Impacts of Culture on Formulation of International Marketing Strategies

Forestry essays

Clearcutting/Forestry essays Clearcutting is a harvesting method that removes the entire timber stand in an area. This removes all the trees (or all merchantable trees) on the site. Clearcutting is a recognized and commonly practiced method of harvesting and regenerating many valuable southern forest species. Clearcutting has come under close scrutiny by policymakers and the public because of perceptions that clearcutting unacceptably damages the environment. Unfortunately, the term "clearcutting" is used in two different ways, which complicates understanding and resolution of associated issues. The term is used by the general public to describe deliberate forest exploitation. Clearcutting considers only short-term economic gain not the long-term health of the forest or local community. While professional foresters use the term in the context of prudent forest management, one of several methods prescribed to regenerate a mature forest. Clearcutting considers only short-term economic gain not the long-term health of the forest because it has resulted in the loss of employment and the loss of dignified, meaningful work. Clearcutting ensures cheap resources now, but what about the future. This exposes the soil to erosion, water storage capacity is lost, and valuable habitat for wildlife is destroyed, streams or rivers are loaded with sediment, killing fish populations. The disadvantage to professionally-applied clearcutting include: Forest stands are sometimes visually disturbing following clearcut harvesting, but the affect is temporary as regeneration of a new stand soon follows. Depending upon location, visual disturbance can be mitigated by maintaining buffer zones along roads and trails and designing the size and shape of clearcuts and their boundaries to blend with and fit the natural topography of the landscape. Clearcutting can result in the temporary loss of habitat for some wildlife species that have smal l home ranges or that require residual tree...

IKEA - Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

IKEA - - Essay Example s its distinctive Swedish identity in that all stores are painted in the Swedish national colors of yellow and blue, with small food stores inside where Swedish food can be purchased. Supervised play areas and baby care rooms make it an attractive store for families to visit. IKEA has an economic impact on the economy of every host country in which it opens its stores, because it provides a large number of jobs. It also operates in a socially responsible manner. Its policy towards its suppliers and its focus on the development of low cost products through excellent integration of its design, supplier network, production and customer service has contributed to its economic success, making Kamprad the richest man in the world. IKEA came into being in 1943, when its founder Ingvar Kamprad was 17 years old and received a gift from his father for performing well in his studies. The young Kamprad used this gift to found a business and named it IKEA using his initials, Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd – the names of the farm and the village where he grew up (Solomon, 1991). The business started off by selling matches, because Ingvar discovered that he could buy matches in bulk from Stockholm and sell them individually at a low price to customers while still making a profit. He also sold a variety of miscellaneous items such as pens, watches, jewellery and other products which he was able to procure and sell at a reduced price. He made these sales initially to neighbors by moving around on his bicycle. Later, he advertised in local papers and brought his products to the attention of his customers through a mail order catalog. For distribution of his products throughout the country, he used the county milk van to d eliver the products to the nearby train station.(www.ikea.com). Kamprad introduced furniture into his line of products in 1947. The furniture was manufactured by local manufacturers, using the wood growing close to Kamprad’s home, and the product sold well. Since he

Business Intelligence Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Intelligence - Research Paper Example mpares and contrasts IBM and Tableau business intelligence software while evaluating how large companies handle BI implementation; the role of BI in competitive advantage and organizational strategy; organizational management of change during new information system implementation; and a summary of a case study of a company that implemented BI Solution. Large enterprises using Cognos gain from using elements such as reports, analysis, scorecards, and dashboards for monitoring the performance of their businesses, analyzing trends, and measuring results. This way, businesses have the capability and information needed to make better decisions and approach their services with a service-oriented architecture that has both ease of management and deployment. Other benefits of Cognos business intelligence are mobile BI, collaborative BI, and real time monitoring. In terms of trend analysis and results measurement using Cognos BI, large businesses benefit from the software’s capability to be used with relational and multidimensional data sources from different vendors. For instance, Cognos BI products can integrate with NCR Teradata, Oracle, Microsoft, and SAP, to present web-based service oriented architecture (SOA). Though IBM Cognos is designed for large companies, Cognos Express is meant for mid-sized companies to allow companies to take advantage of features such as budgeting, forecasting, and planning functions. Furthermore, Cognos 10, integrates with Lotus Connect and SPSS predictive analysis, and mobile capability that allows users to access to full version of Cognos from their smartphones and tablets (Lodestar, 2013). However, IBM Cognos is known for very slow performance in preparing active reports with large datasets and one is required to only use small data sets, and apply query filters to return only the values of interest. Secondly, Cognos BI does not drill through functionality when applied in active reports viewed off line. Thirdly, active reports do not

Financial management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financial management - Essay Example Shareholders are interested to know if the risk they took in investing in the company provided returns that increase the wealth not only of the company but also of the shareholders as well. II. Critical evaluation of corporate governance of a selected company   The company that is the subject for evaluation of governance in this paper is Leeds PLC. Leeds PLC is the Group has been mainly engaged in textile processing, specialising in fabric printing and yarn dyeing, and by 1996 had manufacturing operations in UK, Holland and Italy. Leeds Group’s trading operations are conducted by Hemmers-Itex Textil Import Export GmbH. Hemmers is based in Nordhorn, Germany and has a Chinese subsidiary based in Shanghai. Together these companies employ some 120 people and achieved fabric sales of 13.1 million linear metres in the year ended 30 September 2009 (Leeds Group 2012). Inferring from the annual report of Leeds PLC, it can be said that the company is conservative in applying its cost. Conservative in applying cost meant providing generous allowance for expense to have a more accurate and realistic cost of the company. In fact, Leeds PLC may be one of few companies who are â€Å"honest enough† to reflect a s of ?454,000 in the fiscal year 2012 (Leeds Group PLC 2012) that would be seen by its shareholders. It is tough for the company to reflect a loss on annual report because it may not sit well with the shareholders who might withdraw their investments in the company and leave the company broke affecting not only its liquidity but also its financial position. The company recognized its loans and receivables at its fair value and subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest rate less provision for impairment (19). Impairment is the difficulty of the part of counter party or default or significant delay in payment. This is significant to mention because Leeds PLC recognize the risk associated in loans and receivables with the provision of impairment which a typical company may not recognize because this could mean an expense that will deduct income. It also reflect as current liabilities cash and cash equivalents that have maturities of three months or less which a less prudent company may hesitate to reflect it in their current liabilities because it will adversely affect their profitability ratio. The company can also be construed as prudent and perhaps more ethical in its expenditure because it made no contributions to political parties but rather donated to UK charities amounting to ?250,000. It also tests its goodwill whether it has suffered any impairment which is a good business practice because it helps the company to remain a going concern in the future. III. Theory   Corporate governance is the business practice of organizations being more mindful to their responsibilities to future generations as well as stakeholders, government and the general public. Until recently, there is a growing trend that or ganizations success’ are not only measured in financial terms but also in the socially responsible practice of f corporate governance because such practice has also economic value (Kemp 2011). Such ethical corporate governance are also to be incorporated in Company Social Responsibility (CSR) which Moir defined as the ‘‘enlightened self-interest or a moral approach linked to social expectations’’ (2001: 17). IV. Relation between performance and corporate governa

Appraisal Theory The Effects On Skin Psychology Essay

Appraisal Theory The Effects On Skin Psychology Essay This report aims to replicate a classic finding in biopsychology research which proposed, that increases in task difficulty lead to increases in arousal. As well as to present any individual differences that angle off from this, that possibly could be accounted by the appraisal theory. One hundred and two individuals took part in a task called Speedy Pizzas where they had to deliver successfully a vast quantity of pizzas as the level of difficulty increased. The individuals were represented with a total of 5 levels of difficulty, beginning from level 1 (10 pizzas per minute) to level 5 (50 pizzas per minute). This experiment used a repeated measures design where each individual participated at both levels of task difficulty. The outcome showed that there was a significant increase in GSR as task engagement got more challenging. Although, that the overall GSR test showed increase, individual differences might suggest otherwise. Introduction To begin with, this paper will first examine some relevant background on the former literature on a classic biopsychology discoveries based on task performance and its association with increase in skin conductance in an attempt to replicate its findings. Afterwards, it will address some individual variations that might have a crucial role in that correlation. A number of researchers over the years have shown that task attainment of individuals is closely knit together with increase in skin conductance. For instance, Kahneman, Trusky et al. (1969 cited in Pecchinenda and Smith 1996) experiment, showed the relationship between skin resistance levels and mental arithmetic task at three layers of difficulty and encountered that skin resistance decreased as difficulty of each level increased. Nonetheless, this connection between them is often distinct, there are cases that the individuals disengage from the task by resigning which is shown in the form of decreasing responses in the GSR le vels whilst the task engagement becomes particularly difficult. This occurrence can be placed under the theory of the appraisal model proposed by Smith and Lazarus (1993 cited in Pecchinenda and Smith 1996) that suggested that the amount of each individuals focusing resources is established by their appraisal of task-solving coping potential. The above theory has been adapted in various studies, one of them was measuring accomplishment in a demanding mental task. (Pecchinenda and Smith 1996) Pecchinenda and Smiths study wanted to demonstrate the direct association between a cognitive task engagement and the appraisal of each individuals coping potential. Thus, subjects were presented by series of anagrams, that they were called to solve, in various circumstances whilst their GSR was continuously observed. The level of difficulty diverse between each anagram by either having an easy, moderately difficult and extremely difficult anagram as well as the amount of time available that par ticipants had to solve it changed between 30 sec and 120 sec. Results showed that participants coping potential varied between them, since the perception that each subject experienced the situation was different. Paradigm, when an individual appraised their task-solving ability with having a high coping potential approached the task with the attempt to achieve their goal and successfully complete the task. On the contrary, people who appraised the situation as overwhelming and the task as virtually impossible (Pecchinenda and Smith, page 486) had low coping potential and therefore disengaged from the task. Hence, apposite to the skin conductance activity there was a general increase in the GSR levels when the task-solving trials were aligned with the participants engagement in the trials. However, this increase dropped dramatically when the anagrams level of difficulty was extremely demanding as a result of the paltry levels of task engagement. An interesting feature about this stud y that shouldnt be obscured was that the correlation between skin conductance activity and task engagement is not absolute. There are other aspects that might intrude and mislead this association. As in that the correlation between GSR and other components such as stress, perception of the circumstance, negative feelings etc resulted as having an impact on the GSR, Nikula (1991 cited in Pecchinenda and Smith 1996). Another related experiment was conducted by Bohlin (1976). Bohlins study manipulated the levels of arousal by having participants to response after a number of trials whilst they were in physiological habituation state. She divided the subjects into three groups, the first group were told to relax when listening to a tone, the second one were given arithmetic tasks to solve and the third one a threat of shock was added to the task performance. Results showed that the Shock-threat group had the highest mean in conductance level and the Relax group had the lowest mean in GS R. Thus, this produces some evidence showing how  increases in task difficulty result in various increases in physiological arousal. These discoveries led to this current experiment were the aim was to replicate the existent findings; that when task difficulty increases individuals arousal increases as well. In addition, to demonstrate the variance between individual responses, for instance some individuals appraise themselves as having high coping potential, therefore engage in the task and complete it successfully and some of them as having low coping potential and appraise their abilities as insufficient and as a result they disengage from the task. Consequently to the past evidence one research hypothesis emerged from them for the present experiment; that there will be a significant increase in galvanic skin response from stage 1 to 5 and to also examine the individual responses as task difficulty increases. Method Design The design that was used in this experiment was a repeated measures design with one independent variable, task difficulty at two levels (easy(1) vs. difficult(5)) and two dependent variables; the Galvanic skin responses and the number of failures that occurred. Participants in the experiment were allocated in a computer lab and had to do all conditions. Eventhough, that there were 5 stages in total, only the easiest and most difficult level were chosen for this analysis. In this experiment a number of controls were used in order to avoid any confounded variables. First of all, the letter appearing on the pizza box was randomly generated therefore discarded any systematic bias introduced from having a particular order of pizza letters. Hence, people could not predict where the pizzas were going because the letter order was not the same. Secondly, , by asking people to stay relaxed and still at the baseline would make sure that everyone was at the same condition, therefore no one would be stressed out and having GSR increase at the easy state and then at the more challenging state not having much increase at the GSR because it was already at a high level . Lastly, all participants were given the same standardised instructions to prevent any extraneous variables and that the letter that appeared on the box was randomly different for everyone. Participants One hundred and two undergraduate Psychology students were asked to take part in a cognitive task as part of their evaluation in the course. They were chosen from an opportunity sample since it was more convenient and easier to gather data from those who were there to do the experiment at the time. All participants had to do all conditions from stage 1 to stage 5 in order to collect the data needed for the analysis. Apparatus The experiment was run in a computer lab. The task that the participants had to take part in was called The Speedy Pizza, the game was developed by University of Huddersfield psychology technicians  utilising  Adobe Flash, PHP and MySql to run  on  PCs, headphones were also used to avoid any replication between participants. Moreover, the Biopac system that was used to  measure GSR via an electrode attached to their fingers using a gel was called  GEL101 isotonic .Finally, the GSR data was recorded on the Biopac systems software that comes with the Biopac as standard. Procedure Every participant was seated in front of a computer where they were given some further explanation about the experiment. They were first given a handout that was to familiarise them with some relevant background of appraisal theory and its main connection with the study. After that, participants entered the game were full instructions were provided, showing in the appendix section. Next they were attached to the Biopac device and started the practise game which lasted a minute. The second minute was the baseline state where markers were placed, by pressing the Esc on the keyboard, (which also lasted 60 seconds) and then systematically after 60 seconds as the task difficulty increased. There were 5 stages that participants had to attend and excel by delivering successfully as many pizzas as possible, whilst the task got more challenging with each stage. By the time they reached to level 5 the number of pizzas that appeared on the conveyor increased greatly as the speed on the conveyor did, making it incredibly difficult. Results Description The outcomes from the above experiment were the following. In Stage 1 GSR in micro-mhos was lower than Stage 5 GSR (mean for stage 1 GSR = 13.15  µÃƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ (SD=7.37 µÃƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾), mean for stage 5 GSR= 14.13 µÃƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ (SD=8.36 µÃƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾). Also, in Stage 1 the amount of failures was less than the amount of failures in Stage 5 (mean failures in stage 1 =.03 SD=.17), mean failures in stage 5= 31.10 (SD=4.18). Moreover, to analyze the data and show the difference in the means between stage 1 and stage 5 in GSR levels and number of failures a repeated measures t-test (two-tailed) was used, but previously the data were checked for normality distribution. The normality assumption for this experiment can be waived since there was a large sample (N=102) (Field, 2009). The t-test displayed a significance difference from the alpha level (p=0.05) (t=3.779, df =101, p Discussion(513) The aim of the experiment was to replicate a time-honoured biopsychology finding which stated that increase in task difficulty results increase in the arousal. Additionally, to relate Pecchinenda and Smiths study (1996) on the appraisal theory, suggested that there may be some individual variations possibly having an impact on the above correlation. Thus, a research hypothesis was assessed; that there will be a significant increase in skin conductance from stage 1 to 5, along with examining individual responses to increasing task difficulty. Furthermore, the outcome that rose from this experiment was that research hypothesis was accepted and it was at the directed predicted, however there were some deviation due to individual differences. The results that we found can be supported by the following theories. First of all, by looking at the Kahnemn, Tursky et al. Study (1969) the outcome that we found was as expected from this theory; that skin conductance indeed increases concurrently as level of difficulty increases. In the present experiment increase was shown when the amount of pizzas on the conveyor was frequent and the speed of the conveyor increased too. Also, arousal increases muscle tension and bias synchronization, therefore extreme levels of arousal can create discomfort (Thompson, 1930). In the experiment it was calculated that participants when they were between stages 3-4 had high levels of GSR that resulted as discomfort and as a consequence participant gave-up by level 5. Moreover, the increase in skin conductance as the task difficulty got more challenging can be sustained by The Inverted U Theory conducted by Yerkes and Dodson (1908) that proposed performance will increase as arousal increases and a po int will be reached where optimal performance is achieved. Further of that point the performance will deteriorate. This explains the general pattern that was observed; as levels got more difficult participants level of arousal increased greatly particularly between stages 3-4 (optimal performance) but dropped dramatically at stage 5.However, there was some diversion from this, where decrease in GSR levels were spotted in 27 participants which can be possibly explained by the appraisal theory. That suggests that individual differences might alter that general pattern, people who estimate the situation as being overwhelming and incredibly difficult disengaged from the task because they felt their abilities were not strong enough. Although, the current experiment was generally as predicted there was a limitation that should be taken into account for further research. The coping potential was not self-reported and this weakens the experiment because it does not sustain the needed experimental conditions for testing the hypothesis regarding to the GSR in the extremely difficult-short conditions. (Pecchinenda and Smith 1996) Furthermore, our experiment considered ethical issues and therefore all participants were given the same standardised instructions, it was also valid and reliable, since it did what it attempted to do and it produces consistent results each time it is used with some variations. In conclusion, the findings of this experiment showed that although in general GSR increase as task difficulty increase, individual differences have an important role in this correlation and might show otherwise.

Sophies Heart/By Lori Wick :: essays research papers

Sophie's Heart, by Lori Wick, is the story of Sophie, an educated young woman who moves from her homeland, Czechoslovakia, to America where she becomes a housekeeper for a loneyly young widower and his three children. This book takes place mainly in Wisconsin in the 1990's. Sophie moved from Czechoslovakia to American and became employed as a housekeeper for Alec Riley. She grew to love his three children and gradually her love extended to Alec himself, who returned her love with his own. Near the end of this novel, Sophie and Alec get married. Sophie Velikonja, a twenty-year old young woman, moved to America when her name was called on the request list to leave Czechoslovakia. She had not wanted to leaver her beloved grandmother, but her grandmother insisted upon staying behind. Sophie moved to Chicago where she acquired a job as a waitress in a city restaurannt. A devout Christian, Sophie began attending church as soon as she could and met a friendly woman named Janet Ring. Janet's brother, Alec Riley had recently become a widower when his young wife, Venessa, died in a tragic car accident. She suggested to him that he employ a housekeeper. After having met Sophie, Janet recommended the quiet, hard-working young woman to Alec. Alec, after some hesitation and tought, interviewed Sophie and hired her. Sophie lived in a small apartment over Riley's garage and cooked and cleaned for Alec and his three children, Rita (age 17), Craig (age 13), and Tory ( age10). Sophie and the children ended up becoming very close. At first, the children looked down on her with her accent, but when they eventurally learned that Sophie had mastered five other languages and had worked as a translator in her native land, they changed their opinion. Life was not without hardship for Sophie. She desperately missed her beloved grandmother and she also faced problems with Vanessa's mother, who seemed to resent the fact that someone had come to do the same duties her daughter had done. As she and the Riley children grew closer, Sophie began to notice their handsome father, Alec. At first, she didn't admit to herself that she was interested in him, but when Alec began to show an interest in her, Sophie began to seriously look at him. At first, she was concerned that she would be merely a replacement for Vanessa, but as she and Alec grew closer, he made it very clear to her that he loved her for who she was.

Entrepreneur Test

Which of the following is classified as an entrepreneur?A manager in a large corporation A financial manager in a small firm An owner-manager who bought out the founder of a firm A salaried technician in a rapidly-growing high-tech firmAttract more attention and make more headlines in the media. are not as important to the well-being of society. are highly visible. One glaring example of poor ethics practiced by small businesses in general is lack of pollution controls. untruthful labeling of products.  lack of loyalty to employees. fraudulent reporting of income and expenses for income tax purposes.Different types of small business ownership opportunities include all of the following except startups. bailouts. family businesses. franchises. The cost of a franchise may include royalty payments. high executive salaries. a one-time federal franchise tax. higher-than-usual labor costs. In a family business, the interests of the family and the interests of the business are best describ ed as overlapping. conflicting. coinciding. having no relationship with each other. Writing a business plan should be thought of as  the means to an end product. an ongoing process. an absolute essential to the startup of businesses. a mental exercise.A firm's marketing mix consists of _____ activities. pricing, promotion, and distribution product, pricing, and promotion product, promotion, and distribution product, pricing, promotion, and distribution A disadvantage of a sole proprietorship is the complexity of the organization the cost of starting the business. the lack of limits on personal liability. the difficulty of distribution. Which of the following is not an environmental condition affecting selection of a business location?CompetitionWeather and climate Laws and regulations Raw material availability Assets that are relatively liquid are classified as current assets. fixed assets. short-term assets. other assets. Typical venture capitalists invest approximately ____ of t heir investment in later-stage businesses. one-fourth one-half three-fourths nearly all Most customer service problems are identified by personal observation. outside consultants. customer complaints. entries in a suggestion box. In general, products that are consumed in fixed amounts have inelastic demand. constant demand. variable demand. elastic demand.Which of the following does not describe a method of determining promotional expenditures? Matching industry forecasts Spending as much as the competition What can be spared What it will take to do the job Marcia Mendez, who runs a drapery business, has groups of employees who work in production and in installation. If she decides to use work teams as part of her leadership approach, she must increase supervision. compensation. independence. quality. Which of the following is a legal basis for selecting employees? Gender Age Education Disabilities An inspection plan that judges products as acceptable or unacceptable, good or bad, i s known as  a 100 percent inspection plan. an attribute inspection. a variable inspection. an inspection sampling plan.The owner of a small manufacturing plant wants inspectors to check the width and length of a product (within specified tolerances) during the production process. This calls for an attribute inspection. a work sampling inspection. a 100 percent inspection plan. a variable inspection. An analysis of which of the following records facilitates maintenance of adequate stock levels? Accounts payable records Accounts receivable records Cash records Inventory records

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Thurber) and Im Going (Bernard)

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Thurber) and Im Going (Bernard) Introduction â€Å"I’m Going† and â€Å"The secret life of Walter Mitty† are two masterpieces that revolve around individuals who hope, but are unable, to fulfill their wishes.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Thurber) and I’m Going (Bernard) specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The authors recount the stories in a rather humorous way by enlisting unrealistic characters. The protagonists of the stories are unable to make decisions; they can only make tales about their lives. The two stories chronicle undecided couples who have dreams, but they cannot, or not willing, to work towards achieving their dreams. Consequently, their dreams remain fantasies and the aspect of escapism creeps in slowly into the lives of these surrealistic couples. However, there is a difference in how the stories have been narrated; for instance, â€Å"I’m Going† revolves around a real life whereby, a couple is unable to reach consensus on almost all life issues and thus keep blaming each other for not making efforts. On the other hand, â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty† revolves around a man, who is uncomfortable with his life and thus, keeps on escaping to a world of fantasy. Comparisons The similarities of the two stories lie in the fact that, they revolve around married men with the desire to satisfy their wives’ emotional needs.Advertising Looking for critical writing on comparative literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, they are faced with the challenge of not having the means to achieve their desires due to their economic situations. On top of their need to fulfill their individual needs, they realize that they have responsibilities, especially their wives who need their attention too (Bernard, 1915, p. 16). It becomes quite hard for the m to balance between what they desire to do individually, and at the same time, be the men that their wives want then to be. In â€Å"I’m Going†, Henry engages in humorous conversation with his wife; they seem to have opposing interests in life. In their effort to get something that will interest both of them, they realize that they cannot feel comfortable with each other. There is a desire for both of them to be on their own, just to feel fulfilled, yet they cannot realize the desire because they need each other’s company. In â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty†, Walter desires to have a specified lifestyle for his family, but that desire is beyond his capability (Yates, 1974, p.165). Therefore, he resolves into an imaginary world with the hope that it will help in making him feel respected. There is also a similarity in the outcome of the lives of the two men where they end up not satisfying their desires. The fantasy life of Mitty never happens, as h e never works towards realizing his dreams. He keeps thinking that what he wants and desires will be fulfilled simply by escaping his current situation. In the process of wanting to satisfy his needs and the needs of his wife, he ends up being a nuisance and even hurting her in the process.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Thurber) and I’m Going (Bernard) specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More His wife becomes impatient of his fantasies that are contrary to the life they are living (Clugston, 2010, p. 26). On the other hand, the desire for Henry to satisfy the needs of Jeanne ends up in frustrations. His inability to make up his mind on what he wants disgusts his wife to a point where she contemplates leaving. Even though the couple thinks they will be better if they gave each other space, they realize that they need each other for companionship. The characters in both sto ries are victims of their environment or past experiences. In â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty†, Walter’s fantasies revolve around his environment and his wishes. For instance, before he daydreamed about the navy hydroplane, his wife had complained of him driving so fast. Secondly, just before he daydreamed about being a surgeon, he had just put on surgical gloves and was driving past the hospital. His fantasy about the courtroom drama preceded the shout of a newspaper carrier. The fourth fantasy happens when Mitty, in the process of waiting for his wife, is reading literature with the topic of Germany conquering the world. Finally, his last daydream of the firing-squad scene happened when he was smoking. Consequently, when the reader considers the life of Henry and Jeanne, in â€Å"I’m Going†, their lives are based on their interests and hobbies. Their unwillingness to be together is simply because Henry feels he will enjoy more when he goes for hor se racing alone, rather than when he is with Jeanne.Advertising Looking for critical writing on comparative literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the other hand, Jeanne confesses that she enjoys going for a walk alone. Such experiences are mainly the basis on which the story revolves, and they are unable to reach a compromise and agree on what both will be pleased. Contrast Despite the similarities, there are numerous differences considering the setting and the plot of the two stories. â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty† is more of a monologue where the couples are not active in the entire scenario. Mrs. Mitty is not aware of what is running through her husband’s life and has remarkably little idea that he is fantasizing. The outcome of life they share makes Mitty escape into a secret life, which the wife cannot participate. On the other hand, â€Å"I’m Going† involves two active participants who are free and sincere about their feelings. They share their fears and anxieties and confess their weaknesses. Compared to Mitty where he would rather hide his wishes from his wife and simply imagine, Henry confesses to Jeanne that he cannot go with her to the races because he will have to pay more, and fail to enjoy himself (Bernard, 1915, p. 20). The suggestion for them to take a walk, instead of going to the races, is also met with a sincere confession from Jeanne that she will not feel comfortable walking with Henry. The story of â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty† displays many scenarios that make up the ultimate scene; the author takes the audience through different scenarios with different settings to bring out his point. On the other hand, â€Å"I’m Going† involves a couple in a similar setting. Even though they pick events from different scenes, the plot of their story does not change. It takes place in their house from the beginning to the end. As Tobias (1969) observes, â€Å"The Secret Life of Mitty† is mainly composed of fantasies, which is the striking feature in the entire story (p.23). Apparently, the other scenes are only to build up on the daydreams of Mitty. â€Å"I’m Going† is a real life story that exposes the fears of two sincere individuals. Unlike Mitty who finds it hard to accept his status, Henry has accepted life and tries to make his wife understand his actions (Clugston, 2010, p. 36). The couple realizes that the reason why they may not be together, as they would wish, is their differences that become an obstacle to each other. The two stories revolve around conflict of finances, and the way the couples would like to spend the resources. In â€Å"The Secret Life of Mitty†, it is more about him and the way he would obtain what he wants for him and his family, as opposed to facing the realities of life (Thurber, 2008, p.26-25). On the other hand, â€Å"I’m Going† is all about Jeanne’s concern on how Henry spends his time and money. The conflict that Jeannie is facing is all about having a responsible husband who will make time for her and use his money well. She feels that Henry gambles a lot with his money and time. Moreover, Jeanne feels that the conflict facing their life would be solved if Henry was a little bit sensitive to her needs and grant her the attention she craves for (Felski, 2003, p.65), rather than act selfishly by going to the races alone. Mitty, on the other hand, feels that his conflict would be solved if he had one of the lives that he was fantasizing. His hopes and dreams are all about being in a position to provide for the needs of his family and satisfy his desires. Conclusion In the two stories, even though the narration revolves around a couple, they both seem to have individual lives where they are unable to merge. Mitty is into fantasy while his wife is real with life. Henry likes going to horse races alone while Jeanne prefers going for walks. Despite having a clear understanding of their weaknesses, none of the involved parties is willing to give in, for the sake of the other. The stories thus share similar ities of the same margin as their differences. Reference List Bernard, T. (1915). I’m Going! A Comedy in One Act. (B. H. Clark, Trans.). New York: Samuel French. Clugston, R. (2010). Journey into Literature. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Felski, R. (2003). Literature after Feminism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press Thurber, J. (2008). The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. (Creative Classic Series). New York: The Creative Company. Tobias, C. (1969). The Art of James Thurber. Ohio: Ohio State University Press. Yates, Norris. (1974). James Thurbers Little Man and Liberal Citizen. In C. Holmes (Ed.), Thurber: A Collection of Critical Essays (pp. 28-36). New York: Prentice-Hall.

Foreign Direct Investment Essays

Foreign Direct Investment Essays Foreign Direct Investment Essay Foreign Direct Investment Essay Foreign Direct Investment Name: Course: Instructor: : Institution: Date: Foreign Direct Investment Foreign direct investments are the investments made by a company situated in one country to another company situated in another county. The company investing may make its investments by forming a subsidiary or an associate company in the country it is making investments. For example, a European company may take a majority stake in a company in Japan. The foreign direct investments cause an increase in growth, in the developing countries. It does this by accumulating capital in the developing country. FDI promotes the use of new inputs and foreign technology in the production process. It acts as a complement to the developing countries. It enables technological advancements in the developing countries. These technologies enable economic growth since they are efficient. In addition, these are the same technologies used by the multinational firms. This enables production good quality products enabling the developing countries to gain competitive advantage in the market. Technological ad vancement enables long-term economic growth in the developing countries (Cohen Oxford University Press, 2007). The foreign exchange rate policy also affects the developing countries economic growth. The foreign direct investments enable the developing countries to practice the key exchange rate reforms. This enables it to eradicate the real exchange rate misalignments. In turn, this enables the developing countries to experience a growth in their GDP. In addition, the foreign exchange rate policy enables trade liberalization. This enables the developing countries to experience an improvement in their international trade. They are able to trade with more countries by maintaining a constant high trade pattern, than before. By trading with more countries, they enjoy greater exports as compared to the imports. This prevents them from experiencing a deficit in their balance of trade. In turn, the developing countries gain access to the foreign currency that comes from the trade. This improves the developing country’s economic growth. The countries are also able to improve their terms of tra de. It can do this by raising their export prices permanently. This, in turn, increases the countries national income causing a growth in GDP. FDI enables the provision of capital to the developing countries. The multinational companies enable the transfer of capital in order to support the domestic savings. This leads to an increase in the domestic capital for the developing countries. This, in turn, increases the domestic investment. In addition, FDI increases the growth of the developing countries through promoting the returns in production. This is aided by its externalities and the spill over effects. FDI provides a knowledge channel for the developing countries. It provides knowledge to the countries engaging themselves in FDI. Example, FDI increases the flow of knowledge to the Japanese firms engaging in FDI. It also enables the provision of employment, which in turn raises the living standards of people. A new stock measure of the FDI centered on the employment enables access to a long-term effect of FDI in the states involved. This, in turn, increases growth in the developing countries, which finally increases the GDP. FDI helps in reducing the inflation rate and the government consumption, which in turn raises the GDP in the developing countries. Inflation control is a great macroeconomic stabilization policy. It is important for inflation to be controlled in order for the developing countries’ GDP to increase. On the other and, increasing the government spending reduces economic growth in the developing countries. Therefore, FDI helps in the reduction of inflation and government spending, a great barrier in the developing countries. With the achievement of this, the developing countries enjoy an increase in their GDP (Cohen Oxford University Press, 2007). References Cohen, S. D., Oxford University Press. (2007). Multinational corporations and foreign direct investment: Avoiding simplicity, embracing complexity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Case study 4 -BUDGETING STATEMENTS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case study 4 -BUDGETING STATEMENTS - Essay Example Hence for 4000 patients visited during the month, the number of hours expected to be spent by the nurses is (4000 * 0.5) 2000 hours. But the actual time spent by the nurses on the patients is 2080 hours. This indicates that an additional 80 hours, i.e, (80 * 12)  £ 960 was spent on the patients. It is essential to investigate the reasons for this variance as the effect of this variance is adverse. As this measure is directly related to the efficiency of the nurses working at the hospital, one of the reasons for this variance might be that some of the nurses might be inefficient (Drury, 2005). The other possible reason could be that, some of the patients might have required additional care and attention which could have resulted in additional hours spent by the nurses. Appropriate action can be taken to improve the efficiency of the nurses can control this variance to a great extent (Blocker, 1951). The cost incurred in terms of the payment made to the nurses amounts to  £ 33,180. However the estimated pay based on the average pay per hour ( £ 12) is computed as (2080 * 12)  £ 24,960. This additional  £ 8,220 also has an adverse effect on the budget. Hence it is essential to understand the reasons for this variance in order to adjust the budgeting accordingly for the future periods. It is known that the pay for the nurses vary from  £ 7 to  £ 28, whereas the average is  £ 12. In the budget prepared, this average was only taken into account. However, the reason for the variance might be that more number of nurses with payment more than  £ 12 were on duty during the month. This variance can be controlled by noting the nurses who will be on duty for the following month and estimating the pay based on their pay scales, instead of using the average pay value. The quantity of supplies and variable heads are associated with the nursing hours as per the statistical studies. According to the standard, an average of  £ 10 worth of supplies and variable overheads are

Vaccinating cattle against E.coli could cut human cases of infections Article

Vaccinating cattle against E.coli could cut human cases of infections by 85 percent - Article Example When the excretion from the cattle contain high percentage of the bacteria, the infection becomes significant. Nevertheless, there are vaccines, which reduce super-shedding in cattle. The findings of the study were that the vaccination of the cattle is likely to reduce human cases by approximately 85 percent. This is a strong figure supporting the adoption of the vaccine by livestock industries. Various countries like Scotland have engaged in research to establish an economic program for similar vaccination programmes. The aim of these countries is to develop more effective vaccines, which will reduce the impact of the bacterium on human life. Treating the cattle to cut down the number of human infection is justifiable, but there is need to put more effort in implementing the program and meeting the costs of the program. Public health has to be taken seriously to achieve this perspective. The hypothesis of the article was supported because nations across the world are responding positively to the implementation of the program. For instance, Scotland tackles an average of 235 culture positive cases of infections resulting from E.coli. This application continues to be extended to various nations for adoption. For example, the vaccine has been taken up in US. A version in US is not fully licensed yet the authority insists that veterinary medicines must indicate the improvement of human health. Louis, Matthews, Reeve, George, Gally, David L. Low, C. Woolhouse, Mark, McAteer, S. P. Locking, M. E. Chase-Topping, Margo, Haydon, Daniel, Allison, L. J. Hanson, G. Gunn, Joshua, and Reid, S. â€Å"Predicting the public health benefit of vaccinating cattle against Escherichia coli O157†. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: