Analyzing the role of Strategic Entrepreneurship in forming temporary Competitive Advantage that leads to Value Creation The WritePass Journal

Analyzing the role of Strategic Entrepreneurship in forming temporary Competitive Advantage that leads to Value Creation Introduction Analyzing the role of Strategic Entrepreneurship in forming temporary Competitive Advantage that leads to Value Creation ). Strategic entrepreneurship essentially involves concurrent opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking behaviors, which result in better performance of the firm (Ireland, Hitt Sirmon, 2003). This research is interested in conducting a similar investigation and seeks to analyze the role of strategic entrepreneurship in forming temporary competitive advantage, which leads to the creation of value for the firm. Research Questions This dissertation is interested in determining whether firms, which engage in strategic entrepreneurship, are able to establish temporal competitive advantage in a dynamic environment, especially whilst competing with other firms and within the context of creating value for the firm. Below are the specific questions to be addressed in this dissertation: What benefits would a firm obtain by successfully employing strategic entrepreneurship in the current competitive market? What temporary competitive advantage results from employing strategic entrepreneurship? Does strategic entrepreneurship create value? Aims and Objectives The primary aim of this research is to analyze the role of strategic entrepreneurship in building competitive advantage and creating value for the firm. Based on the research questions given above, the objectives of this dissertation are as follows: To find out the benefits of employing strategic entrepreneurship To understand what competitive advantages are the result of utilising strategic entrepreneurship To investigate whether strategic entrepreneurship creates value for the firm Rationale This dissertation will provide insights on the significance of strategic entrepreneurship, especially within the context of forming temporary competitive advantage, in pursuit of creating value for the firm. This research seeks to address some of the gaps in literature, such as understanding the balance between the opportunity-seeking behavior associated with entrepreneurship and the advantage-seeking behavior of strategic management (Hitt et al., 2011). Moreover, a Strategic Entrepreneurship Theoretical Tree will be utilized in order to analyze the various components of strategic entrepreneurship. The theoretical tree is created based from the different studies conducted on the subject. Literature Review (Preliminary) Strategic entrepreneurship is associated with firm’s objective of achieving superior performance through the simultaneous application of both opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking activities (Ketchen, Ireland, Snow, 2007). Various researchers have identified different components of strategic entrepreneurship, which can lead to superior performance of the firm. Ireland, Hitt Sirmon (2003) proposes four dimensions for the successful implementation of strategic entrepreneurship: (a) entrepreneurial mindset; (b) entrepreneurial culture and leadership; (c) strategic management of resources; and (d) applying creativity to develop innovations. At the business level, value creation is usually reflected in the expansion and growth of a firm. Welter Smallbone (2004) found that Institutional Economic Theory highlights the institutional embeddedness and path dependence of entrepreneurial behavior. This, in turn, influences the degree and nature of value creation for the firm. A number of authors have identified the factors that influence value creation and competitive advantage. Pongpearchan (2011, p.5) found that ‘operational innovation efficiency and business practice effectiveness have a significant positive effect on value creation excellence.’ On the other hand, Rindova Fombrun (1999) argue that competitive advantage is a systemic outcome which develops as firms engage in processes that involve the use and exchange of resources, as well as the communication that occurs in these exchanges. Therefore, the fluctuations on the interpretations and evaluations of a firm affect its resources and its competitive advantage in the marketplace. Below is the model of the Strategic Entrepreneurship Theoretical Tree which will be used as the main theoretical framework of this research. Each of the components of this model is based on different studies. These will be discussed in more detail during the full dissertation document. Methodology This research will use quantitative research methodology in addressing the objectives of the study. Quantitative survey will be used in gathering data from respondents. Quantitative methodology is chosen for this study because it will allow the researcher to utilize the opinions of respondents in explaining the phenomena being studied. The survey will be administered to employees and managers of SMEs and large commercial firms in the UK to find out their views on the subject. The survey will asks questions such as how respondents perceive the role of strategic entrepreneurship in forming creative temporary competitive advantage; what are the benefits of strategic entrepreneurship; how can firms create value; etc. The target number of respondents for the survey is 100. In anticipation of the fact that some potential respondents might refuse to participate in the survey, around 175 to 200 questionnaires will be distributed to ensure that 100 responses will be gathered. The survey will be administered face-to-face, via post, though emails, and online. This is done to allow respondents to choose how they want to answer the survey. After data gathering is completed, statistical analysis will be used in analyzing the data. SPSS and Excel will be used as the primary software for analysis. References Hitt, M, Ireland, D, Sirman, G, Trahms, C. (2011). Strategic Entrepreneurship: Creating value for individuals, organizations and society. Academy of Management Perspective. p.57-75. Ireland, D, Hitt, M, Sirmon, D. (2003).   A Model of Strategic Entrepreneurship: The Construct and its Dimensions. Journal of Management. 29(6), p.963-989 Ketchen, D, Ireland, D, Snow, C. (2007). Strategic entrepreneurship, collaborative innovation, and wealth creation. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. 1(3-4), p.371-385. Olusola, A. (2012). Strategic Entrepreneurial Skills’ Influence on Small Businesses’ Performance in Oyo and Osun Western States-Nigeria. Research Journal in Organizational Psychology and Educational Studies.1 (6), p.345-352. Pongpearchan, P. (2011). Strategic entrepreneurship management competency and firm success: a comparative study of SMEs in auto and electronic parts in Thailand. International Journal of Business Strategy. 11(2). Rindova, V Fombrun, C. (1999). Constructing competitive advantage: the role of firm-constituent interactions. Strategic Management Journal. 20(8), p.691-710.

French Terms Related to Movies and Film Festivals

French Terms Related to Movies and Film Festivals Whether you love attending film festivals, watching movies, or just reading reviews, youll want to learn some French vocabulary related to movies.le film - film, moviele cinà ©ma - movie theaterle Festival de Cannes - Cannes Film Festivalla Croisette - little cross, promenade which is the center of activity during the festivalla sà ©lection officielle - official festival selectionUn certain regard - Cannes category for particularly innovative filmsla Palme dOr - golden palm, highest award given at Cannes Genres la comà ©die - comedyle documentaire - documentaryle drame - dramale film daction - action moviele film daventures - adventurele film dà ©pouvante - horrorla science-fiction - science fictionle western - western Acteurs - Cast un acteur - actorune actrice - actressla distribution - cast listle / la figurant / figurante - extralinterprà ¨te (m or f) - actor/actressle premier rà ´le - male lead, leading actorle premier rà ´le fà ©minin - female lead, leading actressle second rà ´le - supporting actorle second rà ´le fà ©minin - supporting actressla silhouette - walk-on part/rolela vedette - star Équipe -  Crew le / la bruiteur / bruiteuse - sound-effects engineerle camà ©raman, cadreur - camera operatorle / la cinà ©aste - director, film-makerle / la coiffeur / coiffeuse - hair stylistle / la dà ©corateur / dà ©coratrice - designerle directeur de la photo(graphie) - cinematographer, director of photographyle / la maquilleur / maquilleuse - make-up artistle metteur en scà ¨ne - directorle / la monteur / monteuse - editorle preneur de son - sound engineer, sound recorderle / la producteur / productrice - producerle producteur exà ©cutif - executive producerla productrice exà ©cutivele / la rà ©alisateur / rà ©alisatrice - directorle rà ©gisseur - line producer, assistant directorle scà ©nariste - screenwriter Scà ¨nes et Plans -  Scenes and Shots larrà ªt sur image - freeze framele cadre - framedans le champ - in shoten dà ©cor, studio - on seten extà ©rieur - on locationle fondu - dissolve, fadehors champ - off-camerale panoramique - panningun plan rapprochà © / serrà © - close uple raccord - continuity Verbes - Verbs bruiter - to add sound effectscadrer - to frame a shotcouper - to cutdiriger - to directinterprà ©ter - to perform, actmonter - to editproduire - to produceprojeter - to project, showtourner (un film, une scà ¨ne) - to film, shoot (a movie, scene) Miscellaneous laffiche - showing, playing, on screenla bande sonore - soundtrackle bruitage - sound effectsle dà ©coupage - story boarddoublà © - dubbedlà ©clairage (m) - lightingle gà ©nà ©rique - credits, theme musicla grue - cranele mà ©trage - lengthle montage - editingle scà ©nario - screenplaysous-titrà © - subtitledle truquage - special effectsVF - version franà §aise (dubbed into French)VO - version originale (in the original language with French subtitles)

HR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

HR - Essay Example An employee starts learning different skills required to perform the job. Employee development is a future oriented process. The main purposes of employee development include improving quality of the employees, retaining key employees, and incorporating technological advances. â€Å"An employee in need of career guidance can speak to the HR director of his or her company† (Jeffress, n.d.). Some of the most effective learning theories that HR planners use to improve employee learning include reinforcement theory, social learning theory, and goal theory. Some of the learning styles used in the process of learning include divergers, assimilators, convergers, and accommodators. Employees learn through observation, experience, and interactions. In employee development process, HR planners help employees identify their needs and development goals in order to make them initiate the development process. Gordon (2006) states, â€Å"Employee development programs are essential to improve morale as well as to motivate the employees to perform well†. Some of the methods used in the employee development process include assessment, formal education, job experiences, and interpersonal relationships. Structured development plan are very useful for employee development. â€Å"Structured development plans encourage greater understanding of the job role† (Nathoo, 2011). â€Å"Employee development programs are essential because they help create workplaces that promote excellence† (Ganapati, 2005). Employee learning and development are those processes, which make employees productive, skilled, and competent enough to carry out their job responsibilities in accordance with the strategic directions of the company that ultimately leads the company towards the achievement of competitive advantage in the

Fundamentals of Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fundamentals of Finance - Essay Example Fundamentals of Finance Retained earnings means the amount of profit held by an organization, and that should be utilized for meeting the several requirements, except the payment of dividend. Break even point is a point at which the total cost and income equals, so at this point there should not be the question of profit or loss arises. So, the exhaustion of retained earnings also strongly related to the fundamental financing decisions and its implications. Break Even Point (BEP Output) in Units= Fixed Expenses/Contribution per unit.(C) Assume, fixed expenses (F) costs  £60000; selling price per unit  £15; variable cost per unit  £10. Therefore, BEP= F/C per unit. Contribution (in unit) = Selling price per unit_ Variable cost per unit. i.e.  £15_ £10=5 BEP=  £60000/5= 12000 Units. The composite of overall cost of capital of a firm is considered as the weighted average cost of several sources of funds. Weights are taken as the proportion of each source of funds in the overall capital structure of an enterprise. WACC is computed through a step by step process, such as Calculating the cost of specific sources of funds, then multiplying the cost of each source by its proportion in capital structure, and adding the weighted component costs. That is, K0= K1 W1 + K2 W2+†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦; here, K1, K2 etc. are component costs and W1, W2 etc. are weights. Assume total number of equity shares is 1000 shares,  £35/share,  £35000 is the equity capital or NP. While Dividend is  £1750, i.e. 5% of  £35000, and the cash dividend is  £3.25/ share, i.e. 1000 shares @ £3.25/ share is amounted to  £3250.

Questions on UML and Project Management Research Paper

Questions on UML and Project Management - Research Paper Example The UML is used to construct, visualize, document, specify and modify the elements of an object oriented system under enhancement.. J. Object Management Group (OMG) is an association of several computer design and system developers. The formation of the OMG targeted the setting of conventional standards for disturbed object oriented systems. Currently, the organization concerns with different aspects of modeling such as business processes, systems and programs. OMG attempts to avert vague standards that cannot be implementable or have never been implemented. Object Management Group also provides other standards basing on modeling principles. Apart from the UML, OMG also involves in other modeling operations. Meta Object Facility (MOF) is another specification employed in OMG. MOF is applicable in the Model-Driven Architecture and combines each development and integration steps of business, architectural and application modeling to enable development, management and transformation. Bu siness Motivation Model (BMM) is also an OMG specification standard. The BMM avails vocabulary for organization’s governance and strategic planning. ... of the UML state machine operation incorporates the organization of a way a device such as a computer program works  in a way that a section or each of its elements is accurately one of the number of probable state at which there are explicitly definitions of conditional conversions between the states. UML state machine initiates the concepts of hierarchy nested states and perpendicular regions, while extending the notion of actions. The state machines depict protocol and behavioral state machines. The behavioral state machines can be utilized in modeling the actions of individual elements while the protocol statecharts are employed to express utilization protocols and identify the legal usage situations of order interfaces and ports. Umbrello UML Modeller Umbrello UML Modeller is a software diagram tool which is present for many platforms such as Unix-like and Microsoft windows. The modeller is versatile and performs well with other computers and programming conditions. Umbrello U ML Modeller tool manages all types of paradigm UML diagrams. The tool can reverse all written codes from different languages such as python, C++, Java, IDL and Ada. Umbello can also reverse the XMI files produced from PHP codes and export to other diverse programming languages. Umbello permits sharing of model components through exportation of Docbook in addition to other XHTML layouts. The distribution assists in amalgamation enhancement attempts in case the team members cannot access the umbello directly. The tool is also critical in situations where the data is to be published in the web. Therefore, Umbrello UML Modeller would be the best for a project team to use in developing an object-oriented information system using UML. Umbrello UML Modeller is more significant because it supports

Engaged In The Retail Stores Operation Management Essay

Engaged In The Retail Stores Operation Management Essay In the beginning in 1962, Wal-Mart founder, Sam Walton, who opened the companys first discount store in Rogers, Ark. In October 1969, Wal-Mart officially incorporated its business and operates over 4150 retail facilities globally. At the year of 1962, Wal-Mart has its competitors- KMart and Target. Walton studied his competitors and borrowed liberally. In the United States, Wal-Mart is the largest retail store. It mainly has its retail store in Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. (Walmart Corporate, 2012) Throughout the United States, Wal-Mart is engaged in the retail stores operation. Wal-Mart is most practicing mode of entry which is wholly-owned subsidiary and joint ventures globally currently. In China, Wal-Mart is practicing joint venture and acquisition entry modes (Hornblower, 2004). Wal-Mart needs to be careful in choosing the appropriate strategy in order to develop the future expansion successfully. Wal-Mart operate its business is because it wants to save people money tend to help them live better. It continues to deliver that promise to families around the globe. Therefore, Wal-Mart works harder to do their part in protecting our planet and conserving our natural resources (Walmart Corporate, 2012). Joint Venture is an entry strategy for a single target country in which the partners share ownership of a newly created business entity (Warren Mark, 2011). This means that Wal-Mart joint venture with local partner and local parent earn more than 51 percent share attributed to Chinas government policy. Through joint venture, Wal-Mart may able to share the risk with the local partner and it can limit financial risk as well in 1996 (Wal-Marts Strategies in China, 2005). Wal-Mart joint venture expands their strategy in order to gain successful entry into many of its international markets (Marcus, Jon, Wayne, and Constince, 2007). Wal-Mart may able to gain access, increase profitability, enhance global market share and explore into more global market (Gary and Ryan, n.d.). However, Wal-Mart may enter the new market quickly, avoiding costs and risks of new product development, gaining market share and acquiring new knowledge and capabilities. In 2007, Wal-Mart successfully acquired Trust-Mart. Wal-Mart has been established the brand name of Trust-Mart (David, 2007). Current Expansion Strategy Joint Ventures and Acquisition in China Today, Wal-Mart is one of the leading international retailers in China. It is also one of the largest international retailers in China. It is estimated that the firm will have 150,000 employees in its stores and warehouses in China alone by 2010. China is the largest emerging market, and Wal-Mart could expand their business rapidly. Wal-Mart has followed much of this expansion in China through joint ventures because of government restricted foreign retailer not to own a store. Therefore, Wal-Mart followed government policy strictly (DePamphilis, 2009). Learning about a market through a joint venture is a particularly powerful motivator when a firm seeks to enter an emerging or developing market. When Wal-Mart entered China, partnered with local firms in the new cities, tend to enter to learn about their challenging environment and distribution system (Jim, 2004). The nature of China is that the culture and political power can vary widely from one major city to another. Hence, joint ventures in such situations allow Wal-Mart to learn about the local system, such as legal standards, consumer characteristics, labor markets, and building relationships with the government and local distributors (Hornblower, 2004). China is the cheapest workshop and emerging market in Asia, so it would like to attract Wal-Mart to invest in its country. Wal-Mart tend to enter the emerging market is because it operates on a smaller scale in new market before making a more significant investment. Apart from that, Wal-Mart divides the responsibilities and liabilities with others to keep a minimum cost. It also combines assets and skill-sets with other companies. (Wal-Mart Store Inc., 2010 Annual Report) China could offer the opportunity to foreign firm operated with no taxes on foreign business for the first few years of operation. Therefore, Wal-Mart caught a chance and tends to expand their business into China. (Hornblower, 2004) One of the reason Wal-Mart expand their business to China because the impact of competition and the restriction and lowered the market trade barrier caused U.S operation could not control attributable to the faster growth of Wal-Mart. Moreover, due to China has the strong economic growth and it has 1.3 billion population of people and also cheap labor they could provide. It would compete with Carrefour, Tesco and Metro more easily because China removed all limits on business location, amount and share structure. Therefore, Wal-Mart endeavors to gain a better marker share in Chinas $240 billion retail market. (Wal-Mart Bulks up China Expansion Strategy, 2005) Wal-Mart entered China through this entry mode is successfully. China could offer a way of getting around high Chinese tariffs, allowing a company to gain a competitive price advantage over imports. (Philip, Mary and John, 2009) China government has provided Wal-Mart the benefits of synergy which the local partner providing the access to the Government officials and market information besides sharing the risk. Acording to (Gerald and Edwin, 2008), sales and profits of the joint venture may be greater than those of a subsidiary, because the operation is looked upon with more favor by nationalist-oriented consumers than would be the case if it were considered a foreign operation. Therefore, Wal-Mart could be sustained its growth and sales will be increased through this joint venture. Stern and Stalk (1998) found that the expansion in China has been proven Wal-Mart could reduce stock-carrying and transportation costs and increase profitability by 2.5 percent compared with their competitors. However, through the joint venture with local partners, Wal-Mart is able to gain valuable knowledge on Chinese market, economic and political conditions. Joint Ventures are really a good option for their expansion since Chinas government regulated the foreign retailers enters China market should use joint venture strategy. This could allow Wal-Mart apply the valuable resource to improve market, economic as well as political condition (Clem, 2009). There is also an acquisition Trust-Mart in China which bought 35 percent of its shares. Trust-Mart is one of the leading retailers in Chinese market. Wal-Mart is willing to acquire and invest huge amount of capital because Trust-Mart has several number of stores. In addition, Trust-Mart also is leading position in China. This could enable Wal-Mart to capture much more competitive advantages in China. (Lee, 2011) Indeed, Wal-Marts retail footprint could become doubled where taking full control of Trust-Mart. At the same time, China tends to develop its economy sustainably in promoting the domestic consumption (David, 2007). This acquisition helped Trust-Mart expand on the Chinese mainland. Nowaday, it had more than 100 retail outlets in 34 cities on the mainland and employed more than 30,000 employees (Li, 2011). Wal-Mart planned to acquire the rest of the Trust-Mart, but the plan has been delayed because of several top executive resigned in 2010. This caused to Wal-Mart unable to acquire Trust-Mart the rest of the share (Li, 2011). Through this acquisition, Wal-Marts sale is less than 3 percent of its sales in America (Walmart v Wumart, 2011). Future Expansion Strategy According to Bishop (2006), a firms entry mode is how to enter the foreign market, and how to make its goods or services available to foreign customers. Basically, there are six different modes for a multinational firm to choose, such as licensing, exporting, turnkey project, joint venture, franchising and wholly-owned subsidiary (Hill, 2004). The current entry mode of Wal-Mart in China is through joint venture with Shenzhen International Trust Investment Co., Ltd, China due to the government restriction on foreign ownership. But joint venture benefits Wal-Mart from knowledge of the host countrys competitive conditions, political systems, language, culture, and business system. However, joint venture could bring negative effect to Wal-Mart because it has a risk of giving control its technology to its partner when it entry into a joint venture and it would also caused to conflict happen when the shared ownership arrangement is different and the goals and objectives is change. Hence, it is important for Wal-Mart to convert its entire joint venture stores into wholly-owned subsidiary. In order to completely convert into wholly-owned firm, the very first step that Wal-Mart should take into consideration is acquiring its partner Trust-mart. By acquisition, Wal-Mart is able to reduce risk over losing control and tighten control over operation in country and by the way maximize the profits. It is possible for Wal-Mart to acquire Trust-mart because China had lighten the limitations towards foreign company after joining WTO in year 2001 and after so many years operation in China, Wal-Mart is know well about the cultures and customer preferences in that country. At the same time, the large number of stores and leading position of Trust-mart in China makes the strong attraction for Wal-Mart to acquire. Undoubtedly, this acquisition would help Wal-Mart to capture more competitive advantage in China. The successful role models of acquisition that can be benchmark by Wal-Mart were the acquisition done by it in Canada and European countries. The company entering Canada by acquiring 122 Woolco stores in 1994. Due to continuously suffering a loss in Canadian operation, Wal-Mart quickly restructured the operation by applying the practices that had been successful in United States and the action taken was profitable. And the acquisition made in Germany and United Kingdom in year 1998 and 1999 also proved to be successful where it allowed Wal-Mart to build market share quickly within the highly developed and competitive European market. (Source: Wal-Mart takes on the world) Besides that, Wal-Mart should also build up a partnership or joint venture with local supplier in near future to ensure the flexibility, freshness of the foods and understand more about customers needs and tastes. It is because the strategy adopted in United States may not be fitted in China. The Chinese consumers are more prefer to consume fresh food rather than frozen food. A good example can be follow is Carrefour; it did a great job on building partnership and direct sourcing agreement with local suppliers. It focuses on locally sourced products, especially regarding fresh food. It also rely them to distribute goods directly to stores. A greater emphasis on partnerships with farmers enables Carrefour to have better control over food quality, and to reduce buying costs.   Finally, it proved to be more flexible to customers than any others do. Additionally, joint venture with local suppliers and purchase locally not only create flexible to customers, at the same time also reduce the costs in development than having joint venture with Investment Company. As deeply understand of the customers around, local suppliers have more experiences about the customers which are more accurately than foreign companies. Lastly, another future expansion that would recommend to Wal-Mart is through mergers. According to Valentine (n.d.), successful mergers businesses are reaping benefits and gain more profits. Therefore, a merger with Trust-mart and any other giant company in China may help Wal-Mart to obtain quality staffs and knowledge or additional skills to cope with different in culture and customer preference. Apart from this, merging also provide Wal-Mart the opportunity to increase market share and expand to new geographical areas and sectors. The best evidence to illustrate was Carrefour making its first merging with NextMart Shanghai store after entering the China retail market for more than ten years. This movement had marked a basic change in their expansion strategy and indicated the second climax of Carrefour expansion in China. (Sources ¼Ã… ¡www.China-cbn.com, 2007) Wholly-owned subsidiary in Philippine We would like to recommend Wal-Mart to expand their operation in Philippine. Philippine is one of the richest and developing countries in Asia. We suggest Wal-Mart using wholly owned subsidiary. This is because under the Retail Trade liberalization Act (RA 8762), this law indicates that foreigners may own up to 100 percent of a store with pad-in capital of the Peso equivalent of USD $7.5 million. This mean that Wal-Mart could paid up capitalization of USD $7.5, wholly own a firm in Philippine (Abigail, 2011). It is more suitable using wholly-owned subsidiary which is acquired a Philippines local firm. According to Philip et al. (2009), wholly-owned subsidiary could develop its operation with a greater control and higher profit compare with other entry mode strategy. However, this strategy has a higher risk. In another word, higher risk will get high return. Besides that, through the wholly-owned subsidiary, Wal-Mart could also state-of-the art technology hence resulting in increased operational efficiency. Wal-Mart could offer control over the local firm. In addition, Wal-Mart has its wholly-owned operations in Canada, Brazil and Argentina, there are extremely successful since Wal-Mart has past experience operate in these Country. For instance, Wal-Mart successfully became a wholly owned subsidiary in Japan, Seiyu recent year. (Walmart Corporate, 2012). Wal-Mart could learn the strategy same as in Japan because Wal-Mart has its experience and knowledge to use this entry mode into Japan. Wal-Mart can form a new firm or find a local company to do the business. By doing this way, Wal-Mart could earn a valuable knowledge from local partner since they operated in Philippine several years because they know the economic, government policy, consumer buying pattern and consumer purchasing power (Gerald and Edwin, 2008). For instance, David and Gary (2010) found that Wal-Mart often acquires ongoing firm as they move into a new market. Wal-Marts 2005 acquisition of controlling interest in the Central American Retail Holding Company helped Wal-Mart acquire valuable knowledge about this important market. Retail trade in Philippine is very vital and essential in order to boom the economy. Thus, Philippines government encourage foreign retail to invest in their country. In view of the fact that Wal-Mart is giving the low price of the retail grocery service for Pilipino, this would more satisfy them to buy Wal-Marts products (Retailing in the Philippines, 2002). The reason we recommend for Wal-Mart to expand in Philippine due to Philippine is an open economy which is freely and business-friendly economy. Government also gives multinational company some incentives such as tax exemptions and tax and duty-free importation of particular materials and equipment. Aside from tax and government incentive, Philippine has a strategic business location which suitable for European and American businesses to operate their business there (Why do business in the Philippines, n.d.). Joint venture in Malaysia Furthermore, as many foreign retailers looked forward to invest in Malaysia because of the purchasing power of local consumers, we recommend that Wal-Mart can expand their business in Malaysia in the future. However, Malaysia has restricted and controlled the foreign hypermarkets to expand and enter to the local market in order to protect smaller local businesses over recent years. But some of the major foreign retailers such as Carrefour, Tesco, Giant, and Isetan have operated and doing well in Malaysia. Wal-Mart can try to enter Malaysias market because the entry of foreign giant retailer would bring benefit for both parties including the profit for Wal-Mart itself, and at the same time create job opportunities for the local workers. Furthermore, other than create job opportunities; the entry of Wal-Mart will also make the retail market more competitive and simultaneously benefit consumers by providing additional place to shop. Moreover, we recommend Wal-Mart to apply joint venture as the entry mode into Malaysia retail market. Wal-Mart can try to joint venture with the local giant enterprise such as Berjaya Group, YTL, and IOI Corporation. However, Wal-Mart normally applies acquisition to enter into the countries. Unfortunately, Malaysia government has restricted and tightly controlled the entry of foreign retailers. Before that, Wal-Mart has tried to enter into Malaysia but have been rejected because the government realizes that the entry of Wal-Mart into Malaysia will greatly affect the local retailers. Moreover, Wal-Mart is able to provide the goods to the customers at a very low price because its business model is very efficient, but the low price of Wal-Mart has threaten the small local retailers as they may not able to fight the lower price with Wal-Mart and their business will be greatly affected, at the same time unable to survive. The reason we recommend Wal-Mart to expand by using joint venture in Malaysia is because the minister of Malaysia stressed that Wal-Mart is not allowed to operate new retail stores or hypermarkets at their own discretion. However, according to Vivian (2007), Malaysian authority was planning to loosen the limitations on foreign hypermarket so as to attract foreign direct investment in Malaysia retail market. Therefore, Wal-mart might have an opportunity to expand into Malaysia. In order to successfully enter into Malaysia, Wal-Mart should joint venture with Berjaya Group to open a new store named as Berjaya-Mart as Berjaya Group is one of the successful companies. Through joint venture, Berjaya-Mart is able to access larger markets because Berjaya Group provides larger geographical markets and customer bases. Furthermore, Berjaya-Mart is new to the market and may need to spend a lot and the process is complicated. Through joint venture can helps to overcome some of the problems such a s government regulation, direct financial losses, operating complexity, and reduce the cost of entry. Moreover, start a business in a new country might confront with political factors and the strict rules and regulations by the national government. Joint venture will help Berjaya-Mart to penetrate into the local market in Malaysia. Conclusion In conclusion, China is always an attractive market among countries for foreign investment. Although the retail market in China has a great potential, but the competition is very fierce from both local Chinese retailers and foreign retailers. However, Wal-Mart was a well-known company which with high reputation in global. Wal-Mart will continue to success in the future in China is mostly depend on the future expansion and their market strategy. As mentioned above, other than joint venture, we were recommended that Wal-Mart can try to use wholly-owned subsidiaries, partnerships, and merger. The wholly-owned subsidiaries from both acquisition and Greenfield investment will create advantage and help to expand in the future. Acquisition helps Wal-Mart to access and enter foreign market quickly and a way to achieve greater market power. Wal-Mart applies acquisition to achieve the larger market power to consent to exercise of a core competency and capture competitive advantage in global ma rket. Although it is high risk due the potential high cost, but it is the most probable to provide above average return. However, for partnerships is somewhat easy to establish, Wal-Mart able to get fresh products much more easily through partnership with the local suppliers. Partnerships can help Wal-Mart to save cost as each partner specializes in certain aspects of their business. Undoubtedly, more and more foreign investment including Wal-Mart has come into China, and they usually bring advanced technologies and also management knowledge. Moreover, some of these foreign entrants are successful in the worldwide. Expansion of Wal-Mart in China is one of the successful examples of foreign investment and can be learned by other firms. However, some business models which successful in other countries may not be successful in China. In order to success in China, both internal resources and external environment are critically important for Wal-Mart. Moreover, Wal-Mart can be so successful today in worldwide, there must a reason behind, which is Wal-Mart able to implement monitoring measures consistently in their operations and performances of their employees and managers that sent to China. Furthermore, Americans culture and Chineses culture is greatly different, but Wal-Mart is able to adapt speedily to the Chinese culture, fulfill requirements while carrying out their responsibilities, and get appreciation of the exclusive processes of doing business in China. However, there is also a lot space for further improvement of Wal-Marts strategies and future expansion.

Time For Americans To Be A Family :: essays research papers

Time for Americans To Be A Family By D.C. Burch It seems to be a time for Americans to try and be a family again. Maybe a quarrelsome and restless family not entirely happy with each member all of the time, but a family nonetheless. OK, I admit it. I am confused and perplexed by the storm of political correctness sweeping throughout the nation, raising dust-devils and tempests; leaving destruction and chaos in its wake. The English language is being transmogrified to quell and satisfy members of the American society who feel they should somehow, be special; apart from our citizenry. Thus my confusion. I've been called a privileged white-boy by some, honky by others, and cracker by others still. All this because I grew up in a middle class family in Toledo, Ohio? I've never considered myself to be anything special, certainly never superior to anyone or anything by virtue of my ancestry, just your basic, run- of-the-mill guy who wants to do the right thing. From the time I was little boy, I have seen one particular group called colored, Negro, black, and now, African-American. I can't seem to find a consensus out there in any media, one moment the reference is to blacks, and the next to African-Americans, when they are referring to the same group of people. I'm not knocking what people want to call themselves, it's the mixed messages I'm getting and the inaccuracy of the terminology that frustrates me. Look around and you will see there is the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Black Muslims, and African-Americans. All of these terms are used to refer to members of one group of people. Is it any wonder I'm confused? I have particular problems with the term African-American, a misnomer which would lead me to believe these people somehow hold dual citizenship with another country, or even worse, lead everyone to believe all those who use that term to describe themselves are of African origin and are exclusively black in color. As we all know, there are white Africans, too. Should they choose to come to the U.S., they too, would be eligible for the label African-American, which would further confuse the issue. Enter the U.S. Census Bureau. Rather than help clear up the mess, they perpetuate it by requesting racial information and make-up of families that does nothing more than perpetuate the lies we tell one another. At least with the Census Bureau, their are Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, Other, and Whites. I don't know about you folks but, I was born here in the U.

Different stakeholders Essay

Every organisation has Stakeholders; these are groups or individuals that affect or are affected by the business. The number of stakeholders of a business varies and so does their importance and influence on the company. The type of organisation and the product or service it supplies also determines the stakeholders. An organisation such as Lidl has far more stakeholders than family business; it is therefore much more influenced and affected by the actions, aims and objectives of its stakeholders. In this report I will evaluate the influence that the different stakeholders exert within Lidl. Employees are very influential stakeholders of Lidl and they are crucial for the running of the organisation. They have around 315,000 employees worldwide. The quality of an employee’s performance depends on the way human resources are managed within the company. An employee’s main interests are salaries, wages and job satisfaction; all of these factors influence the company’ s staff turnover. When employing new staff, and managing existing staff the employers must consider a lot of different elements. Employees can affect and influence Lidl in various ways and due to different reasons, some are; skills and qualifications, personal views and opinions, employee performance, training and redundancy. As employees are one of the main stakeholders and are the human resources of the company; their performance highly affects Lidl. If the employees are not satisfied with their wages or the working environment the products and services will not be of a satisfactory standard which could result in poor publicity. Motivation is one of the methods used to improve employee performance as when employees feel unmotivated they tend to perform inadequately e.g. the shop floor could be untidy, shelves un-stocked or a lack of people on the tills. An employee’s skills and qualifications are crucial aspects because if an employee doesn’t have the right skills or knowledge to perform a certain task essential for the consecutively of Lidl; it could slow down the whole production process therefore decreasing the quality of the presentation within the store resulting in Lidl making less profit than they could have. Customers contribute to profit levels and turnover through buying products and services.

Formal Outline Template

GUIDE TO FORMAL OUTLINING I. The outline should be in sentence form. A. That means that each section of the outline must be a complete sentence B. Each part may only have one sentence in it. II. Each Roman numeral should be a main section of the speech. A. Capital letters are main points of the thesis. 1. Numbers are sub-points under the capital letters. 2. Little letters are sub-points under the numbers. B. Sub-points need to correspond with the idea it is under. 1. This means that capital letters refer to the idea in roman numerals. 2. This means that numbers refer to the idea in the capital letter.III. All sub-points should be indented the same. A. This means that all of the capital letters are indented the same. B. All numbers are indented the same. IV. No sub-point stands alone. A. Every A must have a B. B. Every 1 must have a 2. C. You don’t need to have a C or a 3, but you can. D. There are no exceptions to this rule. Your speech outline should look something like the o ne in the sample. Your outline will also include the full sentence details of your speech, including source citations. The number of sub-points will differ in each speech and for each main idea. FORMAL SENTENCE OUTLINE FORMATStudent’s Name: Date: Topic: General Purpose: Specific Purpose: Key statement that describes the topic of your speech To inform OR To persuade Your specific purpose identifies the information you want to communicate (in an informative speech) or the attitude or behavior you want to change (in a persuasive speech). The central idea of your speech (should predict, control and obligate). Thesis: I. Introduction A. Attention Getter: Something that grabs the attention of the audience. Examples of this: startling statistics, stories, rhetorical questions, quotations, scenarios, etc. This point should be more than one entence long. Why should the audience listen to your speech, make it personal to each of them. Exact same statement as above. B. Reason to Listen: C. D. Thesis Statement: Credibility Statement: 1. 2. What personally connects you to this topic? What type of research have you done to establish credibility? E. Preview of Main Points: 1. 2. 3. First, I will describe †¦ Second, I will examine †¦ Third, I will discuss†¦ II. Restate thesis, exact statement as above. A. Statement of the first main point; you should not use a source in this sentence. 1. Idea of development or support for the first main point a.Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc. – cite source) b. Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc. – cite source) 2. More development or support a. b. Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc. – cite source) Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc. – cite source) 3. Transition: More development if needed (Required) Statement of movement that looks back (internal summary) and looks forward (preview). Statement of second main point. Do not use a source in this statement. 1. Idea of development or support for the first main point a. b. . Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc. – cite source) Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc. – cite source) B. More development or support a. b. Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc. – cite source) Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc. – cite source) 3. Transition: More development if needed (Required) Statement of movement that looks back (internal summary) and looks forward (preview). Statement of third main point. Do not use a source in this statement. 1. Idea of development or support for the first main point a. b. . Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc. – cite source) Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc. – cite source) C. More development or support a. b. 3. Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc. – cite source) Support material (ex: statistics, quotation, etc. â₠¬â€œ cite source) More development if needed III. Conclusion A. Review of Main Points: 1. 2. 3. B. C. Restate your first main point. Restate your second main point. Restate you third main point. Exact same as above. Develop a creative closing that will give the speech a sense of ending.This point may be more than one sentence. You should refer back to your AttentionGetter. Restate Thesis: Closure: References APA format; all references need to be sited in APA format. Electronic sources must be . edu, . gov, or . org in order to be acceptable. Be sure to make sure that the references are in Alphabetical order. Double-Spaced; all references should be double-spaced and indented. Five source minimum: You must have at least five sources cited in your outline and listed on your reference page. Make sure to provide all necessary information in the references.

One of the most constantly asked questions about The Merchant of Venice is Is it anti Semitic Essay Example

One of the most constantly asked questions about The Merchant of Venice is Is it anti Semitic Essay Example One of the most constantly asked questions about The Merchant of Venice is Is it anti Semitic Paper One of the most constantly asked questions about The Merchant of Venice is Is it anti Semitic Paper Essay Topic: Merchant Of Venice Play It is quite clear when reading The Merchant of Venice that there is a large focus on Shylock being a Jew. This is very prominent in his I am a Jew speech he, the Jewish moneylender, angry and betrayed, rails against the non-Jewish world which torments him. Antonio hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies and whats his reason? I am a Jew, he exclaims. Then comes the famous speech. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions. However from this alone we cannot decide if Shakespeares play is anti Semitic. In Shakespeares day, anti-Semitism was all the rage in England. Despite the fact that Jews had been kicked out of the country three hundred years previously by the Edict of York, hatred for them remained powerful. Ten generations of Englishmen had never seen or talked to a Jew, but that didnt stop them from thinking Jews were evil, smelt bad, committed ritual murder and had other salacious traits. Elizabethans didnt wash. Queen Elizabeth herself was considered a little quirky for insisting that she took a bath once a year. But it was a well known fact that Jews bathed Jewish women once a month in the ritual mikve, and Jewish men just before the Sabbath. Somehow the general public knew that the immersions in water were related to the monthly cycle so they firmly believed that Jewish men menstruated too and every week! It was in this climate that Shakespeare wrote his plays. Pandering to the taste of his audience, he stuck in many lines that may be seen as anti Semitic. If I do not love her I am a Jew, proclaims Benedick about Beatrice; meaning that if he does not love her he is a scoundrel. In Macbeth, the witches intone Liver of blaspheming Jew as they pop another vile ingredient into their cauldron. Servants invite each other for drinks, stating that one who refuses the offer is a Jew. Portia, in her impassioned speech about mercy: The quality of mercy is not strained, / It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven changes her tune when it is her turn to be merciful. Not so fast, Jew. to Shylock, as she relentlessly increases his punishment. This is a concrete example of why maybe Shylock is the way he is: The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction. I would argue, despite the anti Semitic content of some of the scenes in this play, that the play is not solely anti Semitic or that Shakespeare is so. At first it may appear that Shakespeare is merely building the play up to show a cantankerous Jew who receives his comeuppance, however Antonio, the merchant of Venice, is shown to be a hard-hearted man who curses Jews and spits upon their coats. When he is forced to ask Shylock for a loan, not only does he refuse to apologise for this behaviour, but also he actually says, I am like to call thee so again, to spit on thee again, to spurn thee too. He wants the money as an enemy not as a friend. Shylock is shown to have a reason for his anger and his stubborn demand to receive his pound of flesh. Apart from Antonios unpleasantness, there is the matter of Rebecca, Shylocks daughter, who has run off with her fathers money and jewels in order to marry a Christian. Shylock has a motive for hating Christians and their double standards. In this way the play actually shows both sides of the coin, that Christians have the potential to be bad just as well as Jews. Jessica being Shylocks daughter is obviously Jewish but it is interesting to see the stark contrast is persecution that they receive. Her character is more a perpetrator of discrimination rather than a victim of it. If anything, Jessicas behaviour towards her father reinforces the anti-Semitism that is in the play. When Gratiano says that Jessica is a gentle and no Jew he says so because Jessica has behaved like a good Christian by stealing from the dissolute Shylock. Moreover, Jessica says: When I was with him I have heard him swear to Tubal and to Chus, his countrymen, that he would rather have Antonios flesh than twenty times the value of the sum that he did owe him. Here we see Jessicas own words supporting the stereotype that Jews are immoral. She describes Shylocks house as hell explicitly connecting Shylock to the devil himself. And Shakespeares contemporary audiences were likely left with the impression that Jessicas theft of Shylocks funds is deserved that the Jew is finally getting what he deserves. Shylock is a victim, whose mind is clouded with grief and frustration at the Christians relentless persecution of him, and their theft of his only daughter. However, because he is overcome with this red mist, he loses himself in his hatred, and it appears to everyone that he has gone too far. Until then the only Christian to address Shylock directly by his name was Portia, but after he passes the point of no return, she reverts to calling him Jew like the others. The fact that he passes this point shows that he has some villain in him, but no more than Portia. It is ironic that Portia passes judgement on Shylock, and criticises him for not showing Antonio mercy, yet she acts with the same lack of mercy towards Bassanio regarding the ring as Shylock did to Antonio. In conclusion, Shylock shows some of the characteristics of a villain, but these are simply products of his victimisation; Shylock is a victim of the self-absorbed, racist community that Venice had become. His anger and frustration that lead to him making poor judgements are products of having to endure the torment of this environment. An Elizabethan audience would probably harbour a little sympathy for Shylock because of the way the Christians persecute him but however hard Shakespeare has tried to even out the playing field with regards to the portrayal of Jews in a bad light, the audience would of probably left the theatre with their anti Semitism intact or inflamed. Viewing the play through modern eyes, Shylock can be seen as both an Elizabethan stereotype but also a human being. Ironically, it is precisely because of the stereotypical elements in Shylocks character that many people argue against The Merchant of Venice, viewing it as an anti-Semitic work, which is an understandable reaction in a post-Holocaust era. Shakespeare, however rarely creates a one-dimensional villain, but a complex character who usually has many lessons to teach the audience.

Food inquiry Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Food inquiry - Movie Review Example She always does the best editing job that will always be appealing to the public and she has edited the annual Best Food Writing series since the year 2000. She is the author of Frommer’s 500 Places for Food and Wine Lovers. The last year 2012 review was her twelfth year of the Best Food Writing series and is an enjoyable anthology of all times. There were contributors like John T. Edge, an accomplished author, Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen, one of the most popular bloggers, amongst other several levels of notoriety. One can easily appreciate her writing styles and skills, the diversity of topics and sources that are incorporated in her collection which provides a rich, complete and captivating representation of the best food writing scenario. There are many pieces in the Best Food Writing that are from popular books like Tomato land, A Spoonful of Promises, An Everlasting Meal amongst others. She has also incorporated pieces from New York Times, popular food magazines like Food and Wine. There are also very interesting pieces from non-traditional food writing sources which are incorporated in her collection. There is a variety of contributions whose approach ranges from light-hearted to serious and part of these are Maureen O’Hagan’s topic of Childhood Obesity as she focuses on two obese teens, giving a clear perspective on junk food and effects of overeating among the population. Joel Stein writes hilarious food reflections and entertains as he reveals in his piece how he found his manhood through barbecue, Kevin Pang’s story of an upcoming chef, Brandon Baltzeley, who struggles with the addiction of cocaine, and David Leite writes about his thanksgiving baking catastrophes. This series has always included many online writers over the years into its page and giving credit as well as recognizing authors who mainly digitally publish their work. Pieces like those of

CYBER BULLING A SOCIAL PROBLEM Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

CYBER BULLING A SOCIAL PROBLEM - Research Paper Example According to Wanamaker (2012), the abuses from cyber bullying are as hurtful to the victim as physical abuse. In most cases, it has resulted to low self-esteem and to some extent suicide. Cyber bulling is a developing social problem that needs social workers to tackle. Many social workers today are inadequately equipped to handle the issue between students. Because cyber bullying can lead to mental harm, the social workers do not have the right skills for handling the problem properly. Cyber bullying mostly occurs over the Internet hence it has become difficult for staff and social workers to monitor the issue. Since social workers are essential to school mental health services and offer crisis intervention services compared to staff members, they will be important in developing effective and accurate cyber bullying policies. People may claim that cyber bullying has declined, but the more people become aware of the problem they realize that many kids are involved in it. To those kids and teens involved, it has become a game given the anonymity associated with it. The anonymously that the Internet provides has highly encouraged cyber bullying. Due to this aspect of the Internet, cyber bullying has become an online version of teasing and cruelty that usually exists in schools. While the Internet provides anonymity, it also provides a wide range of opportunity to reach, many people as it is open to anyone. Therefore, since many people can access the Internet and the fact that it is difficult to establish who said what, this encourages people to use the Internet to bully others. Education is truly essential when it comes to cyber bullying. While the upcoming Internet-based networking sites might appear to challenge to any user, children and teens do not likely have the maturity of using these sites. The well-educated parents keep