Database Structures, Languages, and Architectures Essay

Database Structures, Languages, and Architectures - Essay Example It is also a great tool for visual representation of data through graphs based on the table available. I learned a lot of things from the tutorial specifically about Access. I was oriented about the advantages Access through the tutorial as I am one of those people mentioned in the tutorial that is not very familiar with Access. The tutorial about Excel was already familiar to me because I am a regular user of Excel spreadsheet as I do many computations in the spreadsheet. I learned that users can work simultaneously with Access which is not possible with Excel. It is possible to work simultaneously with Access because Access locks a record only while a user changes it. Repetitive data records can also be handled easier with Access. For example, Excel may have difficulty handling several data about a single customer which Access can with ease such as in the example below; I also learned that it is possible to track actions or events in Access such as purchases made by a certain customer but I have to admit that I am still ambiguous on how to exactly do it because the tutorial did not show a â€Å"how to† do it. It only explained that it can be done. I also learned that if it is just about handling and management of data, Access is better than Excel. Excel however is excellent for analytical purposes and showing the data visually. I myself use Excel for analytical purpose such as tracking the change of computation by merely changing one of the variables in the formula. I got all of the four questions right. They were very easy and just basically asked about what the tutorial was all about. It is important to note however that I have a different reasoning for one question that I answered right. This was the first question that asked; My reasoning here is different. It says that each table is flat file that east related to each other. My reasoning however

E-Commerce and E-Business Fundamentals Case Study

E-Commerce and E-Business Fundamentals - Case Study Example Amazon.Com is a leading online retailer company, offering many different items such as books, music, DVDs, videos, toys, electronics, software, video games and home improvement products. They have an estimated 22.5 million customers in 150 different countries. Amazon was founded in July 1995 by Jeff Bezos in the state of Washington. With Amazon.com, customers can search at home a database of millions books, CD's, DVDs, videos, software, video games, lawn products and even a pan for your kitchen. If you find the item you want, just add it to the shopping cart and then is needed to fill out an online form to specify the type of payment, shipment characteristics and even if it's a gift, the type and color of wrapping paper. Also today it is possible to access used and collectible items through their Shops and Amazon Commerce Network or going to Amazon Auctions or sothebys.amazon.com (Press release Amazon.com and Borders Group Announce Strategic Alliance, 2006). Amazon.com is rated as a company in the Internet software and services industry into the technology sector. The most important competitors for Amazon.com are E-Bay (on-line auctions and retail sales), Barnes and Noble (books sales and other products) and CDnow (on-line music retailer). They are also a Bricks and Mortar store, which E-Bay is not. Since 1998, Amazon.com has started expanding their operations. This allowed Amazon.com to purchase several small and medium Internet companies in order to help build a larger customer base. In the US market the most important part of growth has been the introducing new products and services besides the normal books, videos, and music. This goes right along with the company goal of being the place where customers can search and buy anything they may want on the Internet. Amazon.com has reached that goal and is visited and used by many. Page layout and navigation The structure of Amazon.com is most certainly representative of a great marketing effort on the part of the company. Amazon.com has a myriad of different marketing concepts which aid to the increased consumption and popularity of this great organization. With thirty-six product categories offered on the website, Amazon.com is bound to appeal to the consumer with its premiere marketing efforts and techniques Amazon.com's easy to navigate webpage and simplistic accessibility are both contributing factors to making it an outstanding website for internet novices and experts alike. From the moment you arrive at Amazon.com you are greeted with a laundry list of the top sales and deals on various products which are currently being offered. A couple clicks of the mouse and you are on your way to saving money with bargains that only this particular website has to offer. Amazon.com's ability to convey their numerous products through their website with discounts exclusive to Amazon.com is undoubtedly a great marketing effort. Amazon.com realizes consumers will be more apt to purchase items if they are discounted and money can be saved.

Tragedy in Romeo and Juliet Analysis

Tragedy in Romeo and Juliet Analysis At the heart of the plays themes of feuding families, ill-timing, and misfortune lies the true agent that defines Romeo and Juliet as a tragedy; the impulsive and reckless decisions of the young lovers determine, in some way, the tragic outcomes that are mistakenly attributed to fate throughout, and Shakespeares exaggerated account serves as moral instruction of what can happen when choices of this magnitude are made unadvisedly. Although fate does play a part in the actions of the play, it merely serves as instruction to the protagonists. Fate is responsible for maintaining natural order and, as long as this is achieved, the destiny of the lovers lies in their own decisions. Fate serves as a guide, giving moral lessons to the protagonists and even warns them of future disaster. Despite the generosity of the stars, however, they continue to rebel and this, in turn, leads to their demise. A common device of Shakespearian tragedy is the tragic flaw, also known as hamartia, defined as an inherent defect or shortcoming in the hero of a tragedy, who is in other respects a superior being favored by fortune (hamartia, def.). Ultimately, the tragic flaws of both Romeo and Juliet are their beliefs that, without regard to the warnings and guidance of a higher order such as fate, they are above the laws of man; they make decisions without regard to consequence or accountability for the chaos they produce. It is evident in Romeo and Juliet that the impulsive actions of the protagonists are not attributed to inexperience in youth, but rather a reflection of their tragic flaws. In the fourth act of the play where her father asks where she has been, Juliet replies, Where I have learned me to repent the sin of disobedient oppositionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (4.2.17-18). Shakespeares audience, of course, knows that this statement is merely Juliets method of sustaining peace at home until she c an go through with her plan to fake her own death. Regarding the father-daughter patriarchal structure during this time, however, her words are a distinct reflection of what is expected of her in obeying the laws her father demands. This is, perhaps, Shakespeares way of ironically revealing his moral lesson to his audience through the very character who provides the example, revealing what Juliet should do. These words expose her knowledge that obedience provides order, and subsequently, the audience is less sympathetic to her because she does not listen to her own words, those of Friar Laurence, or the warnings of fate. Romeo also reveals his awareness of the Princes law and suggests its importance for social order. In the beginning of Act 3, when Mercutio and Tybalt are fighting, Romeo comes between them and says, The Prince expressly hath forbid this bandying in Verona streets (3.1.82-83). Romeo seems to abandon his recklessness here, but it doesnt last long; he kills Tybalt only a few lines later. Granted, he is revenging his friends death, but this action marks the beginning of the deadly chaos seen throughout the rest of the play. Although he doesnt agree that a tragic flaw leads to the lamentable ending of the play, Fredson Bowers, in his article Dramatic Structure and Criticism: Plot in Hamlet, does, however, believe that the climax in Romeos decision to fight Tybalt involves a personal choice that carries moral responsibility and is therefore morally determinate (210). As the reader can see, tragedy follows a course of increasingly destructive events, and following the scene which marks the point of no return for Romeo, in this case the murder of Tybalt, madness inevitably follows. A. C. Bradley describes this sequence of events in relation to chance by stating that, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦any large admission of chance into the tragic sequence would certainly weaken, and might destroy, the sense of the causal connection of character, deed, and catastrophe (Bradley 64). Character represents the tragic flaw; the deed is the climax that leads, then, to madness which is the catalyst for catastrophe. Romeos madness becomes more evident as the reader can see his actions become increasingly less reasonable, beginning with the climactic scene and only ending with his death. Romeos madness is displayed through both his irrational actions and the reactions of Friar Laurence and Romeo himself. After Romeo learns of his banishment from Verona, his response, in both la nguage and action, provokes Friar Laurence to proclaim, O, then I see that madmen have no ears (3.3.61). Here, he recognizes the madness, so quickly evident in Romeo, spawned from Romeos banishment following the death of Tybalt. Later in the play, Romeos madness intensifies to such an extent that he himself recognizes it when he says, The time and my intents are savage-wild, more fierce and more inexorable far than empty tigers or the roaring sea (5.3.37-39). Here, Romeos admission of his madness is Shakespeares way of explicitly informing the audience that Romeo has indeed lost his sensibilities. The madness seen in the previous lines leads directly to catastrophe, namely the death of Romeo. His insanity, before an internal conflict, is now outwardly admitted to Paris when he says, Live, and hereafter say a madmans mercy bid thee run away (5.3.66-67). These lines represent Romeos submission to his madness as he rushes to his intended suicide. Much like Romeos insanity, Juliet exper iences symptoms following the climactic scene of the play. This is recognized by Juliets mother when she states, Some grief shows much of love, but much grief shows still some want of wit (3.5.72-73). Although Lady Capulet believes she is seeing Juliets despair over Tybalts death, her visible display of sorrow is derived directly from her grief over Romeos banishment, and this grief is but the first sign of a creeping irrationality that will lead Juliet to her end. Her irrationality lapses into madness as Juliet begins to hallucinate before drinking Friar Lawrences potion, as can be seen when she says, O, look! Methinks I see my cousins ghost seeking out Romeo that did spit his body upon a rapiers point (4.4.57). Directly after this statement, she drinks the potion, an act that even Friar Lawrence deems desperate (4.1.69), exorcising, through her action, the madness that has acutely built up in her since Romeos banishment. Throughout Romeo and Juliet, fate is referenced in many different ways, yet all passages seem to be directed to the same idea of a higher power watching over the natural order (Kastan 16) of the characters, but the protagonists of the play use fate as a source in which to place blame so not to be held accountable for the decisions they make. Throughout, this higher power has been named the stars (1.4.107), fortune (1.2.57), heavens (4.4.121), fate (3.1.114) nature (3.2.80), and each time Romeo or Juliet makes a rash decision and faces the consequences of the same, they complain that fate is the cause. Fate serves as a help for the young couple, however, and this becomes evident in that, each time the play reaches a critical point important to the plays outcome, the protagonists are warned. This idea of warning from a supernatural or ghostly source is a common strategy in Shakespearian tragedies. Here, Romeo is first warned in a dream which Mercutio calls Queen Mab (1.4.53), right bef ore he is about to meet Juliet for the first time. The dream warns him not to go to the Capulet ball, and fate further guides his decision by planting uncertainty in his decision as a warning of what will happen if he does go. Romeo states, I fear too early, for my mind misgives some consequence yet hanging in the starsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (1.4.106), and although he is affected by this warning and aware of the consequences if he goes, only five lines later, he ignores the warning with On, lusty gentlemen (1.4.113). This is an active decision by Romeo to go to the ball, yet in the previous sentence, he says Direct my sail! (1.4.113). Thus, although Romeo receives help from fate through guidance, warnings of impending disaster, and the free will to avoid decisions, he repeatedly makes bad choices of which he is not willing to take responsibility, but rather, blames the very source that helps him. Another example of this warning comes when Romeo is leaving for Mantua, and this is the last t ime Juliet sees him. This time, both have a feeling of impending doom. Juliet says, O God, I have an ill-divining soul! Methinks I see thee, now thou art so low, as one dead in the bottom of a tomb (3.5.54-56), and Romeo responds with, And trust me, love, in my eye so do you. Dry sorrow drinks our blood. (3.5.58-59). Juliets lines are spoken just three lines after she asks Romeo if they will ever see each other again. Of course, they do not meet again, and these lines mark the next phase of chaos, death, and bad decisions which conclude the play. There are, however, two more references to dreams that correctly reveal encounters, tragic in nature, which could have been avoided. First, Juliet imagines going mad inside the Capulet tomb, blatantly declaring a warning from fate that is being played inside her own daydream. When she says, O, if I wake, shall I not be distraught, envisioned with all these hideous fears, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and, in this rage, with some great kinsmans bone as wi th a club dash out my desprate brains (4.4.49-53), her concerns are actually a proclamation of fates warning that this rash action will eventually lead to her demise, a warning which she promptly dismisses as she drinks the vial only a few lines later. The second of these references to dreams lies in Romeos statement, I dreamt my lady came and found me dead strange dream, that gives a dead man leave to think (5.1.6-7). Romeo does not recognize the implications of this dream, which serves as the voice of fate. Instead, his irrationality spins this message into a form that he is willing to accept, as is seen by the following lines, and breathed such life with kisses in my lips that I revived and was an emperor (5.1.8-9). Due to Romeos maddening obsession with his infatuation, he is unable to decipher the true message of this dream. His irrational actions have set him on a path that will lead to his death. A.C. Bradley believes that tragedy is generally based around a character of prominence and is a story of human actions producing exceptional calamity and ending in the death of such a man (Bradley 64). This element of tragedy, consisting of specific actions that lead to a catastrophe and result in the death of a prominent character, is a classic theme among Shakespearean tragedies. One of the most common aspects of this basis is the element of death, both foreshadowed and realized, as a conclusion to the deranged actions of the primary characters in Shakespeares works. This theme can be seen in many of his plays, such as Hamlet and Othello, but none more so than Romeo and Juliet, where the theme of death is constantly reiterated from the initial prologue to the conclusion of the play. For instance, when paralleling the young lovers courtship to the different stages of the play, one can see these recurrent statements explicitly stated, all of which indicate deaths impending arrival as the natural conclusion of the couples consistent irrational actions. The first of these decisions occurs before Romeo is to attend the Capulets ball. He begins to feel himself traveling down an unnatural path and says, my mind misgives some consequence yet hanging in the starsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦of a despised life, closed in my breast, by some vile forfeit of untimely death (1.5.106-111). Although Romeo, to some extent, feels fates warning and the consequences of his actions, he proceeds to Capulets ball, taking his first step toward his ultimately tragic end. Furthermore, after they meet, Juliet immediately decides he is married and says, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦my grave is like to be my wedding bed (1.9.131-132) before she even learns the name of her idol. This is only the first of many such examples of an irrational thought process that will continue throughout the rest of the story; examples of this unreasonable belief that death is their only alternative further displays their refusal to ac cept the situation and work toward a solution. Instead, death provides an easy solution. By limiting herself to only two options, Juliet consistently bases her decisions on this belief, despite all warnings that she is essentially running headlong to her own death. The next step in the progression of this affair, the marriage of the young lovers, is yet again marked by the presence of death. Upon arriving at Friar Lawrences cell for the proximate ceremony, Romeo declares that, love-devouring death do what he dare it is enough I may but call her mine (2.5.7-8). Once again, the presence of death is foreshadowed at a pinnacle point, and Romeo and Juliet make another aberrant decision. By explicitly challenging death, Romeo is seemingly aware that his mortality is imminent, but he still continues down this path. He does not consider that Juliets actions are mirroring his and leading her to the same conclusion. The couples impetuous drive toward rash decisions is unmistakable throughout the rest of the play. Although they are aware that the opportunity of their continued relationship will ultimately never be presented, the two protagonists pursue death from the beginning. These examples solidify the argument that Romeo and Juliet is a prime example of Shakespeares lesson that death as a natural consequence of the impetuous actions of those who disregard the admonitions of fate. Throughout the realm of Shakespeares tragedies, another theme persists. While the protagonists in Shakespearean tragedies make conscious choices determining their own paths, most commonly against the subtle and blatant warnings of fate, there is a constant element that renders the execution of these decisions compulsory; this idea is known as situational conflict. In his article Art and Artifice in Shakespeare, Elmer Edgar Stoll states, The core of tragedy is situation; and a situation is a character in contrast, and perhaps also in conflict, with other characters or with circumstances (Stoll 69). This idea that there must be a conflict to a tragedy is not a novel idea, but the idea that there must be a situation in conflict with character or circumstance suggests that an author would need to define this situation, either implicitly or explicitly, at some point prior to the climax of the story. Following this design of creating a situational conflict that will force the protagonists to make decisions that will lead them down either fates implied path of natural order or along a course of their own devising, a tragic plot must contain an action that forces this conflict. Shakespeare was not oblivious to this motif; in fact, the construction of his tragedies suggests his acceptance of this template as a method of depicting a tragic plot. In the bulk of Shakespeares tragedies, there is a common event that, apart from the climax and generally between the middle and end of the first act, explicitly defines this situation. The act typically causes conflict in the protagonists state of affairs, which sets the stage for the downward spiral of decisions that the characters make. While in most cases influenced by another character in the play, such as Iagos announcement of his plot to deceive Othello or Lady MacBeths persuasion of MacBeth to kill King Duncan, this triggering event causes the protagonists in Shakespeares tragedies, either immediately or inevitably, to mak e the initial decision that will decide their fate. Romeo and Juliet does not differ from this scheme; the triggering event and the situational conflict are both present within the same location stated previously. Specifically, this event is caused by the attempts of Benvolio and Mercutios to assuage Romeos concerns about attending the Capulets ball. While Romeo initially agrees to accompany them to the event, he soon shows no interest in the nights activities. He says that he will be a candle-holder and look on, and shortly thereafter begins to question his decision to attend the ball at all when he states, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦we mean well in going to this masque, but tis no wit to go (1.4.38, 1.4.46-47). Although he is persuaded by Benvolio and Mercutio, the final decision to attend is ultimately made by Romeo. This choice places Romeo in a situation where conflict is eminent; he walks into the house of the Capulets and woos a lady who he knows, by being present at this event, has ties to his enemy. Therefore, although Benvolio and Mercutio attempt to persuade Romeo to attend the ball and examine other beauties (1.1.221), his choice to do so is the triggering event. This is Romeos first chance to decide whether or not to enter into a situation of conflict and, as with many of Shakespeares tragic protagonists, Romeo makes the wrong choice. There is some debate about the effectiveness of the moral lessons in Shakespeares tragedies. In his article Shakespeare, Walter Raleigh believes, There is no moral lesson to be read, except accidentally, in any of Shakespeares tragedies (Raleigh 66). John Dryden, on the other hand, argues, in his article entitled The Grounds of Criticism in Tragedy, that tragedy is an imitation of one entire, great and probable action; not told, but represented; which by moving in us fear and pity, is conducive to the purging of those two passions in our minds (Dryden 24). The conscious decisions of the characters in Shakespearean tragedy are not only pertinent to the advancement of the tragic plot, but also morally determinate. Shakespeare reveals this idea through fates warnings, the dialogue of the characters, imagery, the advice of characters such as Friar Laurence, finally, in the epilogue, a common element in Shakespeares tragedies. The definition of a morally determinate action is significant in the argument of free will versus fate in Romeo and Juliet because it signifies that the character is aware of the issue and nevertheless makes a choice that is inherently fatal (210). This allows for an exchange of the audiences sympathy for the lovers with a feeling of contentment in knowing that, instead of a dismal view of fates inevitable defeat of innocent lovers, the protagonists have control of their lives and pursue tragedy through their own disobedience. The audience is able to enjoy the play because they too have free will to determine their own fates, yet they also come away with the lesson Shakespeare teaches about the moral responsibility of ones actions. Although the interjection of fate has been discussed previously, the moral reprehension announced by some of the characters in the play regarding Romeo and Juliets actions also serve as a measure by which to gauge the moral accountability of the couples ac tions. For instance, Friar Lawrence is appalled by Romeos exploits with Juliet at the Capulets ball, which is evident when he states, Is Rosaline, that thou didst love so dear, so soon forsaken? Young mens love then lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes (2.2.66-68). Essentially, Friar Lawrence is expressing his distaste in the immorality of his decision to wed another woman not a day after his lamentation for Rosaline. This decision is morally reprehensible because it exposes the fickleness of Romeos love and the significance of entering into a marriage without understanding the significance of such an act. This type of reaction is evident again when Friar Laurence castigates Romeo, this time for his effeminate tears and unreasonable fury (3.3.110). Here, Friar Laurence remarks, Hast thou slain Tybalt? Wilt thou slay thyself, and slay thy lady that in thy life lives by doing damned hate upon thyself? (3.3.135-137). Romeos decisions, in this case, are blameworthy because of the selfishness of his statements of suicide, as he does not consider Juliets welfare. He is further subject to blame when one contemplates Romeos previous actions and his failure to recognize the mercy that the Prince has shown him. His selfishness is directly related to the disjointed nature of Romeos decisions; rather than considering the implications of his decisions, he initiates a course of action based on his brash and reckless predilection. The epilogue in Romeo and Juliet repeats the events that unfold in the private counsel of Friar Lawrences cell, and while his account describes the rash actions of Romeo and Juliet, he openly accepts responsibility for his own part in the scandalous event. Friar Laurence is quickly pardoned for his misdeed. The outcome of the epilogue reveals the moral lesson; one must face responsibility for his or her actions, and it is better to accept the outcome than to run away. This is evident when Friar Lawrence pronounces, if aught in this mis carried by my fault, let my old life be sacrificed, some hour before his time, unto the rigour of severest law (5.3.266-268). He accepts complete responsibility for his part in the events that lead to the young lovers deaths and implies his foreknowledge that his actions could result in punishment, indicating that the Friar considered this before acting and juxtaposing this with the actions of Romeo and Juliet. By revealing to the audience both an avoidable situation and the reasons for the tragic ending, Shakespeare succeeds in providing a moral lesson that serves to purge the passion (Dryden 25). The implementation of a tragic flaw, madness, neglecting fates warnings, death, a triggering event, actions which are morally determinate, and the moral lesson provide a clear view of Shakespearean tragedy. The causal relationships between the elements of tragedy, combined with common literary features associated with plot, identifying the triggering event that presents the situational conflict which will lead to the climatic peak of the narrative, the resulting madness that builds in the principals, the ineluctable conclusion of death, and the consummate lesson learnt upon the end of the tale. Throughout this chronology, each step is traversed by a morally determinate adjudication based from, in this case, the main characters tragic flaws, and neglecting the karmic guidance offered by other characters as well as by their own admissions of feelings and dreams. Romeo and Juliet adhere to each of these elements, not on a scarce occasion or two, but continuously and doggedly throughout the course of the story, with each factor intertwining with another to form the basis for which the primary idea related to the main characters decisions may rest; Romeo and Juliets actions were undertaken too impetuously, and while fate did play a role in attempting to advise the young couple as to the natural order of their situation, they exercise their free will to interminably disregard these warnings and set themselves down the slippery slope that results in their undoing.

The Workplace and Title Seven Essay -- essays research papers

The Workplace and Title VII The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the catalyst in abolishing the separate but equal policies that had been a mainstay in our society. Though racial discrimination was the initial focal point, its enactment affected every race. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in housing, education, employment, public accommodations and the receipt of federal funds based on certain discrimination factors such as race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age or religion. Title VII is the employment segment of the Civil Rights Act and is considered one of the most important aspects of legislation that has helped define the employment law practices in this country. Prior to Title VII, an employer could hire and fire an employee for any given reason. Title VII prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing, training, promotion, discipline or other workplace decisions. (Bennett-Alexander-Hartman, Fourth Edition, pp 85) Though it applies to everyone, its enactment was especially signifi cant to women and minorities, who until its passage had limited recourse in harassment based discriminations in the workplace.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the federal agency that enforces the federal laws, policies and regulations as it relates to employment discrimination. Over the course of years, Title VII has been amended to reinforce its prohibitions to include pregnancy as a type of gender discrimination, jury trials, compensatory damage and punitive damages. Its amendments have also strengthened the enforcement policy of the EEOC. An employer and employee need to be aware of those areas that are and are not covered by Title VII. It applies to employers, unions, joint labor and management committees as well as employment agencies whose functions include referral and training decisions among others. It applies to all private, federal, state and local governments who employ 15 employees or more. An employer with less than 15 employees is not required to comply with the guidelines set by Title VII. Title VII covers all levels and types of employees. In 1991, t he act was further extended to include United States (U.S.) citizens who are employed outside of the U.S. for American employers. Non U.S. citizens are also protected as long as they are employed in the U.S. Title VII however, does not a... ...overlooked in the workplace. Title VII has changed the pre-employment process in that the interviewer must be careful in the questions that are posed to the interviewee. The interviewer should not ask questions that can be deemed discriminatory. A rule of thumb is to limit questions that have to do with a person’s private life. As an employer, it must be made clear that discrimination will not be tolerated in the workplace. Employers and employees need to become familiar with what constitutes discrimination. Employees need to be informed of the employer’s position as it relates to workplace discrimination. An employer should adopt policies that address this issue in the form of employee handbooks and/or in house training for all employee levels, including what steps will be taken for violations. If the employer and employee work together to prevent these forms of discretions, it can help curtail some of the litigiousness surrounding this issue. References Anheuser-Busch, Inc., v. Missouri Com’n on Human Rights, 682 S.W.2d 828 (Mo.App. E.D. 1984) Bennett-Alexander-Hartman, Employment Law for Business, 4th Edition, 85, 95, 97, Griggs v. Duke Power, 401 U.S. 424 (1971).

Globalization and Regional Strategies Essay

Executive Summary It is clear enough that in today’s era it is extremely critical for firms to adopt global and regional business strategies in order to attain sustainable competitive advantage. But the question arises regarding classification of a MNE (Multinational Enterprise) as a global firm. This essay critically analyses the work on regional strategy as a response to Osegowitsch and Sammartino and attempts to cover the following aspects in detail. Notion of Globalization and Global Strategy This section highlights the notion of globalization and way organizations today establish a global presence by adoption of unique business strategies. This part also details the three different kind of global strategies. Regional Strategy Analysis This part analyzes the theory and practice of regional strategy concept of Globalization in particular as a response to Osegowitsch and Sammartino (2008). It aims to justify that in today’s era very few global firms exists and secondly that sufficient amount of international business literature and theory is required to draw reflection on regional vs. global MNE’s (Multinational Enterprises) strategy. The Theory of the Regional Strategy This section explains the concept of regional strategy analysis and illustrates the various regional theories as explained by Osegowitsch and Sammartino. Introduction With the concept of globalization and internationalization gaining more and more momentum everyday, this essay attempts to critically analyse the work of Osegowitsch and Sammartino on regional strategy. It starts with explaining the concept of globalisation and global strategy and tries to justify that in today’s era very few global firms exist. Secondly, it tries to establish that significant amount of international business literature and theory is demanded in order to draw conclusion on regional vs. global MNEs strategy by exploring the theory of regional strategy. Notion of Globalization and Global Strategy Globalization can be defined as a complex concept which enables firms to operate in various continents and countries across the globe in order to improve and maximise their profit margins, sustainability, worldwide existence and economies of scale (Blyton et al., 2001). Globalization provides platform not only to consumers but also to organizations to help them satisfy their needs globally. According to Marquardt & Berger (2003), Trade, Travel, Technology and Television are the four major developments that have resulted in Globalization. The four T’s of global development are the outcome of human brain and its creative innovations. These advancements have further encouraged and made possible continuous exchange of ideas, information and knowledge between human resources by breaking the barriers of distance. Moving ahead, Bratton & Gold (2007) state that Globalization is a global process of political convergence, social economies and national sentiments, in which space, time and Government are not given much importance. The paragraph below will now highlight the three different views on â€Å"global strategy†. The First view states that the global strategy is one of the particular and specific forms of Multinational Enterprise (MNE) Strategy. Further, it highlights the fact that Globalization considers all the countries of the world alike (Levitt, 1983). The Second view considers global strategy as â€Å"International Strategic Management† (Bruton et al., 2004) which is no doubt wider concept than â€Å"global strategy† mentioned in the first view. Lastly, the third view describes global strategy in even broader term; The strategy of the firms that exist all over the globe and this can be concluded as the firm’s theory of how to become a successful competitor (Peng, 2006). Having discussed the various forms of global strategies which are adopted by firms today, this essay now moves ahead to analyse the theory and practice of regional strategy concept of Globalization in particular as a response to Osegowitsch and Sammartino (2008). It aims to justify that in today’s era very few global firms exists and secondly that sufficient amount of international business literature and theory is required to draw reflection on regional vs global MNE’s (Multinational Enterprises) strategy. The Regional Strategy Theories According to Rugman and Verbeke (2007), recent literature on globalization suggests that a firm is categorised as global if maximum 50% of its total sales are in its home territory (EU) and minimum 20% of sales in each of the NAFTA zone and Asia. He adds to it by bringing to surface the outcome of survey based upon this theory that indicated only nine global firms in Fortune Global 500 and also the orientation of numerous firms towards the home-region. In response to the above mechanism for classifying the firm as global, Osegowitsch and Sammartino (OS) (2008) have provided three basic criteria and comments that can be helpful in future classification of firms according to their geographic sales dispersion. Firstly, OS suggest that it is not appropriate to classify statistical data straightaway. It should be realised that since this is a growing area of research, usage of any kind of classification tool is open to criticisms as it is not simply the categorization of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) following particular regional strategy theories. As an example, OS focus on building and having strong position in the region by illustrating that if the EU, NAFTA region and Asia represents 90% of the total world sales output, an absolute division would require all the three regional triads to have 30% sales each and not 33.3% in order to encourage the strategy of lower thresholds. In other words, a firm can be defined as global if it has at least 20% of the total sales in the two host-triad regions and without any kind of imposition on the maximum sales threshold in the home territory (Rugman and Verbeke, 2007). Additionally, it should also be noted that it is not at all relevant to categorize a firm as having strong position in the market if its threshold is lower than 20% of t he total sales. OS even conducted a simulation using threshold value as 10% of the net sales in order to identify a string position in the host region as it would result to USD $1 billion even for the smallest of the Fortune Global 500 firms. But unfortunately, it didn’t present a strong position and can by no means be considered as an essence for strategic decision making in the worlds largest organizations. OS clearly argues that using various thresholds is helpful in assessing the sensitivity of firm’s positions in the classification system but the main function should always be to provide an assessment of the Future Global 500 and to easily track firms whose thresholds are continuously changing from one category of threshold to another. A clear example of this is Nokia which encountered a 4% decline in sales in the year 2002. However, this change in sales pattern reflected a short term failure in inter-regional growth but OS criticizes that it cannot be simply neglected. Movement of Nokia from a global organization in 2001 towards a home based firm in 2001 was a remarkable concern. In one line, it can be stated that having threshold below 20% simply leads to generation of more bi-regional firms and which can’t be regarded as truly global organizations. Moving ahead, the second regional strategy criterion which OS highlights is that the sales variations are highly industry specific. According to OS, industry plays a significant role and all future researched should aim at exploring the regional vs global strategies at the industry specific levels and try to establish the difference. It is truism that a majority of firms are not properly internationalized and their sizes varies across regions but then its some of the world’s biggest MNEs that have constantly been regarded as capable of compens ating for the weaknesses of the other sectors in different regions of the world. The main point to be considered is that our analysis are independent of differential size of numerous industries that exist across the region, as MNEs are able to establish regional markets and to further develop insufficient markets. Lastly, in third comment it is argued that it would be irrelevant to prefer regional strategy over global strategy. Regional strategies come into existence when it becomes very difficult or impossible to adopt conventional global strategies efficiently, or when they fail to function, keeping in mind that global strategies cannot be evaluated in isolation. Further, it can be said that heterogeneous geographic space beyond the home country border is essential for most of the companies now if not all of them. Moving ahead, this section of the essay will now make an attempt to tackle the criticism formed by OS concerning the contribution of regional strategy to the international business theory. According to (Rugman and Verbeke, 2007), the regional strategy is structured around three simple but fundamental empirical observations which demand international business theory to be extended and enhanced. First of all, only a small number of MNEs have a balanced geographical sales distribution pattern across the global market, although it counts towards the risk diversification at the downstream end of the value chain. OS illustrate that a balanced and structured distribution of sales geographically would contribute towards enhanced global acceptance by the customers of the company’s products and services. With only the exception of resource-based industries, the triad comprising the EU, NAFTA region and Asia demonstrates a first cut though not certainly a fixed one mechanism to identify the extent to which an MNEs net sales are distributed worldwide. Further, this triad has gained so much importance as it is the home of world’s most large MNEs as well as the locus for a number of outstanding innovations in most industrial sectors. The triad also demonstrates the world demand pattern for most knowledge intensive services and goods. But it’s unfortunate to mention that only a small number of MNEs in the Fortune Global 500 are capable of performing equally well in each of the three regions of the triad. It is often observed that a strong position in the home-triad region is not supported with an equally strong position in both the other two remaining triad environments. Classification tools are now irrelevant as among the firms with international operations only a small percentage are truly global i.e. may be even less than 5% (Ghemawat and Ghadar, 2006). They further add to it and state that different firms rule in different parts of the world. Second wing of the regional strategy focuses on the fact that several MNEs have regional features in the organizational structure such as geographic divisions and having individual divisions for different regions is supported mainly by the concept of regional heterogeneity demanding idiosyncratic management. In this case, the intra-regional institutional and economic distance is not just smaller but also very different from that of the interregional. It has been observed that for most MNEs, managing operations and work system in EU is very different from functioning system of the NAFTA region or as compared with the work cultural of Asian environment. These differences may further be enhanced if the work unit is further subdivided into smaller units. Fratiannin (2006) states that these differences in work system signal the importance of regional level in the business strategy and structure of MNEs. Today, almost all big firms such as Toyota, General Electric (GE) have embedded regional elements in their business and operational strategies and these companies are often wrongly referred to as global organizations not just because of lack of balanced geographic distribution but also because of their world wide global operations and manufacturing (Ghemawat, 2005). Thirdly, it should be noted that more than fifty percent of the geographic area in terms of sales is normally the main source of the firm’s cash flows and the centre point of most of the firms both tangible and intangible assets. In the coming years, the concept of having more than 50% sales in the home territory would not be significant enough in EU and North America specifically but it would gain momentum in Asian region as intra-regional distance is minimizing and thereby driven by a reduction of investment barriers and trade. Competition among industries would be more prevalent at the regional level instead of the national level. OC highlight that attention should now be laid on the development of classification tool that will help bundle the home country sales with the sales in the remainder of the home territory rather than paying attention separately to the sales in the home region and remaining of the home region especially for MNEs based in Asia and EU. Moving ahead, the above discussed observations and theories clearly demonstrate the need for an extended international business theory. These observations are independent of specific categorization approaches to measure specific home-region vs. rest-of-the-world market position of MNEs. A trend has always been seen that all the MNEs are much stronger in their home regions as compared to that in other triad regions. These top MNE firms have formulated their organizational structures around the regional component and a varying market position in each region raises call for a regional approach rather than a global strategy approach. The paragraph below now will bring to surface the three main components for the extension on mainstream international business theory (Rugman and Verbeke, 2007). Firstly, it is noticed that impact of country border does not provide strong basis for distinguishing between non- location bound (or internationally deployable/exploitable) and location bound. In today’s period of excess regionalization, it is very easy for some companies to exploit and deploy their strengths throughout the home country border. Further, proxies for internationally transferable FSA’s such as firms level predictors of internationalization like firm’s level of R&D do not hold much importance in explaining intra-regional expansion occurring in home region, given the distance gap between the home country and rest of the home region is very less. As a result of well-functioning trans-European transport and logistics networks enabling fast response and just in time strategies covering the whol e continent, the significance of geographic distance has decreased in EU. The EU integration process itself has let to decrease in Institutional distance. Further, Economic distance has lost its relevance because of many reasons such as development of new services and products at par with European level, possibility of cross border shopping made possible by web based searches, continuous attempts made by many companies to gain scale and scope efficiencies at the European level and lastly, increased importance of EU as a geographic space to ascertain company’s conduct, structure and importance. Finally, decreased significance of conventional measures of cultural distance mainly in the business to business area as it is easy to get labour in Europe, considerable increase in use of English as the lingua franca inside the region. On sharp contrast between past and present position of conventional location bound FSAs it can be clearly stated that previously they allowed firm expansion only up to country borders but now it can be easily upgraded, and made deployable and exploitable even beyond the home country borders and also in othe r home region countries. Secondly, there is a need to reconsider the fact that non-location-bound FSAs like technological knowledge or brand can be easily exploited and deployed nationwide. Today also it is necessary to complement existing FSA bundles with an additional FSA bundle in high distance environments which implies distance still plays an important role. According to Ghemawat (2005), there are several ways to differentiate between low and high distance environments, one major distinction being that between home regions and host regions in a triad context. Moreover, it is clear that extension and scope of mainstream international theory is free from any scholars disagreeing with the concept of the triad region as the best proxy to discriminate between low-distance environments (in this case the home-triad region) and high-distance environment (in this case the two host-triad regions). High distance implies to making more substantial investments in order to complement its present FSA bundles, also ena bling maximum and profitable exploitation in the host region environment. Here, the apparent trade off becomes obvious: further the efforts to expand the high-distance environment may not be proved to be as successful and profitable as the expansion of low distance environment, even if it is suggested by macro-level parameters which measure the attractiveness of the high-distance environment that they have strong location advantages. As stated by Nachum and Wymbs (2007) in regard to global cities that FSAs and location advantages are dependent on each other. High distance bundles also has many risk factors along with it like melding the extant FSA bundles with newly developed or accessed resources in the high distance environment may lead to burdened with several operational problems, decreased or disappointing sales, as exemplified by the retreat of some of the world’s largest MNEs from high-distance contexts, for example, Wal-Mart’s exit from Germany and Korea. . Thirdly, the theoretical difference between the two FSAs namely location bound and non-location bound FSAs assume conventionally easy developments and profitable exploitation of FSAs (like brand names or technological knowledge of proprietary) across borders. Moreover, it is very essential to acclimatize the brief contents of these two concepts to the authenticity of regionalization. More particularly, the factors that determine the extent of FSAs are, its distance accompanied by its geographic, institutional, economic and cultural components. The level at which a FSA should be called location-bound vs non-location bound is estimated by decay in value across a space. On the basis of terms like region bound nature of FSAs and the liability of inter regional foreignness it has been highlighted that for international business other geographic borders hold more importance than conventional country borders in our previous study. After studying the concepts and theories of regional strategy, we now try to establish the extent to which Procter & Gamble could be categorized as a global firm in terms of its business and operational strategies. The Case of Procter & Gamble Procter & Gamble Co. – One of the worlds leading consumer goods manufacturer such as Tide, Pantene, Ariel etc was established in 1837 from an original candle and soap company. The firm now operates in 180 nations with more than 138,000 employees. According to Lafley, A. G., Chairman of the Board and chief Executive Officer, P&G, the firm has over 171 years of history and has always been driven by creativity and innovation. Additionally, improved sales and long term success have always been the strategic goals of this corporation. And it understands the fact that these goals can be attained by constantly appreciating changing consumer’s needs, innovation, branding and market needs. Depending entirely on skunk work such as acquisitions, internal R&D and selective innovations has proved to be inefficient and insufficient for attaining the business target of $4 billion business in a time period of one year. It can be clearly seen that invent- it-ourselves model along with global research facilities and recruiting and holding of the best talent nationwide attained success till the year 2000 but nowadays satisfying high levels of top line growth has become a big challenge for an organization The approach through which the radical strategy of open innovation helped an organization attain its business mission and goal can be typified in the following lines. To face the challenge, P&G adopted a brand new technique of innovation: Develop and Connect model in the year 2000 which lays great importance on searching good and new ideas and information outside and bringing them in, in order to give internal capabilities a boost and make most out of them. With the perspective of manufacturing improved and relatively cheaper products faster the business strategy involved in this model was to leverage assets of people, products and property available externally and applying it to their respective R&D labs, purchasing, market capabilities and production. The foremost work of this strategy is to recognize top ten preferences and needs of the consumer. Moreover, it is very essential that the customers are fully satisfied by the products manufactured and which will finally result in increased sales and profit. Moving ahead, alike products or related technologies which already exist in the market and occupy good position are recognized. Lastly, analysing the influence of technological acquisition of one area over the other areas. Networking is the backbone of this approach. Along with having business collaborations with open networking companies such as InnoCentive and Ninesigma, the P&G group has long chain of suppliers and technological entrepreneurs worldwide. They play a crucial role by finding solutions to P&G internal problems in the outside world. Thus, by constructing such type of infrastructure P&G has been able to reduce its investment in technology along with achieving stable top line growth and required sustainability. According to Huston and Sakkab (2000), by shifting to Connect and Develop model there has been a remarkable increment in our R&D production by 60% and the progress rate of innovation has undoubtedly doubled. The Procter & Gamble figures out how an organization can maximize its profitability levels by switching to new and innovative The Procter & Gamble examples mirrors the way how switching to new and innovative approaches of using information and technology can help maximise profit margins. It is one of the organisations which has developed enabling infrastructure fabricated around innovation with a huge worldwide network combining human capital, ideas and technology. Conclusion This essay has brought to surface a number of strategies which can help firms to establish strong positions globally like having a threshold of 20% etc. The main aim which was to justify that a firm cannot be simply categorized as global based upon statistical data has been justified. A number of measures have also been illustrated which can help differentiate the firms regional strategy from the global strategy. References Blyton, P., Lucio, M., McGurk, J. and Turnbull, P. (2001) â€Å"Globalization and trade union strategy: industrial restructuring and human resource management in the international civil aviation industry†, International Journal of Human Resource Management, pp. 445-463. Bratton, J. and Gold, J. (2007) Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice (4th edn), New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Bruton, G., Lohrke, F. and Lu, J. W. (2004) The evolving definition of what comprises international strategic management, Journal of International Management, Vol. 10, pp. 413-429. Fratianni, M. (Ed.) (2006) Regional economic integration, Research in Global Strategic Management, Vol. 12, Oxford: Elsevier. Ghemawat, P. (2005) Regional strategies for global leadership, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83, No. 12, pp.98-108. Levitt, T. (1983) The globalization of markets, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 61, pp. 92-102. Marquardt, M. and Berger, N. (2003) The Future: Globalization and New Roles for HRD, Advances in Developing Human Resources, pp. 283-295. Nachum, L. and Wymbs, C. (2007) The location and performance of foreign affiliates in global cities. In A. M. Rugman (Ed.), Regional aspects of multinationality and performance, Research in Global Strategic Management, Vol. 13, pp. 221-257, Oxford: Elsevier. Osegowitsch, T and Sammartino, A. (2008) Reassessing (home-regionalisation), Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 39, No. 2. Peng, M. W. (2006) Global Strategy, Cincinnati: South-Western Thomson. Rugman, A. M. and Verbeke, A. (2007) The theory and practice of regional strategy: A response to Osegowitsch and Sammartino, Kelly School of Business, Vol. 2, pp. 1-7.

America’s racial front Essay

This scripture, taken from Matthew 15:8, denotes flawlessly what was, what is, but hopefully what will not always be the plight of America’s racial front. In 1964, a Civil Rights Act was passed outlawing segregation in schools and other public places. Following its passage, blatant acts of racism were no longer tolerated in the United States. This meant that to utter racial slurs, and publicly assert one’s agreement with racial stereotypes came to be considered â€Å"distasteful† or â€Å"politically incorrect†. Therefore, though in more covert forms than in times past, racism yet rears its ugly head. Perhaps this is because America, though cloaked in the beautiful garment we refer to as equality, is yet stained with the sin of racism. This fact is most evident in the very places in which it was originally outlawed. One of the many purposes for which this law was passed was to prevent age, gender, and racial discrimination in the field of healthcare. Unfortunately, because discrimination is not a superfluous issue, but rather a serious concern due to its institutionalization, elderly people have died in huge numbers due physicians who did not hold their heal in high enough regard to follow proper (though at times, troublesome) procedure. In addition, homosexuals are often experience horrible bedside manners from doctors who disagree with the way in which they’ve chosen to live their lives, and sadly African American men, women, and children are constantly subjected to second-rate care simply due to the color of their skin. This ugly picture is nothing like the pretty one painted by America for others to see.