Marketing an Australian Wine to Hong Kong Wine Market Essay

Marketing an Australian Wine to Hong Kong Wine Market - Essay Example The growth in Hong Kong wine market is attributed to the abolishing of the duty on wine by the Hong Kong government. About 40% of the US$ 1.3bn worth of wine traded annually in London is bought by consumers in Hong Kong and China (Franz, 2008). Similarly, according to Parker (2010) a glass of wine raised by a Hong Kong resident is likely to have come from the Australian vineyard. The Australian wine industry considers Hong Kong as a major market. Because of the abolition of duties and taxes on wine in Hong Kong, exports from Australia to Hong Kong has increased manifold. Australia is an important source for high quality beverages including wine for Hong Kong’s restaurants. Hong Kong’s strategy to become the hub for wine trading in the Asian region presents opportunities for the Australian wine producers and for providers of wine-related services, like storage and auctioning (Dfat, 2010). Hong Kong enjoys locational advantage as far as wine auctions in the region are con cerned. The total wine auction sales in the region reached $160 million and now along with the United States, Hong Kong has become one of the two most important centers for wine auction (Hong Kong Digest, 2011). This is the reason that Australian wine makers, Brown Brothers, are eyeing Hong Kong to market its products. Hong Kong has the potential to influence trends in the region through events such as Wine and Spirits Fair which attracts audience from mainland China and other countries. Brown Brothers offers the most seasoned and diverse ranges of quality wine. Decrease in taxes makes cheaper wine popular (Asia Travel Tips, 2011). The Hong Kong youth between 21-28 years would prefer cheaper wines as they are yet to be established in life. Thus this study aims to evaluate marketing of wine to this segment. An external environmental analysis would help Brown Bothers understand and formulate the marketing strategy for Hong Kong. The external environment can be analyzed based on the po litical, economical, socio-cultural and legal environment, along with the wine sector in Hong Kong. Wine sector in Hong Kong Hong Kong’s alcoholic beverage market faced distortions because of the excessive duties on wines and spirits (APCO, 2010). The prices were artificially high and the local residents as well as the expatriates were forced to choose lower-quality beverages which impacted consumer choice. Hong Kong had very high level of taxation on wines compared to its neighbors and this increased illegal smuggling of alcoholic beverages. This caused loss of government tax revenue. The Hong Kong Wine & Spirits Industry Coalition (HKWSIC) used the services of APCO to represent the views of the consumers and the industry. Study and presentation of the results by APCO forced the Hong Kong government to abolish the taxation on wine products. External environment analysis Political environment Hong Kong is governed by the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Regio n of the People's Republic of China (Dfat, 2010). Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region and is a capitalist society enjoying high political stability. It has an ‘executive-led’ system inherited from the British Colonial Administration. The Chief executive is appointed by Beijing after election and has the power to initiate legislation (Dfat, 2010). There is limited democracy as it still follows the Basic Law approved in 1990.

Peace Corps Services Essay Example for Free

Peace Corps Services Essay Fulfillment in life is best attained when one contributed to meeting others’ needs, create time to understand their challenges and take decisive actions towards alleviating their sufferings. One can not also rule out the indispensability of peace if achieving this goal. Indeed, Peace Corps service presents major physical, emotional and intellectual challenges aimed at contributing to community development and invariably the stability of a nation. This stands as a major ideal of the Peace Corps Volunteers and I am keenly interested in such. More than interest, I am passionate about it. The ideals of the Peace Corps Volunteers are noble and they make a complete man; by this, I mean they contribute tremendously to the corporate citizenship status of an individual. In this vein, the individual sows seeds of good tidings to less opportune lives. A good corporate citizen engages in programs and activities based on the principle of individual impact on society aside continuous government plans. This is a major reason why I want to serve as a volunteer; the team is a credible platform to affect lives positively. Besides, I believe in that disputes and unrest can be avoided by effective communication and sheer understanding. This evidently requires tact and skills. Being a volunteer, I would have the privilege of engaging actively in activities that promote peace and harmony; this would sharpen my own communication skills and make me a better emotional intelligent individual. I see it as an avenue through which I can explore communication skills and improve on them, for the good of the colony. It also creates a large forum for me to learn others cultures, expands my schema and I can begin to appreciate life from a larger perspective. As a health care provider, serving as a volunteer is an excellent extension of my duties to the rest of opportunity outside the hospital walls. I have served in a number of religious and social volunteer work and these experiences have left an indelible mark on my heart. I can not stop but I must keep the flag on with the Peace Corps Volunteers as its ideals are compatible with my life’s goals.

Asthma Essay -- essays research papers fc

Asthma / Grant 1 Asthma in a Fitness/School Setting For some, the agony of asthma may be an affliction only during childhood; for others, the illness persists throughout adulthood. The least fortunate are those who fall mortal victims. Asthma can kill. Medical science can offer only temporary relief at best. The deviousness of the disease defies almost all attempts at discovering a cure. Asthma can be mild; it can be devastating. Sometimes the symptoms disappear for many years but surface again with even greater severity. In an asthmatic attack the diameter of the small bronchi is diminished as a result of spasm of the muscular coat, active congestion of the mucous membrane and excessive secretion of tough mucus. In inspiration the small bronchi are pulled open and the obstruction is thereby reduced. On the other hand, forced expiration tends to compress bronchi and increase the obstruction. Consequently inspiration is much easier than expiration; the difficult breathing of asthma differs in fact from all other forms of difficult breathing, in being mainly expiratory in character (Mezei, 1988). Not to be confused with asthma is a similar, but less intense, tightening of the bronchial muscles that occurs in people who are exposed to large amounts of noxious fumes, tobacco smoke, and other pollutants. The body attempts to protect itself against invasion by dangerous substances flowing into the lungs. The asthma victim, however, usually hypersensitive, overreacts with severe symptoms (Renard, 1996). Asthma deaths in the country are steadily rising at an ever-increasing rate. Statistics indicated that about 4,000 Americans died from the disease in 1985, more than double the number only a decade ago. Society became more involved into the process of Grant 2 determining why asthma death were increasing. A task force of immunology, chemistry, pulmonary medicine, and epidemiology researchers were charged with finding an answer, but their preliminary report only raised more questions. The rise in asthma deaths during the past decade has puzzled scientists and physicians. But while the severity of the disease appears to be increasing, many asthmatics are unwilling to lead the sedentary lives that some say their condition requires ("Asthmatics", 19XX). As seen in many studies and research done in the past exercise can be both beneficial and deleterio... ...with less respiratory distress can result from involvement in competitive athletics. The coach, teacher, and parents should share a common philosophy with the child, regarding competition. They should make the child aware that winning for an asthmatic does not necessarily mean coming in first place or having more points than the opposition. For an asthmatic, winning is wheeze-free participation (Dennis, 1985). Grant 8 Works Cited Asthma & Food: Know the facts. (1998, May). Executive Health's Good Health, 34, 8, 2. Asthma deaths rising, but asthmatics don't have to give up exercise. (19XX). Aerobics for Asthmatics, Inc. Dennis, Warren. (1985). What Every Physical Educator should know about Asthma. American Lung Association. Excess pounds may lead to asthma. (1998, Jun). Tufts University Health & Nutritional Letter, 16, 2. Exercise and Asthma. (1996). A.C.E. Fitness Matters, 2 Mezei, Gyorgyi. (1998). Physiotherapy of Asthma. Acta Microbiological et Immunological Hungarica, 45, 157-166. Research shows exercise program benefits children with asthma. (1998, June 11). The New York Amsterdam News, 14. William, Renard Jr. (1996). Asthma. Nutrition Health Review, 78, 10.

Foxy Originals expansion into the U.S. market Essay

The problem is determining which plans for expansion is best for Foxy Originals. AnalysisKluger and Orol established Foxy Originals (Foxy) in 1998, a Toronto-based jewellery firm. By designing and manufacturing high style fashion jewelry, Foxy earned a high reputation and their sales were increasing at a fast pace success in Canada. However, based on little by little saturation of Canadian markets, Foxy realized that it was time to expand U.S. market where jewelry market was 10 times bigger than Canadian one. Since America has a huge population base, Foxy has the opportunity to obtain more customers, which in return directly lead to more sales and revenue. As a result, the highest priority was to determine which distribution plans were best for Fox. The distributions include attending trade shows, hiring sales representatives, and a combination of both. U.S. trade shows play as a medium for both seller and buyers. The main advantage of U.S. trade shows is huge buyer volume. If Kluger and Orol attend 10 potential trade shows, they can enhance brand awareness, network with potential customers, and boost sales. On the other hand, high cost and potential risks are the main concern for Foxy. Kluger and Orol need five days of preparation for each show in order to get the best display effect, as well as the high cost for booth layout. Kluger and Orol can hire sales forces as an alternative. Kluger and Orol don’t want Foxy to be available on every street corner in United States. Instead, they aim at entering to key fashion centers such as New York and Los Angeles. Sales forces are just right to solve this issue. They know how to deal with local jewelry store and existing retailers, which is what Foxy just lack of. With some specific training, sales representatives could contribute to expansion U.S. market. However, finding some suitable people is not that easy. Carrying out both methods discussed above meanwhile sounds good, but a new problem  emerges—territory ownership. For instance, Kluger and Orol had have to pay for commission fees on all sales, if Foxy came to a trade show, say, New York while hiring a New York based sales representatives in the same time. This is an industry norm, so Foxy has to follow. The partners also considered about attending the trade shows in the major fashion hubs and sending their sales representatives to some smaller cities; however, if so, that doesn’t help Foxy to establish brand awareness in the United States, as these cities are not fashion-forward. Impact AnalysisImplementing distribution methods could generate some negative impacts if Foxy decides to enter into U.S market. As a result, the main impacts would affect Foxy’s design department and the logistic department. Jewelry designed by Foxy has been approved by Canadian. However, there is uncertainty about the how responsive American customers would be. If American customers prefer other style, whether Foxy needs to play up to U.S. market by changing design style, or hiring new designers? Moreover, Foxy should pay much attention to logistics, because delivering abroad is more complicated. Foxy needs to find a reliable deliver partner who could be responsible for delivering goods on ti me. Criteria for an Effective SolutionCost/Benefit: help Kluger and Orol pick the most cost-effective one to implement. Timeline: which Plans are faster? Complexity: is that distribution strategy easy to control and implement? Degree of Risk: assess each alternatives’ degree of risk Evaluation of AlternativesCost/Benefit Timeline Complexity Degree of Risk Total Points Trade Shows 3 3 3 3 12 Sales Forces 4 4 4 4 16 Combination 2 2 2 2 8 As shown in the Appendix A, each trade show costs $9,433.33 on average. In the best-case scenario, each trade show would generate $4,145.42 profit (Appendix B); however, trade show may lose money as well in the worst-case scenario, $-3,398.33. By adding total 10 potential trade shows together, Foxy would make profit from $-33,983.30 to $41,454.20, which depends on how many orders they receive at each show. Additionally, there are 10 shows during the year, which is effectively low. Preparation is complex as well. Kluger and Orol have to book tickets, arrange time, and set up booth. Also,  high uncertainty cannot be overlooked. A delayed flight may waste all the previous efforts they put. Hiring them could be a smart move, although sales forces would be compensated with a 15% commission on all sales. In comparison with trade shows, low investment and high yield is feature of hiring sales forces. Appendix A shows that hiring one sales representative for a year just cost company $6,380.00. In the low projection, each salesman may only sell 10 orders each month so that s/he just makes $19,588.00 profit ever year. Let’s assume that they luck out selling 15 orders per month, and then each salesman can make $32,572.00 annually. Moreover, hiring sales forces is much faster than previous option. By hiring them, Kluger and Orol could spend more time on running business and designing jewellery rather than struggling with difficulties they encounter in America. At first glance, a combination of trade show and hiring sales forces seem to be a perfect alternative, but that’s not true. The annually fixed costs for this combination is $110,253.30 (Appendix B), which is almost 7 times larger than hiring sale forces. These fixed costs are not dependent on the level of goods produced by the business. If sales performance is dissatisfactory, Foxy will take a bath. Plus, Foxy would have to compensate salesmen no matter how due to spillover sales. Therefore, high cost and high risk among other alternatives are main drawback of this option, no doubt. Recommendation As consultant, I highly recommend Foxy should hire sales forces for U.S. expansion. Costs of hiring sales representatives and level of risk are the lowest among other alternatives after comparing. Besides, sales representatives’ rich experience and wide network are fortune for Foxy to enter the U.S. market. In addition, by analyzing break-even point, hiring sales forces has relatively lower B-E point, which means less complexities and low risk to carry out. Simply put, hiring sales representative has several advantages—high return, high efficiency, and low investment. Only thing needed to be taken into consideration is the process of selecting, which is actually complicated. A qualified salesman could boost sales, but an unsuitable one could try to help but causing more trouble in process. Action Plan Action By Whom When Posting Job Kluger and Orol need to identify job requirement. Then HR department should follow normal hiring procedures posting jobs at website and employment agencies. By July, 2004 Selecting Schedule interviews with candidates and rank them. After Posting Providing Training Provide training to suitable sales representative; make them familiar with Foxy’s jewelry. Before 2005 Planning and Controlling Sales representatives carry out expansion plan in U.S. market. They need to provide timely feedback in order to help Foxy compare actual results with target performance. Since 2005 Foxy should hire sales forces and provide training to them by the end of 2004. As owners, Kluger and Orol should work with HR to draft the job requirement. Timely feedback is quite important once they start implementing plan, when Foxy encounters the block from local business. Furthermore, comparing actual results with target performance, Foxy can take actions to respond to these unexpected changes.

I Have a Dream Too Essay

32 years and 364 days before my birth, at Lincoln Memorial over 275,000 people gathered and listened to Dr. Martin Luther King deliver his speech â€Å"I Have a Dream.† During this time, racism was a huge issue in the United States, especially towards African Americans. Among those African Americans was Dr. Martin Luther King, a prominent civil rights activists who inspires our world till this day, especially with his speech â€Å"I Have a Dream.† He spoke about the injustices of segregation and discrimination of African Americans that was taking place in our nation. The reason for â€Å"I Have a Dream† massive impact is due to the tense social mood of the time and giving African Americans a vision for the future. Hitting home for many African American people but what made â€Å"I Have a Dream† so fascinating that even a 16 years Asian American can relate to? I believe it is King’s use of rhetoric and how he is able to appeal to his audiences’ everyday lives. King uses the structure of his rhetoric to appeal to his different audiences and supporting his ideas by using quotations and allusions, repeating key theme words and phrases, and â€Å"grounding† his arguments. The syntax of a speech can be very important, something that King utilizes really well appealing to all three types of people in his audience; the average blacks who are discriminated against, the average whites who harbor thoughts typical of that time who argue that blacks are evil and the civil rights movement is violent, and radical blacks who think the same. He first starts by making the white realize how blacks are in such a terrible positions and make them feel bad of what they have done, but at the same time hitting home in the hearts of blacks. He goes on explaining problems â€Å"One hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years..† Striking home for many African Americans but at the same time causing the whites to be uncomfortable. King then brings in issues about the Declaration of Independence by saying â€Å"This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the â€Å"unalienable Rights† of â€Å"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.† Then goes on saying that America has denied us of these right. His ability to appeal to his audience really amazed because when you put into perspective of how the people of the time interpreted the speech and to me the message was loud and clear; segregation must end. King also perpetrates his speech with careful thoughts and analysis, a key example of this was King’s utilization of quotations and allusions. He starts out the his speech by invoking the presence of Lincoln, not just with his location but with this â€Å"Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the emancipation proclamation.† This is a strong appeal to ethos and using Lincoln’s credibility to create credibility for himself. Then he moves on to the Constitution with â€Å"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness† this is also and an appeal to ethos that relates to every American. His use of allusions and quotations didn’t just revolve around the 16th president and the constitution it also reached out in a biblical manner as well. â€Å"for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no wa ter.â€Å" he evokes Jeremiah 2:13. Similar to this the other biblical terms enhance his credibility and builds a relationship with the common whit population that reads the bible. As for me the text was not as powerful but when King delivered the line â€Å"No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until â€Å"justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.† the idea of freedom in my mind became privilege and made me cherish it much more. King like many other juniors in the 21st century learned a rhetorical device known as anaphora, a skill that only King can make history with. King uses this device 8 times throughout his speech but the most memorable of all is near the end of the speech where he starts with â€Å"I Have a Dream†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The line that will stick with generations to come and may have been the reason why Dr. King was assassinated. Though we can grieve over Dr. King’s death but I would rather take the time and analyze why his use of anaphora was so powerful. I believe the lines he used in the formation of his anaphora: â€Å"One hundred years later†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"Now is the tim e†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"We must†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"We can never be satisfied†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"I Have a Dream†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"With this faith, †¦Ã¢â‚¬ , and â€Å"Let freedom ring (from) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ , can tell us much of King’s stories and the emphasis through repetition makes these phrases more memorable, and, by extension, make King’s story more memorable. What King also did was the repetition of â€Å"theme† words such as freedom (repeated 20 times), nation (10 times), and America (9 times). This style of writing will be one of the many lessons I will be taking away from this speech. The last I think the most important rhetorical device that King used was his ability to â€Å"ground his arguments. King accomplished this by making numerous geographic references throughout the speech. Including Mississippi, New York, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Colorado, California, and Tennessee. King uses Mississippi in many occasions to evoke emotions in the blacks because African Americans in Mississippi where treated the worse among all the states and I believe the best line king used was this â€Å"We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.† Encouraging and informing all American citizens of the predicament tha t is occurring in the great nation of America. This created reliability among the people and connected them even more. Although racism isn’t as large an issue today Dr. King’s speech â€Å"I Have a Dream† managed to inspire a generation of blacks to never give up and made thousands of white Americans bitterly ashamed of their actions, forging a new start for society. Even now, it continues to make generations of people, not just Americans, to give up their racist beliefs and advocate social colorblindness. King’s speech not only had amazing content, but the structure and king’s effective uses of quotations and allusions, use of repeating key theme words and phrases, and â€Å"grounding† his arguments. Taught me a very valuable lesson in both rhetoric and life. Thus from now on I have a dream as well. it is to develop myself and my rhetoric device using.

First Inhabitants of the New World essays

First Inhabitants of the New World essays Most of what we know about the first inhabitants of North America, the ancestors of today's First Nations and Inuit, is due to the work of archaeologists. These specialists have generally divided the past into two periods: the historic period, for which we have written accounts; and the prehistoric period, prior to the existence of written records. Archaeological work on the prehistoric period - studying stone tools, bone chips, and faunal and other remains - is invaluable because few other types Certain key discoveries have contributed to our knowledge of these people. In 1927 a fluted point was uncovered near the town of Folsom, New Mexico, which dated back to about 8,500 BC. Similar artifacts from the same time period have since been discovered in Canada. In 1975 a discovery was made at the Bluefish Caves in the mountains of the northern Yukon Territory. These three small caves contained the bones of ancient animals, many of which showed signs that they had been butchered. As well, archaeologists found stone tools that could only have been made by humans. One tool, a burin or stone chisel, is the oldest evidence of human occupation in Canada. Using a technique known as radiocarbon dating, scientists were able to conclude that hunting parties between 25,000 and 12,000 years ago used the caves intermittently. Over the millennia these ancient peoples dispersed throughout North America and developed subsistence strategies particular to their environments. For example, ancestors of today's Inuit learned how to cope with their harsh environment by using the northern resources to their advantage and developing unique tools. Those migrating to the coastal and prairie regions of the country did the same, adapting to their surroundings By the time of first contact with the Europeans, there were millions ...

Film review on Toy Story showing the journeys involved

Film review on Toy Story showing the journeys involved Disneys No.1 box office smash hit and the recipient of a special Academy Award Toy Story!Toy Story is the groundbreaking 1995 motion picture developed by Disney and Pixar and directed by John Lasseter. Combined with visual wizardry, uproarious laughs and the coolest characters ever assembled transform the worlds first computer-animated feature into an incomparable movie experience of fun and adventure.On the front cover of the movie, there is a shot of Buzz flying into the air with Woody holding on to his arm. Below on Andys bed are the less important characters. The camera shows a high angle shot with a close up of Buzz and Woody and is also looking down on the other characters in the distance. The concept of journey is emphasised by showing Buzz and Woody closer at a high angle shot and flying into the air to an unknown destination.The back cover of the movie also shows a few scenes of their journey.Buzz LightyearOne shows Buzz and Woody on a racing car trying to escape from a dog that is chasing them. The look of fear on their faces, the background of cars and the road rushing behind them suggests a fast paced movement.Toy Story is a film which represents journey through many different aspects. There are two physical journeys shown in this film. One of the journeys is of a young boy named Andy having to move to a new home, the other is of two action figures by the name of Buzz Lightyear and Woody, the pull-string cowboy, having to get back to their owner, Andy.In the opening scene, the protagonist, Woody is introduced when playing with Andy. Majestic music is being played in the background; this highlights the importance of the character to Andy and...

Geography and Fact Sheet About the Philippines

Geography and Fact Sheet About the Philippines Population: 99,900,177 (July 2010 estimate)Capital: ManilaArea: 115,830 square miles (300,000 sq km)Coastline: 22,549 miles (36,289 km)Highest Point: Mount Apo at 9,691 feet (2,954 m)The Philippines, officially called the Republic of the Philippines, is an island nation located in the  western Pacific Ocean in Southeast Asia between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea. The country is an archipelago made up of 7,107 islands and is near the countries of Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The Philippines has a population of just over 99 million people and it is the 12th largest country in the world. History of the Philippines In 1521, European exploration of the Philippines began when Ferdinand Magellan claimed the islands for Spain. He was killed shortly thereafter however after getting involved in tribal warfare on the islands. During the rest of the 16th century and into the 17th and 18th centuries, Christianity was introduced to the Philippines by Spanish conquistadores. During this time, the Philippines were also under the administrative control of Spanish North America and as a result, there was migration between the two areas. In 1810 though, Mexico claimed its independence from Spain and control of the Philippines went back to Spain. During Spanish rule, Roman Catholicism increased in the Philippines and a complex government was established in Manila.In the 19th century, there were numerous uprisings against Spanish control by the local population of the Philippines. For example, in 1896, Emilio Aguinaldo led a revolt against Spain. The revolt continued until 1898 when American forces defeated the Spanish at Manila Bay in May of that year during the Spanish-American War. After the defeat, Aguinaldo and the Philippines declared independence from Spain on June 12, 1898. Shortly thereafter, the islands were ceded to the United States with the Treaty of Paris.From 1899 to 1902, the Philippine-American War took place as Filipinos fought against Americ an control of the Philippines. On July 4, 1902, a Peace Proclamation ended the war but hostilities continued until 1913.In 1935, the Philippines then became a self-governing commonwealth after the Tydings-McDuffie Act. During World War II, however, the Philippines were attacked by Japan and in 1942, the islands came under Japanese control. Beginning in 1944, full-scale fighting began in the Philippines in an effort to end Japanese control. In 1945, Filipino and American forces caused Japan to surrender, but the city of Manila was largely destroyed and over one million Filipinos were killed.On July 4, 1946, the Philippines then became fully independent as the Republic of the Philippines. Following its independence, the Philippines struggled to gain political and social stability until the 1980s. During the late 1980s and into the 1990s, the Philippines began to regain stability and grow economically despite some political conspiracies in the early 2000s. Government of the Philippines Today the Philippines is considered a republic with an executive branch made up of a chief of state and a head of government - both of which are filled by the president. The legislative branch of government is made up of a bicameral Congress that consists of a Senate and House of Representatives. The judicial branch is made up of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals and the Sandigan-bayan. The Philippines are divided into 80 provinces and 120 charter cities for local administration. Economics and Land Use in the Philippines Today, the economy of the Philippines is growing due to its rich natural resources, workers overseas and imported products. The largest industries in the Philippines include electronics assembly, garments, footwear, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, wood products, food processing, petroleum refining ,  and fishing. Agriculture also plays a large role in the Philippines and the main products are sugarcane, coconuts, rice, corn, bananas, cassava, pineapples, mangoes, pork, eggs, beef, and fish. Geography and Climate of the Philippines The Philippines is an archipelago comprised of 7,107 islands in the South China, Philippine, Sulu, and Celebes Seas and the Luzon Strait. The topography of the islands is mostly mountainous with narrow to large coastal lowlands depending on the island. The Philippines is divided into three main geographic areas: these are Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The climate of the Philippines is tropical marine with a northeast monsoon from November to April and a southwest monsoon from May to October.In addition, the Philippines, like many other tropical island nations has problems of deforestation, and soil and water pollution. The Philippines also has problems of air pollution because of large populations in its urban centers. More Facts About the Philippines Filipino is the official national language while English is the official language of government and educationLife expectancy in the Philippines is 67.6 yearsOther large cities in the Philippines include Davao City and Cebu City Sources: Central Intelligence Agency. (7 July 2010). CIA - The World Factbook - Philippines. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rp.html Infoplease.com. (n.d.). Philippines: History, Geography, Government, and Culture - Infoplease.com. infoplease.com/country/philippines.html United States Department of State. (19 April 2010). Philippines. state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2794.htm Wikipedia. (22 July 2010). Philippines - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines

Informative diversity presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Informative diversity presentation - Essay Example Instead, King Abdullah has instituted what has become known as a Council of Advisors. This council of advisors helps to provide the monarch with useful information and specific policy ideas with regards to what direction the kingdom should proceed with respect to development of its resources and modernization. Furthermore, each of the council of advisors has a specific area of specialization that allows him to speak to the needs of the nation. For instance, one member of the council of advisors may have a specialization in trade and economics whereas another council advisor might have a specialization in health. In this way, the monarch is able to hear and contemplate each of the ways in which the council can advise him with regards to the best future direction for the country. As one might expect, the vast oil wealth that Saudi Arabia benefits from ha allowed the royal family to invest heavily in the infrastructure that the country relies on. These investments have begun since the early 1960s and have focused on diverse elements of societal renewal to include paving thousands of kilometers of the nation’s roads, improving the secondary educational system, and providing funding to students who would like to study aboard. Furthermore, some of these 5 year plans have focused on building a better healthcare system so that the entire nation can benefit from the wealth that the oil resources have brought. In this way, the kingdom has reinvested much of the oil wealth in visually observable ways so that the betterment of society is directly affected. (In this way, many fundamental differences exist between the two countries. As a result of the difference in culture, the people of this nation also have their own particular view of the society in which they live as compared with the rest of the world. Although this essay has focused on the dissimilarities that exist between Saudi Arabia and the United States, many

Investigation of financial conservatism in the United Kingdom and Dissertation

Investigation of financial conservatism in the United Kingdom and China - Dissertation Example The financial data from selected conservative firms is analyzed empirically to prove the hypothesis that economic and financial crises and the structure of financial policies based upon conservative idioms are mutually inclusive. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 2 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 4 1.1 Background of the Study 5 1.1.1 The United Kingdom†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.....6 1.1.2 China†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.9 1.2 Conservative Financial Theory†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..12 1.2.1 Pecking Order Theory 13 1.2.1 Agency Theor y vs. Stewardship 13 1.3 Financial Distress Theory 15 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 17 2.1 Economic Theory 17 2.2 Empirical 20 CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 21 3.1 Theoretical Framework 21 3.2 Hypothesis 22 3.3Method 23 3.4Data Sample 23 3.5Results 26 3.6 Interpretation of Results 28 CHAPTER FOUR CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 29 REFERENCES†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦....30 APPENDICES†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦33 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION In considering the business world, it is worth noting that its environment of microeconomic activities lies within an unvarying state of transformation. This means therefore that the p articular indicators which served as tremendous financial assessment tools in a previous study can bear different meanings thereafter, hence many factors die and are born so as to maintain limits of time variations (Ahmed, A. S., B. K. Billings, R. M. Morton, and M., 2009). According to Easterby-Smith, an agency faces challenges in ; organizing and coordinating staffs, addressing diverse and unforeseen problems in ways that assure the continuity of any course of action, manoeuvring successfully between cultural, financial, and technical impediments, and lastly recovering an organization from fragments (Mark Easterby-Smith,2012).Financial distress is the reality that agencies cannot accomplish these achievements but rather struggle to meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Prospective macroeconomic productivity cannot take into account the unexpected determinants such as supply and demand or environment, all of which give a represent the highs and lows of life itself. The var iables provide a distinct outline that can be used in comparing the actual from the prospective (Balkrishna, H., Coulton, J.J. and Taylor, S.L., 2007). For this reason, financially conservative agencies tend to hold more cash reserves and minimize leverage. Today, interpretations of Finance and Accounting that are used to make important decisions are based upon different philosophies of macroeconomic applications. For the purposes of this study, applications of the theories of Financial Conservatism and Financial Distress used in Business Finance are analyzed for firms in the United Kingdom (UK) and in China. The empirical analysis consists of the financials of 100 companies from the fiscal years 2007 and 2009 (Ball, R., Bushman, R.M., and Vasvari, F.P., 2008a). 1.1 Background of the Study A universal principle of Business is to minimize possible risk and loss. Agencies adopt different structures based on personal beliefs and

Contrasting the Hobbesian and Lockeian Social Contracts Essay

Contrasting the Hobbesian and Lockeian Social Contracts - Essay Example John Locke’s â€Å"The Second Treatise of Government† and Thomas Hobbes’ â€Å"Leviathan† both present theories for the construction of social contracts that would enable the sanctioning of a sovereign force to protect the whole. Where Locke takes a more liberal perspective, inviting the ideal that people can function by accepting a ruling authority for the greater good, Hobbes takes a similar yet opposing stance that while a ruling authority is key in the success of protecting the human race, people cannot accept such influence without giving up certain inalienable rights including their own personal sovereignty. With that said, a closer look will be taken into the contract theories of both Hobbes and Locke to determine how their different assumptions yield two distinct forms of social contracts and illuminate which political thinker’s ideal holds more value today. To begin with, John Locke has long been thought to be one of the most archetypal the orists in all of American political thinking. His ideas are so fundamental in the political landscape that it has been understood that his beliefs backed the foundations of the American Revolution in 1776. In his essay entitled â€Å"The Second Treatise of Government: An Essay Concerning the True Original, Extent, and End of Civil Government,† Locke details his theories for a distinct form of social contract in which he states that people would be bound by a moral code to uphold a certain dignity when dealing with others. By this code, people would do no harm to others or the property of others, but this could only be regulated by a governmental force that could provide protection from the inherent fear that not everyone would abide by the moral code set forth. Moreover, it is because of this need for protection from those of wavering morality that people would come together and form a state-sanctioned force which would umbrella a safety net upon their lives. It is important to note, however, that since this governmental faction is elected in a pseudo-democratic fashion for the need of the many that faction is only in place as long as the legitimacy of freedom remains intact. Moreover, the governmental faction is there for the protection of the whole, as an impartial judge, and will not persecute anybodyfor protecting his land or family. On the other hand, Hobbes’ â€Å"Leviathan: Or, the Matter, Form and Power of a Commonwealth, Ecclesiastical and Civil† theorized that life was an anarchic mess, where people were unable to act for the good of the many and instead only focused on their own selfish needs. His moral code is similar to Locke’s only in the realm that people come together for a fundamental purpose – but that is where similarities end. Hobbes believed that people had to give up something to be part of the whole. It was regulatory without leadership, a constant realm of chaos and anarchy unless the social contract c ould be enforced which would essentially require everyone to act in the greater interests of the whole by giving up their own individualized sovereignty. Further, in Hobbes’ contract, people are inherently selfish beings. Unable to share the vested interests of others, people lived in an anarchic state that teetered between the needs of the one and the sacrifice of the many to achieve that fact. In this, Hobbes is almost the complete opposite of Locke in that people are unable to declare a sovereign ruling force without giving up their individualized sovereignty. People are unable to become part of the state without asserting that they no longer need any sort of individualism. Hobbes details that â€Å"therefore before the names of Just, and Unjust can have place, there must be some coercive Power, to compel men equally to the performance of their Covenants, by the terror of some punishment, greater than the benefit they expect† (Hobbes 97). Essentially, for the social contract to function in the ways Hobbes has detailed, people must be compelled by some

The glass ceiling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The glass ceiling - Essay Example ceived superiority of men in administrative and leadership roles, diminishment of women’s voices in decision-making situations and valuation of perceived ‘masculine’ traits, such as, aggression and dominance over perceived ‘feminine’ traits like understanding and patients, especially in highly competitive and political environments. The glass ceiling has a variety of effects on women. The first and most obvious is to subtly exclude them from reaching top positions in their fields. While a few women do make it into upper management or leadership roles in their fields, the vast majority of most professions, and especially the highest echelons of those professions, remain dominated by men. This process can also create a significant negative impact on a woman’s personal life. Most obviously, professional stalling that occurs when women hit the glass ceiling and are no longer able to advance creates significant emotional problems, such as, professional frustration and decreased self-worth. Women are often made to make lose-lose choices, for instance, having to decide between having a child, and thus loosing time, energy and prestige at work, or focusing on their careers and losing out on family opportunities – choices men are never forced to make. (For question three, maybe focus on things such as the fact that you can use traditionally feminine traits to be an excellent psychologist, you can side-step traditional hierarchies that exist in other professions, and publish work in a merit-based fashion to achieve prestige without needing to go through patriarchal

Autism and inclusive practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Autism and inclusive practice - Essay Example The observation is based on a nine years and four months old child whose code name in this case, for confidentiality reasons, is RA. Child RA suffers from autism and is eligible for a personal or one-on-one support service because he needs assistance with his learning needs. The observations aims at identifying and assessing the child’s behaviour when in a group setting. During the first day of the observation process, the class teacher instructs the pupils to bring out their numeracy writing books. However, RA picks up a pencil then flicks hit and consequently hitting another child. When the teacher calls RA, he replies, â€Å"what?† The reply is rude and as the assistant, I took the initiative to ask him to apologize but he does this without maintaining eye contact with the teacher. When told to apologize in an appropriate manner, he responds properly and says, â€Å"I am sorry miss.† After the apology, RA sits down and a fellow pupil volunteers to give him a numeracy book but he snatches it without eye contact. Upon pointing out the unruly behaviour, RA apologizes. After sitting for a while, RA gets up from his table and when asked what he wants, he says he would like to work in a group with other pupils. The class teacher grants his request by placing him in one of the groups and he promises to work hard while respecting the other members. He then seems contented with the group.

Final assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Final assignment - Essay Example European colonisation adventures are also one of the main reasons for the mixing up of the diversified culture and acculturation. The immigration policies announced by various European and Australian countries also contributed the mixed cultural traits that put the ethnicity in jeopardy. Patrick J. Buchanan, famous American writer and political analyst, has indicated the same problem in his book under the title, â€Å"Death of the West†. In his book, he expresses his grave concerns regarding the future of individual recognition and even the solidarity of the USA and Western civilization due to its current economic and foreign policies. â€Å"Buchanan does a good job of legitimizing debate†, Widmann states, â€Å"over the politically incorrect subjects of White/European population rates and non-White, non-European immigration and its impact.† It is perhaps in the nature of every human that he contains ethnic prejudice for his own race. The individuals consider their own group superior and better one in comparison with other groups. Therefore, they desire for the uplift of their race and ethnicity. Hitler came to the limelight to confront the world as he thought German nation as the most superior and talented nation. The same is the case with Buch anan. Buchanan obtains apprehension that immigrants from all parts of the world are changing the very scenario of the society. The culture and civilization of the present USA may undergo serious set back with the influx of different races which will drag the West into many socioeconomic problems. Different the ethnic groups in a society, more are the chances of criminal activities in it. This is a fact beyond doubt that variation in groups because of race, religion, region, gender, caste, class, creed, social status and income creates conflict in a society. Marxist and Feminist perspectives are also the outcome of the conflict situation prevailing in the countries. Buchanan is of the view that

Autism and inclusive practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Autism and inclusive practice - Essay Example The observation is based on a nine years and four months old child whose code name in this case, for confidentiality reasons, is RA. Child RA suffers from autism and is eligible for a personal or one-on-one support service because he needs assistance with his learning needs. The observations aims at identifying and assessing the child’s behaviour when in a group setting. During the first day of the observation process, the class teacher instructs the pupils to bring out their numeracy writing books. However, RA picks up a pencil then flicks hit and consequently hitting another child. When the teacher calls RA, he replies, â€Å"what?† The reply is rude and as the assistant, I took the initiative to ask him to apologize but he does this without maintaining eye contact with the teacher. When told to apologize in an appropriate manner, he responds properly and says, â€Å"I am sorry miss.† After the apology, RA sits down and a fellow pupil volunteers to give him a numeracy book but he snatches it without eye contact. Upon pointing out the unruly behaviour, RA apologizes. After sitting for a while, RA gets up from his table and when asked what he wants, he says he would like to work in a group with other pupils. The class teacher grants his request by placing him in one of the groups and he promises to work hard while respecting the other members. He then seems contented with the group.

Economic Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Economic Development - Essay Example To what extend does the international environment positively or negatively magnify the situation? One remarkable indicator of inequality in North Africa is unemployment, which only enhances the tough condition of poverty, not to mention the inability of the government to supply the actual needs of its people. In this way, the government in North Africa needs to remarkably consider making some ways in order to make both ends meet for its people. Economically speaking, countries in North Africa struggle to at least feed a hungry stomach considering the inability of the government to provide sufficient water supply for farming, large quantity supply of fertilizer and substantial amount of investment for infrastructure to reduce transportation costs. The unemployed in North Africa contributed to a big discrepancy in the distribution of wealth. In this case, the industry could not sufficiently provide all the essential needs of the people. Although, there might be a good sign of improveme nt, the economy could not still sustain the balance flow of wealth because almost everybody seems to be wallowing in poverty. If there are many people having no jobs, poverty is remarkable because the wealth of the nation might just be limited at some certain level. On the other hand, the problem with food production due to global financial crisis substantially had made the situation even worse. In other words, among the most remarkable features of inequality especially in the case of North Africa, which consists of developing countries, are unemployment, lack of food production and even vulnerability to be at a disadvantage side as influenced by global economic trend. In other words, in North Africa, people’s source of income could be quite in a limit because there is less on agriculture but a bit higher on some industries. However, this source of income could still be unable to provide for many. The global financial crisis, for instance, brought food shortages in North Afri ca’s countries. In other words, agriculture can substantially help developing countries’ economy to survive. However, large private or government investment is necessary for agriculture, especially in sufficient water supply for farming. Furthermore, there is a need for coordination with international market for bringing in enough quantity supply of fertilizer, which is also necessary. Finally, investment by the government through infrastructure improvement is necessary to reduce transportation costs among farmers. In this way, farmers could save on costs associated with transportation and other relevant costs. In this case, there is a need for North Africa to keep in touch with the world especially in relevance to its financial condition. Global financial crisis is a significant component of international environment, but it is clear that it negatively affects the situation in North Africa especially at its poverty level and at the micro-level, its capacity for agricu lture. However, on the other hand, this marks a significant point in which North African governments should try to create ways and means in order to at least alleviate a substantially down situation for its economic and financial aspect in particular. The government, therefore, should ensure financial support from the international environment in order to at least reach a substantive ways in order to maximize its potential for food production. After all, agriculture could substantially boost a country’s economy especially of a developing one. It is at this point that the North African countries should seek support from the international environment, particularly investors which could not only promote high production output for agriculture but could also provide substantial employment. In other words, what

Psychology and Pure Entertainment Purposes Essay Example for Free

Psychology and Pure Entertainment Purposes Essay It is a known fact that there is a great diversity of entertainment options. There are many forms of entertainment targeted towards population for different purposes such as educational, informative, or pure entertainment purposes. To begin to talk we would say that as everything, entertainment may be looked whether as a positive or negative thing. Of course, opinions about this topic can be many, depending on the angle we might be looking at it. On the one hand, entertainment is seen as a good thing for society. Referring to television for example and taking the subject from an educational point of view, there are several channels which are mainly about nature and even can provide information about physical phenomena affecting our Earth, things which can be found interesting mostly for children. Nevertheless, television has become a bad influence in the opinion of many people, as there is a lot of perversion and violent things they would prefer not to see. On the other hand, we could take the psychological field. Referring to this topic, entertainment seems to be very positive and relaxing, for example watching television when we get home after a long period of working. It certainly can help to open up our minds and stay calm for a while. However, when it comes to adolescents this can become a bad habit and abusing of its benefits can keep them apart from their obligations and their study. To sum up, I would say that we all enjoy the occasional escape from reality; but more and more entertainment is shoving its way into our world. It’s everywhere we look, we are forced to deviate from the path it leads us down. Entertainment could be a good aspect in our society if we learn how to take control of its advantages and disadvantages.

Technology in the Mathematics Classroom Essay -- Math Mathematics Tech

Technology in the Mathematics Classroom In today’s society, technology is advancing at such a rate that on can hardly stay ahead. Technology surrounds every person in civilization. To not use the technology that is readily available would be absurd. The same idea applies to technology in the classroom. Calculators, in particular, are becoming more readily available in the classroom, but technology should not stop there. Many inspiring computers programs, such as Geometer’s Sketchpad, Math Success, Fathom, Maple, and Minitab greatly enhance the mathematical teaching and learning that can take place in a classroom. With these types of programs, teachers can cover required more in-depth, and addition material more closely related to the students’ lives. In agreement with Bert K. Waits of Ohio State University, I believe technology, specifically â€Å"calculators[,] in conjunction with mental, paper-and-pencil, and estimation skills when appropriate, comprise the tools to help students work through the computations and manipulations necessary for solving problems† (p. 8). Many people are skeptical about 2 using quality technology in the classroom because they believe it decreases the student’s ability to complete mathematics problems without the technology. In my opinion, in agreement with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, â€Å"technology is essential in teaching and learning mathematics† (p. 24). Even though many people are apprehensive about using technology in the classroom, I feel confident that students can and will use the provided technology wisely and greatly appreciate the ideas and concepts that can be discovered by using technol... ...lassroom, I want all of my students to have access to a handheld calculator and a computer with mathematical software. I plan to encourage my future students to embrace technology and all of its advances. 7 Works Cited â€Å"Handheld Graphing Technology at the Secondary Level: Research Findings and Implications for Classroom Practice† 25 August 2003. gsecondary2.html>. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. Reston: The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc., 2000. â€Å"Recommendations for Technology in Teacher Preparation† MAA. 24 August 2003. m>. Waits, Bert. â€Å"The Role of Calculators in Math Education.† 25 August 2003. .html>.

Brilliant Lies - In many ways, Susy is just like Gary. Do you agree? :: English Literature

Brilliant Lies - In many ways, Susy is just like Gary. Do you agree? In many ways, Susy is just like Gary. Do you agree? Susy Conner, and Gary Fitzgerald. Both are Brilliant liars - and seemingly total opposite gender counterparts of each other. To say however, that they are alike simply because they are liars is to place them into a frame that is far too restricting and incomplete. No, the similarities - and even differences - between Susy and Gary lie beneath the surface. It is in these more subtle ways that the two characters reveal themselves to be more alike than one would think. At the heart of Susy and Gary's personalities is that one trait that seems to set them apart from the rest of the characters of the play - ambition. Theirs is an intense, bordering on violent, ambition - a drive to succeed in life, to gain what they want - and neither have any scruples about running over everyone else to get what they want. They are not above lying to get their way, not above gaining trust and then throwing it away once they have what they want - this is shown in no clearer way than when Gary convinces Vince to support him, then throws him to the wolves at the end - "I lied. Don't get pious Vince. This place was ripe for a management buy out. These are hard times. We've got to become much more aggressive, and you know, and I know, and they know that you haven't got the guts to go in hard." This manipulation of others extends to include their extremely vengeful natures. Susy's vindictiveness in lying to Katy about Marion's sexuality (revenge for Katy telling the truth about her story - "As soon as I saw that dyke I knew you'd fall in love with her." - is mirrored by Gary's pleasure in crushing Vince after he reveals his true colours. They are cruel to an almost merciless extent - the vicious battle between the two is more than a fight in order to win the case - it is a fight for survival. Both Gary and Susy know that if they are not relentless in the pursuit for triumph, they will be crushed by the other - another characteristic that they share - the obsession for power. In a way, the struggle between these two characters is not for the compensation money - but for the sense of power that comes only from triumph. Another trait that they both share is a sense of stubborn self righteousness that somehow constantly places themselves in the role of

1994 Rwandan Genocide Essay

The 1994 Rwandan Genocide impacted on a lot of people in a lot of different ways. In this essay the causes I will be covering are ethnic tension as a result of Belgium Colonisation, Propaganda and hate rhetoric, the role of the international community, and political problems. The consequences I will be covering are causalities, the economic effects, remembrance and education, and population displacement. In this small country in Africa called Rwanda this terrible killing took place. The Rwandan Genocide began on April 6th 1994 when the president was assassinated, followed by the prime minster the next day. It lasted 100 days, â€Å"100 days of slaughter† ending on the 18th of July 1994. The genocide included many groups. The perpetrators were – Hutu civilians, Hutu army, Interhamwe-the youth of Hutu organised into an extremist militia, and radio RTLM-a radio station announcing to kill all Tutsis. Victims included – Tutsi, Hutu political moderates for example prime minster AgatheUwilingiyimana. Other groups include – RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front). President Juvenal Habyarimana who was in charge if the Hutu government, and the international community for example the UN (United Nations) Peacekeepers. During these 100 days of slaughter hundreds of thousands of Tutsi we killed. Women and girls we raped, and many tortured by having their breast chopped off and sharp objects inserted into their vaginas. Many people tried to hind in schools and churches but were found and executed. I have just written about the context and the course of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. I am now going to write the causes of this horrific event starting with ethnic tension as a result of Belgium Colonisation. Ethnic tension as a result of Belgium Colonisation is arguably the biggest cause in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. It is a political and social cause that happened over a long period of time. Starting in 1860 and coming right down to 1926. In 1860 the first Tutsi king was appointed. In 1884 German explorer Carl Peters enters the Rwandan kingdom and obtains treaty rights. In 1885 Germany declares a protectorate over present-day Rwanda. In 1890 Rwanda accepts German colonial rule with resistance. A German territorial administrator is not appointed until 1907. In 1916 WW1 Belgium Allied Forces capture German East Africa. In 1924 Great Britten assumes control over Tanzania, while Belgium is granted trusteeship over Rwanda and Burundi. Belgium Colonisation begins. In 1926 Rwandans were given an identity card showing if a person was Hutu, Tutsi or Twa. Prior to colonisation people could ‘jump’ races e. g. Hutu’s could become Tutsi’s. Callipers were the tools of colonisation. The size of the cranium and nose and the colour of the eyes were the factors that determined whether a person was a Hutu, Tutsi or Twa. The result of the unfair system was – Tutsi could have government positions, be landlords, be supervisors of Hutu, collect taxes, get an education (only Tutsi could go to school after the colonisation), be an administrator for the justice system. Hutu were denied higher education, land ownership and positions in government. The identity cards that everyone was given were very clear they had what ethnic group they were from, their place of birth, their date of birth, their profession, their place of residence, the name of their spouse, their C. I number, and their signature. A quote form chief prosecutor of the international Rwandan court sums up this cause well â€Å"European colonial history was a major contributor to what eventually became the genocide in Rwanda†. The second cause I am going to discuss is Propaganda and hate rhetoric. This is a social Cause; it is short term because it happened quite fast after the death of the president and prime minster. Kangura Newspaper was a newspaper about how discussing the Tutsis were, this was launched by first lady AgatheHabyarimana in 1990. Kangura means wake them up in English. In the newspaper they had racist comments such as â€Å"They look like animals, actually they are animals†, â€Å"If you allow snakes to live amongst you, you will be exterminated†, â€Å"They look hideous with their bushy hair and beards that are full of fleas†. RTLM (Radio Television des Milles Collines) or commonly known as â€Å"Hate Radio†, used good rock music to get people to listen to it then they used in to convey hateful messages such as â€Å"cut down the tall trees† this meant for all Hutu extremists to wipe out the Tutsis. RTLM often referred to Tutsi as cockroaches. In 1990 Kangura newspaper published the 10 commandments for the Hutus they were an extended version of 1, Every Hutu must know that the Tutsi woman is working for the Tutsi ethnic cause Hutu is a traitor who a) Acquires a Tutsi wife, b)Acquires a Tutsi concubine, c) Acquires a Tutsi sectary or protegee. 2, Every Hutu must know that our Hutu daughters are more worthy and more conscientious as a woman, as wives and as mothers. 3, Hutu women, be vigilant and make sure that your husbands, brothers and sons see reason. , All Hutus must know that all Tutsis are dishonest in business. We have learned this from experience from experience. Hutu is a traitor who a) forms a business alliance with a Tutsi, b) invests in own funds/public funds in a Tutsi enterprise, c) Borrows money from/loans money to a Tutsi, d) Grants favours to Tutsis. 5, Strategic positions such as politics, administration, economics the military and security must be restricted to Hutu. 6, A Hutu majority must prevail throughout the education system. 7. The Rwandan Army must be exclusively Hutu. No Solider may marry Tutsi women. 8, Hutu must stop taking pity on the Tutsi. 9, Hutu wherever they are must stand united, in solidarity, and concerned with the fate of their Hutu brothers. Hutu must constantly counter Tutsi propaganda. Hutu must stand firm and vigilant against their common enemy. The Tutsi. 10, The social Revolution of 1959, the Referendum of 1961 and the Hutu Ideology must be taught to Hutu of every age. Hutu must spread the word. Any Hutu who persecutes his brother Hutu for spreading the word and teaching this ideology is a traitor. A quote from Leon Mugesera sums up this cause â€Å"The fatal mistake we made in 1959 was to let them escape †¦ they are foreigners from Ethiopia so we will send them by the shortest route throwing them into the Nagbarongo river. We must act. Wipe them all out†. The third cause I am going to discuss is the role of the international community; it is a political cause that is a short term because it became an issue soon after the colonisation. During this cause the world just stood by and watched. Following WW11 and the Holocaust, The United Nations adopted a resolution on December 9, 1948, which stated â€Å"genocide, whether committed in time of peace or time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish†. There were two opportunities to intervene that were missed. In October 1993 The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda began with the deployment of 21 troops under the command of Brigadier – General Romeo Allaire of Canada. Additional troops continued o arrive until February 1994, when the mission was fully staffed with 25,000 personnel. Many soldiers arrived without weapons, food or water; vehicles and radios were sent out second hand from other missions and rarely in working condition. On 11th January 1994 Officers were stockpiling weapons and training civilian militias; the level of preparedness would enable the murder of 1000 Tutsis every 20 minutes. This saying will finish off this cause nicely, â€Å"clearly, the massacres in Rwanda constituted genocide, so why didn’t the world steep into stop it? In my fourth and final cause I’m going to discuss political problems (the role of the Hutu extremists in the Habyarimana government and the catalyst). This is a political cause which was short term. President Juvenal Habyarimana came to power through a military coup in 1973. He promised national unity. By 1994 many Rwandans were calling for democratic government. In January 1994 in spite of increased state oppression and the French-supported up-build of armed forces, 50,000 Rwandans marched in a pro-democracy demonstration in Kigali. The build-up to the Hutu’s wanting power is over quite a short period of time†¦ only 3 years! In October 1990 civil war started when the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a militia of Rwandan Tutsi excels and Hutu dissidents based in Uganda, invaded Rwanda. Thousands of Tutsis were arrested. In 1991 RPF military victories pressured President Habyarimana into drafting a new multi-party constitution. In 1992 UN led peace talks led between the RPF, The Rwanda government and 12 opposition parties to try and achieve a power-sharing agreement. In August 1993 Arusha Peace Accords were signed to neutral Tanzania. Hutu Power’ started broadcasting Tutsi hate messages in the media. In 1993 A Hutu Power Party no participating in the government established Radio/TV Libre de Millie Collines (RTLM) to get round the Arusha agreements explicit prohibition on government sponsored hate speech. I has been believed that the ‘final nail in coffin’ was the assignation of P resi dent Habyarimana. At 8. 30p. m on April 6, 1994, President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda was returning from a summit in Tanzania where, under international pressure, he was negotiating with the opposition to reach a settlement. A surface-to-air missile shot the plane out of the sky. All on board were killed. I have just written about the causes of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, I am now going to write about the consequences of the ‘100 days of slaughter’. Starting with causalities. The 1994 Rwandan Genocide left behind some major consequences but beyond all others the biggest is the casualties. This is a political, social and ideological cause and is most defiantly immediate timing because it happened during genocide obviously; so many people were left both physically and mentally scared. Over the course of 100 days from April 6 – July 16 1994 it is estimated 800,000 – 1 million Tutsi and some moderate Hutu were slaughtered. The UN estimated 800,000 but the Rwandan government has estimated 1,071,000. It’s very difficult to get exact numbers because these numbers do not include people who were thrown into river/lakes and those who were burnt. Mass graves held up to 50,000 making it even harder to count exact numbers. If the numbers of Tutsis living in Rwanda before and after the genocide are correct then 77% of the Tutsi population was wiped out. 8,640 per day; 360 per hour, 6 per minute. If this is correct this is the equation 6 people x 60 minutes x 24 hours x 100 days = 864,000 people! There is between 300,000 to 400,000 survivors. Almost 50,000 women were left without husbands. Almost 100,000 of the survivors were aged between 14 and 21. 75,000 of the survivors were orphaned. A 1999 study showed 80% of women surveyed showed signs of trauma. Many face health problems such as HIV/AIDS as a direct act of violence during the genocide. Some of the survivors are still threatened with violence, attacked or killed by former perpetrators. Almost all women and girls that survived were raped, many also tortured and mutilated by having their breasts cut off and sharp objects being inserted into their vaginas. Numbers of women and girls raped are somewhere between 250,000 and 500,000 exact numbers are not known. Children of rape during the genocide numbers are 2,000 to 5,000 children. Most children show trauma and signs of neglect. More than 67% of women raped were infected with HIV/AIDS. Men with HIV/AIDS used it as a weapon to leave their mark on Tutsi women and their families. To sum up the consequence what the presiding judge said after the verdict â€Å"From time immemorial, rape has been regarded as spoils of war. Now it will be considered a war crime. We want to send out a strong message that rape is no longer a trophy of war†. In the second consequence, I am going to discuss the economic effects. This is an economic consequence and it is immediate because the things that happened during left people with big struggles. The Rwandan government has struggled to rebuild the economy. In the year of the genocide, growth slumped by 50% and inflation reached 64%. Almost two thirds of the 8. million population live below the poverty line. Coffee is Rwandans major export. Rwanda exported 14,000 tonnes in 1986. The positives of the economic problems were the exiled business leaders returning home, since the genocide in 1994 business leaders have been returning home from Burundi, Congo, Uganda and Tanzania. Desire Kamanzi’s father sold his three houses in Burundi to return to Rwanda. This was no unusual. To sum up this consequence a quote from Leon Haguma, acting director of coffee marketing â€Å"All was abandoned, they were dead or had fled the country, there was nobody to work the plantations†. In the third consequence, I am going to discuss remembrance and education. This is a social consequence because most of Rwanda have contributed in some way. It is a long term consequence because it still goes on today and the world can’t see it stopping anytime soon. The focus of remembrance is to teach the history of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and emphasise moral values. There are many memorial sites in Rwanda, which pays tribute to the hundreds of thousands killed. Marimba Technical School, where many victims were killed and still remain as a museum. Other ways of remembrance is art and photos taken in tribute such as people standing in a line with other people laying in front making human words saying END GENOCIDE NOW! There is also a national day of reflection in Rwanda on April 7th. To sum up this consequence a quote from Kofi Annan general of the UN in 1994, â€Å"If the pictures of tens of thousands of human bodies being gnawed on by dogs do not wake us out of our apathy, I do not know what will†. The fourth and final consequence I am going to write about population displacement. This is a political and social consequence because the government feel through and society took over. This is a short term consequence because lots of people started to come back into Rwanda once the genocide was over. The 1994 Rwandan Genocide resulted in massive exodus of refugees to bordering countries. Another one million people remained internally displaced in Rwanda itself. Millions of Hutu and displaced Tutsi had crowded refugee camps beyond the Rwandan boarders. International relief efforts were mobilised to care for refugees, but available supplies were inadequate and outbreaks of disease were widespread. More than 20,000 refugees died in cholera epidemic. During the genocide Tutsi and Hutu moderates fled. From April 1994 Tutsi and Hutu moderate refugees poured out of Rwanda and into neighbouring countries. After the genocide Tutsi refugees returned. In July 1994 when the seize fire was called Tutsis began to return to Rwanda, including refugees who had fled in the 1960’s. Hutu perpetrators fled the country. Genocide only ended when the RPF eventually defeated the Rwandan government’s armies and took control of the country. Retaliatory violence by Tutsis caused thousands of lives. By mid July, and estimated 2 million Hutu perpetrators and bystanders had fled. 850,000 refugees entered the area in just 4 days. During the influx, 15,000 refugees an hour crossed the Rwanda-Zaire boarder. The camps became like countries in exile for the Hutu extremists who used members of the Hutu army to maintain control of the refugee camps. Between July and November 1996 the refugee camps were shut down. One million exiles returned to Rwanda including tens of thousands of perpetrators who had been living side by side with Tutsi in the refugee camps. In November 1996 more than 600,000 Hutu refugees returned to Rwanda from Zaire. In December 500,000 returned from Tanzania. In summery†¦ Ironically, both Hutu perpetrators and Tutsi and Hutu moderate victims ended up in the same camps. In conclusion the causes I have just written about were the ethnic tension as a result of Belgium Colonisation, Propaganda and hate rhetoric, the role of the international community, political problems. The consequences I have just written about were the casualties, the economic effects, remembrance and education, and population displacement. All of these were major events that happened before, during and after the 1994 Rwanda Genocide there were also a number of other causes and consequences, causes are economic problems, and independence problems. The consequences were political effects, apologies from the international community, and justice, responsibility & reconciliation. A quote to sum up the 1994 Rwandan Genocide is, â€Å"The Rwandan Genocide is perhaps the most horrible and systematic human massacre we have had to witness since the extermination of the Jews by the Nazis†.

H Entering Australia

Executive Summary Table of Contents Introduction – Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) was first established in 1947 and have since expanded internationally and currently operate in 34 countries (H&M, 2009). As H&M continues to expand every year, the following report has chosen Australia as the new market, where analysis has been conducted to provide H&M with recommendations of which market entry method they should adopt and the threats and issues they must overcome to be able to succeed. 1. 0 – Country Analysis – Australia For the purpose of this report H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) has chosen Australia as the foreign country in which they wish to enter and introduce their products. Australia is the largest island, however, is also the smallest continent in the world which is situated below South East Asia (Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 2009). Being the sixth largest nation on earth it also consists of six states and two territories with the lowest population density per square metre (REFERENCE). As it is practically impossible for H&M to enter the whole Australian market simultaneously, H&M has, therefore, chosen Melbourne as the first Australian state they wish to enter. There are many reasons for choosing Australia and Melbourne in particular including: †¢Melbourne is the second largest capital city in Australia with a population of 3,634,200 (REFERENCE). †¢Melbourne is renowned as the fashion capital of Australia, where the Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (MSFW) is one of the largest and most popular consumer fashion events in Australia (City of Melbourne, 2009). This may then make it easier for H&M to launch their products and also obtain brand awareness, as Melbournians are relatively ‘fashion conscious’. †¢New business opportunity, since 2006 there has been a 15% growth in the segment where young female consumers are demanding for low priced yet high quality and fashionable apparel (Euromonitor, 2009). †¢Australia has a similar country profile as previous countries H&M has successfully entered and launched its product. Hence, H&M appears to have prior knowledge and experience in expanding internationally into a Western country. 1. 0Product Analysis – Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) was founded by Erling Persson in Vasteras, Sweden, in 1947. It was initially known as Hennes, which is the Swedish word for â€Å"hers†, as the company only sold women clothing. Persson purchased Mauritz Widforss a small sporting apparel company and since then formed Hennes and Mauritz (REFERENCE). The company now operates in 34 countries including Germany, France, Hong Kong, USA and the UK. H&M continues to expand internationally where they expanded into the Japanese market in 2008 and will further expand into Russia and Lebanon by the end of 2009 and Israel and South Korea in 2010 (H&M, 2009). The core concept of H&M is to provide fashionable products at the lowest price possible, to compete with expensive department stores. H&M has 6 main product lines which include: †¢Women – diverse range of apparel spanning from basic sportswear to corporate and party garments. †¢Men – includes tailored garments such as jackets to fashionable apparel that reflect the latest trends. †¢Children – is divided into three categories – babies, children and H&M Young which is aimed at children up to the age of 14. Divided – targeted at teenagers and young adult, which offers fashion with a young look with creative designs that reflect those of the latest trends. †¢&denim Jeans – provides both traditional five-pocket jeans to the trendiest cuts. †¢Accessories – H&M also produces its own footwear, handbags, jewellery and even cosmetics. It should also be noted that H&M does not own manufacture any products, instead they re ly on over 700 independent suppliers primarily in Asia and Europe which enables them to select the best supplier (H&M, 2008). 3. 0 – Market Segments With the diverse range of product lines, it appears that H&M has the ability to target different market segments simultaneously, this is reasonably difficult to achieve. Therefore, for the purpose of this report, two specific market segments have been selected and profiled to provide an overview of which segments H&M should specially target when launching in Melbourne. 3. 1 – Profile One – Women's outwear segment The foremost market segment that H should target would be the women's outerwear segment which includes all garments from tops to blouses to jackets (REFERENCE). Main reason being, this market segment is reasonably profitable with a Retail Value of over $3000 million (Refer to figure XX), where women have traditionally been the dominate consumer in the clothing and footwear industry (REFERENCE). However, there appears to be a new social trend where men are becoming more fashion-minded and are also looking for cheaper options (REFERENCE). In recent times, there has been a change in preference for young women, where they do not only demand for high quality yet fashionable products, it must also be low priced (REFERENCE). H&M should then be able to target this segment, as the company's core concept coincides with this new trend. Where H's women's clothing are designed for women of all ages who are fashion minded, where its product line includes â€Å"everything from modern basics to tailored classics, sportswear, maternity clothes and cutting-edge fashion. † (H, 2008, pg. 17). However, for the purpose of this report and to make it easier to target, the primary segment will be young women aged 18 to 24, while the secondary segment will be women aged 25 to 40. . 2 – Profile Two – Childrenswear The second market that H should consider targeting once the women’s outerwear market has been successfully targeted would be Childrenswear in Australia, as figure XX illustrates the steady increase in the market share of childrenswear in Australia (REFERENCE). There are many reasons to the growth of the childrenwears market share; this may be because Australians are choosing to have few er children (REFERENCE). In addition, household isposable incomes have increased providing, the key buyer generally mothers, will be more willing to purchase good quality childrenwears at a low price. Therefore, H intensive range of children clothing which caters from infants to children aged up to 14, should be able to target the childrenwears market in Australia. Where the concepts for the children’s clothing are made to be fashionable, practical and hard-wearing (H, 2009). 4. 0 – Culture – Home Country, Foreign Country and Company Culture Each and every country, city and company will have its own distinct culture. There are many definitions of culture where Fletcher and Brown, 2009 has defined culture as â€Å"†¦prescriptive of behaviour that are acceptable to people in a specific community†¦learned†¦people are born into a culture†¦dynamic because†¦our behaviour influences the culture and culture is subjective† (Fletcher and Brown, 2009, pg. 76). It is crucial for H to have understandings of the culture of the home country, foreign country and also the company’s culture. Main reason being, cultural differences play an important role in launching and establishing H as competent competitor in the Australian market. . 1 – Swedish Culture The Swedish culture is typically perceived as egalitarian, simple and open to international influences (REFERENCE). This may be caused due to the predominance of the Social Democratic Party where it promotes the culture of equality, pluralism and individual freedom (REFERENCE). As the Swedish culture is relatively sim ilar to the Scandinavian, it can be assumed as a low context cultural country in contrast to Australia. Low context culture can be classified as â€Å"†¦ messages are mostly explicit and the words covey most of the meaning in the communication†¦ (Fletcher and Brown, 2009, pg. 88). Meaning in Sweden people mainly communicates through words and do not place emphasis on non-verbal cues. Therefore, this culture may affect business negotiations between Sweden and Australians, due to the differences in cultural context, where Australians rely more on body language and facial expressions (REFERENCE). In regards to the fashion culture, Sweden is greatly influenced by European fashion, where there is a strong ‘dressed up’ working man’s culture (REFERENCE). 4. 2 – Australian Culture It is relatively difficult to identify and analyse Australian culture, in comparisons to other countries, as Australia is newly formed country and is a predominantly multicultural society where it consists of different races and ethnic groups (Live in Victoria, 2009). However, there are gradual changes to social trends which may become part of the Australian culture (REFERENCE). Similar to Sweden, Australia also has a low cultural context, yet in contrast, Australians appear to place more emphasis on non-verbal cues. Relating this to the Australian clothing culture, Australians generally dress in business attire during business hours. Though outside of working hours, Australians tend to choose clothing that is comfortable such as track suit pants and a loose fitted t-shirt, in comparison to a pair of jeans and jacket (Department of Immigration and Citizenship). This is an important factor; H must take into consideration, as this will directly affect the products and marketing strategies used to target the market segments. For instance, as Australia appears to have a ‘laidback’ culture, it would probably suit the market more if H was able to launch products that suited the Australian culture and preferences. . 3 – H Culture Company culture can be defined as â€Å"a system of values and beliefs shared by people in an organisation – the company’s collective identity and meaning† (Fletcher and Brown, 2009, pg. 334). As stated on the official H website, the company believes its employees, teamwork, working at a face past and constantly improving (H, 2009). This suggests that H a ppears to have a relatively open, carefree and energetic company culture, where it strongly promotes open communication between managers and their employees (H, 2009). In addition, H is a firm believer of non-discrimination where all qualified applicants are given equal opportunities regardless of any characteristics including, race, religion, sexual orientation, sex, age marital status or disability. The company culture of H should not cause any implications when entering the Australian market. However, it may cause implications when international marketing strategies does not coincide with the company’s culture, as strategies are designed to accommodate the company’s culture and not vice versa (REFERENCE). 5. – Economic Factor The Australian economy has recently experienced a market downturn where economic factors such as consumer confidence and disposable income will have a direct and indirect impact on the market entry and success of H in the Australian market. ?Gross Domestic Production (GDP) The GDP for Australia has been relatively flat in 2009, where there is no significant growth, however, there is an anticipated growt h of 0. 5% in 2010 and with the recession ceasing there should be gradual growth of 3. 25% in 2011 (ANZ, 2009). ?Interest Rates In recent times, the interest rate has continued to drop, where in 2009, the nominal interest rate had dropped by 3% (Refer to Figure 2. 0 in Appendix). As interest rates are low Australians are discouraged from depositing money in the banks as it does not generate interest. ?Household Income From figure XX and XX the equivalised disposable household income for Australians appears to have gradually increased. For instance in 1995-96 there were 11% of total income categorised as being low income, however, in 2007-08, this had decreased to 10. 1%. While there has been a significant increase of high income earners, from 37. % in 1994-95 and 40. 5% in 2007-08 (ABS, 2009). Overall, the Australian economy appears to be reasonably attractive as both GDP and equivalent disposable household income have increased, which suggests that consumers have more money and are more likely to spend and purchase consumer goods which include clothing and footwear. Therefore, H should take advantage of this consumer confidence and enter the Australian market rapidly as consumer currently have the ability to purchase more consumer goods that are not considered to be a necessity. 6. 0 – Competitors Analysis Even though the clothing and footwear industry in Australia is viewed to be an attractive market to enter, there does appear to have intense competition (REFERENCE – competitive). Referring to figure XX, there is no dominant market leader in the Australian market; however, there are a number of brands who have gained substantial brand share, such as Just Jeans (1. 9%) and Jays Jays (2%) respectively (REFERENCE). All brands operating in the clothing and footwear industry could be considered as H competitor, however, Just Jeans and Jay Jays are the two most similar brands compared to H. Where they have also identified the demand for fashionable yet low priced products, therefore, all three companies have similar product offerings and also customer profiles. Hence, to successfully enter and establish H in the Australian market, it would be essential to have sound knowledge of competitors and develop core competencies such as designs that are exclusion and is able to differentiate H from other similar brands (REFERENCE). 7. 0 – Social Trends – Sizes Overall, both Australian men and women’s body weight has gradually increased in recent times. However, as the primary segment for H are young women aged between 18 to 24, only the body weight of women will be discussed. From previous surveys conducted there appears to be a steady increase of the average weight of women from 62. 6kg in 1989-90 to 67. 7kg in 2004-05 (ABS, 2009). From figure XX there also appears to be considerable increase in the Body Mass Index (BMI), where there are less women classified as being normal weight, while there are more women who are overweight and obese. As a result of this increase in body weight, the dress size as also increased from size 12 to size 14. Hence, to accommodate to this increase in weight, most clothing brands have now introduced larger sizes for instance, Portmans now has size 16 as part of their standard dress size (REFERENCE). Therefore, to ensure that H is able to compete with other competitors it would be essential for them to manufacture products that are the suitable size for Australian women. 8. 0 – Conclusion In conclusion, this report has thoroughly analysed a variety of factors to identify the attributes and threats of the Australian market in relation to the launch of H. Taken as a whole Australia appears to be an attractive market which consists of a stable economy and high consumer confidence. Where H is able to use these attributes to help them better penetrate and expand in the Australian market. In contrast, many threats were also identified including cultural differences, changes in social trends and also intense competition. It is absolutely essential for H to gain thorough understanding of the threats and furthermore the business and social environment of the Australian market. Main reason being, H will then be able to develop specific marketing strategies to address and overcome these issues to successfully enter and become a market leader of the women’s outerwear segment in the Australian clothing and footwear industry. 9. 0 – Recommendations. From previous analysis Australia and the city of Melbourne in particular appears to be a possible market for H to enter and expand into. Therefore, the following recommendations are written in correspondent to the threats and issues identified in the conclusion and throughout the report. †¢Market Entry Option – Direct Exporting It is suggested that H adopts a direct exporting method to enter the Australian market. Direct exporting can be identified as â€Å"†¦ the firm itself contacts the buyers overseas and either sells direct to the end-user† (Fletcher and Brown, 2009, pg. 290). Mainly because this is the market entry option H are experienced in using and is also one of the most commonly used method. As it is relatively simple to operate and provides the company with more control over the operation of the business. †¢Adapting to Australian fashion culture – Style and Size For H to succeed and be able to obtain market share, the company must adapt to the Australian fashion culture and the physical body size of Australians. Therefore, H is recommended to use product development strategies where they manufactured products that suit the Australian market. †¢Suitable store location – Chadstone Shopping Centre Finding a suitable store location also plays an important role to the launch of H in Melbourne. Therefore, Chadstone Shopping Centre is suggested as a suitable store location for the first H store to be established. Main reason being, the shopping centre is well-known and has a solid customer base, which makes obtaining brand awareness easier.

Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House Essay

The role, treatment, disadvantages, and sacrifices of women in their societies are vital themes in both Federico L’Orca’s The House Of Bernarda Alba and Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. In Federico L’Orca’s The House Of Bernarda Alba, to start with, all characters that appear on stage are females, and men are merely talked about. In Ibsen’s A Doll’s House the protagonist is Nora, a woman who gets treated by her husband as though she were a little girl. At the time when Federico L’Orca and Henrik Ibsen wrote their plays, it was normal for women to get treated as anything but equal to men. Women were expected by men and by their society to do nothing more than stay at home, cook for their family, get children, and then take care of their children as well. Although Ibsen and L’Orca wrote these plays several decades apart, since Ibsen wrote his play at the turn of the century in Norway and L’Orca wrote his in 1930’s Spain, the expectations of women were pretty much the same. It was not normal for women to receive an education, let alone a good one, and women were not allowed to vote. In A Doll’s House there are three female characters: Nora, Mrs. Linde, and the maid working for Nora. All of these women have to sacrifice something and have disadvantages, simply because they are women. Every character in The House Of Bernarda Alba has to suffer because they are women. Spanish tradition in the 1930’s forces them all to isolate themselves from the outer world for eight years of their lives. In The House Of Bernarda Alba, Bernarda Alba and all of her daughters have to mourn the death of their father. This is Spanish tradition, and so they all have to live in their house for eight years, completely isolated from the rest of society. They may only wear black, even in the scorching heat of southern Spain. This already shows how harshly women were treated. Bernarda Alba and her daughters are forced to isolate themselves from the outside world completely, whether they want to or not, because of tradition. The eight women are forced to give up eight years of their lives in which they may do nothing but mourn. Also, the fact that a woman has to kill her own child when she gets pregnant, and is then hunted down by the whole town and killed herself, shows how women were viewed and treated. Also, a woman could often not decide who she wanted to marry, and when a women got married it was often just nothing more than a business deal, and the feelings of the woman were completely ignored.

Legalizing Marijuana in Arizona Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Legalizing Marijuana in Arizona - Essay Example â€Å"The Arizona department of health was then tasked with the regulation of sales and the use of marijuana solely for medicinal purposes†. In this quote, Donovan uses alliteration as is shown by the repetition of consonants sounds to bring about flow in the sentence. After the Proposition 203 had been approved, specific rules were put in place explaining who was allowed to grow, distribute, and or to use marijuana for the said medicinal purposes. It is vital to note that marijuana cannot be used for every medical condition. The discussion only gets as interesting as it is controversial. Thus, when Scott Cecil, a board member of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, faced felony charges of possessing marijuana for his own personal use, he began to think that the war on drugs was targeting the wrong crowd. According to him, â€Å"the incident made me realize that every year; hundreds of thousands of people were arrested in connection to marijuana as well as other drugs. It is wr ong as these people had not committed any violent crimes nor were they selling drugs.† In his defense, they were just using the drugs for their recreational purposes. Mr. Scott’s sentiments are echoed by Mr. Dennis Bolkhe, the treasurer for Safer Arizona, who argues that Arizona would be a safe place when marijuana is legalized. Mr. Scott says that â€Å"the arresting of marijuana sellers, users, or distributors is completely outrageous and hence people should not be jailed for such†.