World Situation Scope Essay Example for Free

World Situation Scope Essay IA Review of the World Situation Scope This paper will focus its attention on the CIAs assessment of the world situation in regards to terrorism. The focus of the paper will be the September 11th attacks made on American soil as well as go into the history of Al Qaeda, their resources for planning terrorism and their history in recruitment. Since the release of the original document, which discussed the state of world security in May 0f 1949, there has been many changes to the political structure of the areas discussed. At the time of the original document, the major issues which concerned American security involved the recently defeated Germans, the USSR, the Far East, the Near East and Latin America. However, the security of the United States of America has been under constant stress since the attacks of September 11, 2001. Though programs have been altered or created in the National Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Security and the Central Intelligence Agency, there remains a threat on Americans, and American holdings throughout the world. As Andrew Kydd and Barbara Walter explain, there is a distinct politic to the notion of terrorism. However, these tactics are not always effective. There are many events of terrorism in the world each year, yet only a handful are regarded with any merit. According to Kydd and Walter, through a well argued and insightful article, it is the trust between groups that must be destroyed for an extremist attack to be successful. This is the motivation behind the response to the attacks of September 11, 2001. On Begin Match to source 7 in source list: (11-30-05) http://www. adultbuzz. com/121201/page4. phtmlDecember 6, 2001,End Match then Begin Match to source 7 in source list: (11-30-05) http://www. adultbuzz. com/121201/page4. phtmlAttorney General John Ashcroft addressed the Senate Judiciary CommitteeEnd Match in praise of this act, and its restructuring of the NSA, CIA and FBI. (Ashcroft 524) His rhetoric was patriotic and concise, and his views of the USA PATRIOT act and its changes seemed sincere. This was supported with the passage of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373, which paved the road for the Patriot act itself. Eric Rosand wrote about the resolution in 2003. His response to its necessity was one of sympathy to the government, for having to face such a difficult challenge. However, not everyone who has commented on the alterations of the US governmental policy has done so with such reverence. David Cole compared the investigations into possible terrorist cells in the United States, to the Palmer Raids of 1919 where, following a series of bombings, J. Edgar Hoover led a series of round ups of immigrants across the country and held them without trial or charge in unconscionable conditions, interrogated incommunicado and in some cases tortured. (529) This attitude has spread throughout the country, as the appearance of impropriety has permeated the governments handling of the terrorists investigations. Mary Jacoby brings up the question of the legal definition of Detainee. This is in response to the holding of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba. The prisoners of this facility have been acquired from around the world from the war in Afghanistan, and from arrests done in dozens of countries around the world. However, the problem arises when the soldiers fighting for the Afghan military are brought in as detainees, rather than prisoners of war. While the Guantanamo prison has its apologists, such as Charles Krauthammer who states that freeing of these men would be lunacy (537) the fact remains, that in strict terms, the United States is in break of the Geneva Convention by holding POWs. Fernando Reinares noted in his article, The Empire Rarely Strikes Back, that after more than 2400 acts of terrorism against American citizens and interests there have been only three occasions of overt military response. (Reinares 92) However, because of the incredible size and depth of impact of the September 11th attacks, war became unavoidable. There did arise a problem with the military action, however, as a growing public opinion seemed to point the target as Islam itself, rather than just Al-Qaeda. This prompted the United States to enlist the help of as many Islamic nations as possible to counter act this perception. (Aretxega 143) This coalition of Islamic nations does nothing to counteract the rise in racial profiling within the United States. Sherry Colb wrote about the foreseen changes in American law enforcement following the September 11th attacks. Her article articulated the problem of racial profiling and its consequences. Cold notes that real numbers do not support profiling. (539) However this does not stop the utilization of profiling in airports, or in traffic stops. However, this too has its supporters, from such sources as law professor Roger Clegg. His response to the topic of racial profiling is one of acceptance and justification. So what? (Clegg 542) Clegg asks of the act of profiling. However his racial make up lends itself easily to such opinions, as an educated white male is rarely accosted for being white, educated or male. Key Findings Research into this fact has revealed that there are several locations outside of the United States where Americans and American holdings are under the greatest threat. There are varied threat levels in these locations, which range from possible altercations, to threats to life and property. However, there are countries which pose a threat to the safety of the United States in ways other than travel advisories. Some nations and their governments have strong anger towards the United States. These nations have alluded to, or are actively pursuing policies which are intended to cause harm to the United States of America. Some of these nations, such as North Korea and Iran, have instituted programs which are designed to test the United States. Other countries have entered into, or have begun to create trade unions which are designed to damage the United States position on the world market. Regardless of the type of threat these nations pose, there remains the necessity to understand and counteract these programs. This is difficult, however, as the degree and sophistication of these programs varies as widely as the threats themselves. The addressing of these issues are of critical importance to the continued safety of the United States and its citizens at home and abroad. Analysis 1. North Korea: Nuclear weapons proliferation. This nation has been a location of turmoil since its liberation from Japanese control following World War II. [i] However, in recent years, the threat of North Korea upon the United States has increased as the power and stability of the North Korean government, under the leadership of Kim Jong- Il, has begun to wane. Over the course of the past few years, Kim Jong-Il has made public statements attesting to his desire to develop nuclear weaponry for possible use against the United States of America. This threat has been elevated as of October 9, 2006. On this date, the North Korean military conducted its first successful test of its nuclear weapon. Though the yield of the weapon was low, reportedly only 550 tons,[ii] it does justify concerns that the government of North Korea may indeed develop a combat ready nuclear devise in the near future. The small yield of the blast is not thought to be indicative of their capabilities, however. Large scale underground nuclear testing requires large areas, 50-60 square miles of desert, to accomplish. North Korea does not have significantly large areas of land that are undeveloped or do not contain ground water. [iii] Because of this, the damage that would have been caused by a larger yield test would have been too great to the infrastructure of the nation to allow. Managing the crisis The threat that North Korea poses to the United States is being managed, currently, through various levels of diplomatic means. There have been several calls for 6-party talks, meetings involving multiple nations Begin Match to source 9 in source list: http://www. spacewar.com/2003/031015003520. s1ia1dhk. htmlthe United States, China, Russia, South Korea, North Korea and JapanEnd Match however these meetings have yet to occur. Because of this, the threat that North Korea poses to the United States remains serious. 2. Iran: Terrorist support and instigation of hostilities. The government of Iran has been at ends with the administration of the United States for many years. The current leader of the Iranian government, President Mahmud Ahmdi-Nejad, has openly stated his contempt for the presence of the United States military in the Middle East. Travel to the country of Iran by Americans is not recommended as the United States holds no Begin Match to source 4 in source list: (7-27-06) http://www. mahablog. com/category/blogging/diplomatic or consular relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and therefore cannot provide protection or routine consular services to American citizens in Iran. [End Matchiv] Iran Begin Match to source 4 in source list: (7-27-06) http://www. mahablog. com/category/blogging/is aEnd Match Muslim nation, and therefore has issues with the world view of the current war on terrorism, which is being headed by the United States of America. There is strong international sentiment that the Begin Match to source 5 in source list: (1-2-07) http://www. pwgd. com/blog/lb/6196-fbino-hard-evidence-connecting-bin-laden-connected-to-911-how-israeli-terrorist-became-a-victim-global-snapshots-capitalist-intersection-of-class-nationalrace-gender-oppression/war on terror is a war against theEnd Match religion of Islam and therefore a war against all Muslims. While this is not the case, few nations in the region have actively attempted to dispel this misconception. The relations between Iran and the United States is strained for another reason Irans support of the terrorist group, Hezbollah. While originating and operating outside of Irans borders, Hezbollah has been linked to various acts of violence throughout the Middle East. Most recently, during the short war between Israel and Lebanon, Hezbollah was involved in acts of violence, kidnapping and attacks on Israeli interests. Iran has been known to, and is suspected to still be funding this group. Following the hostilities of the war between Israel and Lebanon, a large influx of money was seen within Lebanon. Though the money was given out by cells of the Hezbollah group, to people whose homes were damaged or destroyed in the fighting, it is widely accepted that the money originated from the government of Iran. Because of these issues, Iran has been seen as one of the key threats to United States security. Their open support of anti-American factions within Iraq, as well as multiple allusions towards their seeking nuclear weapons, has kept Iran on the list of chief threats. 3. Afghanistan: Center of Al-Qaeda recruitment. The terrorist group, Al-Qaeda continues to be a Begin Match to source 12 in source list: http://www.parstimes. comthreat to theEnd Match safety and Begin Match to source 12 in source list: http://www. parstimes. comsecurity of the United States. End Match Since Begin Match to source 12 in source list: http://www. parstimes. comtheEnd Match attacks on September 11, 2006, Osama bin-Laden and his terrorist group, Al-Qaeda, have been linked to multiple acts of violence around the world. The nation of Afghanistan was, until the invasion by coalition forces in 2001, ruled by the Taliban a hard-lined government with strong ties the terrorist group. Bin-Laden and Al-Qaeda have been hunted since the September 11th attacks, and many key leaders have been captured or killed. However the presence of the group in Afghanistan is increasing again and Osama bin Laden remains at large. [v] The war within Afghanistan has continued since 2001, with no certainty for an end. This has caused dangerous instability within the region. Despite the institution of a democratically elected government within the nation, political stability has not been reached. 4. Mexico: Unprotected border crossings and illegal immigration. The number one priority of preventing terrorism is to prevent terrorist travel. This tactic however has not been serious employed with regards to border security and finding and preventing terrorism since the focus as previously stated is more about finding terrorists not finding the means by which they are mobile. One system that has not be utilized in border security is the means by which to detect whether documentation is authentic since terrorists have system by which they infiltrate a country their travel channels should be found and exploited but no real clause in the Patriot Act has been given or stated. Terrorists establish themselves in the United States through their travel channels by which there is a paper trail of documents; therefore, the Patriot Act, and NAFTA should not only be focusing their efforts at the borders where the terrorists may or may not be traversing but the government should also be wary of terrorist activity already transpiring inside the country, as The US 9/11 Commission on Border Control, Begin Match to source 2 in source list: http://elections.donyell. netEach of these checkpoints or portals is a screening-a chance to establish that people are who they say they are and are seeking access for their stated purpose, to intercept identifiable suspects, and to take effective action. [End Matchvi] Begin Match to source 2 in source list: http://elections. donyell.net TheEnd Match United States since September 11 has kept a more watchful eye on the Mexican border to ensure that large trucks are not passing the borders which could hold weapons, but this seems to be the only action officials and military are taking in regards to border control according to Zagorin in The Mexican Border Will Get a Closer Look. [vii] In this article Zagorin is hard pressed to find any true action the US is taking in regards to border control and Zagorin sites many examples of how Mexico is making its own efforts to decreased the chances Begin Match to source 1 in source list: Zagorin, Adam. al-Qaeda terroristsEnd Match coming Begin Match to source 1 in source list: Zagorin, Adam. into the countryEnd Match or leaving the country, Begin Match to source 1 in source list: Zagorin, Adam. The Mexicans will also focus on flight schools and aviation facilities on their side of the frontier. another episode has some senior U. S. officials worried; the theft of a crop-duster aircraft south of San Diego, apparently by three men from southern Mexico who assaulted a watchman and then flew off in a southerly direction End Match Begin Match to source 1 in source list: Zagorin, Adam. a senior U. S. law-enforcement official notes that crop dusters can beEnd Match sued Begin Match to source 1 in source list: Zagorin, Adam. to disperse toxicEnd Match substance Begin Match to source 1 in source list: Zagorin, Adam. TheEnd Match Begin Match to source 3 in source list: (7-23-06) http://www. usatoday. com/printedition/news/20060413/a_felony13. art. htmpeople who enter the country legally and then overstay their visas-as many as 40% of the nations estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, are guilty of a civil violation. [End Matchviii] Thus Begin Match to source 3 in source list: (7-23-06) http://www. usatoday.com/printedition/news/20060413/a_felony13. art. htmitEnd Match becomes apparent that the United States is focusing more attention on illegal immigration than on terrorism since all of their efforts are geared toward this goal. Since these hijackers could have been apprehended but were not, and the government has only increased the number of patrols on the either border and not per se the system by which illegal immigrants are apprehended it stands to reason that the government is not altogether prepared or establishing a methodology in apprehending terrorists, they are merely cracking down by using brute force without strategy. Conclusion The safety of the United States is in constant turmoil. While much has been done over the course of the past five years, there are few authorities who would actually state that the country is safe. Though the year 2006 was free of any dramatic assaults against the United States, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have become increasingly costly. Both have served to empower our enemies, rather than defeat them. In the information presented in this paper it gave different avenues by which the United States could be making a better effort to fight terror by simply having a different strategy on terrorism inclusive of finding their travel channels and relying on identification and false passports. The United States approach to border control, since they are using the same system now as prior to September 11 have not changed how they approach terrorists and their apprehension thus leaving room terrorists to take advantage of this lax method and exploit it. This year has seen, however, a dramatic reversal in the power center of the nation following the November elections, the congressional majorities both switched to the Democrats. The result of this switch is unclear, as of yet, however, there are many who are hopeful that the new majority will take the steps necessary to permanently secure the safety of the nation. Notes on Sources 1. The CIA World Fact Book is a very useful tool in todays world of global thought. The information that is found there is an excellent starting point for gathering an understanding of any world nation. 2. The Global Security Foundation is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that is dedicated to keeping track of the proliferation of nuclear weaponry. 3. The United States Department of State is part of the US government, and posts its de-classified information on the internet. 4. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigations is the central location for information on any criminal that is deemed to be of a threat to the nation as a whole. 5. Begin Match to source 13 in source list: Robinson, William H. Lake, Jennifer E. S. The 9/11 Commission wasEnd Match created Begin Match to source 13 in source list: Robinson, William H. Lake, Jennifer E. S. toEnd Match investigate Begin Match to source 13 in source list: Robinson, William H. Lake, Jennifer E. S. theEnd Match short comings Begin Match to source 13 in source list: Robinson, William H. Lake, Jennifer E. S. ofEnd Match the United States security, and find out how and why Al-Qaeda was able to attack from within the United States. 6. Time magazine has been a trusted name in world news for decades. The weekly journal offers insight to world events. 7. USA Today is another trusted source of news. This daily journal centers on the issues that directly involve the United States.   [i] North Korea. CIA World Fact Book. United States Government: Central Intelligence Agency. 2006. Date of access: December 1, 2006. Begin Match to source 11 in source list: (2-3-07) http://www. canadaol. com/search. php? opt=2keyword=+haitiURL: https://www. cia. gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/End MatchknBegin Match to source 11 in source list: (2-3-07) http://www.canadaol. com/search. php? opt=2keyword=+haiti. htmlEnd Match [ii] Nuclear Weapons Testing. Global Security Foundation. Date of access: December 1, 2006. URL: Begin Match to source 10 in source list: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_nuclear_weaponshttp://www. globalsecurity. org/wmd/world/dprk/nuke- test. htmEnd Match [iii] ibid. [iv] Begin Match to source 8 in source list: (5-6-03) http://www. itravelnow. com/nukebrowser. php? filnavn=http://travel. state. gov:80/iran_warning. htmlTravel Warning:End Match Iran. Begin Match to source 8 in source list: (5-6-03) http://www. itravelnow. com/nukebrowser. php? filnavn=http://travel. state. gov:80/iran_warning. htmlUnited States Department of State. Bureau of Consular Affairs. End Match 2006. Date of Access: December 1, 2006. URL: Begin Match to source 6 in source list: (9-24-06) http://iran. gerffa. org/index. htmlhttp://travel. state. gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_920. htmlEnd Match [v] Osama Bin Laden. Federal Bureau of Investigations. 2006. Date of access: December 1, 2006. URL: Begin Match to source 5 in source list: (1-2-07) http://www.pwgd. com/blog/lb/6196-fbino-hard-evidence-connecting-bin-laden-connected-to-911-how-israeli-terrorist-became-a-victim-global-snapshots-capitalist-intersection-of-class-nationalrace-gender-oppression/http://www. fbi. gov/wanted/terrorists/terbinladen. htmEnd Match [vi] The US 9/11 Commission on Border Control. (2004). Blackwell Publishing Ltd. P569-574. [vii] Zagorin, Adam. (22 November 2004). Bordering On Nukes? Time. Vol. 164 Issue 21, p19. [viii] Kiely, Kathy. (13 April 2006). GOP View: Illegal Immigration wont be Felony. USA Today.

Market Entry Strategy: Analysis Of Wal-Mart In India

Market Entry Strategy: Analysis Of Wal-Mart In India Generally in formulating a plan the business turns to the choice, in the situation whenever the object is to locate a market which would make their business money spinning or in the situation a new market is to be ventured into. At times when there is no plan of action, venturing into an untapped market will seem tricky, thus recognized the term market entry. According to Cinco (2003) the vendor must be able to differentiate their supply ways that might be beneficial either to the company or to the nature of alternatives it can be able to add value. So to increase its market share, the vendor must have competitive sustainable benefits, the time to build-up their proposal and other resources. In the era of competition vender must posses some attributes that are hard for competitors to copy (Barney, 1991). For the companies that are aspiring towards entering a foreign market, there are various modes that could be employed for the gaining of access. They are as follows Licensing Exporting Franchising Joint ventures or strategic alliances Establishing a subsidiary that is wholly owned Exporting This refers to the transferring of the services or production over the boundaries of the nations and the majority of the companies initiate their plans of expansion into another nation by means of this process of international expansion by exporting the goods produced in abundance and best quality and then they move on to follow other available strategies to gain their entry and make their presence felt stronger. There are many advantages that are associated with the process of exporting like the nation that is planning to gain access to a foreign market can control production by means of maintaining the facilities of production at the home land itself and then can transport the services or products to other nations (Miller, 1998). Licensing This is nothing but a arrangement by means of which the international company who is naturally the licensor offers the company where it plans to enter or the licensee one among the following Rights of trademark Rights of patent Copyrights Know how on the product and its associated processing Any of the above would be offered to the nation in exchange for a payment from the country who buys it or a specific performance Following are the list of things paid or offered by the nation that has bought the rights from the other nation Agree to produce the service or the product which any one of the above rights have been bought Agree for marketing the product or service in an area that has been already assigned Agree to pay money to the nation that has sold the license that is proportional to the volume of sales that is obtained by selling the product as royalty (Minor et al, 1991) Franchising This refers to an agreement through which the franchiser is involved in the selling of the rights of the product so that the name of the brand can be used by the franchisee and in return, a payment of a big sum of money can be made. Along with this the profit gained by the franchisee could be shared with that of the franchiser. This mode of gaining market entry has been used by the companies involved in marketing and services whereas the mode of licensing is used by the companies involved in marketing (Mintzberg and Quinn, 1992) Strategic alliances and joint ventures The concept of forming strategic alliances and the formation of combined ventures are clubbed together since the formation of strategic alliances is rather weaker than that of the joint ventures. Hence we can define a strategic alliance as the agreements that are formed between the participating firms so that the activities of value chain of the companies could be aggregated for the gaining of advantage in competitive terms. In majority of the cases the strategic alliances are formed between two concerns that are equal competitors in the same field. But a joint venture is nothing but a venture that is formed between a foreign firm with that of a national firm and in this alliance, the foreign firm would have sufficient equity stake in order to have a strong hold on the management functions but still not a complete hold so that it can have full domination of the venture at hand. Hence the equity share possessed by the international firm could be varied and this can range from 10 to 90 percent, but normally this would be from 25 to 70 percent (Johnson and Scholes, 1999). Wholly owned subsidiary This is nothing but a mode of entry where the company that initiated has a total and complete ownership of the stock possessed by the subsidiary. This type of wholly owned subsidiary could be set up by the process of acquisition or by the process of setting up a wholly new entity. The advantages of establishing a wholly owned subsidiary is many. In case if the company possesses a lot of competitive advantage in terms of its technical background, it can have a 100 percent hold on it and hence there is no control exerted by any external forces. A wholly owned subsidiary also helps in benefitting greatly from the process of strategic co-ordination at the global level. Another advantage of this system is that a company can enjoy the total benefits offered by the economies of location and also from that of the experience curve effects (Keegan and Green, 1997) The retailing giant Wal-Mart has been successful in the obtaining of a toehold in the sector of retail in India by means of adopting the mode of entry as a joint venture and has had a significant impact on the traditional system of retail existing already in India. Importance of market entry strategies There are many studies existing to show that the position of first entry into market provides the entrant with a lot of advantages in terms of stock prices, sustenance and other events as well. But there are chances of success for the other people who enter later as well because they can adopt specific strategies in the market that would help them for positioning themselves better. When some of the pioneering industries have attained the present status, eventually they become very much self-satisfied and would not be able to fulfill the dynamic and ever increasing demands that are posed by the market place. Hence the market entry strategies and the strategies adopted to gain a cutting edge in the market is greatly dependant on the market atmosphere and also on the range of players who exist in the market and their strategic positioning as well (Kanagal, 2006). Hence to maintain the leading position in the market, the pioneer industries should always be prepared to react to the change s occurring and also to expect the possible threats and the new entries. For instance, a leading player can react to the new entries by bringing about reductions in price and thereby decreasing the business value for the new entries. Other modes of reacting are by taking control over the major channels of distribution. Hence a comprehensive perception of the strategies of defense in the market along with a good timing sense complemented by a fool proof decision making plans will make the entry into markets and tackling the customers easier for the entrant (Evans, 2008). Overview of Emerging Economies: BRIC Nations According to World bank (2010) emerging economy is the term given economies or nations having middle to low per capita income. Around 20%of world economy and about 80% and about 80% of world population is represented by such emerging market economies (Burt et al, 2002). BRIC is a short form utilized to represent the speedily developing economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Goldman Sachs (2008) has identified BRIC nations is leading world economies by 2050. Data collected on BRIC nations shows that put together BRIC nations have a GDP of 15.435 trillion dollars, 25% of total land and about 40% of world population. RETAIL MARKET IN INDIA: A Scenario The Indian retail industry is still in the embryonic state. This segment has not been paid any attention post Indian Independence (1947). The extent and size and growing populace all are factors which offer an assurance for the retailing sector to develop in the future. The retail setting of India has conventionally centered on small, mom-pop shops which are located next to the residences of people. People have the facility to make payments on a monthly basis in such shops apart from interacting personally with the proprietors. Such shops are also endorsed by committees formed by people living in the localities. Services such as courier pick up and local promotions are facilities provided complementary by the stores. If people face a crisis they may request the proprietors to open the shops even when it is night time (Berman and Evans 2006). Indians usually prefer such stores. The segment pertaining to retailing is not structured and very few rules are followed by the stores. Such st ores comprise of nearly 92% of the total retail shops in the country. The residual 8% organized stores have emerged in the 2-3 years gone by thanks to ever-growing economy and opening up of the Indian economy.  A study undertaken by Market Graph (Research Firm based in New Delhi, India), in June 2008 concluded that the value of trade in India was around INR 12,000 Bn. As per the report it was stated this segment is the second largest provider of jobs for people of the country (Covey 2005) . The retail segment of India is imbalanced as the total market share of ordered retailers is only around 2% according to Bill and Bill (2004). The scenario was the same even in developed nations initially in the previous century; the materialization of huge retail stores including Wal Mart, Sears and McDonalds was the reason of quick development of the structured retail and increasing merging of the retail business in the advanced countries. It is the quick increasing incomes and changes occurring in the way people live which is transforming and encouraging the development of the structured retailing in the West (Kotler, 2004). The structured retail sector in India also shows promise as the purchasing power of Indians has increased while the rapidly growing middle class imitates the Western existence (Srivastava, 2007). Thanks to the tremendous growth of the Indian economy (2002-2008), individuals have more money to spend and they now expect to increase their standard of living. This was a reason for large renowned Indian businesses to venture in the retail business. During 2007-2008, around 33000 retail shops found their way in the country. Products offered by such shops included garments, provisions, fruits and vegetables, Electronics Auto. The next 4-5 years will see several new stores being introduced in the country. This phase of retail development is likely to recede by 2014; the market leaders will be those who are successful and have accurate skills related to operations in this sector. Retail stores who fail to follow suitable strategies related to marketing and consumer satisfaction will be forced to shut shop. The sales growth of US$ 392.63 billion in 2011 to US$ 674.37 billion has been forecasted in India Retail Report (BMI, 2011). Ever increasing upper class consumer base coupled with increase in construction of organized retail infrastructure have been identified as key factors behind its growth. McKinsey and Co (2010) has reported and expected increase from 5% to 14-18 % in organized retail market, which is expected to reach US$ 450 billion by 2015. Regulations and relaxations of the Indian market The business environment in India was characterized by an atmosphere that has been regulated to a high degree by a system of license that is pervasive and by tariff barriers that are high and this was the case till the year 1991. In the year 1991, there have been many sweeping reforms introduced by the Indian government and the other succeeding governments have also consistently operated so that the whole course of the economy of India has undergone a radical change (Bajpai and Sachs, 1999). The nation of India is one of the largest economies next only to China in the continent of Asia. There are a large number of investors from the foreign nations who are being attracted to India particular in the sector of retail. This trend has been happening ever since the market in India was subject to the processes of liberalization as well as privatization (Das, 2001). The nation is now being looked upon as a thriving market for the investment purposes in spite of the hassles in the bureaucracy and also shortcomings in the facilities and infrastructure in India. The nation also presents with a huge capacity for investment from abroad and the nation has realized this and hence in keeping with this trend, the nation is encouraging the entry of players from that of the foreign market. Also the nation also uses English language as the medium of communication for the business purposes, governmental policies and administrative issues and these factors offer a friendly environment for th e investors. Hence any company that aspires to be a leader in the global arena cannot afford to ignore India which is one among the emerging nations of the world (Bajpai, Jian and Sachs, 1997). In the present scenario India experiences the fresh spirit of economic freedom that is helping the nation to introduce changes that are far reaching and helping it to unleash the great capacity of the economy of India. An array of reforms have been introduced that helped in the additional deregulation and stimulation of foreign investment and these steps have pulled the nation to the forefront in the row of leading international players (Sreejith and Raj, 2007). Some of the obvious strengths possessed by India are the skills in information technology and soft wares and the huge capacity for e-commerce. There also exists a strengthened consensus from the political arena in the concept of economic liberalization at the level of central government and state governments (Das, 2001). These combined factors promises a continued and increasing strength in the policies pertaining to the investors in a friendly manner and have led to the formation of opportunities in ample amounts for the inv estors at the foreign and the domestic level. Overview of the Indian retail Industry The industry of retail in India is divided in to unorganized and organized sectors and the activities of trading that are being undertaken by the retailers who are licensed and are liable to pay taxes like the sales and income tax is called as organized retailing. The organized retailing is inclusive of the hypermarkets that are backed by the corporate and the chains of retail and the businesses in retail that are being owned privately. Retailing that is not organized is inclusive of the formats of retailing that is of low cost. This is inclusive of the kirana shops that is located in the local areas, general stores that are manned by the owners and the beedi or paan shops, stores of convenience and the carts pulled by hand, the vendors on the pavement etc. there are new trends coming up in the retail scenario of India and this sector has a rate of growth of over 45 percent which amounts to the three year growth rate and hence it is one of the sectors with rapid growth among all the other sectors (India Retail, 2008). There are new and innovative formats like the departmental stores that have come up and this is replacing the specialty stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets etc. Particularly in the metros, malls in the western style have started appearing and these malls are now spreading out to cities in the second rung and these promise the consumers in India a shopping experience that is unparalleled (Johnson Tellis 2007). There is a high degree of fragmentation in the retail sector of India because over 97 percent of the businesses being run in the country is by the retailers who are not organized. Hence organized retailing in India is still at its infancy even though there are lot of attempts that are being made to bring an increase in its relative proportion to over 10 percent by the end of the year 2010. This would also bring about tremendous opportunities for the aspiring young players. This sector also provides the largest resource for employment next onl y to the agricultural sector and also is penetrated deeply in to the rural parts of India. This sector is also involved in the generation of over 10 percent of the total GDP of India (Das, 2006). FDI in the Indian Retail According to Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP, 2010) India had an inflow of US$ 1,392 million in October 2010 through FDI. In total US$ 122.68 billion has been channeled in to India from April 200o to October 2010. Decision to implement consolidated FDI policy has provided India with a respected position as a key partner in trade on international scale. Policy allows foreign investor to their funds through automatic route, do not mandate any permission prior to investment from the government of India (IBEF, 2010). In a survey Earnest Youngs 2010 have ranked India as 4th most attractive destination to invest. Similar results have been published in various repots like UK Trade and Investments, Japan Bank for International Cooperation and United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCAD), which have ranked India as second most lucrative destination following China in next three years (IBEF , 2010). As mentioned earlier the retail sector in India has been kept closed for the foreigners so that the means of livelihood of over 15million kirana store owners and the small shop owners would be safe guarded. It has now allowed only 51 percent of direct investment when it comes to retailing with single brands with the proper permission obtained from the Indian government. In the sector of whole sale trading also there is foreign direct investment allowed. The retailers with single brands like Fendi, Nike, Louis Vuitton and Toyota can have their own operations in India. There is another company called Metro which now has its operations by means of trading on a whole sale basis. There are also options being invited by the policy makers in such a way that the interests of the retail community at the local level are also not affected (Bajpai and Sachs, 2000). The Indian government is also considering the opening of the retailing for sports goods, stationery items, electronic goods, equipme nt for building etc. But the tough part for the government is that it has to maintain the delicate balance and a equal space for all the players. Hence due to the FDI policy that permits over 51 percent of one brand has made options for entering of Nike which sells foot wears, Lladro that is involved with porcelain items, Louis Vuitton that sells watches, textiles, shoes, accessories for travel, etc, Damro that sells furnitures, Fendi that sells luxury goods, Argenterie Greggio that is involved in the selling of cutlery, gifts and silverwares and the retail trader of Cars- Toyota. The successful entry of these players is also attracting others into the Indian market like a luxury industry in France that plans to cover the domestic luxury segment (Guruswamy, 2005). Major players in the Indian retail industry There has been tremendous growth in the retail sector of India with players like Ambanis, ITC, Bharti airtel, Rahejas and a lot of other investors, who are involved in the making of significant contributions in the sector which would lead to the emergence of retailers at the international level. These retailers have the power to make proper bargains with the suppliers and can reap the benefits of the economies of scale. Hence the process of discounting has become a widely accepted practice (SIA, 2003). In the international arena, India is looked upon as the last option left because the sector of retail in the nation of China has almost become saturated. At the same time the restrictions imposed by the government of India on FDI are also giving hard times to the international giants like the walmart and Tesco and a lot of other aspirers. The present scenario is that, only 51 percent of foreign direct investment has been allowed by the government towards shops with single brands like t he Reebok, Nike etc. but the international retailers are also taking other available routes for gaining access to the Indian market in an indirect manner by means of entering in to licensing agreements that are strategic and franchisee agreements. There is also whole sale trading on cash and carry basis being opted by the international players because there is permission to 100 % foreign direct investments when it comes to trading on a whole sale basis ( Narayanaswamy and Zainulbhai, 2007) Pantaloon Retail Pantaloon retail has its head quarters in the city of Mumbai and this retailer possesses a retail space of over four million sq. feet. It also has about 140 stores that are spread over 32 indian cities. The retailer is also involved in the provision of employment to over 15,000 indians and reaped a turn over of about 20 billion rupees for the financial year of 2005-2006. Lifestyle International The major activity carried out by the Life style is the running of outlets for retail as well as departmental stores. The main focus of Lifestyle is the operation of department stores in the high end format. The company possesses two names for its brand- SOGO as well as Jiuguang through which all the operations of the retail business are carried out. RPG enterprises One of the leading and largest conglomerated of business in India are the RPG enterprises and the company has a turn over of about 1.6 billion US dollars. The assets of the company itself amount to about 2 billion US dollars. This enterprise was the most rapidly growing group at the national level right from its inception in the year 1979 and possesses a chain of over 20 companies. It also has its operations in over 7 sectors of business like retailing, information technology, transmission, life sciences, power, tyres and entertainment. Trent (Tata) This group has a relatively recent origin and with its establishment in the year 1998 and has been successfully operating chains of retail stores in the nation in a fast manner. The company took its initial step in 1998 by opening Westside a retail chain for life style after which there was the opening of star India Bazaar in the year 2004. Star India Bazaar is a hypermarket that offers a large range of products at the cheapest prices. The growth of Trent continued with the acquisition of Landmark which is the largest retailer of Music and books. Shoppers stop It was in the year 1991 that this major retailer began its journey by the corporate group of companies owned by K. Raheja. This has now developed to the extent that it has become the sole brand for fashion and Lifestyle for entire family. Viveks limited This retailer is the leading player in the section of household appliances as well as consumer electronics in India. Viveks has over 15 showrooms at world class standards in over 3 major cities like Salem, Banglore and Chennai. The retail occupies a retail place of about 1,00,000 square feet. The annual turn over generated by Viveks is around 1 billion rupee.

The Problem of Youths Education and Socialization :: Teaching Education Research

Philosophic-Methodological and Social-Cultural Factors in the Problem of Youth's Education and Socialization Missing Works Cited ABSTRACT: The socialization of youth is currently in crisis. Education is in crisis across the world. The correlation between socialization and education is a crucial theoretical as well as a practical problem. Schools are the main institution of socialization. Education possesses two different functions: social reproduction and development. The way of life in any concrete society requires stable forms of socialization. The introduction of new generation into the social life—is one of the most ancient and eternal problems of humanity. The topicality of youth's socialization doesn't even grow dim in the present-day conditions but even becomes more acute and problematical character. There are many evidences which prove out it. Don't even remember the notorious problem of  «fathers » and  «children » it`s enough to say that not only in the course of the last decade one of the main institutes of youth's socialization—education—endures deep and protracted crisis. The different levels' instances nearly in all countries are busy now with the search of the ways regarding to the solution of the crisis of education and the increase of the effectiveness of the work with the youth. But the decision of these problems hasn't been found yet (see 1). Here we dwell only on some points which are important for understanding of the essence and necessary for the decision of these problems. In most problems and positions, in which now the processes of education are represented, and it obvious aim, as a rule, it is the development of person. As for the content, it realizes in the study of the bases of the scientific knowledge about the world social invironment, and also at the assimilation of the elementary labour skills, norms and values of the collective activity. However in connection with increase of standard of scientific equipement of life the content`s space of education is filled up more and more with actual scientific information, thus constantly excluding from it other components with persistence. We see 3 problems here, they are the aim, the completeness and the content of education. Let us dwell on them. First of all, we must point out that the institute of the socialization had appeared in our society long before the appearance of the necessity of mastering of the science information. Then socialization evoluated in education. Now they are often heard like the synonyms, as a result of not clear and to wide using of them.

Accounting Report Essay -- GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Accounting Report Anyone considering accounting needs to assess whether this career fits his or her interests, abilities, and aspirations. There are certain qualities and qualifications, however, that a person should consider before making a commitment to a particular career field. Selecting a career can take a lot of time, and many people do not choose until they are adults. Contributing to the difficulty in choosing a career is the vast number of vocations from which to choose. The field of accounting alone covers dozens of types of accountants and dozens of jobs. In trying to decide whether accounting is an appropriate career choice, a person should talk with bookkeepers and accountants that have years of experience. Ask questions about their daily work requirements, their likes and dislikes about accounting, and how they became interested in the profession. Questions such as these can give a person insight into the profession and help in considering accounting as a career. Accounting is a system used to provide financial information about a business or person. Accountants prepare and analyze financial records for individuals, companies, governments, or other organizations. Accounting is a basic need for every business, and the term business has been broadened to mean any operation that deals with money. That includes families and corporations, and also schools, theaters, art galleries, charitable organizations, and even some private persons. People sometimes call accounting â€Å"the language of business† because accounting data are used to detail firms activities. Accounting tells the history of a business or person in numbers. Over one million people are employed as accountants, and most can be found in private business and industry. â€Å"Nearly 40 percent of all accountants are certified, and about 10 percent are self-employed’(Caruna, 1). In addition to openings resulting from growth, the need to replace accountants who retire or transfer to other occupations will produce thousands of job opening annually in this large occupation. The Occupational Outlook Handbook states that the expansion of accountants is related to: â€Å"increasingly complex taxation, growth in both the size and the number of business corporations required to release financial reports to stockholders, a more general use of accounting in the management of business, and outsourcing of a... ...anning and control. â€Å"Other examples of consulting projects of CPA firms are: advising and developing a system for a stock exchange, assisting a new integrated financial management system for New York City, and helping several major railroads with resource planning† (Rosenthal, 22). A career in management consulting offers the opportunity to work with a company’s executives in applying the concepts of modern management and information technology. The final level of entry into public accounting is entrepreneurial services. In the book Careers in Accounting, it says that working in the entrepreneurial field â€Å"is a fast-growing and dynamic area that has been formed in most large firms in the last few years† (5). The person working in this area deals with the special requirements of a startup or growing company. Professionals in this group are involved in counseling and advising the emerging or middle-market company that may lack the resources to successfully handle planning, cost control, attracting capital, going public, or choosing the right information system or compensation plan. Audit, tax, and management consulting skills are all used to fill the needs of an emerging business.

Pericles Funeral Speech :: essays research papers

Pericles’ Funeral Speech   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Athens democracy has some evident differences of its own system compared to Sparta’s. They do not copy anyone else form of government, but run theirs in a unique way. In Athens everyone seems to receive fair treatment and poverty is not a struggle they encounter. Pericle informs that the people are friendlier and more respectful neighbors that Athens neighbors. Their individual system is like no others. Athens provides many activities such as regular games and sacrifices. Therefore, he says because of their own success they can enjoy the wonders of other countries. The Athenian system is very successful and operates smoothly because of the determination and effort the people of Athens put forth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are some factors that made Athens and Sparta different that need to be addressed. First, Athens controls an â€Å"open city† where visitors can influence and share there knowledge about the â€Å"Athenian way.† In Sparta children are dealt with in a very strict and upright manner. The women of Sparta seemed to have more freedom and power in the household because they were separated from their husbands for large amounts of time and became accustomed to this way of living. They are highly educated to the point where they are smarter than the average person their age. In Athens things are a little more laid back. They learn and mature at their own pace and still end up highly knowledgeable. When in battle Athens brings just themselves while Sparta brings their whole confederacy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe that Athens had an advantage over Sparta. Even though both had their own individual strengths and came together to become one I believe Athens methods were stronger. The Athenians worked well together and seemed to be extremely spiritually motivated to overcome any obstacle. I also feel this way because the way they were brought up as children.

Author/Mother Relationships Essay

It is very important to have a good relationship with at least one of your parents. You need to be able to share memories of your childhood with the people who raised you. I believe that sharing childhood stories with your parents gives you a connection to a relationship based on trust, emotion and sincerity. In Tony Ardizzone’s short story â€Å"My Mother’s Stories,† Tony tells the reader of his relationship with his mother while she is very sick in the hospital. Throughout the story Tony talks about childhood memories with his mother and he also describes the stories that she is telling to him. I think that through his memories and their stories together the reader is able to imagine and relate to the relationship between Tony and his mother, Mary. We first begin to see the feelings between the author and his mother at the end of the fourth paragraph of the story. Talking about his mother’s stories, he says â€Å"For now the sounds and pictures are my sounds and pictures. Her memory, my memory.† (Ardizzone, 117) You can tell from these sentences that Tony feels very connected to the memories that he shares with his mother. Throughout the story, his mother tells Tony stories about her wedding day, the births of all her children, and other stories from when they were younger. Tony also recalls several memories he has with his family and his mother. It seems like these are events that he remembers often but seems to recall more clearly now that it is nearing the end of his mother’s life. I think it means a lot that his mother felt like she should share these things with her children. It shows that Tony and his mother are very comfortable with each other. Towards the end of the story Tony describes a time from when he was younger. Mary protects her children from seeing a very sick dog get put down by a police officer. Tony says â€Å"We try to look out the windows too, but she pushes the five of us away. No, she says. I don’t want any of you to see this.† (Ardizzone, 125) She tries to protect Tony and his siblings from having to witness death: something terribly awful but of course, inevitable. I think that it is ironic that this is the last story that Tony imagines while his mother is in the hospital. It is ironic because in the story his mother is trying to shield him from seeing something die and sometime very soon Tony might have to see death take over his mother. He is not entirely sure how he would deal with this real fact. I think that this last story shows the reader that his mother really cared about her family and is protective. Since we get this feeling from â€Å"My Mother’s Stories† it shows us that Tony and his mother portrayed their relationship from their stories and memories. Tony and his mother share a relationship that is full of trust and emotions. The connection between the author and his mother is revealed to the reader or listener through the memorable events in their lives. These stories get brought to the surface of Tony’s memories at this point in his life because his mother is now very sick and is in the hospital. Recalling these precious memories can show people the type of relationship he shared with his mother and remind the audiences of the connections within their own families.

Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Pharmaceutical Industry

Pharmaceuticalization can be defined as the â€Å"process by which social, behavioural or bodily conditions are treated or deemed to be in need of treatment, with medical drugs by doctors or patients† (Abraham 2010:604). According to Abraham (2010), pharmaceuticalization is currently on an upward spiral and this dramatic increase can be attributed to five different factors. These five explanations are biomedicalism, medicalization, pharmaceutical industry promotion and marketing, consumerism, and regulatory-state ideology or policy.Each of these explanatory factors are mutually interactive but competing and it will be explained how this is in the following paragraphs. The biomedicalization thesis is based upon the idea that advances in biomedical research can explain why there is an expansion of drug treatment in our society today. Biomedicalism theorists believe that people who were previously undiagnosed or untreated for certain disorders are now able to receive necessary me dication as a result of progression in medical science, but it is clear from his article that Abraham is not a biomedicalism theorist.Abraham provides surprisingly large amounts of evidence to back up his claim that the biomedicalization thesis is not a legitimate explanation for the increase in pharmaceuticalization. Abraham criticizes the fact that a lot of the scientific literature contains uncertainties and many studies lack replicability and therefore should be rendered unreliable. He also uses the example of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) to farther emphasize his argument.He does this by making the point that the brain imaging done in these studies were supposed to be measuring the levels of dopamine in the brains of the subjects but these samples could not be taken from living people so were instead inferred from dopamine metabolites in the blood or urine. This poor quality of science that the biomedicalization thesis is based upon raises many questions and inc reases the likelihood that this is not a valid cause for the increase in pharmaceuticalization (Abraham 2010).Abraham believes that medicalization is a more reasonable explanation for the rise in pharmaceuticalization. Pharmaceuticalization and medicalization often overlap but are nonetheless distinguishable. Medicalization can be defined as a â€Å"process by which non-medical problems become defined and treated as medical problems, usually in terms of illness or disorders† (Abraham 2010:604). The thought behind the increase in medicalization is that social deviance has gradually become redefined in a way that makes medical disorders part of the norm.ADHD illustrates this idea because in the past 40 years, the criteria necessary to be diagnosed with this disorder has broadened drastically and some studies in the US found that almost 50% of children now meet this criteria. Another relevant disorder would be bipolar disease, which has increased 50-fold since 1980 when it was f irst entered into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Abraham 2010). In our society today it is much more common to be diagnosed with a medical disorder and once consumers are made aware of a disorder’s existence, its regularity will skyrocket.The main way in which consumers are informed about new drugs or diseases is from marketing and promotion done by the pharmaceutical manufacturers. Drug companies are advertising their products much more now and are over exaggerating the benefits in hopes to establish a larger consumer base. They are putting all of their resources and funds into this marketing and even spending more on this than resource and development: â€Å"In the US, industry expenditure on marketing has been about double that on R&D- US$54 billion and US$26 billion in 200, respectively† (Abraham 2010:609).Pharmaceutical companies are even getting medical professionals on board to advertise their products either at medical symposia or in a television commercial by generously compensating them. This increased exposure to drugs makes consumers more informed about the availability of new drugs but not necessarily the risks that come along with them. In his article, Abraham mentions two forms of consumerism that have opposite effects of one another on pharmaceuticalization.The first type that he talks about is adversarial consumerism, which occurs when people are under the impression that they have been harmed by specific drugs and therefore pursue legal actions against pharmaceutical manufacturers. Adversarial consumerism is currently rising; in 2000, US plaintiffs received 4. 85 billion US dollars to settle 27,000 lawsuits against Merck and 894 million US dollars against Pfizer to settle lawsuits about various types of arthritis drugs. These figures can be compared with the mere 10’s of millions of dollars that Eli Lilly was charged with in the 1980s.This particular type of consumerism actually leads to a decr ease in pharmaceuticalization, which is sometimes referred to as de-pharmaceuticalization (Abraham 2010). The more powerful type of consumerism is called access-oriented collaborative and it is one of the reasons that there is an increase in pharmaceuticalization in our society today. This form of consumerism occurs when patients seek access to new drugs quicker than the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can approve them. This puts a lot of pressure on the FDA and forces them to cut approval times for highly demanded drugs (Abraham 2010).