The future status of English as the global language is assured Essay - 1

The future status of English as the global language is assured - Essay Example This means that it is a language that is not going to disappear anytime soon because it is deeply rooted among many cultures. The same could be said of Mandarin. However, Mandarin has historically never had the same global appeal of English due to one thing—colonization. The English language originated from England and was exported around the world the England’s colonies. Countries such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have all had their cultures and language shaped due to the influence of England. Mandarin was never allowed to expand like this because China never ventured far outside its own borders. In addition to England, the United States of America also became a great exporter of the English language. After the United States won independence from England, it did contribute much to world affairs. It was only after the Second World War that America started to influence many different countries around the globe. Because they speak the English language, the United States was, and still does, influence they way people talk. Over the centuries, English has long been the language of trade between countries. Although English is only the native language in a few countries, there are considerably more nations that have established English as their second language. The reason for this is simple—trade. Because many of the native English speaking countries are considered to be first world, it is advantageous for poorer nations to do business with them. To accomplish this, it makes sense to learn English in order to be able to communicate effectively with them. It would be unrealistic for an English speaker to learn a language of another country that wants to engage in trade—because the developing country wants to grow, it must learn to speak the language that will help to get them there. Although English will surely be threatened by other upcoming languages, particularly Mandarin, the future status of the English language as

The impact of globalisation on business Essay Example for Free

The impact of globalisation on business Essay 1. INTRODUCTION. Advancement in transportation and information technologies has opened up the world to lucrative business opportunities. Many companies no longer confine their business domestically but reach out globally in search of better profits. When a company conducts business across national boundaries, it is participating in international business. International business paves the way for globalisation. Ball et al. (2004) found that globalisation can be defined in many ways but broadly globalisation occurs when an entity (government, company, NGOs, etc.) carries out an activity (economic, political, technological, etc. ) in a host country. Globalisation has impacted the way many companies performed their business. New strategies are required to identify the opportunities presented by globalisation. Companies need to understand the forces that drive them towards globalisation. Most importantly, the companies must be prepared to meet the challenges of globalisation. This report presents globalisation in the context of a global strategy. It assesses the impact of the global strategy on the Texchem Group of Companies (Texchem), a company based in Penang. Texchem is founded in 1973 by its current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dato Seri Fumihiko Konishi. Today, Texchem is well diversified into the business of trading, manufacturing and services with divisions in the packaging, industrial, food, family care and venture industries ( 2003). Currently, Texchems globalisation efforts are concentrated around the Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN) countries and China (Chiew 2004). The organizational structure of Texchem is shown below. The groups investment holding company is Texchem Resources Berhad.  (source: Texchem Resources Bhd, www.trbgroup.com/business_act_corporate_structure.htm) FIGURE 1: Texchem organizational structure 2. FORCES DRIVING TEXCHEM TO GLOBALISE. Normally, a companys decision to globalise is influenced by a combination of several factors. These factors are the forces that drive a company to expand abroad. Each company has its own unique reasons to carry out oversea business activities since declining trade barrier and technological changes seem to underlie the trend towards greater globalisation (Hill 2003, p. 8) today. Texchem has mainly operated domestically apart from venturing into Singapore a year after its inception. It was not until 18 years later that Texchem started its globalisation exercise aggressively after building up its strength and reputation. Starting with Thailand in 1992, Texchem continued with Vietnam (1994), Myanmar (1997, Indonesia (2002) and China (2002). Now, Texchem is well represented in the ASEAN region (Texchem Annual Report 2002). Like any other companies, there were also unique forces that drove Texchem to globalise. Chief among them were: * Be a US$1 billion company. It cannot be denied that all companies are profit driven. After all the very existence of a company rest on the profits it makes. Texchem is no different in this aspect. However, Texchem is not only trying to make a profit but striving to be a US$1 billion company by 2010. This is Texchem Vision 2010 which is to be achieved with annual sales revenue of US$1 billion (Konishi 2002). Texchem 5 year performance chart below shows that there is still much to do and globalisation is the answer to bigger market opportunities. (source: Texchem Resources Bhd., www.texchemgroup.com) FIGURE 2: Texchem financial performance In order to realise this Vision 2010: Texchem has identified and capitalised on global market opportunities and allowed its growth to be determined by market trends and customers demands. Then it responded to such opportunities with top quality products and services that deliver real value www.texchemgroup.com/aboutus/history.html 2003, p. 1). Furthermore, Texchem has to survive through economic crisis in order to sustain a steady and resilient performance. One way is to prudently invest in growth industries with different market cycles like the food industry (  history.html 2003). * Loss Of Trade Preference. Konishi said Malaysia is treated by Europe under the general system of preferences which imposed an import duty of 14% on Malaysian products entering Europe. Texchem will not enjoy this status when import duty goes up to 20% in 2005 (Tan 2004). In 2003, Konishi said Texchem has estimated a US$25 million export market to Europe, Japan and Australia for its surimi and fishmeal products by 2006 (The Star 2003). The loss of this preference will affect Texchems profit. It may not be feasible to market seafood products in Europe due to price disadvantage. Therefore, to continue capturing the European market, Emmanuel (2004) wrote that Texchem is setting up a RM50 million seafood processing plant in Europe in 2005. Tan (2004) reported that Konishi said, Raw material will be imported from Myanmar as import duty on raw material going into Europe is only 3.5%. Production cost will then be lower giving Texchem the  competitive edge again. * Be close to clients / customers. Interdependency among companies is a norm. When a client is satisfied with the companys products and services, loyalty is attained. Therefore, when a client sets up shop overseas or penetrates a foreign market, it is not surprising that the company normally tags along. Many international companies wanting to market and distribute products in ASEAN have appointed Texchem for the task due to its reputation and international networking. Taking customer support a step further, Texchem even located its operation to be close to its local and multinational clients ( 2003 ; www.texchemgroup.com/stakeholders/customers.html 2004). For instance, Texchem-Pack (Thailand) was established to serve its major Texchem customers like Seagate, Mektec, IBM, etc. in Thailand (Konishi 2003). Its production facilities are located near customers operations to give immediate respond to their needs and to any changes in the local market. This also shorten delivery timings and to provide just-in-time delivery. Reduction in logistics and transportation charges is a cost savings to customers ( 2003). Another example is Texchem-Pack (Wuxi) which was established to serve the hard disc drive industry, the semiconductor industry, the electronics industry and the telecommunications industry in Jiangsu Province and Shanghai, China ( 2003). The establishment in China enables Texchem to be close to and provide more effective and efficient services to its customers in China. * Acquire Technology. Many companies brought along their technologies when setting up shop abroad. As the world become more and more accessible, it becomes possible to team up with these companies in the host country to acquire their technologies. Although Texchem has invested heavily in research and development and use leading edge, in-house facilities both for product enhancement and for new products (www.texchemgroup/business/packaging.html 2003, p. 1), it is continuously seeking out new technologies to gain competitive edge. As such Texchem joint ventures with international leader and creates new subsidiaries often through technology transfer arrangements that enable both parties to net a bigger catch ( www.texchemgroup.com/business/texchem-eng.html 2003a ;  group.com/stakeholders/associates.html 2003). To illustrate, Eye Graphic (Vietnam), a Texchem joint venture with Eye Corporate Planning Co Ltd of Japan, is equipped with advance digital propress system and flexo photopolymer printing plate making equipment ( * Demand. In any business activities, there must be demand. Without demand, a companys product will eventually be rendered obsolete. One of the reasons Texchem chose to expanded into ASEAN and China was because there was a huge demand for its products. And, Texchem is prepared to set up more manufacturing plants to meet the increasing demands of the ASEAN market ( 2003, p. 1). With greater demands from the Chinese market, Texchem now intends to expand its Wuxi plant into thermoforming for the high-tech industry and injection moulding for the computer and semi-conductor industry (Konishi 2003a, p. 2). Also, in line with increasing global demand for surimi, Texchem has set up a manufacturing plant in Myeik, Myanmar (Konishi 2003a, p. 3). Texchem expansion into Indonesia, with its largest manufacturing plant in Kerawang (near Jakarta), is to cater for the need of 206 million people. The  brand name of Fumakillas mosquito coil in Indonesia is distributed under the name Domestos Nomos, a successful household name ( 2003a). Yap (2003) reported Konishi as saying, so far, we have shipped over 400,000 cartons in the first 6 months of operation, equivalent to the total volume that Texchem sold in Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines in the same period. A comparison of the population in ASEAN countries in presented below in order to appreciate the magnitude of the demands in ASEAN. FIGURE 3: ASEAN population breakdown. From the table it is understandable why Texchem has been aggressive in penetrating the ASEAN market to capture the demand. ASEAN has a combined population of 500 million. 3. GLOBALISATION EFFECTS ON TEXCHEM INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STRATEGY. Before a company expands abroad, it must have a strategy. According to Ball et al. (2004) there are several strategies that could be adopted such as the global strategy, multidomestic strategy, transnational strategy and international strategy. Globalisation has an influence on which strategy to adopt. Careful assessment of the various internal and external business environments is a prerequisite before any decision can be made. In crossing national boundaries, globalisation affects Texchem international business strategies in terms of the following: * Standardisation. Texchem operations are standardised in all the host countries. All packaging plants provide: One stop total packaging solutions equip with state-of- the-art facilities. Furthermore, all Texchem plants support customers through excellent logistics, warehousing and inventory management. This is done via a nationwide network of branches and sales offices ( www.texchemgroup.com/business/texchem-pack.html 2003c, p. 2; www. texchemgroup.com/business/texchem-mat.html 2003a, p. 1; www.texchemgroup. com/business/familycare.html 2003, p. 3). With globalised operations, Texchem would be able to take advantage of business opportunities occurring anywhere in the world and would not be constrained to specific sectors (Khambata and Ajami 1992, p. 43). As product preference and requirements are becoming increasingly alike globally, product standardisation across all cultures would enable companies to manufacture and sell low-cost reliable products around the world without being adapted to individual country preferences (Khambata and Ajami 1992, p. 43). To capitalise on this, Texchem products are also standardised globally. It manufactures and distributes household insecticide such as the Fumakilla mosquito coils under different brand names in Indonesia (Domestos Nomos), Thailand (Chang) and Myanmar (Jumbo) ( 2003b). * Global Decision Making. With globalisation, Texchem decision making covers a wider scope now compared to when it did domestically. Texchem has centralised its decision making in its Penang corporate office. This is where Texchem makes decision on strategies issues such as policy, capital, technology and products. Decisions are global minded taking into consideration the local factors of the host countries. Texchem Design Centre is centralised to tailor-make packaging solutions in the fastest possible time for all its plants across ASEAN countries and China to meet customers demand around the world ( 2003). * Market scope. Globalisation opens up the world as a very big market. Domestic markets, however large, are limited in size and growth and are targeted by domestic competitors (Khambata and Ajami 1992). To continue growing, Texchem sees the world as one market to sell its products. Khambata and Ajami (1992, p. 283) said that: Apart from the fact that the existence of a new, larger customer base would help boost sales, overseas markets often confer additional advantages such as competition from overseas markets may not be strong. When the local market is large and the demand is consistent enough to justify investment in the plant and equipment needed to set up a manufacturing operation, production economies can occur (Khambata and Ajami 1992, p. 284). Also, Texchem can tap the Chinese market to derive economies of scale and scope (Konishi, Texchem annual report 2002). Operational economies of scale allow Texchem to keep prices competitive and deliver exceptional value ( 2003). * Develop skills. Part of the globalisation process concerns developing skills especially multicultural and bilingual ones. Texchem encourages such skills development to communicate and establish rapport with its global clients, staff and customers. Not surprising, Texhem only recruits staff of outstanding caliber and provides training for them ( 2003). In order to develop skills, Texchem formed strategic alliances with agents around ASEAN region with strong domestic knowledge in sales and distribution ( 2003b, p. 1). Texchem has approached globalisation with a global strategy because the above effects have the essence of a global strategy. Ball et al. (2004, p. 6) defined the global strategy as a strategy that attempts to standardise and integrate operations worldwide in all functional areas. Texchem has adopted precisely this strategy. 4. MAJOR OPPORTUNITIES CREATED FOR TEXCHEM. As the world shrinks into a global village because of accessibility, abundant opportunities are available to business organisations. Companies are quick to take advantage of these golden opportunities to further their interests. In other words, globalisation provided avenues for companies to spread their wings into foreign markets. Globalisation presented many major opportunities for Texchem too as it did for others. Texchem management was quick to see these opportunities and swiftly took advantage of them. The major opportunities created for Texchem were: * Tariff Reduction. Tariffs are taxes levied on foreign goods entering the country. Sometimes it can be levied on goods leaving the country as well. According to Hill (2003), tariffs protect domestic products against foreign ones. It is a form of government intervention to shield local companies from international  competitors who have superior technologies to make higher quality products at lower cost. By levying taxes on such goods, it brings up their prices to be on par with local goods. With the exception of Singapore, all ASEAN countries have imposed tariffs on imports. However, ASEAN initiated the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) in 1992, detailing a regional progressive tariff reduction plan. To be implemented in stages, tariffs on goods with 40% ASEAN content shall be progressively reduced to between 0 5% by 2003. There were some exemptions to the implementation year for Vietnam (2006), Laos and Myanmar (2008) and Cambodia (2010) ( 2003). With the reduction in tariffs coupled with the huge population in ASEAN countries, the trading opportunities are very attractive. Texchem acknowledged this fact. It noted that with AFTA in place, the regional exchange in business is expected to further boost various industries ( 2003a, p. 1). Texchem has been anticipating AFTA since 1990s. Knowing the opportunities AFTA presented, it has ventured into ASEAN countries to position itself first while waiting in full anticipation for the implementation of AFTA. This strategy gave Texchem a head start to study the market opportunities of the host country better, build up its reputation, find solutions to lower production costs and sell competitively. This foresight has paid off handsomely as Texchem registered improved sales in all its division for the year 2003 (Konishi 2003b). As quoted in the Texchem investor newsletter (2003, p. 4), the increase in revenue for the Packaging Division was mainly contributed by the successful penetration into new market AFTA region, namely Thailand. This is because: Thailand experienced a substantial increase in revenue from the trade of plastic resins, a direct benefit of reduces impact duties effective Jan 2003, in line with the implementation of AFTA (Texchem investor newsletter 2003b, p. 2). As Konishi (2003b, p. 5) mentioned: Texchem Resources Bhd Group will continue to make the 100% AFTA proof objective its priority. Texchem is indeed in a position to take full  advantage of AFTA as it expands further into the global market. * Strategic Location. Geographical location is another opportunity that can be taken advantage of. According to Ball et al. (2004, p. 263), geographical proximity is often the major reason for trade between nations. Apart from close proximity, the location of a nation also offers other suitable operational advantages for foreign companies. For instance, if the country has sea frontage, companies can make use of ports in the country to export their products. This was what Texchem was looking for when it ventured into Myanmar. Texchem was searching for an advantage in Myanmars location and found it in a town called Myeik (please see map for location). (source: design printing services, www.dpsmap.com) FIGURE 4: Map of Myanmar. The Myeik Archipelago, which includes over 800 pleasant and enchanting islands, lies in the Andaman Sea along the south Tanintharyi coast. Myeik is the port city of this archipelago. It has the potential for industrialisation of marine base products because the Andaman Sea has abundant fish. Texchem joint ventured with Mascot Industries Co Ltd of Myanmar to set up ASK Andaman (Lee 2003). The strategic location of ASK Andaman at a fishing port complement the abundant fresh fish from the Andaman sea has set it as the most idealistic plant for surimi and fishmeal processing ( www.texchemgroup.com/  business/andaman.html 2003, p. 1). The fishing port facilitated the export of Texchems products from Myeik to Japan, Australia and Europe. It also provided an infrastructure for Texchem geographical reach so that it is the ideal partner for multinationals that have operations spread across the region ( 2003, p. 2). * Abundant Raw Materials. Sourcing for cheap raw materials is an important task in any operation. This is where competitive advantage can be sustained. Therefore, many foreign companies flock into ASEAN in search of raw material because they are in abundance. Konishi said Texchem globalisation into Myanmar enables it to tap the countrys natural resources and obtain a reliable supply of good quality and more cost effective raw material (The Star, 2003). ASK Andaman manufactures and market surimi and fishmeal products and provides Seapack Food with a reliable supply of reasonably priced, good quality surimi raw material ( 2003a, p. 1). It requires fresh fish to manufacture and process surimi and fishmeal products. The Andaman Sea has abundant supply of fresh fish to provide ASK Andaman. * Low Labour Cost. Labour cost in ASEAN countries is generally low with the exception of Singapore and Malaysia. Many foreign investors take this opportunity to relocate their operations here so that their production cost can be reduced. The table below provides a comparison of labour cost among ASEAN countries. Texchem has set up manufacturing plants in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar because the labour cost is lower than Malaysia. It practices stringent cost controls ( 2003, p. 2) and taking advantage of this opportunity is a prudent strategy. The setting up of manufacturing operations in competitive labour cost countries (Texchem investor newsletter 2003a, p. 2) provided Texchem with a competitive advantage over other domestic competitors. Konishi (2003b, p. 4) was please to note that: The year 2003 was spent building a solid base for Texchem operations in Myanmar and with its competitive labour and abundant natural resources, great returns beckons as Texchem begins exporting its marine products globally. Myanmar Sometimes a company is attracted by just one or two opportunities offered by the host country. However since Myanmar offers all the above opportunities for Texchem, it is only appropriate to provide an opinion of the country in this report. Myanmar has rich natural and human resources. The government is encouraging direct foreign investments to take advantage of these resources. With a market oriented economic system aimed to liberalise its economy, foreign investors would be given the right to enjoy appropriate economic benefits. They would also be safe guarded by the Government against nationalisation of their business. There are tremendous investment opportunities in natural resources such as teak forests, minerals and gems. Historical and cultural attractions offer vast potential for tourism. The labour force is highly literate and trainable. Myanmar has a long coastline rich in fish and other marine life. An estimated one million metric tons of sustainable fishery resources could be exploited annually. Investment opportunities in the fishery industry include setting up of cold storage facilities, fishmeal plants, canning plants and shrimp farms and / or hatcheries ( n.d.). 5. CHALLENGES FOR TEXCHEM AND MEETING THEM. Converting business opportunities into profits is usually never plain sailing. There are challenges to overcome first. These challenges come in many forms i.e. trade barriers, high taxes, corruption, unskilled workers, poor infrastructure etc. Although globalisation created many opportunities, Texchem must overcome the many challenges that came with these opportunities before reaping in the profits. Among the many challenges Texchem has or shall encounter in globalisation are: * Building Brand. Branding is a very important exercise for companies going global. Foreign markets must be made aware of the existence of their products. Irrespective of the large population, if the product is not known then there shall be no demand. When Texchem ventured into Indonesia to market its mosquito coils through Fumakilla, it realised the difficulty in building its mosquito coil brand. Fumakilla is relatively unknown to millions of Indonesian and without awareness the product will be just another product on the shelves. As a solution, Fumakilla has embarked on a RM12 million branding exercise to expose its mosquito coils to the Indonesian market under the brand name Domestos Nomos. Advertising and promotions activities were carried out via PT Technopia Lever (Texchem investor newsletter 2003b). Since the expansion of the Family Care business to Indonesia in September 2002, Domestos Nomos has: Achieved a market share of 6.5% as of Sept 2003. Sales in the 2nd half of 2003 improve due to seasonal trend of the household insecticides market in ASEAN. It has also become the top brand with an average market share of 40% in modern retail outlets located within Jakarta and Medan (Texchem investor newsletter 2003, p.4 2003a, p.3). With such a large market, Fumakillas top priority for 2003 was to build the Domestos Nomos brand so as to achieve further significant market penetration into Indonesia. With a population 206 million, industry  potential in massive (Tan, GH 2002, pp. 30-31). * Sustaining Market. Market penetration is just the first step to a successful globalisation. After penetrating a foreign market another challenge shall present itself. This challenge is sustaining the market. Sustaining a market is difficult because there is no such thing as a perpetual sustainable market. Products come and go frequently because of competition. Texchem success depends on: Keeping its fingers on the pulse of an ever-changing market and on its resourcefulness in responding to customer needs. By constantly updating knowledge of market trends and sharing knowledge with suppliers, Texchem is able to rapidly develop and introduce new products that exceed its customers expectations (  industrial.html 2003, p. 1). Texchem is focused on maintaining its market leadership and is confident of attracting potential partners for help because of more competitive products from China (Texchem investor newsletter 2003b, p. 2). Therefore, Texchem is very selective in its choice of partners, choosing only those whose needs can genuinely be met and who are committed to long term brand building ( 2003, p. 3). * Financial Limitation. Insufficient financial capability is a hindrance to globalisation. Funds are required to invest in foreign soil. Additional plants and equipment have to be procure and employees paid. Normally, capital expenditure can only be recouped after a few years of operation. Sourcing for funds to globalise is a major task for Texchem. One of the ways to overcome the shortage of funds is to list the company in Securities Exchanges. In September 2003, Texchem announced: The listing of its Packaging business on the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX-ST). Texchem is currently awaiting approvals from SGX-ST and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to list Texpack Holdings on the SGX-ST (Texchem investor newsletter 2003b, p. 3). The access to funds shall pave the way for Texchem to take advantage of viable investment opportunities in the international capital market. It also broadens its fund raising capabilities to expand and grow its Packaging Division within the region and on the global arena (Texchem investor newsletter 2003a). * Risk. There are no risk free investments. The same goes for globalisation. In fact, risk assessment for globalisation is considered a delicate task. Unexpected global events such as epidemic, natural disaster and war are some of the risks that are difficult to account for. These unexpected events affect company performance. Texchem Food Division performance could have been better if not for the SARS epidemic and war in the Middle East (Nishida 2003, p. 28). To demonstrate the impact, Kim (2003, p. 18) said that Texchem-Pack (Wuxi) in China suffered losses due to the indirect effect of the SARS epidemic during the first half of 2003 because Texchem sales and marketing team was prevented from servicing the clients due to the outbreak. However, Texchem was able to overcome this challenge with the support from its clients, new business partners, the dedication of the team and the support form the Penang head office'(Kim 2003, p. 18). Apart from that, the risk of lack of basic infrastructure and communications  is another prevailing issue when entering third world countries. Texchem can attest to that because the initial stage of establishing in Myanmar was difficult because of the lack of infrastructure and communication problems (Nishida 2003, p. 28). Nevertheless, Texchem was able to grow and expand its operation in Myanmar due to strategic acquisitions, meticulous planning and the synergizing of all Texchem plants (Nishida 2003, p. 28). 6. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION. Globalisation has changed the way business is being conducted. From being a domestic company in the 1970s and 1980s, Texchem is now a successful global company. Ever since Texchem started globalising its performance has been growing steadily. Apart from a slight drop in revenue in 2001, Texchem has registered an increase in sales and operating profit for the past five years. (source: Texchem Resources Bhd, www.texchemgroup.com) FIGURE 5: Texchem financial performance For the year 2003, Texchems gross dividend payout was a remarkable 8%, much to the delight of its shareholders. Globalisation has also generated sufficient profit for Texchem to be transferred to the Main Board of the Bursa Malaysia (formerly known as the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange) in 2001 after being listed in the Second Board in 1993. This milestone signified the growth of Texchem into a major listed conglomerate in Malaysia. Texchem is now a household name in family care products and its packaging division is well represented in ASEAN. Its food division is also making inroads into Europe, starting with Italy. Overall, globalisation has indeed changed the corporate profile of Texchem. It has provided Texchem a vast market for its products and Texchem has seized the opportunities created well. With six more years to go, Vision 2010 may sound a little ambitious. It is not that Vision 2010 cannot be achieved but it should be scaled down to allow for any unforeseeable economic crisis such as workers strike, war, epidemic or even natural disaster. Also, Texchem should continue spreading its influence in the relatively untapped Chinese market. Aggressive branding exercise is required here to capture a lion share of its 1 billion market opportunity. With AFTA already in full implementation for certain ASEAN countries it may be prudent for Texchem to invest more in Research Development so that it can continuously reinvent itself to stay relevant. Competition is getting keener with more and more companies expanding in ASEAN to take advantage of AFTA. Finally, Texchem may consider a multidomestic strategy in the near future as it strengthens its foothold globally. This strategy is flexible and allows participation from the locals. Furthermore this strategy allows global companies to look beyond costs and product standardisation to think in new ways about world competition (Hamel and Prahalad 1985, p. 139). REFERENCES: 1. Associates 2003, viewed on 14 July 2004, holders/associates.html, p. 1. 2. Ball, DA, McCulloch, Jr, WH, Frants, PL, Geringer, JM Minor, MS 2004, International business: The challenge of global competition, 9th edn, McGraw Hill, USA, pp. 4-6, 263. 3. Chiew, CH 2004, A yen for Malaysia, Asia Inc., 1 May. 4. Customers 2003, viewed on 14 July 2004, holders/customers.html, p. 1. 5. Emmanuel, M 2004, Texchem eyes Europe as seafood processing plant site, The New Straits Times, 28 May. 6. Employment and labour-based technology (n.d.), viewed on 9 August 2004, . 7. Family care division 2003, viewed on 14 July 2004, business/familycare.html, pp. 1-3. 2003a, viewed on 14 July 2004, , p. 1. 8. Food division 2003, viewed on 14 July 2004, , p. 1. 2003a, viewed on 14 July 2004, html, p. 1. 9. Hamel, G Prahalad, CK 1985, Do you really have a global strategy?, Harvard Business Review, July August 1985, p. 139. 10. Hill, CW 2003, International business: Competing in the global marketplace, 4th edn, McGRaw Hill, USA, p. 8, 173. 11. History 2003, viewed on 14 July 2004, history.html, p. 1. 12. History and business 2003, viewed on 20 July 2004, care.com/, p. 1. 13. Industrial division 2003, viewed on 14 July 2004, business/industrial.html, pp. 1-2. 2003a, viewed on 14 July 2004, , p. 1. 2003b, viewed on 14 July 2004, , p. 1. 14. Khambata, D Ajami, R 1992, International business: Theory and practice, Macmillan, Singapore, pp. 43, 283-284. 15. Kim, LK 2003, Countering obstacleschallenging the competition, Texchem Annual Report 2003, p. 18. 16. Konishi, F 2002, Chairmans Statement, Texchem Annual Report 2002, p. 11 17. Konishi, F 2003, Presidents message towards globalisation, Texview, September, viewed 4 August 2004, detailpage.php?Id=147, p. 1. 2003a, Presidents message, Texchem investor newsletter, Inaugural issue 2003, pp. 2-3. 2003b, Chairmans Statement, Texchem Annual Report 200, pp. 2-5. 18. Lee, KF 2003, Texchem gets shareholders approval to buy Sushi Kin, The New Straits Times, 11 December. 19. Nishida, Y 2003, The journey of continued success, Texchem Annual Report 2003, p. 28. 20. Our ASEAN expansion 2003a, viewed on 23 July 2004, care.com/, p. 1. 21. Our ASEAN presence 2003b, viewed on 23 July 2004, care.com/, p. 1. 22. Our history 2003, viewed on 20 July 2004, history.html, p. 1. 23. Our strength 2003, viewed on 20 July 2004, strengths.html, p. 1. 24. Packaging division 2003, viewed on 14 July 2004, business/packaging.html, p. 1. 2003a, viewed on 14 July 2004, , p. 1. 2003b, viewed on 14 July 2004, , p. 1. 2003c, viewed on 14 July 2004, , p. 2. 25. Staff 2003, viewed on 14 July 2004, holders/staff.html, p. 1. 26. Tan, D 2004, Texchem plans Euro processing facility, The Star, 28 May. 27. Tan, GH 2002, Reaching home, Texchem Annual Report 2002, pp. 30-31. 28. The ASEAN free trade area and other areas of ASEAN economic coorperation 2003, viewed on 20 July 2004, , pp. 1-2. 29. The Star 2004, Texchem setting up aquaculture products plant in Myanmar, 21 March. 30. Texchem Annual Report 2002 2002, Corporate History, p. 2. 31. Texchem Investor Newsletter 2003, Higher contribution from packaging, consumer and industrial divisions in first half, inaugural issue, pp. 2-5. 2003a, Q3: Focus on streamlining operations to further improve profitability, 3rd quarter, pp. 2-5. 2003b, Q4: Food division set to spearhead growth for Texchem, 4th quarter, pp. 2-3. 32. To set up business in Myanmar (n.d.), viewed on 6 August 2004, myanmar.com/gov/trade/setup.htm, pp. 1-2. 33. Wages and productivity (n.d.), viewed on 6 August 2004, wdi2000/tab2_6.pdf. 34. Welcome 2003, viewed on 14 July 2004, html, p. 1. 35. Yap, D 2003, Texchem on expansion path, The Star, 7 June.

Experimentalism :: Creative Writing Essays

Writing I find exciting often gets called experimental. In America this is another word for marginal. It's patronizing. Other countries distribute legitimacy in literary culture differently. For example, when in the U.K., Kathy Acker wrote for the Times Literary Supplement. Can you imagine Acker writing for the New York Times Book Review!? Just the experience of reviewing her work in the NYT Book Review caused several reviewers to spontaneously combust. On the other side of the Atlantic, debates on literary aesthetics are part of public — not just academic — life. Not so here, which means the conventions of representation that underlie mainstream fiction in this country can't be effectually critiqued. (I don't consider academic debates to be part of public life.) So what conventions of representation am I talking about? Consider identity. Mainstream fiction tends to assume separate and coherent individuals, each with a single body and character which is built, rather than destroyed, by conflict. I believe it is possible to have one identity in your thumb and another in your neck. I think identities can travel between persons who have an unusual mutual sympathy. Let's not even mention multiple personality. But what I want to talk about today is the manipulation and construction of social distance. Mainstream fiction assumes a position not too close, not too far away. A situation is implied, an entire social horizon, which is speckled with white individuals who maintain distance from one another and from social â€Å"problems". Containment. Segregation. A narrative structure which covertly mirrors the growth of white suburbs since WWII, where there is no discomfort around racism because only white people are present. Breaking this long chain of social convention at any link can easily result in personal and literary deformity, which is another term for experimentation. My sister was older, and kept her drugs and screwing in the basement the same way she kept her jewelry there. Her lovers were thin white men whose trouble was drug-related. When Paul got out of Cook County Jail he carried an odor of rape and had large nerve spots in his eyes. Fear moving like a breeze in a prison yard, I could feel that in my stomach when he was around; otherwise I didn't care. I thought about Monica. Her sharp teeth and brown cheeks. The way her greed slid across my hips could be scary but her palms were narrow as slots, that made it okay to have sex with her.

Mechanical Engineering :: essays research papers

: Mechanical Engineering   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The day to day duties of a mechanical engineer are at first repetitive, but over time and with advancement work varies. The average mechanical engineer works anywhere from thirty-five to fifty hours a week. If the engineer is ahead of schedule the hours may be less. Depending on which type of engineer you want be, you will either wear a uniform or semiformal clothing. Usually mechanical engineers work in an office or at a desk, their clothes are semiformal. Mechanical engineers are mainly designing equipment, so the outside work is minimal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The outlook for a mechanical engineer is good. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics of the Federal Government reports that the size of mechanical engineers is about 230,725. That number is expected to increase about 19 percent by the year 2005. Because things are constantly being designed and manufactured there will always be a need for mechanical engineers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The average salary for a bachelor’s degree without experience is $37,900, for a master’s without experience is $45,800, and for the doctoral without experience is $56,700. A professor of mechanical engineering at a university is $20,000 to $40,000. The head of a mechanical engineering department of a university makes upwards of $50,000. After many years of different types of engineering one may become independent and reach earnings of $50,000 to $200,000. Presidents and vice presidents may make $100,000 to $200,000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mechanical engineers must be licensed of they are to do anything that affects peoples’ lives, property, or the environment. A bachelor’s degree is minimal for most companies. A master’s degree assures a better starting salary and opportunities for advancement. High school credits should have good grades in: math, physics, chemistry, biology, drafting, computer and mechanical courses. To become a mechanical engineer you should start at a high school level when you notice curiosity of how, any why things work.

Article Analysis on Marijuana

Medical Marijuana? A young woman has HIV. In fact, she has had HIV for 7 years. She contracted it from her boyfriend after her first sexual experience. Unfortunately, she has taken a turn for the worse. Her body is now deteriorating. She is going through cachexia, what one would refer to as HIV wasting syndrome. Cachexia defined, is the physical wasting and malnutrition of the body that is associated with chronic disease. HIV wasting syndrome causes infected people to lose weight and to suffer from damaging diarrhea, among other things. She is always in an extensive amount of pain, affecting numerous parts of her body. The physicians that she visits have tried countless treatments to alleviate her suffering; however, nothing seems to work. There is an experimental drug, on the other hand, whose efficacy to alleviate HIV wasting symptoms is being tested now. The drug that could help ease this young woman’s pain and suffering is cannabis or, in other words, marijuana. Marijuana, in most states, is said to have no medical benefits. Therefore, it is considered a schedule 1 controlled drug by the national government. This means that marijuana cannot be used as treatment for any medical conditions or ailments. The young girl now faces the grim reality that something out there may be able to lessen her suffering, but because of governmentally mandated laws, she will not be able to obtain it lawfully. Many American citizens face this scenario each year. Whether marijuana is illegal or not is not up for debate in this essay. What is up for discussion is if marijuana can be used as an effective drug to provide medically defined sick individuals with relief from what ails them. As afore mentioned, this essay is to discuss the legalization or continued illegalization of medical marijuana for the sake of the many citizens in poor health. David G. Evans wrote a letter to the Time magazine editor entitled, â€Å"Medical Marijuana: an oxymoron†. David G. Evans argues that the national government should continue the prohibition of Medical Marijuana. His most justified argument is the fact that the Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve medical marijuana for medical use (Evans par. 2). On the other hand, Kevin O’Brien and Peter A. Clark argue for the legalization of medical marijuana in needed cases. They claim that in some instances medical marijuana is the only form of medicine that is effective. They both collaborated to write the case study â€Å"Mothers and Son: the case of Medical Marijuana†. A third article will be used to discredit or reinforce each article’s claims in a judicious indiscriminate manner. The third article is a research paper written by Tia Taylor from the American College of Physicians. The article is regarding medical marijuana. This in-depth researched paper has highly researched and supported arguments. The research paper’s goal is to clarify the Physicians’ intentions for medical marijuana and to argue reasons how medical marijuana could be an asset to the medical field. The two articles are well written as well as principally factual. Notwithstanding, one article is more persuasive and more factually based then the other. The case study â€Å"Mother and son: the case of medical marijuana† has slightly more reasonable claims, therefore it would seem to have the better argument. In an attempt to be unbiased, a comprehensive analysis of both articles is needed. This will be done in a way that discusses each author’s claims and some of their intrinsic worth. The title of the first article is â€Å"Medical Marijuana: an oxymoron. † This article is a letter to the editor printed in Time Magazine and written by David G. Evans. David G. Evans is the executive director of the Drug-Free Schools Coalition, a program that teaches children about the dangers of using drugs. His job qualifications entail knowing information about marijuana and other harmful drugs. As a result, he is well informed about issues of drugs as well as being a stern opponent of anything pro-drug. He makes a great deal of relevant claims. One such claim is that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to approve smoked marijuana as medicine (Evans par. 2). This is because smoked marijuana has yet to meet the clinical trial standards for public use. Many organizations reject marijuana because smoked marijuana is â€Å"crude† or ineffective (Evans par. 4). Marijuana is not a very good choice of medicine when compared to other safer and effective drugs. Evans claims that smoking is not the most effective way to deliver the drug to the body (Evans par. 5). In addition to not being able to calculate the dosage of marijuana effectively, there are harmful side effects that the use of marijuana can create. He claims that marijuana use increases the chances of addiction and drug use among children (Evans par. 7). He also claims that marijuana’s continued mainstreaming is obstructing children’s view of it as a dangerous drug. He goes on to say that, the states with pro-medical marijuana â€Å"initiatives† have the highest amount of drug addictions (Evans par. 7). He goes on to end by saying that he is a cancer survivor and he knows how it feels to have feelings of hopelessness (Evans par. 9). He says that he is not against people who actually need medical marijuana. He is in opposition to the people who will manipulate the system to support their drug habits (Evans par. 8). The following article is entitled â€Å"Mother and son: the case of medical marijuana† from The Hastings Center Report. This second article is a case study done by Kevin 0’Brien and Peter A. Clark. The subject of the case study is a family, a mother and her seven-year-old son JJ. JJ is hyperactive and aggressive; in fact, he has been like this for most of his life (Clark, O’Brien par 1). He has seen numerous physicians as well as had numerous medicines prescribed to help treat his condition (Clark, O’Brien 2). Nonetheless, nothing seems to work very effectively. JJ’s mother began trying to find alternatives that could possibly help her son. In 2001, she discovered that marijuana could possibly help her son (Clark, O’Brian par. 3). With counsel from her son’s physician, she began JJ on a daily regimen of marijuana. Thus far, JJ’s mother has seen improvement in her son’s condition after treating him with medical marijuana. Medical marijuana has helped this young child function. Kevin O’Brien and Peter A. Clark have written their opinions in this case study; however, this essay will only focus on Peter A. Clark’s opinion for the sake of time. Peter A. Clark is an associate professor of health administration and theology at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is also the bioethicist for Mercer Health System in Philadelphia. He supports the use of medical marijuana. He reinforces his opinion by using information from eleven scientists commissioned by the president of the United States and appointed by the Institute of Medicine to study marijuana in 1999 (Clark, O’Brian par. 14). The reports say that the benefits of the medical use of marijuana are limited because of the adverse affect of the smoke. They still recommended the use of it if no other options were effective. They also found that administering the drug to sick people does not influence the drug use of the general public. According to the study, marijuana is not a gateway drug and the fact that the government still has not reclassified marijuana as a schedule 2 drug is jeopardizing the health and well-being of many Americans (Clark, O’Brian par. 14). He says that we are now faced with two good and bad consequences: marijuana can sometimes work better than some conventional methods and marijuana has adverse long-term effects that can lead to addiction (Clark, O’ Brian par. 5). He also talks about the fact that Marinol is an alternative to marijuana; however, it has its shortcomings (Clark, O’Brien par. 17). Marinol is a synthetic form of marijuana. Although it negates the negative effects of marijuana, Marinol is very expensive: $500 dollars for 100 ten-milligram capsules. It is reported by patient s that Marinol is very strong but weakens severely after continued use. He also says that studies show that marijuana works more effectively than Marinol. That is why marijuana is a better choice of drug than Marinol both costliness and effectiveness (Clark, O’Brian par. 17). He believes that the only main concerns about medical marijuana are the chances of long-term complications and the fact that the dosage, sometime in the future, will have to be increased (Clark, O’Brien par. 18). He ends by saying that it is unacceptable for physicians to refuse to offer medicinal marijuana to patients. Some patients are suffering badly and traditional treatments are not working for them (Clark, O’Brien par. 18). The doctor is obligated to help the patient by any means necessary. Both of the articles talk about whether or not smoked marijuana is an effective way to administer cannabis to a patient. I believe that this argument is a very important argument in order to show which author supports their argument with strong, factual evidence. However, to do this effectively another more proven source must be introduced. The third article is a paper written by Tia Taylor from the American College of Physicians titled â€Å"Supporting Research into the Therapeutic Role of Marijuana†. This article is more scientifically based then the other two. The article is a position paper showing the American College of Physicians’ reasons why they believe the government should support the scientific study of medical marijuana. The position paper has very well written arguments; however, to reach a well thought out conclusion for this essay I will only use one authoritative argument. In â€Å"Supporting Research into the Therapeutic Role of Marijuana†, one of the arguments that Tia Taylor writes about is the difference between smoke marijuana and an orally administered form of marijuana (American College Par. 22). She says that when first administered, oral THC is much slower reacting than its counterpart is. According to the article, oral THC also produces adverse symptoms that last more extensively han those created from smoking marijuana do (American College Par. 22). The article says that smoked THC imbibes quickly through the bloodstream; therefore, the effects are felt quicker than orally administered THC. She ends by saying that in some situation smoked marijuana can be a more appropriate approach than the oral form of THC. At this moment, enough is known on the subject of oral THC opposed to smoke THC to make an informed decision on which author comprehensively argued his position. In his article, â€Å"Medical marijuana: an oxymoron†, David G. Evans says that smoked marijuana is an ineffective way to issue THC (Evans par. ). He also says that it is impossible to calculate the medical marijuana dosage this way. He finishes by discussing the adverse effect on health of marijuana. Although Kevin O'Brien does not talk about the efficacy of smoked marijuana, he does discuss the dosage problem of marijuana. He says that marijuana is a drug and since it is self-medicated, it is supposed to be cautiously used and not abused (O’Brien Par. 10). He also talks about the fact that marijuana is, in the long-term, harmful. However, sometimes there are no other options. Although both authors did not complete a very effective argument, David G. Evans’ argument is more plausible. His argument, in some ways, follows the analytical standard set. He talks more about facts than Kevin O’Brien, who uses more of an emotionally backed argument. The articles from Kevin O’Brien and David G. Evans have valid arguments. This part of the essay will examine the approach that each author took to discuss his respective opinion. Kevin O’Brien’s argument is less based on facts and more based upon emotion. He argues more about the fact that we should be sympathetic for those who need medical marijuana (O’Brien Par. 6). He loses a great deal of credibility relaying so heavily on emotion. David G. Evans bases his arguments on facts. He makes a considerable effort to leave emotion out of his article. He is a cancer survivor and he could have written regarding his own personal battle with a debilitating disease. However, he decided to make a more factual based argument. So therefore, in my opinion, David G. Evans article is more effective at getting his point across. Although this essay is about other authors’ opinion on a certain subject, this subject is very significant today. The national government is in dispute over the issue of medical marijuana, and not just medical marijuana; the government is debating whether to legalize marijuana completely. There are issues with medical marijuana that must be resolved before the government downgrades it to a schedule 2 drug. In addition, both authors recognized these issues and discussed them eloquently even though they had their own individual biases. The intent of this article is not to show that one of the authors was right and one was wrong, but just to show which author constructed a better argument. What needs to be taken away from this essay is the fact that the government needs to address the issue of medical marijuana straight out. Works citied â€Å"American College of Physicians. † Supporting Research into the Therapeutic Role of Marijuana. Philadelphia: American College of Physicians; 2008: Position Paper. Evans, David G. â€Å"Medical marijuana: an oxymoron? † Skin & Allergy News 36. 9 (2005): 14+. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. . Evans, David G. â€Å"Medical marijuana: an oxymoron? † Skin & Allergy News 36. 9 (2005): 14+. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. .

Protecting Women from Domestic Violence Essay Example

Protecting Women from Domestic Violence Essay Example Protecting Women from Domestic Violence Essay Protecting Women from Domestic Violence Essay â€Å"Domestic violence is the most ubiquitous constant in women’s lives around the world. There is virtually no place where it is not a significant problem, and women of no race, class, or age are exempt from its reach† -Joni Seager Abstract: Domestic violence against women is a social problem that occurs in nearly every corner of the world. Recently, some states have begun to recognize that women must be protected from abuse by family members and intimates. While policies and practices designed to protect women have emerged in a number of countries, many lag behind on the issue. This paper will examine the causal factors behind the variation in protection for women. The literature on women and politics suggests that women’s representation may increase the level of protection against domestic violence because female legislators are more likely to put women’s issues on the agenda and make policy choices that benefit their sex. Alternatively, the culture of a state may determine whether the society supports rights for women, including protection from domestic violence. A variety of statistics indicating women’s representation and culture were gathered for analysis. Using bi variate correlation and multiple regression, the theories were tested against each other in an attempt to determine the cause of variation in levels of protection. The findings suggest that both women’s representation and culture are significantly correlated to level of protection. Because the number of women in elected office influences protection to a greater extent than culture, improving women’s representation appears to be an important factor in fighting the domestic violence problem. THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROBLEM Across the world, women are beaten, tortured, mentally abused, burned, and killed by their intimate relations on a regular basis. Domestic violence is defined as abuse between family members, but for the context of this paper I am specifically referring to abuse against women. Until relatively recently, uthorities in many states have ignored or even condoned this type of violence. For example, the phrase â€Å"rule of thumb† comes from Anglo-American common law a husband was permitted to strike his wife with a stick as long as it was no wider than his thumb (Straus and Gelles 1986). In some cultures, domestic violence remains an acceptable means for a husband to discipline his wife. Why do such abhorrent acts occur and why have the y gone unpunished? Experts generally agree that domestic violence is used to keep women in a subordinate position within the household (Seager, 2003; Straus and Gelles, 1986). Men use physical abuse against women in order to ‘keep them in their place’ to exert their power as the dominant figure in the household. Historically, domestic violence has been considered a private matter, a problem between a man and his wife that the state need not become involved in (Abrar and Lovenduski, 2002; Bush, 1992; Hawkins and Humes, 2002). Recently, the domestic violence issue has been moved from the private realm to the public in many states. Consequently, practices regarding the problem are changing and violence in the home is becoming a criminal matter. Yet the degree of protection women receive varies tremendously across states. Why is it that in some western societies, women can prosecute their husbands for a slap in the face, yet in places such as Turkey, men receive reduced sentences if the murder of their wives is an ‘honor killing? ’ (World Report, 2003). In order to explain this variation, I examine the impact of women’s representation and cultural factors, either of which may account for the level of protection women receive against domestic violence. THEORIES REGARDING WOMEN’S PROTECTION Making a difference: Women’s representation One of the prevailing theories in women and politics literature is called the ‘politics of presence. ’ According to this theory, women’s presence in legislative bodies is essential because women representatives have different values, attitudes, and priorities than men based on their unique experience as females (Phillips, 1995). Women legislators will express these differences by putting women’s issues on the agenda and making policy choices that benefit women as a group. Women’s issues can be defined as â€Å"those that mainly affect women, either for biological reasons (such as breast cancer screening and reproductive rights) or for social reasons (sex equality or child-care policy)† (Lovenduski 2001). According to this theory, women representatives will address domestic violence because it is a part of their experience as women. Even if the legislator has not experienced domestic violence personally, she probably knows someone who has, or can relate to the inequalities that lead to violence against women. Another important theory in women and politics literature is called critical mass. The critical mass theory holds that once women gain a certain percentage in the legislature, they will have the ability to ‘make a difference,’ or make changes in the legislature that improve women’s status (Dahlerup, 2001; Lovenduski 2001). Such changes may include implementing policy that is important to women, bringing attention to women’s issues, or changing the norms and values of the legislative institution (Norris and Lovenduski, 2003). According to a classification made by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, there are three categories of women’s minority status in the legislature: the skewed group of up to fifteen percent, in which women would be merely tokens and have no real power to implement change; the tilted group of fifteen to forty percent, in which the minority is gaining strength through numbers and may influence the nature of the institution; and the balanced group, of about forty to fifty percent, in which women are no longer a minority (Dahlerup, 2001; Lovenduski 2001). Women need to hold about thirty percent of the seats in a legislature in order to achieve a critical mass. Once women reach that threshold, they will bring attention to the issue of domestic violence by putting it on the legislative agenda and implementing policy that protects women. The degree to which women can attain cabinet or ministerial positions will also affect their ability to make a difference. Positions of leadership in the legislature allow for more influence over the political agenda and policy choices (Reynolds, 1999). Therefore, women in cabinet positions are able to exert political power that will lead to a greater protection of women against domestic violence. H1: As women’s access to political power increases, the level of protection for women against domestic violence increases. Although the ‘politics of presence’ and critical mass theories are well-respected in women’s representation literature, the policy effects that these theories predict has yet to be examined on an international level. Because women’s presence in the legislatures of many states is a relatively new phenomenon, it has been too early to determine whether these theories will be realized when it comes to measurable policy change. It is possible that woman legislators will behave no differently than their male counterparts, in which case an alternative cause is needed to explain the variation in women’s protection across states. The Cultural Influence According to several studies, the political and social culture of a state affects the level of support women will receive in the pursuit of equal rights and political power (Reynolds, 1999; Kenworthy and Malami, 1999). The specific traditions and values of a country determine a woman’s place, whether it be strictly confined to the home, nearly equal in the public sphere of employment and politics, or somewhere in between. The degree that each culture is in favor of expanding women’s rights will influence their practices and policies on domestic violence. Political Culture Although the political history and customs of each state are unique, examining certain aspects of a country’s political culture allows for a cross-cultural comparison of the political support for women’s rights. Women’s movements are one way of exerting influence in the political realm. These movements can be defined as â€Å"a subset of sociopolitical movements that are characterized by the primacy of women’s gendered experiences, women’s issues, and women’s leadership and decision making† (Beckwith, 2002). The issue of domestic violence is one that women’s movements have addressed in every corner of the globe. In many instances, these groups have been the only advocate for women experiencing violence in the home. When authorities look the other way, women’s groups have come forth to call attention to this problem. In order to affect legislation and practices on the domestic violence issue, women’s movements have utilized strategies such as protest, media campaigns, lobbying, research, litigation, and international treaties (Bush, 1992; Abrar and Lovenduski, 2002; Hawkins and Humes, 2002). Although the state institutions and cultures that women’s movements must work with can vary greatly, several studies have found that movements can be successful even in countries whose institutions do not promote the political participation of women and whose cultures that do not hold egalitarian beliefs (Tyyska, 1998; Bush, 1992). Such a finding is hopeful for women in patriarchal cultures; however, it may be a leap to suggest that women’s movements are completely independent form culture. At the very least, the women in a given state must support the advancement of their sex in order for a movement to take hold. In countries such as Turkmenistan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, over fifty percent of women think it is acceptable for a husband to beat his wife for a variety of reasons (Seager, 2003). Such a culture would likely not be able to produce a successful movement because the women themselves do not believe men and women are equal. Although women’s movements operate outside the status quo, they should be considered a measure of political culture. Another way to measure the political culture of a state is to determine whether it has a history of women’s participation. A citizen’s political participation includes a variety of activities: pursuing political knowledge, discussing politics, supporting a political party or voting. There is no question that political participation is valuable and leads to greater political power: â€Å"To the extent that citizen activity provides a critical channel for the expression of citizen preferences, those who are less active pay the price in terms of representation† (Verba, Burns, and Schlozman, 1997). Women’s issues have not been on the political agenda in the past because women had little or no role in the political community and therefore had no place to voice their opinions (Fraser, 1999; Nelson and Chowdhury, 1994). If the most basic form of political participation is the act of voting, then the date of women’s suffrage speaks to the political culture of a given state. In those countries where suffrage was granted only recently, it is unlikely that women have established a culture of political participation. The strength of leftist parties also indicates whether the political culture of a state supports women’s rights. Traditional political parties, whatever their ideological stance, have often been associated with an ‘old boy’s club’ approach to political decision making: only those who are invited may attend. Some even argue that rather than open doors to political power, political parties create obstacles that women and other minorities must sidestep: â€Å"the culture and process of formal political institutions are major barriers to women’s equal participation in institutional politics† (Nelson and Chowdhury, 1994). Although political parties have a history of excluding women, leftist parties may be more inclusive than the rest. Parties of the left, particularly socialist parties, support women’s rights to a greater degree than other parties do because their ideological stance tends to be more egalitarian (Kenworthy and Malami, 1999; Reynolds, 1999). Leftist parties often include a pledge to reduce gender inequality in their political platform and tend to yield more successful woman candidates (Kenworthy and Malami, 1999; Reynolds, 1999). Therefore, the share of seats held by leftist parties may indicate whether the political culture of a state will favor protection for women. Finally, the level of socioeconomic development in a state influences its political culture. In times of economic hardship, the support given to women declines. Countries that have suffering economies are much less likely to be concerned with social programs than those which are thriving (Nelson and Chowdhury 1994, Seager 2003). Spending on education and social services, including services that protect women, will be considered unimportant when people don’t even have enough to eat. Unfortunately, hard times are usually when women need protection the most. Whether or not a state has a history of providing social services speaks to its political culture is it considered â€Å"necessary† to provide these services or is it considered a superfluous expenditure? States with a high level of socioeconomic development are more likely to have a political culture that supports women. H2: States with political cultures that support women’s rights will protect women from domestic violence to a greater extent than those that do not. Social Culture Just as a state’s political traditions can determine the amount of support women’s interests are likely to receive, its social culture also influences the importance a society places on women. Social factors affect the way that a society views the role of woman. Are women expected to stay in the home or is it acceptable for them to pursue a formal career? Are they considered the equal of men? Religiosity is one factor that may influence the social culture of a state. A nation’s religiosity is its religious sentimentality, or the degree of importance the dominant religion plays in people’s lives. Religion is an especially important factor to consider when examining the issue of domestic violence because many religions are concerned with the family structure and consider women to be uniquely tied to the family. States that have fundamentalist religions follow the doctrine that women are subordinate to men (Reynolds, 1999). If women are considered to be subordinate, a husband’s abusive treatment of his wife may be excused as ‘discipline. ’ Traditional, highly religious societies are likely to consider the family a private sphere and discourage state interference, even in violent cases. Societies that have a high degree of religiosity are therefore less likely to provide a large amount of protection for women. The social culture of a state may also be determined by its education policies. Is it considered appropriate for women to receive some sort of higher education? This speaks to whether women are considered equal to men and whether they have the right to gain knowledge. Higher education leads to an understanding of issues that are important to women, as well as social and political mobilization around those issues: â€Å"Knowledge is power, the foundation of intellectual and political development† (Fraser, 1999). If women are to understand that there are options beyond the status quo, they need education. Women are more likely to demand equality and protection under the law if they are educated. They may also have greater resources that would allow them to leave an abusive situation. Therefore, the larger the number of women in higher education, the more likely a state is to protect women from domestic violence. Finally, a society’s social culture is reflected by the egalitarianism of the citizenry. The extent that a country addresses the inequalities women face is largely due to the beliefs of the people. Nations that believe women are equal to men are more likely to pursue policies that are important to women. For instance, there has been an increase in the salience of issues such as reproductive choice, sexual harassment, and equal opportunity in states where the cultural ideologies are becoming more egalitarian (Inglehart and Norris, 2001) Therefore, if the social culture of a country promotes egalitarian beliefs, women are more likely to be protected from domestic violence. H3: States with social cultures that support women’s rights will have a higher level of protection against domestic violence than those that do not. Research Design and Methodology Design Strategy and Case Selection In order to test the theoretical explanations offered by the literature, this study compares the levels of protection against domestic violence cross-nationally. The research design employed is a statistical method. Using bi-variate correlation and multiple regression, the strength, significance, and relative influence of each independent variable in relation to the dependent variable is tested. Examining twenty-nine members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) allows for a broad mix of cultures and polities. (Iceland had to be excluded due to lack of data). This variation is valuable if the diverse situation of women is to be examined. At the same time, using the OECD member states allows much of the â€Å"noise† created by non-democratic governments and large variations in wealth to be blocked out; all of these states are relatively well-off and have some form of democratic government. Levels of wealth and degree of democratic functioning still vary widely enough to be diverse, however. The countries included in this study are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States. Dependent Variable The dependent variable of this study is the level of protection for women against domestic violence. This variable is an unweighted summation of seven separate measures: marital rape law, divorce law, gender wage gap, percentage of salary paid during maternity leave, length of maternity leave, child poverty rate in lone mother households, and percentage of lone mother households. Many of these measures indicate the level of familialization, or the ability for a woman to leave an abusive situation and live independently from her abuser. The level of protection is measured on a scale that ranges from 11 (lowest protection) to 25 (highest protection). Data for this variable were obtained from a wide variety of statistical sources. Marital rape law is a dichotomous variable. It is coded as 0 if the country does not have a law against marital rape and coded as 1 if it does. Marital rape laws are a direct measure of protection against domestic violence because rape is an act of violence. This variable indicates whether the state is willing to invade the private sphere of sexual relations between married couples in order to provide protection. About half of the cases in this study do not recognize marital rape as a crime. [1] The second dependent variable measure is a coded scale representing the egree of difficulty women face when attempting to obtain a divorce. The scale ranges from 0 to 3, with 0 being the most difficult and 3 being the easiest. Coding was based on the grounds for divorce in each country. States were given a point if women can initiate divorce, if mutual consent is a ground, if breakdown of marriage or a phrase of similar meaning is a ground, and if violence, battery, or abuse is a ground. A po int was subtracted if there is a requirement for the couple to be separated for a certain amount of time before divorce will be granted. Finally, a point was taken away for miscellaneous factors that would likely cause difficulty in obtaining a divorce; for example, if no alimony or child support is offered or if divorce is considered a social stigma in the country, a point was subtracted. [2] The third measure in the scale is gender wage gap. This variable captures the ability of women to be financially independent; the higher the gender wage gap, the more difficult it is for a woman to support herself and her children. The scale ranges from 1 to 5, with 1 being the largest gap between male and female wages and 5 being the smallest. 3] The fourth and fifth components of the dependent variable are the percentage of salary paid during maternity leave[4] and the length of maternity leave. [5] These measures speak to the financial and social independence of mothers in a given state. If all or most of the mother’s salary during leave is paid and she is able to take a substantial leave without the risk of losing her job, this indicates that the state offers progressive social welfare benefits to women. Studies show that parental leave attracts women to the labor force and maintains their attachment (Kamerman, et all, 2003). Continued employment indicates that women have a better chance to leave an abusive relationship because they are more likely to be financially stable and have a support system outside of the family. Both variables are coded in a range of 1 to 5, with 1 being the least favorable leave policies for women and 5 being the most favorable. The sixth measure of protection for women is the rate of child poverty in lone mother households. This variable is coded in a range from 1 to 5. A score of 1 represents the highest rates of child poverty and a 5 represents the lowest rates. Although it would seem that the percentage of lone mother households is a direct indication of child poverty rates, several studies indicate that if a country has progressive social benefits for single parent families, high poverty levels can be avoided (The World’s Women 2000; Kamerman, et al, 2003). Therefore, this measure speaks to the social support offered to single mothers. [6] The seventh and final component of the dependent variable scale is the rate of lone mother households. This measure is coded as a scale from 1 to 5; a score of 1 indicates low rates of lone mother households and 5 indicate high levels. The rate of single mothers in a country indicates whether it is socially acceptable for a woman to live independently from a male family member or intimate. 7 In countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, there are few social stigmas associated with single motherhood and accordingly, the rates are high: 15% and 19% respectively (Kamerman, et al, 2003). However, because these states provide few social supports for single mothers, the rates of child poverty for these family types are also high: 59. 6% in the U. S. and 40. 3% in the U. K. (Kamerman, et al, 2003). Therefore, it is necessary to look at both rates of single motherhood and of child poverty in lone mother households in order to gauge both the social stigma and support offered to single mothers. Independent Variables This study employs a parsimonious model with respect to the independent variables. Four independent variables are analyzed as indicators of the two theories discussed previously: women’s representation and the cultural influence. Data for these variables were obtained from several sources, primarily Joni Seager’s Atlas of Women in the World. The first variable is women as a percentage of elected officials in each state, or the percent of women occupying seats in the lower or single house of their country’s legislature. Those data, reported from the year 2002, indicate the level of women’s representation. [7] The second variable is women’s history of political participation, measured by the date women’s suffrage was introduced in each country. [8] The third variable is the level of socioeconomic development, measured by per capita GNI from the year 2001. GNI measures the gross national income of a state in current US. dollars. Both date of women’s suffrage and per capita GNI are indicators of the political culture of the countries in this study. [9] Although affluence could be measured separately from culture, socio-economic indicators are frequently used as proxy measures for culture in literature on women and politics (Kenworthy and Malami 1999; Matland 1998). The fourth variable, women as a percentage of students in higher education, is an indicator of the social culture of a country. Higher education is defined as third level institutions, such as universities, technical schools, and equivalent institutions. Students of higher education have completed education at the second level or provided proof of equivalent knowledge. The data reported are from 2000 or the most recent available year. [10] Analyses and Results This section reports the findings of the empirical analysis. After coding and analysis, the dependent variable (level of protection against domestic violence) produced an index ranging from 11 to 25, with 25 being the highest degree of protection. As shown in Table 1, there is a moderate amount of variance in the dependent variable, with a mean of 17. and a standard deviation of 3. 42. Analyses of bi-variate correlations and multiple regression tests for the independent variables indicate that the main findings of this study support the proposed hypotheses. Table 1 The Dependent Variable: A Breakdown of Protection Levels High Protection Levels Moderate Protection Levels Low Protection Levels Austria 19 Australia 17 Greece 14 Czech Rep. 19 Belgium 17 Ireland 12 Denmark 23 Canada 16 Japan 13 Finland 20 Germany 17 Korea 11* France 21 Hungary 17 Luxembourg 14

Sumptuous

Sumptuous Sumptuous Sumptuous By Maeve Maddox In response to my post about the use of the word unctuous in the context of cooking, several readers suggested that speakers might be confusing unctuous with sumptuous. If they are, they must not know the meaning of sumptuous. English-speaking cooks who use unctuous to describe pork roasts are referring to taste, texture, and juiciness. The word sumptuous, although often used to describe a meal, has nothing to do with the taste of food. The word sumptuous derives from the Latin verb sÃ… «mÄ•re, â€Å"to take, consume, spend.† From the verb comes the Latin adjective sumptuosus, â€Å"costly, expensive.† At different periods of history, governments passed what were called â€Å"sumptuary laws,† laws that criminalized overspending by certain social classes. The expression â€Å"born to the purple,† meaning, â€Å"born into the royal family,† comes from sumptuary laws that restricted the use of an expensive dye called Tyrian purple. In ancient Rome, for example, only the emperor could wear a Tyrian purple cape trimmed in golden thread. Only senators were permitted to decorate their togas with a Tyrian purple stripe. European sumptuary laws were enacted throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and even found their way to the New World. The Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a sumptuary law to limit the wearing of lace, gold buttons, ruffles, capes, and other expensive items to citizens with a net worth of 200 pounds or more. A sumptuous meal is an expensive meal. It will have numerous courses made up of a wide variety of dishes and drinks. Here’s a description of a sumptuous dinner offered at the cost of $99,300 by a caterer to the rich and famous: The dinner includes ritzy ingredients such as duck eggs and truffles, as well as a dish of Wagyu beef touched with silver leaf that’s served on a bed of dry ice. Each dish in the eight-course meal is combined with a fine wine, such as the $27,680 bottle of La Romanee-Conti, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, 1990. The price tag also includes a harpist, a poet and doves, as well as chef Adam Simmonds, who earned a Michelin star in 2006.   One can probably assume that such an expensive and lavishly produced meal would include well prepared, tasty food, but not necessarily. It would be possible for a sumptuous meal to be lacking in palate-pleasing food. Another reader suggests that unctuous may be a mistake for scrumptious; an interesting thought, as scrumptious is a colloquial coinage thought to be an altered form of sumptuous. Initially, expensive or luxurious things were described as scrumptious, for example, â€Å"a scrumptious house.† Then, scrumptious became a general term of enthusiastic praise like wizard or smashing, for example, â€Å"That portrait of Thomas More is really scrumptious!† Finally, because it must have often been applied to food, scrumptious came to mean delicious. Another comment points to a possible explanation for the trending use of unctuous with English-speaking cooks: onctuex (feminine, onctueuse) is used by French cooks to describe food that is creamy. However, I can’t think that a word meaning creamy is exactly the right one to describe a pork roast. English has enough adjectives to describe things that taste good without resorting to unctuous or scrumptious. Here are a few: delicious delectable mouthwatering appetizing tasty flavorful toothsome palatable succulent luscious Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:35 Synonyms for â€Å"Look†At Your DisposalApostrophe with Plural Possessive Nouns

Essay Sample on Conflict Resolution in Business Environments

Essay Sample on Conflict Resolution in Business Environments Identifying conflict in our lives and overcoming it can be highly beneficial to our happiness and well being. There are many different areas of conflict that we encounter throughout the course of an average day. We might experience conflict with our friends and family members or we may see conflict situations arise in our work environment. At work, the conflict may be in a small group or it may be a conflict issue with the company as a whole. Often times, our areas of conflict might overlap and we allow personal issues to influence our work environment and vice-versa. Once we have identified our areas of conflict, it becomes vital that we challenge them and are able to overcome them in a constructive way. Usually within a company, there is an inner-circle or small group of people that we work with day in and day out. These individuals might become our closest friends and most trusted confidants, as we depend on them to help and assist us throughout the day. It is always nice having someone supporting you in your work duties. When there is a rather challenging task at hand, it helps to have the support of our co-workers. When an individual has little or no conflicts with their peers and co-workers, everyone benefits, the individual, the group, and the company. The company will benefit thanks to the employees being happy in their jobs and generating a more productive atmosphere for everyone. But what if a conflict situation arises within the group? What if there are suddenly two different ways of thought on a particular issue? How can this issue be identified and, hopefully, resolved? During a normal business meeting, two employees see a solution to a problem and feel that their way is the only way for the company to proceed. They are passionate to prove their point and they set forth on explaining to everyone their ideas. This conflict has arisen because two individuals see things differently and both are trying to present their case in the best possible way. When a conflict situation like this is discovered, it is important to identify it and see what positive actions may be taken from each individual’s ideas. Clearly list out the possible outcomes of each plan and see if there is a way to compromise and join the two ideas together into a single, beneficial result. There might very well be no way to see that both issues get resolved, but it is important that the group feels comfortable to bring up different perspectives and ideas for everyone. If everyone went along with the norm, there might be stagnation within the group and people would not feel the desire to change anything. The company might not be able to ‘grow’ financially. If an individual feels they can contribute a new idea in a better way, it can only lead to good things. Imagine a group where two ideas were not identified and no new issues were discussed. There would not be any conflicts, but at the same time, no new, and possibly better ideas would be uncovered. Identifying conflicts within a group is relatively easy and can be dealt with in various productive ways. However, what does someone do when they experience personal conflict with someone else? If someone is allowing personal opinions and feelings to influence their job performance, that is something which must be identified and handled immediately. Maybe an individual does not like the way someone dresses, the kind of car they drive, the kinds of hobbies they enjoy or other non-work related issues. These personal differences can become great conflicts throughout the company, if they are not identified and handled properly. Interpersonal conflicts are probably the number one issue within society. They can influence our lives both professionally and personally. This type of conflict can be identified in all aspects that we experience. One can let a personal grudge contribute to their workspace and this type of negativity can lead to a non-beneficial work process for the entire company, if it is not properly identified. Identifying conflict among organizations can lead to even greater disaster in the work environment. This type of conflict may sometimes influence millions of dollars and may even lead to the downfall of a company, if it is not identified. Once both sides have presented their issues, how can it be resolved? This is a question many companies must deal with. An important source of advertising revenue might also be lost for a company, if there is a stigma of conflict attached to a company. There might not be a market for them to make money, if people have negative issues associated with a company and they have allowed these issues to blossom into media problems. The possibilities for these large issues affecting a company are endless, which is why it is important to identify conflict right away and begin to work on a positive solution. Identifying issues can take on a wide variety of forms. Personal issues, work group related issues and even interorganizational issues are all able to be both beneficial and harmful to a company. Properly identifying them in a clarifying format is the first step. Once theses issues are identified and one can see how they impede productivity, then they may be resolved in a way that is satisfactory for everyone involved. Most people feel uncomfortable about conflict. Some people may think that all conflict is non-productive. However, research has shown that the certain forms of conflict can stimulate thinking and viewpoints and is often an important part of the teaming process. There are two main categories of conflict, constructive and destructive. Within each category, there are four identified issues that usually cause conflict: facts or data which is a communication problem; process or methods a disagreement of methods; goals or purposes disagreement of goals; values these are the most subjective and personal disagreements, usually necessitating a professional mediator. The higher the level of conflict, the more personal it becomes and non-productive it can be (Leigh Thompson, et al. 240). Even the most innocent forms of conflict, if not checked, can quickly escalate to higher levels causing a negative impact to a teams performance and success. Destructive conflict; also known as Affective or A-type conflict (Leigh Thompson, et al. 218), is personal, defensive, and resentful in nature. A-type conflict causes the person to lose focus of team goals and issues while closing the mind to new ideas and opinions. Its negative personal nature, causes emotions to run high and anger to swell leaving no room for seeing other viewpoints, open-mindedness, compromise or reconciliation. Other effects of A-type conflict may cause witnesses to the negative behavior to limit their future views, ideas, and suggestions. This will further reduce the teams effectiveness in the future. Productive conflict; also known as Cognitive or C-type conflict (Leigh Thompson, et al. 218), originates from differences of opinion and is largely depersonalized. If team members are educated on how to recognize and handle this type of conflict, C-type conflict can help stimulate creative thinking, causing people to think in different ways and arrive at different solutions while not being afraid to express those viewpoints and opinions to team members. To get the best result often means looking at a situation from several different points of view. Making an atmosphere that is conducive to out of the box thinking, and the sharing of those ideas is the problem and the answer. The key to C-type conflict is to keeping it impersonal. Nothing good can come from A-conflict and there is much to be gained from C-type conflict. How do you discourage one and encourage the other is the question. Key factors for promoting an atmosphere where C-type conflict prospers and A-type conflict is stunted, lies with the teams understanding of conflict to begin with. Early conflict education and smart chartering is essential. Key elements of any charter must include the handling of conflicts combined with early education of team members as to how to handle conflict situations. Conflict education is an effective way to reducing A-type conflict while encouraging team members to express varying viewpoints and opinions. There are many misconceptions about conflict. The first being, conflict is abnormal. Whenever there are multiple individuals striving to solve a problem or interpret a message, or define a goal, there is going to be a difference of opinions that will lead to conflict. When people understand that conflict exists and resolution is perused, then unity can replace conflict (Leigh Thompson, et al. 239). Another misconception is that conflicts and difference of opinions are the same. A difference of opinion is usually temporary and usually a result of misunderstandings, which can be resolved by clarification. Conflict is more severe and not as easily defined or clarified (Leigh Thompson, et al. 239). Many people think conflict is a result of differences in personality. Personality differences themselves do not cause conflict. People with different types of personalities tend to bring different perspectives and points of views. If team members can recognize this as a positive attribute for the team, these differences can stimulate thinking and possible solutions. It is when those differences are played out through behavior and emotion that conflict can occur (Leigh Thompson, et al. 239). Anger is often mistaken for conflict. Because conflict and emotions are involved in most conflict situations, people tent to associated all anger with conflict. However, Anger is just one type of emotion and people have a choice as which type of emotion they will use. This is where team chartering and training can have their greatest positive impact (Leigh Thompson, et al. 239). Effective chartering can drastically reduce Affective conflict. The charter should always include operational ground rules that will dictate how the team will come to an agreement when conflict arises. It should also include rules of engagement for presenting opposite points of views, disagreements, and constructive criticisms. The charter should also recognize that emotions will be impacted and as a result the should be time reserved, on a frequent and regular interval, where team members can vent there issues before their emotions get out of hand. Team education is also an important tool for reducing Affective conflict. Conflict education should be given when a team is formed and at periodic intervals as needed. It is always a good idea for the team to get a refresher course on conflict management when given new assignments, new members are assigned, or when any team member feels that it is appropriate. Ideally, the only conflict in a team/group would be constructive conflict. If this were the case, there would be no need for a solution process. A well-constructed, functioning team should try to avoid destructive conflict. If it should arise anyway, and there is a good chance it will, the conflict needs to be first identified and then dealt with before total destruction occurs. To identify a conflict you first determine whether it is an individual, intergroup, or interorganizational conflict. The solution process to be utilized is determined from this. Also, one conflict may have started a second conflict. These would have to be handled at the same time but using different solutions. The two kinds of conflict are constructive and destructive. Constructive conflict should be encouraged as it allows growth through creative thinking. By encouraging constructive conflict, a group or team becomes more unified and productivity increases. Destructive conflict is negative and stems from a lack of agreement, which results in a division of the group or team. Constructive conflict is necessary in accomplishing team goals but negative conflict needs to be resolved or, better yet, avoided. There are many levels of conflict and the entire team/group should be aware of the signs. Of course, it is always easier to solve other peoples problems than be insightful and objective about our own. When conflict resolution is considered necessary, there are phases (Johnson and Johnson, 1994), which can help in resolving conflict. These phases are: collect data, probe, save face, discover common interests, reinforce, negotiate, and solidify adjustments. Then there are strategies (Johnson and Johnson, 1994), which can help in resolving conflicts. A strategy that best suits the situation should be used. These strategies are: avoidance, accommodation, compromise, competition, and collaboration. Negative conflict will always arise where people are working together. Some of these conflicts might require outside mediation. This does not necessarily mean that the team or group is doomed. People who work together every day, even if theyre not part of the conflict, may still be too close to the persons involved to objectively mediate the situation. There is a lot more to conflict resolution than reading a chapter, or even an entire book on the subject. Insight and empathy are absolutely necessary, along with a good sense of humor.

Marketing Plan for White Appliances Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Marketing Plan for White Appliances Inc - Essay Example White Appliances Inc. primarily focuses on meeting the needs of the high-income customer segment and this strategy will call upon the company to serve customers across the various income segments including the lower-income segment. This study has identified that the company’s positioning strategies should focus on differentiating the company’s products from the other products variety provided by competitors. The pricing strategy identified also allows the company to launch its brand in the market and build relationships that promotes the customer-business relations this study has used push strategy to optimize use of the available distribution channels. This strategy will help the company to offer distributors some generous discounts that would enable them achieve the objectives of giving the distribution channels incentives. This study has done market intelligence to analyze customers and competitors and has also conducted micro and macro environment analysis using SWO T and PEST analysis. Creating product awareness and improving customers’ knowledge about the product are important in achieving the desired market presence. Background of the company White Appliance Inc. is one of the international companies in America that manufacture and markets its appliance products globally. Microwave ovens are one of the company’s product lines with production plants in United States and in Asia. White Appliances Inc. Produces and markets its products to high-income customers across its global market. ... 16). Microwave products refer to the cooking devices that help in both cooking and reheating of food by passing the foods to be heated through electromagnetic radiations that emanate from all directions. Company’s situation analysis Goals: White Appliances Inc aims at penetrating microwave oven market in India cutting at all prices segments. The company has mainly focused on high price segment but it has established the need to cut across all other market segments (Mills 2002, p.3). The company also aims at increasing its market share in India; currently the company has very limited market presence. White Appliances Inc. also looks forward to changing consumer conceptions about microwave in the market. Focus: the main focus of White Appliances Inc. is to penetrate Indian market at all price levels by shifting consumer conceptions or mindsets concerning microwave ovens and also by educating customers on the usage of microwave in cooking and reheating of food (Cateora et al 2009 , p. 43). Corporate culture: White Appliances is committed to manufacturing and marketing of superior products ranging from scooters to soda pop to kitchen appliances. The company is innovation driven and it corporate culture has also exhibited reliability, high quality and excellence. The company is committed to meeting customers’ needs and in this regard it has focused on improving the understanding of customers about their products. The company is sensitive to customers’ views and its uses the views to determine customers’ satisfaction (Mohr et al 2009, p. 5). Strengths of the company: the company has familiarized itself in the Indian market as seen in the high-models developed for the Indian market.