Caledonia Products Integrative Problem Essay

The following observation will describe the decisions made by a financial analyst who is working for the capital budget department at Caledonia Products. The organization has asked Team B to evaluate the potential risk involved in an upcoming transaction and identify several options in how to proceed. Because this is the team’s first assignments dealing with risk analyzes the team has been ask to further explain the details. The organization analysis will focus on free cash flows, projection of cash flows, projects initial outlay, cash flow diagram, net present value, internal rate of return, and if the project should be accepted. Why focus on project free cash flows Team B believes that Caledonia should focus on the project’s free cash flows and not the accounting profits. Evidence exists that the accounting profits will be earned by the project because there is a positive cash flow to the shareholders. With any investment there is the expectation that there will be an increase to the firm’s cash flow. Free cash flow is the total cash available to creditors who have invested their monies to finance the project. Accounting profits includes costs such as depreciation, interest, and taxes to run a business therefore it should not affect free cash flows. The project free cash flows range from year zero to year five and illustrate how much Caledonia Products will benefit if they choose to take on this project. Projection of project in years one through five There is annual working capital requirement of $100,000 to initiate the project. The incremental cash flows for the project in years one through five shows increase. For each year, the total investment in net working capital will be equal to 10% of the dollar value of sales for that year. In year one free cash flow is $2,100,000 in year two $3,600,000, which means fist year increase of $1,500,000, and it is about 53% increase. In year two 23% increase and year three to four decreases of 28%, and in year five free cash flow is $1,560,000, which means 43% decrease. Year-1:$2,100,000 Year-2:$3,600,000 Year-3:$4,200,000 Year-4:$2,400,000 Year-5:$1,560,000 Initial outlay This project’s initial outlay includes the necessary capital needed to purchase fixed assets and ensure they are in operating order to start the project. Cost of new plant and equipment: 7,900,000 Shipping and installation cost: 100,000 Initial working capital required to start the production: 100,000 8,100,000 The initial outlay for this project is $8,100,000 Cash flow diagram $3,956,000$8,416,000$10,900,000$8,548,000$5,980,400 ($8,100,000) Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return Unit Price x units sold 1:$21,000 2:$36,000 3:$42,000 4:$24,000 5:$15,600 Therefore, NPV = $94,575.83 NPV Values for Years 1: $18,260.90 2: $27,221.17 3: $27,615.68 4: $13,722.40 5: $7,755.98 The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) = 12.61% Project Conclusion Deciding on whether to follow through with a project is done by evaluating either the internal rate of return or net present value. According to Investopedia, â€Å"All other things being equal, using internal rate of return (IRR) and net present value (NPV) measurements to evaluate projects often results in the same findings† (Investopedia, 2013). If comparing one project to another, the one with the higher rate or return would be the more favorable one. In this instance several projects were not compared, and the IRR is below the current discount rate, which makes the project not feasible. The problem with IRR, however, is that it does not take into account changing discount rates. As market conditions and other factors change, so does the IRR. Net Present Value (NPV) on the other hand, takes changing rates into account and is a calculated using very complex formula taking many factors into account for each stage of the project. If the Net Present Value is calculated to be above zero, or positive, it is considered to be feasible, and the project should be accepted. Our calculations show the NPV in each year to be positive and believe that the project in this case should indeed be accepted. References: Investopedia US, A Division of ValueClick, Inc. . (2013). Internal Rate Of Return – IRR. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/irr.asp#axzz2HtkRBF6q

International Business Case Discussion

A green field development can be a best way to reduce labor costs. Intel could employ well- educated, reliable workers inexpensively in Costa Rica through the development of green field. 2. The international site selection team is important for Intel because they should identify and collect the technical, economic, and environmental protection criteria, develop an evaluation plan, evaluate proposed sites, identify alternatives that meet the purpose and need for the proposed action, and make recommendations to the site-selection official.The various functions and expertise are necessary in site selection team because all site selections involve multiple criteria, it is important that the various members' expertise be appropriate to the task. 3. There are some risks that Intel must assume as It enters into the development of a silicon manufacturing plant in a foreign country. First, The development costs a lot to start up. Establishing silicon safer semiconductor manufacturing capabili ties Is an expensive endeavor, normally ranging between $100 and $300 million Second, This industry is very sensitive industry to time.Such an Investment Is projected approximately two years ahead of production demand. The world of semiconductor manufacturing Is fast paced. Production capabilities must be acquired quickly. 4. Intel supported Costa Rica financially through Greenfield development. Intel had projected an Initial $300 million Investment In a Greenfield development. To a small country such as Costa Rica, a $300 million Investment was equivalent to 2. 1 percent of the country's GAP. Moreover, There were derivative Impact that this mode of entry had on the economy and the population In general. Intel also had some benefits room entering Costa Rica.They discovered high levels of engineering and software development capabilities that permitted expansion Into more sophisticated processes. 5. I think a acquisition strategy would make the company successful In establishing prod uction capableness In foreign countries. International Business Case Discussion By kiths 3. There are some risks that Intel must assume as it enters into the development of a start up. Establishing silicon safer semiconductor manufacturing capabilities is an industry is very sensitive industry to time. Such an investment is projected manufacturing is fast paced.Production capabilities must be acquired quickly. Projected an initial $300 million investment in a Greenfield development. To a small country such as Costa Rica, a $300 million investment was equivalent to 2. 1 percent of the country's GAP. Moreover, There were derivative impact that this mode of entry had on the economy and the population in general. Intel also had some benefits development capabilities that permitted expansion into more sophisticated 5. I think a acquisition strategy would make the company successful in establishing production capabilities in foreign countries.

Mkt 402 Exam

Question 1 6 out of 6 points Proactive pricing suggests that _____. Answer Selected Answer: a company develops strategies to maintain profitability in anticipation of a changing market Correct Answer: a company develops strategies to maintain profitability in anticipation of a changing market Question 2 6 out of 6 points Which of the following is the simplest price structure? Answer Selected Answer: price per unit Correct Answer: price per unit Question 3 6 out of 6 points ____ allows a company to vary its prices outside the scope of value and cost according to explicit or cultural rules or protocols. Answer Selected Answer: Pricing policy Correct Answer: Pricing policy Question 4 6 out of 6 points Pricing that reflects market conditions is _____. Answer Selected Answer: customer-driven pricing Correct Answer: customer-driven pricing Question 5 6 out of 6 points Price-cutting is one strategy of share-driven pricing to achieve sales objectives but _____. Answer Selected Answer: it doesn't sustain a long term market advantage unless competitors cannot match the price cut Correct Answer: it doesn't sustain a long term market advantage unless competitors cannot match the price cut Question 6 6 out of 6 points Cost-plus pricing is effectively opposite of a prudent pricing strategy because _____. Answer Selected Answer: it leads to overpricing in weak markets and underpricing in strong markets Correct Answer: it leads to overpricing in weak markets and underpricing in strong markets Question 7 6 out of 6 points _____ pricing suggests that prices should reflect the value a customer receives from a product or service. Answer Selected Answer: Value-based Correct Answer: Value-based Question 8 0 out of 6 points Marketing research is the key to creating good value because _____. Answer Selected Answer: it compares willingness-to-pay against the cost of producing the product Correct Answer: it analyzes how much value different combinations of benefits could represent to cutomers Question 9 6 out of 6 points A company that is willing to be a smaller company in order to be profitable is employing the _____ principle of strategic pricing. Answer Selected Answer: profit-driven Correct Answer: profit-driven Question 10 6 out of 6 points A _____ company focuses pricing to increase revenue relative to other investments rather than as a comparison to competitors earnings. Answer Selected Answer: profit-driven Correct Answer: profit-driven

Concept paper on How Education has impacted Veterans Empowerment to Essay

Concept paper on How Education has impacted Veterans Empowerment to Careers employment and Job Satisfaction (Marine Corps) - Essay Example heir lifestyle. What is more, the impact of being educated transcends all facets of a person’s life and occupation, including being a Marine Corps veteran. In the opinion of Eberlein (2006), education improves a person’s social life and social status. Studies by Druskat and Pescosolido (2002) revealed that high levels of education led to increased career and job satisfaction, especially among U.S. Marine Corps veterans. As veterans increasingly learn and read from various sources, their lives go through various transformational processes. Druskat and Pescosolido found a direct correlation between education level and the kind of jobs that U.S. Marine Corps veterans get employed into. Nelson (2012) noted that education level also influences veterans’ taste, class, and life preferences. Using existing literature on the relationship between education and employment opportunities for U.S. Marine Corps veterans, I seek to identify the effect of education on career and job satisfaction after these veterans have been employed. Many soldiers—especially veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan—have participated in a special program offered by the Pentagon unit dubbed the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008, which helped to incorporate them back into society (Nelson, 2012). Soldiers with the U.S. Marine Corps were offered education, low-interest mortgages and loans, and paid tuitions. Although previous studies (Abrahms, 2012; Nelson, 2002; Offner, 2012) have concentrated on the influence of these benefits in transforming soldiers’ lives, there has been little focus on the impact of education in helping them find better jobs and the subsequent job satisfaction that would enable them to fit into a normal lifestyle. According to Offner (2012), veterans face problem in finding jobs. Abrahms (2002) noted that the current state of the economy, which is paralyzed with high rates of unemployment and underemployment, also affects the ability of the least educated to get jobs. Returning veterans thus find themselves competing with more-educated workers for job placements. In addition, Offner (2012) pointed out, although some of these soldiers were lucky enough to find jobs, they could not effectively handle those jobs, due to lack of job satisfaction. This will form the main basis of the present research paper. Background of the Problem Many U.S. Marine Corps veterans have spent a considerable period of their lives on the battlefield. Studies by Nelson (2012) indicated that incidents on the battlefield in such places as Iraq and Afghanistan caused these soldiers psychological pain and trauma. Nelson further indicated that the process of social integration among U.S. Marine Corps veterans during their homecoming was characterized by a mixture of feelings and emotions. While friends and relatives left at home had advanced academically and improved their social class, the soldiers were less educated, their education having stagnated. The civilians had acquired higher education, gotten married, and improved their lifestyles, whereas the returning Marine Corps had to restart

Radiation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Radiation - Research Paper Example UV radiation comprises only about 5% of total solar radiation but is biologically important, as exposure to this part of the spectrum might lead to damage of cellular DNA and thereby increase the risk for skin cancer. Descriptive epidemiological data strongly indicate a link between solar radiation and malignant melanoma. Studies of have suggested that the risk for melanoma is related to exposure to solar rays at the place of residence in early life. Some 5% of solar radiation is within the ultraviolet spectrum and may cause both malignant melanoma and non-melanocytic skin cancer; the latter is regarded as a benign disease and is accordingly not included in our estimation of avoidable cancers (Edmund Kennet Karuth, 2011). Ionizing radiation is classified as either particulate or electromagnetic. Charged particles such as electrons (beta minus particles), protons, alpha particles (helium nuclei) and heavy ions can ionize directly. Uncharged particles, notably neutrons, interact with the nuclei of the atoms through which they pass and give up their energy to produce recoil protons, alpha particles and heavier nuclear fragments, which go on to produce ionizations. The important characteristic of ionizing radiation is the local release of large amounts of energy, sufficient to break strong chemical bounds that are biologically important. Electromagnetic ionizing radiation consists of X and gamma rays, which give up part or all of their energy to the orbital electrons of the atoms through which they pass, producing fast recoil electrons that have sufficient energy to be ionizing. X and gamma radiation differ only in the way in which they are produced, gamma being produced by the decay of radioactive isoto pes and almost all X rays being made by electrical machines. For radiation initiated or formed, there is a process. To begin with, we classify radiation as either particulate or electromagnetic. Charged particles such as electrons (beta minus particles),

Smoking should not be allowed at public places Essay

Smoking should not be allowed at public places - Essay Example According to the 2003 poll conducted by MORI in London, 40% of the interviewees concurred that smoking should not be allowed in a restaurant, a public place; 54% wanted separation of smoking and non-smoking zones. The most striking fact was that only 4% were indifferent to the location or exposure to smoking. In another separate research on Edinburgh residents, 58% were in favor of banning smoking in public places while only 28% opposed the move (City of Edinburgh Council, 1). Smoking pollutes the environment by releasing toxic components to the atmosphere. Even though it is the right of smoker to have cigarettes, a clean environment on the other hand is a necessity for humanity. A ban on public smoking- no matter how- may seem unfair to smokers, it will ensure that people live in a clean environment by reducing pollution, and nonsmokers’ rights are taken into consideration. Over the weekends and in vacations, most parents do prefer to spend their time with their children in public places. What happens in a case whereby people smoke in such recreational or public places? The answer is almost obvious; Children learn by imitation, and would actually try to act out what they see or observed happening in their surroundings. Therefore, the presence of smokers in such localities is bad influence to children and may introduce them to smoking at early ages. As precautious measure, the state government should ban smoking in public places. Most chain smokers spend most of their money and time in cigarettes. Therefore, banning smoking in public places would result in limiting the frequency at which such people smoke. This will not only result in saving money and time that can be invested elsewhere in a more profitable manner but also help the state to reduce the average health problems arising directly from smoking. It is very hard for non-smokers to entertain the disgustful scent that arises as a

Politics and Public Policy - Chapter 1-3 summary Essay

Politics and Public Policy - Chapter 1-3 summary - Essay Example The decisions taken by the State Supreme Court and Central Supreme Court affirm the war of interests being fought on the US soil. The legislatives make laws and pass bills related to allocation of benefits to those lobbies which have played pivotal role in their success and position; consequently they neglect the public welfare strategies for the elimination of poverty and unequal distribution of wealth, resources and opportunities from the US society. Since governors and chief executives of the states often belong to different political parties, there appears conflict of interest between the two, and it has become hard to make public policies for the best interests of the masses. The media is also the part of the lobbies existing in the USA, and pays due heed to trivial issues related to politicians, and neglect even the primary matters related to the masses. Hence every US institution is wasting its time and resources in idle pursuits, and creates obstacles in immediate relief and uplift of the people. Quick actions are necessary to be taken by the executive for the progress of society rather than entering into lengthy debates and passing as well as rejecting of thousands of bills in the legislative assembly. CHAPTER 2: The chapter throws light on the urgent need of devising a comprehensive policy for the eradication of class conflict on the one hand, and socioeconomic strengthening of the US population on the other. The author submits to state that public policies must discourage racial, ethnic, religious and gender discriminations prevailing the in the society by forcefully applying principles of equality, justice and fair play at national scale. The concept of free market and independent policies of entrepreneurship does not mean that the producers should have every right to exploit of the masses by trouncing them under the chariot wheels of their personal financial benefits. It is

Motivation of Travelers on Repeat Visits to Thailand Essay

Motivation of Travelers on Repeat Visits to Thailand - Essay Example There are various reasons for what exactly tempts the travelers to come back to Thailand over and over again and this paper will discuss exactly that. Thailand is an extremely popular country for its culture, nature, cuisine, hospitality and world class accommodation and that too at a very reasonable price. But this is the present scenario, the country boasts of a rich history too. The country boasts of the two most amazing heritage sites by the name Sukhothai and Ayutthaya, the same attracts millions of visitors every year. The temples in the country also form a major attraction, so moany people come from various places to catch a glimse of various temples in Thailand. The tourists also get the luxury of riding Elephants while they see various temples in the country, this simplifies their work and it is a very big luxury which is being provided by the people of the country. There are many Wildlife Sanctuaries in the country, these Sanctuaries also attract a lot of people and three Wildlife Sanctuaries have been identified by UNESCO and the same were also declared the world heritage sites, those three Wildlife Sanctuaries are Thun g Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary, Huai Kha Kaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, and Khao Yai National Park. These centuries attract many visitors from all across the globe. People who love travelling always visit Thailand over and over again for more reasons than one. ... ers are the beaches in the country and people enjoy various activities on these beaches such as canoeing, snorkelling, scuba diving, yachting, hiking, and golfing. The resorts in Thailand have some of the most amazing beaches in the world and the same is a very big temptation for all the travellers. Purpose of the study The main purpose of this study is to find out what makes the travelers visit the country again and again. The facilities and the comforts provided to the travelers is amazing, Thailand offers some of the most unbelievable comforts and luxuries to the travelers. The country has many five star hotels besides that the country also provides the travelers with various options for accommodation like bungalows located right in front of the beach at affordable prices, this is one of the biggest reasons, why Thailand attracts so many travelers. It is real fun to stay in the country and the best thing is that it all comes at reasonable prices, what else a person can ask for. Thailand is also very popular and widely visited because it is also the right place to do shopping, the stores in the country offered up to 80% discounts during the Amazing Thailand Grand Sales promotion. To make sure that the country sustains the inflow of travellers it is very important to understand the motive of the travellers, they should not only come once to the country but also over and over again and for this to happen the concerned people of the country have to understand the motive of the travellers. When the concerned people design promotional material to attract the travellers it is extremely important to keep in mind their motive of travelling, if that is ignored then no traveller will come again to that particular country. Motivation is very closely connected to the

Appropriation as a critical practice in postmodernist art Essay

Appropriation as a critical practice in postmodernist art - Essay Example In the context of visual arts, art appropriation is associated with concepts of borrowing, adoption, recycling, or sampling certain aspects or even the entire form of any visual arts creation. The strategies used include recombinant, variation, interpretation, re-vision, imitation, supplement, re-evaluation, version, improvisation, increment, homage, paraphrase, forgery, mimicry, allusion, and karaoke.   Thus, in this form of art the artist while creating a new object uses certain elements borrowed from another artist’s works. This borrowing, referred to in the context of describing the new work, will term it as 'the artist uses appropriation;' or it may also directly refer to the new work and state, 'this is a piece of appropriation art'. Within ‘Arts’ the practice of appropriation involves the use of other artists’ symbol, ideas, artefacts, objects, photographs, sound, forms or styles from the various cultures, popular culture, art history, or any man c reated visual or non visual art form (Schneider, 2003). An elementary feature of appropriation art is that the artist in his new work simply reframes the original idea and presents it as a new one. Thus, in a majority of the cases, the original work still remains visible or accessible without change within the framework of the new creation. Anthropologists in their various research papers have claimed that this process of appropriation, is another form of  cultural borrowing  and includes concepts of both art and urbanism, and represents a path of the cultural modifications taking place while also distinguishing the relationship between the different cultures worldwide (Schneider, 2007). The words variation and   appropriation  in art often viewed as synonyms and used interchangeably, to denote the same form of work (ibid). In this context, we will examine works of three famous artists Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, and Barbara Kruger as we explore the use of appropriatio n as a critical practice in postmodernist art.   Discussion A brief overview of the history of appropriation art: Various artists, scholars and critics, have studied and analysed the route of the ‘appropriative’ notions that have been present in the arts history for many centuries. The word ‘appropriation’ implies ownership rights, and associated questions on unethical practices. Appropriation has been long present within the history of arts, and a study of the ancient artworks will reveal that the classical Greek artworks existed primarily through the Roman art appropriations. These were presented in the form of reproductions, created specially, to preserve, to keep records, to document, or to elicit a culture they hoped to imitate in the future (Deloria, 1999), while during the Middle Ages, a perfectly reproduced artwork was generally granted the same honour as the original piece. As per the notions associated with appropriation art, one can also refer Leonardo da Vinci  as an appropriation artist of the middle ages. Da Vinci used the ‘recombinant’ technique of appropriation, and accepted ideas from different sources and diverse subjects like art, mathematics, biology, and engineering and then combining them to create inventory artworks. In fact, modern historians contend that many of Da Vinci’s scientific models and designs were imitated and improvised versions of the works of another famous sculptor

Social group Essay Example for Free

Social group Essay This book, Ain’t No Makin’ It, shows the lives of the youth who are living in a neighborhood of low income earners. It shows that people are not poor because they are not ready to work, but it is because of various societal structural barriers that get them entrapped in poverty. The book is about the lives of two distinct units of teenagers who live in the inner- city with one unit believing in the ideology of achievement while the other unit rejects it. It further shows how the society can play a destructive part in the lives of the marginalized in the society thus giving the well to do a chance to blame the less fortunate yet they are the victims with the excuse of achievement ideology. The working class kids are the blacks who call themselves the brothers and believe in achievement ideology. They have realized that racial discriminations which have already ceased to exist made the past generations not to excel in their endeavors. Now they view the society as one that has given them a level playing ground and they decide to achieve what they want by excelling in school and not engaging in bad habits. The second social group, which is made up of the whites who call themselves hallway hangers, on the contrary, reject the ideology of the achievement and believe that their aspirations are low in the labor market (MacLeod, 2008, p283). The hallway hangers have realized from friends and family that they can’t make it out of the poverty and due to this, they engage themselves in bad habits like smoking dope and dropping out of school among other unlawful deeds (ibid p29). Despite the fact that both groups have different aspiration levels, no single group prospers in its endeavors. The hallway hangers do not get any degree of upward-ness but the brothers, although they fail to get what they exactly aimed for, they do make to achieve a fraction of it. Thus the poor blacks turn out to be better of than their parents but the poor whites turn out poorer than their parents. Macleod has the belief that the working class kids have a tendency of ending up in working class professions; with this he also points out that the family’s class structures are passed to the coming generations through the school system. The working class kids are also seen using limited linguistic codes which form a disadvantage at school while the other group uses elaborated codes which have an advantage for they are the codes used in the school’s academic setting (ibid, p226). As it is evidenced, no single group prospers with the reason for this failure being that the whites believe that everything is on their way but the blacks believe that they have to struggle to make it in life. They both end up as losers due to the fact that they are disintegrated with different ideologies. Although the blacks excelled in school, what they achieved from the school were theories which could not help them excel in life. The fact that the blacks gained some upward mobility but not all they expected shows that one can not jump from the bottom to the top of the society in one lifetime for it has to take time; it also shows that at that rate, in three generations time the blacks will be at the middle class if at all they teach their children to follow in their footsteps. Despite the efforts the blacks made in school, they view themselves as losers and tend to view the America as a society which does not keep its promises thus ending up in hurting themselves more. The working class families should mentally change their fashion through being honest to themselves and thus be able to improve the education in their children; this can be through working very hard to show their children the importance of commitment and working hard in school for even if they do not excel, they will be able to overcome some barriers. Macleod’s work is seen to have played a very important role in both the Brother’s lives as well as that of the Hallway Hangers since it made it possible for them to see beyond their immediate despairs and conditions. Both groups experienced a persistent cycle of poverty with negative role models such that they could not help themselves; for those who had no fathers, they suffered great grief and anger. Although the brothers believed in achievement ideology while their counterparts did not, the outcome is that the dominant culture guarantees a better result for the hallway hangers as compared to the outcome of the brothers (ibid p66). Education cannot be treated as a part of luxury, but as a necessity in the country. There is a major advantage for the outcome of attending school. Nevertheless, it is until the United States comes to recognize the reality that America as a country symbolizes several ways of interpreting data on the basis of various linguistic codes in comparison with various cultural and social classes; through this they will know that the way education is arranged in the public schools is an enormous disadvantage to the groups in consideration, that is the brothers and the hallway hangers. There is no theory being constructed up to this moment to bring about societal equality in the manner education is arranged. For instance, in Haiti, the colonizers do not allow for educational equality but the parents have struggled to make their children be able to recognize some linguistic codes used in Parisian French so that they can fit in the professional market. For people to grow individually there is need of self- actualization; this is to mean that with the brothers getting positive role models who will give them just a bit of basic motivation, their lives will change a great deal (ibid, p283). The whites should stop their negativity in life and understand that hard work is the key to success; it is through this that they will not depend on the fact that they are white for their survival. The brothers should realize that patience pays and it is through patience that they will get to the top since they can not go to the top at once but has to go through steps which take time (ibid p 226). If the teenagers tried hard enough in their every day lives then they could have made it in life. There is one boy who almost made it but he fails because he can’t drop the behaviors of the poor such as having kids at a tender age. There are some behaviors which cannot be changed by education as is shown by the boy who makes it to a community college and has a chance of going further but has to drop out after he impregnates a girl in the neighborhood. The youngsters just lacked the drive to forget about their beginnings and thus work hard to better their lives so their failure to achieve their set targets had nothing to do with capitalism. The theoretical framework used by the author is that of the two major races in the United States which can never be at par in their achievements in the society. The blacks are expected to be below the whites and seen working very hard and achieving very little while the whites should just have achievements come their way with no struggling. The main topic of discussion is that of whether hard work pays as it is shown in the lives of the brothers who although achieve little, it is due to the efforts they put; the whites end up gaining nothing since they do not work hard at all and in deed leave school and engage in illegal activities. It is at this point that the country should change the academic curriculum to fit the groups in discussion. The topic of discussion is very important to the author for he wants to show that even the blacks can make it to the top of the society if at all they work towards it. It also shows that the blacks should not loose hope because they are not gaining to their expectations since they can not do it in a day. One only needs to set a target and work towards it and be satisfied even if he makes a single step towards it and believe that it is only a matter of time before he achieves the whole of it (ibid, p 204). Macleod hangs out with both groups to get the first hand data rather than relying on statistical data. He follows them and even after realizing their beliefs, that is achievement ideology, he later goes back to them to collect data on how far they have gone in realizing their dreams. He goes directly to his interest group which is the teenagers (the blacks and whites) and in fact he shows no interest in their background families but is only interested in their aspirations and beliefs. The author used the best method in his collection of data since he got the first hand information which is never distorted and biased; this is shown by the fact that he interviewed those people he was interested in and also use the method of data collection of observation. He also asked the questions for the information that he saw necessary such as their aspirations and the intended ways of achieving those aspirations. The results he yielded are valid because as he collects the data by asking questions, he can as well see for himself the realities for he is collecting the data by himself. He further goes back to them to see what they have achieved and finds that it is as he had expected. His going back shows that the results are true for it is at this point that he sees for himself the outcome of their beliefs without interviewing. Since his research is based on many people of two different races and ideologies, it is okay to apply it as if it is for the general population as long as the circumstances he based his research on are the same. The researcher has taken a good sample which is a good representation of the whole population since he has included in his research two races and two ideologies. There are no other better methods which could have been used to conduct this research since the most applicable are observation and interviewing and they are the ones used. The research yielded valid results since it gives a reality in America which nobody can deny; this shows that he had the best methods applicable in use to get valid results. The interpretation of the data by the author is the best he could have given since it is the reality that you have work hard to achieve your expectations and also the fact that it took time for him to make the conclusions. After he interviewed the teenagers, he had to come back to them years later to see how the youths were doing. He found out that the blacks had achieved something which is because they were optimistic but the whites had made zero progress because of their pessimism in life which led to most of them dropping out of school and start taking drugs. The book is a good read because it shows that the less fortunate in the society can change their status by working hard and stop blaming the society for their failure. The book clearly shows that one becomes what he aspires to be if he is focused and optimistic thus anybody’s son can be the president. Work cited MacLeod Jay, Aint No Makin it: Leveled Aspirations in a Low-income Neighborhood, NY, Perseus Books Group Publishers, 2008

Corporate social responsiveness analysis

Corporate social responsiveness analysis Corporate social responsiveness refers to how business organizations and their agents actively interact with and manage their environments. In contrast, corporate social responsibility accentuates the moral obligations that business has to society. Responsiveness and responsibility can be viewed as a balance in that responsiveness can be shaped or triggered by public expectations of business responsibilities. Generally speaking, these responsibilities implied by the term of the social contract, which legitimises business as an institution with the expectation that it provides a service whilst adhering to societys laws and ethical norms. From this perspective, businesses are in a dynamic relationship with society of which responsiveness is a key aspect. More broadly, there is the issue of why business should bother. After all, as neoclassical economists have long argued, business owes abstractions such as society nothing-shareholders are the owners of business and it is the organizations obligation to do everything legal and legitimate to advance shareholder value, not waste it on well-meaning but irrelevant CSR projects. On the other hand, the stakeholder model of the firm would insist that shareholders are only one set of stakeholders and that there are plenty of other significant stakeholders, including customers; non-governmental organisations (NGOs); and communities more generally; as well as activist groups claiming to articulate the interests of the environment and climate change and other silent stakeholders. If businesses serve only shareholder value interests in the short term and do so in such a way that jeopardises other stakeholder interests, this can have an adverse impact on the business by attacking its legitimacy or reputation. It may well be that in standard business practice that the primary responsibility of companies is to create wealth for their shareholders. The emergence of CSR and activists associated with it however adds another dimension, in order for companies to do well financially; they must also be good, ethically, by acting virtuously. Civil society organisations have increased the energy they devote to directly lobbying and exposing the malpractice of companies, which has helped to change consumer preferences and citizens attitudes towards human rights, the environment, and exploitative relationships. This paper has been divided into several headings. The purpose of the paper is to discuss the state of corporate social responsibility at multinational corporations (MNCs), using the examples of Shell and Emirates Airlines. Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility at MNCs There have been increasing demands on multinational enterprises (MNCs) to provide community development programmes and assistance to their host communities, particularly, in developing countries. In other words, meeting locally defined social and economic goals. This is mainly because developmental projects and other social infrastructures are lacking in most of these countries and most of all the time that are not provided by the government. For example, oil companies, particularly, those operating in developing countries are now constantly under pressure to be more open and accountable for a wide range of actions, and to report publicly on their performance in the social and environmental arenas. Because of their impact on politics, economics and society in host nations, they must be more attentive that others in demonstrating social responsibility through initiatives to reduce their negative impact. Blowfield and Frynas (2005) mention that MNEs need to take account of the social, ethical and environmental perceptions of their operations and how these are likely to shape the future attitudes and actions of stakeholders. Following this argument, oil companies attach greater importance to their social and environmental impact and they engage more with local communities that they used to do in the past. Various community and environmental initiatives may be seen as a response to the threat of stakeholder sanctions (Blowfield and Frynas, 2005). The purpose of the report is top discuss the state of corporate social responsibility at multinational corporations (MNCs) using the examples of Shell and Emirates Airlines in a comprehensive way. First the paper will start with a brief on each of these companies. Secondly it will go on to the Stakeholder Salience model and the Stakeholder Power Interest matrix followed by a basic chart illustrating stakeholder dynamics for both companies. The third section will focus on Corporate Social Responsibility at Shell and Emirates Airlines and Shell Oil and Emirates Airlines Launched in 1985 in Dubai with just two leased planes, the global air giant Emirates Airlines now consists of a fleet of over 120 planes and approximately 44,000 employees. The privately owned Emirates Airlines group consists of Emirates Airlines and a number of subsidiary companies including Emirates Airlines Holidays Limited. Emirates Airlines is one of the worlds leading airlines with a network that provides passenger and freight services to 149 destinations in 72 countries. Shells head office is based in The Hague, Netherlands and the parent company of the Shell group is Royal Dutch Shell plc, incorporated in England and Wales. Shell currently operates in over 100 countries and employs 102,000 staff worldwide. Shell produces 2% of the worlds oil supplies and 3% of the worlds gas supplies. Shell Stakeholder Power Interest Matrix LOW INTEREST / LOW POWER Sub-contractors HIGH INTEREST / LOW POWER Country Leaders (if corrupt) Employees Proximate Communities Future Generations Community Initiatives LOW INTEREST / HIGH POWER Government Suppliers / Supply Chain Customers Shipping Industries Oil Reserve Companies HIGH INTEREST / HIGH POWER Price Governing Bodies Shareholders Competitors Petrol Price Governance Environment Lobbying Groups Legal Representation Companies Marketing Web Design Emirates Stakeholder Power Interest Matrix LOW INTEREST / LOW POWER Government (as privately owned) Future Generations Price Governing Bodies Sub-contractors Community Initiatives HIGH INTEREST / LOW POWER Employees Proximate Communities LOW INTEREST / HIGH POWER Suppliers / Supply Chain Customers Air Space Control HIGH INTEREST / HIGH POWER Shareholders Competitors Petrol Price Governance Environment Lobbying Groups Legal Representation Companies Marketing Web Design Corporate Social Responsibility at Shell and Emirates Airlines Shell Canada attempts to make all levels of management and corporate governance aware of these guiding Business Principles through strong Lines of communication between all organizational levels for the management of health, safety, environmental and social responsibility and must also consider having regard to the legal industry and community standards in those areas (Cannon, 1992). In Shell Canadas reports are regarded as their commitment to SD, and SD is used as an overarching corporate goal, alongside growth and profitability, each essential to delivering long-term value to their shareholders. The companys reports are part of its commitment to two guiding principles, transparency and stakeholder engagement, which attempts to strengthen the linkages between its conduct, and societys expectations. (Miles, Munilla and Darroch, 2006). Furthermore, decline in economic and social development in host communities due to neglect and lack of development initiatives from host governments, has sparked a global debate about the social responsibility of corporations. According to experts, stakeholders increasingly are looking to the private sector for help with a myriad of complex and pressing social and economic issues (Blowfield and Frynas, 2005). Similarly, it has been argued that it is good business to actively engage all stakeholders in the development of sustainable strategies that reflect both economic and socially responsible outcomes (Eweje, 2001). Emirates mission is to deliver services that matter to people who value how they fly. To realise this, Emirates Airlines recognises the importance of working in partnership with its stakeholders. This has influenced its approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Its approach has also been influenced by the recognition that airlines generate major social and economic benefits, but also have significant impacts on the environment (for example, through noise and air quality) and on communities around airports. (needs referencing) There are several reasons why Emirates Airlines chose to engage in CSR. The first is because it is a tool to help achieve the companys long term strategic goals in providing growth opportunities around Heathrow airport. Secondly, improving business efficiency and reducing costs through waste and energy programmes provided a strong business case for CSR (Frynas, 2005). The company also thought CSR could help them with risk management by identifying risks to health, safety and environment that could hinder its opportunity to attract investors and grow the business. Lastly, it recognised that it needed to act to enhance its corporate reputation, and customer feedback (both corporate and from the general public) revealed that they expected Emirates Airlines to do the right thing. (Warhurst and Mitchell, 2000). Climate change is increasingly relevant to Emirates Airlines as aviation is a growing contributor to global carbon dioxide emissions, a main greenhouse gas, and consequently to climate change. The increase in emissions-stimulated by a rise in a passenger and freight travel-coincides with many politicians and civil society groups calling for industry to reduce carbon emissions. this presented a problem for Emirates Airlines, especially when it seeks to be a leading player in the industry for environmental issues (Eweje, 2001). In response to this Emirates Airlines board decided to develop a programme of work on climate change. The programme first sough to identify ways in which the company could reduce its own impacts. By auditing its emissions and energy use, targets for reduction in these areas were developed-for example, a fuel efficiency target of a 30% improvement between 1990 and 2010. To date this represents a saving of 50m tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (Eweje, 2001). Emirates Airlines set a target of total reductions in annual emissions of 125,000 tonnes of CO2, to be achieved over five years (Culverwell, Lee and Koziell, 2003). One inhibiting factor has been the increase in fuel surcharges, which may have made passengers less interested in paying for other additional costs (Frynas, 2005). Emirates Airlines has attempted to deal with these challenges by improving understanding of the issues, proactively leading and stimulating the debate through direct advocacy with government and participation at various fora (Miles, Munilla and Darroch, 2006). Feedback from government and from experts on the environment has revealed that the climate change programme has positioned Emirates Airlines as a responsible airline. By becoming more involved in the debate, it has been able to steer that debate towards (in its view) the most sensible proposal of emission trading, rather than other interventions that could be expensive for the industry. In this way Emirates Airlines has been better able to manage its risks. The investment community has acknowledged this, and because of this it has enable Emirates Airlines to attract investment. A final benefit has been that, owing to its and other companies attitudes to environmental sustainability, there is a genuine prospect of expansion at Heathrow airport offering new opportunities for growth to Emirates Airlines (Warhust and Mitchell, 2000). The climate change programme is CSR because it is about taking actions to reduce its impact on the environment. Growing threat to the environment and to societies everywhere. Emirates Airlines actions on climate change go beyond compliance demonstrating that it is taking voluntary actions to reduce its contribution to carbon emissions and better understand its impact on climate change (Eweje, 2001). Emirates Airlines wishes to maintain its industry leadership position by continuing to develop policy and advocacy for cost effective instruments that benefit the environment. As part of this, it seeks to improve its customer engagement on climate change, to raise awareness and communicate Emirates Airlines work in the area. It will further develop its ground energy strategy to include actions to further reduce its internal impacts, for example, improving energy efficiency in its maintenance hangers. Lastly, it is continuing to develop and seek improvements in meeting its fuel efficiency target with a view to settting a new target for 2010 onwards. In Nigeria today, the most critical issue that affects the oil and gas is the Niger Delta (oil-producing region). There has been enormous pressure on both the Nigerian government and the MNCs to double their efforts and develop the region that contributes more that 80 per cent of Nigeria foreign earnings. Experts such as Carson, 1993 argue that oil companies have initiated, and implemented significant community development schemes. For example, MNCs provide education, scholarships, and build roads in Nigeria. He also suggests that global spending by oil, gas and mining companies on community development programmes in 2001 was over 500 million dollars (Carson, 1993). It could be argued that in economic terms, these are not the functions of businesses, but in less developed countries these roles, or rather duties, are expected from MNCS. Indeed, there have been times when local people in oil-producing regions have turned against MNEs precisely because they feel, as Mitte the president of Movement of the survival of the Ogoni people. One of the communities in the Niger Delta put it: they were not getting enough social and economic infrastructures/assistance from the MNEs that operate in their communities (Carson, 1993). Regrettably, the lack of visible and positive impact of CSR initiatives in oil-producing communities has been questioned. Evidence suggests that there is a gap between the MNCs stated CSR objectives and the actual results on the ground. What follows is the criticism of the community development initiatives of the companies because the host communities believe that MNCs CSR initiatives are not addressing both the social and environmental problems they are intended to resolve (Cannon, 1992). This assertion is somewhat similar to the argument of experts who suggest that numerous claims have been made about the contribution CSR can make to poverty alleviation and other development goals (Culverwell, Lee and Koziell, 2003). They further argue that contributes to this issue have reached the conclusion that currect CSR approaches do not warrant such claims. MNCs CSR initiatives in the Niger Delta have many aspects which include employment issues, environmental issues and local community issues (Cannon, 1992). MNCs CSR Initiatives in the Niger Delta In Nigeria, Charges of unethical behaviours include: total neglect of the Niger Delta (oil-producing areas in Nigeria) and lack of educational facilities such as classroom, teachers, and scholarships which will enhance the literacy development of the indigenes of the communities (Culverwell, Lee and Koziell, 2003). Over the years, the oil exploration and producing companies witnessed endless communal agitation, as the host communities have looked up to them for support and assistance in the provision of social and economic infrastructure and employment The poorests parts of Nigeria are where these oil companies are, and this has heightened conflict (Miles, Munilla and Darroch, 2006). Recourse to violence has resulted in a lot of damage to property and casualties on both sides. In some instances, it has resulted in the withdrawal of operations by oil companies form some locations. While planned seismic and drilling activities have been abandoned in others (Miles, Munilla and Darroch, 2006). In the past, the oil companies approach was to help or appease the communities whenever the need arose. More recently, however, they have established a more proactive and thoughtful approach to community assistance. This has resulted in the emergence of a fully developed community relations department in each of the companies, solely set up to anticipate and plan the needs of the communities (Miles, Munilla and Darroch, 2006). The Nigerian Petroleum News, 1998, who understand better their own real needs and future aspirations. During interviews with senior managers of oil companies in Nigeria, it was confirmed that community relations departments were created solely to meet local needs and situational politics. The argument here supports the theoretical position of experts who argue that corporations tend to listen to the demand of powerful stakeholder groups. In this case, the MNCs listen carefully to the demands of host communities and changed their approach towards them. The host communities also demand social welfare projects from the MNCs. In many developing countries, national and local governments have taken a more hands- off approach (Frynas, 2005) to regulating business due to such things as changing policies, the globalisation of commerce and shrinking resources. Against this background, companies are relying less on government for guidance, and instead they are pursuing their own policies with regard to such matters as environmental performance, working conditions and ethical marketing practices. This approach can be problematic. The secretary of the chiefs council of the oil-producing village of Bonny in the Niger Delta accused the oil companies of: Apartheid in its residential areas where all the state of the art welfare facilities including good water, constant electricity, good roads, super markets, schools with high-tech equipment, swimming pools and other facilities were in existence while the people of Bonny, the host community suffer absolute squalor and neglect (Frynas, 2005). This is one example of a charge of double standard brought against multinationals in developing countries. The host communities believe they should have the same facilities that are on offer to the companies workers since the bulk of profits of the MNEs comes from their land. As one observer pointed out: Communities in the Delta area in particular, where most of the exploration and production activities take place, feel generally ill-treated in the entire process of oil prospecting and production and consider themselves as being at the end of only the adverse effects of these activities (Frynas, 2005). They believe that they have not received an equitable share of the tremendous oil revenues which are being derived from their land and territories, especially in the light of disruptive consequences on their health and sources of livelihood. Nor have they been recognised as the inhabitants of oil-producing areas who should benefit from the natural resource that abounds in their ancestral lands. Trust and Discontent Issue It is argued in this paper that issue of trust plays a significant role in the relationship between the host communities in the Niger Delta and the MNCs. The past behaviour of MNCs for unfulfilling promises to the host communities has created a negative perception and mistrust. Hence, any CSR initiative no matter how laudable it is, does not always receive positive reaction in host communities. According to experts, managers can find a wealth of benefits from trust, including cost savings and enhanced organisational capacities. According to these researchers, what is evident is that the willingness of managers to create mutually trusting relationships is a matter of strategic choice. In other words, managers can, through their behaviour, help determine levels of trust in relationships between their firm and its various stakeholders. Trust is thus define as an integral part of the strategy formulation process (Warhust and Mitchell, 2000). High figures suggests that the Nigerian government rakes billions of US dollars in form of revenue from the oil industry. However, the host communities in the Niger Delta are neglected; corruption and mismanagement is rife amongst officials hence some projects earmarked for the development of the region are never completed (Warhurst and Mitchell, 2000). Charges of unethical behaviour include: total neglect of the Niger Delta and lack of educational facilities such as classrooms, teachers, and scholarships which will enhance the literacy development of the indigenes of the communities. Over the years, the oil exploration and producing companies have borne the brunt of endless communal agitation, as the host communities have looked up to them for support and assistance in the provision of social and economic and infrastructure and employment. The host communities believe they should have the same facilties that are on offer to the companies workers since the bulk of profits of the MNEs come from their land. On the issue of electrification of the communities, the companies are accused of neglecting the areas where they work by only providing electricity to their installations. The communities do not benefit from the same developments that the companies undertake for their installations and workers (Warhurst and Mitchell, 2000). Conclusion In short, the paper presents the examples of two multinational corporations and their responsiveness towards corporate social responsibility. The main points of the paper can be summarised that corporate social responsiveness, corporate social responsibility, and corporate social impacts are encapsulated in the phrase corporate social performance. Of these three concepts, responsiveness is the most forward looking, action-oriented, and malleable, since it is based on the precept that corporations have the capacity to anticipation and adapt to environmental factors. The potential is that corporate managers can learn to prevent or minimize the kind of unwelcome surprises that necessitate crisis management and government intervention while responding proactively to public expectations of how business can serve the greater good.

Development of International Business

Development of International Business People today wake up by an alarm clock made in China, shave with a French razor, dress in Italian-designed (Pakistan-made) clothes and drive their way to work with a German car. Small facts from our daily routine justify that the last 100 years the internationalization (some would say globalisation) of business can be said to have re-drafted the world economic map (Woods, 2001). Globalisation, despite the numerous changes caused at national and international level, set new rules for all enterprises, no mater their size if a business is to be successful then it needs to be aware of the general environment. From the moment trade and economic environment changed, firms turned international in order to maintain their competitiveness and expand their activity into new markets (Hodgetts, 2003). Therefore, multinational enterprises (MNEs) should keep in mind that international trade, as a result of globalisation, is now the primary profit source. Also, MNEs should re-consider their financi al and production tactics if they want to gain more from the global-market environment, such as focus on specialization (ibid). The purpose of this essay is to discuss the primary ways International Business occurs and examine the advantages and disadvantages of international trade and specialization with an extended look at free trade. Two Primary Ways of International Business Development The basic idea for firms going global is to expand their existing sales with reducing the costs of making the additional sales. How will they achieve that? They have two primary ways: first, imports-exports worldwide (International Trade) and second, direct foreign investment (FDI) or portfolio investment. The first way is usually seen as Adam Smiths basic principle of exchange, as an attempt to explain why countries trade, while the second way is the base of international capital flow. International Trade As mentioned before, firms and countries expect some gains from this exchange such as: lower production costs, improved products quality and higher sales profits. However, in the early years of trade, the theory of mercantilism was against that assumption and it was Smith who reacted to this theory by setting up his absolute advantage theory (Mnieh, 2010). Mercantilists in the 18th century believed that a countrys wealth should be measured by the gold and silver the country possessed, so the more precious metals the country had the richer and more powerful it was. Also, the exports were seen as good because they brought silver/gold, whereas imports were bad because they reduced the amount of gold and silver from the country. Mercantilists wanted to encourage countries to export more than import; therefore, they proposed that exports should be increased and imports decreased by means of tariffs or quotas. As a result, under this theory, only one party could gain from trade (Brewer, 2000). However, mercantilism theory did not explain the basic questions of international trade such as, which goods are exported or imported, in what quantity and by whom (ibid). Adam Smith addressed these questions, and he produced the theory of absolute advantage. That theory holds that countries who use resources more efficiently can gain more by focusing on the specialization of their most efficient product and importing the goods they produce inefficiently. Consequently, the specialized production of a commodity gives a country an absolute advantage on that product, and the countrys resources are focused on the production of the profitable output instead of split up or wasted on other, less profitable, outputs. Absolute advantage, however, can explain only a small part of the worlds trade today and does not include any evidence about the determination of trade (Rugman and Collinson, 2006). In 1819, David Ricardo, based on Smiths work, examined the questions What happens when a country can produce all products at an absolute advantage? Would trade still benefit both countries now? And developed the theory of comparative advantage. According to Ricardos theory, a country has a comparative advantage in a product when it has a higher degree of superiority in its production, and it has a comparative disadvantage in a product when its degree of superiority is lower, relative to another country. In order to understand that theory completely, we need to introduce the concept of opportunity cost (Woods, 2001).. We assume that a country produces two goods, A and B, so the opportunity cost is the cost related to the amount of good A which must be sacrificed in order to produce one additional unit of good B (Mnieh, 2010). Therefore Ricardo, suggested that a country with an absolute advantage in all lines of production should trade with another country in the product which has the higher opportunity cost in order to gain from the other countys lower opportunity cost. Foreign Direct Investment The second way international business occurs is through equities. According to Collinson (2006), a tactic usually applied by nations and MNEs to gain access to a foreign market is equity funds invested in other nations. Therefore, a definition used for foreign direct investment (FDI) is the control and ownership of foreign assets. The basic idea for the FDI concept is that corporations find it more beneficial to purchase another foreign company, simply to acquire the companys market share and know-how in the host country. It has to be mentioned that FDI is different from portfolio investment. Foreign portfolio investment is a transfer of capital from one country to another, whereas FDI contains the issue of control and ownership of the activities abroad. Another common tactic of FDI is the union of capital of multiple corporations to a joint venture, in order to purchase together the foreign company aboard (Rugman, 2006). There is a substantial number of reasons why multinational corporations are interested in expanding their activities and influence in foreign assets. The primary reason is to increase their sales and profits. According to the UN World Investment Report (2006), numerous large multinationals have earned millions of pounds through overseas sales every year since they went abroad. Not only large firms gain benefits from activities abroad but a large number of smaller firms increase their revenues as well. MNEs financial and production activities pay the way for local suppliers to get involved with the multinationals and maybe supply them to other worldwide locations (ibid). The second reason is the lower costs abroad. Lower labour cost, for example, is a considerable reason for transferring a companys production facilities to a place where labour is much cheaper. In addition to this, MNEs can consider other factors such as materials supply, transportation costs and energy issues, which affect managers decisions to move their activities abroad. Another reason is to enter economic blocs and rapidly growing markets. At this point, we have to mention that the global economical map is different between countries, regions or continents. Some countries have markets that grow more rapidly than others, and many countries are part of international, economical and political, agreements that affect trade, so multinational companies gain a foothold in these markets by investing directly in them (Deresky,2006).. The final reason for FDI is to gain access to technology and know-how as well as the protection of domestic and foreign markets. In essence, there are examples of multinationals that have saved their own and foreign markets by making investments in these markets and take a strategic advantage due to the high-technology acquirement their investments provide (Piggott and Cook, 2006). Advantages and Disadvantages of Specialisation The model of comparative advantage and the theory of absolute advantage are both based on specialisation. Specialization, at production level, occurs when a worker becomes skilled and efficient at a specific task in order to be able to produce more goods or services than other workers. Countries that produce specialised goods could have many advantages. First, specialisation at international level means that a country will benefit from the trade of specialized goods with other countries. Second, specialisation makes workers to becomes quicker at producing goods or services; consequently, the production per good become cheaper and the production levels are increase. Therefore, a country can be competitive and maintain or expand the wealth it already has (Piggott and Cook, 2006). The third point is the gain of know-how. A country that focuses on the specific production of a good can become an expert and invest in research on that good. Fourth, a country can enhance its reputation. If a country becomes an expert it is possible to increase the quality and reliability of its products, she will create a reputation and the demand of its products will increase (Bingham, Combined Proceedings, 2005, Vol.55). However, the concentration of production factors on one product may have the opposite results. First, a country will depend on a higher degree from others if it just exports one good and imports all the others. Second, countries should be aware that specialised workers demand better wages and this can also affect the total production cost in a negative way. Third, it has to be mentioned that the theory of specialisation makes some assumptions and simplifications, which are not always valid, such as: (a) there is full employment, (b) there are no constant costs and countries have the same dynamic in the future (c) the theories are based on barter, so money is not required in these models, (d) we assume that there are two countries and two goods only and (e) the mobility of labour is assumed to be perfect (Daniels et al., 2008). Advantages and Disadvantages of International Trade The trade theories mentioned before in this essay is the base for us to understand the figure of international trade in the world economy we observe today. International trade has a variety of aspects. Firstly, as an advantage, it includes the theory of free trade, which supports the unrestricted free flow of goods and services between countries. Trade without barriers has positive benefits for all involved, and it creates free markets, which are best for most exchange. As a result, countries trade more over time, so globalisation will be inevitable. Secondly, world class economists set their theories for international trade. They attempt to figure how it works, but each theory is based on different assumptions and limitations. As a result, new theories were born (Daniels et al., 2008). To counter the theories of international trade, a considerable number of people believe that trade and foreign investments may badly affect local industry and work force. They suggest an economic policy of restraining free trade with means like quotas or tariffs in order to protect the national market; a theory widely known as protectionism (Hill, 2006). As a whole, countries trade with each other and manage their exports or imports based on their capabilities and needs. Due to the worlds competive environment, nations support their industries to claim better results for their interests not only domestically but worldwide. With business going international, countries and companies are trying to expand their wealth and influence other countries or markets, with direct or portfolio investment (ibid). Arguments in favour of free trade and relevant theories According to Hill (2006), the theory of free trade is relevant to the theories of International Trade. Both theories assume that there is unrestricted trade between two or more countries, but the free trade theory includes three major principles: (a) there are no barriers or obstacles to mobility, (b) there are no trade restrictions and (c) there are no transportation costs. Apart from the assumptions, new questions are presented. For example, the free trade theory suggests that trade is based on the lack of costs, but it does not explain which factors made these costs. As a result, the theory of Heckscher-Ohlin was established. Two Swedish economists, Eli Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin, studied the trade theories and conclude in two deductions. First, there is more than one factor of production. For example, goods do not need only labour but capital and land also. Secondly, different factors are used for the production of different goods. Furthermore, different countries have a different number of factors of production (or endowments), and this results in different relative factor prices. This means that land-intensive goods should be relatively cheap in a country with a great deal of land, and the same is valid for labour-intensive and capital-intensive countries. This leads to the theorys basic conclusion that countries should specialize in goods that use the factor of production intensively they have in abundance (Piggott Cook, 2006). According to the Heckscher-Ohlin theorem, countries like the United States, for example, with a higher capital per head than other countries, should export capital-intensive goods and import labour-intensive goods. In 1954, the economist Wassily Leontief tried to apply the theorem to reality. He used a mathematical technique named input-output analysis to measure the amount of imports and exports worth US$ 1milion, on data of 1947. Leontief found that to replace US imports with domestic output would need 170 more years per worker of labour and US$ 3.1million of capital. On the other hand, to reduce US exports by US$ 1 million would provide 182.3 years of labour time and US$ 2.6 million of capital. When he compared the two results, he showed that exports from the US were more labour intensive than imports into the US, which is the opposite outcome to that predicted by Heckscher-Ohlin. The worlds most capital-intensive country was exporting labour intensive goods (Husted Melvin, 2007) . The previous analysis is known as the Leontief paradox and it is known as the biggest weakness to the Heckscher-Ohlin theory. Some economists argued that Leontiefs analysis did not include human capital in his motion of labour all labour is taken to have the same skill. As a result, failure to include these factors might have caused him to mismeasure the labour intensity of US imports and exports (Mmieh, 2010). Based on the failure of Heckscher-Ohlin theory, economist Paul Krugman (1970) developed his new trade theory. According to this theory, some countries specialize in the production of a particular product and export it, not because they have different factor endowments, but because they can support these products in the global markets. For example, a countrys production specialisation in the products of airplanes, can give a competitive advantage to the country not only at domestic but in the international airplane production market (ibid). In relevance to new trade theory, Michael Porter (1994) attempted to explain why particular nations achieve international success in particular industries. His theory, referred as the theory of national competitive advantage, underlines that country factors such as domestic demand and domestic rivalry are very important for nations dominance in the production and export of particular goods (Hill, 2006). Conclusion In this paper, we first examined the two primary ways international business occur, based on numerous theories of world-class economists. Global Trade and FDI are the most important figures of world trade today and include a number of aspects but in this paper we discussed two of them: specialisation and international trade. We also examined the concept of free trade; with an extensive look at the theories that were created based on the free burgeoning of goods. Today, globalisation sets new rules for the countries and firms involved in the business world, a much more complicated market scene, which needs different approaches, careful planning and correct use of information for the best investment results. International business follows the path of globalisation and I personally believe that the in years to come we will witness an inevitable change route for the way we do business.

Family Issues in the Play Death of a Salesman Essay -- success, life, p

The play, Death of a Salesman, is a tragic drama about an aging salesman who tries to do all he can to support his family and make them lead successful lives. The struggling salesman, Willy Loman has two sons, Biff and Happy, whom he tries to drive towards success. Willy believes that being well liked and making a good and lasting impression are the keys to success and tries to teach this philosophy to his two sons. Biff, being the favorite son of Willy, has worked as a manual laborer and Willy believes that Biff can do so much more with his life. While Biff is happy, he does not meet Willy’s criteria for success. Biff is unable to fulfill Willy’s dream because Willy’s idea of success is not a life Biff wants to pursue. Biff Loman, a highly successful high school football player, was supposedly meant for great things after high school. However, Biff failed to graduate from high school due to failing a mathematics class, and also did not complete the class during summer school, because of the discussion he had with his father. The discussion was one that was eye-opening, as Biff learned that his father was unfaithful to his mother, â€Å"You—you gave her Mama’s stockings†¦don’t touch me, you—liar...You fake! You phony little fake! You fake!â€Å" (95). This is the moment in the play where Biff lost all respect for his father. Due to not graduating, he lost his athletic scholarship to the University of Virginia. Since then, Biff has been working blue-collar jobs in the west while not making over thirty-five dollars a week. He is happy there but realizes that there is not much future in that line of work and ends up returning home without a job. Willy cannot understand how everything could have gone so wrong for Biff. Willy has always been und... ...him† (111). This play has a story that I feel like many people can relate to. In my case, my dad would prefer if I followed his footsteps into medicine, but he says to do what I enjoy. While I certainly wouldn’t rule that field out, it is nice to know that if I want to do something different, I have my family’s support. In conclusion, Biff will not follow in Willy’s footsteps due to the fact that he has no motivation or desire to go into the business world. Willy dies thinking that his life was a success because of the money he is leaving for his son whereas it is not, at least in the way he thinks. Biff breaks free from Willy’s false dream and tells Happy: â€Å"He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong... He never knew who he was† (111). Happy does end up taking the money to start a business and while that was not Willy’s main aim; it is something rather than nothing. Family Issues in the Play Death of a Salesman Essay -- success, life, p The play, Death of a Salesman, is a tragic drama about an aging salesman who tries to do all he can to support his family and make them lead successful lives. The struggling salesman, Willy Loman has two sons, Biff and Happy, whom he tries to drive towards success. Willy believes that being well liked and making a good and lasting impression are the keys to success and tries to teach this philosophy to his two sons. Biff, being the favorite son of Willy, has worked as a manual laborer and Willy believes that Biff can do so much more with his life. While Biff is happy, he does not meet Willy’s criteria for success. Biff is unable to fulfill Willy’s dream because Willy’s idea of success is not a life Biff wants to pursue. Biff Loman, a highly successful high school football player, was supposedly meant for great things after high school. However, Biff failed to graduate from high school due to failing a mathematics class, and also did not complete the class during summer school, because of the discussion he had with his father. The discussion was one that was eye-opening, as Biff learned that his father was unfaithful to his mother, â€Å"You—you gave her Mama’s stockings†¦don’t touch me, you—liar...You fake! You phony little fake! You fake!â€Å" (95). This is the moment in the play where Biff lost all respect for his father. Due to not graduating, he lost his athletic scholarship to the University of Virginia. Since then, Biff has been working blue-collar jobs in the west while not making over thirty-five dollars a week. He is happy there but realizes that there is not much future in that line of work and ends up returning home without a job. Willy cannot understand how everything could have gone so wrong for Biff. Willy has always been und... ...him† (111). This play has a story that I feel like many people can relate to. In my case, my dad would prefer if I followed his footsteps into medicine, but he says to do what I enjoy. While I certainly wouldn’t rule that field out, it is nice to know that if I want to do something different, I have my family’s support. In conclusion, Biff will not follow in Willy’s footsteps due to the fact that he has no motivation or desire to go into the business world. Willy dies thinking that his life was a success because of the money he is leaving for his son whereas it is not, at least in the way he thinks. Biff breaks free from Willy’s false dream and tells Happy: â€Å"He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong... He never knew who he was† (111). Happy does end up taking the money to start a business and while that was not Willy’s main aim; it is something rather than nothing.

Analysis Of Nathaniel Hawthorn :: essays research papers fc

Ld be at my very elbow" symbolizes that the forest is a mysterious and frightful place (244). With the words, "staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake" (244) and "The moment his fingers touched them, they became strangely withered and dried up as with a week’s sunshine" symbolizes the devil (246). Another important literary element that Hawthorne uses is characterization. He also uses symbolism to represent his characters. For instance, Faith is the wife of Young Goodman Brown and is represented as a beautiful, faithful, and pleasant person. When Hawthorne writes, "the wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap", symbolizes Faith to be a beautiful and pleasant person (244). Also Hawthorne writes, "as the wife was aptly named, and she’s a blessed angel on earth" symbolizes that Faith is faithful and honest (243). In contrast to Faith is the mysterious travellar. He represents the devil in the forest which represents hell. Hawthorne writes, "his staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake" (244) and "The moment his fingers touched them, they became strangely withered and dried up, as with a week’s sunshine" (246) symbolizes the hellish powers of the devil. Young Goodman Brown plays the middle man within the story. He is married to a beautiful wife and is urged to become bad in the hellish forest. He also finds that his religion teacher, Goody Cloyse, and the church minister, Deacon Gookin, was in this forest. Young Goodman Brown faces an internal conflict with good and evil. Hawthorne writes, "With Heaven above, and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil" lets you know that Young Goodman Brown is strongly against evil (247). Also within the story Hawthorne writes, "My Faith is gone, there is no good on earth, and sin is but a name. Come, devil for to there is this world given" which shows that Young Goodman Brown has come to realize that he can no longer trust anyone (248). In this allegory, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses dual settings, along with mood, conflict and characterization to create his theme. That mankind possesses both good and evil within each individual. This is represented by the internal conflict by Young Goodman Brown to be a good individual, but realizing that everyone possess bad.

Marketing Segmentation

Core benefits : Core benefit is the major benefit or satisfaction that customers are looking from a good or service one buys. This benefit can be happen from person to person. The Cassowaries watch that we produced provides convenience as well usefulness. The watch aims to improve in style and increases the functions of normal analog watch. In 21st century, the watch exist not only to Just to know about the time, but it can be a part of accessory for people to wear it and be more stylish and fashionable.Moreover, with this multipurpose product, it will enhance your fashion sense and reflection. Actual Product : Actual product is the physical parts of the product like benefits and features that affects to customers who purchase our product. In this level, there are four strategies which involve branding, adding features, organizations and benefits. Also that combines to deliver a product with specified benefits to our customers. The Cassowaries watch already has gone through for the t esting before it actually launch.The functions and designs are further modified to give more satisfaction and fulfill the expectations for customers. The actual benefit that added to our product is a WI-if function. This WI-FL function will allow our customers to use WI-FL through their smart phones. Basically, the watch has same facility as router. It requires customers to log in to our Cassowaries watches website to register, to make a simple contract between customers and our company which allows them to able to use Wi-FL by paying a usage fee per month.Also, we came out with this system that those who register with premium members, they will be able to have luxury to get a free usage of a WI-FL for a week. Definitely the premium registration is more costly, but we are sure that the customers will satisfy with this contract and they will not regret to use our product. Last but not least, we make our watch to be more useful and multi-function. Our watch can be turned into a neckla ce. The chain of the watch can be removed from the face of the watch and the new chain for the necklace which given upon purchase, an be re- clipped in the watch.So it can be a necklace as well. The chain is made of jewels for watch, light material and few Jewels for necklace chain as to prevent the tiring in neck due to a heavy weight of chain. It will make the customers more fashionable as well as stylish. Augmented Product : Augmented product is a commodity that has both the primary physical attributes and the non-physical attributes that are added to increase the product's value such as after sales service.After purchase, we measure the wrist size and adjust the length f chain in the spot for our customers as well as neck size. And so, they are able to wear it right after they purchase. We have total 3 years warranty and guidance booklet will be given for customers who are not clear of using it. There is a website for them to check about our products and Q and A sessions with cu stomer service. Conclusion : Promoting a new product will never be an easy work as the competition is tough and most of customers have high expectations in modern society.It will not be that successful to Just have colorful appearance. What we need is to target correct group of people in right time at the correct place and to focus more on satisfying their needs and wants. However, we will not be able to get a competitive advantage by Just satisfying them over our competitors. Looking forward and predict the needs and wants is the epitome method to gain competitive advantage from our competitors. Http://www. Neurotransmitter. Com/lesson-store/lesson-three-levels-of-a-product. HTML Marketing Segmentation S NO. | NAME OF PRODUCT| MARKET SEGMENTATION| 1. | Gillette Mach 3(New Gillette MACH3 Sensitive is an advanced razor designed for men who want a closer, comfortable shave with less irritation3 – even on the most sensitive areas of the face. )| a) Demographic: 1) Gender: Male 2) Age: 16 and above 3) Income: 25,000 and aboveb) Geographic: Urban areasc) Social Class: Middle class to Elite Class| 2. | Fair and Lovely(Fairness that changes your destiny. )| a) Demographic: 1) Gender: Female 2) Age: 15 and above 3) Income: 20,000 and aboveb) Geographic: Urban areasc) Social Class: Middle class| 3. Faber Castell Colors(Faber-Castell has a time honored commitment to tradition, quality, and innovation for all of its brands. )| a) Demographic: 1) Gender: Unisex 2) Age: 3 years and above 3) Income: 25,000 and above 4) Occupation consume: Studentsb) Geographic: Urban areasc) Social Class: Elite class| 4. | Honda CG 125(Honda Motorcycles is defined by Quality, Performance, Speed, Economy Pe trol and Re-sale Value. All these have managed to successfully bag your trust on the New Honda CG125. | a) Demographic: 1) Gender: Male 2) Age: 18 and above 3) Income: 50,000 and above 4) Occupation: Work with frequent ridingb) Geographic: Urban and Rural areasc) Social Class: Middle (Urban) Elite (Rural)| 5. | Colgate Toothpaste(Strengthens teeth with active fluoride. Fights cavities and leaves your mouth with a fresh feeling. )| a) Demographic: 1) Gender: Unisex 2) Age: 3 years and above 3) Income: 25,000 and aboveb) Geographic: Urban and Ruralc) Social Class: Middle to Elite class| Marketing segmentation a. The process of dividing the total market in to several heterogeneous groups. b. The process of bringing several small, unreachable segments into a definable market segment. c. An attempt to reach all consumers with a single marketing mix. d. Practiced by both profit-oriented and not-for-profit organizations Market segmentation is the process in marketing of dividing a market into distinct subsets (segments) that behave in the same way or have similar needs. Because each segment is fairly homogeneous in their needs and attitudes, they are likely to respond similarly to a given marketing strategy. That is, they are likely to have similar feelings and ideas about a marketing mix comprised of a given product or service, sold at a given price, distributed in a certain way, and promoted in a certain way. Broadly, markets can be divided according to a number of general criteria, such as by industry or public versus private sector. Small segments are often termed niche markets or specialty markets. However, all segments fall into either consumer or industrial markets. Although it has similar objectives and it overlaps with consumer markets in many ways, the process of Industrial market segmentation is quite different. The process of segmentation is distinct from targeting (choosing which segments to address) and positioning (designing an appropriate marketing mix for each segment). The overall intent is to identify groups of similar customers and potential customers; to prioritise the groups to address; to understand their behaviour; and to respond with appropriate marketing strategies that satisfy the different preferences of each chosen segment. Revenues are thus improved. Improved segmentation can lead to significantly improved marketing effectiveness. With the right segmentation, the right lists can be purchased, advertising results can be improved and customer satisfaction can be increased. Â   Marketing Segmentation Core benefits : Core benefit is the major benefit or satisfaction that customers are looking from a good or service one buys. This benefit can be happen from person to person. The Cassowaries watch that we produced provides convenience as well usefulness. The watch aims to improve in style and increases the functions of normal analog watch. In 21st century, the watch exist not only to Just to know about the time, but it can be a part of accessory for people to wear it and be more stylish and fashionable.Moreover, with this multipurpose product, it will enhance your fashion sense and reflection. Actual Product : Actual product is the physical parts of the product like benefits and features that affects to customers who purchase our product. In this level, there are four strategies which involve branding, adding features, organizations and benefits. Also that combines to deliver a product with specified benefits to our customers. The Cassowaries watch already has gone through for the t esting before it actually launch.The functions and designs are further modified to give more satisfaction and fulfill the expectations for customers. The actual benefit that added to our product is a WI-if function. This WI-FL function will allow our customers to use WI-FL through their smart phones. Basically, the watch has same facility as router. It requires customers to log in to our Cassowaries watches website to register, to make a simple contract between customers and our company which allows them to able to use Wi-FL by paying a usage fee per month.Also, we came out with this system that those who register with premium members, they will be able to have luxury to get a free usage of a WI-FL for a week. Definitely the premium registration is more costly, but we are sure that the customers will satisfy with this contract and they will not regret to use our product. Last but not least, we make our watch to be more useful and multi-function. Our watch can be turned into a neckla ce. The chain of the watch can be removed from the face of the watch and the new chain for the necklace which given upon purchase, an be re- clipped in the watch.So it can be a necklace as well. The chain is made of jewels for watch, light material and few Jewels for necklace chain as to prevent the tiring in neck due to a heavy weight of chain. It will make the customers more fashionable as well as stylish. Augmented Product : Augmented product is a commodity that has both the primary physical attributes and the non-physical attributes that are added to increase the product's value such as after sales service.After purchase, we measure the wrist size and adjust the length f chain in the spot for our customers as well as neck size. And so, they are able to wear it right after they purchase. We have total 3 years warranty and guidance booklet will be given for customers who are not clear of using it. There is a website for them to check about our products and Q and A sessions with cu stomer service. Conclusion : Promoting a new product will never be an easy work as the competition is tough and most of customers have high expectations in modern society.It will not be that successful to Just have colorful appearance. What we need is to target correct group of people in right time at the correct place and to focus more on satisfying their needs and wants. However, we will not be able to get a competitive advantage by Just satisfying them over our competitors. Looking forward and predict the needs and wants is the epitome method to gain competitive advantage from our competitors. Http://www. Neurotransmitter. Com/lesson-store/lesson-three-levels-of-a-product. HTML

Leadership Traits

Although research has shown that the presence of specific traits alone do not ensure successful leadership, it has been proven that successful historical leaders share certain key traits. According to Shelley Kirkpatrick and Edwin Locke, â€Å"leaders do not have to be great men or women by being intellectual geniuses or omniscient prophets to succeed, but they do need to have the â€Å"right stuff† and this stuff is not equally present in all people† (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991, p. 12). Despite the many controversial discussions on whether leaders are born or made, the fact that efficacious leaders possess key traits remains undisputed.Some of the various traits that have an impact on effective leadership are discussed in detail below. Ability to Listen Most people listen actively to only a small percent of what is being said because people speak at a much slower rate than what they are able to hear. Therefore, active listening requires concentration and attentiveness t o the speaker. Effective listening involves three important elements (Greenberg, 2010, p. 241): * Being nonjudgmental while taking in information from others. * Acknowledging speakers in ways that encourage them to continue speaking. Attempting to advance a speaker’s ideas to the next step. Listening is an important trait that â€Å"underlies all leadership skills. It is the key to developing and maintaining relationships, decision making and problem solving† (Rynders, 1999, p. 5).Gregory Rynders conducted a study on the relationship between listening and leadership. Although the research did not confirm if leaders naturally possessed superior listening abilities or if they just work harder at it, the results did confirm there is a positive relationship between successful leadership and effective listening skills (Rynders, 1999, p. ). Ability to Manage Some believe you can either be a manager or a leader, but you can’t be both. Although the functions of a leader and a manager differ, management skills are a subset of leadership skills (Shead, 2010). Management and leadership are not separate functions. They cannot exist apart from each other. Management, it appears, is about controlling an existing system, while leadership is about invention and adaptation. (Kaplan, 1994) A good leader must have the ability to manage and at same time distance oneself from managing when it is not appropriate to do so.Managing typically involves the details of running the day to day operations of the business. In this case, it would be inappropriate for the leader to get involved in tasks that should be delegated. However, leaders who do not possess the ability to manage lack the knowledge required to make effective decisions to lead the organization in the right direction. Balance There is an old saying, â€Å"Too much of a good thing can be bad. † Water is essential to the survival of the human body and a lack of water intake can result in dehydrati on causing serious health conditions.However, too much water can result in over hydration causing hyponatremia or intoxication. Balance is important in many areas of life and is a key trait in being a successful leader. Technological advances, economic changes, company dynamics and pressing deadlines create a difficult environment for practicing balance. Linking organizational, departmental and individual goals to the mission of the company is important. Yet balance is required to allow interpretation and innovation of the goals in order to gain commitment and enthusiasm from employees.Reward systems initiate creativity and motivation. However, if the correlation between rewards and individual actions is too specific, it may impede individuals from taking actions that lead to innovation. Time pressure is another key matter that requires balance. Lack of time pressures may result in declining productivity while excessive time pressure restraints may stifle creativity and growth (Gree nberg, 2010, pp. 361-362). Leaders must have the ability to maintain balance in order to achieve optimal results. Relating to GroupsIn recent years, more and more companies are adopting a team based work system and successful implementation has been linked to leadership (Murry, Avolio, & Jung, 2002). Relating to groups requires a different approach than that of traditional leadership. â€Å"In many of today’s organizations, where teams predominate, leaders are called upon to provide special resources to team members, who are empowered to implement their own missions in their own ways† (Greenberg, 2010, p. 330). Leaders must understand team dynamics in order to lead the various groups that make up the organization.Decision Making Process According to management experts, decision making is one of the most critical and common job functions of executive leaders (Mintzberg, 1988). People make a number of decisions every day; however decisions made at the senior level may ha ve a far greater impact on the organization. A general model describes the steps of the decision making process as follows: identify the problem, define objectives, make a pre-decision, generate alternatives, evaluate alternative solutions, make a choice, implement the chosen alternative, and follow-up (Greenberg, 2010, pp. 83-284). Leaders are typically responsible for making non-programmed decisions. Therefore, they must rely on prior experience, information available and reliable sources to make decisions. In order for a leader to possess the trait of superior decision making ability, they must understand each of these steps and use them to evaluate the effectiveness of their decisions. Understanding Change Change is essential to the growth and expansion of organizations. People are creatures of habit and not always accepting of change.Learning organizations have developed the capacity to adapt to continuously changing conditions through setting aside old ways of thinking, freely sharing ideas, and working together (Greenberg, 2010, p. 417). The greatest results are derived from changes that are strategically planned and systematically implemented. â€Å"Organizational development is a set of social science techniques designed to plan and implement change in work settings for purposes of enhancing the personal development of individuals and improving the effectiveness of organizational function† (Greenberg, 2010, p. 17). The â€Å"implementation dip† refers to two problems associated with change: the social-psychological fear of change and the lack of technical skills required for successful implementation. Leaders who understand change â€Å"still have an urgent sense of moral purpose and measure success in terms of results, but they do things that are more likely get the organization going and keep it going† (Fullan, 2001). Charisma Charisma is defined as â€Å"a personal magic of leadership arousing special popular loyalty or enthus iasm for a public figure† (Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. , 1981, p. 377).A leader’s possession of charisma is based on the perception of their followers and may change due to actions and circumstances. Just as presidential approval ratings could change drastically from one day to the next based on the latest news and events. Charisma alone may not ensure successful leadership but it could mean the difference between an average leader and a great leader. A person may exhibit all the traits of a successful leader and propel the organization forward through market share dominance and financial growth and at the same time he may be perceived by his employees and community as a terrible leader.Charismatic leaders inspire enthusiasm and loyalty by engaging followers through personal connection. Transformational leaders like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and President John F. Kennedy were known for their charismatic qualities that inspired others to follow them, often in a highly emotional manner (Greenberg, 2010, p. 316). Charisma is a key leadership trait because it emphasizes the importance of focusing on the viewpoint of the employees and the community. Drive Drive consists of the desire for achievement, ambition, energy, tenacity, and initiative (Greenberg, 2010, p. 14). â€Å"High achievers obtain satisfaction from successfully completing challenging tasks, attaining standards of excellence, and developing better ways of doing things† (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991, p. 2).Individuals that desire higher standards of excellence are more likely to succeed in a leadership role. They typically have a â€Å"can do† attitude and are willing to complete the necessary tasks to achieve positive results despite the challenge. Leaders with high levels of initiative are proactive. They make choices and take action that leads to change instead of just reacting to events or waiting for things to happen† (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991, p. 4). In our technologically advanced society, it is very easy to operate in a reactive mode, addressing issues as they arise. Great leaders have a natural drive to seek out challenges and proactively identify opportunities for improvement. â€Å"These same qualities, however, may result in a manager who tries to accomplish everything alone, thereby failing to develop subordinate commitment and responsibility.Effective leaders must not only be full of drive and ambition, they must want to lead others† (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991, p. 5). Self-confidence In order for leaders to gain commitment from their followers, self-confidence is a necessity. â€Å"A person riddled with self-doubt would never be able to take the necessary actions nor command the respect of others† (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991, p. 7). Self-confidence has been uniquely recognized as a necessary trait of effective or emergent leaders in many different studies written since 1948 (Judge, Ilies, Bono, & Gerhardt, 2002, p . ). Self-confidence is an indicator of emotional stability and self-esteem. Followers desire a sense of stability and assurance in their leader’s capacity to take charge in any given circumstance. Many times leaders have to be willing to take risks and make quick decisions that require commitment from others. Doing so requires confidence in their skills and abilities and others must be able to sense their confidence in order to commit to the decision and take action. Integrity Integrity means doing the right thing for the right reason, regardless of who is watching.A leader of integrity is a leader people can trust. Integrity also means conducting business in an ethical manner because integrity requires honesty. Integrity is essential to effective leadership since people value trust and fair treatment. People want to know their leader will stand behind their word and do what they proclaim. â€Å"Honesty is absolutely essential to leadership. After all, if we are willing to follow someone, whether it be into battle or into the boardroom, we first want to assure ourselves that the person is worthy of our trust.We want to know that he or she is being truthful, ethical, and principled. We want to be fully confident in the integrity of our leaders. † (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991, p. 7) Leadership Theories Leadership is an intricate process that entails developing and maintaining complex social relationships. Over the years, many have studied leadership approaches and styles in an effort to determine the most effective. Several leadership theories have formed out of these studies, two of which are contingency theories discussed below.A contingency theory is a belief that leadership is influenced by the â€Å"characteristics of the individuals involved and the nature of the situations they face† (Greenberg, 2010, p. 322). Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory The situational leadership theory was developed by Paul Hersey, a professor who wrote the book Situational Leader and Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager. The theory was originally introduced as â€Å"The Life-Cycle Theory of Leadership† and was renamed â€Å"Situational Leadership Theory† in the mid 1970’s when they developed their own models (Hersey & Blanchard, 1969).The situational leadership theory is based on adapting your leadership style to the maturity of the individual or group you are attempting to influence. It is based on the fact that each person differs in their capabilities and capacity to set goals, their willingness and ability to take responsibility, and level of education and experience. Hersey and Blanchard characterized leadership styles into four behavior types: telling, selling, participating, and delegating. Telling (S1) is the act of identifying the roles of the individual or group and providing specific avenues of how to accomplish the specified task.Selling (S2) is the act of identifying the roles of the individual or group and providing two-way communication so as to allow the individual or group being influenced to commit to the process. Participating (S3) encompasses shared decision making allowing the individual or group to be a part of the identification of the task and the process. Delegating (S4) provides the individual or group with the authority to make decisions about the process while the leader remains involved as a monitor of the activities taking place. (Hersey & Blanchard, 1969) Hersey and Blanchard’s model also identifies four levels of maturity.Level one is when the participants lack the skills for the job and are either unable or unwilling to accept responsibility for the task. Level two is when the participants are willing to provide effort to complete the task but lack the skills or the knowledge required. Level three is when the participants are willing to provide the effort and have the skills or knowledge required but lack the confidence to take on the responsibility. Level four is when the participants are willing to provide the effort and have the skills or knowledge required and are confident and willing to accept the responsibility. (Hersey & Blanchard, 1969)Hersey and Blanchard noted the importance of communicating your leadership approach to your employees. If you make a good diagnosis and provide the leadership style needed but fail to communicate your approach, your employees may become untrusting. Therefore it is important to implement your approach with your employees rather than to your employees in order to create a cohesive environment. (Hersey & Blanchard, 1969) The idea is to adapt your leadership behavior to that of your employees. By identifying the maturity level of your employees and adapting your leadership behavior, you can become a more effective leader.Path-Goal Theory The path-goal is a contingency theory based on the principle that â€Å"subordinates will react favorably to leaders who are perceived a s helping them make progress toward various goals by clarifying the paths to such rewards† (Greenberg, 2010, p. 325). This theory emphasizes the importance of the way the leader helps to clarify, communicate and reduce or eliminate obstacles so as to create a positive perception that will result in increased effort and high-quality performance from the subordinate (Greenberg, 2010, p. 325).In essence, people will work to achieve the goal if they believe they are capable, and if they perceive the goal to be worthwhile. The path-goal theory suggests four basic leadership styles: instrumental, supportive, participative, and achievement oriented. Instrumental also known as directive is when the leader identifies the task and specifically defines the process to be followed. This approach has a positive effect when the tasks are ambiguous and essentially gratifying (House & Mitchell, 1974). The supportive leadership style is centered on building relationships with employees and show ing concern for their sychological well-being. This style is effective when the tasks are emotionally taxing and physically draining (House & Mitchell, 1974). The participative leadership style is the based upon the belief that two or more minds are better than one and engaging employees in the decision making process produces higher levels of commitment.The level of participation may vary based on the style of leadership used and the style may change based on the type of decision being made. The achievement oriented leadership style focuses on setting challenging goals with confidence in subordinates seeking to improve performance (Greenberg, 2010, p. 25). This style has been proven most effective in highly technical roles. The style of leadership that should be selected depends on the individual situation and several characteristics of subordinates should be considered. The theory suggests that several aspects of the work environment play a role and best results are achieved when tasks are unstructured. In a routine and structured work environment, employees may become resentful of the path-goal approach perceiving the leader as intrusive (Greenberg, 2010, p. 327). Application of Analysis to Leadership EnvironmentLeaders of all industries may take advantage of the study and application of leadership traits and theories. Practical application would benefit a general manager of a full-service hotel in the hospitality industry. A general manager is a leader to many different employees with various levels of education, experience and skills. In addition, the employees maturity levels vary and some are more willing than others to take initiative to expand their skills and abilities. The two contingency theories mentioned provide leaders with optional styles that can be adapted to individual employees to achieve optimal productivity.For instance, a new housekeeper may initially require the telling style of the situational leadership theory. They may appreciate cle ar guidelines that outline the process of cleaning a room. However, after the training period the employee may exhibit high levels of maturity by taking initiative and offering new ideas. In this case, employee engagement and commitment can be achieved by shifting to the participating leadership style. This can be accomplished through encouraging feedback and empowering the employee to implement new ideas.The sales team of a hotel operates most efficiently in a creative environment that promotes open forums for brainstorming and networking. The path-goal theory encourages a participative leadership style effective in sales positions because it encourages feedback and a personal commitment to the goals. The ability to listen and relating to groups are valuable traits when working with a sales team. Active listening ensures the employees understand the goals of the organization. Relating to the group allows the leader to provide the support and resources needed to achieve the goals.