billion as Europe entered WWII. (See Table 2) In conclusion, the Great Depression brought about new revolutionary ways of fiscal policy that required cooperation from monetary forces. Hoover pioneered the benefits of a social conglomerate in which the government and societal forces work together in achieving stability. Hoovers presidency is regarded as a failure due to his inability to balance the budget by significantly increasing it. Hoover also demonstrated many follys such as subsidizing farmers without a production limit and setting a high tariff on foreign countries, causing interest rates to sky rocket and gold to flow out of the country. Yet, regarding much of these failures, Hoovers inability to stabilize the economy provided FDR with the necessary information to correct the instability. FDR followed many of Hoovers practices and they both believed that society must come together in times of crisis in order to improve the nation. FDR subsidized farmers but set a production limit to reduce export surpluses and increase p rices and directly implemented Keynesian theory throughout his presidency. Although FDR increased government expenditure by running a budget deficit, the increase in spending was not enough to shift aggregate demand to the right. It wasnt until the start of WWII did the government deficit skyrocket and unemployment neared zero percent.