War Essay Research Paper WarIn both Saving free essay sample

War Essay, Research Paper War In both Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line, a repeating subject appeared to be the impact of war on the common soldier. Through a assortment of different scenarios, the spectator is exposed to the day-to-day adversities that one must digest while in conflict. The soldiers are continuously walking a all right line between life and decease, and their morale and doggedness does non get away unharmed. The gap scene in Salvaging Private Ryan was really instrumental in exemplifying the horror that is war. The lone thing dividing the life from the dead was speedy thought and a whole batch of fortune. One adult male is shot in the caput, but lives with the aid of his helmet. As he takes his helmet off, gazing at it in astonishment and alleviation, a slug finds his open skull, killing him immediately. Another adult male lying on the beach has been shot in the venters, and is easy shed blooding to decease. We will write a custom essay sample on War Essay Research Paper WarIn both Saving or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As the trefoil and several other soldiers work indefatigably to coagulate the hemorrhage, the adult male begins to come about. The hemorrhage is stopped. Seconds subsequently he is killed by a slug to the caput. It is by opportunity that a soldier sees the land beyond the beach. The Thin Red Line paints a really similar image. Each adult male lives twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours, neer cognizing if he will populate to see the following. One captain, valuing the lives of his work forces, refuses to follow the bid of another officer. Feeling the onslaught to be excessively dearly-won, he argues hotly with the officer, until finally being relieved of his place. The loss of life is endurable. It is the promotion of the ground forces that counts. Each adult male seems to cover with this life and decease state of affairs in his ain manner. One immature soldier named Jackson, from Salvaging Private Ryan, is a really spiritual individual. Each clip he is about to kill person, he prays, snoging his cross and inquiring for forgiveness for the flagitious offenses that he is about to perpetrate. This appears to be comforting to him. In The Thin Red Line, another adult male is comforted merely by images of his married woman and the love they portion. The love that he feels for her is so strong that he is non afraid to decease, cognizing that if he does, he will wait for her forever. Why would I be afraid to decease, I belong to you? he says. The morale and finding of the soldiers was besides greatly affected by the daze of what war was realistically, versus what American propaganda made it out to be. What the propaganda was designed to make, and what it accomplished, was a vision of gallantry, a vision of contending for justness, contending for those who can non support themselves. It was all responsibility and award and duty to one s state. When faced with the worlds of war, with the battle of killing those who you have neer even met, a soldier is thrust into the function of the hero and the scoundrel, the capturer and the prisoner. It was a function that non all the soldiers were able and willing to accept. Both Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line presented the common soldier s brush with war in such a manner that was heartbreaking. The delicate, about unseeable line that separates life from decease would look about intolerable. Given the relentless internal battle in get bying with the possibility of one s ain decease, Thich Nhat Hahn best amounts it up with these simple words: I hold my face in my two custodies. No I am non shouting. I hold my face in my two custodies to maintain the solitariness warm two custodies protecting, two custodies alimentary, two custodies forestalling my psyche from go forthing me in choler.

buy custom Strategic Business Partner essay

buy custom Strategic Business Partner essay Case study for Reinventing IT as a Strategic Business Partner This paper will assess a case study for reinventing Information Technology (IT), as a strategic business partner. In particular, the paper will focus on three case study questions including: the political and business challenges, which are possible to take place due to the transformation of IT from a support activity to a partner role; implications of this shift for traditional IT staffs and educational institutions; and the extent to which IT is embedded in all activities of a firm. Certainly, information technology is meant to offer innovative solutions for solving business challenges. This implies that businesses should creatively make use of technology to generate products more effectively at low costs, increase sales, and profit margins. Besides, it implies making use of Information Technology to produce novel services and products, and novel business models. According to McNulty Kathleen, CIO at the Schwan Food Company, business should innovate and improve technology, transforming it from a support activity to a partner role (King, 2007). However, there are various political and business challenges, which are probable to take place due to this transformation. Various companies like Trans World Entertainment Corporation, E! Entertainment Television Inc, and Procter and Gamble Co. ae entirely modifying their Information Technology organizations, and all activities are up for drastic transformation, including IT job title and where and how IT is housed in their firms (King, 2007). Apparently, this may face resistance from the workers. This is referred to as change resistance. As stated in the case study, any considerable amount of change in a company calls for dramatic structural change or entirely modifying what the staffs do. For instance, when Hinkle became the CIO of Trans World, he abolished the analyst title and individuals in that role were shifted into the project management office (King, 2007). Obviously, the personnel cannot embrace this as most of them are used to their working culture, and thus may resist suc h a change. This as a result may affect the company negatively in terms of production, sales and profitability. Political challenges may encompass modification of traditional pattern of work, and matters regarding taxes and costs. This shift in the strategic outlook of IT has various implications for traditional IT workers and for the educational institutions that train them. Certainly, most organizations are highly adopting the new technology meaning that they are not making use of traditional technology. This means that such companies will only employ personnel with new technologies required to change the ways in which the organization works. Traditional IT workers will have to develop capability of learning all aspectts of the company including where IT subsists. The organization institutions which train them may suffer negatively as most people will prefer joining educational institutions training new technologies. However, they may make training practical and elaborate and center on amplifying managerial and technological skill of a person to ensure training becomes efficient in real work environments. Besides, such institutions should teach skills and organizational knowledge to be used in analyzing info rmation technology. Future IT individuals should have the capability of finding out creative strategies and ideas with an aim of growing and operating by making the effective employment of information technology. As stated in the case study, technology is employed in almost all activities performed by companies King, 2007). For instance, IT is employed in the production and sale of goods and in the creation of novel services and products. According to studies, most organizations have adopted IT in their activities as the same is linked to various benefits one of them being ensuring sustained competition and success of the companies. Therefore, it is true that is employed in almost everything performed by companies. One of the recent products generated through IT is Mobile cash by Kumari bank. The availability and idea of this service offered by the bank is entirely founded on Information Technology and clients may only make use of the service through mobile phones. Buy custom Strategic Business Partner essay

A Look At Rapunzel English Literature Essay

A Look At Rapunzel English Literature Essay There was a man and his wife who wanted a child for many years. They lived next to a witch, who had a garden that was surrounded by a wall. The wife wanted some lettuce so bad that her husband agreed to sneak into the witch’s garden and get some. The witch caught the man and made a deal with him. He could take the lettuce but when they had a child the witch would get the baby. When the couple had a baby the witch came and took the girl and called her Rapunzel. The witch put her into a high tower that did not have a door. It only had a small window at the top. The witch would come every morning and climb up Rapunzel’s hair to get into the tower. One day a Prince came by and heard Rapunzel’s song. He watched the witch and learned how to get into the tower. Later he climbed into the tower on Rapunzel’s hair. They became friends and decided to get married. The witch found out and cut off Rapunzel’s hair and took her to a desert. When the Prince came th e witch was waiting for him. The Prince fell into a thorn bush and he became blinded by the thorns. He wandered around for years until he found Rapunzel. Her tears fell into the Prince’s eyes and he was able to see again. They returned to his castle and were married. Discription This segment in the magazine shows how the media and society has downgraded us to the extent were don’t try to communicate to someone verbally or by a making quick phone call. Instead we resort to emailing or texting messages or paragraph conversations which go on for hours. This is leading us to loose our social roles in society and become to technologically dependent for our every entire daily needs. Abdullahi M Farah Rapunzel Are You Online? Day 1 Prince @ 4:01 â€Å"Hi I just seen you on facebook and I can’t lie to you, your singing is amazing† Rapunzel @ 4:26 â€Å"Thank you so much, I didn’t think that a lot of people noticed à ¯Ã‚ Ã…   â€Å" Prince @ 4:39  "np, I bet you parents are proud to have such a beautiful and talented daughter judging from you picture† Rapunzel 5: 09 â€Å"I would hope so but i’ve never reallyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it’s a long story† Weeks later Prince @ 6:01 â€Å"Is it clear to come to your base gurl† Rapunzel @ 6:01 † The witch is getting up all in my face with dem poison apple sand things, she wont let me just chill but anyways xoxoxo I miss you so much

Feminist Legal Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Feminist Legal Theory - Essay Example The paper will examine the portions that constitute these two aspects and what makes them interconnected. In other words, an examination of how legal feminism as a concept affects feminist legal research will be done. Feminist legal scholars argue for a renewed dimension of research. They claim that gender recognitions had not been made in the past and that there is a need for adoption of a different phenomenon known as emancipator research. In other words, they are claiming that legal work needs to reflect the challenges affected by both sexes rather than merely focusing on the needs and perspectives of a universal experience. Radical legal feminists argue that men's experiences have always been treated as neutral or universal while female experiences are regarded as private or even negative. Consequently, these groups of legal feminists claim that there should be a radical transformation in law by accepting and changing power roles in the profession.1 Feminist research in law has been treated as something that lacks objectivity by opponents to this phenomenon. However, legal feminist researchers claim that objectivity is in fact a term coined by non feminists in an attempt to hide women's own subjectivity in law. Consequently, these proponents argue that research should not be treated as devoid off subjects. Instead, there should be an emphasis on the experiences and the actual challenges that subjects undergo in their everyday lives. Additionally, the latter adherents also claim that the utilisation of models during the research process is another way of forgetting the subject and thus renders such researches invalid. Distinctive features about feminist approaches to the study of law and how it compares to other approaches in the course Feminist legal theory is founded upon the premise that the law has been central in depicting historical subordination of women. There are two ways in which feminist legal theory can be treated the first is with regard to jurisprudence in which the law can be perceived as something that has been oppressive to the female gender. The second aspect is with regard to the transformation of society's perception of women through the law or through a reworking of the law. 2 This approach to the study of law is different from other arenas owing to the fact that it challenges the way the rights based approach to law or the liberal values in law are dealt with. The latter approach is synonymous with the liberal equality model of law. Here, greater emphasis is given to the issue of genuine rights accorded to the different genders rather than some of the conventional rights that have been accorded in the past to women. Through this school of thought, it is possible to see that there are certain links between injustice and gender. Feminist approach to law has also been instrumental in understanding that there are real differences between the genders and that these differences need not be obscured by the law. Instead, feminists assert that these differences should be brought to the table. The latter school of thought is held by sexual difference model adherents. However, the latter model is not synonymous to other feminists who claim that in order to ensure historic preclusion by the law is completely eradicated, then there must be treatment of both sexes as equal. These proponents hold that when the differences betwe

Engaging in CSR Activities for Starbucks Research Paper

Engaging in CSR Activities for Starbucks - Research Paper Example The company is headquartered in Seattle and has more than twenty thousand stores in different locations of the world. The coffee chain along with the main product coffee which comes in various forms also serves snacks and pastries. The stores sell packaged food as well as other merchandise that are used as materials for the promotion of the brand like coffee mugs (Pendergrast 133). Though mostly based in the US, Starbucks has ventured into the other countries as well like Japan, Canada, South Korea, Thailand, Mexico, Germany , China and many other countries. The company over the years of its existence has taken part into various CSR activities which has brought the brand into the limelight. These activities have varied across the various social issues including environmental protection, caring for the coffee producers, practicing fair trade as well as selling products for the sake of collecting money for children in need (Warner 1). Issue Identification The company as a part of its e nvironmental sustainability measures started the use of the paper cups which were claimed to be made of the recycled paper. Thus the food and the beverages were coming in contact with this recycled paper cups. These recycled materials were being used not only in the cups but also in the in the cardboard carriers and the napkins. The company claimed that it would have a direct impact on the environment and would be able to save almost 5 million pounds of tree fiber every year (Tice 1). This was a positive step on part of the company from the sustainability point of view. However, the company came across a lot of controversy since the cups are made of materials that have been used before by other customers (Taylor 49). Thus there were hygiene and safety issues relating to the use of such used materials. It was claimed by a set of people that Starbucks had not taken the permission of Food and Drug Administration before taking such a step that could harm the health of the consumers. Thu s the question that came up was how much Starbucks was being able to deliver the social responsibility goals that it had set and what were the consequences of the steps taken. Issue significance The issue is important from various respects because the health of the customers of Starbucks were at stake. First of all, the cost that was incurred by the company in the process of recycling was pushed to the customers who were buying the coffee. If it was a case of CSR then the recycling cost should have been borne by Starbucks. But the activist groups were of the opinion that the company evaded such costs. Secondly, the material that was used by one individual was given to another person (Bryant 173). This could lead to various health problems that would not comply with the hygiene standards. Thirdly, the company had not taken the approval of the FDA which was mandatory on part of the company. Finally, the customers’ opinions were not considered while taking this decision of imple menting the use of cups made of recycled paper (Locke and Latham 73). Thus from the economic, legal, social, moral and ethical point of view the step was not appropriate. Identifying the stakeholders In order to identify the stakeholders and their relative interest and power in the issue a stakeholder map has been drawn and their relative importance has been plotted as below.

Effective Reading Essay Example for Free

Effective Reading Essay Reading will always be a part of any educational instructions. From grade school to PhD levels, reading is an essential task that endures every student to be able to comprehend what needs to be discussed in class, prepare for an exam or simply gain new knowledge aside from oral and visual communications. The journal article in reference comes from the Griffith University titled â€Å"Reading Effectively† Basically, the article discusses the major contributory factors for effective reading. It discusses three factors in reading considerations; the type, structure and the purpose. The Type refers to the type of material to read. There are different mediums like journals, textbooks, novels or research papers. Purpose concerns the goal of the reader in reading a document. It can be for enjoyment, in preparation for an examination, assignment or personal knowledge gaining. The Structure explains the format of the material like a narrative, descriptive and expository among others. The article also considers the importance of the mentioned elements before one wish to continue reading a material; so that he can decide whether to execute reading in Scan, Skim, Key (looking for key ideas) or in Full mode (Griffith). The article also mentions the principle behind â€Å"SQ3R† strategy of reading. Survey which primarily intends to look for format clues, Questions to ask about the material, Read, Recall and Review. On a personal note, it is really a good way to establish effective reading by following the SQ3R. It has always been my procedure to first analyze the contents of the book, criticize the purpose of reading by asking a question first and then continue reading, recalling key ideas and reviewing the entirety of a reading material’s contents. References Griffith, (ND). Reading Effectively. Griffith Information Sheet, Retrieved 2009, from http://www. griffith. edu. au/ins/training/resources/reading/content_reading_effectively. html

What Are Visual Defects And How Common Are They ? :: essays research papers fc

What Are Visual Defects and How Common Are They ? by Nate Schackow 2nd Period December 17, 1996   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The human eye does alot more than allowing you to see. It is very complex and has many parts and features which can have defects. However, to understand defects you must first know how the eye works.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First light passes through the cornea, which is the transparent part of the sclera, or white of the eye, which is composed of tough fiberous tissue. Behind the sclera is a watery fluid called the aqueous humor. This fluid fills a cresent-shaped space which with the cornea helps bend the light toward the center of the eye.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Under the aqueous humor is the iris which gives the eye color. The color of the iris has no effect on how you see and is inherited through genes. The iris contols how much light is allowed to enter your by opening up further when it is dark and closing up more to block out some light when it is bright. Everything that passes through the pupil, which looks like a black dot, is what you see.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Next the light passes through the lens. The lens focuses the light rays onto the retina forming an image in reverse and upside-down. Finally light- sensitive cells in the retina transmit the image via the optic nerve to the brain by electrical signals. Then the brain flips the image so it looks right- side-up to you. You can find a diagram of the above on page 3.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most common visual defects are nearsightedness and farsightedness. In nearsightedness, also known as myopia, the eye is longer than usual. This is corrected by using a concave lens to spread the light rays just enough to

A Comparative Study of Retailing in India Essay

BACKGROUND: According to AT Kearney, India’s retail industry comprises US$ 435 billion. It entails only 6 per cent of itself as organised retail segment as of 2010, according to Booz and Co (India) Pvt Ltd. Hence, there is a great potential to be explored by domestic and international players, especially after Cabinet’s decision to allow up to 51% foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail sector and 100% FDI in single-brand retail. (Why India is a big market: refer page 23, Annexure) The Business Monitor International (BMI) India Retail Report for the fourth-quarter of 2011 forecasts that the total retail sales will grow from US$ 411.28 billion in 2011 to US$ 804.06 billion by 2015. The report has underlined factors like economic growth, population expansion, increasing wealth of individuals and rapid construction of organized retail infrastructure as major drivers for the optimistic forecast figures. (Refer Annexure, fig 2) According to a research report named ‘R etail Sector in India’ by Research and Markets, Indian retail sector accounts for 22 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and contributes to 8 per cent of the total employment. FDI in single-brand retail currently is 0.03% of cumulative FDI of around $149 billion from April 2000 to September 2011. The announcement is expected to generate 10 million jobs over three years, without impacting smaller and domestic retailers. FDI in retail will provide the farming community a new support by investing in good farming practices and providing them with better prices. The international players will bring a sophisticated front-end that will boost investment in infrastructure by retail players, third-party supply-chain companies and the government. This will improve efficiencies in the supply chain, cut wastage, increase efficiency and bring down consumer prices. India has been ranked as the fourth most attractive nation for retail investment among 30 emerging markets by the US-based global management consulting firm, A T Kearney, in its Global Retail  Development Index (GRDI) 2011. India’s MGR (Mass Grocery Retail) sector remains dominated by small-scale traditional retail outlets. All four key modern formats (supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience and discount stores) are already present within India’s MGR market but these stores are largely operated by a handful of local retailers. Structure of India’s MGR market till 2010 (Estimated number of Outlets: fig3, Sales by Format: fig4) is given in Annexure. Collaborative model for international products — Joint ventures (JVs) are emerging as the preferred model for new entrants, wherein foreign players leverage the knowledge of the local player and focus on key issues such as quality, pricing, promotions and brand management. Key examples include the Bharti Groupà ¢â‚¬Ëœs JV with Wal-Mart for retail in the Indian market. MGR sales growth for 2011 = +19.7%; compound annual average growth rate to 2015 = +17.6% (Refer Annexure Fig 5) Increased exposure to Western consumption habits has fuelled consumerism in developed and emerging Asia. Wealthy consumers in major towns and cities turn to modern formats in search of the convenience and quality that they now desire and can increasingly afford. A lot of international retailers are planning to enter and expand their operations in India after the reforms introduced in the FDI policy in retail sector, like Walmart, United Colors of Benetton (UCB), Da Milano. According to a report by research firm CB Richard Ellis India, over 6 million square feet of retail mall space was added across India in the first six months of 2011 (Refer Annexure Fig 6); primarily due to aggressive expansion by organized retailers. The potential cities which are good for entering are given in Annexure Fig 7. Cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in single-brand retail trading during April 2000 to June 2011 stood at US$ 69.26 million, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). There are a lot of entry modes to enter a country, here India. (Refer Annexure Fig 8) And also refer to the growth trend that was observed quarterly in India, last year. (Refer Annexure Fig 13) BHARTI-WALMART â€Å"India is a price sensitive market and therefore we will be devising our  strategy for her very carefully†¦Retailing is like a game of three dimensional chess where we operate as a local, regional and global player, so depending on the needs of the market we shall change our format and adapt.† – John B Menzer, President and CEO, Wal-Mart International. 50:50 joint venture: In India, Wal-Mart has a 50:50 joint venture with Bharti Enterprises in the wholesale cash-and-carry segment, since 2007, under the brand Best Price Modern Wholesale. Total retail units as of October 31, 2011: 9 Best Price Modern Wholesale 9 Associates: 3,372 These stores have been opened in Amritsar, Zirakpur (Near Chandigarh), Jalandhar, Kota, Bhopal, Ludhiana, Raipur and Indore. The JV in India expects to open 10 to 12 new Best Price Modern Wholesale stores and employ approximately 3,000 – 4,000 people by end of 2011. On 16 Sept’11, it opened its first Best Price Modern Wholesale cash-and-carry store at Nidamanuru, National Highway-5 in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. New outlet will also have a â€Å"Mera Kirana† program sharing best practices such as various aspects of using low-cost modern techniques and processes such as assortment planning, layout and fixtures, displays, backroom, licenses, safe food handling, customer retention and value added services with small and medium retailers. On 30 Sept’11, it opened a new store format, â€Å"Easyday Hyper†, at Magnet Malls, Bhandup, Mumbai. Currently, the company has 140 ‘easyday’ stores, 13 ‘easyday Market’ outlets and 1 ‘easyday Hyper’ store. Advantage of Wholesale Cash-and-Carry: These benefit retailers as it is a is a one-stop shop that meets the day-to-day needs of restaurant owners, hoteliers, caterers, fruit and vegetable resellers, kiranas, other retail store owners, offices and institutions. More than 90 percent of these goods and services are being sourced locally; thereby helping keep costs to a minimum, adding to the growth of the local economy and creating job opportunities, with the cash and carry store directly employing more than 200 local people. A typical wholesale cash-and carry facility will stand between 50,000 and 100,000 square feet. The joint venture works with the existing supply chain infrastructure to help make it more efficient, thereby maximizing value for  farmers and manufacturers and retailers. The supply chain operation supports farmers and small manufacturers who have limited infrastructure and distribution strength and help minimize wastage, particularly of fresh foods and vegetables. An efficient supply chain can play an important role in transforming farmers and small manufacturers into successful entrepreneurs. Technical Collaboration: Walmart provides certain technical support to Bharti Retail for its front-end retail venture where Bharti Retail requires critical retail technology and technical know-how. Walmart’s Direct Farm Program: Multinational retail giant, Wal-Mart’s Direct Farm Program in India is a partnership with 110 small and marginal farmers near Ludhiana in Punjab where it en courages cultivation of safe, high-quality, seasonal vegetables. Farmers are advised at every stage of cultivation by field agronomists. Farmers learn about nursery management, transplanting, nutrient management, as well as harvest and post-harvest practices. Sourcing from India: Walmart has been sourcing a variety of products from suppliers in India for more than 20 years. Walmart’s office in Bangalore serves as Walmart’s Global Procurement (GP) hub for the sourcing of merchandise from India and Sri Lanka to Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs globally. GP India also manages Global Procurement from Sri Lanka. Major categories sourced from India include home textiles (including towels, shower curtains, bath mats, etc.), apparel (including woven, knitwear and leather footwear), leather accessories, fine jewelry and house wares (like fine dining ware, home dà ©cor, etc). The main categories sourced from Sri Lanka are apparel, textiles and gifts. Launch of its 1st store in India, 2009: The reason for Wal-Mart’s entry in India was clear – The Indian middle class, on which it had been working for around two years. Mom-and-pop stores (or the Kiryana stores) and traditional distribution networks dominated the Indian retail market. Wal-Mart’s first outlet was set to launch in the city of Amritsar, Punjab in North India. The first store air-conditioned and built over 50,000 sq. ft. was on the outskirts of the city, Amritsar. The store employed 200 locals and was likely create 500 indirect jobs. In the first few weeks itself, the company had managed to sign on close to 35,000 members. Training Center: Bharti Wal-Mart has opened a training centre in Delhi to bridge the gap between demand and supply of skilled manpower in modern retail. It will provide free retail sector-focussed vocational training to candidates. A  memorandum of agreement (MoA) was signed in this regard on July 22’11 between Bharti Wal-Mart and the Delhi government’s Department of Training and Technical Education. Bharti-Walmart plans to invest over USD 15 mn in Andhra Pradesh this year and impact lives of 25,000 women through multiple initiatives by 2016, it has already created more than 2,000 job-ready women in 3 years through Bharti Walmart Training Centres. Walmart Labs in Bangalore: In addition to its R&D centre in the Silicon Valley, Wal-Mart plans to set up another facility in Bangalore, India (expected to be set up by Dec 2011) with about 100 developers to work on technologies and solutions for Wal-Mart’s global e-commerce business. UNITED COLORS OF BENETTON The Benetton Group, with brands such as UCB, Sisley and Playlife, has a presence in 120 countries. It has network of around 6,000 stores. India has a local production of their collection too. Almost 100 per cent of the products are sourced from India. The product line remains uniform geographically. At present Benetton has over 425 franchised stores in India (since 1991) and the number is likely to double in five years. Now it is also focusing on smaller cities and towns given the growth in brand awareness and disposable income levels. â€Å"Even if FDI in single brand retail is opened up, we will continue to operate like a wholesaler and follow the franchise route,† Mr Mohanty (Benetton India MD) said. It has launched its first Concept store in Connaught Place. Stores are an important communication platform for Benetton as it is here that we showcase the depth of our brand offering to the customers. The launch of the new store strengthens Benetton’s presence in the Indian market. Global brands work everywhere. Consumers currently are very global as they are accepting products that have global appeal. In fact, it has always positioned itself as a colorful brand which has worked wonders for the Indian market. Also it focuses more on consumer experience like store ambience and window merchandising rather than advertising. Almost 40% of our budget is spent on that. However, it is now looking at in-film placements as the next branding strategy. (It has already tied up with an upcoming John Abraham movie 1-800-Love.) It is looking forward to being clothing partners of programmes  or events, which are true to their product. Recently, this Italian casual wear brand opened an outlet at Magneto Mall, Raipur. Spread over an area of 1,000 sq ft, the store stocks a range of clothes and accessories for men and women. The retailer has a revenue-sharing model with the mall. DA MILANO Da Milano, the international luxury brand with its range of premium leather goods and accessories is synonymous to precision, craftsmanship and exclusivity. Da Milano imports 70% of its leather and accessories from Italy for its leather goods retailed in India. It has 2 state of the art company owned manufacturing units at Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh equipped with the latest and most advanced machinery. They have a highly skilled workforce operating under the guidance of Italian technicians. They also have an exclusive tannery near Chennai in TN where leather produced is benchmarked to the latest process technology. By September’11, it has 32 signature Da Milano stores across the country. It recently opened 5 flagship stores in Maharashtra. The brand’s presence can be seen in 10 cities – Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. Recently it opened its showroom at Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. The store is sprawled over 850sq.ft and is embellished with all-glass frontage. The appealing visual merchandising of the store also includes an off white backdrop, wooden shelves, soft green wall paper, illuminating marble flooring etc, and is done to entice passers-by and draw footfall. The luxury brand could soon be seen announcing the launch of two of its sub brands Rosso Brunello and Da Milano Home. While the former will offer premium hi fashion foot wears for men and women, the latter will be offering leather accessories for home and office. Rosso Brunello foot wears will be made available at select Da Milano exclusive stores, while Da Milano Home and Office accessories would be retailed at Da Milano stores. Well, a lot of scope is there in India as compared to other countries in the world as the organized retail penetration level is only around 5% as compared to 85% in USA, 80% in France and 20% in China. (Refer Annexure Fig 9) PROBLEMATIC SITUATION/DIFFICULTY FACED IN INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Price issue: In India the majority of retail outlets sell products at maximum retail price (MRP), which are administered by the government and printed on each item by manufacturers. Thus, there is minimal price competition among the various store formats. The arrival of International retailers, with vast sourcing networks, may eradicate the importance of government-imposed MRP, as these are likely to focus strongly on low prices as a competitive tool and as a means of encouraging new consumers to try the modern concept. Poor Infrastructure: The road infrastructure is poor and federal and state tax laws are complex, which make cross-state transportation difficult. India’s transport networks/highways, rural infrastructure certainly need investment. Bharti has announced to invest INR 125bn in agriculture and supply chain. It will also invest on specific distribution and transportation storage solutions (ie refrigerated trucks and logistical initiatives, such as electronic product tracking). The relatively slow pace of MGR growth in India can be largely attributed to two key factors: (1) massive income inequalities and (2) tough FDI regulations Labour displacement issue in India: The entry of International retailers with efficient systems will destroy the traditional retail sector, making people’s requirement at minimum in these new retail stores. JOB losing fear: If we assume 40 mn adults in the retail sector, it would translate into around 160 mn dependents using a 1:4 dependency ratio. These people are unlikely suitable for other areas of work either. Thus, there is a need to enact new laws to check the prolific expansion of the new foreign malls and hypermarkets, like China, Malaysia and Thailand. (Refer Annexure Fig 12 to see the Asia Pacific Retail Sales by % share) Change in Retail FDI policy: On November 24th the coalition government, led by the Congress party, said that in cities of over 1m folk, foreign firms could now own 51% of â€Å"multi-brand† retailers, such as supermarkets (up from zero), and 100% of single-brand chains (up from 51%). Multi-brand foreign chains, such as Walmart and Tesco, must operate as joint ventures, of which they may now own up to 51%, and may operate only in cities of 1m people or more. The new reform is timely. Growth has dipped below 7%. The rupee is weak, investors are nervous. But still, the  government needs to lift confidence, and organized retail could work. (Refer to Annexure Fig 10 to see the Indian economic activity showing the nominal GDP and GDP per capita.) Political issues: The FDI reform is too controversial to be enacted. The main opposition party, the BJP, which enjoys the support of millions of stallholders, is doing its best to whip up anger. Many Indians feel an emotional attachment to little kirana stores, and fret that foreign invaders will destroy them. Indian states are not obliged to follow the FDI reform. Many may refuse to liberalize foreign ownership on their territory. Standard Chartered Bank, reckons that of 53 cities with over 1m people, 28 are run by politicians who say they will block the reform. India’s leftist parties had called for a nationwide strike on Dec. 1 in solidarity with the Confederation of All India Traders, who are among the most vocal opponents of full FDI in retail. The BJP leader Uma Bharti publicly threatened to set fire to any Walmart that opens. Fragmented Market: The retail shops are very fragmented with only very few supermarkets and no dominant chain. Farming is also fragmented. A rickety legal system makes it hard to enforce contracts. Under the latest FDI reform, foreign-controlled shops will have to buy a chunk of their processed and manufactured goods from small firms, which may add to their costs. High Land prices in India: Foreign retailers will have to find affordable land in packed an d expensive cities. Western luxury-goods firms may be able to tolerate extortionate rents for central locations. Some may prosper with a few out-of-town stores that people visit infrequently, spending lots. But general retailers need both cheap land and proximity to their customers—not an easy mix. People’s habits: Indians are in the habit of shopping for their fruits and vegetables almost every day which get the customer into the shop every day, and chances are she’ll buy something extra. Building a Walmart-style supply chain of fruits and vegetables requires a lot of investment in improving the productivity and quality of farmers. E.g. showing a tomato farmer how to improve his yields by using wooden stakes for his plants. That farmer doesn’t have to sell his tomatoes to Walmart, but when he sees that he can get a better price, he often does. To woo farmers away from the system they are used to — selling produce at the local mandi, or market, at a price dictated by traders — Walmart has set itself a target of increasing farmers’ incomes by 20% over five years. Farmer’s Income: By  law, farmers are required to sell their produce only to approved mandis and have to pay the mandi taxes. (Walmart has to pay the mandi tax even when farmers sell to them.) They travel for hours to get here, and then take whatever price the wholesale buyer is willing to give. The buyers don’t inspect the produce and offer better prices for better quality; they just sell the 100-kg sacks of vegetables to another set of middlemen, who break it into smaller lots that eventually find their way to vegetable vendors and small retailers. By the time it reaches the consumer, that produce will have been marked up by three to four times or more, but nearly all of that goes to the middlemen, not the farmer. Meanwhile, about 30% of the produce also spoils along the way for lack of cold storage, contributing to India’s soaring food inflation. Distribution issue: remains a major challenge to retail expansion. India’s infrastructure is a lot inadequ ate. A 500km road journey can take as much as 24 hours, owing to poor road conditions, congestion and toll booths. Preference for Kirana/local retailers (cheap price offered): According to ASSOCHAM’s survey 2010, in which it interviewed 5000 shoppers in various cities in India, kirana stores (mom and pop stores) and local retailers were the preferred destination for shoppers as compared to shopping malls. The survey found that goods were less expensive (as much as 25%) in local kirana stores as compared to big shopping malls with more variety and affordable options with sustainable quality at a negotiable price (reduced margins) Walmart’s strict union policy: The company’s clearly defined anti-union policy aiming at preventing its work force from gaining collective bargaining power can result in increased wages. Low overhead costs: Small retailers in India already operate with such low overhead costs (by relying on informal labor and making minimal investment in any technology, even refrigeration) that it’s hard for Walmart to compete with them. (India’s traders have, however, invested in their relationships with state and local politicians, who count on their support around election time.) Elsewhere, Walmart may have pioneered the use of low-cost retail labor; in India, the cost of labor in retail is already about as low as it can get. STRATEGY ADOPTED TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE Issuing Loyalty cards: Keeping customers loyal is a problem retailers often grapple with. Over the last decade, Indian companies that are focusing on acquiring and retaining customers have become aggressive about giving out loyalty cards. As a result, 42 percent of Indians in the SEC A, B and C categories are now part of at least one loyalty program in India’s $4 billion-a-year loyalty market. (This figure includes the market for gifts, which a lot of companies use as a surrogate for loyalty programs.) Loyalty is seen as the number one tool that allows retailers to access data on customer tastes and preferences. Pearson: conducted an extensive customer research through Colloquy, its research arm: only 20 percent of Indians in the SEC A, B and C categories are loyal to a particular brand. Offer a better deal and they are more than willing to shift. Improving Infrastructure: Tesco is planning to work with Tata’s Star Bazaar hypermarket business on a franchise basis, providing expertise and technical support in return for a fee to the fast-expanding network. Star Bazaar stores, potentially meaning that Tesco-branded private-label goods could appear in consumer retail outlets in India. It provides employment for some 3,000 local workers at its global service centre in Bangalore. More Partnership: Wal-Mart is also considering a partnership with Indian counterpart Future Group to strengthen its presence in India. Also, Walmart is on an expanding spree in India and wants to cover maximum areas in India, even the interior regions. Recently, it opened a new store format, easyday Hyper, at Magnet Malls, Bhandup, Mumbai. This is Bharti Retail’s first store in West India. Spread over 60,000 sq.ft., the outlet stocks over 20,000 products displaying 475 new items, including personal care products, stationery, household articles, hosiery items and daily-need groceries. Introduction of Innovative ideas: Walmart is also introducing innovating ideas to differentiate it from other retailers, like the recently opened store also has a section called ‘Baby World.’ Currently, the company has 140 ‘easyday’ stores, 13 ‘easyday Market’ outlets and 1 ‘easyday Hyper’ store. Cluster approach strategy: Walmart follows a cluster approach strategy and initially largely focused on Punjab, although it opened stores in other places also. It has covered the four big markets (in Punjab) already. Price  settling: Government of India should introduce the concept for the organized retail by setting a minimum price for a commodity, below which a retail store cannot sale the product. This should be done to avoid the occurrence of monopoly of a retailer in the country. Personalized Offer to Customer: The current retailers in India should take an advantage of the prior knowledge of the customer requirement and customer nature in India. They should provide customized deals and service to them, so that they may retain the old customers even on the opening up of new international retail stores whose service is not personalized. LESSONS LEARNT Clearly, once the equity caps on foreign investment are lifted, the India MGR sector will witness tremendous flows of investment from global retailers, which leads to our projection of 155.6% in MGR sales to 2015. Its retail market is forecast to nearly double to $850 billion by 2020. (Refer to Annexure Fig 11 to see the forecast for 2020 in terms of sales in organized and unorganized retail market.) Also, when a retailer (say Walmart) enters a new market, a lot depends on the kind of a partner it has. As Bharti itself has ambitions to be a major retail powerhouse in India, thus there is a strategic conflict between their interests. As, sooner or later India will permit foreign retailers to have direct equity ownership in India, then what will Walmart be left holding? Bharti has retail ambitions, thus it will want to buy Walmart’s shares, rather than sell. Bharti-Walmart stores are branded BestPrice, and not with Walmart’s name. Thus, Walmart could have thought of India as a portfolio of regional markets and work with smaller regional partners. It’s hard for the local kiryana stores, etc. to have much bargaining power or have national ambitions. They would have been happy to brand them as Walmart and when regulations change, Walmart would be able to buy them out. Walmart India probably will invest in a joint venture with Kishore Biyani-led Future Group soon. The report is not confirmed yet. On Tuesday (March 29’11), a leading business daily in India reported that senior executives of Future Group and Walmart had met at least five times in four months, raising possibilities of an alliance. More important, the debate over Walmart’s effect on retail employment misses a larger point. In India, the majority of the population is employed in agriculture, and Indian farmers stand to gain a lot from greater investment by anyone — foreign or  domestic — in the supply chain that bri ngs food from the field to the consumer. CRISIL, a research firm, reckons the reform could attract up to $3 billion of foreign investment over five years—welcome, but not nearly enough to fund India’s current-account deficit or transform the industry. India’s consumer-goods firms, among its most profitable, have thrived in the era of backward retailing and supply chains, but are betting on gradual change. The biggest, Hindustan Unilever, has seconded staff to stores in America and Britain to learn how they work. In an interview earlier this year its boss, Nitin Paranjpe, said he was â€Å"absolutely certain† that rganized retail would take off. But he reckoned it would take a decade to capture a quarter of the market. Entering a market as big and complex as India’s is a big bet, even for experienced international retailers. Success is by no means guaranteed: citing example of China, where Tesco’s Chinese operations are only breaking even though they have been in the country for seven years. Walmart is doing better, but this was helped by its takeover of Trustmart, a Taiwanese supermarket. Carrefour and Auchan, two French supermarket chains, are doing best, because they adapted more than their rivals to the taste of the Chinese and their shopping preferences, says Ben Cavender at China Market Research in Shanghai. Carrefour, for instance, introduced what is known as â€Å"wet markets† in most of its outlets: open food markets that sell live animals. To be successful in India, Walmart, Carrefour and Tesco will need to give their local managers a lot of autonomy to adapt their stores. India boasts more than 20 official languages, three major religions and many, very different culinary traditions. Big Bazaar, one of the few Indian hypermarket chains, shows how far such adaptation will have to go. Instead of copying the narrow aisles in Western stores, designed for individual shoppers with carts, the firm has packed its stores with clusters through which shoppers have to navigate. This recreates the organised chaos Indians know from shopping in real bazaars: bumping into people, chatting and eating. All these international retail shops offer a wider variety and larger quantity of some items, but lacked the personal touch. They do not have the quality of personalized touch that a normal Kiryana store offers to its customers, thus it will take a long way to establish the retail market in India, but the wait is for the final say by the government of India. REFERENCE www.walmartstores.com http://www.ey.com/IN/en/Newsroom/News-releases/Published-editorial—FDI-in-retail—MNC-retailers-to-select-partners-with-suitable-capabilities FDI in India’s Retail Sector More Bad than Good? – By Mohan Guruswamy, Kamal Sharma, Jeevan Prakash Mohanty, Thomas J. Korah http://business.in.com/article/magazine-extra/walmarts-strategy-through-the-world/6042/1#ixzz1fpdJwzyd www.indiaretailing.com http://business.in.com/article/web-special/loyalty-networks-poised-to-enter-indian-market/30972/1#ixzz1fpikaw00 http://www.ibef.org/download/Retail_270111.pdf http://retail.franchiseindia.com/interviews/Debutant/Bagging-profits-59/ Issue 37 September 2011: http://www.dnb.co.in/Ind_cursorpdf/Industry_Cursor_September_2011.pdf http://www.ramms.co.in/admin/application/source/files/news/39_RRN-Sept%202011.pdf FDI in retail: MNC retailers to select partners with suitable capabilities: Economic Times By Paresh Parekh, Tax Partner, Ernst & Young

Luxury Market in China Essay

China is positioned to become the world’s largest luxury market in five years and a study by Datamonitor reported China’s luxury goods market was worth $9. 4billion by the end of 2009, which accounted for 27. 5% of the world’s luxury goods market. [1] They also predict that by 2015, China’s market will be valued at $14. 6billion. The main driver of this growth in the luxury gods market is the extreme wealth creation that China has experiences in the past ten years as its GDP has grown 10% annually on average, which is three times more than the global GDP. Investment Week quotes a recent World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch Cap Gemini stating that there are 477,000 Chinese millionaires and China is also leading the world with the number of billionaires (Investment week. [2]) The combination of the staggering growth of the Chinese economy creating such great private wealth and the political and social evolution China has gone through over the last 30 years has created a tidal wave of opportunity for luxury retailers. Politically, China has gone through many changes over the last thirty years that has primed the economy and citizens for a surge in individualism and the pride in the ability to afford and purchase luxury goods. In 1976 Mao Zedong passed away and in 1979 the One Child Policy was introduced and applied by China’s new leader, Deng Xiaoping. China’s population was growing at an alarming rate and in order to curb this growth rate, Chinese were limited to having one child per household. Fast-forward thirty years and these only children, who have been raised by 6 parents, has created a â€Å"little emperor† mentality where their every desire it met, and is recently being satiated by Western goods. They now have buying power and they are spending it on high priced goods. The choices and options available today are a stark contrast to the limitations their parents experienced thirty years prior in a vastly different political time. Socially, China has always been a country deeply embedded in traditions such as gift giving, saving face and the respect for the hierarchal society. These traditions all stem from â€Å"guanxi,† the all-important notion of relationships, which is what drives business and social status. The culture of relationships is paramount for being successful in China so the combination of mass wealth and the traditions all surrounding Guanxi has attributed to the exponential growth of the luxury market in China. Although the Chinese have been known to be a culture of saving, the tides have shifted and the 20-30 something’s have created a society of excessive spending due to extravagant purchases to support their new tastes as well as these traditions. The new breed of buyers are young and are embracing their freedom to purchase in their capitalistic society, which is a far cry from their parents socialist upbringing. Therefore both social and political changes have created this perfect storm of excess, which is fueling the luxury good market in China and for many years to come. Mao Zedong, the leader of China from 1949 until his death in 1976 is still regarded as a controversial figure but his rule and communist policies molded the beliefs of many parents and grandparents living in China today. Under Mao’s rule there was no individualism and consumption was controlled. Mao is regarded as a great leader in China as he is thought to have laid the groundwork for China becoming the great power that it is today as a result of his leadership of the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. While he did create the building blocks for present day China, he has been compared to communist leaders like Hitler and Stalin. He urged citizens to reject capitalism and even at one point â€Å"proposed the Socialist Education Movement (SEM) in an attempt to educate the peasants to resist the temptations of feudalism and the sprouts of capitalism that he saw re-emerging in the countryside. †[3] The citizens living in these times are now parents and while their lifestyles are very conservative, they are raising children in a very different political environment. Their children didn’t have a communist ruler and therefore have different views on modesty and consumption. While there is still a strict focus on studying and discipline, the focus on success and showing that you are successful has been morphed into an obsession with Western brands showing pride in ones accomplishments. Even as young children the Western culture is quite alluring, with children asking to be rewarded for good grades by going to McDonalds as we were told by one of the speakers. Today in China, people are who they wear. Even as Nicole from LVMH mentioned, the Chinese are obsessed with showing that they are wearing designer brands that you will see some wearing clothes and sunglasses with the tags still on them to show who the designer is. These â€Å"nouveau riche† are the products of parents who didn’t have any choices and now they are embarrassing their freedom to chose. Forbes reported â€Å"the average Chinese luxury consumer will spend roughly 11% of her income on luxury handbags along. †[4] They also go on to say that these consumers are â€Å"highly educated and highly motivated to identify products that will complement his or her individuality and rising power. †4 Parents of these kids weren’t allowed to have individuality, but now their children are not only wanting it but also seeking it with huge spending power. Spending 11% of your income on a luxury bag shows the emotional and mental bond to these luxury items. In the US simply to qualify for a loan for a mortgage, your total debt can’t be more than 45% of your income. To think that a quarter of that goes towards handbags alone not even included likely purchases like luxury cars, wines etc makes me think if this type of spending is going to be sustainable for the Chinese market. In China, there were many nice cars, but I didn’t think that perhaps these people are driving cars they can’t afford. I am used to the United States where living on credit is a way of life, but this takes it to a whole new level. The millionaires are able to afford this, but if a middle class person is spending such a high percentage of her income on something like handbags, its going to create an economy where nobody can afford to buy a house and retirement is never attainable. One of the Bentley students that sat with us at lunch mentioned that she wanted to buy a house but that she couldn’t without her parent’s financial support due to the 50%-70% down payment required. She and most young people are lucky that their parents have saved and will be able to help them, but for those in the younger generation who aren’t saving won’t be able to help their kids and there might be a whole future generation who can never afford to own property. These younger generations parents grew up in a communist and socialist society, where there isn’t the ability to care about status, but status and luxury has now become the currency in China. The millionaires in China are younger with an average age of 39. [5] These young millionaires enjoy showing their status with nice things from great bottles of wine, cars to handbags. They are achieving success and are looking to reward themselves with nice things, which also shows status among their peers. A report on the watch market, mentioned that men â€Å"need a watch of a certain quality to be part of the social circle. †[6] The need to show status and create a sense of belonging in a social group has become so apparent that retailers are taking notice and even creating products specifically for the Chinese buyer. Mercedes Benz is even making a car with a longer wheelbase for the Chinese businessmen who are chauffeured around and need to have more room in the back which is a big difference from the rest of the world where carmakers are creating smaller cars that consume less energy and are more economical. [7] The retailers and manufacturers of world are taking note that the new Chinese buyer is very different from their parents given all of the political changes of the past few decades. While the political changes are one factor in the shift of buying trends, policy has also been a great factor and one specifically is the One Child Policy, which was introduced in 1979. This policy has created what many call, the â€Å"Little Emperor† society as a result of one child being raised by 6 parents (on immediate and two sets of grandparents. ) These children have grown up being catered to and supported by six people and now their wants and needs are changing, as they get older. Where as their parents likely gave them the best they could afford, these 20 and 30 something’s are becoming obsessed with Western brands, which cost a premium. Even with a 30% import tax, individuals who grew up getting what they wanted are buying these Western luxury brands, at times spending their entire months salary on a handbag. Although their parents had a culture of saving, this new generation tastes for highly taxed Western goods to show status has greatly changed this cultural norm. For this generation to keep up with their friend, they have forgone the notion of saving in replacement of a life full of luxury goods with no savings. I spoke to Mico about this on the bus and she mentioned that her friends spend all of their money on luxury goods and there’s now a saying in Chinese that means that you spend all of your money that you make that month. She mentioned that buying fakes is a faux pas and that they only buy the real things, which is what leads to them spending all of their money. She noted that this was very different from the upbringing of her parents who were brought up saving almost 40% of their money. In the popular market that we went to in Shanghai, there were almost no Chinese in there and when we asked Mico if she went to the market to get knockoffs, she said that knockoffs’ were â€Å"so three years ago. † It quickly became apparent why That is there where Chinese people in the markets; they are in the real stores buying the real thing. In the streets it was quite apparent that everyone had designer bags and clothing on, but this was mainly in Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou. In Xi’an there was still a feeling of communism, everything was still grey and there weren’t many people sporting their designer clothes. The opportunity right now is in the 1s tier cities and many retailers are trying to expand to the 2nd and 3rd tier cities. The opportunity in China purely based on the enormous populations in these cities. The first focus for the retailers were the tier 1 cities and now the 2nd and 3rd tier cities will be paramount for companies to sustain this continued growth. While political changes have made way for the change in buying and spending trends of young Chinese buyers, tradition has maintained an important part of the culture across all generations of Chinese and the luxury market surge has been fueled by these traditions. Guanxi, the focus on relationships as part of the Chinese culture has many components, one of which is the value of gift giving as a sign of respect. Gift giving is a huge part of Chinese culture, most prominent around the Chinese New Year, but a very large part of life socially and professionally year round. According to the authors of the book â€Å"The Cult of the Luxury Brand,† â€Å"quanxi†¦is the single biggest factor spurring the growth of luxe in China. †[8] When you give a gift to someone in China, it means you are thanking him or her for helping you but also solidifies your â€Å"guanxi† with them and continues the future relationship. Luxury items are now raising the bar in gift giving as recipients truly appreciate the luxury gifts and merchants have reported â€Å"frantic levels of spending† 8 all at once by shoppers who are looking to purchase gifts for their business partners and friends. The culture of saving face plays into this as well since the more luxurious the gift, the better. If you are looking to show great gratitude and â€Å"save face† then you will purchase a luxury item as a gift. In business face is extremely important so even Western brands are also learning this culture of gift giving, as they know the importance of partners in their business so they are making sure to take care of them by giving great gifts. In addition to the culture of gift giving that has fueled the luxury market growth, the culture of hierarchal respect has also attributed to this. Many Chinese of the younger generation believe that luxury products â€Å"mark where you have traveled up to but they also give you permission to continue succeeding. †[9] In a culture where you are competing with so many people and success is so important, it’s easy to see how luxury products represent achieving a certain social status and also denotes the fact that you will stay in that status. As Nicole from LVMH was speaking to us she noted that there are usually 40-50 students in each classroom. Students from an early age learn to be one in a large crowd, but as they get older and look to prove to the world what they have accomplished, and they use designer goods to reflect their status. The irony of this is that one would think that after growing up being one in a crowd, one would think that they would want to show status and individuality, but the items they purchase to show their status is exactly what their peers have chosen, which is likely a Louis Vuitton handbag. For instance, although it was quite conducive to the weather, when we were in China, every single person had Ugg boots on. In the US while Ugg is a popular brand, there are many more brands being worn, as there are many more tastes expressed by individuals. It was very interesting to see that there was a proliferation of a small number of brands, namely Louis Vuitton, as I came to quickly realize that the Chinese want to wear brands that are recognizable. While they are moving towards a more individualistic society, their tendency to be one of a group is still quite prominent. They do value the luxury brands to show status, but their need to be part of a group, albeit a high status group, is still quite unmistakable in the sea of Gucci and Louis Vuitton purses that were worn like a badge of honor by the women of China. The trip to China was quite eye-opening form the perspective of a Westerner who is used to a more modest lifestyle with an abundance of variety. The flashy cars and purses were immediately apparent from Beijing through Shanghai, but as I sit here thinking about the political and social changes that China has gone through in the past few decades, I only with I was smart enough to somehow capitalize on this. China is a fascinating country to visit given its great history and culture that is evident today, but it’s also great to have visited a country that is still going through many changes and evolving at such a rapid rate. While the rest of the world is clearly evolving, China is doing so at an exponentially quicker rate than most and that was quite clear with the sea of cranes in every city putting up buildings everywhere. I do believe that culture will always be a part of the Chinese people and lifestyle, but it will be interesting to see when this locomotive of luxury obsession begins to ebb or if China will meet its own credit crunch in the coming years given the drastic change in spending habits that the younger generations have adopted. [1] â€Å"Chinese appetite for premium products growing despite slowing economic activity. † Datamonitor July 20010, English ed. : 16. Print. [2] Andrea Gerst and Scilla Huang Sun, â€Å"China’s passion for luxury goods increases,† Investment Week, September 6, 2010. [3] â€Å"Cultural China,†http://history. cultural-china. com/en/46H9449H13452. html [4] Evelyn Rusli, â€Å"What Chinese Shoppers Want,† Forbes, March 8, 2010. [5] Andrea Gerst and Scilla Huang Sun, â€Å"China’s passion for luxury goods increases,† Investment Week, September 6, 2010. [6] Florent Bondoux, â€Å"Luxury watches find booming market in China,† Media, September 10, 2009, 17. [7] â€Å"Lengthened Mercedes-Benz E-Class to hit Chinese shores† http://www. benzinsider. com/2010/04/lengthened-mercedes-benz-e-class-to-hit-chinese-shores/ [8] â€Å"China Luxury,† http://app1. hkicpa. org. hk/APLUS/0710/p24_29. pdf [9] â€Å"Is China’s Luxury Goods Market a ‘Pot of Gold’ for Marketers? † Knowledge at Wharton, assessed July 27, 2007, http://english. cri. cn/2946/2007/07/27/199@254317. htm.

buy custom Demonstrate Awareness of Societal Issues Appropriate for an Individual essay

buy custom Demonstrate Awareness of Societal Issues Appropriate for an Individual essay Health care is a wide institution, which provides curative, preventive rehabilitative and promotional health care services to individuals and societies. Great strides have been made in the past to improve the health care professions image on the society. Modern and effective technical capabilities which ensure more precise diagnosis are adopted to enhance social trust. Health care issues are concerned with threats to health. The health care professional encompasses knowledge on the physicians mental, physical and mental well being. The professional is also expected to have multidisciplinary knowledge on community health, environmental health, occupational health and health services. Interdisciplinary approaches in biostatistics and epidemiology is also vital. The public health professional should be able to accommodate different types of people and help them in the best way possible. They should advice people accordingly to enable them achieve holistic health. They should be able to address issues of abortion, race, gay relationships and embarrassing illnesses with decorum and professionalism. Most professionals have established guidelines for good practice. Contravening on these guidelines may constitute neglect or abuse. As a result, health care professionals have established principles of good conduct. Some tenets of god practice have been made into law while others are set by the professional associations. Social and Health care professions have the concept of care and duty towards their users. The quality and well being of service delivered should therefore be highly prioritized as all treatment is anticipated to have therapeutic or life saving benefits to the patient. The patients should be allowed access to vital information relating to their health and well being. The health professional should communicate and network with colleagues in an attempt to enrich the medical field. They should address upcoming issues, challenges and interests. Health care services are regulated by the government by a national regulatory agency. It also licenses care givers who might wish to practice private health care. The agency acts as a disciplinary arm. Buy custom Demonstrate Awareness of Societal Issues Appropriate for an Individual essay

The risks posed by money laundering and corruption to the global Essay

The risks posed by money laundering and corruption to the global financial system and international business - Essay Example This is because it involves breaching of one’s duty. Moreover, corruption has been linked with money laundering. This is because money laundering entails concealing funds that have been generated through illegal means. Money laundering is often conducted internationally since the concealing of the illegal funds entails transferring it across international borders. The money is then deposited or invested in legitimate institutions to make it appear as if it was generated legally. Therefore, there is need for comprehensive strategies to deal with corruption and money laundering. This is because money obtained through corruption is often used for laundering purposes. Consequently, money laundering and corruption crimes are often interwoven and require to be dealt with concurrently. This essay focuses on analyzing the risks posed by money laundering and corruption to the global financial system and international business. Additionally, the essay will entail identification of the s ufficiency of the current international efforts in dealing these threats. Currently, corruption is considered one of the major obstacles hampering global economic development. This is because it is a major crime affecting many nations and impedes sustainable economic development. Furthermore, corruption is a major global concern since it hampers global business. Moreover, global corruption is more complicated since it requires cooperation of different governments to deal with it. On the other hand, money laundering is considered a major profit driven crime facing international businesses and financial systems. Actually, the corruption and money laundering are closely linked. Moreover, they continue to play a big role in threatening international business operations. This is because money laundering accelerates corruption and vice versa (Lilley 2006; Chaikin & Sharman 2009). Risks Posed By Money Laundering and Corruption to the Global Financial System and International Business In th e past, money laundering was viewed as a means of cleaning dirty money obtained through criminal activities such as drug trafficking. However, it has been realized that money laundering entails more that this and it is a crime. Since most criminal activities involve corruption, money laundering enhances corruption by enabling criminals conceal their activities. The effects of corruption are eminent in social, economic, and politic settings. In case of international business, corruption and money laundering contribute to distortion of the financial markets. This is because these misconducts spread from one financial market to another easily (Chaikin & Sharman 2009). Corruption and money laundering are an international concern. This is because there is increasing imitation of the forms of corruption used from one country to another. In cases where money obtained through corruption mean is transferred and invested in another company elsewhere, the companies involved might start conflic ting. Therefore, corruption and money laundering threaten international business relations since they create international disputes. Such disputes often involve banks (Lilley 2006). Money laundering leads to creation of illegal schemes aimed at concealing unlawfully earned assets. Therefore, it becomes hard for corruption cases to be identified. Therefore, corruption and money laundering affect the judicial system making it hard to prevent cases of corruption, which are hard to detect. Actually, the

Personal statement for admission to law school Essay

Personal statement for admission to law school - Essay Example By the time I reached my junior year in high school, I had become more appreciative of learning and studying the World History particularly sparked my interest to engage in debates and forums in and out of school. I started being passionate in expressing my views on several issues of concern which prevailed at the time and my growing fascination for language and communication had all the more encouraged me to attain further awareness in social and political aspects of living. I must admit though that I encountered occasions when interactions were weaving unhealthy arguments instead. In the process, however, I learned to find worth in listening to others with downright humility and how essential it is to be working on relationships that bear positive impact despite inevitable competitions with batchmates. This principle has supported me to yield into a more flexible character that seeks to understand with patience and sincerity even to this day. During early college and the three year s of attendance in the Danube International School, I spontaneously developed love toward philosophical studies which deepened my academic inclinations and involvement with other avenues of learning where public speaking matters with ample essence. Some fellow students under a similar or related field also influenced me to find delight in studying classical literature and poetry which serves as a collective inspiration for my creativity in thought and manner of speech. I recollect having looked up to certain intellectual figures covered in the literary courses and through them, I felt the necessity to contemplate on the real worth of wisdom and acquisition of a revolutionary mind from which acts of profitable reform may be derived to be taken advantage of by the society as a whole. Stepping out of the academe via extracurricular commitment gave me the opportunity to explore communities under crises of varied types. There used to be times when I participated in reach-out projects whi ch were sponsored either by our school or the government and such enlightening experience truly makes a huge difference in one’s perception of life. When we paid visit to poor families, my heart could not help outpouring cries at the view of poverty and a general picture of hopelessness. I needed no effort then to empathize for it was such a revealing moment of truth when reality unfolded itself to break my core and let loose all of the inherent compassion within. At this stage, I told myself that I knew exactly and could discern what my professional desire was going to be like. Due to the actual sights and physical encounter of impoverished communities, the idea of injustice came instantly and I was brought to ponder that such state of economy has chiefly suffered from inequality especially in terms of allocation of goods. For a case as this, there is much that the government could in the absence of corruption or illegal activities. Hence, I decided to pursue law in order th at by securing a position as a lawmaker, I would be able to earn the authority of defending people whose rights