Vespucci, Columbus, and the New World

Before Columbus went through the coastline of bigger America, Amerigo Vespucci, whom the name America has determined, first came in. He explored, investigated, watched, made a guide as per what he saw, and made an investigation report to his King about it. In his portrayal, we can see a run of the mill European character in transit he see individuals, condition and things. He composed his perception on an adverse point of view, for example, the Native Americans has no dress, no feeling of possession, no current law, no religion, no ethics, no morals, and essentially no culture.In this announcement, it gave an undertone that those local occupants were finished uncovered creatures, which the very same depiction of individuals at the rear of his head as he needed to overcome the land accepting that it was his recently discovered world for the Europeans. As we break down Amerigo’s text, we can see how he needed to acquaint those locals with his ruler as inconsequential individuals . Maybe, his goal was to get full help from their King and Queen as they wanted to totally restore their found land and a while later vanquish to make them own.Christopher Columbus, 1530 Unlike Amerigo’s pessimistic presentation about the Native Americans, Columbus has a progressively certifiable comment on their characters. He said that these indigenous individuals of America were quiet, quiet, agreeable, warm, attractive and of very much assembled body structure. Be that as it may, the nearness of cynicism has additionally risen above in his content when he portrayed their way of life as having no information and absolutely obliviousness about arms made of irons as the natives’ lances were possibly made of woods and cane.Another undesirable tribute was the point at which he expressed that these locals are defenseless and perfect to become slaves, and that with just not many of Europeans could make these individuals crushed. We can see that those positive and negative comments of Columbus was asked by a similar goal with Amerigo, which is to convince the rulers and permit them vanquish the land to be the new settlement of Europeans particularly Portuguese. The New WorldBoth the Portuguese’s rulers and the American locals were appropriately presented by the purported New World. Both Columbus and Vespucci has built up and proposed this idea to them. To Vespucci, he imagined that he found a world with nothing to have by any stretch of the imagination. He didn’t perceive or maybe, he deliberately would not like to perceive the current standard and culture of the locals since he needed to roll out an improvement without anyone else and caused a proposal to have the European culture on the land as a substitution on the current norm.His thought was that Europeans like them are progressed and prevalent in all perspectives, which implies that they are the main ones fit for changing the land and society into a significantly more exceptionall y respected culture. To Columbus, he showed that a New World must be set by offering material things to the locals in return of their opportunity, quality and administration being hirelings. Be that as it may, his aim was not to overhaul the way of life of the locals however to absolutely kill their way of life for the improvement of the Europeans.

Evolution of Corporate Social Responisbility Essay

Advancement of Corporate Social Responisbility - Essay Example Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has developed as a piece of the board and corporate administration during the most recent two decades. Notwithstanding, it is difficult to envision that this idea, corporate social duty, just began in the Western world toward the finish of the eighteenth century. Conversation incorporates the development of CSR and how this idea has sprung up during the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth hundreds of years. In any case, what is perceptible through this spewing forth of history remains the hard fight that ordinary citizens needed to battle so as to have an others conscious society to live in; consequently the vital establishment of corporate social duty. The genuine term became known in the start of the twentieth century, in which this belief system was worried about a progression of corporate outrages in the United States. As per an assortment of sources CSR was acknowledged in various organizations and companies as a piece of corporate adminis tration in various times of the twentieth century. As of late, one can explain four fundamental assessments about CSR and corporate social putting propensities in CSR: old style and current view, cost and advantageous perspective on such putting resources into long haul run (Quazi and O'Brien, 2000). This paper looks at the advancement of CSR, as far as the turn of events and reconciliation of this social duty into corporate conduct. ... Segment three talks about the Second Industrial Revolution, time in which the world was blasted by various corporate embarrassments, and accordingly, the on-set of firms reporting CSR as a piece of the executives and private associations. Area four features the essential changes, which were brought by World War II. These progressions were basic in characterizing the improvement of CSR. Current occasions and building up CSR in various organizations and nations, especially in Japan, are depicted in areas five and six, separately. 2. First Industrial Revolution (1760-1830) This segment will examine the change of occupation structures, free enterprise and languishing individuals over the First Industrial Revolution. Our conversation of the development of CSR starts with the First Industrial Revolution since it was a significant advance in monetary change. 2.1 Transformation of employment structure: New Technologies The First Industrial Revolution was an incredible advance in monetary change. Its introduction to the world is ascribed to the presentation of new advances of creation. There was fast development in profitability and expectations for everyday comforts. The First Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain around 1760. It was checked (Chandler, 1977) by the selection of three new innovations: the steam motor, depending on the vitality of the petroleum derivative, coal; machines for turning string and weaving material; heaters to make iron mineral into completed metal by utilizing coal. During the time of the First Industrial Revolution, 1760 till 1830, the change of social orders occurred. It was a stamped change from agrarian and provincial society to industrialize and urbanize. Before those procedures the entirety of the manufacturing plant's work was local work, or the alleged house

Teaching Beginning Esl Students

Gandhi, A Great Leader Essays - Gandhism, Ascetics, Gujarati People Gandhi, A Great Leader Hardly any men have ever had as quite a bit of an impact on our reality as Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948), however he utilized the message of harmony and love, instead of war and decimation. Once a conspicuous legal advisor in South Africa, Gandhi quit any pretense of providing legal counsel and came back to India so as to help facilitate the enduring of the stifled individuals of his country. Gandhi's affection for individuals and his strict enthusiasm made him a progressive in a large number of his thoughts and activities. He wanted to see India liberated from British principle in a bloodless unrest, like the Glorious Revolution of Seventeenth Century England. Realizing that viciousness just brings forth savagery, he started the rehearsing of latent opposition, or as he called it, Satyagraha which means clutching truth. In his acclaimed Salt March of 1930, Gandhi and a large number of others walked to a coast where salt lay on the sea shores to fight the British Governments' disallowance against the Indians making their own salt. In spite of the fact that many were beaten, captured and murdered, nobody retaliated. Throughout his life he drove three significant campaigns, revitalized help for peaceful strikes, asked Indians to blacklist anything British, and advocated ladies' privileges. Gandhi exemplified numerous qualities of an incredible pioneer. His affection for the individuals of India was endless; he didn't need anything more than to serve and help them. Continually placing others above himself, he tried to make himself even lower than the least individual from the Hindu position framework. He even lowered himself to the point of clearing up waste deserted by others, planning to train that sickness was spread in foulness. One of his most outstanding characteristics was that he showed others how its done and never lectured what he was not ready to do himself. A consistent theme among Gandhi and numerous other incredible pioneers was that regardless of what he did, he did it as well as could be expected. He once stated: Regardless of how irrelevant the thing you need to do, do it as well as possible, give it as a lot of your consideration and consideration as you would provide for the thing you view as generally significant. For it will be by those things that you will be judged. He surrendered his life and material belongings, fasted, works and languished over his kin and their motivation. He demonstrated that aloofness isn't equal with shortcoming, and turned into a pioneer in the most genuine feeling of the word. Maybe Gandhi's most noteworthy commitment to the world proceeded with long after his death in 1948. Few understand that had it not been for his impact, we may have never seen in this nation Martin Luther King Junior's I have a fantasy discourse, the lunch counter protests, Rosa Parks, or Nelson Mandela's battle against antiapartheid abuse in South Africa. These individuals and a lot more who have emulated his example take the stand concerning Gandhi's administration capacity and his inheritance that will proceed for a long time to come.

Fears of a College Applicant

I can relate to Lauren H.'s article "Fears of a College Applicant" because college can be scary. I can see why it's scary as a college applicant because you might not get into the college that you want. Females are especially scared because they are the ones that mostly end up as rape victims. Going to college is a scary thing to do in life because you leave your family to get a better education for yourself to have a better career in your future. College is a good place to go for your education "Ever since I was eight, I looked forward to go to college". Thank you Lauren for this article on how applying to college could be terrifying but it can also be a great thing to do for anyones future career.

The Sensorimotor Stage Of Piaget s Developmental Stages

An Analysis of the Sensorimotor Stage of Piaget’s Developmental Stages in the Context of the â€Å"Levtex Baby Night Owl Musical Mobile† Introduction: This psychological study will define Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage in the context of a children’s toy entitled: â€Å"Levtex Baby Night Owl Musical Mobile.† An analysis of the child’s perception of this toy will defined through the sensory impressions during the infantile stage. The sensorimotor stage is the stage from birth to 2 years of age, which defines the way tht an infant, recognizes objects through direct sensory impressions and motor activates. The â€Å"owl Mobile† is an example of the visual and audio perceptions for an infant that would be good for this stage of development. The owls represent†¦show more content†¦Eventually, the child will begin to understand the visual objects and audio sounds that would be located in the closest proximity. This aspects of Piaget’s theory defines the important aspects of the infant’s perception of the world, which would begin at the 4 to 8 month stage: Secondary circular reactions (4 to 8 months): Now babies’ focus shifts from their own body to objects in the world (secondary). They learn to control not just their body but other things as well and will repeat random actions for their results (Ashford et al, 2010, 246). In this context, the secondary world of the infant becomes more extensive, which results in the movement of the mobile due to the stimulation of sight and sound. The physical sensation of kicking the mobile becomes an interaction, which allows the child to explore their own bodily movements and the object they are kicking,. This type of movement is crucial for understanding the impact of sensory action and the development of motor skills in this process: â€Å"For instance, if a baby is lying in a crib and looking at a mobile and the baby kicks its feet and the mobile moves (and the baby kicks its feet and the mobile moves), the baby will kick its feet again to see whether the mobile will move† (Ashford et al, 2010, 246). Surely, this defines the cognitive development of the infant during this stage, since they are now making directShow MoreRelatedJean Piaget s Cognitive Theory Essay1750 Words   |  7 Pages Jean Piaget is a well-renowned twentieth century scholar responsible for the development of the Cognitive Theory, focusing on how people think over time, which, in turn, reflects in how how attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are shaped. Jean Piaget observed and divided the Cognitive Theory into four periods of cognitive development, which occur in the following order: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Of the four stages, each has it’s own characteristicsRead MoreThe Theorist That I Chose To Write About Is Jean Piaget.1294 Words   |  6 Pageswrite about is Jean Piaget. His theory deals with the nature of knowledge itself and how humans gradually come to acquire it. His theory is basically known as the developmental stage theory. In the developmental stage theory there are four different stages of the developmental theory: the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational period. Jean Piaget was born in Neuchà ¢tel (Switzerland) on August 9, 1896. He was the oldest child of Arthur Piaget and Rebecca JacksonRead MoreJean Piaget s Theories Of Cognitive Development1360 Words   |  6 Pages Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist. He worked in the fields of Developmental Psychology and Epistemology. He’s known for his works and theories in the field of child development. His theories of cognitive development and epistemological views are called, â€Å"genetic epistemology†. Piaget placed the education of children as most important. His works and theories still play a huge role and influence the study of child psychology today. Jean Piaget was born on August 9, 1896 in Neuchatel, SwitzerlandRead MorePiagets Theory of Cognitive Development959 Words   |  4 Pagesadulthood. A Swiss philosopher by the name of Jean Piaget took an interest in in developmental psychology; specifically in children during infancy through pre-adolescence. This model developed by Piaget still has a modern-day relevancy. Contributions to Learning and Cognition Piaget made a considerable contribution to psychology with his studies of cognition; his main focus was on understanding the difference between children and adults. â€Å"Applying Piaget s theory of cognitive development to the educationRead MorePiagets Theory of Infant Development1499 Words   |  6 PagesPiagets Theory of Infant Development Author: Elizabeth Purling Renton Technical College Developmental Psychology Instructor: Leta Berkshire May 30, 2007 Piagets Theory of Infant Development At almost 32 weeks gestation, my little one constantly brings about questions and ideas about what my life will be like when I become a parent. What will she look like? Will she be a loud baby or a quiet one? How long before she sleeps through the night? What cognitive abilities doesRead MoreJean Piaget s Theory Of Knowing921 Words   |  4 PagesJean Piaget was a developmental psychologist and philosopher from Switzerland. He is known for his epistemological studies with children. He was the first to make a systematic study of cognitive development. Piaget was also the Director of the International Bureau of Education. He was â€Å"the great pioneer of the constructivist theory of knowing.† He was known as the second best psychologist after Skinner by the end of the 20th century. Throughout his career, Jean Piaget declared that â€Å"only educationRead MoreJean Piagets Theory1170 Words   |  5 Pagesthat of Jean Piaget and his theories on the cognitive developme nt stages. Jean Piaget was born in Neuchatel, Switzerland, where he studied at the university and received a doctorate in biology at the age of 22. Following college he became very interested in psychology and began to research and studies of the subject. With his research Piaget created a broad theoretical system for the development of cognitive abilities. His work, in this way, was much like that of Sigmund Freud, but Piaget emphasizedRead MorePsychology : Psychology And Psychology1198 Words   |  5 Pageschanging attitudes throughout life. starting with developmental psychology. Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why human beings change over the course of their life. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development, aging, and the entire lifespan. Using the multiple levels of analysis that we’ve talked about in this class and the information I have learned in Developmental Psychology , I can apply to some parts of myRead MoreCritically examine the contribution of Jean Piaget to our understanding of child development.1321 Words   |  6 PagesJean Piaget to our understanding of child development. Until the mid 1900 s psychologists had no useful theory for explaining how children s minds change as they age. Psychologists interested in this field either has to study it in relation to behaviourism, which emphasises that children merely receive information from the environment, or in relation to the IQ testing approach, which emphasises individual differences in child ren s development. However developmental psychologist Jean Piaget bornRead MoreJean Piaget s Theory And Theory1673 Words   |  7 PagesThe theorist I am choosing to talk about is Jean Piaget who discovered the cognitive development theory and who broke it down into different stages. The different stages are the sensorimotor stage, the preoperational stage, the concrete operational thought, and the formal operational thought. To sum up Piaget’s theory he believes children learn more about how the world works by little experiments in which they test their understanding. The stages he broke the theory down into are in which children

A Critical Comparison of Gothic Architecture in Italy,...

Gothic was first used as a term of contempt during the late renaissance. The Goths were barbarians- which leads to many theories as to why Goth was the chosen title for a style that required extreme engineering as well as technical and artistic know how. Since then vast efforts have been made to rename the style with a term that better encompasses the idea of gothic style. The Gothic style was an over exaggerated, awe-inspiring attempt to become closer to God. The worshipper was not only drawn to the altar, but experienced an ascent to heaven at the same time.1 These artistic gems are a grand testament to historical technology and the imaginative approach and vision of skilled craftsmen. The gothic style is one of the most†¦show more content†¦(Figure 1.2) Abbot Suger, head of St. Denis Abbey, believed that St. Denis should be the spiritual center of France. He also felt that St. Denis should be the pilgrimage church to outshine all others as well as provide a focal point for all religious and patriotic emotion for the French people. 3 He had grand visions for his church, which were carried out by an anonymous master builder. Through the use of sketching techniques (the ability to create fast, understandable views of objects with only a pencil and a piece of paper- still used by engineers, designers, architects, builders, and craftsmen, today), the French had developed greater animation in their gothic decoration than their followers. They emphasized soaring heights and light qualities that were later adopted across Europe. The French flying buttresses became so elaborate that they had the appearance of being purely ornamental, which led to this period being coined flamboyant. Although many areas of Europe had accepted and adopted the style, the French buildings were generally vaster and more commanding in scale. (Figure 1.3) Outside France the regional adaptations of the style are much less distinctive. In Germany the gothic expression was slow to evolve. This evolution from the beginning was a mesh of pieces borrowed from the French. One theory about this slow evolution is that, in the 12th century Germany possessed a Romanesque architectural style, which was well suited toShow MoreRelatedThe Basilica Of St Denis2337 Words   |  10 Pagesthis essay I intend to compare and contrast the Basilica of St. Sernin and Basilica of St Denis in France with references to how they differ structurally (as Romanesque and Gothic buildings respectively) followed by critical analysis of the advancements in architectural construction methods. The progression in architectural capability from Romanesque to Gothic led to a change in how religious architecture was approached spatially, with far greater emphasis on the use of light and a desire for greater

Music Business on Internet free essay sample

Music Business on Internet by Anastasia Humanity Railing university, Curably Internet has been widely known as the most sophisticated thing that happens in the world. People have been using it for more than fifty years; internet has become useful to human civilization. It provides easier connectivity, plenty information, and effectiveness. Even people can run an online business with Internet. One of the online businesses which Is currently emerging Is music business. It all began on the first June 1999, when Peter Fanning launched his program Anapest. Anapest is an online music store which provides with music files sharing. People can easily browse, streaming, even download their favorite music through Anapest. The presence of Anapest soon made people realize that they can consume music in a very different way. Musician sees this innovation as the new direction of music business. Many musicians then use the Internet as their promotion kits, they upload their songs and defined them to the whole world. We will write a custom essay sample on Music Business on Internet or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It was Chuck D, rapper from American who started it all. In 1998, he uploaded his own song and released it in his own website besides through his own record label. What Chuck D done has been inspired many musicians o do the same thing to promote their music. Till then there are many social networks released which equipped the musicals with promoting program. An Easy Way with Plenty Benefits Such an easy way with simply clicking on the Download bar, you can enjoy your favorite song. With many choices of websites which has this download facility, the Internet user that concerned In this thing Is Increasing. Most of the Internet users are the young ages. Young people consume many kinds of music; literally they have their favorite music.It is common to do whatever it takes for them to have a leisure to their favorite music. If usually they have to buy the physics form of the music such as CD and cassette, nowadays they Just need an Internet. Internet let them to browse and download the music files legally. It is consider as an easy way to listen to the music. They only have to pay for the internet charge and they just got it Not only had the music listener who got the benefits from Internet, the musicals itself started to find their musical identity from internet. The presence of the media websites is helping them to do the music promotion.The musician can easily remote their music with such an easy feature -uploading the MPH file to the website. The ability of the internet In spreading the information quickly helped the musician gained their popularity. There are phasing steps for amateur musician to release their music. They usually have to deal with the record label; which they have 1 OFF contract label. These cost a lot of budget and need a wide networking, while on the internet they Just have to do it at home. There are many musicians became eagerly well known around the music industry; take an example like Coldly and Radioed.They are musician from UK which made the best use of media websites. Indonesia also has their musicians who are known and famous from the promotion on the internet. White Shoes and The Couples Company (WAISTCOAT) is a pop-Jazz band from Jakarta. Their genre is not easily acceptable by the local industry so they try the media website to release their songs. Unexpectedly, they became famous outside Indonesia. They had been played at the SSW Festival that held in Texas -it is a prestigious music event which every young musician wanted to play there. WAISTCOAT also got the award of The 25 Best Bands onNamespace from the famous music magazine Rolling Stones. Not only that, they are also chosen by the worlds largest database site -All Music Guide as the one of The 25 Most Creditworthy Bands in 2006. They also have their best listener from America, Australia, and Canada even in Japan. Consider that WAISTCOAT have attracted many music listeners universally, it is a good reputation from the music business on internet. Innovations and Dysfunctions This innovation also brings many advantages for the media social websites. Around 2000 to 2006, there were many websites popping up on internet. Namespace :whom. Namespace. Com), Last (whom. Last. M), Pump Audio (www. Pompadour. Com), Sinusoids (windsocks. Com) are some of websites which facilitates musicians to promote their music through internet. Commonly they provide features like; uploading, streaming, posting, forum and blob. The amount of the internet users helps them to grow the benefit from their website. It determined the profit from the advertisements which interest to take part in the media website, from the sharing- media partner, the pricing membership, and also the paid application. They are grow egger every years since the internet users are more likely being active in keep tracking on their media websites. There is also a media label in Indonesia which quite well known around the independent music industry, Yes No Wave :whom. Wesleyan. Com). Many independent musicians in Indonesia released their music on this website. This website provides a netball so that musician can easily get promotion; they got a release link, a release page, also they can produce their merchandise. With all of these features, there is a deal between the musician and the media website that the music will be freely uploaded and promoted around the internet.However, the music business on internet does not always bring the good thing. There is also disadvantage happened -music files piracy. The contradiction about using media website already occurred around 2000. Some sides disagree with the promotion features on media websites because they think it would kill the music industry. The major record labels are might also afraid of this; their rates would drown slowly if the using of media websites are keeps increasing. The musician actually has the same problem, that their original files would be hacked and spread caught a thief.Because this is an internet world, it is universal, the doer cannot easily track and it may need times. The people who consume the illegal download could sue by the law, also the people who pirates the original files and upload it without permit. Iris brings disadvantages for the musician, because they will lose some of their benefits from the promotion on the internet. But somehow, this internet activity still makes benefits for many parties. Conclusion The progress and the development of internet in terms of information sharing have a lot to make changes in music business.Many media websites creates new talented musician who cannot enter the major label to promote their music. This new Nay of music distribution makes benefits for the musicians who are not capable in budget to promote their music. People Just need to provide their selves an internet connection and they can make promotion universally through internet. The music listener is also got the advantages; they can easily browse and download their favorite music. While at the real music store they have to pay for the physic form SD and cassette), on internet they Just have it for free.These are the reason why the numbers of the internet users is increasing. Some can do the business and some Just enjoy the free stuff they got from internet. Just like a knife that has two sides, music business on internet also has both advantage and disadvantage. Some people Just got it wrong, they dysfunction the Internet to spread music illegally. They hacked the original music files and spread it illegally through internet. The problem is, there are some music listeners consume this illegal download. This act surely inflicts the musician benefits and the valid Edie websites.

You#39d Prefer An Astronaut free essay sample

Hum-Youd Prefer an AstronautMany rock bands released short-lived masterpieces in the ?s. One album I have always enjoyed and believe should have gone gold is, Youd Prefer an Astronaut, by Hum. It had the hit song Stars but only sold around 200,000 copies.Hums sound has fallen into the spacerock category even though the members thought it was a mistake. Astronaut was their debut album on the major record label RCA. The company signed Hum for their rock style. They were not just another alternative band hoping to get on the mainstream bandwagon. They wanted to give the world a taste of their influences all mixed together.In the nine songs, the guitars are loud and heavy. When not noisy, they are soft, sad and moving, as in The Very Old Man and Songs of Farewell and Departure. Overall, the songs are melodic as they take you to another world with Why I Like the Robins and Id Like Your Hair Long. We will write a custom essay sample on You#39d Prefer An Astronaut or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Their guitars are under the influence of flanger, phaser, and distortion pedals and together they make the most beautiful noise. The sci-fi lyrics are meaningless and there are no hidden messages in the artwork of the cover (a zebra with a plain green background).I recommend this record to anyone who likes to hear new and interesting sounds. The songs get you going and none sound alike. Even though this album came out in ?, its always good to flash back and listen to how much rock has branched out and mixed with other categories of music. .

Punctuation Is Powerful

Punctuation Is Powerful Punctuation Is Powerful Punctuation Is Powerful By Daniel Scocco The image we published last Saturday was quite popular, so I decided to run another one this Saturday. The theme is the same: punctuation. For those who cant see the image, heres what it says: An English professor wrote the words: A woman without her man is nothing on the chalkboard he asked the students to punctuate it correctly. All of the males in the class wrote: A woman, without her man, is nothing. All of the females in the class wrote: A woman: without her, man is nothing. Punctuation is powerful. I also wanted to thank all the readers who sent ideas and images. If you want to send one simply email it to info@dailywritingtips.com. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How Many Tenses in English?Capitalization Rules for Names of Historical Periods and MovementsTitled versus Entitled

Contract Investment Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Contract Investment Strategies - Essay Example Hedging can be considered a source of financing for post-loss investment opportunities. Hedging has other dimensions besides financing the post-loss investment; it addresses the asset substitution and under investment problems, reduces the probability of insolvency, permits more effective managerial compensation contracts, and may help reduce tax liabilities when tax functions are convex. In nutshell hedging, is 1 - Taking a position in a futures market opposite to a position held in the cash market to minimize the risk of financial loss from an adverse price change. 2 - A purchase or sale of futures as a temporary substitute for a cash transaction which will occur later. (http://www.cme.com/edu/ai/trdwthr/weatherbackground11784.html) For example, let us take the example of a hedger. A soybean grower must plan production based on some idea of a market price. There are, however, no guarantee against the decline of soybean prices once planting has begun. If prices drops once production is under way, future sale proceeds of soybeans may not be enough to cover the production cost, thus putting in jeopardy the financial health of the grower. Hedging can protect the farmer against this type of price uncertainty. Very similar is the case of weather derivatives. Weather derivatives cover low-risk, high probability events, while weather, insurance typically covers high-risk, low-probability events, as defined in highly tailored or customized policies. For example, a company might use a weather derivative to hedge against a winter that forecasters thought would be 5 Fahrenheit warmer than the historical average (a low risk, high probability event) since the company knows its revenues would be affected by that kind of weath er. However, the same company would most likely purchase an insurance policy for protection against damages caused by a flood or hurricane (high-risk, low-probability events.) (http://www.cme.com/edu/ai/trdwthr/weatherbackground11784.html) In the example of the soybean grower, by locking in a floor price through the purchase of a soybean put option, the grower would for example, at least know that no matter where the future market price of Soybeans is at harvest time, He/she will be able to sell the soybeans at the strike price. Of course, to establish this future price floor, the grower must pay a premium to purchase the put options, but this cost can be priced into production at the outset like any other cost of production. An owner of an asset will loose mosey when the price of the asset falls. Value of a put option rises when the asset price falls. What happens to the value of a portfolio containing both the asset and the put when the asset price falls Clearly, the answer depends on the ratio of assets to options in the portfolio. If the ratio is equal to zero, the value rises, whereas if the ratio is infinity, the value falls. Somewhere between these two extremes is a ratio at which a small movement in the asset does not results in any movement in the value of the portfolio. Such a portfolio is risk free. The reduction of risk by taking advantage of such correlations between the asset and the option price movements is called hedging. This is the one example how options are used in hedging. Call options can also be used for hedging. When using put options to hedge, various strike prices exist for an option on a specific stock index and for a specific expiration date. For example, put options on the

HIS 122 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

HIS 122 - Essay Example ïÆ' ¨ This book discusses the theology, history, and political theories surroundings the Declaration of Independence. Several published writings and letters of Franklin, Jefferson, and others are presented in the book. The interesting thing about the book is how it explored the idea that the men who fought for, authored, and amended the Declaration of Independence did not have establishing a Christian nation in mind. The author presented data showing that the values of the Orthodox Christian Church are all rejected by Thomas Jefferson. Also, it explores on the concept that equality, and not slavery, is the purpose of the Declaration. Dershowitz presented data supporting the idea that Jefferson rejects the concept of slavery and supports the â€Å"secular humanist† concept. It is controversial, challenging, and disturbing, because it requires readers to rethink their opinions regarding the Declaration ïÆ' ¨ Of all the books reviewed, this is considered the most interesting exploration on the different sides of diplomacy during the American Revolution. It provides an easy and interesting read, thus giving the book a wide array of target readers. It catches the interest even of a general reader, yet provides well-researched data that will also interest any historian. The diplomatic history of the American Revolution is presented in several angles, including America’s diplomatic ties with France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Russia, and Spain. ïÆ' ¨ Simple and straightforward, the book discusses a lot of unfinished businesses caused by the American Revolution. Mainly, there are two very interesting articles that provide a great eye-opener for any reader: â€Å"Two Republics in a Hostile World† by Jonathan Dull, and â€Å"The Ambiguities of Power† by J.R. Pole. The book, particularly these two articles, can be compared to the ideas presented in the book by Dershowitz --- it makes one rethink of their personal opinions on the

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay Being a parent is not only about providing a roof over ones head, clothes on their back or food in the belly, it is about responsibility and lessons learned. Huck had never had an adult male to talk to; Jim was a very smart black man and Huck realized he could learn a lot from him. Huck finally had someone he could look up to. â€Å"We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness. It was kind of solemn, drifting down the big, still river, laying on our backs looking up at the stars, and we didnt ever feel like talking loud, and it warnt often that we laughed—only a little kind of a low chuckle. We had mighty good weather as a general thing, and nothing ever happened to us at all—that night, nor the next, nor the next† (Twain 12). As Mark Twain’s character Jim shows us in â€Å"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn†, being a parent is about being there during good and bad times throughout life’s adventures. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain identified several major flaws in Southern culture, including the â€Å"culture of decadence,† the gullibility of people and the treatment of slaves. Through the experiences of Huck Finn he was able to provide the reader with a â€Å"panorama of American life (Microsoft Encarta 2000) before the Civil War. † The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is told in the first person perspective; the story has 43 chapters. In the first section, the main character â€Å"Huck† lets you know who he is and how he feels about his adventures from beginning to end. During the second section Huck meets Jim and starts down the river and lands on Uncle Silas’ farm. The third and final section takes place at the farm and continues to the end of the book (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn). Huck introduces you to several characters early on such as The Widow Douglas and Judge Thatcher. Both of these characters appear to have Huck’s best interest at heart, but do not go about things the right way. For example Huck tells us â€Å"The widow she cried over me, and called me a poor lost lamb, and she called me a lot of other names too, but she never meant no harm by it. She put me in them new clothes again, and I couldn’t do nothing but sweat and sweat, and feel all cramped up (Twain). † The widow was determined to bring Huck up to society standards, to be respectful and have manners. The Widow’s sister Miss Watson was an old maid who was set on teaching Huck about religion. She simply could not understand why anyone would want to go anywhere but the â€Å"good place†. â€Å"Miss Watson she kept pecking at me, and it got tiresome and lonesome (Twain). † The Widow Douglas had enrolled Huck into school; â€Å"At first I hated the school, but by and by I got so I could stand it (Twain). † School had become easier for Huck as time went by and he was finding the Widow less annoying as well. Judge Thatcher was determined to look after Huck’s money. Huck tried to give him all of the money, but the Judge set it up in a fund for him and made certain it went into the bank for safe keeping. However, after discovering Huck’s father was still alive, he mistakenly thought it would be good for Huck and his father to make amends. Huck soon knew the real reason his father reappeared into his life and that was simply for his new found money. Huck’s father referred to in the story as Pap is a harsh character. He had been very abusive to Huck in the past and Huck feared the future with him would not be any better. Unfortunately for Huck he was correct. Pap was not happy when he found Huck living a better life with the widow. He thought Huck was putting on airs and that did not please him. He ordered Huck to quit school as he did not want Huck to become smarter than he was. Pap was extremely jealous of Huck’s good fortune; a nice bed, carpeted floor and roof over his head. Although the Judge and widow tried to end Pap’s parental rights the courts would not agree, they did not believe in separating families. The new judge tried to civilize Pap, but Pap just went back to getting drunk around town and stirring up all kinds of problems. Pap was a racist, alcoholic who was only after one thing and that was money. After a while Pap decided to steal Huck away from the widow. The next character we are introduced to is Miss Watson’s slave Jim. Once Jim discovered that Miss Watson was going to sell him, further separating him from his family, he decides to run for his freedom. After Huck decides he can no longer take the abuse from his father, he fakes his own death and he and Jim end up traveling down the Mississippi River together. Jim was a large well spoken black man whom Huck enjoyed listening too. Upon Jim’s departure from Miss Watson, he is immediately sought on suspicion of Huck’s murder. Jim just wanted to get away, earn some money and come back to buy his family’s freedom. It was during this time period that slavery was being abolished in the northern states. While hiding on Jackson’s Island, Huck and Jim meet up with each other. Huck faces moral conflict as he decides whether or not to turn Jim over to the law. Since society at that time dictates that black people are supposed to be slaves and cannot run free, Huck is concerned about helping Jim to escape. However, they set out together towards the Ohio River on a raft that they built together. â€Å"Before they leave Jackson’s Island, they find a dead man – but Jim won’t let Huck look at the guy’s face on account of it being â€Å"too gashly† (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Summary). † This is the first time Jim shields Huck from the identity of the man in the shack; it is Huck’s father. Jim’s gesture is that of a man trying to protect Huck from seeing his dead father. He is the first person in the story to show a real interest in what is best for Huck. As Jim and Huck’s adventure continues they meet up with three robbers while climbing around on a wrecked steamship. Two of the robbers are trying to kill the third robber and Huck wants to get help, eventually all three of the robbers die and Huck and Jim get away. This is Huck’s first real experience with murder. After traveling south on the Mississippi River, Huck goes ashore to find out where they are. It is now that he realizes that he could be suspected of stealing Miss Watson’s property. â€Å"Huck discovers he just can’t â€Å"harden himself† against Jim to turn him in and so concludes he’ll just â€Å"go to hell and take up wickedness again† by keeping his friend liberated. Huck’s moral tension seems to be between his head and his heart. He knows what is right what the law says but can’t bring himself to do it (Marklerch). † When he returns to where Jim is, Huck must let him know they missed Cairo; their exit that they were looking for. At this point they are nearly ran over by a steam ship and both thrown from the raft. â€Å"Huck’s decision to rescure Jim is expedient and humane simultaneously (Blair and Fischer). † At one point in the story Huck feels ashamed for lying to Jim in the name of a joke. Huck finally begins to realize Jim is a real person just like himself. He had always been told that Blacks were not people, just animals to be used as whites see fit. Huck is then taken in by a wealthy family called the Grangerfords. The Granergfords are fighting with their neighbors the Shepherdsons. The Grangerford’s son is named Buck, he is around the same age as Huck. During the fighting with the Shepherdsons Buck is shot. Huck finds this behavior ridiculous and leaves as quickly as possible. Here again is another lesson about people and society that shows Huck bad behavior. The next criminals that Huck befriends are referred to as â€Å"The King and the Duke† (Humanities UCI). Niether of the men previously knew each other prior to this chance encounter, but immediately start plotting their new con. This is where Huck learns the meaning of gullible; many townspeople give the two con artists money for a play that is performed badly. The townspeople are trusting and of religious nature and the two men make off with almost ninety dollars. When the two cons attempt to scam three ladies out of their inheritance by pretending to be the Uncle’s brothers, Huck gets to feeling guilty and tries to think of a way to give the money back. He manages to steal the money back and hides it in the casket of the ladies uncle. After the uncle is buried he lets the ladies know where the money is and manages to flea before the real brothers’ show up. Unfortunately the two con men are still with Huck and Jim. Once the two cons realize they have no money they steal and sell Jim. Huck is determined to get Jim back and luckily runs into his old buddy Tom Sawyer who is glad to help. During the escape attempt and Tom’s silly hi-jinks; Tom ends up being shot in the calf of his leg. Once back at the raft Jim hides in the bushes and Huck goes to find a doctor. Jim is re-captured and the doctor stands up for Jim saying that he assisted with Tom’s care, so instead of killing Jim they decide to enslave him once again. Upon Tom’s recovery he informs those holding Jim that upon Miss Watson’s death she set Jim free in her will, so they no longer can hold Jim as a slave. Jim is set free and finally admits to Huck that the man in the shack was his father, Pap and he no longer needs to worry about him. Instead of going back to the widow’s, Huck decides to set out west so he can have more adventures. Huck’s character was made to witness a large amount of cruelty. â€Å"Huck perceives that â€Å"human beings can be awful cruel to one another† (262). Huck has seen the worst conceivable forms of behavior. But his awareness means that, no matter how much cruelty he witnesses or who perpetrates it, he will remain compassionate towards all human beings (Burg). † Like the Huck Finn character in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain faced emotional growth during his writings. As he experienced life, Twain reminisced in his books by focusing on his hometown and era in which he grew up. â€Å"Although Adventures of Huckleberry Finn contains some very poignant critiques of slavery, discrimination, and society in general, it is also important as the story of Huck’s journey from boyhood to manhood (History of Hannibal, Missouri, Back to Marion County). †As an impressionable boy growing up in Hannibal, MO Twain had many of the same types of experiences has Huck. There was swimming, fishing, climbing and cave exploration. He spent much of his time watching the steam ships sail on the river carrying their wares. In Hannibal there were also murders, slaves being whipped and gangs who preyed on river towns (Twains Aurthor Series – Chapter Display). â€Å"Mark Twain â€Å"agreed with Huck that environment determines morality. † All morality is merely relative. Mark Twain wrote in the margin of his copy of Lecky, â€Å"All moral perceptions are acquired by the influences around us; these influences begin in infancy; we never get a chance to find out whether we have any that are innate or not (Blair and Fischer). † Twain shows us through Huck’s adventure that he has grown up on the inside to appreciate his freedom and the people around him. Huck has learned to see all people as human and no longer just by their skin tone, black or white. â€Å"I knowed he was white inside (Twain)†. This statement clearly shows that Huck views Jim as a close and personal friend and confidant. Throughout the story you see the influence Jim has on Huck. â€Å"Jim becomes a father figure –the first Huck ever had in his life. Jim teaches Huck right and wrong, and an emotional bond develops through the course of their journey down the river. By the last segment of the novel, Huck has learned to think like a man instead of a boy (about). † As Mark Twain’s character Jim shows us in â€Å"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn†, being a parent is about being there during good and bad times throughout life’s adventures. Citations 2011 http://classiclit. about. com/od/adventuresofhuckleberry/fr/aa_huckfinn. htm. Blair, Walter and Victor Fischer. March 1990. 22 January 2011 http://www. jstor. org/stable/2926787. Burg, David F. December 1974. 17 January 2011 http://www. jstor. org/stable/2933172. History of Hannibal, Missouri, Back to Marion County. 20 January 2011 http://www. rootsweb. ancestry. com/~marion/hannhist. htm. Humanities UCI. 2005. 20 January 2011 http://www. humanities. uci. edu/mclark/HumCore/CoreF2005/WebCoreF05/F)5TTwa.

Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2004 Essay -- Investment Investor Sarbanes Oxley

Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2004 The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was signed into law on July 30, 2002 by President Bush. The new law came after major corporate scandals involving Enron, Arthur Anderson, WorldCom. Its goals are to protect investors by improving accuracy of and reliability of corporate disclosures and to restore investor confidence. The law is considered the most important change in securities and corporate law since the New Deal. The act is named after Senator Paul Sarbanes of Maryland and Representative Michael Oxley of Ohio (Wikipedia Online).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sarbanes-Oxley consisted of 11 different titles or sections. Title I is Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. It created a five member panel known as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, overseen and appointed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (Sarbanes-Oxley). The Board is to consist of two CPAs and three people that are not CPAs, but the chairman must be a CPA. The Board is to provide oversight of auditing of public companies while establishing auditing, quality control, independence, ethical standards (Arens 32-33). Public accounting firms that work on audits must register with the Board and pay a fee. Title I also included new auditing rules. Auditors must now retain paper work for seven years, have a second partner review and approval of audit reports, evaluate whether internal controls accurately show transactions as well as sales of assets, and describe any weaknesses or noncompliant internal controls. Public accou nting firms that issue auditing reports for more than 100 companies are to be inspected every year. Accounting firms that issue audit reports for less than 100 companies must be inspected very three years. The Board can discipline or sanction accounting firms for what it deems to be negligent conduct (Conference of State Bankers Online).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Title II of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is Auditor Independence. It creates new rules that auditors must abide by in order to keep their objectivity and accuracy. Auditors are now banned from performing most non-audit related services like bookkeeping, actuary services, and management consulting. An auditor may no longer be the lead auditor of a firm for more than five consecutive years. Auditors are now required to report all significant accounting policies and practices used in the audit, any different trea... ... GE has said that new compliance costs are about $30 million. AIG has said that Sarbanes-Oxley is costing the company $300 million. Many European companies have also complained because they are forced to comply because they are on American stock exchanges. Surveys have also found that many companies are even thinking about going private to avoid compliance Sarbanes-Oxley (Bartlett 1-3). Works Cited Arens, Alvin, Randal Elder and Mark Beasley. Auditing and Assurance Services: An Integrated Approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. Bartlett, Bruce. â€Å"The Crimes of Sarbanes-Oxley.† National Review 25 May 2004.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_bartlett/bartlett200405250811.asp Conference of State Bankers Online. Executive Summary of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. 10 February 2005. http://www.csbs.org/government/legislative/misc/2002_sarbanes-oxley_summary.htm Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. 107 Cong., 2nd sess. 2004.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgibin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_ bills&docid=f:h3763enr.tst.pdf. Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Wikipedia Online. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes- Oxley_Act.

Barriers To Supply Chain Management

Becoming an integrated value partner requires tight integration between the supply chain and customer relationship activities. There are many visible and invisible barriers that check smooth supply chain management. To illustrate, a company that customizes its offerings to delight a customer with high potential lifetime value must also ensure that its supply chain management processes seamlessly feed into its CRM process for that customer.This forms the basis of an integrated demand and supply chain management system free from any kind of barriers.Research proves that companies that do integrate demand and supply chain management systems are more successful than their counterparts. Those that have successfully integrated their CRM and SCM activities tend to perform better than their competitors. Specifically, these companies gain a competitive advantage by (1) collaborating both internally and externally with supply chain partners, such as suppliers, distributors/retailers, and custo mers having no or less barriers, and (2) measuring and exceeding their goals for customer loyalty and retention for each customer and segment.They often are aided by new Internet technologies, which help them, improve supply chain collaboration and build relationships across a network of suppliers and customers. This, in turn, allows them to differentiate the way they create value for every customer and segment. With these emerging e-business technologies that can seamlessly link manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and customers, companies, in theory, can swiftly orchestrate resources to respond to each customer's needs. But in reality, this is virtually impossible to do.Companies simply do not have the resources to simultaneously respond in real time, reduce manufacturing costs, keep zero inventories, and provide excellent service for each and every customer. So instead of trying to satisfy every customer perfectly, they need to learn how to dynamically balance customer value a nd supply chain costs to build the right customer relationships. Companies can achieve this balance by leveraging Internet technologies to create digitally integrated demand and supply systems in which there is no chance of any barrier.Such systems would provide real-time, differentiated responses to customers according to their loyalty, lifetime value, requirements, and servicing costs. By focusing on maximizing the entire value creation process, rather than on just specific CRM or SCM activities, companies will begin to reap the real benefits of the new digital economy. Heineken and Cisco Systems are examples of companies that are leveraging the Internet to enhance collaboration with customers, distributors, and suppliers and hence an effective tool to remove various barriers of supply chain management.Heineken has focused on CRM, while Cisco has emphasized SCM. Heineken has developed a Web-based system to share information with distributors on forecasts, marketing and promotions, and order fulfillment. The system has doubled Heineken's customer satisfaction ratings. Cisco, a leader in networking equipment for telecommunications and the Internet, has created electronic links with key suppliers across its entire product line to give it unprecedented supply chain flexibility. The links enable suppliers to ship more than 65 percent of Cisco's orders directly to the final customer without physical intervention from Cisco.The result is a significant reduction in the time it takes to ramp up production of new products. Although both of these companies are innovators, neither one has developed a truly integrated demand-supply chain that depends on simultaneous excellence in both SCM and CRM. Other leaders are leveraging the Web in different ways. Companies like Herman Miller and Dell Computer, for example, have discovered that excellence in products, service, and production alone is not enough to compete in the future.They recognize that they must become integrated value providers and they also leant that this is only possible by removing visible and invisible barriers from supply chain management. Herman Miller, a leading furniture manufacturer, is creating tailored Web pages that will not only streamline manufacturing, inventory, and order information flows to and from its 500-plus suppliers around the world but also sell to and service its most important customers. Leveraging the Internet in this way will help Herman Miller differentiate products, service, and delivery for customers according to the value they bring to the company.(Siems, 2005) Similarly, Dell continually resegments its customer base and measures the lifetime value of customers. The computer maker then manages its interaction with customers through tailored Web pages that offer each customer the most profitable customer service level. Dell also has an online supplier portal that handles 90 percent of purchases from the 33 most important suppliers. This feature helps Dell a nd its suppliers share key data and measurements on shipment accuracy, quality, and demand forecasts.As companies like Dell succeed in integrating customer and supply chain systems, they can further reduce inventories; improve customer responsiveness, decrease barriers and increase customer loyalty and shareholder value. Just by taking the early steps toward achieving excellence in CRM and SCM, companies can begin to boost their business performance while erecting formidable barriers to the competition. Competitors will find it increasingly difficult to mimic the value offered by these â€Å"integrated value providers.† (Shankar, 2004) Creating new value propositions is the second approach to integrating demand and supply. This entails modifying the demand-supply chain design to create a mutually beneficial supply chain system for both the company and the customer and it also helps in removing various barriers in the way of supply chain management. To do this, companies must change the point in the supply chain at which they allocate goods while simultaneously altering the point at which they fulfill demand.The idea that suppliers should work much more closely with customers to give them better value is not new as far as the removal of barriers is concerned. Yet close partnerships are still not common largely because, until recently, integrating the information systems of two or more companies was a lengthy, expensive, and technically difficult process. The recent widespread adoption of Web-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and the rise of the Internet, however, have made it much easier and cheaper for customers and suppliers to integrate and exchange data.(Holmstrom, 2001) And yet, disconnects still occur. In reality, most of the changes that suppliers implement do not add much value from the customer's point of view and this also proves to be a barrier. A supplier, for example, might typically cut its inventory by reducing product varie ty–which is not very helpful for the customer or for the customer's customer. By tweaking the demand-supply chain, however, suppliers can design mutually beneficial supply chain systems for particular customers.These systems will offer customers completely new value propositions while improving the supplier's own operations. To affect a mutually beneficial supply chain design, companies must focus on the customer's demand chain, which transfers demand from the market to the supplier. A retailer's demand chain, for example, would consist of assortment planning, inventory management, and procurement. This demand chain joins with the supply chain to form the demand-supply chain. The chains link together in two places–the supply-fulfillment point (SFP) and the demand-offering point (DOP).Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) is an approach to avert barriers in supply chain management which originated in the US and gained support from major European retailers. It is a manageria l approach that starts with consumer demand and then gears the whole of the supply chain to responding to that demand. It is a customer-driven, demand-pull product management system: a seamless interface from consumer purchase to manufacturing schedules; it is different to a supply-push or buying-led approach, which is based on the principles of sales forecasting, with products supplied in preparation for estimated demand.References Holmstrom, J. , W. E. Hoover Jr. , P. Louhiluoto, and A. Vasara. â€Å"The Other End of the Supply Chain,† The McKinsey Quarterly, 2001, 1, 62-71. Shankar, V. â€Å"e-Marketplaces: Evolution and Future,† Working Paper, University of Maryland, 2004. Siems, Thomas F. 2005. â€Å"Supply Chain Management: The Science of Better, Faster, Cheaper. † Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Southwest Economy. Issue 2, March/April, pp. 1, 7-12.

Market Saturation - China Mobile Phone Industry - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2137 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? China is the largest national market for mobile phones and is a great source of revenues for companies. But as China’s economic rise and growth, its mobile phone market has grown and gone extremely fast, as possessing a smartphone has become a part of what Chinese people need to show their success and their money and as technology quickly gets upgraded. What could a market saturation mean and imply for phone manufacturing companies? A saturation of the Chinese mobile phones market underlines that people won’t be buying as much products as they used to during the last few years, and that there are enough brands constituting the national offer. And there are phones for all tastes, premiums (Samsung, Apple), low-cost (Xiaomi) or â€Å"improved† knock-offs. A new brand which would want to enter the Chinese market would have some difficulties to meet success, unless it benefits from a good reputation from the rest of the world –in the cas e of a foreign company. But the recent example of Xiaomi possibly shows that the best strategy to set is to rely on an effective differentiation. High screen resolution phones, customizable phones, â€Å"lifeproof† phones, â€Å"phablet† phones, game-oriented phones are some of the various potential differentiations for new brands that could succeed in the Chinese market. The last part of the article reads about the wants of China as far as mobile phones are concerned. It seems that most Chinese people now have higher expectations for their smartphones – China is not an under-developed country anymore and has to be considered as a market with elaborated and evolved needs. As their level of life increases and there are more and more rich people in China, the customers start to â€Å"Westernize† their expectations, and companies have to take that into account in order not to undergo too many problems facing the market saturation. Mobile phones now have t o be cool, connected, fast, and multi-tasking – as the Western standards. Here is a significant topic: the labor issues in China. Foreign companies tend to benefit from the very lax Chinese legislation on work conditions. The articles even reads about deaths caused by overwork. Is the issue that serious in China? It is widely known that Chinese people are considered good workers and that China is very interesting for foreign companies that wants to reduce their costs by having a hardworking though cheap workforce to assemble their products. Many firms benefit from the Chinese labor conditions in China, which have even been part of the economic rise of the Asian country for 30 years. The first big reveal of such practice was the Nike case, the company being accused of using sweatshops with intolerable work conditions in China in the 1990’s. Nowadays, it is Apple which is under the observation of many organizations and Westerners – mainly because of its huge success in the whole world, I think; smaller companies with less cultural impact may have the same HR issues but they’re not important enough to be at the center of a controversy. Contrary to what many would think, there are labor laws in China, applicable to all companies, whether local or foreign, as the article emphasizes. Workers at Apple factories are dedicated to their job: there are dorms, they work all day long, they are underpaid, whatever the law says. Apple do not respect legal work conditions, but what could anyone do? Who is to blame for? Apple is an American-based company and Foxconn is owned but a Taiwanese multinational – that is a major problem. Furthermore, both companies are extremely successful and prolific so why would they change their practices whereas it works extremely well like this? The many suicides and deaths that happened in Foxconn factories could be a red signal, but Apple always finds explanations to take the blames off itself. S uch problem is then, to me, relatively difficult to overcome, whatever the efforts of the Chinese government or external organizations. Foreign capitalist companies have always seemed to be taking advantage of China and Chinese workers that way, it will be complicated to make them understand that they should act differently. This article focuses on Chinese innovation concerning the mobile phone industry – which means phones as well as applications. Strong brands such as Xiaomi or WeChat participate in the apparent mobile innovation in China. But are all those brands really creative and original? Can we say that China is a major country in mobile innovation? Didi seems to be just a copy of Uber created in the US, WeChat a knock-off of WhatsApp and Weibo the Chinese Facebook and Twitter – both being forbidden in China. But looking deeper, it is easy to see that those smartphone applications stand out compared to their Western equivalents, as the article points out. As well, Xiaomi is a low cost mobile phone company that offers products much more evolved than the low cost brands the US or Europe have – and the success of the brand goes now even beyond the Chinese boundaries. In that sense, it could be said that Chinese companies really are innovative but even more we can say that they actually improve what Westerners do – that is where their innovation spirit stands. Indeed, China uses what the rest of the world creates to adapt it to its local market and making it even better. That is how I see innovation in China: the Chinese do not really create from nothing, they are great observers as well as replicators and invent upgraded and evolved versions of Western ideas. Besides, I would add that this is a patriotic behavior, as I see it: China culturally rejects foreign brands and act against them and sometimes above them by â€Å"nationalizing† their ideas and making them even better – the well-known counterfeiting ta lent of China is one example. Therefore, I agree with the author’s opinion, calling China a new leader in the mobile phone market. As for the government helping and supporting innovation, it is something that I could easily believe, as China started a great innovation plan from 2006. This could enable more and more entrepreneurs-to-be (or foreign talents) to create their companies and start to innovate. Because of its History and culture, China has long been a non-innovating country – a consequence of Maoism and forced egalitarianism with all sign of capitalism and enrichment eliminated – and now it appears to change. I believe it will intensify in the future thanks to government policies and its will to fight IP thefts and to highlight innovation: this is just what China needs to support its economic growth and to be considered as a true leader – and to frighten the rest of the world. The article sets an overview of what the mobile phone retail mar ket looks like now and what it should be like in the future. Phone makers companies have to be aware of its evolution in order to best sell their products, in a very fragmented and coming-to-saturation market. Given the facts in the article, what issues for mobile phones companies can be brought out? E-commerce is about to grow subsequently in the next few years. It is a logical evolution, as China has been used for a long time – earlier than the West, actually – to online shopping and delivery, for whatever type of products, with successful websites such as Taobao or Alibaba. E-commerce sites are big competitors and threats to phone stores, and local as well as foreign understood it and now manage to adapt to the Chinese’s wants: Apple is, for example, extremely present online in China. What I learn from this article is that the Chinese change their habits. While the mobile phone market is hitting saturation (see first article), not only manufacturer comp anies but also retailers have to innovate and differentiate from their competitors in order to stay relevant and effective. China is a fast-moving country and then trends are always moving and are pretty unpredictable – and this has been that way for 30 years. Companies and retailers have to be aware of that. Local brands, as they know their market and are easily adaptable, would have less worries than foreign brands which have to build a strong understanding of China and its people – very hard job. Such polemic does not give a good image of Chinese products – if it could get even worse. Westerners (maybe only French people actually, but I think it is a general trend in the West) are paranoid concerning made-in-China products – and even more when they are from Chinese brands! They are always suspicious about that country and whatever comes from it – prejudice of bad quality, no security. So I can understand how the West has reacted when they hea rd that a Chinese brand could have been involved in political matters and spying activities against the US and Australia. China is the villain and a dangerous nation (eventhough the US themselves spied the whole world with their NSA, for different matters)!! Huawei has since then – whether the security issue and other suspicions have been actually proved or not – become a â€Å"threat to national security†. This is bad advertisement for the company that is already reputed for selling bad mobile phones and it could cause problems concerning their international expansion. Following this affair, Huawei could lose market shares in the West, people’s trust in Chinese products – or even more in China in itself – getting even more damaged. After that security issue, Huawei has been blamed for many other things such as financing Iran or the Taliban from Afghanistan. I think – whether it is true or not – it is mainly a way to crea te bad feelings from the world against China, as it was the case against Japan during the protectionist times of the US Japan-bashing. An anti-Chinese sentiment would be good as the country becomes more and more powerful economically – partly thanks to the West – and could threaten other economies. This could also easily be seen as a form of xenophobia, a fear of China, in the sense that the Western world cannot really do anything to stop or prevent the expansion of China globally or in their own country. If it works, Chinese brands and especially Huawei could have a lot of trouble entering foreign markets. China is very well known in the Western world for being a big place in terms of counterfeited items and knock-offs of everything, from products to entire brands and services. And, of course, mobile phones are no exception. Why do the Chinese counterfeit so much? What are the benefits of it for them? Counterfeiting seems to be an entire part of Chinese culture, which even has a name – Shanzhai. For the few weeks I have spent in Beijing, I have seen many knock-offs of brands such as Louis Vuitton, Apple or KFC. It is noticeable anywhere, thus Shanzhai appears to be a really well spread practice in China and something that seems to be accepted and natural. Concerning mobile phones, Apple and Samsung knock-offs can be found anywhere, in â€Å"fake† stores or in markets. What the article suggests is that it stands as a solution to employment and as a support of economic development. I can see the employment point – copying every possible brand multiply the job offer in China, whose unemployment rate appears to be 4.10% – but as far as economic development is concerned, I personally see the Shanzhai culture more as a threat than as a support. Indeed, relationships with foreign companies and investment might be damaged by such practices and so much counterfeiting could be seen as a lack of Chinese innovation (or, on the contrary, as another form of innovation? Adapting foreign products to the wants of the Chinese market? I don’t really think so). It appears as a problem, as well as IP rights unrespect in the country show, and as an unfair competition for brands who sell the original products. Shanzhai hurts growth, in the sense that it reduces China’s competitiveness and this is not good for business in the country. This practice thus has a big impact in the Chinese world. It seems to be really inherent to China, loyal to Asian and Confucian values (collectivism, â€Å"we† stronger than â€Å"I†, fear of failure, importance of money for success, rejection of Western brands and beliefs†¦). But can the Chinese change? Actually, the government is trying to make things change by reinforcing IP laws for example, and I think it is a good way to end the â€Å"copy and don’t innovate† state of mind that Chinese people have and have had for long. But there still isn’t a sign of change because the problem is now in people’s behaviors and beliefs, and that is not easy to modify. The government’s leap forward is a good thing to reassure foreign companies and investors. Don’t waste time! 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