The Art Of Ancient Rome Essay Research free essay sample

The Mystery of the Mummys Curse Essay Example for Free

The Mystery of the Mummys Curse Essay The motivation behind this exposition is to clarify the riddle behind â€Å"the mummy’s curse†. I will do this by first clarifying the hypothesis that some accept to be â€Å"the revile of the pharaoh†. Besides, I will talk about the logical speculations behind the baffling passings of the men who were available at the opening of King Tutankhamen’s tomb. At long last, I will finish up with the hypothesis I accept to be valid. The principal hypothesis, I will examine is the urban legend about â€Å"the mummy’s curse†. There was a message outside of the tomb that was meant state â€Å"Death Shall Come on Swift Wings to Him Who Disturbs the Peace of the King†. Legend has it that any individual who challenged open the tomb would endure the fierceness of the mummy. A progression of lamentable occasions abruptly started to influence the men who entered first. Some turned out to be sick, others even kicked the bucket. There were numerous different occasions that happened that some accept clarifies â€Å"the curse†. My subsequent hypothesis would be the logical clarification behind the puzzling passings. In 1986, Dr. Caroline Stinger-Phillip found the puzzle behind the passings. There appear to be shape developing on the dividers of the tomb. The residue particles from the form had a high allergenic strength. These men who entered the tomb originally endured an unfavorably susceptible response, indications from the response, was presumably the reason for their demises Recent discoveries give an all the more persuading clarification regarding â€Å"the revile of the mummy†. At last, I close with the hypothesis I accept right, the logical hypothesis. I don't put stock in fantasies or urban legends. As I would see it, the science by they way they breathed in the form spores, demonstrated side effects of the unfavorably susceptible response, and afterward going untreated, clarifies the men’s passings. Everything else, I feel is unadulterated incident.

Inclusive Education For All Example

Inclusive Education For All Example Inclusive Education For All â€" Essay Example > Inclusive Teaching: Strategies for the Teacher 2006IntroductionIn a public school environment, there are often clashes amongst children due to differing personality traits, physical challenges, belief and value systems, and cultural identities. Sadly, there are many issues surrounding the problem with multicultural and racial harmony in the classroom and this is often left to the teacher to find a resolution. Quite often, the problem stems from a lack of knowledge about another culture and when this is the core problem it is easier for the teacher to introduce ideas about another culture into the classroom. Besides, the classroom may be composed of students with different levels of physical and mental abilities and the teacher must be capable of handling them differently. What most students can learn may be extremely difficult for a student with learning disabilities. The inability of the teacher to achieve inclusion of all students â€" whether they belong to cultural minority gro ups or are differently abled physically or have learning disabilities â€" make such students feel isolated and alienated. It is not uncommon for students like Luke, then, to find a situation when ‘Luke said that going to school was like being an alien, where there was this species that tormented him. ’ (Sunday Times 12.06.05). In this paper, I will discuss some alternate situations where the teacher should adopt steps for inclusion in classrooms. Then, I will adopt why such steps are necessary for the society at large. Ways for Inclusion of Differently abled StudentsThe world over, the school systems are increasingly moving towards “inclusive” teaching whereby regular teachers need to undertake strategies that have traditionally been used by special educators. Instead of the earlier practice of “mainstreaming”, by which differently abled students were taught in exclusive classrooms most of the times and included in the combined “mainstream” class only for some time , it is now believed that an inclusive strategy is more helpful. However, it is seen that while most teachers are convinced about the superiority of inclusive teaching in principle, they do not have the confidence for such teaching. In reality, however, it is the attitude and behaviour, rather than financial resources that hinder inclusive teaching since in most cases, inclusive teaching is imposed on the regular school system. Teachers typically relate to the class as a whole rather than to individual students. But, with students with different levels of learning abilities, the class cannot be considered as a homogenous group. Demands of students will need to be prioritised, incorporated and put into practice. Most importantly, teachers need to develop a positive learning climate such that individual students grow responsible for a collaborative learning process. The basic guiding principle in this should be to recognize each student individually â€" not simply the different level s of abilities but also their differing personality traits, their inner choices and attitude â€" and not as a generic number. The teacher should develop the students’ sense of identity on the whole and not just as a learner in the classroom (Paterson, 2000). Interviewing teachers from junior high school in Australia and Canada, Paterson found that many teachers relate to individual students by their personality traits:

The recent multiple mergers between securities markets - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3737 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Abstract. In this paper I analyze the recent international consolidations between securities stock exchanges, considering the complex consequences on the perceived and actual accounting quality of listed European companies in the context of a different regulatory regime from that of the US companies. Considering the evolution of the trading platforms in the last decade, we are dealing with global securities stock exchanges that have a major impact on the financial statements presentation, preparation and analysis and thus on the perceived accounting quality. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The recent multiple mergers between securities markets" essay for you Create order In order to obtain robust result, I perform a review of potential methodologies that may assist in completing the study, highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each one and conclude in proposing the most adequate to be used in answering the research question. KeywordsÂÂ  : Securities markets, mergers and acquisitions, accounting quality, research method. I. INTRODUCTION The recent multiple mergers between securities markets in the US and Europe represents a new phenomenon with complex effects over the accounting profession, which offers the possibility of undergoing research on the consequences over financial statements perceived quality(earnings quality). If we are to ask why and to whom is of interest the quality of financial reporting, the obvious response would be to those who use the financial statements for contracting purposes and for investing decisions (Schipper et al., 2003). Thus, the event of interest for this paper refers to the 2007 New York Stock Exchange and the EuroNext Stock Exchange merger and formation of the first common trading platform of US and Europe. This means that the accounting information prepared under different accounting standards competes qualitatively, portraying to different types of investors the true and fair view of the companies financial state. This difference is due to the existence of different accounting standards for the companies in US and Europe, namely USGAAP and IFRS. After the 2005 IFRS adoption by the EU, steps taken by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Financial Standards Board (IASB) were in the direction of convergence between the USGAAP and IFRS, but to this date significant differences remain. Thus, we deal with a setting prone to debates over the superiority of financial information and we have to decide if the merging phenomenon has or not an impact on investors behavior and conversely over companies earnings quality and thus cost of capital (Stulz, 1999). II. THEORY AND HYPOTHESES In the domains of mergers and acquisitions and cross-listings a substantial number of articles have been published concerning the characteristics of securities markets and their different regulatory systems. A exhaustive view of the matter can be found in Coffee(2000), which defines the need for consolidation and makes an analysis of the stock exchanges concerning their regulation and incentives to attract for trading companies with specific characteristics. More specific, the empirical studies have found that the US regulatory regime proves itself very efficient and thus the minority shareholders benefit from greater protection, the market liquidity is increased and the companies value is higher (Doidge et al., 2009, Benos et al., 2004). The accounting literature in the domain of mergers and acquisitions has yet to focus on a fairly new phenomenon that has as result the creation of conglomerate international stock markets that are largely eliminating the investment barriers and sustaining the positive effects of diversification. The gap in the literature is covered by this paper, tackling a new and very important phenomenon which needs to be explored from an accounting point of view. My first hypothesis is connected to the post merger perceived accounting quality, specifically to earnings quality and their impact on the valuation of stocks. H1: The post merger perceived earnings quality of US companies is superior to European companies. My second hypothesis is constructed in order to evaluate the post merger increase in financial analysts coverage of the US listed companies. It has been stated in the accounting literature that listing in the US, and especially on the NYSE offers an increase in visibility for a firm, meaning that the financial analysts interest in the performance of the listed company increases (Baker et al., 2002). As a consequence, the earnings quality of the company increases. Following the consolidation of the stock market, the overall interest of both US and European financial analysts on the European companies did not registered a modification, due to the lack of perceived increase in accounting quality. H2: The post merger US and European financial analysts interest in the financial statements of European companies is constant. After the merger, the attention of the European investors headed towards the US companies and thus the demand for forecasts grew. The European financial analysts have got to satisfy the increase in demand, that leading to a rise in the monitoring of US companies, which is used in the literature as a proxy for earnings quality. Practically, firms that are highly monitored by analysts present lower levels of earnings management and thus higher earnings quality. So, NYSE listed companies, which prior to the merger were regarded as having higher accounting quality (Siegel et al., 2005, Reese et al., 2002 ) will keep or improve this characteristic, whilst the European ones are not going to benefit from the synergy of the merger, because of the different regulatory regimes and constant analyst coverage. H3: The post merger US and European financial analysts interest in the financial statements of US companies is increasing. While the coverage of US companies is increasing, they are continuingly regarded as having higher earnings quality than the European companies and thus become yet more appealing to financial analysts because their earnings are easy to forecast, due to the lack of earnings management and thus higher quality that the non-Us companies(Smith et al., 1997). Due to this post merger phenomenon, more European analysts are going to be drawn to follow an increasing number US firms. III. DATA AND METHODOLOGY In order to investigate the effects of the mergers between securities markets, I need to define the proper research method to answer our question completely and adequately. In accounting research there are employed many different research methodologies to an array of different contexts. Thus, I am discussing the multiple advantages and various weak points of four research methods. To this purpose I consider one quantitative and three qualitative methodologies, namely Propensity Score Matching Models(PSM), Case Study, Comparative Analysis and Grounded Theory. I will begin by assessing the appropriateness of using a quantitative research method in verifying the stated hypotheses. I am considering for this purpose the Propensity Score Matching Models (PSM) method, which is generally used in order to provide unbiased estimation of treatment effects. Practically, when we want to compare different samples in order to study the effect of a restrained number of characteristics of the sp ecific treatment (in our case the post merger difference in earnings quality for the European companies) we use PSM in order to mitigate the bias in our samples, which is due to the difference in traits between the samples. When performing usual matching, we try to set the treatment and control groups in order to have as difference a single characteristic of interest. Still, in reality, we might encounter situations (as in our case) in which the two groups are not overlapping sufficiently, and then we obtain substantial error in our model. Thus, when we do not have an exact overlapping of the matching models, few units of our group are comparable to the treatment units and the units have to be compared across a high-dimensional set of pre-treatment characteristics, we use PSM in order to yield balanced samples which are adequate for testing. In our setting, in order to test our hypotheses, we apply a matching model approach between the US and European companies that are listed on the new NYSE EuroNext merged stock exchange. The problem is that, for us to study the effect of different earnings quality between the two categories, we should have balanced samples to match. Because many of the characteristics of the listed companies in US differ from those of the listed companies in EuroNext, we apply PSM in order to avoid obtaining a substantial bias in our estimation of the treatment effects. The same difference in samples we can find when considering the US and European financial analysts. Also, in the case of the existence of nonlinearities in the underlying functional form, PSM mitigates their potential impact. Thus, this method has serious advantages in being used for the purposes of this paper, but in order to make a reach a definite conclusion, we have to consider its disadvantages. One of the weak points of this approach is that it requires that group overlap to be substantial, even if it represents an improvement to the normal Matching Models. Thus, for our purposes it may be difficult to use it due to the significant differences in our considered population (companies and financial analysts). Another problem with PSM is the fact that we can introduce supplementary hidden bias, because the matching is performed on observed variables, and so the unobserved confounders may add inconsistency in our estimates. Also, from a quantitative point of view, the generalization of the results at the level of the whole population may be difficult because the matching is performed on small subsamples and we are faced with a tradeoff between the identification of the treatment effects and generalization. Moreover, I am not convinced of this methods ability to answer the research question, because in order to do so it would need to perform a more in depth analysis of the phenomenon and not only to study an incremental modification of a population characteristic. All in all, even if in certain conditions PSM is a valid and extremely useful rese arch method, for the purpose of this article it is not adequate because it is not studying the consequences of the merger in depth. After performing the analysis of a quantitative research method, I focus on the use of a different approach, namely a qualitative research method. Thus, I begin the analysis of the Case study as a valid methodology for answering the research question. This approach would allow the developing of an in-depth description and analysis of a particular case or multiple cases (Creswell, 2007). Through case studies, we can understand in detail the effects of the merging phenomenon in a specific organization. The case study can produce very fruitful insight into particular organizations and provides the means of undergoing a very thorough analysis of the researched topic. To serve the interests of this paper, a multiple case studies approach should be adopted in a big European and correspondingly a big US financial analysis company, in order to determine the extent to which the analysts perceive the level of accounting quality in the two categories of firms. When performing research based on a case study methodology we should be aware of the systematic data collection and analysis process that gives an objective character to the research, contrary to the assumptions of subjectivity that are often stated about the qualitative research. Using this research method would determine also an easier access to the required data, because the results of the study will be tangible and the companies will be open towards the researchers due to the valuable character of this type of research for an organization (Avison et al., 2003). Having free access to the data is very useful in our case, because studying such a complex matter requires multiple data sources, such as documents, interviews and observations. Another advantage represented by the use of this method is the fact that the researcher can isolate the desired characteristic of interest (in ou r case the accounting quality and the increased attention offered by the financial analysts to US firms) and better understand its underlined motivations and its variations in magnitude. The disadvantages of using a case study are represented by the lack of generalization power of the approach, considering the fact that our analysis is performed on one or two organizations. Still, concerning our research interest, the two organizations that are considered can be chosen in such a way that through their size and representativity to guarantee that are at least partially generalizable. Nonetheless, if we fail to assure that the analyzed companies poses the two traits (and we may well find ourselves in this situation due to the difficulties encountered in general by the qualitative researchers in trying to obtain access into companies) our results will certainly lack the potential of being generalized. Another problem with conducting case studies is related to the fact that the resear cher is wholly connected to the studied company and this can cause problems concerning the bias introduced into the data due to his implication in the company for a long period of time. Nevertheless, the implication of the researcher is crucial if we want to address issues that cannot be tackled using different research methods. All in all, the case study (with the specification of a multiple case study in the context of our research) represents a very encompassing way of doing research when focusing on a bounded system on which to undergo an in-depth study. The third discussed research method is represented by Comparative Analysis. When considering this method, we must be aware of the fact that it resembles to an extent with the case study method, but it comes, in our specific conditions, as a completion that helps us better support our findings and test our hypotheses. Because I believe that the connection with the case studies method is extremely important for the present pape r, I will continue to evaluate both methodologies in connection. One of the main advantages of Comparative Analysis and the plus added by its use is that we are able compare multiple characteristics between organizations, having a more holistic view over the data. Also, for enabling us to accept and to reject hypotheses we can use the method of acceptance and method of differences. In what drawbacks are concerned, this method does not allow the researcher to explore the data in the companies into the same depth as in the case study approach. We are limited at spotting the similarities and differences between entities and the specific traits that have a unique character can be overlooked. This method, similarly to the case study approach, has a problem with the size of its sample (even if it is usually larger than in the case of the case studies) and it can be hard to generalize the obtained results. The only way through which we can mitigate this problem would be to carefully select the firms that we include into our study. Also, when performing research over a large sample of organizations we might find ourselves in a very time and resource consuming situation that could be quite a challenge for the researcher, making him to eliminate companies from the sample, thus losing a lot of information, because of the methodology design issue. The fourth research method overall and the third among the considered qualitative methods is represented by the Grounded Theory. I chose this method for analysis because its specific could be very appropriate for our research conditions. Because we are studying a new and extremely complex phenomenon that has never been treated in the accounting literature, we may have to build the needed theory basing ourselves on closely related literature that slightly frames our research interest and then begin gathering and analyzing the data. The main interest of the paper, the phenomenon of global securities markets mergers can be looke d at from various angles, allowing us to use Grounded Theory in order to develop a new theory to explain the process. We could yield a general framework that explains the way the perceived earnings quality is varying in US and Europe depending on the new consolidated stock exchanges, the way in which the cost of capital or liquidity increases or decreases in the same circumstances and so on, following the information that emerged from the data that modify the way of collecting data and finally that shape a new theory which was not foreseeable at the beginning. The problem of this research method in our case is that we cannot set initial hypotheses and then test them, because the purpose of the grounded theory is to discover theory from the data. The end point of grounded theory is not to make true statements about reality, but, rather, to elicit fresh understandings about patterned relationships between social actors and how these relationships and interactions actively construct reality (Glaser Strauss, 1967). Another difficulty of this method is the fact that the researcher is not sure when he has reached the point in which the gathered and analyzed data are sufficient in order to conclude the final form of his study. In our case, the data sources are various due to the complex nature of the studied process, and we may find ourselves in such a situation in which working with huge information sets could prove overwhelming. All in all, after performing an analysis over the four research methods, Propensity Score Matching Models, Case Study, Comparative Analysis and Grounded Theory, I have identified elements that could make each of them appropriate to be used in answering the research question. Still, I believe that the most beneficial in performing the study would be a combination between Case Study and Comparative Analysis. By using both methods we will be able to test our hypotheses and in the same time acquire a deep knowledge of the organizations s tructure and the way that they adapted to the merging phenomenon. It is quite unusual to use qualitative research methods in financial accounting research, but in our conditions it is crucial to do so and in plus to use a combination of two methods, because the research question demands this treatment. We have to consider the way in which we could explain and discover as much of the underlying process as possible and to that purpose to use the most pertinent approach. REFLECTIONS In performing the analysis of the four research methods I have highlighted the fact that each of them could be used to address the problematic of variation in accounting quality in the context of the international consolidated stock markets. Even so, each of the presented methods has drawbacks and disadvantages and has got to be evaluated through the perspective of the research question. From that point of view, I find to favor the combined Case Study and Comparative Analysis methodologies. Thus, the research will focus on the sample comprising of the two US and European representative companies of financial analysis, reducing the risk of wasting resources on too many target companies, risk that the Comparative Analysis approach implies and in the same time permitting to pass the boundaries of the company as a whole without sacrificing a comprehensive explanation. In order to test our hypotheses, we will identify the differences between the two companies concerning the variation in our variables of interest. Also, specific traits of the companies are not going to be left unexplored, because we will undergo an in-depth analysis appropriated by the use of the case study methodology. Even if the combination of the two research methods can prove to be difficult, such juxtapositions present undeniable advantages. One of the certain contributions of this article is the fact that combines two qualitative research methods in performing a study in financial accounting. It can encourage other researchers to tackle research questions with qualitative research methods if they are more appropriate (and not necessarily with quantitative methods just because the papers based on them are more likely to be published in accounting journals) in order to enrich the literature and provide accounting research a true holistic character. CONCLUSIONS I am considering the phenomenon of mergers between securities exchanges that yield internationally consolidated trading platforms with substantial effects on the financial statements presentation, preparation and analysis. My attention is headed towards the 2007 merger of NYSE and EuroNext, which represented the birth of the first common stock exchange of Europe and US and the sign of the size pursuing politic for the important stock exchanges worldwide. From this, I hypothesize that numerous effects on the financial statements preparation, presentation and analysis can be identified. The motivation for the assumption is given by the fact that NYSEs regulatory regime is different from any other in the world, including the one of EuroNext and thus, as a result of the merger, the perceived accounting quality of the European companies financial statements could be perceived as inferior to the one of US companies financial statements and even worse, in time, due to the unequal financia l analysts monitoring, it could decrease in quality even more. The stated hypotheses are constructed such that to capture on one side the overall perceived difference in accounting quality (H1) and on the other the comovement of both US and European financial analysts interests over the European companies (H2 and H3). Due to the complexity of the analyzed phenomenon and of its specificity, a robust research method needs to be employed in order to uncover all of the various elements of the perceived accounting quality. After performing an analysis of four different research methodologies, one quantitative and three qualitative I have determined the combination between the case study and the comparative analysis approaches as being the most adequate. In designing the research project I will combine the advantages of each method so that their joining to derive the best solution for the present research. One of the most important merits of this article is that it opens the way for further research concerning the recent merging phenomenon between important US and European securities markets and the formation of global stock exchanges that affect the perceived accounting quality. A possible research endeavor can be represented by performing empirical studies over the post merger changes in the magnitude of earnings management in Europe and US and also the post merger effects on the European companies cost of capital would represent another valid future research topic. Also, a certain contribution is a methodological one, by choosing to perform the empirical study using a combination between two qualitative research methods, Case Study and Comparative Analysis. Even if capital markets mergers ensure their survival in increasingly competitive market conditions by increase in size, the effect on the accounting quality of European companies may be negative, due to the differences between the European and the U.S. regulatory systems.

Why Fracking Is Not Be The Most Exciting Process - 1450 Words

Fracking may not be the most exciting process to learn about nor is it something many people want to get involved in but it s much more important than any of those people think. Fracking is the process of extracting fossil fuels by shooting a liquid into the ground that contains known and unknown chemicals. Just reading the description of the process of fracking can be a little freaky for some people and rightfully so. If one major oil company such as Chevron Corporation made the decision to find a realistic alternative to fracking it could start the process of other major oil companies following in their footsteps. There are three steps Chevron Corp can take to start the process of putting fracking behind us and focusing on the future of†¦show more content†¦There have been multiple reports of people agreeing to let fracking companies operate on their land and regretting it immediately. From the same article stated earlier this paragraph there was a story on the Micelles fa mily from northeastern Pennsylvania. The Micelles family experienced the dangers of fracking and it started with agreeing to let a company conduct fracking on their land in hope of relieving some of their financial burden. It wasn’t even a full week before Elizabeth Micelles noticed a sweet odor and a metallic taste in her mouth. By the second week of allowing fracking on their land Elizabeth and her husband along with her three children were all feeling fatigue, dizziness, vomiting, headaches, and nosebleeds. The family visited the doctor and had some tests done and those tests actually revealed that each family member had measurable levels of benzene in their blood which is a known carcinogen to humans (â€Å"Fracking, the Environment, and Health†). The Micelles family is a prime example of why oil companies like Chevron need to start working toward getting rid of this harmful process called fracking. Chevron and other major oil companies may initially disagree with this step and state that the economic gains are too substantial to just drop fracking. What those big companies need to understand is that just because fracking is good for the economy now,Show MoreRelatedFracking: Greenhouse Gas and Water1429 Words   |  6 PagesWhats the Fracking Problem? W hy does everyone care so much about natural gas? Why is it such an essential part of modern culture? Sure, its an exciting and up and coming technology, which is fuel for the technological generation that weve grown up in, but we need to take a closer look to see the methods and impacts that could affect generations after us. Water is one of our important resources that were given to us by mother nature. 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Doing Business with Multinational Organizations Free Essays

string(232) " Motivation This is what gives human beings or groups the desire or willingness to do something 5 in terms of work and personal life and such a context is greatly influenced by cultural variables that affect attitudes and behavior\." INTRODUCTION Owing to the fast evolution of information and technology organization are operating in an environment where the geographical boundaries are none existent and a company with a subsidiary in another continent operates as if they are in the same city. This paper seeks to identify how this has affected way of doing business by multinational organization by looking and four aspects, which are cultural differences, ethical issues, strategy and industrial or business. 1. We will write a custom essay sample on Doing Business with Multinational Organizations or any similar topic only for you Order Now CULTURAL DIFFERENCES Culture plays a very important aspect in various aspects of business especially for multinational corporations (MNC) operation on a global level. Cultural variations affect the way a firm conducts its business in different geographical regions and around different cultural settings so that they widen their market base, increase revenue and reduce conflicts resulting from cultural differences(Deresky,2008). Managers of MNCs have to understand what implications cultures have on various business transactions. The main areas where cultural factors affect multinational corporations are: 1. 1. Influence on Strategy that will be used A multinational company must research on the cultural aspects of a new market they would like to venture in. They have to understand the likes and dislikes, preferences, what is considered right or wrong, what is valued, what is the common belief in the area they are going to operate in. An example is in Saudi Arabia where religion dictates what happens in normal business transactions and daily activities for instance for Muslims who pray five times a day, departmental stores and other businesses created room to allow the Muslim customers and employees to pray moreover during the month of Ramadan, most businesses are closed during the day as the Muslims are fasting and are less active during the day and opt to open in the evenings when people are more active. 1. 2. Communication Language and non-verbal communication are cultural cues that affect passing of messages from one party to another. Communication between parties that come 2 from different cultures becomes more challenging because of the differences elements of culture and what they value in communication. Different cultures have different communication styles (Gallois and Callan ,1997). These communications styles are: 1. 2. 1. Explicit Vs Implicit Communication Explicit communications is where someone when someone talks it is straight to the point and unambiguous for example Americans. Implicit communication is usually indirect and inexact for example Indonesian communication. For instance a mother telling a man that he is not compatible with her daughter serves him with tea and bananas instead of telling him directly (Gallois and Callan ,1997). 1. 2. 2. Direct Vs Indirect Communication Direct communication states direct action for example ‘has this report done before you go home’. When someone hears direct speech they know what is to be done. Greek employees prefer this kind of communication as they prefer orders as compared to their contribution in management decisions. Indirect communication is not authoritative and encourages input from the listener. American managers prefer this kind of communication as it goes with their managerial style of participatory management. 1. 2. 3. Silence Vs Verbal exaggeration Silence is also seen as a way of communication but different cultures perceive silence in different contexts. The Japanese use silence during negotiations as a strategy to control the negotiation process however if their counterparts are 3 Americans, they would see this silence as lack of knowledge or an indication to move to the next point. On the other hand some cultures dramatization and over emphasize to express the gravity of the matter. This has been observed in the Arab states where common words are used at the end of sentences and pronouns will be repeated for emphasis also used are graphical similes and metaphors. Managers in multinational corporations should therefore study very carefully which communication style takes prevalence in what area and use what is preferred (Gallois and Callan ,1997). 1. 3. Non-verbal communication Non-verbal is another way of communicating messages and portrays messages with more emphasis than words as they say actions speak louder than words. Non-verbal communication includes body movements, posture and gestures, facial expressions. In intercultural communication, it is possible that people rely on non-verbal communication especially when verbal messages are unclear or ambiguous. This is because non-verbal communication is used to add meaning to our verbal communication. How non-verbal communication is used also varies for example low context cultures like the Americans tend to concentrate less with non-verbal communication. This means that it is not there but it is given little importance compared to the words. Examples of non-verbal communication cues are proxemics (space), tone of voice, body gestures, facial expressions and eye contact (Gallois and Callan ,1997). . 4. Negotiations This is a process where business people engage in discussions with the objective of 4 reaching an agreement that will result in the parties involved benefiting. Negotiations for multinational corporations are usually with the suppliers of capital (investors), suppliers, service providers, the Governments involved (either domestic o r foreign), customers and the society. Managers should be aware of the sensitivity and complexities of negotiations especially that are caused by cultural differences as these are usually the key to success (Horst,1972). The multicultural negotiation process is as outlined below 1. 4. 1. Preparation: Understand the counterpart’s culture as compared to ours and identifying the differences. Meant to make us understand the counterparts culture 1. 4. 2. Relationship building: This stage is used to build trust, some cultures find this step irrelevant while others emphasize on relationship building and spend more time here. 1. 4. 3. Exchange task related information: Presentation of details by each the parties and they state their stands. Culture dictates how much information is revealed. . 4. 4. Persuasion: Each party tries to convince the counterparts to take their option by explaining the benefits each would get from their stand. 1. 4. 5. Concession and agreements: This is where agreements are reached and using culture, negotiators know how they will get to this point. 1. 5 Motivation This is what gives human beings or groups the desire or willingness to do something 5 in terms of work and person al life and such a context is greatly influenced by cultural variables that affect attitudes and behavior. You read "Doing Business with Multinational Organizations" in category "Essay examples" Using Hofstede’s ultural dimensions we can evaluate how different motivation methods by multinational corporations would affect employees from different cultures especially if they use the same methods across several countries. 1. 4. 6. Individualism/Collectiveness People who are members to a culture that promote individualism such as the American culture would be motivated by opportunities for individual advancement and autonomy plus they would prefer individual rewarding systems than people of a collectivist nature who would prefer rewards of the entire group and would be motivated with what will advance the entire group. . 4. 7. Uncertainty/Avoidance People who are members of cultures who prefer to avoid opportunity would prefer job security while the opposite would be motivated wi th risky opportunities for variety and fast track development. 1. 4. 8. Power distance A low power distance culture will be motivated by team work, contribution coming from all members while in a high power distance, motivations comes from the relation ship of the managers and the subordinates. 1. 4. 9. Masculinity/Femininity A masculine culture would prefer the traditional division of work and roles by gender and each gender to stay in their positions for example the traditional African culture 6 while in a feminine culture is open and will motivate people through flexible roles and equal opportunity . (Harris and Moran ,2000) 2. ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES Globalization has led to the development of worldwide and regional governing bodies such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), European Union (EU) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). They are tasked with regulating interactions between economies and preventing conflicts as well as ensuring business ethics and legal measures are taken care of (Farrell et al, 2008) 2. 1Examples of Regional and world governing bodies 2. 1. 1. World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goals of the WTO include among others the administration of trade agreements, facilitation of trade negotiations, settlement of trade disputes, provision of legally binding ground rules for international commerce and trade policy. Basically WTO attempts to reduce barriers to trade between and within nations and settle trade disputes ( Ferrell, Fraedrich Ferrell, 2008). The WTO can be said to favour the powerful multi-national corporations, which daily strengthen their grip on the world economy. This has led to smaller nations being forced to open up their trade areas e. China being forced by US to open up its trade 7 to allow U. S imports. Globalization of multinationals has many adverse effects on millions of people throughout the world. The overriding aim of the WTO, in short, is to create a world eminently fit for the multi-national corporations to live in. 2. 1. 2. European Union The European Union is the economic association of over two dozen European countries, which seek to create a unified, barrier-free market for products and services throughout the continent, as well as a common currency with a unified authority over that currency. The EU relies on member states to protect collective labor rights. The EU expects member states to have thriving trade unions and employees associations to participate in the legislative process at EU level that can help to implement directives at the national level. The EU also places considerable importance on upholding human rights standards in its dealings with 3rd world countries (Alston, 2005). 2. 1. 3. COMESA The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, is a preferential trading area with nineteen member states stretching from Libya to Zimbabwe. COMESA formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area which had existed since 1981. The main objective of COMESA is to facilitate the removal of all structural and institutional weaknesses of member States, and the promotion of peace; security and stability so as to enable them attain sustained development individually and collectively as a regional bloc. Among other things, COMESA member States have agreed on the need to create and maintain: 8 ? a full free trade area guaranteeing the free movement of goods and services produced within COMESA and the removal of all tariffs and non-tariff barriers; a Customs Union under which goods and services imported from nonCOMESA countries will attract an agreed single tariff in all COMESA states; ? free movement of capita and investment supported by the adoption of common investment practices and policies so as to create a more favorable investment climate for the COMESA region; ? a gradual establishment of a payments union based on the COMESA Clearing House and the eventual establishment of a common monetary union with a common currency; and ? The adoption of common visa arrangements, including the right of establishment leading eventually to the free movement of bona fide persons. 2. 2. Effects of World Governing Bodies on globalization and business World governing bodies have opened up trade between member countries and as a result increased globalization namely through: 1. Reducing barriers to international trade through international agreements such as WTO agreements 2. Elimination of tariffs; creation of free trade zones with small or no tariffs 3. Reduced transportation costs, especially resulting from development of containerization for ocean shipping. 4. Reduction or elimination of capital controls 5. Reduction, elimination, or harmonization of subsidies for local businesses 9 6. Creation of subsidies for global corporations 7. Harmonization of intellectual property laws across the majority of states, with more restrictions 8. Supranational recognition of intellectual property restrictions (e. g. patents granted by China would be recognized in the United States) 9. Globalization has brought about the formation of alliances between countries such as the G8, NAFTA, EU, such alliances want to improve trade and business amongst themselves and companies operating outside these alliances have quite some disadvantage e. g. flower companies in Kenya selling flowers to the EU 10. World governing bodies and trade alliances such as EU, WTO stipulates the basic ethical rules that should be used in their member states. If companies do not comply they would have campaigns against them creating boycotts for their products. 10 3. STRATEGIES During the last half of the twentieth century, many barriers to international trade fell and a wave of firms began pursuing international strategies to gain a competitive advantage. Business strategies may include geographic expansion, diversification, acquisition, product development, market penetration, retrenchment, divestiture, liquidation, and joint venture. Strategic management enables organizations to recognize and a dopt to change more readily; successfully adapting to change is the key to survival and prosperity. 2. 3. Two types of international strategy 2. 3. 1. Global strategy Treat the world as a single market. It is applied where forces for global integration are strong and force for national responsiveness is weak. For example this is true of consumer electronics market. Global Strategy is suitable for: ? ? ? Product is the same in all countries. Centralized control – little decision-making authority on the local level Effective when differences between countries are small 2. 3. 2. Multinational Strategy It treats the world as a portfolio of national opportunities. It is applied where forces for global integration are weak and force for national responsiveness is strong. For example this is true of branded packaged goods business for 11 example strategy pursued by Unilever. Multi domestic strategy is suitable for ? ? ? Products customized for each market Decentralized control – local decision making Effective when there are wide differences between the countries 2. 4. Strategies of investing abroad 2. 4. 1. Joint venture Marula (2006) defines joint venture as a venture that is jointly owned and operated by two or more firms. He further explains that many firms penetrate foreign market by engaging in a joint venture with firms that reside in those markets. Advantages of a Joint venture First these organizations are able to apply their respective comparative advantages in a given project and Marula (2006) gives an example of General Mills Inc which joined in a venture with Nestle SA so as that cereals produced by General Mill could be sold through the overseas sales distribution network by Nestle also Xerox Corp and Fuji Co. of Japan engaged in a joint venture that allowed Xerox Corp to penetrate the Japanese market and allowed Fuji to enter the photocopying business. Secondly a joint ventures enables organization especially in the automobile to offer its technological advantages for example General Motors has ongoing joint ventures with automobile manufactures in several different countries. 12 Disadvantages of Joint Ventures Association of Certified Charted Accountants (2004) asserts that disagreements may arise over profit shares, amount invested, the management of the joint venture , making the strategy and finally one partner may wish to withdraw from the arrangement. 2. 4. 2. Contract Manufacturing or Licensing Pearce and Robison (2004) define licensing as the transfer of some industrial property right from the licensor to a motivated licensee. They further explain that most tend to be patterns, trademarks, or technical know how that are granted to the licensee for a specified time in return for a royalty and for avoiding tariffs or import quotas. Advantages of Licensing Pearce and Robison (2003) argue that firms that use licensing will benefit from lowering the risk of entry into the foreign markets and used best in companies large enough to have a ombination of international strategic activities and for firms with standardized products in narrow margin industries. Disadvantages of Licensing According to Pearce and Robison (2004) is the possibility that the foreign partner will gain the experience and evolve into a major competitor after the contract expires as this was a case between U. S electronics firms with Japanese companies. Secondly they argue th at another potential problem stems from the control that the licensor forfeits on production, marketing and 13 general distribution of its products. And this loss of control minimizes a company’s degrees of freedom as it reevaluates its future options. 2. 4. 3. Franchising Pearce and Robison (2004) define Franchising as form of licensing which allows the franchise to sell a highly publicized product or service, using the parent’s brand name or trademark, carefully developed procedures, and marketing strategies. In exchange the franchisee pays a fee to the parent company, typically based on the volume of sales of the franchisor in its defined market area. The local investor who must adhere to the strict policies of the parent operates the franchise. Examples are Avis, Burger King, CocaCola, Hilton, Kentucky fried chicken, Manpower and Pepsi. ACCA (2004) asserts that the franchiser provides the name, any good will associated with it, systems, business methods, support services such as advertising, training and site decoration while the franchisee provides the capital, personal involvement, local market knowledge, payment to the franchiser for the rights, support services and responsibility for day to day running and the ultimate profitability of the franchise. Disadvantages of franchising According to ACCA (2004) search for competent candidates is both costly and time consuming where the franchiser requires many outlets for example McDonalds in UK. Also the control over franchisees is demanding as they are spread over many locations. 14 2. 4. 4. Transnational Alliances Levi (1996) defines transnational alliances as associations of firms in different countries working together to overcome the limitation of working alone. One of the motivations to form a ransnational alliance is cooperation over research where cost and risks may be too high for any one firm or where different firms may possess different abilities. He gives an example IBM and Siemens of Germany in Memory chip development or marketing of Geo produced in Korea by GM. He further asserts that transnational alliances are compromise between a firm doing everything itself and dealing with a stranger. Advantages Of transnational alliances As Levi (1996) argues organizations form tran snational alliances to gain access to foreign markets, to exploit complementary technologies and to reduce time taken for innovation. . 4. 5. Wholly owned foreign subsidiaries Based on a study done by Richard Vernon of Harvard Business School where 187 United States manufacturing with six or more foreign subsidiaries outside of Canada the researcher concluded that these multinational corporations tend to be larger, more profitable more advertising and research oriented and more diversified than firms which have not invested abroad. (Horst, 1972) 4. 0 INDUSTRIAL AND BUSINESS Economic reforms/environment affects the business and industry directly. Business plans and programmers are directly influenced by economic factors, 15 such as, interest rates, money supply, price level, consumers’ credit etc. Economic conditions leading to inflation or deflation affect the business activities. Inflation leads to rise in general price-level, whereas deflation leads to fall in price level. Higher petrol prices in the country resulted to a trend in favor of small like Maruti and starlet cars. State of industrial trade and business booms and slumps constitute the economics of market environment, (Lewis, 2006). Recently government initiated various economic policies. As such the impact of these reforms changes on business and industry in the following manner: 2. 5. Buyers’ market In the liberalized policy regime shortages of goods are no more, but there are surplus of goods. These arise due to competition, reduction in cost, up-gradation of technology, improvement in quality and customer convenience. Removal of government restrictions on capacity creation and capacity utilization has also helped increase in the supply of goods. Industry has been given total freedom to expand and diversify. Price control has been removed. Investment now takes place in the areas of demand. All these changes have made the buyer, the sovereign of the market. 2. 6. Export is required for survival Implementation of new trade policy has linked imports to exports. The enterprises should earn foreign exchange by exports and use the same foreign exchange for importing raw material spares and equipments. For example: Reliance Group, Essar World Trade, Ceat, Videocon, Eicher, MRF etc, are being benefited by the 16 new policy. 2. 7. Threat from multinational companies Due to the present policy of liberalization of our government, massive entry of multinationals in the country has started. The vast resources and the modern technology of the present multi-national companies have enabled their subsidiary companies to boost sales and enjoy strategic advantage over their competitors. The presence of multinational companies has been rendering valuable services to our economy. It is supplying superior quality of goods, generating more employment opportunities, promoting modern technology and awakening our business community. Presence of multinational companies has also boosted growth of small industries in the country. 2. 8. Overall competition The new competitive environment has thrown the economy open. There is tough competition between multinationals and there is also competition between local enterprises and foreign enterprises. Competition has now become global. It is not confined to national boundaries. For instance, Weston Electronics Company, which held about 18% of the television market, has been virtually thrown out of the market due to cutthroat competition and technological backwardness. . 9. World class technology Changes in government policy regarding business and industry have provided us with world-class technology. Most companies have also started making investment in research and development. Pharmaceutical industries in countries such as India made 2% investment in R D. In developed countries investment in 17 research and development is approximately 12%. Multinationals are also bring ing world-class technology in the country. This has enabled faster growth of industries. 2. 10. Future not guided by past failures It is rightly said that future starts afresh for companies. Future now needs new strategies, high technologies, determined efforts, enthusiasm, organization and leadership. New approaches, systems structures and new leadership must emerge to compete with the multinationals. We must forget the past, bury its failures and start working with new endeavor, approaches and leadership. 2. 11. Wider and diverse markets Due to globalization markets have been opened up and can now be widely accessed by companies from various countries. Countries have lift barriers improving flow of goods between them. This has boosted import and export trade among various countries. Regional trading blocks have been formed to improve trade and allow free flow of goods and services among member countries. In the agricultural sector, crop imports are traded at cheaper prices and exchanged for another commodity because of the free trade as entailed among the provisions of bodies such as COMESA or WTO. A country such as Philippines could purchase or import crops from another country at cheaper tariff rates, in case of a shortage. However, on the downside, countries that are more progressive agriculturally could just dump their third-rate or low-class products to their third-world trading counterparts. 18 2. 12. Foreign direct investment inflows Local industries which have invested abroad such as Bidco oil refinery is reaping huge profits from its foreign direct investments such as from its investment in Uganda palm plantation. Creation of common markets has given countries incentives to invest in those countries thus leading to investment inflows. Lowering of tariffs: countries such as India have been reaping from enormous opportunities emerging from globalization such as consequent lowering of tariff barriers. Information Technology has given Indian industries formidable brand equity in the global markets. Indian companies have a unique distinction of providing efficient business solutions with cost and quality as an advantage by using state of art technology. Outsourcing is the act of giving a third-party the responsibility of running hat would otherwise be an internal system or service. Due to globalization, most companies and businesses have sought to contract most of its services or processes to outsiders. Most industries now use outsourcing such as call centers and can outsource its functions such as marketing, financial, training, transport and distribution and so forth. Capitalize on global trade: most domestic industries now capitalize on global trade by concentrating on the domestic market and then leverage their eco nomies of scale overseas. 2. 13. Devaluation Some countries have had to cope up with the trend of globalization by devaluing their currency such as India. The first step towards globalization was taken with the announcement of the devaluation of Indian currency by 18-19 percent against 19 major currencies in the international foreign exchange market. This was a measure taken in order to resolve the balance of payment crisis. 5. 0 ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION In conclusion my own critique on globalization is that the whole process has increased power that multinational corporations seems to enjoy . This is seen as a particularly worrying phenomenon because it affects the issues that are raised and witnessed everywhere we have a multinational company. An overriding concern is that globalization increases the gap between the haves and the have-not of the world. Unfair labor practices such as child labour, poor working conditions and low remuneration packages are some of issues that have been witnessed in the recent past. Although it’s not clear whether the forces of globalization may produce a general deterioration of working conditions around the world or increase the inequality of working conditions among countries . espite the above ,in rich countries the picture is totally different thus self-interested opposition to globalization with fears that cheap imports or immigrants from other countries will lower the relative wages of low-skilled workers, more rapid economic change and shifting patterns of comparative advantage will increase economic insecurity and internation al competition. Despite all this countering the claims of globalization skeptics is a century-old economy theory that predicts free trade will reduce a convergence of labour conditions around the world. 20 6. References: ACCA (2004) Strategic business planning and development (paper 3. 5). London: BPP Professional Education Alston, P. (2005). Labour rights as human rights. New York: Oxford University Press Inc. Deresky, H. (2008). International Management : Managing Across Borders and Culture (6th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, Pearson Education. Gallois, C. , Callan, V. (1997). Communication and culture: A guide for practice. Chichester, UK, Wiley. Ferrell, O. , Fraedrich, J. , Ferrell, L. (2008). Business Ethics: Ethical decision making and cases. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Horst T. 1972) Firm and Industry Determinants of the Decision to Invest Abroad: An Empirical Study The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 54, No. 3 (Aug. , 1972), pp. 258-266 Kotler, Philip: Market ing Management: nineth edition, Prentice Hall India Lewis D. 3rd ed. (2006): When cultures collide. Leading across cultures. London. Nicholas Brealey International. Levi, Maurice D (1996) International Finance; The markets and financial management multinational business (3rd ed) Singapore: McGraw- 21 McFarlin, D. B. , Sweeney, P. D. (2006). International Management: Strategic Opportunities and Cultural Challenges (3rd ed. . Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company. O’Carroll, G. (n. d. ). Intercultural Communication – Module: [Intercultural communication]. Retrieved from ECO – European Career Orientation website: http://eco. ittralee. ie// Pearce, J. and Robinson, R. (2004). Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation and Control. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies Schermehorn, J. R. (2005). Organizational Behavior (9th ed. ). Hoboken, NJ Thomas, D. C. (2002). Essentials of International Management: A cross culture Perspective. 2455 Teller Road, Sage Publication s Inc. 22 How to cite Doing Business with Multinational Organizations, Essay examples

Warhol`s Portraits Essays - The Velvet Underground, Pop Art

Warhol`s Portraits Some of the portraits that were done by Warhol began with Troy Donahue and Warren Beatty, and Elvis Presley. Then later on came Marilynn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy. There was also a series of car crash pictures done around this time. The Jackie Kennedy portraits were done very shortly after the assassination of President Kennedy. They mirrored the mourning face of Jackie that was shown time and time again in the media. There were eight different images that were all taken from different newspapers at the time. The number of works in this series is still unknown. (Crone pg 29) The car crash pictures had an extreme amount of variation. They ranged from having one picture to a canvas to having up to twenty on the same canvas at one time. There are many different colored pictures in this set. The most major change from one to another is the background color. It is difficult for critics to place the origination of the meaning of this set of works. (Crone pg 29) The series involving the electric chairs has a very serious political statement. It is a symbol of misuse of governmental sovereignty; it has also been considered and open confession of a deficiency in cultural development. (Crone) About the same time as the electric chair pictures were being shown there were many other quite disturbing sets of pictures being shown. They were of race riots and many were taken directly from newspaper articles of the Nazi Germany and Castro's revolution in Cuba. (Crone pg 29) One of the last serial sets that Warhol created before moving on from painting was of flowers. The flowers were produced in an extreme variety of sizes and quantities. These were on display in 1964. The original flowers were taken from a women magazine. Unlike most of his earlier works, these reproductions were touched up by hand on the screen. These are also different in that they do not represent anything to Warhol. They are strictly decorative. The colors used in the painting aren't used to symbolize anything but just to bring out color in decoration. In all there were about nine hundred of the flower painting made in Warhol's studio, "The Factory". These were among the very last of Warhol's paintings, in the remainder of his life he concentrated on movie making. (Crone pg 30) During Warhol's life his work has been controversial. He has become more recognized and famous after his death in 1987. I think that his purpose for being an artist seemed to be different from that of other artists. I'm not convinced he painted and filmed for the love of the art or so much for his purpose in doing it. I think he had a message he wanted to get across and this was the medium through which he chose to express himself.