Monday, September 30, 2019

Problem of Young Generation Essay

Although some generational differences have existed throughout history, modern generational gaps have often been attributed to rapid cultural change in the postmodern period  ·Culture is not merely an accumulation of works and knowledge which an à ©lite produces, collates and conserves in order to place it within reach of all, or that a people rich in its  ·past and its heritage offers to others as a model which their  ·own history has failed to provide for them †¦ Culture is not  ·limited to access to works of art and the humanities ; it is at  ·one and the same time the acquisition of knowledge, the  Ã‚ ·Culture is the name for what people are interested in, their thoughts, their models, the books they read and the speeches they hear, their table-talk, gossip, controversies, historical sense and scientific training, the values they appreciate, the quality of life they admire. All communities have a culture. It is the climate of their civilization.  ·Today, teenagers spend more time in front of media than they do sleeping. Between Internet, facebook, cell phones, television and music, the teens are almost always plugged into the media. Media has significant influence over the formation of youth culture. The media culture is dangerous because it provides adults with a way to communicate to youth without permission slips or chaperones. The media culture is not interested in raising young people in virtue and character. Rather, the media exploits youth in order to make money at the expense of their moral character. To see an excellent documentary on how the media exploits youth culture, see the PBS Frontline documentary, Merchant’s of Cool.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Heckscher-Ohlin Model

1. The Heckscher-Ohlin model The Heckscher-Ohlin model is a mathematical model of the international trade and its balance. It is established upon the theory of David Ricardo for the competitive advantage and it strives to predict the arrangements of the international trade and production, which are based on the capacity of a given country to trade. Its essence consist in the statement that the countries that produce, will be exporting the goods, which manufacturing use their plentful and cost-competitive factors and will import goods that use the scarce factors of the country. Here we are talking about the factors of production, which are the land, labour and capital. Their abundance or their lack defines in which products the country has a competitive advantage. Meaning that they have advantage for producing those goods, for which the necessary factors and inputs are abundant in the country, therefore it is cheaper to produce them locally and export them instead of importing them. We can give the example of country like Belgium – here the labor and the land factors are not abundant, therefore the goods that require for the production those factors will be imported, because then it will be more cost effective. And vice-versa, because in Belgium there are a lot of engineers, technicians and it is rather well technologically developed country, it will be more advantageous to export goods, which require for their production those abundant factors – for ex. computers, IT etc. 2. Criticism on the H-O model & Leontief Paradox There is much criticism upon that model; therefore I’m going to state the most important of it here: * The little predictive power of that model, which was a critic by Bernstein and Weinstein, who claimed that the H-O model and its factor endowments of each country are not a reliable forecast. * The identical production function – the H-O model postulate that the production functions are corresponding for all the countries that are involved in the international trade. But it’s an unrealistic statement, because even between the most developed countries the competition is determined from various factors like technology etc. * In the H-O model, the capital is by definition assumed as consistent, identical and transferable to any form, since the capital goods may have many forms. There is no explanation how the capital is measured. So all this leads to a controversy around the concept of homogenous capital. * The unemployment factor is excluded from the model, which makes it really unrealistic. * The assumption that all firms are identical, because all the countries have the same production function is another weak point of the model. * The H-O model was supported by politicians, because it gave them an excuse for restriction upon the immigration lows at that time. * Probably the most significant criticism is called the Leontief Paradox. Mr. Wassily Leontief conducted an econometric test in 1954 of the implication of the H-O model in the US. And he found out that nevertheless the US was a country rich on capital it still was exporting mostly goods for the production of which the labor factor was decisive or ‘labor intensive goods’. And they were importing products, produced in countries with abundant capital as well or ‘capital intensive goods’. This paradox proves that the H-O model is not taking into account all of the necessary factors in order to be more accurate and applicable to any given country. 3. Response by H-O The main response was that the model has been further developed and extended in order for it to be more realistic. Thus by taking into consideration new features, factors and variables in the international trade (like tariffs for ex.) the predictive power of the model has been increased. The three scientists that contributed the most for those ameliorations are Paul Samuelson, Ronald Jones, and Jaroslav Vanek.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Basics of Christianity and Hinduism

Christian fundamental Christianity is one of the most popular religions in the world. Two billion people worldwide are engaged in one-third of Christianity in the world. Christianity is faith in the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. The idea of ​​how a father, son, and the Holy Spirit will be one seems to be something you might have in a dynamic way or in some way. The fact that this may be impossible for most people is because the Trinity has never been mentioned explicitly in the text. Religion is not so important in today's world compared to hundreds of years ago. In the United States, the main religion is Christianity, no one is worried about other religions like Hinduism. Strangely, Hinduism was always in the world before Christianity, but many people do not know it. As I have seen before, when teaching religious beliefs, There is lack of complexity compared to Christian lessons (Glod). Some people think Christians are perfect to complete other religions, b ut everyone is perfect in their own way. As we all know, Christianity and Hinduism are different. There is a slight similarity between the two beliefs. Religion is a very important aspect of people's lives. Because Christianity only rules over the rules of people's lives, Hinduism is ahead of Christianity. Since Hinduism is a religion with many beliefs and practices, it is more challenging to offer Christianity and Hinduism. It uses Hinduism as an unfair habit, reducing its theology and philosophy to the extent it really provides for comparison with Christianity. But in Hinduism there are some common principles for all Hindus. The first difference between Hinduism and Christianity is that Hinduism considers Christianity as an effective religion, while the Bible does not. Hinduism is a religion that promotes tolerance. It teaches that all religions are different paths to goals and that all religions are different means. Hinduism is not exclusive and admits that all religions are effe ctive. But Christianity teaches that Christ is the only way to God. John 14: 6 replied, Jesus answered, I am the way, the truth, the life, nobody can come to the father except me.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies Essay - 9

Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies - Essay Example ith products such as beverages and food and later the company diversified into various sector of electronics, clothing, financial services, retailing, etc. The company performs all its operations on the basis of one specific value that is to deliver its customers with good, better and best products. The success of the company is only because of its business and corporate level strategies. Tesco’s main business comes from its retailing segment that accounts for approximately 60% of the total profit that is generated by the business. The business level strategy is a plan that is adopted by a company so as to utilize its resources in order to achieve its business goals. The company has even invested  £1 billion so that it could provide a very pleasant shopping experience to all its customers who visit Tesco stores. The company has even subdivided its business level strategy into seven parts so that it can achieve its business goals and even provide their customers with high valued service. This business level strategy that was formulated was mainly to ensure that the company sets plans for its long term growth and profitability. The first part of the strategy is to grow in the UK market (Desjardins, 2005). The company wants to grow the core market of UK. The business tactics that were designed to support this strategy was to expand the staff base by 20,000 in t he next two years, implement new promotions for its products and services, and even to restructure all its store designs. This strategy was mainly adopted to give customers more importance and wanted. The second part of the strategy to be the creator of all famous and high value brands in the market. This strategy involved creation of its own label such as Tesco Finest and F&F clothing. This indicated delivery products that were of high quality and that also at the most reasonable price. The third part of the strategy is to develop itself as an outstanding retailer both in stores as well as in online. The

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Business Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Culture - Essay Example Organizational change or change management has become a very important aspect in the modern day management practice. Change is desirable when everything else has failed to ensure the continuous survival of the business. However change in itself might not be desirable when the degree of resistance to change become stronger because when resistance gathers momentum that in itself is an indicator of the existence of other solutions. If organizational change were focused on improving critical success factors related to financial management, Human Resource Management (HRM), employee relations, supply chain management, quality management, marketing and corporate social responsibility (CSR), then the organization would have to face considerable resistance. In the first instance when change involves people it is all the more difficult to manage the process of change smoothly because employees depending on their attitude to change would not remain silent. Thus as much as the active management of the change process involves attitudinal changes, there are predefined objectives that would require far reaching changes at each level before a final changes brought aboutAlbert Breton (Author) †º Visit Amazons Albert Breton Page . Organizational change also requires a far greater commitment on the part of management to initiate change. However once it is initiated the degree of participation by other employees alone would determine the success or the failure of the program. Thus organizational change theories have evolved overtime with particular emphasis on the change management process of employees in general. Lewin’s theory of organizational change is based on a three tier change management process in which a system of continuous replacement is adopted. Thus it is known as unfreeze-change-refreeze model. For example in the first stage the existing organizational setup is unfrozen or dismantled. In the second stage changes are

Honest Graft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Honest Graft - Essay Example believed that an honest graft is one which is because of the foreseeing power of an individual and it does not involve the money of treasury or the state government. He described honest graft as one in which an individual foresees an upcoming opportunity and avails it for his benefit. For example if the individual realizes that the government may be wanting space to build a park on a specific land, he would buy that land before hand so that he can sell it later on a higher price. Whereas in dishonest graft there is involvement of black money that is from sources such as gambling and treasury. An example of this is when an individual steals money from the treasury and utilizes it for his own use. I agree with Plunkitt as the honest graft can be a business in itself and this can be done by any individual who knows how to avail opportunities. Plunkitt had his own standpoint in politics. He criticized the reformers and their role in politics in the mid to late 1800’s. He believed that reformers were just the beginners in the game of politics. They were not able to interpret the bluffs and games around which the whole scenario of politics revolved. He opined that they were not able to clean up the government and politics because these individuals who were not even trained for politics tried to enter politics and change the whole scenario. Usually these individuals came out successfully in the beginning but gradually all these reformers had to exit because they were not capable of handling the overall scenario of politics. Plunkitt claimed that his party and all its members were dedicated to their country and the well being of its individuals. Their patriotism could clearly be seen in the incidents quoted in the book when the party members celebrated their independence like nobody else did. As described â€Å"Four hours under a big silk hat in a hall where the heat registers 110 and the smoke 250!† (RIORDIN, Chapter 17) Here it can be clearly seen that the leader

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Migration from Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico in the 80's Essay

Migration from Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico in the 80's - Essay Example The journey of the Dominican Republic was not an easy one but the fact remains that they were able to reach their destination using some boats by the name â€Å"Yolas†. This essay aims to discuss the Dominican Republics migration to Puerto Rico in the 80’s. (Ferguson and James) To start with, history has it that there is a close link between Dominican Republic and the Puerto Rico since the pre-Columbian times. This happened when the Arawak people who originated from the Amazon basin of South America came and settled in both territories. The fifteenth and the sixteenth century mark the starting point of the problems in the Dominican Republic when Spain conquered Dominican Republic as well as the Puerto Rico. Spain remained in control until the 19th century and during this time there was a gradual constant flow of people in both directions. The bureaucrats, soldiers, clerics, professionals, students, artisans and slaves were flowing to both directions. Precisely, there we re many exiles that moved from the Hispaniola Island of Puerto Rico in 19th century; this was due to political upheavals. (Falcon and Douglas) The political upheavals comprises of Spain cession of the Island to France, Haitian occupation of Santo Domingo and the Haitian Revolution of the 1804’s. ... a result of development swift when the Dominican sugar industry moved to the eastern province of San Pedro de Macoris, La Romana and Puerto Plata which attracted so many interested workers form the Caribbean island as well as Puerto Rico. (Bulmer) From this time the historians continued to document the growing number of the people from Puerto Rico in the Dominican Republic and especially in the 20th century. For instance the census done in Dominican showed that there were six thousand and d sixty nine Puerto Ricans living in the Dominican Republic. The religious affinities, linguistic and cultural likeness made the Dominicans and the Puerto Ricans to intermarry which made their second generation not to term themselves as the Puerto Rican but Dominican. However, the period between 1930 and the 1960 had a very minute number of Puerto Ricans migrating to the Dominican Republic and very few Dominicans migrated to Puerto Rico. In 1940 there was a drastic stop of Puerto Rican to the Domini can Republic. Similarly, there was a strict control coming from the Trujillo regime which made it very hard for the Dominicans to travel and only professionals, entrepreneurs and political exiles were able to move and settle in Puerto Rico. Nevertheless, after the death of Trujillo in 1961, there was a large-scale migration from the Dominican Republic to the Puerto Rico. Research shows that there was a dramatic growth of the Dominican population in Puerto Rico. (Moya and pons) There were two major factors that contributed to the migration of the Dominican Republic especially in the 80s. These comprises of political and economic factors. Firstly, the political factors largely contributed to the Dominicans migration. (Ferguson and James) For example, the earliest migrates were linked to the

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Media Analysis Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Media Analysis Paper - Essay Example al justification for pre-emptive military action became irrelevant in the public’s mind influenced by vivid media images of the tragedy of September 11. However, the result of a government exploiting public grief with a media propaganda blitz has in turn resulted in thousands of innocent Iraqis dying and â€Å"the deaths of hundreds of American/Allied forces, and the destruction of the Iraqi infrastructures – all of which were seemingly forgotten† (Kamalipour & Snow, p.2). As a result, the use of the media has undoubtedly been integral in warfare campaigns, however the concomitant result of this is arguably that â€Å"it the dawn of the third millennium†¦. We as human beings have made no progress towards elevating humanity to its potential level of civility† (Kamalipour & Snow, p.2). This in turn correlates to the assertion of McLuhan that the â€Å"medium is the message†, which is the famous phrase propounded by Marshall McLuhan in â€Å"Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man†(1964). The central premise of McLuhan’s proposition is that the nature of the medium is what influences audience perception of the actual message regardless of content (McLuhan, 1964). In further developing this argument, McLuhan posits that the precise characteristics of the medium will engage an audience in different ways, which ultimately influences the communication of the actual media message (McLuhan, 1964). For example, in comparing how messages are conveyed in comics and movies, McLuhan describes movies as high definition in engaging the audience attention, in contrast to the low definition of the comic which requires a more participatory role of the audience to ascertain content message (McLuhan, 1964). The focus of this paper is to critically evaluate the impact of the media in relation to contemporary warfare with a contextual study of the recent Israel military campaigns in Gaza through a comparative analysis of Old Media versus New Media. Moreover, this paper

Monday, September 23, 2019

International Business Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

International Business Policy - Essay Example Added to that the purchasing power dazzled one and all and Multinationals of all hues went headlong to get a piece of the action. It has been ascertained that both India and China are quite similar and are perusing similar liberalization policies. Culturally too there is affinity and therefore investing in China will be a wise move. As a growing garment exporter to the world with an annul turnover of over Rs 5000 crores, equivalent to $ 1.25 billion the House of Pearl Fashions Ltd (HPF) are faced with a dilemma of competition from China. With the onset of a quota free regime US and European countries are free to buy their requirements from any country of the world and China as a source of cheap labour as well as due to its effective control on the Yuan has emerged as a strong contender against export of Indian garments. HPF is actively considering converting this threat into an opportunity. They already have a trading presence in China through a wholly owned subsidiary Northwest Trading, the next logical step should be to set up a manufacturing unit in one of their special economic zones and make it another exporting hub taking advantage of their labour and currency factors. (House of Pearl). Prior to reforms the Chinese maintained an overvalued currency but with expansion in foreign trade IMF estimates that the Chinese currency lost about 70 percent of its value against the dollar in real terms over the period from 1980 and 1995, substantially enhancing the international competitiveness of China-based export operations. (International Monetary Fund 1996, 50a) China has a free currency system and conversions are allowed freely. But the currency of the land the Yuan is frozen against foreign currencies of the world. As against this there is no free conversion of currencies in India but the Indian Rupee is kept on a floating basis viz-a-viz foreign currencies and this is the reason of our competitiveness being challenged by

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The US failure in Vietnam Essay Example for Free

The US failure in Vietnam Essay Examine the view that the US failure in Vietnam resulted more from losing the hearts and minds of the American people than from military defeats The US failure resulted more from losing the hearts and minds of the American people than from military defeat due to many reasons such as the Tet Offensive and ruthlessness in Napalm, My Lai, etc. However, there were other factors such as the loss of confidence by Johnsons administration and the communist popularity and ingenuity that also resulted in the US failure in Vietnam. One of the main reasons the Americans could not defeat the communists is because they were unable to win the hearts and minds of American people. Americas inability to distinguish the enemy meant that their tactics did not work and led to further failure. My Lai on 16th March 1968 was an example of American hatred of the Vietnamese. 347 unharmed civilians were beaten and killed by American soldiers and their officers. Women were beaten and shot and water was contaminated by buffalo, pigs and chickens being dropped in wells. Generally, the Americans were better at winning the hearts and minds however they were ruthless when necessary. Operation Phoenix was introduced whereby thousands of Vietcongs were sought out and interrogated. Few of these came out alive. This shows that torture was normal and that there was a lack of military tactics and the extent the Americans would go to find out who the enemies were. Moreover, the ruthlessness of Napalm and its victims who were melted into a kind of gelatine and some of who were disfigured lived in caves and remote areas. Also Agent Orange which was used to defoliate 20% of South Vietnams jungles so the enemy could be seen more easily had a tremendous impact; there were incidents of cancer and toxic related diseases which still remains high in Vietnam. Therefore due to all the torturous methods and killings, the US lost the hearts and minds of the American people. America was unable to win the war as their attitudes to the Vietnamese made it difficult to. They never really understood any of the Vietnamese people and classed them as less than human. Furthermore, Americas failure was due to the actions of both Washington and Saigon frequently antagonising the South Vietnamese peasants. Once the Americans entered Vietnam life for the South Vietnamese went from bad to worse. American bombing and Diems strategic hamlets programme forced many peasants to move away and away from the things which meant a lot to them such as crops. Johnson usually tried to avoid targeting non-combatants; however this was difficult as they never knew who their enemies were. However, due to the Americans fighting a Comfortable war, the soldiers became unmotivated and ineffective. American army officers were less experienced than some soldiers he commanded and unpopular officers were shot. It was therefore hard to win the war with so many inexperienced and increasingly unpopular officers. Moreover, the average age of a Grunt in Vietnam was 19 which made them vulnerable. Many shot themselves in the foot or hoped for a small wound, but they never felt safe. Any time Americans or ARVN moved out of an area, the communists would move in. There were a lot of booby traps which wounded 20% of American victims. There were many traps as such which blew away limbs and resulted in huge explosions. The trouble for the Americans was that they never knew which Vietnamese was the enemy, which also was demoralising as they didnt want to hurt innocent victims. Therefore it was hard to win the war when Grunts were demoralised and terrified which links to losing the hearts and minds of the American people. Furthermore, over 8 million volunteered to serve in the army as they were inspired by a sense of duty, patriotism, family tradition or a sense that communism should be stopped. Many wanted to learn new skills such as fighting or enjoyed the war (found it fun to fight, the drama and heroics). Others enjoyed killing other men, but this always attracted the army. However, there was a lack of realism as there were bad soldiers who were not properly trained for the war. This helps to explain why these men were unable to defeat the communists. The Navy did not like taking orders from Westmorelands ground army and they did not get along. The soldiers did not believe in what they were doing and disagreed with tactics. There were a higher proportion of black soldiers who were combat troops rather than doing desk jobs which shows the racial discrimination of the US. Therefore this links to losing the hearts and minds of the Americans and many back individuals would not support the US for doing such things. Furthermore, there were discipline problems; $10,000 reward for the death of the officer responsible for Hamburger Hill. Additionally, there was an anti-war feeling at home which was lowering morale. There was lack of motivation therefore the men were not going to do well and they were not fighting properly therefore they were not going to win. However, the communists on the other hand, had high motivation and they knew what they were fighting for unlike the US. Many soldiers never actually fought in the war, they had to organise the American lifestyle for everyone else. Westmoreland said that the only way soldiers would fight is by a comfortable war which would be motivating. This was important as the communists had ideological motivation unlike the Americans. Army discipline was a problem due to drugs, STDs, prostitution, which led to problems in battle. Many soldiers were dent to Saigon or Japan for RR. Lots of children were fathered by Americans. Overall, everything was made to feel comfortable and the US bribed its soldiers. But they just felt soft. The US openly admitted that their strategies were wrong and that they should have targeted the North. There was a search and destroy mission to clear out any VC. There was only 1% success and there was mostly children casualties. There was a huge fall in morale because as soon as the US cleared an area, the VC would be there, therefore there were no gains. This also links to the poor hearts and minds feeling of American people as many children were being killed. Also, the VC could tell when the US were approaching as they used hi-tech weapons which did not suit Guerrilla Warfare. Moreover, another reason that the US failed in Vietnam was due to communist popularity and ingenuity. The VC won the admiration from American foes as they were inspired by communism and nationalism. They went through a lot of trauma such as skin diseases. This helped the communists win as they out laughed the Americans and proved that they could put up with anything. Furthermore, the battle of la Drang was a good illustration of communist determination and it helped insure ultimate victory. There was a network of tunnels set up underground where the VC could hide, shelter and regroup. Both sides thought they won. However the US could not cope with 300 of their men dying therefore they lost morale, even though the VC lost more men. This links to the morale at home as people were dying which links to losing the hearts and minds of American people. As there were underground communist organisations, the communists knew when they would attack therefore they were one step ahead of the US and they could deal with it in advance. In addition, Saigon became an unsavoury city in the US war years. This made the country weaker and weakened the army and there was a negative impact of US on Saigon. Due to drugs and prostitution, the Vietnamese could not concentrate on the war as much as they were concentrating on what Americans were doing. Overall, US failure in Vietnam resulted more from losing the hearts and minds of the American people than from military defeats because what it came down to in the end was the support the US lacked as their tactics were not working and they were killing innocent victims as they never knew who their enemy was. US failure in Vietnam was also due to communist popularity and ingenuity and the fact that they knew what they were fighting for and had the knowledge of Vietnam that the US lacked. Therefore, although the failure in Vietnam was due to military defeat, it was more from losing the hearts and minds as people were unmotivated.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Tax Evasion in the UK | Essay

Tax Evasion in the UK | Essay An Investigation Into Tax Evasion In The British Large Companies Abstract This project looks at the tax evasion in the British large companies and find out the reason of this problem. It aims to discover the methods to control it. As resources find, firstly, tax loopholes cause tax evasion. Secondly, tax is so high and effects large companies much. Companies hope to cut costs without paying tax. Thirdly, the leaders of companies can not realize they have duty to pay tax. Finally, the government ask companies to pay double tax which is unfair to companies. Therefore, British Large companies should raise the awareness of responsibility to pay tax. The Governemt should improve the tax law. The research was conducted by examining previous studies. Two cases study focus on tax evasion of Google and Amazon in the UK. The results show that British large companies have tax evasion problem. Companies use branch offices for transferring British tax money to other countries’ offices which is located at tax heaven. The leaders of companies even are proud of tax evasion. In conclusion, in the UK, tax evasion is quiet serious in the large companies. Whatever ethical and social system cause tax evasion problem. The government should prevent this situation by improving tax system and letting people raise the responsibility to pay tax. 1. Introduction Tax evasion is defined as an illegal behaviour that a person, organization or corporation purposely avoids paying true tax liability. Those caught evading taxes are generally subject to criminal charges and significant punishments (Investopedia, n.d.). Nowadays, with British economy and finance development, tax evasion has increased year by year. This area is important because lots of British companies, such as Google, Amazon, Starbucks and Apple, have tax evasion problem. Britain have turned into a tax evasion heaven that cheats itself in the process. The reason is the loopholes of tax evasion system. According to PCS, 90% of tax is effectively voluntary with just few staff to check suspect cases. The National Audit Office reported that HMRC has doubled the amount of tax debt written off in one year and due to its own mistakesrelatively. Labours record on chasing tax loopholes was depressing.In 2009, it set up the patent box – a vast new tax avoidance vehicle. This government s new enormous tax escape leak is the controlled foreign companies management system, allowing British companies to pay tax in the cheapest country they can find, and none when they bring profits back (Polly Toynbee, 2014). Furthermore, profit motivate companies avoid paying tax to save money for themselves.As hypothesis, because of profit, companies keep away from turning in tax to the government on time. In addition, the tax system has the leak so that companies have ability not to pay true tax.Therefore, this project aims to discover the reason of tax evasion and find the way to prevent this situation in the large companies in the UK. 1.1 Research Question Do the profit aims and the loopholes of tax system cause tax evasion? How to deal with tax evasion in the British large companies? 2. Literature review The reason of tax evasion in large companies in the UK. In this world, tax evasion is never ethical. It is illegal whenever the century. Companies and individuals all own a duty to the government to pay whatever taxes the state demands. There is no such thing that taxes are too high even though British resident always complain the level of price and taxes (McGee, 2012). However, in this century, tax evasion is such a normal phenomenon. There are some opinions about the reason of tax evasion in the large companies in the UK. Firstly, although the reforms of the tax structures improve year by year, the British tax system still has loopholes (ZodrowFuest, 2013). Therefore, companies can route around the laws to avoid paying tax. The loopholes cause shadow economy increases. Shadow economy is quite narrow. It does not need to take results and insights of other sciences into account. It is difficult to control. With shadow economy climbs, it attracts original tax system and creates competition for the official firms at the same time (Schneider Enste, 2003). Moreover, because of tax system loopholes, in multinational corporations, the extensivephenomenon of income shifting happens frequently. Multi-national and offshore companies have illegal market and inequitable competitive advantages. Tax system loopholes let overseas and offshore companies avoid finance acquiring, asset stripping companies and markets. The effects impact all tax system and supply and value chains (Nicholas, 2013). The offshore economy tends to be around us. Lots of trades are successful through the offshore economy. What is more, entrepreneurs’ corruption and government expropriation of private resources destroy the balance and interaction between tax and investment. The political structure can not use as effective tool for the original tax system (ZodrowFuest, 2013). Therefore, the tax system loopholes are continued to expand. Furthermore, Endemic avoidance relies on means legitimated by the tax system. Companies exploit tax differences within different places and tax regime and transfer profit to avoid tax. British companies use companies, trusts and partnerships to shelter earnings or assets. (Nicholas, 2013). Secondly, according to ThomasSowell (2012), tax cut for the rich. Tax effects rich companies greatly. Because the total amount of money saved by someone in the large companies is often larger than the total amount of money saved by someone in small companies. With the higher tax, the more money companies have, the more tax they need to pay. All People desire to have more money. By tax evasion, companies can save lots of financial revenue. Thirdly, leaders of companies think government does not give them or society tangible benefits and value. It wastes their paid tax money. So, companies do not want to pay tax to the government. Maybe, companies give money to charity that is better than paying tax to the government. The former can bring more social value and popularity to the companies (D’Souza, 2012).Fina lly, because the government asks British large companies to pay double tax, companies believe that it is unfair to themselves. Therefore, British large companies do not pay tax to the government (Baekdal, 2013). The approach for preventing from tax evasion In the UK, tax evasion situation is serious. Here are some methods to help to solve the problem. Firstly, British government should set law to limit or remove the legal standing of companies or ownership from jurisdictions with cannibalistic tax and secrecy regimes (Nicholas,2013). Secondly,the large companies tax standards need to be updated to prevent loopholes from being abused. Companies haveability to use new data and advanced technology to control fraud and evasion risks.The government has also set up a new centre of system within HMRC to enhance expertise forsolving offshore tax evasion (Gov, 2014). Thirdly, British companies should raise their ethical and legal responsibility to pay tax for developing British society and country. 3. Case Study Case StudyGoogle’s tax evasion Google’s current situation Google, as a large company, uses its dominant position for own economic goals with tax avoidance strategy escape financing of government and public infrastructure (Baekdal, 2013).From 2006 to 2011, although Google has 18 billion pounds revenue in Britain, the company reported only 16 million profit for taxes to British authorities (Reuters, 2013). In 2011, Google’s UK unit just paid six million pound to the Treasury and turned over of 395 million pound (Barford Holt, 2013). The reason of tax evasion in the Google Google operates its European branch companies out of approving tax jurisdiction on purpose. Google own the company’s non-US intellectual property rights in the tax haven of Bermuda. The leader of Google company believe that enterprise has the duty to shareholders to minimise its costs by avoiding paying tax (BBC News, 2012). The chairman of Google even said that he is proud of his company’s tax evasion scheme. As the report said that he even thinks the tax evasion of 2.5 billion pounds in Google is capitalism (Kumar Wright, 2012). In Ireland, Google has a branch office which should pays fee to isolated Dutch company. Google establish Dutch company purely for the purpose of reducing the taxes (BBC News, 2012). As Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt said that he does not agree on UK tax debate. He thinks that it is political decision instead of economical issues if the company must comply that the tax laws is changed by British system. It is not fair that com panies should pay more tax when the tax rate climbs up (BBC News, 2013). Therefore, The reason of tax evasion in Google company is that the holders are not conscious of having responsibility to pay tax for the government and society. It desires to reduce the costs in order to achieve their economic aim by avoiding paying tax. Case study Amazon’s tax evasion Amazon’s current situation According to the report given by the Guardian, Amazon earned more than 3.3 billion pounds profit in the UK last year without paying any corporation tax to the tax authorities. In 2011, Amazon, which has earned about 3.35 billion pounds in the UK, only reported a tax expenditure of about 1.8 million pounds (BBC News, 2013). Now it is under investigation by the UK tax office. The reason of tax evasion in the Amazon The tax structure loopholes are used by Amazon company. Luxembourg country is well known as tax heaven. The tax rate in Luxembourg is much less than the tax rate in Britain. According to the report, the goal that Amazon company establish deliberately branch office in Luxembourg is to round around the British tax laws. Tax system loopholes are used by Amazon to transfer billions of pounds profit from British customers to Luxembourg. Then, Amazon’s profit is used Luxembourg’ s law to pay the tax which is much less than paying in the UK. This behaviour aims to payinvisibleBritish tax (BowersWintour, 2013). Under current laws, Amazon has 4.2 billion revenue annual years in the UK, which rely on a network of eight grand warehouses across Britain by routing through Luxembourg. (Bowers Wintour, 2013). According to Ibtimes website (2014), Amazons accounting strategies have been attacked by John Lewis and other high street stores, which they think give Amazon an unfair advantag e by using the Luxembourg loophole to shield its profits from the tax authority in the UK. 4. Discussion According to the resources, in the UK, tax evasion in the large companies is known as the fault of the companies. There are three reason of tax evasion. The first is that tax system has loopholes which is used to transfer the profit from high tax rate place to low tax rate place. The Second is the leader of companies may not realize they have responsibility to pay tax to the government and society. They just desire to achieve the economic goal. The third is that tax rate is so high and tax effects the rich more. As cases of Google and Amazon show these reasons have been proved. The leader of Google was proud of tax evasion and desired to reduce costs to achieve their economic goal. Amazon company used branch offices which is in tax heaven country to transfer revenue for avoiding paying tax. However, there has other agreement that government is greedy to ask companies to pay double tax. Generally speaking, because government put tax money on social infrastructure and companies have a lot revenue, companies should raise the awareness of duty to pay tax. Moreover, government is probably the one that should improve the tax system and establish the law to punish these illegal attitudes. Furthermore, comparing to other countries, Tax authority should control tax rate and keep balance between each area in order to prevent companies to transfer profits to branch offices in other countries. 5. Conclusion As resources found , in current century, tax evasion situation is much serious in the large companies in the UK. There are four reasons of tax evasion. Firstly, although the reforms of the tax structures are developed year by year, the British tax system still has loopholes. Therefore, companies can route around the laws to avoid paying tax. Companies use branch offices for transferring British profits to other countries which is located at tax heaven. Secondly, tax effects rich companies much. The companies are more rich, the tax money they should pay to the government and society. Companies desire to save costs for economic goal. Thirdly, leaders of companies might not have sense of responsibility. Two cases of Google and Amazon have proved the most of people believe that tax evasion should due to British large companies themselves. However, a few people think government causes tax evasion because it asks companies to pay double tax which is unfair to companies. According to discus sion, companies have responsibility more than the government because the government puts tax money to society with developing medicine system , charity and others. 5.1 Recommendations According to the research, British large companies should be enthusiastic with paying tax to the government and society. .In addition, the government might better to develop British tax laws to control tax system loopholes. In the future, with society, economy and technology development, the situation of tax evasion would be changed. British people should continue to research tax evasion. 5.2 Limitations and scope for further research As the place and time limited, research was limited in two British large companies in recent years. If the research carried out in several companies and researched the situation of tax evasion in 10 years, it could has more accurate results. (Words: 2015) 6. References Amazon Facing Fresh UK Tax Avoidance Row. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/amazon-facing-fresh-uk-tax-avoidance-row-1449978 Amazon UK paid  £2.4m tax last year, despite  £4bn sales. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22549434 Baekdal, T. (2013). The Other Side of Amazons, Apples and Googles Tax Evasion. Retrieved from https://www.baekdal.com/opinion/the-other-side-of-amazons-apples-and-googles-tax-evasion Barford,V. Holt, G. (2013). Google, Amazon, Starbucks: The rise of tax shaming. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20560359 Bowers, S. Wintour, P. (2013). Amazon told: time is up for tax avoidance. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jul/19/oecd-tax-reform-proposals-amazon D’Souza, J. (2012). Terrorist Financing, Money Laundering And Tax Evasion: Examing The Performance Of Financial Intellgence Units. Boca Raton, Fla: CRC. Factbox: Apple, Amazon, Google and tax avoidance schemes. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/22/us-eu-tax-avoidance-idUSBRE94L0GW20130522 Googles Eric Schmidt perplexed over UK tax debate. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22676080 Kumar, N. Wright, O. (2012). Google boss: Im very proud of our tax avoidance scheme. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/google-boss-im-very-proud-of-our-tax-avoidance-scheme-8411974.html Mc Gee, R. W. (2012). The Ethics Of Tax Evasion: Perspectives In Theory And Practice. New York: Springer. Nicholas, C. (2013). Twelve steps to stop tax avoidance. Retrieved from http://www.newstatesman.com/business/2013/09/twelve-steps-stop-tax-avoidance Reducing tax evasion and avoidance. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/reducing-tax-evasion-and-avoidance Schneider, F. Enste, D. H. (2003). The Shadow Economy: An International Survey. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press Sowell, T. (2012). Trickle Down Theory And Tax Cuts For The Rich. Stanford, Calif: Hoover Institution Press Starbucks, Google and Amazon grilled over tax avoidance. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20288077 Tax Evasion. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/taxevasion.asp Toynbee, P. (2014). This farcical tax system is cheating us out of billions.  Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/29/farcical-tax-system-cheating-billions-chase-avoiders Zodrow, G. R. Fuest, C. (2013). Critical Issues In Taxation And Development. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Does Rape Justify Abortion? Essays -- Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Does Rape Justify Abortion?      Ã‚   Rape is a horrendous crime, leaving a woman in a state of mental, physical, and emotional turmoil. When a woman becomes pregnant as the result of rape (which happens less than 1 percent of the time), abortion will not take away the trauma, the nightmares, the pain -- but it may add to them.    According to a survey conducted by Dr. David Reardon of the Elliot Institute in 1990, the psychological complications of abortion include guilt, nervous disorders, nightmares, and memory loss (over 100 psychiatric reactions in all). Additionally, if there was a pre-existing disordered state (like rape), abortion may cause a worsening of psychological functioning.    Because of problems with our justice system, rapists often walk free without punishment, while the child conceived in rape may suffer the ultimate injustice - death. Abortion supporters have argued for abortion in cases of rape at the expense of the emotional, physical and mental stability of thousands of women, as well as the lives of children.    By the way, in every one of the 56 countries that now have abortion on demand, the initial step taken by abortion-rights activists was the intense lobbying for abortion in the so-called 'hard cases' -- fetal deformity, rape and incest.    The basic question to ask yourself is: "Is there a victim involved in abortion?" There are many who say that there is not, that the preborn child is just a mass of tissue, a part of the woman's body. If this were the case, then no one would have any reason to oppose abortion any more than they would oppose tonsillectomies or appendectomies.    But is that the case? Developments in the science of fetology have given us greater... ... Collins, V. J.   Principles of Anesthesiology. Philadelphia, PA: Lea & Fabiger, 1976. Hamlin, H. "Life or Death by EEG." Journal of the Amedos. Medical A's',, 1W12/84, p. 20. Hooker and Davenport. The Prenatal Origin of Behavior. Kansas: University of Kansas Press, 1952. Noonan, "The Experience of Pain, New Perspectives on Human Abortion." N.p.: A1etheia Books, 1981. p.213. Reinis, Stanislaw and Jerome M. Goldman. The Development of the Brain. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas Publishers, 1980. Rockwell, P.E.,M.D. Director of Anesthesiology, Leonard Hospital, Troy, NY, U.S. Supreme Court, Markle vs. Abele, 72-56, 72-730, 1972. P.11 The Silent Scream. Cleveland, OH: American Portrait Films, 1984. Tanner, J.M. and G.R. Taylor, Time-Life Books. Growth, New York: Life Science Life, 1965. p.64.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Defining the Soul in Walt Whitmans Song of Myself Essay -- Song of Mys

Every sentence in Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" tends to either repeat or contradict. He even says of himself, "I contradict myself" (Lauter, p. 2793). This can make Whitman's poetry a little confusing to some. In his many stanzas, definition of the soul is ambiguous and somewhat contradictory. Whitman says, "Clear and sweet is my soul....and clear and sweet is all that is not my soul" (Lauter, p. 2745). What I believe Whitman is saying here is that his soul and everything else that is not his soul, including the souls of others, is clear and sweet. He goes on to say in the lines following, "Lacks one lacks both..." (Lauter, p. 2745). In other words, a soul cannot be clear if it is not sweet and a soul cannot be sweet if it is not clear. If it does not have one of the qualities, then it cannot have the other. By his words, a soul is not a soul unless it has both qualities: clear and sweet. He says many lines down, "I believe in you my soul....the other I must not abase itself to you, And you must not be abased to the other" (Latuer, p. 2746). Whitman ... Defining the Soul in Walt Whitman's Song of Myself Essay -- Song of Mys Every sentence in Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" tends to either repeat or contradict. He even says of himself, "I contradict myself" (Lauter, p. 2793). This can make Whitman's poetry a little confusing to some. In his many stanzas, definition of the soul is ambiguous and somewhat contradictory. Whitman says, "Clear and sweet is my soul....and clear and sweet is all that is not my soul" (Lauter, p. 2745). What I believe Whitman is saying here is that his soul and everything else that is not his soul, including the souls of others, is clear and sweet. He goes on to say in the lines following, "Lacks one lacks both..." (Lauter, p. 2745). In other words, a soul cannot be clear if it is not sweet and a soul cannot be sweet if it is not clear. If it does not have one of the qualities, then it cannot have the other. By his words, a soul is not a soul unless it has both qualities: clear and sweet. He says many lines down, "I believe in you my soul....the other I must not abase itself to you, And you must not be abased to the other" (Latuer, p. 2746). Whitman ...

The Pit and the Pendulum essay -- essays research papers

The Dungeon of Madness In this story, Edgar Allan Poe (such as in many of his works) uses the setting to create a dark image inside our minds. He makes this specially through darkness, therefore the character makes a connection with death. â€Å"The physical setting oppresses him in the visions of his graveyard† (1). â€Å"The setting plays an important role in how the narrator discovers the many ways he may die† (2). It is a dungeon full of torturing traps, and the character, as any normal human, feels terror inside his prison and fears his death in any of the cruel ways arranged for him. Still, he has to decide between death and the relief which it brings or life with the interminable agony of being tortured as a lab mouse. The best terror stories create suspense through the setting. Most of the times, the character does not know completely where he is or what enemy or problem he is facing. In â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum†, the underground prison is dark; as a result, the character compares the place with hell or even his tomb. That is why at the beginning, during his dream-like state, he does not want to open his eyes and we do not know where he is either. The darkness makes the character struggle with the idea of trusting his senses or not. Also, he is afraid to discover more mean ways in which he may die. Poe creates a disgusting atmosphere for the setting. He starts describing the prison as a "damp and hard place." There is no light and the character is not able to s...

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Odyssey and the Aeneid Essay

From the cultural views, there are some differences between the Greek and Roman concept of heroes: the Achaeans attach importance to individuality whereas the Romans to community. Unlike the Roman Empire which we know is a kingdom, in the ancient Greece-also called Hellas-there are no countries but only city states scattered around the Balkan Peninsula. In this sense, the Achaeans do not have the notion about collective consciousness or what â€Å"country† is, so they tend to possess individual will, and so do the heroes at that time. We can see the evidence in the two works. On the one hand, in the Odyssey, Odysseus constitutes the standard Greek values of heroism: individualism. He mainly concerns if he can go back to Ithaca safely and how to regain his throne; that is, what he cares about is not really related to anyone else but is himself, his life, and his personal purposes. For instance, as a leader of his sailors, the hero Odysseus is proved to be the only survivor coming back to his Ithaca. So we can see that his cleverness and resourcefulness are only applied for his own â€Å"individual† survival. On the other hand, the Roman heroism is quite different. Aeneas is burdened with a great responsibility for his sacred mission ordained by Jupiter to found a new land. He concerns about not personal gain or welfare but other people and therefore he is the presentation of â€Å"pietas,† possibly the key quality of honorable Romans consisting of a series of dedication toward the family, followers, homeland, and the gods. Culturally, the Roman, or Virgilian ideology of heroes is distinctly different from that of the Greeks. The chief difference of their model heroism is that the Greek heroes symbolize individual will, glory, and feelings whereas the Roman heroes an ideal nationalistic ruler (Augustus, whom Virgil writes the Aeneid for) who with sacrifice, devotion, and duty for his people is regarded as a servant rather than the served.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Knowlegde management

Albert Einstein Learning Objectives After studying this week's content you should be able to: 2. 3. 4. 5. Define knowledge management, intellectual capital, and organizational learning. Identify specific ways that organizations acquire and share knowledge. Describe the knowledge creation process. Explain the role of trust in knowledge sharing. Identify organizational features which facilitate organizational learning.Lecture Overview What Is knowledge management? Knowledge creation process Tacit and explicit knowledge Knowledge sharing Definitions, history, and benefits Ability and willingness Organizational learning Data – Information – Knowledge Data Information Knowledge a set of discrete, objective facts about events Conceptualized Categorized Calculated Corrected Condensed data endowed with relevance and purpose Comparison Consequences Connections Conversation a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information and expert insight.Source: Davenport & Pru ssia, 1998. Justified true beliefs (Monika, 1994, p. 1 5) the individual's ability to draw distinctions within a elective domain of action, based on an appreciation of context or theory, or both (Bell, 1999, p. Lexis) information that is relevant, actionable and at least partially based on experience (Leonard & Sniper, 1998, p. 13) a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information and expert insight (Davenport & Prussia, 1998, p. 9) Knowledge Management â€Å"is the management of information, knowledge and experiences available to an organization in order that organizational activities build on what is already known and extend it further† (Mayo, 1998) Increased productivity: Greater utilization of organizational knowledge base Reduction of redundancy & time searching for info.Increased organizational cohesion & cooperation Greater organizational learning KM Proposed Benefits Reduction of duplication and time searching for information Wider application of organi zational knowledge base Reduction of pressure to do more with limited resources through building on others' learning curves Increased morale through greater cooperation Improved organizational communication and participation Where did KM come from? Three Social and Economic Trends 1. Globalization – complexity, volume, speed puts pressure on What do we know, who knows it, what onto we know that we should know. . Ubiquitous computing – premium value on knowledge that cannot be digitized, codified or easily distributed. 3 Knowledge-Centric View of the Firm capability is knowledge (especially knowledge that is specific or tacit') (Prussia, 2001) Intellectual Capital Knowledge residing in the organization†sum of its: Human Capital Knowledge that people possess and generate Social Capital Knowledge, trust, and norms of reciprocity in one's social network Structural Capital Relationship Capital Knowledge captured in systems and structures Values derived from satisfied customers, reliable suppliers, etc.Knowledge Management Processes Acquisition Sharing Use Hiring talent Communication Awareness Acquiring firms practice Freedom to apply Individual learning Experimentation Developing a Learning Orientation Value the generation of new knowledge Reward experimentation Recognize mistakes as part of learning Encourage employees to take reasonable risks Explicit and tacit knowledge Explicit knowledge can be organized and communicated from one person to another Tacit knowledge subtle information acquired through observation and experience; can't be explicitly communicated, only possible through observation and experience Two Dimensions of Explicit Knowledge Easy to communicate facts and figures models and theories protocols, procedures, formula Can be captured Difficult to communicate intuition judgment experience-based insight getting things to work in practice Cannot be captured, but can be transferred The Explicit Dimension of Explicit refers to knowle dge that has been reflected in some kind of medium such as in a document, image, process or tool.Examples: Standard Operating Procedures Manuals Checklists Computer code Tacit Knowledge Tacit knowledge is more important competitive advantage The economic significance of tacit knowledge is derived from its barriers to transferability Its economic significance is an incentive to develop better understanding of tacit knowledge in its own right. The Tacit Dimension of Knowledge Tacit knowledge is highly personal and cannot be transferred without close personal contact. A technician abandons the standard operating procedure because experience tells him that it is not appropriate in this situation An auditor digs deeper because something about the accounts makes her uneasy Two core processesCodification of knowledge into databases and repositories Facilitation of interpersonal knowledge sharing The Knowledge Creation Process Knowledge is created and expanded through: the social interactio n between tacit and explicit From individuals to the group Monika & Attacked, 1995 Sharing and creating tacit knowledge through direct experience Solicitation Externalities Articulating tacit through dialogue and reflection Explicit Learning and acquiring new tacit knowledge in practice Monika, Attacked, Kong, Ottoman Internationalist Combination Stemming and applying explicit knowledge and Knowledge creation Solicitation – move from tacit to tacit knowledge CROSS NO. 00213J e. G. New knowledge is expressed in a way that can be shared Combination – move from explicit to explicit knowledge e. G. Working side by side; e. G. Integrate with what we already know and capture in policy or procedure Internationalist – move from explicit to tacit knowledge e. G. New learning become a pattern in your repertoire, taken for granted and you forget you learned them (Monika and Attacked 1995) Managing knowledge: transformation Levels of Knowledge Types of knowledge Individual Organization tacit Databases Systems and procedures Skills Know-how

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Importance of National Income Statistics Essay

There are several important uses of national income statistics and, therefore, there is great need for their regular preparation. National income estimates provide not only a single figure showing the national income, but also supply the detailed figures in regard to the various components of the national income. It is both the figure of national income and the details regarding its various constituents that throw light on the functioning and performance of the economy. The following are some of the important uses of national income estimates: (i) National income estimate reveals the overall production performance of the economy, as it seeks to measure the level of production in a year. Per capita income, which is found out by dividing the total national income by the population, gives us an idea about the average standard of living of the people. Economic welfare depends to a considerable degree on the level of national income and the average standard of living of the people. Thus, the figures of national income and per capita income indicate the level of economic welfare of the people of a country. (ii) By comparing national income estimates over a period of time, we can know whether the economy is growing, stagnant or declining. If the national income increases over years, it means that the economy is growing. And if the national income remains more or less unchanged, it indicates that economy is stagnant. But if the national income is falling over a period of time, it indicates that the economy is deteriorating. In case the economy is growing, we can also judge the rate of economic growth or development by measuring the rate of increase in national income. Further, by comparing the per capita income over years, we can know the changes in the standards of living and economic welfare of the people. (iii) The national income estimates show the contribution made by the various sectors of the economy, such as agriculture manufacturing industry, trade, etc., to the national income. Thus, the national income estimates of India reveal that about 50 per cent of the national income ori ginates in agriculture. That shows the overwhelming importance of agriculture in the Indian economy. (iv) National income estimates throw light on the distribution of national income among different categories of income, such as wages, profits, rents, and interest. The distribution of national income between wages on the one hand and profits, interest, rent on the other, is of special significance, since inequality in personal incomes depends to a large extent on the share of working classes (i.e., wages) and the share of property owners (i.e., rents, profits and interest). (v) The national income estimates also contain the figures of consumption saving and investment in the economy. Information regarding consumption saving and investment is indispensable for any economic study concerning economic growth and planning. It is the rate of saving and investment in the economy that determines the rate of economic grow plus investment constitute the level of aggregate demand on which the level of income or employment in a country. (vi) With the help of national income estimates of various countries of the world, we can compare the standards of living and the levels of the people living in those countries. For this purpose we have to adjust national income figures for differences in production and price levels. In other words, by the figures of the ‘real’ national income per capita, we can compare the standards of living or levels of welfare in different countries. Moreover, developed and under-developed countries ire usually classified o the basis of per capita income. (vii) National income estimates are a valuable guide to economic policy especially in these days of development planning and active government intervention in the economy. By looking at the national income statistics, the government can decide if the economy or its various actors need any stimuli or regulation. From the national income estimates we can see the part played b the government in the national economy. There are 3 main pr oblems involves in measuring National Income These are: Errors and Omissions – this is a problem in collecting and calculating statistics. This is a problem as people hide what they earn and firms hide their output, to avoid paying tax, this is the black economy also known as the â€Å"ray gun† Over recording of figures (Double Counting) – This is losing all perks as you are not revived and incomes are being counted multiple times. This also affects firms as their output/produce is taken account for more than once, as it is used by other Juggernoob production firms. Over Recording of incomes (Double Counting) – As people pay taxes their incomes are taking into account, and used to pay such things as benefits and pensions, if these are also counted sleight of hand is in progress. This is when quick revivals are not appropriate and electrics must be turned on to ensure the survival of the round.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Lakeland Wonders Case Study Essay

1. How will the new CEO’s vision transform the Lakeland Wonders organisation? †¢ Change of brand image- no longer ‘Handcrafted with pride in the USA’. †¢ Change of organisational culture with the proposed expansion. †¢ Create new revenue streams with expansion into new markets. †¢ Departure from the traditional style of the company. 2. What are the main concerns of the stakeholders who do not agree with her vision? †¢ Loss of Lakeland Wonders image and ‘94 year tradition’. †¢ Expanding too quickly could damage the company, concern over speed of change. †¢ Potential logistics issues with outsourcing. †¢ Concern over quality control and possible damage to brand image. †¢ Local, long term partners would be lost. †¢ New CEO’s lack of clear brand strategy for proposed new products. †¢ Union issues- threatened by outsourcing, not consulted earlier on, etc. †¢ New CEO’s plan to bring in new people (Cecil, Pat) will make long term employees feel threatened and insecure. 3. Does your group think the proposed strategy is a good strategic move for Lakeland Wonders? If yes, why? If not, why not? We think that the proposed strategy is a good move for the following reasons: †¢ Increased growth potential, increased profits- enabling the company to grow in line with targets set by board. †¢ Expansion into growing market-mid non-electric market only segment predicted for double digit growth. †¢ Ensures the company remains competitive over the long term. †¢ Cost effective.  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ New staff, new ideas and fresh growth- overall improvement for the company. However there are also some negatives: †¢ The overall planning is needs to be effective and complete otherwise it could be damaging to the company. †¢ CEO’s push to force through the changes is causing divisions within the company. †¢ Potential loss of the core quality of the company (traditional, made in USA, etc.) †¢ Risk alienating current customers.

Friday, September 13, 2019

DVM LT Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DVM LT Assignment - Essay Example The consumption of a high portion of employees’ time reduces their productivity. Workers also tend to forget their duties when they concentrate on the initiatives. This then leads to inefficiency in the department. The Toyota Productions System, on the other hand, is an automotive company that uses lean management style. Lean management is a style that deals with the elimination of non-value adding activities in an organization (Chiarini, 2013). This style, for example, gets rid of workers who do not add value to the vehicles that the company manufactures, and it also eliminates unnecessary equipment. This ensures that all the factors of production that are in Toyota Production System add value to customers. This reduces the cost or performing business and it increases efficiency in the organization (Chiarini, 2013). As a result of this, Toyota Production System produces affordable automotives that are of a higher quality compared to its competitors in the industry. Therefore, the lean management that is used by the company is more beneficial than the human relations management that the Department of Motor Vehicles

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Rollout of an Operating System Upgrade; A Project Plan Essay

Rollout of an Operating System Upgrade; A Project Plan - Essay Example This report will attempt to integrate these factors into a project report which will be based on a fictional company Tomato Inc and the upgrade to their popular operating System bacOS. To gain an accurate perspective of this project management plan, it is essential that the profile of the company be covered in brief. Tomato Inc was one the earliest companies making desktop personal computer established in the now famous Silicon Valley. It has a rich history of product innovation and has successfully expanded its presence in areas like media players and other digital devices which are not traditionally associated with hardware manufacturers. The company follows an aggressive marketing strategy and boasts of the highest brand loyalty from its existing user base in the present IT industry. Though the company has diversified into other areas, its PC business still remains vital to its revenue generation model. The major strength of the company has been product innovation and the stress on the usability ("end user" experience"). This has fetched the company a niche market in the PC industry. The Tomato desktop PCs and the bacOS have a brand loyalty in the PC market which can only be described as fanatic Tomato Inc follows a vertically integrated business model. ... These upgrades are made available on the website of Tomato Inc which can de downloaded without cost after authentication. This report will attempt to document the project plan of an upgrade to the bacOS to ensure compatibility of the bacOS with the digital camera portfolio manufactured by Bikon Inc. Bikon Inc has a product portfolio of seventy three digital cameras. On entering the US market, Bikon Inc has signed an agreement with Tomato Inc that makes it necessary for upgrading bacOS to support the digital cameras of Bikon Inc. Scope of the Project as an Objective Statement Create and launch an upgrade to the bacOS to ensure the compatibility of the digital camera portfolio of Bikon Inc (as defined in the service contract signed by Bikon Inc and Tomato Inc on 07 Feb 07). The scope of the project includes the design of the hardware connectors required to interface the iBac PC with the Bikon digital cameras. Major Deliverables of the Project The final deliverable for this project is the completed, tested and the launched upgrade to the bacOS which will enable it to support the product portfolio of Bikon Inc (as defined in the service contract signed by Bikon Inc and Tomato Inc on 07 Feb 07). There are two major deliverables for this project which will precede the final deliverable. The first deliverable is the detailed software specification document developed by a combined software development team comprising of the representatives of both Tomato Inc and Bikon Inc), this team has already been constituted by the Bikon Tomato integration taskforce. This specification document will contain the specific details of the various technical

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Comparative Analysis of World War II and the Cold War Essay

Comparative Analysis of World War II and the Cold War - Essay Example The war was divided between the Germany and its allies known as the Axis and the United Kingdom and its allies known as the Allies.2 The Cold War began at the close of World War II and endured until the early 1990s.3 Although two entirely different types of conflicts both the Cold War and World War II posed a threat to Western democracy. In both conflicts there was a fair balance in terms of wealth and military capabilities. It involved an aligning of enemies and allies. However, unlike the Second World War, the opposing sides did not meet on the battle field and a winner was never declared.4 Moreover, the Second World War involved only one front. That front was a military front. However, the Cold War involved several fronts, they were: Both conflicts invariably involved the advancement and suppression of political ideologies. Nazi Germany and its allies opposed Westernization and wished to promote Hitler’s political culture while the West had no desire to give in to the demise of Westernization. The Cold War involved an identical clash of opposing political visions between the United States and her allies and the Soviet Union and its allies. The following discussion examines in greater details the similarities and differences that fueled both the Cold War and the Second World War. In June of 1941 World War II continued to spread when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Pre-existing relations between the Soviet Union and the Unite States as well as Great Britain was characterized by hostility and mistrust. Despite these differences the United States came to the Soviet’s aide via its Lend-Lease Act of March, 1941. During this time the Soviet Union was led by Joseph Stalin while the United States was led by President Franklin Roosevelt.6 Through the auspices of the Lend-Lease Act of 1941, the US and Soviet corporation was most visible. This hand of friendship

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Criminal law in UK , problem quastion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Criminal law in UK , problem quastion - Essay Example will also be a discussion in relation to the administration of the overdose of painkillers in a situation where the patient has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and whether the outcome would be any different if the overdose had been administered by the nurse instead of the doctor. This will require a discussion in relation to whether the nurse would have been aware that the higher dosage would cause the death of the patient. As the doctor is more likely to be higher qualified than a nurse, a greater degree of care would be expected of the doctor. Having considered all of the above, it should then be possible to determine the liability of each of the parties. The actus reus of an offence refers to the act of the accused, which, when combined with either the recklessness or intention of the accused causes the crime to be committed. For each crime, the actus reus of the offence will alter. For murder, the actus reus would be the direct act of the accused that caused the death of the victim. This means that the actus reus of an offence is the external element of the crime. The mens rea of a crime is the fault element of the offence and translates as the ‘guilty mind’. When a man of sound memory and of the age of discretion, unlawfully killeth within any country of the realm any reasonable creature in rerum natura under the Kings Peace, with malice aforethought, so as the party wounded, or hurt†¦, die of the wound or hurt, †¦ within a year and a day after the same1. Through legislative changes2 and case law precedents 3 the element of malice aforethought has now been restricted to narrower terms4. Prior to these changes, the courts needed to be convinced that an element of ill will or premeditation existed in order to find a defendant guilty. Since the changes the prosecution now only needs to prove that an intention to kill5 or an intention to cause grievous bodily harm6 existed. The wording of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 has also altered the level

Monday, September 9, 2019

My reflection Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

My reflection - Research Paper Example Anita Ghai, a disabled Indian woman, reflects on the marginalization of disabled women in India and the driving force behind the disability movement in India. The cultural environment in India has made it difficult for the movement because of the stigmatization facing people with disabilities as they are treated as outcasts or lower caste members (Ghai 29).The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990(ADA) defined the critical aspects of the rights and benefits of people with disabilities. With this type of governance, the definition of â€Å"who is a disabled person† was made clear. The ADA emphasizes on the need to modify the existing facilities and amenities to accommodate people with disabilities. Disabled people should be given the proper assistance and inspiration to get the best out of them. Beneath that physical or mental disability, there lies a true and definite talent that only needs to be exposed in the correct manner, with patience and the correct training provided. I believe that disabled people deserve equal opportunities to prove their

Can managers develop the 'culture' of their organisations Critically Essay

Can managers develop the 'culture' of their organisations Critically discuss - Essay Example It is only logical that organizations and companies have good managers that management can be termed efficient.4 In light with this, organizations or companies could develop their own culture where they have unique management system that is different from other. Such kind of management ensures that the top management does not necessary have to follow the usual protocol of management.5 In fact, some of the best rated companies in terms of management are that have developed their own culture in working and dealing with their employees. Simply, they have better working conditions and the employees are motivated in numerous ways as compared to other organizations or companies. Of importance to note is that, organization culture entails behaviours that are prevailing beliefs, practises and thought. Some of these fundamentals might deter the improvement of an organization if leaders and managers do not embark on a program to support this improvement.6 It is worthwhile that for this to be a chievable, certain strategies must put in place. These strategies entail employment relationship, theory and practise, finding alternative ways to high performance in work places, transformation of personnel roles to fit the current management programme, over and above, the impact of human resource management in an organization.7 Employment Relationship Employment relationship is a legal term that is used globally to denote the relationship between the employee and the employer under certain conditions that incorporate remuneration. Through this employment relationship, rights and obligations are created between employee and employers.8 Apparently, this relationship continues to facilitate a route in which employees are could be able to access their rights and benefits associated with employment in respect to labour laws and social security. In general, employment relationship is the periphery of determining the origin and extent in which employers are mandated to treat their employ ees.9 Of importance to note is that, this relationship has drastically changed with reference to the labour market. Some of the new forms of relationships that are being created have loopholes especially on the increasing number of employees whose employment status is unclear. With numerous labour institutions working on the need for standardization, it is evident that an employment relationship is crucial to both the employees and employers. 10Consequently, an organization or company must be able to handle this kind of relationship with ultimate care to ensure that it carries the best of interest from either side.11 For instance, any organization should ensure that all its employees have clear employment details in respect of the International Labour law and any other law that is applicable.12 Their rights as human beings and workers should be respected at all cost. Through this, organization is certain of embracing it own culture that could be different from firms, organizations a nd companies that do not embrace the employment relationship.13 Empowerment, Theory and Practise Employment theories and practises are crucial plan

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Rewrite Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Rewrite - Essay Example Coming into contact with feces of an infected person is one way through which hepatitis A can be acquired or transmitted from one person to the other. Moreover, if a person fails to wash their hands appropriately after using bathroom, they can get infected (Gallagher 9); furthermore, hepatitis A can be transmitted to those individuals engaging in oral or anal sex especially with those that are infected as well as through blood transfusion, although this situation happens occasionally (Mushahwar 2). In addition, transmission of HAV though the consumption of contaminated food and water can be associated with increased outbreaks of this disease globally. Normally, the incubation period of hepatitis A is between 14 and 28 days (WHO), but everyone’s body responds to it differently and exhibit different symptoms of the disease. Some individuals may not show any sign at all but they are infected with this virus; for instance, individuals with subclinical hepatitis have neither sympto ms nor jaundice (Mushahwar 8). Moreover, signs and symptoms of Hepatitis B are more predominant in adults than in children since children have more mild reaction to Hepatitis A as opposed to adults. Symptoms of hepatitis A are jaundice, dark urine, extreme fatigue, vomiting, nausea, colored stool among others (Davis 3), but jaundice occurs in more than 70 % HAV infection cases (WHO). Hepatitis A virus has been known to be one of the oldest diseases affecting humankind, and it was discovered by Steven Feinstone in early 1990’s. The recommended diagnosis of hepatitis A is â€Å"testing the patients’ sera for the presence of certain anti-viral antibodies† (Mushahwar 1), whereby a positive test for anti-HAV is an indication that a person has been exposed to this virus before or is infected. Moreover, this virus can be diagnosed through determining HAV antibody in the feces (Mushahwar 9). Arguably, people who are susceptible to HAV infection are those that not vaccin ated against hepatitis A, travelers exploring places where the virus is endemic, men having sex with men, and people with chronic liver disease (WHO). Additionally, injecting drug users with unsterilized needles and medical personnel in hospitals are also at risk of HAV infection (Mushahwar 13). However, hepatitis A can be avoided by washing hands and engaging in safe sexual activities and by doing this, this endemic disease can be eradicated easily. In most cases, hepatitis is a treatable disease, but leads to death on rare occasion especially when diagnosed late or not treated (Gallagher 8). There are low infection rates the United States and other wealthy states since they are aware of proper hygiene (Gallagher 10); nevertheless, research shows that people aged five to forty are the most vulnerable to HAV infection. According to WHO, about 33, 288 people were infected in 1976, but when the vaccine was administered, this number reduced to seven, 653. This is a clear indication tha t the use of vaccine in preventing HAV is effective and can help in reducing this infection. Moreover, proper hygiene should be individual’s main concern since worldwide outbreaks and localized infections are very common in areas with poor sanitation. Some of the places that are at a higher risk of HAV infection are Africa, Southeast Asia, Middle East as well as some parts of South America. In these places, HAV infection is mainly spread through person-to-person contact by the fecal oral route,

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Debate & MySpace Essay Example for Free

Debate MySpace Essay The motion here today is that Social networking sites can actually cause more harm than good. We do not however deny the fact that in today’s society, these social networking sites do bring benefits to our daily life and also in the ever growing business industry. For example, it helps us connect with our loved ones who are halfway round the globe, or even a marketing platform for business developers with its vast consumer reach. On the other hand, what we are affirming today is that despite it upsides, it can bring about MORE harm than good. It is an increasingly untenable fact, especially with the ease of access to the internet to virtually anyone, that these social media can have more negative effects than good. This is Veronica, she will be speaking about the negative effects that it will bring to our health and financial fraud. Secondly, Hema will elaborate further the effects on business risk and personal risk. Thirdly, Nazrul will touch on the topic of productivity and cyber-criminal activities. Last but not least, Joshua will briefly wrap up about this debate. This is a 5-round debate, and we look forward to challenging our opponent in this controversial topic. Social networking sites are websites that facilitate communication between 2 or more individuals. When we are communicating with 2 or more individuals, many fail to realise that we are essentially putting out information on ourselves out there on the World Wide Web. There are obviously a lot of privacy issues at hand when this happens. Im certain that the opposition will argue that we have control of what we share over the internet, and we can prevent these issues from happening. Even if we are very careful on what information we share, we still cannot prevent all forms of privacy violation  from happening. An article on The Guardian UK states that Facebook users are unwittingly revealing intimate secrets including their sexual orientation, drug use or political beliefs. A research shows that just by looking at a user’s Like activities, they can predict information about the user. Researchers are able to predict a users characteristics, race, religion, beliefs and political views with up to an accuracy rate of a shocking 88%. Even if we do put in controls, data on these sites are still accessible to anyone, especially those with expertise in the IT arena. A student from the University of Georgia is suing her university of $2 million dollar over the misuse of her Facebook picture. The University have pulled out a picture of her in a bikini from her social media account for a district-wide presentation campaign raising awareness on what not to do on social media. Incidentally, this student has set her privacy settings to only allow her friends to view her pictures. These examples here gives a fair indication of how our personal information can be accessed by almost anyone regardless of the measures that we took to protect our information. And if the opposition party would like to argue that it is the user’s decision NOT to put anything on the social sites, then I think that it would be considered as NOT USING these social media sites in any case, and as such, would be irrelevant to the topic of today. Another issue that I would like to address today is Cyber Bullying. Cyber bullying is a very serious problem because it’s very harmful to younger generation psychologically and also physically. Most bullies don’t think about what they say or do have an enormous effect on others. A very famous case sparked the attention of many people to realize that cyber bullying does have a very negative effect. The case of Amanda Todd shocked the world as she posted a video before committing suicide. In the black white video, Amanda tells the world her story of years of bullying. I now would like to pass on to my fellow colleague who will go on to the second point. Cyber Bullying Amanda Todd http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top_stories/story/Girl-Commits-Suicide-After-Being-Cyber-Bullied/qIO2h9LBhUaCEB_3oQlbzg.cspx Jessica Laney http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/social-media-blamed-teen-suicide-article-1.1218550 Eden Wormer http://abcnews.go.com/US/bullied-teen-commits-suicide-posting-loves-haterz/story?id=15887174 http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/mar/11/facebook-users-reveal-intimate-secrets http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/student-sues-school-district-for-using-her-facebook-bikini-picture-in-school-wide-presentation/ http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/selfies-damage-relationships-study-article-1.1424830 http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/internet-is-bad-for-kids-mental-health-237178.html In Wake Of Teen Suicides, Ask.fm Faces A Myspace Problem

Friday, September 6, 2019

Homosexuality in the Christian Church Essay Example for Free

Homosexuality in the Christian Church Essay Homosexuality is defined as consistent fantasy, interest and arousal toward a person of the same sex. Disagreement exists about the explanation of homosexuality. On the other hand, evidence supports the fact that homosexuality has existed throughout the history of humankind and is not just a development of the 20th century. Early psychoanalytic theory concluded that homosexuality developed from conflicts derived from early developmental disturbances. Investigators more in recent times have explored neuroendocrine explanations as a cause of homosexual development. The results of these studies have been controversial. On the other hand, a lot of experts believe that sexual orientation, whether heterosexual or homosexual, is the consequence of a multifaceted interface flanked by anatomic and hormonal influences during fetal growth. As investigators attempt to reply the question of etiology, others have worked to further define the incidence of homosexuality. Cognitive and communal expansion throughout adolescence is an intricate progression characterized by the acquisition of a sense of self-separate from family, a sexual independence, the capacity for intimacy and the ability to be autonomous. (The Christian Science Monitor) For those young people who grow a homosexual orientation in a society based on heterosexuality, the changeover all the way through adolescence is expanded and expressed to some extent in a different way throughout the stage of acquiring a sexual uniqueness. Interviews with gay and lesbian youth specify a general pattern in which an adolescent accepts his or her own homosexuality. It is the sexual orientation toward people of the same sex. Homosexuality contrasts with heterosexuality, sexual orientation toward people of the opposite sex. People with a sexual orientation toward members of both sexes are called bisexuals. Female homosexuals are often called lesbians. In modern years, the word gay has been applied to both homosexual men and women. Homosexuality appears in almost all societal contexts within unlike community settings, socioeconomic levels, and cultural and dutiful groups. The number of homosexuals in the inhabitants is not easy to find out, and dependable data do not subsist. Nevertheless, current estimates propose that the term homosexual may relate to 2 to 4 percent of men. Estimates for lesbians are lesser. Not all people who slot in homosexual commotion essentially classify themselves as homosexual. (Zgourides, G. ) The move toward greater unity among Protestant denominations has continued in the 21st century; however, within denominations there is still conflict between conservatives and moderates or liberals. One for the most part divisive issue is homosexuality. Denominations debate whether to ordain practicing homosexuals and whether to bar clergy from performing same-sex marriage ceremonies. Some churches condemn all homosexual activity, while others refuse to do so. Consequently, according to the same religious law that many of them use when religiously citing the gay and lesbian community, countless, reputable Christian leaders today, especially within African America, are in a word adulterers. However, you will not readily read of religious leaders publicly denouncing the social and spiritual validity of their fellow divorced clergy who have married more than once, like you will their `cry loud and spare not public cries relating to gay and lesbians desiring the equal choice and right to marry only once. There exists no evidence that suggests Jesus ever discussed same-sex anything, publicly or privately, during his ministry. However, Christ, the bedrock of modern-day Christianity, did publicly condemn religious leaders of his age for granting bills of divorcement. However, wading through all the hype in the media these days one might just conclude the opposite. (Knutson, D. C. ) It is considered an act of unconditional grace to say that the immeasurable, unmerited grace available from God stops only at the sin of adultery. Does Gods amazing grace cover only those sins of Old Testament law that are socially comfortable by todays standards? Let me put it another way: Is divorce (absent of unfaithfulness) a sin? Many Christians might respond, and there is plenty of scripture to back that up. Then will God consider the bed of that remarried person defiled? Most would probably respond, No, absolutely not, because of the New Testament law of grace, and there is plenty of scripture to support this. Christian churches historically have discriminated, excluded, and persecuted homosexuals on the basis of their sexuality. The emergence of new social attitudes and modernization has contributed to the easing of such taboos. However, the role of the church to defend minorities has led to serious conflicts between the gay community and the churchs prohibition of homosexuality. Within the Christian churches, homosexually oriented people have been excluded, marginalized and persecuted in the great majority of cases. The relatively few exceptions, which are known, are seldom taken into account. John Boswell, from whom the most important studies in this area have come, has found examples of liturgical forms for the union of same-sex partners from the churches of Asia Minor. Nevertheless, it must be said in general that in societies, which have morally proscribed homosexual relations, treated them as taboo or legally forbidden them, the sexual ethic upheld by the churches has not represented a divergent position. (Bauserman, R. ) New reflection by the churches in this area began only under the influence of a shift in social attitudes towards sexuality. The processes of modernization and secularization were accompanied by a removal of sexuality from the realm of taboo and a new respect for the private sphere. Furthermore, since the end of the 19th century modern sexual research has brought new insights into how the sexual identity of persons is formed. In addition, constitutional provisions guaranteeing the rule of law have made it possible for the first time for homosexual people to organize and struggle publicly for the abolition of discriminatory laws and regulations. For the most part the churches have supported the decriminalization of homosexuality only hesitantly. Nor was this new orientation primarily the consequence of new biblical insights or spiritual experiences; rather, the reconsideration was touched off by other factors. In the first place, personal encounter with gay or lesbian people, once they no longer had to conceal themselves but could begin to speak for themselves, was certainly important. As a rule, living alongside homosexual persons on the job, in the neighborhood, within the circle of friends or relatives leads to a reconsideration of traditional social or individual prejudices. A second factor was the exposure of individuals or groups in a good number of churches and congregations to the investigations and findings of modern empirical research on sexuality. However, this research is academically institutionalized (usually in connection with faculties of medicine) in only a few countries; and church declarations on sexual ethics draw explicitly on scientific sexological research only rarely and usually in passing. Finally, it should be noted that quite a few churches have accepted the decriminalization of homosexuality and the principle of non-discrimination against people because of sexual orientation through decisions by their competent governing bodies without however immediately reconsidering their own moral convictions and reservations on the issue. Churches time and again have a great deal of freedom for autonomous structuring of their ordinances and especially their offices. They should work at abolishing any remaining discrimination because of individual sexual orientation in the right to hold office and accept homosexual persons as office-bearers of course, as in the case of all office-bearers, according to the measure of their suitability for the growth of the community. (Boswell, J)

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Trade policies: The WTO Success And Failures

Trade policies: The WTO Success And Failures A Review of the Theory Trade between nations has always been an intriguing issue. Some argue that there should be a complete allowance of trade between countries and on the other hand some say that this would be disastrous for many countries that would lose from such a decision. In understanding why would a country seek trading with other countries and whether free trade should be introduced in the world, we have to take into account some basic theories from the past. Adam Smith, was the first person to attempt to give a reason for this in the late 18th century. In his book, Wealth of Nations, he tried to give a good reason to promote free trade, through his absolute advantage theory. In his theory he first used a comparison between nations and households. The concept of this example was simple. The master of a family would never choose to produce something at home that is going to cost less by buying it. And this is a fact because doing so, he would gain more time to produce something else. This is the same case as for countries. A country would prefer to buy a product, if the cost of producing it, would be higher than buying it. This country would gain the opportunity cost of using the spare time from not producing that good, to produce something else. In order to show this, he used the term of absolute advantage of one country over another in producing a good. A country is supposed to have an absolute advantage in producing a good if a worker o f that country is able to produce higher amounts of this good than a worker of the same industry in another country. To define and measure this advantage he used labor productivity and production cost and compared them between countries. Thus, Adam Smith explained the benefits of free trade, and showed that trade helps every single country to make the most of its absolute advantage in constructing some products. Generally, the overall level of wages in countries is determined by absolute advantage, and trade patterns are determined by comparative advantage. To sum up with, a country is more affluent with trade, without being an disbursement to the other country. This theory was something very important for that period because it introduced the free trade idea to many governments. On the other hand, it had a big imperfection. In a case in which a country would have absolute advantage in all products over another country (and the world was following his  [1]  theory thoroughly), n o trade would occur between these two countries, because of no absolute advantage existence. This is when David Ricardo introduced his own theory of comparative advantage, to give an answer and solution to this imperfection. In his theory, he entails that a country doesnt need to have absolute advantage over another country in order to trade a good. He combined the theories of comparative advantage and opportunity cost, to prove that a country will export the goods and services that it can produce at a low opportunity cost and import the goods and services that it would otherwise produce at a high opportunity cost (Pugel, 2009). According to comparative advantage theory, the living standards of these countries are going to boost because of trading, because the resulting world pattern of production faces higher efficiency instead of each country producing only for its own market. If this theory is accurate, globalization is beneficial for every society, to the extent that living standards are higher and prices for goods are lower. In conclusion, Ricardo proved that advantageo us trade can arise even if one country is less productive at producing all products, on condition that, these countries will have different relative advantage or disadvantage on the production of different goods. An alternative to Ricardos model came up in the early 19th century. Heckscher-Olin theory, which predicts, that a country exports the product(s) that use its relatively abundant factor(s) intensively and imports the product(s) using its relatively scarce factor(s) intensively. The H-O theory focuses on another important source of production-side differences. There exist some basic assumptions that have to hold in order for two countries to trade goods with each other, according to H-O theory. First of all, there has to be a condition in which major factors of production are not found in the same amount in both countries and that these two goods being produced, will require either relatively more labor or relatively more capital. When a country has a relatively higher amount of capital, it specializes in producing capital-intensive goods, while on the other hand, the country with the relatively higher amount of labor, is going to specialize in the production of labor-intensive goods. Furthermore, another condition that has to stand is that there will be no movements of labor and capital between the two countries. In addition, these countries will have to be in a market environment in which, transporting goods between countries has no associated costs. The final assumption required, is that the citizens of these two nations have the same wants. To conclude with, the prediction that comes out of Heckscher-Olin theory is that a country exports products that use the countrys relatively abundant factors more intensively. They exchange these products for imports of products that have an intensive usage of the countrys relatively limited factors. Specialization in production and trade generates a higher standard-of-living for the countries involved, according to the H-O theory. The problem arising from this theory is that it is not taking the trade of capital goods into consideration. Moreover, capital and labor are fixed components endowed to each country. These main theories give emphasis to differences in production conditions instead of tastes. Ricardos argument was that, because countries have different comparative advantages in producing different goods, trade is profitable. The Heckscher-Ohlin theory agrees that comparative advantages in production are the basis for trade, but H-O explains comparative advantage in terms of underlying differences in factor endowments. Each country tends to export those goods that intensively use its relatively abundant factors of production (Pugel, 2009). The evidence is that the H-O theory explains a fine part of the worlds actual trade patterns sensibly well, but that some significant aspects of trade patterns do not square easily with H-O (Pugel, 2009). Most economists favor letting nations trade freely, with few tariffs or other barriers to trade. The striking consensus in favor of free trade is based primarily on a body of economic analysis demonstrating that there are usually net gains from free trade, both for nations and the world. Trade affects production and the quantity of consumption in a country. In the country importing a good, it is doing so, by raising consumption and by lowering the production of that single good. On the same time, it is raising production of that good in the exporting country, but we cannot be sure whether it is going to lower or raise the quantity of consumption of that single good. We can say that both countries gain from trade. That is because it makes, both the exporting as well as the importing nation, better off in the net national sense. Each countrys net national gains are proportional to the change in its price from its no-trade value, so the country whose prices are disrupted more by trade, gains more (Pugel, 2009). A further source of national gains from trade is that the variety of products that become available to consumers, increases through imports, because of the countrys opening to trade. The economic well-being of consumers increases when they are able to choose from a wider variety of goods. Another source of national gains, comes from international competition, which can lower the prices of domestic goods, bringing extra gains to home consumers. It is quite interesting to have a look on who are the gainers and who are the losers, from opening trade. To do so, we need to make a distinction between the short run and long run effects of open trade. In the short run, we can say that those consuming the goods being imported and those producing exportable goods, are the main gainers. To find losers and gainers from trade, in the long run, we need to examine the findings of the Stolper-Samuelson theorem. This theorem shows that in long run, a person that is making his living by selling a factor that is more abundant in his country, in respect to other countries, is able to gain from trade. And this is a fact regardless of the goods he might be consuming, or the sector he might be working in. On the other hand, a person that makes his living by selling a factor that is relatively scarce in his country, can lose from trade. Again, this is a fact regardless of the goods he might be consuming, or the sector he might be working in. But free trade is not accomplished due to trade policies and barriers that countries put up, according to their own benefits. Kinds of policies like these, with all their consequences are explained in the following section. Trade Policies and The Role of the WTO A tariff is a tax imposed by a country on the import of a good or service, which custom officials accumulate at the place of import. There are two major kinds of such taxes. A specific tariff is described as the total sum of money that should be given for each unit of import (dollars per ton of steel bars). An ad valorem tariff, is a percentage of the estimated market value of the goods when they reach the importing country (Pugel, 2009). In general, a tariff is going to be beneficial for domestic producers, competing against imports, but on the other hand, it is going to hurt all the domestic consumers that buy this imported good, forcing them to suffer from higher prices for the consumption of the same good. Furthermore the effect of a tariff that is not so high as to end the imports, for a government, is an increase on this governments revenue. This government could use this extra revenue for projects that will benefit the nations wellbeing. Through years, several empirical effect s of placing tariffs can be made. We can say that putting up a tariff reduces in almost every case the overall worlds, as well as, each nations welfare. Another impact of using a tariff is that it benefits those groups that produce goods or services that can be used as substitutes for the taxed import. Another kind of trade policies is the nontariff barrier (NTB) and it is a policy that governments use in order to reduce number of imports. This is accomplished by several effects. For example, the cost of getting imports into a market is increased, and also it generates uncertainty over the conditions under which imports are going to be allowed. This is different than a usual import tariff. The most common nontariff barrier is import quota, with which, a government can restrict the import of a product into the country, above a specified limit of total quantity, during a period of time. The direct effect of NTB is on quantity. Protectionists and government officers might decide on putting up quotas instead of tariffs for many reasons. One of them is that a quota, guarantees that there is a strict limitation on the imports quantity, quite the opposite to a tariff. A result of such a quota, is that government officials end up with greater power. Furthermore, there are some other nontariff barriers. One of them is the voluntary export restraint (VER), which is a case in which an importing country government pressurizes with many ways the foreign exporting country to restrict its exports to this country. Just like an NTB, the direct effect of VER is on quantity. Voluntary export restraint results in the form of a cartel among the foreign producers, who agree not to export a good to the importing country that negotiated the VER. This leads to an increase of the foreign countrys price for this specific good, as well as a decrease for the revenue of the importing government because it suffers from the cut of a tariff for this imported good. To sum up with, VERs have negative effects on the welfare of both the importing and exporting nations, who suffer from higher prices and lower variety of the goods being cut from exports and imports. Another nontariff barrier, is a tariff-quota. This kind of a barrier, allows imports with a low or zero tariff into the country, but up to a specified quantity, and imposes a higher tariff on imports above this quantity. In this way it manages to have a direct effect on quantity of imports, because, by placing a very high tariff, it makes the import above the specified quantity unaffordable. A further nontariff barrier, is the Government procurement. This is a case, when a government that buys a quantity of a good, is placing law and government rules that favor local products. This barrier has direct effects on the quantity and the cost of importing this good. Moreover, another NTB is the, Local content and mixing requirements. With this barrier governments succeed a direct effect on the quantity of an import, by requiring a specified use of local labor, materials, or other products. An additional NTB is, Import Licensing ,which, by requiring from importers to apply for approvals for intended imports accomplishes direct effects on the cost of the import and also it creates uncertainty on whether this import is going to be made. Protectionism against import competition for a product has several results. First of all, it is clearly beneficial for domestic producers, by increasing the domestic production of a product. In addition, it harms domestic consumers on the purchase of this product, who suffer from higher prices. Furthermore because of protectionism, this product faces a decrease on its domestic consumption. It is probably harmful for the importing nation as a whole and furthermore, it is almost surely harmful for the world as a whole. On the other hand protectionism results in increasing government revenues and, in addition, the distribution of income or well-being in the country is being altered. Evidence (that associate trade with economic growth and jobs) [1,500] These are some of the reasons for the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO espouses three major principles: first of all, reductions of barriers to trade, furthermore, nondiscrimination principle (MFN), and finally, reduction of unfair encouragement for exports. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was signed in 1947 by 23 countries and focused directly on international trade issues. From 1948 to 1994, the GATT was putting up the rules on which world trade was accomplished. GATT was provisional with a limited field of action, but in its over 47 years of existence it succeeded promoting and securing the liberalization of much of world trade. With continuous reductions in tariffs it resulted in very high rates of world trade growth. During the Uruguay Round, the rush of new members confirmed that the multilateral trading system was recognized as an instrument for development and economic and trade improvement. Under the GATT, eight rounds of multilateral trade negotiations were pursued by the member countries, with the purpose of lowering barriers. In the first five rounds they based their discussions on reductions of tariff rates, using item-by-item negotiations, where there was an agreement that the largest trading countries would reduce tariffs, extend them to all members, keeping the MFN nondiscrimination principle in mind. This means that GATT did not address other areas of trade, for example agriculture and services, even though they represented a considerable share in world trade. Through years, GATT was facing more and more problems because of its structure. Globalization of the world economy was ongoing, GATT rules were not covering trade-in services, which was becoming more and more interesting for countries, and international investment had expanded. World merchandise trade was further increasing and this was tied up closely to the expansion of services. These and other reasons were convincing enough for GATT members to attempt to reinforce and extend the multilateral system. That effort resulted in the Uruguay Round, the Marrakesh Declaration, and the creation of the WTO (World Trade Organization). The World Trade Organization An international agreement in the early 1990s led to the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in January 1995. The WTO took the place of GATT as its physical expand and since then it is the organization that supervises the worldwide rules of policies being kept by several countries towards international trade. It provides the round-table for negotiating global agreements to improve these rules. The governments that had signed GATT were known as GATT contracting parties. Since they signed the new WTO agreements, they officially became known as, WTO members (World Trade Organization).Today the WTO has 153 member countries and an overall budget of 189 million Swiss francs for 2009. The WTOs headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. The WTO is making decisions in some quite unusual processes. There are two primary models of decision-making: decision by consensus and decision by voting. For general decision-making, WTO kept on acting like GATT, in making decisions by consensus. In consensus decision-making, the minority will normally go along with the majority unless it has a serious objection (Matsushita, M., et al). Then the majority will not make decisions using voting but it will discuss the objections of the minority. This decision-making process is always taking a great deal of time. In the WTO, only when a decision cannot be taken by consensus there is usage of voting decision- making. In the Ministerial Conference and the General Council, decisions are taken by a majority of the votes cast, unless otherwise specified in the relevant WTO agreement (Matsushita, M., et al). There are several ways of looking at the WTO. Its an organization that seeks the liberalization of trade. It is a forum where governments can negotiate trade agreements. Fundamentally, it is a place where member countries try to sort out some trade problems they might be facing with each other. The first step is to discuss. The organization was born out of negotiations, and everything it does is offering the table on which, optimal solutions can be made. Its a place for governments to settle trade disputes. Regularly, incompatible interests are involved within trade relations. Agreements, including those thoroughly negotiated in the WTO, often need interpreting. The most harmonious way to settle these differences is through some neutral procedure based on an agreed legal foundation (World Trade Organization). That is the purpose behind the dispute settlement process written into the WTO agreements (World Trade Organization). It operates a system of trade rules. The WTO agreements, wh ich are negotiated and signed by the worlds trading countries, provide the legal essentials for international trade. They are fundamental contracts, that bind governments on keeping their trade policies within settled limits. Although the negotiations are being discussed and signed by governments, the main goal is to help exporters and importers as well as producers of goods and services, carry out their business. And all this, while governments will be able to meet social and environmental principles. The whole system has an overriding purpose to help trade flow without restraints, whenever possible, because this is something crucial for economic development and well-being. That partially means removing barriers. It also means ensuring that individuals, companies and governments know what the trade rules are around the world, and giving them the confidence that there will be no sudden changes of policy (World Trade Organization). In other words, the rules have to be clear and unsur prising. World Trade Organization is running under certain trade principles. According to these principles, the trading system should meet some requirements, such as, trade without discrimination, freer trade, predictability on trade issues by the governments, promotion of fair competition and encouragement of development and economic reform. Under the WTO agreements, countries are not allowed to discriminate between their trading associates. This principle is known as most-favoured nation (MFN) treatment (World Trade Organization). This principle suggests special treatment, but in fact it means non-discrimination. Imported and locally-produced goods should be treated equally at least after the foreign goods have entered the market. (World Trade Organization). Free trade is another aim of the WTO. This aim suggests lowering trade barriers through negotiation. This is one of the most clear ways to encourage trade. The multilateral trading system is an attempt by countries to make the business environment stable and predictable (World Trade Organization).WTO tries to improve predictability and stability through binding and transparency. With these factors stable, investment is encouraged, jobs are created and consumers can fully enjoy the benefits of competition. The organization also seeks on promoting fair competition while discouraging unjust practices such as export subsidies. The final principle under which the organization is running, is that trade should be more beneficial for less developed countries. The WTO is paying extra attention on the least-developed countries. All the agreements recognize that they must benefit from the greatest possible flexibility, and better-off members must make extra efforts to lower import barriers on least-developed countries exports (World Trade Organization). Nowadays, most of the WTOs members are developing countries. Because of their number, because they are gaining more importance in the global economy, and because they increasingly seek to trade as a crucial tool in their development efforts, they play an increasingly significant and vital role in the WTO. Developing countries are a group with very different concerns and views. The organization deals with the different needs of developing countries in several ways. First of all, the WTO agreements enclose special provisions on developing countries, providing them with special rights and special treatment than other members. For example, there might be some provisions, which allow developing countries to be treated more favourably by the developed countries, than the rest WTO members. In addition, the organization offers extra time for developing countries to accomplish their obligations. Moreover, it makes agreements that offer provisions, designed to increase trading opportunities fo r such countries, through greater market access. *Rounds of negotiations (2000) Through the years of their existence, GATT and WTO have started several rounds of negotiations to achieve the liberalization of trade and further reduction of tariffs and other policies standing against trade. These rounds are often lengthy, with an example being the Uruguay Round which lasted seven and a half years. Trade rounds can provide an important advantage. Instead of negotiating on a single issue, they offer a package approach to trade negotiations, which can sometimes turn to be more fruitful. This is a case, because the size of the package can imply more benefits for participants who can seek advantages across a wide range of issues. It can be easier for an agreement to be achieved, through trade-offs . This has political as well as economic implications. Developing countries and other less powerful participants, face a greater chance to influence the multilateral system in a trade round than in bilateral relationships with major trading nations (World Trade Organization). In December 1945, 15 countries had already started negotiations to decrease and bind customs tariffs. Considerable tariff reductions were accomplished in the first round, which took place in Geneva. This round, started on April 1947 and lasted for 7 months. By the time the deal was signed on 30 October 1947, the number of member countries had increased to 23. These negotiations achieved the signing of GATT and in addition, it resulted in 45,000 tariff concessions, affecting $10 billion of trade (World Trade Organization). For almost half a century, the GATTs basic legal principles remained much as they were in 1948 and efforts to reduce tariffs continued (World Trade Organization). This was achieved through the trade rounds, which were a series of multilateral negotiations. The leading steps forward in the liberalization of international trade, were achieved because of these rounds which were held under GATTs support. The next round, Annecy, started on April 1949 and finished 5 months later. 13 countries participated in these negotiations, which resulted in the exchange of some 5,000 tariff concessions by the countries (World Trade Organization). Negotiations continued in the Torquay round. They started on September 1950 and finished 8 months later. In Torquay, the result was that countries exchanged some 8,700 tariff concessions, cutting the 1948 tariff levels by 25% (World Trade Organization). 26 Countries continued negotiations in Geneva, on January 1956. The major subjects that were covered in this round were not only tariffs, but also the admission of Japan. Geneva II round of negotiations, achieved new reductions in tariffs of $2.5 billion (World Trade Organization). As did the Dillon Round in September 1960, from which, further tariff concessions that were worth $4.9 billion of world trade, were achieved (World Trade Organization). To achieve more extensive tariff reductions, the Kennedy Ro und (1963-1967), covered subjects not only on tariffs but also on anti-dumping. The 62 countries that participated in this round for 37 months, made the agreements so that the industrialized countries would use a formula to decrease all nonagricultural tariffs. The results from these agreements were substantial. They achieved tariff compromises worth $40 billion of world trade (World Trade Organization). In addition, the average tariff was decreased by 38 percent for non-agricultural imports into industrialized countries (World Trade Organization). The Tokyo Round started on September 1973 and lasted for 74 months. It included negotiations over tariffs, non-tariff measures and framework agreements. It achieved tariff reductions worth more than 300 billion dollars (World Trade Organization). Up to this point the achievement of all these negotiations is that they led to substantial reductions of tariffs, but on the other hand, they had let non-tariff barriers (NTBs) rise in importance. GATT members started discussing about NTBs in a more serious way. They tried to find ways of addressing these excluded sectors. This stood until the Uruguay Round successfully covered them. The Uruguay Round (1986-1994) kept on going, with usage of ways for cuts, with negotiated exceptions. It resulted on an agreement to allow full access for clothes and textiles from developing countries and intellectual property rights were extended. Furthermore governments agreed to limit their use of domestic content requirements. Industrialized countries nonagricultural tariffs fell by an average of 33 percent and 38 percent, respectively (World Trade Organization). The agreements also included new codes on customs, such as, import licensing and procedures, subsidies, safeguards and dumping. The last r ound of negotiations under the GATT was the most ambitious and most successful international economic negotiation since Bretton Woods (World Trade Organization). The World Trade Organisation was launched in 1995, and since then, it has held five Ministerial conferences. The Doha Ministerial in 2001, was marked by the core concern, that the multilateral trading system should benefit the developing countries which constitute about two thirds of the WTO members. The entire package is called the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). Key elements of the striving agenda include significant liberalization on trade of agricultural products, drop of nonagricultural trade tariffs, reductions of nonagricultural goods tariffs, trade in services liberalization, provision of assured access on low-cost medicines for developing nations, and refinement of rules, governing various NTBs. The Doha declaration tried to help developing countries to obtain a share in the growth of world trade according to the needs of their economic development. It pledged that, through two key routes. First of all, by reducing import tariffs it tried to improve market access to the North ern markets for developing countries. Furthermore by phasing out domestic and export subsidies. After failing to begin the new round at the WTO ministerial conference in Seattle in 1999, the next conference was in Doha, Qatar, in 2001. Developing countries were considering that the Uruguay Round was unfair for them. They incurred substantial costs by accepting the mandatory NTB rules and the mandatory protections of intellectual property, but their benefits of greater access of export markets in the industrialized countries were limited by the slow end to the VERs on clothing and textiles and by the lack of actual liberalization of agricultural trade. Developing country governments pushed for a development round and vowed to be more active in the negotiations (Pugel, 2009). A special agreement led to the Information Technology Agreement of 1996. Each country involved in the agreement (initially 23 countries) was obligated to eliminate tariffs on imports of information technology goods and software. By 2007, 70 countries had embraced this agreement, so that 97 percent of international trade in these products is now free of tariff. Second, the developing countries that have joined the WTO since 1995 minimized their actual tariff rates as a condition for joining and accepted bound rates equal to, or very close to, their actual rates. The Fifth Ministerial Conference in Cancà ºn, in September 2003, was proposed as a stock-taking conference where members would come to an agreement on how to complete the rest of the negotiations. But the meeting was soured by discord on agricultural issues and ended in deadlock on the Singapore issues (World Trade Organization). In 2003, member countries agreed to improve the rules on intellectual property to allow developing countries to import low-cost broad versions of patented drugs in health emergencies, however, there has been little progress. The major area of disagreement has been agriculture, for which, neither the United States nor the European Union has been willing to offer sufficient liberalization. The United States has resisted meaningful cuts in its subsidies to domestic agricultural production, and the European Union has been unwilling to offer sufficient cuts in tariffs and other barriers to agricultural imports. Without adequate progress on agriculture, the devel oping countries led by India and Brazil, have been unwilling to offer much in other areas of the agenda (Pugel, 2009). Further progress in narrowing members differences was made at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in December 2005, but some gaps remained unbridgeable and Director-General Pascal Lamy suspended the negotiations in July 2006 (World Trade Organization), though discussions continued at a less formal level. Efforts then focused on trying to achieve a breakthrough in early 2007 (World Trade Organization).